Christmas/Holiday 2011 on the Wonder: 8 night Mexican Riviera 12/18/2011

[SanDeeKath]

Thank you for the information! And I didn't even think about the impact on the younger kid's lab - that is a really wide age range. That's surprising, given how nice those clubs were in the past.

I'm afraid that I made the mistake of showing the tween club pictures from the Dream to my daughter. When I realized the mistake, she was a bit disappointed. Of course, she REALLY liked the pictures of the TEEN club on the Dream - very nice! But you are right, it is all about the activities - and maybe even more, about the other kids that they meet.

See you on board!

Here is the Edge (tweens) on the Wonder. Trust me, this is 1000x more gorgeous than the (literally sterile looking) conference room they were in before!

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/wonder/youth-clubs/edge/

 

[Dchachos]

Welcome DisneyDadHere!!

We did the Las Caletas excursion last time, and really enjoyed it. It might have been better (for us) if we had the earlier time...the earlier slot apparently is the only one that has the cooking class and the yoga. Which were things we were looking forward to! We had the laster time slot on our previous cruise. We did enjoy the beach there and the kayaking. Las Caletas was a great place and I recommend it. I like the all-inclusive aspect- sure helps budgeting!

I did just get a call from DCL on Friday letting me know the time for our Sea Lion Encounter in PV had changed from 11:00 to 2:00. Not a problem really, it gives my DH and son the morning to do something together (probably WALMART hahaha) while DD and I leave on our excursion. Someone mentioned mani/pedis for teens? Will DCL really do that? Because if they do, then I know what DD and I will do with our late afternoon in PV!

For beach time, we plan to take a cab to Miramar Beach in Manzanillo. It looks very nice, plenty of restaurants, etc. There are a number of threads on CruiseCritic on the Mexican Riviera board about beaches in Manzanillo. I too looked at the DCL beach/hotel excursions there and they were just too much $$$ for what I thought I was getting in return. So a cab it is! It looks very easy to do.

We also plan to do Medano Beach in Cabo on the first Cabo day. We did that last time and had a lot of fun. The water taxi was very cheap, and we sat by the water, kids played, we rented jet skis, drank a few cervezas...it was nice. Maybe some other DISers want to join us?

Christine

We are doing the kids dolphin experience on the first day in Cabo or we would join you. I like this one because they don't need an adult in the water with them, and neither of my boys know how to swim.

I might' if the offer is the same, share a cab in Manzanillo. I am too chicken to get a cab by myself or even go in the city alone. I might be braver with some other cruisers. I had booked an all inclusive beach party but then after looking I agree its too much. I have to be careful because of my limited mobility so I booked a tour of the city in Manznillo and a cooking lesson in PV. I also understand that my limited mobility could put a damper on other travelers so I will not be offended if you would rather not group up. I know before I got sick I always wanted to go go go. My sister and I went to Niagara Falls years ago and she had a knee injury and we had to stop several times for her to rest, and we couldn't do everything I wanted to do and I got so annoyed. So I understand what it is like on the other end.

Either way this is going to be a fantastic vacation am am so excited for.

 

[DisneyDadHere]

Hi there and welcome! (10+yo boys especially) would basically just shove her out of activities. I plan to let the counselors know this time to keep an eye on her because she is shy and gets intimidated easily. She just didn't speak up last time till after the cruise.

Anyway, welcome and we hope to meet you on board! Katherine and family

Good info. Our daughter is 8 and very sweet and smart, but timid and a little shy as well. She is good at making friends tho.

We are doing the kids dolphin experience on the first day in Cabo or we would join you. I like this one because they don't need an adult in the water with them, and neither of my boys know how to swim.

I might' if the offer is the same, share a cab in Manzanillo. I am too chicken to get a cab by myself or even go in the city alone.

We are doing the kids dolphin too, on the first day (it was the only day/time available) I hope to still be able squeeze in some beach time, but Im a little concerned with timing. Our dolPhin excursion is early afternoon, tough to plan beach stuff before and after .

 

[designertravels]

I see we have quite a few teen/tween boys in the FE. Can you give me an idea of what the boys have liked from past exchanges? I don't think trading pins and toy story figures will cut it...nor the inappropriate items my DH suggested.

Kids clubs: My daughters (8 1/2) have been going to the kids clubs since they were 4. They LOVE them and have always made a best friend counselor. They all know my girls by the end. Every year, their only complaint are the boys on the big video games. The girls never seem to get a chance. Which is fine w/ me...we can do that at home.

Jill

 

[CountryCharmer]

Just back from our first official start to FE presents for the MR 12/18 Wonder cruise!! This is going to be SO much fun!! Thanks to all who worked hard to help us become part of this event, it is much appreciated.

My kids and I are "giddy" with excitement.... counting the days!!

 

[designertravels]

FYI - I tried to book some excursions directly through Cabo and PV Adventures as mentioned earlier. The ones I wanted were sold out online and they would not let me book what I wanted by phone through the Adventure CO.

Ironically, the excursions I wanted are no longer sold out on the DIS site, which they have been. The prices for the Dolphin type excursions are very similar to booking direct. Check back if you were wanting them in Cabo.

We will definitely be joining you at the beach in Cabo on X-Mas EVE.

GO RANGERS! Jill

 

[Woodrow]

Excursions

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FYI - I tried to book some excursions directly through Cabo and PV Adventures as mentioned earlier. The ones I wanted were sold out online and they would not let me book what I wanted by phone through the Adventure CO.

I was looking at doing the same thing regarding the dolfin thing at PV and by the time I coordinated getting there it did not save me much at all, I was quite surprised. as often you can get a big discount that way.

 

[Dchachos]

I am thinking about booking the private van tour in Puerto Vallarta. Here is the link:
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/c...vallarta-mexico/private-vans-puerto-vallarta/

It is $349.00 I think it might be worth it. Does anyone want to share this? There can be up to 11 people on the van. I would prefer to keep the group a little smaller just so we aren't crowded on the van. I like that we can pick what we want to see and make changes based on what the group wants. There are 3 of us so if another group of 5 or 6 want to join us and split the cost that would be fantastic.

 

[designertravels]

I was looking at doing the same thing regarding the dolfin thing at PV and by the time I coordinated getting there it did not save me much at all, I was quite surprised. as often you can get a big discount that way.

I'm sure Dis is making a lot of $$ too, they probably bought all the tours in a bulk discount rate. I found the same scenario in the Bahamas as well. It seems to vary from place to place.

Jill

 

[jalismoore]

This is our first cruise ever! We are so excited..We love Disney..Well my son denies(age 13) but likes California Adventure...We are paid in full booked excursions all days at port and even some mom and dad time (as this is our Christmas Present) We hope to meet many new friends...I have did so much research to the point I think my fingers are going to fall off...But thats what I do as a mother and wife..Lol...(plan,plan, plan and prepare)....We are on Concierge Level hope we can meet new friends and have new adventures out on sea...

 

[Woodrow]

got the flight arrangements today 50 days 19hrs 7 min till the plane takes off.
no word yet on the cabin assingment. still believing for pixy dust!

 

[SanDeeKath]

This is our first cruise ever! We are so excited..We love Disney..Well my son denies(age 13) but likes California Adventure...We are paid in full booked excursions all days at port and even some mom and dad time (as this is our Christmas Present) We hope to meet many new friends...I have did so much research to the point I think my fingers are going to fall off...But thats what I do as a mother and wife..Lol...(plan,plan, plan and prepare)....We are on Concierge Level hope we can meet new friends and have new adventures out on sea...

Welcome! Your DD and my DD are the same age! We should try to get them together. My DD is very sweet and friendly and she'd love to have another girl her age. We are going to have a GREAT TIME! I did crazy research for this cruise too even though I have been on LOTS of cruises.

As a matter of fact, Carnival called me to day to tell me they upgraded my kids to a full suite for free for our Spring Break cruise! WOW! So excited.

Katherine

 

[mdlove2cruise]

Getting excited. Started shopping for the FE's. This will be my kids first disney cruise so they are getting very excited. Hopefully my DS who is 4 will not be afraid of the characters. I know we could avoid sometimes if needed but DD 6 loves the characters and can't wait to meet the pricesses. Has anyone had an issue of one child liking the characters and the other afraid.

debbie

 

[Dchachos]

Getting excited. Started shopping for the FE's. This will be my kids first disney cruise so they are getting very excited. Hopefully my DS who is 4 will not be afraid of the characters. I know we could avoid sometimes if needed but DD 6 loves the characters and can't wait to meet the pricesses. Has anyone had an issue of one child liking the characters and the other afraid.

debbie

I have 2 boys and often run into one being scared of something and the other not. In a character situation I let the one who wants to go see the character go see them. I stand a little back but close enough to be able to see and experience their joy. The one that is not scared stands back with me and they don't have to look but wait until we are done.

My oldest is a special needs child and although his body is 9 his mind is about 7His condition gives him some quirky behaviors and some unusual fears. We went to La Jolla 2 years ago and it was their first time ever seeing the beach and ocean. My youngest was hiking up and down the tide pools and looking at all the creature we could find. We were finding crabs and picking them up and having a great time. My oldest had it in his mind that a giant octopus, a large crab, or a jelly fish was going to grab him on the sand and pull him into the sand and eat him. No matter how many times I said that would never happen he wasn't having it. So I spent the entire day exploring the tide pools with a child that is 4 1/2 feet tall and 50 lbs (yes he is a string bean) hanging off my hip.

So to make a long story short, oops too late, I don't let one child fear interfere with the others joy. I just make sure I can see both kids and stand in the middle and then everyone is happy.

 

[SanDeeKath]

TGIF everyone!

50 days!!!

Katherine

 

[Woodrow]

that is only 72000 minutes but we are not counting right?

TGIF everyone!

50 days!!!

 

[SueEllen]

Looks like you all have a great group going! I'll be getting on the ship when you are getting off, so take good care of her for me

 

[SanDeeKath]

Getting excited. Started shopping for the FE's. This will be my kids first disney cruise so they are getting very excited. Hopefully my DS who is 4 will not be afraid of the characters. I know we could avoid sometimes if needed but DD 6 loves the characters and can't wait to meet the pricesses. Has anyone had an issue of one child liking the characters and the other afraid.

debbie

Both my children were afraid of characters when they were younger, but now they don't mind (and sadly, they are not into them as much either anymore). I'll never forget the time we hired "Tigger" to come to my DD's 3rd birthday party and she screamed in terror when she saw the large stuffed animal walk through the door of our home carrying birthday balloons. DOH!

Now my issue is more that my soon to be 12 year old is very social and easy going and my soon to be 7 year old is shy and more intimidated by routy kids or large crowds. My older DD wants to be at the kids club or out and about all day and my younger one wants to be with us all day. SIGH...

Katherine

 

[Brooklyn]

Our bags are packed and we are heading to DL in the morning and then off to the Wonder on Sunday! We are so excited to be sailing on the Wonder for Halloween!! After we get back it will be full Christmas Cruise planning mode! Keep those Secret Mickey sign ups coming!!!

 

[jalismoore]

Since I am new to cruising and to this forum, Can somebody shed some insight on the ME that will be taking place on the Mexican Riviera Holiday Cruise..I read a post from Brooklyn that had the form, but cannot find the "rules and regulations" so to speak..Sorry for asking but I am new as new can be. And as I said on my first post, would like to meet new people and future friends/crusing buddies for my DS13 and DD10(getting use the jargon lol) Thanks again in advance...