Diez (10) Noches Calientes en la Riviera Mexicana/17 de abril 2011 (4.17.11 Wonder!)

[True Romance]

Serious nightmare! Those poor people, I didn't even think about those who booked on their own!! I will say, on our past cruises we've typically booked our excursions independently but after this, it does make me think twice. We had made the decision a few months back, while we'd rather have the extra $$ in our pocket, because of the volatility in MX we'd only book through DCL for this trip. Hey, we planned on paying for our kids and then they did KSF so I guess ya could we do have extra $$ in our pocket after all, lol! I'm curious to read their trip reports when they return!

I have noticed a lot of the excursions you do on your own have the no port/no pay policy. So if for some reason your ship does not go into port (weather, ship malfunction, violence) you would not have to pay. Those are the ones I am looking at. However, I do think it is a nightmare for Disney to have to change the schedule for everyone and the poor people who had no notice. I know I would be scrambling.

I had kinda wished Easter was a sea day so we could be more leisurely and do an egg hunt and such. Now with that day being Cabo again, I guess we can make it leisurely and not even get off the boat if we don't want to.

Our trip on the Wonder this last weekend was very nice. Unfortunately, I did not get any news on our cruise. Guest Services did not know of the extra entertainment or anything. They said to check with Shoreside. I do know the shows they have are: The Golden Mickeys, Dreams, and Toy Story.

My husband and I did mostly adult things on the ship. We did the Cove Cafe, checked out the adult lounges, and was lucky enough to add a brunch at Palo. I do think the ship holds back a lot of reservations. We boarded the ship and then got in line at Wavebands to try and see if we could get a reservation for anything. Being we only had one sea day I thought it would be a long shot. We were maybe 15 back in line. When we got to the front I said I was wondering if they had anything available, but I preferred brunch if I had a choice. They said we can get you in at 11am and I was floored. I really thought with so many people and so few spots there would not be a chance. We enjoyed Palo and our server Alex from Russia was very nice. We each ordered a main dish and Alex said he would also bring us the Chicken Parmesan because it was so good we had to try it. I guess you can order a few entrees just to try them.

I had requested for my DH and I to dine alone in the dining rooms. We got Tritons (no dining rotation for this cruise) and we were alone until another couple joined us. They had gotten Parrot Cay and did not want that room so they switched them to our table. No problem. She was a moderator for Mouse Planet so we talked message boards and Disney of course. Our servers did not spend too much time with us because we had a very large party at the table next to us that was taking all of their time. We did not mind since it was a short cruise and was just my DH and I. I think I would have been bothered if this was a longer cruise and we got no attention.

All and all the ship was nice and it was a great weekend getaway. I was happy that my husband got to experience the ship before April. We did not do the FE on this sailing because there really was not enough time. I am super excited to do the FE and experience everything with the kids. I was so glad that we have this trip to look forward to, because I would have been so disappointed if that was it.

I don't think anyone will be disappointed with the Wonder or its staff. They were all friendly and helpful. I think going to the MR in April will be beneficial to us as it will give the crew a little time to settle into the longer sailings then they were use to. I could tell some staff was new and unsure. I think time will just make them better.

Great cruise and I am glad we went.

 

[HelenMartinez]

Wow. I'm surprised that we didn't get some sort of notice from Disney that one of the ports have been changed. Cabo is the best port on the itinerary anyway and we had the shortest time there, so this will give us more time.

We reserved Randi's Happy Horses too, but I agreed with PP - better safe than sorry.

Wow gone a week and so much has changed. It's a bummer about Randi's Happy Horses as I doubt anyone in Cabo will take a 3 year old. Of course the main thing is to be safe so I will give it up gladly.

Hello All...

I am so glad to find this forum. I am a first time cruiser and am so excited to join the Disney Cruising family. Just wanted to say hello!

I will be travelling with my DH (in our 30's), my two sons (ages 4 and 1), and my parents (age-late 60's).

Any recommendations for us? Anything would be appreciated! Any recommendations for our kids? Anyone out there with boys our age?

By the way, what is FE?

Welcome! Your first cruise - how exciting. You and your boys are going to love it. We have 2 boys ages 7 and 3 and we went on our first cruise last year. The boys loved the kids club. I'm sure yours will too.

 

[M2DD's]

Hey, we planned on paying for our kids and then they did KSF so I guess ya could we do have extra $$ in our pocket after all, lol! I'm curious to read their trip reports when they return!

Me too, Im waiting to read some reviews and hopefully someone will post some MR navigators and menus as of the extra $ from the KSF we spent our on our Airfare

kristi- Sounds like you have a wonderful 2 day cruise to nowhere

Welcome to all the new members who have join our thread

Anyone know where I can find some recent dining menus they all seem to be from 2007-2008. I haven't been able to find any from dates after that.
We were on the wonder in April 2010 and were hoping for different food/menu

 

[TNShellBelle]

to the new families!!!

-Has anyone on here heard from the "other Michelle"? We were going to link our ressies because we have little ones the same age. I pm'd her but haven't heard anything and haven't talked to her on here since before final payment was due. I hope they are still doing this cruise.

-Also, is anyone up for wearing the "Dis Green" color at port? I learned a few cruises back that lime green was the "official" color of the DisBoards. We originally planned to stay at the Double Tree the night before the cruise and meet people but that has changed. My sister lives in So. Cal so we are staying with her and won't be able to meet anyone till we get to port. Is anyone interested in wearing the dis color on the day we board so we can find each in the terminal when we are checking in? Just a thought.

 

[True Romance]

to the new families!!!

-Has anyone on here heard from the "other Michelle"? We were going to link our ressies because we have little ones the same age. I pm'd her but haven't heard anything and haven't talked to her on here since before final payment was due. I hope they are still doing this cruise.

-Also, is anyone up for wearing the "Dis Green" color at port? I learned a few cruises back that lime green was the "official" color of the DisBoards. We originally planned to stay at the Double Tree the night before the cruise and meet people but that has changed. My sister lives in So. Cal so we are staying with her and won't be able to meet anyone till we get to port. Is anyone interested in wearing the dis color on the day we board so we can find each in the terminal when we are checking in? Just a thought.

Michelle, we lost a few people around final payment time. Do you remember her screen name? Maybe that will ring a bell for me.

I would love to wear something so we can find each other at check in. For the 2 day cruise last weekend we had lime green wrist bands, they were cute and only cost us $1.50 each. However, I think I am one of the few who wore mine the whole cruise. I only found one other person at boarding. My long sleeves kept covering my wrist band. I don't know if I am brave enough to wear a lime green shirt. However I would wear our cruise logo shirt or make a button.

We are holding a room at the Doubletree, but I might drop it and try to get a better deal on Priceline. I think $189 for the night is extremely high. I have been hearing people getting the Crown Plaza for $65, which includes the parking.

 

[LV Disney Fan(atic)]

Michelle, we lost a few people around final payment time. Do you remember her screen name? Maybe that will ring a bell for me.

I would love to wear something so we can find each other at check in. For the 2 day cruise last weekend we had lime green wrist bands, they were cute and only cost us $1.50 each. However, I think I am one of the few who wore mine the whole cruise. I only found one other person at boarding. My long sleeves kept covering my wrist band. I don't know if I am brave enough to wear a lime green shirt. However I would wear our cruise logo shirt or make a button.

We are holding a room at the Doubletree, but I might drop it and try to get a better deal on Priceline. I think $189 for the night is extremely high. I have been hearing people getting the Crown Plaza for $65, which includes the parking.

Kristi, please call the CP before you make that Priceline bid. When I was going to do this last year I called them and they told me that parking was NOT included in the Priceline price but that I could use their garage for about $10/night IF they had room. I ended up just booking a cruise and park package. Of course things could have changed in the meantime. On the other hand, I called the Doubletree a few months ago and was told I could just book a room with them (not a package) and parking would still be free.

ETA: I just checked the West Coast departures board on Cruise Critic and found this thread; looks like Priceline is still room only at the CP.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1335522


I love the lime green wristband idea! I would probably do a shirt too - green or maybe one with one of our logos? But I really like the wristband idea; should be nice and warm, short sleeve weather, so we could recognize each other on board too.

 

[CWO4DVC]

I like the cruise shirt idea

 

[True Romance]

Kristi, please call the CP before you make that Priceline bid. When I was going to do this last year I called them and they told me that parking was NOT included in the Priceline price but that I could use their garage for about $10/night IF they had room. I ended up just booking a cruise and park package. Of course things could have changed in the meantime. On the other hand, I called the Doubletree a few months ago and was told I could just book a room with them (not a package) and parking would still be free.

ETA: I just checked the West Coast departures board on Cruise Critic and found this thread; looks like Priceline is still room only at the CP.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1335522


I love the lime green wristband idea! I would probably do a shirt too - green or maybe one with one of our logos? But I really like the wristband idea; should be nice and warm, short sleeve weather, so we could recognize each other on board too.

Thanks Dany for giving me the heads up on the parking at CP. I don't know what I was thinking that it was included with Priceline. I guess I will just suck up the price I am paying for the Doubletree and stick with it.

When I find my camera I will take a picture of the wrist band I got. The lady who organized them for the 2 day cruise got them at
http://24hourwristbands.com/order-custom-silicone-wristbands/
It depends on how many you order but they will be around $2 a band. I think our group ordered 100 and we paid $1.25 per band. I will organize this if you like. Once she ordered them we all paid her via paypal or sent a check or cash. We also sent her a self-addressed postage paid envelope and she mailed them back to us. I could also meet you at the port or ship and give you your band.

 

[True Romance]

Just read on Cruise Critic that it looks like all cruise lines are pulling out of Mazatlan. That just stinks for the poor people of Mazatlan. HA and Princess are rerouting to either Manzanillo or another day in Cabo and the other lines are rumored to follow suit.

On another note, here is information I got on the Tesoro Resort today from their Facebook site. Their site was in Spanish but I posted a question in English and they promptly answered me in English.

Hello Kristi, it's wonderful you are coming to Manzanillo and you want to check out our hotel. we can offer you our day-pass until 5 PM, with this day-pass you can use all our facilities, and the drinks and food are included, the rate for this day-pass is $41 Us dollars.

I asked a follow up question about kids prices. Have not heard back yet.

 

[Az Pirates]

Kristi,
I saw your post asking about Manzanillo on the main cruise board. Hopefully more folks will chime in there too.

Yes, very sad for Mazatlan.
We were on the first Disney cruise ever to stop there back in 2005 and I remember how excited the people were to welcome us to their port. Frank was even waiting on the dock with a special Tshirt for the first Dis-er to reach him. Now I just read that he will be changing jobs, and not by choice.

We're not really matchy T shirt people (traveling with a teen and a pre-teen... 'nuff said) but I think that's a fun option for folks who like them. I thought the Ohana shirts on the weekend cruise were great.

We would definitely be in for wristbands though.

I'll be watching for TR's from this first MR cruise too. I'm sure there was some scrambling for excursions going on.
That said, even though we almost always book on our own, we would never do so with anyone who didn't allow for a full refund if the ship did not make it to port for whatever reason. I think that's the norm for most companies. So hopefully no one lost money because of the last minute change.

 

[bitocas]

i love the wristbands idea.althoug i think in my case is easier to grab that in port.i'l try to convice dh to wear the shirts with the logo.

 

[TNShellBelle]

Michelle, we lost a few people around final payment time. Do you remember her screen name? Maybe that will ring a bell for me.

I would love to wear something so we can find each other at check in. For the 2 day cruise last weekend we had lime green wrist bands, they were cute and only cost us $1.50 each. However, I think I am one of the few who wore mine the whole cruise. I only found one other person at boarding. My long sleeves kept covering my wrist band. I don't know if I am brave enough to wear a lime green shirt. However I would wear our cruise logo shirt or make a button.

We are holding a room at the Doubletree, but I might drop it and try to get a better deal on Priceline. I think $189 for the night is extremely high. I have been hearing people getting the Crown Plaza for $65, which includes the parking.

Kristi- here is her screen name: michellert. I hope she is still here...we were going to link reservations b/c we both have small children. I hope we don't get stuck sitting with non- fun people now. I sent her a msg so hopefully she's still on here.

I love the wristband and t shirt logo idea! I am NOT crafty at all so can someone tell me how we can make the t shirts?

 

[TNShellBelle]

When I find my camera I will take a picture of the wrist band I got. The lady who organized them for the 2 day cruise got them at
http://24hourwristbands.com/order-custom-silicone-wristbands/
It depends on how many you order but they will be around $2 a band. I think our group ordered 100 and we paid $1.25 per band. I will organize this if you like. Once she ordered them we all paid her via paypal or sent a check or cash. We also sent her a self-addressed postage paid envelope and she mailed them back to us. I could also meet you at the port or ship and give you your band.

Sorry I didn't see this before I posted. Count me in if you order!

 

[virdis]

When I find my camera I will take a picture of the wrist band I got. The lady who organized them for the 2 day cruise got them at
http://24hourwristbands.com/order-custom-silicone-wristbands/
It depends on how many you order but they will be around $2 a band. I think our group ordered 100 and we paid $1.25 per band. I will organize this if you like. Once she ordered them we all paid her via paypal or sent a check or cash. We also sent her a self-addressed postage paid envelope and she mailed them back to us. I could also meet you at the port or ship and give you your band.

Welcome back Kristi. Count us in too! I like the wristband idea a lot. From the guy perspective, I would do the t-shirts but don't think lime green is for me.

 

[Maryh8156]

It's been AWHILE since i've been on this thread and feel like i've missed so much!!! Can someone point me in the right direction to where I would sign up for my family to be on the FE List?! This is our first cruise ever and we really want to do all that we can to immerse ourselves in the ENTIRE experience! Can't wait to meet some/all of you!!

 

[True Romance]

It's been AWHILE since i've been on this thread and feel like i've missed so much!!! Can someone point me in the right direction to where I would sign up for my family to be on the FE List?! This is our first cruise ever and we really want to do all that we can to immerse ourselves in the ENTIRE experience! Can't wait to meet some/all of you!!

Hi Mary, I will add your family to the FE list. Could you PM me your names, ages of kids under 18, and cabin # if you have it.

Actually the wrist bands came from Reminderband.com Here are a couple of pics of the one I got for the 2 day cruise. Sorry the photos are not great, I took them with my phone.

If you want to purchase wrist bands take a look at the following link at the sizes and PM me with what sizes and how many you want.
https://reminderband.com/downloads/reminderband_sizes.pdf

I will place an order by March and I think it only takes a week or so to get them.

Also, what info do we want on the bands??

 

[Jareds_mommy]

Sorry I didn't see this before I posted. Count me in if you order!

us too

 

[Maryh8156]

Hi Mary, I will add your family to the FE list. Could you PM me your names, ages of kids under 18, and cabin # if you have it.

Actually the wrist bands came from Reminderband.com Here are a couple of pics of the one I got for the 2 day cruise. Sorry the photos are not great, I took them with my phone.

If you want to purchase wrist bands take a look at the following link at the sizes and PM me with what sizes and how many you want.
https://reminderband.com/downloads/reminderband_sizes.pdf

I will place an order by March and I think it only takes a week or so to get them.

Also, what info do we want on the bands??

Kristi, thank you, you are AWESOME!! Connie told me to contact you and i was just about to when i saw your response! LOVE the wristband idea too! I'll PM you now! Thanks again!!

Mary

 

[TNShellBelle]

Just saw on the board about where a good place was to have a dis meet on board.

3:00pm Promenade Lounge on day of departure? What do you all think? It would give us a chance to have lunch and check out our rooms before the drill. Or do we already have one scheduled? But I will definitely be running around the terminal trying to find you all since I won't be at the Double Tree meet the night before.

 

[Maryh8156]

Just saw on the board about where a good place was to have a dis meet on board.

3:00pm Promenade Lounge on day of departure? What do you all think? It would give us a chance to have lunch and check out our rooms before the drill. Or do we already have one scheduled? But I will definitely be running around the terminal trying to find you all since I won't be at the Double Tree meet the night before.

We won't be at the Doubletree meet the night before either, so I think it would be great to meet on board the day of departure!

Mary