Feb 20, 2011 - Presidents' Week - Mexican Riviera

[LKFan]

Bayportkat,

Inquiring minds want to know..... Why did you change your room?

 

[silence]

I think they were giving out the patches for free at the Health Office (or whatever it is called).
This was on Saturday around 9:30 am so I'm sure they were anticipating a rough ride home.

Totally wish I had known this! I swear I thought I was going to overdoes on Drammamine. I tried the sea bands too, I don't think they helped much.

 

[talie]

The sea bands seemed to work well on me (or at least I thought they did LOL). dh used the patch the whole time. He never got the complete sea sickness that I did. He is really suffering today though. Ended up coming home from work early because of feeling disoriented and seasick.

 

[preedymtnwest]

Thanks again to Elaine for organizing the meet! I'm just sorry that I didn't think to set up another meet for later in the cruise for those of us who had talked about getting together. Once we got on, all thoughts of work and engineering and science went out the window! Note to self - next time, set up a specific time to meet again, or it won't happen!

We all had a great time and kept commenting that we didn't understand a lot of the negative reports we read ahead of time.

We also did Paradise Beach and it was okay for us. A bit too crowded at the pool (no chairs left once my youngest got tired of the surf), and I hate saying no thanks every 5 minutes to the vendors on the beach. But lunch was nice and the weather certainly cooperated.

Probably our highlight was our private van tour in Cabo. We had four hours, and our great tour guide Alex took us to a glass blowing factory (we all got to blow glass and watch the artists at work - DH and I are both Ceramic Engineers, so we were intrigued by their low tech but effective set up). The kids loved it. Then we went to the "million dollar view" restaurant at the far end of the bay for a quick drink and a sweeping view of all of Cabo on an incredible terraced patio. I felt like I was in a James Bond movie set! Then to Santa Maria bay for a quick wade into the beautiful water on a practically deserted beach. We also went to a cactus botanical garden (great photo opportunity) and a quick tour through San Jose (which is where I'll stay if I ever go back - it reminded me of a tropical version of Carmel, CA). Alex's commentary even kept the kids entertained, which is no mean feat.

We stayed on the boat the second Cabo day, so we were not the ones who kept us from leaving on time! Otherwise, we relaxed and enjoyed the martini tasting and finally got to Wavebands late night the last two nights, which was really fun - we'll get there earlier in the cruise next time!

Thanks to those of you who were so kind to leave us FE gifts, even though we weren't officially participating!

We rebooked a dummy cruise, hoping that DCL will go back to Alaska next year, but I see on another thread that not too many people are voting for that option! I'd be pretty happy with anything that leaves from the west coast or ends up at Aulani!

It was hard to get off the boat; the only thing that made it somewhat bearable is that we'll be at GVC in a little over 5 weeks, so we get another Disney fix soon. Oh, and the house has been moving today!

Everyone take care - I hope we all get to enjoy another cruise soon!

 

[samily]

Thank you to everyone for the FE gifts- the kids loved this! It was nice meeting some of you on board. We had a great cruise and didn't experience any of the negative things that we read about from previous cruises.

Lkfan - I also had to buy that 9.00 infant Advil for my nine year old son! I think mine was Thursday night though! I didn't realize the medical center sold other meds. Our sons probably played together - mine was in the lab quite a bit and always seemed to be playing Mario cart.

 

[LKFan]

Lkfan - I also had to buy that 9.00 infant Advil for my nine year old son! I think mine was Thursday night though! I didn't realize the medical center sold other meds. Our sons probably played together - mine was in the lab quite a bit and always seemed to be playing Mario cart.

Yep, my 8 year old was a Mario Kart junkie. I wonder how often they clean those controllers.

The infant Advil I bought at TK was $5.95. Still a lot considering it was only two doses. The medical office sold the 4 oz 100mg children's liquid for $8.xx.

 

[Jennifer_W]

The infant Advil I bought at TK was $5.95. Still a lot considering it was only two doses. The medical office sold the 4 oz 100mg children's liquid for $8.xx.

Shoot, wish I would've known...I brought a HUGE bag of every possible medication, and only cracked it open for the Dramamine. Well, that and Excedrin for us adults after too much celebrating...but anywhoo....

Guess I should've made (another) magnet for our door that said "Cabin 2624...come get your (over the counter) meds so you don't run the risk of getting quarantined by the medical staff."

If I ever get around to doing a TR I have a super funny story about my fear of quarantine. All I can say is it involves a 3 year old in a hot polyester Buzz Lightyear costume, some not so good pasta at dinner coupled with a questionable chocolate shake bought from a waiter hawking them before "Toy Story: the Musical", some power puking in front of the aft elevators, and an anonymous call from the house phone by his older brother disavowing any personal knowledge other than "uhhh, some kid just threw up all over by the elevators."

Well, OK, that was basically the WHOLE story. That and me feeling horrible as I snuck past the crime scene with a bag full of stench riddled laundry an hour later. I can laugh NOW. THEN, not so much.

 

[PURTYPAT1]

Shoot, wish I would've known...I brought a HUGE bag of every possible medication, and only cracked it open for the Dramamine. Well, that and Excedrin for us adults after too much celebrating...but anywhoo....

Guess I should've made (another) magnet for our door that said "Cabin 2624...come get your (over the counter) meds so you don't run the risk of getting quarantined by the medical staff."

If I ever get around to doing a TR I have a super funny story about my fear of quarantine. All I can say is it involves a 3 year old in a hot polyester Buzz Lightyear costume, some not so good pasta at dinner coupled with a questionable chocolate shake bought from a waiter hawking them before "Toy Story: the Musical", some power puking in front of the aft elevators, and an anonymous call from the house phone by his older brother disavowing any personal knowledge other than "uhhh, some kid just threw up all over by the elevators."

Well, OK, that was basically the WHOLE story. That and me feeling horrible as I snuck past the crime scene with a bag full of stench riddled laundry an hour later. I can laugh NOW. THEN, not so much.

Too funny!!! Here's hoping for a trip report

Guess I should've made (another) magnet for our door that said "Cabin 2624...come get your (over the counter) meds so you don't run the risk of getting quarantined by the medical staff." .

I thought I was the only one who packed a small pharmacy in my suitcase LOL (can't wait to tell my husband he thinks I'm nuts for packing everything, I'm not alone)

Did anyone rebook for next year

 

[Dishy24]

I made them shirts with their DCL name tag on it and a Mickey head MR itinerary on the back. My hubby wanted to know why I didn't make him one!!

Looking forward to meeting you all tomorrow at 3pm!!!

Charlene (Roland, Xander, Xayne, Xoey and Grandma Pam) aka XMom

XMom- I LOVED the shirts you made for your boys!!! They looked adorable in them... such a simple, yet creative idea! I also had a nice conversation whith your Mom (MIL?) while I was waiting in line to book a future cruise (you & hubby took forever, btw -- She was very sweet!

Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful gifts, my kids loved the FE. Thanks again Elaine for organizing it for us.

I did catch a nasty cold bug though. It hit me hard Friday after dinner. I had a fever and chills on Saturday. At least it was the last day of our trip.

Seriously-- Re: FE... On the Transatlantic we had 65 families participating YET, with only 25 families participating on THIS cruise, we ended up with AT LEAST 5X the stuff! Nice stuff, too! Very creative! I am personally holding each & every one of you responsible for the cost of having to check an EXTRA suitcase on my flight home!

As far as being sick-- I have to ask-- How many of you got sick or are now sick? I don't know if it was a case of Montezuma's Revenge picked up from drinking the water while ZIP LINING in Puerto Vallarta or not, but starting Friday my stomach was not feeling "right"... by Saturday "it" was coming out BOTH ends relentlessly-- and JUST ceased FINALLY early Monday evening. This made for QUITE AN UNPLEASENT travel day on Sunday! Meanwhile, it hit my Mom on Monday-- She got so sick so FAST that she actually passed out TWICE. The doctor thinks it was from dehydration because she "lost" so much fluids SO FAST. I am feeling almost back to normal now, but she is still really sick. I am just hoping that Gavin doesn't get it!

We're also booked for Spring Break next year as well. I think it's the week of 4/8 we tentatively booked. I went on the DCL site and it said something like "only 408 more days"!

We were booked, but I re-booked both the week of 4/14 & 4/21 on the Fantasy. We won't do both, but next years school calendar isn't set in stone yet. I actually went from a Cat 5A to a 4A & save $400 + am getting a $350 OBC because after the 1st leg of my B2B in June, we will finally be Platinum!

Does anyone have any feedback on their tours in PV and Cabo? Since we're going back, it would help us to know how your tours went. I know X Mom's family did the ziplines, and it sounded great. Anyone else?

We did the zip lines in PV, but not through Disney, I booked privately for a fraction of the cost. I would HIGHLY recommend it! Gavin & I LOVED it!!! It is probably my FAV excursion that I have EVER done! Here is the link for who I booked with:

http://puertovallartacruiseexcursions.com/CanopyZiplineMuleTour.html

 

[XMom]

XMom- I LOVED the shirts you made for your boys!!! They looked adorable in them... such a simple, yet creative idea! I also had a nice conversation whith your Mom (MIL?) while I was waiting in line to book a future cruise (you & hubby took forever, btw -- She was very sweet!

Thanks. I was surprised how easy it was to make a shirt. Sorry we took so long, it really was the CM's computer that was slow. Yes, that was my Mom. She comes on vacation with us often as my Dad passed 3 years ago. Always nice to have 3 adults vs 3 kids



As far as being sick-- I have to ask-- How many of you got sick or are now sick? I don't know if it was a case of Montezuma's Revenge picked up from drinking the water while ZIP LINING in Puerto Vallarta or not, but starting Friday my stomach was not feeling "right"... by Saturday "it" was coming out BOTH ends relentlessly-- and JUST ceased FINALLY early Monday evening. This made for QUITE AN UNPLEASENT travel day on Sunday! Meanwhile, it hit my Mom on Monday-- She got so sick so FAST that she actually passed out TWICE. The doctor thinks it was from dehydration because she "lost" so much fluids SO FAST. I am feeling almost back to normal now, but she is still really sick. I am just hoping that Gavin doesn't get it!

I came down with a weird stomach thing with only the backside problem, but was nauseaus on Friday afternoon. I didn't eat much Fri or Sat (which was actually a blessing in disguise) but finally felt better on Monday. My hubby came down with an upper respiratory virus. Super red throat but I don't think it is strep. We also travel with a portable pharmacy, so had lots of good stuff with us. He is still coughing and congested...hope he's over it soon, men don't do so well when they are sick



We did the zip lines in PV, but not through Disney, I booked privately for a fraction of the cost. I would HIGHLY recommend it! Gavin & I LOVED it!!! It is probably my FAV excursion that I have EVER done! Here is the link for who I booked with:

We did the zipline through Vallarta Adventures and had a blast. We did mulitple zip lines, wobbly bridges and ladders and 2 90 foot repels. I was a bit nervous but had a blast!!! I would definately recommend them and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Hope everyone is catching up with laundry and school. My boys are just about done with all the make-up. I know most of you had the week off, but we were rebels and took them out for 4 days. Oh well, it was worth it!!

I am attempting to set up a blog to do a trip report for my family. When I finish it I will post it here.

Stay warm!!

 

[LKFan]

No one in our family had any GI problems. Our 8 year old started sniffling late Thursday. Friday he had a post nasal drip type of cough and, by Friday night, he had a high fever. The fever lasted Friday night through Sunday night. He has a lingering cough now but is otherwise fine. He didn't have much of an appetite on Friday, Saturday or Sunday which really bothered our server. I'm sure he just caught the Mario Kart virus.

 

[Jennifer_W]

With us, it was just a case of too much rich* food that got to my 3 year old that night. He was just fine after that. On Friday or Saturday he started with runny nose. My 16yo got that and a sore throat Sunday or Monday when we got home. And I am STILL reeling from the ship! It is WEDNESDAY! What's up with that???

*I say RICH food, but really we were not overly impressed with the food this cruise, so in my mind it totally could have been BAD food just as easily.

What's everyone else's opinion on dining room food on the Wonder?

 

[Bruins]

If I ever get around to doing a TR I have a super funny story about my fear of quarantine. All I can say is it involves a 3 year old in a hot polyester Buzz Lightyear costume, some not so good pasta at dinner coupled with a questionable chocolate shake bought from a waiter hawking them before "Toy Story: the Musical", some power puking in front of the aft elevators, and an anonymous call from the house phone by his older brother disavowing any personal knowledge other than "uhhh, some kid just threw up all over by the elevators."

Well, OK, that was basically the WHOLE story. That and me feeling horrible as I snuck past the crime scene with a bag full of stench riddled laundry an hour later. I can laugh NOW. THEN, not so much.

Thanks for sharing the story... It was big news for our 11 yo and her friends. Guess they were there right after it happened, and they HAD to share with us, "Someone threw up by the elevators...EWWWWWWW!"

 

[Jennifer_W]

Thanks for sharing the story... It was big news for our 11 yo and her friends. Guess they were there right after it happened, and they HAD to share with us, "Someone threw up by the elevators...EWWWWWWW!"

Yeah, it was really quite disgusting. And aromatic. And there was quite an abundance. Tell her sorry from us.

 

[ll_california]

Hi, everyone,

We also had a great vacation on Disney Wonder.

We did DCL organized canopy adventure in PV, which was a blast. 1st day in Cabo, we took a water taxi ($10pp) to tour the Arc, Lover's Beach, Land's End, Divorce Beach, etc., then the water taxi dropped us at Medano Beach. We stayed at Mango Deck for a couple of hours, fun and relaxing. We were thinking of doing horseback riding the next day, but got up too late, so decided to stay on board.

FE exchange was so much fun! Many thanks to every one who participated and also to Elaine who organized this.

 

[DVC_Chris]

We wanted also to thank everyone for the great FE gifts. We had a blast checking ours every day to find something fun waiting for us. We also had a great time going out and delivering them and seeing how everyone had their door decorated. The one my wife loved the most was a Mickey outline with signature Cs from Coach in there, with the quote "I don't ride in a coach, I carry one". We forgot who's room it was, but she wanted me to ask where the person got it, and if they have the template for it.

We had a great time on the trip, even if the weather was not all that we were hoping for (especially our two days at DL pre-cruise). I hope to have a TR up sometime this weekend, and will post the link when I do.

 

[LKFan]

*I say RICH food, but really we were not overly impressed with the food this cruise, so in my mind it totally could have been BAD food just as easily.

What's everyone else's opinion on dining room food on the Wonder?

The food wasn't all that great but we did brunch, tea and dinner at Palo so that kept us happy three of the seven days.

We ate at Tritons a couple of times for breakfast and once for lunch and did the buffet 2-3 times. I didn't try the waffles that people seem to think tasted weird but my daughter and husband did and they didn't seem to flinch.

I'm sitting here trying to remember which dishes were good tasting and which weren't . My husband probably remembers more about the food than I do.

 

[Bruins]

We had a great time on the trip, even if the weather was not all that we were hoping for (especially our two days at DL pre-cruise). I hope to have a TR up sometime this weekend, and will post the link when I do.

Looking forward to your report.

Also, thanks for taking the time to talk to the couple about DVC. They came up to us after the galley tour and started asking us questions about DVC, and we had no clue about it.

 

[Señor DonDuck]

We were fine all throughout the cruise but my wife did start feeling the effects of a cold starting on Monday and today she is feeling miserable. I'm still feeling the movement in my head but myself and kids seem OK, otherwise.

Luckily we packed 3 suitcases and just barely fit in all the wonder FE gifts.

 

[silence]

The one my wife loved the most was a Mickey outline with signature Cs from Coach in there, with the quote "I don't ride in a coach, I carry one".

If you find this I need it! I had Mickey heads with the signature C's and DBs on my door, but I need one with that quote!