Just back from the Mexican Rivera...Any Questions?

[SuJo]

We just flew back last night from our 7-day Mexican Rivera cruise. Does anyone have any questions? We usually do the Florida cruises but since my DD's had never been to CA before we decided to try a West coast trip. We had a great time on the cruise but I do like the Caribbean better than the Rivera.

Things that were different:

The days at sea seemed colder than I expected. Especially the last two days when we were headed back to LA. You really needed pants and maybe a light jacket. I know I saw a lot sweatshirts on that day.

There were more jellyfish than I expected at some of the ports. My kids really stayed to the pools on our excursions.

There were a lot of locals coming up to us and asking us to buy stuff. It seemed more overwhelming than what we have experienced in the Bahamas.

Mazatlan just wasn't that much fun. We spoke to others who had different excursions than we did and they also didn't have a very good time. The majority opinion was that we didn't need to stop at Mazatlan.

No Castaway Cay - I have to admit I love going to Castaway Cay. Nothing like going to a private island to really relax.

And lastly we did have something going around the ship on the last 2-3 days on the boat. It got really bad on the day before we came to port. Someone said that at least 400 passengers were sick. My DH had something that kept him in our cabin all day. Luckily neither I or my DD's got it but other families that we met on the cruise had people in their group that had gotten something. Someone said they heard from a cast member that the flu was going around either Matazlan or PV and that we brought it back on board.

We really enjoyed the crew on the ship, they really went out of their way to make this trip special. The girls go to make a lot of new friends and spent most of their time in the kids clubs. This allowed my DH and I to really have some time to ourselves. We met a lot of really great Dis board members and their families.

I can't wait to go on our next Disney Cruise .

Susan

 

[andriade]

We just flew back last night from our 7-day Mexican Rivera cruise. Does anyone have any questions? We usually do the Florida cruises but since my DD's had never been to CA before we decided to try a West coast trip. We had a great time on the cruise but I do like the Caribbean better than the Rivera.

Things that were different:

The days at sea seemed colder than I expected. Especially the last two days when we were headed back to LA. You really needed pants and maybe a light jacket. I know I saw a lot sweatshirts on that day.

There were more jellyfish than I expected at some of the ports. My kids really stayed to the pools on our excursions.

There were a lot of locals coming up to us and asking us to buy stuff. It seemed more overwhelming than what we have experienced in the Bahamas.

Mazatlan just wasn't that much fun. We spoke to others who had different excursions than we did and they also didn't have a very good time. The majority opinion was that we didn't need to stop at Mazatlan.

No Castaway Cay - I have to admit I love going to Castaway Cay. Nothing like going to a private island to really relax.

And lastly we did have something going around the ship on the last 2-3 days on the boat. It got really bad on the day before we came to port. Someone said that at least 400 passengers were sick. My DH had something that kept him in our cabin all day. Luckily neither I or my DD's got it but other families that we met on the cruise had people in their group that had gotten something. Someone said they heard from a cast member that the flu was going around either Matazlan or PV and that we brought it back on board.

We really enjoyed the crew on the ship, they really went out of their way to make this trip special. The girls go to make a lot of new friends and spent most of their time in the kids clubs. This allowed my DH and I to really have some time to ourselves. We met a lot of really great Dis board members and their families.

I can't wait to go on our next Disney Cruise .

Susan

Thanks for posting! Can you share which excursions you did? What are you kids' ages?

Thanks a lot!

 

[DMMarla07860]

I think I got sick, well maybe not but I know my voice has been bothering me like the day after a concert and I have been coughing.

 

[munchkinsmom]

No wonder they switched to a more stringent procedure for distribution of food. We were on this cruise as well. While we weren't sick on board, DH is now up in our bedroom sleeping off something. It looks like he may have caught whatever was on board. DS is also recovering from a cough he caught the day before we disembarked. We ran into someone from the Medical staff as we were going up the elevator on the last day and the staff member said that there were quite a few passengers who were not feeling well. Didn't realize there were so many!

 

[disfrog]

So. Cal has been a bit cooler than usual this summer. We are enjoying it. Nice to hear we might encounter some of the same out on the sea. We will have to be extra dilligent on the handwashing....

26 days and counting until we board for the EB Panama Canal trip

 

[Deb T.]

We just flew back last night from our 7-day Mexican Rivera cruise. Does anyone have any questions? We usually do the Florida cruises but since my DD's had never been to CA before we decided to try a West coast trip. We had a great time on the cruise but I do like the Caribbean better than the Rivera.

Things that were different:

The days at sea seemed colder than I expected. Especially the last two days when we were headed back to LA. You really needed pants and maybe a light jacket. I know I saw a lot sweatshirts on that day.

There were more jellyfish than I expected at some of the ports. My kids really stayed to the pools on our excursions.

There were a lot of locals coming up to us and asking us to buy stuff. It seemed more overwhelming than what we have experienced in the Bahamas.

Mazatlan just wasn't that much fun. We spoke to others who had different excursions than we did and they also didn't have a very good time. The majority opinion was that we didn't need to stop at Mazatlan.

No Castaway Cay - I have to admit I love going to Castaway Cay. Nothing like going to a private island to really relax.

And lastly we did have something going around the ship on the last 2-3 days on the boat. It got really bad on the day before we came to port. Someone said that at least 400 passengers were sick. My DH had something that kept him in our cabin all day. Luckily neither I or my DD's got it but other families that we met on the cruise had people in their group that had gotten something. Someone said they heard from a cast member that the flu was going around either Matazlan or PV and that we brought it back on board.

We really enjoyed the crew on the ship, they really went out of their way to make this trip special. The girls go to make a lot of new friends and spent most of their time in the kids clubs. This allowed my DH and I to really have some time to ourselves. We met a lot of really great Dis board members and their families.

I can't wait to go on our next Disney Cruise .

Susan

We were on this same sailing!

I figured that there must have been a high percentage of ill passengers on our ship when the buffets, 24-hour drink station, and ice cream station all became "no touch" zones for guests Thursday morning (Puerto Vallarta day). CMs were posted everywhere to serve, pour, and scoop. This was my 7th DCL cruise and the first time I ever experienced this. The drink station is where I felt the most inconvenienced because there was always a long line of people waiting for the one cm assigned there to dispense drinks. The worst part about the drink station "lockdown" for me, being a "southern girl", was that making true sweet tea is a process requiring several steps over five minutes' time and I didn't feel I could inconvenience the cm (or the other passengers waiting in line) to ask him to follow my directions, so I went without for the rest of the cruise.

I felt queasy Friday night, but I'm sure it was more from something I ate as opposed to any kind of virus. Our "Hike to the Lighthouse" in Mazatlan was canceled due to a low number of guests signed up for that excursion, so we did not get off at that port and therefore I definitely couldn't have picked up a bug there. I didn't get off the ship at PV, either. Plus, I'm already a compulsive hand washer, so I think it would have been nearly impossible for me to contract a virus.

I'll ditto the sea days weather as being cold and cloudy. Sad way to end a cruise. DD25 had been looking forward to lounging around the pool on those last two days, but was bundled up in a hoodie and jeans looking for things to do inside instead. The captain said the sailing before us is the only one so far to have had nice sea days.

Speaking of weather, sadly, Pirate Night was a bust due to heavy rain. They did shoot off the fireworks the next night, but without doing the Pirate Show so it just wasn't the same experience. I doubt that new cruisers knew what they missed, but we sure did.

DH and DD did the Outdoor Adventure in PV and LOVED it! It is highly adventurous, with a LOT of zip lines and rappelling! At times, they were in water up to their necks! The least favorite part of the excursion was riding the mules. But, they said to tell everyone on the boards what a wonderful time they had! Not being the outdoorsy type, I was enjoying a Well Being Massage while they were out on their most excellent adventure.

We also missed Castaway Cay.

Otherwise, it was a wonderful time. We have two more cruises booked!

 

[ktnryansmom]

wow, sorry to hear about the weather. We leave Sunday and hope they scrub the ship

Can you tell me what the attire was like at dinner in the dining room?

 

[SuJo]

For the past two days my throat has been dry/sore so I think I got something. My DD14 has also been coughing a little. Hopefully it will pass soon, I hate being sick in the summer.

I have two DDs and they are 10 and 14.

As for the excursions we took:

Cabo - Cabo Resort Pool Getaway - We were originally scheduled to do Nikki Beach Escape but I had been reading some things on the board about how it is a big hang out place for 20 somethings and was worried it may be to crowded (I know that a lot of the crew went there if they had the day off). We switched to Cabo Resort Pool Getaway and it was great. They took us to the Finisterra Resort which is just across the highway from the port. They had the whole lower pool at the resort blocked off for us and the pool was huge. You couldn't go in the ocean because we were on the Pacific side (strong currents) but you could walk along the beach and it was beautiful (and no one was around trying to sell you anything). There weren't a lot of people signed up for this excursion so we had a lot of space and it was only for Disney guests. They had a Mexican buffet for us (with Hamburgers and french fries for the kids) and brought out two pinatas for the kids. They had a craft station setup so that kids could go paint a ceramic tile. We got two drink tickets per person so the adults could have beer or Margaritas. I really enjoyed this excursion because it was just so relaxing and there was hardly anyone there.

Mazatlan - The Best of Mazatlan - This is the one that I would have done differently. You are put on buses and driven down very busy/tiny streets to the center of the city to see the Cathedral. You are let out for a while to take pictures and the tour guide tells you about the church. There are a lot of tour buses at this location from other ships and from local tour companies and it is in a busy party of the city. After 15 minutes you get back on the bus (which was hard because the buses had to move due to the congestion on the street) and head over to the cliff divers. The cliff divers actually dive off old battery ramparts left from where they had used cannons protect the city. When a tour bus pulls up and the people get out, one of the divers walks up to the "cliff" and dives into the water. It is pretty cool but then the other divers ask for donations because they don't get paid by the tour companies to dive. Also, there are a lot of street vendors in this area. Then you get back on the bus and head over to a resort where they have a Mexican buffet and a show. There were a lot of people who showed up for the buffet and show from other cruises. It was pretty crowded. The food was OK, you get two drink tickets again and I had a beer. I didn't stay for the show because my DD10 wanted to go swimming. We headed up to the pool that was pretty small compared to the day before and was pretty crowded from guests staying at the resort. We found a chair and hung out till we had to leave. You could go to the beach but the white flag was out which meant jellyfish were in the water. There were a lot of people in the water but neither I nor my DD wanted to risk getting stung. Also, there were a ton of vendors selling their wares on the beach. You couldn't get from the hotel to the water without getting approached by at least 3 vendors (and that is while you are in a bathing suit with no $$$).

Puerto Vallarta - Paradise Beach Adventure - This was a very popular excursion, they had 8 buses taking guest over to the resort. But the good thing was, the resort we went to was huge. They had a ton of chairs out on the beach and an area blocked off specifically for Disney Cruise guests. There was plenty of room. There were two pools and they were both pretty good sized pools. They each had two slides that looked like alligators. At the beach the waves were really good and you could check out a boogie board for free. They had a buffet lunch for us and again, that was pretty good, and we got two drink coupons. The kids loved playing in the waves and my DD10 loved to ride the boogie board. There were only a few vendors that came around, nothing like the day before. They had showers for us to use if we needed them and they had nice restrooms. There were a lot of people at this resort but you didn't feel crowded.

Susan

 

[SuJo]

It varied depending on the night. On most nights I just wore black pants with a nice top. Guys would wear khaki's with a nice shirt. On formal night some men had tux's others had suits and the ladies wore nice dresses (some were long, some were short). My DH wore a nice suit. On semi formal night they guys wore suits and the ladies were in dresses. My kids wore capri's most of the time and dresses on the dressy nights. There weren't any shorts or t-shirts. On pirate night some people went all out and others just let their kids dress up in costumes. I wore a pirate shirt and capri's. Nothing to fancy.

Susan

wow, sorry to hear about the weather. We leave Sunday and hope they scrub the ship

Can you tell me what the attire was like at dinner in the dining room?

 

[munchkinsmom]

Can you tell me what the attire was like at dinner in the dining room?

This is our second trip w/ DCL. The first one was last April for an Eastern Caribbean trip. DH and I thought that people were more dressed up for this cruise during the Formal and Semi-Formal nights than our cruise last year, but that was only our observation. We did see a guy come into our dining room during Formal Night dressed in flipflops, shorts and a casual t-shirt, so I guess people wear whatever they want, LOL!

It was fun seeing everyone dressed in their finest on Formal and Semi-Formal Nights and it made the evenings feel more "special." During Casual Night, there was a wide range of what was considered "casual." People were in button-up shirts/polo shirts, dockers, nice jeans, dresses, and shirts/pants. During Pirate Night, some dressed up as pirates (that was fun to see!) and others had Pirate-themed clothing, but mostly it was casual wear.

 

[Deb T.]

wow, sorry to hear about the weather. We leave Sunday and hope they scrub the ship

Can you tell me what the attire was like at dinner in the dining room?

They were constantly scrubbing the ship, especially on the last three days! So much that once, when one of our 6yo great-nephews was walking along one of the railings he said, "it smells like chlorine!"

We saw a little bit if everything in the dining rooms. We really like the "cruise casual" dinners because it doesn't take as much time to get ready for those nights as the formal and semi-formal nights do. 14 of the 16 in our group dressed in full pirate gear for Pirate Night and had a blast doing so! We had a lot compliments from other guests! The funniest comment we heard happened as the 9 adults in our group were leaving Diversions where we'd met for pre-dinner cocktails. We were headed up the stairs to get the kids from the Oceaneer's Club for dinner when we overheard guests waiting for an elevator comment about how the Pirate Night show must be getting ready to start because pirates were coming out of the woodwork! It was clear that they thought we were part of the show!!! Of course, I took it as the highest compliment!!! arrrrrgh!

 

[califchris]

We were on the same cruise, but I never heard anything about anyone being sick (although we never asked anyone either). I assumed there was something going on since the drink station and buffets has staff serving us, but did not hear anything about why.

I woke up with an ear ache and sore throat this morning, but I don't attribute it to being on the boat. Every time I vacation somewhere that is super hot or humid, I get ear infections. My doctor said it's because of sweating or moist air (kind of gross, huh?). But the rest of my family is fine.

We had such a good time, but I'm totally sad to be home today.

Our excursions were great. We did the Salsa & Salsa in Mazatlan and it was really fun. We learned several different salsa recipes as well as a good margarita recipe. Unfortunately I miss placed my recipe so if anyone has one, could you PM me the recipes? Pretty please???

We did the zipline in Puerto Vallarta and that was awesome. But I do have 4 million bug bites on my legs, but it didn't take any of the fun away.

In Cabo we just wandered around and had some drinks, tacos, and shopped. Our friends who were on the cruise with us had never been to Cabo and wanted us to show them around (we go every year to our timeshare). It was pretty funny that as many times as we've been there, we discovered new things and places. We found "Cabo's best" margaritas at a bar called the Monkey Bar. We teased the bar tender that he must have made the certificate himself (but they were outstanding margaritas).

Overall the trip was wonderful. The cruise staff was great (Nat kept calling my husband Tarzan since he did a tarzan yell at bingo once), the food was much better than before. My daughter and her friend made a bunch of friends at Ocean Quest and they hung out together all night.

But now we are back to reality...

 

[DMMarla07860]

The Cruise Staff was some of the best this cruise. I really loved getting to know some of them in Rockin' Bar D at night. I talked to David, DJ Mike, and Luke the most, greay bunch of guys. My servers Ana and Mikey were the best ones we had out of 5 cruises. I miss them all

 

[cryssi]

we were on the boat a few weeks ago and came home with colds. I had a sore throat the last day, and DH was really tired. The whole week we got back we were sick.

 

[SuJo]

So that was your husband doing the Tarzan yell , we heard him, he was good. I really enjoyed Bingo and doing the B11 dances. I also thought more people were really dressed up on this cruise. The families at our table went all out for Pirate night as well. Next time we cruise I am going to have to look into costumes for the entire family not just the kids, arrrgggghhhh .

It is hard to be back home, I checked my watch last night as we were on our flight home and thinking that dinner would be ending, they would be getting ready for the first show and then the Match Your Mate game would be on later. I don't think I am ready to go back to work .

Susan

 

[Crazycoach23]

It is true that there was a flu outbreak on the ship. I spoke to Lloyd, the Hotel Manager on the ship and he said that there was a "spike" in flu outbreaks so they had to close down the self -service stations. The lines were definitely a bummer. It would have been nice if they would have allowed us to go to the bars to get our complimentary sodas to ease the line at the beverage station. My wife woke up really sick early Saturday morning and was told to stay in our room for the rest of the trip. They gave her some antibiotics. She is feeling better now, although one of my daughters woke up early this morning with an upset stomach. I hope it stops there. They said it takes 2 days to develop. All in all, we had a GREAT trip. We did the Palo brunch for our first time and absolutely loved it. Our server was Sylvester. We also had him for our Palo dinner. He made our experience that much better. I was a bit concerned about the Ocean Quest and my DD 11. They did inform us the first night that they could page us but could not force her to wait for us to come and get her. It worked out great!! She would page us to tell us where she was going and she never let us down. We eventually just let her come and go as she pleased. That was nice. The fireworks show getting rained out did suck, but, as usual, Disney the best of the situation and threw one heck of an indoor dance party!! I could go on forever so if anyone wants anymore info or suggestions, feel free to ask.

 

[objetty]

We did the zipline in Puerto Vallarta and that was awesome. But I do have 4 million bug bites on my legs, but it didn't take any of the fun away.

QUOTE]

I saw another cruiser who went on the zipline in PV with many bug bites on her legs. She said she enjoyed it also anyway.

We did the "Outdoor Adventure" which is a different excursion. I think the other zipline is called the "Canopy Adventure". The Outdoor Adventure was absolutely spectacular and we're considering going back to PV on a future trip just to do it again. No bug bites seen or reported. Safety was clearly the highest priority based upon the excellent equipment they use and the guides' experience/knowledge. The guides, except, ironically, one named Angel, were very spirited and funny and generated an exciting atmosphere. Angel was grumpy but competent.

Synopsis:

Off the "Magic" and onto a speed boat (not a bus) along the amazing coastline to the rivermouth for about 30 mins. Get into a "Unimog" (large Mercedes troop transporter) most of the way up the Sierra Madre mountain range for about 20 mins. Mule ride up steep terrain and through the jungle/forest for 20 mins. Short hike to the top zipline. Multiple ziplines back and forth over the river, through the jungle, and multiple waterfalls. Repelling along side a waterfall into the pool below. Free repelling into another pool. Zipline into a pool. Final zipline is a looong double line and you race someone. Some jungle rope bridges and short hike back to base camp. Unimog back to rivermouth (with optional stop at tequila distillery) and back onto the speed boat back to ship. Back at 4:30 with time to get ready for 5:30 casual dinner.

Tips:

Wear light clothes which won't hold much or will repel water. You get completely wet. Jeans shorts will chafe. I wore board shorts and a thick t-shirt. I wish I had on a lighter t-shirt. Reef shoes or river sandals a better than tennis shoes or hiking shoes. The guides all wear reef shoes.

Bring a change of clothes. They have clean bathrooms (by a guy's standards) and you can change there when you are done.

Bring some protein bars or granola bars or something pre-packaged to eat(you can not take sandwiches, etc off at any of the ports) when you are finished. Disney (or the tour owners) really blew it on this one. You gather on the ship at 10am and you finish the adventure at after 3pm. The "snack" reported in the excursion book is a free apple or chips and salsa. After a day of light to moderate exercise and adrenaline rushes with no lunch, apples and chips just don't cut it.

My sister (margarita snob) said the margaritas at the shack/open air restaurant at the rivermouth were spectacular.

Peddlers at the shack were unobtrusive and polite. Not many and they responded in kind with a polite "No, thank you".

As an overall reference, my sister and her husband have done ziplines in Kauai and Costa Rica and said this tour was by far a better experience. This was my first experience and was obviously blown away by it.

Final tip. Go on this tour.

 

[jdstr]

I was on this cruise too with my family. It was Norovirus. I had it so bad that I needed bags of IV fluid and my arms are a MESS from them blowing the veins. I had a shot in my rear for nausea, and was so weak I needed a wheelchair to get to the health center. My husband and son also got it, and we were quarantined. It is confirmed that it came from the restaurant Cabo Wabo in Cabo San Lucas.

I have NEVER been so sick in my life, and I will NEVER go back to Mexico. Not like we ate in a dive - that restaurant is very "Americanized" and owned by Sammy Hagar.

So disappointed. We booked the cruise a year and a half ago, dropped a ton of money, and missed a full half of it.

 

[jdstr]

We did the Palo brunch for our first time and absolutely loved it. Our server was Sylvester.

We had Sylvester too for the brunch! He was great! The Palo brunch was amazing. Sadly we missed our Palo dinner because we were still quarantined...

 

[DMMarla07860]

I was on this cruise too with my family. It was Norovirus. I had it so bad that I needed bags of IV fluid and my arms are a MESS from them blowing the veins. I had a shot in my rear for nausea, and was so weak I needed a wheelchair to get to the health center. My husband and son also got it, and we were quarantined. It is confirmed that it came from the restaurant Cabo Wabo in Cabo San Lucas.

I have NEVER been so sick in my life, and I will NEVER go back to Mexico. Not like we ate in a dive - that restaurant is very "Americanized" and owned by Sammy Hagar.

So disappointed. We booked the cruise a year and a half ago, dropped a ton of money, and missed a full half of it.

sorry you got sick. I got a sore throat on the last day of sea, but I figured it prob was just from staying up till 4:00am and waking up at 8:00am. but guess not since my it still hurts as I am typing this