Make Sure You Get My Shake in the Pic *~* A Lavenous SWDAS Trip Report *~*3/4/17*~*

[franandaj]

I love those dresses from Her Universe. I couldn't close them on top so I didn't buy them. I did get the light saber skirt and just this month I was able to close it around my waist. I still can't sit or eat comfortably but I hope by my Fantasy cruise in February I will fit into it!

I can't wait to see Aladdin now that it's gone from DCA!

Those after show snacks sound great, were they normally served or just for Super bowl Sunday?

 

[bcwife76]

Oh my gosh, those dresses are super cute! I'm going to check out Her Universe for our upcoming SWDAS cruise!

So....much.....yummy......food.....it's amazing we don't all just roll around the ships every day

Why do people find it necessary to comment, esp 'mean' comments (ie. guys in line for Princess photos). This is a DISNEY cruise, you don't have to be a GIRL to enjoy a photo op with princesses!

Loving your report, can't wait for more

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

I love those dresses from Her Universe. I couldn't close them on top so I didn't buy them. I did get the light saber skirt and just thus month I was able to close it around my waist. I still can't sit or eat comfortably but I hope by my Fantasy cruise in February I will fit into it!

I can't wait to see Aladdin now that it's gone from DCA!

Those after show snacks sound great, were they normally served or just for Super bowl Sunday?

I LOVE that light saber skirt! Zoe actually brought that as well but she didn't end up wearing it but she did wear the glow in the dark Star Wars tee that goes with it it's one of her favorite tshirts. That skirt is absolutely gorgeous!!! I wish I had it in my size I love the material it's made out of. That's awesome that you were able to fit into it and I know you will meet your goal for the February Cruise There are soooo many cute dresses from Her Universe - I would like one of each!

Aladdin is my favorite show that we've seen on any of the cruises and the girl's favorite as well. The Genie really makes it - he's an amazing character and I love the music and the scenery it's awesome! I hope you enjoy it!

They usually have at least one special throughout the day at Flo's but I think these were out a little later than normal for Super Bowl Sunday. I'll have to check it out a little more this next cruise to see what the timing of the food offerings is. But the pizza and things like sandwiches, fries etc. are always open pretty late at Flo's.

Oh my gosh, those dresses are super cute! I'm going to check out Her Universe for our upcoming SWDAS cruise!

So....much.....yummy......food.....it's amazing we don't all just roll around the ships every day

Why do people find it necessary to comment, esp 'mean' comments (ie. guys in line for Princess photos). This is a DISNEY cruise, you don't have to be a GIRL to enjoy a photo op with princesses!

Loving your report, can't wait for more

Thanks for the compliments on the dresses! There are SO many cute things on Her Universe you should definitely check it out I could go nuts on that site lol!

Everytime I do a trip report I am amazed at the amount of food I manage to put away when I look back on the pictures. It's all in the name of trip report "research" of course!

I totally agree about the "mean" people - I was kind of surprised to run into that on a Disney cruise! I guess there's "one in every crowd" One of the best memories I have at Walt Disney World was my 2 sons when they were teenagers getting fought over by Cinderella's stepsisters and Lady Tremaine while we were having pictures taken. It was hilarious!

Thanks for reading along

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~*Breakfast*~*​

The Captain had announced that we would be getting into port about an hour late which was nice because we didn't need to rush and were able to take our time in the morning. We were up at 6:45 that morning. We spent a little time on the verandah checking to see if we could see the shore yet.

Before we made our way through an empty Deck 11 on our way to Cabana's for breakfast

Zoe pretty much has the same exact breakfast every time we are on a cruise - strawberry pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, and orange juice

Andy had eggs with a croissant and sausage

Piper's plate - I think she likes the whipped creme

I'm not sure who's food this was but I am guessing Andy's

This was my plate - Hash, 2 pastries, and a chocolate milk. That's a well balanced meal, right?

After we finished our breakfast we went up to the top deck to take pictures and watch as we pulled into port

The deck still seemed to be empty - I'm guessing a lot of people were planning on disembarking the ship in Cozumel

We could see other cruise ships off in the distance

Funnelvision was playing Sleeping Beauty. Piper's favorite princess has always been Aurora. When she was little she wore her Aurora princess gown and wig that she got at Disney EVERYWHERE. The best was when she would wear it to her big brother's soccer games - everyone got a kick out of that one

Because there was still time to enjoy the ship we wound up playing another round of Mid ship detective agency

We grabbed our clues

You take the smaller paper and you have to hold it in the air in front of the screen and get the badge to line up with the outline on the screen

You will get a clue at each spot which will help you solve the mystery

Next up - time to disembark and discover Cozumel!

 

[franandaj]

I'm going to have to put in time to do the Midship detective agency on our cruise! Sounds like fun!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

I'm going to have to put in time to do the Midship detective agency on our cruise! Sounds like fun!

It's fun and I like that you can do it a little bit at a time and just pick up where you left off when you are ready!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Cozumel *~*​

For our first trip to Cozumel, we had decided that we would like to spend the day at the beach. After spending quite a bit of time researching popular things to do in Cozumel and comparing the excursions offered through DCL we had decided to venture out on our own and take a taxi to Mr. Sanchos beach club. We figured for one price we could have unlimited food and beverages as well as chairs, pool access, etc. It seemed like it would be nice not to have to worry about renting chairs, etc. like we had encountered on previous cruises at other locations. We walked off the ship to make our way to the taxi location.

Disney crew was hard at work cleaning the ship when we walked by. They really do keep it looking beautiful.

If you were interested there was a bike you could take down the pier that was tip based only

I love how it says "Welcome Home"

As we made our way down the pier I snapped several pictures of the boats in the area

But nothing compared to this! We will see you soon Disney Fantasy!

Piper was toting a bag with all of our stuff for the beach and Zoe was using the walk as an opportunity to connect with her friends at home on her cell.

In order to get to the taxi pick up area you do have to make your way up an escalator, walk a ways, and then back down to ground level

I took quite a few more pics along the way - hope you don't mind so many photos!

You have to walk through the shopping mall type area to the taxi stand. conveniently!

We explored the shopping area after spending the day at the beach so more on this later!

It was very easy and organized grabbing a taxi. The fare was $18 for the 4 of us each way. All of the fares are listed so you know clearly up front what you will be paying.

There are quite a few taxis waiting of various sizes

The ride to Mr. Sanchos is about 15 minutes. I didn't really take many pictures along the way because it really looks like any other highway and you really can't see much.

When we arrived at Mr. Sanchos I had our confirmation email and we quickly were welcomed to the club, paid our balance due (you pay only a deposit upon booking), and were inside in no time.

Right near the entrance is a pool with a swim up bar which looked very inviting and was completely empty!

We kept going following our server who took us to find a nice spot along the beach as we knew that was where we wanted to be

We have an early morning soccer game for Zoe so I will be finishing our day in Cozumel tomorrow - stay tuned!

 

[Rabb it]

Great read! Can't wait for more

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Mr. Sanchos Beach Club *~*​

I dug out the original confirmation email from our day at the beach club in case it helps anyone out with their planning. I reserved through ShoreExcursioneer dot com. This total price includes an extra fee for the inflatables which is the "4 water park tickets" mentioned below so it could definitely be done cheaper if you don't add that on but overall we didn't think it was a bad price for 4 people for the day with everything included.

Mr. Sanchos Beach All Inclusive Day Pass Cozumel
Date: Feb/08/2016
Time: At leisure from 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM.
2 Adults (18 years and over)
1 Teenagers (13 to 17 years)
1 Children (4 to 12 years)
4 Water Park Tickets
Sum: $ 222.80
Discount: $ 0.00
Deposit Billed: $ 27.80
Balance Due: $ 195.00

There are nice loungers with umbrellas by the pool

And a large covered seating area across from the bar/pool area

I thought the swing "seats" were pretty cool by the bar

Our server was Manuel. Once he got us settled in he immediately took our drink orders He was very attentive throughout the day without "hovering".

We had pretty much the entire place to ourselves at this point. There were tons of loungers ready for guests but it never got crowded here at all the day we went.

This is a sad little picture but it looks to be the only pic I took of our drinks - I believe we both got pina coladas

The girls waded in the water which was very pretty while we sat on loungers enjoying our drinks. They both had smoothies as well.

The inflatable water toy area was close by

I wandered around a little bit just to check out everything. There were snacks in the seating area like nachos, etc. and a few cute little shops where you could pick up souvenirs

Zoe and Piper had their heart set on one of the activities available at Mr. Sanchos so we inquired about horse back riding and were happy to find out that it was available any time. We decided we might as well have them go right away. It was $30 per person for 30 minutes. You could ride for longer but we figured that would be enough in case they didn't enjoy it. Andy and I decided to wait for the girls and not join them on the ride.

There is a little stable area with several horses that you can choose from. Zoe and Piper ended up choosing "Womanizer" and "Bandito". They were both very gentle horses.

This was one of the points on the trip when I was really wishing we had the go pro. I would've loved to have the girls wear it to video their ride.

They helped the girls get onto their horses

And then they were off on their adventure!

See you soon girls!

 

[bcwife76]

Great pics! We love Mexico, have travelled several times but Cozumel is one part we haven't made it to (yet!) Your excursion choice is exactly what we would choose!

Love that they offer horseback riding, very cool excursion for your girls!

 

[franandaj]

Interesting to know that there are set fares to the popular spots on the island. Last time in Cozumel we thought about going to Chakanaab, but decided just to check out the shopping center and buy Tequila. This was before the new alcohol ruling.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Great pics! We love Mexico, have travelled several times but Cozumel is one part we haven't made it to (yet!) Your excursion choice is exactly what we would choose!

Love that they offer horseback riding, very cool excursion for your girls!

Thank you! It really was a great day, the girls LOVED it!

Interesting to know that there are set fares to the popular spots on the island. Last time in Cozumel we thought about going to Chakanaab, but decided just to check out the shopping center and buy Tequila. This was before the new alcohol ruling.

I definitely like that you know ahead of time for sure how much it will cost so there are no surprises Loved the old alcohol policy! The only liquid we could buy in the shopping center this trip was vanilla

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Bandito & Womanizer *~* ​

We knew we had at least a half hour before the girls would come back from their ride so we explored the beach club a bit more.

Here are a few of the pics that I took near the entrance as I didn't take any on the way in

There are lockers available for a fee - I don't recall how much they were as we didn't use them

After a bit we started making our way down the beach front as they horse ride first goes through the path in the "jungle" and then goes along the ocean at the end. I wanted to make sure I was able to get a few pics of that when they arrived.

There are motorized water vehicles available to rent

Here they come!

Brace yourself for a whole lotta horse pics

Piper's horse decided to stop for a moment so the guide went back to round them up

And then they were off again. We all headed back to the stables to meet up and enjoy the rest of our day.

Overall impression? The girls absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED it!

They still have not stopped talking about this. They went on and on about seeing all kinds of animals in the jungle including big iguanas and they adored the horses. I am so happy they got to experience this! Their guide was great and when we signed the girls up for the ride they mentioned that if we were happy with the tour the guide could accept tips. We had made sure the girls had cash on them give to their guide and it was well worth it.

I would not hesitate to let them do this again in the future. When we were planning our next cruise for this November which includes a stop at Cozumel this was the first thing they asked if we could do again. We are trying Nachi Cocum this trip so we won't be returning yet but when we do I am sure they will want to go horseback riding again.

Zoe and Piper decided to go play on the water toys for a little bit before we had lunch. Andy and I didn't try them out until later in the day. You have a certain color wristband that shows the workers that you have access to the water toy area. They did check for these and life jackets are available if needed.

 

[Rabb it]

Cozumel sounds awesome!

 

[bcwife76]

Yep, definitely a perfect choice for your girls!!! Looks like an awesome spot all around

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Cozumel sounds awesome!

Thanks it really was! I was looking at pics of Cozumel today and thinking about how I can't wait to go back! It was so fun and just beautiful!

Yep, definitely a perfect choice for your girls!!! Looks like an awesome spot all around

Zoe and Piper were so happy! Bit of a spoiler but the only thing Zoe asked me to buy her the entire trip was a photo of the 4 of us that they took at Mr. Sanchos in a cute little frame. She has it on her dresser now. Melted my heart that she wanted it so badly. It was just a very special day and a great spot! I don't think they will ever forget it. Thanks for reading along

 

[NYCMommy]

That looks great! We did Nachi Cocum on our Wonder Cruise in Feb 2015. We had a great time...very relaxing and quiet and no scenery, and delicious food!

 

[JennyK822]

Following! We've booked the SWDS western Caribbean cruise in early March 2017. This is our first cruise and will be a little different from yours because our boys are young (6 and 15 months), but I'm loving the tips so far! I've also had a few laugh out loud moments!

 

[nearlyfallinstar]

Looking forward to the rest of your TR! It's been really hard reading it since all three of my girls are surrounding me and talking about our upcoming WC cruise. There is a lot of excitement around me while reading! lol.

 

[lillygator]

catching up