May 28, 2005 Mexican Riviera

[suesings]

Wow! We are under a hundred days and counting!!

Now I just need to get that last 10 lbs. off!!! That is 1 lbs. every -10 days!! I'd better get to it!!

How was the Wonder? Did you get good weather!! You lucky dog going on two cruises only a few months apart!!!


Sue

 

[poconoboatniks]

Hi Sue,

The weather was great! It was in the high 70's in Nassau and Castaway Cay. We've never been on the Wonder before and found it to be just as enjoyable as the Magic. However, we did miss those last 3 nights. I'm not complaining. We came home to ice and snow on Thurs. night and it snowed again last night. UGH! Calif. here we come!

Pocono

 

[poconoboatniks]

bump

 

[suesings]

Hi,
Ssnyder, did you book the Canopy trip in Puerta Vallarta already? Are you going to book thru Disney or on your own?

Thanks, Sue

 

[ssnyder]

Hi,
Ssnyder, did you book the Canopy trip in Puerta Vallarta already? Are you going to book thru Disney or on your own?

Thanks, Sue

I'm going to book this one through Disney. I just did my final payment for the cruise and I'm waiting for the 90 day mark (February 27th) to book the excursions. I'm also going to book the kayaking trip in Cabo through Disney.

 

[suesings]

Did you purchase the cruise through Disney? We went through Costco Travel. I wonder if we have to order excursions through Costco Travel or do we can we call Disney? It seems like it would have been easier to book through Disney but Costco was $300 cheaper (which is a lot). I would love to be able to look our reservation up on Disney website but we can't since we booked through Costco.

I think we will just go into town in Cabo or maybe do the Finsterra Hotel day since we have the two little ones, kayaking is out. Although it sounds great!! Does anyone know if there is any DIS member events planned on our cruise?

Thanks,
Sue, DH Mark,+ 2 DD

 

[wmjivey]

I have been talking with Mazatlan Frank regarding a tour for my family while we are in Mazatlan. He says that we could do a tour to the tile factory, brick factory, etc., and have a stop for lunch on the beach for $45pp. We need 6 adults to get this price. Is anyone interested in going with us on this tour?

 

[Jedisan]

My DH and I and our two DDs (10 and almost 6) are very excited about this trip. Although we have cruised the Mexican Riviera a number of times, this will be our first DCL experience!

 

[carriep1657]

Jedisan, welcome to the DIS. My DD is 6. She'll be 7 by the time we cruise. I haven't noticed any other girls around her age on this thread yet. My DD and your younger DD should be together in the Club.

This will be our first Disney Cruise too. DD can't wait to get to the club. She says she needs a little time on her own.

Have you taken your girls on a Mexican cruise before? If so, what sorts of things did you do with your daughters while in the ports? I can't really figure out which excursions my kids would enjoy. They will probably enjoy just hanging out on the ship the most.

 

[Jedisan]

Thanks carriep1657. Yes my DH and I took our girls in October 2002. At the time they were 7 & 3. They had a wonderful time. We sailed the Mexican Riviera on Princess. We took both girls to Puerta Vallarta and Mazatlan, but kept things very low key. We walked around a bit and had lunch. Because Cabo San Lucas was such a short stop, we left our younger daughter on the ship in the kids' program and took our older daughter. We had lunch and she had her hair braided.

I don't think it's a problem bringing your kids into port with you. It depends on what you want to do. If you want to do a shore excursion, some of them have age limitations. If you're not comfortable or simply want some adult time, leave the kids on the ship. We've done it both ways and it's worked out fine.

Because this is Disney's first West Coast itinerary, it may be hard to find ideas for things to do while in Mexico on this board. You may want to check out other cruise boards that have been doing the West Coast cruise to get some tips as well.

In Puerto Vallarta and Mexico they have the folkloric and shopping tours. Snorkeling is very popular in Puerto Vallarta, but sometimes the visibility is not very good and there may be jellyfish. Of course, there's horseback riding on the beach, but I think there is a minimum age requirement. My girls can't wait to go on this cruise and they are looking very forward to going back to Mexico.

El Cid is a popular place to go to in Mazatlan. It is a resort hotel with a beautiful pool and loud dance music. Many people will choose to hang out here rather than do a tour.

Hope this helps.

We are soooooo excited. Can't wait for Magic in May.

 

[suesings]

Jedisan,
Our oldest DD will be 5 when we cruise and will be in the club with your DD. We also have a will be 22 month old so some of the excursions will be tougher with her. My older daughter has been to Mexico twice (two weeks at Club Med Ixtapa when she was 10 months old) and a week at Cabo last year. She loves Spanish music and the language. This will be our first Disney Cruise and we are really looking forward to it!!

Does anyone know when Disney will announce the schedule for formal night, semi-formal night (what will replace Pirate night?), etc.? I can't wait to get all the details!!

Sue

 

[maryeabq]

Hi everyone. We will be sailing on the May 28th cruise also. It will be myself, DD17 and DD15 (she will be celebrating her 16th birthday on the cruise). I can't believe it's only three months away.

We booked the Pirate Sail and Snorkle tour in Puerto Vallarta and city tours in Mazatlan and Cabo.

We will be spending three days in Disneyland prior to the cruise at the Disneyland Hotel. I spoke to Disney and the busses are picking up at the hotels between 11:00 and 12:00. What time are you planning on getting to port?

 

[first timers]

Does anyone know when Disney will announce the schedule for formal night, semi-formal night (what will replace Pirate night?), etc.? I can't wait to get all the details!!

Sue
[/QUOTE]

Why do you think Pirate night will be replaced? On the Christmas 2004 cruise they added things to Pirate night. We did heard they are replacing Hurcules the Musical with a new performance. Alex

 

[Jedisan]

I recently read about Pirate Night and really hope they do not replace it. Sounds like a lot of fun. For those of you who have been on the Magic before, do you have any tips or comments regarding Palo's? My DH and I are looking forward to an adults only dinner.

 

[carriep1657]

Jedisan, thanks for the info on what you did with your girls during your previous cruises. I am thinking about doing one of the excursions that include a boat ride in Cabo. Other than that, I think we might just walk around Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. I just can't decide. It's fun trying to figure it out though.

maryeabq, I think we'll get to the port fairly early. I guess we'll wait to see when the actual boarding begins to decide on the time. But, we are just spending the night before at a hotel in San Pedro so we don't really have anything to do once we check out except head to the ship.

 

[first timers]

I recently read about Pirate Night and really hope they do not replace it. Sounds like a lot of fun. For those of you who have been on the Magic before, do you have any tips or comments regarding Palo's? My DH and I are looking forward to an adults only dinner.

We are on the Panama Canal cruise and most of the DISboarders are bringing pirate costumes to wear on pirate night (including to dinner). Pirate night has a great deck party with a few surprises. If you are going to Palos you need to make reservations as soon as you get on board because it is first come first serve. Palos reservations are made in Rocking Bar D, deck 3. Palos also has a high tea and a brunch that is out of this world. Just get there early. The service in Palos and the food is what you get in a 5 star resturant with a great wine list. Everything is delicious but I am partial to the portabella mushroom appitizer and the lava cake for desert. Good luck. Alex

 

[Jedisan]

Thank you for the info First timers! The pirate costumes sound like a fun idea as well. I plan to bring a princess costume for youngest DD. First Timers, how is the storage space in the bathroom area? We are a family of four and for our last cruise, we brought a plastic shoe rack to keep all of our toiletries organized. It really came in handy.

Our family is looking to get to the port around 12:00. As this will be DCL's first repositioning cruise to the west coast, we figure that it might take a while before our cabin is ready. We plan to pack our suits in a carry on and enjoy walking around the ship and checking out the Mickey Mouse pool. We can't wait to get on board!

We are also looking forward to Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration. We are annual passholders and they have been doing a lot of work at the park. We can't wait for Space Mountain to re-open. Our youngest DD will be tall enough to ride it for the first time!

 

[first timers]

Thank you for the info First timers! The pirate costumes sound like a fun idea as well. I plan to bring a princess costume for youngest DD. First Timers, how is the storage space in the bathroom area? We are a family of four and for our last cruise, we brought a plastic shoe rack to keep all of our toiletries organized. It really came in handy.

Our family is looking to get to the port around 12:00. As this will be DCL's first repositioning cruise to the west coast, we figure that it might take a while before our cabin is ready. We plan to pack our suits in a carry on and enjoy walking around the ship and checking out the Mickey Mouse pool. We can't wait to get on board!

The storage isn't bad, but we pack our toiletries in plastic shoe boxes, put some things on shelves, and other things stay in the shoe boxes on the bottom shelf.

At Port Caraveral they allow boarding between 12 and 1PM. On board, you have to wait for the cabins to be finished getting ready and it could be 3-4PM until you get in. But the pools are open as is the topsider buffet on deck 9 for lunch. The best part of getting onboard is exploring. We drag a hangup bag around with us until the cabin is ready. Alex

 

[suesings]

Hi,
The reason I said Pirate Night might be replaced by something else is because one of the posters early on said they spoke with a Disney Rep and they alluded to it being replaced by a special party for the 50th Anniversary Celebration. They said the rep. stopped talking though so they couldn't get anymore details. So we will see. I hope they keep the Pirate Party. Sounds SO fun but I guess if they are planning something new and special, it will be great too.

Hopefully they will clarify everything soon or maybe it will be a surprise?

Sue

 

[ssnyder]

Sunday was the 90 day mark. I made my excursion reservations. We are going to do the Canopy Adventure in Puerto Vallarta and the Sea Kayaking in Cabo San Lucas. I also booked outside of Disney with Randi's Happy Horses for Mazatlan.

Anyone else booked excursions yet?