Important note...This started as a reply within another thread about this particular cruise and morphed into a TR. I had a lot of questions about LA and the mexican riv cruise prior and this board was very helpful to prepare.
We are from the east coast and was on this cruise, too. We flew from EWR to San Diego on Wed. Did the SD zoo Thur then drove to Disneyland. Did Disneyland Fri and Sat. So much fun here as it was our first time at DL. We are DVC members so we stayed at Grand Californian and DL hotel. When we made our reservations, they GC did not have room for us our last night so we reserved across the street..which ended up being fun to experience that hotel. Kids loved the headboard that lights up and plays wish upon a star. Not a huge inconvenience.
As for the cruise, we did the KSF promotion so I cannot complain about price. I was with my wife and 2 daughters ages 6 and 7, so we saved a lot and got great value. This was our second DCL cruise and second time on the Wonder. However, there was certainly a reason that they had that promotion going on for that itinerary.
Checkin at Port of LA - We were there very early and did not wait in any lines... checkin line or the kids activity registration line. Lines did form, but nobody was going anywhere anyway. We brought our own beer and wine on board and had no issues. We used a smallish rolling Coleman cooler that I bought for $20 at a local WalMart near DL. Also bought red Solo cups. Never were we bothered about what we were drinking. Glad we did b/c prices for drinks are outrageous. Back to Checkin - We did wait over 2 hours to board, but time went pretty quickly. Went to guest services to reserve the princess tea party. Got that no problem. Room was ready after we ate at parrots cay. Parrots cay is the place to go as they seat you here. Our last DCL cruise we went to Beach Blanket and that is a free for all.
Room was ready after we ate. Luggage was brought in not long after we got into room. It was perfect!
Overall, the weather was cold and windy. Day 1 and 2 at sea were ok. There is plenty to do...which was a good thing because of the weather. We did some movies, let the kids swim...despite weather. Kids did like the kids clubs, too. They asked several times to go. We were fine with it!!
Day 2 at sea happened to be Valentines Day....we scheduled a spa appt prior to cruise...the exotic rasul. That was GREAT. $89 for two where it is just you and your significant other. I'm sure you can read a better description on this elsewhere...use your imagination.
The crew on the ship were fantastic. My wife and I both did the Disney College Program at Disney World many years ago, so we def expect a certain level of service. They exceeded it as usual. We were in 7096 which is AFT. Perfect room for us...could run right up to get drinks at drink station and beach blanket right up the steps. Quiet at night...no issues.
Puerto Vallarta was cold, windy and RAINY. We did the pirates adventure tour which was semi-entertaining while on the pirate ship, but when they brought us to the beach after about a long "sail", it seemed way too unorganized. Especially when the rain started. The entire excursion was WAY TOO LONG. Then they pass a hat at the end for tips. Almost begging..and uncomfortable. I paid close to $300 for this excursion and I would not recommend it. Puerto Vallarta in general was unimpressive. Not surprised to hear the problems folks had last week who were robbed coming off the Carnival cruise.
Cabo day 1 - we did the Harbor Cruise and Scenic Stop. Was ok, but cold and windy. They take you to los arcos and out into the pacific for a few minutes. They will take your pic and try to sell it to you for $20. No thanks. Harbor Cruise was pretty quick then they board you on a bus to a restaurant on a hill about ten miles away. Great view of the harbor and you get a free small beer or water. We were ready to leave there after 15 minutes but they keep you there for about an hour. Felt like a waste of time. The best part was that the bus dropped us off in the town of Cabo and we went to Cabo Wabo. GREAT food here... Sammy's shrimp in particular was great and we got 2 for 1 Coronas. Big VH and Sammy fan so it was fun to see and surprised about the quality of the food. EXCELLENT!
Back on the ship...at night was Pirates Night.
Pre dinner was fun dressing up with the kids and taking pics with all the characters. BTW, there is no shortage of character appearances. Outdoors for the fireworks and show...freezing and extremely windy. So much so that Mickey did not fly through the air. Fireworks did go which the kids loved. Very late at night though....not until 1030 which is late for our kids.
Cabo Day 2 - we did the whale watching deluxe tour. Almost the same as the excursion we did the day before. I really feel ripped off, but I guess I did not research enough. It was the SAME boat as the day before. They went past los arcos then out to spot whales. They had some alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks and nachos with salsa. It was ok. I would never do them again. Had to rush back to the tender to get on the ship as it leaves around 1 or 2 to set sail back to LA. Again, all day cold and windy.
Cabo seems safe with much more to do than Puerto Vallarta IMO. Too bad we had to be on the ship by 1ish because I would have like to see more of Cabo.
Last full day of cruise was at sea. Guess what the weather was like...cold and windy. Kids did the club activities and we went to the spa...rainforest room. Nice and warm in there! Worth the $16 pp to hang in there for an hour or 2.
Debarking was a breeze. We asked for the earliest exit and we got it. We were off by 830am. We made prior reservations with Super Shuttle. They were waiting for us and got to LAX and were were there very early for our 1245 flight to NJ. Cheaper that disney transportation for sure!
Btw, all the shows were great. Kids loved them...except that two nights there were some technical difficulties. Kind of strange and unexpected esp for a Disney cruise. But, they recovered nicely and the shows went on!
We had the late seating for dinner (not great) but the food was very good. Our servers were great....a lot of fun. Made the late seating tolerable. Thought about asking to move, but never pulled the trigger on it.
We are def done with the Wonder and will not do a Mex Riviera again. I really like the ship, but have done it enough. MR, was ok....the time of year, not ok.
We will stick to the caribbean for our next DCL cruise. Booked a dummy while onboard which we will use sometime in 2014 on the FANTASY!
I tried to get everything crammed in here in a short period of time. Hope it made sense and helps someone! Feel free to ask questions....will try and respond.
We are from the east coast and was on this cruise, too. We flew from EWR to San Diego on Wed. Did the SD zoo Thur then drove to Disneyland. Did Disneyland Fri and Sat. So much fun here as it was our first time at DL. We are DVC members so we stayed at Grand Californian and DL hotel. When we made our reservations, they GC did not have room for us our last night so we reserved across the street..which ended up being fun to experience that hotel. Kids loved the headboard that lights up and plays wish upon a star. Not a huge inconvenience.
As for the cruise, we did the KSF promotion so I cannot complain about price. I was with my wife and 2 daughters ages 6 and 7, so we saved a lot and got great value. This was our second DCL cruise and second time on the Wonder. However, there was certainly a reason that they had that promotion going on for that itinerary.
Checkin at Port of LA - We were there very early and did not wait in any lines... checkin line or the kids activity registration line. Lines did form, but nobody was going anywhere anyway. We brought our own beer and wine on board and had no issues. We used a smallish rolling Coleman cooler that I bought for $20 at a local WalMart near DL. Also bought red Solo cups. Never were we bothered about what we were drinking. Glad we did b/c prices for drinks are outrageous. Back to Checkin - We did wait over 2 hours to board, but time went pretty quickly. Went to guest services to reserve the princess tea party. Got that no problem. Room was ready after we ate at parrots cay. Parrots cay is the place to go as they seat you here. Our last DCL cruise we went to Beach Blanket and that is a free for all.
Room was ready after we ate. Luggage was brought in not long after we got into room. It was perfect!
Overall, the weather was cold and windy. Day 1 and 2 at sea were ok. There is plenty to do...which was a good thing because of the weather. We did some movies, let the kids swim...despite weather. Kids did like the kids clubs, too. They asked several times to go. We were fine with it!!
Day 2 at sea happened to be Valentines Day....we scheduled a spa appt prior to cruise...the exotic rasul. That was GREAT. $89 for two where it is just you and your significant other. I'm sure you can read a better description on this elsewhere...use your imagination.
The crew on the ship were fantastic. My wife and I both did the Disney College Program at Disney World many years ago, so we def expect a certain level of service. They exceeded it as usual. We were in 7096 which is AFT. Perfect room for us...could run right up to get drinks at drink station and beach blanket right up the steps. Quiet at night...no issues.
Puerto Vallarta was cold, windy and RAINY. We did the pirates adventure tour which was semi-entertaining while on the pirate ship, but when they brought us to the beach after about a long "sail", it seemed way too unorganized. Especially when the rain started. The entire excursion was WAY TOO LONG. Then they pass a hat at the end for tips. Almost begging..and uncomfortable. I paid close to $300 for this excursion and I would not recommend it. Puerto Vallarta in general was unimpressive. Not surprised to hear the problems folks had last week who were robbed coming off the Carnival cruise.
Cabo day 1 - we did the Harbor Cruise and Scenic Stop. Was ok, but cold and windy. They take you to los arcos and out into the pacific for a few minutes. They will take your pic and try to sell it to you for $20. No thanks. Harbor Cruise was pretty quick then they board you on a bus to a restaurant on a hill about ten miles away. Great view of the harbor and you get a free small beer or water. We were ready to leave there after 15 minutes but they keep you there for about an hour. Felt like a waste of time. The best part was that the bus dropped us off in the town of Cabo and we went to Cabo Wabo. GREAT food here... Sammy's shrimp in particular was great and we got 2 for 1 Coronas. Big VH and Sammy fan so it was fun to see and surprised about the quality of the food. EXCELLENT!
Back on the ship...at night was Pirates Night.
Pre dinner was fun dressing up with the kids and taking pics with all the characters. BTW, there is no shortage of character appearances. Outdoors for the fireworks and show...freezing and extremely windy. So much so that Mickey did not fly through the air. Fireworks did go which the kids loved. Very late at night though....not until 1030 which is late for our kids.Cabo Day 2 - we did the whale watching deluxe tour. Almost the same as the excursion we did the day before. I really feel ripped off, but I guess I did not research enough. It was the SAME boat as the day before. They went past los arcos then out to spot whales. They had some alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks and nachos with salsa. It was ok. I would never do them again. Had to rush back to the tender to get on the ship as it leaves around 1 or 2 to set sail back to LA. Again, all day cold and windy.
Cabo seems safe with much more to do than Puerto Vallarta IMO. Too bad we had to be on the ship by 1ish because I would have like to see more of Cabo.
Last full day of cruise was at sea. Guess what the weather was like...cold and windy. Kids did the club activities and we went to the spa...rainforest room. Nice and warm in there! Worth the $16 pp to hang in there for an hour or 2.
Debarking was a breeze. We asked for the earliest exit and we got it. We were off by 830am. We made prior reservations with Super Shuttle. They were waiting for us and got to LAX and were were there very early for our 1245 flight to NJ. Cheaper that disney transportation for sure!
Btw, all the shows were great. Kids loved them...except that two nights there were some technical difficulties. Kind of strange and unexpected esp for a Disney cruise. But, they recovered nicely and the shows went on!
We had the late seating for dinner (not great) but the food was very good. Our servers were great....a lot of fun. Made the late seating tolerable. Thought about asking to move, but never pulled the trigger on it.
We are def done with the Wonder and will not do a Mex Riviera again. I really like the ship, but have done it enough. MR, was ok....the time of year, not ok.
We will stick to the caribbean for our next DCL cruise. Booked a dummy while onboard which we will use sometime in 2014 on the FANTASY!
I tried to get everything crammed in here in a short period of time. Hope it made sense and helps someone! Feel free to ask questions....will try and respond.
We agree that the boarding experience in CA is less than perfect, but in the end, still leads you to the right cruise ship! 
