Sept. 23, 2012 Pacific Coast - Wonder Cruise

[erbie]

I just wanted to thank everyone in FE 1 for the fabulous gifts! I tried to pm/thank those people who left their names on their gifts, but of course I may have mixed some up or opened them and didn't keep track well. I do know that I got a mickey colored bag with a pair of scissors and other useful items, as well as some hand made coasters that no one took credit for, but thank you!

I know I used Marian's luggage tag and Erin's luggage handle to find our luggage when we disembarked.

I was also very touched that some of you gave gifts that were even baby specific, thank you! And others of you took the time to write a little about your gift...you all were much more organized than I was, I was literally writing welcome aboard on some white boards while walking around, I believe Gary/Gunka caught me outside of his cabin

The bag of stuff was from me. And the softcover Mickey book for the baby. I didn't have time to do stickers or anything to indicate they were from me, so I posted pics on Facebook after we got back.

We also got caught, by Kat! She was so funny. And we almost caught Kaprisha and her mom, but we heard them so we waited til they were done. My girls were giggling, watching them through the door spyhole. (Why can't I remember what those are called? lol!)

 

[erbie]

My Dh and fellow golf port adventure mates can be thanked for the extra hour or so in Ensenda. He was the last to board ... golf adventure gone bad lol. He thanks all those who applauded him .

Good thing it was a DCL excursion, or they wouldn't have waited!

I figured an excursion was late getting back. I had a nice view from my porthole of the dock workers lying on the ground, waiting to undo the moorings.

 

[erbie]

My daughter did hit if off with erbie's younger daughter and I hope she didn't disturb your meals too much. We were in the same dining rotation and she always wanted to say "hi". I also got to chat with erbie and HBmomof2 a bit and all of our girls hung out at the pool and club.

We were thinking the same thing. She wanted to come over and say hi every meal and we kept telling her to wait til you all were done so she wasn't disturbing your meal. lol! Looks like we could have just let them hang out and not worried about it.

I'm so glad we all met and that the kids had a chance to chat on email a little beforehand. It really made the cruise more fun for my kids to have friends to hang out with.

 

[Az Pirates]

It's funny because we stopped by your kid's stateroom on I think the first day at sea and your FE was so jammed packed that we had to come back another time to deliver! My first thought was "this group is having a fabulous time that they have been back to their stateroom all day!"

We definitely went with staterooms are for changing clothes and catching a few hours of sleep mode this cruise. Traveling with older kids makes that easier than when we've needed to schedule more down time for younger ones to rest and/or decompress.

We didn't even log much time in our stateroom enjoying our verandah since smoke was more of an issue than we've experienced before. Just a luck of the draw thing I guess.

So how were the dining rooms for the other seatings? We had late seating starting in Parrot Cay and there were tons of empty seats all around us. It actually felt a little strange. It made for lots of attention and quick service though.

 

[greenthumbmom]

Good thing it was a DCL excursion, or they wouldn't have waited!

I figured an excursion was late getting back. I had a nice view from my porthole of the dock workers lying on the ground, waiting to undo the moorings.

No Kidding this was our first cruise , so I had no idea what was going on. Neither did DH , they were held up by the bike races what took 30 minutes to get to, took 2 1/2 hours to return from. The ship kept calling the driver for location and the driver told the golfers the ship was going to leave and poor DH was worried it was true lol. I was watching the gang way and if they hadnt arrived when they did I was going to go to guest services to see what to expect. Otherwise I sat on 9 in the sun and read a book while wating .

 

[erbie]

No Kidding this was our first cruise , so I had no idea what was going on. Neither did DH , they were held up by the bike races what took 30 minutes to get to, took 2 1/2 hours to return from. The ship kept calling the driver for location and the driver told the golfers the ship was going to leave and poor DH was worried it was true lol. I was watching the gang way and if they hadnt arrived when they did I was going to go to guest services to see what to expect. Otherwise I sat on 9 in the sun and read a book while wating .

Yeah, that bike race was a pain. It took us 10 mins to get to town on the shuttle and about half an hour to get back. So much traffic and the shuttle had to go around a different way. Glad your DH made it back!

 

[atmail35]

We definitely went with staterooms are for changing clothes and catching a few hours of sleep mode this cruise. Traveling with older kids makes that easier than when we've needed to schedule more down time for younger ones to rest and/or decompress.

We didn't even log much time in our stateroom enjoying our verandah since smoke was more of an issue than we've experienced before. Just a luck of the draw thing I guess.

So how were the dining rooms for the other seatings? We had late seating starting in Parrot Cay and there were tons of empty seats all around us. It actually felt a little strange. It made for lots of attention and quick service though.

Well it sounds like you had a busy time, which is fun!

We had the early seating with Parrot Cay first, it was PTATAPT. It seemed pretty full on the days we were there. Our "section" was 3 tables. Us (6), a table of 4 and a table of 10. We only saw the table of 10 on 3 of the five nights we ate in the MDR. We did miss Tuesday and Wed. as we were out with family in SF one night and saw the earlier show of Finding Nemo in 3D the other night.

Our servers were extra attentive on the days the 10-top was missing as they did not have as much to do.

The Thursday early character breakfast also was pretty full if I'm remembering correctly.

What is the passenger capacity of the Wonder? I think the Christiian said it was 2019 or so passengers on board? How "full" is that? I meant to ask someone, but never got around to it.

 

[atmail35]

No Kidding this was our first cruise , so I had no idea what was going on. Neither did DH , they were held up by the bike races what took 30 minutes to get to, took 2 1/2 hours to return from. The ship kept calling the driver for location and the driver told the golfers the ship was going to leave and poor DH was worried it was true lol. I was watching the gang way and if they hadnt arrived when they did I was going to go to guest services to see what to expect. Otherwise I sat on 9 in the sun and read a book while wating .

Ack that is so stressful! I'm glad he made it back. I thought we perhaps left a little late, but didn't even think about the fact that some people might have been on their excursion! Does DCL send a DCL person on these trips or no? I'm thinking no since the ship was calling the driver.

erbie, how was the trip to "town". We were lazy and didn't get off in Ensenada! I would have been stressed if the bus took too long to get back so maybe it was just as well. DD was not pressing to get off so we just hung by the pool.

 

[erbie]

erbie, how was the trip to "town". We were lazy and didn't get off in Ensenada! I would have been stressed if the bus took too long to get back so maybe it was just as well. DD was not pressing to get off so we just hung by the pool.

It was fine. I was just looking to do some shopping and get some fish tacos, both of which I accomplished. The ride over was quick and easy. Coming back it was packed and we had to go around the bike race. We weren't worried about making it in time, since we were heading back around 1:30. We did want to get to the towel folding class, and we were late though.

One thing I noticed was that when we went into town around 10:30, it wasn't very crowded and it was mostly older people from the ships shopping. When I was heading back, it was clear that the Carnival passengers were up and about, as the music at Papas and Beer and the other bars was loud and there were a lot of drunk 20-something guys with their shirts off running around. The Carnival 3-day cruises are known for that, which is why we'd never go on a Carnival cruise out of LA to Ensenada.

 

[atmail35]

We were thinking the same thing. She wanted to come over and say hi every meal and we kept telling her to wait til you all were done so she wasn't disturbing your meal. lol! Looks like we could have just let them hang out and not worried about it.

I'm so glad we all met and that the kids had a chance to chat on email a little beforehand. It really made the cruise more fun for my kids to have friends to hang out with.

LOL well the two of them certainly had the same thinking! I'm also glad they had a chance to meet via email and then in person. They really seemed to enjoy hanging out with each other.

That is interesting about the Carnival cruise, I had no idea they had a "party" boat to Ensenada!

 

[Computer Magic]

My Dh and fellow golf port adventure mates can be thanked for the extra hour or so in Ensenda. He was the last to board ... golf adventure gone bad lol. He thanks all those who applauded him .

Or blame for staying too long in Ensenda :lookaroun

I didn't enjoy Ensenda especially around Papa and Beer. Too crowded and approached too many times by strangers. Not what I consider Disney standards.

We were on the Taste of Mexico adventure and the tour driver left without one person counted. Never knew what happened.

Good to learn why people outside our balcony were running around.


Someone also claimed to lose their wallet through customs scanners.

 

[MadHatterMom2]

Just a quick note to thank everyone for the very creative, wonderful FE gifts. I hope everyone had a great time - sounds like it from reading these posts.

Unfortunately, I came back from the cruise with a really, really bad sinus infection. Yuck! Still trying to get rid of it.

Take care, all. 'Til we meet again!

Julie

 

[GromMom]

The bag of stuff was from me. And the softcover Mickey book for the baby. I didn't have time to do stickers or anything to indicate they were from me, so I posted pics on Facebook after we got back.

We also got caught, by Kat! She was so funny. And we almost caught Kaprisha and her mom, but we heard them so we waited til they were done. My girls were giggling, watching them through the door spyhole. (Why can't I remember what those are called? lol!)

Thanks! I should have recognized the same fabric I was surprised someone would work so hard and then not take credit I know if I had made them I would have embroidered my name on there...j/k...but you know what I mean

It's funny b/c we used the notepad from 4boons to pass notes to each other in case either cabin was napping. Many times I saw feet at the door but never opened it b/c I thought it would ruin the fun. I totally forgot there was a peephole in the door, ha ha!

 

[kangamommy]

Just a quick note to thank everyone for the very creative, wonderful FE gifts. I hope everyone had a great time - sounds like it from reading these posts.

Unfortunately, I came back from the cruise with a really, really bad sinus infection. Yuck! Still trying to get rid of it.

Take care, all. 'Til we meet again!

Julie

Julie we're all sick too! I think it's a combo of just good old close-quarters germs and the "letdown" after all the planning and the trip itself... All the kids we hung out with were stuffed up by day 3! Hope you feel better quickly - thanks again for organizing FE2 -- it was such a wonderful highlight of the trip for all of us!

 

[Crittsmom]

thanks to everyone for the FE's, we were on the 2nd list and enjoyed getting them, it was just like Christmas.

The ship was 2/3 full I was told, and I think it actually holds about 2700.

What was the deal in the late afternoon in Ensenada ?? Over by the harbor seals, there were guys running around ??? We were watching from the pool deck

It sure went fast, we had 1st dining and it was pretty crowded. Had a couple that were complainers at the table. We knew the head waiter, by name and sight by the second nite !!!! baaa haaa haaaa, usually I never see the head waiter until the last night when he comes by for the tip. We only ate 4x in the DR though.

I missed the second Pixar talk, it was while we were in San Francisco. Anyone want to give a brief synopsis ?

 

[GromMom]

Julie we're all sick too! I think it's a combo of just good old close-quarters germs and the "letdown" after all the planning and the trip itself... All the kids we hung out with were stuffed up by day 3! Hope you feel better quickly - thanks again for organizing FE2 -- it was such a wonderful highlight of the trip for all of us!

We all got the sniffles and sore throat too, my niece blamed it on our trip to Muir woods "too much fresh air"
She was sounding stuffy on weds, but I didn't feel bad until Sunday and I blame having to leave the ship!
I slept from 7:30 to 7:15 last night and it did me a world of good.

 

[GromMom]

Oh and another question. We received what looked like a hand made bookmark, but with embossed silver printing. Can anyone tell me who gave that out?
The scrapbooker in me is dying to know how that was done! Also thank you to I believe Sandra cox for the cool cd! As I unpack more and more I keep finding goodies everywhere

 

[BigDisneyOE]

We made it back to NZ okay, despite LAX closing the long runway, two people disembarking the flight, a need to add more fuel and a plane breaking down right in front of our plane on the taxi runway. Being that late to take-off we missed our connection and had five hours to kill with two exhausted kids in Auckland. All in all it was about 24 hours from plane take off to plane landing in the end.

Thanks to everyone in FE#1 for the gifts, the kids loved them all. Thanks also to people like Gail and Sandra who popped stuff in our FE although they were in the other FE. I hope everyone could understand the explaination I put with the bag of goodies I stuck in FEs.

We enjoyed the cruise but didn't really get to do anything social as the kids were terrified of the kids club. Well Alex was okay if there were a handful of kids but Oli was completely overwhelmed and shaking with fear when there was 120+ kids in there.

Unfortunately Alex got very ill on the cruise and I spent about 30 hours in the cabin with him. He dehydrated and was unable to keep even water down. First I knew about it was when he drank some water and threw it back up at the dinner service. The dining team we had were amazing and it was all dealt with professionally and with a lot of care for Alex. Our head waiter said they get kids throwing up at dinner all the time, normally from being overtired and stuffed full of treats before dinner. The infirmary staff were brilliant, opening up for Alex despite being afterhours, ringing several times to check on him and getting him in front of doctors immediately. Our room attendant was great too and really caring. In a way this made our cruise more than any activity onboard could have done.

I had one really hairy moment on the cruise. Oli decided to go down the hydro slide and was getting fustrated that he couldn't slide well. Alex was bombing down no problem. Oli got stuck halfway down and decided to walk back to the top, crying and stressed. That freaked the stuffing out of every adult at the pool and finally we got him turned around and sitting down enough to get to the bottom. It was the burqinkis fault, there was so slide in the lycra material - he needed to wear his boardies, which he did the next day and went down no problems.

I've got a few PMs to answer, so if you are waiting on one please know I'll get to it as soon as I've righted the house.

 

[atmail35]

Marian - I'm glad you are home safe, but it sounds like a hairy time at LAX, yikes.

I'm so sorry to hear Alex was ill, but glad you got the proper attention from the crew. And poor Oli on the slide!

I hope you still had some fun moments, despite having to hang in the stateroom for 30 hours.

 

[tink157]

Marian glad you finally made it home safe and sound. So hard when the little ones are ill on a vacation. Good thing is you made it thru. Hope you did manage to have a fun time.

My grands had a blast! Andrew (14) took to the Vibe right away and stayed out till it closed at night (or should I say the next day 2am) it was freaking out Christy. Matthew finally met some boys in his club and had fun. Meghan and Cassidy liked their club for some of the stuff going on, but missed playing with their barbies and then the legos they got in legoland. So we sat at a table up on deck 9. They played and I read my book and enjoyed every thing going on.

I am in denial now that all is over.......you can tell the ones who dont have another cruise planned.......we are still talking on here. My only wish is that we would have booked sooner to have the fun of planning and getting to know all of you better. Maybe someday it will happen again. I better start saving my pennies again.

Have a great day all.............