Sept 25, 2011 Wonder - Mexican Riviera

[staffieri]

We booked our pre-cruise stay @ The Doubletree in San Pedro today. Booked post-cruise stay at Villas @ Grand Californian at the 11 month mark, all that is left is flights and Disneyland tickets. Anyone know how Long Beach airport is I have only ever flown into Burbank?

I live her about 15 minutes from Disneyland. Not sure about Burbank
Airport

Santa Ana ( Orange County) SNA Airport: Small nice airport expensive to fly in. 15 minutes to Disneyland, 10 minute to Huntington Beach, 30 minutes to Ports
Long Beach LGB Airport : Small, not run as well as other. 30 minutes to Dinseyland, 25 to Huntington Beach, and 10 minutes to Ports
Los Angeles LAX Airport: : Large airport but can get cheaper flights. I find it runs great and is totally worth the savings. 50 minutes to Disneyland, 45 minutes to Huntington Beach, and 30 minutes to Ports. It is worth flying here for a DIRECT flight.
**All times are without traffic**

 

[kawigrl]

I am flying from JFK in NYC on jet blue they fly into burbank, LAX and Long Beach all are direct flights and cheaper than the big airlines plus first bag is free. I love Burbank its a nice small airport. I have been to LAX to pick someone up and I hated it took over 45 mins to get to them once I got on airport property. I may fly into burbank or long beach just haven't decided yet if i want to drive down from burbank or get a service to pick me up at long beach.

 

[PizzieDuster]

oops

 

[LimoFam5]

Just got off the Wonders Panama Canal Cruise briging it HOME here to sunny so california!!!!! The cruise was amazing and while on board I booked this next cruise. It will be me, my hubby and two kids.....plus, my sister her hubby and son, and my friends and their kids. A big group of 13!!!! This cruise should be fun.

 

[Disney Sweetie]

Just got off the Wonders Panama Canal Cruise briging it HOME here to sunny so california!!!!! The cruise was amazing and while on board I booked this next cruise. It will be me, my hubby and two kids.....plus, my sister her hubby and son, and my friends and their kids. A big group of 13!!!! This cruise should be fun.

I had several friends on the PC crossing. Some of which stayed on for the 2 day sailing this weekend.

If you can give me your names, ages of the kids and cabin numbers, I can add you to the roster!

Looking forward to meeting you in a few months!

 

[Super*Mum]

FYI... for those of you not following other threads... Mazatlan has been canceled for all Wonder cruises through March. It is a wait and see what they will do for our cruise. Currently they are doing two days in Cabo. Just thought I would post in case someone was planning (and paying in advance) for any private tours. I wouldn't go that direction as port days are changing (as well as ports!)

and...

WELCOME LimoFam5!!!! So jealous you were just on the ship!!!

 

[M4travels]

FYI... for those of you not following other threads... Mazatlan has been canceled for all Wonder cruises through March. It is a wait and see what they will do for our cruise. Currently they are doing two days in Cabo. Just thought I would post in case someone was planning (and paying in advance) for any private tours. I wouldn't go that direction as port days are changing (as well as ports!)

Yeah, a bit disappointed with this change. Granted it's still some time before we head out but I'm not to optimistic on Mazatlan being on our schedule. I was really looking forward to getting off the ship in this port.

Now, I do love Cabo - will be there at the end of February so we'll get to see the Wonder two days - and I'm happy about that, but.....

Ah, well, life is still good!

Michael

 

[Super*Mum]

While there are many shore excursions I want to do in Cabo, I think I'd rather stop at another port too... welllllllllllll... I should qualify that... I wouldn't be thrilled with Ensenada. Really, I am mostly excited to try out the Disney Cruise no matter what we do! If we are being honest, I'm just in it for the food

I feel awful for the people of Mazatlan who lost an unfathomable amount of money from tourism because of the gang problem.

 

[LimoFam5]

Wanted to introduce myself to all who will be cruising this week. I'm Kimberly And I live about 30 minutes from the port and I'm an AP holder for Disneyland. I live in Huntington Beach. So I do know the area pretty well if you have questions. Long Beach port is a great place to do some sight seeing before hand. Also if your traveling as a family there is a great Dockside bed and breakfast. You sleep on beautiful boats that sleep 6 and you look right out at the Queen Mary. Let me know if I can help in the location department. Looking forward to a great vacation.

Hello Staffieri.....So you are right down the street from us. We live in Los Al. Nice to have a neighbor onboard.... it's cool not having to fly to go on the Disney Cruise.........


Staffieris offer from above applies for myself as well. I live 15 min away from port and 20 from Disneyland and I work in the Port of LA so I would be more then happy to try and help any of you if you had any questions.

 

[Jennifer in MI]

Am I not reading this right? I'm only seeing 3 or 4 port adventures for Puerto Vallarta and Cabo. And, of those, there is only one that is family friendly (ie will include all the ages of my children).

Also, is there no beach excursion on either of those stops???? My kids all want to go to the beach one day and we can't find an excursion! Ugh. Makes me want to change cruises.

 

[LimoFam5]

Am I not reading this right? I'm only seeing 3 or 4 port adventures for Puerto Vallarta and Cabo. And, of those, there is only one that is family friendly (ie will include all the ages of my children).

Also, is there no beach excursion on either of those stops???? My kids all want to go to the beach one day and we can't find an excursion! Ugh. Makes me want to change cruises.

Well dont change cruises just yet......I have the shore excursion booklet that I received on the 15night Panama Cruise and in there it list plenty of shore excursions for both of those ports.
When I was onboard I did speak to the shore excursion desk and they advised me minor if ANY changes would be made to the excusions listed for the MR cruise.
In both ports my family and I did beach adventures.
In PV we did a Paradise Beach Adventure which was nice. Hotel right on the beach, big pool with two HUGE Crocodile slides my kids had a blast. That beach day included all you could eat and drink, Juice, soda, beer, wine, cocktails....anything. The beach also had boogie boards to use and my girls had a blast with those. The resort name is Paradise Village Beach, you can look it up online. It was about a 20-30 min drive from port. Cost was $69ad and $34child. I would do this adventure again but this time around I think we are going to do a day trip to Las Caletas.
In cabo we did Cabo Resort Beach Getaway. I cant remember the name of the hotel at the moment but it too was right on the beach and had a nice pool area. Let me warn you the water is lovely buttttt the beach is crawling with vendors some of which just stand and stare at you laying out......made me feel very uncomfortable and because of this we spent little time at the beach and more time in the pool, which also had a nice slide. This trip included two mamosas and one afternoon mexican buffet lunch. For me I would NOT do this on this upcoming cruise. NOT WORTH it......$75.00 adults, $55 children

For us in Cabo I would feel ok with paying to take a taxi to the local beach and just doing that port on our own.

Hope this helps!!

 

[staffieri]

Just got off the Wonders Panama Canal Cruise briging it HOME here to sunny so california!!!!! The cruise was amazing and while on board I booked this next cruise. It will be me, my hubby and two kids.....plus, my sister her hubby and son, and my friends and their kids. A big group of 13!!!! This cruise should be fun.

Glad your coming. What a fun group. Did you see anything about the boat adding a club for 11 -13 year olds?

How old are the kids in your group?

 

[staffieri]

I am glad we are not going to a safe port, but add something else. Like Manzanillo, Catalina, something. Not Ensadena. It is horrible and not safe. Too many vendors after you. But I don't want to go to Cabo twice. I hope Disney thinks of something before our cruise!!!

 

[LimoFam5]

Glad your coming. What a fun group. Did you see anything about the boat adding a club for 11 -13 year olds?

How old are the kids in your group?

There are four youth clubs onboard the ship.
Oceaneer Club - kids 3 and up
Oceanee Lab - Starting at age 5 kids have the option to hang out here if they want......my girls chose to hang out here the entire time as opposed to the Club.
Edge - Kids 11-13
Aloft - Kids 13-17

My kids will be 6 and 7 when we go in September. My sister has a son who will be 2 and our brother is going who is 15, my friends kids are 8, 10, 15.

I am glad we are not going to a safe port, but add something else. Like Manzanillo, Catalina, something. Not Ensadena. It is horrible and not safe. Too many vendors after you. But I don't want to go to Cabo twice. I hope Disney thinks of something before our cruise!!!

OMG I would not leave the ship if we did Ensenada, way to crazy and I hated walking down the street there the last time I took a cruise down that way. There were very very young kids like 3 and 4 asking you for money while there mom was sitting on the sidewalk holding a newborn. It was soooo depressing. We did Manzanillo on the Panama Cruise and it was just OK.....town that the boat docks in is sketchy looking and I would not walk the streets or anything with my kids. We did a beach adventure with Disney and it took us high up into the hills to Las Hadas resort which was pretty ok....nothing AMAZING....
and Catalina.....well I guess even though I have been there to many times to count I would rather go there then any slightly unsafe mexico port.

Don't get me wrong I'm glad Disney is playing it safe but maybe they know something we don't know about the latest happenings in Mazatlan because from what I can read it just say escalating violence but does not list an exact occurance.
I remember a while back a teenage tourist was on a shore excursion in St. Thomas and was caught in gang crossfire and died.....Disney did not stop going there..........

In the end I would rather be safe then sorry

 

[wideeyedwonder]

Hi All! Like LimoFam5, we are alumni of the Wonder's Panama Canal Crossing, and we are looking forward to revisiting the Maxican Riviera Ports we had hit on the way up!

Our crew:

DH Greg (me)
DW Sheri
DD(13 at time of cruise) Rebekah
DD(9 at time of cruise) Jojo and Olivia

We don't have a cabin number yet, but we would be very excited to join any FE exchange!

 

[LimoFam5]

Hi All! Like LimoFam5, we are alumni of the Wonder's Panama Canal Crossing, and we are looking forward to revisiting the Maxican Riviera Ports we had hit on the way up!

Our crew:

DH Greg (me)
DW Sheri
DD(13 at time of cruise) Rebekah
DD(9 at time of cruise) Jojo and Olivia

We don't have a cabin number yet, but we would be very excited to join any FE exchange!

Hey stranger...... We were on the same dining rotation sitting one table away from your family.....I think. Our servers were Mike and Yayan, it was me, my husband and our two girls, Carly 6 and Maile 5. What a small Disney world....lol.
Is this the famous BINGO cruise???

Yes we are also looking forward to the FE.. we didn't do it last time around on the Panama but have done it in the past and I think they are cute.

 

[wideeyedwonder]

Hey stranger...... We were on the same dining rotation sitting one table away from your family.....I think. Our servers were Mike and Yayan, it was me, my husband and our two girls, Carly 6 and Maile 5. What a small Disney world....lol.
Is this the famous BINGO cruise???

Yes we are also looking forward to the FE.. we didn't do it last time around on the Panama but have done it in the past and I think they are cute.

Yes, we had late seating, and we had Yayan and Mike!

(DW and I are in the middle, our friends Dan and Heidi are on the right, and Mike and Yayan are on the sides).


How funny! That was an AMAZING cruise. I wonder if we have some pictures of you guys?

I'd have to agree with you, a port day in Ensenada Mexico would be considered a sea day to me. With the drug war violence still going on (and even escelating?) in Mexico, I would stay away from the border (and "border adjacent") hotspot towns.

However, I am really looking forward to the Mexican Riviera again...we had a good time in Cabo and a most excellent time in Puerto Villarta. In Cabo, we didn't even book an excursion...we took the tender to the dock, bought some ice cream, and just meandered through the trinket market near the port entrance. We found quite a few items to gift to friends back home, and a nice set of 3 mexican wool blankets that we are putting to good use on chilly movie nights here at home. Afterwards, we sat down to lunch at a local "roach coach", but featuring some really yummy (and non-greasy) food, and had a nice chat with a couple that was staying at a local resort. Then it was back to the ship to offload our booty, and sun and swim at the goofy pool. Very low key, but it was just what the doctor ordered.

And yes, this is the famouse BINGO cruise! (to the other cruisers reading this, I got REALLY lucky in BINGO one night, and won a 7-night MR cruise for 4!)

Deano and Max calling BINGO at "Pajama Party Bingo":

 

[staffieri]

CONGRATS WIDEEYEDWONDER!!!! How great!!! I am hoping Disney thinks of something creative before our cruise. I am good with not going to port that are not safe. Good change. Just hoping for something besides same port.

 

[LimoFam5]

Yes, we had late seating, and we had Yayan and Mike!

(DW and I are in the middle, our friends Dan and Heidi are on the right, and Mike and Yayan are on the sides).


How funny! That was an AMAZING cruise. I wonder if we have some pictures of you guys?

I'd have to agree with you, a port day in Ensenada Mexico would be considered a sea day to me. With the drug war violence still going on (and even escelating?) in Mexico, I would stay away from the border (and "border adjacent") hotspot towns.

However, I am really looking forward to the Mexican Riviera again...we had a good time in Cabo and a most excellent time in Puerto Villarta. In Cabo, we didn't even book an excursion...we took the tender to the dock, bought some ice cream, and just meandered through the trinket market near the port entrance. We found quite a few items to gift to friends back home, and a nice set of 3 mexican wool blankets that we are putting to good use on chilly movie nights here at home. Afterwards, we sat down to lunch at a local "roach coach", but featuring some really yummy (and non-greasy) food, and had a nice chat with a couple that was staying at a local resort. Then it was back to the ship to offload our booty, and sun and swim at the goofy pool. Very low key, but it was just what the doctor ordered.

And yes, this is the famouse BINGO cruise! (to the other cruisers reading this, I got REALLY lucky in BINGO one night, and won a 7-night MR cruise for 4!)

Deano and Max calling BINGO at "Pajama Party Bingo":

Ok yes that was you guys.....looking through my pictures I did get a shot of you and your wife when taking a photo of Mickey.....lol.

Could not agree with you more what a amazing cruise.
I too am looking forward to this MR cruise. We did Zip lining in Costa Rica which was amazing sooooo I want to try and fit that into our vacation at one of the port of calls.


Here is a shot of my girls and Harry..he was a excellent head server

 

[Super*Mum]

I have to say a huge "Thank you!" to WideEyedWonder! I followed your posts while you were doing the PC and loved the photos of the ports! You were the first group doing (most) of our ports and was completely excited to hear about what a wonderful trip you were having! I can't wait until September! It still feels like such a long way off though....

If anyone else wants to see his photos:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2627649