Sept 25, 2011 Wonder - Mexican Riviera

[wideeyedwonder]

What dinner seating does everyone have? Usually we pick "late", but that's when we sail out of Florida. However, sailing out of Cali, we may want to pick early as I don't know if our kids can wait until 8:15 Cali time to eat dinner.

 

[LimoFam5]

What dinner seating does everyone have? Usually we pick "late", but that's when we sail out of Florida. However, sailing out of Cali, we may want to pick early as I don't know if our kids can wait until 8:15 Cali time to eat dinner.

We also usually pick the late dining when sailing out of Florida....and this cruise will be no different. I figure with all there is do and snack on waiting until 8:15pm for dinner won't be that big of a deal. Also if you notice we are in some of the ports until 6 / 7pm and I dont want to feel rushed on a port day. I want to be able to take our time and come back to the ship relax and get changed for dinner, afterall we are on vacation the last thing I want is to rush around! I have found that dining time has always been a personal choice.

 

[Super*Mum]

We are choosing late as well. I can't bring myself to eat before 6:00. I did this on my first cruise (a huge family gathering and the grandparents chose the early seating) the ongoing joke between all of the cousins was, "Time to eat again?!?!? We just ate!" It really did feel like we were eating every hour. Also, the time it takes to get dressed (out of flip flops and bathing suits) we would need to be back on the ship too early. I'm sure my DS can hang until 8:15 to eat (especially with popcorn/snacks at the show) and he can always do the "dine and play" option if he is starving and wants to get back to the fun.

ETA: Home from work sick with a fever... thinking about my trip is helping me feel better!

 

[wideeyedwonder]

Super*mum, hope you feel better soon!

I'm thinking we may keep our late seating, good points about the port times. Plus, all of us like having the Dine and Play option for the twins. Thanks!

 

[kawigrl]

we have second sitting for dinner

 

[mamacrumbcake]

We're also at the second seating for dinner. Although my kids usually eat early, we know they won't starve. They probably will grab a snack at Goofy's or Pluto's before the show.

 

[Super*Mum]

OOOooooOOOO! New thought about late vs. early dining! Is the ship on Pacific or Central Time? If it is on Central than late dining makes even more sense to us Californians.

Thanks wideeyedwonder! I am finally feeling quite a bit better today (day six of this horrid thing). I made it through six hours of work today... I think it must have been the flu as I never get this sick. Opted out of NICU rounds tomorrow just to be safe. Everyone else I know who has it has been sick for about two weeks and most people end up with a secondary infection. Fingers crossed that it runs its course quickly and that it doesn't make it to you!

 

[Jennifer in MI]

OOOooooOOOO! New thought about late vs. early dining! Is the ship on Pacific or Central Time? If it is on Central than late dining makes even more sense to us Californians.

Thanks wideeyedwonder! I am finally feeling quite a bit better today (day six of this horrid thing). I made it through six hours of work today... I think it must have been the flu as I never get this sick. Opted out of NICU rounds tomorrow just to be safe. Everyone else I know who has it has been sick for about two weeks and most people end up with a secondary infection. Fingers crossed that it runs its course quickly and that it doesn't make it to you!

Glad you're feeling better. We had this last year. ALL of us. It was horrible. and, we all ended up with secondary infections. One with pneumonia.

Has anyone thought about shore excursions? I'm just starting to think about these details. It's SO cold and yucky here in MI right now. I need to think about our warm vacation!!!

 

[Super*Mum]

I found something new to obsess over for a bit. We are headed to Disneyland in April! Frankly, it was just too long to wait to get my vacation (and Disney) fix. We used to go to DL every two months and then stopped after I realized that six DL trips a year = a trip to Europe. It has been awhile (18 months? more?) and we finally get to see World of Wonder!!!

Okay... back to obsessing about the cruise...

At this point we are hoping for Las Caletes in PV, swimming with dolphins in Cabo and ???? I guess I am holding out on the third since I am unsure if we will end up in Mazatlan or not. I was thinking of Salsa and Salsa so I can grub on salsa and drink... followed by making a complete out of myself by dancing. My son was not thrilled about this one, to say the least.
My Zumba skills have to be shown off! (Actually it is just a sad mess)

 

[Johngar]

The wife and I will be on this cruise after bringing it down from Vancouver. We had hoped, like others, to do the last Alaska cruise and stay on to come home (we live in Los Angeles, about 45-minutes from the port), but alas that did not happen and a five-day cruise is too short. (We've done the Panama Canal twice.)

The 7-night Mexican Riveria will be our first as Gold members, but we know we might have to wait until we get on board to get our Gold lanyards since the computers might not update quickly for the back-to-back folks.

 

[luvbnmom]

Hi everyone...this will be our 1st Disney Cruise...we are super excited! I'm the Disney junkie in our family & hopefully will create the same love w/ our 2 kiddos.

It will be myself, DH, 1 year old son & my 4.5 year old DD. Plus my mom & her husband (still working on the other set of Grandparents.)

I'm really looking forward to following all this information & getting all that I can out of this board to help me prepare for our cruise the best I can.

Can't wait to read more & see all the pics!
See you on the boards!

 

[Super*Mum]

Hi everyone...this will be our 1st Disney Cruise...we are super excited! I'm the Disney junkie in our family & hopefully will create the same love w/ our 2 kiddos.

It will be myself, DH, 1 year old son & my 4.5 year old DD. Plus my mom & her husband (still working on the other set of Grandparents.)

I'm really looking forward to following all this information & getting all that I can out of this board to help me prepare for our cruise the best I can.

Can't wait to read more & see all the pics!
See you on the boards!

Welcome luvbnmom! It is our first Disney Cruise too so, while I won't be able to help you with info, I will be super excited along with you to experience DCL!

How exciting for your little ones! My DS will be 10 so he won't have the same magical experience (although he is going to have the time of his life no matter what.. he's that kind of kid). Not sure if you have been as obsessed as I am with finding out everything... however, you may want to look into signing your 4.5 year old for Tea as soon as you board the ship. From what I've read it is a blast for the younger ones and they get a ton of character interaction (for free!). I understand that it "sells out" within the first couple hours after boarding so you may want to work on your sprinting skills.

 

[QuiltTeddy]

We are scheduled for the 04/03/11 Mexican Riveria cruise. Disney deleted one of the ports (Matzatlan) due to "safety reasons". Should we be concerned about the other two ports and safety also? Obviously there is unrest anywhere in the world, but everyone keeps telling us we are "nuts" for going on this cruise. We disagree and figure we can always just stay on the ship if we are not comfortable going ashore at one of the ports. Any opinions?

This is our fourth cruise - three on the actual DCL ships and one in AK using points from our vacation club on Holland America. We LOVE cruises.

 

[QuiltTeddy]

The wife and I will be on this cruise after bringing it down from Vancouver. We had hoped, like others, to do the last Alaska cruise and stay on to come home (we live in Los Angeles, about 45-minutes from the port), but alas that did not happen and a five-day cruise is too short. (We've done the Panama Canal twice.)

The 7-night Mexican Riveria will be our first as Gold members, but we know we might have to wait until we get on board to get our Gold lanyards since the computers might not update quickly for the back-to-back folks.

How many cruises until you are "gold members"? This is our third DCL cruise - Mexico on 04/03/11.

 

[Super*Mum]

It is official....We are booked on this cruise!!
Has anyone started a roll call and FE list?? If not, i would be glad to get one started. I am looking forward to getting to know you all better over the next few months! I have never been to Mexico so this will be a first for us.

As this is my first Disney Cruise (and my first FE).... are there going to be "guidelines" in place? I'm just wondering when the date is that we will stop adding people to the list. Also, will each stateroom do deliveries just one day of the cruise or will each stateroom be delivering every day?

The only reason I ask is that I have already started buying gifts and am trying to figure out the logistics (I'll buy fewer more expensive FE gifts if it is just one delivery or a larger amount of less expensive gifts if we are delivering 7 days). Also, I am thinking I may get creative and make something but will wait until the final count is in before I special order the pieces needed to make the FE gift.

I am such a procrastinator with everything in life except things like this (shopping) which I feel the need to do daily.

 

[Johngar]

We are scheduled for the 04/03/11 Mexican Riveria cruise. Disney deleted one of the ports (Matzatlan) due to "safety reasons". Should we be concerned about the other two ports and safety also? Obviously there is unrest anywhere in the world, but everyone keeps telling us we are "nuts" for going on this cruise. We disagree and figure we can always just stay on the ship if we are not comfortable going ashore at one of the ports. Any opinions?

This is our fourth cruise - three on the actual DCL ships and one in AK using points from our vacation club on Holland America. We LOVE cruises.

Cabo San Lucas and Puerta Vallarta are very different ports from Mazatlan. Cabo is very touristy and any unrest in Cabo would end up crushing the town. There also are tons of time-share places in Cabo, many built by U.S. companies.
Puerta Vallarta is a family-oriented town and there is a Wal-Mart right across from the port that you can walk to. You also see many families walking around town.
We've never had any problems in those two ports and we've been there a few times.

 

[Johngar]

How many cruises until you are "gold members"? This is our third DCL cruise - Mexico on 04/03/11.

You become gold members AFTER you have completed five cruises.

The repo from Vancouver (just before this cruise) will be our fifth cruise so this cruise will be our first gold cruise, but we might have to wait on our gold lanyards since the computers might not be updated when we do the back-to-back march.

 

[staffieri]

We will not be doing this cruise. My mother has backed up and begged us to go to Alaska. We said yes, since she offered to pay. We will be traveling on the Last Alaska week. Hope you all have a wonderful time.

Kimberly

 

[Super*Mum]

We will not be doing this cruise. My mother has backed up and begged us to go to Alaska. We said yes, since she offered to pay. We will be traveling on the Last Alaska week. Hope you all have a wonderful time.

Kimberly

Enjoy Alaska! You will have a blast! Sorry to see you go though.

 

[Disney Sweetie]

As this is my first Disney Cruise (and my first FE).... are there going to be "guidelines" in place? I'm just wondering when the date is that we will stop adding people to the list. Also, will each stateroom do deliveries just one day of the cruise or will each stateroom be delivering every day?

The only reason I ask is that I have already started buying gifts and am trying to figure out the logistics (I'll buy fewer more expensive FE gifts if it is just one delivery or a larger amount of less expensive gifts if we are delivering 7 days). Also, I am thinking I may get creative and make something but will wait until the final count is in before I special order the pieces needed to make the FE gift.

I am such a procrastinator with everything in life except things like this (shopping) which I feel the need to do daily.

We have had to cancel this cruise......I need someone to take over the roster and FE list. Usually there is not any type of guidelines. Feel free to give what you feel comfortable with. I usually just give 1 or 2 gifts per FE and usually pass them out on a sea day. Deadlines are about 1 - 2 months prior to cruise to give last minute additions time to join in.

If someone can take over the lists for me, I would really appreciate it.

Have a great cruise!!!