So I think Ill try my hand at this whole trip report business. If I can pass on a fraction of all of the useful advice I received on this message board, then I will consider it a success!
First, let me introduce the cast members Me, DH, DD4, Nanny, and Pop. We booked our first Disney Cruise to the Mexican Riviera Cruise in December of 2010. We booked two rooms, a Navigators verandah (room 7122) and my parents had a regular balcony (room 6124). So, I basically had a year to read everything about the Disney Wonder!
We come from the East Coast so this was basically a cross country trip for us. We were able to get a direct flight from Baltimore on Friday night and we flew for six hours to L.A. (note to self direct flights to the West Coast are loooonggg, especially when the mini DVD player stops working). We arrived in L.A. around 8:30 p.m. and had a room at the Embassy Suites on Airport Boulevard at the airport. I would definitely recommend this hotel. The shuttle was really quick, the hotel was well kept, free breakfast, and best of all they had a mangers reception every night with free drinks! (hmmm I see a free pattern somewhere in there). Also, there is a liquor store across the street if you anyone needed to stock up on last minute supplies.
On Saturday, we woke up to tour Los Angeles! This was only my second time in California, so I was determined to hit every tourist trap imaginable
I had pre-arranged a tour with L.A. City tours. The tour was $69 pp and was at least 6 hours long. I definitely felt that it was worth the money. Best of all they pick you up directly at airport hotels. The first stop was Venice Beach and we got to spend 20 minutes looking around. Definitely good people watching here!
Then we drove through Santa Monica, onto the freeway, and into downtown. It was really cool to see some of the different neighborhoods. We got to spend an hour on Hollywood Blvd and have lunch. We ate at Mels Diner. I wish we could have spent a little longer here; there was so much to see! Couldnt resist snapping a picture of this:
After lunch we got pictures of the Hollywood sign, went to Rodeo Drive, and toured Beverly Hills and the stars homes. The afternoon part of the trip was a little boring as you dont really get to see the stars homes. Its more like, We are going to drive by a very tall fence and see the tip of that black thing thats Jennifer Anistons house.
Some other pictures from our tour:
We got back to the hotel around 5. Even though I wanted to go out again and eat at someplace cool we just ended up eating at the hotel restaurant. After all, we had to save our energy for Sunday!
Day 1 Boarding the ship!
On Sunday morning we had arranged transportation through Super Shuttle for 9:30 a.m. I called and made the reservation several weeks ahead of time vs. booking them on-line. We ended up getting a private van and for the five of us to go to San Pedro and back to LAX (the following week) was $157. We did have to go back to the airport to catch the shuttle but it was pretty painless. For those who fly in the day of, the Super Shuttle and Prime Time shuttle lines are right outside of baggage claim so they are really convenient to find. They also have a representative there who can assist you.
Also, another note the confirmation for Super Shuttle clearly stated that you needed a carseat. We took ours but this was the only time during the trip that we needed it.
At this time of the day (early Sunday morning) the ride from LAX to San Pedro took less than 30 minutes and we arrived at San Pedro terminal around 10:00 a.m. Passengers were still waiting to be picked up from the previous cruise. As soon as we stepped out of the shuttle a porter was there to take our bags. We then followed the signs to the entrance. You do have to show some type of DCL cruise docs to get in the door so have these handy.
The first thing you do is complete a health questionnaire. After you submit this then you go to the check in lines. Because we were there so early, there was no wait. We handed the woman our credit card authorization form, she took our picture, and our KTTW cards were printed seconds later. It was an extremely quick process. After this we were allowed to enter the waiting area. Outside of the waiting area were two women handing out Navigators and boarding numbers and here is what we got:
There were not many people inside the terminal and I wondered if they saved boarding groups 1 and 2 to hand to people personally when they got their KTTW card? If not, then my best guess is that there are not many people in each group.
Now, I will tell you that when I did our online check-in, I was only able to get an 11:30 arrival time (the 10:30 and 11:00 were no longer available). So, we did arrive earlier than we were supposed to. Many speculate that DCL assigns these times in case they have to enforce how people get on the boat, but I never received anything with a printout of my arrival time. I also read many people say that they report at their designated time and there is little to no waiting to get on the boat. For our particular trip, there was a significant delay for when we were allowed to board, so I would imagine that it did benefit us to get there early and have an early boarding number.
We found a seat close to the window and waited for the line to open to get the Mickey bands. The kids line opened around 11:00. If you can, I strongly recommend completing your kids club paperwork prior to getting to the terminal. The process was really quick this way. All you had to do was hand them your KTTW card and tell them your password (that you preselected online). Otherwise, you have to complete your paperwork on clipboards as you wait in line or when you get to the counter. Another reminder make sure you have your kids in line with you (or at least when you get to the front) because the CM puts the bracelet on the kids at this time. Im mentioning this because the line was held up when kids had to be found and called up to the line. The CM will ask you if you want the Mickey band on the wrist or ankle. It is waterproof.
Overall, I think I waited in this line for maybe 20 minutes. If you didnt want to wait in line you could always get the Mickey band at the kids club. From the Navigator it looks like the kids club were opened (Open House program) starting at 12:30.
I guess we waited for around two hours in the terminal. It did go by pretty fast. I was surprised that they didnt play movies in the terminal it was more like advertisements for the Disney Channel. The set up a backdrop close to the counter for the kids club and Mickey and Minnie did make an appearance. There was a DCL photographer taking pictures. Here is the basic etiquette (IMO) when getting pictures on DCL. Remember, they are really good about letting you take pictures with your own camera, however, let the people do their job first. Allow the photographer to take one or two pictures and then many will say, o.k. now look at mom/dad. and then you can snap your photos. This way the photographer can get a picture of your child actually looking at them. I was hesitant about taking my own pictures at first and my first few character pics were in incognito mode, but that really wasnt necessary.
There is a soda machine and two snack machines inside the terminal and plenty of restrooms.
We did have time to look over the Navigator extensively! A few things to note in Sundays navigator:
1. The Disney Friends Tea Party (this is the only time it is mentioned) and where to go if you want tickets (Guest services). Times are not mentioned in the Navigator, but for us the Tea was Friday (Cabo Day 2) at 4:00.
2. Information on where to sign up for Beverage Tastings and Seminars (Guest services). For some reason, they do not list the types of tastings available so when you go to Guest Services, ask about the different types. We didnt know if they would sell out, so we got our tickets on Day 1. From the week, I believe there was Wine, Beer, Whisky, Tequila, Martini, Bloody Mary, Mojito, Liqueur/Coffee and maybe others. Tastings are not free and can run anywhere from $15-20 per ticket. We did the Wine and Beer and I felt they were both very good.
3. Information on where to sign up for Palo reservations and to change dining times (Wavebands). For the first time cruisers reading this, Guest Services and Wavebands are very close together so dont worry that you are going to have to go to all ends of the ship to get things handled.
My husband and I developed a plan of attack. Once we got inside he would head to Guest Services for the tasting and tea tickets and I would go to Wavebands for the Palo reservation. I was able to secure a reservation for Palo brunch but all the dinner times were unavailable on line. I read that they reserve some dinner reservations for those who cant book on line and so I thought I would give it a try. Also, from reading these boards, I was hoping for the rotation where you eat in Tritons on formal night (I believe the rotation was PTTATP), however, we got APPTAPT In case you don't already know, the dining room rotation is printed on your KTTW card so its like a little surprise when you get your card! So, in addition to trying for the Palo reservation, I thought I would also try to see if our dining reservation could get changed.
Developing this plan of attack took all of 15 minutes (basically me telling DH what to do), so we had a little bit of time to sit and wait.
--stay tuned for Part 2 When can we get on the boat?
First, let me introduce the cast members Me, DH, DD4, Nanny, and Pop. We booked our first Disney Cruise to the Mexican Riviera Cruise in December of 2010. We booked two rooms, a Navigators verandah (room 7122) and my parents had a regular balcony (room 6124). So, I basically had a year to read everything about the Disney Wonder!
We come from the East Coast so this was basically a cross country trip for us. We were able to get a direct flight from Baltimore on Friday night and we flew for six hours to L.A. (note to self direct flights to the West Coast are loooonggg, especially when the mini DVD player stops working). We arrived in L.A. around 8:30 p.m. and had a room at the Embassy Suites on Airport Boulevard at the airport. I would definitely recommend this hotel. The shuttle was really quick, the hotel was well kept, free breakfast, and best of all they had a mangers reception every night with free drinks! (hmmm I see a free pattern somewhere in there). Also, there is a liquor store across the street if you anyone needed to stock up on last minute supplies.
On Saturday, we woke up to tour Los Angeles! This was only my second time in California, so I was determined to hit every tourist trap imaginable
I had pre-arranged a tour with L.A. City tours. The tour was $69 pp and was at least 6 hours long. I definitely felt that it was worth the money. Best of all they pick you up directly at airport hotels. The first stop was Venice Beach and we got to spend 20 minutes looking around. Definitely good people watching here!
Then we drove through Santa Monica, onto the freeway, and into downtown. It was really cool to see some of the different neighborhoods. We got to spend an hour on Hollywood Blvd and have lunch. We ate at Mels Diner. I wish we could have spent a little longer here; there was so much to see! Couldnt resist snapping a picture of this:
After lunch we got pictures of the Hollywood sign, went to Rodeo Drive, and toured Beverly Hills and the stars homes. The afternoon part of the trip was a little boring as you dont really get to see the stars homes. Its more like, We are going to drive by a very tall fence and see the tip of that black thing thats Jennifer Anistons house.
Some other pictures from our tour:
We got back to the hotel around 5. Even though I wanted to go out again and eat at someplace cool we just ended up eating at the hotel restaurant. After all, we had to save our energy for Sunday!
Day 1 Boarding the ship!
On Sunday morning we had arranged transportation through Super Shuttle for 9:30 a.m. I called and made the reservation several weeks ahead of time vs. booking them on-line. We ended up getting a private van and for the five of us to go to San Pedro and back to LAX (the following week) was $157. We did have to go back to the airport to catch the shuttle but it was pretty painless. For those who fly in the day of, the Super Shuttle and Prime Time shuttle lines are right outside of baggage claim so they are really convenient to find. They also have a representative there who can assist you.
Also, another note the confirmation for Super Shuttle clearly stated that you needed a carseat. We took ours but this was the only time during the trip that we needed it.
At this time of the day (early Sunday morning) the ride from LAX to San Pedro took less than 30 minutes and we arrived at San Pedro terminal around 10:00 a.m. Passengers were still waiting to be picked up from the previous cruise. As soon as we stepped out of the shuttle a porter was there to take our bags. We then followed the signs to the entrance. You do have to show some type of DCL cruise docs to get in the door so have these handy.
The first thing you do is complete a health questionnaire. After you submit this then you go to the check in lines. Because we were there so early, there was no wait. We handed the woman our credit card authorization form, she took our picture, and our KTTW cards were printed seconds later. It was an extremely quick process. After this we were allowed to enter the waiting area. Outside of the waiting area were two women handing out Navigators and boarding numbers and here is what we got:
There were not many people inside the terminal and I wondered if they saved boarding groups 1 and 2 to hand to people personally when they got their KTTW card? If not, then my best guess is that there are not many people in each group.
Now, I will tell you that when I did our online check-in, I was only able to get an 11:30 arrival time (the 10:30 and 11:00 were no longer available). So, we did arrive earlier than we were supposed to. Many speculate that DCL assigns these times in case they have to enforce how people get on the boat, but I never received anything with a printout of my arrival time. I also read many people say that they report at their designated time and there is little to no waiting to get on the boat. For our particular trip, there was a significant delay for when we were allowed to board, so I would imagine that it did benefit us to get there early and have an early boarding number.
We found a seat close to the window and waited for the line to open to get the Mickey bands. The kids line opened around 11:00. If you can, I strongly recommend completing your kids club paperwork prior to getting to the terminal. The process was really quick this way. All you had to do was hand them your KTTW card and tell them your password (that you preselected online). Otherwise, you have to complete your paperwork on clipboards as you wait in line or when you get to the counter. Another reminder make sure you have your kids in line with you (or at least when you get to the front) because the CM puts the bracelet on the kids at this time. Im mentioning this because the line was held up when kids had to be found and called up to the line. The CM will ask you if you want the Mickey band on the wrist or ankle. It is waterproof.
Overall, I think I waited in this line for maybe 20 minutes. If you didnt want to wait in line you could always get the Mickey band at the kids club. From the Navigator it looks like the kids club were opened (Open House program) starting at 12:30.
I guess we waited for around two hours in the terminal. It did go by pretty fast. I was surprised that they didnt play movies in the terminal it was more like advertisements for the Disney Channel. The set up a backdrop close to the counter for the kids club and Mickey and Minnie did make an appearance. There was a DCL photographer taking pictures. Here is the basic etiquette (IMO) when getting pictures on DCL. Remember, they are really good about letting you take pictures with your own camera, however, let the people do their job first. Allow the photographer to take one or two pictures and then many will say, o.k. now look at mom/dad. and then you can snap your photos. This way the photographer can get a picture of your child actually looking at them. I was hesitant about taking my own pictures at first and my first few character pics were in incognito mode, but that really wasnt necessary.
There is a soda machine and two snack machines inside the terminal and plenty of restrooms.
We did have time to look over the Navigator extensively! A few things to note in Sundays navigator:
1. The Disney Friends Tea Party (this is the only time it is mentioned) and where to go if you want tickets (Guest services). Times are not mentioned in the Navigator, but for us the Tea was Friday (Cabo Day 2) at 4:00.
2. Information on where to sign up for Beverage Tastings and Seminars (Guest services). For some reason, they do not list the types of tastings available so when you go to Guest Services, ask about the different types. We didnt know if they would sell out, so we got our tickets on Day 1. From the week, I believe there was Wine, Beer, Whisky, Tequila, Martini, Bloody Mary, Mojito, Liqueur/Coffee and maybe others. Tastings are not free and can run anywhere from $15-20 per ticket. We did the Wine and Beer and I felt they were both very good.
3. Information on where to sign up for Palo reservations and to change dining times (Wavebands). For the first time cruisers reading this, Guest Services and Wavebands are very close together so dont worry that you are going to have to go to all ends of the ship to get things handled.
My husband and I developed a plan of attack. Once we got inside he would head to Guest Services for the tasting and tea tickets and I would go to Wavebands for the Palo reservation. I was able to secure a reservation for Palo brunch but all the dinner times were unavailable on line. I read that they reserve some dinner reservations for those who cant book on line and so I thought I would give it a try. Also, from reading these boards, I was hoping for the rotation where you eat in Tritons on formal night (I believe the rotation was PTTATP), however, we got APPTAPT In case you don't already know, the dining room rotation is printed on your KTTW card so its like a little surprise when you get your card! So, in addition to trying for the Palo reservation, I thought I would also try to see if our dining reservation could get changed.
Developing this plan of attack took all of 15 minutes (basically me telling DH what to do), so we had a little bit of time to sit and wait.
--stay tuned for Part 2 When can we get on the boat?
Hi from Jerelle and family.
It is a really bad way to spend the last part of your cruise, and is what I was worried about. Most of our friends and family asked if we were concerned about cruising with regard to the bad press lately. The only thing I was truly concerned about was getting sick in Mexico. 
