Wonderful Mexican Riviera Therapy! COMPLETED 10/8 with Galley Pics and more!

[TinkLoverSam]

Which cruise are you on? I'm not sure if you are 1 week or 2 before ours. Really enjoying the trip report!

They are on the one right before ours!![/QUOTE]

Then we will have to wave goodbye as we arrive

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

Are you going to be doing a TR for your October trip?!?!

I can't make any promises... but we'd sure like to!

Which cruise are you on? I'm not sure if you are 1 week or 2 before ours. Really enjoying the trip report!

They are on the one right before ours!!

Then we will have to wave goodbye as we arrive

Yes, we'll be quite easy to spot. We'll be the ones being dragged off by security guards as we sob and weep uncontrollably... You'd better watch out though. If you wave at us in your elation and euphoria, the crazed versions of ourselves may direct their hysteria at you guys. And who KNOWS what could happen then...

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

I'm uploading some pics of our second-to-last scared1 day now. We really should finish this TR before we leave if there's going to be any hope of an October TR... We're going to (try ever so hard to) post sometime this weekend!

TTFN!

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

As Day #6 began, our depression was really setting in. What better way to offset depression than to eat to excess?! We indulged in some more of those delicious, heavenly waffles, and some French toast. (There was fruit in there too, so it was SUPER healthy. )

(I'm pretty sure this was for DS, but not 100%...)

And what vacation breakfast is complete without...

Bacon!!! We ordered it extra crispy because... well, we like our bacon extra crispy! (Note: my mouth is watering as I post these pictures... October 23rd can't come soon enough!!)

We nickname the second-to-last day of the cruise "Picture Day" because... well, because we go around taking pictures of EVERYTHING since we want to remember it all! The last day we are too depressed to actually do anything, so the second-to-last day we convince ourselves that we're "enjoying every moment" by taking pictures... of everything... here are a few. (There are plenty more, of course...)

Why can't we have an Oceaneer Lab at home?? Seriously! It's SO cool!

And don't even get me started on the soda fountain and the pool...

We had a nice, quiet DM-DD lunch at Triton's. (It wasn't wonderful... We had Mexican tortilla soup, pineapple soup, and lobster ravioli, none of which were very memorable.)

DD and I spent a lazy afternoon at the pool, soaking up the sun and enjoying each moment that we were actually on the boat.

One of DD's favorite treats on the board was a Coke float... I mean, come on! It's ice cream and Coke! YUM. And since she hardly ever drinks pop at home, it's an even more special treat. So, we had to document her enjoying it...

Couldn't finish the afternoon without another few great Cabo pics... (Only one here, though. They're all pretty similar. )

After we had had our fill of the sun, we walked around inside, taking pictures of the carpet, (YES! The carpet... Every moment.) the outsides of our favorite restaurants, and other scenery. We practically burst into tears (of joy!) when we ran into Belle...

And Snow White...

Both princesses stopped and talked to us for a few solid minutes. It was so special (I mean magical!)! They asked about DD's pins, and what we had been enjoying. They are so sweet!

After we had taken sufficient pictures, (HAHAHA!) we headed back to the room to get semi-prettied up for semi-formal night at Triton's!

To Be Continued...

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

(A few more pictures from our afternoon of exploration!

We spotted Stitch trying to tear down the curtains... {But he was too busy to stop for a pic with us }

And, going to pick DS up from Oceaneer Club, DD, of course, had her camera handy and got a picture of our little ladies' man...

And thus ended our photographic explorations!)

Okay, folks. It's time for... *drumroll, please...* Wait for iiiiiiiiiiiiiit.... Lobster night!!!! Yes. The moment we'd all been waiting for! I was on cloud 9.

After getting semi-fancy, we stopped to see Goofy in his semi-finest!

Time for some grub! Or lobster. Your choice.

Oysters Rockefeller for DH:

Wild Forest Mushroom soup: (We can't remember whose this was! )

And, of course, our ever present shrimp dish! (Had to have shrimp in some capacity every day...) Tonight it was Garlic and Herb Sauteed. Yum.

Now, for the main course of the night! The lobster! (There were five served at our table. *mischievous grin* I'll let you do the math. Okay, maybe I won't, just so you don't get any wild ideas. DH and I each had two, and DD had one. Oh, they were good.) These pictures don't do justice to their size. They were bigger than we remembered. Much.

I quote Lilo: "Aren't they beautiful?"

Agung made DS a souvenir to take home. It's still displayed in his room.

The dessert offerings weren't too diverse tonight, but that was okay. We were anticipating the 11:00 Desert Gala Buffet... (Oh, yes. You read that correctly.) The best choice offered at dinner was...

Chocolate. Lava. Cake. Our only complaint? It was too small. (But really? Does that count as a complaint?)

And of course, there was the usual Mickey bar offering, but only one of our clan took them up on it.

So, now, we had three and a half hours to fill before we could have some AHmazing desserts. We spent part of it watching Disney Dreams... We had seen this show twice before. This was the time we learned that it makes us depressed. DD and I are majorly in tears by the end.

(To be continued pronto...)

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

After DD and I had wiped our tears, we spent some family time visiting our favorite old haunts... the ice cream machine… the walking path on deck 4… our stateroom… *sigh* Good times...

When it was close to 11:00, we headed to Triton’s to experience Dessert Nirvana. (Two notes here: (1) We were the first people in line. Priorities... (2) DS was in Oceaneer Club for this, so he didn’t experience the pure deliciousness with us. Shh… Don't tell him. He doesn’t know. We still feel sorry for him.)

As they doors of Triton’s opened, I literally felt like the scene from Titanic at the end where the doors open majestically and everything is so beautiful and new again. It was Dessert heaven…

So, without further ado, here we go! (Note: If you are hungry {or even full for that matter} and there are no desserts nearby, you may want to avoid looking at these pictures. DD and I have fits when we look at them. Disclaimer: Schmoopsie Poo! is not liable for any injuries sustained while looking at Dessert Gala Buffet pictures.)

And, that concludes our journey into Paradise...

Coming up next: The galley pictures are finally here!!! And the "Till we meet again" dinner...

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Yay!!! An update and you just might be finished before we cruise!!

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

Yay!!! An update and you just might be finished before we cruise!!

We're certainly going to try to finish before we leave! (Three weeks! JUST three weeks!! ) DD and I were just laughing because we still haven't finished our family scrapbook from our trip in 2009... and we're now going on our second trip of 2011! We're a bit behind... But we are determined not to get so behind with our trip reports!

 

[Snoopygirl]

WOW!!! Thanks for the TR! Going on our 2nd DCL cruise NEXT WEEK!!!! W/ NO kids!!!

Thanks again and have a great time on your next cruise

 

[sharon0122]

Thanks for sharing your TR with all of us, Schmoopsie Poo! DH and I will be on the same sailing as you (I can't believe we're less than 3 weeks away!), and your TR has really amped up the anticipation for this cruise. This will be our first Disney cruise (always wanted to sail with Disney but never had the opportunity until now). See you on the ship!

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

WOW!!! Thanks for the TR! Going on our 2nd DCL cruise NEXT WEEK!!!! W/ NO kids!!!

Thanks again and have a great time on your next cruise

Yay! How exciting! Enjoy your last week of anticipating! Have a great time!

Thanks for sharing your TR with all of us, Schmoopsie Poo! DH and I will be on the same sailing as you (I can't believe we're less than 3 weeks away!), and your TR has really amped up the anticipation for this cruise. This will be our first Disney cruise (always wanted to sail with Disney but never had the opportunity until now). See you on the ship!

So glad you'll be joining us! We are SUPER excited! You are going to love cruising Disney style. It's a one-of-a-kind magical experience.

20 days! When we wake up tomorrow morning, we will be in the teens. That is so unreal.

I've finally finished uploading all of our pictures to finish off this trip report! We'll probably finish in two installments, probably one or (possibly) both this weekend.

So, we're coming to the end! Exciting but sad at the same time! We've spent so long on this TR! Luckily, though, we'll get to start another soon!

See ya real soon! (Wow. Just typing that makes me sad because it reminds me of... I can't even say it.)

 

[tiggerandme]

Thanks for this totally AMAZING report. Mark (DH) and I are on the Wonder cruise on 11/6. We are totally Disney NUTZ!!!! DVC members for 5 years now, just returned from WDW, staying in the Bay Lake Tower.

Your TR and pics have me hopping up and down (I AM the TIGGER, ya know).

Hope to see news from you soon, since it appears the bday cruise is just a bit before we sail.

PS: Did you decorate your door? Did you take pics?

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

Thanks for this totally AMAZING report. Mark (DH) and I are on the Wonder cruise on 11/6. We are totally Disney NUTZ!!!! DVC members for 5 years now, just returned from WDW, staying in the Bay Lake Tower.

Your TR and pics have me hopping up and down (I AM the TIGGER, ya know).

Hope to see news from you soon, since it appears the bday cruise is just a bit before we sail.

PS: Did you decorate your door? Did you take pics?

Thank you! Glad you liked it.

Hope you have a great time on your cruise! Sounds like you can't get enough of Disney... just like us! (We're pretty nutty too... )

We're hoping to do some TRing after we get back, though it probably won't be started before you guys leave. (It takes us a while to get over our "We're back home now" depression... Long story short, we'll be lucky to have our next TR started by Thanksgiving!)

We're not door decorators yet... Maybe someday.

Thanks for joining us!

 

[1DCL11]

I have been following your TR... we are on the OCT 23rd sailing too !! YAY

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Thanks for this totally AMAZING report. Mark (DH) and I are on the Wonder cruise on 11/6. We are totally Disney NUTZ!!!! DVC members for 5 years now, just returned from WDW, staying in the Bay Lake Tower.

Your TR and pics have me hopping up and down (I AM the TIGGER, ya know).

Hope to see news from you soon, since it appears the bday cruise is just a bit before we sail.

PS: Did you decorate your door? Did you take pics?

We're on the sailing between you guys! tiggerandme please try to to be too gleeful when they tear us off the ship as I have already promised Schmoospie Poo! the same

 

[princesskayla]

I love reading your trip report. It makes me so happy - especially since I know that after your turn it is TinkLoverSam's turn, then it will be mine (along with tiggerandme)!

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

I can’t even believe it. We’re actually on the last day of our trip report!

We woke up pretty much depressed this morning… We had breakfast at Beach Blanket, and we all sat around the table for a while afterwards, contemplating. We were kind of loopy and silly, but we were all just kind of sad that in just 24 hours we would have to leave.

This was the only food pic we shot all day until dinner…

We did squeeze in some fun today, though… and every moment of family time counts! I think we had lunch at Triton’s, but we weren’t super impressed with it, so we went to Beach Blanket Buffet as well… Hey, one more day on the Wonder! We were not going to miss out! During the afternoon, DD and I had one last exploration, DH had one last Rainforest, and DS spent a few more hours at Oceaneer Club. DD stopped to see Mickey and Minnie at an event in the atrium; she didn’t stay for the whole thing, but she did manage to snap a pic or two of our pals.

Afterwards, she headed to rehearsal for that night’s talent show! She played and sang When She Loved Me from Toy Story 2. (Just a note here: Though she enjoyed participating, it did make our last evening feel kind of rushed. She had to leave dinner early, and it was Baked Alaska night, no less! She’s probably going to opt out this next time, but I would recommend trying it at least once if you are so inclined! )

Meanwhile, I was going on my long-awaited… *drumroll, please*… Galley Tour! It was a great experience, and I highly recommend it! It was so cool to go behind the scenes of all that magical food we’ve been showing you guys! (Not to mention that they gave us free, warm cookies at the end! Can you say wonderful?!?)

Here are some pics!

Only Disney can give these instructions to their employees... and actually have them be effective! This is so clever and cute!

All the food pictures you could ever want!!

Look at it! Everything is so clean...

Desserts... oh yeah.

These are the great cookies they gave us! In the background, you can see the Baked Alaska's all ready to go! So cool!

A few rare pictures of an empty Parrot Cay!

And there are our galley pics! Hope you enjoyed! I'm a behind-the-scenes kind of person, so it's still cool for me, even though I've see the pictures lots of times before!

After getting ready for dinner, we all headed down to see *sniff*...

The Oceaneer Club kids’ program… It’s about all the friends they’ve made and the fun they’ve had… It makes me so sad! But we had to go see DS with his cute Disney shirt on!

DD got some bittersweet pictures of her last sunset on the boat…

Time for one last dinner on our beloved Wonder…

(To be posted soon!)

 

[Schmoopsie Poo!]

♪ “So long, farewell. Auf wiedersehen, Goodbye!” ♪ Well, they didn’t actually play that at dinner… but it felt like they should have! Sitting down to dinner, we were all thinking the same thing: We don’t want to go home! Nevertheless, we did enjoy our last dinner…

Artichoke, Spinach, and Jalapeño Cheese dip: This was so good! It was the only spicy thing I remember eating all week. Not too spicy, but just right!

Chilled seafood medley: DD got this because of her shrimp fetish this week. Now, she is not picky about food (especially while we are on the Wonder!) but she did NOT enjoy this. Even the shrimp was off… “I don’t know. I just don’t think seafood and chilled go super well together…” was her opinion.

Sesame crusted tuna Sashimi, wakame salad, and American caviar: No thumbs up or down... thumbs neutral, I think.

Yachtsman Steakhouse Center Cut Grilled Beef Tenderloin: Okay, so about this steak: do I even need to comment? Of course, it was wonderful. However, I’m not entirely sure I get the whole “potato in the shape of a pear” idea. It didn’t even really taste like a potato. But, anyway…

Oh, Teody… He brought this Seafood Linguini Pasta to us just for fun (AKA: no one ordered it…) But of course, we worked together and somehow managed to get it down. Not my favorite pasta of the week, but it was good.

So, one last dessert. *sigh* DD, knowing she had to leave early to get to the talent show on time, ordered early. She went the “ceremonial route” and ordered Baked Alaska, just so she could say she ate something that had once been on fire. (Hey, no wisecracks about my cooking! ) She didn’t really see the attraction though… it’s basically just Neapolitan ice cream cake. Again, not BAD just no fireworks going off.

I went with the Chocolate Decadence. Nuff said. It was chocolate and it was decadent. Very good…

Note/chastisement to self: How did we miss the dessert entitled “Celebration Cake”? It’s strawberry cheesecake with vanilla cream and white chocolate! We will be picking at least one of these up next time… we've got some making up to do!

All full, (for the last time!) we asked for a picture with Teody and Agung. They were so wonderful! We definitely recommend them, and we requested them for next time.

After DD’s amazing (in my unbiased opinion ) performance, she went to Pin Trading with the Ship’s Officers! (Background story: All week, she had gone to different places around the ship trying to find CM’s to trade with. One in particular, Audrey from France, saw her at the store and pin trading station a few times, and on the second-to-last night asked if DD would like to be the “Honorary Pin Trader” of the cruise! So, on the last night, the ship lent her a lanyard for a while and she got to stand and trade pins with the officers and guests! It was so cool!)

After she had traded to her heart’s content, we headed to the final show. If we were crying at Disney Dreams, we were sobbing after the farewell show.

As much as we wanted to go and see all of the characters in the lobby at the “See Ya Real Soon” gathering, we needed to do some last-minute packing, so we headed to our stateroom for one last night onboard.

Well, we did somehow manage to wake up on Sunday morning. But let me tell you: we were NOT happy about it. At all. After our final packing and getting ready for the long plane ride(s) home, we headed down to Animator’s Palate for one last hoorah. As if we weren’t sad enough, just look at this menu:

It’s enough to make you burst into tears!

Our breakfast was nothing TOO spectacular...

(We’ve always thought that breakfast on the last day is not meant to impress. It’s just enough fuel to get you moving out the doors…)

Unfortunately, our servers were also pretty busy and there was no time to say long last goodbyes… But we got our luggage together, and waited for our group to be called and exited in a semi-orderly, semi-hysterical fashion.

And then, just like that, we were once again on solid ground. And just when we had gotten used to our sea legs and everything! The plane rides home were fine, but we were just a little tired…

At one of the airports, DD, always the sentimentalist, was snapping a few “final family pictures” to close off the vacation. A nice man nearby offered to take one of all four of us, and this is, I think, a fitting way to officially end our TR.

And this concludes our Wonderful Mexican Riviera Therapy!

Highlights:

1. Food, glorious food! I hope you will take us up on some of our food recommendations (and above all, I hope you enjoy the food as much as we did, and bring back some pictures of your own!) We’re already hungry, and can’t wait for more! As one of our favorite Pixar characters, Anton Ego, says, “I will be returning to Gusteau’s” er, the Disney Wonder “soon, hungry for more!”

2. Family time: Enjoy this special time together. We love when we get the giggles together; these are our favorite moments and create some great memories.

3. Characters: They are so much fun! In school yesterday, DD was asked if she would rather meet a famous person (for example, someone from her favorite TV show) or Disney characters. It was a no brainer! They are just so magical!

4. Our best advice: Just. Enjoy. It. Enjoy it all! Enjoy walking down the halls, (Look at the carpet! You'll be happy to remember it once you get home...) enjoy each part of your day, enjoy every magical moment! Whether you’ve gone on one or twenty Disney cruises, enjoy the wonder and the magic, and take them with you wherever you go!

We’re still holding onto our supply of pixie dust from our last trip, but it’ll be great to replenish it in 15 days! Can’t wait!

Please stay tuned for a new TR (Or possibly PTR) coming sometime soon!

Until next time, we’re living Happily Ever After, and we hope you are too! See Ya Real Soon!

 

[TinkLoverSam]

YAY!! not that you finished your trip but that you managed to finishe your TR before you head out on your next one

 

[trente33trois]

Yay! Love love love the galley tour pics! Two more weeks until we sail!