Yet ANOTHER droning MR TR - 3/13-20

[CopaDave]

Day 637, and the madness is starting to make itself apparent.

I have worked my way through almost all of the supplies I was able to salvage after the disaster, and find that I'm down to about a thousand pounds of frozen steak, and a couple of hundred frozen lobster tails...and no way to cook them.

My man Friday is starting to look at me funny. Or am I looking at him funny? He never says anything. He just sits there and watches me. Only now, his eyes are flashing and he's vibrating off the tabl--

“Hello?”
<garbled muttering>
“Oh, just relaxing on the bed in the cabin, why?”
<excited muttering>
“Dinner? Oops, I'll be right up! Bye.”
<cut-off excitedly animated scream->

Dratted Wave Phones. So, where was I? Oh, nevermind.

Here it is, Day 3 (If you count Los Angeles as Day 1) and we've just left Cabo San Lucas for the first time. Tomorrow we are stopping in Walmart...I mean Puerto Vallarta.

Day 3? Yep, day 3. We've had fun so far and we can't wait for tomorrooooo-, what's wrong?

Oh, you want more detail about what's happened so far?

Okay, I guess.

Day 1 – The alarm clock went off at 5:00am Pacific Daylight Time, as we woke u- NOW WHAT!?

Oh, too much information? Hmmm...

Okay, hold on. Let me see what I can do.

 

[LdyMags]

Ok, already intrigued. Ready for more.

 

[CopaDave]

We arrived at the Port of Los Angeles at 9:45am. While they were still unloading passengers from the previous week's trip, there were plenty of porters there to check our luggage. We waltzed right through the door and up the escalator to the main floor. Departures are handled on the top floor, and I imagine that arrivals are moved downstairs after they disembark from the ship and clear Customs.

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At the bottom of the escalator we were handed our first Personal Navigator, along with a letter advising us that our port schedule had changed and Mazatlan was not an option. Luckily, DCL had already sent us a letter to this effect about a month earlier. And the DIS was great at updating everyone before DCL had even made an official announcement.

There are BIG signs everywhere, and Cast Members all over the place with smiles and a ready answer to questions.

Step 1. - Fill out a brief medical questionnaire (Anyone in your party with the plague, funny spots, Beaver Fever, etc)

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Step 2 – Check-in. There is a line for Castaway Club and a line for first-timers. If you've ever flown, it's similar to the ticket counter at an airport. First Class in one line, and cattle car class in another. The first-timers line was a LOT shorter than the CC line. We waited about half a second before being escorted to a smiling CM who was more than ready to assist us. Did we have our check-in form from online?

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We handed it over, she scanned the barcode and we were off. A quick look at our ID, a snap of a picture for each of us, and we had our Key To The World (KTTW) (Like AmEx...Never Leave Home Without It) cards and we were pointed toward Security. Just prior to the security checkpoint, we were handed a boarding card by another Smiling CM (SCM from now on). We were Number 4!!!! WOO HOO!! Oh, sorry.

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Empty our pockets onto the conveyor belt and pass through the security arch of doom. I beeped. Back up and drop my inhaler onto the belt and try again. Made it through this time.

Once we collected ourselves again, another SCM confirmed we had the correct boarding card and sent us to the far end of the terminal to relax and wait.

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It's now 10:20, and we're ready. I can't sit down. DM9 can't sit still. DM11 is into his Nintendo, and DW is on Facebook (or something) on her smart phone. Lots of photos in the terminal. Lots of waiting.

We even had fun photographing DISsers!

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The Youth Activities Desk is closed. There are some SCMs over there getting ready, but a Non-smiling CM is making sure nobody jumps the line and does something unspeakable. About 11:00 the hoards of demanding parents gang-rushed the CM and queued up in a corral for the Youth Activities desk.

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Ok, it wasn't a corral. It was (back to the airport scenario) similar to the queue you go through to check-in. Lots of dividers and pleasant lines.

11:10 – Mickey Mouse makes his grand appearance, and another line forms...albeit a much shorter line. The wait for Mickey photos was about 5 minutes max.

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11:32 – The rumor was that they would start boarding at 11:30. It was wrong.

11:50 – The Youth Activities Desk finally opens.

11:50 - “Attention, Disney Cruise Lines would like to welcome guests holding Boarding Card 1 to line up at the gate.”

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11:55 - “Attention...yada-yada-yada...guests holding Boarding Cards 1 through 4- THAT'S US!

11:57 – The queue for the Kiddie Corral is still huge. We show our cards, they swipe us through and we're on our way to the gangway! OMG, we are ON THE SHIP! No? Well, almost. Down the gangway that goes on forever (3 switchbacks) and finally we're at the Wonderful portal!

(Continued in Part 2)

Photos from Day 1​

 

[JDBlair]

Awesome!! I was thinking about writing a TR as well. I don't know if I'll bother if others are writing one!! I couldn't believe the mess in the terminal to check kids in for the youth activities. We had no problems getting DD's band once on board!

 

[bitocas]

thank you very much!great trip report,we leave in 4 weeks for the 10 night mex.rivieira and your photos are kepping me very excited!!

 

[smb6]

Great start!! I love all the detailed info and pics; we will be sailing on the Wonder for our first cruise in a few months...

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Nice port details! Look forward to the rest of day 1.

 

[CopaDave]

Our family name is announced and we're in! A SCM directs us to the hall leading to Parrot Cay for lunch.

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However, when we reach the Aft elevator lobby, another SCM tells us we have the option of Parrot Cay or Beach Blanket buffet, on Deck 9. Everyone votes for BBB and we hit the elevator. Friends, I've been in closets that are larger. We make it to Deck 9 and find our way through a buffet that DS9 christens “First Class dining.” His standards are a bit low, but it is indeed good eats.

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Oh, since I spent a good portion of my teenage years working on fishing boats in New England, I remember a bit of ship lingo. For those who don't know, “Aft” refers to the rear of the vessel (boat) and “Forward” obviously refers to the front of the boat, or bow. (Like bow-wow, minus the excitement). “Mid, or Midship” is the middle of the boat, where most of the character meets happen, but I digress. If you stand, looking in the direction the vessel is heading, the side of the ship to your left is the “Port” side (remember “left has 4 letters, as does “port.”) The right side is the “Starboard” side of the ship.

So, we went to up to Deck 9 Aft for lunch at BBB. Note: Ships do NOT have floors, they have Decks. Disney Wonder happens to have 14 of them. Decks 1-11, and A, B, C. ABC are the 2 crew decks and an engineering deck. Pay attention, there's a test later.

After we ate, we wandered the boat, exploring.

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Major Score!!!! As we passed through the lobby atrium area on Deck 4, we came upon Princesses Ariel and Belle, waving to the passengers as they came on board downstairs. DW was able to get photos with each of them with no waiting.

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We went to the Oceaneer's Club and checked DS9 in. There was one family ahead of us. Much different from the madhouse on the dock.

We toured the Club and Oceaneer's Lab, and then went down to The Edge to look at that. Nice facilities.

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The staterooms were ready about 1:50pm.

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Lifeboat Drill at 4:00pm

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A quick encounter with Princess Tiana and another Princess photo in the books!

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I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story. The Adventurer's Away party, dinner at Animator's Palate, and an early evening to bed (this was the theme for the rest of the cruise for me).

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Thank you for tuning into Episode 1 - Los Angeles.

Supported by a cast of several hundred Disney Cast Members, your stars today included Yessika (DW), Matthew (DS11), Isaiah (DS9), David (CopaDave), Mickey Mouse, Princess Belle, Princess Ariel and Princess Tiana.

Tune in next time for Episode 2 - Adventures At Sea!

 

[LovingRN]

Great start... I'm looking forward to more as we leave in about 3 weeks for MR cruise!

 

[Diamondback01]

Wow Dave! Very detailed and informative. Thanks for doing this. I'm not sure I need to do one now . Though, I might write an abbreviated one to give our take on the ship and excrusions we took. I'll be looking for us in your pictures! I think we sat near you in the waiting area on embarkation day.

 

[CopaDave]

Today we had our Character Breakfast, in Parrot Cay. We also have Formal Night in Parrot Cay as well.

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Our dining rotation is APPTAPT, which equates to:

Animator's Palate
Parrot Cay – Formal Night
Parrot Cay
Triton's
Animator's Palate – Pirate Night
Parrot Cay – Semi-Formal Night
Triton's – DW's Birthday Celebration

Monday is our first At-Sea day. We are heading for Cabo San Lucas, and the seas are swelling at about 5-8 feet, so there is a bit of motion to the ship, but nobody appears to be green.

More exploration and wandering around today. The boys were in the pool, and we did a lot of nothing. A couple of Character Appearances today.

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Since the dry cleaner back home messed up and "forgot" to press the DS's shirts, we went on a voyage of discovery looking for the laundry room on Deck 2. There were 2 irons in the laundry room, both of them on timers. Each washer and dryer is $2 per use, and you swipe your KTTW card.

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While hiking down the Deck 2 corridors, we came across some staterooms with decorated doors.

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Tonight was the Golden Mickeys, the first of 3 Broadway quality shows onboard. DS9 was picked from the audience to be one of Snow White's 7 dwarves. It seems that Dopey was the only one who made it back to the ship before departure yesterday, so they were looking for children to fill in for her stage number in the show. Isaiah did a GREAT job! Unfortunately, none of the pictures turned out good. I made a mistake and took the iPod Touch to the show. The camera sucks. So now I tote the big camera everywhere.

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I'm uploading the iPod photos to Picasaweb because I have them. They look ok in smaller size, but they are not the highest quality, so viewer beware.

iPod Touch photos from Day 2​

We did NOT dress up formally for the show, but we did for dinner.

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Thank you for joining us for Episode 2 of Lost in the Pacific. Tune in next time for "The Clampetts take on Cabo."

Photos from Day 2 are available here.

 

[Raeryan50]

Enjoying your TR Can't wait to hear more.

 

[mnsweeps]

I am so nostalgic now.. I was in the 2/6 - 2/13 MR week the week before yours .. especially the shuffle board on deck 4 and the dec 2 doors brings back so many memories.. we were in 2074 and 2076 and used the washer / dryer on same deck.. omg my dining rotation was the same as yours..

 

[scott_twinsmom]

It was great meeting you on the cruise Dave. I see you found the laundry room which happened to be right across from our staterooms.

Looking forward to the rest of your TR. Still debating if we are going to do one or not.

 

[CopaDave]

It was great meeting you on the cruise Dave. I see you found the laundry room which happened to be right across from our staterooms.

I had fun scribbling on your white board, too. I was tempted to go back a couple of times and write more...but DW threatened me.

 

[CopaDave]

Cabo San Lucas, Jewel of Baja. Glorious sun-drenched city on the tip of the world! Right?

Oh yeah, sure, whatever you say.

Woke up this morning to bleah. Weather was still lousy. It was SUPPOSED to be nice, but you couldn't prove it by me.

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Like I said, blah. What to do? Well, how about wandering around and taking pictures of things that people on DISBoards always seem to be asking about? Great idea!

Behold, I bring you the Everflowing Fountain of Refreshment - Port side Aft (Dude, you're in my shot)

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And on the Starboard side Aft, we find Goofy's Galley (mostly healthy stuff) and the soft-serve ice cream dispensers, neither of which are open early in the morning. Thankfully, Beach Blanket Buffet was.

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As you can see from the second photo, there is sunlight peaking through at last! Time for breakfast and then back up on deck to see what's going on.

Whats this? Blue skies and LAND!? Maybe today will be a nice day after all.

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We arrived in Cabo about 10:45 ship time. Last night they had us all put our clocks ahead 1 hour, and we stay on this time until Saturday, on our way back to LA.

Great photos of the beaches and the rock formations as we arrived.

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There were two other ships in port at the same time as us. The Carnival Splendor and the Norwegian Star. Port was crowded.

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While we were out on deck, soaking up sun and taking pictures, guess who showed up? DS9 saw him from 200 feet away, screamed his name and took off running.

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...continued in Part 2 (there is a limit on the number of pictures I can include)

 

[CopaDave]

...continued from previous post

We had nothing planned so we went ashore and spent $$$ on jewelry. We also booked a water taxi tour for Friday when we come back to Cabo.

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We managed to spend a bunch of money on jewelry. Broke and happy, it was time to head back toward the pier and the ship.

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We saw a couple of locals and a winter visitor on the way back to the ship

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This is a big ship

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We finally made it back, in time to attend Minnie's Fiesta Grande, on Deck 9.

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Meat for dinner, and then a couple more Princess visits on the way back to our stateroom. We found a swan waiting for us, along with chocolate.

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And thus ends Day 3 of our trip. Stay tuned for the next captivating episode, "Disney and Walmart!"

Day 3 Photos

 

[CopaDave]

I am so nostalgic now.. I was in the 2/6 - 2/13 MR week the week before yours .. especially the shuffle board on deck 4 and the dec 2 doors brings back so many memories.. we were in 2074 and 2076 and used the washer / dryer on same deck.. omg my dining rotation was the same as yours..

Sorry for bringing back happy memories.

I think we need to come up with a new phrase for the psychologists to make money off of. Disney Cruise Withdrawal Syndrome.

 

[hyperone]

I believe that yacht belongs to Denzel Washington, i've seen it in Portofino, Italy before!

 

[TexasGirl]

Enjoying the TR!! Very funny. I saw your son as a dwarf in Golden Mickeys. He looked like he was on cloud 9...very cute.

Great pictures too!