Cruisin' the Open Sea

A few weeks ago we got back from one of our best vacations EVER. We went on a Disney cruise with my parents and some friends to the Mexican Riviera and I'm telling you what (here's what), that is a fun place to be. I wasn't expecting much from Mexico. I had never been and except for seeing the pyramids (which are not in the area we travelled to), it wasn't a top-of-the-list place to travel. I'm a little bit in love now. We went to Puerto Vallarta and Cabo san Lucas and both were beautiful, clean, friendly and so much fun. We were supposed to go to Mazatlan but what with the recent beheadings etc, Disney decided to forgo that port. I suppose it's just as well.

So let us begin with the Disney Wonder. A. MA. ZING. These Disney ships are the cat's meow. I love them so much. The two "older" ones, the Magic and the Wonder, are smaller (they hold about 3,000 passengers) and you've never seen anything so charming when you're in port. Seriously, the other ships look like big, tacky buildings on water, and then there's the cute "little" Disney ships that look almost like toy boats. They're adorable. And gorgey. Really gorgey. Steve and I just got huge smiles on our faces as we walked onto the ship. We've done Disney cruises before but it had been about 3 years and the memories just made us so happy. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it ;).

Will and Lizzy on the beach in Cabo with the Wonder in the background.

I don't think you could find any other cruise line that will entertain your kids as well as Disney does. Well, I know you couldn't. Our first night at dinner, our cute waiters, Wayan and Sedat, decided that at the next dinner they would have an adult's table and a kid's table. It was so perfect because they totally entertained the kids and if we started worrying about their behavior or anything, the waiters would swoop in and take care of everything. Also, the kids club councilors would come and gather up the kids in the dining room about an hour into dinner. How much better does it get? AND, the kids wanted to go! They love the kids club. They have theme nights like pirate night, girls and boys night, pajama party... Seriously, I wanted to go.

Lizzy and Sedat (from Turkey). She loved him. Romantically.

Adorable Wayan (from Bali, Indonesia) doing magic tricks for the kids.

Our head waiter Witt (from Thailand). Oh, how we loved him.

The kids being shuffled off to the kids club. Huzzah!

Being that this was a Disney cruise, there are characters aplenty to be met and seen all over the ship. This delights the kids and sometimes horrifies the parents ;). Most of the time it was enough for our kids to just see them in passing, but sometimes we had to wait in line. They do make it convenient by having a character breakfast where the Fab Five (plus Chip and Dale) show up and they have the characters make appearances at the kids club. They also have nightly shows that star Disney characters. I know this all sounds a bit schmaltzy but it's so fun. You just have to find your inner nerd.

About 10 seconds after we got on the ship, Lizzy spotted Cinderella. They're having a discussion.

I made Will get in the shot. He was acting like he wanted to meet her but was a bit embarrassed ;).

With the man himself.

Pluto, an instant hit.

Lizzy and her friend Bella waiting in line for about 75,000 princesses. I don't know why she's winking.

With Snow White. Lizzy looks like a muppet in all of these pictures because she wouldn't let me do her hair.

Having a discussion with Ariel.

Wow.

Wow, again.

All the kids with Goofy.

Our fam with Mickey at the character breakfast.

Will with his best friend Luke at the Oceaneer's Club during a pirate themed thingy. How cute are they?

I have to showcase this ingenious little thing... This bracelet Will is wearing is a GPS tracker. There is no way the kids could get lost on the ship! I can't tell you what peace of mind that gave us. All the kids had to wear them all the time and it's how they got into and out of the kids club. Oh, those Disney smarty pants.

Being the nerd that I am, I don't understand why people complain about days at sea. I could stay on these ships for weeks on end. Really. However, I had never been to Mexico so I felt I needed to disembark my precious boat ;). No, I was actually excited to go to Puerto Vallarta and we had SO much fun. It's tropical there, all jungle-y and stuff. Apparently there are jaguars up in the mountains (Lizzy said she saw a black one with 5 legs, who's to say she's lying?). We met an awesome taxi diver who was from California (he married a Mexican woman and they stayed there). He has a degree in tourism and was so informative. We went up into the mountains and took a really scenic drive around Vallarta for about 5 hours (clearly not driving the whole time). We forgot our good camera that day but we got a few cute pictures of the kids with local "wildlife".

Will with an iguana and a lizard on his head. Happy boy.

Lizzard with a lizard. She didn't dare hold the big'n.

Down by the beach there were a bunch of really cool sculptures. Puerto Vallarta had an impressive downtown.

The funniest thing about our time in Puerto Vallarta was that our kids thought they were living "Beverly Hills Chihuahua". They love that movie and know ALL the "characters" in it and since we were in Mexico (where part of the film takes place), they believed that the animals there were the actors in the movie. That lizard and iguana were the actual ones in the movie, the chihuahua and german shepherd they saw later, were the originals as well. Their friends were on the same wavelength and it was a very exciting day for them. They were in the presence of greatness (talking animal "actors").

Cabo wasn't shabs either. It was a bit more "booze cruise" tourist trap-y but once you got away from that, fab. We were there for two days because of the Mazatlan cancellation and the first day we decided to leave the kids on the boat and just explore. We had some AMAZING food in Cabo. Smoked marlin tacos, some crazy sopa type thing with beans, and eggs, the best guacamole I've ever had in all my life. And before you ask, no, we didn't get sick. I'll tell you why... we didn't drink the water. That is all. Andrew Zimmern (Bizarre Foods) said the only thing you have to worry about when eating in a foreign country is the water. The only time he's gotten sick is when he's drunk the water (this includes ice in your drinks, folks). Words to live by, Andrew. Words to live by.

My fave thing we did in Cabo was our day spent at the beach. We rented some beach chairs, a jet ski and just soaked up some sun. Fabulous time. Also, when you start your day off on a "glass bottom" boat, things are just going to shine...

You know you're in for some fun when *this* is your glass bottom boat! Hysterics were had by all.

Will being a little freaked out by several near crashes we had before we left the marina!

...and the boat wouldn't start... cue hysterical laughter.

*This* is the glass bottom bit! I know!

Steve and Will on the jet ski.

Steve and Lizzy on the jet ski.

My dad and Will

My dad and Lizzy

Lizzy getting her hair braided. She was very brave ;).

This trip honestly couldn't have been more perfect. The kids were happy, we were happy, fun was had by all... We were so sad to be leaving that we booked another cruise to soothe our aching hearts. I know, we're suckers (but really fun suckers).

Before we went home, we had one day at Disneyland (because you can never get enough Disney). One of my old friends, who now lives in Canada, was there and we met up for a few hours. It was fabbity fab. Our kids got along really well and her husband is a super nice guy (always a bonus).

Shaliece and I.

The kids being insane in the Toy Story Midway Mania line. It was a 45 minute wait. Always is.

After Disneyland, we were ready to go home. Not nearly as sad as we were when we had just gotten off the boat. I'm telling you, those cruises...

Peace out,

Heidi