Trip Report Land & Sea - Baja Style! - Complete

And it's been a while

Well here we are again after a pretty long Disney hiatus, minus a holiday resort-only visit.

In just a few weeks, we're off to the grand state of California! On this journey, we'll visit the Disneyland Resort and sail the Disney Wonder.

Here we are!

As you can see (or sea - get it?) we're on a cruise. We have been cruising during the hiatus.

We've sailed Celebrity:

If you haven't sailed Celebrity and you're looking for a bit more refined and adult (mostly-kid free) experience, this is the line for you. Plus, drinks are included. Lots of drinks. The food tastes better (for the most part) and you have a much better variety. The Edge class of ships are beautiful.

Then we hit this up:

This was a true kids-free experience. The food is amazing! By far the best food I've ever had on a cruise ship. There's some really great outdoor spaces as well. They're working out new cruise line issues so there were some hiccups. Entertainment isn't great and the pool is miniscule. We also had the pleasure of running into a former DCL server we had on the Dream or Fantasy (I can't remember). It was an awesome experience.

We just finished up sailing on this lady:

We liked Celebrity so much we sailed again on the Millennium. This is Celebrity's oldest ship (22 years I think) and there were some spots showing age, but I'll tell you, this in no way detracted from the experience. It's just been Revolutionized (refurbished in fancy terms) and most of the ship is looking great. Again, the food choices....

Embarkation Day Desserts

This is what the dessert presentation looked like every single day.

If you're on the fence about Celebrity, do it.

Next up - our plans!

 

[Darstarr]

That dinner looks amazing. The rabbit sausage looks good but I agree, the presentation of the dish itself is bad. It looks like the rabbit took it’s final revenge right on top.

 

[imahistorygeek]

It's our final day at the park before we leave on our cruise.

We decided to try to strategically use our Genie+ at DL. Genie+ wasn't really needed for the morning at DL, just liked at CA. Even for the extra rides (i.e. Rise of the Resistance). It wasn't really useful until the afternoon/evening. That's when the mega lines hit. When I say mega, I mean 60 minutes.

We rode the usual rides and started with Space Mountain. That's are usual starting point at DL and MK. Got right through the line, no problem. One thing I've noticed about DL/CA are the service animal cages at the rides. Maybe they exist at WDW as well, I've just never seen them.

After that, we just rode whatever we wanted with fairly minimal waits. I think the longest wait was Peter Pan, but that's because they stop the ride vehicles each time. If they would have been constantly moving, it would have moved faster. Fantasyland (or whatever it's called at DL) is super-crowded like MK. The space is small and I felt like everyone in the park was there.

We made our way over to Indiana Jones because we wanted to eat lunch at Bengal BBQ. This is your place for meat on a stick. We had been watching mobile order times because you did have to plan a little bit ahead for this place.

We ordered the Bengal Rice Plate. It comes with a choice of two regular Skewers served on a bed of Jasmine Rice with a side of Citrus-Miso Slaw. Along with that, we ordered a single skewer and the hummus trio.

Skewers:
Chieftan Chicken - Chicken Skewer in a Polynesian Sauce
Bengal Beef - Beef Skewer in a sweet Zulu Sauce
Banyan Beef - Hot and Spicy Beef Skewer

The chicken was really good. I remember the beef skewers being tasty, but one was a little tough.

I'm sure there was ride ridin' to be had, but don't remember our specific order of rides. What I do remember is heading over to the Mint Julep Bar. Did I get a mint julep? No, which I do feel is a betrayal to my southern heritage. However, we were really there for one thing: beignets. There was a super-efficient line to order and they were ordered and picked up with a quick turnaround. They were still hot in the paper bag and came with a type of sauce. They were delicious. They did have a seasonal beignet, but we just went old school original. Talk about powdered sugar everywhere!

 

[imahistorygeek]

We rode Small World again at some point during the day. One of my favorite parts of this ride is the incorporation of Disney characters.

I love the outside!

This one is probably the cutest.

To wrap our DLR stay, we had a great time. The parks were fun and different. It's just a different feeling in these parks than WDW. The food was very good to excellent, especially the Food and Wine festival. Most of the rides were great. Web Slingers didn't live up to the hype, but it was fun. It's not worth a long standby line or paying extra for LL. Rope drop or single rider is the way to go.

If you're thinking about heading out to DLR, I'd go during a food festival. The holiday and food and wine have great food. And DL and CA on a super-busy day is nothing like parks at WDW on a super-busy day. You still have room to not touch people.

We will probably be back in a couple of years. There's a lot (for us) to plan when we head out to the West coast and it's just not doable each year or every other year.

Up next...We make our way to San Diego!

 

[imahistorygeek]

We're up bright and early to head to the Anaheim Amtrak station.

I arrange a Lyft and it arrived fairly quickly. The Grand Californian has a dedicated pickup area for share rides.

As we make our way, we notice the gas prices. I don't know if these are high or regular price. Either way...

It took 12 minutes (according to my Lyft ride history) to get from the GC to the train station. Not bad.

It's a really nice building and I would notice the very pretty architecture of the train stations along our route.

We headed to the terminal level and waited it out. It wasn't too busy. These guys were everywhere.

When it was close to the time for our train, we headed outside. This is what you see from the train platform.

The train was on time. We headed to the business class sections. It was ~$80 for two people. This guarantees you a seat on the train. They barely glanced at our tickets. We could have had expired tickets for all they knew. We headed to the 2nd floor. The seats were comfortable and there was a tray table so we could do some work. There were also plug ins. It was a smooth ride all the way to San Diego. If you take the train from Anaheim to San Diego, you're the very last stop. Once you get to San Diego, you exit, walk across the tracks, and this is your view:

She's right cross a couple of streets! It was very convenient. Take note of that word, because it's the last time I'll use it during the entire embarkation process. What happens next was the biggest cluster we've ever experienced with DCL. It was enough to deter us from taking anymore San Diego based cruises.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Since there are two other ships in port, it made things chaotic. The Wonder was sandwiched by Holland America ships.

What does this mean? Well, passengers from HAL were mixed in with passengers with DCL. Everyone was confused and no one was more confused than the DCL agents. They just walking around with clipboards asking for port arrival time. The earliest seemed to be 10:30. We were 11:00. For all you platinum folks out there, there's is no showing up just when you want. While I have you here, let's briefly talk about perks of being platinum (I chased status, so this is on me). You spend a gazillion dollars (that's pretty accurate at this point) and the ONLY perks you get are early arrival (which is suspended), booking a couple of days before the general public, and a dinner at Palo. Keep in mind, it's not all you can eat at Palo, it's up to $45/person. You get some other things, but these are the major things. That's it.

For comparison, after one cruise with Celebrity, you get a one category room upgrade. If you're a top level, you get a free cruise. Just keep in mind that if you're chasing status, make sure it's a status that actually rewards you. End rant.

Back to it. Everyone is just standing around trying to figure out what is going on.

This right here is the entrance where you go drop off your luggage. There are no porters on the outside. Once you've dropped off your luggage, it's a waiting game until your port arrival time. Once that happens, you're given a slip of paper to walk across the street to take your covid test. Ok, fine. Let's walk across the street to the Wyndam and find the Pacific Ballroom. If I was a guest at this hotel, I'd be pi$$ed because you've got a ton of folks from the cruise line just hanging out. The process moved along and we had to check in with at least 3 people before we could go back to the ship. By the time we were headed back the ship, the line to test was VERY LONG.

We get back to the ship and make it to the actual check in for your cruise line. After a few minutes, we head to the sitting area to wait for our boarding group (it was 7). They were on group 2 when we got there. The finally said F-it and told everyone waiting to just board the ship.

After embarkation, things got much better!

We finally made it on the Wonder!

 

[imahistorygeek]

First things first, food and drink!

Pete's Boiler Bites has your hamburgers, hotdogs, and schwarma. I should mention that Cabana's was not open for lunch when we boarded around noon. It opened later, at 12:30. We've never encountered the buffet not being open when you board. This really limits your food options.

My hamburger was good, but little undercooked. I like med rare steaks, but ground beef needs to be 100% done.

Drinks were right around the corner. His look.

An observation we made on this trip was a lot of crew were "earning their ears." I don't feel like this impacted the level of service received.

After lunch, we made our way around the ship. Lots of pictures to follow.

 

[imahistorygeek]

I think our room was ready around 1:30. This was our first experience with an inside stateroom. It was midship, deck 6 and a great location. This was a great stateroom and will probably never go back to a balcony (except for the Wish in September). We didn't feel any vibration, which couldn't be said for the aft. I think it quite bad for the folks with those rooms. We heard/read several complaints about this on the ship and in our FB cruise group. Our room attendant was amazing. We would leave the room at 8 am, and come back at 9 to get something and the room had already been serviced. He was one of the best we've ever had.

The room is small, with only one bathroom, which was fine. The bed being back against the wall opened it up.

The room also wasn't as dark as I thought it would be. You can see the light around the stateroom door which provided plenty of light. I think 2 ppl in this type of room is comfortable. Any more, and it'll feel cramped.

We always pick out a movie to watch on a cruise. We play it right before sleeping and getting ready for dinner. This time it was the first National Treasure. I haven't seen it in a while and remember it being better. I do want to watch the new series on Disney+.

 

[Darstarr]

As we make our way, we notice the gas prices. I don't know if these are high or regular price. Either way...

I grew up in Southern California. From the hill where I lived we could actually see the refinery where they made the gasoline. They make it right there. So why is it so expensive?
TAXES!!!!
Welcome to California, now give us money.

 

[lostpro9het]

What I do remember is heading over to the Mint Julep Bar. Did I get a mint julep? No, which I do feel is a betrayal to my southern heritage. However, we were really there for one thing: beignets. There was a super-efficient line to order and they were ordered and picked up with a quick turnaround. They were still hot in the paper bag and came with a type of sauce. They were delicious. They did have a seasonal beignet, but we just went old school original. Talk about powdered sugar everywhere!

View attachment 635231

She neglected to mention that one of us was rewarded with a Mickey sticker for being extra polite to the CM taking the orders and the other person was @imahistorygeek

Since there are two other ships in port, it made things chaotic. The Wonder was sandwiched by Holland America ships.
View attachment 635249

What does this mean? Well, passengers from HAL were mixed in with passengers with DCL. Everyone was confused and no one was more confused than the DCL agents. They just walking around with clipboards asking for port arrival time. The earliest seemed to be 10:30. We were 11:00. For all you platinum folks out there, there's is no showing up just when you want. While I have you here, let's briefly talk about perks of being platinum (I chased status, so this is on me). You spend a gazillion dollars (that's pretty accurate at this point) and the ONLY perks you get are early arrival (which is suspended), booking a couple of days before the general public, and a dinner at Palo. Keep in mind, it's not all you can eat at Palo, it's up to $45/person. You get some other things, but these are the major things. That's it.

For comparison, after one cruise with Celebrity, you get a one category room upgrade. If you're a top level, you get a free cruise. Just keep in mind that if you're chasing status, make sure it's a status that actually rewards you. End rant.

Back to it. Everyone is just standing around trying to figure out what is going on.
View attachment 635250
This right here is the entrance where you go drop off your luggage. There are no porters on the outside. Once you've dropped off your luggage, it's a waiting game until your port arrival time. Once that happens, you're given a slip of paper to walk across the street to take your covid test. Ok, fine. Let's walk across the street to the Wyndam and find the Pacific Ballroom. If I was a guest at this hotel, I'd be pi$$ed because you've got a ton of folks from the cruise line just hanging out. The process moved along and we had to check in with at least 3 people before we could go back to the ship. By the time we were headed back the ship, the line to test was VERY LONG.

We get back to the ship and make it to the actual check in for your cruise line. After a few minutes, we head to the sitting area to wait for our boarding group (it was 7). They were on group 2 when we got there. The finally said F-it and told everyone waiting to just board the ship.

View attachment 635251
View attachment 635252

After embarkation, things got much better!

We finally made it on the Wonder!

Also, we had 15 minutes from the time we got the results to get our a$$e$ back across the street and to the checkin line or we would have to be tested again! So magical.

 

[imahistorygeek]

She neglected to mention that one of us was rewarded with a Mickey sticker for being extra polite to the CM taking the orders and the other person was @imahistorygeek



Also, we had 15 minutes from the time we got the results to get our a$$e$ back across the street and to the checkin line or we would have to be tested again! So magical.

Yes, but I'm the real winner because I still have it and our paper tickets. They print paper tickets your first trip through the turnstile. The CM basically said it's a failsafe because Disney technology is garbage.

 

[imahistorygeek]

A new space (refurbed lounge) was French Quarter Lounge. It's right outside Tiana's Place. It's a cool place to hang out and it specializes in New Orleans-style cocktails. We relaxed here a couple of times before dinner. This is a unique bar and can only be found on the Wonder.

That's a cable car in the back.

There's a spot for live music to the right of the bar.

 

[amjt660]

She neglected to mention that one of us was rewarded with a Mickey sticker for being extra polite to the CM taking the orders and the other person was @imahistorygeek

Max

 

[krause]

The CM basically said it's a failsafe because Disney technology is garbage

I lost my paper ticket within the first 10 minutes of being here I took a screenshot of my ticket on the app, saved it as my Lock Screen, and then I don’t have to open the app or anything to get my bar code for entering the park or lightning lanes. You really only need the app to book the lightning lanes.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Entrance to After Hours, where you'll find Azure, Cadillac Lounge, and Crown & Fin pub.

If you look closely, you'll see Mickey's Sorcerer hat.

This is one of my favorite lounges on the Wonder. It's laid back and very quiet. The theming can't be beat.

When the bar is open, the headlights are stocked with bottles.

Pretty cool tables for your drinks.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Crown & Fin Pub

Another cool location to hang out. We were here at least 2x a day. This is where most of the trivia was located.

 

[lostpro9het]

While my bride took pictures of lounges I hosted a beer exchange at Crown & Fin. You’re allowed one 6-pack of beer or two bottles of wine per person per port. Here is the sixer and “wine” that we brought.

I brought a pair of each of the following to the exchange
Down with the Thickness an imperial stout by Pontoon Brewing.
Steppin’ Razor an imperial IPA by Cherry Street Brewing
SuperLager a pilsner by Wild Leap brewing

We originally had about a dozen sign up for the exchange but that show of an embarkation process kept several out. Still, the showing was respectable:

Here is what I came away with. Details to follow later in the report.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

by Wild Leap brewing

I actually had Wild Leap a couple weeks ago! It was their Local Gold blonde ale and it was great! Definitely one of my new favorites.

 

[MinnieM123]

If you look closely, you'll see Mickey's Sorcerer hat.

I looked at the top 2 photos there, and I "think" I found it, but not sure.

Was it the (muted) image inside the cocktail glass, on the After Hours sign?

(If I'm right, do I get a prize? )

 

[imahistorygeek]

I looked at the top 2 photos there, and I "think" I found it, but not sure.

Was it the (muted) image inside the cocktail glass, on the After Hours sign?

(If I'm right, do I get a prize? )

Correct! I learned this in a tour on the Magic a couple of years ago. Nice little detail.

Yes, you do get a prize. More trip report!

 

[lostpro9het]

I actually had Wild Leap a couple weeks ago! It was their Local Gold blonde ale and it was great! Definitely one of my new favorites.

I’ve yet to have a bad Wild Leap, I’ve had 25 of them. They do a good job being creative and releasing some fun beers. Here are a few of them: