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!

 

[imahistorygeek]

Hmm. Julien may be Franco-Swiss (coming from the border region) What he described sounds like a mixture of raclette (cheese melted on the block and then poured over steamed potatoes and tartiflette - which probably is made with fried potatoes but I thought the cheese was heated onto the dish directly. With raclette, you would continually melt the cheese and dredge it on each potato as you eat it (it is made with small potatoes about 2-3 times the size of a cherry tomato)

Cheese should be a food group and this sounds amazing!

Raclette, that’s what he called it! Sounded awesome to me.

Bratzeit has it.

Raclette is definitely awesome. Somewhere, someday, you should find it.

We live in a small town that pretty much has your tourist restaurants and fast food. Somehow, we were blessed with a small authentic German/Swiss restaurant that serves raclette.

If anyone is ever in this neck of the woods (I promise there is no dueling banjos), check out Bratzeit. It's probably some of the best food in town.

 

[LadyBelle]

I've also seen the raclette served at one of the festival booths at EPCOT.

 

[Darstarr]

Remember when Palo was only a $20 surcharge per person and you could order as much as you desired?

 

[lostpro9het]

Remember when Palo was only a $20 surcharge per person and you could order as much as you desired?

Remember working so hard to achieve platinum status so you would get to order all you want “for free”. #dclperkssux

 

[Swissmiss]

Raclette, that’s what he called it! Sounded awesome to me.

It is awesome. But is better to be invited to someone’s place for raclette or to eat it in a restaurant - the melted cheese has a fairly strong odor that usually lasts for about 24 hours . And while it isn’t made with the same cheese, many restaurants where I live will serve fondue with potatoes in addition to bread, and I usually eat it with potatoes.

 

[imahistorygeek]

I think Palo night was also our beverage seminar night. It was SO COLD and windy outside. Signals Bar at the pool was the worst place to have it. I had two blankets wrapped around me. Sean doesn't really get cold and even he was cold. It was not a fun experience, but the drinks were good and the bartender did his best.

That means only one photo of the entire experience. I'm not sure we will do any of these again. We've done pretty much all of them and DCL significantly increased the prices of the beverage seminars.

5 different drinks with a shot of different types of rum and caipirinha behind them and with soda water for mixing. They were all good, but we didn't have time to enjoy.

Our next port day was Ensenada. This port had a completely different vibe than Cabo and the east coast of Mexico.

We headed out to the top deck to call our daughter and internets.

We ran into this guy making a mess with the ketchup. He needed a napkin for his beak.

The view from the ship was beautiful.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Our shore excursion was an adult-only excursion to a couple of wineries.

Our first stop was L.A. Cetto. It's the biggest winery in the area. Its largest distributors are Costco and Walmart.

We toured the winery and tasted four different wines.

Are the wines good, you ask? They were ok. Of course, we do not have enough of a refined palate to really make the distinction between really good/good/bad. Would I drink them again or pick them out in a store, probably not.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Our next stop was La Casa de Dona Lupe.

This was a very small operation of organic wines. Our tour guide said if you are planning on buying wine, buy it from LA Cetto.

Sean's spidey senses were tingling. I was tasting some of the jams/jellies and Sean found something interesting.

It's not the Tecate or Coke.

It's a small operation beer (@lostpro9het).

I'll let him fill you on the beer.

In addition to the wine, there was some bread and cheese to soak it up.

Was the wine good? No, not really. Another couple at our table didn't really enjoy theirs either.

I mention this other couple because our interactions with them demonstrate the small world of cruising.

We were talking about Disney cruising and other cruise lines. We mentioned we just recently sailed on the Celebrity Millennium back in Feb. They asked when it Feb and we told them over President's Day weekend. They were on the same cruise! We would actually meet a some really nice couples on this cruise.

Overall, this was a really fun shore excursion. The countryside is beautiful. The weather was very nice.

This is what we brought back from our excursion. This excursion also comes with a mini bottle of wine from LA Cetto for each person.

 

[ChuckElias]

This is walking inside.
View attachment 637649

I'll never understand why they didn't include the masks in the Dream/Fantasy decor

 

[ChuckElias]

View attachment 637679


The souffle was delicious. It's my favorite DCL dessert.

I actually loved the Amaretto Indulgence better. So sad they don't serve it anymore

 

[imahistorygeek]

It's time to finish this up.

We headed to Cadillac Lounge for some drinks.

We decided to choose something new:
Ketel One Experience for Two: Ketel One, Jasmin Tea, Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine

Good, but not gin and tonic good.

Our last dinner was Animator's Palate. We ordered the usuals and dinner was pretty good.

Garlic and Herb Foccacia with a Roasted Garlic Dip

Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes Pasta Purses filled with Truffle-scented Cheese and coated with a delicate Champagne Sauce - These are good, but more often than not, they are lukewarm. They'd be really good if they were hot.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup Garnished with Chives and drizzled with Sour Cream - This is a solid choice for soup. Again, it could have been a bit warmer.

Pennette Bolognese Pennette Pasta mixed with a rich Bolognese Sauce Garnished with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano and Toasted Garlic Ciabatta

Sesame Halloumi Parcels with Sweet Potato Tahini Mash and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes - This is one of the two vegetarian options. It's really good.

You can order dessert from any of the MDRs, so Sean ordered beignets from Tiana's accompanied with Hersey's chocolate syrup. These are super tasty!

I think Match Your Mate was after dinner. It was ok this time around. It all really depends on who is chosen to participate.

After Match Your Mate, the Wonder pretty much rolled up its sidewalks. We headed back to our room to pack and get ready for tomorrow morning. This is when you fill out your comment card.

 

[imahistorygeek]

The next morning was debarkation.

We at in our MDR and then went to wait in a ridiculously long line to get off the ship.

I can't remember what this was on the menu, but I think Sean mentioned it was new to him. I had toast, bacon, and grits.

We kept our luggage and made our way to exit. The line had basically stopped. Apparently something was happening regarding customs. We were lucky to be right at the door opening and not backed all the way to Animator's Palate.

I can't remember how long we stood in line, but it felt like a good 20 - 30 minutes. Once we exited, we were greeted with another very long line through customs. The customs agents couldn't be bothered with any type of speed and this is probably the job that none of the them want. One neat thing about going through this line is seeing confiscated items. We saw a lot of steamers (don't bring them), surge protectors, a computer tower (I'm assuming for gaming or something), and a ceremonial spade.

Once we got through customs, it was very easy to get a taxi and go. They're parked right there are the port. The drive to the airport was very quick and we were through security in just a few minutes.

Overall, this was a good cruise. It wasn't the best we've ever had, but there were some fun moments. Our shore excursions were a lot of fun. We met some really nice people, tried some fun new drinks, and had a great meal in Palo. We really enjoyed our inside stateroom too. We would book inside again in a heartbeat. What wasn't so great was the reduced activities. They'd have one game show in the evening and be done. The food was just ok in the MDR. Buffet food was good. This itinerary on Disney is a one and done. I would try it again on another cruise line.

We are increasingly having a difficult time accepting the price vs. what you actually get. After our next Disney Wish cruise in September, this will probably be one of our last ones on Disney for a while. We don't have small children and it's just us. We will sail when new ships come out, but for the most bang for your buck, we will be sailing Celebrity. We're sailing on Royal next week, so we will see how it compares to Disney.

 

[MinnieM123]

@imahistorygeek and @lostpro9het , thank you for sharing your cruise TR. Glad that you both could enjoy a nice vacation.

What stood out to me the most was the variety of food, and the attractive presentation of drinks and food. It's nice to be pampered like that!

I'm sure it must have been delightful as well, to take in ocean views for days. Ocean breezes also seem to be so refreshing.

Looking forward to your perceptions of the Royal cruise next week. Should be interesting to compare the Disney cruises with another cruise line. Best wishes to you both.

 

[imahistorygeek]

@imahistorygeek and @lostpro9het , thank you for sharing your cruise TR. Glad that you both could enjoy a nice vacation.

What stood out to me the most was the variety of food, and the attractive presentation of drinks and food. It's nice to be pampered like that!

I'm sure it must have been delightful as well, to take in ocean views for days. Ocean breezes also seem to be so refreshing.

Looking forward to your perceptions of the Royal cruise next week. Should be interesting to compare the Disney cruises with another cruise line. Best wishes to you both.

It's always nice to be on a cruise ship, no matter which cruise line it is. It's really our favorite way to vacation. What more could you ask for? Someone to clean your room, turn down the bed, make all your food, serve all the drinks, and provide entertainment. There's something about being out in the open ocean that is very relaxing. You just hear the ship moving through the water, and nothing else.

 

[rshell68]

Thank you so much for sharing! I will admit I had tears in my eyes reading the whale excursion posts...