Tan lines or it didn't happen - a (patchy) Mexican Riviera Cruise aboard the Wonder.

Hey my lovelies!

I have a teaser post for you all – it’s a busy week for me with school (three midterms, yucky). Be aware that I’d so much rather recap the trip instead!

Long story short, WONDERful time on our Mexican Riviera cruise. Despite a pesky flu bug and some windy days, the Wonder suited us perfectly. Lauren and I definitely converted Rachael – she’ll be back. The magic is contagious.

We had some awesome servers (Desmond and Monika) and Glen, our stateroom host, was a total lifesaver – not to mention trooper.. our room looked like a bomb shelter. The cast was UNREAL – performers and character interactions.. including a special surprise on the last day that you definitely want to stay tuned for. Lauren and I almost had to be sedated.

The one let down? I miss Captain Henry!

Just a little taste:

Adventures away!

Sun, please.

Prepare for 1800 pictures from formal night..

Souffle.

ARRR.

Do you want a Mexican boyfriend? Bodyguard?

So much love for this background.

The finale you’ll never believe!

Keep an eye out early next week!

 

[enchanted_belle]

Kenzie, you are SUCH a tease! I wish you didn't have more midterms, because I want you to start this TR now...

Don't listen to me... really, go do your midterms first. :lookaroun



:ROFLOL: <3

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

UGH I hate you lol

Kidding of course!!! But what a tease!!!!! Even though I completely already stalked your pictures

Good luck on all your midterms!!!! And let this week hurry by so I can hear about your cruise!!!!! :sohappy:

 

[mamamouse]

OMG ure killin me here LOL.......I am going through serious withdrawals !!!!!!!:wave:

 

[Ariel484]

Ooooooh! Cannot wait for your full report!

I suppose education is important too, so good luck on your mid-terms!

 

[tiaragirl]

"Are you sure the airport is in this direction?"

Alright, let’s get it started. I’m killing time at the pool before my shift – can’t study for 50 minutes, right?!

A re-cap of the cast:

RACHAEL - First Timer

LAUREN - Second WONDERful cruise

KENZIE - 4/Wonder, 1/Dream

While our trip “really” started on Sunday, French class on Friday was the milestone I was aiming for – so after an hour of chatting about Prosper Merimée’s “Carmen” and the addition of the last chapter (creating a parallel in the narration) I was freeeeee. Since we were flying out of Halifax (NS) and I go to school in New Brunswick, I hitched a ride with a friend to “the city” to meet up with Lauren. She had an interview for Education and headed up a day early.

We spent Saturday shopping and went to get food with a friend from home. Then Rachael arrived – just barely! She got stuck in a massive snowstorm on the way up. Luckily, she made it safely (despite the extra hour of driving) and we went to Walmart to pick up some extra things that we just HAD to have… like hats!

My conversation with Dadder pre-trip, post-hat buying went something like this:
Me: Guess what we got for our trip!
Dad: I’m going to guess.. tiaras.
Me: No.. but it’s for our heads!
Dad: …pirate wear?
Me: HATS, DAD, HATS!
He knows us too well…

La still had some packing to do, so we watched a little TLC and made sure we had everything (“OKAY, everyone watch me put my passport HERE”).

OH SO CUTE.

Rachael and I slept in the same single bed while Lauren fixed up a paper for submission – for some reason, we thought it was a great time to catch up on our lives - you know, since we wouldn’t be spending the whole week together. There’s a possibility that we got two hours of sleep, but it might be pushing it.

Alarm went off at 2:50AM – shower, and off to the airport we went! The flights were uneventful, and we had just enough time between connections that we didn’t have to wait to board in Toronto. Bonus. There were a ton of Disney movies on the plane (go Air Canada!) and I watched a Bug’s Life.

COULD WE HAVE PICKED A FARTHER PLACE TO GO?
And this is just from TO..

Landing in LAX was a new experience for all of us, but it was fairly well set up. When you get to baggage claim, there’s a little Disney Cruise Line kiosk, and they hang on to your carry ons while you grab your luggage. You meet back, and voilà! They take you to the bus, and you’re on your way!

SHOWIN US THE WAY

WAITIN

The bus was a little bit of a disappointment. The Magical Express is just so well done – even the “theming”. There was no video, and they were playing the radio – come on, Disney, you’re dropping the ball on this one. There were maybe 10 people on the bus, though, so it was nice not to be sardined.. and an extra bonus? There’s only one stop when you’re going on a cruise!

Everything was well organized when we got to port. There was a line to get into the terminal, but it was nice out and it gave me some time to snap a few pictures – I don’t know if I’ll ever be back, and I needed to document it for all of you! There were lots of banners and posters, but it was no Port Canaveral.

VONDER VONDER VONDER

PIER 93

MICKEY BANNERS PLEASE

We made it through security and check in with no problems – they were calling boarding number 22 when we got through, and we were boarding number 23! Not much waiting before we got back on board the Vonder.

 

[tiaragirl]

"Are you sure the airport is in this direction?"

First thing’s first: food. On two accounts – goal was to get a resercation for Palo, so off we went to Wavebands. There was almost no one there, and we got a reservation for Thursday at 6:30 – there was no show to miss! Beauty. Since we had Parrot Cay for supper, we opted for Beach Blanket for lunch. Good lord, I love lunch buffets (almost as much as breakfast buffets). When you don’t eat traveling and you’ve been up for 12+ hours already, it’s definitely the way to go! Desserts were incredible – there was a white chocolate raspberry mousse thing that comes highly recommended from all three of us – if you see it, grab it! We never saw it again.

DESSERTS FOR LUNCH?

After snapping a couple of pictures of the port, we headed down to our room to check out our digs for the week. I have to admit, I missed the patio/verandah of the Dream.. but you can’t complain when the beds are as comfortable as they are on the Wonder!

WE’RE NOT IN FLORIDA

I WATCHED THE PROVERIBAL SUNRISE, COMING UP OVER THE PACIFIC (Relient K, anyone?)

HEYYYYY BED, I MISS YOU


Okay, confession. I definitely napped. We’d been up for approximately 16 hours at this point, and we wanted to make it through the show and dinner without falling asleep. So I threw on a movie and cuddled in for a little bit. No big deal. Lauren and Rachael, on the other hand, were really active and went to the gym. This is a theme: they gym, I sleep. We were on the go with plenty of time to go to the safety drill (safety first!).

Let’s get real, what’s a Disney Cruise without dancing around with small children? Off we went to Adventure’s Away – it wasn’t super warm out, maybe 14*, but we were happy campers. Glad to make it safely, glad to be embarking on the trip of a lifetime to celebrate graduation! So we danced it out. No one judges when the magic gets hold of you.

WHERE DO YOU GET ONE OF THOSE WAVER THINGS?

ANCHORS AWAYYY!

WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STARRRR

Then it was time to get ready for supper. Always such a production. Just kidding, we’re so stunning that we hardly have to try!

I’M CRUISE LINE BARBIE, VERSION 2.0
(See 2010 cruise for version 1.0)

 

[tiaragirl]

"Are you sure the airport is in this direction?"

We had Rachael all hyped up for the shows on this trip – for me, it’s the entertainment on the Disney cruises that truly make them amazing. “All Aboard: Let the Magic Begin” was really cute – though I’m not really sure why they insist on putting the “other” entertainment right in the middle of a Disney show. Just say no to ventriloquists. The “Be Our Guest” sequence, on the other hand, was fabulous!

OUR "PHOTOGRAPHER", JOHN TOOK THIS ONE FOR US – HE WAS AWESOME

ALL ABOARD! JEREMY WAS A CUTIE!

After a quick browse through the (crowded) shops, we headed up to tidy for Glen, our stateroom host. Everything kind of exploded when we arrived and the term “unpacking” could be used VERY loosely for what happened.. whoops.

HE’S GOT THE LIST DOWN

I JUST WANT THIS FOR MY HOUSE.. BUT MY CEILING IS NOT BIG ENOUGH

After doing our best to minimize the damage, we were off to supper! Parrot Cay was our first stop on dining rotation – we managed to snag the “ideal” dining rotation, that put us at Triton’s for formal night and Parrot Cay for pirate night (though we were at Palo). Table number 44 was ours, and we were seated with a family of 5 – mom/dad, bother, sister, and nephew. It really didn’t look like we were going to gel at the beginning, but after food we started chatting and they were very, very nice. The mother and father were from Indonesia, their daughter Pam was from England, Sam (son) was from LA and Ari, the nephew (our age, probably) was studying International Business in Shanghi. No big deal.

Food was fab. We ordered all the appetizers (which became a theme), and the Island Spiced Seared Ahi Tuna was TO DIE FOR. I don’t even like tuna. I mentioned to Monika, our server, that it was awesome.. and she brought another plate. This woman was awesome, but I was so full going into my feature (after the asparagus soup) that I thought I was going to die. Lauren tried the Cold Cream of Mango and Papaya soup – so yummy, but so not “soup” to me. I wanted it for dessert! Rachael had salad, and actually didn’t end up getting an entrée due to a large buffet experience – Lauren had the Braised Jerk Seasoned Pork Chop and I had the Island Spiced Grilled Rib-Eye of Beef. We missed out, Ari ordered the Mixed Grill.. go with that, it looked awesome (not that our food wasn’t good).

And then there was dessert.. or, five. While Rachael didn’t order an entrée, she had two desserts – French Toast Banana Bread (Lauren had this, too) and the Ice-Cream Sundae (I shared with her). I got the Sweet Temptations and Lauren got the S’More cake! Order ALL THE DESSERTS. I love treats so much.

We rolled on out, and had our head server, Ronald, take this picture of us with the parrots! He asked if our seating arrangement was okay. He was willing to change it for us if we were uncomfortable, but after the Mixed Grill ice breaker we were good to go – it was nice of him to notice/ask though. Disney magic, please!

PARROTS!

Not going to lie, after walking around a little (and an incident wherein Rachael fell down the stairs in her wedges – the boat was rockin’!) we headed to bed. It was a long travel day, and it was 11PM – I know we’re young, but we have limits.. and as a warning, this is pretty much routine for most of the trip. We opted for up early, not bed late!

So, after showers, into this beauty of a bed for some much needed rest!

Less talking, more pictures in upcoming posts - promise!
ANNNND shift starts in 2 minutes - an hour well used.

 

[enchanted_belle]

I WATCHED THE PROVERIBAL SUNRISE, COMING UP OVER THE PACIFIC (Relient K, anyone?)

*and (you forgot the word and! how dare you? LOL).

You might think I'm losing my mind, but I will shy away from the specifics...... :lookaroun

That's not my favorite RK song, no never....

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I have that same black and white dress! Super cute!!! You ladies look fab!

Can't wait to read more!! :wave:

 

[vcstr]

I feel so strange commenting on trip reports since I'm still new here and it feels like I'm intruding on someone else's vacation :lookaroun but I guess I might as well start some time!

I love your TR! I've been looking into a Disney Cruise and this is making me even more excited! Can't wait to read more!

Oh, and I love your shoes!

 

[mamamouse]

I love me some treats too,it's just too bad that on me it shows LOL (you'd die if you saw my facebook page,I make cakes and candy and all sorts of treats) Great start Kenzie

 

[ladydi]

Kenzie,
I've been looking forward to reading your report! I knew there were a couple of rainy days in PV around the time you were going and hope you didn't run into them.

 

[johndoh]

We almost went on the Mexican Riviera cruise in December but it came down to that or WDW for Spring break. We chose WDW so now I'll just have to enjoy the cruise through your awesome TR!

 

[tiaragirl]

*and (you forgot the word and! how dare you? LOL).

You might think I'm losing my mind, but I will shy away from the specifics...... :lookaroun

That's not my favorite RK song, no never....

Come onnnnn, C.. If I put "and" it looked like it was just hanging there, all weird - if you don't know the song it just did not look right!

I miss my Relient K days - This Week The Trend is probably the "favourite" but the "Forget And Not Slow Down" album is one of my favourite study music options!

We went to see them in Toronto when I was in highschool and they were epic!

I have that same black and white dress! Super cute!!! You ladies look fab!

Can't wait to read more!! :wave:

Ouuu thanks! That dress is a lifesaver - I love it so much! I don't have enough places to wear it, though.. it's a little forward for university.

Hopefully our fashion show continues!

I feel so strange commenting on trip reports since I'm still new here and it feels like I'm intruding on someone else's vacation :lookaroun but I guess I might as well start some time!

I love your TR! I've been looking into a Disney Cruise and this is making me even more excited! Can't wait to read more!

Oh, and I love your shoes!

Don't even worry about it! Comment away - that's what we all do.. eventually you'll come to feel like you know these people. Mildly creepy, but there are some awesome people on this site, and they always love a good TR! Intrude away, darling.

Definitely consider a Cruise - this was my fifth, and they're always amazing! Disney does an excellent job!

I love me some treats too,it's just too bad that on me it shows LOL (you'd die if you saw my facebook page,I make cakes and candy and all sorts of treats) Great start Kenzie

Now, remember - it probably would have showed on me had I not had two days where I ate a banana, toast, and powerade! Don't tempt me to find you on FB - treats are my weakness (studying and eating M&Ms right now).

Hope you like the rest =)

Kenzie,
I've been looking forward to reading your report! I knew there were a couple of rainy days in PV around the time you were going and hope you didn't run into them.

Hey girl! I'm so glad you kept an eye out for me =) PV was actually a gorgeous day - you'll see that I didn't make it out of bed, but the girls went zip lining and had a fabulous time. Stay tuned =)

We almost went on the Mexican Riviera cruise in December but it came down to that or WDW for Spring break. We chose WDW so now I'll just have to enjoy the cruise through your awesome TR!

Ah, see, we were planning on WDW for Spring Break but they changed dates on us - so this was the second option! It was a really great trip, hopefully it doesn't make you wish you chose to go (not that you can ever go wrong with WDW...).

 

[foreverbelle]

OK you have me sold. Darn it I really want to go.

I got to say you guys are adorable and look like you had so much fun. Loving the trip report.

And that wallpaper, the damask one. I need to borrow it for my sisters wedding....

I commend you for getting up at 2 AM. Yes I do....

Can't wait for the rest.

 

[joanna71985]

Great TR so far! I guess I probably should continue working on mine

 

[LeCellier.Lover]

YAAY YAAY YAAY YOU STARTED WRITING YOUR TR! :sohappy:
This trip sounds fabulous so far (hopefully that flu bug was nothing serious.... :veryconfu)
I loved the conversation between you and your dad about the "hats" that you guys would be wearing haha! I also find La's picture on top of all of her stuff very funny, you guys pack just like I do! :animwink: That white chocolate raspberry dessert looks very good :slurp: That was also very thoughtful of your head server to make sure you guys were comfortable with your seating arrangement (I swear Disney is ALWAYS there for ya!) That's crazy how far spread out that family is!
Did you guys have just a porthole room (I think that's how you explain it? Haha!)
I love all of your guy's outfits you all are so cute! Can't wait to read more! Have fun at lifeguarding :wave:

 

[enchanted_belle]

Come onnnnn, C.. If I put "and" it looked like it was just hanging there, all weird - if you don't know the song it just did not look right!

I miss my Relient K days - This Week The Trend is probably the "favourite" but the "Forget And Not Slow Down" album is one of my favourite study music options!

We went to see them in Toronto when I was in highschool and they were epic!

But Kkkkkk, it just flows right into it (I use to think it was "end" instead of "and" because it flowed so well).

I listen to them every once in a while, I love mmhmm it's my favorite album.

<3 <3 <3

Oh, and your dresses are lovely, you're completely fab, and I'm super jealous of how amazing your trip is already..... Off to write my next installment...

 

[erstwo]

I'm in! Can't believe your trip is already over! Seems like you should still be cruising.