Day 8- Beach Day at Cabo San Lucas

Day 8


Today we docked in beautiful Los Cabos around 10am. It was a tender port so we anchored in the bay away from the arches. Everywhere on the boat had an amazing view without even getting off the ship.

We left on our own (no excursion) around 11am after having a quick breakfast and took a small tender boat to the marina. We were immediately bombarded with vendors, loud party music from the bars, etc. It was a very loud port. We walked a block away to the taxi station and asked to be taken to Medano Beach in Cabo San Lucas. This was a 2 mile stretch of beach mostly populated with hotels and restaurants. You were allowed to use the beach and chairs if you ordered food and drinks at whatever restaurant you stayed at. I had done a bit of research and knew to go to the very end of the beach in order to avoid the crazy spring break partiers. We went to Medano Beach Club- which ended up being a good choice. We stayed there for about 4 hours eating and drinking and playing in the surf. The undertow was really strong so no one was swimming- P got knocked over a cpl times even holding onto me in ankle deep water. The cool water felt great though- as it was 85 degrees in Cabo today. The prices were reasonable too- for 3 entrees, chips/salsa and 6 drinks it was only $60. Not bad for four hours there.

We took a taxi back to the Marina and wandered a bit through the arts and crafts market. Piper and I each got a sundress and Aidan got a wooden bow and arrow. We then took a tender boat back to the boat and relaxed for a bit. I tried to get Piper to take a nap knowing that we would be up late (it was pirate night) but it didn’t work. We laid around for a bit then headed to dinner in Animators Palette. The food was Caribbean themed which was good, but both kids were cranky. Matt and I took our dessert back to the room and Aidan went to the kids clubs.

We tried to once again get P to lay down but it didn’t work really. At 9:30 we headed up on deck (after getting Aidan) with pirate gear on and waited for the pre show/fireworks. Piper started nodding off on Matt’s shoulder and Aidan wanted to go back to the room so we all headed back down. I had booked a room that I knew faced the fireworks so I was hoping that we would still be able to enjoy them. I tucked P into bed and Matt and I got our desserts from earlier and went out onto the verandah. The firework show was great- and they were so close and right in front of us. It was nice to be able to watch them from the room.

We are all tucked into bed- its an early morning tomorrow as we have a tour in San Jose del Cabo.

PHOTOS FROM TODAY: (#1 -#17) at: http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/jj194/mom2aidannpiper/Disney%20Cruise%20days%205%20and%206/

Day 9- City tour of San Jose del Cabo

Day 9:

Today was a early morning- we were able to have a sit down breakfast in the dining room Tritons though so that was a nice change of pace from the buffet breakfast we had been having. At 9:00 we headed down to the family Promenade lounge to meet for our excursion for the day- the San Jose city and shopping tour. The boat was only in port from 8am to 1:30 today. We all got on the tender boat right away and headed to the Marina where we boarded an air conditioned grayline type bus. We drove for the next 20 minutes or so out of Cabo San Lucas to San Jose del Cabo- during which we got a really good tour guide who went into history, tourism information, etc and we visibly saw how pretty it was once you got out of the main Cabo area.

We made our first stop at a pretty little shopping complex where people were all selling their goods. We were there for about 40 minutes. Matt and I bought some handmade wine glasses and a cpl magnets. Our next stop was to the town plaza area of San Jose. It was very pretty. We wandered into the church, looked around the town square and did some shopping in local shops. It really helped having Matt speak Spanish here as we were able to barter a little better. Piper and I got matching silver bracelets, she got a sundress and Matt got a souvenir. We got some ice cream from a shop and enjoyed the hot sun (mid 80’s again today).

 We got back on the bus after an hour or so and headed back to the marina. P and Aidan both fell asleep on the bus ride back. We got on the tender really quickly again at 1:15 and got right onto the ship. We went up to get lunch at the buffet and then headed back to the room to do some homework. We were all really drained at this point the sun was really hot and we had a really active week. I was also really sunburned from the day before so I was pretty uncomfortable (added to the injuries from my PV excursion). We took Aidan to the clubs after a bit and Piper ordered room service for her dinner (Aidan wanted to eat in the clubs).

At 5:30 we took P down to the clubs as well because Matt and I had Palo for diner tonight.  Palo was again, really fantastic. Good wine. Good food and the best dessert I may have EVER had in my life. It was really nice to have some peace and quiet for an hour or so. After dinner we wandered down to the shops for a bit to get last minute souvenirs (a wine stopper, an ornament and some beach towels for the summer). We picked the kids up at 8:00 and headed down to the nightly show. Tonight was Disney Dreams. This show has won the top spot in the cruise industry for shows the last 7 years running, and it really is very good. Very technically advanced and great music and dancing. There was small hiccup in the middle of the show (something went wrong) so they did have to stop the show for a cpl minutes.

After the show we headed back to the room for bed. P was really tired and cranky and Aidan needed sleep too. P crawled into bed with us for a minute and crashed so Matt moved her and I fell asleep soon after. It is now the next morning and our last day at sea- we dock in LA tomorrow. So sad! The weather today is already much colder as we head back to California.

PHOTOS FROM TODAY (#18-#31) at: http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/jj194/mom2aidannpiper/Disney%20Cruise%20days%205%20and%206/

Day 10 and 11- Last day on the cruise and coming home

Day 10 and 11


Today was a sea day and our last day of vacation! We ate breakfast in tritons again which is so much better than the buffet food. Afterwards, around 9:30, we dropped Aidan off at the clubs and wouldn’t see him again until much later on in the afternoon.

P wanted to hang out with us for a bit- and Matt took her up to the hot tub (my sun burn made this sound really unappealing to me). I took advantage of the free time to get a quiet cup of coffee, a mimosa and catch up on my blogging for the past cpl of days. I would say I had about 40 minutes of peace and quiet before P and Matt got back to the room and I felt like I had to go back as well. But it was nice while it lasted!

Back in the room I messed around with pictures on my laptop, Matt read a book and P watched a movie. She was pretty cranky today and didn’t really want to do much but I told her after lunch that she would be going to the clubs for a bit. We went to go get lunch at the buffet but it was so windy up on deck that we took our trays back to the room, ate lunch and then dropped P off at the clubs.

Matt and I then got a couple rainforest passes in order to use their day spa (stream rooms, heated loungers, mild sauna room with heated tile benches). We spent abut an hour in there, which was nice to get some quiet compared to the rest of the ship. Afterwards we went up to the Cove Outlook bar and got a couple drinks and relaxed. We also went and got our photo package from Shutters of a few pics that we liked from the on ship photographers.

We got the kids shortly after and headed back to the room to asses our packing situation and get ready for dinner. Our last dinner was good- we gave out gratuities to our serving team and said goodbye until the next cruise. We dropped Aidan off at the clubs one last time (P had already turned in her club bracelet) and went to the hot tubs with P and play a few video games with her in the arcade. It was about 8:30 or so and we headed back to the room to start packing. Everyone’s luggage had to be outside their door between 8:30 and 10:30 to get picked up. It then goes through customs in the morning and is left in the port terminal to get picked up after you disembark. Our luggage however we wouldn’t see until Seattle- as we were using their onboard airline check in. Disney prints our boarding passes for us and checks our luggage for us as well. It’s a great service! We got everyone packed and in bed by 10:00- and then we all ordered room service one last time.

In the morning we got up around 6:00 and were all ready and out of our room by about 7:05 (everyone has to be out of the rooms by 7:30 due to the fact that new guests will board by noon the same day). We headed up to the buffet for a quick breakfast then went to the theater to get early access off the ship. The ship could get cleared by customs anywhere from 8:00 to 9:45 (and we had a 12:30 flight at LAX) . The ship got cleared right at 8:00 and we were on the road at 9:00. We got to LAX around 9:40 so we had about 2 hrs, 20 minutes before we even boarded the plane. It flew by though- we got coffee, P finished her homework, we went and got lunch and next thing we knew we were on the plane headed home.

Our flight arrived about 10 min early at 3:05 but they misplaced one fo my bags - it took about 35 minutes or so to find it and then we hopped in a taxi and were home by 4:30. It was not a great feeling to be home. The cruise was way too short somehow- and we had no food in the house. Lol. The good thing is that Matt and I rebooked another cruise for our honeymoon next year!

Anyways, all in all it was a great trip!!!!!!!

Not a good start...Day 1 and 2 of our two week vacation

Day 1:

 This definitely hasn’t been the ideal beginning of our trip….we left Seattle at about 9 pm on Tuesday night - we got through the airport ok, though security lines were long and it’s always hectic with the kids. Our flight was originally delayed but then ended up being on time which was good. We were on the plane by 11:20 or so, and arrived in Atlanta at 7:30. The kids slept the whole flight and I tried- but didn’t. They were both asleep on me so by the end of the flight I was exhausted and uncomfortable. Luckily our flight in Atlanta was the next gate over, so no running through the airport to catch our connecting flight. We boarded at 8:30, and arrived in Florida at 10:30am. 

 When we got to Florida, we noticed camera crews in the airport and herds of people. There was a Harry Potter plane that had just landed and rumors were the cast was on it arriving for opening day of Wizarding World of Harry Potter on the 18th @ Universal Studios. Because I was tired, and just wanted to get out of there, we didn’t hang around. (much to the dismay of the kids).

We hit up Starbucks, and headed to the main terminal to find the Disney Express busses to take us to the hotel. We are staying at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort- a moderate resort according to their classifications. Our room wasn’t ready yet so I decided to tackle the problem that had arisen the night before- replacing my phone. It has been dying slowly but crashed completely at SeaTac airport.

I grabbed a taxi after checking in and embarked on a nightmare of getting lost, and long lines in the tmobile store. It was awful considering how tired I was. With new phone in hand, we headed back to the resort. By this time it was close to 2 pm. We had food in the big food court, and got hydrated (it was 100 degrees at this point). We took a walk around the resort, which was simply beautiful. Beaches, hammocks and an awesome pool and kids play area. It is themed to look like Caribbean villages. The resort is so big you need to take an internal bus to get around- it would take nearly 30 minutes to walk from our room to the front desk.

We got checked in at 3, and called down to bell services to get our bags brought up and realized Piper’s luggage was missing…we had it shipped down (a luggage company that is insured, and they ship fed ex) last week so I was not foreseeing problems…but her suitcase was missing leaving only her dress, a nightgown and a swimsuit on her back. Not ideal!

After many phone calls they assured me they would find it but most likely not before we have to leave for our cruise Fri morning. However I was authorized to spend what I needed to replace the items in the meantime to make sure she has things for the cruise and I will get reimbursed.


We planned to go out for dinner but by this point I was too tired, so we ordered pizza in. Both kids crashed by 8 pm which made me think we were adjusted to the time zone already.

Day 2:


The next morning we all got up between 9:30 and 10- so late for us!

We had a good morning spent at the Downtown Disney area- but it was SO hot (about 95 degrees). We walked around at the outdoor Lego imagination center, and the big World of Disney Store. Piper bought a baby Simba animal, and Aidan got a small lego set.

We had lunch and the kids played in the fountains and then we headed to the big toy store. They have many stations there with unlimited toys for a certain price. Piper spent the rest of her money on a fill a box with My Little Pony things (all Disney outfits, etc) and Aidan made a build your own Light Saber.

We headed back to the hotel because it started thundering, and right when we got here it started pouring. So odd considering it’s in the high 80’s right now.

We waited until the rain tapered off a bit before heading out to Target to replace all of Piper's clothes.  We took a taxi each way but it was pretty close by so not too big of a deal.  We went over to the food court in the hotel for a quick dinner and then a walk back to our room. It was so pretty at dusk!  The kids even saw a bunny hopping around the resort by our room.  After a bit we crashed for the night- tomorrow was the cruise!!

Day 3 of our two week vacation- first day of our cruise!

Day 3- Checking out of our hotel and onto the cruise!


we got up around 7 this morning- got ready, got packed and went to breakfast. It was about 85 this morning and we ate outside by the pool. We were wearing our suits so we decided to swim and play until 10 when we would need to head back to our room to change into the clothes we would leave in.

We met our cruise staff at the hotel lobby area and started the check in process here- which later turned out to be a godsend. We left the hotel (100 people just from our hotel alone) at 12:15 or so and it took an hour and 15 minutes to get to the port.

The ship is massive- for those who have never been on it or seen it before that’s all that was being murmured as we pulled up to Port Canaveral. We went through an xray machine, up a set of escalators into a very nice terminal and skipped all the check in lines here. I stopped for less than 5 minutes to get P and A their kids club bracelets (bulky but oh well) and my pager that is linked to them. Again- the line was much longer for new sign ups but I was prepared and had done it online.

We got into the ship within minutes and immediately headed up to deck 9 for the lunch buffet. For a buffet it was amazing! Salmon, shrimp, amazing pastas, steaks, etc. So many choices. We got ate then headed to our stateroom. Tiny tiny tiny! And besides the handful of suites on board we have the nicest room! But that is how cruise ships go, and I was expecting it. P and I are sharing the queen bed and the sofa flips upside down in a weird way to become a twin bed. The living space is small but nice- and the balcony makes it all worth while. We have 2 half bathrooms that are the size of a person each. Lol. Everything is themed lovely- obviously very nautical and there is a large steamer trunk and a very big closet for storage.

After we checked out our room we headed down to the lounge to meet up with some of our friends we had met on a message board. All of our kids instantly hit it off and the grown ups were really great too. Someone to talk to when I get a free moment!  We then checked out the massive lobby area.

At 4pm we had the mandatory safety drill- we donned our life jackets from our room, headed down one deck to the lifeboat stations and did the drill, which lasted about 15 minutes or so. A major pain when it’s in the upper 90’s and no wind, but its over quick.

We then decided to walk around and explore a bit- we peeked in the kids clubs, looked at the shops, and some of the restaurants, etc. We ran into some characters in the lobby and I got some cute pics of the kids with them:)  At this point I lost my ipod though :( I need to go to guest services tomorrow…

At 5:00 there was the sail away party (yay for a yummy cold drink!).  We peeked up there and also listened from our verandah.

Our dinner is early seating at 5:45 so we headed down for that. The service is amazing- on this cruise, the wait staff follows you to the rotational restaurants each night. So you get to experience different gourmet dining venues but keep your staff with you, They took the time to ask questions about us, where we were from, did magic tricks for the kids, colored with Piper while we were waiting, etc. They are amazing, We ate tonight at Animator’s Palate- a restaurant that starts in black and white and “magically” changes to color by the end. It was pretty neat an there was a little show at the end that was great. All food is free, and meals are courses. The kids stuck to kids food, but I got mushroom risotto and a baked potato cheese soup to start and a phyllo wrapped salmon (sooo good) and a apple cobbler for desert (along with a much needed latte).

After dinner we had about 40 minutes to spare before the show of the night so I dropped the kids off in the clubs for a bit, and went back to the room to organize luggage/hang clothes a bit. At 8:30 we headed to the big theater for a Broadway scale live show. It was called the Golden Mickey’s and it highlighted many of the songs in the movies throughout the years. Numbers from Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Toy Story, Lion King, Mulan, Pocahontas, etc. And there was a very cool Tarzan act with this guy (Tarzan) swinging on ropes doing acrobatics. It was very cool.

After the show we came back for a bit to the room, and looked at our navigator to see what else was going on that night. It was 9:30 by this point (kids have normal bedtime of 8, but it’s vacation…). We decided to head up to deck 9 under the stars and watch Enchanted on the big open air movie screen. We sat in deck chairs and even though it was 11:30 when we left, it was still warm out, even with an ocean breeze.

Kids crashed as soon as we got back into the room, and I am currently watching things sway (we are passing through a bit of a storm I think) but it’s calming down.

Tomorrow is our first port! We leave the ship at 9:30 and head to Blue Lagoon Island to play in the sun and sand all day. Then to Nassau in the late afternoon.