Coastal Cruise Nov 4-11, 2012

Okay, as you can see here, the Coastal cruise aboard the Disney Wonder was a great success. We set off on November 4 with just a slight delay. Turns out the gas man was a bit late, but we took it all in stride. After all, we were on a CRUISE SHIP! This cruise was extra special to us because our beloved friends, Manny & Deanna, as well as beloved family, Frank & Kathy, joined us on this trip. Once we boarded, we immediately signed up for some of the special activities taking place on the sea days, then promptly proceeded to lunch. We were greeted by our server from the previous cruise, Sedat, who once again took very good care of us all. The head server was now Paulo, who proved to be a godsend to Courtney - he brought her many delicious gluten-free snacks and deliciously prepared gluten-free meals throughout the cruise. 

Paulo was an absolute delight with his wonderful support and attention to Courtney's sensitive diet.

Once we set sail toward Puerto Vallarta, we let the fun begin! We had early dining which freed up our nightly entertainment schedule. Enjoying the breeze out on the deck, enjoying the ocean waves on the verandah, soaking in the pool, or enjoying a show or movie, we all dispersed to find our form of entertainment. The nice thing about it was we had set up a meeting place on Deck 9 so if anybody wanted to join up with another person, we always knew where to look. We had the wave phones, but I, for one, didn't use them. Best part about the meeting place was in the morning. We would always find someone in the morning! Fantastic!

Monday was spent relaxing and enjoying the onboard entertainment, such as wine or tequila tastings, taking in fun activities at the pools, or seeing movies. Of course, food was always in abundance so one could just spend the entire day going from one meal to another. Larry, Frank, and Manny spent most of their day in the pool. The girls spent most of their day reading, talking, swimming, or enjoying Gavin, who was always having a blast! The night was set up for formal so we all headed to our staterooms early for prep work. Here is our result:

Gavin with Grandma, Grandpa, and Minnie.

The Golden Mickeys was on the entertainment schedule for the night. Most everybody went to enjoy it. Since I had already seen it, I chose to hang out with the girls. We enjoyed getting the coffee drinks and settling in with a movie or hanging out in the Cove usually. It provided a very good view for people watching. Sometimes the spa was empty and we'd jump at the chance to enjoy a soak. There was always something to do! Courtney enjoyed the Rainforest room with Deanna. Larry mainly soaked in the pool on sea days. Kaila had her hands full with Gavin, but managed to have lots of fun with him. We all did! He's such a fun little man and was always in a great mood around the ship. Cruising is definitely something he enjoys! Wasn't quite a contender in the Diaper Dash, but was a total hit during the Castaway Club Member Reception - which is where Mickey showed up for pictures (see picture at top of this post). A happy little man, indeed!

While in port at Puerto Vallarta, Manny, Larry, and Alexis took off for a shopping excursion. Alexis enjoyed reading the price tags because they were all in peso's. Of course, not knowing the conversion rate,190 peso's for a shirt was shocking to her, until she realized it was really only about $15. Phewwww! Knowing that, she spent about 190 dollars on merchandise... ;)  Going through the shops with dad would have been a nightmare for her, but thankfully, Manny was there to break down the language barrier! Thanks again Manny! The vendors enjoyed calling her "Barbie" - though I don't think she did. One vendor won Larry over with his honest solicitation of, "$5 for absolutely nothing you need!" SOLD! They had a wonderful time though! I enjoyed hearing their stories. I did enjoy my time on the ship relaxing and taking in the great weather. Time for more pics:

Smile Gavin................. SMILE................... There You GO!!!!!!!!!!!!

That night Toy Story the Musical was playing in the Walt Disney Theater so we all went to watch it. It was very cute, but Gavin was sleepy boy so I left halfway through to help give him some loving night night time. The group loved the show, though! After little man was down with Mama, I joined up with the girls for some time in the Cove. It was incredibly relaxing up there. The next day would be in Cabo San Lucas so we settled in for a good night's rest. The plan for the day was this: Courtney would go ashore with Sedat, our server/friend; Kaila and Kathy would enjoy a day of snorkeling. Alexis and I enjoyed our day with Gavin, walking him around Deck 4 and just watching him enjoy the ship.Everyone else would either join up, swim, eat, do whatever the heck they felt like doing, because IT'S A CRUISE!

Thursday night was pirate night on the ship. It was a special time in the dining room with a menu filled with cajun delight and pirate attire - unfortunately, little man slept through it all. I stayed with him and waited until the nighttime festivities on Deck 9. The entertainment on Disney is always topnotch! Pirate night is no exception. The show was spectacular as usual with entertainment for everybody throughout the night, ending with an amazing fireworks show. A huge buffet was set out and I gobbled it up. Now, there WAS a small incident. I would be accused of hiding the fact if I didn't mention it here. I was making my way to the table with a completely packed plate of food when a small cupcake decided to leap from my overflowing plate. Before I had a chance to clear the little guy from the walkway, a server, who was apparently running to the table to be of assistance because that's the way Disney crew members work, accidentally stepped on the poor helpless cupcake, thus squishing it into the carpet. Okay, it's out there. I apologize to the server for the mess on the bottom of his shoe and the mess it made on the carpet. Moving onto the next day, we were in Cabo again. We sailed out of Cabo only for the fireworks and then made our way back by morning. Most of us, stayed onboard. I believe Manny and Deanna went ashore for a time. The day was spent relaxing and lounging.

The night was special because of Disney Dreams. This is by far one of the best shows Disney Cruise Line puts on for their guests. The story is beautifully told and the production is state-of-the-art. The musical numbers beautifully arranged and the performers are exceptional! I can't say enough good things about this show, so let me end by saying I have been on a lot of Disney cruises and this is still one show I see every single time we cruise. Afterward, we spent the evening in the adult entertainment section, watching the juggler/comedian and the musical entertainment. In the morning we had fun at breakfast with Gavin being a nut and having fun with Sedat! They also went to the Captain's signing where Gavin had his captain's hat signed! Very cool!

The day was spent.....you guessed it! Relaxing! The night was spent enjoying the last of our cruise. :*(  Special memories were made and we made sure to take in the most of it while we could. We did get to enjoy for the FIRST time - yes the 1st time - the Disney rendition of the Pub skit "If I Were Not Upon the Sea" which was absolutely hysterical!!! I don't think I've ever heard Alexis and Courtney laugh so hard! We really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it. Sadly, we went to bed after that and, well, the rest is history. Came into Los Angeles early and disembarked without a glitch. Parted ways with dear friends and family. Made our way home. But we took with us great memories, great laughs, so much relaxation and enjoyment from a week of pure heaven. Can't be more grateful for the friendships and fantastic family we have!!! :)