Wonder Mexican Rivera 1/15-22/12

[travispete]

I wanted to give you all our impressions of our first Disney cruise that we just completed on 1/22/12. I think it is important to be honest, so you can see the good and bad, about the Disney cruising experience from our perspective.

THE GOOD

Waiter - we had the PTTAPTA rotation. Our waiter was Ismet, who was truly amazing. He is new, having worked for RCL for 10 years. Just a sweet guy who was so nice to our DD and us. He took real pride in his work.

Palo - great dinner and brunch. Igor was our server, and he was amazing too. The brunch was great and the dinner was outstanding as well. They take pride in the dining experience. We originally were going to have 2 brunches and 2 dinners and a tea, but we had to cancel many of those for reasons stated below.

Shows - sit close and enjoy. The shows were really great. The final show has a little too much "Jimmy" the cruise director, but otherwise, the production values are great.

Movies - generally great, but some of the scheduling was a little funky. They played Beauty 3D, War Horse, The Help, Muppets, TS 2 and 3, Cars 2 and Real Steel. A few others.

TV - Great selection, with Moneyball, Tangled, a Pixar channel, and a lot of others on a constant loop.

Gym - was a nice size with good equipment. The Spa was nice too.

Activities - lots of trivia stuff, if you like that.

Tendering - easy

Breakfast - really good each day, and room service was good too

Rooms - comfy mattresses and great sheets on the beds.

Seatings -we originally were part of the early sitting, but we changed after the first night. Thank goodness, because A - the early sitting was a zoo and B - it is 5:45 before you know it and you have no down time before dinner. Just our opinion.

BAD

Stateroom host - we were in a SPH room and we had the worst service ever. Our host did not pick up one thing from the floor and never replaced our toiletries. When we asked for a bedrail for our DDs bed, he said "I cant promise that I can get one" and then, some nights, did not even put it on her bed. We should have complained about it but we didn't want to make the trip uncomfortable, so we dealt.

Food - really hit or miss in the restaurants. If you like steak and you like it medium rare, order it rare or else it will get overcooked. Best items were the lobster tail, the tenderloin (last night) and the banana bread french toast bread pudding.

Scheduling - DCL needs to get a clue with scheduling. First, they offer the Princess Tea at 4pm on Friday and Sat., both during sea days (Friday we leave Cabo at 1). If you want the tea at Palo, that is at 3, so you have to rush somewhat. If you so the Princess tea at 4 on Saturday, then it overlaps with the Friendship Rocks kids "graduation" partially, so you are hustling like crazy. Also, the final jackpot bingo is at 3:30 on that day. And, they have the princess lineup thing at 11 on Saturday, which is also when we were going to do a second brunch. In short, they pack all of the good stuff into the last day, but have a lot of windows with boring stuff earlier in the week. I'm just saying that it doesn't seem very well thought out.

Kids Clubs - we commented on a separate thread about our issues with the open house and crowds at the kids clubs. Overall, they worked out fine for most people, but not us.

Character lines - just line up early. There are a ton of character opportunities but they hustle you through pretty quickly.

Bingo - fun, but expensive! I think we spend $300 on bingo.

CONCLUSION - We are not Disney haters. The characters are incredible and there are many redeeming things about these trips. Its really just a personal choice as to what is most important to you when you vacation.

 

[mellyp]

I am on this trip to, the same dining rotation with you. I glad that our host is a good one. He even teach the kids to do towel origami and the end of the cruise we got certificate for doing it.

I went to Mexican Riviera last year with DCL too and I think last year is more activity than this year. Last year they had Dessert buffet at night and this year they didn't have it.

 

[JJsmama]

I am on the MR now. The next cruise after yours. I will back you up on your opinions. Our stateroom service has been awful and we are in a suite! The kids clubs have been a serious disappointment! I will do a TR when we get back. This is our third and we loved the first two. We are having a nice trip, but it lacks Magic.

 

[nsiordia]

I was just off the boat and agree with most of your report, except we have an excellent stateroom host and the kids really enjoyed the kids club the last 3 days., the first 3 there was so much to do, we really didn't find the need to use them.

The food was defintely hit or miss and I have to say, Carnival was much better in that area.

 

[lesos69]

We were on the 1/22/12 sailing. I have to say we have no complaints, I guess we lucked out. Our stateroom host was excellent, our serving team was phenomenal and the Character Manager Sue went above and beyond to make sure that our Autistic daughter had many opportunities to meet the Characters.

My kids loved the kids club and went when they wanted to. My oldest (autistic) daughter spent many hours in both clubs...they were wonderful with her. My 9 year old preferred the pools and the slide, but also participated in activities she chose on the Navigator. It was also our first Disney Cruise, so they had nothing to compare it to either. And I never said a word about the Open Houses to them...They just went with it.

The food...I can't say it was horrible, I can't say it was the best I have ever had either. But, there was always something to eat that we all liked. More variety on the Pool deck would be nice. I did love the Blueberry Ice Cream though


Would we do a cruise again?? I am leaning towards no, simply because we can get more bang for our buck at Disney World.

 

[HartNSoul76]

"Stateroom host - we were in a SPH room and we had the worst service ever. Our host did not pick up one thing from the floor and never replaced our toiletries. When we asked for a bedrail for our DDs bed, he said "I cant promise that I can get one" and then, some nights, did not even put it on her bed. We should have complained about it but we didn't want to make the trip uncomfortable, so we dealt."

I was told that if you don't like your host or they don't like you (or your kids) then ask ASAP to have a new one - don't wait (especially if you have pre-paid your tips). Did you know within a few minutes of meeting them that you weren't going to get along?

 

[mjhayes]

Hi! We are heading out on the Wonder in March. Any thoughts about your off ship activities?

 

[IamChipandDale]

"Stateroom host - we were in a SPH room and we had the worst service ever. Our host did not pick up one thing from the floor and never replaced our toiletries. When we asked for a bedrail for our DDs bed, he said "I cant promise that I can get one" and then, some nights, did not even put it on her bed. We should have complained about it but we didn't want to make the trip uncomfortable, so we dealt."

I was told that if you don't like your host or they don't like you (or your kids) then ask ASAP to have a new one - don't wait (especially if you have pre-paid your tips). Did you know within a few minutes of meeting them that you weren't going to get along?

Seriously, Disney is Customer oriented. Call Housekeeping or go to Guest Services and report stuff like this until it gets fixed. DCL is quick to respond to this type of behavior.

Off topic, but addressed in other messages. Re: Shore excursions - what are the ages? There is something for just about every interest. Weirdly, I liked the PR cooking class more than I thought I would because I went into it expecting nothing, but it was fun. The zipline is a ton of fun. The Tequila and Historic Town tour is fun, mostly because we hit a small town or two, got great photos of people and purchased food from every vendor selling food out of an ice chest. It was delicious. Cabo is party oriented and outdoor adventure. Pick one that sounds fun. I didn't really have any problems with the guides pushing for tips, but some other people I met on other excursions complained about it. What to tell them? Tell Disney, they need to know.

Food in the rotational dining? I don't eat at the restaurants. I have salt and sugar issues. Having said that, Beach Blanket Buffet is a great place to head to dinner. The food is fresher and wasn't made in such large quantity or sitting that long for service. Sometimes it is sit down with a limited menu and other times, not.