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Share a full recap of our latest Disney cruise, the 3-Day Baja Cruise from San Diego. Just a warning that this post is not sponsored or composed (I wish lol) – just sharing our experience as I know many of you also love a little Disney magic.
Hello friends and hello back to the real world after an amazing double vacation: a trip to San Diego followed by an incredible Disney cruise. Still swaying slightly from the movement of the boat, I head down the stairs, disappointed that a full buffet isn’t waiting for me. It’s been a tough transition, let me tell you.
We were back on the Wonder (a few years ago we sailed to Alaska on the Wonder!) and it felt SO GOOD to be back in one of our favorite vacation spots and surrounded by great friends. Our friends from Tucson joined us – they’re professional Disney cruisers (that was number 9 for them) and we’ve been friends since Kathryn brought me a baby meal after Liv was born! Our Kleiger family from San Diego also got involved and it was such a great time catching up with everyone and the kids played so well together.
The cruise crew:
Sweater here // Skirt here // Boots
(It was impossible to take a picture of all the children in the same place at the same time.)
We checked into the ship on Friday and went straight to the pool. A tip for Disney cruise fans: check-in is the BEST time to hit the pool. (Just pack your wetsuits and pool gear in a backpack, because your bags will be taken to your room.) It will be the least crowded at all times, and you can grab food by the pool to enjoy. The kids immediately ran to the water slide, we ordered drinks and watched them on the deck.
(The pilot’s DADALORIAN shirt is one of my favorites)
After pool time we quickly changed, attended the obligatory safety drill and then it was time for the Sail-A-Wave party with music, dancing, characters and the ship’s horn, the ‘When You Wish Upon a Star “ played .” Dinner the first night was at Triton’s (they take turns dining each night) for our small table of 11?
Our port was Ensenada and it was the pilot’s first time in Mexico. The fact that he could walk around with a giant margarita was what won him over, but he also loves the atmosphere, the food (OMG the food) and can’t wait to go back.
There weren’t many excursions we could do as a family — you need to be at least 10 years old for some of the more adventurous ones — but the kids all agreed that lobster lunch in Puerto Nuevo sounded good.
We took a tour bus 50 miles to Rosarito for shopping:
Sweater is here – I chose the size smaller
(We had the best carne asada tacos on fresh tortillas, conchas from the bakery, and margaritas)
and then we went to Puerto Nuevo for our lobster lunch with a guitar trio performance. They served bottomless margaritas, a fish taco, grilled lobster, rice, beans, warm homemade tortillas, fries and salsa. Everything was super fresh and flavorful.
We did a bit of shopping before heading back to the bus and port! Dinner on the second night was at Animator’s Palette (such a fun dining experience as they turn your table’s drawings into animated characters that dance on the walls) and we let it go with that Frozen Show that was even better than what Liv and I saw on Broadway. We were all exhausted from such a long day but gathered ourselves and headed to the pirate party on deck followed by fireworks. It was 11:30pm (12:30am Tucson time!) and we basically had to drag our dancing kids off the deck and convince them it was bedtime.
Sunday was a sea day and the kids spent a lot of time hopping around between Kids Club, we played bingo (we all take it very seriously haha), the kids took a towel folding class with the dads and I spent some time in the cafe sipping a latte drink, eat a crunchy rice snack treat and read a book.
One of my favorite things about the friends we travel with is that it’s so low key. We often split up for different activities during the day and then meet up for lunch, bingo or dinner. There is no set agenda and we just do our thing and meet up sporadically throughout the day.
dress is here
It’s been a few years since our last cruise – our last was the Disney Magic to the Bahamas in February 2020, just before the world turned upside down – and it felt completely normal again. I was curious to see if there was anything missing from the quality of the food, the service or the magic and it was even better than I remembered.
Disney really goes above and beyond. It’s amazing that they prepare 10,000+ meals a day and somehow manage to present them beautifully, cook them to perfection and the crew members are so pleasant and wonderful.
Nightly turndown service, towel animal and chocolates:
I wish I had taken more food pictures to show you, but the highlights were the lunch at Cabana’s (a huge buffet – loved the Indian dining options in an afternoon), the endless fresh seafood (I’m pretty sure). that I always had seafood single meal),
and the beignets at Tiana’s.
If you have any questions about the Disney cruise, I’ll be happy to answer them! A summary of Alaska is here, our Alaska packing list and a summary of Magic’s trip to the Bahamas. We’ve already booked a placeholder for our next Disney cruise, so hopefully there will be another one in the near future. 😉
Are you a cruise fan or not so much? I wasn’t sure I’d like them at first – the rooms are small and the thought of being on a boat in the sea was driving me nuts – but I can tell we’re all obsessed.
I wish you a nice day and see you soon!
xoxo
gina