Sunday, February 19, 2023

Disney Wonder Cruise Day Two Excursion and Day Three at Sea

 

As I wrote in my last blog post--click here--my husband and I, and our daughter and granddaughter, took a Disney Wonder Cruise from San Diego to the Baja California peninsula of Mexico to celebrate our granddaughter's tenth birthday.  Our first stop was the port of Ensenada, Mexico, where we left the ship to go on an excursion.  There was misty rain that morning, so ship personnel gave us plastic rain ponchos to wear as we waited to board a tour bus to travel into town.



We had signed up for a "Halloween-Day of the Dead Cultural Celebration" through Disney Wonder.  We were driven to the Riviera Centro Social, Civico y Cultural building It was built as a hotel and casino in 1930, but now is a museum and event center for the town.



We were given a short tour of the gardens and monuments.




Inside the building, one of the rooms had a traditional Day of the Dead altar on display and the guides told us about the "Día de los Muertos" holiday, which honors ancestors that have passed away by displaying their photos and other artifacts in a special altar style display during the holiday, and then decorating it with candles, flowers, and their favorite foods. Family members also share anecdotes and memories about their loved ones. The altar honors those who have passed away to show them we haven’t forgotten them and that they are still important in their families lives. 

 Disney has a popular movie called "Coco." whose storyline explains much the same tradition, and our granddaughter was able to appreciate the festivities as this is one of her favorite movies. 

The families on this excursion were able to partake in traditional games, and have their faces painted...



...and decorate and eat their own sugar skull cookies.


Brightly colored skulls represent the departed souls in the circle of life, and traditionally, sugar skulls are created as ornamental gifts for children and family members during Día de los Muertos.






The children were also given a chance to hit a pinata in the courtyard, and once it was broken share in the candy treats.



My husband and I went on a tour of the Riviera building to learn its history, and admire its architecture.





Vintage photos show that it was once waterfront with beach access and that many of the large rooms were used as a casino.





As the Hotel Riviera was built in 1930, it became a popular destination for movie stars and wealthy Americans of that time who wanted to drink alcohol during the American prohibition and gamble.  Desi Arnez, Lucille Ball, Johnny Weismuler (Tarzan), William Hearst, Myrna Loy, James Cagney, Jack Dempsey, Lana Turner, Ali Khan, and many more were frequent guests.




One interesting legend is that the Bar Analuz, which is located inside the Riviera building, is where the Margarita drink was invented! It was supposedly named after Margarita King, owner of the hotel during the late 1940s.  

Before returning to the cruise ship we were allowed to walk in town for an hour, but we found the calls from street vendors to buy their goods a bit overwhelming, so instead, we sat in a local Mcdonald's and had ice cream--smile.





When we were back on the ship, we relaxed awhile on our veranda. We had a silvery cloudy view of the California Baja coastline as we sailed away.



That evening we ate at Tiana's Place Restaurant on the ship.  The name Tiana comes from the Disney movie "The Princess and the Frog"  It takes place in New Orleans in the roaring twenties and tells the story of a young woman who dreams about opening her own restaurant.  She meets a frog, who is really a prince that has a spell placed on him and he wants to return to being a human.  Together they have adventures in the Louisiana bayous until their dreams come true.  As we dined there was music and singing on stage and then a parade.  Tiana came around every table and our granddaughter was excited to meet her!



Our dinner was New Orleans quality good! 

After dinner, we went to the theater and saw a Mickey Golden Globe Show--a very fun look at different Disney movie characters from the heroes to the villains up for awards.




Our stateroom blanket was transformed into a rabbit that evening!





The next day was spent at sea.  My husband and I walked the decks of the ship and enjoyed exploring the shops and lounges inside.



We made arts and crafts and had a cartoon drawing lesson and our granddaughter enjoyed swimming in the ship's pool and going down the large slide.  There were many opportunities to take photos with Disney characters that day.  Dinner was at the French-themed Triton's Restaurant, named after the Disney Movie Little Mermaid's father. 




That evening we saw a Broadway show quality musical spectacular  Frozen show in the theater, which is based on the very popular Disney Frozen movie. 






Our stateroom blanket was a bear this evening, and like tired little teddy bears we all slept well as the cruise ship continued on towards day four, where we arrived at very scenic lands end of the Baja --more in my next post.

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30 comments:

William Kendall said...

Quite a trip!

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

Your Disney cruise looks fabulous. I am sure your granddaughter enjoyed this trip. The excursion looks like a fun time for all. I like the cute critters left on the beds. The food looks delicious! Happy times and great photos. Take care, have a wonderful week!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

There's so much to see and do on one of these ships. I know you've had fun!

NCSue said...

So glad you and your granddaughter had fun! Thankhttps://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2023/02/spring-is-here.htmls for letting us join you virtually by sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2023/02/spring-is-here.html

Tom said...

...quite a trip to remember!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

That cruise and the shore excursions are certainly well-planned for families. All generations! I loved reading about it all. We drove to Ensenada years ago and camped there with our kids who were teenagers. I met a lady from Germany who asked where we were from. I said "Oregon" and she said "Oh, right next door to Baja California -- that is lucky!" I did not try to explain California and Baja California nor the distances involved in those "two" states. But I've often thought about how that border shouldn't be a problem.

Lydia C. Lee said...

What fun!! U bet your GD is having a ball! How lovely to share it with her, #BlueMonday

Joanne said...

Other than a tiny bit of rain this is sounding like a really wonderful vacation!!

Barb said...

What fun! You were busy from sunup to sundown! I enjoyed all the photos of your adventures.

stevebethere said...

Heheh! What fun photos and what a great trip thanks fr sharing :-)

Have a cruisetastic week 👍

Veronica Lee said...

How wonderful!

Happy times and beautiful photos, Pat.

Hugs and blessings.

Life Of 2 Snowbirds said...

Looks like you had fun choices at dinner and fun excursions too. It looks like such a fantastic trip so far!

Lillian "sognafaret" said...

It sounds like a wonderful trip

Jim said...

Love the architecture and fountain.

Sharon Wagner said...

I used to face paint kiddos at the Mall of America part time. What a festive post! It looks like you had a fun time, even with less than stellar weather. I went down a very tiny sailboat slide in Costa Rica. The cruise slides look more exciting!

diane b said...

What a fabulous trip for your granddaughter's birthday. She is one lucky girl. Looks like the adults can have fun too. The weather looks a bit better than northern USA. It looks an amazing ship.We don't like cruise ship holidays but this one almost changes mt mind.

Rambling Woods said...

I watched a documentary of how cruise ships are run from below the deck lines. It is a massive undertaking and so many of the crew don't even speak English...Interesting...You all look like you have a lot of fun...

handmade by amalia said...

What fun!
Amalia
xo

Jeanie said...

I love how they folded their blankets! And those Day of the Dead cookies are pretty fabulous! Every post it sounds better and better -- I think the timing was excellent and so interesting and great tahat you could get off the boat.

EricaSta said...

The Bear and the Rabbit makes me smile. What a wonderful intersting travel.


Thank you being part at
MosaicMonday

Have a wonderful week. Hugs by Heidrun

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Everything about this cruise looks like fun, including all the great food! It's been many years since I've been to Ensenada. Wonder if I would even recognize it?

carol l mckenna said...

Oh what an awesome time you are having and great photos ~


Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

What a great trip you went on. So much to see and do. So much history to learn about. Your granddaughter will remember this the rest of her life. Well done grandparents.

NKH said...

Good to see enormous enjoyment. Great pictures from trip

Photo Cache said...

Did not realized Disney goes to this route.

Worth a Thousand Words

Light and Voices said...

What a wonderful way to celebrate your granddaughter's birthday. It is far better to gift of memories than clothes, toys, etc. Sure looks like she had fun.

Dawn said...

Sounds so much fun, we've found it was best to stick to excursions on cruises we've been on as local vendors wherever you are can be can be so in your face, I realise they need to make a living, but it just puts me off exploring the local areas we stop off at. I'm so glad you've had such an amazing trip, definitely going to try a Disney cruise for our next holiday after reading about your adventures xxx

A Bit of the Blarney said...

You surely had a grand time! It is good to see your posts again. I've been away for awhile, but I hope to be back again! Have a grand day!
Cathy

Rajani Rehana said...

Beautiful blog

Päivi and Santeri Kannisto said...

What do you think, how would Disney cruises work for an adult couple? So far we have skipped them.