After spending the previous four days at sea in the Pacific Ocean since we had transited the incredible Panama Canal onboard the Disney Magic, today was the day where we were finally due to set foot onto dry land once again. I was definitely excited to visit Cabo San Lucas in Mexico as I had never been there before and it was somewhere that I was really looking forward to exploring for the first time ever.

We were originally due to dock in Puerto Vallarta on this day, however, we were notified of a port change just before the cruise where we would now be skipping our visit there entirely and arriving into Cabo San Lucas two days earlier than planned instead. This actually worked out perfectly as neither of us had any real plans for our time in Puerto Vallarta as we were just going to walk around the town during our time ashore. Another added bonus of the port change was that we would be the only ship visiting Cabo San Lucas that day. On our original date there would have been four large cruise ships in port, meaning that everywhere would have been incredibly busy and crowded, so this was so much better in every single way.

Even though our all ashore time was not until 10:00am, I was once again awake bright and early just after 6:00am. As much as I would have loved to try to go back to sleep, I was far too excited for the day ahead so I immediately jumped straight out of bed and ran up to Deck 9 to get us both a cup of tea, where thankfully the tea bags had been restocked once more (you can read all about the Disney Magic tea bag thief in the previous day’s blog post), though I knew it was only a matter of time before they all got stolen yet again.

We spent the next few hours sitting and relaxing either in bed or out on our verandah, enjoying the cool morning air and the sound of the sea, along with a Raspberry Danish (or two) that I ran up to Cabanas to get once they opened at 7:00am before having a shower and getting ready for our day ahead.

Just before 9:00am, I could see that we were getting closer to Cabo San Lucas so I quickly grabbed my camera and ran straight up to the front of Deck 10 just as Mexican music started playing around the ship. The arrival into Cabo is easily one of the most beautiful sail-ins in the world so there was no way I was going to miss a single second of it.

It really was such a beautiful and perfect morning and as we sailed closer to land, the famous rock formations and the iconic Arch of Cabo San Lucas slowly came into view. After seeing so many photos of the arch over the years, I could not believe that I was finally seeing it for myself in person and that we were finally here after our long journey through the Panama Canal from Galveston. I was also so glad about our port change as being the only ship in port that day meant we had completely unobstructed views of the Arch and all of the surrounding coastline, whereas on our original scheduled date, our amazing view could have easily been blocked by another three large cruise ships.

Once the Disney Magic was anchored in the harbour, we still had another thirty minutes before the first tender of the day was due to leave the ship at 10:00am. As we had some time to spare, we walked back down to our stateroom to grab our bags ready for our day on land before making our way to Cabanas to have some breakfast with an incredible view of the beaches of Cabo in the distance.

After finishing our breakfast and once we filled up our water bottles, we made our way down to the port side of the Walt Disney Theatre on Deck 4 to join the line to wait for a tender boat to the shore. We arrived at 10:15am and were each given a ticket before taking a seat inside the theatre. They filled in one row of seats at a time and the entire process was very calm and organised with a group leaving every five minutes or so. After a short fifteen minute wait, we left the theatre at 10:30am and walked down to Deck 1 where we boarded our tender boat less than five minutes later.

A handy nice-to-know is that the tender boats in Cabo come in all different shapes and sizes. Some have steps while others don’t, some are tiny while others are much larger and some offer absolutely no views at all once you are sat down. I did have to laugh at one man loudly and rudely complaining about how small and crowded our tender was – I would hate to break it to him how much more cramped the inside of one of the lifeboats would be if he ever had to use one.

The short journey from the Disney Magic to the shore took about ten minutes and we arrived at the large and covered Main Dock area in the Cabo San Lucas marina, which is located right next to Señor Frog’s at 10:45am.

When we had visited Cartagena in Colombia earlier in the cruise, we had booked a Port Adventure for the first time ever due to our very short time in port, which we both completely regretted and even walked away from as it was so bad. However, for our time in Cabo, there was absolutely no way we were going to make the same mistake again. Our simple and easy plan for the day was to take a boat out to see the Arch of Cabo San Lucas from up close, explore the town on foot, drink some margaritas and more importantly, just enjoy every minute of our time there and have a really fun day.

Just by doing a little bit of research online before our cruise, we knew that we could plan our entire day to do exactly what we wanted with no stress, and we also knew that we would have absolutely no issue whatsoever getting a water taxi to take us where we wanted to go. You really do not need to book an expensive and overpriced Port Adventure in Cabo if you want to go out to the Arch or to Lover’s Beach which is right next to it, as the local water taxis are so affordable and convenient. This also gives you the freedom to be entirely on your own schedule and to go at a time of your choosing, as well as spend as much or as little time there as you want.

There were indeed plenty of people offering water taxis as soon as we arrived at the marina and after walking past a few of them, we spoke with one man and told him exactly what we wanted to do. Our plans were very simple as all we wanted was a private boat tour out to the rocks and back, though if you do want to spend some time at Lover’s Beach, the water taxis are able to drop you off there and arrange a time to pick you up later. He even suggested that we could be dropped off afterwards at El Medano Beach on the other side of the marina in Cabo San Lucas, which meant that we could then walk back through the town and see and explore everything else that we wanted to without having to double back on ourselves like we would have to if we returned back where we started. And the cost for this incredible forty minute private tour was $20 each (no haggling needed) which is exactly what we were expecting based on our online research.

We then walked over to one of the small boats docked further along the marina, where we boarded and were each handed a life jacket. We were on our way out to Land’s End and El Arco, as the Arch is locally called, less than ten minutes after we got off the tender boat from the ship, which could not have been any easier and was a complete contrast to our Port Adventures experience in Cartagena and set the tone for a wonderful day ahead.

As we sailed out into the harbour in Cabo San Lucas, we passed Cannery Beach and Balconcito Beach (as well as the beautiful Disney Magic) before stopping for a few minutes to feed the fish that were surrounding our boat with some bread that the boat driver handed to both of us.

Seeing Land’s End, El Arco, Lover’s Beach and Pelican Rock up close and in person was a truly wonderful and magical sight. I was so glad that we were able to do this boat tour as early as we did before the crowds and party boats arrived (it got so much busier later in the day) which made such a difference as it allowed us to take everything in while it was still very quiet and peaceful. If you are planning to do this same boat tour, my main advice would be to also go early as it is so worth it. Our boat driver really was fantastic and stopped at so many different spots along the way, which gave us amazing views from every angle.

We then sailed around to the other side of the Arch and Land’s End to get even more amazing views, and I loved that after seeing Lover’s Beach a few minutes beforehand, the incredible beach on this side of the rocks was called Divorce Beach.

Once we had finished our tour of Land’s End, we then slowly made our way over to beautiful El Medano Beach. Something that did not cross either of our minds (which is another useful thing to know when in Cabo) was that there is no pier or dock here so we had to do a wet beach landing instead where the boat pulls right up to the sand so you can step straight into the shallow water. Thankfully, there was someone already there to help us off the boat and give us a steady hand as we jumped down. The cool water on my feet felt so amazing and we stood there for a few more minutes, just enjoying the views along the entire beach and back out towards the sea and the Disney Magic.

I absolutely loved every single minute of our boat tour and would recommend it to anyone visiting Cabo San Lucas. The peace and quiet, fresh air as well as all of the incredible views absolutely everywhere we went, made it one of my favourite memories of the entire cruise – and it was also amazing value for $20 per person and we got a much better experience than any official excursion could have given us.

After leaving the beach, we sat on a bench for a few minutes to wait for our feet to dry so we could brush off the sand and put our shoes back on before walking back through Cabo San Lucas. Our first stop before we started our exploring was naturally Walmart (as we can never resist a trip to a supermarket in another country and this was actually our very first time visiting a Mexican Walmart), where we bought some margarita spice to take home, grabbed a cold drink, used the bathrooms and enjoyed their air conditioning for a few minutes.

We then walked along Blvd Lázaro Cárdenas and around the far end of the marina. Even though we had a general idea of where we were going and what we wanted to see, it was so good to just be able to walk wherever we felt like and see what we could find. I truly love being able to explore on our own as we can stop and take photos whenever we want, wander down an interesting street, find somewhere to eat or simply decide that we have had enough of one spot and move on to the next. Cabo San Lucas was so easy to explore independently and it also felt incredibly safe, which just goes to show once again that there is simply no need to pay for an expensive organised tour when visiting.

One of my favourite things whilst we walked through Cabo was seeing all of the bright colours everywhere, which looked so vibrant set against the clear blue sky. It was so quiet and peaceful that day which we loved so I would hate to think what it would be like on a busy day with four cruise ships in port.

We then made our way to the beautiful and tranquil Plaza Amelia Wilkes, which is located in the centre of Cabo and just a few blocks inland from the marina. It was the perfect place to take a few minutes out of our day to rest our feet and sit in the shade in the gardens, amongst the pretty trees and flowers, with a view of the gazebo in the centre of the square.

We then headed back to the waterfront to walk around a little more as we neared the end of our exploring in Cabo. One thing that was so noticeable on this day was that even though the sun was shining so brightly, it was nowhere near as hot (and there was also no humidity) as it had been in Cartagena and Panama the week before, making it so pleasant to just wander around without a care in the world.

One small warning I would like to give to anyone visiting Cabo is to please be aware of the somewhat aggressive vendors found around the marina carrying iguanas of all shapes and sizes. These guys target unsuspecting tourists by walking straight up to you and trying to quickly hand one over or place it on your shoulder in exchange for money without asking and before you even have a chance to react. If you see them, just keep walking fast and get past them as quickly as possible. I do not even mind iguanas, but it made us both a little uncomfortable and kept us constantly on high alert to avoid them for the rest of our time walking alongside the water.

We both really wanted to get something to eat and drink while we were in Cabo, as we needed a break from deck food and Cabanas since the lack of choice and severe lack of vegetarian options onboard for lunch was really starting to grate on me after almost two weeks on the ship. So we decided to do something different that we have never done on any cruise before and go to Señor Frog’s, because why not?!

Along with a margarita each (or two) as well as the best jalapeño poppers that I have ever tasted, we spent the next hour or so just sitting and enjoying the amazing music – it was all Eighties rock which I absolutely love – and it was simply the best way to spend some time together.

After having the best few hours in Cabo, we decided to head back to the ship just before 2:30pm as we had done everything that we wanted to. One major advantage of ending up at Señor Frog’s was that it was right next to the tender dock and after showing our Key to the World cards, we walked straight onto one of the tender boats with no wait at all. It was a much bigger tender than the one we had earlier that day and we were treated to even more music on the journey including September, YMCA, Sweet Caroline and Night Fever. However, one thing that truly confused me was when one of the tender crew started walking around with a tip jar, which is something I have never, ever seen before on a tender anywhere else – and from the looks on everyone else’s faces, it was pretty clear nobody else was expecting it either.

However the best part about this journey for me was that we sailed around the entire ship before reaching the tender platform so we were able to see Goofy painting the stern of the Disney Magic for the very first time on this cruise and I might have taken a few too many photos as usual.

We were back onboard the ship just before 3:00pm and our first stop was Deck 9 where we both got a cold drink to take back to our stateroom and enjoy on our verandah where we relaxed for a few minutes before carrying on with the rest of our afternoon.

As we had not seen any characters so far on this day, our next stop was the Lobby Atrium as there were three different character pairings out on this afternoon who we wanted to meet starting with Mickey and Pluto on Deck 4 at 4:15pm followed by Minnie and Daisy who were at Preludes at 4:30pm.

It was then time for what would become one of my favourite character meet and greets of all time as Goofy and Donald were out together at 4:45pm on Deck 4. This was the only time on the entire cruise that they were meeting together, and the first time I had ever seen them paired up anywhere before.

As the line to meet them was not too long, they were giving each group so much individual time and it was truly worth every minute of the wait as I do not think I have ever laughed so much in my entire life. They were both so funny that I had tears running down my face and even the Cast Members could not stop laughing either. It was definitely the most chaotic meet ever as the two of them have such big personalities and play off each other so well but the funniest moment of all was Donald insisting I take a photo of his butt, which he wanted me to show to Daisy the next time I saw her!

After our hilarious character meet, we headed back up to our stateroom and went straight out onto the balcony to watch sailaway just after 5:15pm. It was still so beautiful and bright out and it was so nice to get another view of the Arch bathed in a completely different light compared to earlier that morning. However one thing that was immediately noticeable was how cold and windy it got as soon as the ship started moving out of the harbour which made watching us sail away from Cabo San Lucas even more memorable.

We then made our way straight up to Quiet Cove for a little bit of pool time before the rest of our evening onboard. However, it was now so windy and cold up on deck – the temperature really had dropped so quickly – that I did not stay outside for long and soon headed back inside for a hot shower to warm back up again.

It was then finally time for the event that we had been waiting the entire cruise for as Broadway Music Trivia was taking place in Fathoms at 7:30pm. We knew it was going to be popular so we got there a little early and enjoyed a Mimosa each while we waited for it to start. It got so busy that I thought there was absolutely no way we could even hope to win, but I also knew that we were doing well until there was one question where we had absolutely no idea of the answer. We ended up scoring 19/20 and tied with one other team – who were the ones that I thought were definitely going to win as they knew all of the answers when they went back over the questions. However, we actually won the tiebreaker, which I could not believe, so we have now won Broadway Music Trivia for three cruises in a row.

Normally during trivia, there are four of the same medal available as the maximum number of people you can have in a team is four, but for this Broadway trivia, there were two Daisy medals and two Minnie medals. As it was only the two of us, we thought we would have to choose which one we wanted, but it was the best surprise when we were each given both of them which was so unexpected and wonderful especially as we did not have either character and now we had them both to add to our collection. I always said that it was my goal on this cruise to try and get one medal and I ended up coming home with three.

Once trivia was over, we had to quickly run straight to Animator’s Palate as there was absolutely no way we were going to miss this night since it was our Animation Magic dinner and as soon as we sat down, we quickly started to work on our drawings.

The Animation Magic menu is one of my favourites onboard Disney Cruise Line so to start my meal, I ordered a double portion of the Sesame Crusted Tuna Sashimi which I absolutely love, followed by the Lobster Bisque which was the best one I have ever had in sixteen cruises. As always, I ordered a large portion of the Porcini Sacchetti for my main course which is actually on the appetiser menu, but because it is so good, I always order a bigger portion instead and it was every bit as good as I remembered.

It was certainly our biggest dinner of the cruise so far and we ate absolutely everything and it was all so good. For dessert, we ordered the Celebration Cake and the Cappuccino Mousse to share and just before they were delivered to our table, we watched as Sorcerer Mickey brought all of our drawings to life on the screens around us which I will never get bored of watching.

After leaving Animator’s Palate, we dropped our drawings off back in our stateroom and grabbed our hoodies before making our way up to the open decks to watch a few minutes of Dancing Under the Stars at 10:00pm. Whilst we were not interested in any of the actual dances that the ballroom instructors had been teaching throughout the cruise, we stayed just long enough to watch Donald and Daisy arrive and join in for one of the songs. It was great to quickly see them as we had missed them on a previous cruise (as we had no idea back then that they normally appear at this event) but because it was so cold and windy, we did not stay outside for very long.

It had been another long day, so after making ourselves a cup of tea, we walked back down to our stateroom to get a good night’s sleep ready for our final sea day of the cruise, followed by our final port of call in Ensenada, before finally arriving into San Diego the morning after.

It really had been the most perfect day from start to finish. From having simply the best time exploring beautiful Cabo San Lucas and sipping margaritas in the Mexican sunshine, to enjoying one of my most memorable character experiences ever (thank you Donald and Goofy), to unexpectedly winning trivia once again before our incredible Animation Magic dinner that evening, it really was one of my favourite days of the entire cruise and full of happy memories that I will treasure forever.

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