Last Day of the First Cruise

February 1^st,

It is hard to believe that basically the first cruise has come to an end. Today is the last day, people are packing and the wall protectors are out waiting for the suitcases.

We are always glad that we are not one of the packing people. Our turn will come but it is not today.

Today is bright and sunny but it is cool. The temperature is in the mid sixties.

People are everywhere , finishing their shopping, choosing pictures, saying good bye to friends and getting ready for the big game. Ken and I are not football fans but I will make my way to the special areas for watching. There are different areas depending on which team you are rooting for. The Patriot  fans will be stationed in The Vista lounge . The Sea Hawk fans will be in Explores, smokers will be in the Casino and the game will also be showing on the big screen.

It will be so crazy around here that I almost wish I was a football fan. Now if it were an Olympic Hockey game it would be a very different story. I would be in the front row yelling the loudest. . Ken was absolutely shocked to find a hockey game on the stateroom television. We were so surprised that we took a picture of the screen.

Ken has had an upset stomach today so he has been lying low.

I went to the big sale on board but there was nothing new. I went to the prize draw in Facets jewelry store but I didn’t win anything. I was surprised that they gave away 10 prizes, and even more surprised when the same lady won the first two prizes.

We just had a light lunch in our room. Tonight will be a big meal celebrating the end of the cruise.  We have put in a request to sit at the same table for the next cruise, so we will find out tonight if our request has been granted. It usually is.

Last night we had a group picture taken and I purchased it today. I will scan it and send it to our dinner companions when we get home. It is quite nice of all of us.

We received our instructions for disembarkation, actually for changing over. We had not noticed but our card is dated to February 17 so we are at the same table and we do not need to have another picture taken. But we will have to meet in the wheelhouse bar with our passports and customs declarations at 11:15. At this point I don’t know if they will be marching us off of the ship and back on again. We will see. Either way it should not be a long process. It will be interesting to see how many people are staying on for the next cruise.

I got rid of old papers and then changed the decorations on our door!

Dinner was good and we could have had Baked Alaska for dessert. There was the usual parade of the junior waiters  which is always fun. The sugar free desert was that chocolate tapioca nightmare. I told the table about my opinion on that one and all about the incident in Australia. Of course Howard had to order it just to see and Sandy ordered an extra on and said it was for me. Well it was passed around to gales of laughter and all agreed that Princess should remove this one from the menu.

Good bye was said and all were wished safe travels and hopes to meet again were expressed. This was a fun group and as usual table mates can make or break a cruise. This was a very good group.

The evening show was not to begin until 8:30 and we left the dining room at 7:15 so with time to kill we came back to our stateroom to wait. We almost fell asleep but we did make it to the theatre. We sat next to a lady we had sat next to before so she and I had a good visit while we waited for the show to begin. Tonight was a comedian named Doug Funk. He is a Canadian and he does what is billed as Improvisational comedy. In other words he does not have a preplanned act. He uses the audience and it changes depending on the different responses he receives. There were times when he was very funny and so it was a good evening. The last 2 nights the sound system has been out of wack in that it has been entirely too loud. Ken says he is going to bring his Bose earphones to the next performance. I am referring to the music they play before the shows begin.

Back in our room we filled our a room service card for breakfast and called it a night and a cruise!!

Tomorrow we begin cruise number 31!!

January 31st

January 31^st,

This is a sea day and it is going to be a busy one.

We wake around 8:30 after sleeping very soundly all night. This cruise has been very smooth so far but there is the gentle motion of the ship and it really helps you sleep well. It was warm last evening so we left the balcony door open for a while. Sometime during the night Ken closed it. The sea air and the gentle rocking are the very best sleeping pills.

We went to the dining room for breakfast, I had oatmeal and Ken had poached eggs. After breakfast we went to the last enrichment lecture by the Stockhams. This topic was the Aztec people and their history. They certainly were an amazing people and Cortez did the world a great deal of harm by destroying their advanced civilization.

After the lecture I checked out the sale in the jewelry store, didn’t shop just looked. There was a nice fire opal pendant there but fortunately I like mine better, both in appearance and price.:-)

Then I went to the international café and had my coffee tumbler filled and returned to the stateroom. I was behind on the blog and so I spent the next 2 hours trying to catch up. The connection is very slow so I will have to add pictures later. Perhaps it will be better tonight.

Because of a late breakfast we skipped lunch we shared a banana and an orange.

The next event is a slot pull with the cruise critic group at three o’clock in the Casino. Twenty three of us took part. We each put 15 dollars into a one dollar machine and we each got to pull 5 times. The person who won the most was Walt. He won about one hundred and fifty dollars. Most of us gained very little but we cheered and yelled and had a lot of fun. During all of this chaos there was a very grumpy looking lady sitting at the next machine. She never cracked a smile the entire time. It was such fun seeing the look on her face. Anyway when all had played the result was we all got thirteen dollars back. So we had a full half hour of laughing and cheering for a cost of two dollars. That was not bad at all. The casino gave Walt a gift of champagne for being the one who won the most. It was a lot of fun, and I would do it again for sure.

Then we had to return to our room because our chocolate covered strawberries were due to arrive at four.

We had a glass of our wine, ate our strawberries and got ready for the captain’s circle party. It was very nice as usual. Every one of the most travelled passengers had around 1200 days at sea with Princess. The thing that was different this time was the fact that they had special glasses, frosted hurricane style, with the princess motto of “Escape Completely “on them. We were told that we could each have one of these glasses. I hope they do it on the next cruise as well so we will have a set of four. Since Princess had changed their motto to “Come Back New” I am sure they just want to get rid of the old ones but it is still a nice gesture and I know we will appreciate having the glasses.

We left the party at its end and proceeded to the dining room. This was lobster night and there was another special Norman Love chocolate creation. My oh MY, it was delicious!!!

After dinner we went back to our room to put our glasses away and change clothes. Then it was off to the production show British Invasion. It was almost new in that we have seen another version of it but this one had several new numbers as well as the old ones. The costumes and the energy never cease to amaze us.

After the show we did our usual coffee and brandy. I think we must be getting older because we haven’t been taking in any of the parties or the dancing.

Tomorrow is the last day of the first cruise and the Super Bowl so it will be a very busy, hectic day on the ship.

Pirate Adventure

AAAARRR!!

Is that what the pirates say?

Well today we went on a princess excursion on a pirate ship and I can’t say too many good things about it. By that I mean it was GREAT!!!

As the shipped docked we could see our pirate vessel docked just across the bay. It was not quite daylight but we could make it out.

I was so very surprised to see that Puerto Vallarta was such a big modern bustling city. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my camera has a setting I could use to capture the city lights.

As we watched the Norwegian Star approached the dock. It came so close that I am certain that passengers on the front of the Grand could have reached out and touched the Star.

We had ordered room service breakfast and we had arranged a wake up call. But we were so fascinated by the passing of the Star that we didn’t hear the knock on our door. We were out on the balcony so the room service people had to call us to get us to come to the door.

We had breakfast and got ready to disembark. The sky was dark and the cloud cover was very thick and heavy. We were certain it would rain on us today. Ken packed umbrellas and rain ponchos just in case.

On the dock we were met by a performing Mexican Mariachi band and costumed pirates. We took pictures and before long we were met by what turned out to be our personal pirate PEPPE. He would be our personal guide for the rest of the day. At first he referred to me a Mamma and then as the day progressed Ken and I became Grandma and Grandpa. I can’t say that I was thrilled by this but I guess that is a title we have earned and some people are not that fortunate.

First thing was to give our menu selection for the noon meal. Ken and I both choose shrimp and steak, a surf and turf. The other choices were ribs or cordon Blue or chicken breasts or burgers.

Next we were guided on board and given our seats and PFD’s and offered drinks. This was the first of many many offers of beverages. The choices were for water, soft drinks, beer, and cocktails of all kinds including mai tais, margaritas, pina colodas, and drinks like rum and coke. There would be available all day at no extra charge.

There was lots of music and dancing, I remarked that it was an aerobics class on the sea. There was a lot of movement of the ship and I was soon very glad that I had brought along Gravol. No stabilizers here.

Next we were directed down to the galley where we were served a full breakfast of breads, scrambled eggs, ham, coffee, juice and cereal. The food was fresh and hot and you could have all you wanted. We certainly did not need to eat breakfast onboard the Grand.

We went topside and Peppe did a drawing on our forearms. Some people had scars applied to their faces and the little children were given beards and it was lots of fun.

A drama was enacted involving sword fights and cannon fire and people being thrown overboard and walking the plank. It was well acted and a lot of fun. All the while the liquor flowed. The skies cleared and we did not need our umbrellas, instead we needed suntan lotion.

After about 2 hour of sailing we were tendered into a wonderful beach where we were given front row chairs with views of the beach and the water activities. There were Kayaks and banana boats and buggy boards, snorkeling and playing in the waves and beach volleyball. Peppe brought us beer. The captain led the children on a treasure hunt. It was like watching the pied piper. The treasure was chocolate coins covered in gold foil paper. The beach was lovely and sandy and Ken and I both went into the water. We had worn swim suits under our clothes because we were told there would not be facilities at the beach.

Two hours passed quickly and before we knew it we were headed back to the Marigalante. At one pointer the pirate captain told us about the history of the vessel. Apparently it is a replica of the Santa Maria. It was really very special , constructed of heavy timbers and very well maintained. The decorations were amazing with skeletons hanging from the riggings and imprisoned in the brig.

We were directed to the galley where we were served a sumptuous meal, hot and delicious and more than ample.

Topside again the alcohol continued to flow and we were treated to acrobatics and a sword fight and a musical contest. There were prizes of very nice tee shirts awarded during the six hour excursion.

This was the best shore excursion ever and we highly recommend it. We had one problem in that we did not bring much cash with us and we would have like to tip more generously and could not.

We  had left the ship around 8:15 and we did not return until almost 3:30.

By now we are tired after spending that much time in the fresh sea air.

Back on board we decided it was a perfect time to go to the sanctuary hot tub. They have wonderful showers there and we could wash off the salt water. My ankle would enjoy the hot water, it was swollen again.

We returned to our stateroom to watch the Star maneuver from her birth and skim past us. Then we dressed for dinner. We were not very hungry so we ate light. I had a pasta dish and Ken had scallops. Of course I had to have the sugar free dessert.

After dinner we debated about going to the Princess theatre for the comedian. But both of us were tired from our very full day so we decided to call it a day and return to our room. It was not long before we were both asleep.

Tomorrow is the first of 2 sea days before we return to San Pedro and pier 93. We are looking forward to the rest and relaxation it will afford.

Anniversary Celebration

January 29^th, A sea Day,

We were in Loreto yesterday and we will be in Puerto Vallarta tomorrow so today gives us a chance to catch our breath. Or at least it was supposed to be.

We were greeted by balloons and anniversary congratulation signs on our stateroom door, as well as a card from Princess

We began our day by having breakfast in the dining room. Instead of my usual oatmeal I choose to have an omelet.

We walked the deck and then went to the enrichment lecture given by John and Diane Stockham. They were speaking on the port of Puerto Vallarta and how the filming of the movie Night of the Iguana changed that area of the country for ever.

Ken chose to return to the stateroom after the lecture but I decided to take in the fashion show in the Piazza. They model the stock available on board and they use passengers as models. I was late arriving and 2 ladies offered to share their table with me and they had a good view.

We decided to skip lunch and instead we shared an orange. I needed to eat something so I could take my meds but because we had a large late breakfast we were not hungry.

Three o’clock found us at the wine tasting. The wines featured were very good. In fact one of them was the wine we are enjoying with our dinner.  I continue to be surprised at how rude people can be at this event. They continue to talk and laugh and visit while the presenters are telling us about the wines.

Then we returned to our stateroom and I went down to the laundry room to press my jacket before dinner.

We decided to go to the Elitre and Platinum longue event tonight, the first time for this cruise. So because that begins at five we headed out. The One five is not as nice as Skywalkers in my opinion, but it does have its own charm.

Our dinner time is 5:45 so we finished our drinks and headed to the elevators. Down from deck 15 to deck 6 deserves a ride.

Dinner was very nice. The waiters sang for us, and Linda took our picture. We shared our anniversary special cake with the table mates. I decided that one sixth of that special cake was enough dessert for me.

We next made our way to the princess theatre to enjoy another presentation by Carlos Oscar. This comedian is one we really enjoy.

Our busy day was finished by having a special coffee and brandy in the International café.

Loreto

This is a tender port and we were due to anchor at seven and our tour was not until noon so we were in no rush to disembark. The literature said the tender ride was 20 minutes long and it another spot it said it was a 10 minute ride. When the announcement was made saying the tenders were ready it again said 20 minutes. There were some white caps and there was a wind so I decided that it would be wise to take Gravol just to be certain that I wasn’t sick. Anyway we went to the dining room, had a nice leisurely breakfast and came back to our room. We decided to head out to get the tender at around 10:30. We had no problem since flashing the black card gets you aboard right away. The sun was shining and the wind had calmed down so it was a wonderful easy trip. But I am glad that my life is not going by as fast as that ride. It was not 20 minutes and neither was it 10 minutes. The ride was about 7 minutes long and the sea was calm so there was absolutely no need of Gravol.

The city of Loreto is beautiful, actually it was more a town than a city. The streets are wide and clean and the people are very friendly. They have a wonderful wide boardwalk all along the shore. It is dotted with art work and lovely Victorian styled benches. They call this type of boardwalk a Malecon.

We roamed along following the people until we came upon a lovely town square where we were entertained by a dance troop performing some folk dances of the area. 

The area was beautiful and clean with lovely brightly colored buildings. There were vendors but no one approached us to buy. The lack of aggressive salesmen was a pleasant surprise.

The town is small and there are no traffic lights. Each mail boulevard was patrolled by a traffic policeman with a whistle. They stopped traffic for the pedestrians and directed the motor traffic. What a nice change.

Soon we had to head back to the dock where we were placed in vans for the ride to the Oasis Hotel, the site of our excursion for the day.

 The drive was only a few minutes long and upon arrival we were welcomed and offered a free beverage. Ken and I choose to have a margarita. I don’t remember ever having had one before. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste. I always thought that tequila had a more harsh taste.

We were directed to a beachfront court yard that was all set up with shaded tables and chairs. Soon we were told that we could go and see how they prepared the clambake.  We watched as they buried the chocolate clams in the beach gravel, covered them with brush , set a fire, and then 40 minutes later they were uncovered and served to us.

 During the cooking we were royally entertained by a local dance troop and an amazingly talented band.

The wind came up and we found it to be cool. We were wishing we had brought jackets. I wrapped up in a beach towel and that helped a little.

Then after trying the clams we were directed to a sumptuous buffet. After the buffet there was the breaking of a piñata which was filled with candy for us to enjoy.

All too soon we found ourselves in taxis and headed back to the dock and the waiting tenders.  They ride back seemed even shorter than the ride over had been.

When back in our room I decided to have a little nap.

We had a very nice dinner then we went to the production show which was called Stardust. It featured music of the late 40’s and early 50’s. It was grand. I am always impressed by the talent of the musicians and the singers and dancers.

After the show we went to the international café and had our usual specialty coffee and brandy.

Another amazing day came to an end.

La Paz

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Today we were in La Paz, called the city of peace. We had booked a princess sightseeing tour which was supposed to leave at 8:50. So we had a wake up call for 7:15 and breakfast was arriving at 7:30. When the ship pulled into port we were greeted by a Mexican band and th e pier had dozens of local crafters waiting to sell us their wares.

We ate breakfast, hung our flag and got ready to head off of the ship. As usual the photographers were waiting to take souvenir photos. We found our bus right away and soon we were underway. We were given a general tour through the Baja desert landscape. The docking point and the town itself are 16 miles apart so a bus ride is necessary. Princess ran shuttle buses into town every 15 or 20 minutes. These were at no charge but a tip for the driver was expected.

Our first stop was the Anthropology and History Museum. It really was interesting and we could have spent the day there.

The Cathedral of La Paz was our next stop but we had a limited visit because our 10:00 arrival coincided with mass. It is a beautiful building and we did get some pictures. It was built at this location in1861 and it features wonderful stained glass windows and sculptures.

Next stop was at the arts and crafts center. Authentic Mexican crafts are for sale here but since we are not in the market for crafts we cross the street and we walk  along the beach and look for sea glass. There is a wonderful sidewalk and boulevard all along the waterfront which is very popular with the locals.

The last stop on our tour is to Tecolote, the largest and most popular beach in La Paz. The sand is soft, the water is a wonderful shade of blue, the sun is shining and the temperature is perfect. We sit in chairs on the beach and just soak it all in. There are many vendors on the beach selling many different things from hats to sunglasses to jewelry to purses. They carry their wares in suitcases or on racks and they stroll the beach offering to sell you their goods. They are very very polite and a polite No Thank You is all that is needed to have them move on.

Our tour bus took us back to the ship and we disembarked around one o’clock. We were left in a spot that required us to walk past the vendors. Before we came through we were given a free 2015 Calendar featuring the Baja. Ken stopped and bought a new belt from one of the crafters.

 This was the day for me to have my January French Fries. We went up topside and ordered Hot dogs and French Fries. We brought them down to our stateroom and enjoyed our lunch on the balcony. After eating Ken got some sun and I had a nap. Vacations are for relaxation!

Then we got ready for dinner, relaxed with a glass of wine and watched as the lines were let go and we were underway again.

My but it was nice to be back in the dining room for dinner. I enjoy it so much better than the buffet.

There were several choices of entertainment this evening but we decided to pass on all of it. We strolled a little, saw a lighthouse flashing off shore and returned to our room to relax for the rest of the evening.

Tomorrow we are in Loreto and we have a clambake and Mexican Fiesta booked.

Cabo San Lucas

This is the day we are  to visit Cabo San Lucas. We have been here three times before and this time we have arranged for a general sightseeing tour of the area. We are due to arrive in port around noon so we had the morning to ourselves. That meant it was a perfect morning to enjoy a room service breakfast on our balcony.

We enjoyed our breakfast and then we dressed and took a tour around the ship. There were several spots that I had not yet seen. It was VERY windy on the top deck so we were ducking in and out. 

While out on deck we saw several spouts and some backs and flukes. We are in the area that the whales frequent during this time of the year.

We went to the international café and picked up a cinnamon bun and a coffee. This was going to be our lunch.

We returned to our room to watch the ship make its approach. The day was beautiful and we will be docked in a spot right opposite the arch and lovers beach. We quickly hung our Canadian Flag on the balcony and got ready for our excursion.

 This is a tender port and those of us on this excursion were instructed to meet in the Princess Theatre. We were a little last getting away but soon we were on board our tour bus. It was big and new and bright and comfortable.

After being given a drive around the town we were taken to our first major stop, a glass blowing factory. The artisans were very skilled and one of the men blew a lovely angel for us. It was amazing to watch it form right before our eyes.

 We had seen this before in Tacoma but the project was a martini glass. This was so much more interesting.

There was a gift shop of course and there were many things for sale. The glass items were pricey and getting them home was a concern. But they did have wonderful  pashima  for sale. They were beautiful and they were made using a kind of jacquard design so they were very reversible. The two sides looked very different. I purchased a turquoise one for 15.00 US. Our guide told us that they do not barter here.

Next we stopped at Puerta Vieja restaurant. The name translates to mean Old Door. I gather the name comes from the fact that the owner went to India where he purchased this very old door which he used as the centerpiece of his establishment.

 There were lots of wonderful artifacts here and we enjoyed a complimentary beverage and an amazing view.

Next the bus drove us to the capital of this county, the city of San Jose. Here we visited the city hall and saw the murals and we were told a little about the area. There is a beautiful mission steeped in history and a beautiful town square.

 We toured the church and had our pictures taken in front of a sea horse sculpture made of tires.

 The square was surrounded by jewelry shops specializing in silver and Mexican fire opals. Bartering is such an art here and I am getting better at it

By the time we left here and headed back to the dock and the waiting tenders we were late. It was too late to go to the dining room for dinner so we were forced to go to the buffet. We felt badly that we had not warned our waiters that we might be late or absent.  Dinner was sufficient but we certainly do prefer meals in the dining rooms. We had sufficient food, we met nice people but we did miss that pampered feeling.

After eating and visiting we rushed down to the Vista Longue. Carlos Oscar was performing and he is one of the best comedians we have ever heard. We knew seating would be at a premium.

He did not disappoint!!

Next we returned to our room long enough to pick up one of our brandies  and head to the International café for a special coffee.

Alexander and Evgenia performed in the piazza. Their acrobatic skills are thrilling.

By the time we finished our coffee it was getting late, we had had a full day and tomorrow we have an early tour of La Paz