By the way, the lemons and oranges are now ripe in Palm Springs.
December 20, 2013
Leaving Mom's driveway in Palm Springs to drive the rental car to San Pedro. Then a shuttle to the boat, er, ship. We are to board the Princess Star.
Once at the ship, we hand over our luggage with the proper tags on them and sign in to get our cruise cards which is like a credit card and i.d. for the trip. Mom and I are ushered to a special waiting section called "The Captain's Circle." She got this courtesy designation because she has taken a lot of cruises. I bring us coffee that we sip while we wait.
The ship from the outside is big white and gorgeous. Eventually, we go through security and our cruise cards wand us in. I kind of felt like an eggplant on the grocery conveyor belt when they wanded me, but I got over it. We went to our cabin which was very cute and ship shape, then on to a buffet lunch on the Lido deck.
We had a muster for life jacket training. After realizing that your life jackets are in the cabin and they only have a few on deck if you're closer to a muster point ... let's face it: in a disaster, you're toast. After muster, there was a sail away party around one of the pools. We had fries and brats to celebrate. They also had burgers and dogs at that station. Across the way there was a pizza station. :)
Then it was on to the 7 p.m.preview of coming attractions show. The comic, turned juggler, was funny and a fantastic juggler who juggled to a Beatles' song. After that, "anytime" dining in the formal dining room. Then (natch) to the Casino. Lost $20. Off to bed at 10:30 p.m.
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December 21, 2013 Saturday
Docked in Ensenada, Mexico. !Arrrrrrrrrriba!
The day was foggy, but soon cleared. Going through security and customs, we ended up in a small vendor area, but decided to go into town on the shuttle. Before leaving that area I had a nice chat with a yellow lab de la policia. He loved my pats and loved sniffing my capris. I figured out that the police dogs were looking for food/fruit because who brings drugs INTO Mexico?
Our shuttle driver talked us into going to see La Bufalodora -- the largest blow hole of 3 -- in the world. The water makes a sound like a buffalo snorting when it flows into the cave before shooting up. [This tour, btw, was half price of the Princess tour.]
We waited at an outdoor patio of a hotel with a free outdoor buffet after the tour.
During our 40 minute bus ride to La Bufladora, Genoveva (aka Jenny) was very pleasant and knowledgeable. She gave us the Mexican viewpoint, including some social aspects of life there.
Ensenada is a very large area whose original industry was fishing, then farming. Now, tourism joins farming as the primary occuptions. Ensenada exports olives, wines, grapes, Corona cerveza, and believe it or not, Chicken of the Sea tuna.
After careening around mountain roads, we arrived and had to walk about 1/4 mile through
hordes of vendors. Jenny helpfully pointed out her favorites (which is why I know the silver necklace was silver) and the silver vendor showed us the acid test. She also told us how to spot some fakes. The onslaught from the vendors was awful. At one point, one young woman stood right in front of me, holding up some trinkets. I kept walking and luckily she moved. It would not have been a pretty sight.
La Bufladora -- the Ensenada Blow Hole
While there, I just had to get some shots of the view beyond the blow hole.
Then it was off to lunch at a place Genoveva recommended. We had to slither in, er, sneak in because the person outside advertising the restaurant had a giant yellow snake around her neck. Ick, ick, ick. While we were waiting for our food, a woman with a lovely red and white floral dress asked if she and her husband could share our table. They were New Yorkers (of course) who now live in Florida and they were on the cruise too. When my whole fried fish arrived, she exclaimed, "I couldn't eat anything with a head staring at me." She was pretty tiresome, complaining that she had spent 50 cents too much on vanilla. But she was happy with her leather purse for $65! I bought YaoYao a silver chain before we left.
Back on board the ship, it was nap time, then trivia. We then enjoyed drinks before dinner in the dining room. We enjoyed talking with our tablemates which was a good thing because it was 45 minutes before we were served. The beef medallions were tough and un-chewable.
The late show was very good. The guy's name was Something Rockett. He had to work hard for his money (unresponsive audience), but he was pretty funny and a very decent magician. Because the first show was full, we went to the Casino. I turned my $20 into $24. Yay!
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December 22 Sunday
I missed the non-denominational church at 8:15 a.m. Are they kidding? You don't get any Protestant to church before 10 a.m.!
I took two ukelele lessons -- enough to know that I could not continue with the progressive lessons. Yes, I was that bad. (At the end of the cruise, they gave a show.)
Lunch was "An English Pub." The fish and chips were good -- and came with mushy peas. I still don't like mushy peas. I asked some Brits if they really ate them and they said, "Oh, yes! It's a favorite." Ugh. (It's like baby food paste consistency.)
At lunch, we sat next to two women who did nothing but complain. We laughed because one of them said two other women friends had made it clear that they did not want to travel with them. No kidding. Who wants to travel with, 'Bitch, bitch, bitch,'?
Gingerbread House Display
In the late evening, we had a free drink of champagne, compliments of the Captain, as the crew helped passengers fill a huge tower of champagne glasses. This was yet another photo op (and a chance for you to buy a picture of yourself pouring champagne onto the tower).
After a lovely dinner -- although I could have wished for my JD in a glass that did not have a big shard out of the rim -- we hurried to Chris Bliss' 9:30 p.m. show. He's the juggling comedian.
After tripling my initial $10 at the Casino, I ended up losing $20. Oh, well. You should only bet what you are willing to lose.
December 23 Monday at sea
I found breakfast! I only wandered a tiny bit -- the ship is huge and some elevators don't go to all of the decks, etc. I always ate breakfast at the buffet on the Lido deck. Today, the pool is a mini ocean with big waves. It does not feel rough, but it is ominously grey outside. I'm glad I have my yellow Aloha Shirt on to brighten things up. (I learned that it is not a 'Hawaiian Shirt' because that makes you sound like you are just off the boat. Which I was when I heard that ...)
I left Mom in the cabin while she decided if she wanted to sleep more. We turned the clocks back one hour last night, so we are a bit time-challenged.
The crew is insanely smiley and polite. It's wonderful, but I'm not getting a chance to do my crusty before coffee act. And it's hard to smile and be polite, but I'm managing. After breakfast, it was lei making class. Someone pointed out that I could buy one ready made for the same price and that's what I did because I really liked the crochet ones (and I don't know how to crochet).
Lunch today was "An Oriental Buffet." I don't know how they can get away with that title, but they did. It was good for me -- there was a good beef curry which was very spicy. But it was not good for someone like Mom who does not like anything spicy at all. There were no labels (such as one or two chili peppers) on anything and the buffet line started with kimchi!
We went to the champagne art auction and slurped a couple of glasses of bubbly. Within the first 15 minutes of selling, they had sold over $25,000 worth of art. In my opinion, it was all grossly overpriced. They made a big deal out of offering Peter Max and Kincaid -- neither of whom I care for. They also commented about how prolific Peter Max is -- duh.
We walked by caroling in a bar. There are so many bars, I can't keep them straight. There always seems to be music in the atrium (which is the piazza) where the two glass elevators are. We went to a fantastic English Tea at 3:30 p.m. The little sandwiches, scones, pastries, and company were great!
Ginger Bread Houses and Santa Decorations in the Piazza
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I've got to stop now; I'm pooped. As you might have guessed, I kept a journal (because I have no memory) and am using that to refresh my memory.
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Aflter tea, we played trivia and (luckily), we sat with a couple from England. I had never heard of the Gherkin Building in London, nor the Blackpoole Tower, which looks like a mini Eiffel Tower. They also knew that Bolt won the 1988 Olympic 100 M race with an untied shoe.
We went to the formal dining room for dinner and had wonderful dinner companions Priscilla and John (she said, 'like the Puritans') were great fun. He's an eye doctor with a sense of humor. Priscilla had run his office and she also has a fun outlook. There was also a young couple from Canada and she's a dental hygienst putting him through school as he trains to be a commercial pilot. John is a small plane pilot so they had a lot in common.
Mom and I were amazed when the waiter brought John his private bottle of wine, because shortly after filling the glass, the waiter rushed back to the table and snatched it and the bottle. He had brought someone else's bottle of wine! We all wondered if he poured the glass of "wrong wine" back into the bottle -- after John had taken a drink. I thought it was wise of Mom to only buy a glass of wine here and there, rather than have her "own" bottle. As a whole, the waiters are very polite, but seem to be slightly inept.
After dinner we saw two (count 'em) shows! It has been consistently warm on the ship for me (in the cabin and the corridors). When we get Hawaii weather, I may melt. Of course, I had left 28 F.
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December 24, 2013 Christmas Eve at sea
The day dawned grey again. I woke up sick, coughing, with the beginning of a cold. I took Airborne, hoping the vitamin C would help.
Breakfast. Trivia. Lei making going on next to the trivia.
I crashed in the cabin and had supper via room service. Mom's dinner companions thanked me for not going to dinner.
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December 25, 2013 Merry Christmas! at sea
I woke up feeling better, but still coughing. We had room service bring breakfast to the cabin, which was great. It was nice and quiet!
Mom actually went with me to the non-denominational church service. I was very disappointed in the 82 year old Presbyterian minister from NC (he told everyone that). First of all, he greeted everyone -- except me. He even walked past us to shake hands with others behind us. Then when communion came up, he said it was for "believers" only. Guess he forgot about Jesus sitting and eating with the hated tax collectors and whores.
We went to the "60 Pictures in 60 Minutes" art auction. Can he do it? Yes. And ... I bought art! I didn't really intend to ... I only wanted one cartoon cell and I ended up with six. I'll probably sell the others. I have to wait 6 to 8 weeks for delivery. I couldn't believe that. The thought bubble over my head was, 'Amazon can do it in three days.'
We played trivia -- twice. I'm not any better at it. But the host is always making jokes so that's fun.
After dinner, we saw Santa arrive. He landed on the top deck and came down one of the glass elevators. Every child got his or her picture taken with Santa and they got a wrapped gift. It turned out to be a stuffed dolphin. I think it said "Princess" on the side. Of course, we sang carols too.
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December 26, 2013 Boxing Day (Day 7) Hilo, Hawaii It's 77 F.
We had to go through customs to get off the ship because we had been in Mexico last. They let US citizens go first (we all needed passports), and one Brit was complaining and saying, "It's not fair." Mom said, "Yes, just try and get an American through customs at Heathrow in London!" She's been many times and it's usually very time consuming.
After walking around a lot, I bought an Aloha shirt (mostly yellow). To get back on board, we had to wait in line for about 20 minutes and it was very hot! So that made me really tired.
They were painting the ship when we returned!
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SOME VIEWS OF THE SHIP
That's the Captain's spot sticking out to the left.
One of my favorite specialty shops; it was right next to a bar and a coffee cafe where the food was free, but you had to pay for the coffee!
This is one of two glass elevators at the piazza.
These are the Yuletide Singers in the piazza on the first day. (I forgot to post the picture.)
On the left are the many photos -- they take them whenever you get off the ship and at dinner and everywhere else. They want you to buy them and, of course, it's $20 to $30 a pop. On the right behind the wreath is a bar where they had lei making and ukelele lessons and pop singing rehearsals.
Sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Hope it goes soon. The weather wouldn't help you either. Sounded like a great trip. Do you realize they might have been painting the ship to cover over the rust spots? LOL
ReplyDeleteAnyway when's the next trip going to be?
Thanks for sharing your story with us.