Feb 24th – Last sea day and end of the cruise

Here we are again at the end of a fabulous vacation!  We have had such a good time and will remember this trip for a lifetime.  The weather was sparkling today but a little cool.  The seas were like glass and we’ve had a very smooth ride.

Our day started early, as we had to meet our tour at 8:15 this morning.  The “Ultimate Ship Tour” definitely was!  We spent four hours scrambling ALL over the places in the ship that passengers rarely see.  We went to the kitchens, storage areas, refrigerator and freezer ROOMS, the printing shop, laundry, butcher shop, vegetable preparation areas, backstage in the theater, the ICU, medical center, morgue, engine control room, photo processing lab and the very bow of the ship where the ropes and anchor’s are.  While we were in the area where the anchors are dropped we were invited to peer down the shaft that the anchor travels to get in the water.  As we were all (10 of us on the tour) looking down a “rogue” wave was crossed and a HUGE geyser of seawater came up and DRENCHED us all!!  Not only were we shocked but the staff was as well!  They said that rarely happens and has NEVER happened during a tour!  Poor Sailor Ed’s jeans were soaked and probably weighed 20 pounds!!  I mostly got my pants but some people had dripping hair!  It was a great laugh!  Too bad the photographer who was along with us wasn’t prepared for that shot!  It would have been a true prizewinner!

The tour ended on the Bridge with the Captain, Ivan Jerman, who was most generous with his time and spent an hour with us.  He was quite charming and spent a bit of time discussing the Costa incident.  We were served Champagne and canape’s on the bridge and we were just allowed to wander around and enjoy the fabulous views from up there.  While we were watching the sea a small pod of dolphins swam towards the ship to “play” in the bow wave!!  What a treat to see it from that perspective!  We were given lots of gifts to remember the tour including beautiful, thick robes and personalized stationery.

So glad we were able to take part.

This afternoon, sadly, we learned that one of our “new “friends aboard for this week died about 1pm this afternoon.  He was a great guy who had brought his 12 year old grandson on this cruise and was having a blast going on tours.  He was also traveling with his son and his son’s partner.  He felt ill this morning and after lunch collapsed and died before the medical staff could get to his cabin.  Needless to say, his family is devastated and my heart goes out to them and especially young Will who loved his time with Grandpa.

I don’t want to leave this on a sad note but I will take his son’s lead and remember that he was doing what he loved most…cruising……with the people he loved most.

On a much lighter and way less serious note and I am giddy with excitement to tell you that our trivia team WON TWICE today!!  We are going out on a high note!!  Hooray for us!  We think it’s because we changed our seats and we changed our team name from the “Trivia Nuts” to the “CRS” (Can’t Remember Shit)!!!!  Whatever…..we won!

My ear is getting better…slowly.  Still gobbling ibuprofen but at a slower pace.  The drops are helping, too.

We have a 9:15 time for disembarkation so we will, hopefully, be on the road NLT 10 am!  We should be home by 4 or 5.

Thanks for following along and I have enjoyed sharing this trip with you.  It keeps you all up to date and also provides me with a great way to remember where the hell we’ve been!!  When I go back and read some of the entries I’m amazed at some of the things I have forgotten already!  CRS is alive and well in me!!

Lots of love and kisses,

XOXOXOXOXO

Me

Feb 23rd – Second Cabo day

Gosh, another cool and windy day in Cabo!  The sun was out but there were lots of whitecaps in the bay and chilly.

We got kind of a late start this morning and spent the day doing absolutely nothing!!

We WON trivia this morning and I am now the proud owner of a blue carabiner!  Just what I have always wanted!  This afternoon’s trivia was a different story since we had some random guy just sit down at our table and he couldn’t hear so wanted us to repeat every question to him …v.e.r.y…l.o.u.d.l.y!  Then he would shout out an answer!  If he hadn’t been about 95 years old we might have tossed him!  He was drinking Black Label and had been for most of the afternoon, I am guessing!  What a hoot.

Sailaway this afternoon was gorgeous as we rounded the Cabo but since the seas were all choppy we couldn’t see our whale and dolphin sendoff!

Tomorrow morning is our “Ultimate Ship Tour” and we are looking forward to it.  We have to meet the group just after 8 am so we’ll actually have to set an alarm!  Imagine that!

Not much else to report except that Sailor Ed had a productive night in the casino and believes he has recouped all his donations!!  Pretty good!

I’ll check in once more tomorrow night to bring this trip to a close.

XOXOXOXO

Me

Feb 22nd – Cabo San Lucas

We sailed into the bay at Cabo San Lucas about 11 am and were once again greeted by whales and dolphins!  How do they know we’re arriving?

It was a beautiful day but chillier that we expected. The tenders started taking folks to shore about noon and we left about 1 or 1:30.  Things sure have changed here in the past few years and the city seems to have quadrupled in size.  We spent about an hour walking around the port and then we headed back after saying “No, gracias” about 500 times!

While we were wandering around we ran into Doris and Ray.  She was ready to shop a little but Ray was ready to go back so he got in the tender line with us and we boarded the next boat.  Just then Doris arrived and the next thing we knew……Ray was getting off the tender and going up the ramp with Doris!!  She needed more money!  We couldn’t help but tease him at dinner about almost making a “clean getaway”!!!  We have had so many good laughs with those two dears!

Trivia today was 50/50!  Won once and didn’t win once!!  I have a shiny new pen!!  The sure do give cheap ship prizes!!!

This evening we went to one of the lounges to hear a member of the ship’s performing group sing a tribute concert for Whitney Houston.  She had done the same thing last week and we missed it so we got there early for a good seat.  While we were waiting Sailor Ed started talking to a couple seated in front of us because he heart the woman’s New YAWK accent!  Well, they started yakking about neighborhood’s, streets, high schools, etc.  Lots in common.  Then I asked her where she lives now and she said Concord, CA!

Haha….we live in Brentwood, yada yada.  The we AND………..her granddaughter is in Cally’s class!!!  Kaitlin Randall!  Such a small, small world.  We were all amazed.  They also have a connection to Carmel since they have a relative who owns or used to own the Lobos Lodge in Carmel!!

We will spend most of tomorrow here in Cabo and then sail out about 2pm.  Next stop will be our final one in LA on Saturday morning.

I had to spend some time in the medical center today.  Have another ear infection and it’s pretty painful.  I’m loaded up with Motrin to try and get some sleep.

Lots and lots of love….

XOXOXOXOOX

Me

Feb 21st - Puerto Vallarta

Great day in PV today!  The weather was spectacular and lots of people out and about!  Cruise ships have been staying away from Mexico so they were pretty happy to have the “gringo’s” back with their wallets open!

The last time we were here Sailor Ed had to find a Dr. to get him a rental CPAP machine!!  No worries about that this time and we enjoyed the day mostly from our balcony!  This morning we spent some time walking around the pier area and looking in the shops.  It’s too bad the Mexican’s in California can’t speak English as well as the Mexican’s in Mexico!!  That’s what they call an “imponderable”!!  We got a kick out of Juanita who has 12 children from “too much hootchie-hootchie” and “Mexican’s don’t have any good TV”!!!  She was so nice and so much fun we had to be her “first sale of the day”!  Yea, sure!!  She was a kick.

Came back in time to catch a noontime trivia……which we won!  A deck of cards…..big deal.  It’s not about the prizes anyway!

I did some reading on the balcony this afternoon since it was such a gorgeous day and we were overlooking the pier area.  I’m reading “The Glass Castle” and can’t put it down!  What an amazing memoir!  Hard to believe it’s true.

Our sailaway was delayed for about an hour while they waited for some stragglers.  Lucky people!  They just sauntered on and not a bit worried about keeping 3500 people waiting…..some nerves of steel there!

We arrive in Cabo tomorrow about noon and I am hoping for another nice whale show!  We will be there until Thursday afternoon so I don’t know which day we will get off the ship and tender to the pier. 

We both feel like we’re winding down and both of us are ready to be home.  We will enjoy the last few days and feel grateful we’ve been able to take this cruise.  Come Saturday we’ll be very ready to head north.

That’s all the news that’s fit to print!

XOXOXOX

Me

Feb 20th – Sea Day

What a gorgeous day today!  Cruising along the coast of Baja California with glimpses of the mountains.  We were also treated to a great look at Cabo San Lucas as we passed by.  So many whales today that we lost count and saw one slapping the water with it’s fin!  Dozens of dolphins following alongside the ship and playing in the bow waves the ship made.  As soon as we passed Cabo the air temperature changed to balmy!  Lost of people at the pools today and the kids were back in the water having fun.

Trivia this morning was a bust and this afternoon we came in…..yup……second!  The story is getting old, I know.  We recruited a nice younger guy named Zack who is starting to produce some information!!  He says his sister is better at trivia so we’ll look for her tomorrow.

We signed up to do the “Ultimate Ship Tour” and are pretty sure we’ve been selected.  They only conduct the tour once each cruise and they only take twelve passengers.  Our buddy at the purser’s desk indicated we were on for it.  Should take place the last sea day on Friday.  You get a complete tour of all the “below deck” areas passengers never see.  We’ll see the Bridge, engine room, laundry, ICU area, “da morgue”, backstage in the theater and the kitchen and storage areas.  Should be fun and sort of a “once in a lifetime” kind of tour.  We have friends who did it and highly recommended it to us.  I’ll let you know.

I don’t think I had reported to you that we were having some ongoing problems with our toilet!  They operate on some sort of vacuum system and are usually pretty efficient and reliable.  Well, from Day 1 we noticed that the water in the bowl would just disappear and we were left with miserable “sucking” sounds that would only stop if we flushed or poured a couple of glasses of water in there.  Within a half hour the vampire noises (sucking…..get it?) would start again.  Every day we would call and report the problem and everyday someone would come by and pronounce it “fixed”! Within hours it would start again.  Finally, Sailor Ed had had enough and called for a “supervisor”!!  Well, that worked!  While we were out one day things got fixed and the Purser’s Desk sent us TWO plates of chocolate!  (Have I already told you guys this story?  If so, sorry ;) )  Then we got a letter from the Officer in charge of the Hotel Department and they gave us $135 EACH shipboard credit for our trouble!!  We think that was a very nice gesture on their part!!  P.S.  Toilet still working!!!

Someone let Trevor know that I wore my De la Salle sweatshirt yesterday while walking the deck and had several people comment on it.  One couple even said their son was a graduate many moons ago!  Fun!

All for now.  PV tomorrow!  Will stay onboard most likely!

XOXOXOXO

Me