This was a day we’d planned as an “us” day, without a lot of coordination and almost no “touristy” activity. When in Cabo — we go to The Sand Bar. It was a beautiful day — the only thing I’d have liked was just a bit more breeze. Here’s the actual cats 🙂 Tenders Ashore … Read more
Bottom Line Up Front: Food: More than enough, fresh, all the temperatures were right, great taste, fun presentation Service: Fun, personable, prompt Downside: It was not made clear when things offered would lead to additional charge. We didn’t mind the additional expense, but did find that a bit off-putting to have it sneak up on … Read more
This tour on Viator: https://www.viator.com/tours/Mazatlan/Mazatlan-Old-Town-Sightseeing-beach-and-Shopping/d4151-200253P2 Ever seen a Pearl in the Rough? You can’t say no to that now…. Tour Selection Last time we were in Mazatlan, we did a ship-sponsored resort/lunch/time on the beach thing. It was my first swim in the Pacific, so there’s that. But otherwise the experience was somewhat underwhelming. Especially … Read more
I woke up today a bit out of sync with the world, not sure after the continual time zone changes exactly what time it was. But when one is awake before the alarm and has a balcony steps away and it’s pre-sunrise…one goes out on the balcony and catches up on writing. Arrival in Mazatlan … Read more
Full experience Viator URL: https://www.viator.com/tours/Puerto-Vallarta/Yelapa-All-Inclusive-Boat-Tour-Chica-Limousine-of-The-Sea/d630-24191P16 Viator URL that we booked: https://www.viator.com/tours/Puerto-Vallarta/Remote-Paradise-Beach-Day-Pass/d630-24191P37 Direct URL for Chicka Locca: https://chickaloccatours.com Transfers arranged through: https://vallartaincentives.com Choosing this vs the NCL Resort Excursion There were a lot of factors in this particular choice. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I tend toward self-arranging tours/excursions. I don’t like large group experiences — between … Read more
Breakfast in Grand Pacific (Main Dining Room) Looking at my camera roll, it appears I forgot to take any breakfast photos. But then again, I suppose if you’ve seen one photo of the NCL French Toast, a glass of juice, a ham and cheese omelette, and a few strips of bacon, you’ve seen them all. … Read more
Note to self: two mudslides at breakfast is NOT a good idea. For those just joining, a bit of background: This is my first cruise after undergoing bariatric (gastric sleeve) surgery in July. I’m still re-learning to eat in ways that are compatible with my new digestive reality. (As an example, as I write this … Read more
Bottom line up front: our best specialty dinner so far on this trip I’ve been waiting to be “wowed” by something culinary this trip. Not sure I can say the whole meal was wow-quality, but there were some standouts. After a steakhouse, Italian is our second go-to for dining out on land or at sea. … Read more
I’ll start by saying this: I’ve never “gotten” French cuisine. We make the French restaurant one of our specialty experiences on most sailings, but I have yet to be truly impressed by the experience. That said, I have no complaints about the Le Bistro experience. I forgot to photo the menu, so I don’t know … Read more
Unfortunately, this will have to be a “come back to it after the trip” post. I didn’t shoot nearly enough photos to make the post as detailed as I’d like. I shot videos instead, and will have to edit them when I get home, before I can upload them to the site. Here are a … Read more
Given that we had two ships (Norwegian Jade and Holland American’s Niew Amsterdam) boarding at the same time, I feel things in the San Diego cruise terminal were well-handled. I’d be happy to cruise out of here again. I was frustrated when I arrived, because I found the airport-adjacent cruise ship parking difficult to find. … Read more
One of our two must-do traditions on Day 1 of any NCL Cruise: The first mudslide and dining at Cagney’s. They have become immutable parts of our experience. The shrimp appetizer came out as expected. I thought it had been reduced by one shrimp from what I remembered on Escape two years ago, but I … Read more