SDPadreFan

I always get a double order of the soup and they bring it in a big bowl. My favorite Carnival soup.

San Diego Zoo is still fantastic. But it has gotten pretty pricey. Kinda an all inclusive event now with the guided tour bus included as part of it. They have also added a hop-on/hop-off bus as well (also included). And of course - the sky ride as well. The "marketing" millennials changed the name of the equally fantastic Wild Animal Park up in Escondido to the "San Diego Zoo Safari Park". Dumb move in my opinion. It will always be the "Wild Animal Park" for us. We've been very long time members of the zoo - I can even remember the free summertime evening concerts at the Wild Animal Park back in the 80's. Saw many a great concert there at the Mahala Amphitheater. Fun fact - the plant collection at the San Diego Zoo is actually WORTH MORE $$$ than the animal collection. They have many, many endangered plant species there besides the animal collection. Learned that many years ago when doing a behind the scenes tour of the zoo. Got to see many unique experiences like the food warehouses and even went into the elephants bedroom. But back to the op's fantastic live report.

Skipping the waterfall should not be a problem (but just my opinion). I know there are sometimes when that part is not available if the water flow is too low. Fall is hurricane season (typically July through late October) on the west coast of Mexico just like it is in the Caribbean so be prepared for that. Generally speaking - the storms develop down around Acapulco and then work northward. Early in the season, they mostly tend to head northwest in the direction of Hawaii, but around early September - the pattern changes and they start hugging the coast more and eventually turn east into Mexico. Landfall can occur anywhere generally from Manzanillo, Mexico to as far north as mid Baja California. Nothing to be afraid of - just something to be aware of. It will be hot and humid (and rainy at times) in the fall. I would have no qualms sailing that route and have done so in the past. Just understand the potential for port calls to get canceled and/or restructured. We will be at our timeshare in Cabo for 2 weeks beginning the last week of October. This is a great site to keep track of the weather as you get closer to your cruise. http://www.eebmike.com/

Not all - we will be on Carnival Pride in July and both of our Mondays are Sea Days. Our one Sunday will be in Stockholm (12 day cruise).

We like the catamarans for whale watching. Pez Gato is our favorite. The bigger ones like EcoCat will have bigger crowds, but also regular bathrooms (if mobility is an issue). From our Feb 2008 visit.

Interesting take on the Ports. Would disagree on Cabo. Although I am somewhat jaded because we have owned a timeshare there since 2003 (Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach). We have never missed our week there. A couple of years, we have stayed for 2 weeks (including our late October trip this year). This year will be our 21st consecutive trip. The tender ride is not a big deal, maybe 10 min or so, and the walk into town is less than 10 minutes as well. There is great food in Cabo as well as great beach bars/restaurants (toes in the sand type) on Medano Beach. Mango Deck, The Office, and The Sand Bar (our favorite) are a few of them. Winter time cruises means outstanding whale watching (generally late Dec-Mar is best - we like Feb.). Maybe you've done whale watching in Alaska (we have - boring). The whales (from Alaska) like to party in Cabo just like the rest of us (not boring). Puerto Vallarta requires a cab or bus or Uber to get anywhere. Mazatlan requires an in-port tram and then a 10-15 min walk into town or a cab ride to get anywhere. Not really a fan of Stone Island (an island in name only). For Mazatlan, we usually go into town (Old Town Mazatlan) to see the Cathedral, the Central Mercado and have a nice lunch. For PV - the best experience in my opinion is Las Caletas (the evening show). Pricey - but simply outstanding. Videos on YouTube to evaluate if it's worth it (it is). We've had a Spa Balcony on Panorama and it's ok. Probably wouldn't do it again, but it's nice.. You will experience a fair amount of movement being that high and that far forward, especially on the last 2 days coming home.

West Indian Pumpkin Soup (I always ask for a BIG bowl). And of course the Chocolate Melting Cake (but typically just once each sailing). Except for the salmon (not a salmon fan), I will get all the "fish" entrees.

Would never do Tupperware. Takes up too much suitcase real estate. But wherever we travel, we always have an assortment of ziploc bags, etc. (just in case).

You can try to reset the balcony door seal. Takes 2 people. Hold balcony door open, then open stateroom door (creating a vacuum). Let balcony door close hard, then close stateroom door. Important to let balcony door close hard (not necessarily slam, but hard). Works most times, but not always.

Also more than one station. Wander around and you will find them. Sometimes the line will be shorter or one cook could be using 2 burners, while the other is using 3.

Absolutely what we do as well. First sea day, and we are loading up a couple of sandwich baggies with lido deck cookies. And larger baggies to hold a couple of cold sandwiches from the deli. Suppose you could even do that with pizza if you wanted, but I'm not so much a fan of cold pizza. I will mention that we NEVER try to take these items off the ship. They are only for shipboard consumption.

Alaskan current is pretty strong. Runs all the way down to the tip of Baja California. 2 pictures - first one in Oct with lots of warm water around Southern Baja. 2nd pic is now. Water is much colder and the whales have already left party town and are headed back north to Alaska for a serious snack.

Will probably stay bumpy and definitely windy as you get closer to the prevailing southbound Alaskan current and wind.

So on instantly programmable slots, probably pretty easy to have big payouts at the beginning of a longer cruise - get you hooked - and then reel you in during the last couple of sea days to not only make their money back, but help themselves to some of yours as well. Table games would be harder to control. But anything electronic ...

Not a fan of the stairwell art.

I would watch for it under any of the ports. Carnival doesn't really seem to know how to locate this excursion. When we were on the Miracle last year, it was listed under San Francisco almost until sail away with lots of open seats. Seem's as soon as they moved it, it sold out. BE PERSISTENT. Definitely worth it. There should be 2 departure times available as the boat goes out and then comes back, and then repeats.

Some days - even the deck scuppers can be overwhelmed.

Looks like a pretty wet day for you. Reminds me of my time in the Navy. Because I was an aviation sailor (airdale - AKA brown shoe), I was always stationed onboard aircraft carriers and typically assigned to an aircraft squadron. We basically worked 12 hr shifts at sea (12 on, 12 off). But those "on" shifts would normally run 13-14 actual hours). Working on the roof (flight deck) you could see the huge storms way off in the distance and many times the ship would turn into the wind to begin flight ops and that storm would be dead ahead. You knew, at that point, that you were going to get soaked (no matter what) when the launch and recovery operations began. Flight deck personal had basic foul weather gear (along with 2 pair of flight deck boots) but soaked was still the outcome - no matter what.

So just a few more pictures of my Crossing the Line Ceremony in 1976 onboard the USS Enterprise (CVAN-65). These include a slimy pollywog posing for a photo, kissing the Royal Baby, King Neptune's Court, and finally a visit to the Royal Scribe upon completion of the initiation rites to ensure proper enrollment into the Royal Order of Trusty Shellbacks. I will also point out that initiation onboard a U.S. Aircraft Carrier is a huge event with several thousand pollywogs attending the rites. As such - many of the cast members of the Royal entourage rotated in shifts with multiple Royal Baby's, Doctor's, etc. Typical crew size onboard a carrier generally numbered between 6,000-7,000 sailors. It also allowed us to also have a quite successful WOG day contest the evening before our Crossing the Line event. I will also point out that participation in these rites is totally voluntary and you are able to "opt out" if you wish, although 99% do participate. There is no shaming allowed of those who do "opt out". Here's hoping the OP had a memorable day "Crossing the Line".

Great pictures, thanks for sharing.

I'm OK with it. But generally on a 7 day, I will typically only get it once, or max twice. I find that just getting a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream (not soft serve) is a nice way to finish dinner. Nothing fancy. Just a simple scoop or two.

Enjoy the quiet and solitude if you wish. Take better shipboard pictures with fewer crowds. Take an afternoon nap.

As promised - a few shots of "my" Crossing The Line ceremony in 1976. Obviously I was a lowly participant and not the photog. I'll post a few more tomorrow

You are really getting in some great shots of your journey.

Just like High Schools have yearbooks. Navy ships have Cruise Books. I'll have to dig out my 1976 USS Enterprise Cruise Book and see if I can post a few pics of our Crossing the Line.