Panama Canal-Pearl, April 17, 2011, part 2

[kwahl1]

4-24 Happy Easter. Good two mile run in the fitness center to start the day, except the toilet was out of order so I have to scramble on the 12th floor to find the potties. Head to the Garden Cafe to maybe get that over easy fried egg. Greeted at the door by the same guy whose nametags says CHEF. "perhaps you could fix me an over easy egg?", but that was met with strange looks. So I brush him off as "no understando" and head over to get what looked like egg Benedict w/ the holl. sauce. At last perhaps that runny yolk I yearn for. Wrong. Hard boiled but it tasted very good. Again stopped at the coffee shop to get a finely crafted of coffee from the very nice lady behind the counter. And I wonder, "why is it that everyone is served their coffees in paper cups, but nobody's coffee is 'to go'"? Porcelain cups must be special order. My latte was good, but I had " to go", as this lady was engaged in a conversation on why here husband was depressed on the Pearl and didn't need to hear this. Off to relax at the thermal suites. And that I did! Very warm today. Sitting her in the aft cafe and spoke briefly with the executive chef. Nice guy. Explained in the buffet they use the induction stove tops that are very hot and it's hard to do that on the line and he recommended the main dinning room for breakfast. Thank you so much! Lounged around and napped and tanned and read. Ran into Cruisecrtic, Cruisejoy (Elaine) and her DH are ending their cruise in Guatemala as DH broke his leg while in his room. No details. Troed Mambos

tonight, Tex-Mex with a Filopino twist. Fajitas great, the rest OK. Meal comes with a small margarita. Plenty of food for $10 each. An absolute "don't miss" is the show Shark Bait. Great. Went up to the White Hot party and great to see everyone, young and old, crew and guests dancing.

4-25 Puerto Queztal, Gautamala. Alas! The over easy egg has been laid in the Summer Palace. Enjoyed a quiet breakfast there before our trip to Antigua. Trip was very informative and the town of Antiqua is about 90 min. from port.lots of jade and history there. At the dock be sure to check out the drinks among the kiosks, $3 beers!!! Rested up a bit before a dinner at Cagneys. Well presented and the food was "just good", not excellent. Cpt Lars and officers were celebrating Lars wife birthday tonight. Went to the 9pm show of The Beatles Celebration. Pretty good and the crowd got into it.

4-26 Not feeling the best this morning but ran the threadmill anyway. Been trying various things with cabin temperature while sleeping, but each morning we wake up with a dry irritated sore that, but it is usually better by noon. The cabin air is simply too dry and I thought of running the shower all night for that moisturizer effect, but I'm affraid of flooding my room. See I've asked four times to get the drain in the shower fixed. Maybe today it'll be better. I have noticed a number of people with the same dry cough! Really conscience of it in the Garden Cafe when you're carrying a plate of food to your table and someone is hacking. A little rain as we approach Huatulco, Mex. Boy that was quick. Expected to arrive at noon. Coffee is cold in the thermoses at the Topsiders Cafe. I kept an eye on the guy behind the serving line for 5-10 and never refilled the thermoses with fresh coffee. Simply didn't care. Or no comprende cafe fresca. Finished my book " The Girl Who Played with Fire". Off the ship a 2pm. Hot! Huatulco I don't think appears on any map. Very small community on a bay, a few hotels, tourist shops galore and how the cruise industry came to find this oasis is a mystery to me. Hot! Dead trees along all the hillsides, rocky cliffs and two beaches along with a marina. Complete with armed sailors at the end of the dock and a few sailing in the harbor. Didn't buy anything except a beer and that's the way you get to use the free wi-fi. And that was limited. Ate at the Indigo for the first time and it was good. No waiting, which I dislike even on land, but it was a little noisy. Well staffed too. Went another Fabiom Zini show. Then went to the Chip Romero comic-magic show. Very funny and entertaining.

4-27 Slept outside for 4 hours and seemed to help my sinuses. One of the deckhands woke me up at 4 am, cleaning so decided to my cabin to get some more sleep. yes it's the air in the cabin, too dry. Acapulco time. Really didn't want to do too much here do we walked outside the dock area and you are greeted by hoards of wheeler and dealers. We couldn't shake this one, he kept with us, kept at our side. "I take you to my mother's shop". In old town and what a dump to get there! Bought one thing and señor led us back to the ship. Relax by the pool and Wifey can hit the thermal suite. The bleu cheese dressing in the garden cafe is thinner than skim milk. Ranch not much more creamier. But salads are what you make of them.Today the marirachi band played pool side. A lot of relax and nap time and a beautiful sail away. Did Inigo tonight, eggplant parmagean good. No show tonight. The Pearl performers don't get us excited. So we lounge outside for awhile and I go to enjoy my Columbian cigar and a glass of red wine.

4-28 at sea. A very good nights sleep with no sinus problems and only a slight tickle in the throat. A good start to a lazy day at sea. In the Garden Cafe a lady in her bath robe, way too funny, if not disgusting! And the unthinkable at the lunch buffet. They ran out of plates before a load could be washed. Funny watching diners as well as staff scurrying about. "Plates, plates"! More relaxing this afternoon. Ate at the Summer Palace for dinner and the braised lamb shank was excellent. Kindly asked for a couple of wine glasses to take to our room a this young man oblique so we could enjoy a nice bottle of wine in the room. Went to the "Oh What a Night" production. Very good show. Chocoholic buffet tonight. Too many people, but got us a few sweets for a night cap.

4-29 Woke to the of dropping anchor in Cabo San Lucas Bay. This is a tender port. No cruise ship dock. What a beautiful bay with the sunrise. Didnthe morning treadmill and went for my coffee at the Topsiders Cafe. Cold coffee again so done with this place. The Great Outdoors is always a good place to go. Andy the cruise director announced last night he is leaving to ship today in Cabo to go to the Epic. Reassignment. Went I to Cabo, pretty clean city compared to where we have been the past 12 days. Lots of money in Cabo, tourists and ??? bought a few things, not high pressure like Acapulco. Back to the ship be noon, sail away at 2 pm. Someone got ill so we were delayed leaving by a hour but Cpt Lars says we can make it up at full speed, 22 knots. Had a very informative talk with Sean and Max of Shark Bait on circus life and now, life on the ships. Dinner good in the Indigo. Tonights show a little earlier than normal, The Spy Who Spied Me had some good parts in it. Then the cast and crew of the entire ship came out for a finale. Great. This evening they are showing the Royal Wedding in two locations and following that with a wedding party. No thanks.

4-30 Last day at sea as we bob up n down in 3' -12' swells. Just finished another book, " The Burning Girl" from the NCL library. Crowded breakfast as the final time change has got people moving early. Big drawing this morning for a free cruise. No such luck for me today. Probably 20 degrees cooler this morning with the marine layer hovering above us this morning. Sitting by the covered pool this afternoon, very few people out here and they have certainly bundled up to warm up.... Long sleeves, jeans, and hoodies. Try some bingo, final session. No luck. Had the garden buffer tonight, nothing special. Ship's common area very crowded, cabin fever and people anxious as we get close to Los Angeles. Final show tonight will be Shark Bait and Oh What a Night. Great show. All packed and the luggage is outside the cabin for pick and delivery to the port.

5-1 Made it into Los Angeles on time, 7 AM. One final breakfast and wait to clear customs by 8:30. "Attention there has been congestion in the terminal and we have had to suspend disembarking for the moment". Problems free styling? Seems there are only 8 Customs agents working today.

6 As I reflect, it's been a once in a lifetime cruise, glad I did it, and I really can't let those little annoyances bother me. Resting and relaxing made it it all nil. I enjoyed doing very little! Staff really tries hard to make you enjoy your cruise and I appreciated that. I enjoyed the Freestyle myself, but also think cruising still has a little more elegance to it, and I saw very little semblance of that the past two weeks. True I could of dressed up each evening as many did, but the enchainment just isn't there if you look left or right in the eating establishment. Entertainment was very good for the most part. We didn't do late evening events so couldn't comment. Food was hit or miss, and palates of 2400 people can speak for this issue.

I miss my bed. Our dogs. My home.

 

[Gatguy]

What was the cost of the spa passes for the 14 days? Thanks