Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[bobmacliberty]

18 hours ago, Husky1987 said:

"Girl math" sounds a lot like basic sunk-cost economic theory (money you spent a long time ago should be irrelevant in future economic decisions).  

 

Girls are pretty much smarter than boys about everything.

 

One of my daughter's favorite expressions when she was young...

 

Girls go to college to get more knowledge.  Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider.  

[bobmacliberty]

4 hours ago, ollienbertsmum said:

Maths was the subject I did not pass as an 18 yr old.  I always used to say that I would try again when I retired.  Here I am one year retired and I seem to be a bit too busy to enroll.  The thought of doing it is a good incentive to keep busy, but I’m still curious to know why it was so hard. 

 

Try the Khan Academy.  It's free, online learning that is broken up into small chunks that are easy to "digest".  It's a mix of text based info and videos, with the videos typically only being 5-10 minutes long.  You can start with any topic that you want, or even go back and review elementary school grade math topics. 

 

Sal Khan created this and his story is an interesting one.  He has both bachelors and masters degrees from MIT and had a very successful career as a financial analyst.  In 2004, he created some videos to help tutor his cousin in India.  He posted his videos on YouTube and the concept took off.  He built a huge library of videos and quit his job in 2009 to do this full time.  That eventually caught the attention of people like Bill Gates as a way to improve how we teach people and he received a lot of investment.  The idea was to let students learn at their own pace and have the teacher focus where help is needed rather than teach everyone at the same pace with more gifted students being held back at a pace too slow for them and students needing help being left behind at a pace too fast for them.

 

Khan Academy | Free Online Courses, Lessons & Practice

[Jimbo]

Tomatoes pickings today was quite plentiful. 

Here is an Hibiscus tree that we bought this year.

Last picture is another(bush like) Hibiscus we bought 2 years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by Jimbo

[cruiselvr04]

9 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Renting an apt is a great idea. Luckily my daughter and son in law bought a house with an in-law suite.  We stayed in it twice and the privacy and comfort were wonderful.   One time when our 15 year old grandson came in, I asked him if he needed anything.  His response was priceless " I just want to hang with you".  Music to our ears.  In reality I know he probably wanted to get away from his parents and sister.  Fine with us.

 

 

Our parents spent little time with our kids and didn’t get to know them well. They were offered a bedroom and private bath but just didn’t visit. I think they missed out and we don’t want to.  It may mean a few less cruises. Honestly family is more important than anything else.  We don’t want to be an interruption to their family but an addition so we’ll measure our time out carefully.  We still have 7 cruises on the books for next year. 

[lenquixote66]

7 hours ago, ollienbertsmum said:

Maths was the subject I did not pass as an 18 yr old.  I always used to say that I would try again when I retired.  Here I am one year retired and I seem to be a bit too busy to enroll.  The thought of doing it is a good incentive to keep busy, but I’m still curious to know why it was so hard. 

Several years ago a friend of mine suggested that we go back to college and take some courses.He was a Math major.

I have a Doctorate ,do I need more than one ? 

[lenquixote66]

Today is the birthday of my younger granddaughter.She is 15.

We are not celebrating today because yesterday afternoon she was playing Tennis,fell and broke a wrist.

She is wearing a cast.

Her parents are taking my older granddaughter back to college tomorrow and the birthday girl and the family dog will be staying in my house till Sunday.My wife and I will find a way to celebrate with our granddaughter .

[Ocean Boy]

[derorim]

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Tomatoes pickings today was quite plentiful. 

 

 

How did the strange, "mutant" tomatoes turn out?  I think I see a few of them in your picture.

[Arzeena]

12 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I can relate to that🙃. I ordered a closet structure for my walk in and it said minimum assembly required. I then read the reviews. Cancelled that order asap!

[Jimbo]

3 minutes ago, derorim said:

 

How did the strange, "mutant" tomatoes turn out?  I think I see a few of them in your picture.

I put it in the garage where it is warmer near one of the windows. It's finally turning red now. Will cut it soon and take some pictures again of the slices.

 

I'm giving the produce away out front on a rolling cart. Actually some people are taking the strange looking ones too. Says it doesn't matter what they look like they still taste good. They are so large you still can get a pretty good slice of of them.

 

The ones people don't take, the deer are sure enjoying them.😋 Put it this way we have some very happy deer in our backyard now. 😁

[broadwaybaby123]

"Netflix And Chill" day for me today. I had my toenail removed (due to infection), so I'm under doctor's orders to elevate it and rest today.

 

Apart from some throbbing after, I'm fine. I'm terrified of needles, but I figured since I'm cruising in October "Better to have it done now than hobble around the ship". 

 

Now I have the perfect excuse to use the hot tubs onboard!

Edited August 14, 2023 by broadwaybaby123

[Momof3gurlz]

We are back from our Indy cruise with the two grandsons.  I have to say it was an excellent cruise although verrry different than the relaxing ones we’re used to.  It was go, go, go with them and these three nights coming up at the Polynesian are well deserved by us!  
We had a car service (GearFusion) pick us up at the port this morning.  The driver made two drop stops, one at Coronado Springs Resort to drop the boys with their Mom, then on to Polynesian to drop us off.  If anyone wants info on this car service, just ask, I highly recommend them. 
As I said in an earlier post Indy was great.  A couple of sourpuss pool bartenders and our room steward was just ok.  But so many friendly, smiling faces among the crew.  Food in both the MDR and Windjammer was very, very good.  We also had a fantastic waiter, the same one all three nights, who just doted on the boys.  
They loved CocoCay, the ice show, unlimited snacks at Cafe Promenade, Sorrento’s and Fish & Ships.  Splashaway Bay was a big hit but their favorite was unlimited rides on the Flowrider.  
I’ll also say Nassau has come quite a way since our last visit.  We just walked Bay Street, then over to the area with the new Margaritaville and we used the beach in front of the resort for a quick swim for the two boys.  
We had two side by side balcony cabins on deck 8. Not connecting but we opened the divider between the two and could easily go back & forth. Andrew & I shared one cabin with Will & Andy in the other. I was quite fanatical about not letting them stay in the balcony without one of us there too. They’re 12 & 10 and good kids, but….boys will be boys.  A few pictures below. 
Time for some R & R, before the rest of the family arrives and we move over to OKW. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by Momof3gurlz

[dani negreanu]

13 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

@FromSea2ShiningSea Loving the beautiful pictures Helen. I love that city. I forget the name but there is a fantastic art museum that houses a lot of great impression works of art.

 

@Sea Dog, Greg, I think you might refer to the Amsterdam Hermitage. I completely forgot that they've opened a "satellite" one in Amsterdam. We were very lucky to spend 2 full days in the one in St. Petersburg, and I'm now looking forward to visiting when we'll be in Amsterdam next month.

 

https://hermitage.nl/en/

 

 

9 hours ago, sgmn said:

Very few houses in UK have more than one bedroom with en suite facilities. Smaller houses don't even have that, just a family bathroom and if you're lucky an additional toilet downstairs.  

 

I guess we're so used to the Israeli "standard"... guest toilet at the entrance, master bedroom with en-suite and another bathroom for the kids...Being a very hot country, some people even shower twice a day.

 

Here's the long distance we'll have to travel from the guest room to the toilet on DS2's ground floor. It's a very looong rectangular house.

 

 

The street ... DIL and GS1 on their way to the nearby supermarket, no car for the moment.

 

 

The neighbor's cat came to visit. Elderly nice couple, do not speak a word in English....

 

 

Keeping in shape...

 

 

[jmh2006]

40 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

We are back from our Indy cruise with the two grandsons.  I have to say it was an excellent cruise although verrry different than the relaxing ones we’re used to.  It was go, go, go with them and these three nights coming up at the Polynesian are well deserved by us!  
We had a car service (GearFusion) pick us up at the port this morning.  The driver made two drop stops, one at Coronado Springs Resort to drop the boys with their Mom, then on to Polynesian to drop us off.  If anyone wants info on this car service, just ask, I highly recommend them. 
As I said in an earlier post Indy was great.  A couple of sourpuss pool bartenders and our room steward was just ok.  But so many friendly, smiling faces among the crew.  Food in both the MDR and Windjammer was very, very good.  We also had a fantastic waiter, the same one all three nights, who just doted on the boys.  
They loved CocoCay, the ice show, unlimited snacks at Cafe Promenade, Sorrento’s and Fish & Ships.  Splashaway Bay was a big hit but their favorite was unlimited rides on the Flowrider.  
I’ll also say Nassau has come quite a way since our last visit.  We just walked Bay Street, then over to the area with the new Margaritaville and we used the beach in front of the resort for a quick swim for the two boys.  
We had two side by side balcony cabins on deck 8. Not connecting but we opened the divider between the two and could easily go back & forth. Andrew & I shared one cabin with Will & Andy in the other. I was quite fanatical about not letting them stay in the balcony without one of us there too. They’re 12 & 10 and good kids, but….boys will be boys.  A few pictures below. 
Time for some R & R, before the rest of the family arrives and we move over to OKW. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sounds like a great trip with the boys, Deb!!  Thanks for sharing and enjoy your R&R with Andy!  

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

16 hours ago, jmh2006 said:

Oh Helen, I love the pictures!  Dave and I were supposed to stay at the Doubletree hotel in Amsterdam in August 2020 before our 12 night Baltic Sea cruise which never happened 😪.  Keep the pictures coming!!

Jennifer, we had a B2B Brilliance Baltic & Arctic Crossing cruise in August 2020 also.  Stupid Cxxxx came along and we had to cancel all plans.  Same thing with a Best of Japan cruise in March 2020.  😒

 

16 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Looks like the time difference didn't slow y'all down!  Looks like a great start.   Have fun a n d keep the pics coming. 

I couldn’t sleep on the plane until the last hour and I kept nodding my head off.  We wasted no time in doing stuff after we arrived.  I got hardly any sleep last night.

 

13 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

@FromSea2ShiningSea Loving the beautiful pictures Helen. I love that city. I forget the name but there is a fantastic art museum that houses a lot of great impression works of art.

 

@harryfat1 How is Navigator? How is the food? We will sail on her in October of 2024.

Greg, is it the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam that’s also a modern art museum?  

I hope your injection coming up for the knee will give you some relief from your pain.  

 

@mo&fran  I’m thinking of you, too.  I hope your chemo treatments go smoothly and you are able to tolerate the daily treatment for the next few weeks and the swallowing won’t be a problem for you.  Take one day at a time.  Best to you.  I have been praying for you.

[Sea Dog]

7 minutes ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

 

Greg, is it the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam that’s also a modern art museum?  

I hope your injection coming up for the knee will give you some relief from your pain.  

 

 

23 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

@Sea Dog, Greg, I think you might refer to the Amsterdam Hermitage. I completely forgot that they've opened a "satellite" one in Amsterdam.

 

 

 

I looked through my pictures. The museum in Amsterdam that I went to was the  Rijksmuseum that houses art  by Van Gough and Rembrandt. It is right  by the downtown.

 

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/visit#:~:text=This iconic museum in the,Rembrandt%2C Vermeer and Van Gogh.

[CrzLvr2]

17 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

More pictures 

 

I like what it says on the building. The word “roept” means calls or calling.

The Centaal Station 

Saw this little tiny rainbow from our room 

Behind that short tower in the front is the Red Light District

Sunset

 

 

The Grand Hotel Amrath Amsterdam across from the Doubletree, all lit up at dusk.

 

In the day time 

Oh my goodness, Helen, you are certainly a talented photographer!

Thank you so much for sharing your awesome photos with us.

Love the view from your hotel room, too!

[harryfat1]

15 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

@harryfat1 How is Navigator? How is the food? We will sail on her in October of 2024.

Are you doing the 4 days or 7 days cruise?  I assume 7 days as I wouldn’t recommend the 4-day cruise unless you are a local.  Not worth the hassle to fly halfway across the country for a 4-day cruise unless you package it with other activities in Southern California like Disneyland or want to see LA/Hollywood area.

 

Navigator is pretty good. Not the newest ship in the RCI fleet. If you have sailed on another Voyager class ship, it’s basically the same except they added a few bells and whistles like specialty dining that we didn’t dine in as well as adding a couple of fun waterslides during the “amplification” process a few years back.  We did go down the 2 people raft slide and that was lots of fun.

 

They added a 2 minute prelude drone display to the regular ice show so that’s something fun to see.  I haven’t cruised with RCI since 2017 so not sure how many drone shows have been added to the regular ice shows.  I know the Odyssey that we will be on in December has a drone show as part of the 270 act but don’t know if this is a regular addition to all the ice shows. I will post the drone pictures in my trip report.

 

Food is subjective.  Hard to say if you will like the new 2023 MDR menu (spoiler alert: I’m not a big fan of it so far).  I posted the MDR menu question a couple of weeks ago prior to my cruise and Brillohead commented on the less-than-authentic “Mexican night”. Maybe the other nights on a longer cruise would be better.  I will reserve my final judgement on the MDR until the December cruise where it’ll be 8 nights so by then I should have sampled a regular one-week cruise offering.

 

At the risk of sounding like an old dude that regularly posts on CC with “Back in the old days of cruising…”, when compared to the last time we cruised on RCI back in 2017, the MDR offering has less “wow” factor to it. During previous cruises, I used to look forward to something special on MDR menu nightly as it has many items I don’t see from a regular restaurant at home.  With things like fried chicken and enchilada (which looks more like a burrito to me) on the menu, the MDR food as currently presented has less of a glamour factor.

 

Hope this answers your questions.  If you have any follow-up questions, let me know.

[Sea Dog]

5 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

Are you doing the 4 days or 7 days cruise?  I assume 7 days as I wouldn’t recommend the 4-day cruise unless you are a local.  Not worth the hassle to fly halfway across the country for a 4-day cruise unless you package it with other activities in Southern California like Disneyland or want to see LA/Hollywood area.

 

Navigator is pretty good. Not the newest ship in the RCI fleet. If you have sailed on another Voyager class ship, it’s basically the same except they added a few bells and whistles like specialty dining that we didn’t dine in as well as adding a couple of fun waterslides during the “amplification” process a few years back.  We did go down the 2 people raft slide and that was lots of fun.

 

They added a 2 minute prelude drone display to the regular ice show so that’s something fun to see.  I haven’t cruised with RCI since 2017 so not sure how many drone shows have been added to the regular ice shows.  I know the Odyssey that we will be on in December has a drone show as part of the 270 act but don’t know if this is a regular addition to all the ice shows. I will post the drone pictures in my trip report.

 

Food is subjective.  Hard to say if you will like the new 2023 MDR menu (spoiler alert: I’m not a big fan of it so far).  I posted the MDR menu question a couple of weeks ago prior to my cruise and Brillohead commented on the less-than-authentic “Mexican night”. Maybe the other nights on a longer cruise would be better.  I will reserve my final judgement on the MDR until the December cruise where it’ll be 8 nights so by then I should have sampled a regular one-week cruise offering.

 

At the risk of sounding like an old dude that regularly posts on CC with “Back in the old days of cruising…”, when compared to the last time we cruised on RCI back in 2017, the MDR offering has less “wow” factor to it. During previous cruises, I used to look forward to something special on MDR menu nightly as it has many items I don’t see from a regular restaurant at home.  With things like fried chicken and enchilada (which looks more like a burrito to me) on the menu, the MDR food as currently presented has less of a glamour factor.

 

Hope this answers your questions.  If you have any follow-up questions, let me know.

Yes it’s a 7 nighter. I like Voyager class. I’ve seen the drone show before it’s really cool.

 

Have you tried the Bamboo Room tiki bar? If so how was it. I really like the Tiki bar theme and cocktails.

[BonTexasNY]

8 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

We will be on the Jewel in 2 days with Helen & Marty. Need to book a longer cruise (b2b) for next year. I’m a little behind on that.

 

Jewel Of The Seas B2B 11 nights British Isles 08-16-2023

Jewel Of The Seas B2B 17 night Arctic Circle 08-28-2023

Odyssey Of The Seas 8 night Southern Caribbean 11-25-2023

Adventure Of The Seas 8 night Christmas 12-22-2023

Icon Of The Seas 7 night Eastern Caribbean 01-27-2024 Inaugural 

Odyssey Of The Seas 8 night Southern Caribbean 02-03-2024

Odyssey Of The Seas 6 night Western Caribbean 04-07-24

Wonder Of The Seas 7 night Caribbean & Perfect Day 02-02-25 Bella 2.0

Utopia Of The Seas 4 night Bahamas 02-10-2025 Bella 2.5

Renee, wishing you, Mike, Helen and Marty smooth sails and a delightful cruise.

3 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Today is the birthday of my younger granddaughter.She is 15.

We are not celebrating today because yesterday afternoon she was playing Tennis,fell and broke a wrist.

She is wearing a cast.

Her parents are taking my older granddaughter back to college tomorrow and the birthday girl and the family dog will be staying in my house till Sunday.My wife and I will find a way to celebrate with our granddaughter .

Happy Birthday to your granddaughter.  Ouch on the broken wrist. I hope she heals fast.

[derorim]

2 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

We are back from our Indy cruise with the two grandsons.  
 

 

This lovely picture needs to be framed!

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

22 hours ago, Luckynana said:

You can even get a "grump" to smile!

 Enjoy your many cruises, Helen!  "Hi" to Marty.  Enjoy!!!🥰🚢

Thanks, Maryann!  

My Oncologist was an excellent doctor, very nice but very serious. He never cracked a smile.  So this one time, I decided to make him smile.  When he came in to the exam room to see me, he asked how I was doing and how I was tolerating the daily oral chemo pill that I was taking.  I said, “Oh great!  I’m drink a 6-pack of beer with it.”  He didn’t give it a Hahaha but he started to talk a little bit more after that.  His main focus was taking care of me.  I think it takes a toll being in Oncology.  He retired at a younger age than I expected.

 

2 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

We are back from our Indy cruise with the two grandsons.  I have to say it was an excellent cruise although verrry different than the relaxing ones we’re used to.  It was go, go, go with them and these three nights coming up at the Polynesian are well deserved by us!  
We had a car service (GearFusion) pick us up at the port this morning.  The driver made two drop stops, one at Coronado Springs Resort to drop the boys with their Mom, then on to Polynesian to drop us off.  If anyone wants info on this car service, just ask, I highly recommend them. 
As I said in an earlier post Indy was great.  A couple of sourpuss pool bartenders and our room steward was just ok.  But so many friendly, smiling faces among the crew.  Food in both the MDR and Windjammer was very, very good.  We also had a fantastic waiter, the same one all three nights, who just doted on the boys.  
They loved CocoCay, the ice show, unlimited snacks at Cafe Promenade, Sorrento’s and Fish & Ships.  Splashaway Bay was a big hit but their favorite was unlimited rides on the Flowrider.  
I’ll also say Nassau has come quite a way since our last visit.  We just walked Bay Street, then over to the area with the new Margaritaville and we used the beach in front of the resort for a quick swim for the two boys.  
We had two side by side balcony cabins on deck 8. Not connecting but we opened the divider between the two and could easily go back & forth. Andrew & I shared one cabin with Will & Andy in the other. I was quite fanatical about not letting them stay in the balcony without one of us there too. They’re 12 & 10 and good kids, but….boys will be boys.  A few pictures below. 
Time for some R & R, before the rest of the family arrives and we move over to OKW. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s great to hear you and Andy had a fun cruise with your grandsons.  That’s got to be the most special gift and the kids will treasure it forever.  I love this beautiful picture of you guys wiith the frozen drinks.   For sure, they’ll forever remember this. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the ship, food, crew and activities.  Have a wonderful and relaxing time at the Polynesian.  Is that a resort?

 

2 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

@Sea Dog, Greg, I think you might refer to the Amsterdam Hermitage. I completely forgot that they've opened a "satellite" one in Amsterdam. We were very lucky to spend 2 full days in the one in St. Petersburg, and I'm now looking forward to visiting when we'll be in Amsterdam next month.

 

https://hermitage.nl/en/

 

 

 

I guess we're so used to the Israeli "standard"... guest toilet at the entrance, master bedroom with en-suite and another bathroom for the kids...Being a very hot country, some people even shower twice a day.

 

Here's the long distance we'll have to travel from the guest room to the toilet on DS2's ground floor. It's a very looong rectangular house.

 

 

The street ... DIL and GS1 on their way to the nearby supermarket, no car for the moment.

 

 

The neighbor's cat came to visit. Elderly nice couple, do not speak a word in English....

 

 

Keeping in shape...

 

 

Now you and DH can be a little less stressed about your family finding a place to live.  Even though it’s not as ideal as you’d like, it is at least some stability for them and have a place to call home for now.  It looks like the kids are adapting well.  I wish you all the very best.

Edited August 14, 2023 by FromSea2ShiningSea

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Today is the birthday of my younger granddaughter.She is 15.

We are not celebrating today because yesterday afternoon she was playing Tennis,fell and broke a wrist.

She is wearing a cast.

Her parents are taking my older granddaughter back to college tomorrow and the birthday girl and the family dog will be staying in my house till Sunday.My wife and I will find a way to celebrate with our granddaughter .

Happy 15th birthday to your dear youngest granddaughter Lenny.

[harryfat1]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

Yes it’s a 7 nighter. I like Voyager class. I’ve seen the drone show before it’s really cool.

 

Have you tried the Bamboo Room tiki bar? If so how was it. I really like the Tiki bar theme and cocktails.

We have done the 7-day Mexican Riveria itinerary 3 times, one of which was on the Mariner back in 2010 when captain Johnny Faevelen was on the west coast. RCI only has token presence in the west coast cruise scene which is dominated by Carnival and their subsidiaries.

 

By next year, Carnival will have 3 ships sailing out of the LA/Long Beach area going to Mexico versus the lone Navigator rotating between 3/4/7 night sailings. HAL sails out of San Diego as well as Princess has numerous west coast/Hawaii sailings based in LA/SF.

 

Is this your first time on the 7-day Mexican Riviera itinerary? If so, be prepared for VERY aggressive salespeople in Cabo.  It’s a tender port and as soon as you step off the tender boat onto the docks, people have lined up to get your business. Of all the ports I have visited, Cabo and Acapulco are the two most aggressive places that have vendors doing very hard sell.  Be ready to say “No, thank you” a lot as you walked the gauntlet. 

 

Cabo is a party town so lots of bars right off the docks and a beach down the way. On one visit we reserved a private driver to take us outside of the party area to see other parts of the town.

 

Lots of people complain about Mazatlán as being an industrial port with not much to see but I disagree.  You just need to take an excursion outside of the tourist shopping area to see some good scenery.

 

Of all my years of cruising, the excursion to Stone Island in Mazatlán was the best value excursion I have ever taken (did I mention I’m cheap?).  For the current cost of $39/pp, you get a one-hour boat ride in the harbor and then you go to Stone Island and it’s open bar drinks of all the Margaritas/Beer you like at the restaurant by the beach and then you get a free Mexican lunch.  But wait, there’s more – you can select 2 more activities on their list like horseback riding and banana boat ride.  All for $39/pp.  Try to beat that deal in the Caribbeans or Alaska…

 

https://www.mazatlantours.org/stone-island-tour.htm

 

Oh, yeah, the Tiki Bar on the Navigator.  I took a couple of pictures of the place but that’s about it.  Not willing to pay extra for drinks (did I mention I’m cheap…)😜

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, harryfat1 said:

We have done the 7-day Mexican Riveria itinerary 3 times, one of which was on the Mariner back in 2010 when captain Johnny Faevelen was on the west coast. RCI only has token presence in the west coast cruise scene which is dominated by Carnival and their subsidiaries.

 

By next year, Carnival will have 3 ships sailing out of the LA/Long Beach area going to Mexico versus the lone Navigator rotating between 3/4/7 night sailings. HAL sails out of San Diego as well as Princess has numerous west coast/Hawaii sailings based in LA/SF.

 

Is this your first time on the 7-day Mexican Riviera itinerary? If so, be prepared for VERY aggressive salespeople in Cabo.  It’s a tender port and as soon as you step off the tender boat onto the docks, people have lined up to get your business. Of all the ports I have visited, Cabo and Acapulco are the two most aggressive places that have vendors doing very hard sell.  Be ready to say “No, thank you” a lot as you walked the gauntlet. 

 

Cabo is a party town so lots of bars right off the docks and a beach down the way. On one visit we reserved a private driver to take us outside of the party area to see other parts of the town.

 

Lots of people complain about Mazatlán as being an industrial port with not much to see but I disagree.  You just need to take an excursion outside of the tourist shopping area to see some good scenery.

 

Of all my years of cruising, the excursion to Stone Island in Mazatlán was the best value excursion I have ever taken (did I mention I’m cheap?).  For the current cost of $39/pp, you get a one-hour boat ride in the harbor and then you go to Stone Island and it’s open bar drinks of all the Margaritas/Beer you like at the restaurant by the beach and then you get a free Mexican lunch.  But wait, there’s more – you can select 2 more activities on their list like horseback riding and banana boat ride.  All for $39/pp.  Try to beat that deal in the Caribbeans or Alaska…

 

https://www.mazatlantours.org/stone-island-tour.htm

 

Oh, yeah, the Tiki Bar on the Navigator.  I took a couple of pictures of the place but that’s about it.  Not willing to pay extra for drinks (did I mention I’m cheap…)😜

Thanks for your comments. Maybe we will stick with Royal excursions to avoid the heavy sales. I hate that they do that. I know they are trying to make a living but aggressive tactics will never work.

 

I hope with the drink package that the cocktails in the Bamboo Room will be covered and not extra.