Mexican Riviera on the Jewel

[carohs]

When we got back to the stateroom I realized I forgot to switch the thingy to "make up room" before we left. Aw man! I asked to just get clean towels but Steward was nice enough to make up the whole room while we were at dinner. For sure earning extra tips, even if he's quietly working on the background. Dinner was at Tsars tonight. I walked by and they actually had the same menu as Azura. We chose the former for a change of ambience. Service was great! The highlight of the meal was the bread pudding which wasn't very bready and looked like a piece of flan. Delicious and melts in your mouth. 

[carohs]

DS is now sleeping and MIL is resting with a book. DD wanted to swim in the pool. It is relatively empty tonight and the water is lukewarm. Note to self: if you wanna go night swimming grab pool towels before 7pm. The lifeguard was kind enough to grab DD a lifejacket though 🤩🤩

[carohs]

Last night we had a lot of fun. 5 maybe 6 glasses of it. A few days ago I met a group on the elevator who were using stitch counter rings to keep track. What a good idea since NCL doesn't give you receipts nor do the included drinks show up in your onboard account. 

 

After Puerto Vallarta I was tired. I think we all were except for DD. But Ema the CD announced adult comedy at Stardust so I pulled it together and got us moving. Scotty Goff had the entire theater in a riot. MIL may have even shared TMI as she related to the jokes she found especially funny. 

 

We zig zagged our way to Shakers for martinis and to end up at Spinakers. Checked on the kids in between and both were sound asleep. Spinakers was popping and we met some new friends. The 19 yo next to us was especially kind and said I looked fabulous for my age. Well, she was drinking too but I'll take it. She also told my silver haired MIL she guessed her age at 48 😂😂😂

[carohs]

This morning we are in Mazatlan and it's overcast. The weather is perfect after the heat of the last two days. The breeze feels amazing and it's warm enough for a dress but still cool enough for a walk around town. 

[www3traveler]

If possible, could you please post a list of the Senior Officers both Bridge and Hotel?

 

Thank You  Enjoy this special time with your family.

[DorothyB]

14 hours ago, carohs said:

How did you like it?

It was great.  My friends had done a similar excursion a different place with a ship tour (I think - she said there were 40+ people).  They said this one was much better. 

 

We got to shell the cocoa beans after she cooked them and we mashed some into paste.  We got to watch her make, and then taste, the first "tea" made from our shells, then the first "hot chocolate" made with water and the paste we made.  Some got to help grind the rest of our cocoa beans into paste and blend them into the milk mixture for the first "hot chocolate" made w/ milk in Europe.  Like your group, we did make chocolate in molds and brought that back with us.

[carohs]

4 hours ago, www3traveler said:

If possible, could you please post a list of the Senior Officers both Bridge and Hotel?

 

Thank You  Enjoy this special time with your family.

I can certainly try. Any idea where'd I'd get that info?

[YVRteacher]

It is on the wall next to the card room and photography studio on deck 12.

[carohs]

We had a beautiful day in Mazatlan, 65°. The locals are all very friendly too. I can see why people might choose to live here. We started out our morning headed towards the basilica. We walked passed all the taxis and ended up taking a pulmonía for $6. The driver was super cool, he said as drivers the goal is to find a family that wants to do city tours. I'm sure that compared to shore excursions this is more economical for the family and also lots more profitable for the driver. Pictures don't do the beauty of the basilica any justice whatsoever but we took some anyway. 

[carohs]

Cell service in Mazatlan is slow. At times I was only on 3G and maps couldn't quite pin point my location. 

[carohs]

After the basilica, we walked in the wrong direction for a few minutes, then decided to hire on another pulmonía. He drove us around the malecón and let us hop on and off to take a few pics. Then we went to Observatorio 1873. 200 pesos. I didn't have pesos so I said that's like $12, he said it's like $17. I do get irritated at locals who don't give a fair exchange rate; Google says the dollar should be 18 pesos. We settled on $15. 

[carohs]

Observatorio 1873 is super family friendly. You start out with a short video of the history of Mazatlan then you go up the funicular. Once up, you can choose to do a variety of activities with tour guides who appreciate your tips. You can also choose to explore on your own. The iguanas and aviary run at the 20s and museum and others at the 30s. We only did the animals because we wanted to start heading back early. 

[carohs]

The birds in the aviary were very active. Mateo in particular liked to hang around our guide. He pecked at her belt, her hair, etc. He also likes to perch on heads. Mateo said hi to me and saw the beads in DDs hair. She got it done in PV yesterday so we asked the guide to help shoo Mateo, after a quick pic of course. 

[YVRteacher]

One time we were in Roatan and a parrot swooped down, landed on my dad and ate a button off his shirt.  I was delighted.  My dad, who is obsessed with his collared shirts (he is British) was annoyed and he likely taught that button-eating parrot some new swear words.

[laudergayle]

20 hours ago, carohs said:

At 3pm we had a workshop scheduled at the Chocomuseo. We started out learning the history of chocolate while we picked which toppings we wanted to add to our molded chocolate. 

This looks like so much fun and inter. Was this an excursion you did on your own? Did you book directly with the Chocomuseum?  How long by taxi did it take you to get there from the port to the museum? TIA

[carohs]

It was booked on our own. It took us approx 20 min to get there. It's right in the middle of the malecón which is very convenient. It was fun to take a stroll down the boardwalk beforehand. 

[DorothyB]

23 hours ago, carohs said:

 Dinner was at Tsars tonight. I walked by and they actually had the same menu as Azura. 

 

Every cruise I have been on, both of the main dining rooms serve the same menu on the same night.

[carohs]

Yesterday the glow party. Kids version at 6pm wasn't much of a glow party since the sun had not set. They played hot potato with a plate of whipped cream. In the first round a woman ended up with the plate while her DH sat in the sidelines. He joined for the second round and you should have seen her excitement when her DH ended up with the plate. He was a good sport and smashed all the whip to his face. The kids also got glow sticks. The lavender appeared to be defective so DD asked for another. One advantage to waking in am inside stateroom this morning, is that it's pitch black. The kids were excited to find their sticks still aglow, even the lavender.

[carohs]

In the evening the kids and I went to Cirque Bijou. It was very well done. The kids found it especially exciting and DD repeated "holy moly!" a lot. MIL said she's seen something like that before so she decided not to join us. I meant to meet up with her after but the last several days caught up to me and the three of us fell asleep.

[carohs]

Our second sea day has gone fairly uneventfully. DD went to Splash in the morning around 9:30. DS changed his mind about going but by 9:32 they were at capacity. No worries we folded origami dollars into t-shirts then went to the officer's Q and A. I was able to sign DS in around 11:30 as other parents started to pick up their littles. He had really wanted to play Super Mario but they didn't pull the game out before it closed for the morning.

 

For lunch, the cafe had a Mexican theme and I saw wraps they called enchiladas. There was no sauce so they were definitely not enchiladas. There was also a build your own taco area. We actually ended up eating at O'Sheehans because MIL and I were both craving burgers, and they have blue cheese ones. I asked MIL if it's supposed to be pronounced "oceans." She laughed but didn't agree or disagree. Okay you guys tell me: how do you say O'Sheehans?

 

[carohs]

We've eaten at O'Sheehans twice now and both times service has been insanely slow. I don't recommend going there for lunch or dinner. Better service and better food is available elsewhere on the ship.

[carohs]

We also decided to spend some more time in the hot tub this afternoon. The ship has been rocking all day and it was especially evident watching the water in the pool slosh back and forth. It has also been very windy. This has been more of an issue for MIL who takes the time to brush and style her short hair every morning. My long hair is either in a bun or pony tail and if I don't end up with hair in my mouth than I haven't had a successful cruise. 

[carohs]

This evening there were two showings of Scotty Goff. Ema assured me it was family friendly so DS and I went. Scotty was hilarious again and did a few bits requiring audience participation. I don't even remember hearing a single curse word which is quite an accomplishment I think for a comedian.

 

DS and I went to Splash afterwards to see how full it was. Yup, there was already a waiting list 14 kids long so we went back to the stateroom and watched the end of the newest Black Panther movie. 

 

The selection movies available in the room is actually pretty decent. We've also seen bits of Lyle Lyle Crocodile, Minions Gru, Wizard of Oz and one other Marvel movie. Too bad there isn't movie theater or movies playing in Stardust. With as many families onboard this week and the limited availability of Splash, a movie in Stardust would give the kids something else to do and alleviate some of the demand for pools and kids club. I plan on saying something in the comment cards. 

[carohs]

Today I only took one picture, can you guess what this is?

[carohs]

Here is the info on the officers: