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Live Blog. October 28th, Mexican Rivera on Eclipse. A cruise of many firsts.....

calicakes

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in Celebrity Cruises

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calicakes "Live from...." Rare

calicakes

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Hi

Welcome to our live blog, a cruise of many firsts.  We're Randi and Julie and we live in Santa Clarita, 40 miles from the port.  This is the first time we've take a cruise from a port in California, and the first time we'll be in a regular balcony cabin( we booked OV and I did a move up offer of 185PP).  I must say, it was really nice not to have to take a flight anywhere for this cruise. This will also be our first time on Eclipse.  I booked this over the summer I believe, or maybe it was Spring after reading a blog by someone who did the same itinerary.  We've take 6 cruises on X and all have been in Aqua except last years Reflection cruise was in a Suite.  

 

This will be our first time eating in the MDR!!  

 

We booked a room at the Doubletree in San Pedro with a park and stay package.  We arrived around 4pm, checked in and then walked to dinner.  The ocean breeze felt great!!   Unfortunately, Julie is going to have to drive home early tomorrow morning as she( we???) forgot her medication.   That sucks, but it is what it is.  Our check in time is not until 1:30 and we have a noon checkout.  We do plan on going to breakfast at my fave breakfast place in Long Beach where I lived for 10 years. 

 

Another first, we have no excursions booked.  Because we originally booked an OV, we only received 50 in OBC.  I used that to upgrade the internet.   We also have a classic bev package and PPG included.   This is our 8th trip this year( and second cruise, we were in Bermuda last month on Oceania).  and we have 1 more trip next month.  This trip is more about relaxation than anything else.   Julie retired from LAPD last year and we have a very busy pet sitting business.  We're looking forward to really just relaxing.  See you tomorrow. 

 

 

me and j anniversary.jpg

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calicakes "Live from...." Rare

calicakes

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Dinner last night. The portions were huge.  Lasagna for Julie, I had chicken marsala. The potatoes and vegetables were freezing cold, I had  to send it back for reheating.  The restaurant is called Raffaello Ristorante. 

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calicakes "Live from...." Rare

calicakes

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18 minutes ago, RTShaker said:

I am looking forward to comparing your observations to that of friends who are on there with you.

Not going to lie, I am probably a bit pickier than your average cruiser.  I'm a baker( I've worked as a pastry chef) so none of the desserts are up to my standards.  I've stopped trying any of them at the buffet.  I might get a smidge of bread pudding as a dessert or I tend to make a float with coke zero and vanilla ice cream.  I usually come home a couple pounds lighter.  

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calicakes "Live from...." Rare

calicakes

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Well, I was awake at 3:45, stress out about Julie driving back home to pick up the meds.   We also forgot our sea sickness patches.( I hope we won't need them, we had a very rough journey back to NY from Bermuda last month).   Julie left here at 5:15 and was back by 7:45am.  She picked me up and we drove to Long Beach for breakfast.  I lived in Long Beach for 9yrs and attended CSULB before I moved to Ontario Canada and then back to California after my divorce from a Canadian woman.  The Coffee Cup cafe has my favorite breakfast burrito of all times.  I could only eat half.  

 

Begin Rant: After breakfast, we ran around LB looking for a micro USB cord.  I left mine at home, Its for my makeup mirror.  We went to one dollar tree and the store looked like a hurricane swept through.  No cords.  The sales gal told me that they steal them, "they" steal everything.  Driving around LB felt like I was in a 3rd world country.  It might be 100 degrees all summer where I live, but at least I feel safe.  End of my rant. 

 

Our check out is noon, we're on the 12:30 shuttle bus to the port.  Our check in time is not until 1:30.  Julie is going to take a nap and I'm going to do some work, answering emails, etc.  

 

 

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hcat "Live from...." Rare

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I know not to judge food by appearances but that Lasagna looked kind of flat..unless it was  meatless! How was the sauce? 

 

We stayed at Doubletree last time around for  2 nites pre cruise. It was OK & close to port but othrwise out of the way.

 

We ended up having a lite dinner at the hotel which was suprisingly quite good and hung out with  bunch of fellow  X cruisers .  A Great local spot for breakfast and lunch  is a  healthy walk away . Rex's Cafe..worth the walk! Unique!

 

check google..link is too darn long!

 

BON VOYAGE!

(they should have sea sick pills at guest)

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calicakes

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3 minutes ago, hcat said:

I know not to judge food by appearances but that Lasagna looked kind of flat..unless it was  meatless! How was the sauce? 

 

We stayed at Doubletree last time around for  2 nites pre cruise. It was OK & close to port but othrwise out of the way.

 

We ended up having a lite dinner at the hotel which was suprisingly quite good and hung out with  bunch of fellow  X cruisers .  A Great local spot for breakfast and lunch  is a  healthy walk away . Rex's Cafe..worth the walk! Unique!

 

check google..link is too darn long!

 

BON VOYAGE!

(they should have sea sick pills at guest)

The lasagna had meat.  My wife said it was good.  My chicken was dry.   

 

When Julie went home this morning, she was able to grab our sea sickness patches.  The sea sickness pill make me too sleepy.   I took a bonine before a cruise from Ft. Meyers to Key West and I felt drugged when I got off in Key West.  

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calicakes "Live from...." Rare

calicakes

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We arrived at the porch at 12:45. They paid no attention to our 130 check in time. It was basically a free for all. Our room is 9221. The balcony is larger than I expected. We made a trip to the library. However, a good majority of books were already taken. We are now at ocean view grabbing a late lunch.

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