Sea Day

Monday was our first of two sea days before we anchor off the port of Cabo San Lucas on Wednesday. We started the day with a pots of tea at Cafe Al Bacio. All the coffee and teas you order get served with a deliciously crunchy biscotti!! Plus other included pastries of you need something else. We also had a bran muffin, blueberry muffin and a raspberry Berliner!! At 10AM we went to the Sky Lounge for some morning trivia. First was general knowledge. We didn't win but did get enough points to earn a couple of prize coupons. The next trivia was movie trailers. They showed a movie trailer and you had to write down the movie. There was fifteen questions and one had a bonus question. It was one of the movies from the Lord of The Rings trilogy. If you wrote down LOTR, you got one point. If you ask knew it was Return of the King, you got a bonus point. We knew both but still only got 15 points. We both couldn't think of the title of the late 1990's buddy comedy with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Do you remember (without looking it up)? Answer below. We did get enough points for two more prize coupons. Celebrity manages their activity programs differently than other lines. Instead of awarding a prize at each activity, they pass out these coupons which you can redeem on the last sea day for various prizes. Very much like the tickets you win from Skee Ball at the arcade.  

After trivia we knew it was getting warmer so we decided to sit at the pool bar. Angie had a delicious mint lemonade. A very refreshing drink. We chatted with the bartenders for a bit. We had a special Captain's Club event at 12:30 so we wanted to get a bit of lunch before. The Spa Cafe opened at Noon so that was where we headed. This is small venue located next to the adults only enclosed pool area. They have small plates of salads, tortellini, soba noodles and fruit that are grab and go. And they also have a very delicious turkey sandwich with avocado and bacon. I love their chicken salad and the spinach salad. 

It was time for the Captain's Club party. Of all the cruise lines we sail, Celebrity has the most parties for their loyalty program. And they always have included cocktails and usually have very good snacks. They didn't disappoint with the snacks. They had small canapes of cherry tomato with fontina, salami cone with garlic cream cheese and shrimp on a slice of cucumber. The hot passed hors d'oeuvres were arancini with avocado mousse, chicken satay skewer and BBQ meatball. All very delicious. The Master of the vessel plus most of the bridge team attend the party. Plus the hotel director and their teams. The captain always says a few words and welcomes everyone onboard. 

After this we decided to head back to the cabin. We decided to rest a little bit and Angie also had some bookings to work on. I also watched a movie which they had on demand. They have quite a few that you can watch for free. It was "Don't Worry Darling" starring Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine and directed by Olivia Wilde. I didn't recognize the film title but the actors were familiar. It's sort of a combination of the Stepford Wives and The Truman Show. But after I finished watching it, Angie reminded me that it was more famous for what happened off camera and during it's promotion. Olivia Wilde had an affair with Harry Styles during the filming. And during the promotion, it generated a popular meme of Chris Pines, rolling his eyes as Harry Styles talked about "acting". You can perform some internet searches if you need a refresher like I did.  

It was then time to get ready for formal night - well actually called Evening Chic night in Celebrity. More cruise lines are moving away from calling it a formal night. Princess calls it a Dress to Impress Night. Carnival calls it Cruise Elegant. Holland America calls it Dressy Night. Norwegian doesn't have one at all since their brand is Freestyle Cruising. We had a cocktail at the Martini Bar with Anom and Putra. Then we decided to see the early production show. It was called Broken Strings. The set reminded me of Choir of Man which is a West End show I have seen on Norwegian Encore. This was a story of boy meets girl, boy ruins girls life (that was one of the song themes) and then boy and girl decide they can make it work after all. All resolved in thirty-five minutes. 

It was actually a very good show. Crowd pleasing songs. Great choreography!! And the cast was having fun!!  

After the show we headed to dinner in the main dining room since he menu looked really good. I ordered a stuffed portobello mushroom as a starter along with corn soup. Angie also got the corn soup. And we both had a delicious steak, cooked perfectly medium rare. Served with a fantastic pan sauce along with flavorful carrots and green beans.  

After dinner we went to World Class Bar. This is the craft cocktail bar onboard. We spent a lot of time here when we sailed the Silhouette in October. We had one of our favorite cocktails the Zacapa Old Fashioned. Zacapa is an aged black rum which is so good in an old fashioned. We chatted with the bartenders Yuliana and Shetty. Yuliana had been on the Silhouette in August, a couple of months before we sailed. She knew Arya and Nithin who were the Silhouette bartenders we knew. Shetty was on his first contact with Celebrity. We learned Shetty was a big fans of Anime and also likes to draw. He ended up creating a pencil sketch of Angie. If you ask her, maybe she'll share it with you. We then headed back to the cabin. 

Today is another sea day. Headed down to get some tea at Cafe Al Bacio in awhile. Then probably some trivia. 

The movie is Rush Hour.

Catalina Island

Yesterday we anchored off of Santa Catalina Island.  Angie and I both decided to stay on the ship. We had been here in May 2022 and felt we had seen what we wanted to.  We'd stay onboard and have sea day.

We found there is only about 1400 passengers onboard the Solstice for this sailing.  The ship only has 1425 guest cabins. So it's about half it's maximum double occupancy. Hasn't been any trouble finding a seat in the lounges or outside.  Compared to the 4700 that were on the Panorama last week. 

I started the day by going to Cafe Al Bacio for some "to go" Chai tea to bring to the room. Angie did a little work and then we headed up to the Sky Lounge on Deck 14 Forward at 10 AM for some morning trivia.  It was general knowledge trivia. We didn't do very well, only getting 9 out of 20.  Angie then completed the timed sudoku challenge but five other people has better times. At 11 there was Food and Beverage trivia.  Something we should be good at.  We did much better on this one and tied for the win!!   Should have gotten two more points but we stumbled on which sports drink had the slogan "Sports Fuel".  We knew it was either Gatorade or Powerade but guessed incorrectly. Also we should have known which vegetable has more protein by weight than steak.  Answers below.  

After the trivias it was lunchtime.  The weather was sunny, although a bit cool at about 10°C. But we wanted to enjoy some fresh air.  So we went to MastGrill which is the burger and hot dog grill on the ship.  I got a cheeseburger and Angie got a hot dog. Both were decent, but we've had better.  After that we both wanted some salad so we headed to the Ocean View Cafe (buffet).  The salad bar has so many choices. Three types of greens.  So many other veggies. One strange thing is their blue cheese dressing is very thin and watery.  It has some great flavor, but the thinnest dressing I've seen other than traditional Italian dressing.  

After lunch we headed to the Sunset Bar which is an outdoors bar all the way aft on Deck 15.  When the sun was out, it was quite pleasant. But when a cloud came in, the wind picked up and it got quite chilly.  I grabbed a couple of pool towels but it wasn't enough to h itold back the cold. We decided to head to Cafe Al Bacio for some more tea. We also played on game of Quirkle and I barely edged out a win by three points.  Angie was not happy that I was blocking all the Quirkles. Just part of my strategy.  I am sure a rematch will be happening soon. 

We then headed to the Martini Bar and had a Beefeater and Tonic with orange and chatted with Andre, one of the bartenders.  After awhile we headed back to the cabin to get ready for dinner.  We had looked at the menu for the main dining room and had some good things.  We have "anytime" dining on this sailing.  That means we can go to the podium at the restaurant when we're ready to eat, check-in and then we get seated when a table is available.  It was super fast and we were seated at a table for two.   Every night they have a bread service with different spreads. There is always whipped butter in the middle and the other two vary.  Tonight is was a nicely spiced hummus and an avocado mousse.  Hummus for the win!!   I ordered shrimp cocktail, onion soup and turkey parmesan.  Angie had a wedge salad, butternut squash soup and grilled branzino.  All very good - especially the branzino and turkey parm. Dessert was chocolate cake and pistachio ice cream.  The pistachio ice cream was okay but didn't have any pistachios or any nuts at all.  A bit disappointing.  

After dinner we went to see one of the two solo guitarists named Max. He was playing in the Ensemble lounge.  He had some great versions of many songs included one you probably know from Rick Springfield.  Also a few from James Taylor. And a few instrumentals.  We stayed for a couple of his sets.  It was then time to head back to the cabin.  

Today is our first of two sea days as we head to Cabo San Lucas for an arrival on Tuesday.  The weather should be getting a bit warmer.  It'a 8:30 ship time and already 11°C!!  As long as the clouds stay away, we should have some outside time later.  Tonight is formal night so will probably be in the dining room again.  Lunch is open.  Hard to beat the great salad bar.  

Trivia answers:. Gatorade and Broccoli

Celebrity Solstice Embarkation

Yesterday was our first day onboard Celebrity Solstice. We left the Carnival Panorama and Long Beach in a taxi at 10:20. Got to the terminal in San Pedro at 10:40. Easy embarkation and we were onboard by 11. We were able to go to our cabin on Deck 10 Starboard side and drop our luggage We started with a tour on Deck 15 and worked out way downwards. Angie did some filming for her upcoming ship tour We got to all the top decks. It was then noon and we were ready for lunch. Celebrity has an a la carte sushi restaurant which is our favorite spot for embarkation day since you can avoid the chaos of the buffet. 

Started with a Koku Highball which is a bourbon based cocktail with ginger beer and fresh ginger. Very refreshing!! We had the lobster and shrimp wontons (always a favorite of ours) along with a rainbow roll.

 This was prepared a bit differently with a crab salad in the center. We also tried the BBQ ramen which was so savory and tasty. Perfect for the cool day we were having in San Pedro.  

After lunch we headed back to the cabin to unpack our carry on luggage. We also met our room steward Lindy. We usually have some first day requests which include hypoallergenic pillows. I also ask for distilled water and an extended cord for my CPAP machine. She provided them so quickly along with our one piece of checked luggage. Even taking the time to tape down the cord so we wouldn't trip. 

We finished unpacking all our luggage and soon it was time for a pre dinner cocktail. We headed to the Martini Bar. We knew ahead of time that one of the bartenders we met on the Apex in September 2021 would be on this sailing. Putra was a flair bartender at the Martini Bar on the Apex and most of the flair bartenders end up working at the Martini Bar for future contracts. The Martini Bar is the signature bar on Celebrity ships and usually packed. But there were plenty of seats available at 6PM which told me the ship was likely not at full occupancy.  

We took our seats and ordered our Beefeaters and Tonic (with orange slice of course). The orange is a nice twist for a G&T especially with milder gins such as Beefeater. With Hendricks, you don't need any garnish - or maybe a cucumber slice. But the orange works well with many gins.  

While enjoying our drink, we both spotted Putra and told him we sailed with him on the Apex. We often will meet crew we have sailed with before. The question always is even though you remember them, do they really remember you? He said he saw us walking towards the bar and thought we looked familiar. We are very tall people, so we do tend to stand out in a crowd. Maybe that was it. Or he really did remember us. In any case, we had a nice chat about that sailing. That was one of the first sailings of the Apex post pandemic and only had 450 guests. So it's very likely Putra may remember everyone on that ship!!

After our cocktail it was time for dinner. Neither of us thought the main dining room menu looked interesting. Plus the first night in the dining room can be chaotic. We decided to head to the buffet. We knew they would have a decent salad bar and we were right. I made a nice spinach salad. Also had some jerk chicken and mashed potatoes which were both good. Dessert was some praline gelato. Not quite as good as the pineapple gelato from the Panorama.  

After dinner went to the pub quiz. How could we have forgotten the capital of Pakistan? The main show was comedian Derrick Cameron and we got our seats. He was one of those comedians that used every day situations and how absurd and funny they can be. He was very good and got us laughing quite a few times.  

After the show there was a Welcome Aboard show at the Sky Lounge on Deck 15. The cruise director was there and had a trivia contest for prizes. He'd ask a ship related question. Such as what deck is the buffet on. The first person to come to the dance floor with the correct answer won a prize. The party band Arjam played a set of dance club favorites. After their set, we decided to head to the cabin.  

Today is a tender port to Santa Catalina Island. We visited here when we were on the Celebrity Millennium in May 2022. It is a nice little island with interesting bars and restaurants but we didn't feel like we needed to revisit on this sailing. Plus the tenders add complexity about returning to the ship. We're spending the morning at Cafe Al Bacio which is the coffee shop on board. Great views outside. We'll likely venture outside if it warms up a bit. Right now it is 7°C!! But it is sunny.

Last Sea Day

Yesterday was our final sea day on the Carnival Panorama. We still had a few things left on our "ship list" that we wanted to do. Our original plan was to play the final round of LCR. The captain, cruise director and other crew had warned that the day would be rainy and cold. Either the weather system had a different path or the navigator was able to find a better one. Whatever the case, it ended up being sunny and warm - about 21°C. Instead we decided to have a relaxing morning and enjoy the view from our balcony.  

About Noon we decided it was time for lunch. We hadn't been to the Italian restaurant yet so today was the day. At night this is a specialty restaurant with an upcharge. But at lunch, it is complimentary. You can make your own pasta bowl, choosing your pasta, sauce and other ingredients. They also have short rib lasagna, Caesar salad and freshly made focaccia. I went with farfalle pasta with Bolognese along with eggplant, Italian sausage, mushrooms and onions. Very tasty! And the lasagna was some of the best I have had. A few things layers of pasta with savory short rib and Bolognese!! And of course cheese!

After lunch we headed to the Pig & Anchor bar for their famous bloody mary. They infuse Tito's vodka with all kinds of vegetables including peppers, celery, onions and olives. So the vodka is already well seasoned. Then they use a bloody Mary mix that is almost as good as the the Tres Agaves brand on Princess. It is called "Filthy". I have never seen it in a store. It is really tasty with rich tomato flavor and clean spices. And then in addition to the usual condiments of celery and citrus, they add a huge mound of bacon!! The definition of Flavortown!!

After that it was time for afternoon tea. This is something Carnival has on the last sea day. Many people forget they have it since they are usually thinking about packing. Also, Carnival lists it as a dining option and I think most expect it to be listed as an event so it is harder to find in the daily schedule. It wasn't crowded. We both had a cup of tea along with scones, macarons and a cucumber sandwich.  

We had a mandatory rest period before getting ready for dinner. This was also the time we packed our larger suitcase so it would be ready to put in the hallway later. We then stopped by Pig & Anchor and ordered two of their starters. At night, this place has an a la carte food menu. The Dragon Chili fries and Honey BBQ wings. Both very good. The Dragon Chili fries had some bits of burnt ends along with a spicy chili and of course cheddar cheese. 

 The wings had been smoked and then fried, before being tossed in the smokey BBQ sauce. 

After our snack, we headed to the Havana Bar. We hadn't yet seen the Latin band play so we stayed for a few songs in their instrumental set.  

It was then time for dinner. The menu wasn't my favorite. I had a Greek soup, shrimp cocktail and short ribs which were more like a pot roast. Not my favorite. These definitely weren't the short ribs from today's lasagna.  

After dinner we were going to the Celestial Strings production show. It uses the violin trio that performs around the ship as the centerpiece for each song. Lots of modern songs from Cold Play, Rhianna, Snow Patrol and Sia. We had seen this before on other ships, most recently the Carnival Celebration. On the Celebration we felt it was a lot of interpretive dance and not enough substance. They also used a smaller stage area. On Panorama they used the main theater which improved the show a little. Still large amounts of interpretive dance. And two of the lead singers were just screaming some songs when they couldn't quite reach the right note. I did enjoy the violin trio.  

After we headed to Pig & Anchor one last time to say goodbye to Andrei and Danni. Until next time.  

Today we'll pack up the rest of our luggage, have a light breakfast and disembark the ship. It's been a wonderful cruise. Far exceeded my expectations. Wonderful crew, very good food and good live music.  

Cabo San Lucas

 

Yesterday was a stop at Cabo San Lucas, a tender port.  The tenders started at about 7 and the last one would be at 2PM.  We've been here a couple of times for whale watching so this time we stayed on the ship. 

 

Angie had some voiceovers to finish for a video so I had a light breakfast in the buffet (a pancake and an eggs Benedict). The towel animals were out on all the deck chairs!!  

Mazatlan

 

Yesterday we stopped in Mazatlan. We were going to stay on the ship.  Angie had some work to finish up which I went and got some Huevos Rancheros from Blue Iguana.  I then went up to Deck 15 Forward which is where the Serenity deck is located.  This is an adults only area with loungers, couches, clamshells, hot tubs and it's own bar!!    On sea days they have a salad bar available for lunch.  It was very quiet up there since most of the guests decided to head into port.  I found a secluded spot and listened to some pod casts.   I may have even had a nap!!

 

Puerto Vallarta

 

We had a great day in Puerto Vallarta after finding a taxi. We had a little trouble navigating the port to find a regular taxi. All the taxis inside the port area were shuttles to the Malecon or taxi drivers who wanted to provide day long tours. We finally figured out you had to walk the fence to find taxi drivers who would take you to exactly where you wanted to go. They were all parked in the mall parking lot.

It was an easy ride to Dreams Vallarta Bay. We had a great tour and then enjoyed the day in the swim up bar. 

We ate lunch on the adults only Secrets Side at Oceana seafood restaurant. The shrimp and fish tacos were very good. Glenn also had the steak sandwich. Glenn got to play pool volleyball. Getting a taxi back was easy. We had a decent dinner with Ruth and Bill. Glenn loved the meatballs appetizer.

After dinner, we hung out at Pig and Anchor for a while with Andrei and Danini. They are always fun.

Today is Mazatlán, but it’s a work day for me so we’ll stay on board. Glenn is up in the Serenity area.

Sea Day #2

 

Yesterday we skipped breakfast and headed to another game of LCR (Left Right Center).  I came in second place in the first game.  So close!!  After the game we headed to SeaDay Brunch.   I had a delicious cheese danish, Flamin' Tomato Soup and Mac and cheese. Angie had the same soup and a salmon Caesar salad.  All very good.

After brunch we played Actor's Trash Trivia.  This is where they give you three items you might find in an actors trash can. And you name the actor.  For example:. A volleyball, a toy cowboy hat and a box of chocolates. Answer below.

After that we headed to the casino.  We played a couple of the "piggy bank" machines where the pig just keeps getting bigger as certain combinations come up on the reels.   My machine kept hitting for $25 and $30 and I won a mini jackpot. Angie's machine had some smaller payouts but wasn't participating as much in the fun.  I won about $90 and I think between us we won $10.  A very fun hour of playing.

We then went up to the buffet to get some ice cream.  They have a very large toppings bar.  We noticed we were passing Cabo San Lucas which we could see off the port side.  Since our cabin is on the port side we headed there to watch from our balcony.  We spotted several whales and even saw one breach.

It was then time of a mandatory rest period. After a nap, we got ready for an early dinner.  Tonight we'd be having dinner with our friends Bill and Ruth and JiJis which is an Asian themed specialty restaurant.  We got ready and were planning to meet them at karaoke before dinner. We didn't expect a 5PM karaoke session to be so popular!!  At 4:40 they already had 25 people signed up.  So there would be no karaoke tonight. 

We headed to Pig & Anchor and tried the White Stout beer.   It was unlike any stout I have had.  Smooth and sweet like most stouts, but a bit fruity. And higher alcohol than most at 10%.

It was time to head to dinner.  JiJis has a large menu of starters and mains.  The plates are for sharing so you collaborate with your table mates on what you want to eat.    My favorite dishes are the mung beans with pork, the Chinese broccoli and a stewed pork dish with housin sauce.  All so good.

 

We then headed to the production show called "Rock Revolution".  This was titled as a showcase of the rock songs from 1969. Let's just say that title was very misleading.  Not only were many of the songs not even from 1969 (the Beatles Sgt Pepper came out in 1967), many weren't even from that genre.  Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Sound of Silence" may be great songs - but they aren't rock songs.  And not from 1969 (they are from 1964 and 1970 respectively).   And there were no songs from the Rolling Stones or The Who, certainty both iconic rock bands from 1969..  Even focusing on  just the songs they did include, the show wasn't fun to watch and it didn't look like the performers were having fun. 

After the disappointing show, we went to watch the string trio in Ocean Plaza. 

They played contemporary songs from Bruno Mars and Michael Jackson. Always interesting to hear modern songs played on strings!!  After that we watched a game show where guests had to act out certain scenes from movies such as Titanic and Jurassic Park..  It was fun to watch. We then headed to bed since we had  a big day planned in Puerto Vallarta.  We have a site visit to the Dreams resort.  Angie will do some filming and then we'll purchase a day pass for the rest of the day.  We have a late departure today (9PM) so will have several hours to enjoy the pool and other amenities.

Sea Day

 

Yesterday was our first sea day. We had a late breakfast at 9:30 at Blue Iguana. Their Huevos Rancheros is the best quick service breakfast at sea.

 

I had joined a Facebook group for this cruise. They had set up an event to play a game called Left Right Center. It is a dice game where each die has circlea, a stars, left or right. You start with three dollars. You roll as many dice as you have dollars. No dollars, no dice. The dice tell you what to do on your turn. A circle means you keep your dollar. Star means you put it into the pot in the middle of the table. Left and right means you pass money to your left or right. You keep playing until there is only one person left with money. And they get whatever is in the pot. It was my first time playing and it was very fun. Angie came in second place in our first game. You don't have to play with money, but it makes it more competitive and fun.

 

We met many nice people including Mike and Susie from Arizona. He had recently retired so we had some things in common. We'll be playing another game today.

 

After the games, Angie and I went to Fresh Creations which is a salad bar at the adults only Serenity area. You choose your greens and a large variety of proteins and other items. They crew make it for you which keeps the line moving. The salads were delicious.

 

After lunch we played some movie quote trivia. We got 18 out of 20. Got stumped by Cool Runnings and Wedding Crashers. Then we listened to Ed the acoustic guitar player in Ocean Plaza. He has a good set of crowd favorites including Bad, Bad Leroy Brown and Ring of Fire. It was then time for an afternoon nap. No Nap. No Power. 

 

Angie finished up some work and then we got ready for a pre-dinner cocktail at Pig & Anchor. Andrei made us some very good Bombay Sapphire G&T's. And Danni showed us several card tricks. Some great use of distraction.

 

It was then time for dinner. Tonight was formal night so the menu was a bit elevated. I went with studded mushrooms, shrimp cocktail, four season salad and filet mignon. The mudrooms had a terrific romesco sauce. And the filet exceeded my expectations. I had asked for rare, but the medium rare preparation was very tasty. Dessert was a very tasty key lime mousse. It did have some strange gelatih cubes which were tasteless. 

 

After dinner we listened to the band Cruise Control I'm Ocean Plaza. We had also seen them the prior night. They are a very good band. And so diverse. The lead singers were from Wales and Mexico , the guitariats were from Argentina and Brazil and the drummer also from Argentina. Although they had several repeated songs so I think they need to work on their set list. I understand they have have crowd or personal favorites. But they need to work on their variety. 

 

Today is another sea day. We have LRC at 10AM. Then we'll head to SeaDay Brunch. The afternoon is open at the moment but there will be trivias and live music. Tomorrow we'll be in Puerto Vallarta.

Carnival Panorama Embarkation

We got picked up by Blacklane. I put the wrong address in the reservation so after a bit of wandering around the port and some googling, we made it. Embarkation was easy. We had a 10:30 am time and boarded around 11:15 am.

We spent two hours filming the ship tour and reacquainting ourselves with the Vista-class ships. 

Lunch was tacos from Blue Iguana. We headed to the cabin so I could work. 

Sailaway was great. They had a 90s dance off that was a lot of fun. 

We went to Guy's Pig and Anchor for happy hour. A very good duo played. Dinner was good. Service was a bit odd and rushed, but they had Glenn's favorite vegetarian lasagna. It was so good to see Ruth and Bill. 

We headed to Ocean Plaza to listen to the rock band. They are really fun. 

Sea Day today. 

Angie 

Portofino Hotel, Redondo Beach, CA

 February 15, 2023 

This morning was very easy. We left our cabin around 8:30 am. Finding the luggage and winding our way off the ship took about 15 minutes. We had facial scan for customs and immigration was fast. The Blacklane driver was right there. We took the 35 minute drive to our hotel: Portofino Redondo Beach. We were able to check in early. We have a great view of the harbor and a colony of seals. We had lunch at Captain Kidd's Fish Market. Glenn had shrimp tacos. I had the fish tacos. They were both very good. We went for a walk around the harbor. We found several restaurants that look like great choices for our lunches and dinners over the next couple days. We came back to the hotel to work for a little while and then headed to Baleen - the hotel restaurant for dinner. We had the octopus and chorizo, green salad, pasta Bolognese, and carrots. It was all very good. The meal ended on a bit of a sour note with Glenn's Sticky Toffee Pudding dessert. Key elements of the dish were missing. Eventually, the server took it off the bill, but it was a bummer end to an otherwise very good meal . 

February 16, 2023 

Yesterday we hung out around the hotel in the morning while Angie finished a video. As lunch time approached, we took a twenty minute walk down past the Redondo Beach Pier and found the farmers market. This is only open on Thursdays from 8:30 to 1. It had your usual assortment of vendors selling everything from pastries, skins creams, ghee, vegan baklava and prepared foods such as pizza, enchiladas and crepes. We ordered one of the pizzas from Landoughs which had one of the bigger lines. That's always a good tip for buying street food. Go where the locals are. It tells you that it should be good and that the food is being turned around quickly. We ordered one and it would take about twenty minutes.

Valentine's Day 2023

 We had a great start to the day with a champagne breakfast on your balcony. It was an extra charge. We just happened to time it right as we were sailing out of Ensenada. The room service waiter did such a nice job setting it with a table cloth. We were dressed, but we put on our robes for fun and a little extra warmth. 

Ensenada, Mexico

 

Yesterday was Ensenada day!!   After a light breakfast, we sat at our favorite table at the Mix Bar while Angie attended to some emails. The ship docked about 11AM and an ambulance was there to take the guest who needed blood to the hospital.  Hopefully they got the medical attention they needed.  At about Noon they announced that the gangway was open for anyone who wanted to get off the ship.  They had been able to plan some limited excursions for those that wanted them.  I think a lot of guests wanted to just set their feet on solid land after almost six sea days. We had an all day excursion planned for 2/14, the original day we  were supposed to dock in Ensenada.  That of course was cancelled because we docked so late on 2/13.  We didn't book another and stayed on the ship.

 

Super Bowl at Sea

 

Yesterday was all about the Super Bowl!!   Earlier in the cruise we had decided to purchase special seating and food for the game.  All the seating was in the tiers above the pool area they use for Movies Under The Stars, which is usually the place where the show films at night. We checked in at 12:30 and were able to select our table. We chose one that was right in the center with a great view of the screen.

 

It included an assortment of food and two buckets of beer (I think ten cans in total).  Plus specialty cocktails.  They had an Arizona Mule which was Grey Goose, Lemongrass syrup and ginger beer.  And then a red tropical punch which was dark rum, Malibu (coconut rum) with fresh watermelon juice. I think that was to represent the Chiefs.   They must have had one for the Eagles but I never saw it being served. 

We had two dedicated bar waiters who couldn't do enough for you.  As soon as you were almost done with one beer, they were ready to hand you another!!  Food options were potato chips, popcorn, loaded fries and then traditional stadium food.  I wanted to start with some wings so I placed an order.  What they brought was a huge platter of every food they were offering.  Since the table was for up to four people, the huge platter had four cheeseburgers, four hot dogs plus wings and jalapeno poppers. 

So much food!!   We ate the wings, poppers, two burgers and one hot dog.   All very tasty. 

The sun peaked out for most of the first half so it stayed relatively warm.  And they had provided blankets and headbands. But as halftime approached, we needed more and more layers of blankets.  Good thing we had enough blankets for four people. Angie eventually needed to go to the cabin for more reinforcements and added a robe!!!  The people around us were very impressed with her creativity.  

Once the game ended, we headed back to the cabin to regroup for the evening as it was 6PM ship time.  The ship was still rocking quite a bit and we weren't interested in dealing with that in the main dining room.  We we had another snack dinner with some tapas from Vines plus minestrone soup from International Cafe.  We listened to Elua who are the two Hawaiian ambassadors onboard and also a singing duo.  They finished at 8:45 and knowing the ship was going ahead one more hour to match West Coast time, it would be an early night.

I had reported earlier that there was a medical emergency onboard with a guest requiring blood. The guest was stabilized but the captain was still making faster progress to Ensenada to get that person to a hospital.  Yesterday he announced we'd be in Ensenada a day earlier than scheduled. So we expect to dock at 1PM today instead of 9AM tomorrow.  We had a wine tasting excursion that ended up being cancelled.  So we'll stay onboard today.  Angie has some filming to finish and other work.  We will stay overnight in Ensenada and then depart for the San Pedro port in LA tomorrow about 9AM.  Will still arrive as scheduled on Wednesday morning, 2/15.  Then we prepare for the next leg of this west coast adventure.

Sea Days

 Most Sea Days, we get up. I work for a while. Glenn and I head to the buffet and the grab a table by the Mixx outside bar. We play games or I continue to work. We usually have pizza or the grill for lunch. We head down to the cabin for a nap. In the evening, we visit the Vines to see our favorite crew member - Bien. We head to happy hour at Club Fusion to see Gusti and usually end the night playing the games in the Explorers' Lounge. 

Glenn gives a full update of yesterday: 

Almost Maui

 

Yesterday morning we anchored off Maui near the port of Lahaina. We had planned a whale watching excursion. We were up at 7AM to get the earliest tender boat possible. Unfortunately, the weather had different plans. The captain made an announcement at 7:30 that our call to this port would be cancelled. While it was decent weather in the morning, the conditions would be deteriorating and make it unsafe to operate the tenders. So that was a disappointing start to the day. But when life gives you lemons?

Since we were up anyway, we had an early breakfast (Beef Tapas!!). And then we started curating our own whale watching excursion from the ship. We were able to see many spouts off the port side aft. So we headed to our port side balcony with both sets of binoculars!! And we saw so many whales. Lots of tails!! 

 

About an hour later the captain pulled up the anchor and we started making our way to Ensenada. As we were leaving, Angie saw what she thought was a windsurfer that was having trouble staying afloat. After a minute or so she realized that it was not a kite surfer at all. It was a humpback who was breaching on its side and showing us it's fin!! Kind of a wave goodbye from Maui. So while the morning didn't go as planned, the whales we saw were certainly magnificent!

 

We also didn't realize how tired we were from three very full days in port. So we stayed in our cabin most of the day and napped. About 11AM I went and got us some slices of pizza. The special one was the Princess pizza with fresh tomatoes and spicy sausage!! Later at about 3PM we went to the buffet for what they called "Tea Time". Princess does have a more formal sit down tea time every day at 3 in one of the main dining rooms. But we were just in the mood to grab some small bites. We were very impressed by the selection. In addition to the usual tea time snacks such as scones with cream and jam, they had several hot options such as fried fish, an Indian vegetarian dish, stir fried beef and of course chicken nuggets. Plus a great salad bar and tuna, egg and chicken salad with fresh rolls. I had a salad with a big dollop of chicken salad. Probably more like chicken salad with some greens!!

 Today is the second of six sea days until we get to Ensenada. The seas were a bit bumpy overnight. Lots of creaking in our cabin. But the sun is out now and the seas looks calmer. Definitely some more outside time today.

Kauai, Hawaii

 

We had a great day in Kauai. We hired a Tours by Locals guide -Kate. She greeted us with leis and we headed off into the island. We stopped at a gorgeous waterfall.

 

She took us to a great local deli to grab a picnic of Hawaiian foods: Huli Huli chicken, ahi tuna poke, pork, octopus, and malasadas. We also had the purple sweet potatoes - ube. Malasadas are Portuguese donuts. Ours were made from turo.

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

 

Today was essentially two different excursions.  We started the day by being picked up for our private tour of downtown Honolulu  including the famous statue of King Kamehameha.  

Hilo, Hawaii

Yesterday was a day for waterfalls and volcanoes in Hilo!! After a very quick breakfast, we left the ship to meet our excursion in the terminal. We had a small group of eleven in our little red van. First stop wa.at Alaska Falls for an amazing waterfall. The National Park Service built a circular path. The waterfall is at about nine o'clock. We started at six o'clock and walked counter clockwise. Such amazing foliage, tree formations , flora , flowers and lizards!!!

Then certainly the highlight of the day was a visit to Hawaii Volcano National Park. They have several viewing areas to see Kilauea which erupted in 2018 and is due for another very soon. We were able to see lava spewing out of the crater, almost like a molten fountain. In the picture and video it is the bright red spot you can see at around 1 o'clock. 

One of the most amazing things I have ever seen. And so much steam!! There are also steam vents everywhere!! And steam across the landscape. Truly fascinating!!  

We also got to visit a lava tube. This is essentially a cave where lava kept flowing, even though the lava on top has hardened, underneath the top soil it kept moving. 

You could look up to the "ceiling" and see thin roots coming down and many cracks!! 

ooh

Another highlight of the day. 

After our seven hour tour, it was back to the ship. We were the last two guests to get back onboard at 5:20 (all aboard was 5:30). We walked up one flight to Vines and Bian was there!! He brought us some French Sauvignon Blanc and tonight's tapas which included a very tasty clams casino. Then it was back to the cabin to get ready for dinner. Tonight we decided to try the Salty Dog Gastropub. It is a specialty restaurant onboard. It is $18 USD/person. You get a starter of a delicious beer cheddar sauce along with crispy, salty bread sticks. Then each person picks two of the smaller plates. We went with their signature burger, grilled asparagus, short rib poutine and an Emmentaler and Gruyere grilled cheese with a creamy white tomato soup.  

The burger and asparagus were my favorites. Loved the combination of the well seasoned beef with kimchi and jalapeno. So many flavors popping at once!! The asparagus was also so tasty with a delicious lemony vinaigrette and crunchy almonds. The creamy tomato soup was just bursting with flavor. Who thought a soup that was white could have such great tomato flavor? Amazing. The grilled cheese was lacking. While the outside was buttery and crispy, the inside desperately needed more cheese. It was missing that 'ooey gooey" quality you crave in a grilled cheese. Still worked well to dip into the soup.  

Since we had an early start for our next port of Oahu, we called it an early night so we could get enough rest.  

Today we have a private tour to visit the Pearl Harbor site. Then after that we'll find ourselves some lunch, a shrimp truck and maybe some other snacks. Who knows? Maybe we will even try some shave ice? We have a late departure tonight (all aboard is 10:30), so a lot of time for local adventure.

Crown Princess Sea Day #4

 By Glenn 

Yesterday was the final sea day before we stop in Hilo. Even though we had partly cloudy skies, it was still warm enough to enjoy out on the open deck. After a quick breakfast (they had Beef Tapas again), we got our table at the Mix Bar. Angie had some work to do and I checked in on my blogs. Then we played another game of Quirkle. I was doing pretty well and thought I was on my way to my first victory but then Angie had six Quirkles in a row and beat me by 20 points.  

Crown Princess Sea Day #3

 by Glenn

Yesterday was our fourth of five sea days before the port of Hilo.  The weather was absolutely perfect, around 25°C with mostly sunny skies.  It was definitely a day we'd enjoy as much outdoor time as possible.  After a quick breakfast in Horizon Court, we made our way to one of our favorite spots on this class of ship, the Mix Bar.   This bar has plenty of shaded outdoor seating, larger tables and is close by all the quick service food venues for when you need a snack.  A perfect place to stay all day, relax, read or play games. 

Crown Princess Sea Day #2

by Glenn 

Yesterday was another sea day as we continued our way to the port of Hilo where we will be on Sunday. Breakfast was again in the Horizon Court buffet where they had another Filipino favorite: Beef Tapas!! This is marinated beef with spices. Also delicious over fried rice with an egg. After breakfast we headed to the Piazza for a cooking demonstration. It was more like an advertisement for the steakhouse and Italian speciality restaurants onboard. But still entertaining.  

In addition to this cruise sailing during the Super Bowl, Valentine's Day will also be celebrated. They were offering a special "champagne" breakfast brought to your cabin on that morning for $45/cabin. Sounded fun so we signed up for that. They'll contact us later to confirm our menu choices and time of delivery.  

After the cooking demo, we felt like a morning cocktail so has a couple of Bloody Marys at the Good Spirits bar. Princess uses an organic mix called Tres Agaves which is the best one I have ever had. The regular spice level is perfect for me but you can always kick it up a notch. Then it was time for an enrichment talk from one of our onboard Hawaiian ambassadors Time Dave. Yes - that is what we wants to be called. He has been having talks every sea day on the ports we'll be seeing. Yesterday was focused on Oahu where Honolulu and the Pearl Harbor museum is located. It was helpful to see a layout of the island. 

Then it was lunchtime again in the dining room. I had a delicious "Mexican" soup which was more like a minestrone. Tasty, but it didn't scream out with Mexican flavors. Also had a very unremarkable Parmesan Chicken, a dish which would have been better as a completely different dish. The pistachio ice cream was amazing, chock full of real pistachio. A rarity for most pistachio ice cream. 

We still seemed to be adapting to the time change so we're in need of a little nap. So that's what we did for a couple of hours. After that, Angie had some work to finish. I got ready for dinner and joined some of my trivia team for the 4PM game. We came within a point of winning and lost to our nemesis team!! Did you know who wrote the music for Sonic The Hedgehog 3 video game? The choices are John Williams, Michael Jackson, Elton John or Flavor Flav. Answer below.  

It was then time for our Happy Hour. The hot item tonight was a mozzarella bite with tomato. The crab cake was better. After that was time for some Hawaiian music and dancing. We sat in the Vines bar and our favorite bartender Bian brought us over some glasses of thar French Sauvignon Blanc!! So sweet of him. He also brought us some tapas which had a delicious meatball!

 The multi talented Tike Dave played a steel guitar and a regular guitar. Several Hawaiian classic as well as some "pop" songs played in a Hawaiian style. So many dancers. Tiki Dave's wife has been holding hula classes and their were several people who apparently had been to these classes. They looked good doing the line dances.  

We had a little bit of time before dinner so went to a "Where in the world" trivia. It was a combination of photos, silhouettes and facts where you had to guess the country. Dinner was very good. I had a vegetable korma and a cowboy steak.  

A little later, I decided to try my luck and audition for Voice of the Ocean. Princess partners with the TV show and has a similar singing competition. I sang one of my staple songs "Ring of Fire". There were some very talented singers. I'll find out tonight if I make it to the next round. (Angie here - the audience was terrible. They took their job as "judges" way too seriously. No clapping along. No cheering. It was annoying.) 

After that we participated in a new type of trivia called Music Connection. Each question consisted of three songs. They'd play a portion of each one and you had to guess the connection. Some were easier, such as movies from films. Or number one hits. But other connections were that the songs were all sung in the same key or the same tempo. Very creative and fun. Even though we shows up late and missed a few questions, we tied for the win, but lost the tiebreaker. I didn't know Elvis has 114 top 40 hits. Seems like a lot!!  

We decided to hear the piano player in Crooners. We showed up and he was finishing his set for the night. So we had a nightcap and called it an evening. It was 11:15PM - the latest we had stayed up so far. Our usual bedtime has been about 9PM or earlier.  

We have some great weather today. It's sunny today and about 25°C with a slight wind. Perfect weather to be outside by the pool.  

And the answer is: Michael Jackson

Crown Princess Sea Day #1

by Glenn 

 For yesterday's sea day, we had an early breakfast in Horizon Court which is the ship's buffet. As with most Princess ships, they had some Filipino items including Pork Tocino. This is pork that has been marinated with vinegar and spices. The texture is almost like the boneless spareribs served at some Asian restaurants - but usually with a bit more flavor and bite from the vinegar. These weren't the best version I have ever had. They need a bit more vinegar flavor. But it was a very good breakfast, especially over garlic fried rice with fried eggs on top.

Angie went to get a pedicure and a manicure and then had some work to do so I walked around the ship a little bit. We've sailed on this same ship before and been on many of her sister ships so the layout is very familiar. It is like coming home. It was nice to see she had been updated since our first sailing many years ago. I found a seat at the Explorer Lounge to get ready for 10AM trivia and ordered a Bloody Mary via the OceanNow app. That app is like having room service anywhere you are on the ship.

Explorers Lounge is one of my favorite lounges on any class of ship. It is a large space with varied seating and lots of little smaller areas. On prior ships, we always sat in one particular spot and it was no different this morning. I found the couch!! I was planning to play alone but I met Jim who was also going to be playing alone so we teamed up. Angie was able to join us about midway. Our score of 14 out of 20 wasn't going to cut it. The winning team had 18.

Lunch was in the main dining room where they had one of my favorite dishes Chicken Korma. It was as good as I remembered. Warm spices in a rich gravy with basmati rice!! Just what I needed.

After lunch, Angie had more work to complete on her latest video and got a hair cut. There was some afternoon rock and roll trivia which I attended. They had a good selection of songs. They'd play a song and you got one point for the song and another if you knew the artist. Some easy and some more obscure. Usually in these types trivia, they only play a portion of the song. And certainly not any parts that include the title. That wasn't the case for this trivia. So almost everyone should have got the title right on all fifteen questions. Some of the artists were trickier. A perfect score would have been 30 points. I got 23. One team got 30 although it was suspicious. One of the songs was Blue Suede Shoes and I am certain it was the Elvis version. But the answer was Carl Perkins. So this other team must have been a Carl Perkins fan. I think there were shenanigans!! Of course, the winner gets life changing prize and it is all in fun.

The menu for the main dining room wasn't to our taste so instead we went to the Princess Captain's Circle Happy Hour in Club Fusion and had some crab cakes, veggies and cheese and crackers. Then we went to Vines the wine bar and had more of that great French Sauvignon Blanc with some tapas. The shrimp wrapped with bacon was very tasty. Afterwards we went back to Club Fusion to listen to the party band play some hits from the seventies. They had a rock and roll set later but we were going to call it another early night.

Crown Princess Embarkation

We had an easy flight into LAX. Our luggage arrived quickly and our Blacklane driver was great. We stayed at the Residence Inn Long Beach Downtown. The hotel was nice, but the location is terrible. Only one restaurant within walking distance. The restaurant had very good Mexican food. We had great tacos and guacamole for lunch and then took a salad and quesadilla to go to reheat for dinner. We just chilled at the hotel for the afternoon.