JoeTourist

Day 31 – San Diego to Victoria

2011-12-21T14:09:00.000-08:00

I wake up around 5:30AM this morning as the transverse thrusters are turned on in preparation for our arrival in San Diego. This has been my wake call whenever the ship is in port throughout the whole cruise. Thom the Cruise Director comes on the PA system at 6:30AM explaining how the disembarkation process will work, although we were already briefed at the Farewell Event yesterday. My deck

Day 30 – At sea, enroute to San Diego

2011-12-20T14:07:00.000-08:00

This is our last day of the cruise. I have breakfast in La Fontaine dining room, and a couple from San Diego I met a couple of weeks ago at breakfast are seated with me again. They related a hilarious story about a flood of water they had coming down the wall behind the toilet in their cabin. Her husband sat on the edge of the tub and kept pressing the toilet flush button to prevent the

Day 29 – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

2011-12-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

I wait until the tenders are less crowded later this morning, and then go ashore to the Cabo San Lucas Marina area. The whole area is nothing but tourist shops and guys trying to sell boat trips to see Land’s End or the various scenic beaches. There is every tourist excursion known to man being hawked to the cruise ship passengers as they walk the marina area. There are surprisingly few

Day 28 – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

2011-12-18T13:59:00.000-08:00

I go on the horse riding excursion today - a nice way to get away from the commercialization of Puerto Vallarta. A bus takes us inland to an arid area behind Puerto Vallarta, where the real Mexicans live. There are no Wal-marts, Home Depots or upscale shopping centres here…just little cafes beside the road with a few tables and dirt floors, and vendors BBQing chicken beside the road, selling

Day 27 – At sea

2011-12-17T13:54:00.000-08:00

Today we are enroute from Huatulco to Puerto Vallarta, sailing up the Mexican Pacific coast. I go for breakfast in La Fontaine dining room this morning, and am seated with a table of veteran cruisers. They are all talking about their various experiences on ships. I am a two star Mariner, and most everyone else has either two stars or three stars. Nobody has achieved Four Star status yet,

Day 26 – Huatulco, Mexico

2011-12-16T13:46:00.000-08:00

Since I’m not interested in all the tourist shops available at this cruise port; I go on a snorkel cruise excursion this morning. It is quite a bit of fun, and provides a good opportunity to get away from the ship for a couple of hours. They make us all sign waivers and wear a silly yellow floatation device (which is deflated), but otherwise it is a well-run activity. They take us on a

Day 25 – At sea

2011-12-15T18:31:00.000-08:00