Panama Canal - April 2011

Norwegian Panama Canal Cruise Daily Log

Please sit back, grab a drink, and enjoy our 14 day Panama Canal trip, Miami to L.A.

Norwegian Pearl

Panama Canal Cruise and Ports of Call

Day 1 (Sunday): Leaving Miami

Well, actually before “Day 1” Molly flew to L.A. to visit Lynda and the grandkids. She left on Monday, the 11th, and was planning to fly back on that Thursday. However, our friends Tom & Kathy, on Ahwahnee, were planning to do the Panama Canal crossing and I wanted to take some screen-dump pictures of them in the Miraflores Locks…..which I did!

We always get emails from Norwegian Cruise Line because we’ve cruised with them before. I just got one that day and decided to open it, and since I was just watching the Panama Canal site, decided to click on “Panama Canal Cruises”. Low and behold, they had a cruise that was advertised earlier in our paper for the same VERY reasonable price for an ocean view room. To make this long story shorter, we booked the 14 day cruise from Miami to L.A., but of course not for that reasonable price. The only problem, which wasn’t really a problem, was that the cruise was leaving in one week!!! Not much time to plan.

We decided Molly should stay in Thousand Oaks. I will drive over on Friday, leave our car with Lynda, have them drive us to the airport Saturday, and fly to Miami via Seattle. That flight arrived in Miami Sunday morning and our ship left at 4:00pm that afternoon.

Day 1 didn’t work out as well as we planned. We got to the ship early and they didn’t let people pass security until 10:00am, so we waited in the sun for about 2 hours. Then check-in was about an hour later, and then we had to wait in a waiting room for another hour to board the ship. And of course we couldn’t get into our rooms until 2pm. We gave our check-in luggage to a porter outside the security building and expected it in our room when we got there……but NO! In the mean time, we checked our carry-on baggage on the ship so we wouldn’t have to carry it around while we explored and had lunch, but we had to pick it up by 2:00pm. They would not deliver it to our room. When it was time to get our carry-on luggage, we couldn’t find where we checked it in and nobody we asked knew where that location was either. We finally found it after telling several cruise people we were very unhappy with the situation, and our checked luggage was still missing but “would be in your room by 7:00pm!!! We had made dinner reservations for 7:00 and we wanted to change clothes after traveling in them for two days! Just before heading to dinner the bags arrived, took a quick shower, and headed to dinner in the La Cucina Italian Restaurant (specialty restaurant), at a two-for-one price. At this point things started to look a little better. The wine and dinner were excellent and we had a good time with the servers. Then it was back to the room, sit on the balcony for awhile (yes, we upgraded to a balcony….I told you it wasn’t that reasonable price we looked at earlier), and then turned in. We were out at sea heading for Colombia, South America under a full moon.

We were also promised, since we were Latitude members (previous Norwegian cruisers) that there would be a letter in our room welcoming us and giving us some added benefits as Latitude members. It wasn’t there! We went to the Cruise Consultant to find out why and they fell all over themselves. They reissued our room keys with a “Bronze Latitude” designation. That allowed us to get a 10% discount on everything we purchased and to attend a special “members only” cocktail party later in the cruise. And although they stopped issuing ship pins, they saw we had pins from the Norwegian Sun and gave us pins for the Pearl. Our shore excursion tickets were not in our room as promised either. After checking with the shore excursion desk, they were concerned we hadn’t received them, but re-issued us new tickets for our planned trips.

Day 1: 19 Photos: (Hit "Day 1" in lower left corner)

Day 2 (Monday): Off Cuba [Norwegian called this Day 1]

Rate this day as a 10! We slept in, took a leisure shower, and went to breakfast at the Summer Palace restaurant. Eggs Benedict and Smoked Salmon on a Bagel were wonderful! Rose was our server at a brief pool and drink stop. It was her first day of working day on a cruise ship and her life-long dream was to see the world without spending any money. She was accomplishing that and was just a delight to talk with. We had lunch at the Blue Lagoon restaurant. It was a light affair, but filling…..you have to pace yourself ya know! After lunch, Molly had coveted a gold necklace in the Greek-Key design (like our wedding rings) and if you bought a 21 inch necklace, you got a matching bracelet FREE!! Then it was back to the room to sit on the balcony and watch the deep blue sea surf by. Molly got spoiled right away and said she would not do another cruise without a balcony room. The price of luxury!

Although we missed the French Wine and Cheese Tasting opportunity, we did make it to the NCL “U” Martini Tasting party, five martinis for $15. We had the Traditional, Cosmopolitan, Apple, French Kiss, and Espresso Martinis. Let me tell you, if you ever get a chance, you will love the Espresso Martini with Stoli Vanil Vodka, Kahula, Crème de Cacao, Bailey’s Irish Cream, and of course, a dash of brewed espresso coffee. We had to ask how to get back to our room!

Dinner this evening was in the Indigo restaurant. What can I say, just another great meal. Then back to the room to rest on the balcony before heading to the Spinnaker Lounge to listen to Evie Turner’s cabaret show. We left a little early from that to head down to the Stardust Theater to watch Brenda Kaye do some mesmerizing hypnosis on several participating members of the audience. Very funny, but you’ll never see us volunteer for that kind of show. Back to the room to relax on the balcony and watch the full moon rise over the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Haiti.

Day 2: 48 Photos: (Remember hit "Day 2" in lower left corner)

Day 3 (Tuesday): Caribbean Sea

Today was another full day at sea. When the sun came up this morning, it woke us up coming through the big sliding glass picture windows. We gained an hour last night because we are in another time zone east of Florida. So we had plenty of time to make a pot of coffee, sit on the deck, and get ready for the day. First we went to breakfast in the Garden Cafe again, but then Molly put on her walking shoes and tried to get her first 5,000 steps in before we did any entertainment. Two and a third trips around the walking deck is one mile, or for Molly about 2,112 steps (she had her pedometer). But to ease a possible blister that was forming she stopped to relax every now and then. She went to the jewelry shop and picked up her necklace and bracelet. They really looked good! And then we met in the Stardust Theater to listen to Captain Lars and the Chief Engineer tell us about the workings of the ship. One member of the audience asked, why they had to hire a cruise director and entertainers when we had them to entertain us. They were such comedians!

For lunch, we decided to have all-you-can-eat sushi at The Lotus Garden. We had several rolls, shrimp, and salmon…..and then couldn’t eat anymore! After lunch Molly was feeling like she was coming down with a cold, getting tired, and needed to lie down for awhile. I sat on the deck and we both dozed off. But just in time, we awoke and headed off to the Port Shopping Talk. We didn’t really want to know what to buy, just anything special we needed to know while going ashore. We did get some basic city maps of the port cities, but they basically showed us where the approved jewelry shops were.

In the afternoon, I went to the NCL “U” Global Beer Tasting event. The beers sampled included: Dos Quis, Tsingtao, Sapporo, San Miguel, and Red Strip. One fellow I met, Mike, was from Hillsboro, Oregon working in the high tech industry, but was originally from Wales. He seemed to know quite a bit about beers. Anthony, the bartender and beer tour guide asked a trivia question about what all beers contained. Mike knew it and won a giant (one liter) mug with the NCL design on it. Great guy.

For dinner we eat at the Indigo Restaurant and asked to share a table. We met two nice ladies traveling by themselves. Elaine was from Colorado and Kathy was from Illinois. They were a kick and it was fun sharing stories. But then it was off to bed since we were both tired.

Day 3: 34 Photos:

Day 4 (Wednesday): Cartagena, Columbia

I was up at about 4:30 this morning because there were some lights off to our Port. After looking at the TV’s ship navigation channel, I realized it was Cartagena and got my chart out for entering the bay. We entered the lower bay about 5:30 and were docked in the inner bay by 7:00. We headed up to the observation deck to get some good pictures and then headed for a quick breakfast at the Garden Café. Seems like everybody else had the same idea. It was a shore excursion day, of course and everybody wanted to get an early start.

After breakfast we got our tickets for the “Colonial Cartagena” tour and headed for the buses a little early. It was very warm today so we put on some sunscreen and took some water. The guide’s name was J. C. Tous, who was a school teacher and learned English on his own. The tour started with the old military fort of San Felipe de Barajas, the Rafael Nunez House (he was president of Colombia four times), and then went into the walled older city to see museums, churches, dungeons, and do some shopping. It was very interesting with the old and new in stark contrast. The tour lasted 3.5 hours and we were back in time for lunch at the Summer Palace.

We shoved off at 3:00pm, about the time Molly and I were participating in the wine and cheese tasting party. I don’t think we learned much, but it was fun hearing about the five wines and one champagne we tasted. We got done with that just in time for a documentary on the Panama Canal in the Stardust Teater. I have seen several, but this was a new one. From there we headed to dinner at the Summer Palace again, but I was turned away because of a dress code of “no shorts” (only in this restaurant and only for dinner). Molly was seated while I hustled up to our room to change. We were seated with two other ladies that were on our tour today. Sally was from Apache Junction, just next to Mesa, and Dorothy was from Kansas. Go figure. We were wondering where her dog Toto was. There was also an older gentleman from California that was in the Merchant Marines back in 1939 through WWII. Very interesting fellow with lots of sea stories. I wish we could have talked longer. For dinner, I had the lobster and chicken and Molly had manicotti with Key Lime Pie for desert.

We had to hurry a bit to finish so we could get to the entertainment in the Stardust Theater. Tonight it was the comedian Buzz Sutherland. Needless to say, he was very funny and worked on one fellow in the audience that show up a little late to the show and then sat right down front. He kept on working on the guy and finally had him up on stage dancing and putting flashlights up his nose…..I know, you had to be there!

Day 4: 95 Photos:

Day 5 (Thursday): Panama Canal Crossing

Today dawned early with excitement. We were going through the Panama Canal. We forwent an early breakfast to sit on our deck and watch the approach. At 0700 we entered the Gatun Locks, the first of three. It was pretty exciting watching as this 965’x 105’ship slipped into a 1000’ x 110’ lock. You could not have squeezed a person between the ship and the side of the locks. The ship camera crew was sent ashore to take photos of everyone on the rail and on the balconies and to video the entire passage. A narrator was brought aboard to tell us what was happening and give us a little history of the canal as we crossed. As we approached the first lock, he said we may see some crocodiles, and we did!

Molly and I watched the lockage from our balcony, and then went for a later breakfast in the Garden Café again. Typical for me was eggs benedict, sausage, bacon, cornbeef hash with hollandaise sauce, orange juice, and fruit. Molly’s selection was a lot more conservative. After breakfast we retired to the starboard side of the Spinnaker Lounge so we could relax in the air-conditioned lounge and watch what was coming up on either side. We skipped lunch! We got to see the Panamanian train under way (the first transcontinental train in history), the Chagres River crossing, the Colebra Cut (or Gaillard Cut) going through the continental divide, which was pretty impressive and then we crossed under the Centennial Bridge before entering the next lock.

When we neared the Pedro Meguel Locks we went back down to our room to watch. The photographers were back ashore taking pictures again, but it was a short, one level lockage. During the Miraflores lockage, a mile and a half further on toward the Pacific, they got a good one of us raising our champagne glasses. Upon exiting Miraflores, at 5:00pm, we went for an early dinner at the Indigo restaurant and watched from a window table as we went under the Bridge of the Americas and past the yacht anchorage where several of our cruising friends have anchored in the past.

After dinner it was up to the Stardust Theater for an improvisational show by the Second City performers from Chicago. When we were in Chicago a few years ago with Cathy, we went to the Second City to see them perform. They were very funny with short skits and audience participation. Believe it or not, THEN WE TURNED IN for the night in a new ocean, the Pacific!

Day 5: 97 Photos:

Day 6 (Friday): Another day, another ocean!

We awoke to a flat calm ocean this morning with a slight over-cast. It is after all, the PACIFIC, as Balboa aptly named it back when he discovered it. We leisurely sat on the deck and enjoyed our coffee and muffin, took showers, and then trotted off for another breakfast. Molly wanted to put in some “miles” walking, so I went to the room to do some reading. Later, we both went to the medical center to see if Molly could get some cough syrup with an expectorant. She has been coughing something awful, but they said she would have to see the doctor ($105) before he would give her anything. She decided that was a little too much for a bottle of cough syrup. She finished walking and then picked up our pictures at the photo gallery. Some of them turned out pretty well.

Later that day, after Molly’s coughing continued, we decided to go ahead and check in with the doctor. The Freestyle Daily, the ship newsletter, said the clinic was open 8am to noon and 1 to 8pm. We went down about 2pm. The doctor was not in and if we wanted them to call him it would be $150. And again the nurses would not give out anything without the doctor seeing you first. Since we were going to be in Costa Rica tomorrow, we decided to go to a farmacia and get a bottle of cough syrup with expectorant for a couple bucks!

Back to another “U” Beer tour. This one was for European Beer. This tasting party included Beck’s, Pedro Mequel, Bass, New Castle, and Guinness. Mike was there again, but the show was stolen by a German, who knew EVERYTHING about each beer, or thought he knew it all. Anthony didn’t have much time to explain the finer points of each beer.

For dinner tonight, we decided on Cagney’s Steakhouse. We had a two for one ticket by signing up for a Norwegian Credit Card, and at $25 for a cover charge, this was the time. We both had the 10 oz. filet mignon along with appetizers of shrimp and salmon, and desert of apple crisp ala-mode and creme brulee. The salmon appetizer that Molly had was large enough to be a meal in itself, or the large salad we each had, and although there was a 5 oz. filet, the 10 oz. was the same price so why not! It was enormous but delicious. The true test was to be able to cut it with your fork, which I did easily!

After dinner it was off to the evenings entertainment of “That’s Entertainment” which showcased the golden age of cinema glitz and glamour put on by the Norwegian Pearl Production Cast. It was ok, but I was getting a splitting headache and retired early, while Molly stayed to represent us.

Day 6: 16 Photos:

Day 7 (Saturday): Costa Rica

The day dawned with us entering the Golfo De Nicoya and the Port of Puntarenas, Costa Rica. It took a while to get docked, I think because it was pretty shallow. We were kicking up considerable mud from the bottom and with bow thrusters and engines trying to move us sideways toward the dock, we weren’t moving. I think we were aground some of that time.

Today’s shore excursion was the “Pacific Train, Bus and Boat Adventure”. It took an hour of traveling on the bus to get to the “Jungle Crocodile Safari”. That would have been fine if we would have been able to hear the narrator. The bus sound system was very muffled and with the guide’s accent, it was very difficult to make out what she was saying.

The crocodile safari, however, was just great. Her microphone system worked well on the boat, and we did see lots of crocs. But best of all we saw many birds. They gave us a brochure with the common birds on it and we marked off 17 birds on our short 45 minute trip. The most exciting was the Northern Jacana (a type of rail, that I thought was a Purple Gallinule), and the Scarlet Macaw (very colorful and rarely seen). After the trip, they served us some fruit and had time to do a bit of shopping of some touristy stuff they had there.

Back on the bus and down another rough road to a 100-year-old train. At least the cars had been refurbished, but he engine looked like it hadn’t been touched. We backed up through a long tunnel, then reversed and went through the countryside, which included back yards and swamps to the estuary. We disembarked here and headed back to the ship on the bus.

Molly and I then walked back into Puntarenas to find a farmacia. We found one, bought two bottle of Vicks cough syrup for $10. Such a deal…..and we didn’t need a doctor to get it!

Dinner was in the Summer Palace, right in front of the stern windows. We shared a table with Bev and Butch, a couple from Norway……. Michigan. We shared our travels and tribulations too. This was their second trip on the Norwegian Pearl, and fifth cruise with Norwegian. They were a delightful couple and we bonded right away.

Entertainment tonight was Fabio Zini, a Latin guitarist from Argentina. We thought he would not be able to rival Paco Renteria whom we heard in Mexico several times and is billed as the best flamenco guitarist in Mexico, but he was every bit as good if not better.

His fingers were going a mile a minute. He played “Flight of the Bumblebee” which included 1000 notes in one minute, ten seconds. He was GOOD! We bought one of his CD’s.

Day 7: 50 Photos:

Day 8 (Easter Sunday): Day at Sea

Believe it or don’t, we slept in today. A leisurely cup of coffee on the deck with some fruit and muffins from the Garden Café just set the day off. Later we did have a sit down breakfast in the Summer Palace and saw and talked to our friends Bev and Butch two tables over.

We laid on deck for awhile to rest and then I went to a presentation on Guatemalan jade by Mary Lou Ridinger, who in fact discovered Guatemalan-Mayan jade. She is a Texas archeologist, who went to Guatemala 27 years ago as a social worker and took up the interest of archeology. She has been in National Geographic magazine several times and featured on one of their TV programs about her discovery. She has the Jade Museum in Antigua where our tour will be heading tomorrow.

Molly went to the 30-minute Stress Reduction & Relaxation Workshop with Brenda Kaye Bliss, the hypnotist. She came back VERY relaxed! Then later Molly had some Humus for lunch and then came back to the room to relax again. At 1pm, we were invited to the Spinnaker Lounge for Latitude members-only cocktail party. There we met and sat with our friends Bev and Butch, and saw Mike from Hillsboro. I asked to see if Mike got his tickets for the Colonial Antigua tour tomorrow and attended the jade show. There was apparently a mix-up with his tickets. I got an extra copy of the handouts in case he didn’t make it. He got his tickets and was at the jade presentation. During some of the drawings, he won another, smaller mug. Some guys have all the luck, or was it skill? We made arrangements with Bev and Butch for dinner and retired back to the room.

Dinner was again at the Summer Palace in the same stern window seat we had the night before. Another great dinner with friends. Then we left for the Stardust Theater for “The Action Comedy of Shark Bait”. They were a couple guys that were a fast track juggle team. They did some amazing tricks and included some audience participation. After the show, we decided to turn in early because the tour tomorrow was going to be long and started early.

Day 8:  12 Photos:

Day 9 (Monday): Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

For breakfast this morning, we went up to the Garden Café and loaded a plate to bring back to the room and eat on the deck. Our tour meeting time was 8:15 in the Stardust. When the staff called for that time to follow a guide, almost the entire room got up, filed down to the ramp, walked through the tourist booths at the end of the dock and boarded a bus for the “Colonial Antigua” tour.

Our guide was Karen, a cute little thing, very friendly, and knowledgeable about her country. Antigua is located inland, up in the mountains at an elevation of 5,000 feet. The two volcanoes on each side of Antigua, Fire and Water, were covered in mist. The streets were very narrow. The buses had to go back and forth to negotiate a corner, and quite often, an on coming car had to pull over until the bus pasted. And when two busses met, well, why they still have paint on them is beyond me!

Antigua used to the capital of the Spanish Kingdom in Central America and eventually was moved to Guatemala City because of earthquakes. First we visited the cathedral La Merced, then wandered around the Central Plaza, the ruins of an old cathedral, had a typical Guatemalan lunch, and then went to the Jade Museum. The only disappointing thing was that we only had about twenty minutes for the museum, so we didn’t get to explore it fully and listen to Mary Lou’s lecture again. But twenty minutes seemed to be enough to guy Molly a pair of white and green jade earrings in the shape of several leaves. Jade comes in many different shades from white (rarest) to lavender, to green and eventually to black. We also got necklaces of our birth dates in the Mayan calendar symbols in jade. I asked Mary Lou if she had a book or pamphlet explaining what she covered in her lecture. She did and took me to where they were and autographed it to Molly and me. I’m glad we only had twenty minutes!

Then it was back on the bus Gus for the 1.5 hour trip back to the ship. The tour lasted about 7 hours today. But when we got back to the pier, we wandered through the tourist huts. Molly got a colorful Guatemalan top, and I got some coffee. There was also a Jade Museum outlet at the pier, so we wondered through that and found Molly a light green jade and amethyst necklace done in gold. She liked it, so she now has it!

Back on the ship, we got dressed and went to the Champagne bar for a couple of dinner drinks, then went to dinner at the Indigo restaurant. The entertainment this evening was “The Beatles Celebration”. These guys looked and sounded just like the Beatles and had the Stardust Theater rockin’. They were encouraged to do several encores.

Tonight we cross the dreaded Tehuantepec. An area that we sailors are very careful to cross, usually holding up in Huatulco, Mexico waiting for good weather, and then heading across. It is a low spot in the Central American landscape that is known to have exceptionally high winds from the East. But the prediction tonight is calm seas, and on this ship, it wouldn’t make too much difference anyway.

Day 9: 64 Photos:

Day 10 (Tuesday): Huatulco, Mexico

Our ETA into Huatulco today is 12:00 noon, so again we had a leisurely morning to get ready for a short stop in Huatulco. Today’s shore excursion was a “Copalita River Scenic Rafting” trip. We got on the bus and spent 30 minutes traveling to the put-in. They gave a brief introduction and then headed down the river that hadn’t seen any rain for many months. We ran aground several times and then either ran into other rafts that were already aground or had others run into us. As Rene, a girl from New York that sat in front with us, said; I could describe this, but not without some profane language….starting with the word “cluster”.

The tour guide (or lead paddler) on our raft didn’t speak English except “Forward Please”, “Back Please”, or “Stop Please”. And he didn’t know too much about river rafting in my opinion. It seemed he headed for rocks just under the surface, and wanted to go down the shallow “rapids” sideways. We stopped about halfway down the river for a swim. It was very refreshing, but the river was the color of chocolate.

At the take-out point, a less experienced guide told us it was only a 10-minute walk back to the bus, so several of us started walking. After about a 100 yards, the leading guide yelled to hold up. He rushed up and said it was about a one-hour walk back to the bus. The other countered him again, but we kept walking until the truck came by to take us to the bus. It was probably a mile and a half back to the bus and quit a few mosquitoes where about. We were glad we decided to take the truck ride offer.

We got back on the bus and then went to a small beach for a few minutes to wade in the water or have a drink. We were glad to get back to the ship, take a shower, and have lunch.

Dinner that night was back in the Summer Palace. We asked to share a table and sat with two other people, Bill and Darlyne, who were travel agents in Aloha, Oregon. We spent the evening discussing different travels they and we have had and asked for their cards so we could possibly get in contact with them when we get back to Oregon. They encouraged that they could help us to look into some additional cruises. We are considering making a deposit on the ship for a future cruise. It seems to be a good deal if we are planning to do another Norwegian cruise in the next four years.

Tonight’s entertainment was the comedy and magic of Chip Romero. He was ok, but when the audience didn’t laugh, he would berate us and almost encourage us to laugh….”that was a joke”! That’s a good indication that it wasn’t funny.

Day 10: 29 Photos:

Day 11 (Wednesday): Acapulco, Mexico

We met Bev and Butch for breakfast in the Summer Palace and decided to meet on the dock to explore Acapulco on our own. We were just going to take a taxi over to the cliff divers and explore the San Diego Fort across the street. But tour guides barraged us when we stepped off the dock. We finally decided to contract with a taxi driver that would take us all over Acapulco, including the fort and cliff divers, for four hours for only $25 per person. We thought that was a pretty good deal since the ship tours were much more, and it was just great!

The driver’s name was Pedro. He narrated the entire time while driving through the old and new parts of town, took us through the old fort personally, and went ahead of the long line to get us tickets to watch the cliff divers. It was very crowed at the observation areas. Molly and Bev stayed up on the higher observation levels, and Butch and I climbed down to the lower platforms nearer the water. Even then, I had to look over the heads of people on the rail, so I climbed up on some rocks beyond the rail and had a pretty good view. There were about a dozen divers, diving at different heights, over about 20 to 30 minutes. It was well worth the $4 per person to watch the show. That is how the divers make their money.

After we got back to the dock, we had some nachos and drinks with our friends and then went back aboard. We made arrangements to meet for dinner at Mambos Latin restaurant with a cover charge of $10. Needless to say it was another fabulous meal with drinks, appetizers, main course, and desert, all the time watching at a big picture window as we left Acapulco and headed up the coast. We lingered after dinner just chatting, enjoying the company and the sites.

Molly and I choose to skip the entertainment tonight and just relax in the room watching our Panama Canal Crossing video on the computer and reading. We gain another hour tonight and look forward to another day at sea tomorrow.

Day 11: 65 Photos:

Day 12 (Thursday): Day at Sea

Not much to say about today. We slept in, went for breakfast, and relaxed on the sun deck until our room was cleaned. We did make reservations for lunch, however, at the La Bistro. It is the “Best of the Best” from the other restaurants on the ship including the specialty restaurants.

And let me tell you, it WAS the BEST! We had quite a selection. Molly decided on La Bristo’s Escargots Bourguignonne for an appetizer, La Bristo’s Onion Soup au Gratin, a selection of Lotus’s Sushi and Sashimi, La Bristo’s Filet de Boeuf Grilled Beef Tenderloin for a main course, and La Bristo’s Vanilla Cream Brulee for desert. I on the other hand, ordered Cagney’s Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes for an appetizer, the Onion Soup, the same selection of Sushi and Sashimi, Lotus’s Kung Pao Chicken and Sweet & Sour Pork from the Buffet selection, Lotus’s Lemon Pepper Shrimp for the main course, and the Cream Brulee for desert. And THAT was lunch!

In the afternoon, I went to the “Future Cruise Presentation” in the Spinnaker Lounge. It was just a brief presentation of some of Norwegians ships and where they go. Shaun kept at the point of the $250 deposit on a future cruise that produced a $100 credit of on-board expenses on this cruise. Since we got an NCL credit card for a 2 for 1 dinner opportunity, we found that if you make a purchase with it within 30 days you get 10,000 points, worth $100, on a future cruise. So we decided to pay for our existing on-board expenses with the NCL credit card, therefore getting at least $350 credit on a future cruise. Oh Boy!!

Dinner again was a shared experience in the Summer Palace. This is turning into our favorite restaurant on board. We shared the table again with Bill and Darlyne, the travel agents from Aloha, Oregon (Darlyne’s Travel Service). We told her to start looking for a good deal on a fall New England cruise for 2012.

Entertainment tonight was a tribute to Frankie Vallie and The Four Seasons, by a group called Oh What A Night. They did a good tribute. Afterward, Molly and I went up to the Spinnaker Lounge to watch The Second City do some humorous improv. We did that to stay up late enough to go to NCL’s Chocolate Buffet. We got there a few minutes early and had to wait in a long line for the Garden Café to open the doors. It was a brief affair for us since we just browsed and only had a few pieces before heading up to retire.

We were crossing the Sea tonight from Cabo Correnties to Cabo San Lucas. It promised to be a very smooth sailing, but the temperature was noticeably cooler, in the 70’s.

Day 12: 8 Photos:

Day 13 (Friday): Cabo San Lucas

Early this morning, 7am, we slowed to enter the anchorage at Cabo San Lucas. Although we didn’t anchor, we just maintained position with GPS activated bow and stern thrusters. It was a pretty sight, but one that we are all too familiar with since spending almost a month here at anchor in December 1999. Finally after repairs to our alternator regulator, we weighed anchor as the sun rose over Lands End on January 1, 2000 (first day of the new millennium) and headed for Mazatlan, 200 miles across the Sea of Cortez.

Today, however, we decided to stay aboard and relax, read, and sun bath. The ship was almost empty and it was very nice to lay on the sun deck and be the only ones there. The Garden Café, most often very crowed, was also reasonable to get around. It was nice to just kick back and do what you’re supposed to do on a cruise vacation, NOTHING!!

The last tender aboard was about 2pm and then it was out to sea again and up the Baja. This portion of the trip, however, portends to be a lot better than the “Baja Bash” I have often experienced during yacht deliveries back to the states.

Dinner tonight was with Bev and Butch at the La Cucina Italian Restaurant. We made reservations at 6pm so we could go to the 8:15 show “The Spy Who Spied Me” by the Pearl Production Staff. Also included in the show were several of the other ship entertainers like the Second City actors. The big finally, however, was the entire Pearl staff including the house keepers, chefs, and the Captain and all his chiefs of whatever. It was a good show and upon exiting the Stardust Theater, they all lined at the exits to clap for us as we left, like we were the stars.

Day 13: 42 Photos:

Day 14 (Saturday): Day at Sea up the Baja

Although the Baja journey started out fairly benign, by late last night it had started to blow like it’s old self. And it was still pretty rough by this morning. The temperature had dropped into the upper 50’s and they closed the swimming pool for fear of someone getting bashed up against the sides. For old sailors, however, it wasn’t too bad especially in a 965 foot ship. We probably would have been in port somewhere if we were making it in Albion.

Breakfast as usual, but this time in the Summer Palace again. Then we bought some additional photos from the gallery of our first dinner with Bev and Butch. And I had to get another Panama Canal T-Shirt. One just wasn’t enough!

Later we went up to the Spinnaker and played Bingo and waited for the drawing for a free NCL cruise…..no joy here! Nor did we win at Bingo.

After that it was time to go back to the room and start packing for our exit tomorrow. Surprisingly it seemed like everything was going to fit so we could take care of all our own bags tomorrow and not have to get a timed exit. We could leave as soon as the ship cleared customs. Molly had been getting emails on her phone right along, so this morning she tried texting Lynda about our exit tomorrow and to let us know where she left the car. Lynda texted back that she would pick us up and we could then drive her to work. That seemed to work so hopefully it should be pretty efficient.

This afternoon, the seas seemed to come down a little. We had lunch from the Garden Café but ate it in the La Cucina because there was more space and it was more relaxing. We finished packing as much as we could and then went to the Crew and Guest Talent Show in the Stardust Theater. The finale was several of the crew all dressed in white togas with a water pitcher on their shoulder. This portion was billed as “The Fountain”. They each took a mouth full of water and then in turn, released the water on the next person. Several combinations of this procedure just brought the house down. One of the staff just could not hold her water (in her mouth!) because she was laughing so much. In the last sequence they all circled one person on the rotary portion of the stage and all released their mouth full of water on the center person who was releasing hers straight up into the air. It looked just like a human fountain and was very funny.

The last dinner aboard was again with Bev and Butch in the Summer Palace. We were in our favorite spot next to the stern windows watching the wake jump and bob in the rough seas. We all reminisced on a wonderful trip and fitting that our last dinner was with our newest best friends. After dinner we went to the final Farewell Variety Show: Sharkbait and Oh What a Night in combination. Sharkbait did some new tricks and the Four Season tribute guys did a medley of some of their best songs.

Then back to the room pack our entertainment clothes and get our traveling clothes ready for tomorrow’s departure.

Day 14: 10 Photos:

Day 15 (Sunday, May 1) Los Angeles Disembarking

To beat the rush this morning, we went to breakfast early and then took our bags down to the Atrium and just waited for the disembarking line to start forming. The process went pretty smooth and we were off the ship and through customs by 9:00 am. We called Lynda who was already on her way to pick us up. She had no problem with finding us since we gave her some local instructions on how to get into the terminal complex and then we headed to their Vespa shop in Sherman Oaks to drop her off and head for Mesa.

We arrived back home in Mesa about 5:00 pm, unloaded a few things, went to dinner, and then just relaxed watching some of the TV programs we missed while on our cruise.

The cruise was just what we hoped it would be. Except for the initial luggage snafu and outlandish doctor procedure, the trip was perfect. We met new friends and had a relaxing time. Fourteen days seemed to be just about right, not rushed like our seven day cruises were. We can now cross this trip off of our bucket list and start planning another!

Day 15: 11 Photos: