OrcaGirl

Okay, perfunctory day 7 at sea recap. Starbucks? Probably. Breakfast in the buffet. Still no bennies, hash browns or waffles, which were my three favourite breakfast things. Popped down to 6 to change our Los Lobos reservations. I had made a reservation via the app for me, mom and Red, just minutes before the Fox and K confirmed they would be able to join us. And then I couldn’t change the reservation, only add a new one for 5 people. But somehow I ended up with three reservations? A quick visit to Teppanyaki took care of that. Afterwards we took mom up to the thermal spa, and got her settled on one of the comfy chaises facing the ocean. While she rested, I was checking out walker / rollator options for home. And then all of a sudden — a THUD. A man had slipped and gone down hard in the exact same spot as my mom. Fortunately he wasn’t injured, but also that meant no incident report was generated. One of the thermal spa attendants with a squeegee mop asked him his room number, but that was it. On my way out to grab a drink, I told the front desk staff what had happened, but it shouldn’t be me reporting this. After we were sufficiently spaaaaahed, we got changed and headed to the Observation Lounge for a light lunch. Good chicken salad croissants. We hustled (as much as one can in a wheelchair) down to the Atrium to meet the Fox for Deal or No Deal. (Avid readers may remember that I got selected to play Deal or No Deal on the first cruise I took with the Fox) .) Alas, we won nothing but a free photo. 😂 We headed back to the room for a rest and to do some pre-packing, which mostly consists of me staring at all of our **** and wondering how I’m gonna make it all fit. Mom and Red were enjoying a nice afternoon nap with the sun steaming into our cabin, so I left them there and went to join the Fox and K for the final bingo and win a cruise raffle. We did not have any luck, although at one point the Fox was the only person left standing for the raffle … until the last two numbers and someone else eventually clued it that it was their ticket. Quel dommage. The Fox and I then headed to Q to pick up our ‘confiscated’ liquor. We felt like such naughty ladies. Then it was time to finally get packed. Amazingly, most everything fit. We got dressed and headed to Los Lobos, meeting the Fox and K there. I still had one of my platinum vouchers, and they had one single FAS meal. So we ordered for three people but shared among five. And we still left food behind. The tableside guac remains a favourite, but the ceviche shrimp (appetizer) and tomatillo shrimp (entre) were excellent. The pork Al Pastor tacos were just okay, flavourful but chewy. Everyone declared the tres leches cake as the best dessert of the cruise. The not-actually-beignets were just okay. And — with everything going on — I forgot to tell the hostess that we didn’t want a birthday cake for mom. We were STUFFED. We sent the Fox and K off to the Observation Lounge for a solo vocal performance by one of the Six performers, while mom, Red and I retired to our cabin to finish packing. Tomorrow: the adventure of getting home. Random Observations: If someone was missing luggage with medical equipment in it, why did the notice only arrive on the last day?!?!

I will post the final sea day recap and disembarkation process once we get to the airport, but allow me two rants: **** you to the dude and his wife acting like COVID and Norovirus aren’t a thing and were just grabbing food in the buffet with their bare hands. So awesome how you touched like five pieces of bread to grab the one you want to put in the toaster, instead of using the tongs that are RIGHT THERE. I am not a fan of the Lord of the Rings survival of the fittest elevator situation on disembarkation day. No letting people in wheelchairs or walkers go first, no letting people waiting the longest go next. Just a madhouse.

Day 7 daily Bliss MR Day 7.pdf

Friday in Cabo recap We woke up early to the rumbling of the anchors as the Bliss got settled in the waters of Cabo. And to the melodious sounds of sea lions barking, which I find charming in Mexico and annoying as **** when I’m camping in Howe Sound. Noisy mother****ers. I grabbed some Starbucks for mom and Red, got mom out onto the balcony for some fresh air, and then headed out to the Manhattan Room. This may be my new favourite Platinum perk. I was met at the Manhattan Room by a CruiseNext rep, who walked me directly to the tender. No waiting. Amazing. Once ashore, I walked to Starbucks for an iced Americano (since I wouldn’t have been allowed to bring one off the ship), and then headed to Walmart. Wouldn’t have been my first choice, but mom needed a few things to make her more comfortable on the last couple of days and on the flight home AND my pre-trip research insisted that Mexican Walmarts might carry a wine that’s no longer sold in Canada and which my mom wanted more of… and lo and behold, I found it! Made a couple more stops to pick up souvenirs that mom wants to bring home for various people. Sent her this picture and asked if I should get one of these “Mexican stone carvings” for the neighbours who have been keeping an eye on the farm. Mom thought they were carvings of cowboy boots! 🤠 It was hot and the shopping was heavy, and I was so glad to get back to the tender. Was back on board the Bliss and dropping off my liquor by 10:15am. I met up with the ladies and headed to The Local for brunch. It was delicious, and we lingered over our coffee and mimosas just long enough for the switchover to the lunch menu so we could share the raspberry brownie cheesecake thingy. After that, we headed up to the thermal spa. We got momma settled in a comfy chaise with a view, and then I went for my aroma stone therapy massage; and then we switched so Red could get the port special bundle. So good. Between spa services, I popped out to the pool deck bar for BBCs and Blue Hawaiians, and caught a bit of Siglo’s set. I fell in love with their sound and style on my first Bliss cruise, and wish I’d had more opportunity to hear them this trip. They were playing Simple Mind’s Don’t You Forget About Me and a bunch of us near the bar were singing along with the hey hey hey heys and doing the fist pump at the appropriate moments. We stayed in the thermal spa for sailaway. We had excellent views of El Arco, which was the main thing mom wanted to see in Cano. AND THEN! So. Many. WHALES! Humpbacks everywhere. Spouting. Jumping. Splashing. Splooshing. It was ****ing awesome. I didn’t even bother trying to take photos or videos, I was just so happy that mom got that experience. (We paid a freaking fortune to go whale watching on a miserably rainy day while on a Princess Cruise in Alaska, and didn’t see squat.) So now the Fox figures we should make a cruise to Cabo an annual thing. 🤣 After we’d had our fill of whales, we got changed and headed up to the buffet for a light supper. And saw more whales! We then headed down to the theatre for Jersey Boys. This is my fourth time on the Bliss and first time seeing it. (First time, performers got COVID and the show was cancelled; second time was a short repo cruise and it wasn’t offered; third time, the Fox and I bailed in favour of the thermal spa.) It’s not my style of music, so I wasn’t a huge fan. Fine, not horrible, but not something I need to repeat. Unlike Six, which I will watch any chance I get. But mom was tired so we bailed after 30 minutes or so. Red stayed for the duration and enjoyed the show. Around 9pm, mom asked if the cruise had cookies and milk. 🍪🥛 And of course, having seen the ongoing where are the cookies thread, I tried to manage her expectations but headed up to the buffet. Alas, no cookies. Asked the staff, they just shook their heads and said “no cookies.” So sad about that. So I just got momma a glass of milk. Random observations At one point that afternoon, a dude was vaping in the thermal spa. Seriously, what the **** dude? Sailaway was late, due to long queues for the tenders. The Fox and K were on a ship excursion (which they loved) and reported that the tender line to get back took them over an hour. I can’t believe this is the second time I’ve had to say this, but under no circumstances should you point to your wife when someone asks if you’ve see any whales. Why are men?!?! Such poor theatre etiquette at Jersey Boys. Someone broke a glass on the stairs and didn’t seem to notify anyone. People stayed in theatre with screaming babies. Taking photos with flash. Letting kid play on laptop. Using phone flashlight to eat a bowl of pasta?

Last night around 9pm, my mom — who fractured her ankle the first night of the cruise and NEVER asks for anything — asked me for a glass of milk and a cookie. I should have just called room service but I went up to the buffet to ask again if any cookies were available, but no. And then this morning, I caved and just bought a cookie at Starbucks because I felt so bad that I couldn’t fulfil her request last night.

Taste or Savour for breakfast tomorrow? I neeeeeeeed an Eggs Benny.

I’ll do a Cabo update in the morning, but a couple of short notes on differences between this cruise and past cruises. I have not seen little waffles, hash browns, or Eggs Benedict in the buffet. There are waffles on the MDR breakfast menu. Not a single cookie to be seen in the buffet or observation lounge. I’ve asked repeatedly. I haven’t been in the buffet for dinner every night, but it feels like more stations are closed compared to either the Escape in October/November or the Bliss last June. Have not seen a crepe station operating, and that was a frequent stop for my husband on the Escape.

Freestyle Daily - Day 6 - Cabo Bliss MR Day 6.pdf

Thursday in Mazatlan recap Momma had such a better sleep last night, once the surgeon advised that she was okay to remove the boot and brace while in bed. We planned to sleep in, but woke up as we pulled into Mazatlan. And heard the roosters — it was like being back on the farm. 😂 After a Starbucks run, we headed up to the buffet for breakfast, then swung down to the medical centre to confirm that the hospital had sent over the “fit to sail” paperwork for our return to ship. (They had.) So we thanked the nurses and doctor and gave them some extra Valentine’s treats. After that we headed up to the thermal spa. Showering is so much easier in the changing room’s accessible shower than in the cabin bathroom, for sure. And then mom enjoyed some stone lounger time. I loaded up her iPad with a bunch of new and classic country songs, and she enjoyed a few hours of music and watching the swallows and frigate birds fly by. We had lunch in the buffet, then went down to the Observation Lounge for a bit in search of a good spot to people watch. Pretty packed for a port day, but then the weather was not ideal and we heard a lot of people mentioned they stayed to stay on board. After taking a detour to our cabin for a call with my husband who will be making any necessary flight changes for us (I’ve got the cruise status, he’s got the airline status), we popped down to the Atrium to grab seats for 80s trivia. There had been a message on our phone to stop by Guest Services, so I did. And apparently they’ve arranged for private wheelchair transport to LAX on Sunday? I was confused when the guy just gave me a piece of paper with two phones numbers on it, so I’ll have to swing by again and confirm the details. 80s trivia was way too easy, and too many people didn’t grasp the “don’t just shout out the answers” concept. We got 18/20; and it would have been 19/20 and a tie for first if I’d just listened to my instincts instead of giving in to peer pressure. But at least it was better than the 80s trivia on the Discovery Princess with all of the errors. (Ooooh I am still mad about that one.) For dinner, we went to Teppanyaki. It wasn’t mom’s favourite, but she tried lots of new things and that’s all I asked of her. She did like the edamame, the fried rice and the shrimp. After dinner, we headed to the Atrium for Bandaoke. When we boarded, before the fractured ankle, we had planned to attend lots of karaoke and I had bet mom and Red that we would be hearing many renditions of My Way… and what’s the first song at Bandaoke? 🤣 The first few singers were shockingly good, and then we got more into what I expect on a cruise, eg overly confident drunk dudes who forget that there’s more to Living on a Prayer than just the chorus. 🤣 During my earlier stop by the cabin, there had been a random fruit basket in our room. No note. When we got home after dinner and bandaoke, there was a second fruit basket, now with a ‘hope you feel better’ note. (If NCL is buttering us up, maybe refund our thermal spa fees instead of giving us something we could just get upstairs at the buffet.) 🤣 And then to bed. A much better day.

Once back on board, we headed to the cabin for a short rest and (since we now have four days to go) to set out a laundry bag (possibly my favourite of the Platinum perks). I honestly can’t remember what we did next, but eventually we headed up to the Observation Lounge for some tea for mom, a Monkey Business for Red, and an espresso martini for me, to enjoy with our cupcakes, and check out the two cute huge yachts parked next door to the Bliss (both owned by the same Seattle billionaire). At some point, I went down to Guest Services to get the immigration fees back, and to cancel the NCL bus transfer to LAX since we didn’t know how our flights would be affected or if the bus would be accessible to Momma. For dinner, we headed to Taste (or Savor?) for a celebratory ‘we get to stay on board’ dinner with Red, the Fox and K. Mom and I shared the upcharge Cagney filet with asparagus and yam mash, and it was very good (even if mom and I compromised and ordered it medium, which is an affront to a good steak). And again, I can’t remember much else from that night. 🤣 Oh, we went to the Eliminator game show; I enjoy the initial trivia part, but not the final four round which has nothing to do with trivia skill. And then to bed.

Wednesday in Puerto Vallarta recap So, we were told by the medical staff to start making our way to the medical centre at 7:30am and that we would be transferred to an ambulance at 8am. But the ship time and Puerto Vallarta time were not the same, and that seems to have confused everyone. At 6:30am while I was in a very long line at Starbucks, a staff person was knocking on our door to get us down to the medical centre for a 7am offload! Yikes. So our room service breakfast went untouched as we throw the last of our things into bags and grabbed our passports and hustled down to the med centre. We were met at the med centre by the paramedics and a ship’s security officer. While the paramedics loaded mom onto a stretcher, I pre-paid $175USD to the security officer as the earl disembarkation immigration fee for the port, which is refundable . She also gave me the contact information for the port agent who would coordinate with us to have our luggage brought to us if necessary. We were then escorted off the ship and into the waiting ambulance. Or rather, one of them. Two met the ship, and I think a gentleman in the ER across from us was perhaps a crew member, perhaps the Code Alpha we heard the previous night? The paramedics took mom’s vitals while we were transferred to Hospiten Puerto Vallarta, about 10 minutes away from the port. And honestly, it was nicer than the hospital in my home town. 🤷‍♀️ The nurses were lovely, the first doctor who examined mom was wearing a Barbie pin so I loved her immediately, the hospital administrator was fantastic at walking me through the paperwork, and the orthopaedic surgeon was great (also a stone cold silver fox…). We spent approximately two hours at the hospital; including initial assessment, X-rays, anti-inflammatory IV, and then consult with the orthopaedic surgeon, who confirmed that mom didn’t need surgery and would be allowed to return to the ship. Oh my gosh. The relief we left. During all this, my dad’s sister’s son dropped by to visit Mom, who apparently used to babysit him when he was a young’un. He brought me and Red Starbucks since we had to abandon our coffee and breakfast on board, and once we got the all clear to return to the ship, he came back by with red velvet Valentine’s Day cupcakes. Instead of another $750USD ambulance ride (and they DID take credit card), we took an Uber XL back to the port for a much more reasonable $177 pesos + tip. Once at the port, a wheelchair appeared and we were escorted through the port area back to the ship, with a stop at a pharmacy. It cost $22CDN to fill the new prescriptions which is amazing… I declined the upsell for *****, diet pills, etc… 💊 The final tally for the hospital visit itself came out to something like $2k USD. Which, not as bad as I feared. Mom can still buy herself a new side-by-side for the farm. 🤣

Given everything, I’m missing a few but here are the dailies that I did remember to download so far. Bliss MR Day 1.pdf Bliss MR Day 4.pdf Bliss MR Day 5.pdf

My grandmother was a beekeeper as well as the first female provincial beehive inspector for British Columbia, so this was a must-do for Mom. 🐝

Oh, Red and the Fox reported that there was an ASL interpreter at SIX, and that amazing as SIX is, watching the interpreter was just as cool. And that the actress playing Jane Seymour was particularly delightful. I’m sooooo bummed that this is the second-last sailing with SIX. The Broadway shows on NCL have always been a huge part of the appeal for me, and Wheel of Fortune is just not acceptable as a replacement.

Okay, let’s recap. Tuesday at sea was a blur, but highlights included: — Red having some good beginners luck in the casino — Mom enjoying watching (not participating in) the line dance class in the casino — Mom being brought (non-alcoholic) frozen drinks by (very nice) strange men — Watching the Mr. Sexy Legs shenanigans up by the pool deck For dinner, we grabbed an early seating at Los Lobos, just in case we didn’t get to return to the ship in PV; we originally had reservations for Friday for my mom’s birthday dinner. The food was delicious as always, but soooooo much of it. We shared the tableside guacamole, the queso fundido, a beet salad and an order of the pescado tacos… they kept trying to get us to order more food, but we just couldn’t finish it all. (Meanwhile, a table behind us sent back their tortilla chips like five times. Too salty, not warm enough, not salty enough, etc.) Mom was fading by this point, and the drugs were wearing off, so instead of ordering dessert, we sent Red off to join the Fox in the theatre for Six while we headed back to the cabin. We packed up all of our stuff, since at that point we didn’t know what was going to happen at the PV hospital and if we’d be able to return. Since the medical centre advised us that the ambulance required payment in cash, I popped down to the casino ATM to withdraw a ****ton of US bills. 💸 Which created a fraud alert on my Mastercard so it’s been suspended until I get a chance to call them. 😂 So glad to have brought multiple credit cards. And that was Tuesday at sea. ”Draw me like one of your French girls…”

Hey everyone, Thank you for all the well wishes etc. We will return to our regularly scheduled programming in the morning: mom saw the orthopaedic surgeon in PV this morning, who determined it was a clean fracture, she doesn’t need surgery, and gave her the ‘fit to sail’ clearance. So we reboarded and will finish out the cruise instead. It gives us a couple more days to let her rest up and make arrangements to get her home comfortably. I’ll recap the last two days in more detail in the morning. But yay!

We’re due to be in Puerto Vallarta from 7am to 7pm tomorrow, so hopefully that’s enough time to get to the hospital, get mom taken care of, and — hopefully — go back on board before sailaway. Because the flight options home from Puerto Vallarta are surprisingly limited without 12-hours in San Francisco or without connecting through Toronto or Montreal (wrong direction!) And it turns out I have a cousin in Puerto Vallarta (news to me!) who my mom used to babysit so he’s on standby to meet us and assist with anything we need if we do need to remain behind in PV.

Hey everyone, quick update on our first sea day, now from the perspective of dealing with an injured passenger on board. The medical and housekeeping team coordinated on providing us a wheelchair free of charge for mom to use until we’re offloaded in Puerto Vallarta. A commode (portapotty) was also delivered to the cabin, since the wheelchair is too wide to be used in the cabin and getting her up and over the bathroom ledge is a b****. The medical centre provided her with the good drugs, enough to last her to Puerto Vallarta, and when they’ve kicked in she’s doing okay if she can keep her leg still and elevated. We managed to get her out onto the waterfront for some fresh air, and then we had a light lunch up in the Observation Lounge. And made lots of new friends, as everyone was very accommodating at helping move the heavy chairs to make space for her. Mom wouldn’t let me and Red cancel our spa passes, so in the afternoon we wheeled her up to Mandara and she got to nap on the heated stone loungers while we got a little spa time. Compared to my last cruise on the Escape in October, the thermal spa was soooooo empty, especially for a sea day. We were the chair hogs this time, because I didn’t want to move momma once she was settled, but there were plenty of empty stone loungers all afternoon. Mom insisted on us attending the afternoon bingo, but her drugs started to wear off midway so I threw my final bingo card at the Fox and wheeled momma back to the cabin for more drugs and a rest. We had reservations for Q that night, and mom’s appetite was back, so we moseyed on down there. Getting to the restaurant was really the only non-bathroom-related challenge of being in the wheelchair. Big queues in front of Taste and Savor merged in front of the elevator bank, and it was tricky to navigate through without bumping mom’s leg. Once we got to Q, it was a mixed bag. The band was crazy loud, so you couldn’t hear anything the waiter said, and service was very slow. The food, however, was much better than last time my husband and I ate there. We used two dining credits for the three of us, and still left food on the table. We missed our Six reservations, but I hadn’t been too optimistic that mom would last that long anyway, so we might try again tonight. Or not. We got settled back in the cabin, getting snatches of sleep. There was a Code Alpha on deck 3 at one point, but I reassured mom that it wasn’t because of her. 🤣 Random observations Both medical services and the housekeeping team called us at various points during the day to check on mom, and ensure that the wheelchair was working out and we had everything she needed. Last night while mom was still in the medical centre, a security officer came and took each of our statements, and then walked me up to the thermal spa to show him what had happened where. There’s been no follow up on that yet though. While she was being examined last night, they gave mom a breathalyzer. I get it, I understand why, but also it seems a little ridiculous to give a 75-year-old woman in pain a breathalyzer. (She’d had one pina colada with lunch, and a mudslide in the deck 19 hot tub during the afternoon of that first day, but nothing with dinner and blew a zero.) Medical also wrote a note for me to give to the Shore Excursion desk to have our excursions cancelled without penalty. *If* we’re allowed to return to the ship, I’d love recommendations for wheelchair accessible tours in Mazatlan and Cabo (although with the tender, I’m thinking that would just be a spa day.)

Sorry everyone, I need to cut my semi-live short. Mom had a bad fall in the thermal spa tonight, fractured her ankle. We’re being taken to hospital in Puerto Vallarta when we get there, and then we’ll see if our cruise continues or not.

Currently sitting in the terminal, awaiting the start of boarding. We took a Lyft from the hotel to the port, very quick except for the long wait to actually turn into the port itself. People were still coming off the ship, so the luggage drop area was pretty hectic. Security was perfunctory and quick, and check-in was as fast as I’ve ever had. Yay for being Platinum. It’s currently 11am and we’re sitting and reading the dailies while we await Group A to be called. Random observations Red is very excited about the free charm offer at the jewelry shop. 🤣 We met some lovely people at breakfast and look forward to hanging out with them on board. I think things might get a little crazy. Lots more jerseys and footbally shirts spotted in the terminal. Hopefully people watching the game means empty hot tubs during sailaway? Haven signage outside the terminal security tent:

Good morning! Just finished up breakfast, and about to order a rideshare over to the port. Looks like the Bliss arrived about an hour late, so we know to expect a wait before boarding.

Yes, we’ve all got thermal spa passes. My mom loved the thermal spa on the Discovery Princess, so I sold her on this cruise by promising her that the Bliss thermal spa was twice as big and twice as awesome.

As noted in my first post, Red is a family friend and our guest on this cruise.

I will certainly keep my eye on both the cookie situation as well as the hashbrown situation. 🤣

I previously sailed the Mexican Riviera on the Bliss two or three Christmases ago, although very much not sold out as it was the first Christmas cruise of the restart and there were almost zero children onboard; that was a great cruise. 🤣