fellswoop

Well it doesn't save your place if you fall asleep and it plays to the end. 😉 But there is a fast forward...plus we've seen it already plenty of times. And yes..read The Martian plus his next book Project Hail Mary where I guarantee you will fall in love with an alien!!

Today is a sea day as we travel south in the gulf of California into the Pacific as we pass Cabo towards Puerto Vallarta. I think it's only about 500 miles to PV and we are going only about 14 knots. Unfortunately we have a tailwind ranging approx 30 knots give or take so subsequently the smoke from the funnel is coming back toward the ship. We couldn't spend a lot of time on our balcony this morning as we could smell the smoke. Luckily we found comfortable padded loungers on the promenade deck to people watch, ( a lot of walkers) and ocean watch, and because of the overhead on the promenade, it is protected from smoke. Also there is no wind so you can sit on deck all day and still have a great hair day.😁 Lots of the usual sea day activities such as shopping, bingo, trivia, line dancing, and wine tasting and more. Enjoyed dinner last night at Sabatini’s. Our reservation was at 7:50p and we were surprised at the number of empty tables. It used to be if you didn't pre reserve before boarding you were relegated to 5p or 9:30p time slots. Our service was fantastic (shout out to Faye) and food great. By the time we were done only 6 people remained.

On board now. I thought the baked alaska was too sweet. My new fav is french martini...up or on the rocks. It might give you that tropical vibe cuz there's a splash of pineapple in it.

We are on-board Sapphire right now. In the first 5 days my husband and I each won $25 non refundable on board credit. We booked the steakhouse to spend it.😊 We'll see on last day if we win any of the drawings.

Stopped estimating at 300+ in the room. Categories include drama, action, comedy, documentary, holiday, family, musical, romance, and thriller. I wasn't paying too much attention to what was playing on MUTS (movies under the stars for you newbies) but saw they played Hocus Pocus, (the original) and The Lost City among others. Honestly wish there was a sleep timer on the remote cuz we've fallen asleep 3 nights in a row to The Martian and haven't quite finished it.

This morning by 7a we were already at our anchor spot in the coastal town of Loreto. I love that on the app, under port guides, there is all the info for the port including a map, history, best of etc. It's actually the guide sheet they use to give you and probably is still available at guest services for those wanting a hard copy. We have been here before so decided on just walking down to the "downtown" tourist area. There was no wait for a tender at 11:15a but I believe just like in Cabo, a tender ticket was required if you wanted to get off during prime time of 9a-10:30a or so. The sign on the pier said it was a 300 meter walk to the downtown. It was an easy 15min walk or so and it was ADA friendly for wheelchairs and scooters. There were cabs offering $25 tour per group for 1 hour. The pedestrian wide walkway in the tourist area ( no cars) was a nice walk lined with tourist shops and restaurants with sidewalk cafes, live music, and colorfully dressed Mexican dancers. There were "prayer flags" lining the walkway making it quite quaint. Also there was absolutely no pressuring to buy or come into shops like there is in Cabo...at least we saw none. However I bought 2 shirts and there was not any haggling over prices like there use to be. In my experience the price was what they said. Please share if you found otherwise. Walking the whole length leisurely of the shop area I'd estimate at taking about 30min or so. Of course we stopped for cervezas and their famous arrachera tacos. That's beef marinated in chiles, lime, other citrus juices and onions and grilled over open flame. (Per our app guide info) We easily shared a plate of three tacos with side of guac, tomatoes, and lettuce to garnish it. The 85° heat was quite manageable with a great breeze. As we headed back to the tender it did become quite windy with swells and white caps giving us an "E" ticket ride back to the ship. (Dating myself) Stopped at the bar on the pool deck then headed to our room. Feeling very lazy we ordered room service thru the app including an alcoholic drink. It use to be that even with a drink package if you ordered drinks for room delivery you were charged. However now it says right on the app "no charge if you have drink package". Food and drinks arrived within 15min and just like Dominos, it tells you on the app that order received, order being prepared, and order on it's way for delivery. 😊 Giving an A+ for that. Perhaps slower during busier times. But the real game changer is morning coffee. We are not fans of room service coffee so this morning we tried out the app for a latte and cappuccino (app allows you to order whatever you want in it including milk alternatives) and it arrived to us hot and no charge with the drink package. I know tipping for room service is controversial but we are tippers and feel it is the right thing to do, but you do you. Another beautiful day on our cruise!

Agree with you @Vexorg . La Paz was absolutely the quintessential little Mexican tourist town. The port you come into is Pichilingue. There were 20 or so little canapies set up with all kinds of souvenirs we could see from our balcony. We elected to have a leisurely morning and got off ship about 11:20a and apparently others had the same idea, because our wait for the shuttle was 35 min. The free shuttle into the town is a 30 min ride and they do stop first at a beautiful beach where you can get off and stay for awhile, then catch the shuttle again.The beach is at the largest resort in La Paz (didn't catch the name) and we were told they had restaurants and bar and "beach activities ". We continued straight to town and the bus lets you off at the bus station in the middle of town. There is a beautiful Malecon along the water to walk the length of town with many statues and monuments. On the other side of the street were touristy shops and many sidewalk cafes. We decided to walk a block off the main street to get away from the cruise crowd and found a great seafood taco place under a big outdoor palapa with cooling fans. Had the best batter dipped and fried giant shrimp tacos of our life. We did some shopping and wandered back to catch the bus back. We were the only ship in port. I'm wondering if they only allow 1 ship cuz it seems 2 ships would overstress the infrastructure. Appreciated that the people were more laid back and not aggressive in selling their souvenirs. Also, saw a sign you could take a taxi into town for $30 if you didn't want to wait in line.

Let me amend that. I did receive a message back I just did not click the right box. 2,396 people for next cruise...and they had answered timely... just my user error.

I did send a "chat" message inquiry about this 5 hrs ago but have not received an answer.

Sadly we saw a few seals only on our excursion.

Yesterday we arrived in Cabo around 1p...it was quite a beautiful approach to our anchoring spot. In previous years I'm assuming only 1 anchor was out because the ship would spin on it's anchor point and sometimes you would view El Arco, rocks, and harbor and sometimes have a view of the ocean. But with multiple ships in port we were double anchored so no turning. We stayed on board yesterday for an afternoon at the Sanctuary. It was somewhat disappointing in that when we first got on the ship we went directly there and they walked us around to pick where we wanted to reserve for both days. When we arrived up there for our reservation yesterday we saw someone was in our spots, and we were told they had booked the whole week and wanted those chairs. 😳 They found alternate chairs for us and we just tried to be nice but just a little expressed our frustration. Before we left for the day we asked where they had assigned us for our 2nd reservation and sadly they had just totally erased us from the schedule after they gave our reservations away and there was no more availability for that day. Again we just tried to be nice. They found another day but we don't even get a lounger but a double chair that I believe has a footrest. So we'll see what happens and we will talk to Guest Services if needed for maybe a price adjustment. Also they took drink orders only once and husband had to use the app to order himself another drink. The attendants were very nice....just not very attendent. Lovely late dinner in CC with fast service. Had a Pan Asian peanut curry noodle dish with tofu which I normally would never order, but it was fantastic and the bits of tofu were like velvet creaminess. Did not attend production tonight so others chime in. The ship overnighted in Cabo and overheard some people were spending the night in hotels because last tender to ship was 10:30p and I guess they wanted to party into the night. We were up early for a 2hr coastal cruise this mirning out to the arch and along coast line. Weather perfect, open bar and snacks made for a perfect morning. We have done many other Cabo excursions over the years so now we checked this one off. Also early morning till around 9a or so the outer harbor was filled with fishing boats for one of the biggest fishing contests of the season. Apparently millions in prize money they told us on our excursion. It was a beautiful sight.

Had a great formal night last night. The Atrium/Piazza area was buzzing with ship officers looking dapper and plenty of champagne being served. Saw a few suits, 1 tux, and many formal dresses on woman. But many people looking nice but not formal. I'm a believer in wearing what you want. Saw the comedian in the Explorer Lounge. I prefer that venue over the theater. Did not go to the production show in the theater so maybe @Mike45LC can chime in on that. Food and service was great in the CC dining room. The Santa Fe dining room decor was absolutely lovely. The "extra" offerings in CC tonight was a grilled shrimp salad and lamb skewers. The service was so fast that there was no waiting betw courses. We've had a door maintenance issue from day one. The door just won't close unless we pull/push hard and actually slam it. Sometimes it takes 3-4x I'm sure causing us to be a nuisance to our neighbors. We told our room steward the first day but so far not fixed. So this morning I again used the "crew chat" feature on the app and got an immediate response of apology. In fact our steward HAD put in a maintenance order and reportedly it was "fixed" but I told him no, it was still not resolved. He/she apologized over "chat" and would send the carpenter again and said he would follow up with a phone call later or I was to message on chat if it was fixed. Can't ask for better response than that. Today we arrive in Cabo at 1p for our overnight stay but this afternoon we will enjoy our splurge in the Sanctuary with our OBC. Maybe we will stroll the port later but for sure tomorrow we will be off the ship for an excursion. Weather today perfect at partly cloudy and 82°.

It's the pool with the retractable cover. Deck 14. Aft of the main outdoor pool.

So clocks went forward an hour last night. It was sunny and coolish at 11a. We always order coffee to our room in the morning but wanted a latte for our first sea day. Here's a secret. We saw a long line for specialty coffee at International Cafe. Went to solarium bar and there is a barista with all the goods and no line. You're welcome.

Not sure how Hawaii will be be but husband calls it pretty speedy for a ship. And going further south to Hawaii should make yours better because communication sattelites are circling the equator and you will be closer. Communication sattelites are in a geosynchronous orbit. (You can google that) 😊

Well they said $40 pp for 1/2 day 1-5p but $30 pp per 1/2 day if you sign up for the whole 10 days. 2 days will be plenty plus they have a beautiful covered area.

Thank you @Vexorg and @Mike45LC for chiming in. Please add more as we go along esp regarding entertainment. We skipped the comedy show tonight as after a great dinner at Sterling we called it a night. We had two problems that occurred this afternoon. First I did not get my bag delivered. The room steward said wait till 6p and if no bag go to guest services. Decided to try the chat feature on the app and I received a response within 2 minutes. In fact they called me. I told them I had no contraband in my bag so was surprised that I had to go to the "naughty room"....I mean security, to get my bag. Sure enough the port security noted my small scissors in my bag that I have taken many times on cruises. Security said it was fine and they apologized for the trouble. I won't ever fault good port security following their rules. No harm done. A bit more disturbing though was that our sink water and shower water was BROWN! I took a picture but I'll spare you. We first noticed after husband showered and it drained poorly then there was a ring of dirt around the tub and he just wasn't that dirty. 😁 So I filled the sink up and let's just say you couldn't see the bottom. We reported to room steward and she saw it and called her supervisor. We were told it may be related to the power loss as reported above by another cruiser and adjacent rooms were having same problem. We were told just to run it for 5 min and it did clear but I can't unsee that sink of brown water, and will use bottled water going forward for drinking and brushing teeth. Overall the ship looks good for her age, carpets and furniture all look great...but the best part is the staff have been amazing and helpful at every turn. We asked how many were aboard and was told at least 2000 but we will try for confirmation on that tomorrow. The ship has not felt crowded at all. We were at Crooners at 7:30p for drinks and were one of only 3 couples in there. That was shocking. Looking forward to a day at sea tomorrow.

We had Club Class once before but didn't enjoy the full aspect of dining because we had friends join us last minute who didn't have CC so of course we wanted to dine with them in regular MDR. Luckily we are late diners so expect to close the dining room down most nights.

I know there was one at 10:30a...but otherwise don't know other times. There were only 8 people signed up for our shuttle. Surprising. But saw a few taking cabs and having a car service.

Yep we do...we still enjoy specialty dining first night. It's usually calm and a great way to start our trip. You are right though....wouldn't expect too much dining room problem first night in club class but usually everyone heads to dining room first night so just being on safe side. 😊

I should say...this is first post "pandemonium" cruise for my husband. The Discovery cruise to Alaska I did with my girlfriends...!

Stayed in San Pedro where the LA cruise port is located. Stayed at Crowne Plaza San Pedro and had a room with 2 double beds for around $300 including all taxes. Many great eating places within walking distance. Hotel offers bar and restaurant. No free morning breakfast. We elected just to have the kuerig coffee in the room for breakfast and save our appetite for ship. The transfer shuttle for port was $5.50 each so we signed up and they gave us the voucher. Shuttle was prompt for 11a pickup. ( We had 11:30a boarding) and from the time we got off shuttle to on the ship was 17 min and 30 sec. Did Discovery to Alaska in August out of Seattle and we waited in line more than 1 1/2 hrs. In San Pedro what they did different was reverse order. First we did our Princess check in and THEN security line. This was much faster. We are platinum so immediately there was a priority line and we already had our Medallions. There was only 2 people in front of us for security. We did bring 2 bottles of wine and they told us to stop at the desk set up for alcohol but oops...we walked past as we knew we were allowed two bottles. We were on ship by 11:30a and rooms weren't ready ( fire doors to room halls were closed) so we immediately went up to sanctuary to reserve a spot . Go to deck 15 then walk forward and up stairs to Sanctuary . There was no one there and they walked us around to pick where we wanted to be. We signed up for two afternoons at $40 each per day. A luxury for sure. After that we enjoyed our first drinks, then we went to our room. We are Club Class. We listened to the safety video then went to our muster station to check in. At 1p they were making the announcement that 1800 people still needed to do their safety check. People... get that done first thing! We had lunch at Alfredos Pizza. It was excellent. ( much better than Discovery) The only down side was we couldn't order premium wines ( we have the premium alcohol package) because they get their premium wine from Vines and it wasn't opened yet. No worries...wine was still good. Hopefully our itinerary will be unchanged. A hurricane (Roslyn) hit Puerto Vallarta yesterday so hopefully all people there are safe and okay. Plan dinner tonight at Sterling Steakhouse as we always avoid dining rooms first night due to first night chaos that often happens. Hoping for a healthy cruise. We are Novids so far. I'm a retired RN, and as we did safely on Alaska cruise, we wear our masks in elevators and indoors unless sitting down to eat or in a bar. Happily now for crew, they are mask optional too. We are fully vaxed and have the latest bivalent booster. We are hoping to fully enjoy our first cruise post "pandemonium?" More to come.

Is this OBC or do you get the cash?