Live from Crown Princess, February 7 - 17, Mexican Riviera

[jaycruising]

About 6 years ago this would be an area anyone would want to visit, one lady set out to change it and had the idea so she went to the government and they agreed with her about revitalizing the park but said they have no money, but if she could find a way she could. So she started by soliciting local hotels and marketing companies to buy mosaics in the park, in exchange they would have permanent marketing. Then local people and visitors wanted to partake. Some have even made it into a memorial and have mixed their loved ones ashes into the cement. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also just love flowers 🙂 

 

 

 

 

There are these little plaques all throughout 

 

 

 

I love this one

 

[jaycruising]

There were 10 of us on this food tour, 8 of us happened to be from the ship, and one couple who was staying in the area. We were doing a total of 8 stops and it included a mix of food beverage and dessert. 
 

Our first stop was for breakfast tacos or what we had chilaquiles. This place was very cool in that in the morning or until 1pm they served breakfast and then shut down until 3 when it would reopen with a completely different name and staff. 

 

 

 

 

These were so good a definite favourite today!

 

We also had this coffee that was made with cinnamon and chocolate, I’m not much of a coffee person, but it was good!

 

The plates and cups were so pretty!

 

Next we headed for Birria and we had goat, I really enjoyed this one. 

 

I didn’t remember to take photos everywhere but I did try. 
 

Next we went to an Aguas Fresca stand. We learned here that all of the food stands, taco, agua Fresca are installed by the government. People apply for a permit and if granted the government will install the stand for you. Any new stands will be put in not so great locations and most of the local ones are passed down through the generations. Also a lot of restaurants start out as stands and go on to expand to a brick and mortar restaurant. 
 

Here we had 3 samples, first was passion fruit 

 

The second was a chia seed, lemon lime one

 

And the third was a condensed milk one that reminded me of chai tea. 

 

The first 2 change seasonally and the third is always there. I liked the first 2 best. 
 

Next stop was at Mariano’s Cisneros. Here we had a pepper that was stuffed with seafood and some salsa, then it was battered and deep fried, put on a taco shell, topped with lettuce, onion, tomato and thousand island dressing. This is called the chillie relleno and the type of chilli used will depend on the region. 

 

This one was not my favourite as I didn’t love all the ingredients 

 

 

It was also just fun walking around old town and seeing all the sites. 

 

This is a papaya tree 

[jaycruising]

 

This was the next place I remembered to take photos. Also we did eat standing up at a number of them and it was hard to juggle   
 

This stop had another favourite for me, this one was skirt steak and melted cheese 

 

 

Another very cool restaurant 

 

 

Some very high end condos in the area. 
 

Our last stop of the tour was at paleteria villasenor for a popsicle or ice cream

 

 

I I had the pineapple chilli, it was very unique, but I really enjoyed it!  

 

I highly recommend this tour, our guide Sylvia was fantastic. And took us to places we never would have went otherwise. 
 

 

DM wanted to purchase some vanilla to take back, so we asked our guide were a good place was and she directed us to a vanilla shop a few blocks away. DM got her vanilla and I booked us an Uber to get back to the port. He was super quick and it cost us about $8.50 US. He also dropped us right at the doors so that was nice. 
 

We did a bit of shopping around the port area

 

and I took photos of the bougainvillea, love them!

 

 

 

 

 

[jaycruising]

We were back on board shortly after 3, went back to my cabin and dropped my bag off and it was time to go explore around the ship. 

 

views from deck 19 aft

 

This yacht is parked out in the bay

 

They were still setting up for Super Bowl, I can tell you that if you wanted to watch on the MUTS screen you need to be up here much earlier 

 

I wouldn’t mind living here

 

 

About $350 Million dollars in yachts, with Walmart in the background 😁

 

These are the drink specials they had for superbowl 

 

Sail away was at 5pm today, we were slightly delayed as a couple people were late, not sure if they made it back. We just took in sail away from our cabin and got a closer look at these beauties 

 

This one is the pricier of the 2 and comes with its own helicopter. They are both owned by Dennis Washington 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is a long way forward!

 

Machine gun boat

 

Saying goodbye to our pilot

 

[jaycruising]

Nothing on the dinner menu really appealed (forgot to take a picture) so we decided to call and see if we could go to crab shack. We figured it would be quiet with the game on and since we weren’t interested in the game. We could get our choice of times, so we chose 6. The cost is $39.99 + 18% gratuity. It was dreading there tonight, maybe 6 tables. 
 

 

 

Each person gets both appetizers, these are the biggest popcorn shrimp I’ve ever seen

 

I Really enjoyed the chowder

 

For our mains we each chose the seafood pot

 

 

It was delicious and full of flavour 

 

for dessert we each also chose the strawberry shortcake 

 

overall we really enjoyed it!

 

 

We finally made it to a production show and saw sweet soul music, it was ok

 

 

Then went to Explorer’s to watch the comedian who had just joined the ship, he was pretty good

 

I did sneak down to club fusion to see what they had for the game and these were some of the snacks

 

 

 

Came back to the cabin and found this little guy, our steward is the best. 

[CruzinNoony]

Thanks for the great "live from". Your food tour sounds like it was really fun.  I miss having Explorers on the Discovery.  

[jaycruising]

1 hour ago, CruzinNoony said:

Thanks for the great "live from". Your food tour sounds like it was really fun.  I miss having Explorers on the Discovery.  

Our food tour was fantastic!  I love Explorers’ as you can tell we spend quite a bit of time there. 

[jaycruising]

Feb 12 - Manzanillo

 

 

 

We woke up this morning and we were already docked in Manzanillo, so out on our balcony to take in some of the views. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I mentioned in my intro, my Grandpa prior to his retirement helped construct a grain terminal here. When it was completed he was gifted a 1oz gold coin from the Prime Minister of Mexico. He still has it tucked away (he just turned 90). We think we found it just across the bay from the aft of the Crown Princess. 

 

 

 

[jaycruising]

I decided to get lunch from the salty dog, we don’t often eat lunch on board, but decided to go ahead today

 

I got the chicken tacos, this was just the right snack size

 

We spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing at the terrace pool and watching various ships go by

 

 

 

we tried to guess how many containers were on thiis ahip

 

we tried  to math, but just left it at thousands!

 

We enjoyed railway from our aft position 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 14 by jaycruising

[jaycruising]

Dinner as usual was in the MDR

 

 

 

Tonights menu has my favourite princess menu item on it. Twice baked goat cheese soufflé, and this one might be the best version of it I’ve had!

 

I had the tenderloin for my main and it was very good as well

 

Dessert was sugar free coconut cake, it was so sweet, but good

 

We then went to the lounge for a couple trivia’s, they were both 80’s themed, we did ok

 

After that we headed up to lido for the 80’s party… it was a lot of fun

 

 

 

 

[Astro Flyer]

On 2/12/2024 at 11:50 AM, jaycruising said:

We woke up this morning and we were already docked in Manzanillo, so out on our balcony to take in some of the views. 

Did you go into Manzanillo? In early April we’ll be there for the first time.

 

[jaycruising]

9 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Did you go into Manzanillo? In early April we’ll be there for the first time.

 

We did not, just walked around the pier. I have talked to a few people who did, one just got a tour at the end of the pier and really enjoyed it. A couple people did the salt flats and didn’t really enjoy that. 

[Astro Flyer]

4 hours ago, jaycruising said:

We did not, just walked around the pier. I have talked to a few people who did, one just got a tour at the end of the pier and really enjoyed it. A couple people did the salt flats and didn’t really enjoy that. 

Thanks 🙂

[Rescue Dog Mom]

On 2/11/2024 at 8:21 PM, jaycruising said:

 

This was the next place I remembered to take photos. Also we did eat standing up at a number of them and it was hard to juggle   
 

This stop had another favourite for me, this one was skirt steak and melted cheese 

 

 

Another very cool restaurant 

 

 

Some very high end condos in the area. 
 

Our last stop of the tour was at paleteria villasenor for a popsicle or ice cream

 

 

I I had the pineapple chilli, it was very unique, but I really enjoyed it!  

 

I highly recommend this tour, our guide Sylvia was fantastic. And took us to places we never would have went otherwise. 
 

 

DM wanted to purchase some vanilla to take back, so we asked our guide were a good place was and she directed us to a vanilla shop a few blocks away. DM got her vanilla and I booked us an Uber to get back to the port. He was super quick and it cost us about $8.50 US. He also dropped us right at the doors so that was nice. 
 

We did a bit of shopping around the port area

 

and I took photos of the bougainvillea, love them!

 

 

 

 

 

Did you pay for the Uber using your American credit card?

[jaycruising]

2 hours ago, Rescue Dog Mom said:

Did you pay for the Uber using your American credit card?

I have my Canadian PayPal account linked to my Uber  account and that is what I used. 

Edited February 14 by jaycruising

[jaycruising]

Feb 13 - Mazatlán 

 

 

 

We had a nice bit of a sleep in this morning and we were just coming into Mazatlan as we got up

 

 

The ship actually did a 180 degree turn to get into our birth, it’s quite impressive 

 

 

 

We had booked a ship excursion today so we went down to the IC to have some breakfast before we headed out to the dock

 

We had booked a walking tour of Old Town, these are quickly becoming my favourite type of tour, the groups aren’t too big and I feel like you get to see so much more. 
 

We met our guide on the pier and then took the little shuttles over to the cruise shopping area, this is an industrial port and you cannot walk. Once we got through the shopping area we got into our little trucks to take us to our starting point. 
 

this wasn’t our ride, but was so cute. 

[jaycruising]

Our tires dropped us off the the  cathedral of Immaculate Conception, construction started in 1875, but was not completed until 1899. It is a beautiful church. They are doing some work on the facade 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 15 by jaycruising

[jaycruising]

After we were done at the church we walked over to the Pino Suarez Market. This is one of 5 markets in Mazatlan. This one is quite large. Our guide mentioned that she shops for her fruit, vegetables and meat here. They also have quite a few souvenirs here you can purchase. They actually butcher most of the meat on site. It was quite interesting to see. 
 

This is called cocados, a coconut candy, and died to make it fun!

 

 

Our day in Mazatlan coincided with the final day of their Mardi Gras, which is their largest festival and will have over 1 million people attend. As such a lot of roads were closed down, this didn’t affect us too much since we are on a walking tour. 
 

This building city hall

 

 

DM and I

 

Can you guess what this building is?

 

 

It’s a parking garage!  Nicest one I have ever seen. Due to its location it has to follow some standards for the neighborhood. Wish were I parked looked this good!

 

 

These are Pulmonia cars and you can hire them like a taxi, they will be a bit more expensive due to the type of car they are

[jaycruising]

We then headed to the main square in old town, it was a beautiful area!  Lots of neat looking restaurants in this area. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They also had a couple Mayan dancers that performed 

 

 

 

 

 

This was some of the beer for the Mardi Gras celebration today, they had these booths all over the place

[arizonaperson]

Great photos and following along on your live from. I’ve been on this itinerary many times. Looks like you are having a great time.

[Yehootu]

We usually catch a Pulmonia to Pino Suarez Market, then head to ferry to Stone Island for beers. Great pics!

[jaycruising]

13 hours ago, arizonaperson said:

Great photos and following along on your live from. I’ve been on this itinerary many times. Looks like you are having a great time.

We are having a great time!

[jaycruising]

Some random shots as we made our way through the streets. I usually end up at the back of the pack on tours as I am off taking photos

 

This is the outside of the opera house, they do many different types of shows here. It was damaged by hurricane in 1975 and was rebuilt. It is a historical heritage site

 

Other random sites

 

 

 

We then stopped at a private home that had been slightly converted, they have opened their courtyard and a few rooms to allow for visitors and they also feature local artisans. It is called Casa de la Contessa. 
 

 

 

This dress is for sale and is absolutely gorgeous in person. I got a wristlet purse and DM picked up a couple hand made bags. 

 

More street views

 

 

This is the Hotel Belmar and was the first hotel with Ocean views in Mazatlan, it is still operational and is said to be haunted

 

 

 

This was during our regularly scheduled stop at a silver store, we only went in to get a drink 😊 Otherwise I walked around that hotel or we sat across the street on the malecon, used a salesman’s hats as props

 

This is a swimming pool on the ocean and it is just filled using the waves of the ocean, so in low tide it can get a little empty

 

Some little houses on a cliff

[jaycruising]

We made our way down the malecon with this beautiful sea views. We had to navigate around a lot of equipment and booths as they were all set up for the last day of Mardi Gras. 

 

 

 

 

 

Our next stop was to see the cliff divers, and it wasn’t so much a cliff as they jumped from a platform. It is crazy and close to the rocks and of course they did it for tips

 

 

 

 

Our final stop was for a drink and some chips. I decided to upgrade to get a Pina Colada and we shared an order of coconut shrimp

 

 

It was a beautiful and colourful restaurant, and the Pina Colada was excellent 

 

 

 

And every afternoon they have a band with brass instruments play

[jaycruising]

With the streets being blocked off we had to walk a few more blocks to get to our trucks to take us back to the port, but we got to meet these guys!

 

Of course I had to get a photo with them!

 

 

You might ask what do the Beatles have to do with Mazatlan? And the answer is absolutely nothing, just that the governor liked them!

 

These were the trucks that drove us around. I would never get in the back of a truck in Canada but seem to not think twice about it in Mexico. 

 

They dropped us off by the shops inside the port area, but we made our way back out as I wanted to visit the Oxxo store to get some cheetos, love their’s so much more then the ones in Canada/US. It was right across the street and took about 3 minutes to walk there. 
 

This is one of the entrances back to the port

 

We looked at a few shops around and DM got a few goodies for her grandkids. We had heard that Mexicans really like pop and believe that to be true after seeing this bottle, pretty sure it is 3 litres

 

Inside the shopping area

 

These are the little trams that took us back to the ship 

 

 

 

Once back on board I went and walked around to get some different views of Mazatlan

 

 

The tents and punk building is the shopping area

 

 

 

Do you need a car?