Mitsugirly's PANORAMA detailed review and pictorial

[Destaw71835]

Gorgeous pictures!

[Ashpalo]

Fantastic pictures! Thank you so much for writing this review! I know it must take a lot of time and effort…it is truly appreciated! ❤️

[gambler]

 

Great review and beautiful pictures!

[mlshum]

The pictures and descriptions are fantastic!

[mitsugirly]

7 hours ago, mlshum said:

I love the sea lions!  I kind of want to go, if for no other reason, to see them.

 

Aren't they the cutest things ever!!! When I learned that we could do an excursion swimming with them...it was game on!

 

7 hours ago, dctravel said:

Following along! We do these ports (although on the Carnival Firenze) in December!

 

Thanks for following

 

5 hours ago, Destaw71835 said:

Gorgeous pictures!

 

Thank you!

 

5 hours ago, Ashpalo said:

Fantastic pictures! Thank you so much for writing this review! I know it must take a lot of time and effort…it is truly appreciated! ❤️

 

Thanks so much for the comment. Yes, it does take a long time for all of this but I love to help others that have helped me (either by trying out what we did, living vivaciously on our adventures, or maybe even deciding on a trip there). 🙂 

 

4 hours ago, gambler said:

 

Great review and beautiful pictures!

 

Thanks so much

 

1 hour ago, mlshum said:

The pictures and descriptions are fantastic!

 

Thank you. I appreciate it.

 

[mitsugirly]

Well at this point, we had seen everything along that area and it was time...to head out to look for whales!!!

 

We sped off in search of any movement in the water that might be a whale. Wait, is that white over there a whale? Is that their spout? Nope, just the wake in the water. Ugh!

 

At one point we stopped and the captain of the boat said he thought he might have seen something and there were other boats in the area so there had to be one here right? 

 

We waited and waited...but we didn't see anything. Honestly I was losing hope at this point. I wondered exactly how long they wait to see something. Do they just sit there the entire time until a whale pops up? Would it be hard to see? Would we only see their spout blowing in the water? Would they be too far away to really see? Would we move on? So many questions running around in my head. My anxiety was building all while losing hope. 

 

The hubby looked like he was a little disappointed as well. I mean I've never done this before so I didn't know what to expect. I did know it was the end of whale season and it was possible they had already migrated...I mean we did see the one off the back of the ship migrating north on our way to Cabo. Maybe it was the caboose of the whales?

 

 

Just a little information about Humpback Whales. They usually range from 39 to 52 feet in length and weigh around 40 tons. They are black on the upper surface and white below.

 

They feed on krill, small fish and plankton (remember our land vacation to Isla Mujeres Mexico where we swam with the Whale Sharks feeding on the plankton that ended up in our hair when we got out of the water? That was THE MOST AMAZING experience we've ever had).  When feeding, it is called bubblenetting. They exhale bubbles, which traps the prey in a small area in the middle. They live off their blubber in the colder months and only hunt in the summer.

 

The Humpback whale is the most vocal of the whales and can make a variety of sounds. We actually considered a whale watching tour with a vendor that had some type of contraption that they put in the water and you can hear them making sounds.

 

The Humpback is the most acrobatic and frequently breaches by jumping belly-up, completely out of the water, then arching backwards making a splash in the water. When they are getting ready to breach, you will see them dive deep down into the water, their back hunches and their tail comes up out of the water perpendicular to the surface. 

 

They are very intelligent with brains weighing up to a ton! They can travel over 25,000km and remember locations and also organize hunting groups. 

 

They get their name from a hump under their dorsal fin, which is visible when they arch their back to dive. 

 

Female humpback whales breed every 2-3 years and have more than one male partner over their lifetimes. The males compete in groups around the females by singing, breaching, charging, sparring and slapping their tail and fins. If they are rejected, they leave the group.

 

Baby calves interact with their mothers by brushing fins and whispering. Mother and baby will share a bond for one year. A newborn weighs around 1-2 tons and are 12-15 feet in length. The mother nurses the baby with up to 100 gallons of very thick, rich, yogurt like milk a day!

 

So there's your Whale knowledge for the day. Now let's hope we see one!

[AKR2011]

I love all the background info on the whales, but OMG! Your photos are just amazing! I also love the sweet group shot on the boat ❤️

[mitsugirly]

9 hours ago, AKR2011 said:

I love all the background info on the whales, but OMG! Your photos are just amazing! I also love the sweet group shot on the boat ❤️

 

Thank you so much. I appreciate it. 

[mitsugirly]

So after sitting there for what seemed like eternity (but I'm sure it wasn't...it was just the excitement of the unknown), we decided to move on. 

 

All of a sudden we sped up and was zooming across the water to where there were other boats. 

 

We stopped and he pointed off in the distance, toward the rocks, close to shore...

 

 

 

IT WAS A TAIL!!! THERE'S A WHALE HERE!!!

 

Then we seen a splash!

 

 

 

We patiently waited...

 

 

 

 

Then all of a sudden...it got VERY ACTIVE!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were fins and flappers and tails and spouts everywhere. They were jumping up in every direction and one even had her baby with her teaching him how to jump. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

It was SO AMAZING to watch! My heart was filled with excitement!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You see the big fin coming up? They were flapping their fins against the water. Oh what a display!

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Out on the other side of us there were more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

We zoomed over to another area and one of the whale's that had a baby with her was repeatedly flapping her fin against the water...over and over and over. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whenever you seen their body come up and then dive down quickly, you knew a jump was about to happen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

We were so caught up in the excitement that I wasn't even paying attention to Karl to see how he was reacting to seeing his first whales...Oh hey Karl...the whales are over there. You're not going to see them looking down into the water like that...

 

 

Yep, he was sea sick. LOL  Puking up breakfast several times. Well, I guess that answers my question about whether or not he is "one of us". I brought medication with me just for this but he had refused saying he would be ok and ok he was not.

 

The guide asked if we wanted to stay longer and I told him we could go since we had a "member that was a little sick". 

 

We started heading back and on our way back...more whales, so we stopped again for awhile. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By this time Karl was feeling a little better and moved up to the front of the boat...trying to compose himself and not making eye contact with us from embarrassment. It's ok Karl, not everyone can be water people like us. He assured me that he was fine and enjoying "every minute of it". I ask if that included face planting off the side of the boat. I wasn't sure if his laugh was genuine at this point or not. I guess I will have to ask him later if he is still a good fit for this family. 😄 

 

 

 

 

 

I had also seen that there was a Pirate ship that did whale watching tours. I had considered it just because I know how much fun Sakari had in Aruba on the Pirate ship. As we passed it, they were playing music and dancing. However, with a boat that big, I didn't feel like they might have been able to zoom off in different directions when they spotted a whale and had decided against it. But, now that I'm thinking about it, them being up so high off the water they probably had a great view for sure!

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Well, our original plans were to go to Lovers Beach for awhile after the whale watching tour so we pulled up and were told "You have to jump out here". Well it was very wavy in the area and I was really wondering just how this was going to work...especially carrying all of our bags (they were dropping us off and coming back to pick us up later so we had to take our bags with us). 

 

He made several attempts to get close enough but the boat was rocking and rolling. I just kept saying "I don't know about this". So he mentioned that he could take us to Pelican Beach and it should be easier to get out there. Ok, looks like we were going to Pelican Beach instead. As much as I wanted to go to Lovers Beach for the experience and awesome pictures that I've seen others take of the area, I wasn't willing to risk me getting hurt nor did I feel like experiencing the cold Mexican Riviera water for the first time by plunging in that deep of water either.

 

We pulled up to Pelican Beach and there were a lot of people there. The water was not as deep and they were able to get us pretty far up there. Yes, the boat was really rocking still. 

 

Now it's not much of a "beach" like you would think. There was two areas, one that was more of a beach like setting going off into the water and the other was where the boats were coming and going. Then most of the "beach" area was rocks.

 

 

 

It is really close to the ship docked out in the water too. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So now came the task of getting out of the boat. Our boat had a ladder to climb down and I started my journey...after the last step, I put my foot down into the sand in the water and a wave came along and when it dropped, it dropped the ladder right down my entire ankle as it sunk into the sand. I let out a scream and knew instantly that I was hurt...on my bad foot. I didn't want to look down. The hubby panicked asking me if I was ok and hurried off the boat to rescue me. I limped to the shore then looked down. I was bleeding with a scrape at my previous stiches/hardware line. It was painful but I was going to be ok. 

 

After I picked my spot out on the rock I was going to sit at and the bleeding stopped, it really didn't look that bad. It was just painful because of the area it hit being so sensitive since my 3 surgeries. But I'm hear to tell ya, it scabbed, it bruised, it healed and I'm back to normal. Whew!

 

 

 

 

As we sat on the rock, the hubby caught something out of the corner of his eye...it looked like a chipmunk. He was very curious of us and kept coming around and then would run off and hide in the rocks. 

 

 

 

 

 

We sat around watching the wildlife as I had decided to rest for awhile. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

So this is what you will see at the "beach"...lots of rocks. Rocks here and there, rocks everywhere. Just pick your spot. Plenty of seating available. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Sakari and Karl had went over to the beach. I noticed them trying to get in and could tell by their reaction (freezing every time a wave came in like they were a mannequin) that the water was definitely too cold to get all the way in. They just stood there.

 

I decided to go over and by the time I managed to get there, they had given up on getting all the way in the water and had picked out a spot of their own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I looked over and seen some kids climbing a very large rock. My heart was sinking just knowing the possibilities that could happen. But I guess this was a popular rock to jump off of and jumping they were! Hey, this rock has nothing on our Dominican Republic Waterfalls jumping! Just saying...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I look to the side and the rock looked like a face to me. Can you see it?

 

 

 

Before long, there was a group of kids that decided to climb that rock too. Now that rock looked very dangerous and if you fell, you're not falling into the water. So scary.

 

 

 

 

 

[Oakman58]

Great photos of the whales.  You made the right choice not doing a pirate boat, too many people and getting a good position for pictures is a challenge.

[mitsugirly]

We all headed back to the other side and met up with the hubby. I noticed our Kelly boat was coming in and our tour guide waved at us. I knew that meant it was time to go. We gathered our things and headed back down to the beach for me to attempt to get back on the boat without getting hurt again.

 

I was back on the boat safely and we headed back to the port. It wasn't the beach day I was expecting but the rocks along the beach was so pretty and made the perfect backdrop to the ocean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our way back in there were seagulls and pelicans everywhere gathering fish being stirred up by the boats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We would also see multiple sea lions swimming by. I kept asking if Poncho was around since we seen him coming in to port on our way out. Then we spotted him. He was resting on the dock with a few friends. He must have gotten his belly full and needed a nap.

 

 

 

 

Notice this yacht with its own helicopter on the back of it!!!

 

 

 

 

Edited April 27 by mitsugirly

[Butterbean1000]

1 hour ago, mitsugirly said:

We zoomed over to another area and one of the whale's that had a baby with her was repeatedly flapping her fin against the water...over and over and over. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whenever you seen their body come up and then dive down quickly, you knew a jump was about to happen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It must have been so thrilling to be that close to these majestic animals. It almost seems like they were putting on a show for you.

[mitsugirly]

After returning to port, we decided to walk around a little bit and do some shopping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Around 3pm we decided to head back to the ship. There was a very long line for Princess, but since our ship was here until 7pm, there was no line for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes Karl, you have to get back on yet another boat. You'll be fine. It's a short ride.

 

 

 

 

 

[mlshum]

The whale pics and your descriptions are amazing!  I’m so glad you found them!  I’m headed to Alaska next summer and seeing the whales is pretty much a bucket list item.  Fingers crossed that my experience will be as good as yours!

 

So sorry to hear about Karl’s seasickness.  I have heard that is absolutely miserable.  Glad he seems to have recovered quickly.

 

You mentioned jumping off waterfalls in Dominican Republic.  Was it the Waterfalls of Damajauga?  We had a blast doing that, too!  I always get excited when someone else mentions it.  Lol

 

Thanks for the review!  Your reviews (and Jamman) were some of my favorites here on Cruise Critic and a big part of the reason I’ve started writing myself.  Thank you!

[mitsugirly]

We were all starving at this point and can you only imagine how Karl's belly was feeling now. We would find (like every cruise we go on) that we just never get back to the ship at "the right time". Everything was closed so we ended up in the back of the ship to try out the pizza. 

 

 

With our bellies full, it was time to go back to the room to drop our things off and we would find our towel animal welcoming us back.

 

 

 

We set out on the balcony for awhile as the time grew near to leave this beautiful port along with the most amazing day had...except for Karl, that's still out for debate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sun was starting to set and it made for some beautiful pictures. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pilot boat was ready to kick us out...

 

 

 

 

Goodbye Cabo...until next time!

 

 

[Prometheus1]

Wow those whale pictures were amazing!! Really enjoying your review

[Daruma]

I just wanted to say, thank you for being a nurse. 

 

Having been in the hospital a time or two, and coming to know how invaluable nurses are... you're all very under appreciated, not to mention, under paid... so THANK YOU for what you do. 

 

Oh... yeah... nice review too 😂

[Destaw71835]

Wow! I’m glad you had whale sightings.