A Couple More Sea Days on the Island Princess

I think I'm finally getting into a sea day routine. 

• Up at 6 AM to sit on the balcony in my nightgown and watch for dolphins. I've seen dolphins, a sea turtle, and lots of birds.
• At breakfast by 7 AM
• In the indoor pool by 8 AM. It’s the same pool I swam in on this ship during an Alaska cruise in 2014.

Today

2014

• Out of the indoor pool by 9:30 AM
• In a lounger outside and ready for the 10 AM Movies Under the Stars. Today was Ocean’s 8.
• Back in the room by noon to shower. And nap.
• Back out to the balcony and watch for more dolphins. Yesterday I spotted a whole pod of them jumping and spinning and splashing.

• Maybe a late lunch or early dinner before I go back out for the night time Movies Under the Stars.

Even though today is a sea day and I was in my groove with my own little schedule, I had to make a bit of an adjustment for the Most Traveled Passenger Luncheon. It's held for the top 40 individuals (or 20 couples) with the most number of days sailing on Princess Cruises. I made the cut this week and as usual the food was outstanding. I somehow got in over my head in the appetizer department but was trying to be a bit adventurous. (Yes, Ed - I ate lobster, a little octopus, and even a bit of the salad!) It was a nice table of passengers with all of us being "normal" and not the snooty passengers you sometimes get stuck with.

Octopus and Lobster Carpaccio. Umm…yuck

Pancetta Wrapped Tenderloin
One of the most tender pieces of beef I’ve eaten 

A most filling meal in the middle of the day. Now I think a nap is calling my name and dinner is not. Sunset is calling me, though!

Up tomorrow, Puntarenas, Costa Rica!

Huatulco, Mexico

Hello from Huatulco, Mexico! 

I woke up at my normal time again today, 6 AM. Go me! As usual, I rolled out of bed and sat on my balcony in my nightgown. Lucky me not only saw the sunrise but also watched dolphins frolicking in the ship’s wake this morning.

Pretty day ahead

I was most excited about this port. Originally we had Nicaragua on the itinerary which was my most excited port to visit but once it was removed (political reasons?, Covid reasons? I don’t know.) Huatulco moved to the top of the list.

So beautiful

Ages ago I had written down the name of a recommended Huatulco restaurant in the hopes we would eventually get here someday. The Ve El Mar is oh-so-close to the ship.

Amazing views

It was a good thing it was close. The area is covered with pavers. Bumpy, uneven, and sometimes busted up pavers. Here’s to Scooter getting me there and back despite the bump-bump-bump on my bum bum.

Ouchie

It was a very warm day…

so a couple drinks were required. One as a flashback to our visit to Curaçao.

Another as a cheers to Ed who likes his tequila and mescal tastings. A strawberry mescalita - like a margarita but made with mescal instead of tequila.

Chicken nachos for lunch, with flavorful chicken and tasty black beans. It may not look like much but it was good. Couldn’t finish but about a quarter of it.

There was a little kitty visitor. Not too interested in people, though.

A pic for you, Jenn

Here’s most of the menu, just in case we come back again. I skipped the pages I knew we wouldn’t order from.

We were the last cruise ship of the season today. Their rainy season begins and will be turning those brown hills green by fall. 

Hopefully I’ll get to see them again someday when they are green.

We’ve got a couple sea days until we arrive in Puntarenas, Costa Rica on Friday but I’ll be back on Thursday to recap the sea days and share pictures of the Most Traveled Passenger luncheon. Until then…

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Welcome to Puerto Vallarta! 

My breakfast view. Almost there!

I really had only one task today and it wouldn’t need to happen right away so I hung out on the Promenade Deck watching all the happenings. I listened to the Mariachi band play and waved to the painters at they used the boom to touch up the ship. I saw the food dog sniffing - and catching - people who were trying to take fruit off the ship  (Big no-no.) I saw the paramedics come onboard and take a gentleman off on a stretcher. He was propped up, so hopefully it wasn’t too too serious. Crew members wheeled the ill passenger’s four suitcases and five boxes behind them, making me think they may have been part of the world cruise. Bad way to end their travels. I saw about a dozen new crew members boarding. Four new passengers boarding tells me they probably had flight issues in Los Angeles. 

After all the throngs of tour groups headed off, so did I. I was on a reconnaissance mission today. Ed and I will be spending the winter on the Discovery Princess as she goes up and down the Mexican Riviera. Puerto Vallarta will be a stop again and again so I was tasked with finding a go-to lunch spot. I had planned on taking a taxi down to the Malecon but the more I watched the taxi cars and vans, the less sure I was of the plan. My scooter complicates things and so does Ed’s mobility. Anything low (like a car) is out, and anything too high (like a van) is out. 

But I found something super simple. Super close with no taxi required. We never go to the flea market so we’ve missed it in all our visits to Puerto Vallarta. Before you even go into the terminal building you can see the flea market building to the right.

Bingo!

Taken from my table. You betcha it’s close. 

Strawberry margarita before 10:30 AM? Yup.

The restaurant is called El Bucanero. They do have more drinks besides what’s on the menu. Prices are in pesos but they do take US dollars.

 

I went with the beef tacos. Tasty, albeit a little gristly but I won’t hold it against them because I’ll definitely be back to try them again.

Inside the flea market.

After I ate I went into the new terminal building. They’ve added colorful umbrellas since the last time we were here in February.

I also picked up my first piece of bling for the scooter today. Can you guess what he’s making for me?

Back to the ship by early afternoon and with temperatures in the 80s there was only one place for me to be.

We have another sea day tomorrow as we make our way to Huatulco, Mexico. I may just not move from this spot.

Tonight’s sunset

A Couple of Sea Days on the Island Princess

Heading into this cruise I originally figured the first two weeks would be my settling in time where I could get into a routine and stick with it for the rest of the summer. But with this being a hot itinerary and the next ones being cold ones, I quickly realized I needed to take advantage of the super steamy weather while I could and spend every moment I could outside or in the pool. 

Except somehow I forgot the weather the first day out of Los Angeles can be a bit cool. Uh, yeah. Cloudy and windy, and with temperatures in the 50s there would be no sunning for me.

But by afternoon the sun came out and my wind-protected balcony cabin came in handy. Sit outside long enough looking at a view like this and you’re ready for a nap. (Yes, I took one.)

The second day as we got farther down the coastline of Mexico the weather held some promise. Temperatures in the 60s and scattered clouds.

My view at breakfast

The lap swimmers were out in force early (you know they are serious when you see swim caps), but they weren’t the only ones braving the still-cool weather. Chair hogs, anyone? Staking out their territory before 8 AM.

These weren’t the only two

Since we might not hit 70 today I wasn’t getting myself in the outdoor pool. The indoor pool is still closed so I didn’t head there, either. Thanks to a cabin on the starboard side of the ship, I camped out on the balcony for the afternoon sun. Tonight is formal night and since I’m not partaking I ordered pizza through the app and had my own little outdoor party on my own little outdoor patio. Great food, great views, great weather, and great company!

With real Parmesan

Oh my heavens. Oh so good.

Tomorrow, Puerto Vallarta!

Setting the clocks ahead last night makes time zone changes 2 so far.

Island Princess - Embarkation Day

It’s embarkation day! Today is the day I check into my new home for the next 106 days. 

6 AM view from my hotel room

Embarkation day is always exciting, and today was no different. The Island Princess was completing her World Cruise today and while many passengers already disembarked in Fort Lauderdale, many of them disembarked here. The ship also had to undergo a mandatory Coast Guard inspection today as well. Thankfully the hotel extended their shuttle times until 2:00 so we all weren’t standing around at the port waiting. Some just couldn’t wait and had to get there early (the old hurry up and wait game) but since I have plenty of time (and many days!) to enjoy the ship I held out and went on a late shuttle. 

I have a nice handicapped cabin on Deck 7 with a great sized balcony. All to myself! The balcony isn’t handicapped accessible because of a high threshold on the inside of the door but that’s what my walking sticks are for.

 

A couple other things to note…the water in my minibar came from Abu Dhabi. Hey, I’ve been there!

I’m happy to know the Royal Princess communicated with this ship and made sure I was taken care of with the bath mats for the shower. No repeat of the fall I had there a few months ago.

The sail away party was high energy and well attended like in the before-you-know-what days. And honestly, I got chills when the Captain blew the horn and everyone on deck cheered. It took so much to get me here and I am so very grateful. 

So where are we going on this specific cruise? We’re heading to Florida by way of the Panama Canal. Why fly to Florida when you can take a ship, right?

Up tomorrow, a sea day. Bon voyage!