YYJ Bound

March 7th, 2015 - Los Angeles, CA to Victoria, BC

Kelly watched the ship slip into port in the wee hours of the morning and also had coffee and croissants for me when I awoke...  so nice! We had packed most of our bags the night before and will simply take them off ourselves. This really speeds up the debarkation process for us.

Lots of folks started for the exits as their respective deck locations were called over the PA system. We relaxed and had showers before putting the last few items in our bags.

We cleared customs fairly quickly and then contacted the transportation company that Kelly had arranged. We unfortunately booked for 10:30 and it was 9 am :-(  They gave us the option of cancelling for a full refund and grabbing a cab so after checking the cost (flat $60), we took a cab to LAX. It was fairly quick as the traffic was not bad being a Saturday.

At the airport we checked in and the loads were pretty heavy. Kris decided to use his backup plan and jumped an 11:30 West Jet Flight to YVR. We both waited for our AC Rouge flight that went late at 13:30. We got seats together and then sent on to the plane before the huge throng of Zone 3 passengers... which made it easy with lots of room to store bags.

Once in YVR and through Customs we connected to the commuter gates and although we missed the 5pm flight due to the late LAX-YVR flight, I managed to get the jump seat to Victoria on the 6pm flight. Kelly had a seat but the passenger showed up last minute so she was bumped and had to wait an extra hour for the next flight. (The life of a airline employee on passes)

I grabbed the car and did some shopping for groceries then came back and picked her up.  We headed home and after checking the mail arrived in the door at 7:45 PM.  We unpacked and then watched a bit of TV before calling it a day.

A great trip all around!

Last Sea Day

March 6th, 2015 - Friday - Last Sea Day

Overnight the clocks changed back to Vancouver time so we gained yet another hour to relax. We had coffee service with croissants delivered to the room as I get caught up on the blog. As today is our final full day of the cruise we will once again relax poolside on the Serenity deck and take in some shows etc… pretty much a copy of yesterdays activities.

Kelly has once again decided she brought too many clothes! We only brought carry on (nothing checked) with us this trip and although she was fearful of not having enough items, she has decided that we need several more cruises to really get the clothing thing down right. Really?? :-)

We jumped onto the ship's internet and tried to pick up our boarding passes for the trip home tomorrow. This was a bit of a touch at 75 cents a minute but saves us lots of potential grief at the airport when we get there tomorrow. It didn't work for reasons unknown.

I also went down and paid off some of our room bill with cash we had made in the casino and had brought with us. This will really reduce the shock of the exchange rate on the credit card! All good considering Kelly and Kris hatched this “last minute unplanned cruise” on me :-)

Dinner to celebrate our 30th anniversary as we both will be back working on Monday. A couple days early but what the heck… close enough.

Back for one last casino visit and Kris managed to hit a couple great hands of three card poker. He almost paid for his whole trip and then called it a night.

Off to the rack one last time.

Sea Day heading home.

March 5th, 2015 - Thursday - Sea Day

Slept in.. don’t know what time it is as our clocks change…I think? Maybe? Not that it really matters as we now spend two sea days working our way back up the coast to L.A. Ok it’s official… the clocks went back on hour and we basically gain an hour of R & R :-)

We called Kris’s room and he was alive and well… he had hung around to watch some of the roulette last night but didn’t play at all. We headed up and grabbed a bite at the buffet… fresh sandwiches and wraps for Kris and I and a more traditional breakfast for Kelly.

Today we relaxed by the Serenity pool area again and reminisced about our Puerto Vallarta adventures. Checking the daily schedule we picked out a few “to do” events for the day. One was the Amazing Race that required you to go around the ship and find out things… once we found out about the hike Kelly said “Not going to happen”:-)  We headed back to the Serenity deck and met some folks from north of the Sacramento area.  They had a card game going so Kelly and Kris joined in and enjoyed a lively game of 31. We had to explain some cabin rules but they quickly caught on and eventually one of them won the game.

We watched Cabo San Lucas drift by as we sailed up the Baja Peninsula and also spotted whales in the distance.  Next was a walk through the shops to look at watches… again. They are still there for our next trip through:-) 

Dinner was early at 5:30 at Nick & Nora’s… once again very good but Kris was feeling a bit of a sore throat coming on and had little appetite.

We headed to the comedy show and had a great laugh then a short hop upstairs to the Phantom Theatre for another comedic juggler/entertainer. He did a great job keeping the audience laughing at his tricks & gags. Next stop was the casino to help out Carnival’s “economic recovery program”:-) We had lots of fun and in the end only down a couple dollars on the day. We enjoyed watching some roulette then called it a night.

Puerto Vallarta

March 4th, 2015 - Wednesday - Puerto Vallarta

Today we plan to meet up with fellow Jazz pilot George Matthias and his wife Kim. They have a condo unit here and we had hatched a plan to get a personal tour from them. We wanted a bit more local type food with a real Mexican ambiance… that was the plan.

Off the ship and towards the big Mall and Walmart we quickly found them, got acquainted and before long on to a bus for a ride towards the old part of town and the beachfront malacon. The buses are both old and new… just depended on which one came along. Ours was a lot older and in rough shape with a bumpy ride, squealing brakes and the smell of brake pads… just what George wanted us to experience! The driver was nothing short of aggressive and he heard about it from some of the locals… we just hung on! Just what George wanted :-)

After about a 20 minute ride we arrived at our destination. It was short walk down to the beach front walkway and the smell of BBQ wafted all around us. Sand castle and lots of locals selling their wares…art, silver bracelets, hats, food on a stick etc…

Walking along the malacon in old town.

Our day was to be filled with short stops for appetizers and cerveza. We managed to get an easy geocache and introduced Kim & George to the hobby. We continued down the malacon to one of their favourite spots, the Cheeky Monkey. We grabbed a table upstairs and enjoyed the ambiance of the walkway and the great views.

Kim, George, Kris & Kelly at the Cheeky Monkey.

Cheap drinks and food came quickly but we tried our best to not fill up… this was an endurance event :-)

We continued down the walkway taking in the great views and amazing sights. Next up was a walk up the hill to another geocache but it was “missing” again… arghh. Kim then successfully guided us to the only craft brew place in town, the Los Muertos. We enjoyed several pints and split a huge pizza. Not really Mexican but amazing flavor.

At the only brew pub in town! Los Muertos.

Next was a walk back towards the malacon and a spot right on the beach at the Sea Monkey. We just soaked up the ambiance and enjoyed a $1 Corona. I think I know why George likes it down here :-)

At the Sea Monkey bar on the beach... see a trend here! :-)

I know this is hard to believe but as we continued our walk we started to get hungry with all the great aroma’s from the beach bbq’s & various restaurants. George has a place in mind but it didn’t open until six o’clock. We arrived early and got a table right out front. Good thing because this place, Ponchos Takos was super popular and a line up quickly started to form just to get seated. They had a huge pork called Al pastor which is thin sliced pork (with seasoning sauce in between) rotating around a fire of hot coals. We all had that pork stuffed into a flour tortilla along with several levels of hot sauces with a cold Corona… fantastic!

Dinner at Poncho's Takos! You can see the Al pastor cooking in the background.

Off to catch our bus back to the mall and the ship. This time the bus was much nicer with plush seats and a great ride. We soon found our way back and after a big thank you to Kim & George, we left them as they need supplies at Walmart for their trip home to the condo.

We headed to the ship but stopped for one more shore drink and wifi at the local cafe at the sea port. Kelly was feeling no pain as we expertly guided her to the big white thing! We had a great day and really enjoyed the local tour. I highly recommend “Jorge's Adventure Tours”!

Back on the ship we met up and headed to one of the shows at the Phantom Theater. It was the liars club and you had to guess what a specific word meant… two of the three answers were false. Kelly bombed:-)

A short stop along the way to listen to the band in the dance room (dance fail) and then to play some three card poker in the casino. We sat down and played for 30 minutes and all three of us did well with Kelly getting a three of a kind to add to her winnings. The dealer changed and with that so did our luck… couple more hands and we called it a night as we left with enough to cover Nick & Nora’s for the next two nights! Score!!

Off to bed exhausted.

Mazatlan

March 3rd, 2015 - Tuesday -  Mazatlan

Up early to pack my bag and get ready for our fishing tour excursion. Kelly is not a big fan of smaller boats so she is going to do a hoppa bus tour and some shopping while Kris and I get some father/son bonding time :-)

Our tour left the ship in two small vans with about 15 people all tolled. We met a couple fellow Canadian's Brian and Richard from Viking, Alberta and got talking with them on our 35 minute drive to the marina. On arrival we all split into small groups and we naturally went with our Canadian friends for a total of 4 on our boat. We met our Captain Bill and his deckhand Christian.  The Canadian’s then challenged the rest of the boats to a fishing battle and off we went in search of the big one!

Kris, Richard (front) Brian and deck hand Christain as we head out.

The view back at the city.

 It was an hour run out to the hot spot off the coast and once on site it was only about 30 minutes before we had a Marlin on the line. Richard was in the hot seat first and after a 10 minute fight had an 80 pound fish in the boat. The method of fishing is a lot different than my experience with salmon on the west coast as they actually look ahead for the fining fish then drag the bait in front of the fish…. its skims along the surface and the fish then comes up on it at takes it.

Brian, Richard and Christian with the first Marlin.

Next up was Kris and he got into a Mahi Mahi it was about 35 pounds and gave a pretty good fight for it’s size. The color was amazing and it was great to see Kris with his first big fish.

Fish on for Kris!

Up close with his catch.. a Mahi-mahi!

Both these fish were kept by the crew as we were told they are donated to the local orphanage.

My turn next and it was about 30 minutes more before we had another fish on. Another marlin and It gave me a great fight and even though the reel was much harder to action I really enjoyed the experience. Kris took pictures as I worked it towards the boat.

My fish caught on camera by Kris. Amazing!

 After a quick photo op it was back into the sea for this fish to live another day. It slowly swam away after a minute to collect itself.

My fish had a brief photo op then back into the warm waters.

Brian was next in the chair and unfortunately didn't hook anything. He did say he had caught one before but it would have been nice to get a fish on none the less. After about two and a half hours we headed back in and after arrival confirmed our suspicions… we had out caught the other boats!

Another photo op with the fish then back to the big boat…

Time for a shower and wash all the suntan lotion off!  Although the run out and back to the fishing grounds took time and the on site fishing was not as long as I had hoped, they did find us fish and that was the idea. Off my bucket list now :-)

We arrived back at the ship and found Kelly relaxing on the deck with her book. She had taken the Hoppa bus through town and then returned to the shops and market at the port entrance. She got some wifi and chatted with Lauren back home.

We then met up with Kris and headed to the Serenity lounge for the sail-away party. The DJ had the tunes going and people were having a good time socializing and telling stories of the days exploits. Clearly there was no shortage of tequila :-)

To top off the day we once again headed to Nick & Nora’s Specialty restaurant for dinner. The ambience was nice when compared to the dinning lounge and we really appreciated that. Not to say the food or service was bad in the normal dinning lounge (both were great) but we do like the slower pace and quiet… no screaming kids :-)  

Next stop was the Blackjack Tournament in the Casino. It only occurred once this trip and the pot of $500 was up for grabs. I had a good first game and was on the board for the final table for most of the night but sadly got edged out. I did try one last qualifier but the dealer got hot and took our whole table down :-) We watched as one lucky fellow took home the cash.

Off to bed as we planned our day in Puerto Vallarta with friends.

Cabo San Lucas

March 2nd, 2015 - Monday- Cabo San Lucas

Room service coffee, showers and off for a bite… ground hog day :-)

We stopped at the Lido Deck and picked up some tender tickets in case we decided to go into the bustling port.  They basically get the excursions off first then the general population follows (that is us today) We lounged on the serenity deck for the morning and enjoyed whale watching all around us. Even saw one breach through the binoculars.

Entering the harbor at Cabo.

The famous Arch.

We cruised around the famous Arch and into the busy harbor. Our ship was then positioned via GPS and we basically stayed exactly in that same spot for the day. The aziopods would rotate and thrust themselves to maintain the ship in the exact location. Very slick. The sun was beating down and the warmth of the southern latitudes was very welcome after our start out of LA.

Looking good!

After a bite of lunch Kris headed off to the beach to meet up with some friends so we continued to relax/bake by the Serenity pool. I told him not to make any plans for Mazatlan as I had booked us a fishing trip…. he left very happy. After an hour of tanning we eventually decided to pop into town via the tender and check out the malacon (main walking path by stores & eateries). The beach itself was a busy place with jet skis ripping around and all the usual beach type fun… bars & music blasting etc :-)

As the crowds had all gone in early we basically had the “private tender” into the port.

Heading into Cabo on the tender.

After an 8 minute boat ride we hit the shore and immediately headed for a geocache just up from the dock. No luck as it was now “missing”. Bummer but there was another one down the way that we hoped to get. Lots of locals hawking their wares but we easily said "no thanks" and went on our way… it did get a bit tiring though :-)

Good outfit choice to match the local flora and fauna :-)

From the malacon in Cabo.

We eventually found a small cantina and enjoyed a Corona and free wifi. We downloaded all our junk mail and also texted with family back in Vancouver. Nice to be connected but we did enjoy the disconnect time as well…. the iPhones can be a distraction to life at times.

We worked our way to the other geocache but it too was missing… see a trend here! Anyway we continued our walk back to the tender dock and made our way to the ship. A nice short visit.

Dinner in the Bacchus Room followed by some entertainment in the casino and a couple comedy shows to finish off the night. Our clocks went ahead an hour this evening as we now make our way to Mazatlan.

Sea Day... just cruising along :-)

March 1st, 2015- Sunday - We slept in of course… hey it’s a holiday! Room service coffees arrived and we enjoyed the view from the balcony… it’s definitely getting warmer outside as we head south. 

Hot showers and then Kris called to arrange a meeting to start the days activities… off for a quick bite of breakfast before heading to the Phantom Theater to hear about activities and things to do in the various ports. At this point we have nothing really planned with the exception of Puerto Vallarta where we will meet up with one of our fellow Jazz Airline employees that has a condo in town. He will take us on a little tour etc. Other than than no plans…. yet :-)

Next up was a cooking show in the specialty restaurant which it turns out, was exactly identical to our previous Alaskan cruise.  We enjoyed in none the less and the sampler plates where excellent.

A walk to the Serenity area (no minors) and a cool Guinness to quench the thirst at the poolside bar. The weather was intermittent sunshine with a few drops of rain but tolerable so we all changed up and enjoyed the afternoon poolside with Kelly reading her book and Kris and I extending Canadian Relations in the hot tub. We had a fun time talk with fellow cruisers and getting some tips on where to go and what to do.

A little cool but we knew it warm up as we headed south. No one suffered during the posing for this picture :-)

During my trip back to the cabin to change up I had hatched a plan to take Kris fishing for swordfish while in Mazatlan. I set it all up with the excursion people after checking that only 6 people fished per boat… seemed reasonable to me. Kelly is not a big fan of smaller boats (non cruise ships) so she had given her blessing for us to “abandon” her. (I have funny feeling a spa treatment is now floating around in her head!) 

As evening time arrived everyone headed out of the pool area and got prepared for dinner. Kris had made some arrangements with several cruisers to meet up for some social activities later this evening.  Before that happened though it was off the specialty restaurant Nick & Nora’s for our dinner.  The food was excellent. Steaks seasoned and prepared perfectly! Kris was suitably impressed and then we went our separate ways for the evening.

Kelly and I planned to take in some of the comedy acts that where scheduled later in the evening but a stop at the casino seemed like the right choice. Was it ever! Seems my numbers came up at an alarming rate and even though I was betting conservatively I watch with amazement! Never before had I experienced a roulette streak of 31, 28, 10  and 3 (Our family’s birthdays :-) before and within a 30 minutes span turn $40 into $500!! Kelly was having a great time playing three card poker and even though I waved her over, she stayed away thinking it would somehow change my luck. She was doing well herself!

Eventually she came over a quickly took all my black chips and put them away in her bank/purse. We called it quits while way ahead and then went down to the comedy show. Had a great laugh at the expense of some poor folks at the front of the room… note to self… never sit there!!

We called it a night…. a great day by all accounts.