Cruises: February 2023

Panama Canal Cruise

It was very interesting how it happened. Deb and I were at the Main Street Market in downtown Coeur d'Alene when a travel agent called me about a Panama Canal cruise. I said I couldn't talk right then as I had a customer. Brad had texted me the day before about a Panama Canal cruise so I knew why she was calling.

That night when we arrived home I checked my email and there was an email from Princess with my booking for the cruise in it. It had all my information and even my Captain's Circle number. Brad must really have wanted us to go to book it for us.

The first thing I did was to call them up and book a cheaper balcony room. I saved myself about two grand doing that. To my surprise, Brad didn't mention the cruise so I finally called him to ask what he had planned at the ports.

“Oh, you're coming?”

I thought he had booked the cruise but the travel agent had just enough information to book it. I felt it was sneaky of her.

Miranda invited me to join the Facebook group that one of the other cruisers has set up, so I did. When I responded to a post two of my friends, Dave and Jack, comment on my post. I was a little surprised because I didn't know they could see it. Not that it mattered. Jack decided the cruise sounded like fun so he says he and Tami are coming too and asks if it would be all right. Not my ship, don't control who sails on it, but it does sound fun. I wonder if David is going to show up also.

I guess I'm not so bad of a person that people want to avoid me because this isn't the first time it happened.

I had a work friend, Cliff, who had gone on a Mediterranean cruise and Brad wanted to do that one too. I asked Cliff if he thought it was worth it. He encouraged me to go. So a few days later I told Cliff I was going, and he said, “Great, I'm coming with you.”

It all worked out. I'm sure it will this time, too.

Deb and I decided it would be a good time to see her mother in Tampa while we were in Florida. So we are heading out a week earlier than everyone else.

Florida

We had to get up way too early again. Our plane boarded before six in the morning. We got up at three to leave to be on time for the airport. Neither one of us slept the last two days, so we are exhausted when we get up. We had everything packed up the night before so it's only a matter of heading out the door. It was easier than normal to get through TSA. I thought they would flag me because I have a sensor attached to my stomach, but they didn't. Hmm. What if it was a bomb? It would have been a very small one.

When we sat down the captain announced that there would be no turbulence the whole flight. Then half way through the flight he said, “Okay, maybe a little turbulence.” Then he came on again and said, “I know some of you were just served your drinks, but I'm having the flight attendants pick everything up now.” Then as the plane began to buffet up and down, he came back on. “You're going to have to check if your own tray tables and seat backs are up. I'm leaving the cabin crew strapped in for this next little bit.”

We landed safe and it wasn't near as bad as he was making it out to be. I've been in a lot worse.

I thought we only had two flights, but it turns out that it was three. We flew from Denver to San Antonio and then on to Tampa. The plane took off twice and landed twice but it only counts as one flight because we didn't change planes. Okay, on the third flight, we had our choice of seats. All the other flights had been packed full, but this one pleasantly wasn't. I slept through the first two flights except for all the announcements from that first captain. Now that I'm comfortable, I'm no longer tired so I stay awake the whole flight. Luckily, it's only two hours.

I hate Southwest's slogan, “Feel free to roam about the cabin.” There's no place to roam. If you do roam, you have to climb over all your seatmates to get anywhere. Then the only destination is the lavatory. How exciting is that? Two people can't even pass in that narrow aisle.

We made it in around eight that night to dinner waiting for us. It's nice to see Deb's mom.

When we go out to dinner, Deb's mom is having a hard time getting in and out of the van. She complains, “Why don't they make these vans for normal-sized people?”

I laughed. “They do make these vans for normal-sized people, you're just a little short.” We went to a BBQ place. The ribs were excellent.

Every night my mouth is hurting more than the night before because of a sore tooth. I had it filled three weeks ago and was warned by the dentist at that time it might need a root canal. I drank a little bit of cold water that hit my tooth. Ouch. I worried about going on a fifteen-day cruise and not being able to eat. After a sleepless night, I had finally was able to get back to sleep when Deb woke me. Her mother had gotten up at eight to find me an appointment at a local dentist.

I had a ten-thirty appointment. After the x-rays, the dentist wanted to make sure he had the right tooth so he put something very cold against it. It took a minute for the pain to settle down. I jumped around on the dentist's chair it hurt so bad. He decided I needed a root canal but he was going to deaden the nerve and then send me to have me go with an endodontist. When I asked if the endodontist wasn't going to do all that anyway, he replied,

“What if we can't get you in?”

What I didn't know was the receptionist was already arranging it. So I got to pay him and the endodontist too. Lucky me.

He went to stick the needle in to numb me and stuck it in my lip on the way to the gum. When he had it numb, so he thought he began drilling and hit the nerve. It was time to shoot me up again. He stabbed my lip again. This guy needs some target practice. Finally, I'm numb and he takes out the nerve.

I still need a root canal, but I figure I'll be able to make the cruise now that the nerve has been murdered.

When I walk out, Deb says, “Let's go.”

“Where are we going?” I ask.

The receptionist has already booked me for the endodontist. They're waiting. Great, since I'm still numb, let's go.

The endodontist is named Ivan. “That's a heck of a name for a dentist,” I comment.

He seemed a little miffed that Dr. Lipstabber had drilled a hole in my tooth without him being able to look at it first. “I guess we're doing a root canal,” he says.

He stabs me five more times, but since I'm numb I only feel the two on the inside of the tooth and he didn't stick my lip once.

I'm so numb now that I can't feel the whole side of my face including half my nose. It really goes easy, but I can't breathe out my nose on the left side. Deb tells me my mustache is crooked from the swelling too.

The procedure goes well and I'm in a lot less pain the hours after the root canal than the day before. Still, it's taken the whole day and it's not how I wanted to spend my vacation.

The next day we were able to go to the Dunedin Market. We had planned to go the day before but the tooth problem had prevented it. We were looking for an avocado so I could make my guacamole that Deb's mom likes so much. We didn't find one but we found ready-made guacamole that was almost as good as mine. The next day we went to Frenchie's Restaurant so Deb could get her grouper sandwich. It's tradition for her to get a grouper sandwich while we are in Florida. I had a buffalo chicken sandwich that had too much sauce and dripped everywhere. I don't know how I didn't get it all over my shirt, but I managed not to.

I finally got my beach day the last full day we are here. Clearwater Beach is rated the number one beach in America. I was the only one brave enough to go in. Deb's mom sat wrapped up in a blanket while I splashed in the waves. It wasn't warm. I saw a swimmer, some dolphins, and a parasailer. We arrived early so we had a nice parking spot right up against the sand. It was wonderful. There was a fake pirate ship across from us. It had rigging, but it actually runs on a motor.

The days began foggy, but it quickly burned off and we had a good day.

We fixed the van problem. Now we are taking a step stool with us so Deb's mom can get into the van easily. She steps up and in. I forget how small she is sometimes. When we are at the rib place, her head is barely visible above the table height. She has to set her water glass on the seat next to her to get the straw to where she can drink from it. She's big in spirit though.

We're doing our laundry at her house and getting ready to pack for the final leg of the journey. All the things we wanted to do while we were here are checked off so we are ready.

We had a lot of people to worry about on this trip. Deb's sister-in-law fainted while at the grocery store. They drove her home then her daughter drove her over to the hospital. I have two grandkids who had to go to the dentist. My ninety-five-year-old father is in the hospital with Covid. My sister-in-law had back surgery. My brother Brent sent me updates on how everyone was doing every day on my side of the family. By the time we boarded the ship, everyone was on the mend.

Cruise Day One, Embarkation.

We woke up at 5, but we had the alarm set for 6. We dressed and packed instead of going back to bed. Deb's mom came out at about six to wish us goodbye. We hugged her and left. It turns out getting an early start was needed because there were about six accidents that morning and we can’t go down the road five miles without another backup. We finally stopped for breakfast an hour after we were going to, so we did lunch instead at a Subway sandwich shop.

Instead of grabbing the food and heading back out on the road we sat down and relaxed for a minute while we ate. We left Fort Meyers and drove down Alligator Alley only we didn't see any alligators. I thought I might have seen one but it could have just as well been a trash bag as we headed down the road. Couldn't really concentrate on it as I was driving.

We were aiming to arrive at the ship at 12:30.

We knew the gang was already onboard because they texted us. Miranda even saved us a spot in the buffet, but we weren't there yet. Our room was ready by the time we stepped on the ship. We went and dropped our backpacks off. We don't have keycards on this trip. Instead, we have this little thing you wear around your neck called a medallion. It unlocks the door for you when you walk up to it. It also tracks you so I can see where Deb is and she can see where I am. Come to find out the tracking part only works if the other person gives you permission to track them. Deb, doesn’t. We can also send messages back and forth to our friends on board. It's supposed to be the latest thing.

It comes in colors depending on your cruise level which is funny because Jack and Tami have different colors. When Tami asked about it, they told her that Jack had probably been on more cruises than her. She put her hands on her hips and said, “No, he hasn't.”

It's probably because he registered for the loyalty program and she didn't, I'm thinking. I told her I liked her blue better than his yellow anyway.

We ran into Jack and Tami on our way to put our bags away. Brad and Miranda, we met at dinner. The six of us went to the show together. It was a comedian this time.

We set up all of our phones with the help of the Medallion help desk so we could text back and forth. Deb and I went to bed after that.

Day 2 Sea Day

It's our first full sea day. We had breakfast with Brad and Miranda. Actually, it worked out that we had breakfast. As we were getting up, Brad showed up so we had a little more, then Brad left and Miranda showed up so we sat back down again and talked to her. I went to trivia after that, only it wasn't named trivia it was named 'let's get quizzical,' which puzzled me so I went down and checked it out. It was trivia.

I asked a guy to join me so he sat down. I said, “Hi, I'm Clark.”

“Hi, I'm Kent.” That's just too funny. What are the chances?

So Superman played trivia today but didn't do so super. The rest of the gang wasn't there for me and the questions were so hard. We had eight out of twenty, but the top team still missed five. They had a tiebreaker. “How many songs did Elvis record?” 710, now that's crazy.

I asked Miranda one of the questions about the most popular baby name for 2022. “Oh, that's Olivia.” She had it right.

Lunch went better. We showed up at the main dining room at noon.

Jack brought two games with him to lunch and we marched around the ship until we found a table big enough to play on. We did try the conference room but they were having a conference in it. I don't know who they were. We ended up playing on the pool deck. The wind blew the pieces around but not enough to force us to move. We moved when we played a card game. Lunch was over in the buffet so we went up there. That lasted almost until dinner.

There were only four of us at dinner. As we were standing in line, Kent is standing behind me and says, “You know that's not your wife's hand your holding, it's mine.” He got me. I looked.

The waiter says, “That's an excellent choice,” no matter what we order, so when he offered to put pepper on our dessert, I said back, “That's an excellent choice.” He didn't, of course.

It was Deb's turn to not feel well that night. She broken out in hives and doesn’t know why. She went to the room after dinner. I went down to the show with Brad and Miranda. It was good. Kwame Michael Remy sang Prince songs. We then went to Survivalist Caribbean Edition. It was like minute-to-win it with trivia thrown in. It was cute.

Day 3 At Sea

The room lights are driving me nuts. It has an auto light at the bottom of the nightstand, only mine is pointed the wrong way. Instead of only going on when I get out of bed, it goes off every time I roll over in bed. So, it's going on and off all night because I roll over a lot. Miranda put Band-Aids over the sensors to keep them off.

We met Brad and Miranda for breakfast. Kent was getting his around the corner and said, “Hi, Clark.” I looked around at who was calling me. I spotted him. I had the omelet. I waited two days for it and decided I like the eggs better. That saves me waiting ten minutes for them to cook me an omelet.

I went to trivia with Deb and Miranda and met Kent there. Brad came later. We did much better, 14 of 20. Six more than the day before.

We didn't like the main dining room for lunch all that well, so we did the buffet. This time we had all six of us there. Deb is still sick so she went to bed early again. I went with Brad and Miranda to the show. It was Ric Steel for the show tonight. It was someone I had never heard of but he was very good. I enjoyed it a lot. He walked down the front row, which is where we were, and shook everyone's hand but mine. I don't know why. Miranda felt sorry for me so she shook my hand to make up for it.

Day 4 Cartagena Columbia

The alarm went off really early. I ignored it and Deb said, “Oops. I set it for the wrong time.”

Then the other alarm went off, so it was time to get up. We headed up to the buffet to get some breakfast and ran into Brad and Miranda there. We chatted and they commented their meeting place was different than ours. I think it was us booking the wrong one but oh well, we met Tami and Jack in line. We waited for them so we would be on the same bus.

The people herding the different shore excursions were kinda rude, I thought. They fussed at people for not being where they should be after giving them confusing directions as to where to be. Anyway, after being herded like cattle to the busses, the bus driver and tour director took over and herded us. He didn't fuss at us at least. He was quite pleasant. We headed up to the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. It's a fort. A really big fort.

We walked up to the top and a few minutes later, we see Brad and Miranda walking past with their group. This time we were able to explore more sections of the fort including tunnels and two other sections of it. Last time we only made it to the large section and then back down.

The bathroom was interesting. It was an old tunnel that led to a modern bathroom. We walked around and took pictures. Jack owns a foundry that makes civil war era cannons so he was checking them out. These cannons were a little older than the ones he makes, but I could see the gears turning.

We then ran the gauntlet of street vendors and got back on the bus to go shopping with more street vendors and shops. I did buy a wallet and Deb bought a lazy Susan and a necklace.

After that, we headed to the old town and went to a naval museum another museum, and then some dancers. He was even nice enough to take us to a couple of his favorite street vendors. We went in and out of the central square.

They let us off at the bird sanctuary. One of the workers took us aside in a small enclave and had Tami feed the toucan. He then opened the door for us and held out his hat like he wanted a tip. I'm pretty sure he wasn't supposed to be overfeeding the birds for tips but gave him a couple of bucks anyway.

We made it back onto the ship where we were able to get upfront through the secret passage. (SHH) Deck fifteen all the way forward, the doors on either side open up to a sun deck above the bridge. Remember, you didn't hear it from me.

We watched the people get back on the ship and then went down to the cabin to relax before dinner.

The dining room food in the evening is good. Our waiter is fun, but he forgot my second appetizer. After two appetizers, I couldn't hardly finish my dinner, but then he offers me another one. In fact, it's Brad's dinner and Brad wanted it back. The waiter was having a rough night.

We watched three folk singers tonight for the main show. Jack joined us but Tami was walked out. I suspect Jack ate at the buffet by himself, but it's only a guess as he didn't say anything about it just that they had made other arrangements and not to wait for them for dinner.

The show was the Trawlermen. I don't know what that name even refers to, but it doesn't matter because I enjoyed it immensely. Deb is feeling so much better that she came with us to the show and even played majority rules with us afterward.

Day 5 Panama Canal

We woke up too early again and went forward to watch the canal from our not-so-secret spot. The cruise director had told everyone what a great spot it was to view the Panama Canal from. We are going through the new locks because our ship is way too big to fit in the old ones. That’s okay, because we went through the old ones last time. The new ones are one way, not side by side going both directions that the old ones were. That surprised me.

It wasn't so bad when we arrived and they had set up chairs. We were able to sit in the second row, but a few minutes later it was shoulder-to-shoulder up there. I would stand up once in a while to get a better view, but other than that I stayed sitting. A lady close to the railing was fussed at by another lady for standing the whole time. She willingly sat down after only a small grumble.

We were up there for the first couple of locks, The sun had been behind a cloud, but it soon came out and was cooking us pretty good.

We moved down to deck seven to get a different perspective of the locks, then we ended up at the back of the ship. To my surprise, there weren't any ships following us through the locks. After that, we stopped and talked to Jack and Tami and then found something to eat.

We went down and watched from the balcony. After a while, we went up to the buffet and found a table. We invited the gang up to play games up there with us. Most of them showed up. We played five kings as we watched the ships pass us and listened to the announcer tell us about the canal.

There was a problem with the announcer today. He said, hi to all of us and then went off the air for the entire time we went through the first set of locks. He came on a half hour later and said his mike wasn't on or working, but they had it fixed. He was on and off for the next hour and then he was steady for most of the rest of the time. He even was talking while the captain made an announcement because he was mid-sentence when the captain finished.

Deb had a three-pronged goal for this trip. To see a pelican, which we did in Florida. To see a flying fish, which we did in the Caribbean as we passed through. And to see a magnificent frigate bird which we did on the way into the Panama Canal.

We all went up to the top deck and watched as we went into the second set of locks. We were about halfway through when dinner time hit. We had a window seat so we watched as we sailed out into the Pacific Ocean.

The waiter is ignoring me. He didn't bring me an appetizer last night and today, he finished taking everyone's order but mine, then walked away. “Hey,” I said and he came rushing back.

We headed to the show. A production show, Soul Music, was very good. These dancers are really high-energy.

Day 6 Fuerto Amador

Or Puerto Amador, I saw it written both ways. Or you can just say Panama City because that dwarfs this town.

It was another early breakfast and we headed to our secret spot, the aft part of the buffet, port side, right in front of the doors to the outside terraces. I'd better never go on this ship again, I've given away all my secrets.

We again rose up early. Deb thinks the reason the tours are so early is it gets really hot later on in the day. We met up with the group but somehow a couple got in the middle of us. Jack held them up so the other four of us could get by. Brad sat by them and struck up a conversation so I thought he had everything patched up. I was wrong.

Our tour included a grandstand over the old locks where I was able to get a lot of awesome pictures. They had a man swim through the locks at one time and they charged him only thirty-five cents. Then we drove forever into the town. The tour guide told the story of Operation Just Cause to get Noriega, the old leader of Panama. He complained about all the civilian deaths it caused. I didn't like his bringing politics into the tour, but, oh, well. I guess it is part of their history. The couple that Jack had stopped stole our seats on the bus. When Jack mentioned it, the man said, “Just sit down.”

I sat in front of him and my seat went back, the man shoved it forward. I said, “Listen, the seat is busted. I can't do anything about it.” I'm angry at this point. I don't like getting shoved especially when the seat going back wasn't of my doing.

Later we arrived at the bus before them and were able to get our seats back. Silly, but I don't like being bullied.

We drove through miles of slums. Trash everywhere. Dumpsters turned over or overflowing, garbage piled up on balconies. Then the bus stopped to let us out. I'm like, ‘Nope, not leaving the bus.’ But I did get out after all. There were three police officer on the corner and somehow, we crossed into the nice part of town and I had missed it. We walked to the town square and saw a cathedral. Went down and shopped at the different shops two of which the tour guide recommended. The couples split up at this point. Deb and I found a local market with indigenous people selling their wares. Deb bought a doll with a Panama hat. We then met back at the square for the bus ride home. It stopped in the middle of the road so the people could take a picture of a sloth. I stayed on the bus this time as I had seen sloths before and this one was in a tree with only his butt sticking out.

We ate lunch as a group today then some of us headed back out and did some shopping at the local market. There wasn't much there. What they had there was the old, different store, the same stuff. The terminal isn't complete so you have to take a dirt road around the construction to get to the ships. They had shuttle buses so we didn't walk through their construction zone.

Back on the ship, I showered and napped and then went down to dinner. The waiter did much better which is good because we have him for the whole cruise. We watched the Trawlermen show and tomorrow we will watch Ric Steel again.

Deb and I went to the show with Kwame Michael Remy who sang the Prince songs a couple of days before. He did a lot of different artists and did an amazing job. Much better than his first show. A lady named Casandra had let us sit at the same table as her because the show was packed. She stayed and played the game show twenty sixty where you have to get the top twenty in the subject they give you in sixty seconds. As we were leaving Ric Steel walked in and Deb went over and talked to him. She had missed his show but told him her friends had really enjoyed it. He even shook my hand.

Day 7 Sea Day

The cruise isn't even halfway done yet. I keep thinking about all the things I'll have to catch up on when I get back home, mostly bills and yearly taxes. It's something that I shouldn't be thinking about on a cruise. I messed up today. I grabbed the wrong Princess Patter. All the times were wrong for today. Miranda showed up at her thing fifteen minutes late and then Miranda and Deb showed up at Trivia a half hour late. Oops. I even argued with the cruise staff lady that it was supposed to start at ten-thirty. She pointed out I had the wrong day. Trivia didn't go so well. Kent didn't even show up. I got 9 right flying solo. The best two teams had fifteen. There is always tomorrow.

Had lunch and then played games with the Quintons. Sat and talked, then headed down to dinner after a few. The Herns are eating at a specialty restaurant tonight. They are having lots of trouble with the stateroom and the cruise line gave them a specialty dinner as an apology. They finally had maintenance up there to fix the problem so I'm hoping all is well with them tomorrow

The waiter brought me an extra dessert because I joked about not having chocolate hearts on my pillow like the old days. I then ate it. I'm going to have to go back on my diet at the end of the cruise. I'm not behaving very well while I'm here.

We all went to the show after dinner. Ric Steel. He did another amazing job with an all-new performance. He fist bumped me as I had stood up first to give him and standing ovation. Then he came down on the first row and pulled Deb out of her seat, then he pulled Tami up too. Then he invited the whole row to stand up. It was a lot of fun. Deb had an ear-to-ear smile. After the show, we went up to the Skywalkers Nightclub to show Brad and Miranda around.

Day 8 Puntarenas Costa Rica

We met Jack and Tami over breakfast and headed down the town together. There is usually a gauntlet of people waiting to take you on a tour, but this didn't happen until we were in the town. We found Roberto who said it would be a certain price if we want to do a private tour or he could add more people and it would cost almost half that. The lower price sounded good so we walked over to a local market while he tried to find more people. Deb found a bowl she liked so she said, “I need Brad.” Brad is the one who barters for her when they shop together.

I replied, “You don't need Brad, you have Tami.”

“Oh, yeah.” She had forgotten that Tami was a great negotiator. A few minutes later she came back with the bowl having paid four dollars less than the asking price.

We walked back and found Roberto hadn't found anyone else to go with us. He asked for another ten minutes, so back to the market we went. When we finished up, we went back to Roberto again. One of the other drivers was giving him an earful, but since I don't speak Spanish, especially at that speed I didn't even get the gist of what they were saying. Roberto tried to calm the man down, calling him Amigo.

He couldn't get any more customers, so it was the four of us. Since it wasn't our fault that he couldn't get any more, Tami bartered down the price to twenty-five per person. She's nice to have around. All set, we took off. Deb had wanted to do the rainforest canopy but didn't want to book the ship tour as it came with zip-lining and she wasn't interested in that. Me, I'm too big for most of the zip lines. Roberto took us up there. We stopped at the river where underneath the bridge were a dozen crocodiles and we bought ice cream and fruit at a local market. Then he took us to his secret spot where you can see for miles. The jungle, the city, and the ocean. Took some amazing pictures from up there. Then we drove to the place with the jungle canopy.

Brad and Miranda were doing the zip lining which was at the same place as the tram so we were able to say hi to them. I thought that was interesting because we left three hours after they did.

We took the tram up the hillside seeing wildlife all the way up. We saw a heron, termite mounds up in the trees, a huge wasp's nest, and iguanas. Lots of iguanas. All wildlife is protected in Costa Rica. There is no hunting. It doesn't seem to apply to the fish, however. Saw lots of fishermen on the banks of the river. As we reached the top the tram stopped and we all piled out and went to the lookout deck. Amazing views from up there. Another iguana eyed us nervously as we interrupted his afternoon nap up on the deck. He wasn't interested in running away because it would have involved a fifty-foot drop off the front of the platform.

I asked Roberto if he had been up there before. He said it was his first time. They stuck him on at the last minute to balance the tram car as we had Deb and me, in the back and the tour guide behind us, and then only Tami and Jack in the front. So he got a free ride.

Back down the mountain, we went and saw the nature walk. There was an enclosed butterfly sanctuary. They told us not to stay too long in there because it was super hot, but the whole country was super hot, so I couldn't tell the difference. I think they just didn't want us staying too long so other people could get in there. They had pretty blue butterflies mostly, but there were a few other colors too.

We drove back but stopped for lunch first at a soda. That's what they call their cafes. We had a delicious meal. I don't remember what it was called. It had rice, meat, beans and fried plantains. They weren’t the dried out plantains we get in the states but the fresh stuff right off the tree. Then Roberto admitted he was a little double booked and would drop us off where a cab would take us the rest of the way in. He had a party of fourteen he would be driving into town.

We had nice sauces at the restaurant so Tami wanted to go to a grocery store. We headed there and I waited in the taxi for them. I tried talking to the driver but his English wasn't any better than my Spanish. He finally pulled up Google Translate. I asked him why there was a fence around the parking lot of the grocery store. He said for security. I asked if there was a lot of crime there, he said, very little.

I look at the fence again. It's twelve feet high and topped with wicked-looking barbed wire. For some reason, I don't believe him. We then took pictures in front of the Puntarenas sign and Jack and I walked back to the ship while the ladies went shopping at the same open-air market they had shopped at two times before. Deb bought a bowl. Another bowl that is. Rosewood root, or something like that, she said.

As we headed up on the elevator, I asked a couple how their cruise was going. He scowled and said, “Bad, our luggage still hasn't arrived.”

“Then when I was going to dinner, I met a couple talking and asked how they were doing. He had just been hit by a car. “The police came and everything. I told them I wasn't going to no Costa Rica hospital.”

Maybe I should stop asking.

I came back and had a shower and then ran down to the main dining room a little late. Deb and Tami went straight to the dining room. Good thing I didn't wait for her. Jack showed up later. He had a specialty drink and Tami told me she didn't think he was coming so go ahead and drink it. It was half gone, then he showed up. “I just took a sip,” I said. Somehow, he didn't believe me.

The show was a comedian. He was funny. I'll go to his next show too. Greg Schwemm.

We went to the game show, the perfect couple. I felt so sorry for those people up on stage. They must be mortified.

Day 9 Sea Day

Had a lazy morning and spent it catching up on my writing. Went up to breakfast after nine, won't tell you how far after nine, and ran into Brad and Miranda. They were also having a lazy morning. Well, except they went walking after breakfast and I didn't. I did go to trivia. Kent was there and also Deb and Miranda. We did okay. It turns out that we had most of the answers but second-guessed ourselves and ended up not doing great. It's still fun.

Kent friended me on Facebook. I don't know how he learned my last name, but hey, that's cool, I thought.

We had a late lunch and played games afterward. Deb and I learned a new game. I was still full from lunch when dinner came. I think I'm going to skip lunch tomorrow. I'm constantly full and I don't like that feeling. Our waiter brought me two desserts since I had skipped dessert last night. I couldn't finish the second one. I shouldn't have tried. It was supposed to be key lime pie. It really wasn't so that was okay that I didn't finish it.

The show was amazing but Deb and I wanted to see the movie under the stars, MUTS. She couldn't stay awake, but I was enjoying it so much that I finished it.

Day 10 Sea Day

I can't believe I've been on this ship for ten days and still have six more to go. We were supposed to be in Nicaragua today but they canceled the port on us. I tried to set up a meet and mingle but it didn't work as everyone forgot. We did better in trivia today. The goal was to get over ten and we made the goal. We didn't win, but we made the goal.

I finally got my hot dog. It's tradition for me to eat a hot dog sometime during the cruise. This goes back to my first cruise when I wasn't used to all the fancy food they fed us. I complained to Deb, I just want a hot dog. She found one up on deck and brought it to me. It's been a tradition ever since.

Speaking of dinner, the waiter brought me two desserts again. He thought he was being nice. I eat them both because that was how I was brought up. You eat all of the food in front of you.

We chose not to watch the instrumentalist opting to watch The Second Most Exotic Marigold Hotel instead. I enjoyed it, but Deb left after only a few minutes.

Day 11 Huatulco Mexico

It's not really a tourist port. They are trying to make it that, but not enough cruise ships stop here to entice investments into the infrastructure. After a light breakfast, we met Quintons and headed out on the tour. It was the culture and rural Mexico tour. They took us to family homes. More like family compounds up in the hills above Huatulco. They had to import the vans from elsewhere because they don't have enough there. Our tour guide only comes this way when there are cruise ships in town.

They packed the vans extra full because one of them got stuck in traffic. It caught up with us at the first stop so we didn't have as many people after all.

Went to rug weavers who had wonderful rugs and other items. They still do it by hand on a fifty-year-old, termite-damaged, loom. Amazing. They did their own wool after they spin it by hand. They missed out on a lot of sales today because their internet didn't work. These people only get water two days a week. They have electricity though. It was crazy to see how rural everything was. We are in the dry season so a lot of the vegetation is brown. The next place we visited weaves with straw and palm tree leaves. They made hats and baskets.

The tour guide said you can tell when you are in a new village because it has a church and a basketball court. They have a traveling priest who only comes to their village once every three to four weeks. He's at other small churches on the odd weeks.

Our next stop was nopales. They fed us tortillas filled with cacti. It wasn't bad. Deb says she has some recipes that she's going to try when we get home. Then we stopped at a garden so they could show us what they grew in the area.

The next place we stopped had arts and crafts too like all the other places we stopped. We watched a lady make tortillas and then we ate those and tamales too.

On our way back to the ship we stopped at an open-air market. It wasn't touristy, but a farmers market with things to eat and ingredients to cook with. We walked down by the beach and then back to the ship.

All of us showed up for dinner tonight. The food is good on the ship, but I would like a little more selection personally. I'm not a foodie, but I've ordered the lasagna twice because I couldn't find anything else I liked. The trick to making me happy is to feed me cheese.

The show was The Company Men, whatever that means. They were high-energy and talented. I'm not sure I liked the way that cut up songs and then stuffed other songs in the middle. I guess I'm just old-fashioned. Sing the song already, the whole song, and then sing the next one. Sigh.

The game show tonight was Survey It. Family Feud basically. Deb and Miranda volunteered to go up there and were put on separate teams. Miranda's team listened to the audience. Deb's team did not and lost because of it. Her team captain went rogue and wouldn't listen to his teammates either.

Day 12 At Sea

I'm so tired of buffet food. It's the same every day with very little variety. I've decided that I don't like the eggs scrambled, fried, or put in omelets. Those are the only way they cook them. It's not really fried eggs that are the problem. It's more like poached. The whites aren't cooked all the way through. I'm tired of the sausage and the bacon. There's something different about the bacon. I just can't put my finger on it. The corned beef hash is good but it upsets my stomach. I don't know what I'll do tomorrow, but I'll try the main dining room for the last two sea days. I think I've been on this boat too long.

Today is Superbowl Sunday and that's basically all the activities planned for tonight. We had the comic, who wasn't as funny the second time around. He told a couple of fart jokes. Only four-year-olds laugh at fart jokes. Some of his other jokes were good though. I'll give him good marks, even when he wasn't quite as good the second time around.

We ate dinner with Brad and Miranda. The waiter keeps giving me two desserts. He said he was trying to make up for forgetting me that one day. The sunset was gorgeous. We ate while the Superbowl was happening. Then we came out to watch the halftime show. All of the chairs were taken, so we sat down on the deck and watched the show. After that, we went and played cards. After the cards, we went out and watched the end of the game. I don't know who I was rooting for. I'm not much into football. Deb took some pictures on my phone to prove we were there.

Day 13 Puerto Vallarta.

We again headed to the buffet for breakfast but I avoided the eggs. I think it's just boredom because I usually like eggs. I should do as Brad does and get scrambled and fried and then mixes them together. Or, maybe I shouldn't.

We met Brad and Miranda and then headed down to see Puerto Vallarta. We had the best of city tour, or something like that. They bused us a ways and then let us off to walk around downtown. We saw the plaza and the waterfront and then walked into The Lady of Guadalupe cathedral. The tour guide took us to the municipal building to use the restroom. The weirdest thing, the toilet paper was in a big roll between the men's and the women's bathrooms. There weren't any in the bathrooms themselves. I guess you have to figure out how much you are going to need before you go in there.

Then they bussed us over to a jewelry store. The four of us snuck around the back of the bus and visited a few other shops on that street before we walked over to the jewelry store. The store itself had about two salespeople for every customer. Okay, it might have been the other way around, but there were a lot of them.

We headed out of town and stopped a couple of times to take photos at scenic vistas. We then went up into a resort area. Our bus driver couldn't make the corner and finally, they took us off the bus and put us on a trolley. The trolley took us up to the resort. They met us with grapefruit water. It had basil in it too. Deb's a fan and I liked it too. They had a carousel so we hopped on and rode it. Walked around the pool. By the time we arrived back at the road, the bus had somehow made it up the hill. I think they brought us up there to show us this great condominium they were about to build in an effort to get us to buy. It didn't work for me but I did notice that the penthouse was available.

The problem getting the bus out was as bad as it was getting the bus in. It had only a half an inch of clearance off both sides of it. He made it though.

The tour guide was a little lacking. She kept telling the same three jokes multiple times and they were not funny the first time. She called us her children and then proceeded to treat us like such. She kept calling us Gringos. Seeing the countryside was awesome though.

We then arrived at a flea market that you could see from the ship. We all ordered street tacos from an open-air restaurant there. They were good. Yep, I had tacos in Mexico. I can check that one off the list. We then went shopping at the flea market. I kept spending money at almost every store I went into, so I stopped going into the stores. That was until Deb said, “Come look at this.” Then I spent more money.

I did get my belt fixed. I've been losing weight lately, so I could take off my pants without loosening my belt. I went into one shop and he asked me what I would like.

“A hole,” I answered. He punched a new hole in my belt so now I don't have to hike it up every ten steps anymore.

All six of us had dinner together tonight. It was fun swapping stories around the dinner table. We went to the Rock Opera show. It was high energy. The singers and dancers are super talented. Awesome.

Day 14 Sea Day

What a rough night. The ship was tossing and turning in all directions. Something out on the balcony was banging. I tried to ignore it for hours, then I finally stood up and check out what it was. It was outside, so I went back to bed and tried to ignore it again.

Time is an issue today. My phone says it's seven at home, but nine here. My computer is three hours off, but the ship's time is somewhere in the middle. What does it all mean? We arrived too early for dinner.

We ate breakfast in the main dining room today. I liked it, but Deb didn't.

We had a galley tour after a very funny presentation by the head chef and the food service manager. We laughed at all the antics. Good fun. We then had a galley tour with three-fourths of the ship included. It evolved into long lines and a walk-through when not many of the cooks were working.

We met Brad and Miranda for dinner. Afterward, we played games where Jack also joined us.

Valentine's Day on the Love Boat, how romantic is that? Miranda gave Tami and Deb headbands with hearts sticking up on them. Tami wore hers one day and Deb wore hers the next so the coordination didn't work so well. The show was The Company Men. They sang love songs mostly. I liked it even better than their first performance because they sang more songs all the way through.

Their version of the newlywed game was next. I can still remember the time I was dragged up to participate in that. I was mortified. These people did it a lot better than I managed to do. Still, a lot of embarrassment for our entertainment.

Day 15 Sea Day

It's the last full day on the ship. We have the ominous disembarkation information form. It’s like they don’t want us on the ship anymore. The last two days we’ve been pitched up and down by the waves. The barf bags are now positioned on all the stairways. I’ve seen this before, but never in good weather.

We ignored the weather and went to the main dining room for breakfast. I didn’t like the eggs down there either. Could it be that I’m tired of eggs every morning? I hope not, that’s my favorite breakfast.

Went to trivia. We were only one point off the leader. The Beatles coming to America question threw us otherwise we would have been in the tiebreaker. We knew the answer but second-guessed ourselves.

1964, for those keeping track at home. We said 1963. I think he should have given us a year either way.

After lunch, we played games in the buffet area. It’s not that busy as a lot of passengers are seasick.

The cruise is almost too long. With the week we took at Deb’s mom’s house pre-cruise, the trip feels too long. I have things to do that I can’t do on my palm top computer.

All of us showed up for dinner tonight. The ship is booking it through the waves. Our regular assistant waiter, Meekibu, is sick and being isolated. They are dropping her off in Cartagena on their way back to Ft. Lauderdale. I’m wondering what she’s got and if she’s given it to us. I guess only time will tell on that last part.

There was a magician tonight. I thought he was a little lame, but Deb enjoyed him.

Day 16 Los Angeles

It’s funny that we were watching the Love Boat last night and then pull into the exact same pier that had been shown on the show. I didn’t realize how cheesy the show was until rewatching it in my older years. Still kinda cute that they even had it on television.

I finally found a way to enjoy the eggs in the buffet. I plaster them with salsa. Had to wait until I’m about to get off the ship to figure that out. We are in the last group getting off the ship which I think is okay. Then the delays began. The Port of Los Angeles is having problems with its facial recognition system. I’m thinking, “What, they have a facial recognition system? Why do they even need that? What are they using it for?” It’s good I don’t have a criminal past or I would have been busted, maybe.

As the delays grow longer, I’m wondering if we are even going to get to the airport on time for our 1:30 flight. It should have been plenty of time, but as it approaches noon, I’m worried.

Finally, we are allowed to get off. We find our luggage and head out to find a cab. Turns out, the taxi driver had just dropped some people off and was headed to his next fare. He sandwiched us in between. The lady kept calling and he kept telling her he was stuck in traffic and would be there soon.

We arrived at the airport and made it through security with only an hour to spare before our flight. On this plane, we were packed in pretty well as every seat was filled. Halfway through the flight, an announcement came over the intercom. “Is there a doctor or a nurse on the plane?” That’s something you never want to hear. I couldn’t see what was going on but I heard later that a woman fainted. Did I mention we were really packed in there? No wonder. When we landed, they took her off before they let anyone else move.

We got off that flight and ran directly into the next one without waiting in line. Happily, it wasn’t full, no fainting on this one. Deb and I had a seat between us, which makes it nice. Both flights were only an hour each so we arrived home just as the sunset. We stuck the suitcases in the entryway and I went to get some fast food while Deb did odds and ends around the house.

Trip Totals

Miles traveled by car: 329

Miles traveled by airplane: 4177

Miles traveled by cruise ship: 5213

I figured this out to the best of my ability. Don’t quote me on it. I did not take into account the ups and downs of the ship as it traveled through the rough seas. That should have added another thousand miles at least. We could have made it to Moscow, Russia and only been four hundred miles short coming back if we had headed east.

We went the equivalent of 39% of the way around the world at the equator. No wonder I’m tired.

Takeaways. I liked this cruise a lot better than our first Panama Canal cruise. I like Princess Cruise Line more than Carnival. I thought the food was better too. We had friends on both cruises but I interacted with the gang more than I did on the first one. The cabin was great and the ship was magnificent. So much to do and it didn’t feel overcrowded. I really liked this cruise.