We (me, Traci, her cousin Bryan and his wife Shauna) checked into the ship at about 11:30 in the morning on Monday, August 11. I had been really excited about this trip since I left work on Thursday. (I had Friday off.) We said goodbye to our kids who came to drop us off with our parents. It was kind of tough knowing we wouldn't see them again until Friday, but at the same time, we knew they were in good hands and would have a lot of fun with everything the grandparents had planned for them. Once you check in, you really just get to hang out on the boat for a while. They bring your luggage to your room so you pretty much just check periodically to see if it has been dropped off there. Since it was lunch time when we checked in, we went up to the Windjammer Cafe to have lunch and experience our first buffet of the cruise. It was one of the two biggest meals I had on the cruise (the other one wasn't even really a meal, but more on that in a little bit). After that, we pretty much walked around the ship, getting familiar with it. Bryan and I let Traci and Shauna lead since their scrapbooking cruise in February was on the exact same ship. It was at this time, that we visited the spa and booked our couples massages for later that night. Since it next door to the spa, we also checked out the gym. They really had a pretty good assortment of equipment. Eventually, at 5:30, it was time for dinner, which was a 3-course dinner every night. We, the 4 of us, were fortunate to have out own table as many people had to share a a table with people they did not know. We also got to meet our waiting staff: Pepito (waiter), Andrew (asst. waiter) and Pedro (head waiter). They were all awesome, cracking jokes and making us laugh whenever they were around. After dinner had ended, I think we hit the jacuzzi (there were two, as well as two pools) to relax before our massages at 9:45. The massage created a little anxiety for me since I had never had a professional one before, especially a full-body massage! However, it wasn't as bad since Traci and I were in the same room. (Bryan and Shauna were also together in a room of their own.) By the time we left there, it was about 11:00. Bryan and I decided that were going to take full advantage of the pizza bar that was open until 2:00am. So he and I headed up there and got some pizza and soda for the late night snack. It's funny how pizza seems to taste better when you're supposed to be asleep and it's already paid for. After that, it was finally time to sleep as the ship sailed toward our first destination: San Diego.
On Tuesday morning, we headed to Windjammer for the breakfast buffet and filled up for our day in San Diego. We didn't sign up for any of the excursions that were available since we had all been there enough times to know what we could do. So we took the free shuttle from our ship to the Gaslamp District. It dropped us off at Hilo Hattie's where we shopped and got some gifts/souvenirs. After that, we walked up the street, shopping as we went until we reached Horton Plaza, where there was a mall. Ultimately, we decided to grab a light lunch since it had only been a few hours since breakfast and take in a movie. We saw Ironman, and it was pretty good. I'm not one who has followed comic books much, but it was still an enjoyable movie that I would recommend. After that, we walked back (about a mile or so) to our ship and relaxed before dinner (scheduled for 5:30 for us each night of the cruise). Tuesday's dinner was special because it was formal night. We got dressed up for dinner. Traci was wearing a beautiful outfit and I wore a nice shirt, nice pants and a tie. One of the nice things about our table was that we had a window table (same table each night) and could see us leaving the dock each night. It also helped us see some dolphins and whales on a couple of occasions! That was pretty cool! I think we checked out the shops on the ship this night before we hit the jacuzzi again. We also took in a musical show on the ship that night, which was pretty good. They sang and danced to music from Ray Charles' era to Alicia Keys. It was pretty good. Later, Bryan and I headed up to the pizza bar again and got our pizza. That seemed to be a good way to end the night.
Wednesday represented all of our first visit to Catalina Island! We decided to try the dining hall (there were two: the one we ate dinner in and another one the level below that) for breakfast. We wound up sharing a table since this was first-come, first-served seating arrangement. After that, we hopped on the tender, which was a large boat that held a couple hundred people that took us from our ship to Catalina. (A cruise ship is too large to dock on the island, so it anchors offshore and you take the tender to a dock on the island.) The four of us explored the shops on Catalina before grabbing lunch. We then headed off to our excursions. Bryan and Shauna did a kayaking excursion, while Traci and I took a guided tour of the city (Avalon). We got to see the sights in the city, which has a total population of 4,000. That included the Wrigley Mansion, the school, the stables, as well as the scenic hills and how close the large fire the island had last year came to the city. After we got back, we shopped a little and hopped back on the tender to get back to our ship. Bryan and Shauna actually wound up meeting us on the ship even though their excursion ended about an hour after ours. We bought some cards on Catalina, so after hanging out in the pool (salt water pool, I might add), and going to the casino on the ship (I doubled my money...I started with $1 on the poker machines and walked away with $2.25!) we went to one of the lounges/bars, found a table and played cards for a while. We did this to try and help keep us awake for one of the things we had to experience on this cruise once we learned about it...CHOCOLATE BUFFET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it didn't start until 11:30 at night so we had our work cut out for us. After a while, and once Shauna was looked pretty wiped out, despite really wanting to hit the buffet, we headed to our rooms to relax before it was time to indulge. As it turns out, Bryan and Shauna fell asleep and didn't make it to the chocolate buffet. Traci and I watched a movie in our room (which was next door to Bryan and Shauna's) and had some light snacks to keep us awake. I wound up dozing off, but was able to recover in time to hit the buffet that was too good to pass up. We went down and waited in a massive line! And it was worth it! The assortment of chocolate items was mind-boggling. I think I took one of almost everything available. After all, when is the next time I'll be able to eat as much chocolate as I can without having to pay for it (money-wise)? To give you an idea of what it was like, here are a few pictures from the experience.
Before (My loaded plate)
During (The chocolate has taken over!)
After (This is seriously what my plate looked like when I finished and couldn't eat any more!)
Believe it or not, it was off to bed after the chocolate buffet. Pleasant dreams were had by all who made it to the chocolate buffet. Something I will not regret. After all, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger!
Meanwhile the cruise ship was well on its way from Catalina to our Thursday destination: Ensenada, Mexico! This was my first time to Mexico. I like to refer to this as my first visit to my (not-so-distant) ancestors homeland. I am 1/8 Mexican because my great grandmother came to the US from Mexico. (She married a German man who came to the US as well, thus I am also 1/8 German, which is also where the last name Steinman came from.) We did our breakfast buffet and then headed off the ship into Mexico. We didn't do anything too exciting there. We took the shuttle to the main shopping street in Ensenada, shopped for a couple of hours, then headed back to the ship to relax for the rest of our trip. The shopping was an interesting experience, much different from the US. There are shops and street vendors all along the street. We did some bargaining with street vendors which is where we got most of our items, using the store prices as guidance to see what we could get the items for on the street. Anyway, when we got back on the ship, we headed to Windjammer for the lunch buffet. After that, it was poolside relaxation time. Traci and I hit the jacuzzi one more time. Then we did a variety of things. While poolside, I played in the bean bag toss tournament. We had to try to toss the bean bag through a hole about 20 feet away. I made 1 out of 5. About 5 or 6 others also made one, while everyone else made zero with the exception of one lady who made 2 and therefore won. Side note, the lady who won was completely plastered the night before. How do I know? She came in the elevator with us, guided by two friends who took control of her about 6 drinks too late. It should also be noted that this was especially awkward for me as she rubbed my arm as she entered the elevator. Fortunately after that, her friends turned her around, although she was still next to me. Very awkward to say the least. We then proceeded to do a couple other activities. Traci, Bryan and Shauna did wall climbing. I was too much of a wuss to try it so I was the photographer. Bryan and Shauna made it all the way up (Bryan on the hardest one) and Traci made it about half way...not too bad for her first time...I was proud of her. Then we went down a level where Bryan and I participated in the free throw shooting contest. We both didn't make any of our three attempts and were therefore eliminated right away. I guess I'll stick with baseball. We then got ready for dinner and had our dinner, where I tried lamb for the first time. it was pretty good. It reminded me of pot roast. It would definitely be worth eating again sometime. After that, we packed our luggage since we had to have it set outside our room before midnight so they could collect it and get it to us in the terminal in the morning. After that, we played some more cards before heading for the night. By they way, it should be noted that we primarily played two card games the entire time...Busstop and Rummy. Bryan and Shauna pretty much dominated Rummy and Busstop was more even, although I remember Bryan doing the best in that as well...punk!
Friday morning arrived and we were getting pretty anxious to see the girls again. The four of us met for breakfast at the buffet at Windjammer and played cards there until they kicked us out (in a very kind manner) to start cleaning up the room for the next bunch of cruisers who would be checking in in just a few hours. So we relocated to one of the lounges/bar areas and after completing one game, they called our luggage tag color and it was off to check out we went. We would up standing in line for about an hour to get off the ship and get through customs. It was nice that we could all talk and hang out while in line though.
I would doing a disservice to staff on our boat, Monarch of the Seas, if I didn't spend some time talking about them. I mentioned Pepito, Andrew and Pedro earlier. (I was amazed and the wide range of countries, 26 in all in the dining room they announced, that were represented in the service staff.) Pepito was definitely a big part of our enjoyment on the ship during dinner. He provided great service and always did it while cracking jokes and being funny the whole time. Anytime he refilled our water, it was with "Mexican water." When we asked him to take be in a picture with Andrew and Pedro, he joked that the others didn't want to be in the picture because we were immigration. He also teased Bryan and Shauna for not making the chocolate buffet. He just made things fun for us. Speaking of the chocolate buffet, yet again, I got to meet Cornelio, who was Traci's and Shauna's waiter on their cruise back in February. I heard rave reviews from Traci when she returned from that cruise, so it was nice to be able to meet him. The service on the cruise is one of the big reasons I would very much like to take another cruise again sometime. Even our stateroom attendant (I feel bad for forgetting his name) was really cool. We'd always seem to be catch him as he was ready to make up our room or turn down our room and he would have a huge smile on his face and tell us to take our time.
Looking back at this trip, I would definitely say it is one of the best vacations/trips I have ever had. It's right up there with our honeymoon and trips to Colorado. (Please keep in mind that it's very hard, almost impossible, to compare our two trips to Colorado with our honeymoon.) I love taking trips as a family with the girls, but having this chance to get away without them, and spend some quality time with Traci, is so refreshing and rejuvenating. I haven't felt this relaxed on a trip in a long, long time. It was definitely good for us. I think what also helped the trip be so enjoyable was the fact that we get along with Bryan and Shauna so well. They are easy going and easy to get along with. I very much look forward to going on another cruise eventually. Being able to get away and not worry about checking e-mail, going to work and just getting away from everyday life in general, is such a healthy thing. I really needed it. It was also nice to focus on our marriage and just enjoy time with each other. It gave me a greater appreciation of just how lucky I am to be married to Traci and how I look forward to our long life together, all the memories we have already had, and all the memories we have yet to experience. God has truly blessed me more than I deserve, and for that I will be eternally grateful.
1 comment:
I think it's funny that out of the 500 pictures from both cameras that you chose 3 from the chocolate buffet to use. LOL You're funny. It was so fun! I'm so glad we went and can't wait to go again.
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