Friday, February 2, 2024
Mel and I both love to cruise and feel that it is truly the best 'bang for the buck.' It was truly "awe and then some" that this is our 50th cruise with 463 days at sea in 24 years! Our first cruise was a 7-Night Western Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Century cruise ship out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 5 – 12, 2000. On that cruise, we went to the ports of Ocho Rios (Jamaica); George Town (Grand Cayman); Cozumel (Mexico); and Key West (Florida). And that is when we literally got our feet wet to cruising and we haven't looked back since.
In this blog post, I will highlight our 50th cruise on the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas cruise ship out of the port of Long Beach, California that went to the ports of Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta in the Mexican Riviera. Since we are wintering at numerous Thousand Trails in California, our first task was to secure storage for our RV while we were on the cruise. Since we were staying at Wilderness Lakes Thousand Trails in Menifee, CA, we secured a spot for $20/day (total of $140) for short term storage at this campground.
We got up at 6:00 a.m., showered, had breakfast, and got the RV all ready for storage for a week. We were over at the short-term storage a little before 8:00 a.m.
Shown above and below is the short term storage spot that Mel backed our RV into at Wilderness Lakes Thousand Trails.
We then took off and headed to the port of Long Beach on I-15 North.
The sky looked dark and gloomy, but at least it had stopped raining and it looked like we would have a good sail away.
I took the following picture on the way to the cruise (see above). It shows snow and palm trees in the same picture -- which you don't see very often.
We continued on to Hwy 91 West to the Beach Cities.
Long Beach Blvd is now 1-1/4 miles away.
We followed the signs to the Port of Long Beach.
We continued on I-710 South.
We crossed the state-of-the-art Long Beach International Gateway Bridge at the Port of Long Beach. This six-lane, cable-stayed bridge provides a major regional highway connector as well as improves cargo movement at one of the world’s largest port complexes.
The bridge provides a higher passage for cargo ships, extra traffic lanes for trucks and cars, emergency lanes, greater resiliency in an earthquake and a 100-year minimum lifespan. With the twin 50-story-high towers connecting 80 cables to the center span, the bridge is also is one of the tallest cable-stayed bridges in the United States and the first of its kind in California. The bridge will also includes a pedestrian-bicycle path and is illuminated with dozens of LED lights that change colors.
And look at all the shipping containers in the Port of Long Beach.
It truly is amazing how much commerce comes in and out of the Port of Long Beach.
The Vincent Thomas Bridge is a 1,500-foot-long suspension bridge crossing the Los Angeles Harbor linking San Pedro with Terminal Island. It is the only suspension bridge in the Greater Los Angeles area. The bridge is part of CA Hwy 47, which is also known as the Seaside Freeway.
The bridge opened in 1963 and is named for California Assemblyman Vincent Thomas of San Pedro, who championed its construction. It was the first welded suspension bridge in the United States and is now the fourth-longest suspension bridge in California and the 76th-longest span in the world. The clear height of the navigation channel is approximately 185 feet and is the only suspension bridge in the world supported entirely on piles.
(An eastbound view of the span from San Pedro on the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Long Beach area.)
We followed Harbor Blvd to the World Cruise Center Catalina Terminal, Berth 92, located at 100 Swinford Street in San Pedro, California (between Harbor Blvd. and Swinford Street).
Located at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro Bay, the terminal is just a 35-minute drive from downtown LA. Cruise lines calling here offer itineraries to Baja California, the Mexican Riviera, Hawaii, Alaska, the Panama Canal and beyond.
Next, we secured parking at the Cruise Terminal for our truck for 7 days while we were on the cruise at $20/day (total of $140).
Shown above and below is our first glimpse of the RC Navigator of the Seas cruise ship.
Shown below is our truck parked in the cruise terminal parking area.
After getting parked, we got our two suitcases out of the truck and rolled them up to where we checked in for the cruise. This year, we bought a couple of new suitcases, and we are going to make do with just one suitcase a piece (pillow, cosmetics and clothes) all packed securely away inside. We then rolled them on to the ship and kept them with us until we could put them in our stateroom. (Shown below is the line of people waiting to board the cruise ship.)
Above is the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas, that was built in 2002 and renovated in 2019. It's considered a medium size ship (Voyager class). Coming in at 1,020 feet long and 157 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 2.8 football fields, as wide as 3 tractor trailers, and the same height as a 14-story building (with 14 passenger decks). The Navigator of the Seas can hold 3,386 based on double occupancy (two people per room) and more when you take into account 3rd and 4th passengers.
The Navigator of the Seas is one of five Voyager-class ships currently sailing with Royal Caribbean. The Voyager-class ships were the first to introduce the Royal Promenade, a large central hub that runs through the middle of the ship, offering shopping, restaurants, bars, and activities. It also saw the introduction of the Studio B Ice Skating Rink and a climbing wall onboard. The Navigator of the Seas is very similar to its sister-ships: Voyager of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas. Captain James from Canada was in charge of the ship.
Shown above is the map showing where the Navigator of the Seas took us on our Mexican Riviera cruise. We are sailing out of the port of Long Beach in Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera. The Navigator of the Seas is a Voyager Class ship that was initially launched in 2002. Since then, she has undergone the cruise line's Royal Amplification program and received $115 million in upgrades.
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Shown above is our itinerary for the Mexican Riviera cruise. We ended up setting our clocks ahead a couple of times by one hour each time (i.e., ship time versus local time on the Mexican Riviera itinerary for Navigator of the Seas). The ship leaves Los Angeles (Pacific Standard Time) and goes to Cabo San Lucas (Mountain Standard Time) where we set our clocks ahead an hour. We then went to Mazatlan (Mountain Standard Time) and then on to Puerto Vallarta (Central Standard Time) where we set our clocks ahead an hour. We gained these two hours back during two different days on the way back as well.
The boarding process was fairly simple. We had completed the online check-in for the sailing and secured an arrival time of 11:00 a.m. When we got to the cruise parking before that, we just joined the passenger line to board the ship at 10:30 a.m.
We were surprised to find that security was in tents outside of the physical terminal building and we also went through security prior to getting our documents (passports) checked. After going through security, we were instructed to go inside the terminal, where we were greeted by a port agent who proceeded to scan our Set Sail passes, take a photo of our passports, and update our security images.
All aboard was at 3:00 p.m., as shown on the Daily Snapshot above. The safety briefing and life jacket drill has changed for the good. Now all you have to do is watch the safety briefing video on the Royal Caribbean app, and then check in at your assigned assembly station. Easy peasy!
As we were on the cruise ship by 11:00 a.m., we decided to see if our stateroom was ready so we could drop off our suitcases. But were told that it wouldn't be ready until 1:00 p.m. We then decided to go up to El Loco Fresh.
El Loco Fresh offers tacos, quesadillas, and burritos. See the menu below.
Shown above is the selection of meats (ground beef, pulled pork and chicken) that were available for our tacos. While shown below are all the various toppings we could add to our tacos -- from guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, cheddar cheese, red onions, sour cream, salsa, and jalepeno pepper rings.
We each had three tacos (one beef, one chicken and one pulled pork) for lunch (see below).
After finishing lunch, it was still going to be awhile before we could get into our stateroom at 1:00 p.m., so we decided to go get a drink in the Schnooner Bar.
It's time for a drink -- and one of the best perks from the Crown & Anchor Society is that we can enjoy four free complimentary drinks daily (worth up to $14 each) since we are Diamond Club Members! Shown above is one of Mel and my favorite blended drinks -- a mudslide. We each had one. And be warned, once we ordered one and people saw it, they too wanted one. And we also now have a bartender (Olga) that does a marvelous job of making the mudslide -- and will have our drink business all week.
Typical ingredients in the mud slide include: Bailey's Irish Cream, Kahlúa Coffee Liqueur, Vodka, ice cream mix, ice cubes, and chocolate syrup. And it couldn't be easier!
STEP ONE
Put all the ingredients except the chocolate syrup into a high-powered blender. Press start, and blend for a few minutes until frozen and firm.
STEP TWO
While your delicious dessert cocktail is blending, take your favorite glass and drizzle chocolate syrup all around the inside – as much as you like, but swirls will make it look really pretty!
STEP THREE
Finally, pour your frozen mudslide into the glass and garnish with whatever takes your fancy!
And we still had time for another drink before going to our stateroom with our luggage -- so Mel switched to what is called a Dark 'N Stormy, while I had another mudslide (see above).
The Dark 'N Stormy cocktail that Mel likes is made with dark rum and ginger beer served over ice and garnished with a slice of lime. This drink is very similar to the Moscow Mule except that the Dark 'N Stormy has dark rum instead of vodka.
And when we were able to go to our stateroom and drop off our luggage at 1:00 p.m., we received our stateroom cards as they had been left there for us. (See above.)
Since I am unable to pull up the Cruise Compass on my cell phone, I have requested a printed copy be left in our stateroom each day (see below).
Shown above is our stateroom attendant, Karene from Trinidad and Tobago. She was awesome and always had a smile on her face.
We had an inside stateroom on the 9th floor. Below are pictures of the inside of our stateroom (9603).
Even though we had an inside stateroom, we were fortunate to have what they call a Virtual Balcony (see above). A Virtual Balcony is an 80-inch high-definition screen inside some of the interior staterooms that spans nearly floor to ceiling. It gave us the opportunity to enjoy real-time views of the ocean and destinations from the comfort of our interior stateroom. What a spectacular view!
Shown above is the dresser and television in our stateroom. The cabinet right above the television contains a small safe, while the cabinet below the television has a small refrigerator.
Above and below is the small bathroom in our stateroom. What we do like is that the shower has an enclosure instead of a shower curtain as some of the other cruises have had.
Shown above is the empty closet in our stateroom, while below shows our dress clothes hanging in the closet and our t-shirts and shorts on the shelves.
(Above is the view of the front of the ship as shown on the television in our stateroom.)
We took a little time to unpack our luggage, and then stopped back in at the Schnooner Bar for another drink (see below) -- this time both Mel and I got a mudslide made by bartender, Olga. So delicious!
Once we had gotten on the cruise ship, we had to also get our dining arrangements changed from 'My Time Dining' to the early dinner seating at 5:15 p.m. due to needing to have the same waiter each night for dietary special needs.
We were lucky to secure table 251 for the early dinner seating at 5:15 p.m. And wow, what a beautiful location we had -- right in the middle of the bottom floor of a three-tier restaurant on Deck 3. Our waiter was Maricar and her assistant waiter was Bhuwasid. Both were very personable and efficient.
Above Mel looks over the "Welcome Aboard" menu (see menu below). See the beautiful view up the staircase behind Mel.
From the "Welcome Aboard" menu, for starters we both ordered the crispy crab cake (with creamy Old Bay Sauce and a tomato-cucumber salad). Of course, Mel also had a chilled shrimp cocktail served with a classic horseradish sauce and a lemon wedge. Then for main course, we both ordered the slow-roasted prime rib plate (consisting of tender beef, creamy mashed potatoes, broccoli, sauteed carrots, and horseradish au jus). I ordered the end cut of the prime rib as I always do and it was fabulous (see below).
For dessert, Mel and I both ordered a slice of key lime pie. The key lime pie was a silky and tangy key lime custard baked in a brown butter graham cracker crust (see below). Yummy!
After dinner, we went to the Schooner Bar to hear the piano man (known as Piano Martin), from Aalborg, Denmark. The map below shows where Aalborg is located in Denmark in relationship to Copenhagen.
We both had an after dinner drink -- a mudslide, while listening to Piano Martin sing and play the piano (see below).
Shown above and below is Piano Martin.
Piano Martin even got Mel up to play the toy guitar while he sang a song.
We went to the Welcome Aboard Showtime at 10:15 p.m. in the Royal Theater. It starred the RC Comedian Cary Long, the Navigator of the Seas Orchestra, and featured Ballroom Dancers, Anastasiia and Drymtro.
Shown above and below is comedian Cary Long performing in the Welcome Aboard Showtime.
After the show was over at 11:00 p.m., we called it a day and headed to our stateroom to go to bed.
Saturday, February 3, 2024
Today started out cloudy and cool reaching a temperature of 62 degrees (see daily snapshot above).
Above is the Cruise Compass for Day 2 which is a day of smooth sailing on our way to Cabo San Lucas.
Above is a stateroom door close to ours -- looks like they have had magnets made for every Royal Caribbean cruise they have been on. I can only imagine, if we had a magnet made for all 50 cruises we have been on. Our stateroom door would be totally plastered with magnets. Hmmm. . .
One thing I did notice on this cruise is that they have stopped offering crafts for cruise passengers to participate in. How sad that is!
And with nothing to do after breakfast, I journeyed up to the library to see if there were any good books to read. Lucky for me, I spotted a lovely lady, Jarmila Vik in the library working on her own crafts -- Stampin’ Up! I asked if I could join her, and she quickly invited me to sit down. It was my lucky day for sure! She helped me make several neat cards and items to hold candy throughout the sea days on the cruise. (See below for what I made today. And, I will post pictures of what I make on sea days in future posts.)
After crafting with Jarmila for the better part of the morning, I went back to our stateroom to meet up with Mel to go to the Top Tier Event (for Platinum and Above) in the Royal Theater on deck 3. (See the bunny towel animal below that our stateroom attendant, Karene left for us.)
At the Top Tier Event that was from 11:00 - 11:30 a.m. in the Royal Theater, the Royal Caribbean Orchestra played. They also provided free Champagne -- which neither of us really like.
This was also our first opportunity to meet the cruise director, Natalie from the United Kingdom (see above) and the captain of Navigator of the Seas, James from Canada (see below).
After the Top Tier Event, we went to lunch in the main dining room on deck 3.
Shown above is the lunch menu. For an appetizer, Mel had the Manhattan clam chowder (made with San Marzano tomatoes, bacon, potatoes, and vegetables) and grilled sweetcorn cakes (served with grilled vegetables, spicy avocado salsa, and sour cream), while I had the sweetcorn cakes and mozzarella sticks (which were mozzarella cheese coated with crispy garlic-saasoned panko breading, served with a zesty marinara dipping sauce). Shown below are my mozzarella sticks.
For our main course, both Mel and I had the Royal Burger (a 1/4-pound patty served on a brioche bun with lettuce, tomato, pickles, fried onions, cheddar cheese, special sauce and a side of 'no salt' fries).
And for dessert, we both had one of the best they have -- carrot cake (a classic dessert with cream cheese frosting and toasted walnuts). See a picture of the delicious carrot cake below.
After lunch, I went back to our stateroom for about an hour.
On the way to my stateroom, I stopped to take a few pictures of the Royal Promenade on Navigator of the Seas (see above and below).
Then around 2:00 p.m. I went to the Roral Promenade to the Collection store to get my free bon voyage bracelet.
Then with free charm bracelet in hand, I went to meet Mel in the Schooner Bar to get started on one of my four free complimentary drinks for the day.
Duck duck cruise ducks are truly a fun phenomenon that has taken flight aboard cruise ships. These cute and quirky figures show up in the most unusual places and I love to join in the feathered fun. While I was sitting there waiting for Mel to arrive, I spotted a duck duck cruise square yellow duck (see above) beside one of the seating areas in the Schooner Bar. Whoopie!
Even though I have never seen a line-up of yellow rubber ducks on a cruise like that shown above, wouldn't it be fun! The cruise duck is typically a small yellow rubber duck that gets to take a big vacation aboard a cruise ship. They are hidden around cruise ships in a fun, passenger-led game of hide-and-seek.
They are exciting to find and cheerful to share and cruise ducks come with a “hide or keep, you decide” philosophy. Some passengers love to re-hide ducks to bring joy to other passengers, while I like to collect the ducks as whimsical vacation souvenir.
Cruise ducks are labeled with stickers, tags, or ribbons with the name of the ship and sailing date, and may also include a family name, social media hashtag, or QR code with an invitation to snap a duck selfie to share in Facebook groups or on other platforms such as Twitter or Instagram.
One of our favorite beverage servers in the Schooner Bar, Maria (aka Cecelia) from the Philippines suggested I try her BBC (Bailey's Banana Coloda). But what is the story behind the BBC?
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Once upon a time, there was a small Caribbean-themed seafood shack named Cyril's on the side of a long stretch of highway connecting the Hampton villages with the 'end of the world' at Montauk. Montauk is known for its breathtaking views and dramatic, steep cliffs.
Cyril's was a no-frills bar with plastic furniture and direct views of the LIRR train that would rumble past. It was a seemingly endless summer party skippered by Cyril — an Irishman from Dublin with a jovial presence — and fueled by his famous boozy concoction known as the BBC.
(Shown above is the skipper, Cyril Fitzsimon who died in 2020 from Covid.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I've included the recipe below:
Ingredients
1 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream
3 oz. Pina Colada Mix
1 oz. coconut rum (Malibu, Cruzan, Parrot Bay)
1 oz. Banana Liqueur
1 Banana sliced
Ice
Mixing Instructions
Put banana and banana liqueur into blender until it is a thick paste. Add Bailey's Irish cream, pina colada mix and rum. Blend well then add 1 cup of ice and blend again until smooth.
Above is the BBC that Maria made me, while below is a Dark 'N Stormy that Mel ordered.
Mel lifts his glass to cheer another wonderful day at sea. After we finished our first drinks, we decided to both switch back to the mudslide.
But oops! When Maria brought us our drinks, she made a mistake and again brought Mel a Dark 'N Stormy -- when he had really ordered a mudslide. Not a problem, as Maria said she would go make a mudslide for Mel.
When Maria returned with the mudslide for Mel, and she had also let him keep the Dark 'N Stormy -- she poised for a picture with Mel, who was now a two-fisted drinker.
It is now dinner time and Mel waits patiently for our waiter Maricar to bring an appetizer.
Shown above is a glimpse of the three tiers of the main dining room.
Shown above is the menu for tonight -- 'A Taste of France.'
As a starter, Mel and I both had the iceberg wedge salad (which was a wedge of chilled iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and chives with our dressing of choice).
Then we both also had the crispy buttermilk calamari (golden fried squid rings served with a fresh fennel salad and chipolte-lime aloli).
Mel had the seafood linguine shown above as his main course (which was al dente linguine pasta tossed with a Chardonnay cream sauce, sauteed bay scallops, shrimp and New Zealand mussels).
For my main course, I had the chicken cordon bleu plate that is shown above (which was a breaded chicken breast stuffed with ham and swiss cheese served with carrots and broccoli).
After dinner, we went to the Schooner Bar and we both had a mudslide before we went to the Royal Theater on deck 3 for the production show at 8:00 p.m.
Cruise director Natalie welcomed everyone to the theater and tonight's production show -- Ballroom Fever. Ballroom Fever was a stunning production involving emotions that were represented through the many styles of ballroom dance. Every step told a story in this extraordinary celebration -- starting with the excitement and desire of the Latin style, passion and romance with the tango, jump for joy and amusement with the jive, and the peace and serenity of the waltz. We also felt the sultry heat of the rumba as Ballroom Fever took over.
After the production show, we went back to the Schooner Bar to listen to Piano Martin again and enjoy one last drink before bed. I had a mudslide and Mel had a drink with Baileys Irish Cream on the rocks. These drinks were really smooth and slid us quickly into sweet dreams! We set our clocks ahead one hour before retiring tonight. Good night and we look forward to a day of adventure tomorrow in Cabo San Lucas!
Shirley & Mel
Wow I felt like I was on that cruise. What a fun trip. Surprised yall didn't to go casino. I've heard many have won on that ship. The drinks looked fantastic. I loved the view of all thr bridges. Sounds like yall had everything planned out well. Safe travel friends.
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