West Coast Royal Caribbean Cruise

Hello Everyone! Here is my recent trip report of the cruise I took in October.  

Just some quick history is that I've had my eye on this cruise for a long time since I wanted to try cruising solo and I didn't want to fly very far. This cruise itinerary was great because it included 2 days in San Francisco and some other great ports like Santa Barbara and Monterey. Unfortunately the cost was a bit high as this was a very popular itinerary and I do have to pay 200% of the cruise fare because rates are always double occupancy regardless if there is 1 or 2 people. But a few weeks before I told my friend Leann about the trip and she was interested in joining me so I had company! 

Saturday - Los Angeles
Because the cruise was sailing out of San Pedro (near Los Angeles) we decided to fly into LAX that morning. Usually, it's not a good idea to fly in on the same day of departing in case there is ever a delay of your flight but in this case, the flight is so short and many other flights coming in before the all aboard at 4:00 we had little risk of missing the ship. On the plane we heard several people talking about their upcoming cruise and many of them were going to be on the same ship as us. During the week, we met lots of people from Arizona. 

Not knowing about any of the San Pedro ports and where our ship, the Jewel of the Seas, would be departing from I went ahead and booked our transfers to/from the airport directly with Royal Caribbean. We arrived at LAX around 10:00 AM and went down to baggage claim. There we saw an RC representative and she told us to get our luggage and she would check us in for the 11:00 shuttle departure. We got our stuff and sat down and snacked since we planned to eat lunch when we boarded the ship. 

So we waited...and waited...and waited.  Other passengers who were also waiting for the shuttle were grumbling and asking the representative when the shuttle was going to arrive but she said she didn't know what the hold up was. We were then told to line up and then waited some more. The shuttle finally arrived at 1:00. We were never told why the huge delay (later it becomes clear). I wasn't really upset because I know things happen and I'm not going to get worked up at the start of my vacation. Well, the shuttle was not a branded RC shuttle but one of those buses that are for rent. I knew beforehand that RC hasn't done a West Coast cruise in a long time so they didn't have dedicated buses and staff like Princess or Carnival who sail from California all the time. 
I was just glad to be on the bus and hopefully get lunch within the hour! 

I fell asleep on the bus (the drive took about 45 minutes) and then woke when the bus pulled into the pier. I saw all kinds of cruise ships...Princess, Norwegian, Carnival...but no Royal Caribbean. Well, apparently the driver was at the wrong pier. Luckily, passengers in the front of the bus looked up the info and told the bus driver where to go. The Jewel was further down the way another mile or so. Because we were arriving so late I figured there would be absolutely no line (most like to board early) and wouldn't be much of a wait. Wrong! This is what greeted us...

WHAT THE WHAT??? Um, no the tents are not standard issue. From what I've read/heard/announced during the week was that the pier the Jewel was assigned to dock at returning from their earlier cruise was not adequate for the cruise ship and therefore they were sent to dock at a pier with absolutely nothing but a parking lot. While the passengers from the previous cruise remained on board, tents were put up and extra staff called in to facilitate the mess. Tables/chairs/computers/security scanners had to be set up as well as port-a-potties and cases of bottled water for the new passengers arriving. It was hot and noisy and upsetting because NO FOOD! 
After waiting in line for an hour and only going about 20 feet (I swear I'm not exaggerating) we left the line to sit in a couple chairs near the entrance of the tent where there was a nice cool breeze coming in. We heard the computers were consistently going down. Finally, the lines became short and we were able to check-in and go through security. As we walked out of the tent to get on the gangway, the Muster Drill was currently going on. This is usually done right before sail away. Yes, it was 4:00 when we finally boarded the Jewel. We were so hungry but everything is closed during muster and as soon as we stepped on the ship we were escorted to our muster stations. Ugh! Finally, we were able to go to our stateroom. 

As an avid reader on the cruise forums, I know that its standard procedure for the crew to send a bottle of wine to any passengers that were inconvenienced with a particular issue. So I wasn't surprised to see this in our stateroom when we arrived.

Yeah! Alcohol! It will help me forget all about the terrible embarkation I just went through so I don't go to Guest Services and yell at the poor crew members until they give me $500000 in on-board credit!

Treats from the RC travel agent since it was my first RC cruise. Unfortunately, because it was so late when we got to our stateroom, the chocolate was all melty and the strawberries warm. The plate didn't fit in the mini-fridge so I think I ate two and the rest were trashed.

 The next 3 pics are of our inside stateroom. As you can see it's very cozy and the layout is different than most other insides but it was doable and plenty of storage space. The beds were very comfortable so I had no problems sleeping. I was a bit worried that I might not like an inside since last time I was in a balcony cabin. But honestly, we were hardly ever here and I enjoyed being out on the open decks anyway that I'm perfectly fine doing an inside stateroom on my future cruises. Which also works out since they are much cheaper.

Great for the multi-tasker! You can wash your hands while on the potty!

After unpacking, we headed over to the main pool for the sail-away party. A DJ and the activities crew were getting everyone excited and they encouraged people to come do line dancing. Although tired, hot and hungry I got Leann to join me for Macarena, Electric Slide and that Chicago Step one (sorry don't remember the exact name). 

Some of these people were really into it.

 Pics of us on the top deck... 

Bye LA, see you in 7 days!

And finally....dinner! We arrived to the dining room at 5:30 ON THE DOT! We gave the maitre d' our stateroom number and then a host took us to a 10-seater table. Everyone else was nearly double our age. We didn't talk much with the other cruisers as we were in the company of a 'Me Monster' who dominated most of the conversation. Most cruise lines do an open seating option which means you don't have to show up for dinner at the same time every night and sit at the same table with the same people. We wanted to keep our options opened but ironically we ended up eating at 5:30 every night. WHAT? THIS IS THE USUAL TIME I HAVE DINNER AT HOME! Plus since we ate so early and didn't get to bed until around midnight, we usually ordered room service around 10:00. WHAT? I'M ON VACATION!

So 3 crew members make up our waitstaff team...Head Waiter (Ben), Waiter (Elmer) and Assistant Waiter (Carolina). We rarely saw Ben. He came around only twice during the week and asked how everything was but overall we didn't talk much to him. Elmer and Carolina were phenomenal! They were both from the Philippines. Elmer was always smiling and giggling and Carolina very sweet. We loved their service so much that we went to the maitre d' after we ate and requested to sit at their station the rest of the week. 
This is us on the last night...

FOOD! I always ordered an appetizer and sometimes a soup or salad to go with that appetizer (they are small portions) but since I have no pics of an appetizer, I don't recall what it was. But I did remember to take a pic of my entree...Horseradish Encrusted Salmon. NOM NOM NOM! It was so delicious. The horseradish complimented the salmon so well and I loved the mashed potatoes. This was the best meal I had all week. But then again I was very hungry at the time so not sure it rightfully deserves a raving review. Either way, I was fully satisfied. No dessert this time which actually surprised me when I read that in my notes. I guess I was too full from the salmon which was a good portion size.

After dinner, we took a stroll through the ship taking a few pics along the way. I'm sorry but I don't have very many of the ship as I did for the Alaska cruise. 

The Centrum. Lively place, bright with live music every night, mellow stuff before dinner and then Latin music later in the evening. Different bars surrounded the area so lots of people came here to hang out. Decks are open here and glass elevators add to the glitz.

Glowy, green stairs. Very Vegas. I actually love this kind of thing on cruise ships no matter how outdated the decor is.

 We didn't actually plan to attend the Welcome Show but went ahead anyway and showed up a little late but that was fine and we found a seat right away. The Cruise Director was doing a rendition of Sweet Caroline by Niel Diamond. The CD looks a bit like him and even sounds like Niel Diamond. Then a stand-up comedian by the name of Wayne Cotter did a 10 minute show as a sort of 'taste' to his much larger show the next night. There were a couple of laugh out loud times but overall, I just wasn't feeling it. After the show, Leann and I walked around the decks for a little bit longer listening to the waves and seeing a few lights in the distance. I don't know if these were from other vessels or the shore. There was also another cruise ship following us and seeing it all lit-up was pretty cool. No idea what ship it was though. 
Then off to bed at 10:00, our earliest bedtime of the week.


Sunday - Santa Barbara
My plan for SB was to go to the Santa Barbara Mission and then visit the Courthouse which is very historical but the weather was blah! I do not do well in rainy weather. My shoes get wet and I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown (my mom will verify this) so I decided to forego Santa Barbara and hang out on the ship. This ended up being a good decision as later in the day there were moments of heavy downpour. No worries, I will visit Santa Barbara some other time. 
Leann and I ate breakfast at the Windjammer (buffet) with the usual runny scrambled eggs, limp bacon and under-riped fruit. I'm not fond of buffets so my expectations of high quality food was not very high. But it was fine and there was quite a variety of food from cereal to salmon. And don't forget the baked beans and sauteed tomato slices for the British passengers! After breakfast Leann and I went up to the top deck so she could call her husband and I could call my mom and Jacqueline...to brag hee hee. 

No docking at Santa Barbara. Tendering is using one of the ship's lifeboats to transport cruisers back and forth. Tender ports are not my favorite as there can be a long wait to get off the ship.

Before Leann and I went to make phone calls we passed a couple of women who worked in the spa offering 5 minute chair massages...as well as trying to sell their various spa services. We already planned to visit the spa so after our brief shoulder massage, we made an appointment with them. The current special that day was a scalp, neck and shoulder, and foot massage with a mini facial. I ended up doing a full massage and mini facial which was $10 cheaper than the other one (which Leann did). Yes, it was expensive but I was on vacation. I've never had a massage before or been to a spa so the experience was new to me. The massage was just okay. I admit I had high expectations and was expecting a mindblown experience but it never came. But the mini facial was soooo nice. My skin felt soooo good afterwards and next cruise I'm definitely going to get the complete facial. Of course she tried to sell me all the products she used but she didn't mention the moisturizer she applied which I loved. She then told me the moisturizer was $150!!! The bottle was perhaps 6 oz.! Yeah, no wonder she didn't try to sell it to me. I ended up buying the facial wash though and am very happy with it. 

Lunchtime! We returned to Windjammer and I treated my self to a garden salad and slice of pizza that reminded me of the Tombstone brand but hey I like all kinds of pizza (except for Hungry Howie's which is gross)! After lunch we went to the Schooner Bar to participate in Music Trivia. I wish I had taken more pics of this area as it was a very cool place with a bar on one side and all kinds of tables and chairs with a bank of windows with a great view and lots of light. There is also a piano bare here. Anyway, there was a good amount of people for trivia. We joined a couple of other women to become a team. The questions mostly derived from the 1950's-70's so our score was only 10/20.

We remained in the Schooner Bar to make a bead bracelet, necklace and earrings. These were small kits that one could buy at Michael's so the quality and style were very average. The activities crew member (Gonzo from Cancun) seemed distracted so he gave a very brief instruction and then moved on. Leann had made jewelry many times before so she helped out so many people. I made my bracelet but didn't bother with the necklace or earrings. It was something to do but since I hardly wear jewelry I wasn't all that into it. Then another game of trivial began with Rock and Roll as the theme. Again we joined some other people for a team and our score was 7/20. It was then we took note that the same two women who won last trivia also won this game and both times they had perfect scores. We nicknamed them the 'trivia queens'. We found out later that the trivia queens were on the same cruise the week before and therefore probably knew all the answer already. This was confirmed later which I will explain later in the post. 

Tonight was our first formal night so we got dressed up and headed to the Tides Dining Room for our 5:30 reservation. When we approached the podium, the maitre d' already knew our names and stateroom number. Leann was really impressed by this. We weren't seated at a 10-top like the night before but a 2-top between two other 2 seated tables. So there was some space between us and the other couples but close enough to start a conversation with. We ended up meeting 2 couples, one of which was from San Diego who were very interesting with their lines of work (He worked for Nestle in the pharmaceutical department and she worked as an entertainment lawyer meaning her clients were celebrities). We only saw them once but the other couple we talked to four nights during dinner. They were Audra and Craig from Mesquite, Nevada. Very nice people.  They had a dog at home and missed her and so of course we swapped many pet stories.
Food! I had a Caesar salad as an appetizer which was just okay and another appetizer as well which I can't recall. The entree was Beef Tenderloin with mashed potatoes. Look at that yummy mushroom and asparagus. Delicious. Dessert was Strawberry Cheesecake.

Sailing away from Santa Barbara heading north to San Francisco

First towel animal of the week

 After dinner we went to the Coral Theater to see the comedian Wayne Cotter. We thought about not going as we really didn't get his humor the night before but we went and I'm so glad we did! He was hilarious and best of all, his jokes were very family-friendly. We actually ran into him later that night. He just finished his second show and stepped into the elevator carrying 3 huge bottles of water and all sweaty. Everyone in the elevator (including us) told him how much we liked his show and he was very gracious and continued to make jokes. 
Next we attended the Majority Rules Game. This is actually a really fun game done in teams. The hostess (Katrina who was actually married to the CD)  would ask a question and the team would write down their answer and hand over their paper to her. She would count up all similar answers and whoever had the majority answer would get the point. Question examples: Besides beer or martini, what is a popular after-work drink? (Margarita). Besides a monkey what would be a fun pet to have? (Tiger) What do children try to avoid being caught doing? (Stealing). We didn't win but it was fun. 
Bedtime was around 11:30.  

Monday - San Francisco
Today we were going to be sailing into San Francisco around 1:30 while going under the Golden Gate Bridge so many cruisers were very excited about this, including me. We woke up kind of late and Leann wanted to attend Bingo but it determined how much each card was going to be. I was only going to participate if the cards were cheap. The game was being played in the Safari Club. Unfortunately I don't have any pics but it's a very large space with lots of chairs and tables on a lower deck to the aft of the ship. It also had a small stage which they had live music in the evenings and a small dancing floor. I really like the Safari Club except for it's very dark. 
Anyway, there was a very large turnout for Bingo and Leann went to get in line to purchase a card but she didn't know how much it was going to be. She came back empty-handed claiming the price was $30 for 3 cards so we passed on that. We went up to the Windjammer for a late breakfast then returned to the Safari Club to see the art auction. We signed up to bid then perused all the art they had on display which was a very large assortment. Due to people coming in late and gathering all the art that would be auctioned, it took a very long time for the auction to get started. It was interesting to see but overall it was a huge time suck and really the art pieces are extremely expensive although very beautiful. It was obvious that most of the cruisers were there for the free champagne and mimosas. 
A $10 Sale was going on in the shops so Leann and I went over to check out the merchandise but all of it was watches, glitzy handbags and other accessories so nothing of interest to me but Leann ended up buying a watch. We then headed up to the top deck for the sail into San Francisco. 
Approaching Golden Gate Bridge...
 

As we sailed beneath, the DJ played the song "San Francisco" and also people were cheering. It was pretty cool. 

 

Sausalito

Alcatraz Island

Coming up on our pier

Some great landmarks from this view. For the life of her, Leann couldn't pronounce Coit after I told her the name of the tower.

After the excitement wore off, we headed to lunch. Leann wanted to go to the Windjammer but I wasn't feeling up to dodging people with a plate of food. We decided to separate and meet later for Trivia that afternoon. So I headed to the Tides dining room which is sometimes opened for lunch. Besides a set menu, they also had a Mongolian BBQ set up. I wanted to eat something light and ordered a Chicken Caesar Salad and a hazelnut/chocolate cake. This was a great lunch and I was seated with another couple and we had a nice conversation. 

For some reason we decided not to get off the ship. I'm not certain why but I was feeling a bit off and the line to disembark was incredibly long.

On the top deck above the Centrum. Yes, those are my tiny feet.

 I headed over to the Schooner Bar to do Trivia and Leann never showed up (she later explained that she was busy talking to someone we met yesterday and lost track of time). I ended up teaming with a couple of women from El Mirage. The theme for this trivia was 'Who Is It?' which we receive clues and try to determine the celebrity. We didn't win but lo and behold the 'trivia queens' won...again. I stayed for the next Trivia game which was catered for the British passengers since the activities host would play the theme song to a popular British show. There were no British people there so it was a free-for-all on whoever got it right would get a prize. The first few songs everyone kept calling out 'Downton Abbey' until one of the crew explained that DA is not on the list at all. The only show I'm familiar with is Doctor Who so I waited and it was the last song they played. I won an RC keychain. 
Feeling a bit rundown I returned to the stateroom and took a nap. 

Tonight's dinner was Cilantro Cod. As you can see in the picture it doesn't look that great. It was okay but definitely not that impressive. The dessert was actually better, some kind of passionate fruit/chocolate mousse. I ended up not eating all of it because it was so rich but very tasty.

We went out to the top deck to take some night pics. I know that these are terrible. I'm not proficient enough with my phone to figure out night shots. The cruise ship is Princess.  You can also see Oakland Bay Bridge in the distance.

 Last night while waiting for Wayne Cotter to come on, a tour was advertised on the screens. Leann and I talked about doing this tour. It's called Behind the Scenes and it's a 2 hour tour of various areas of the ship that passengers do not usually get to see such as Engineering, Crew Areas, Galley and Bridge. The cost is steep at $150 but I read great things about this tour and we were both very interested in it. So we headed to Guest Services to sign up. We were told that the minimum had to be 6 participants and with us included there was only 4 so far. They would tell us the next day if the tour was going to happen. (It ended up being a no-go)
Another comedian was the entertainment for tonight but since he came with a disclaimer that it was adult-oriented, we passed. We returned to our stateroom and ordered room service and watched a little of the movie San Andreas* before going to bed. 
*Cruise lines usually show different movies throughout the week and later have them on the TV as well. We were told by another cruiser during trivia that the theater was packed for the showings of San Andreas which I thought incredibly funny since we were in San Francisco. 

Tuesday - San Francisco
Another day in SF and it was going to be a busy one. Before leaving for the cruise, I checked on line to do a city tour and finally settled on doing a walking tour of Chinatown with a company called Wild SF. They claimed they were an eccentric bunch and not only talked about the history of the area but also more interesting tidbits. I was very excited to do this. 
We ate a quick breakfast (they had French Toast out with strawberry sauce and whip cream to put on them. Soooo yummy but unfortunately never saw the French Toast again). We were off the ship by 9:00 and soon out of the cruise terminal. Across the street we got on a bus that took us to Chinatown and then a 15 minute walk to the place where we met our guide. There were 8 of us excluding the guide.
This was a great tour! Our guide's name was Fischer and he was very engaging and animated. He asked trivia questions throughout the tour and gave out buttons and stickers as prizes.  Chinatown was super interesting and I'm glad I booked this particular tour. 
Here are some random pics. 

The next 3 pics are of nicknamed Hollywood Alley because many movies are filmed here making it look as though it's really in China. This is also where the Lucky Fortune Cookie Factory is located. It's a tiny place and we watched as the women would sit on the end of a conveyor belt and grab the flat cookie and fold it up before placing it in a bin. We got samples of the rejects. Yum. 
 

 

Our guide Fischer and a well-known Chinese barber that played the Erhu for us. He was actually featured in the movie 'The Pursuit of Happiness'

 At the end of the tour, Fischer invited anyone that wanted to join him for lunch at a Chinese restaurant nearby called Little Schezuan. Only one other person didn't join us so it was a nice group. The restaurant was already set up for us and their menu extensive. We were told their fruit smoothies were very good and so I ordered a Mango one. It was delicious and so refreshing. For some reason I thought the weather would be cooler but it was very warm so the smoothie really helped me cool down. The entrees were served family-style and placed on a Lazy Susan in the middle of the table. Everyone shared their food so I was able to try different things. This was a fun lunch and Fischer continued to tell us more interesting stories about Chinatown. 
I highly recommend Wild SF. 

The plan then was to go see the Golden Gate Bridge and visit the Welcome Center. I knew that a bus could take us but it was a 45-minute ride and we were short on time since we had all-aboard at 5:00. I asked Fischer if he thought Uber was a good idea to use and he suggested their competition Lyft instead. He also had a code for a free ride. I downloaded the app on my phone and our driver was just down the street so we were picked up within a minute. The usual fare would have been $18 but it was free this time so I only spent $5 for tip. Easy and definitely worth it as it only took us 20 minutes to get there. At the Welcome Center I pulled out my National Parks Passport book and got a stamp to add to others from various national park visits. I also got a cool magnet. We then went outside to take some pics. 

Fort Point is that building right below the bridge. This will always remind me of the movie Vertigo as a crucial scene takes place there.

From there we took a city bus over to Fisherman's Wharf since Leann has never been there. We walked around quite a bit and I bought a watercolor print of the Golden Gate Bridge from a street vendor. We finally got to the ship around 4:30. After resting a bit we got cleaned up for dinner. It was Italian night so I ordered the Eggplant Parmigiana. This was just okay. I prefer the breaded kind like at Olive Garden. Also this was a very small portion for being an entree. Dessert was Tiramisu. Italian music was piped in as well and diners were encouraged to twirl their napkins. Luckily, we were heading out of the dining room when this was going on.

After dinner we went to go to the Coral Theater to see the show which was a production of various singers and dancers. There were 4 singers in all, 2 men and 2 women and about 6 dancers. Songs performed were from all genres and some fell flat while others were done quite well. The first song was a rendition of 'Come Sail Away' by Styx in which they did an awesome job. 
After the show Leann wanted to go do Karaoke so we went to an area called the Hollywood Lounge which was right across the way from the disco, Vortex. The lounge was definitely set up for Karaoke with tiered seating and a small stage. It was a good turnout and the songs ranged from 'We Will Rock You' to 'Monster Mash'. I would say most of the cruisers who sang did not have knock-out voices but everyone was very supportive and cheered them on just the same so it was really fun. And no I didn't sing. I will not subject anyone to that form of torture. Leann did sing 'I Will Survive' though.
Afterwards, we went to check out Vortex and the DJ was playing 50's and 60's songs and maybe 3 people dancing. It was totally dead in there so we left. 
We returned to our stateroom and ordered room service while watching part of Aloha. I'M ON VACATION! Bedtime was after midnight. 
 

Our 2nd towel animal.

 
Wednesday - Monterey
Our port today was Monterey. Since I've been to Monterey a few times and didn't want to tender out, I remained on the ship while Leann went ashore. I came to realize that this point that I really do like hanging out on the ship and just relaxing (but I will make it a point in the future to venture out to ports I haven't visited yet). Breakfast was at the Windjammer and I sat with a couple of women from Romania. They told me they had done a Southwest trip with visiting the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon and Las Vegas before going to LA to take the cruise. These sort of trips are popular with non-Americans. 
After breakfast I went to the aft part of the ship where there is a large open area of covered tables and oversized cushion chairs. This is an extension of the Windjammer eating area so they had beverage stations and crew around which was nice to grab a glass of water while reading or relaxing.
Some time was also spent out here talking to my Mom and Jacqueline. 
Apparently, I only took 2 pics that day but this is the view I had from my perch in the aft section. 

Lunch was a short walk to the Windjammer and I got a hamburger and fries which was fine and some soft serve ice cream. The longest line at the buffet is always in front of the ice cream machine. 
Leann returned and we went to 'Logo/Mascot' Trivia which brought in a large turnout. In this game each team receives a xerox copy of 50 logos or mascots and you have 15 minutes to identify each one correctly. Some of these logos were very blurred since the copies were black and white and there was even one logo that was almost black and impossible to see. One person said (once we received the sheet) that if a team gets all 50 right they should automatically be disqualified. Well, guess who got all 50 right? Yep, the trivia queens. You can tell some people were upset about this and one person even yelled out 'how long have they been on the ship?' Leann and I were sitting close to the activities crew (who looked uncomfortable) and they quietly commented to us that they can't keep the trivia queens from playing. Bummer because the trivia queens totally sucked all the fun out of the games. We even once overheard one of the queens complain about the prize and the other say 'another pen?'. Yikes! 
There was actually another game of trivia after this one and unsurprisingly, the trivia queens did not participate. We still lost though. Stupid trivia. 

I failed on dinner pics this night. I ordered Spinach-filled Ravioli which was decent but I thought it was a little oily from the melted cheese and the portion small. But dessert easily made up for it as it was warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. So gooey and delicious and still wondering why I didn't take a picture of it. Elmer and Carolina both confessed it was their favorite dessert. By far it was the best dessert of the week. 
Tonight's show was a performance by the group Edge Effect. It consisted of 5 guys who sing acapella.  I'm usually not a fan of this and whenever I think of acapella boy bands I think about Andy and Here Comes Treble (watch The Office). The show was entertaining and they did a nice rendition of 'Hallelujah' and one of the guys did some beat boxing which was impressive but I had no plans to see their second show later in the week. 
Bedtime was actually early tonight at 10:00.

Thursday - Sea Day
Slept in until 9:30 and headed for breakfast at the Windjammer. They had biscuits and gravy out this time and I tried some which were okay. Leann went to go do her own thing while I sat out in the cushioned chairs in the aft section. We met up again to see the Parade of Flags. This is when crew members come out displaying their home flag. It was actually very cool. The CD then announced each country represented and with some countries, music was played and some crew members stepped out of the line and began dancing. The Indians were the best.

You can see the set up for a poolside BBQ that is ready to go after the parade.

Leann told me earlier in the week that passengers have access to the Helipad which is at the front of the ship so we took a walk over to check it out. 

This is where you have your 'I'm King of the World!' moment.

In my notes it says we went to the Tides dining room for lunch but unfortunately I don't have pics to back that up or any memory of such meal. Seriously weird. 
After lunch (supposedly) we went to the Coral Theater where the Cruise Director, John would be putting on a Niel Diamond show. He talked about Niel's life and career in between different songs that he sang. Most of the songs I never heard of but the last song 'America' was very energetic and lively and overall a decent show. 
Then we went to our room to rest up before formal dinner night. Dinner tonight was all kinds of seafood. The first pic is my appetizer which is a seafood salad. This was a bit strange and definitely not a favorite. Then of course it was the lobster tail. Elmer was kind enough to remove the 'meat' from the shell. He did it so quickly I literally looked away for a second and then it was out. Because this was only my second time having lobster, I wasn't sure if it was high-quality or not but I enjoyed it just the same. I was asked if I wanted another but I turned it down. Dessert was White Chocolate Mousse. YUM!
 

Tonight's performance in the Coral Theater were by the singers and dancers doing various songs from Broadway shows. I probably recognized only 3 songs out of 12. I did enjoy the show but thought the show earlier in the week was better. The CD came out and said that this was the last performance of the sing/dance crew as once we reached LA they were all going home. So there was lengthy applause for them at the end. It was definitely well-deserved. It's obvious they work hard as do all the crew members on the ship. 

After the show we decided to take a short visit to the casino checking out the slots and which ones we wanted to 'donate' our $20 to. Wheel of Fortune it is not. Then we went up to the Vortex. Tonight's theme was Michael Jackson songs and we thought there would be a good turnout. When we got there only 2 people were on the dance floor but they weren't really dancing. One of the guys had these two giant flags that he kept waving around and then another guy had a tambourine. It was so weird. Plus the songs were really obscure. Leann asked the DJ to play something more popular but he denied her saying he would wait until more people arrived. We waited another 15 minutes but only a couple more people showed up so we left. Big disappointment. *I was talking to some women the next day who recognized Leann and I at the club and I asked them if more people came after we left and they said no.
We returned to our stateroom and ordered room service while watching part of Pitch Perfect 2 then it was bed at midnight. 

Friday - Ensenada
Unfortunately, I don't have any notes on this day so completely playing it by ear. We arrived in Ensenada and I wanted to remain on the ship. Leann found some women who were going during breakfast so she went with them. It was a very warm day so after breakfast, I went around taking pictures of the Mexican port. For some reason I wasn't expecting a lot of mountains but it definitely was a good-sized city. As you can see Carnival joined us in port. 
Also this was a great dock. Everything was very organized and buses waited to transport passengers further into town. If you see in the middle of the pics a dark green rectangle this is a soccer field. While I was out in my aft section reading, I asked about the field and a crew member told me that employees who are off can go down there and play. There definitely was a game going on the whole time. 

I planned to do some last minute shopping in the ship's stores but because we were docked, all the shops were closed. Lunch was pizza and salad.  Leann returned from his trip with a few things and told me it wasn't as great as she thought as the vendors were pushy and lots of children selling Chiclets gum. I know she was disappointed because surprisingly this was the one port she was really looking forward to visiting. 
We attended another Trivia game of 'Movie Songs'. I thought for sure I would ace this game. Nope, I'm lame. I know I got more than half right but some of the movies were from the 1960's or earlier. 
Dinner tonight was going to be a splurge. I already decided to 'upgrade' my meal to a 9 oz. filet mignon for $20. This steak was amazing. Cooked perfectly and the vegetables were tasty too. There is a mound of mashed potatoes underneath that steak but I barely ate any as I didn't want to get full on potatoes. The filet was almost too much. The last few bites I was literally forcing down because I didn't want any to go to waste. Well worth the upcharge.

I guess I didn't pig out enough that I managed a slice of Key Lime Pie too?! Sheesh!

Around the time dessert was being served nearly all the passengers broke out singing 'Leaving On A Jet Plane'. It was so awesome and I got a bit teary-eyed too because I really liked Elmer and Carolina. I found out later that singing that song on the last night is tradition. We had been tipping them every night but on that last night, we left a bit extra. I know that most of these crew members send all of their pay home to their families. 
I don't recall attending the last show which was an encore presentation from Edge Effect. We went to Hollywood Lounge again and stayed for Karaoke for a while then went to our room to pack. I know for certain that I did NOT order room service this night!  
Bed by midnight. 

Saturday - Los Angeles 
Leann and I woke up with cold symptoms so it that wasn't too great but at least it happened on our departing day. Disembarking definitely ran more smoothly so once we got ready for the day we went to the Coral Theater to wait for our number to be called. We didn't wait that long and soon we were off the ship, gathering our luggage and boarding a bus to take us back to the airport. 

This was a fantastic cruise. I had such a good time and with no ill effects (like motion sickness issues I had on the Alaska cruise) I was really able to enjoy the cruise. The service was great as well as the food and activities of course. The best part of the cruise however is that it didn't end too quickly. By staying on the ship while at port on some days, I was really able to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. 

I highly recommend a West Coast cruise as LA is so close by (some depart out of San Diego) and the ports are great. 

Next on the horizon: Western Caribbean Cruise out of Galveston, TX in February

Happy Travels!