Sunday, February 4, 2018

Sea Days and a Stop in Ensenada, Mexico

As we headed towards our next port of Ensenada, Mexico, we saw this beautiful sunrise one morning...

I loved the way it coloured the sky...

And some fluffy pink clouds at sunset. The sea days on a cruise are lazy and wonderful.

We were meandering along towards Mexico...

In honour of Mexico's Constitution Day on February 5, there were banners in the atrium. I always associate these with the Day of the Dead, but apparently not.



A sample menu...sorry for the reflection. I hadn't planned on taking it for the blog, but only so I could remember to tell Jim what was for dinner when I got back to the cabin.

The shows on this cruise were so well attended that you had to arrive at least 30 minutes before if you wanted a seat. I guess on sea days, these are the highlight of the day.

We had already been to the specialty restaurant, Sterling Steakhouse, but decided to pay a return visit. The food is amazing and Jonathan, our waiter, was outstanding on both visits.

The lovely Cesia commented on my dress, asking if I got it in Mexico. This girl can spot her native clothing!

These three were hilarious...it's not unusual to have someone come into the restaurant on a motorized scooter. Once they are seated at a table, one of the waiters will drive the scooter away until it is needed. George, in the middle, hopped on a lady's scooter, but didn't realized it was quite powerful. He almost ran it into Jim and only got the brakes on when he ran up against our table. The look on his face only got worse when he put it in reverse and almost rammed the table behind us. The maitre d' on the left was bent over double he was laughing so hard. It was pretty hilarious! Glad no one got hurt!

Goofy shots!

Cesia loved Jim even more when she spied his Mexican guayabera shirt. We gave her a little taste of home.

Dimitri worked in the pastry bar in the atrium during the day and in the steakhouse at night. I was trying to get a photo of him, but he wouldn't slow down.

Then he realized I was really trying hard to get his photo so made it a point to be busy!

Yeah, it would have helped if I had turned the plate around. Little tiny desserts all beautifully decorated.

Land ho! We're coming into Ensenada, Mexico...

A stop in a foreign port is required as part of the Passenger Vessel Services Act. Go figure...

I could see some seals waiting for us!

Look how close we were to the ship behind us as we swung around. Seriously, they can do amazing things with vessels this size.

Lots of activity, but Jim and I opted to stay on board.


Look at the height of this pole. Well, you could if I had managed to get all of it in the photo. It's in the middle of a park, which lots of people were enjoying on a Sunday.



We still hadn't docked, so I was amusing myself by trying to capture birds in flight...


Almost docked...

The workers had us tied up, much to the annoyance of the seals who gave up their sun spot and slipped back into the water.

They did provide me with much amusement over the next 30 minutes...



He looks so content...

The coast is clear! Everybody coming back...

Buddy decided he was going to reclaim his sun spot...

It's hard work being a seal...

He made it up and another came to join in, barking loudly the whole time.

Looks like they're sharing a laugh...probably watching all the passengers disembarking.

The line up to check out the town...


Sadly, we are quite often met by ambulances at a port on any cruise. The demographic is quite old and the chances of someone needing medical attention are high.

We were only there from 4 to 8 pm, so it was soon time to set sail again for our destination port of San Francisco.


One more sea day...and a chance for Movies under the Stars. You were given blankets and bags of popcorn. You needed the blanket!

And sadly, our cruise was over as we made our way into San Francisco in the early morning hours.

San Francisco with Coit Tower on the hill...

A last view of the hot tub...

The port with Alcatraz prison in the background...

The city coming to life...

Disembarkation was pretty smooth and then we were in a taxi and heading for the airport. Goodbye, Grand Princess!

Hello San Francisco airport!

And hello Toronto...yup, that's snow covering the plane window.

A very blustery day in Toronto...

And back into New Brunswick...

It was a lovely getaway to break up the winter. Next trip planned...to England at the end of May with my sister and her husband! Here endeth this blog.