Magical Moments from Mexico

I have a newfound love for Mexico after spending one month on the Ruby Princess and getting the wonderful opportunity to experience several shore excursions. There is so much beauty and adventure in Mexico I never knew about until my November/December 2017 contract.

I have listed the tour name and a link to the tour description provided by Princess Cruises. My thoughts about the tours are written below the tour name.


Mazatlan: Concordia, Copala & Golden Zone
A great tour to experience three different traditional villages and watch their craftsmanship (tile making, pottery, and masks) in action.


Cabo San Lucas: El Arco Cruise & Playa Medano
I can't go to Cabo and not take a catamaran to see the famous arches up close. After our catamaran ride we went to Medano beach where resort staff brought lunch to us while we relaxed on the lounge chairs.

 

Catalina Island: Catalina Semi-Sub
There is an option to purchase fish food which you can launch out of the semi-submarine with a push of a button. It was so amusing to see a swarm of fishes congregate by my porthole with the push of a button.

Ensenada: City Drive & Mexican Folkloric Festival
I loved the opportunity to watch a mariachi band perform live and adored watching the dancers perform their traditional dances.

Dancing with a glass of water on their head and not spilling any water!

San Diego: San Diego Zoo Safari Park
I would love to go on a safari in Africa one day but the San Diego Zoo Safari Park was the closest thing I could do to experience a safari at the moment. My favourite part was watching the behaviour of the gorillas: I was mesmerized by them.
Tip: Go on the "Africa Tram" as soon as you get to the Safari Park to avoid line-ups later on in the day.

Giraffes spotted while on the "Africa Tram"

Gorillas :)

La Paz: Snorkeling with Sea Lions
Still pinching myself over the amazing experience of getting to snorkel in San Rafaelito Bay where a sea lion colony resides. While looking at the fishes and coral reef below me through my goggles a group of sea lions came swimming by! This was unlike any snorkeling experience I had ever done. I will never forget the first time I saw a giant sea lion sneak by under me while I was snorkeling...absolutely incredible!

Some relaxing time at the beach before snorkeling

Puerto Vallarta: Kayaking, Waterfall & Snorkeling Safari
Hands down one of the best tours offered in Mexico! A full day of activities including horseback riding, swimming in the waterfalls and snorkeling were done on this tour. To finish off the tour we had a buffet lunch at a private beach. Kayaking and stand up paddle boarding were also available at the private beach for those who wanted to do it. On the catamaran ride back to the ship we saw a couple of whales breaching within close proximity to us as well as dolphins swimming by to make this already magical day even more special. 

Puerto Vallarta: Jungle Zipline Adventure
So much fun and adrenaline! The tour guides were so energetic and friendly they were able to convince me to zipline upside down as well as to rappel down 70 feet from the tree platform to the ground. The best part of the whole tour was the pendulum swing which I was initially hesitant to do but ended up loving.


Loreto:
I didn't do a tour but it was my first time at this port and I kept saying over and over "I can't believe how beautiful it is here!"
Just walking around the waterfront area and the shopping street made for a great day in Loreto.

Muchas gracias Mexico! There is so much more to discover about you. I look forward to coming back soon.

California Coastal Captured on Camera

San Francisco

Golden Gate Bridge

Alcatraz

Sea lions at Pier 39

Fishermans Wharf has lots of fresh seafood places to eat at

Long Beach

Long Beach Performing Arts Center

Courtyard in front of the Performing Arts Center

Tip: There is a free red shuttle bus (called the Passport Bus) which takes you from the port to downtown in 30-45 minutes. After exiting the port, make a right towards the parking lot of the Queen Mary cruise ship terminal and you'll see the bus stop at the end of the parking lot.
The bus comes every 10-15 minutes on weekdays and every 10-30 minutes on weekends. It stops at the Aquarium, Shoreline Village, Pacific at Ocean, and 3rd at Promenade (final stop). Then it makes its way back from 3rd at Promenade to the port in the reverse order instead of heading straight back to the port (i.e. it goes to Pacific at Ocean, then Shoreline Village, then the Aquarium before the port again).


Santa Barbara

A beautiful port with a lot of great photo opportunities but I didn't take any pictures this time. Sometimes you just have to live in the moment and capture memories without a photograph and sometimes you just spend too much time at the 99 cent store. It was a bit of both in my case.


San Diego

NBC Studios

Statue of the iconic "V-J Day in Times Square" photo

Ensenada, Mexico

Interesting head statues

Scenic view of the city

Snorkeling in Cabo and Shopping in Santa Barbara

Hola amigos y amigas! Upon arrival back home to frost on the ground and Christmas lights on display I was reminded that Christmas is just weeks away! Being away from Vancouver for ten days to work on the Star Princess during the busy U.S. Thanksgiving period I forgot all about these brisk winter days.

I had a fantastic time doing two short cruises out of Los Angeles. The first cruise did an overnight stay in Cabo San Lucas while the second cruise had stops in Santa Barbara and Ensenada.


Cabo San Lucas
Night 1:
I got off the ship after my work shift at around 7pm  and was quickly placed on a tender filled with fellow crew members. There are plenty of souvenir shops and restaurants/bars near the pier. We walked past that area and found a shopping mall with air conditioning. This was great since it was surprisingly humid even at night. After walking around the mall for a bit we headed back to the pier to catch the tender back to the ship.
Tip: There are two beaches within walking distance of the pier. If you need directions the tour operators with booths lined up near the pier that we talked to were all very helpful.

Day 2:
There are tons of amazing shore excursions to do in Cabo San Lucas which made it hard to pick just one. I did the Sea of Cortez Zodiac Raft & Snorkel and had an amazing time. Ever since my first time in Cabo San Lucas last year when I wasn't able to get off the ship I knew I wanted to see the famous landmark El Arco up close. The zodiac raft took us around the waters and we stopped within a few feet of El Arco. We saw dozens of sea lions lying on the rock formations in the middle of the sea as well as whales in the distance.

El Arco

Chileno Bay was our first stop for snorkeling. It was my first time snorkeling and it took some time for me to get used to wearing the snorkeling mask and to learn to breathe only through my mouth. From the first moment I stuck my head in the water and saw all the coral and tropical fishes I was hooked! It was absolutely beautiful to see and I couldn't believe how clear the waters were or how deep the sea was. It wasn't long until I was sticking my head underwater for longer periods and swimming around to see all the beauty around me. Unfortunately, motion sickness from snorkeling caught up to me just as we all had to head back onto the zodiac raft to go to our next snorkeling site. I was disappointed that I couldn't snorkel with the group at the second location. According to the group I was with there was an even greater variety of sea life at this site. However, there was a beach that was close enough for me and the rest of the motion sick passengers to swim to. A handful of motion sick passengers (including myself) relaxed on the beach and soaked up the sun.
Overall, even though I ended up getting motion sick from snorkeling I still had a fabulous time and want to go snorkeling again in the very near future!


Santa Barbara
This was a tendered port. There is a beach located right by the pier and the sidewalks are lined with palm trees. My first thought upon getting off the pier was how Santa Barbara looks and feels very California-esque. It's a very walkable city and the main shopping street/district called State Street is filled with stores, malls, restaurants, and fast food places. It also just happened to be Black Friday on the day we were in Santa Barbara so going shopping on State Street was an obvious choice for us. My favourite place ended up being the 99 cent store. This place had name brand snacks at the cheapest prices so we picked up some goodies. After walking around State Street for a few hours we went back to the beach near the pier to enjoy the scenery, sunshine and our snacks.

The beach by the pier

Ensenada
There was a crew drill in the morning and I worked in the afternoon so I wasn't able to get off the ship at this port.


It was a short but sweet trip. Hasta luego!

Muchas Gracias Mexico

I recently came back from a 1 week cruise to Mexico. With 700 kids on the ship it was definitely a busy week for me and all the youth staff on the ship.

After joining the ship in Los Angeles and working back to back 11-hour days we were in our first port of call: Puerto Vallarta. It was so nice to feel the heat and sun in Mexico on what would have been a cold November day back home in Vancouver. The beach was just mere steps from the port so we spent our day in Puerto Vallarta at the beach soaking in the sun.

The closest beach to where the ship docked in Puerto Vallarta

The second port of call was Mazatlan. Upon docking there was a complimentary open-air shuttle to take passengers from the commercial port area to the cruise terminal where several shops are located and taxis are waiting. We took a taxi into the part of town known as the "Golden Zone". From there we walked along the beach, dipped our toes in the ocean, and marveled at the souvenirs for sale in the various stores. When it was time to head back to the ship we took an "open-air taxi" which is essentially a golf cart. It was a lot of fun having the wind blow in our hair while the taxi driver pointed out various attractions along the way.

The third and final port of call was Cabo San Lucas. I was on-call for port day supervision so I wasn't able to get off the ship in Cabo. However, I did enjoy the lovely sunshine in Cabo while reading a book on the crew deck.

View of Cabo from the crew deck

The timing was perfect for me to be in Mexico because it gave me a chance to practice my Spanish. I have diligently been learning Spanish using Duolingo and I was excited to get a chance to speak and listen to native Spanish speakers. Hasta mañana Mexico!

A Log Of Completed Cruises

As a passenger:
1. August 2008 - 7 night Alaska cruise on the Celebrity Mercury
Roundtrip Vancouver
Ports: Ketchikan; Hubbard Glacier (scenic cruising); Juneau; Sitka

2. August 2009 - 7 night Western Caribbean cruise on the Liberty of the Seas (RCCL)
Roundtrip Miami
Ports: Labadee, Haiti (private island); Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Cozumel, Mexico

3. May 2010 - 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Solstice
Roundtrip Fort Lauderdale
Ports: San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; St. Maarten

4. October 2011 - 4 night Bahamas cruise on the Norwegian Sky
Roundtrip Miami
Ports: Nassau; Great Stirrup Cay

5. May  2012 - 14 night Hawaii cruise on the Celebrity Century Read about it here
Roundtrip San Diego
Ports: Honolulu (Oahu); Lahaina (Maui); Kona; Hilo; Ensenada, Mexico

6. May 2014 - 14 night Japan (Transpacific) cruise on the Celebrity Millennium Read about it here
Yokohama to Vancouver
Ports: Tokyo (Yokohama), Japan; Hakodate, Japan; Sapporo (Muroran), Japan; Petropavlovsk, Russia

7. February/March 2015 - 14 night Southeast Asia cruise on the Celebrity Century Read about it here
Roundtrip Singapore
Ports: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei; Nha Trang, Vietnam; Ho Chi Minh (Phu My), Vietnam; Bangkok (Laemchabang), Thailand

8. September 2016 - 15 night Bering Sea and Japan cruise on the Celebrity Millennium Read about it here
Read about my 5 day post-cruise experience in Japan here
Vancouver to Yokohama
Ports: Dutch Harbor, Alaska; Otaru, Japan; Hakodate, Japan; Tokyo, Japan

**Non-cruise trip**
1. September 2017 - 10 day East Coast Canada bus tour Read about it here
Provinces: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island


As a crew member:
1. December 2012/January 2013 - 2 weeks on the Ruby Princess
(2x 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise roundtrip Fort Lauderdale)
Ports: Princess Cays, Bahamas (private island); St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; St. Maarten; Grand Turk, Turk & Caicos

2. June/July/August 2014 - 11 weeks on the Golden Princess Read about it here
(11x 7 night Alaska cruise roundtrip Seattle)
Ports: Juneau; Skagway; Glacier Bay (scenic cruising); Ketchikan; Victoria, BC

3. November 2014 - 1 week on the Crown Princess Read about it here
7 night Mexico cruise roundtrip Los Angeles
Ports: Puerto Vallarta; Mazatlan; Cabo San Lucas

4. December 2014/January 2015 - 7 weeks on the Sun Princess
(1x 7 night Tasmania cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Hobart; Port Arthur; Burnie; Melbourne
(1x 13 night Fiji and South Pacific cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Noumea, New Caledonia; Port Denarau, Fiji; Suva, Fiji; Savusavu, Fiji; Dravuni Island, Fiji; Lifou, New Caledonia
(2x 13 night New Zealand cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Fjordland National Park (scenic cruising); Port Chalmers; Akaroa; Wellington; Napier; Tauranga; Auckland; Bay of Islands

5. March/April 2015 - 4 weeks on the Regal Princess Read about it here
(4x 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise roundtrip Fort Lauderdale)
Ports: Princess Cays, Bahamas (private island); St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; St. Maarten

6. June/July/August 2015 - 10 weeks on the Ruby Princess Read about it here
(10x 7 night Alaska cruise roundtrip Seattle)
Ports: Ketchikan; Tracy Arm Fjord (scenic cruising); Juneau; Skagway; Victoria, BC

7. November 2015 - 9 days on the Star Princess Read about it here
(1x 5 night Baja Peninsula cruise roundtrip Los Angeles)
Ports: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
(1x 4 night West Coast cruise roundtrip Los Angeles)
Ports: Santa Barbara, California; Ensenda, Mexico

8. December 2015/January 2016 - 5 weeks on the Sea Princess
(1x 11 night New Caledonia and Vanuatu cruise roundtrip Brisbane) Read about it here
Ports: Port Vila, Vanuatu; Mystery Island, Vanuatu; Champagne Bay, Vanuatu; Noumea, New Caledonia
(1x 14 night New Zealand cruise roundtrip Brisbane) Read about it here
Ports: Auckland; Tauranga; Napier; Wellington; Akaroa; Port Chalmers
(1x 10 night New Caledonia and Vanuatu cruise roundtrip Brisbane) Read about it here
Ports: Champagne Bay, Vanuatu; Port Vila, Vanuatu; Lifou, New Caledonia; Noumea, New Caledonia

9. March 2016 - 2 weeks on the Grand Princess Read about it here
(2x 7 night California Coast cruise roundtrip San Francisco)
Ports: Santa Barbara, California; Long Beach, California; San Diego, California; Ensenada, Mexico

10. June 2016 - 10 days on the Grand Princess
(1x 10 night Alaska Inside Passage cruise roundtrip San Francisco) 
Ports: Ketchikan; Juneau; Icy Strait Point; Tracy Arm Fjord (scenic cruising); Victoria, BC

11. June/July 2016 - 3 weeks on the Coral Princess
(2x 7 night Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers cruise Vancouver to Whittier) Read about it here
Ports: Ketchikan; Juneau; Skagway; Glacier Bay (scenic cruising); College Fjord (scenic cruising)
(1x 7 night Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers cruise Whittier to Vancouver) 
Ports: Hubbard Glacier (scenic cruising); Glacier Bay (scenic cruising); Skagway; Juneau; Ketchikan 

12. August 2016 - 25 days on the Sapphire Princess (Chinese Chartered Cruises) Read about it here
(6x 4/5 Night Japan & South Korea cruise roundtrip Shanghai)
Ports: Jeju, South Korea; Nagasaki, Japan; Hakata (Fukuoka), Japan; Kagoshima, Japan; Busan, South Korea

13. December 2016/January 2017- 7 weeks on the Emerald Princess
(1x 7 night Tasmania cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Melbourne; Wineglass Bay (scenic cruising); Great Oyster Bay (scenic cruising); Hobart; Port Arthur 
(1x 14 night New Zealand cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Bay of Islands; Auckland; Tauranga; Picton; Wellington; Akaroa; Port Chalmers; Fjordland National Park (scenic crusing)
(1x 8 night Tasmania cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Port Arthur; Hobart; Wineglass Bay (scenic cruising); Great Oyster Bay (scenic cruising); Melbourne (overnight)
(1x 11 night New Zealand cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Fjordland National Park (scenic cruising); Port Chalmers; Akaroa; Picton; Wellington
(1x 11 night New Caledonia and Vanuatu cruise roundtrip Sydney) Read about it here
Ports: Noumea, New Caledonia; Lifou, New Caledonia; Mystery Island, Vanuatu; Port Vila, Vanuatu; Champagne Bay, Vanuatua

14. June 2017 - 20 days on the Grand Princess
(2x 10 night Alaska Inside Passage cruise roundtrip San Francisco) Read about it here
Ports: Ketchikan; Juneau; Icy Strait Point; Tracy Arm Fjord (scenic cruising); Victoria, BC

15. July 2017 - 3 weeks on the Royal Princess
(1x 7 night Greek Isles cruise roundtrip Athens [Port of Piraeus]) Read about it here
Ports: Katakolon (Olympia), Greece; Kotor, Montenegro; Mykonos, Greece; Rhodes, Greece; Chios, Greece
(1x 7 night Mediterranean and Adriatic cruise from Athens [Port of Piraeus] to Barcelona) Read about it here
Ports: Santorini, Greece; Kotor, Montenegro; Messina, Italy; Naples, Italy
(1x 7 night Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona to Civitavecchia [Rome]) Read about it here
Ports: Cartagena, Spain; Gibraltar, UK; Marseille, France; Genoa, Italy; Livorno, Italy

16. August 2017 - 10 days on the Grand Princess
(1x 10 night Alaska Inside Passage cruise roundtrip San Francisco) 
Ports: Ketchikan; Juneau; Icy Strait Point; Tracy Arm Fjord (scenic cruising); Victoria, BC

17. August/September 2017 - 7 days on the Sapphire Princess (Chinese Chartered Cruises) Read about it here
(1x 3 night Japan's Ryukuu Islands and 1x 4 night Japan's Ryukuu Islands roundtrip Taiwan)
Ports: Okinawa; Miyakojima; Ishigaki

18. November/December 2017 - 4 weeks on the Ruby Princess Read about it here
(2x 7 night Mexican Riviera cruise roundtrip Los Angeles)
Ports: Puerto Vallarta; Mazatlan; Cabo San Lucas
(1x 4 night West Coast Getaway with Catalina Island cruise roundtrip Los Angeles)
Ports: Catalina Island, California; Ensenada
(1x 10 night Baja Peninsula and Sea of Cortez cruise roundtrip Los Angeles)
Ports: San Diego, California; Cabo San Lucas; La Paz; Loreto; Puerto Vallarta

19. December 2017/January 2018 - 30 days on the Royal Princess Read about it here
(1x 10 night Eastern Caribbean Voyager cruise roundtrip Fort Lauderdale)
Ports: Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis; Bridgetown, Barbados; Fort de France, Martinique; St. John's, Antigua & Barbuda
(1x 10 night Southern Caribbean Medley cruise roundtrip Fort Lauderdale)
Ports: Princess Cays, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Fort de France, Martinique; St. George's, Grenada; Kralendijk, Bonaire; Willemstad, Curacao
(1x 10 night Eastern Caribbean Voyager cruise roundtrip Fort Lauderdale)
Ports: Princess Cays, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis; Castries, St. Lucia; Bridgetown, Barbados; St. John's, Antigua & Barbuda

20. June 2018 - 2 weeks on the Golden Princess
(1x 7 night Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers cruise Vancouver to Whittier)
Ports: Ketchikan; Juneau; Skagway; Glacier Bay (scenic cruising); College Fjord (scenic cruising)
(1x 7 night Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers cruise Whittier to Vancouver)
Ports: Hubbard Glacier (scenic cruising); Glacier Bay (scenic cruising); Skagway; Juneau; Ketchikan 

21. July 2018 - 1 week on the Sun Princess See photos here
(1x 7 night Asia cruise Singapore to Taiwan)
Ports: Phu My, Vietnam; Nha Trang, Vietnam; Hong Kong (overnight)

22. July 2018 - 1 week on the Golden Princess
(1x 7 night Alaska Voyage of the Glaciers cruise Vancouver to Whittier)
Ports: Ketchikan; Juneau; Skagway; Glacier Bay (scenic cruising); College Fjord (scenic cruising)

23. July/August 2018 - 3 weeks on the Sapphire Princess
(1x 14 night Mediterranean cruise roundtrip Southampton) See photos here
Ports: Barcelona, Spain; Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy; Livorno, Italy; Genoa, Italy; Marseilles, France; Gibraltar, UK
(1x 7 night Norwegian Fjords cruise roundtrip Southampton) See photos here
Ports: Stavanger; Olden; Geiranger; Bergen