Day 1 - Departure for the cruise terminal in Long Beach
Everything our family of four needed for a week packed tightly into 4 suitcases, 1 snorkel bag, and 1 backpack/diaper bag (oh, and my small non-fanny pack purse). I was a bit concerned they weren't going to allow us to bring all this stuff, but no bells or sirens went off so we were safe.
We met up with our cruising buddies, Rob & Jen and their two kiddos and set out for our much awaited trip. The boys dozed a little in the car since they woke up not feeling 100% which left us with an uneventful drive to the Long Beach cruise terminal.
With all our gear unloaded we set out to board the ship. After checking the majority of our luggage, we were off to wait in the never ending line to ENTER the terminal. Thankfully the line moved quickly enough allowing us to get out of the hot California sun just to land us in another line to wait in. Since the boys were a little under the weather we were able to just sit on a bench and wait for our line to be called to the ticket counter. Poor Jen had to chase after her two who were FULL of energy. When our line was finally up it was time to wait in yet ANOTHER line. Thankfully it was the last line to get to the ticket counter. I think we spent almost 2 hours altogether waiting in line.
There are no pictures of us in the cruise terminal. Since it's considered a federal building no photography is allowed. We didn't bother to purchase the pre-boarding picture we took in front of a Mexican village. I thought it was somewhat cheesy and over-priced.
Once we were finally allowed on the boat we headed straight to our room to check out our "home away from home" for the next seven days.
Yes, we wore matching t-shirts. They turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. It was certainly a team effort though. Eric created our "design" and printed them onto iron-on transfers and I did ALL the ironing. That was a project! But they all turned out great.
The boys LOVED the bunk bed, until they got stuck on the ladder and couldn't get down on their own. We promptly removed the ladder and used the top bunk as a holding area for our miscellaneous stuff.
As soon as we were able to determine that lunch was being served, we headed to the back of the ship for a late lunch (around 3:00). We were all starving and getting rather cranky. The Super Dad duo of Eric & Rob went in search of food for our little brood while the boys played with this life-size chess set. Some people got quite a show since the boys were trying to completely reorganize the deck with all the chess pieces.
After eating we decided to wander around the boat and get a feel for where everything was located. We started at the stern (that would be the rear of the ship for all you non-boat people) and were able to look out over the Long Beach marina. A good deal of time was spent trying to find Grammy's boat (that would be my mom who lives on a boat).
With our tummies full and enough time wasted, we returned to our room in time for the much anticipated boat drill. We collected our life jackets and headed for our Muster Station. Let me just say walking up 3 flights of stairs with stubborn pre-schoolers engulfed by life-preservers is quite a task. Thankfully we killed enough time huffing it up the stairs to only have to endure 5 minutes waiting in the "rescue line." It was during this little wait that the boys received their neon green Muster Station B wristbands (in case we were separated during an actual emergency). They weren't too thrilled with the idea so we had to refer to them as their "boat watches." It's amazing how easily that worked. {They refused to take off their favorite accessories until just a couple days ago when they were forcefully removed.}
After surviving the boat drill we headed back to the cabin to relax before dinner. While Eric and Rob went off to explore on their own, I curled up with a book. Did I forget to mention the boys fell asleep almost the instant we set them on the bed? All the adrenaline finally exhausted, their little bodies could go no further. They were out like a light.
After dinner we went to an orientation meeting for Camp Carnival and met the ladies who would be watching our munchkins while we were off on our activities. We registered the boys, got our pagers, and headed for home.
Watching TV in bed we were informed of Tropical Storm Lowell that would be trying to thwart our voyage south. We would be hitting rough seas trying to sail around it. Nobody got sick this night.
Day 2 - Fun Day at Sea
The boys woke up with fevers over 101 degrees. I immediately thought our whole week was doomed. I loaded them up with children's Tylenol (don't worry - no overdosing) and we headed to The Mermaid Grille for breakfast. We quickly discovered that the boys don't like waiting for a buffet line when they're hungry for breakfast. It was quite a feat to keep them entertained while we waited for breakfast.
Thankfully the the boys' fevers broke sometime after breakfast and they were up for some play time. We took them to Camp Carnival and as we were leaving Eric had to restrain a very tall man from beating the snot out of some puny guy that nearly knocked a little girl over. It was a bit tense for a while. We were paged within a half hour because the boys wouldn't stop crying. After several unsuccessful attempts to calm the boys down, we caved and decided to go grab some lunch.
After lunch we were up for a little adventure, or at least swimming. We were all decked out to hop in the pool only to discover that everyone else had the same idea. Our new destination was the "kiddie pool" on an upper deck.
Yeah, it was only 6 inches of water, if that. Obviously it was little more than a puddle, so us big kids didn't enjoy much swimming this day.
After our romp in the pool we took the kids to Camp Carnival for some play time. Of course Brandon cried which got Andrew crying. After about 5 minutes we were able to sneak out. The boys only lasted 30 minutes before that dreaded pager went off again. When we showed up the ladies were doing their best trying to get the boys to color their Funship Freddy t-shirts. They weren't falling for their tricks though.
After a nap and many threats of losing their puppies & horsies, the boys returned to Camp Carnival (which shall be referred to as CC from here on out) so we could attend the formal dinner in the dining room. We did get a page during dinner but nobody answered when we called so we figured it was a false alarm. We finished dinner in relative peace and picked up the boys when dinner was done.
Day 3 - Fun Day at Sea
The seas were a little rougher this day thanks to TS Lowell. I was a little nauseous most of the day because of it. We decided to take advantage of having breakfast delivered to our room so the boys could eat immediately and without all the chaos. It definitely made a HUGE difference! The boys spent more time in CC due in large part to threats and bribes. Threats = NO puppies or horsies and Bribes = chocolate and/or ice cream. The boys were quite cooperative...I was impressed.
We kept the boys with us for dinner and braved the main dining room. They were very well-behaved and dined on gourmet mac & cheese.
After dinner we dropped the boys off at CC. We joined Rob & Jen for the conclusion of our rousing game of Phase 10, which I totally rocked & WON! Once we finished the game we caught a comedy show with a pretty mediocre ventriloquist. The comedian was much funnier when he ditched the doll, specifically when he picked the pockets of an OC Sheriff (iPOD, phone, wallet).
When we picked the boys up from CC they were SO excited to see us. The ladies complimented the boys on handling the whole experience much better. Awaiting us were hand prints and butterfly pictures. It was cute.
Day 4 - Puerto Vallarta
We woke up to GORGEOUS weather. No rain and tons of sunshine. We dropped the boys off at CC after having breakfast in our room again. They went straight in and even waved goodbye to us.As we disembarked the ship we were forced to endure about 6 rounds of pictures with various local props. It was insane. We overheard some locals saying it rained for two days prior to our arrival thanks to TS Lowell and we brought the sun with us. We had to wait a little bit to catch our catamaran to the Las Caletas Hideaway, but once underway, it was fabulous.
View from our table during buffet lunch
The excursion to Las Caletas was well worth the money. We enjoyed a fun boat trip along the coast which lasted about an hour and 20 minutes. Most of the beaches near Puerto Vallarta are only accessible by boat. The landscape was beautiful and lush. Once the catamaran was docked we were treated to a buffet lunch of ribs, chicken, tortillas, potatoes, etc. and unlimited beverages. After lunch we headed to the beach to snorkel. This was the only bummer of the day. Because of TS Lowell, the water was too murky to see more than 2 feet underwater and the ocean temperature was a balmy 95 degrees. Not very refreshing at all. With snorkeling a bust, we decided to kayak which was quite enjoyable. We even had a race - we won. After exhausting ourselves we opted for some lounging in the hammocks. When it came time for our day to end, we were treated to a dance party on the catamaran. It was somewhat entertaining to watch people go completely nuts with total strangers. For anyone planning a trip to PV, you definitely have to experience this - we used Vallarta Adventures for this tour. They were awesome!
When we got back to the ship, the boys were so jazzed. They had a fantastic day and were fairly happy all day. After getting cleaned up, all 8 of us decided to brave the main dining room for dinner. The kids did pretty well until they were completely full and we were still working on the second course. They barely made it to dessert when it was decided we should leave.
Back in our room a debate ensued of whether we should get off the ship again to go to Walmart. You read correctly, Puerto Vallarta has a Walmart just outside the harbor. We needed a few miscellaneous items, so we packed up the boys and made the short trek across the street. Let me just say that I LOVE living in the United States. After nearly meeting our end crossing the street, I'm thankful for crosswalks and pedestrians having the right-away. Not to mention the EPA standards for air quality - the smell was a combination of sewage and exhaust. A horrible combination during nice weather, once the rain started, even worse! We made it through Walmart without needing a translator and headed back to board the ship. Of course it started to dump buckets on us and the boys enjoyed every moment of trying to jump in all the puddles.
The PV sign and the green parrot cage
Day 5 - Mazatlan
Well, the beautiful weather we had in PV DID NOT follow us north to Mazatlan. The night before the four adults contemplated taking the kidlets off the boat for a little family excursion. Unfortunately, it was not in the cards. It was POURING rain - reminiscent of El Nino in 1997. Almost everyone getting off the ship was turning right back around to get back on once they saw how bad the rain was. We almost decided to stay on board ourselves, but figured it would be a while before we had the chance to return to Mazatlan. In hindsight, we probably should have gone with our first instinct, but we got an adventure out of it.The port in Mazatlan was not nearly as nice as PV and we had to take a trolley to get to the main street off the port. After dodging all the timeshare salespeople, we found a cab willing to take us anywhere we wanted for $10. We opted for "the mall" and got a watery tour of some of the coastline. When the cab came to a stop, we were practically yanked out by a couple guys standing on the sidewalk trying to lure us into their shops. It didn't look like the mall and when Rob tried to clarify, we were told it was 4 blocks back the way we just came. To top it off, we ended up having to pay an extra $5 for the ride. Apparently he gets paid from the shop owners if he drops tourists off in front of their store(s).
Thankfully the rain had subsided by the time we were left to backtrack on foot. We walked four blocks only to discover a residential area...no mall. If I ever cross paths with that cab driver again, I think I'll have to kick his rear-end! We finally got decent directions to the mall, which ended up being OVER A MILE back the way we came. To make matters worse it started to dump buckets, AGAIN. We spent a good hour dodging puddles (AKA swamps & rivers) and diving from tidal waves (buses & cars splashing us). Our clothes were drenched and our feet soaked (3 of us wore sandals...1 did not).
View of the flooding from inside the taxi
One of the fences we had to crawl through (the guys had to hop over it)
Eventually we made it to the mall where we quickly found a bathroom to attempt to dry off a bit. The bottom of my feet were dyed brown from my leather sandals - yuck! After determining the mall was a bust, we set out in search of a good restaurant to have lunch at. Rob convinced us to embark on the added adventure that is public transportation instead of hiring another taxi. For $0.50 each we got an "insider's" tour of the city on THE BUS. Our bus ride was probably the highlight of our day. Once we got used to the puddles on the seat (all the windows were open during the rain), the ride was quite entertaining. After all the locals got off, I think the driver decided to "treat" us to a real Mexican bus ride. He was flying down these little two lane streets in the middle of the business district. Keep in mind the streets are flooded, there are tons of people walking on the sidewalks and crossing streets, and TONS of other vehicles. Our first brush with death was trying to cut-off a charter bus (bigger than ours) - somehow we won that battle. Next a semi-truck almost broadsided us - good thing his brakes were working, he missed us by inches. We almost hit several little cars thinking they could pull out in front of our bus. Thankfully, they had second thoughts before they crossed into the line of fire. In the middle of all these near death experiences we were witness to a poor little boy getting doused by a tidal wave intentionally created by our driver. It was sad, but totally hysterical at the same time. We laughed so hard it got the driver laughing. When we caught him laughing with (at) us, he laughed even harder.
The mall (probably the size of ONE department store here)
The close-up of the overflowing sewer in front of the mall
Not a good smell
Some guy pulled over while we were waiting for the bus to give us a ride
(It was still raining)
As our little jaunt on the bus came to a close, we were dropped off in front of a very authentic Mexican restaraunt for lunch. How did he know we were hungry??? Rob served a mission in Uraguay and was telling us about this awesome dish he used to have all the time. So we all got the mystery dish and waited for it to arrive. It was called Milanesa (cordon bleu) which is country fried steak with ham & cheese inside. It was very tasty - I actually ate all of it.
Thankfully the restaraunt we ate at was within walking distance of the the port entrance. We made it back to the ship in one piece, albeit damp. We raced to CC to pick up the boys who were rewarded with ice cream for doing so well while we were gone. With our bellies full, we went back to our room for a quick nap. About 3 hours later, we were awakened by a phone call from Rob & Jen wondering what the heck we'd been doing. While coaxing the boys to sleep we fell asleep as well. I guess all that exploring caught up with us. After dinner we dropped the boys off at CC for an hour so we could catch a show. It was really good. The first act was Barry Van Wie (America's Got Talent) playing the electric fiddle - he was pretty amazing. He was followed by a comedian named JeRome. He was completely hysterical (and we were at the "family" show). It was nice to relax for a little bit before retrieving the boys. Bedtime was severely delayed due to our late and extensive napping. Oh well, we were on vacation.
Mazatlan in the background since the boys didn't get off the boat
Of course we got a late start since we slept in. We woke up to the steward banging on our door trying to deliver our breakfast. Once again, we dropped the boys off at CC and dashed for the exit. There isn't a dock large enough for cruise ships in Cabo, so we were anchored in the middle of the Sea of Cortez. We hopped on to a tender (basically a small ferry boat) to get to dry land. We hoped we were in for a good day since the sunshine had returned! Yeah!
Lover's Cove in the background
I realized half-way to the dock that I'd forgotten my sunglasses - first mission was to find a cheap pair to get me through the day. Well, I had been warned by some friends that the vendors triple their prices the days the cruise ships are in port so I was on the defensive. I found some sunglasses that would do the job and got my first experience of haggling. Here's how the conversation went: The guy wanted me to pay $16, but I said 'forget it' and started to walk away, 'ok, $13'. 'Well, I just heard you tell those other people $10'. 'Ok, you can have them for $10'. I SO TOTALLY ROCK! They're probably only worth $7, but hey, I got $6 bucks knocked off the original price.
In the rocks you can see a face, a seahorse, and a "goblin" face
While I was in the midst of intense negotiations, Eric and Rob (mostly Rob since he speaks Spanish) were busy arranging for a water taxi to transport us to Lover's Cove. We hopped in a glass-bottom boat and made our way to the cove. Upon arrival we were expected to pay, and instead of the $3.50 per person previously arranged, the captain wanted $5 each. He held us hostage and refused to pull up to the beach until we payed the whole amount. We sat just off the beach for almost 10 minutes while Rob tried to guilt the guy into sticking to the original agreement. The captain finally agreed to come back for us at a pre-determined time if we just paid the price he wanted. We caved since we figured he'd probably kidnap us if we didn't comply, besides the fact we were holding up the other group in the boat that was going on a tour.
At Lover's Cove we headed over to the Pacific Ocean side to watch the monsterous waves. Some people told us that even the locals won't swim on that side since the water is just insane. Of course there's always an idiot that thinks they can handle anything who was getting clobbered in the crashing waves. We were lucky enough to witness another moron on a SeaDoo trying to get over the waves back into the ocean so he can get back around to the other side of the cove to calmer waters. He and his girlfriend almost got flipped over because the waves were so massive.
PACIFIC OCEAN
Sea of Cortez
After about an hour of sunbathing and lounging in the water, we opted for a change of scenery. It got pretty crowded with tourists from two cruise ships trying to squeeze in as much fun as possible before rushing to get back on the boat. Remember how there isn't a dock for the water taxi to pull up to? You have to jump up into the boat while the swells are coming in. Jenny & I needed assistance. Jenny was first in, or rather tossed in. And I wasn't much different. The landing was a bit rough. This water taxi driver reminded me of our cab driver in Mazatlan the day before. He of course took us across the Sea of Cortez to another beach instead of back to the main pier. The only way back was to hire another water taxi or walk completely around the marina. We chose to walk (about 1 mile).
We ended up at a place called Las Quesadillas for lunch where we all had some form of tacos. The guacamole was delicious and somewhat made up for the apparent lack of salsa in Mexico. We found a little shop that sold t-shirts and bought our only souveniers of the trip (other than my sunglasses) - 2 shirts for the boys.
Eventually we made it back to the main dock to catch a tender back to the ship. I have never seen so many street vendors in one place selling all the same stuff/junk/crap. Literally every 3 feet people were lined up. Crazy!
When we got back on the boat, we called down to CC to learn that the boys were doing great and didn't need us at the moment. We took advantage of the opportunity to jump in to the pool, FINALLY. Imagine my surprise when after jumping in I come up from underwater gasping and rubbing my eyes. It was a salt-water pool. Yuck! But it felt wonderful nonetheless. After an hour kid-free, I picked the boys up and got them changed to go in the pool.
SIDE NOTE: Eric's aunt bought the boys these trunks with a built in swim diaper. No "Little Swimmers" required. They were a dream! If you want to know the brand, e-mail me and I'll let you know. It's approved for swim lessons in public pools if your kid(s) aren't potty-trained.
Anyway, we all floated around in the pool. The boys finally figured out how to swim around (with swim jackets) without needing to be held. It was somewhat relaxing.
After dinner, we opted to stay in our room to hang out with the boys. It's strange how much we missed them - we were only gone for a few hours. The boys enjoyed playing with the action figures we had brought along and discovered a new passion for jumping from the windowsill on to the bed.
Day 7 - Final Fun Day at Sea
We decided to keep the boys with us for the day. We spent a lot of time walking around the ship or just relaxing in our room. It was a little cold and really windy, so there weren't a lot of people outside. It was so fun to spend time with the kids without having to worry about cleaning the house, preparing meals, answering the phone, etc. I think they enjoyed the undivided attention as well.
At lunch, the 8 of us decided to have lunch in the main dining room just to shake things up a bit (the food in the Grille was getting a bit repetitious). Jenny & I both ordered the Antipasta thinking it would be some mozzarella sticks, salami, maybe some fried calamari...
An actual minature octopus came out on the plate. Gross!!
Once back in the room, I started packing up our bags in order to have them picked up for disembarking the ship. With that done, we lounged around for the remainder of the evening leaving only once for a quick and final ice cream run.
Day 8 - We're headed HOME!
They kicked us out of our room by 8:30 a.m. only to make us loiter around until our baggage number was called...ours was 25. Unforturnately for Eric, he got sick after lunch the previous day and was still in dire straights. We lasted only an hour and a half before Eric was ready to puked on a crew member's shoes just to get off the ship faster.
Thankfully a sweet lady at the Purser's Desk was sympathetic to the situation and told us to just get in line to disembark. It only took an hour to wait in line to go through customs. It was smooth sailing from there on out. Our luggage was patiently waiting for us and we packed up the car and headed home. I actually drove since Eric felt SO badly.
We had a fabulous time and enjoyed spending time together as a family. We look forward to creating many more happy memories in the years to come. We're thinking Alaska cruise in 2010.
5 comments:
I need to get some of those pics from you. Glad you were so detailed, brought back good memories. Let's definately do it again!!
I think an Alaskan cruise sounds gerat! We will join you in 2010!! I loved this post! It was great fun to read!! What a fun time and memories you won't forget!! I laughed and laughed! Love you guys!!
Sounds like you guys had a blast. I'd like to know about those swim diaper swim trunks? Swim diapers are seriously disgusting if your child every poops in them!!! Anyways, what a fun trip for you guys! I haven't seen you guys in forever, we really should get together!!!
A true Jacklin adventure!!!! Sounds like fun. Nice pictures and wonderful detail of your trip. I could imagine being there.
FUN, FUN, FUN! We want to go next time. =)
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