Nostalgia

In anticipation of our new cruise, I've been thinking a lot about our very first cruise. Also to Mexico. We set sail on April 27th, 2004 from the Port of San Pedro aboard The Monarch of the Seas. We went for our 2nd Anniversary. And we've been hooked ever since!

We boarded the ship, dropped our stuff off in our room and headed right out to the upper decks. Everyone was already in their bathing suits, sprawled out on deck chairs sipping fruity cocktails. It was so exciting!



As we began pushing away from shore, we took photos and waved goodbye to the onlookers. We sat out there until it was time for the emergency drill. We had to go to our cabin and put on our life jackets. Then we proceeded to one of the outside decks to listen to the emergency evacuation instructions. It was then that we really started feeling the ship moving under our feet. We didn't feel nauseous, but it took us a while to get use to having to compensate for the movement.

After the drill, it was time for dinner. We arrived at the dining room where we were sat at a table for six. I couldn't tell you anything about the other people we ate with, we weren't very social. And one of the couples never came back to dinner after the first night. (I guess they didn't enjoy our company!) What I do remember is the food! It was great. Bebe and I each ordered an appetizer and a entree, but we noticed that someone else at our table ordered two entrees. We asked them about it and they informed us that we could order whatever and how much of whatever we wanted. In hindsight, I wish we never learned that! Anyway, we each ordered another entree! With our full bellies, we headed back to our Deck 2, dark as dark can be, stateroom to crash. It was the best night sleep we had ever had. The gentle swaying of the ship coupled with the pitch black was a great combination!

We woke up the next morning in San Diego, CA. We had booked an excursion to Balboa Park at 8am so we dragged ourselves out of bed and headed out. Just off the ship was a trolley that took us the Balboa Park. It's filled with museums and beautiful landscapes but we were so tired, we wished we had stayed on the boat. But we dragged ourselves around. After waking up a bit more, we had more fun! After a few hours, our trolley was back to take us on a tour of downtown San Diego. And then it was back to the ship.

Again, we over-indulged at dinner and went back to our stateroom, exhausted. We had two excursions planned for the next day in Catalina, so we went right to sleep.

The next morning, we woke up about a mile form the port of Catalina. Their port isn't big enough to accommodate such a large ship, so we had to be tendered to shore. We boarded tiny ships and rode them in. Our first excursion was a rafting tour around half of the island. We learned all about Catalina and attempted to look for wildlife. It wasn't very successful, but it was a fun ride.

After the raft tour, we had a bit of time to do some shopping and sightseeing before our next excursion. We walked around the small island, grabbed a bite to eat and bought some souvenirs. And, before we knew it, it was time to go snorkeling! I had been before, but it was Bebe's very first time, so I was excited, especially for him. We got all the safety spiels and had to get into wet suits. They were cold and uncomfortable, but I guess it's better than the freezing cold weather. We grabbed our gear and headed out to the water. Bebe started freaking out immediately! I could see his eyes getting huge through his mask as he began panicking. I tried to help him but the combination of the buoyancy of the wet suit and not trusting the snorkel was making Bebe hyperventilate. Earlier, before we got in the water, our instructor told us that if anyone panicked, they would just have to sit out the excursion. So, knowing that, Bebe was panicking even more because he didn't want to miss out. But after a brief chat with the instructor and a little help from me, Bebe calmed down and and was able to breath normally. He said later, that he was so glad he was able to do it, and that he had fun!

Once again, exhausted, we headed back to the ship for dinner and bed. This was becoming a habit.

We woke up the next morning in Ensenada, Mexico. We didn't have an excursion planned because we were planning on just getting off the ship and finding something to do. And we did. We found a tour to La Boufadora (The Blowhole) for $15 per person. The ship was offering the same tour for three times the price, so we were very happy! We hopped on a bus for the hour long ride to La Boufadora as our tour guide told us all about the city. Once there, they pointed us in the right direction and told us when to be back to the bus. We saw La Boufadora, it was cool. Every couple of minutes, a huge spout of water would blow into the air. It was good for a few photos. On the way back to the bus was a little shopping area. Pretty touristy, with people shouting at us from every direction to come look at what they were selling. We bought a few souvenirs and headed back to the bus.

The tour bus dropped us off in downtown Ensenada and we had an hour or two to kill before we had to be back on board, so we walked around and checked out all the shops. We stopped into a Papas & Beer and ordered a few drinks and helped ourselves to the small buffet of tacos and chips and salsa. It was pretty yummy.

Then it was back to the ship, where (you guessed it) it was dinner time. But this time, it was formal night! So I got into my gown and Bebe got into his suit and we made the rounds to all the photo booths before heading to the dining room. Again, we had more great food, and plenty of it! It was our last night on board, so we went outside and enjoyed our last bit of vacation. Then it was off to bed. We'd be home by morning!

It was such a whirlwind! We loved it but we vowed that next time we'd take it at an easier pace and book a cruise with some days at sea.

Little did we know, that three years later, we'd get exactly what we asked for!

Honeymoon story soon to follow...