Wednesday, February 2, 2010 – Mazatlan, Mexico – Sunny - 75F

Distance from San Diego, CA to Mazatlan, Mexico:  939 nautical miles

Another beautiful – and warmer – day in paradise.

Mazatlan is Mexico’s largest commercial port and boasts a population of about 500,000 people.

  

 

Top: Approaching Mazatlan; Middle: HAL Osterdam; Bottom: El Faro (Lighthouse Hill)

The lighthouse (El Faro) perched on a hill 443 feet high is one of the highest lighthouses in the world.

When we first came on board, we signed up for a number of tours (the ship has a sign up book – very organized).

Today we are escorting.  “Mexican Show, Sightseeing, Shopping Tour”.  The bus is double decker and I have about 40 people in my group.  Our guides, German and Jesus are very good. 

Our first stop was the Cathedral of Mazatlan (Immaculate Conception Cathedral).  The structure has very unusual stained glass windows -they contain a Star of David at the top of each pane for a total of 28 throughout the church.  The 28 stars signify the number of days in a Jewish lunar month and are there because a Jewish Family donated the money to build the church.

A television crew from Azteca TV filmed our visit.

   

From Top:  The Mazatlan Cathedral; Interior of the Cathedral; Jewish Star on window;TV crew interviewing our guide

Next Stop: Mazatlan Cliff Divers.  On our way, we passed some interesting statues.

 

The cliff divers (Clavadistas) at Mazatlan do not dive from as high a cliff as their Acapulco counterparts but I think the water is shallower and potentially more dangerous.

Our next stop was the “Zona Dorada”, the “Golden Zone”, an area of high end hotels and shops along the beach. 

Top: Zona Dorado main street; Shops along an alley in the Zone; beach along the Zone.

Our final stop was at the Teatro Speculare for the “Mexican Show”.  The dancers portrayed dances from various regions in Mexico and their costumes reflected those locations throughout the country.

They also did the “Flying Indian” routine – not as impressed – kind of an Aztec version of Circe de Soleil.

We retraced our steps back to the pier.  The tour stops were not synchronized between the busses so my bus returned about 30-40 minutes before Ellen’s bus.  The tourist center near the pier is full of bars and other food places and a lot of people were enjoying themselves on the local drink and delicacies.  Braver than me…

We watched the sail away from the Looking Glass Lounge (Deck 10 Forward).  While working on the computer, a local unsecured WIFI source was picked up by the computer (and SKYPE immediately connected me with the kids).  A bit of a bonus.  I also downloaded the Kindle App to my computer so Ellen could read her books on the PC since her Kindle had gone lame.  Unfortunately, as soon as the ship started to push, the signal was gone.  Thanks to the anonymous WIFI donor from Mazatlan. 

The sail away was very scenic (and bluish through the window of the lounge).

The Showtime Headliner tonight was comedian George Kanter.  Very entertaining, subtle humor – he even joked about his heart attack.  I found him to be very entertaining.

Post show was Carlos Avalon in the Mosaic (nee Cova) Cafe, where the lattes flow non-stop.

Nice day in Mazatlan.

Monday, January 31, 2011 – At Sea – Pacific Ocean – Baja Peninsula – Mid 60s – Mostly Sunny

Another beautiful but cool day in paradise

Top:  Disney Cruiser (I think); Bottom: Choppy Seas

Breakfast (Waffle, cottage cheese, sour cream, fruit compote, and whipped cream) in the Windows Cafe.  Especially good was the constantly flowing decaf served in man-sized mugs.  Very nice.

My first talk: “The CSI Phenomenon” is at 11:15 AM in the Cabaret Lounge.  There is no large, central screen in the lounge (not working) but there are two side screens.  The attendance was difficult to determine (scattered around the lounge) but I estimate anywhere from 75 to 80 people were present (maybe more).  The audience was very interactive and I got some very nice feedback after the talk.  We’ll have to see whether they come back.

Lunch was in the Restaurant – I had a omelet with a sauce (my request) so hot that I couldn’t eat the omelet.

We spent the afternoon in the Looking Glass lounge on Deck 10 – reading.

We met new friends, Howard, Hya, Irving, and Bookie, for dinner at 5:45 PM in the Discoveries Restaurant.  It was a pleasant dinner and the food was very good.  We left earlier than they did to catch the 8:00 PM show.

Tonight’s Headliner was Mac Frampton – pianist.  We had seen him before on a Celebrity Cruise and although he is a great musician, the small venue and his exuberant banging on the keys resulted in a headache. 

Seas still choppy – hoping for some warmer weather tomorrow.

Sunday, January 30, 2011 – San Diego, CA – 60s - Cloudy

Embarkation Day

A cloudy day today

We meet with the family for an early breakfast before packing up and heading down to the lobby for our 11:00 AM Shuttle to the Port of San Diego.  The shuttle is right on time and the ride to the port is short (approx 3 miles).  The Azamara Journey is waiting for us.

Check in is quick and soon we are on board the ship.  The Journey is essentially the same as the Pacific Princess (apparently, both ships were purchased from a now defunct cruise line).  It carries just over 700 passengers but what makes it different is that just about everything is included (wine, bottled water, etc.).

Our room is on the sixth floor (Cabin 6044)

 

It is a nice cabin (with a tiny bathroom and no surfaces on which to place things) but a decent amount of storage and a great view of one of the life boats.  The location is good – midship.

We have lunch in the Windows Cafe (Deck 9) – Salad, Tuna sandwich, and pizza (all good) and then head out to explore the ship.  Again, this ship is identical is all respects to the Pacific Princess but that just makes it that much easier to find our way around.

The sail away from San Diego came under cloudy skies and some drizzle. 

Sail Away – Top:  San Diego Skyline; Middle: The nuclear aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan; Bottom: the Aircraft Carrier Museum

I met with Chris, the Activities Manager, at 6 PM to go over my presentation schedule and film a promo video.  I have eight talks scheduled for this voyage – every sea day.

Dinner is the Discoveries Restaurant is open seating so we get a table for two.  The food was good (they even have hot veggie soups) with wine and lattes included.

After dinner, we take in a few minutes of a wonderful Harpist in the Discoveries Bar before heading to the Cabaret Lounge for the Welcome Aboard Show.  The Cruise Director, Tony (from the UK), is energetic, funny, professional, and talented (he sang).  The show featured one number from each of the entertainers on board including a song by five singers (The Azamara Cabaret Singers).  There is no production group on this cruise.

The highlight of the show was an appearance by Lenny Welch

who sang his 1963 Million Seller, “Since I Fell for You”.  He still sounds pretty good.

So far, the ride is smooth…

Saturday, January 29, 2010 – San Diego, CA – 65F - Clear

Another beautiful day in San Diego

The breakfast at the Best Western Harbor was very good (especially the waffles).  The morning is spent walking the area again – the harbor area is very nice.

My sister, brother, and niece are coming down from LA to visit and arrive just after lunch.  We spend some time chatting by the pool before they head off to get some lunch.

We all have dinner at Pizza Novo – Pasta Novo, Pizza Margherita, Pasta Marinara, the House Salad, and a Cesar Salad comprise the meal.  Again, the food is great.

It’s an early night – tomorrow is Embarkation Day.

Panama Canal Cruise – Azamara Journey – January 30 – February 15, 2011

Friday, January 28, 2011 – Travel Day

Cold but clear morning – our cab is on time – our trip to airport smooth and fast. 

Our flight (UAL 449) boards on time and actually leaves a few minutes early.  This Airbus A319 has 3X3 seating so we are sitting across the aisle from each other.  The flight is relatively smooth and we have a nice lunch (tuna salad in pita and chips). 

Once in San Diego (75F), we contact the hotel and wait for the shuttle to arrive.  Soon, we are in our room at the Best Western Harbor Yacht Hotel (actually the third room in this case was the charm) enjoying the view from our balcony.

After exploring the harbor area and walking the length of both Scott Avenue and Rosecrans Avenue, we decide to have dinner across the street from the hotel at Pizza Novo.  The dinner was great – sharing a house salad (walnuts, cranberries, gorgonzola cheese) and Pasta Novo (Fettuccini Alfredo with smoked salmon and capers) plus olive oil and garlic soaked dinner rolls.

A long but nice day is over…

Wednesday, December 29, 2010 – Miami, FL – Mostly Cloudy – 60s

Disembark is relatively easy and we are off the ship by 9:00 AM and on our way to the airport for our long wait for our 3:10 PM Flight to Chicago.

Miami has one of those soft-X Ray Scanners.  Everything has to be out of your pockets – all you can have on is your clothes (no belts).  The scan is quick and Star Trek like and then you need to wait to be cleared (I kept my eyes on my stuff on the conveyor while I waited).  TSA must not have liked something on my scan so I had the complimentary and interesting pat down.  It is quick but all people say it is.

About an hour to flight time our 757 arrives

Just as we are about to board, an announcement is made that the flight will be delayed an hour (ATC hold on traffic into ORD) and we would not board at 3:30 PM for a 4:10 PM Departure.  We do actually board and push about 4:10 PM but only to park in the “penalty box” awaiting our turn to go. 

At about 5:00 PM, we hit the runway and we are off.  The flight is a little bumpy but OK.  As we near Chicago, the pilot indicated that we will be holding for about 30 minutes about 150 miles from the airport.  The revving of the engines about 30 minutes later indicated to me that he was moving to another holding pattern (indeed another 30 minutes) – touchdown was not 7:05 PM as announced.  We finally left that pattern and the pilot indicated a preparation for landing.  However, I did not feel the plane descend or employ flaps and slats.  Sometime later, the flaps did deploy along with the gear and it was soup until the wheels hit the ground.  I think we touched down at 7:35 PM. 

In spite of all of the holding patterns, the most bizarre event was leaving the plane quickly through the port side emergency door, which, all of a sudden was open to the jet way (the door opened before I could get my stuff from the overheads).  This was a first for me (coach folks leaving before first class).

It took quite a while for the luggage to appear but our cabbie waited for us. 

We finally got home after 9:00 PM to find that a power outage had taken down our U-Verse system. A few calls to ATT eventually got the system back up an running. 

What an ending to a unique cruise.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010 – At Sea (near Cuba) – Cloudy - 60s

Our final day at sea is cool and cloudy. 

We did not take in the Brunch today but rather ate upstairs in the Aqua Spa Cafe (Salmon on a bun – very good).

Bill is speaking today at 3:15 PM about “The History of Catapults” and I follow him at 4:15 PM in the Cinema with “DNA Testing:  Cold Cases Solved”.  Again,I get some signs made to make sure people know where the talk is because it was not announced at the 12 Noon activities briefing.

I have a good enthusiastic audience (40 plus – the biggest crowd on this series of cruises).  Two couples (one from France) stayed after for about 30 minutes discussing crime and criminals. We had to quit so we could go to dinner.  Overall, the crowds weren’t the biggest but, considering the length and demographics of these cruises, they were successful.

The farewell show tonight are Juggler/Comedians “Will and Wally”.  The kids really liked them.

Suitcases out by 11:00 PM.

Debarkation Day tomorrow.