Saturday - Day at Sea

How did it get to be Saturday already? The order of the day was to get to that rock wall! We met up at the rock wall at 11:30 and just made the cut off for the morning climbing session. Dad and I both climbed and we both made it to the top to ring the bell. Woohoo!

Next, we went to lunch in the windjammer, followed by Geoffrey's fisher price class - it was music day! Fun! Geoffrey had a really good time in his class, but he was ready for a nap when it was over. He napped in Dad and Delaine's cabin while Grant and I went to Studio B for the open ice skating session. It was very odd to skate on such a small rink - but very fun!

We headed back to our cabin and got ready for dinner. Just before dinner there was a parade on the Promenade deck - we watched that before going to see Saurab and Maria for the last time in the dining room.

Dinner was fantastic, as usual. We went to the show at 7:45 - the goodbye show. DId I mention how awesome our Captain is? Captain Johnny is easily the most entertaining captain I have ever had the pleasure of sailing with. He is funny and personable, and made several appearances throughout the cruise. He said once that he would probably be moving to the Allure of the Seas. Cool!

After the show, we headed back to our cabins to pack. ::sniff sniff::

Sunday morning debarkation was pretty easy. They didn't make announcements all over the ship, so it was not very stressful. We met at the Cafe Promenade (which only had a few pastries - no fruit, no juice -  I was not pleased - the windjammer breakfast was only served until 9.)  Then we went to Studio B where we waited about 15 minutes to be called to disembark. There was no immigration to go through - all we had to do is drop off our blue forms - sweet!

All in all, we had a fantastic time aboard the Mariner of the Seas.

Sea Day

The great thing about this cruise is that it ended with two wonderful, relaxing sea days. The ocean was pretty smooth - for the Pacific - and we had plenty of time to have fun.

On Friday, we slept in and then met up with Dad and Delaine to try lunch in the dining room. They had a pretty good menu, but they also had an amazing salad bar, where you could pick from a whole bunch of toppings and then the waiters would chop it up for you. Delicious!

After lunch, we headed to Geoffrey's fisher price class. Today was baby gym day. They had a foam slide, a soccer goal, a basketball hoop, and a zebra that Geoffrey could ride and spin on. That was pretty fun! Geoffrey had a good time, but he was ready for a nap when the class ended.

Dad and I spent some time reading in his cabin while Geoffrey napped, and Grant and Delaine went to win-a-cruise Bingo. Unfortunately, we didn't win a cruise.

When Geoff woke up, we tried to do the rock wall, but it had closed for the day, putting it on the must do priority list for Saturday. Instead, we went down to deck four and played some shuffleboard on the promenade deck.

Tonight was formal night (did I hear somebody say lobster?). Dinner was delicious - Delaine and I enjoying the Lobster and Dad and Grant enjoying the prime rib, and Geoffrey enjoying his fruit bowl. After dinner, we took some pictures, both with our camera and a few formal shots.

The show tonight was a production show. I don'tt know what was wrong with me, but I was so tired, I kept nodding off and slept through most of it! Luckily, Geoffrey did too so everyone else could enjoy the show. I am sure it was a good show - I was just sleepy!

Afterwards I headed back to the cabin for bed. Grant went to a sing-a-long led by our cruise director. I wanted to go, but I was so tired, and I had been to them before and they hadn't been as fun as I'd hoped. Grant said that this one was awesome! No smoking, first of all. The songs were all awesome and everyone had fun. Sigh. Oh well - if I ever end up on a ship with Kieron again I'll make sure to go to this sing-a-long! I am glad Grant enjoyed it!

Thursday - April 15th - Puerto Vallerta

Oh how I've been looking forward to this day! After lunch in the Windjammer, we headed off the ship and walked to the Krystal Resort. We dropped off the boys and our stuff by the pool and Delaine and I headed over to the spa for our massages. 75 minutes of PURE HEAVEN. I loved every moment of it. The massages were in the new spa facility - not on the beach. But the massage itself was the same as I remember - very caring and very relaxing. It felt amazing!

When our massage ended we headed back to the pool where we found Geoffrey sleeping on Grandpa Bob. Geoffrey had spent most of the time swimming and had tired himself out! We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming - the pool was heated to a delightfully comfortable temperature - and was huge. There were many places set up for sunbathing in the pool that were only a few inches deep that Geoffrey could play on and splash around in.

We got back on the ship at around 5:15, and decided to meet for dinner at 6:15. After dinner, I was still hungry - go figure - so we went up to the pool deck. I got some sushi and seconds (and then thirds) on dessert.

The show was a singer. Geoffrey was ready for a nap but couldn't settle during the show so we went out to the promenade deck while the others watched the show. Afterwards, we headed back to our cabins. Grant went out to explore the ship while Geoffrey played and I finally caught up on blogging. Night night!       

Wednesday - April 14th - Mazatlan

We decided to make Mazatlan a short port day. We took a taxi to the Historic District and walked around for about an hour and a half - through the cathedral, and around the rebuilt theater area. We found a cute little shop that sells crafts made by local artisans - this charming old building was like a diamond in the rough.  We stopped at a grocery store and met up with some crew members who worked in the casino on our ship. They walked back to the dock with us, so that we didn't have to take a cab.

Back on board, we blew up Geoffrey's pool and he played in that for a while before dinner. Then we headed back to our room to meet up with Geoffrey's baby sitters.

Royal Caribbean is one of the few cruise lines that offer babysitting. It is 12$ an hour and that pays for two baby sitters who work together.  Two very nice ladies showed up, and off we went. We had an amazing meal at Portofino's. They started us with an antipasto plate and a crustini plate. I ordered a shrimp risotto appetizer, a beef carpaccio appetizer, and a seafood kebob with scallop, salmon, shrimp and lobster tail. Grant ordered a tuna carpaccio and a beef carpaccio appetizer and the filet mignon entrée. Dad ordered an endive and proscuitto salad, and the filet mignon entrée. Delaine ordered a sampler appetizer and the seafood kebob entrée. For dessert, everyone got the tiramisu except for me - I got the dessert sampler.

Between dinner and the show, we called the room to check on Geoffrey but no one answered. We took it as a good sign - if he was out and about it probably meant he was having a good time. Right? RIGHT?

We went to the ice show - "Big Top Under the Ice," which was absolutely amazing. After the show we went up to get Geoffrey - who was VERY unhappy. The poor babysitters! Geoffrey had apparently been very unhappy the whole evening! Poor baby! They spent a lot of time walking him in his stroller and feeding him goldfish crackers. (Later on our cabin steward commented that she heard Geoffrey crying - he just was not happy!) I am glad we had ended up canceling the babysitters for the next night when we canceled Chops. Sigh. Oh well.

We headed up to the Love and Marriage game show. Geoffrey was too energetic to watch any of the show she he and I walked around while the others watched the show. After the show, we went up to the pool deck to check out the deck party for a bit before going to bed.

Tuesday, April 13th - Cabo San Lucas

On Tuesday, after lunch in the Windjammer, we headed out to Cabo. We decided to head to Swimmer's Beach this time instead of Lover's Beach, because the waves were pretty rough and we thought it would be easier to get out of the water taxi with Geoffrey at Swimmer's Beach. We took a water taxi out to the arch (the waves, as I mentioned, were rough so we couldn't get too close.)  WE saw some seals just cruising along near our boat as well.

On the beach we swam for a bit. Then Grant and I rented a Sea-doo while Geoff stayed with Grandpa Bob and Grandma Dee Dee. Oh my gosh - the wave runner was SO FUN! I could hardly wipe the smile off of my face the whole time! At one point we saw a pair of seals (the same ones?_) swimming very near us.

When we finished, we found Geoffrey sleeping on Grandpa Bob's shoulder. So cute! We took the water taxi back and then walked along the docks to a little outdoor restaurant where we got some nachos and chips and salsa.

Back onboard, we took showers and got dressed before heading to dinner.  Tonight's show was a production show called "Front Row," a tribute to Broadway, television, and the movies. We went up to the lounge and had a snack while waiting for the evening's gameshow, but after a night in the sun, we decided to just call it a night. We also decided to cancel our reservation for Chops since we enjoyed our dining room service so much.

Cute things:
Geoffrey loves playing in the shower. He goes in there and closes the doors. He's been doing a LOT of walking on this trip as well! Big boy!

Monday, April 12th - At Sea on the Mariner of the Seas

We in cabin 9202 enjoyed our first leisurely morning sleeping in. We finally headed up to the windjammer for lunch. After lunch, we roamed the ship for a bit and then went to the Royal Babies play group sponsored by Fisher Price. It was animal day, so they put out a whole bunch of farm sets and play animals for the kids to play with. After the play group was over, we checked out a couple of toys to take back to our cabin.

Geoffrey was pretty tired, and we were all feeling pretty relaxed, so we headed back to our cabins. Geoffrey napped and Grant and I read and watched TV. Tonight was formal night, so we got all dressed up and headed to dinner. We took a few formal shots - which all turned out awful - and then headed to the promenade for the Captain's welcome. The captain - Captain Johnny Faevelan - is a real personality.. He loves to talk to the guests and make jokes - a real personable guy! After his speech, we went to the show - a singer/impersonator.  After the show we went to the game show - "Finish that lyric" in the Lotus Lounge before heading to bed,.

Sunday, April 11th - Mariner of the Seas

Spring Break is here and Grant, Geoffrey, Bob, Delaine, and I are enjoying it on a 7 night cruise on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas with stops at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallerta.

We arrived at the terminal at about 1:30 in the afternoon, dropped off our bags, checked in, and boarded the ship by 2:00. We stopped at Dad and Delaine's cabin, a balcony on deck 6 port side (cabin 6572.) Next we went to our cabin on the front of the ship on deck 9 - cabin 9202. Our cabin is an ocean view that faces forward. Because it is on the very front of the ship, it is larger then the regular cabins. It is only a few extra feet, but it makes a HUGE difference. Geoffrey's pack and play fits in the corner between our bed and the window with plenty of room. SUCH a difference from our last cruise when the crib went in front of the couch  and took up so much room!

Before we left the cabin we made reservations for Portofino's for night 4 and Chops for night 5. Then we went to the Windjammer for lunch and walked around the ship checking out the pools, the rock climbing wall, and the promenade deck. By this time, our bags had been delivered. Dad and Delaine unpacked while Geoffrey and I went to make reservations for a baby sitter for Geoffrey for the nights we scheduled Portofino's and Chops.

The muster drill was quick and painless and we were on our way. We went to dinner at 6:00. We have anytime dining, but we liked our table and servers on our first night Saurab and Maria, so we went ahead and reserved them every night at 6:00. After dinner, we went back to our rooms and Grant and I unpacked. We met Dad and Delaine for the Welcome Aboard show. Finally, we went to Kids Club to look into checking out toys, but the club was closed, so we headed back to our cabins. I dropped off my book crossing books at the library. Then, we ordered room service, watched some tv, and went to bed.

Saturday and Sunday

On Saturday, we woke up and headed to the Gaslamp District for a delicious brunch at the Broken Yolk cafe. After we ate, we walked around a bit before heading back to our hotel for an afternoon swim while Grandpa Gary watched some basketball games.

After our swim, Grant Geoff and I headed back out to dinner at Sammy's Woodfire Pizza. Geoffrey ate a whole duck mini-taco (part of our appetizer) by himself! After dinner we went to Ghiredelli and had delicious ice cream sundaes. Then we walked down by the water and around the marina park before heading back to the hotel for the night.

On Sunday, we checked out of our hotel and walked back to the train station.  We took the 12 o'clock train back home to Santa Ana.  Geoffrey had fun on the train looking out the window.

Back home we celebrated Easter Sunday at Nana and Grandpa Gary's house.  Geoffrey did an Easter egg hunt and learned very quickly how to put the eggs back into the basket.  When one accidentally broke open, he was excited to find cereal puffs, an animal cracker and marshmallow candy inside.  Yum!

Also interesting was that we had an earthquake hit around 3 in the afternoon.  The earthquake lasted a good 45 seconds.  It scared Nana, but everyone else thought it was fun.  The earthquake was a 7.2 centered near Mexicali.

We had lots of fun!

Friday in San Diego

Today we went to the Santa Ana zoo. WE saw lots of fun animals. The first animals we saw were pigs - a Mam and her two babies. SO cute! WE saw monkeys, lions, tigers, elephants, meerkats, birds, pandas and polar bears! The weather was perfect - a bit on the cool side - great for walking. We also took the sky way and the bus tour. Geoff didn't seem to overly react to any of the animals - but you could really tell that he did notice them and that he was staring at them.

After the zoo closed, we took the bus to Blue Water fish grill, a place Grant had read about on Trip Advisor and saw on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. It was delicious! I had a Mahi Mahi sandwich. Even Geoffrey had some fish - and he totally ate a bunch of coleslaw! I have never seen him eat so many veggies in one sitting! After dinner, we walked back to the trolley and settled in for a 20 minute wait for the next trolley to come in. 5 minutes later, a trolley rolls it - one of the special red line trolleys that only runs when there are special events down town. Advantage? This trolley went straight to our stop and we didn't have to transfer! Thank goodness! I am BEAT!

San Diego - Easter weekend

This weekend, we are having a mini spring break in San Diego! On Thursday evening, Grant, Geoffrey, Gary, and I took the 5:00 train from Santa Ana to San Diego! The conductor who took our tickets was impatient and had major attitude. Other than that, our trip was wonderful! Geoffrey loved looking at he window, and he happily sat on Grandpa's lap for much of the trip!

We arrived in San Diego at 7 o'clock, and walked to our hotel - the San Diego Marina Marriott. It was nice evening, if not a little cool, and the 20 minute walk felt nice after getting off the train!

We checked in and got rooms in the north tower. These rooms have balconies. Our room is on the 17 th floor and gary's is on the 22nd. We called house keeping to get a pack n play for Geoffrey (which he has happily slept in all night! Woohoo!) and then checked out our view of downtown San diego! Our room is a corner unit so it isn't shaped like a traditional rectangle. More like a square with a pie wedge triangle attached to the side. It has a king bed and a small couch. Gary's room is shaped similar, but he actually has two balconies - a second smaller one.

We took a stroll down to the gaslamp quarter and ate dinner at an Italian restaurant. We were able to snag the last available outside table, which was pleasant with thee ine coming from the street and the heat lamps. The staff was super friendly and loved Geoffrey! Gary had a pork dish while grant and i shared a chicken parmigiana and a pasta dish with caramelized onions and bacon - so delicious! They were celebrating their twentieth anniversary (the restaurant) so we also got a dessert sampler on the house! We also found a ghiradelli ice cream shop near by -we were too full to eat there tonight, but I hope we can get sundaes one day this weekend! They are the only place I know that makes sundaes like swensons used to.

On the way back we stopped at ralph's for some snackins and then headed back to our hotel for the night!