Around the World. Week 9 Wrap Up
- TheTravelingSpreadsheet
- 2 days ago
- 11 min read
Schedule
Day 57 / March 3: At Sea
Day 58 / March 4: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Day 59 / March 5: At Sea
Day 60 / March 6: Ensenada, Mexico
Day 61 / March 7: San Diego, California
Day 62 / March 8: At Sea
Day 63 / March 9: At Sea
Day 57
My alarm startled me awake at 3:45 am. Why on Earth would I get up that early on vacation?!? Well, the reason was not actually on Earth, it was the the Moon! There was a lunar eclipse with the promise of a Red Moon. Given that I never really seem to know which time zone we’re in any more, I thought that it was supposed to start at 4:04 am and end at 5:02am, ship time. So I dutifully got up and straight upstairs with cameras in hand, only to find out that the majority of the moon was already in the Earth’s shadow. Apparently, when it says the eclipse starts at 4:04am, that means that is the time the moon is fully in the shadow, not when it starts to be blocked. Thankfully, just as it takes time to get into the shadow, it also takes time to leave the shadow, so I was able to see the transition out. One oddity that I still don’t quite understand is why the moon was bright at the bottom going into the eclipse and then light on the left side coming out of it. I honestly would have thought that the light would be 180° apart instead of 90° apart. Can anyone enlighten me? (Pun intended…)
After copious amounts of coffee, sitting in Barista’s, I noticed there was a group gathering at the rail on Deck 14. Typically that means there is sea life spotted, so I rushed outside, camera still in hand. There were dolphins! They were basically right next to the ship, playing in the wakes. A shout came from above (Deck 15, not God…) with a pointing finger extended (still from a passenger, not Devine intervention), so I whipped my camera in that direction and caught a dolphin flipping on video!
As my luck continues, I returned back to my cabin for a needed nap, only to find another batch of nut-less brownies waiting for me! This treat was my reward for creating a Recap Video of the Senior Executive Chef’s Demonstration. So I paired it with a Chef Frederic style Americano (aka Prosecco) and napped afterwards.
The evening went as normal with a pre-dinner show by Roy Tan and post dinner show with Craig Richard, all wrapped up with music at Martini’s with David at the piano. One thing you know is true at this point is there is always live music or entertainment somewhere around the ship in the evenings.
Day 58
I went on my first private tour today, meaning I did not book it directly through the ship. Actually, I did not book it at all but was invited along by some of the other passengers who have family in that area. Baby steps to getting more and more comfortable outside of the cruise ship safety net.
After meeting our guide and captain, we loaded into the boat, just the five of us. It was a nice change of pace from the packed cruise excursions. Following a quick safety briefing, we were on our way to the open ocean!
Initially, the boat slowly weaved through the sea of other boats, snorkelers, and scuba divers that were all over near the famous Cabo arch. There is also a beach that extends from the bay through the mountains to the Pacific Ocean. They call the sand on the bay side “Lover’s Beach” and on the other side “Divorce Beach.” Apparently Divorce Beach is red flagged for rough seas and no one is supposed to actually go in the water there. We continued down the shoreline to the cliffs where you can peak through to the Pacific Ocean and then ultimately, to the famous archway.
Once we all had a chance to get some model shots in, the captain steered the boat in no real particular direction. We were given the instructions to shout if we saw anything at all that could be wildlife. Diligently peering and sweeping our gazes over the water, the guide was the first one to spot some spouts. We, along with about 6 other small boats, sped to where the water poofs occurred. They turned out to be a “Competing Pod,” which means 5-6 male whales were fighting to take the lead position by the female whale. After grueling underwater battles, the last whale swimming has the best opportunity to mate, but not guaranteed as the female may still choose not to. Seems just like going to a bar on a Friday night…
The whales really only surfaced every 5-10 minutes to breath before diving back down to continue the fight. This meant that we were able to see a lot of whale tales, but only saw one jump a little out of the water.
After fighting with the other boats for viewing position for a while, we decided it was time to go search for another pod. Back out to the open ocean we went with eyes wide open. Just a short while later, we saw something sticking up out of the water and headed that way. Turned out to be a sea lion holding its fin up in the air. The guide explained that they think it has to do with regulating body temperature, much like when we sleep with one leg out of the sheets. Although, we must have woken him up because he popped his head up and then dove under the water.
We saw more spouts in the distance and raced to catch up. Thankfully, there was only one other boat that saw them as well. It was another Competing Pod. These ones seemed much bigger and faster than the first group. Again, they only surfaced every 5-10 minutes and even then they were only up for a few minutes before diving back down, but they were very majestic when they did appear.
As our time came to a close, they brought us back to the marina where we disembarked to go find some lunch!
Last year, Cabo was a stop on a Panama Canal Cruise from Miami to Los Angeles, so I didn’t feel the need to explore the port too much and lead the group to the same restaurant we went to before since it really was very good! We tried an appetizer that was thinly sliced fresh tuna wrapped around spicy crab and avocado. Holy Moly it was delicious!
Day 59
Sea Day! I woke up with a plan to catch up with journaling and my February photo book, so I headed up to Barista’s to get going. Well, once there, I got distracted thinking about my 2027 budget and planning. I know I’ve been saying that I can’t allow myself to think about that yet, but sometimes it’s fun just to look at options. Turns out, I cannot quite afford the options I was looking at and will need to reset some expectations or win the lottery…
For the afternoon, I spent the time in another Culinary Class. This time, the focus was on Mexican food. The thing that I learned the most is that it’s better for me to take culinary classes for lunch and not dinner as I didn’t have a chance to nap afterwards and went straight into the evening entertainment. Okay, I learned more than that, including how to prep chicken for longer term storage (roll in a Ziplock to remove all the air instead of in a Tupperware container) and to let chia seeds expand before consumption, meaning don’t just sprinkle them on yogurt or smoothies.
Dashing from the class down to the Vista theater, I was able to catch the last few minutes of the Production Cast’s last show onboard and the Crew sendoff. The show is called Our World, featuring songs and dances from the various countries. Even though we’ll see this show again on the next segment, this was the last time we’d see this combination of Production Cast as most of them leave the ship in San Diego.
At the end of the show, the General Manager and Cruise Director welcome crew from around the ship to the stage. This is one of my favorite events because we are able to congratulate and thank a lot of those that we don’t see at all or regularly. It also provides an opportunity for us to say goodbye to those who leave the ship at the end of the segment.
Day 60
The day started a bit melancholy, especially after the day prior being filled with goodbyes and see-you-laters. Knowing San Diego was going to be a large transition point for passengers and crew didn’t make it any easier to admit that there’s a significant likelihood that we’d never cross paths with many of these people again. Sounds dramatic, but after being onboard together for two months, we created some good friendships that I’m sad will change with distance.
Without an excursion booked, I just wandered the town as it was a great port to just meander. What makes a port a great port to wander? Well, I’m glad you asked. There are a few key elements - (1) No tender or shuttle bus required to get to the city center and (2) it is and feels safe. That’s it. Surprisingly, not many ports have met these two criteria as we’ve had a lot that require a shuttle just to get out of the port itself.
Wandering also means that I sometimes stumble upon events or activities that I wouldn’t have found through Google. Today, I happened to be standing near the market area when all of a sudden, water fountains started spraying in sync with music! Luckily, I was standing a bit away, but still got rained on. Once I found a drier spot, I was able to enjoy the show!
The remainder of the day went back to being sad as the afternoon continued with goodbyes and see-you-laters. One aspect of this that does get a bit comical is how often you end up saying goodbye to the same people. Because you really don’t know when the last time you will see them, you start saying goodbye whenever you see them. Unfortunately, there are some that you never actually get to say goodbye to in the event that your paths just didn’t cross in the day or days leading up to San Diego.
So if you are reading this and didn’t get an official goodbye, consider it a “See you when I See you” as the cosmos must have a plan for us to meet again.
Day 61
The goodbyes continued all morning. Some getting more and more ridiculous as I continued to see some of the same people over and over.
Because we were reentering the US for the first time since Miami, all passengers were required to be processed through Customs. We all got letters in our cabins to explain the process. I read mine and discarded it in the trash as it didn’t seem to give anything specific other than to get off at some point during disembarkation. Without knowing the disembarkation times, I headed to Reception the night prior to get some clarification. The clerk told me that I had to be off the ship by 8am. I repeated my question a few different ways and he continued to reiterate that I did indeed need to be off the ship at 8am. Well, one thing we know on board is that the cabin stewards are very efficient, so the letter that I didn’t think I’d need again was already on its way to the recycle center and I wasn’t able to find out from it if there was anything else that could help. The other thing we knew was that the boat wasn’t scheduled to dock until 7:45am, meaning I supposedly had 15 minutes from ship clearance to meet my expected time. All this to say, I got up early in case I really did have to disembark at 8am and was ready to head to a coffee shop until the stores opened.
However, I talked to another officer that confirmed I needed to be through customs by 9am and if that was too early, there would be someone to guide a group through at 9:30am. Needless to say, I headed to Baristas to get coffee.
The original plan for San Diego was to rent a car for the day and go shopping for all the essentials that needed to be replenished after two months at sea. I got a phone call in the morning that the reservation couldn’t be honored as they didn’t have any cars available at that time. Instead, one of the other solo travelers and I took an Uber over to a massive shopping center. The good thing was there are a lot of the stores we wanted within walking distance of each other. The down side was that we had to carry all of our purchases with us the whole time. This was okay until we went to Target. Strategically, we held that stop until the end, knowing it was going to be the bulk. However, since it was the last stop, both of us bought more than what was on our lists. Having nine (9) bags between us at that point was okay until the paper bags started breaking… We got back to the ship with six (6) bags still in tact. One busted just loading the car. Another busted getting out of the car. The last one busted going through the metal detectors. The rest of the bags were not in great shape by the time we got to the cabins because we had to go the same distance as those who were embarking, having multiple check-points for our key cards. This meant that we had to keep putting down a bag or two to pull out the card, just to pick them up and go to the next stopping point. It was a bit ridiculous in the end. Basically bear hugging the ripping bags in hopes that our arms or fingers wouldn’t fall off. In the end, we made it and so did all of the purchases.
Few items to note - I was able to buy a few new dresses and another pair of shoes! Figured after two months with the same rotation, it was time for some variety.
The evening went as normal with a Solo Traveller meet up to welcome the new folks, dinner at Terrace, entertainment in the theater, and closed the night at the piano bar.
Day 62
Springing forward while falling back apparently equals a 2-hour time change on the ship. However, no one really understood that math which resulted in a bit of chaos in the morning.
Elevator conversation
Passenger 1: Does anyone know what time it is?
Passenger 2 / 3 simultaneously: It’s almost 8am / It’s almost 9am
Passenger 3: No, the TV says 9am
Passenger 2: I called Reception and they said 8am
5 minutes later over the Ship Public Address system
Cruise Director Carson: Sorry to interrupt you all so early, but need to confirm that the time is indeed 8am.
He went on to explain the mental math, but I’ll admit that I still don’t quite understand. Since we are at sea, I just set my phone to the new time and went back for more coffee.
Now that we knew what time it was, I spent the rest of the day catching up on Segment 4 video, journaling, and obviously, napping.
The evening was spent as normal - Captains Cocktail party, dinner at the Grand Dining Room, entertainment with Kenny James, and just a few songs with David at the Piano because I’ll be honest, these time changes really get to me, especially at night.
Day 63
There are some days when I can get lost in a book and today, I got deep into a book series called Nosey Parker Cozy Mystery by Fiona Leitch. The main character, Jodie Parker, whose elementary school nickname had been “Nosey”, leaves her police woman job in London to move back to her hometown and becomes a caterer. It’s while she is in this new role that when there are murders in the town, she ends up pairing up with the Police Detective of the town to help solve the crimes. The thing I like about Cozy Mysteries genre is that you are still challenged on the who-done-it concept, without all the gruesome details or thriller details that mess with your mind too much. Anyway, I read three of the books in the series in one day. Granted the “day” went very late into the night, but we’re at sea for a while, so time seems to be arbitrary, especially after the time change debacle the day prior.
Headed into Week 10 already!
Wow! That food looks AMAZING! I dont think I will ever make it on a trip like this, I am LOVING living this through your blog and photos!
That was very entertaining 👏👏
I couldn’t get the videos to work