Day 1 - Smell the sea and feel the sky

October 30, 2021

Every blog post should not be about food, but I have to give a thumbs up to Happy Diner in downtown San Pedro.  This hole-in-the-wall diner serves delicious homestyle breakfasts without any of the fancy restaurant flair or prices.  The service was wonderful.

Today was Day One of our Mexican Rivera coastal cruise on Princess Cruise Lines.  With all the COVID19 regulations, we were not sure what to expect for lines and delays at the check-in.  For starters, we had pre-selected 12 o’clock as our arrival time.  Our hotel shuttle driver delivered our larger bags to the drop-off location and we headed to the check-in lines.  We were immediately ushered in by Princess staff.  This is a MedallionClass ship, so most our boarding info is stored in a quarter-sized device we wore on our wrists.  We scanned the medallion, and proceeded to the metal detectors and baggage scanners.  From there we continued to the passport check point.  Within 10 minutes of arrival, we were on the ramps to board the ship.  Very impressive Princess!  Another bonus was that our luggage made it to our room safely this time (long story from 2019).

Los Angeles weather started out overcast and chilly, but by noon the sun was peaking out and warming the skies.  The Majestic can hold 3560 guests.  Today we were sailing with less than 50% guest capacity and 1400 crew members from over 50 counties.  The Sail Away celebration on the Lido deck was festive and fun, but not overcrowded due to the reduced guest numbers.  The captain sounded the ship’s horn to the familiar Love Boat theme song and we proceeded to back out of the Port of Los Angeles.  We both felt such relief and joy to be cruising once again.

We enjoyed a poolside lunch from the Lido deck food court and soaked in the fresh air and sunshine.  The staff provided entertainment and music as we journeyed out to sea.  Tonight we followed our tradition of Alfredo’s for our first night’s dinner and we were not disappointed.  Tonight’s entertainment in the Princess Theater was Comedian AJ Jamal.  He was good but after a long day and all the fresh air, we were ready to call it a night.

The ship is decorated with fun and spooky Halloween decorations in every public area.  We are looking forward to celebrating Halloween tomorrow with a sea day as we sail to Cabo San Lucas.  Spooky dreams!

  

Come sail away

Come sail away, come sail away. Come sail away with me.

After three canceled cruises in 18 months, we are finally sailing off on a weeklong cruise to the Mexican Riviera.  We are looking forward to a relaxing cruise to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. We will be at sea on Halloween day and in Cabo San Lucas on Day of the Dead. Should be fun and relaxing.

A negative Covid test result is required in order to board the ship on Saturday. We spent our Thursday getting redundant Covid tests and packing our luggage. Friday was a full day of travel. Both flights were 100% booked and the airports were brimming with travelers. It was kind of creepy on how much quieter the flights and the waiting areas in the airports were because of everyone wearing a face mask.

Tonight we are staying at the Crown Royal Hotel in downtown San Pedro. The hotel Porter told us that it was only two weeks ago that the hotel started bringing back their staff.

Dinner tonight was at a fabulous local Mexican restaurant in San Pedro named Green Onion. I’m not sure what was better, the food or the service.

Day 7 - Final full day on the New England Fall Colors Cruise

This has for the most part this has been a beautiful cruise.  Forget about the luggage in the Brooklyn Harbor.  The weather has been wonderful.  A couple dreary days but at least no rain while on shore.  The service on the ship has been exceptional.  Our favorites have been our steward Thanyaphat “Tan”  from Thailand and last night’s waiter Bojo from Serbia.

This ship is literally a floating city.  There is everything from outdoor movies and live stage entertainment, to bars, music, dancing to hot dogs and hamburgers by the pool all the way to fine dining prepared by award-wining master chefs.  Even the presentation of the food in the buffets is beautiful.  Attention to detail is everywhere.

There are so many people here just to serve you during a cruise.  Most everyone is so friendly and anxious to make your experience one to remember.

You can enjoy the seas from your balcony, sit in a bustling common area or sneak off to a quite area outside a bar.  Views of the sea can be found on all decks.

Now, where will our next cruise take us?

What is a blog my me without a cupcake pic?

Day 6 New England Fall Colors Cruise - Part 2

Tonight we dined at Sabatini’s aboard the ship.  First things first, our waiter was Bojo from Serbia.  He is definitely in the right business.  One of the best waiters we have ever had anywhere.  So friendly, knowledgeable and the perfect personality for the restaurant business.

Our dinner started with puffs of sweet bread we wrapped with thin slices of prosciutto and dipped in a sweet pepper sauce.  We were served an array of breads and crispy bread sticks.  Our waiter filled our side dish with oil and sweet dark vinegar for dipping.

For my appetizer I chose Arrosticini di Agnello, grilled lamb skewers marinated with oregano & EV olive oil over a bed of arugula salad.  The lamb was so tender and flavorful, cooked medium rare to perfection.

My husband ordered the Scaloppine di Pollo, Salsa al Limoncello, seared chicken breast, sore to lemon, asparagus, rosemary sauce, garlic, pine nuts, capers over parsley mashed potatoes.  I selected the Roman Seafood al Cartoccio.  This is a bag of seafood, grouper, shrimp, scallops, black mussels, clams, potatoes and artichokes baked in a butter and garlic sauce.  This was accompanied by two slices of garlic toast.

I could not decide on dessert so I chose the Chef’s Specialty which is a sampling of all desert.  This was to include Tiramisu.  I have a strong dislike for coffee so Bojo substituted the Rocher for the Tiramisu.  From left to right - Vanilla Panna Cotta with vanilla cream, blueberry compote, almond shortbread topped with a fresh raspberry and mint leaf.  Next the Rocher - a blend of chocolate, pralines and hazelnut ice cream sealed in milk chocolate, surrounded by crushed and candied hazelnuts and decorated with a chocolate swirl.  Third item was Zabaglione Marsala - fresh berries in a wonderful vanilla cream.

My husband had the full version of the Vanilla Pana Cotta.  This was topped with a full size shortbread and decorated with islands of marshmallow, a fresh raspberry, fresh blueberry, mint leaf and dusting of powdered sugar.  Bojo had a complete story to go with the decoration on this dessert.

#PrincessCruise #FallColorCruise #Food #Sabatini’s #Bojo

Day 6 New England Fall Colors Cruise - Part 1

Today’s port is Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Halifax is special to us as this is where we honeymooned 29 years ago.  We were anxious to see how much the city changed and what stayed the same.  Today is a bright sunny gorgeous day.  Perfect for enjoying all Halifax has to offer.

The Princess Regal docked at Pier 21.  This was the sign on the building outside our balcony.  The sign looks small but after counting the bricks I estimated it to be 16 feet or about 5 meters tall.  Had to throw in the metric as we are in Canada.  The sign reads that Pier 21 is one of the Seven Wonders of Canada.  We did a little research into this and Pier 21 is the front door to immigrants into Canada, sometimes compared to Ellis Island.

Our scheduled excursion for today was a bus/coach tour to Peggy’s Cove.  The tour guide described the sites along the way.  As we got closer to the Cove, many of the houses were stacking up their lobster traps in anticipation of the “drop” at the end of November.  Fishing and lobster trapping is the main occupation in this area of Nova Scotia.

There were quite a few fishing houses near Peggy’s Cove.  Interesting fact from our guide, these houses are all built on granite.  They do not have basements, foundation are above ground, they do not have wells or septics.  Some have rain collection or have water brought in.

The light house was beautiful situated up on huge, huge granite boulders.  I have included a couple pics so you can see just how massive the granite it.  It was breezy but the sunshine warmed us up.  This site is a must when traveling to Nova Scotia.

The waters are so blue and the waves constantly crash the granite shore.  Just pretty to sit and watch.

Cute bear welcoming us.  Just had to include him.

Ivan Frazier is a local known for writing children’s books.  I will have to look up the books when I get home.

He is a quirky guy.  He has a camera up the road and waits for tour busses to pass.  As they near his house he runs out his front door, grabs the giant anchor in his yard and jumps up and down.  This is his was to bring attention to his children’s books.  Notice his painted house!  Pretty amazing!

Back in the city we found lunch at The Old Traingle, a Irish Pub just a few blocks off the waterfront in the old downtown area.  The atmosphere was just perfect to bring you back to old Ireland.  Our service was impeccable.  Poutine is French fries and fresh cheese curds topped with chicken gravy.  This is an original and favorite of Canada so we had to try it (no we did not finish it all).  The addition of the cheese curds melting under the hot gravy was very tasty.

Again, my husband had the fish & chips.  These were beer batter fried and the best on the trip so far.  I had a corned beef sandwich with house cured corned beef, thinly sliced Swiss cheese, dill pickle, and grainy mustard on rye.  The grainy mustard was wonderful!

Time to walk off the poutine.  Halifax is a very steep city.  We walked up to the old Citadel and Clock  Tower.  When we were here 29 years ago, you could stand at the Citadel and look into the harbor.  Now there are so many tall buildings obstruction the gorgeous view.  If you visit the Citadel go in for the tour.

We continued walking around the city.  We really love Halifax and were glad to visit again after all these years.

#PrincessCruise #Halifax #PeggysCove #Clocktower #Citadel #Love

Day 5 New England Fall Colors Cruise

Canada!  🇨🇦. Our port today is St. John, New Brunswick.  Another chilly dreary day but at least it is not raining.  We were in St. John 29 years ago; fun to come back. We chose to get around the city with the Pink hop on hop off buses.  Our first guide was quite knowledgeable about the history of Canada and the USA.  She pointed out that she was a direct descendant of the Loyalists that originally settled in St. John and she has not quite gotten over what America did to her relatives. That set a tone for the side she took in our history lessons - George Washington, Benedict Arnold, etc.

St. John is known for the Reversing Rapids, a phenomenon caused by bay tides of the Bay of Fundy colliding with the St. John River.  We were here for the low tides but the waters were still filled with whirlpools and rapids.  It was just mesmerizing to stand and watch the rushing water.

St. John is not a bright or modern city but still has its hidden beauty.  The downtown area is filled with brick and stone buildings with all the charm of the past.  As you look around you can see charred memories on the facades of the building from a great fire from years ago.

Just like many New England cities, churches were build near the city centers as soon as the towns began to grow.  Some of the churches are the most beautiful of all the old structures.

We toured through Rockwood Park and Lilly Lake Pavilion.  This is a wonderful sprawling park full of walking paths, multiple lakes and beautiful drives.  This was our first glimpse of the fall colors.  Maples were showing colors of bright red, orange and rust.

Fish, fish and more fish.  Dotted all around the downtown streets of St. John you can find Art Deco fish painted by area artists.  Some of my favorites:

Named:  Our Roots in Agriculture - Holly McKay

Named:  Gratitude - Fabiola Martinez Rodriguez

Named:  In the Meadow and Through the Woods - Tammy Capstick

After touring the city and surrounding parks we went to the old City Market built in the 1870’s.  This was like going back in time.  This market is a very only long building with miscellaneous groceries, fresh meats, produce and a few hand made crafts.  Just quite interesting.

Tonight The Effy jewelry store had a live auction.  This is the same store that I tried on $2000 earrings the night before.  No the earrings were not on the auction but a girl can dream.  The first item up for auction was a $239,000 Canary diamond ring.  Beautiful but it received no bids.  There were many more affordable pieces.  My husband did bid on a Tanzanite tennis bracelet.

Back on the ship, we chose to dine in the Symphony room.  This time we were seated with 3 other couples.  One couple from Manhattan, one from Albany and the third was from Cincinnati.  Being seated with other couples is an option and we were so glad we did so tonight.  It was great to meet some of our shipmates and learn a little about them.

Normally at this point you get food pics.  Not that dinner was not delicious but I will only include the dessert.  This was called the Love Boat - Brownie with chocolate mousse.  The food is always delicious and the presentation is artistic.

After dinner we went to the Princess Theater to enjoy the late presentation of Fiera.  This was beyond amazing all ways, singing/dancing, costumes, set and special effects.  It takes more than 8 hours to set up the stage and props for this performance.  Fiera is a musical journey through an enchanting late 19th century European fairground and the love story between the Master of Ceremonie’s daughter and a circus performer.  Sorry - no pictures allowed.

#PrincessCruise #Fiera #BayofFundy #ILoveChocolate

Day 4 New England Fall Colors Cruise - Part 2

Dinner tonight was on Princess as a token of their apology for the luggage that was dropped in Brooklyn Harbor.  We dined in the Crown Grill.  This is one of the 2 exclusive dining rooms that come with a cover charge.

We both started dinner with the Black and Blue Onion Soup favored with fresh thyme, Jack Daniels and topped with a Roquefort crust.  My husband ordered the classic fillet and I opted for the New Zealand Double Lamb Chops served with mint jelly and smashed garlic potatoes.

For dessert we both had the sampler platter.  Starting on the left, was Molten Dutch Chocolate Fudge Obsession, served warm in its’ own little crock.  Next in line was a triangle of Lemon Meringue Pudding Tart with white chocolate tuile and candied lemon rind.  My favorite was the Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar bordered with painted milk chocolate bark and honey roasted peanuts.  My husbands favorite was the Seven Layer S’mores Stack with beautiful spires of toasted marshmallow meringue.

When the boat is not in port, the gift shops open for non-duty shopping.  We browsed the jewelry counter and I tried on $2000 earrings.  He made us a deal that he said we could only say yes to.  We said thank you but no.

The seas are a little rougher tonight as we sail into the Bay of Fundy.  Looking forward to our first day in Canada tomorrow.

#PrincessCruise #BarHarborMaine