Our 1st Proper Halloween - Pacific Coast Cruise Leg - Completed 4/24/2013 About This Page:

[Big Sister]

Saturday, 6 October 2012: Ensenada, Mexico

As today was the last full day of the cruise, there was so much we wanted to get done in an effort to make the most of things while we still could. Our ideal itinerary for the day, was as follows:

11.45am-3.45pm: Taste of Mexico tour
3.45pm-4.45pm: Final jackpot bingo
6.15pm-7.15pm: Pre-dinner show: Dreams : an enchanted classic
8.15pm-9.15pm: Our last dinner at Triton's
10pm-10.30pm: Till we meet again (a farewell show held in the atrium)
10.30pm: Have luggage out in the corridor by this time

Unfortunately, we found all this so overwhelming , that we made a joint decision to just let it all go and do nothing except attend the last bingo session I know that sounded like a rash (and perhaps, boring) decision to some people, but we didn't see how we could get all of the above done, while still having time to pack and get our luggage out in the corridor by the collection time of 10.30pm. We had amassed so many new possessions during the cruise (some of them oddly shaped and varying degrees of delicateness), and knew it would take us forever to pack if previous packing sessions were anything to go by. Though I do admit that if we had gotten up early and packed then, then perhaps we could've achieved our ideal itinerary. Surely the excitement of the activities would've helped keep us awake if we had've been tired. But it's too late to change things now.

So instead of a crazy busy day, we had one of our notoriously lazy days, usually reserved for the at sea days. I still hadn't written any postcards even at this late stage of the trip, so I spent a few hours sitting out on the balcony, writing as many as I could, to the background noise of honking seals.

This seal looks as if he's smiling for the camera!

The Mexican port wasn't as exciting to look at as San Francisco had been, so it wasn't a distraction to my task at hand at all. Nest and I discussed what we should do with all the Mexican pesos we had, and we jokingly talked about throwing them over the side for other people to use, but in the end, decided that we'd keep them for a future cruise that included a Mexican port of call. Besides, we probably would've gotten into trouble for throwing things overboard, even if it was just money.

For lunch, we went up to Beach Blanket Buffet to see what was on offer, and saw they had put on a Mexican themed spread (which turned out to be massively delicious! ), complete with a Mexican soundtrack - very apt!

Nest had:

· Beef tacos (two big serves)
· Fried beef burritos (he noted these as being particularly yummy!)
· A rice side dish amongst others (Nest's notes were brief, and I couldn't find photos to help)
· Two serves of dessert consisting of crepes and ice cream with chocolate topping, canned peaches, and mini marshmallows

I had:

· Shrimp and popcorn ceviche
· Fresh prawns
· Corn chip salad
· Tortilla soup (I only had a little bit in case I didn't like it, but it was really yummy)
· Cajun spiced grouper with a mango papaya relish (absolutely delicious!)
· Spring rolls
· A variety of wraps
· Cubed cheeses
· Corn salsa
· Pulled pork (I honestly thought this was beef. I shouldn't eat pork, as it doesn't agree with me, but this was sooooo yummy!)
· A mini lemon meringue pie, peach jelly with mini marshmallows, a white chocolate cheesecake square with dark chocolate biscuit base, and choc peppermint mousse

I know it sounded as if I had more than my fair share of food, but I swear it was just a whole lot of little portions of many dishes No, I didn't plan on weighing myself once off the ship, to make sure I didn't put on more than the promised seven pound maximum After lunch, we took photos of the Mexican scenery from the top deck...

...and then went to the sports area where we played some table tennis and foosball.

At 3.45pm, we rocked up to WaveBands to take part in the $5000 jackpot bingo. So many people took part, that the jackpot went up to over $5200! Cards and electronic machine at the ready, we then got our beverages sorted - water for Nest, and a Godiva chocolate martini for me (Absolut vanilla, Godiva chocolate liqueur, white creme de cacao, and frangelico.) (Nest chose the water himself, by the way - I didn't insist he have it while I indulged in an extravagant cocktail.)

I was thrilled beyond belief when I got a bingo in the second game! I shot up so fast, shouting, "BINGO!",at the top of my voice, hoping upon hope that I drowned out anyone else and could therefore keep the entire $531 for myself Unfortunately, two other people had valid claims, so the total was split three ways and I walked away with $177. Still an awesome feeling Two people shared the $5200 jackpot - they must've been on top of the world!

Like with Nest's win, to celebrate my win, we went up to Pluto's Dog House for weenie dogs with mustard, tomato sauce, and fries. The deck seemed strangely vacant ... maybe everyone was in their staterooms, packing ... like perhaps we should've been During our bingo session, the ship had departed port, so we ate our weenie dogs to the sight of the Mexican coast disappearing off into the horizon, briefly wondering what our day would've been like if we had gone on our port adventure.

After our celebratory snack, Nest got a chocolate soft serve from the soft serve machine we found hidden around a corner, and was then immediately drawn to the Quarter Masters Arcade - I was surprised we hadn't spent more time there, to tell the truth from past experiences

Nest had a go at pretty much everything inside, as it wasn't as big inside as we had first thought. Even if it was big inside, I'm pretty sure Nest still would've had a go at everything

I wasn't ready!

He excelled at the Stacker machine in particular, winning me not one, but two super squeezy stress balls to replace the one he won me at the Pop Century Resort games arcade in WDW, but broke by accidentally sitting on it!

He made playing the Stacker look so easy, even I thought I could excel at it ... WRONG! I was squawking in frustration seconds after having begun my turn, with Nest having to take over. He even managed to beat me at the only arcade game I am any good at - air hockey.

Still managing to avoid the awful task of packing, we then went around the ship, taking photos of the areas we had spent the most time in, such as the Route 66 corridor leading to WaveBands, the shopping corridor, and the huge portrait of Walt on the wall outside the Walt Disney Theatre, as well as beautiful sights such as the magnificent chandelier in the atrium, our favourite pieces of artwork lining the corridors, and some examples of decorated stateroom doors (someone had written, ''Don't make us leave! We want to stay!'', on the noticeboard they had stuck up outside their door.)

Eventually, we reluctantly returned to our stateroom to begin tackling the task we had been avoiding all day - packing There was a towel lobster and goodnight choccies waiting for us Packing was very tough going, and I took a break part-way through to go to Shutters to buy our formal night and pirate night photos before things got too crowded there.

After much struggle with the task at hand, we managed to get our main suitcases with red Mickey tags attached, out into the corridor for collection, half an hour before the deadline of 10.30pm. If we had missed the deadline, we would've had a massive struggle on our hands, trying to get them off the ship along with all our day bags.

We didn't allow ourselves to have dinner until we had finished packing. Two minutes after leaving our luggage out in the corridor, I placed our order of the following with room service:

Nest had:

· Crispy chicken tenders and chips
· Vegetarian delight pizza
· Fresh fruit bowl
· A Big Island extra large choc chip cookie
· Low fat milk

I had:

· A steak sandwich with chips
· Fresh fruit bowl
· A Big Island extra large choc chip cookie

To share, I got us another six pack of Evian waters, as we go through water like nobody's business. We called it a night after dinner, wishing the cruise wasn't coming to an end

Next entry: Cruise ends Disneyland starts

[chezp]

Sounds like a nice, relaxing final day. Sorry it's nearly over.

[clio]

Sorry your cruise is almost over. You guys probaably just reached overload with all those tours and side trips you took. I'm glad you finally won at Bingo too bad you had to share.
Liz

[lauriep]

I can totally understand why you adjusted your plans and had a more relaxing day instead of exploring the port. Time on the ship never gets old and sometimes you just hit overload with the touring. I went to the final jackpot bingo on the Panama cruise and the big jackpot was $20,000!!! It was won by one person. I'd have booked another cruise right away! I never won anything, although I did play bingo far to often-- it's a lot of fun, and I imagine even better if you win a prize!

[pamcarey]

I totally agree with you that the last day of a cruise is far too overwhelming, with everything to do, and packing too! I'm sad that your cruise is almost over, but can't wait to hear about Disneyland!

[Big Sister]

Originally Posted by chezp

Sounds like a nice, relaxing final day. Sorry it's nearly over.

It certainly was a very relaxing day (except for the thought of packing in the backs of our minds, constantly niggling away at us .)

I was very sad that the cruise had come to an end (as I'm sure Nest was too), but at least we had a fun week ahead of us at Disneyland, just around the corner!

[Big Sister]

Originally Posted by clio

Sorry your cruise is almost over. You guys probaably just reached overload with all those tours and side trips you took. I'm glad you finally won at Bingo too bad you had to share.
Liz

We we sorry that the cruise went way too fast too, but at least we had the best time ever at the days zipped by!

Originally Posted by lauriep

I can totally understand why you adjusted your plans and had a more relaxing day instead of exploring the port. Time on the ship never gets old and sometimes you just hit overload with the touring. I went to the final jackpot bingo on the Panama cruise and the big jackpot was $20,000!!! It was won by one person. I'd have booked another cruise right away! I never won anything, although I did play bingo far to often-- it's a lot of fun, and I imagine even better if you win a prize!

We so could withstand a longer cruise with more days at sea, without getting bored! Like you said, there is just so much to see and do on board, and not enough time to experience it all!

I so loved reading your bingo story - how super lucky of that one person to win the whole $20,000!! I'm with you, and would book another cruise straight away!

Originally Posted by pamcarey

I totally agree with you that the last day of a cruise is far too overwhelming, with everything to do, and packing too! I'm sad that your cruise is almost over, but can't wait to hear about Disneyland!

Thank you

Disneyland coming right up ... now where did I put my flash drive ...

[Big Sister]

Hi Everyone ,

I've finished the cruise portion of my TR - for following along! If you would like to read about our time in Disneyland, please click here

Hope to see you there!

for now,
Big Sister

[collinsfamle]

I just want to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed reading your trip report. It was personable and yet so full of information and details, that I felt like I was there with you. Thank you for your attention to detail and great effort with this report. In fact, I am going to go back and read the rest of your trip as well, just because I enjoyed the way you put this together!!

[Big Sister]

Originally Posted by collinsfamle

I just want to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed reading your trip report. It was personable and yet so full of information and details, that I felt like I was there with you. Thank you for your attention to detail and great effort with this report. In fact, I am going to go back and read the rest of your trip as well, just because I enjoyed the way you put this together!!

Thank you very much for your kind words - they mean a lot to me and made my day! I write in as much detail as I possibly can, as I want to be able to read my journals in years to come, and have it seem only like yesterday that I went on the trips featured.

I unfortunately never wrote about my trips to Disneyland Paris and my first trip to WDW in such detail, and sometimes wonder about the exciting memories (even the smaller everyday things that are still fun to reminisce about) that have been lost forever. Luckily, I can still remember bits and pieces, and also have photos tucked away somewhere, so that's definitely better than nothing!

I hope you enjoyed reading about the Universal Studios Hollywood and Disneyland legs of this trip