Our first time Cruise from San Diego to Mexican Riviera

My wife can no longer sit for long, so our regular trips to Las Vegas by car
are a thing of the past; so are long flights.
So. to solve our vacation problem: Take a cruise!
A decision that took me to Google to find a cruise from San Diego in late
November, then a call to my travel agent and lastly to rec.travel.cruises
where we are meeting a world of new friends, reading adventure stories,
gaining insight into this new world and a whole new opportunity to learn.
Tons of reviews and help tips are to be found in the sponsoring website:
www.seacruisereviews.com/faq.htm being supported by Sally and George among
others.
16:30 Friday, November 26, 2004
Some thirty miles off the coast of Baja, approaching Cabo San Lucas by
tomorrow morning, and one day almost to the hour since leaving San Diego on
the Carnival Spirit with over 3,000 souls on board. Two paying passengers
per crew member.
Having read many more reviews by experienced and first time travelers on
this and other cruise ships I assimilated on single factor worth repeating;
it's a matter of attitude. Go with the right attitude and any problem fades
into insignificance. So I did what I preach in my management classes and
pasted a smile on my face. I smiled at the Armenian couple shouldering their
way into line, and they back off. I smiled at the security people and they
were courteous. I smiled a broad greeting at the ticket counter clerk and
got prompt, smiling attention in return. In the meantime I have observed
fellow passengers with obvious pain on their faces and seen the chilly
responses from the crew as they try to do their best in making these
'sufferers' happy. But we all know better; they will continue through life
with a chip on their shoulder for no reason at all.
Attitude = response. Show a smile, get a smile. Show patience, get service
beyond the call of duty. So far. Hope I don't have to edit this observation
at a later date; after all, we are only into the eight-day trip by one
eighth!
There was a mix-up in tables for our first meal and many people were asked
to move once we had settled in. Six of us shrugged it off, moved, resettled.
One couple, an old geezer with skipped over General written on his face
caused a bit of a furor resulting in the purser attending to him. He and his
wife ate, but sour grapes spilled over their countenance. Up on the fantail
pool a young girl went through the water tunnel and a Homeland Security lady
of the Philippines pulled her authority claiming the girl too short to
qualify for the ride. But the mother of the girl shrugged it off and went on
having fun. She could have made a stink. Attitude.
(Is this the duty of a Homeland Security? Monitor children's heights?)
Comfort, we are finding, is in the detail and not in the size. The
'staterooms' are as small as on the sales literature, to repeat a bit of
humor by Todd, our Tour Coordinator. But then you discover your oversize
suitcase really does fit under the bed, and there are enough drawers and
closet space to accommodate all that junk we brought on board.
The detail. Can't turn on the shower hot water without having first turned
on the cold. This is a wonderful feature especially since hot water is
instantly available. I don't know if by a nearby instant hot water heater,
but most likely from continuously running water through the pipes in an
effort to exchange engine cooling water to save on fuel costs which makes a
lot of sense. Rather than spill engine coolant into the ocean, they chill it
first by running it through our showers and sinks!
And speaking of energy: I tried to trace the hydraulic fluid pumped by
exercising machines in the Fitness Center into the engine room and failed.
There are over 50 machines, most occupied by sweating, grunting, huffing and
puffing people pouring their energy into these machines. The machines must
be connected to generators and thus feed into the ship's propulsion system!
Tried to get onto the bridge but that feature is no longer available on
cruise ships since 9/11, same with the engine room. No visitors allowed. Als
o, no shore visitors are allowed either.
I can buy a good bottle of wine at home for what it cost to buy Melen a
glass of Merlot for dinner last night. And I can buy a twelve pack of Pabst
Blue Ribbon for what it costs to buy one bottle of beer. So I quit drinking.
Call me a skinflint or tightwad, or whatever, but I'll get completely dry
before paying this kind of ransom. There is enough ice tea, lemonade and
juices on the 9th deck Lido to keep the demons away.
Again, the Homeland Security at work. Melen lights up on the sun deck, under
the shade. Here comes a black NFL player in security uniform telling her in
no uncertain terms there is no smoking on this side. Don't even bother
asking to be shown the signs indicating smoking or no smoking -- SECURITY
has spoken. Maybe we do need the ACLU!
There seem to be enough free activities to keep everybody who needs that
kind of stimulation happy. We are quite content walking here and there,
sitting and reading, meeting new people, exploring the variety of foods. We
have yet to have lunch in the main dining room because of the many choices
in plain sight and buffet style for instant gratification.
One benefit from having an inside stateroom is that one must get out in
order to avoid the feeling of being locked in a cave. This makes us walk
more, explore more and hopefully burn off some of the excessive calories
from so much good food. Not to mention the savings, which makes losing at
the slot machines that much easier. Save here, spend there!
Back to the details. The bathroom: A roll of toilet paper at the ready and
three more in plain sight waiting to be of service without hesitation. The
shower drain is backed up by a series of channels allowing excess water to
bleed into another outlet thus preventing flooding on the deck. Where you
could easily slip, fall and break your skull. Enough cantilevered glass
bottomed trays hanging from both sides of the sink for all the goodies you
ever thought of bringing. Mirrors everywhere, from above sink, to on
dresser, to full length on the door. Enough to scare any Dracula into
permanent hiding. The air conditioning control actually works! Turn it up
hair and instant reaction. No noise, no heavy duty relay kicking in and out
every few minutes. Apparently controlled from outside monitoring incoming
and outgoing air from each stateroom. Since the doors are watertight, the
air inside must be pumped in and out. So the room is always fresh and at
exactly the right temperature. Bedside lamps just enough light for your side
to read by and move about at night, not enough to bother your mate while
asleep. Of course there are no television programs worth watching, but
enough ship videos of activities and engineering tours to satisfy my
curiosity. But I'd still like to see the bridge!
An ode to the toilet. It must be remembered that eating is the primary
activity on a cruise ship. Continental breakfast at six overlooking the
foaming wake of the ship in the twilight. Breakfast at around eight
including fruits, ham, hash browns and a three-egg omelet, not counting the
toast and whatever else you can load onto a tray. not plate, but tray. Then
at ten, then at noon, then at mid afternoon, then dinner and lastly the
midnight feast amidships. Where does all that food go?
Consider - the human body can only digest and convert so many calories and
nutrients into food for the body. The rest must be discharged. You have
3,000 some odd souls on board.
Remember the fable of the three kings deciding who would be in charge of
this and who of that? One wanted to be in charge of tax revenues, the other
of the commerce duties, and the third just sat through the arguments until
it came his turn. "Sewer. I want the sewage system."
The toilet on a cruise ship must be the most efficient and trouble-free
piece of engineering on the whole ship. If toilets were allowed to clog,
there would be another 500 plumbers on board to feed and entertain and the
cost would be prohibitive. End of the cruise industry.
The name on the toilet is simply "EVAC" surrounded by a simple logo. I have
no idea where they are made, but if you have your legs pinched together and
you push the Evac button you will be sucked into the bowl with no way to get
out except to shove a tube between your legs to let the air into the vacuum.
It takes one point seven seconds from push to full evacuation of anything in
that toilet bowl. Anything!
I can imagine all that **** going into a tank and further mechanical
processes feeding oxygen into it as it is being stirred and stirred and
stirred. The resulting methane gas must be in the tons and surely fed into
the diesel engines or burners somewhere on the ship. There is no way for the
amount of sewage to be dumped into the ocean without having the Green Peace
people up in arms and the dolphins far, far away from the ships. No
dolphins, fewer guests. Bad for business. I imagine the remaining sludge to
be sold as cleaned, bagged manure at each port.
It is now Monday the 29th and at around 7 we watched a school of dolphins
surf on the bow waves of the ship. They had as much fun as we did in
watching them. Yesterday was half a day in Acapulco and Melen was able to
get into her magical Acapulco bay water and become a young girl again,
without pain, free to move as she felt. She is free from pain this morning
and we have dubbed Acapulco the Lourdes de Acapulco.
We got off the ship and walked a half mile south along the boulevard, found
a quaint restaurant, had our ceviche cocktails, shot of tequila, couple of
beers, some lunch and ambled off a few yards to sit under the shade of an
umbrella, paid your rental fee, and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon. The
rest of the ship were on guided tours or chose to remain on board.
My advice, for what it's worth, as a first time cruiser: Learn what you can
about the places you will be stopping. Make contact with as many tour
companies via Internet as you can. Ask friends. Play the newsgroups. Do
things on you own! The tours are OK for the novice and the person who just
wants to get a feel for things. And of course the Cruise Ship company will
be promoting tours where they get a fair commission. I am learning that
every trick in the book is being used to part me with my money.
The people
Armenians on this cruise take up a lot of space. Big, boisterous, loud and
oblivious of the rest of us on the ship. They crash lines, hold heated
arguments in the middle of the passageway without a care.
You can tell a Mexican a mile away by the polite way they yield space to
others along the passageways.
Too many fat people (obese is too polite a word) take up too much space and
their body language lets you know they are proud of their extra large size
and ego. Some are so obese they need wheelchairs to get around in.
Skinny people jog by all the time and you must make way for the adrenalin
filled speed muscles as they are focused only on one thing; to get that
second wind endorphin rush.
Sit long enough in one place and somebody will sit nearby. A minute later
you will make a comment or the other and a conversation will start.
"Nice day"
"Yep"
"Where are you from?"
And so it goes for as long as you can both stand the nothingness of the chat
or until something really strikes you both and animation begins. Often the
silence becomes oppressive and you find an excuse to move on. As chance
often has it, you move to the stern only to find your 'new-found' friend
already there.
Melen noted this is the perfect venue for a family reunion. Everybody can do
as they see fit without getting lost in the shuffle. There are many family
groups on this cruise. Grandparents reluctantly rolling strollers with babes
down the isles as their 'kids' enjoy the Jacuzzi or??? But only infrequently
as most family groups could be seen eating together, lounging by the pool,
or just hanging out.
If I were to hold the perfect seminar, as I did with the Cecati and Gigante
people some years ago, it would be on a cruise. I'm sure arrangements for a
meeting salon could be made at affordable prices. I would have a captive
audience and 100% attendance since they could not get away except on the
days we are in port. And I would give them time off for that! A 55-hour
course is equivalent to one semester hour credit. It could be done in one
week aboard the floating hotel.
Like it or not you will be seated with the same bunch of people every night.
If I were to make a suggestion to the cruise companies it would be to rotate
tables thus giving us all a chance to meet other people. But then, I imagine
most people like the security of having at least one predictable element to
their daily life of adventures at sea and on land. (Since writing this in
the middle of the cruise, I am now thankful for no rotation as we are
getting to know some wonderful people and it's good to have something sure,
something known to look forward to other than your stateroom.) It was, in
fact, a sad parting of the ways we had with the eight rambunctious Mexicans
to our port side, and the four happy eaters on our starboard side plus the
two Yuma desert-loving, fun-loving couple sharing the table with us.
We avoided the tours in Manzanillo by taking a cab to Colima where we met
with Luchi, said hello to his wife as she was preparing orthodontic surgery
on a six year old child, knocked off a half bottle of tequila and a few
beers at their home and headed to Mahuaka, a secret resort for the
super-rich near the volcano. It was a coffee hacienda up to the end of the
1800's, was abandoned, then completely restored and modernized with latest
state of the art plumbing, gardening, fountains, art and a lot of class.
Minimum $1,200 per night for a 1,500 square foot suite (two huge bedrooms,
salon, baths, Jacuzzi, maids. everything) Robert Redford was there a few
days before we were. A private airport for up to twin engine jets bring and
take the guests. Security around the place reminds me of the White House.
We waved goodbye to Luchi as the ship sailed into the sunset.
Our cab driver was especially friendly, is the president of the local taxi
cab association and said he would make a special deal for anybody mentioning
my name. Joel Andres Virgen Lopez, Cell. 044 (314) 10 305 28. The tour bus
offered by Carnival is $78 per person for a trip to the volcano through
Colima. Joel will do the same or better for $100 for up to three people,
making it $33.33 per person.
We have found that a car and chauffer almost anywhere in Mexico can go from
$60 to $100 a day if you negotiate right. Mexico City would be one
exception. To get a good start in understanding the Mexican food culture go
to my www.pueblaprotocol.com and join the discussion on the origins of all
that is 'authentic' Mexican food.
On the subject of FUN!
What may be fun for some, cold be hell for others. What hell may be to some,
could be fun for others. So our cruise ship offers a seemingly endless menu
of activities, shows, and the like. Just an hour ago a few hundred of us
mingled around the midship pool on the Lido deck to watch five men and three
women in a "Hairy Chest" competition. An hour before that, a few hundred of
us watched a young man earnestly hack a block of ice into submission to
become an angel fish which brought forth a lot of "Ahs" and "Ohs" and made
Kodak a bit of money along the way. Melen is now playing ten games of Bingo
on a card that cost her $10 dollars US. I'm reading a mystery while not
writing these notes. (She came back with winnings of $65!)
But I have learned that I need to learn how to have fun. And I'm betting
that I am not alone. After a lifetime of challenges it is difficult to wake
up in the morning knowing there is nothing at all that must be done to bring
bread and fish to the table. But the sense of having to do something, to be
active in the quest for money and goods is buried within most of us. And
retirement, or long vacations, brings this to the surface.
There must be half a dozen eager beaver professional cheer leaders of the
crew who spend most of their time cajoling, encouraging, demanding and
teaching us how to perform for one activity or other. The "Marriage Game",
dance contests, slot machine contests, are but a few examples. Then there is
the full sized chess set, the card room, the library, casino, bars and
lounges. Not to mention privacy in your own room with your personal
playmate. There's the Jacuzzis, four of them! The sauna, steam room, massage
tables, 50 torture exercise machines and the endless sea. The shore tours
either guided or on your own or with friends. The endless opportunity to
shop and spend money. Evening shows and being waited on by professionals in
the most elegant settings since the Titanic at prices within the reach of
those of us who are not among the rich and famous.
Ship geography.
There was no way in heaven or earth for us to have known how to decide the
location of our stateroom. As chance would have it, we made out like bandits
with no cops in town. Level 6 and three quarters aft, just three levels from
the munchies and fantail which became Melen's querencia. (Querencia is that
place a bull finds when entering the bull ring and chasing away the men in
capes. Then returns after each attack.
One point 6 minutes from room to lemonade, tea, munchies, coffee, chocolate,
munchies, water, ice. Five minutes round trip to the Pharaoh's Palace, the
main theatre and meeting place for some shore excursions up near the bow of
the ship. Never more than a thirty second wait for any elevator, ever!
Melen just came into the stateroom with a bag filled with Christmas gifts
purchased in the duty free shops at bargain prices. So she said!
She took out a bottle of Johnny Walker Red and poured me a drink. Apparently
it's ok to buy duty free liquor after the last foreign port so we have two
days to sip and enjoy without paying the king's ransom prices for drinks
from the hundred on-board bars. And on a personal note I have discovered I
can live without the booze, but do enjoy it at the right times-- when by
myself and when with others!
On the subject of FOOD
Twenty four hour Pizza was advertised, and fulfilled. Gourmet dinners were
advertised and have lived up to their promise. Service is always with a
smile and on a scale of one to ten, a ten. We always have two options for
breakfast - on the Lido Deck or in the main dining room. Same for lunch and
same for dinner. The main dining room menu has always had at least five
selections for appetizers, two for salads, five for the main course and
several desert choices. Lobster, Filet Mignon, Veal, Prime Rib, Tiger
Shrimp, Pacific Salmon, Quail, Duck, and various very elegant pastas were
enjoyed by the four of us at our small table. Our next table neighbors were
seen refusing an occasional dish that did not suit them for whatever reason
and I noticed it was exchanged with an apology and a winning smile by our
waiter. The wine was good, although pricey. Iced tea and water were
continuously being refilled.
During my lifetime I have had the good fortune to dine at four and five star
restaurants such as Anton's in New Orleans, The Brown Palace in Denver,
Tijuana's Country Club, (What's the name of the one Bonnalie and I ate at in
NY?) a half dozen others that you would never hear of because of their
exclusivity, most in Mexico. I am rating our dining on the Carnival Spirit
at that level. Perhaps there is a more limited variety of things one could
ask our waiters, but whatever is within their reach was made available to us
with a simple request. Most often, they would make the offer and we would
either accept or reject. To me, this is a sign of true quality.
On the Lido deck 9 there are 9 distinct mini-buffets, the fruit bar, pizza
bar, four breakfast/lunch bars one specialty bar, one oriental bar and the
hamburger/steak/hot dog bar. The specialty bar offered Mexican fare one day,
other national favorites on other days. The oriental bar was never short of
sushi, sauces, wont-ton soups, sweet & sour and the like. There is always an
ample supply of iced tea, lemonade, orange juice, coffee, decaf, chocolate
and ice.
Some statistics.
2,400 passengers, among them are some 600 kids. A crew of 924 made up of
people from over 70 countries speaking some 60 languages, all getting along
just fine. Over half the crew are in food and beverage services from
receiving product to cleaning up and everything in between. Crew members are
recruited in Carnival Cruise offices all over the world, are sent to a four
week Carnival University, then assigned to one ship or other for
apprenticeship and then full crew status. They work six to seven months,
then take a six-week vacation and if qualified, are assigned to another
ship.
An observation: The cabins are dark and you never know when it's daylight or
night by looking. So we kept the TV on to the forward looking camera. This
gave us enough illumination in the cabin to walk about to and from the head
and a pretty good idea of when it was daylight.
We are hours away from the final show and the last supper on this cruise and
Melen is reluctant to let go. So we will most likely be back in the near
future.
? Wayne Lundberg, 2004
Chula Vista, CA

"Wayne Lundberg" wrote in message
...
My wife can no longer sit for long, so our regular trips to Las Vegas by
car
are a thing of the past; so are long flights.
So. to solve our vacation problem: Take a cruise!

Thanks for the very entertaining trip report Wayne. I spent some time in
the Navy so cruises have never held much appeal for me, but after reading
your report it does sound like it would be fun just for the food and odd
entertainment. I am curious about how women participate in a hairy chest
contest?

Dennis

"Technobarbarian" wrote in message
...

"Wayne Lundberg" wrote in message
...
My wife can no longer sit for long, so our regular trips to Las Vegas by
car
are a thing of the past; so are long flights.
So. to solve our vacation problem: Take a cruise!

Thanks for the very entertaining trip report Wayne. I spent some time
in
the Navy so cruises have never held much appeal for me, but after reading
your report it does sound like it would be fun just for the food and odd
entertainment. I am curious about how women participate in a hairy chest
contest?

Dennis

The three women were from the audience, called up on stage and were to feel
the texture and richness of the men's hairy chests and back, all in good
taste and great fun. They all walked away with a trophy!

Well done Wayne. But a return between paragraphs would help those of us
bifocal handicapped. I'm printing this one out since I've been working
on my wife for a year or two to take a cruise. She's spoiled by my
translations in the artesanias in our favorite old bajio colonial capitals.

I've always enjoyed your posts and miss your musings on some of the
reflectors.

Jim O'Connell

Wayne Lundberg wrote:

My wife can no longer sit for long, so our regular trips to Las Vegas by car
are a thing of the past; so are long flights.

Well done Wayne. But a return between paragraphs would help those of us
bifocal handicapped. I'm printing this one out since I've been working
on my wife for a year or two to take a cruise. She's spoiled by my
translations in the artesanias in our favorite old bajio colonial capitals.

I've always enjoyed your posts and miss your musings on some of the
reflectors.

Jim O'Connell

Wayne Lundberg wrote:

My wife can no longer sit for long, so our regular trips to Las Vegas by car
are a thing of the past; so are long flights.