So, we’re back from eight days on the Norwegian Star. We left Los Angeles, sailed to Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It was an exceptional vacation.
During the vacation, as you might have noticed, I posted daily blog entries. Of course I couldn’t post everything and there were these oddball things we saw or did or experienced. I’m going to try and add them now.
My sense is, this will be a multipart series. I have over 1,500 photos to go through, and that will help me decide what to write.
Every cruise must have a muster drill within the first 24 hours. We had ours at 4:30 PM the afternoon of our departure. That was two hours before we left, and I assume not everyone was on board by then.
I’ve often worried if I’d remember any of this in the event of a ‘real’ emergency.
Of course normal lifeboats aren’t the only way off. There are some oddball methods which are enumerated on Deck 7.
In this one, we’re all supposed to slide down this fire engine red tube to a boat bobbing 40 feet below. There is even a box with shoe covers located alongside.
I already posted a shot of a device where you lower yourself down in a rope harness.
All I’m asking is, please float!
I can’t begin to tell you how clean this ship was. There were squads of employees constantly patrolling the food areas. No piece of schmutz would stay for long!
What I didn’t expect where these cleaning stations, little orbs with what looked like a saline breast implant inside. If you held your hands underneath, a small spray of disinfecting lotion would shoot down. rub your hands together and it sanitizes you and then evaporates away in a few seconds.
I guess earlier problem with the Norwalk Virus weren’t good for business.
How, in spite of this, I caught a cold is beyond me!
If Mexico to you is Tijuana, you would have been sorely disappointed. There was virtually no sleaze!
Here’s the one exception. In case you can’t read the small type, the club is Splash (across from Cabo Wabo in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico). It features (or so they claim) Mexico’s Finest Showgirls.
This arch, at Lands End, Cabo San Lucas, is a sight made famous by The Love Boat. I snapped a few shots of it as we passed by. Then, our ship made a u-turn and headed around the other side. I waited with the camera, but the arch never reappeared!
I don’t get it. Shouldn’t I have seen it from both sides?
It was very strange, because I waited diligently for the arch to reappear.
Going to the Colima Volcano was one of my favorite moments. It was reasonably far from Manzanillo (which the ship’s captain constantly pronounced “Man-zan-ill-oh”), which meant a long car drive.
On our way, we passed this typical highway scene. I guess I never thought about it, but speeding tickets are universal.
As we traveled from port-to-port, I began to notice these prehistoric looking birds.
They were very graceful in the sky, but even more noticeable was their incredible formation flying. There was never a bird out of place. I’ve never seen anything like this.
In the beginning, I actually thought I was watching some sort of radio controlled models.
If you know what they are, please let me know.
Is there a Mexican Navy, you might ask? Sure. We saw installations of four or five ships at a few of our port stops.
More importantly, every time we entered or left a port (and that included San Pedro in the United States) we we flanked by a small, fast boat carrying heavily armed sailors.
On one hand it was reassuring. On the other hand it was sobering.
Who would want to harm an innocent ship with 3,000+ passengers and crew? Unfortunately, it’s a long list.
More coming as I go through more photos.
We did decide to see Dave Heenan, the comedian, again. This time he was in the Spinnaker Lounge on Deck 12. It’s a nightclub style venue. I’m guessing it seats 400 or so. The chairs are comfy. The service is excellent.
When the show ended, we walked downstairs to Aqua. That’s deck 12 to Deck 6 for those counting. It was nearly closing time and the restaurant was emptying out. Once again the meal was great and once again I had a light cooking meal that couldn’t have been light. It was Chicken Parmesan with pasta. The dessert was a souffle.
I’m not really sure whether it was the captain’s announcement or Helaine in the shower that woke me this morning. They happened pretty much simultaneously. We were anchored near the harbor at Cabo.
Looking out I could see miles of white beach flanked by five and six story hotel (maybe condo) buildings. Between us and the shore was a huge yacht. Whatever you’re thinking of, it’s bigger. A helicopter sat on an upper deck in the rear of the ship. Attached by lines were a few jet skis and other small boats.
Helaine and I went up to Deck 12 for breakfast while Stef showered. As soon as we had a vantage from the port side of the ship, I saw the rocky outcropping that makes Cabo San Lucas so famous.
A few of the lifeboats had been lowered down to the water. They would be used for tendering.
When you looked to the water, you saw boats and you saw pelicans. Lots of pelicans.
“Cabo Wabo” is owned by rocker Sammy Hagar. It’s a few blocks off the main drag, up a hill and across the way from a strip club. Inside was set up for small concerts with bar service. My guess is the real money maker is the merchandise stand near the front door.
We didn’t buy anything from these vendors, but we did make one more stop. At a bend in the marina, a Mexican man stood, holding two iguanas. One was wearing a sombrero. Neither seemed particularly mindful that they were the main attraction in this man’s business.
We tendered in and were back on the ship by 12:30. Right now, as I type, the last of the tenders are bringing passengers back. A few of the tenders have already been hoisted on their davits and stowed for their real job. We should get underway within 10 – 15 minutes.
With a few blasts of the ship’s horn, we’re underway. Though we’ll be doing 21 knots on the trip north, it takes a long time to accelerate to that point.
We’re all alone in the Pacific.