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The next stop was at a Jade factory.
Jade and Guatemala has a long and storied history.  The tectonic plates in this region make it a source of Jade.  



The visit here starts with a brief lecture on the history of Jade in the region and the use of Jade in ancient cultures. 


On the ride back down to the coast Fuego remains a prominent feature occasionally popping into view.  You can see the scar from the 2018 pyroclastic flow.  

Back in Puerto Queztal here are some pictures from around the cruise port.




Back to the ship...

For our next stop we get off the bus and walk to the Central Park of Antigua.  


The ladies you see walking around with merchandise are not aggressive but they are plentiful and each is eager to offer you something.  You'll need to repeat 'no' several times but they are just trying to make a living and are not aggressive so be patient and understanding.  Negotiating your price is expected.  All items are handmade in Guatemala and there are many beautiful items to choose from. 


Numerous colonial churches exist within Antigua.  A series of earthquakes in the 16th through 18th century did extensive damage and eventually led to moving the capital away from the region.  At the time people believed the earthquakes were caused by volcanic eruptions and the proximity to the volcano Fuego was determined to be undesirable.  Only later with modern science was it noted that this area of Guatemala sits where three of the earth's tectonic plates come together making it rife with earthquakes.







The outside of these businesses only tell a little bit.  The real beauty is in the courtyards within.

I even spotted some foreign food:



Several hundred years ago this was the seat of the Central American government.  

Absolutely gorgeous volcanoes.  

It's a ship.  No different than sailing a modern cruise ship.  No matter what ship you board the same stories are rumored.  Same with hotels.  How old is the oldest hotel you've stayed in?  More than 20 years old year?  See any ghosts?
I tend to use one bed for stuff so that leaves one bed for snoozing.  
That was 1912.  This ship, the Queen Mary sailed for the first time 24 years later and for over 30 years since did that same route weekly, week after week.  In fact the crossing to Long Beach was sailing 1,000.  One thousand sailings across the very same stretch of water.  Her sister ship did the same.  Two thousands crossings and no Titanic moment.  
Learning from that tragedy the QM had lifeboat and liferaft capacity for 8,000 with a typical guest count of just over 2,000. 
The Queen Mary is proof that human engineering does evolve.  It learns from mistakes.  Those same lessons make cruising as safe as it is today.   
For me it's a time capsule or time machine.  A very rare opportunity to go back in history and see where this whole cruise industry evolved from.   
Fly in an airplane?  Want to list airline disasters over the past 30 years?  Didn't think so.  
Indeed.  Mankind learned a very big lesson that day that humbled a lot of learned scholars from that time.  We can all thank marine disasters such as Titanic for cruising to be as safe and casual as it is today.  
That's the takeaway - this beautiful old ship learned from previous disasters and was an incredibly safe means to travel.

If you think of the Cabo marina as U shaped you basically have to walk all the way around the U clockwise to reach the resort and beach area.  My walk was extended by a few stops for refreshments.  

I was booked for the 50th cruise then cancelled.  I was hoping to avoid the masses of top elite and thought maybe they wouldn't want to be on Vision.  It seems I wasn't alone thinking this way.  

Day 3 - Dinner
Dinner tonight in Chops the other half of my BOGO.




The 16 oz. bone-in Ribeye cooked perfectly.

As we waited for the tender boats to be recovered day turned to night and it was very special sitting by the window to take in the lights of Cabo.

Finally dessert.

Another great dinner experience.

The ship delivered certificates to our cabins:

What does it cost a for ship like Vision of the Seas to transit the Panama Canal?
Bill Benny admits he hasn't seen our bill but he can guestimate it pretty close.
Ship are charged based on capacity.  For cruise ships it's the number of berths regardless if they are being used or not.  For cargo ships it's based on their cargo capacity regardless of the amount of cargo actually being carried.  
Cruise ships pay $138 per berth.  To go through on a specific day they have to make a reservation.  This costs $35,000.  To go through in daylight hours also has a fee of $30,000.  The tugs come with a charge between $12,000 and $14,000.  The Panamanian sea men who come on board to handle the cables cost around $4,000.  Each cable on a locomotive has a $300 charge.  There are some other fees and charges that are pocket change in the bigger picture. 
Bill's guestimate for Vision is about $380,000.00.
Ship's are tagged with a new name when they transit.  We were N 29 Zulu.  Northbound, 29th ship of the day and zulu means preferential treatment (daytime reservation).
Remember the NCL Bliss that used the new locks last year?  They paid $880,000.00

One of my dilemmas as I thought about how to capture this day was where to go on the ship for the best pictures.  I captured the timelapse on my GoPro while I waited on deck 10 forward for the morning approach and the first set of locks.  However I didn't want to stay there the whole day guarding my GoPro. 
At the same time I really wanted a full transit timelapse so I cheated a little bit.
Vision of the Seas has a TV channel dedicated to the forward facing bridge camera.  It's channel 41 on the TV system.   Hmmm.  What if I used my other phone to capture a timelapse of channel 41?
The full transit in 21 seconds.
 

Clearance of 246 feet below so most ships will have no issue clearing it. 
 
The Bridge of the Americas on the Pacific side remains the challenge for shipping with a clearance of 201 feet.

I believe you'll be Gold once you complete your first sailing.
 

Great topic, and I think a lot of the responses are interesting to look at.  I certainly get this question a lot, and there are definitely a few factors or decisions that factor greatly into one's ability to cruise a lot.
1. Living in Florida (or near an embarkation port). No cost to fly saves soooo much money, and opens up a great deal of cruising opportunities.
2. Choosing to cruise over other vacations: In my opinion, cruising a lot means forgoing other types of vacations/trips that may otherwise eat into your time off.
3. For those that cruise more than twice a year, I think finding deals is a major component as well. If you cruise 1-2 times a year, I think you can afford to pick from almost any sailing out there and be able to afford it.  Once you start using up fingers on your hand to count the number of cruises in a year, you have to start playing the "find a deal" game.
Did I mention living in Florida really helps?

As many people here know, I am a teacher and my cruising schedule is pretty much dictated by the school calendar.  My contract with board does not allow time off for vacations other than those designated times over the holidays.  Hubby's schedule is 100% flexible but that doesn't help as I am the planner and mine is not.  Because of this, we unfortunately fall into the category that @twangster mentioned, we pay a premium to cruise because we can only go during the high season.  
My strategy is to book early.  We take at least two cruises each year.  One over the summer, and one over March Break.  I book these two as soon as itineraries get released (often that is almost two years out).  From that point, I watch prices and often re-price multiple times before we pay final payment at 90 days out.  We have saved thousands this way.  I usually book direct with Royal (because I know exactly what I am looking for) and then I transfer to an agent for further savings.  
Because we can only take a limited amount of cruises each year, we do splurge a bit when we cruise.  We like our suites and the benefits that come with it.  The mentality that, "We can take this money and take more cruises," does not apply too much to us because we cannot take more even if we tried.  So that makes us unapologetic suite snobs.  Last but not least, this is the home of "YOLO Book It!" so we have totally run with that motto over the last few years! ?

I notice it says you Live in California.. That hurts you slightly because airfare must be a killer.. I am only 32 years old BUT I live in Ft. Lauderdale about 15 min from Port Everglades, 30 minutes from Miami, and 3 hours from port Canaveral. Also I am self employed and can do work on any cruise ship that has good internet. I also really enjoy gambling and because of this I get offers for comped cruises all the time and those are the ones I choose to go on. Because of the combination of offers sent to me, the fact that I live so close to ports and don't have to pay for airfare, and that I am self employed and can go whenever I want I go on about 8 cruises a year. I also LOVE cruising. it is my #1 passion in life so to me I have made it super important. The only other trips I take are to Vegas and Disneyworld. So for me I can use all my spare vacation money to mainly focus on cruising.. Also having children is not in the cards for me so I have a lot more disposable income than other people do.. In short I think you will find there really is no one magic way to be a dedicated cruiser you just have to go with what your given and make it work for you. But I am happy that we have a new cruising convert on these boards.. Symphony is a fantastic ship you will love her!!! 

Some of us are fortunate to be have flexible schedules so that we can cruise off-peak.  Like any travel activity there are peak times that cost more and off-peak times that cost less.  
Flexibility and willingness to make small compromises can translate into a less expensive cruise.  Like any travel activity supply and demand influences pricing.  Bucket list destinations in the peak of travel season come with bucket sized price tags.  A similar destination at a different time of year can cost a fraction of that.  
Some people prefer more expensive balconies or suite cabins and choose to put their travel funds towards a higher standard of accommodations over cruising more often.  Staying in cheaper cabins equates to cost savings that can be applied to additional cruises.  Once outside of an interior cabin the ships looks the same as it does for someone staying in a suite.  I've been fortunate to stay in some very nice suite cabins but I don't require them every cruise.  In some cases I can take two, three or four cruises for the price of one cruise in a suite.  
In some cases a guest may be in a position to cruise once every few years so going big and splurging on an incredible over the top experience makes sense.  The "dream vacation".  Frugality and containing cruise expenses leaves more money for future cruises.  If you've got it, spend it.  
Loyalty pays.  If you spread you spend across different cruise lines it will take longer to reach the point where loyalty discounts really help on any of them.  

Not 100% accurate, but pretty close...
 

We are retired and take about 14 days worth of cruises each year, so two 7-day or one longer cruise.  For awhile I was a reemployed annuitant so my extra salary paid for the cruising as well as my son's college tuition.  When I worked, I could schedule two weeks' worth of vacation without difficulty.  If we lived in Florida, we would take several cruises each year because the cost per day is less than a "resort" vacation.  We save $$ by booking in advance, using our Crown & Anchor status to get discounts, and virtually eliminate alcohol purchases by using Diamond Lounge or happy hour coupons.  We avoid expensive suites and leverage "free" stuff on the ship.  I don't know if we are typical or not, but we have definitely decided that we prefer cruise vacations to driving long distances or flying long distances.  We find that we can purchase an outside view room for about $100/person/day (about $700 for 7 night cruise) when we book in advance at the ports that are convenient to us.  We have paid 20-30% more for balcony rooms or for special family vacations, but that is our guide.  When it is outrageous -- slay $200/day/person, we avoid that particular cruise.  Some ports/itineraries always run higher.  For example, the Med isn't discounted much, and Southampton is more expensive than other European ports.  We avoid peak season.  Matt has videos which discuss getting the most out of your vacation $$, whether drink packages, itineraries, or port selections.  Whatever you choose, remember it's about you and what you want out of life.  We enjoy meeting other people and experiencing other cultures as opposed to getting inebriated and acting silly.  But I admit to doing that in my younger days.....

GREAT Thread !!!  #lurkersunite

You people are unreal. Who made you the lord over the chairs! yes we get our chair prior to breakfast and we like to eat together so we go...Sometime eating breakfast in Chops take 45 minutes or so at least 30... We return and we are in, out, around until lunch which we generally return to our chairs to eat...but we have been known to go to specialty resesturent for lunch and again it takes awhile...  Bath room breaks we sometime go to the room which can take 15 to 20 minutes or longer depending on the crowds at the elevators or they are cleaning the room..  Again you guys are unreal......

Look for chairs closer to the kids pools. Evidently their kryptonite is children

I belong to a local wine club and save the best bottles for holidays and cruises. I love the option of having a favorite in my room - even with the drink package, especially since wine is so subjective. For example, everyone raves about the Kim Crawford one - I hate it. I like having "the good stuff" in my cabin so I can share, or not.

This is excellent!! It would be great if someone could post it to Facebook or Twitter where it might go viral.

We usually get the drink package, but we also bring aboard our two bottles of wine -- in part, due to wanting a greater variety of wines than are offered on board
.

Just a little tip based on our experience on Allure with the Key. Plan to arrive no later than 15 minutes or so before the show starts (sure beats the typical 30+ minutes and a prayer to get decent seats especially with a group).
We pushed it to 10 minutes once at the Aqua Theater and just made it! The crew members explained that about 8 minutes or so before the show starts they drop the rope to the reserved section to fill the section.
Have a great time!