IRMO12HD

Day 4
First move this morning was to the Solarium hot tub at about where I again encountered my “tubmates” from Alaska, who were discussing the -20 temperatures they had left behind.  Made the hot tub temperature seem even higher, and my sore leg muscles from yesterday’s treks were delighted!  Then back to the cabin for a shower and get ready for the day.  VB screen is still blank (except for the simulated balcony railing) so called Maintenance who said thy would check it. Off to breakfast in the MDR, where I’m welcomed with smiles and a window side 2 top - so nice!
Sea day today, and it’s lived up to its name — lots of sea, and running high!  A fair amount of wind, too, and not very warm, so most people are staying inside.  Went to the Captain’s Corner with Captain James and CD Thiago.  Really well done, although kind of sparsely attended. Got a nice fact sheet on Navigator which was very informative. Captain James is a great communicator and is very engaging.
So, on to Sob reason #2: I decided to watch the GU-UConn elite 8 game in my cabin; listened to some of the radio broadcast during dinner (my AirPods were hidden by my hair, and I was careful not to outwardly react to what I was hearing.). Dinner was Mixed salad and arancini for appetizers, and New York Strip with baked potato and roast vegetables (broccoli and carrot slices).  I asked for Medium — and I got Medium!  The baked potato was perfect, and the broccoli, although I didn’t get any “roasted” impression, was nicely done without being soggy.  BTW, I don’t eat cooked carrots if I can avoid it, and this time was no exception.  So, I made a happy plate with just two carrot slices and a little strip of fat from the steak left on it.  No dessert, as I had plans.
On the way back up to the cabin, I grabbed a little slice of cake and two coconut cookies from Cafe Promenade, and two glasses of wine (to last the rest of the evening, I thought). OK, ready for the rest of the game!  Well, no, I wasn’t ready for THAT outcome.  At its conclusion, I turned off the TV and just kind of vegged for a while.  Figured I would go to the Production show, and JUST as I reach deck 5, there’s an announcement that due to technical difficulties on the stage, the show will be postponed until Day 5. So there are hundreds of sad people around me now. Time for a Kraken and Coke, and a retreat to my cabin to work on language skills with Duolingo and vocabulary skills with Wordscapes.  Oh, and did I mention that my VB screen is frozen once again?
Tomorrow, Ensenada, where I can kayak my cares away!  One piece of good news is that it should reach high tide right around the time we’ll be near La Bufadora (2 pm), so the water “geyser” should reach pretty good heights!

Day 4
First move this morning was to the Solarium hot tub at about where I again encountered my “tubmates” from Alaska, who were discussing the -20 temperatures they had left behind.  Made the hot tub temperature seem even higher, and my sore leg muscles from yesterday’s treks were delighted!  Then back to the cabin for a shower and get ready for the day.  VB screen is still blank (except for the simulated balcony railing) so called Maintenance who said thy would check it. Off to breakfast in the MDR, where I’m welcomed with smiles and a window side 2 top - so nice!
Sea day today, and it’s lived up to its name — lots of sea, and running high!  A fair amount of wind, too, and not very warm, so most people are staying inside.  Went to the Captain’s Corner with Captain James and CD Thiago.  Really well done, although kind of sparsely attended. Got a nice fact sheet on Navigator which was very informative. Captain James is a great communicator and is very engaging.
So, on to Sob reason #2: I decided to watch the GU-UConn elite 8 game in my cabin; listened to some of the radio broadcast during dinner (my AirPods were hidden by my hair, and I was careful not to outwardly react to what I was hearing.). Dinner was Mixed salad and arancini for appetizers, and New York Strip with baked potato and roast vegetables (broccoli and carrot slices).  I asked for Medium — and I got Medium!  The baked potato was perfect, and the broccoli, although I didn’t get any “roasted” impression, was nicely done without being soggy.  BTW, I don’t eat cooked carrots if I can avoid it, and this time was no exception.  So, I made a happy plate with just two carrot slices and a little strip of fat from the steak left on it.  No dessert, as I had plans.
On the way back up to the cabin, I grabbed a little slice of cake and two coconut cookies from Cafe Promenade, and two glasses of wine (to last the rest of the evening, I thought). OK, ready for the rest of the game!  Well, no, I wasn’t ready for THAT outcome.  At its conclusion, I turned off the TV and just kind of vegged for a while.  Figured I would go to the Production show, and JUST as I reach deck 5, there’s an announcement that due to technical difficulties on the stage, the show will be postponed until Day 5. So there are hundreds of sad people around me now. Time for a Kraken and Coke, and a retreat to my cabin to work on language skills with Duolingo and vocabulary skills with Wordscapes.  Oh, and did I mention that my VB screen is frozen once again?
Tomorrow, Ensenada, where I can kayak my cares away!  One piece of good news is that it should reach high tide right around the time we’ll be near La Bufadora (2 pm), so the water “geyser” should reach pretty good heights!

Day 4
First move this morning was to the Solarium hot tub at about where I again encountered my “tubmates” from Alaska, who were discussing the -20 temperatures they had left behind.  Made the hot tub temperature seem even higher, and my sore leg muscles from yesterday’s treks were delighted!  Then back to the cabin for a shower and get ready for the day.  VB screen is still blank (except for the simulated balcony railing) so called Maintenance who said thy would check it. Off to breakfast in the MDR, where I’m welcomed with smiles and a window side 2 top - so nice!
Sea day today, and it’s lived up to its name — lots of sea, and running high!  A fair amount of wind, too, and not very warm, so most people are staying inside.  Went to the Captain’s Corner with Captain James and CD Thiago.  Really well done, although kind of sparsely attended. Got a nice fact sheet on Navigator which was very informative. Captain James is a great communicator and is very engaging.
So, on to Sob reason #2: I decided to watch the GU-UConn elite 8 game in my cabin; listened to some of the radio broadcast during dinner (my AirPods were hidden by my hair, and I was careful not to outwardly react to what I was hearing.). Dinner was Mixed salad and arancini for appetizers, and New York Strip with baked potato and roast vegetables (broccoli and carrot slices).  I asked for Medium — and I got Medium!  The baked potato was perfect, and the broccoli, although I didn’t get any “roasted” impression, was nicely done without being soggy.  BTW, I don’t eat cooked carrots if I can avoid it, and this time was no exception.  So, I made a happy plate with just two carrot slices and a little strip of fat from the steak left on it.  No dessert, as I had plans.
On the way back up to the cabin, I grabbed a little slice of cake and two coconut cookies from Cafe Promenade, and two glasses of wine (to last the rest of the evening, I thought). OK, ready for the rest of the game!  Well, no, I wasn’t ready for THAT outcome.  At its conclusion, I turned off the TV and just kind of vegged for a while.  Figured I would go to the Production show, and JUST as I reach deck 5, there’s an announcement that due to technical difficulties on the stage, the show will be postponed until Day 5. So there are hundreds of sad people around me now. Time for a Kraken and Coke, and a retreat to my cabin to work on language skills with Duolingo and vocabulary skills with Wordscapes.  Oh, and did I mention that my VB screen is frozen once again?
Tomorrow, Ensenada, where I can kayak my cares away!  One piece of good news is that it should reach high tide right around the time we’ll be near La Bufadora (2 pm), so the water “geyser” should reach pretty good heights!

Day 2 (continued — and on to) Day 3:
Yeah, no (now there’s an oxymoron for you!).  I will try to right this sinking blog by reverse blogging -  to bring me back to where I was two days ago;-)
 
TODAY is Day 5 (sob reason #1). We are now heading through the Ensenada harbor towards our berth which will be catty-corner (as usual) to the Carnival ship which is already there. Personally I prefer our berth as the VB camera points out towards sea and the upper decks have a great view of Ensenada.
My long-awaited kayak excursion to La Bufadora doesn’t leave until noon (it’s now 8:09 a.m.) so I’m having a leisurely breakfast in the MDR. I woke up about 6 am to see that my VB screen stil had no live image.  I checked the Bridge cam on the TV, and sure enough, it was morning outside!  Since this is the second morning this has happened (I called “Maintenance” yesterday morning about it, and by the time I got back from breakfast, it was “fixed,” so I assumed they had been by), I checked in at Guest Services, who said they would contact IT.  Of course, by the time I got back from watching the sunrise, it was working again. That is just the way things work!  Then IT called me; I tried to describe the recurring “outages” and they insisted it was because it was too dark for the camera feed to work. To make a longer story shorter, I will note what time it goes “off” tonight, and what time it comes back on tomorrow morning, and note it on my survey.  I really like the Virtual Balcony cabins, and that live view is an integral part of the experience.
Breakfast pix!

Day 2 (continued — and on to) Day 3:
After breakfast ( I tried to be good; oatmeal and fresh fruit plate; the pineapple was especially delicious), I went to Next Cruise to gather ideas for, well, a next next cruise, and then to the top tier event.  Over 3900 passengers, about 25% of whom have C&A status:
Gold 643
Platinum 117
Emerald 67
Diamond 111
Diamond+ 39
Pinnacle 13
 
After a pretty speedy lunch in the MDR of lamb pitas, I watched the Flow Rider for a while, figured out how to incorporate my Sweet 16 watching clothing into French Night/Dress Your Best, and went to dinner at my newly-assigned 2-top.
More on “The Game” and how I watched it later!
 

Day 2 (continued — and on to) Day 3:
After breakfast ( I tried to be good; oatmeal and fresh fruit plate; the pineapple was especially delicious), I went to Next Cruise to gather ideas for, well, a next next cruise, and then to the top tier event.  Over 3900 passengers, about 25% of whom have C&A status:
Gold 643
Platinum 117
Emerald 67
Diamond 111
Diamond+ 39
Pinnacle 13
 
After a pretty speedy lunch in the MDR of lamb pitas, I watched the Flow Rider for a while, figured out how to incorporate my Sweet 16 watching clothing into French Night/Dress Your Best, and went to dinner at my newly-assigned 2-top.
More on “The Game” and how I watched it later!
 

By “ the front” I mean towards the bow. There are exit doors right beside the access doors to the elevators.  Anyway, I then surveyed the pool area — no chair hogs yet! That could be related to the air temperature, I guess.
went for a mile walk (8 laps of the track), and then headed to the Windjammer for a cup of coffee.  Ok, now I’m awake enough to realize I’m hungry, so I head to quiet spot #2 — breakfast in thé MDR!

Day 2:
I began the day looking at my virtual balcony and realizing it was morning!  A quick look at my phone confirmed that I had scant minutes to dress and run up to Deck 11 to catch the sunrise — so I crawled back under the covers and started planning my next moves!  I decided to seek out some quiet spots today.  There are a LOT of kids on this sailing and the decks seem to be overrun (literally) with tiny running feet. 
the first spot was beside the front of the Solarium — like my own private balcony, minus the lounger.

Day 2 (continued — and on to) Day 3:
After breakfast ( I tried to be good; oatmeal and fresh fruit plate; the pineapple was especially delicious), I went to Next Cruise to gather ideas for, well, a next next cruise, and then to the top tier event.  Over 3900 passengers, about 25% of whom have C&A status:
Gold 643
Platinum 117
Emerald 67
Diamond 111
Diamond+ 39
Pinnacle 13
 
After a pretty speedy lunch in the MDR of lamb pitas, I watched the Flow Rider for a while, figured out how to incorporate my Sweet 16 watching clothing into French Night/Dress Your Best, and went to dinner at my newly-assigned 2-top.
More on “The Game” and how I watched it later!
 

Thanks, @Ampurp85I've also sailed on a solo B2B in Dec 2021-Jan 2022 (but not a "carry-on only!).  I actually found the embarkation to be pretty easy; I walked over from the Crowne Plaza at about 8:30 a.m. with my checked bag and handed it over to the porters.  Walked back to the hotel for a cup of coffee and final "re-packing" of my carry-on with my bottles of wine; then checked out of the hotel about 10:00 a.m. and walked back over to the port with my carry on.   Got through security relatively quickly (like 5 minutes) and onto the ship in a total of about 10 minutes.  I have a feeling my sailings were a little less packed than yours.  I'll definitely be carrying an extra load of patience 🙂

Nineteen days, 12 hours and 30+- minutes until I board Navigator.  Time for a little cruise planning, I think, now that I’ve figured out how I’m getting to California.  
As I mentioned, I’m in a Virtual Balcony, on an upper deck, near the bow of the ship.  Can’t wait to see the screen and find out if it’s the same camera feed as last time (starboard midships, kind of high up).  That’s Activity #2.  Activity #1 is seeing where I’m sitting in the MDR.  I honestly don’t mind sitting with others as a solo, so will do a recon more out of curiosity than out of planning.
Our itinerary for this 5-night cruise is:
Day 1: Embark from San Pedro World Cruise Terminal
Day 2:  “At Sea” on our way to Cabo San Lucas
Day 3:  Arrive at Cabo at about noon; I believe we’ll be the only ship in port (yippee!), so hopefully tenders won’t be much of an issue.  I’m actually rendezvousing (wow, I didn’t think that would be an actual word) with my daughter and several of her friends as they’ll be in Cabo on a land-based vacation.  She had wanted to go whale watching, but they won’t have a car so I haven’t quite figured that out yet, since our “all aboard” will probably be around 6:30 p.m. or so.  Maybe I’ll just go hang out at their resort.  When she and I were in Cabo previously on a Mother-Daughter trip, we took the “Luxury Sailing and Snorkeling Tour” through the resort, and really enjoyed it, so have seen the Arch, Pelican Rock, Chileno beach, etc.  Key word today: flexibility
Day 4: “At Sea” on our way to Ensenada
Day 5:  Ensenada.  Here I’ve booked the RCL tour “Kayak Tour at La Bufadora.”  I love kayaking (I have my own little 10’ kayak that I use on local rivers and lakes), but have never been on the ocean in one, so I’m really looking forward to this (as long as I can have a single kayak – gotta check in with the Shore Excursions folks as soon as I board, so make THAT Activity #1!)
Day 6:  Day of gloom and despair, AKA Disembarkation
As far as meals:  oh, that’s tomorrow’s topic!  Good night, all!
 

By “ the front” I mean towards the bow. There are exit doors right beside the access doors to the elevators.  Anyway, I then surveyed the pool area — no chair hogs yet! That could be related to the air temperature, I guess.
went for a mile walk (8 laps of the track), and then headed to the Windjammer for a cup of coffee.  Ok, now I’m awake enough to realize I’m hungry, so I head to quiet spot #2 — breakfast in thé MDR!

Day 2:
I began the day looking at my virtual balcony and realizing it was morning!  A quick look at my phone confirmed that I had scant minutes to dress and run up to Deck 11 to catch the sunrise — so I crawled back under the covers and started planning my next moves!  I decided to seek out some quiet spots today.  There are a LOT of kids on this sailing and the decks seem to be overrun (literally) with tiny running feet. 
the first spot was beside the front of the Solarium — like my own private balcony, minus the lounger.

By “ the front” I mean towards the bow. There are exit doors right beside the access doors to the elevators.  Anyway, I then surveyed the pool area — no chair hogs yet! That could be related to the air temperature, I guess.
went for a mile walk (8 laps of the track), and then headed to the Windjammer for a cup of coffee.  Ok, now I’m awake enough to realize I’m hungry, so I head to quiet spot #2 — breakfast in thé MDR!

Almost there!  Carryon only achieved!
I have to say, joining Alaska’s Lounge last year has worked really well for me.  I got the membership last year because we had a huge long layover in Seattle, and it has been so worth the $350 for the year.  Its hours, its people, its facilities and its menus (both food and bar) are incredible. Flew into Seattle yesterday afternoon, took the train into downtown, met my daughter and spent last night with her. She brought me down to SeaTac about 6 am, made it through security and up here enjoying breakfast by 7 am! This will be my 6th time using it, and I have 8 months and three more trips to go!  It does make it much easier (and comfortable) to travel with planned (or unplanned!) layovers.
 
 

By “ the front” I mean towards the bow. There are exit doors right beside the access doors to the elevators.  Anyway, I then surveyed the pool area — no chair hogs yet! That could be related to the air temperature, I guess.
went for a mile walk (8 laps of the track), and then headed to the Windjammer for a cup of coffee.  Ok, now I’m awake enough to realize I’m hungry, so I head to quiet spot #2 — breakfast in thé MDR!

Day 2:
I began the day looking at my virtual balcony and realizing it was morning!  A quick look at my phone confirmed that I had scant minutes to dress and run up to Deck 11 to catch the sunrise — so I crawled back under the covers and started planning my next moves!  I decided to seek out some quiet spots today.  There are a LOT of kids on this sailing and the decks seem to be overrun (literally) with tiny running feet. 
the first spot was beside the front of the Solarium — like my own private balcony, minus the lounger.

My dinner plans worked perfectly, at least in terms of timing.  I was first at my table and the wait staff brought my two crab cakes right away. Delightfully warm and crispy.  I was just starting on the second one when two of my table mates came in and sat down. I explained that I would be eating and running due to the Izumi reservation and they declared they wanted to do the same(I had been at the entrance to the MDR when they opened the doors at 5:15, so had a head start).  I still had about 20 minutes to kill, so did the little art gallery scavenger hunt and then headed up to Deck 14 for Izumi.
Great window side 2-top and such great food!  Started with the edamame and then had the tofu-ginger salad (it’s pretty large!), the spicy crispy shrimp roll, the champagne lobster roll and matcha ice cream for dessert.  True, the rolls were only 4 pieces each, but I definitely had enough to eat!
After Izumi, I headed down to Studio B and had an amazing view from the second row back on the short side of the rink, two seats in, so I had a great view of both the ice and the cast members’ entrance.  Then bed!

My dinner plans worked perfectly, at least in terms of timing.  I was first at my table and the wait staff brought my two crab cakes right away. Delightfully warm and crispy.  I was just starting on the second one when two of my table mates came in and sat down. I explained that I would be eating and running due to the Izumi reservation and they declared they wanted to do the same(I had been at the entrance to the MDR when they opened the doors at 5:15, so had a head start).  I still had about 20 minutes to kill, so did the little art gallery scavenger hunt and then headed up to Deck 14 for Izumi.
Great window side 2-top and such great food!  Started with the edamame and then had the tofu-ginger salad (it’s pretty large!), the spicy crispy shrimp roll, the champagne lobster roll and matcha ice cream for dessert.  True, the rolls were only 4 pieces each, but I definitely had enough to eat!
After Izumi, I headed down to Studio B and had an amazing view from the second row back on the short side of the rink, two seats in, so I had a great view of both the ice and the cast members’ entrance.  Then bed!

My dinner plans worked perfectly, at least in terms of timing.  I was first at my table and the wait staff brought my two crab cakes right away. Delightfully warm and crispy.  I was just starting on the second one when two of my table mates came in and sat down. I explained that I would be eating and running due to the Izumi reservation and they declared they wanted to do the same(I had been at the entrance to the MDR when they opened the doors at 5:15, so had a head start).  I still had about 20 minutes to kill, so did the little art gallery scavenger hunt and then headed up to Deck 14 for Izumi.
Great window side 2-top and such great food!  Started with the edamame and then had the tofu-ginger salad (it’s pretty large!), the spicy crispy shrimp roll, the champagne lobster roll and matcha ice cream for dessert.  True, the rolls were only 4 pieces each, but I definitely had enough to eat!
After Izumi, I headed down to Studio B and had an amazing view from the second row back on the short side of the rink, two seats in, so I had a great view of both the ice and the cast members’ entrance.  Then bed!

Onboard and working on drink #1 — no cream available at Schooner Bar for a Mudslide so l “settled” for a Kraken and Coke!
 
I walked my suitcase over at about 8:45; had to wait until about 9 to find a porter to take it off my hands, then walked back to the hotel for a shower, fresh Keurig coffee and a scone, and charging my phone.  Walked back over at about 10:15 and hit my 10:30 checkin time on the nose;-). Queuing for the initial passage in to the Security tent was a little kluge-y, as there were actually three lines set up in the tent but nothing to indicate you could use any of the three.  After crawling under the ropes two times -getting snagged once on my backpack! — I found one that was relatively clear and showed my boarding pass to get ito the queue leading into Security.  THEN, of course, the X-ray machine in my line decided to give up the ghost just as I put my stuff on the loading counter; as I mentioned, flexibility is key — and an extra dose of patience helps as well.
i made a beeline fore Shore Excursions to enter my request for a single kayak in Ensenada, and then went to the MDR to check on my table.  I put in a request for a 2-top, but am not optimistic.  My “assigned” table is a 6-top by a wall on the 4th deck, which sounds like a “fill-in-a-family” size scenario which I’m not too wild about.  We’ll see.
Lunch was a chicken burrito and a chicken taco at El Loco Fresh — no line, and the burrito was obviously freshly made.  I was trying to find a 110 v outlet to charge my phone — no luck in the Star Lounge or Schooner Bar or R Bar — so it’s on my mini battery pack for now.  BTW, I have found several UK 220 v outlets in Schooner and in the R Bar.
Next up — my plans for dinner with appetizer in the MDR and then dinner in Izumi!

Onboard and working on drink #1 — no cream available at Schooner Bar for a Mudslide so l “settled” for a Kraken and Coke!
 
I walked my suitcase over at about 8:45; had to wait until about 9 to find a porter to take it off my hands, then walked back to the hotel for a shower, fresh Keurig coffee and a scone, and charging my phone.  Walked back over at about 10:15 and hit my 10:30 checkin time on the nose;-). Queuing for the initial passage in to the Security tent was a little kluge-y, as there were actually three lines set up in the tent but nothing to indicate you could use any of the three.  After crawling under the ropes two times -getting snagged once on my backpack! — I found one that was relatively clear and showed my boarding pass to get ito the queue leading into Security.  THEN, of course, the X-ray machine in my line decided to give up the ghost just as I put my stuff on the loading counter; as I mentioned, flexibility is key — and an extra dose of patience helps as well.
i made a beeline fore Shore Excursions to enter my request for a single kayak in Ensenada, and then went to the MDR to check on my table.  I put in a request for a 2-top, but am not optimistic.  My “assigned” table is a 6-top by a wall on the 4th deck, which sounds like a “fill-in-a-family” size scenario which I’m not too wild about.  We’ll see.
Lunch was a chicken burrito and a chicken taco at El Loco Fresh — no line, and the burrito was obviously freshly made.  I was trying to find a 110 v outlet to charge my phone — no luck in the Star Lounge or Schooner Bar or R Bar — so it’s on my mini battery pack for now.  BTW, I have found several UK 220 v outlets in Schooner and in the R Bar.
Next up — my plans for dinner with appetizer in the MDR and then dinner in Izumi!

Just a wake-up to go!  
 
Lesson #1: definitely keep a rain jacket easily accessible (even though it “never rains in California” - because it actually does!
Had a really nice dinner at San Pedro Brewing Company; very reasonable and delicious.

My “Lounge view” this morning. That’s the Olympic Mountains off in the distance!
 

Almost there!  Carryon only achieved!
I have to say, joining Alaska’s Lounge last year has worked really well for me.  I got the membership last year because we had a huge long layover in Seattle, and it has been so worth the $350 for the year.  Its hours, its people, its facilities and its menus (both food and bar) are incredible. Flew into Seattle yesterday afternoon, took the train into downtown, met my daughter and spent last night with her. She brought me down to SeaTac about 6 am, made it through security and up here enjoying breakfast by 7 am! This will be my 6th time using it, and I have 8 months and three more trips to go!  It does make it much easier (and comfortable) to travel with planned (or unplanned!) layovers.