Stvr California Posted July 27, 2023 Report Share Posted July 27, 2023 Well my friends, the time has come to raise the roof and have some fun. No, I’m not cruising with Lionel Richie - but with my beloved wife, son (14), and daughter (11). We are currently sitting in the Sacramento Intersectional Airport waiting for our flight into Long Beach. We stay in San Pedro tonight and board tomorrow. Ampurp85, MaryS, Cactus527 and 7 others 9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted July 28, 2023 Report Share Posted July 28, 2023 Have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactus527 Posted July 28, 2023 Report Share Posted July 28, 2023 Have a GREAT time! Love Navigator so much. It's my "home" port/ship! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted July 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2023 The Navigator of the Seas sails out of San Pedro which is about 23 miles south of downtown LA. We chose to fly Southwest into Long Beach instead of LAX. It’s a much smaller airport with a lot less taxi-ing around and waiting for baggage. A quick walk out of baggage claim to the ride share area and it was about a 24 minute ride to the San Pedro Double Tree. This is our first time at the Double Tree. It is fine for one night, it’s a little dingy. The staff is adequate if not particularly enthusiastic. Off to find some dinner. Skigoofy, CruzOnBye and MaryS 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted July 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2023 1 hour ago, Cactus527 said: Have a GREAT time! Love Navigator so much. It's my "home" port/ship! Thanks! We are going to do our best. Cactus527 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbieS Posted July 28, 2023 Report Share Posted July 28, 2023 Excited to follow your journey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted July 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2023 When we got to our hotel last night everyone was starving, so we decided to go to Maria’s Mexican Restaurant, about a half mile from Doubletree. Coincidentally, a delivery driver from Maria’s was parked outside the hotel and agreed to give us a ride. We all piled into the back seat (don’t try this at home, kids) and she drove us rather aggressively to the restaurant. Maria’s could -charitably- be characterized as a “dive.” It is a hole in the wall in a strikingly ugly strip mall. But we were so hungry we didn’t even get upset when they told us they don’t serve cerveza! The ambiance was pretty gritty, but the service was friendly and the food was excellent. I had a big bowl of albondigas (beef meatball soup), the wife had enchiladas, and the kids ate burritos and churros hot from the fryer. When we were done, the same kind woman drove us back, again very quickly. It was a fun adventure! My daughter stated that the churro was the highlight of our first day of travel. LandstromCruise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted July 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2023 This morning we woke up to banging drums and bull horns announcing a worker strike starting around 7am. The chant went “We don’t get a contract, you don’t get no peace”. It was actually a catchy little tune that is now stuck in my head. The protest lasted about an hour and then they packed up and left. Apparently they had gone home for the night when we arrived last night? My impression of the Doubletree has not improved. If you look closely you can see some picket signs. Cruise day has arrived and we are currently sitting in our room watching the Minions movie to kill time. My daughter asked, “Have we murdered an hour yet?” No, hon, we still have 45 minutes to murder … Ryan79, Skigoofy, LandstromCruise and 4 others 2 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted July 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2023 13 hours ago, Sweety said: Have fun. Thanks 2 hours ago, BobbieS said: Excited to follow your journey! All are welcome! If anyone has any questions or requests please let me know and I will try and get the answers. BobbieS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted July 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2023 19 hours ago, Sweety said: Have fun. Thanks 9 hours ago, BobbieS said: Excited to follow your journey! All are welcome! If anyone has any questions or requests please let me know and I will try and get the answers. CruzOnBye 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted July 28, 2023 Report Share Posted July 28, 2023 This cruise is on my bucket list. Are you going to Hook? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted July 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2023 Boarding was a breeze. I have heard others have had trouble boarding in San Pedro but that was not the case for us, as suite guests. We spent zero minutes waiting in line having arrived around 10:50 for a 10:30 embarkation time. While we did get special privileges as suite guests, honestly the other passengers seemed to be having a pretty easy time as well. Getting a ride share from the hotel, on the other hand, was like getting stuck in the duldrums. We had no less than three Lyft/Uber drivers cancel on us. The Doubletree lobby was more crowded than the Royal Caribbean embarkation area. Finally, we got a ride that stuck and our driver was great - a 49ers fan in LA! Although he did mention the Titanic and were we sure our boat had enough life boats?… Five minutes later we were at the port. Overall, getting the half mile from the hotel to the port was harder than getting on the ship. MaryS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted July 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2023 7 minutes ago, Sweety said: This cruise is on my bucket list. Are you going to Hook? We are doing Hooked for lunch on day 6. It’s a sea day and why not try everything? We aren’t a big seafood family except for my son who is starting to grow gills. CruzOnBye and Sweety 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted July 29, 2023 Report Share Posted July 29, 2023 Totally agree with your assessment of the Doubletree..Great location wise to be close in the morning for a cruise, but I wouldn't want to kill an excessive amount of time there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising to Retirement! Posted July 29, 2023 Report Share Posted July 29, 2023 50 minutes ago, Stvr California said: We are doing Hooked for lunch on day 6. It’s a sea day and why not try everything? We aren’t a big seafood family except for my son who is starting to grow gills. You will have so much fun! We loved the Navigator back at the end of last September!!! We are native Californians through and through! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted July 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2023 After embarking and taking a stroll around the ship, my daughter was getting a bit cranky so I took her to Playmakers for some food. We decided to go chicken heavy. Wings and tenders, the wings were spot on but I’m not sure they get the concept of tenders - hardly any breading. Our server Maria was a gem on the other hand. Our muster station was about 100 yards from the spot we jumped onboard so that was taken care of in about two minutes. The Captain shamed a few hundred folks around 3:00pm to get the job done. Honestly it’s so easy to do not sure why people wait so long. Our luggage came around 4pm. Not a hardship but when you are sitting in your cabin trying to reach for your favorite pair of flip flops or change of dungarees it isn’t the best. But after everything arrived, the wife and kids had a blast on the water slides, which are pretty good (read: thrilling) for slides on a boat! It turned out that 5-6 pm was the perfect time to be on deck, while a lot of people are eating dinner. We’re starving now! Izumi sushi tonight! Sweety, WAAAYTOOO, CruzOnBye and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaCruise Posted July 29, 2023 Report Share Posted July 29, 2023 Following. We just got off Navigator a couple weeks ago and had a great time. Interested in hearing others experiences. Hope you are having a wonderful cruise. (Sounds like you are so far) Stvr California 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted July 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2023 Izumi was quite good. My shrimp-loving son and my sushi-loving wife were thrilled with their meals and ate their heats out. My daughter dared my wife to eat wasabi straight and she did it! Everyone giggled as she sniffed and coughed, but she loves wasabi so much she said it was rather refreshing. She highly recommends the spicy tuna and shrimp rolls. I’m not a fan of sushi and I don’t think I ordered well. I kept looking at other people’s plates with envy. I basically choked and went with the teriyaki beef. People make mistakes. If you go to Izumi, go for the more interesting dishes! MaryS, Yesiamthere, Skigoofy and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted July 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2023 The crew on Navigator of the Seas is fantastic. If there is a grumpy employee they must be working below deck because I have not met one. Maybe in the waste water treatment plant? Just really impressed, especially with Maria a server at Playmakers. She remembered my name after the first visit yesterday. Doesn’t need to see my sea pass anymore. She really made my kids feel welcomed and taken care of. Wife and daughter are headed to the cup cake decorating class, while my son and I consider the flow rider. It is surprisingly chilly. It is currently around 68 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s getting warmer as we head south but slowly. Yesiamthere, MaryS and Sweety 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted July 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2023 Yesterday we went to the Windjammer for breakfast but it was so crowded we had to stalk diners for a table (my second least favorite thing to do after stalking people returning to their cars in a crowded parking lot). Not the most pleasant for this crowd-phobic family, especially my wife who doesn’t like to interact with people until she’s had at least 3 cups of coffee. So today we decided to take advantage of breakfast served at Chops, which is available to suites passengers. What a revelation! Quiet, intimate, you can sit and be served by friendly staff, and they make your item to order. This is the way. In other news, we’ve had our first towel animal sighting. Later today we are doing a non Royal snorkel excursion through shipmate.com. The ship tenders out of Cabo San Lucas our first port. We arrive in port at noon. More details will be forthcoming after the trip Cactus527, MaryS, Sweety and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted July 30, 2023 Report Share Posted July 30, 2023 The Suites breakfast is my favorite suite perk on the non-O/Q ships. I can’t wait until we are Pinn so that we can take advantage of it ALL the time. Stvr California and Xaa 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted July 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2023 What can I say about our excursion with Shipmate.com without being too negative? It was with Esperanza tours. Our host was super friendly and kind. I wanted to love it. It was a snorkel trip with snacks? “Snacks” - I pack more appetizing lunches for my kids at school. It was quite short and the destination (Pelican Beach) was very crowded. Beautiful clear water with lots of gorgeous tropical fish. There wasn’t any instruction, however, and I was anxiously watching my kids as they bobbed in the strong currents. My wife said she struggled with the strong currents. So you better be a darn good swimmer for this excursion. There was a tense moment when the boat (collectively) realized that someone was left behind. The whole ship called her name. She was discovered bobbing along quite happily, and we got her aboard. All was well. My family were good sports and it was an absolutely beautiful day and location. I would have to be the Grinch to not have fun. But I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this particular excursion. MaryS, WAAAYTOOO, Cactus527 and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted July 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2023 Last night was Jamie’s Italian. It was good but if we are doing teams I’m on team Giovanni’s. I just heard an alpha call for deck six. It’s the first I have heard. Hopeful everyone is Ok. We are currently docked in Mazetlan. Today we are taking a taxi tour. Updates to follow. View from Chops breakfast Cactus527, Skigoofy, MaryS and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted August 1, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2023 Something I forgot to mention. Sail into Cabo at noon was spectacular. Definitely got on deck to experience this. Our weather was perfect for the occasion. The photo does not do it justice. Cactus527, MaryS, Skigoofy and 4 others 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted August 1, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2023 Yesterday in Mazetlan we did a private tour in a pulmonia car. Our driver was Issac and he was an incredible person who is very proud of his city. We had a great time seeing the sights of the city, lunch at a seaside restaurant and time at the beach. For four of us it was $150, an incredible deal for an all day experience. They have a basic template for the tour but it is your time as I was reminded by our guide. So tell your guide what you want! MaryS, Lovetocruise2002, DDaley and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvr California Posted August 3, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2023 Yesterday, the ship was in Puerto Vallarta - the kids and I stayed on the ship and mostly lazed around in bed. The kids needed some down time after two back to back excursions. But my wife did an excursion to San Sebastián del Oeste, and she reports as follows: I took the Royal Caribbean excursion, which is always easy and my husband doesn’t have to worry so much about me getting stranded on shore and missing the ship, lol. We met in the theater at 8am and our vans hit the road before 9 am. Quite quickly we were out of the City and driving up a winding two lane road into lush, green hills. It was lovely to be surrounded by greenery and out of the city and it became quite mountainous after an hour or so. At that point I started to see fields of blue agave. We stopped at a beautiful tequila distillery in the mountains- I forget the name, unfortunately, but it was a lovely spot at the edge of a huge ravine spanned by an impressive bridge, planted with flowers and with two friendly dogs. The best part was that it was in the 70s and breezy- so refreshing. Here there was a tequila tasting and of course I bought a bottle even though I don’t really drink tequila- it’s important to support the local economy! We continued our drive and the road got steeper and rougher. We stopped at a coffee plantation next, where there were lots of parrots everywhere. It was beautiful and shady and picturesque. Finally, we arrived at San Sebastián, which is a completely charming village with cobblestone streets set into the steep hillside. It is like a set from Encanto, from the historic colonial architecture to the mist enveloped mountains above it. We had a delicious lunch and wandered around. While there wasn’t really anything to *do* in San Sebastián besides wander on idyllic cobblestone streets, admire the scenery and architecture, and say hello to the many sweet dogs, it was wonderfully relaxing and peaceful. I’d love to come back someday and spend a few days there. Highly recommend this tour to escape the heat and bustle of Puerta Vallarta and see more of the countryside. MaryS, Cactus527, Skigoofy and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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