A Brilliant Crossing: Panama Canal Crossing 27/9 - 12/10, 2024

[totalmorganmove]

Kia ora koutou! Long time lurker, first time live blogger! I have read most if your blogs over the past year or two, gaining tips and tricks that you truly can't find anywhere else (as well as hilarious anecdotes.) I finally thought I should repay the favour and since we're doing a route that hasn't been blogged about it a long time, hopefully it may be of some inspiration!

Who?

Myself (Morgan, early thirties, stock standard millenial) & my mum (Carolyn, boomer set on spending my inheritance on travelling together! )

We live about as far apart as a mum and daughter can - she's back in my hometown in New Jersey and I've been living in New Zealand for the past 6 years! We only started cruising once I graduated from college and now usually go once a year-ish. We are destination cruisers - other than a 4 night trip to the Bahamas, we have never cruised the Caribbean! Because of this, we also have mainly been on Radiance class ships.

 

What?

We will be doing the 14 night Panamal Canal transit from LA to New Orleans on Brilliance of the Seas. 

We always have pretty limited options as I am a teacher and fit our trips in around my school breaks. Luckily, my principal has signed off on 3 extra days of leave so we will get some time in NOLA after the cruise.

Day 1: Fly to LA (the time difference means I land before I left!)

Day 2: Embarkation

Day 3: Sea Day

Day 4: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Day 5: Sea Day

Day 6: Sea Day

Day 7: Huatulco, Mexico 

Day 8: Sea Day

Day 9: Sea Day

Day 10: Sea Day

Day 11: Sea Day - Panama Canal Transit

Day 12: Cartagena, Colombia

Day 13: Sea Day

Day 14: Sea Day

Day 15: Sea Day

Day 16: Disembark in New Orleans

Day 17-18: New Orleans

Day 19/21: Fly back to Auckland (lose a day in the process so arrive 2 days later at 5 am and head straight to work!)

 

I know this is a pretty unique itinerary, so please feel free to ask any questions!

I am unfortunately not usually a shenanigans magnet, but will try to keep my eyes peeled. (The 14 nighter people are usually a bit quieter!)

[totalmorganmove]

Pre-cruise - Flights

The beauty of embarking in Los Angeles is that we can both take direct flights!

I will be flying Air New Zealand from Auckland, leaving 8:15 pm on Friday night here only to arrive at about 1 pm on Friday in LA.

Mum has a direct flight from EWR that arrives roughly the same time.

From there, we will get an Uber or Lyft together.

Pre-cruise Hotel

We are staying 1 night at the Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Harbour. 

When looking at it, it seemed there were really two main choices, this or the Doubletree San Pedro. I was very tempted by the cookies but we like to walk to port when we can and the Crowne Plaza is less than a mile walk.

When we arrive, I have one goal and one goal only - find some decent Mexican food. This is always my first mission when getting back to the US. (Yes, I realise I can get Mexican food while in Mexico this cruise but you can never have too much and there is very limited options while in New Zealand.)

Pre-cruise Purchases 

The Key: When booking, we noticed we had a tender port so got The Key for priority tendering. To us, this is the main benefit and I would not likely consider it on any itinerary that had no tenders. We had it during our NE/Canada cruise and were able to skip straight to the front of the immigration processes which was amazing.

When we purchased, it was on sale for just $2 more a day than internet. So essentially, for $28 each we got priority tendering and a calm lunch on embarkation day. I think that's about what it's worth.

Dining: We are usually very happy with the MDR, and UDP is wasted on Radiance class as there are not heaps of options. But 14 nights is a lot, and I don't love every MDR menu. So we have booked dinner at Chops and Izumi and a lunch at GT. When I booked there was a very strange sale so even if I had booked 3 nights at Chops, it was cheaper than the 3 night dining package (I did double check the gratuity situation in my cart, and still cheaper!) I guestimated days though, but without knowing the order of the menus will likely have to go and swap them around when we get on board.

Excursions: This is where I dropped the ball. Usually I am exceptionally organised and have these sorted months ahead. However, I just finished them yesterday, with 10 days to go.

Cabo San Lucas: Cabo Luxury Day Sailing, which we booked through Royal. We usually don't anymore but we don't get in until the afternoon and most places I looked at went out in the morning. This is also the only day we're in port with another decent sized ship - Navigator.

Huatulco: Huatulco Walking Food Tour. Originally I had a cooking class booked but it was cancelled so this is the next best thing and it probably what I'm looking forward to most!

Puntarenas: Zipline Canopy & Crocodile Safari. We went to Costa Rica about 10 years ago and loved it and did some zip lining. Happy to do it again and is about mum's limit for adventure activities

Cartagena: Private Tour. Both mum and I speak reasonable French, but no Spanish so a guide seemed like the best option to get an in depth look at the city. It was pretty reasonably priced.

Post-Cruise Plans

Hotel: We are staying at The Roosevelt for three nights. It came recommended by a family friend that spends a good portion of the year down there.

Other: I've booked us a cooking class, a walking tour of the French Quarter, dinner at GW Fins, and a visit to the Sazerac House. I've also got two friends that live down there so need to fit in some time to catch up with them!

I've got one week of school left until the term finishes, so need to push through and find some packing time as well!

[DDaley]

21 hours ago, totalmorganmove said:

Carolyn, boomer set on spending my inheritance on travelling together!

Love this. As a millennial who lost my dad in 2017 and my mom earlier this year, I so wish we’d used more of what I inherited in this way! I would love to trade it for traveling with them!

17 hours ago, totalmorganmove said:

When we arrive, I have one goal and one goal only - find some decent Mexican food.

Please, whatever you do, don’t be swayed by the Green Onion Mexican restaurant literally half a block from your hotel. I made this grievous error before my Nav cruise in June; sure it’s okayyyyyy, but it’s not want you want which is real taqueria Mexican! 

17 hours ago, totalmorganmove said:

Other: I've booked us a cooking class, a walking tour of the French Quarter, dinner at GW Fins, and a visit to the Sazerac House.

If you’ve any meals left to be sorted I highly recommend a brunch at The Court of Two Sisters and a dinner at Mr. B’s Bistro! I also really liked our walking tour of the Garden District but it can no longer go into the Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 which was part of the allure of the tour. If you’re heading out to any plantations, I always recommend Whitney as it’s the only one presented from the perspective of the enslaved people instead of the owners. 

 

Very excited to read your blog, the canal is on my cruising bucket list!

[Cactus527]

I love this itinerary! I'm also curious how the school year works out in NZ - is it October to September? Something else? And what took you to NZ instead of staying in NJ?

Pro tip from an Arizonan, re: Mexican restaurants - the shadier it looks, the better the food. There's literally a food truck/tattered-canopy-over-ratty-picnic-tables place in a questionable area of town here that is THE BEST. 

Looking forward to following along!

[totalmorganmove]

3 hours ago, DDaley said:

Love this. As a millennial who lost my dad in 2017 and my mom earlier this year, I so wish we’d used more of what I inherited in this way! I would love to trade it for traveling with them!

It is such a blessing. Every time mum suggests booking another trip together I joke about my inheritance, but the time is so special, especially as I don't see her often being overseas.

3 hours ago, DDaley said:

Please, whatever you do, don’t be swayed by the Green Onion Mexican restaurant literally half a block from your hotel. I made this grievous error before my Nav cruise in June; sure it’s okayyyyyy, but it’s not want you want which is real taqueria Mexican! 

This is so good to know! I was suspect given its proximity to the hotel! Will give it a miss and wander until we find something.

3 hours ago, DDaley said:

If you’ve any meals left to be sorted I highly recommend a brunch at The Court of Two Sisters and a dinner at Mr. B’s Bistro! I also really liked our walking tour of the Garden District but it can no longer go into the Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 which was part of the allure of the tour. If you’re heading out to any plantations, I always recommend Whitney as it’s the only one presented from the perspective of the enslaved people instead of the owners. 

Appreciate these! We will definitely be fitting in more meals in New Orleans! I think this might be the only trip where the post cruise eating is a bigger deal than the cruise eating!

1 hour ago, Cactus527 said:

I love this itinerary! I'm also curious how the school year works out in NZ - is it October to September? Something else? And what took you to NZ instead of staying in NJ?

School year runs late Jan/ early Feb to mid December. We have 4 terms of 10 weeks, with 2 week school holidays in between and then a 5-6 week longer break over Christmas, which is summer. I still can't decide if I like it better than my giant summer break in the US.

I've lived in the UK and Australia for a bit and then was back in the US for a few years. I got itchy feet and decided to go to grad school abroad and ended up in NZ. Covid came and I got trapped here and suddenly I've been here for years. 

2 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

Pro tip from an Arizonan, re: Mexican restaurants - the shadier it looks, the better the food. There's literally a food truck/tattered-canopy-over-ratty-picnic-tables place in a questionable area of town here that is THE BEST. 

Definitely noted! Hopefully our wanders find us something that hits the spot!

[SweetPea]

Hi! We have a PC cruise in sight so definitely following. I'm guessing with a smaller ship, you may be going through the old locks? 

Also, NOLA You sound like you already have great plans, but we loved the WWII Museum. Totally worth a few hours if you can squeeze it in!

[totalmorganmove]

I am now officially less than one week away from my holiday!

All thar stands between me and this cruise is a 12 hour first aid course, cleaning my house for my rental inspection, 5 school days, and a 12 hour flight. Should be a breeze!

On 9/20/2024 at 7:07 PM, SweetPea said:

Hi! We have a PC cruise in sight so definitely following. I'm guessing with a smaller ship, you may be going through the old locks?

I haven't been able to find anything official-official, but everything I've read has indicated we will be going through the old locks. 

Guess I'll finally know for sure when we get there!

[totalmorganmove]

1 sleep to go! (Not counting the 12 hour plane sleep!)

One idiosyncrasy of living a day earlier than the US is that while the cruise planner still closes 48 hours ahead of time, it feels like it closes closer as it's Thursday here, my cruise departs on Saturday so I'm now within two days, but it's still very much Wednesday in LA! Love the bonus time (though I doubt there would be any price drops at this point!)

I have two more school days and then I fly out!

I am not packed at all, but my suitcase is out of the attic, so I'll consider it a win. Like many here, I'm a fairly detailed packer, so I have an itemised packing list. To save myself some life admin, this time I uploaded my itinerary to ChatGPT and got it to spit out a packing list, organised by my different bags. Still needed to tweak a bit, but definitely reduced the sheer amount of typing on my end!

I forgot to mention that we are Diamond (one of those many people who combined suites and double points in the restart to our advantage) so we are voucher people. Mum doesn't drink and I barely drink, but with like 9 sea days I'm excited to use them a bit more than previous cruises. I am also a frequenter of the CL coffee machine - I would go so far as to say I prefer it over the Café Lattetudes coffee, which I continue to find is just off. Obviously a personal preference, and I suspect it has to do with being indoctrinated into Kiwi / Aussie coffee culture!

I am an itinerary kind of person, so I've attached a PDF version but it's a spreadsheet. Happy to share my template if it brings anyone planning a big trip joy!

From Sea to Shining Sea 2024(1).PDF

[Cactus527]

9 hours ago, totalmorganmove said:

I am an itinerary kind of person, so I've attached a PDF version but it's a spreadsheet. Happy to share my template if it brings anyone planning a big trip joy!

OMG THIS IS AMAZING. I've often wondered how to combine everything into an efficient spreadsheet and YOU WON THE LOTTERY ON THIS ONE!!!!!!! Outstanding! I'm going to use this as a basis for my next trip. Safe travels!

[totalmorganmove]

5 minutes ago, Cactus527 said:

OMG THIS IS AMAZING. I've often wondered how to combine everything into an efficient spreadsheet and YOU WON THE LOTTERY ON THIS ONE!!!!!!! Outstanding! I'm going to use this as a basis for my next trip. Safe travels!

If you message me your email, I am happy to share the spreadsheet template so you don't have to try and convert from PDF!

[totalmorganmove]

Day 1, Round 2

We have made it to LA! Other than a 20 minute delay with mum's flight, everything was super smooth.

My flight from Auckland was easy and it was full of cruisers! Leaving the same day out of Long Beach is a Princess cruise to Auckland, repositioning for our summer season, so lots of people enjoying the one way flight.

We grabbed an Uber from LAX and had a relatively easy drive to San Pedro.

We arrived at the Crowne Plaza an hour before check in and at first I thought there must be an organised tour group as there is TONS of luggage in the lobby and people sitting everywhere. We walked up to the desk to check in and they had us write our name on a paper sign up sheet. I asked when rooms would be ready and we'd be able to check in and the woman looked at me and said "I don't know." So here we are sitting in the lobby with another 50 people hoping they will ring us. They did allow us to leave our bags but we had to tag them all ourselves and they're just left in the pile in the lobby, so I'm not willing to go out and about.

We haven't seen the room or anything, but simply based on how shockingly unorganized the lobby is, I would not stay here again. 

We considered going out and seeing the USS Iowa, but I would really like to freshen up so we'll wait an hour and see how we go.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

That hotel stuff is insane!  I hope you were able to get to your room fairly soon and found it to be decent!

Also hope embarkation went well and you are settled into your stateroom aboard Brilliance!  That ship happens to be the first cruise ship I experienced with my husband (he had always refused to cruise)…which began our cruise life as it is today!  

[totalmorganmove]

Finishing off yesterday!

We were able to check in around 4:45. Some of the people in the lobby had been waiting since 11 am! The bathrooms were also supposedly in a bit of a state and not long after we arrived, they closed them for cleaning for about 45 minutes. 

I have no photos of the room but it is average, acceptable for a night. The office chair is in rubbish condition but purely from an aesthetic point of view with peeling. 

After we checked in, we changed (as I was still in plane clothes after like 20 hours) and then decided to go for an early dinner. We went for a stroll and found Jefe's Cocina about 10 min away. Delish tacos and really fresh guac! (And they gave us a basket of those wagon wheel snacks - haven't ever seen those in NZ!) 

 

 

Then we took an Uber to Target! Probably not exciting if you live in the US but we dont have them in NZ. (We have a store called Target but it's just a furniture store, same logo - big disappointment when I first moved!)

Mostly for a browse, but I picked up a US power adapter for my laptop as I forgot my universal one at home. Also got some Nyquil and other pharmacy stuff that only exists here. Plus more sunscreen. And finally a punnet of raspberries because they are exceptionally hard to find in NZ out of season and when you do, they are $12.

Then back to the hotel for bed at 8:30! Does this put me in the pre-vintage category?

[Ampurp85]

Lol not pre-vintage after all that travel mess.

That really sucks about the hotel. I personally feel like a lot have stopped caring, while increasing the prices.

How did you like the wagon wheels? I was originally so excited to try them.......then I did and found they taste weird.

 

[totalmorganmove]

2 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

How did you like the wagon wheels? I was originally so excited to try them.......then I did and found they taste weird.

 

They remind me of prawn crackers but with hot sauce! Pretty good for snacking while waiting, but definitely not the food I'll be going over my luggage limit home with! 

[totalmorganmove]

Day 2 - Embarkation!

We are onboard, fed, and have made it into our room!

Started the morning in the gym for personal training and had a good session. Gym was neat and clean, though half the gear that is visible in photos on their website was non-existent. If we cruise out of LA again, I will be booking the Doubletree.

We took the shuttle to the port. It was $5 a person and meant Mum didn't need to wheel her giant suitcases down the street. It was easy, and definitely the most functional part of the hotel.

They opened the terminal around 10 and as we have The Key we walked right in. We sat with the suites & pins for about 15 minutes before they started boarding. Very smooth process and our muster was literally next to the gangway so we got that done immediately.

We got the email a few days ago that the CL would be off limits to us lowly Diamonds for happy hour, and I think we will survive. But this is the first time I've been early enough to walk into the terminal with the Pins and man, so many were wearing the pins! We'll never make it there, but I would never. Why would you want to advertise your name to everyone? (I'm that person that rips off conference name tags ASAP.)

We did a bit of a stroll and then went to the Key lunch. A decent steak and some nice conversation with other people. My one gripe is that they advertise that there will be jumbo asparagus with the steak. I know there won't be, but I got the two thinnest, most pitiful looking pieces. Just call it asparagus and not jumbo asparagus and let it go, Royal!

Rooms have opened so we will go have a peek and then wander a bit more. Planning to go to the welcome aboard gathering for Diamonds and up, simply because we never have before.

(Also bonus coffee voucher each day!)

[totalmorganmove]

Day 2

First we went to trivia as we had a bit of time. We teamed up with a couple and got 9/16. I thought this was a pretty terrible score, but the top team only got 10. I used a drink voucher to get myself a Blueberry Nojito. Good, but very sweet!

Then, went to the Welcome Aboard Mix & Mingle. Hosted in the Colony Club, it was all the officers shaking your hands as you come in, a free happy hour (red/white wine, champagne, and that fruit punch they serve), and a selection of passed small bites. So basically, it was the Crown Lounge, outside of the Crown Lounge - plus a lovely singer! Mum kept asking when they would announce stuff, and I had to repeatedly explain that this wasn't the Top Tier event, just free drinks.

We went back to the room and 2/3 suitcases had been delivered so we began unpacking. Our stateroom attendant stopped by and we got more hangers, as always. We weren't expecting our third bag as we know its been sent to the naughty corner. (I needed a tool set and my parents bought me one kindly and rather than ship it and spend a fortune, Mum just brought it on board.) However, we forgot to go down and claim it so will need to sort it tomorrow! 

At 6:30, we still hadn't left the port (sail away was meant to be 5), so there were lots of rumours flying in our Facebook group. I looked out the window and they were still fueling, so I suspect that was it. We went for a walk around deck during sunset and all of a sudden we started to pull away!

We went to the helipad a day stayed till we hit the breakwater when we hustled to dinner. Our table already had 6/8 seats filled. We know its not everyone's cup of tea, but we like dining with others, so long as we get good table mates. The conversation was flowing the whole meal, and on a small ship there's simply less things to rush off to. Welcome Aboard menu so we got crab cake and spinach & artichoke dip, prime rib & fish fillet, and Mum got the Boston creme pie for dessert. I forgo dessert most nights, and this was no exception. I did however ask for an extra serve of veggies and our lovely waiter brought me a full plate of carrots, broccoli, asparagus, and spinach! 

After the Welcome Aboard show, we've come back to the room to discover that our room is directly above the pub and we can hear the pub singer word for word! The dice you roll with a guarantee room... Will be finding my ear plugs!

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

14 hours ago, totalmorganmove said:

(Also bonus coffee voucher each day!)

What a nice treat!  Wish that would become a standard!

 I’m excited to reach Diamond on my December Freedom cruise and look forward to receiving the 4 drink vouchers each day beginning on my May cruise!

[totalmorganmove]

Day 3 - At Sea

Started off with a relatively lazy day. I had grand plans to get up and do some cycling but I slept terribly last night. Unfortunately, I was sick like 2 weeks ago (teacher perks ) but was feeling much better when I flew over on Friday, besides a bit of post-nasal drip irritation in the mornings. It's also the start of allergy season in NZ, so I've just been taking zyrtec and been fine. Unfortunately, the combination of plane air and LA's low humidity has not been kind to my lungs and of course I forgot my inhaler (as I only ever need it when I'm sick) and I started having serious chest congestion last night. So cycling was off the table for now and replaced with turning my tiny stateroom shower into a steam room. Living on scalding hot tea as well and managing but will be making a pharmacy stop in Cabo.

Gorgeous day, so mum and I did breakfast together in the Windjammer, followed by morning trivia. Once again, we were 1 point behind the winning team (16/20). I used my coffee voucher to grab a latte after. I'm on the fence about using one tomorrow or just sticking to CL machine.

Then off to Top Tier for numbers. It's easy to see why they've had to restrict the CL - the pins alone could barely fit in there! Double capacity is 2,142! Max is 2,543, so without restriction the CL would be open to about a third of the ship! Not only are 2/3s of the ship C&A, but nearly everyone we talk to has cruised before, even if on another brand. We've only met 1 couple on their first cruise.

After, I went to grab my book (Song of Achilles to start off the cruise) and headed up to CL. I love to read here because it's usually pretty quiet but not dead silent, and the views are lovely. Could see out to the pool deck and even at 1:30, there were still plenty of open chairs.

When leaving, this art freaked me out. (Serenade has a cow, I can't remember what Radiance has.) They had a fishing friend too.

We couldn't be bothered heading across to Park Cafe so we popped in to the Windjammer again for lunch. And now mum is on her way to bingo and I'll get changed it a bit for pilates, which shouldn't be too taxing on my lungs. And will use the steam room after!

Formal night later on!

[totalmorganmove]

Day 3

After pilates, I went back to the room to get ready for formal night. We know not everyone is a fan, but where else can I rewear all the bridesmaid dresses I've got? 

We've found that the show times and dining times are really early for us, but with nothing else we wanted to do, we went to see Center Stage, one of the production shows. It was one of the better ones we've seen (but the bar is low after Vibeology on Serenade). Music was well known and they didn't pretend to have a storyline.

On our way to dinner, we stopped for a quick picture. We get one every cruise and love a diamond free photo! It's a nice souvenir of our trips together!  Most people in the dining room were somewhat dressed up, not sure if it's because it's a longer sailing with an older demographic, but it was night. No shame if people don't like to dress up, but given that I go to work in activewear most days, I love the novelty!

It was French night and I once again got no photos. Feels a bit odd to take photos at a shared table, but I'll get better at it! I got the Lamb Rogan Josh (very French ) and it was one of the best mains I've gotten in the MDR. I got the dark choc chip cookies for dessert and could only fit one, so I took the other back to my room with me to eat with my cup of tea in bed!

Our room was a guarantee, and while we are fine with the obstructed view from the lifeboats, the nightly music from the pub is going to wear thin on me as we can hear the singer word for word. No clue why he played Green Day's Good Riddance twice in one hour.

[Ampurp85]

You like beautiful in the dress, I have seen some really ugly bridesmaid dresses, so your friend had good taste. 

Also were your dark chocolate chip cookies just regular chocolate chip cookies like I have been seeing?

[Cactus527]

I love that sail away in LA, especially going by the USS Iowa. It will be interesting to see how it gets handled when there is more than one RC ship in port soon (with Quantum and Ovation coming next year). 

I love your dress! And I hope your congestion clears up ASAP. 

[totalmorganmove]

2 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

I love that sail away in LA, especially going by the USS Iowa. It will be interesting to see how it gets handled when there is more than one RC ship in port soon (with Quantum and Ovation coming next year). 

It was really beautiful! Wish we had found time to see the Iowa - guess we'll need to come back!

3 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

You like beautiful in the dress, I have seen some really ugly bridesmaid dresses, so your friend had good taste. 

2 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

I love your dress! And I hope your congestion clears up ASAP. 

Thank you! It is definitely one of the better of the bridesmaid dresses I've encountered. (And lightweight so good for a hot cruise!)

I'm getting married next year and keep saying after that I'll just bring my wedding dress onboard

4 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Also were your dark chocolate chip cookies just regular chocolate chip cookies like I have been seeing?

Definitely dark chocolate. Fun fact, we don't have semi-sweet chocolate chips in NZ so now I do all my baking with dark chocolate.

[totalmorganmove]

Day 4 - Cabo San Lucas

This is our first time to Mexico! We are currently awaiting our shore excursion in the pier and it is blazing sunshine and 30°C (mid 80s)!

I woke up about 7 and popped into the CL for coffee and a pastry and then went to the boot camp class in the gym. There are two trainers and today we got the gentleman from Serbia, whose fitness training comes from the army! Lets just say, i was not prepared for an actual boot camp! I was sweating more there than I am in the sun!

After, I showered and then met up with my mum to go go one of the lectures about the grey whale migration to Cabo, which was interesting enough for 45 minutes. I always feel like there is a weird amount of time when you don't arrive at port until the afternoon. 

I thought I was going to have to go down to talk to Guest Services last night about the tendering for The Key, but when we got back from dinner, there was a little slip in our door telling us to meet at the theatre at 12:30 for The Key tenders. We showed up about 12:25 and the first tender wasn't meant to start until 1:15. We walked down to the gangway and we're off by 12:35!

We do have an excursion but it doesn't meet until 2:30 so we figured we'd go for a bit of a stroll around the port area.

[Ampurp85]

Congrats on the engagement 

Also, you are very right that ports with later times feel weird. When we were going to BC Vancouver the bars were open but then shut down around 1pm. Also, it felt weird to look out the window at a port while eating dinner at 7:30pm. 

[totalmorganmove]

Day 4

Oh man, we arrived back on board, looked at the cruise Facebook group and discovered we might be the only people who had an easy tender process! Some excursions were delayed up to 2 hours and many people who weren't on a Royal trip, ended up cancelling their plans and staying on board. 

The seas were a bit choppy, but nothing crazy. However, being a longer cruise the demographic is skewed quite a bit and supposedly it was taking over 15 minutes to load each tender because they were helping people in and out so much. 

Well our easy tender dropped us off and we walked the harbour area. We went to find a bar recommended to my mum by a friend. Google maps said 12 minutes and even though it was hot, we decided that was nothing so we did it. We got there and unfortunately the place had burned down about 2 months ago, suspected arson! So more wandering and eventually we made it to the pier again.

Our excursion was Luxury Day Sailing and it was a great time. Our sailboat only had 8 people! We went out first to see the arch and then made our way to Santa Maria Bay. On the way they provided "appetizers" which was a shared giant bento box of grilled shrimp, pico de gallo, guac, and tortilla chips - everything was yum! There was an open bar and the crew constantly came around to ask if we needed anything. (Apologies for the terrible photo - forgot to clean my waterproof case!)

We got about an hour stop at the bay. Unfortunately, being an afternoon trip the visibility was below average. We could still see fish as they came up close and personal, but nothing amazing. The swim was fun anyway! They also had paddleboards. I borrowed one and really struggled to stay up despite having done it many times before. The water was choppy, but after falling off I discovered that it had no fin! In calm water, it would have been very manageable, even for a beginner.

On the way back, the main meal was served - another massive bento box - filled with chicken ceasar salad, pasta, ceviche, fresh cut fruit, and little chocolate things. More drinks too. They asked what time our last tender was (7:15) so they steered us towards the sunset and we got to watch that off the boat too!

One crew member was the photographer all day and at the end we could buy them. We did - it was 700 pesos (or about 35 USD) and we got about 50 photos of us!

We booked through Royal, but it was with Cabo Adventures and we would definitely sail with them again.

[totalmorganmove]

Day 5  - Sea Day

No shows last night and no pub so it was nice and quiet and I went to bed pretty much right after dinner.

All the food during our sail meant I only got two appetizers from the USA menu - Buffalo chicken dip & zucchini sticks. I was hoping to get the fried chicken and the brownie but I was far too full!

Today I woke up after another average night of sleep due to waking up hacking a lung. My poor neighbours must think I have the plague but I'm definitely not contagious! 

The gym was pretty busy at 9 am when I went to pilates. We were back to the good trainer, so I got a good workout but didn't want to die! In case anyone ever wonders, the gym has a proper drink fountain that I use to fill up my drink bottle throughout the day. It technically has one of those "don't fill drink bottles" signs, but there are no cups so... And I'd much rather people fill bottles than put their mouths on it!

Grabbed a quick breakfast at the Windjammer as I was too late for Park Café. Can confirm there were chocolate croissants! There is also an avocado toast station and a made to order omelet station. (Yesterday at lunch there was a made to order wok station too.)

Then I went to the CL to try and do some work and it was PACKED and noisy. So I got my coffee and went next door to Starquest, which was quiet until the guest choir meeting started. Do they have those on big ships? Feels very much like a long cruise / small ship activity.

I've relocated to the Colony Club until trivia and then will meet up with some people for the second round of progressive trivia.

Have been watching the hurricane forecast and there is an increasingly likely chance of a storm forming just by Huatulco, our next port. All of my fingers crossed for it to dissipate, not only for our sake but for the people who live there who have already gotten heaps of rain from Hurricane John last week.

[totalmorganmove]

Day 5

After trivia, I went back to read on our balcony for a bit and checked the tropical storm outlook and a tropical depression had indeed formed off the coast of Huatulco. So I was not surprised when the captain came on a little while later and announced we would be missing the port and replacing it with a sea day. Of course, it's a bummer, but having watched the storm forecast the past couple days, I was not at all surprised. Gutted to be missing our food tour as I love Mexican food though! We have gained 2.5 extra hours in Costa Rica though.

We were at about purple when the announcement was made. Our next port is yellow. As you can see, not only is there a storm right there, but another system forming right in the path we needed to take to get there!

On my way to yoga, I passed by a very empty R bar! It has been very easy to get a seat nearly abywhere you would like on board - bars, pools, anything! After yoga, I came back to the room and mum went to see the headliner show, while I took a nap. It was a female singer doing Adele and mum said she was very good. My nap was also very good!

Tonight's dinner menu was the UK. Not a favourite, but my table mates were big fans of the mozzarella sticks (a very British dish, clearly!) After, we stopped back at the Centrum for the 80s dance party. I had high hopes of going to the silent dance party after but have crashed and will get to bed as we lose an hour tonight. My goal is one evening in the pub so that instead of hearing it through my floor, I can hear it in person, but I will save that for another night.

Swapped my seapass with mum's so she could go to the casino and use my freeplay while I sleep!

[totalmorganmove]

Day 6 - yet another Sea Day

I think I'm almost in the cruising rhythm now. Usually when this happens, there's only 2 days left, but on a 14 night sailing I've got heaps of time left!

We lost an hour last night so when my alarm went off to go to yoga, I ignored it and went back to sleep. Had a lazy morning in our room and then decided to do lunch in the MDR, as I liked the look of today's menu. I got twice-fried tostones and a truffle grilled cheese. Tostones were yum but the grilled cheese was very light on the truffle and the cheese - bread was delish though! Plus we got a window seat!

Then we had to head to the Colony Club for another round of progressive trivia. We got 12 this round, helped that a lot of the questions were Australian focused this round.

I popped in and out of the CL throughout the day. It was much quieter today so I spent some time reading there. It has good views of the pool, which was as busy as it has been all cruise, and still had lots of chairs. First day I've seen people in the pool and not just the hot tub.

I did go to pilates in the afternoon and then realised it was still 2 hours until dinner so I popped in to the Windjammer when it opened. The greeter looked at me strangely and joked that he hadn't seen me before. I had to graciously explain that we are MDR people and then took my cheese and crackers to our balcony.

Dinner tonight was "A Taste of Royal History" - a very eclectic menu. I got scallops au gratin (which is served exactly like the escargot, but with baby scallops), vegan fried rice, and pecan pie. The fried rice was probably the most average thing I've eaten on board. But my side plate of veggies today was full of asparagus and bok chop so I was happy.

We hustled to the theater to see the show tonight - the singers' showcase. Not sure if they do this on all the ships, but they did it last year on Serenade too. Basically, the two featured singers choose a couple songs each for themselves and just sing and chat. Tonight's was good, but last year the two singers on Serenade were phenomenal. I follow one of them on Instagram and he's now singing on the West End - well deserved!

No port stop tomorrow due to the storm so another sea day! Hoping to convince myself to do something like rock climbing. I always say I'll do it and never do, but with 14 nights I'm bound to run out of things!

[totalmorganmove]

Day 7 - "Bonus" Sea Day

Last night we stopped in to hear the pub singer for a set in person, rather than just through our floor. He is quite good. Then I came back up, popped my ear plugs in from Guest Services and had a great night sleep.

This morning, I once again had high hopes for 8 am pilates, and did not make it. I did make it to CL for a coffee with fruit and a pastry. It was very quiet. And so was everywhere else I went all day! Where is everyone?!?!?!

I read for a few hours and am now about half way through my second cruise book (finished Song of Achilies and am on to The Swift and the Harrier). 

A fairly boring day, I managed to fit in a bit of school work and some wedding admin as well. (We've been having some challenges with transport and a florist that I am trying to sort out sooner rather than later.)

Met up with others for progressive trivia, turns out we are currently in SECOND! We got 15 today, so hopefully we'll stay afloat - 9 rounds is a lot!

I came back to the room to our first towel animal. Current guesses include "anteater", "sloth", "sassy giraffe", and "skinny croc".

Tonight, we did dinner at Chops. It was good, especially the goat cheese salad! I may have accidentally gotten salad dressing all over the table. Mum told me we didn't need four sides, but was happy with all of them. Should have gotten the truffle fries, but alas, instead I got two mains.

 

[totalmorganmove]

Day 7

The headliner was a ventriloquist and he was easily one of the top 10 performers we have seen on Royal. I'm not a huge puppet person, but he was very funny. Kevin Johnson, if you ever see him in your cruise compass!

As I mentioned, the ship has been eerily quiet. I went to the gym as usual for a class - Body Bootcamp this time. I was the only person! 

The trainer was appreciative that I stuck it out and offered me a free inbody scan to say thank you. I've included a picture in case anyone is curious about what kind of info you get. I asked how long he has been on the ship and he's only been here 3 months, but he is getting off soon and not finishing his contract as he has decided its not for him. I was surprised that he was so forthcoming with this information, but I guess if you know, you know.

[totalmorganmove]

Day 8 - Another Sea Day

We have a pretty clear cut routine at this point and I have decided that 4 sea days in a row, is probably my limit.

Gym today was with my actual personal trainer. I've done my sessions with him in a lot of different places, but never at sea. At one point, while doing single leg deadlifts, he made a comment about my balance and I had to explain that the ship was in fact moving.  

I went to the solarium pool for the first time of the trip. Plenty of seats available. I truly have no idea where anyone is. 

We have finally steered well and truly clear of the tropical depression that kept us out of Huatulco and our reward was a stunning sunset!

Dinner tonight was a menu I haven't seen before - Taste of the Classics. I remembered to get a picture.

Our waitstaff team have been awesome. Every night I've gotten a side plate of extra veggies (my only consistent food complaint with Royal is the abysmally small veggie sides that come with dinner). They've also popped a cheese plate on the table for everyone as a starter each night and extra ice cream usually appears with dessert. Tonight, most of the table ordered the tiger shrimp and it was a top 10 dish. They then brought out two more full plates of shrimp for the table! (Benefit of the late seating.)

We also had another AWESOME headline act - Duo Quintessence. They are an aerial duo and very cute that they actually met as dancers on a RC contract. Now they have their own headlining act. Once their show started, I realised recognised them from somewhere. They are the high intensity couple I've seen in the gym every day this cruise! 

Tomorrow, we finally make it to Port again. Room service breakfast has been ordered! (A port day tradition for me.)

[totalmorganmove]

Day 9 - Puntarenas, Costa Rica

We had ordered room service breakfast to arrive between 7:30 and 8:00 am. So I was a bit surprised to get a call at 6:50 saying they were on their way. Luckily, I had already been up an hour.

It was a nice way to enjoy the views of land and smaller fishing boats, a sure sign of a port day!

I did have to laugh a bit though. I ordered coffee and chose lactose-free milk. This arrived, alongside 2 cartons of whole milk for cereal.

Puntarenas is in a bit of a harbour it appears so it should be a pretty sail in/away. 

Given that we are arriving hours earlier, I messaged our tour provider last night and they confirmed that we just need to get off asap, no waiting around until 11:30. This is good because we have the rest of the afternoon to explore the port when we get back if so inclined!

[totalmorganmove]

Day 9

We are on our way back to the ship after a lovely day out.

We were with Greenway tours, who were also the providers for many of the ship excursions, but instead of a bus of 40, we ended up in a 12 seater van with just 4 passengers! As soon as we got in we were greeted by a little snack box with water, juice, and local lollies. And a giant bag of rambutan to eat!

Our guide drove us about an hour out from the port to Vista Los Sueños Adventure Park, near Jaco. From there we split from the other couple who were doing a chocolate experience and we went to the ziplines. We were joined with a group of 3 Canadian guys and had 3 zipline guides for the 5 of us. 10 lines took us about 2 hours and it was lots of fun. Mum was a champ about it!

Then, we drove about 20 minutes to the Tarcoles river for a crocodile safari. It was about an hour long boat trip down the river and we saw a number of crocs, but also lots of local bird life. They were great at describing them and giving more information. 

The weather held up beautifully and other than a shower on our first zipline and some thunder rumbling in the distance on the river, we had gorgeous sunshine! 

On the way back, our guide offered to have us stop at El Jardin, a very large souvenir shop. Very clearly the place for all the busses to stop, but we popped in and got some coffee to take home and an extra lightweight dress for the ship. Plus, they had free coffee and juice and aircon!

[totalmorganmove]

Day 9

We got back on the ship and pretty much showered immediately. As hot as we thought it was, the crew were hotter after just finishing their Alaskan season. 

We had some time before we went to dinner and, as always, the ship was very quiet. We did a wander around the top deck and then decided to play a round of mini golf.

Dinner was caribbean night and it is my favourite menu! Coconut shrimp, Jamaican chicken, and carrot cake! My carrot cake had to be taken to go after they brought us extra plantains and shrimp. (And also, I had a pre-dinner trip to the Windjammer where they had Jamaican beef pasties.) It was delicious, but not quite as good as last year when our head chef of Serenade was Jamacian.

I popped down to the pub after, hoping to find the Miami game on, but the TVs were occupied by large groups watching Tenneeseee and golf. So I wandered to the Colony Club and found our trivia mates playing "Adult Trivia". (Think regular Trivia but with the undertones of The Quest.) The funniest part was the host barely getting the questions out due to getting embarrassed about the innuendo.

I've stayed to observe a bit of karaoke, but we lose another hour tonight so it is time for bed.

 

[totalmorganmove]

Day 10 - At Sea

Despite losing an hour, I managed to drag myself out of bed for yoga this morning. Then a visit to the windjammer. Despite the heat, I love sitting in the open air aft section and watching the ocean.

Did a quick cafe lattetudes stop and then headed to the theatre for the seminar on the Panama Canal transit. Basically, I learned that I need to be up very early tomorrow so I can see us pass under the Bridge of the Americas and also I will need sunscreen in copious amounts!

The Radiance class ships are truly panamax. We will have about 10 metres of length to work with and 1.5 metres of width! I think I will alternate between the top deck on one side, promenade deck on the other, and the helipad tomorrow!

[totalmorganmove]

Day 10

Just as I went to leave the seminar, I just happened popped into the cruise FB group and someone had posted that they had a hid a duck and added a photo clue. I looked up and realised it was literally exactly from my perspective. So I went down one row and sure enough, a little Danish duck!

We are not usually duck hunters but I did an exchange programme all through high school with Denmark so it felt like fate!

I worked in the CL for a few hours. Since I have three extra days of leave when the term starts, I've been trying to do as much as possible so I don't leave my team teachers to do it all. The pool was busier than usual, but cleared out when there was a downpour for a bit.

We are on to Round 6 of progressive trivia. Unfortunately, we have fallen out of the top 3, but with a score of 18 today, hopefully we will bounce back.

Then a few hours at the pool, definitely busier now. It almost feels like some people came put of hibernation today! 

Dinner, we were at Izumi. We've never been before because mum is not a sushi person, but we went to Japan over Christmas and she didn't starve so I figured we could give it a shot.

We paid ahead so we had the prefixe. We felt like this was plenty of food. Between us we got:

Small plates: gyoza & veggie tempura

Large plates: champagne lobster roll, spicy shrimp roll, chicken teriyaki, & yaki udon

Dessert: lava cake & macha ice cream.

Everything was good (not Japan good, but excellent for a floating ship off the coast of Panama). As many have reported, the rolls are only 4 pieces with prefixe. We still had plenty of food. But if you just want sushi, probably better without prefixe.

I wish I had asked if they had macha powder to make a macha tea. Anyone ever done this? I could definitely go for a macha latte by now.

I also got umeshu to drink. If you're not a huge sake person, but want something traditional umeshu is a plum liquor and sweet and easy to drink. Ask for it over soda water! 

[totalmorganmove]

Day 11 - Panama Canal!

Last night we went to the show in the theatre, a instrumentalist named Kuba. He played a variety of unique instruments and was quite interesting to listen to. However, they mentioned that he is usually on Celebrity and I suspect that is a better fit demographic for playing Flight of the Bumblebee on a vibraphone, but the Pamana Canal crossing demographic is probably more similar to Celebrity than a usual 7 night Caribbean cruise. (And by that I mean everyone is extraaaaa vintage.)

I was up at 5:30 and there were already people gathering on the helipad. I headed straight to the top deck as our first major sight is the Bridge of the Americas. Saw a beautiful sunrise, with lightning next to it and you can see all the other ships lined up, waiting their turn. They told us approximately 6:15 for the bridge, but it is 6:13 and we have not moved since I came on deck, so we will see.

[totalmorganmove]

Day 11

First half of the locks done! We are about a half hour behind the original schedule they suggested, so pretty good!

The deck filled up real fast once they started narrating from the bridge. I stayed on the tip deck until the first lock opened. Then went down to the side of the promenade deck for a better perspective of the ship rising. It is VERY cool to watch!

Took a quick coffee break and while I was waiting, we went into the Miraflores second lock. We also discovered there are webcams at each lock. I've been opening that each time and taking a screenshot as it offers a totally different perspective! 

Standing in the hot sun for 2.5 hours is tiring! And it is sooooo humid. I am not used to this level of heat and actually found my ankles were starting to swell a bit. This did zero to deter me and I squished between people to watch us enter the next set of locks from the helipad.

The next few hours we are on Gatun lake so we'll relax a bit, sort out laundry, and go to trivia. (I've also popped on my compression socks and drank 4 glasses of water to deal with the dehydration.)

[DDaley]

Wow those lock pics are AMAZING! I just did the Rhine and the locks were all from such a low position since our ship was only 3 decks high (pic for reference). This is so cool to see it filling from such a high vantage point. Could you touch the wall from the lower decks? This is making me wanna book this itinerary sooner rather than later!