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Posted

It's almost time for my first back-to-back cruise, so I figured today was a GREAT day to start the blog. 17 days to go!

WHAT CRUISE: It's two cruises, actually. First is a 3-night Ensenada cruise on Navigator, followed by a 4-night Ensenada/Catalina Island cruise on Navigator. I've done both itineraries before (3 night = 2 times, 4 night = 1 time), so I'm not visiting anywhere new and exciting. HOWEVER! I'm actually looking forward to turnaround day so I can explore a bit of LA/Port of Los Angeles (more later). So, technically, I'm doing a 7-night cruise across two cruises. 😉 SPOILER: I did the 3-night cruise the first weekend of December and DIDN'T BLOG IT. 😮 I look at that cruise as a taster/preview for this one (and building up my endurance!).

WHEN:
Friday, January 24th thru Friday, January 31st, 2025

WHERE
3-night cruise - Los Angeles (Day 1), Sea Day (Day 2), Ensenada (Day 3), Los Angeles
4-night cruise - Los Angeles (Day 1), Sea Day (Day 2), Catalina Island (Day 3), Ensenada (Day 4), Los Angeles

WHO'S GOING:
Me, myself, and I. Not only is this netting me 14 Crown & Anchor points, it's also time for me to relax away from Spouse, two teenage daughters, three large dogs (one is a foster at the moment, so that's a whole other level of stress), and work stuff.

WHAT ROOM:
Windowless Cave Suite with No Suite Amenities 🤣 (so many suite blogs lately, I didn't want my interior room to feel inferior!). It's close to the rear elevators, right in the middle of the ship both vertically and horizontally. 😉

BOOKING DETAILS:
I actually booked both these cruises when they first came out, literally the first or second day. I knew I wanted to try a back-to-back cruise, I knew I wanted the end of January, and I knew I wanted to do either LA or Galveston (two closest ports for me). It's amazing to think I paid $580 and $530 total for each leg, with the 3-night being the more expensive one (!). That total includes port fees, taxes, and gratuities, so all in, I'm doing 7 nights in an interior for $1110. Would it have been better to wait until almost the last minute to book this cruise? I don't think it would have mattered, the prices have stayed about the same this entire time. I'm just glad I don't have to switch rooms in between cruises! While I have a Royal Up bid in for anything oceanview, I don't think it's going to happen so I'm just planning to stay in my Cave Suite. As always, this was booked through my awesome travel agent Brock with MEI Travel.

TRAVEL DETAILS:
     My flight out of Tucson is around 1pm on Thursday, January 23rd. Southwest, yay! Since I'm already practically on the west coast, the flights are super fast and easy. I'm going from Tucson to Las Vegas on to Long Beach on the way to the cruise, and then a direct flight from LAX to Tucson on the way back. No flight is longer than 1.5 hours, so I'm not super concerned about getting a boarding pass right at the 24 hour mark - in fact, with my Southwest credit card, I could just buy an A1-A15 position when I get to the airport and have it automatically reimbursed by Southwest (4 x annually). Probably won't, not for these shorty flights.
     I'm staying at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach for the night before the cruise. It's comical to say because I'm such a low-key cheap person. Pro-savings? Cash careful? Anyway, I had Chase points that I could use with World of Hyatt points to reserve the hotel, so I did. The girls and I stayed nearby a couple years ago for our October 2022 Navigator cruise and I've always thought this hotel looked gorgeous. 15K points later, I have a night inside it in a basic room. I checked prices occasionally since booking the room on points and it's never gone lower than $600/night. 😱 In fact, I think I saw $820 recently. WHAT. The hotel is attached to the Long Beach Convention Center, so I suspect there is a big conference going on and most rooms are being used for that. On the morning of the cruise, I'm just going to Uber/Lyft over to the port as it's about 10-15 minutes from the hotel.
     On the way back, my return flight isn't until around 4:30pm, so I'm going to do a DayUse hotel near LAX. I settled on the H Hilton LAX, which shares a property with the Homewood Suites, as it fit the time I needed, wasn't terribly expensive, and has a shuttle to LAX in case I want to use it. I say "in case" because I can also just walk back with how close it is to the Southwest area in LAX. Super easy, and in daylight, not an issue. 8am-2pm.
     ALSO! I don't think I'll take Silvester my gigantic 28" Samsonite suitcase this time, but I probably will bring my new Monos Check-In Medium suitcase. I LOVE IT. It's a twin to my Monos carry-on plus (ocean blue) and it's fabulous. I also caved and got the Away Everywhere tote on sale at Christmas when I realized Spouse didn't get me a tote bag like I requested. So, now I have both Monos and Away, ha!

ONBOARD STUFF
   For the 3-night, I booked the Unlimited Dining Package (UDP) as it was only $98 (plus gratuities) at one point. 5 lunches/dinners at speciality restaurants AND I get Johnny Rockets and Playmakers credits every day for that price? Yes please! I actually did this same thing on the 3-night I did in December and it was wonderful. Not a lot of people, great food, fun experimenting with different options at the various restaurants (especially Playmakers, as I'd never tried it before), and learning what I liked and didn't like. The biggest thing I learned in December is I HATE HOOKED. Granted I have a shellfish allergy, but I just had the worst experience there both times I tried to make it work. They even put me in a corner of the (small) restaurant AND FORGOT ABOUT ME. So, this time around, I'm not going to Hooked. I have Izumi booked twice for dinner because it's way at the top of the ship and has fabulous views, Chops booked for lunch on the sea day, and Jamie's booked for dinner the other night. For the 4-night, I plan to utilize both the Main Dining Room (late seating) and Windjammer to mix it up.
     Beyond that, I booked the Refreshment + Starlink package that was offered around Black Friday for drinking and Internet. It was $40/day, but it gives me the chance to collect water bottles during the 3-night sailing in order to have plenty for the 4-night sailing (when I only have the Soda + Starlink package, which was $24/day during Black Friday). I've already started filling my schedule with various activities, but since I saw/experienced a number of them on the December cruise, I'm just going to hit the ones I haven't done in awhile this time around.

EXCURSIONS:
     People ask me regularly about things to do in Ensenada and I never have something to say. The last time I actually ventured off the ship in Ensenada, I only stepped out of the cruise area and bought churros from a roadside vendor! Man those were good...so this time, I booked a RC excursion to La Bufadora (the blowhole). It was $43 during the July 4th sale and never got lower (though it sticks around $50/person). It's one hour to the area, experience the blowhole, shop there, drive back into Ensenada, do a little tequila tasting, and then back to the ship. 4 hours total. I'm excited to see this but also leery - since I live in Arizona, I am VERY aware of the cartels in Mexico and what they can do. While I realize there is a 0.0001% chance something would happen on the tour, I still have a bit of apprehension. This tour will be on Day 3 of the 3-night cruise.
     Then, I booked a third-party excursion on Catalina Island through Viator. When I saw that RC offered an excursion that was a "tour of Avalon and Catalina Island!," I thought would be great, it would be a sure way to get a seat on the tender versus lining up to get tickets. However, that tour was ONE HOUR. I don't see how anything can be accomplished in one hour! Viator was offering a similar excursion for slightly more but it is 2 hours with a limit of 8 people on the tour. It meets right at the dock where the tender drops off cruise passengers. Score! Let's do that. I have this reserved for $75 and it's on Day 3 of the 4-night cruise.
     Finally, on turnaround day between the cruises, I plan to disembark the ship, walk across the port, and visit the USS Iowa. I have seen it so many times when coming to the port, and I honestly love touring old ships. This time? I'm going to go tour it! Spouse and I have done ship tours in San Diego and Honolulu, so I'm really excited to be able to do this and potentially recommend Spouse come along next time. Then it's back on the ship for the 4-nighter. 

SHENANIGANS:
     As I said earlier, we currently have a foster dog. When we went in with our Doberman for a a vet appointment near Thanksgiving, they told me that they had a young Doberman in their kennels that had been abadoned there for four. months. I kid you not, I was livid when I heard this. They were trying to set him up with a rescue organization, but would we be able to foster him in the meanwhile so he could actually get out of his kennel? I said yes, but it took Spouse 30 seconds to say yes. 🤣 That is how Dobby came to live with us. He's been here almost 6 weeks and he's definitely a young dog. Thankfully neutered! He's happy, bouncy, playful, loves to snuggle, and needs to continue learning some more manners. I cried when he came home with us - we let him in the backyard and he ran laps around the yard for a solid 15 minutes with a GIGANTIC smile on his face. ❤️ He LOVES our other dogs, is both teenagers' best friend, and is goofy as can be. This week, he got an application that actually works/fit and they're coming to meet him on Thursday. So excited and hopeful this family will love him and take him!!!! 
     Other stressors that I'm getting away from are the normal things - Bookworm's inattentiveness, DQ's teenage attitude, Spouse being Spouse 🤣, and our other two dogs. The college is back in session January 16th, but since I'm only there once a week, missing a week for this trip isn't going to be a huge issue. I just need time to decompress and do my own thing for awhile instead of taking care of everyone else and their stuff. I'm sure you understand.

So, that's where we stand today! 17 days to go and I've already started putting things in my carry-on that I know I'll probably forget. Went to the bank yesterday for cash (tips) and I think the bank person's eyes popped out of her head when I requested 100 $1 bills. Spouse asked if I was going to a strip club? 🤣🤣🤣 If there is a strip club on Navigator, somebody is going to have to tell me where because I'm not sure I've seen it on a map before (is that what the library is? LOL). Can't wait to board!

(photos from the December cruise)

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Pub dog! So many kids came up to hug it when I saw it on the Promenade... ❤️ 

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The goat cheese salad in Chop's that I would literally trade either of my children for. I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

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The gingerbread town that they had set up in the Windjammer for the holidays. I loved coming up several times to look at all the details. The train was actually going around its track!

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They let me steer the ship for awhile on this cruise...LOL, just kidding, I did the Behind The Scenes tour on the cruise. It was great! 5 people, so many locations, and so much fun.

Posted
1 hour ago, Cactus527 said:

I did the 3-night cruise the first weekend of December and DIDN'T BLOG IT.

Sacrilege 

1 hour ago, Cactus527 said:

so many suite blogs lately, I didn't want my interior room to feel inferior

Hey, i never judge! Book what makes you happy! Besides, we book suites on Royal because we have no status. So i get your vibe. You can say the same of all the D+ and Pinns. We'll be Green forever!

 

1 hour ago, Cactus527 said:

It's amazing to think I paid $580 and $530 total for each leg, with the 3-night being the more expensive one

Make that make sense!

1 hour ago, Cactus527 said:

 he got an application that actually works/fit and they're coming to meet him on Thursday. So excited and hopeful this family will love him and take him!!!! 

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

 

Posted

I did a 3 and 5n B2B on Nav in Sept of 2022. I got the UDP on the last leg, it was $99 with gratuity I believe, I had dinner at Hooked. As a mostly non-seafood eater I thought it was going to suck. The Turf and Turf was amazing but any other Hooked I have been too has been horrible. I am trying it again on one pf my upcoming cruises, I think Symphony. I had a VB on Nav and that is how I fell in love with that room style. 

I am also in a windowless cave for two out of three of my cruises and I like it that way 🤣. I think the most I have used a balcony was on my Alaskan cruise. Plus you can spend the money saved on excursions, food and drinks. 

 

Posted
47 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I had a VB on Nav and that is how I fell in love with that room style. 

I had one in December ( I remember I messaged you about how to turn it off) and I was very unimpressed. The camera quality is terrible! And for the upcharge to stay in one, I wasn't impressed. I'm glad it works for you. I think Oceanview is my sweet spot, but I'm just not willing to pay Oceanview prices with some cruises. 

49 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Plus you can spend the money saved on excursions, food and drinks. 

EXACTLY. I'm doing a JS in September on Jewel, so I'm saving my money for that!

Posted
12 minutes ago, Cactus527 said:

I had one in December ( I remember I messaged you about how to turn it off) and I was very unimpressed.

We had one once on I have no idea what ship (we had an interior GTY booked and we got the huge upgrade to a VB for free)! OK, the difference in price was barely anything.

It neither bothered us nor added anything to the cabin for us so I wouldn't pay for one either. I do like the VB screens that the CL (at least on Wonder) has. It lets me look "out the window" while making my coffee and grabbing pastries and makes the room feel slightly less like the basement that it is.

Posted
4 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

What vibe does a weirdo who is D+ and stays in interiors give? Asking for a friend. 🤣

Hey, I'm just saying I've never been on a cruise line where i see people flaunting their status so much. 🤣

Ambassadors on Norwegian never wear pins. Or announce their status like I've experienced here. No one asks anyone else's status. It's never a topic of conversation.  On this cruise alone, I've either been asked my status or have had people explain their D+ perks to me. Literally just had one D+ offer to buy me a drink. I don't get it. 

I'm just saying, i get the vibe. Coming from a different direction, but i do understand, just in a different way. 😍🥰

3 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

There's a GREEN status? Must be from

Hey, we just graduated from Pewter. 😆

Posted
3 minutes ago, SweetPea said:

Literally just had one D+ offer to buy me a drink. I don't get it. 

Ignoring the other stuff (which I've mostly only experienced with some Pinns in the old Diamond Lounge happy hour days and agree with you about), this could actually be a genuinely nice gesture. We chatted with a couple for a little while one night during what was going to be our last stop before a snack and bed and I (of course) failed to use all our vouchers so we asked them if they wanted anything. They declined so I either wasted them or added to my growing soda/Truly collection.

Posted
1 minute ago, SweetPea said:

No, that i get! But when you preface it with "I'm Diamond+ .. ." 😆

Yeah... understood. And just TBF, when we were younger and newly Diamond, we did also find some very nice vintage Pinns in the DL who were happy to chat without the elitist nonsense (I refrained from using a stronger word here, take your pick).

Posted
6 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

LETS GO!!

6 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

I also caved and got the Away Everywhere tote on sale at Christmas when I realized Spouse didn't get me a tote bag like I requested. So, now I have both Monos and Away, ha!

oh WELL DONE!!!!! this is the stuff bringing me joy!!!!

6 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

do a little tequila tasting

aw yis 

6 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

I think the bank person's eyes popped out of her head when I requested 100 $1 bills. Spouse asked if I was going to a strip club? 🤣🤣🤣

oh my lord 🤣

4 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

am trying it again on one pf my upcoming cruises, I think Symphony

i think you will love hooked on symphony 💚

Posted
10 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

Well, I've apparently covered tequila and strip clubs so far, so coupled with @SweetPea's sea of farts, I think the live blogs have really covered the gammut of human morality today.

Surely you're not insinuating that there is anything immoral about tequila! Maybe the cheap stuff.

I've also made a similar joke about getting 100 singles from the bank pre-cruise. It's one of my favorite rituals.

Posted
3 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Surely you're not insinuating that there is anything immoral about tequila! Maybe the cheap stuff.

It's more the alcohol idea - so many people throw that in to the "immoral" side of things. At least, the five churches in my teeny tiny town I grew up in definitely did (and then went and drank themselves silly on weekends, just...wtf).

 

3 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

I've also made a similar joke about getting 100 singles from the bank pre-cruise. It's one of my favorite rituals.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. This tends to last me through several trips, so when I looked in my travel wallet during my December cruise and noticed I only had a few left, I knew the bank trip was coming. It's fun to hold 100 $1 bills in your hand - it's like I EARNED that Cave Suite, baby...

18 minutes ago, JohnK6404 said:

B2B on the bucket list! Have an amazing time! 😀

Thanks, I'm pretty excited about trying a B2B as well. When Spouse found out it wasn't one cruise but TWO I'm going on, I'm pretty sure the eye roll was heard as far away as  the port. 🤣

...and I seriously had to correct my typo due to @SweetPea of "as fart away as the port." 🤔😛

Posted

16 days and 19 days to go. The weather has turned here - it's gone from 80ish most days to about 60 and cloudy today. I've actually had to go find warm clothes! 

Printed out luggage tags last night to put into my plastic luggage sleeves. Easy, peasy, and helped me stay happy and motivated for this trip. With the December one, I literally flung stuff in my suitcase last minute to go and didn't feel "cruise ready" until I was in my stateroom. I want to enjoy it more this time! What kind of pre-cruise rituals do you swear by to keep yourself excited for it?

Yesterday was Bookworm's sweet 16 birthday. The gift she was most excited for? Came from my inlaws and it was a giant stuffed dinosaur. 🤣 I guess the child can grow into an adult but the adult never grows out of the child. ❤️ DQ just celebrated her 14th last week, so it's definitely been a busy celebration season here. Thankfully I get almost a month off from birthdays before the next one in the family!

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Posted
1 hour ago, Cactus527 said:

it's gone from 80ish most days to about 60 and cloudy today. I've actually had to go find warm clothes!

Congrats, you've outdone the locals here, lol. Been hovering around 40ish overnight for the past couple days here, hasn't been hitting 60. Chilly mornings but love the break from our 11 months of heat.

Posted
3 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Congrats, you've outdone the locals here, lol. Been hovering around 40ish overnight for the past couple days here, hasn't been hitting 60. Chilly mornings but love the break from our 11 months of heat.

We have a freeze warning tonight. I MAY DIE oh no then I'd miss this cruise! I just spent the last hour huddled under a blanket with my laptop trying to get some work done. 🤣 Even the dogs have all found their respective beds and blankets and are burrowing in.

Even though it's a break from your FL heat, stay warm, @OCSC Mike!

Posted
4 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Blogging has been a pre-cruise ritual to keep me excited until I cruise.

Good point! I didn't do it last cruise and that may have been part of my apathy. I considered it for weeks before embarkation, but then just decided to chill and vegetate on board. 

Posted

The Squishmellow craze is insane to me. Granted they are super cute but the way people go crazy over them is wild. The Five Below by me had an all you can fill sack for $20 BF and it was a madhouse. The Harry potter, hello kitty and Beetlejuice ones were the most sought after.

Posted
18 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

This is true...look at Hubby. Star Wars museum at home and he is currently trying to hunt down a discontinued Squishmallow. No other comment lol

Let me know what he's looking for - DQ has about 40 of them and is always hard up for cash!

15 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

The Five Below by me had an all you can fill sack for $20 BF and it was a madhouse.

YES! OMG! Spouse took DQ there on BF and it was a MAD HOUSE apparently. DQ is small enough that she just slid in between all the crazy people and stuffed her bag. She got 10 of them!!!!! I asked her what it was like and she said "think of the Windjammer if they offered free champagned in the carving station on the schedule." LMAO she knows how to describe things to me...

 

Posted
18 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

What’s a Squishmallow ?

Technically, this is a kind of squishmallow. However, as others have said, they come in various sizes. Spouse has a teeny tiny Santa that sat at the head of our bed through the holidays (don't get me started on Spouse's stuffies-in-bed obsession...)

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Posted

15 days and 18 days to go. Dobby needs a bath today to meet with potential adopters in the evening. Wish me luck - the last couple times, I just washed him in the backyard. This time, since it's 33F this morning, he's going up to the girls' bathroom to be in the tub. Honestly, he was a dream the past two times I washed him - he just stood there and allowed me to do whatever I needed. The only time he showed displeasure was when I washed his head, and then he'd just dip it lower so it was harder for me to reach. Fingers crossed the potential adopters fall in love!

And then I have to drive Bookworm and some of her teammates up to a scrimmage this weekend in Gilbert (Phoenix). That means I need to vacuum the car. Why is that an issue? I think the last time I vacuumed the car, Bookworm was still in elementary school. She's now in 10th grade. 🤣 It's going to be...interesting. Thank goodness for the car wash they built around the corner a couple years ago!

Bezos had magnetic hooks for 50% off so I picked up more for our summer cruise. We're doing an 11-night Alaska cruise this summer as a family (on the line that also involves royalty but is owned by the Carnival corportation), and since we have two rooms on there, I'm having to double all the stuff I typically bring for better cabin organization between Spouse and my room and the girls' room. I already feel sorry for whoever the stateroom attendant is! I think I've got enough for this trip between magnetic hooks and magnetic pegs that @asquared17 hooked me up with (via her Bezos worship). 

Coffee date with a friend this morning, then attempting to find a way out of a lunchtime meeting. Then everything else. So much to do before the cruise, but I guess it makes the time pass faster!

Posted
31 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

He wants a Gordon. Any size or version. lol

She says that she has the gingerbread Gordon, and it's one of the minis. If you understand that, you're doing a whole lot better than me. Also, I see Gordons for about $20-$25 at various retailers around here online too.

Posted

14 days and 17 days to go. I'm so absent minded that I ran a meeting today without sending out reports to anyone beforehand, just the agendas. HOWEVER, I noticed everyone was paying more attention because they didn't have the report so...maybe I'm a genius? Will have to investigate this further. 🤣

Dobby got his visit yesterday from the potential adopters and THEY LOVE HIM. Now it's just shenanigans on the rescue's end to tie up for him to actually get to his 2-week trial with the family. They're coming back on Sunday with their kids. I'M SO HAPPY FOR HIM just not thrilled about his freak out he had going in the bathroom yesterday for a bath. It was like he thought "F* NO ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME IN HERE WHAT IS THIS TORTURE CHAMBER?!???" I supposed it's similar to how some people feel about being in an interior room on a cruise ship, LOL.

Now I'm in Phoenix for the weekend with Bookworm for her team scrimmage. Fingers crossed it goes well for all, and then I can concentrate on cruise prep!

Posted
24 minutes ago, Cactus527 said:

Dobby got his visit yesterday from the potential adopters and THEY LOVE HIM. Now it's just shenanigans on the rescue's end to tie up for him to actually get to his 2-week trial with the family. They're coming back on Sunday with their kids. I'M SO HAPPY FOR HIM

YAY YAY YAY !!!  This made my night.  I am so excited.  I hope it all works out.  You are a wonderful person to do this.  🥰

Posted

I am so happy for Dobby, not the bath, but him possibly finding his forever home. I used to foster cats and dogs but the shelter close by lost funding and then I fostered a mean cat who never left. When he passed, I was too sad, and I waited almost 5 years to get my current fur baby. She is spoiled and while she is friendly enough with other animals, she is too territorial to keep anything around more than a few hours. 

Posted
1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

I am so happy for Dobby, not the bath, but him possibly finding his forever home. I used to foster cats and dogs but the shelter close by lost funding and then I fostered a mean cat who never left. When he passed, I was too sad, and I waited almost 5 years to get my current fur baby. She is spoiled and while she is friendly enough with other animals, she is too territorial to keep anything around more than a few hours. 

This is the first time we have ever fostered. We just felt so bad for him being stuck at the vet's office in a kennel, and we understand how Dobermans are since we have one already, plus we weren't going anywhere for the holidays. It seemed like a good fit, and he's been just fine. He gets pretty ornery when he's full of energy, but he's also still a puppy and I totally get that. So thrilled that these people can see through all of that and still love him. ❤️❤️❤️

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