jam19872016

It was very good.

We are definitely rocking and rolling tonight. The outside deck is covered in ocean spray and I don't mean cranberry juice. Looks like it's been raining but it's not. I suspect deck 10 and 11 forward will be closed because they were last night so walking track will be inaccessible. Gonna hit the gym before it closes since even the deck 3 Promenade isn't gonna be suitable for walking tonigh. BTW, I'm disappointed in how many of my fellow passengers don't understand geography. Apparently we are feeling the effects of the hurricane. The one in Florida 🤔

Dinner was very good but I suspect there will be no jijis dinner since they only had two extra menus to come up with. I think there was a missed opportunity here to call this Mexican night and decorate the MDR Mexican colors. Same for the other night, cucina could have been Italian night.

I started with the loaded nachos. These were a huge letdown. Cold chips woth cold toppings. Not good at all. Next was taco de carnitas. This didn't look promising but turned out to have a good flavor to it. Next up was pescado frito. Each dish was better than the last and this was absolutely amazing. Then just when I thought the food couldn't get any better, they brought my chili rellonos. Yum! This is going to end up as one of those things I drool about later when I think about. If you don't like spicy, don't use that red sauce it packed a good punch. Dessert was just ok, but I'm not a big fan of cream Catalina. It was decent enough and worth a try if you like creme Brule.

When I saw the cucina menu I was hoping one night they would use the jiji menu one night. My favorite specialty restaurant at sea. Tonight was Mexican and I'm guessing maybe the menu from chibang.

Back to the present I'm heading off to dinner. Ship is rocking again tonight, gonna be another bumpy night.

Cont. Disney ship hiding behind us.

Cabo outside my window. Looking back at our ship from Cabo. Some photos taken from the tender ride back over.

The next morning we were in our first port of call after four sea days, Cabo San Lucas. Unfortunately this port was a bust for us. It was HOT and I mean melt your face off hot. The vendors were very aggressive and in your face everywhere you tried to walk. This is very much not a diy kind of port. Plan an excursion or definitely prepare to be disappointed. I would probably not get off here again unless I had plans. The big draw seemed to be camel riding. I can't say that I have any desire to ride a camel lol.

For starters I ordered the cured tuna and Nonnas meatballs. Both were very delicious. Nonnas meatball was the same one served at Cucina. Still the one lonely meatball too 😋. My mom's dinner, linguine vonole. I had the veal marsala. This was also good. For dessert I had the lemon icebox. Best dessert of the cruise so far! We both really enjoyed this.

FLASHBACK: Going back in time to Saturday night right as the internet started giving me trouble. I mentioned that the nights dinner menu was different sort of. It was a modified version of the Cucina Del Capitano menu.

Yes to all three.

That's good to know. May be a good port for beach people. Very easy access too, right off the pier.

After lunch I worked it off at the gym. Now I'm playing trivia. I was going to leave but the host just said he is giving out a ship on a stick for the next trivia. It's been medals every other time so I'm staying.

I was just thinking the other day, what am I missing that I could have gotten on Freedom. The only thing I could think of was BBQ. Today on the buffet, BBQ 😋. Self serve, so I loaded down my plate. Truth be told it isn't always very good especially on ships that cook it indoors. This was very good. I went a little off the rails after not being able to count calories with no internet so I avoided the desserts today. Took all my will power. Chopsticks menu.

Heading to Lido for some lunch.

Quirks is such a nice way to describe it lol 😆. I have to imagine it is almost pure profit so I wish these cost increases were being used to improve the infrastructure but I'm afraid it is most likely simply a case of supply and demand at work. Raise the price until people quit paying it.

That's the best attitude to have to ensure a great cruise 😁 Lol thankfully it did not come to that.

I stayed at a place called hotel nexus. I do not recommend it for a pre cruise hotel if you are not staying in Seattle for a few days. I chose it because it was inexpensive but had great reviews and was a best Western property so nothing fancy but I've always found their properties adequate. It was clean and did the job and for the price it was a great value. But it is very far from both the airport and cruise terminal so that needs to be factored into the cost. We stayed for the three nights so it made sense but for a short stay the higher hotel may offset a lower ubur fare. One bonus I didn't plan on was it was very close to the train station so we had easy access to getting around. https://www.hotelnexusseattle.com

Some photos from today's outing.

Back onboard after a quick walk around Hualtuco, Mexico. It was hot today but not like Cabo. It also had a lot of pushy vendors, but again not like Cabo. We were able to browse without being bombarded. Much like Cabo, this is not a diy kinda port although there is a beach right off the pier if your just looking for a beach day. We wandered around looking in the various shops and my mom found a grocery store with some chips so she bought a bag because she has had a real craving for chips. Be prepared to be ripped off, all the stores round up. $2.10 American becomes $3 after conversion. Or bring pesos. Other than that the souvenirs were all overpriced and we didn't really find anything of interest. If you never make it to Hualtuco, you didn't miss anything. This port may be more exciting if you do an excursion.

Good morning. I think we are back in business. Speed test just registered 2.1 mbps. Today is our second poet of call, Huatulco. Getting ready to head ashore now with no real plans. If speeds are still good I should be able to get this train back on the tracks today 👍

My last speed test was 84kbps. Marginally better than dialup speeds. I have received what amounts to a $95 refund which I was happy with yesterday. They are still working on it and was told it would improve. It is faster than the 44kbps that I showed GS but slower than last night when I was at a blazing 110kbps 😒. At $14.50 a day I will be back in line in a couple days for a further refund if they are still unable to deliver the product they sold me. I will come back to this review just as soon as speeds improve above bang your head against a wall level lol. I do have one important update that I know has been on everyone's mind, I have made a comeback on the duck hunt and we are now tied at 8 each 🤣.

I think the internet is coming back to life. It's been a disconnected cruise for me the last 24 hours. Sounds nice to a lot of people but a little nerve wracking when you would like updated coverage of a major hurricane barreling towards your home. I've got an appointment for a haircut at 1 and then if the internet is still alive I will get this live caught up.