geonurse

One thing I should add is that we have found we can add SO much quality to each cruise we go on, by zigging when everyone else is zagging! The Radiance was sailing at full capacity this time so for us , zigging meant getting up EARLY…getting to where we wanted to eat EARLY, getting off the ship early …etc. Even for the excursions we were some of the first ones in line so we got seats at the front of the bus where we could hear, got to sit at the end of the huge table at our lobster lunch, etc….got back on the ship as people were still heading ashore…everything just seems to flow better and much more enjoyable this way! Sea Days are usually the only days we sleep in on a cruise- I know everyone has different reasons for cruising and does things differently…this is just what has worked very well for us!

I’m pretty sure it was an entree first night, but now you have me wondering! 😍The menu was pretty much the same as always, but we always find plenty in the main dining You will love having cabin on deck 9!

Well these 4 day cruises are much much too short! We had the very best of times on the gorgeous Radiance…she was classy, welcoming and the whole vibe was just….fun without being wild….everyone was so helpful ….no complaints whatsoever- honestly! Totally want to get back to Cali someday soon…would love to do the Panorama to Mexico 🇲🇽 Thanks for following along and feel free to send any questions my way… Tomorrow: last night in California and review of the Hyatt Regency Long Beach

We ate our last dinner in the dining room…but realized we hadn’t had room service at all on this trip we just couldn’t have that! 🤣So of course we had to try it out … it came within 15 minutes at around 10 pm and was it ever good! We were pleasantly surprised with the quality of everything…

The rest of the seaday consisted of this and hot tubs and naps and ice cream cones and spotting seals and pods of dolphins from the railing… and of course this⬇️ oh Big Chicken we love everything about you

Sea Day and last day of the cruise: Sea Day Brunch is one of our favorites ♥️ For some reason I was feeling really seafoody this morning! Had the salmon Caesar and ordered a pound of peel and eat shrimp…I had never noticed them on the brunch menu before …but there they were! Up charge of 12$ but worth every stinking penny 👍🏻

Why was this the only photo from tonite dinner!? Uncertainty 🤷‍♀️ It was good tho- love me a caprese we really enjoyed this guy…he sang in various spots around the ship Finished out the night drinking and watching karaoke 😆 Sea Day tomorrow!!!

I kept walking along the harbor path towards the ship…it was a bit further away than I thought…👀thankfully there was plenty of time before all aboard There were a big group of sea lions right beside where our ship was docked…they were adorable and so much fun to watch! After I got back on board I stood out on the promenade deck with quite a few other people watching them play, swim and bark! They were a noisy bunch😍 goodbye beautiful Ensenada!🌴

Headed Back to the ship …..we could either ride the bus back to the ship or get off by the fish market and walk along the harbor back to the ship… I chose to do this and do not regret it! The people were so nice and the weather was perfect Obviously I couldn’t buy a fish, so I gave him 5$ to pose for a picture - he really seemed to enjoy this and struck a fabulous pose😍

We wished we would have saved more time to relax and enjoy this place a bit longer……but we boarded our bus and headed to Puerto Nuevo for our authentic Mexican lobster lunch! Everything was SO fresh and delicious, the servers were really on top of their game, and we even had mariachi singers serenading us. We loved everything about this excursion!

So I guess we were trying to recreate our own foodie tour because after the fish taco, we dropped into this fantastic very unique little restaurant, right at our meet up bus stop for a margaritas, fruit plate and nachos🤣 mango margie The decor in here was just awesome

Our tour guide Pedro was terrific! Along the way to our first stop in Rosarita he gave us so much history and interesting facts about the area….he told funny stories as well and kept everyone engaged for the approximate 45 min drive…our first stop was the downtown area of Rosario. He gave us ideas of the best shops and restaurants, showed us how to get to the beach, etc. We had 2 hours to do whatever we wanted. It was overcast so not good beach weather, but we did walk down to the beach for a little bit…really cute but also authentic area Then we shopped….I got some silver hoop earrings……then we got fish tacos ( because this was where they were invented according to Pedro😍) yum yum…they had all prices listed in both pesos and American $$

Thanks! I got it for him at Kohl’s- I dress him as he’s not a shopper- at. all. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

No tender needed here! Got off and waited for our Carnival excursion: Puerto Nuevo Lobster lunch and shopping❣️ had this little guy for photo ops departing the ship🦜👀 We waited about 20 min for everyone to arrive and then Pedro our most excellent tour guide, walked us to our big air conditioned tour bus…

more chocolate melting cake tonight❣️ Can’t ever get enough of this a very attractive and sturdy elephant for tonite towel animal💕 Can’t wait for tomorrow- Ensenada 🌴🦞🛍

Didnt have to wait for than 5 min to catch a tender back to the ship around 2pm we headed straight to Big Chicken- it was SO GOOD! Their chicken strips reminded me of a cross between Canes and ChicFilA, their fries were to die for, and the potato salad was fire….needless to say we ate here several times throughout the cruise…..Marci Gras and Radiance are the only two ships so far to have it aboard. Don’t miss it! Enjoyed the partially empty ship for the rest of the afternoon. What a great day!!

We returned our cart after about 2.5 hrs …the total ended up being roughly 100$ - well worth it ….they pro rate it if you return early. You can have a max of 3 hours. walked toward the casino enjoying the beauty all around us… stopped to get paleta…this strawberry kiwi one was so good then we found a little restaurant to enjoy margaritas and nachos ..and it was a great place for people watching

just stunning! The fog burned off and the sun was out bright , but there was a nice little breeze- just heavenly we must have stopped at least 15 times along the route to get pix of gorgeous scenes like this

we received a nice little map that showed the scenic stopping points all around the island- here we are just a few yards from the rental place and are already stopping for photo ops- little did we know how gorgeous it was going to get as we climbed into the hills and mountains♥️

We were up bright and early excited about Catalina ! We arrived at the lido buffet right at 0700 and had to wait just a bit for them to finish setting things out. Our plan was to be headed down to exit the ship by 0800, since we didn’t have a Carnival excursion a letter left in our cabin the night before stated that we either had to depart early or wait until after all the excursions had tendered off ….. we had no trouble getting onto the first tender and soon arrived in Avalon. It was foggy and overcast so we killed a couple of hours drinking coffee and walking around the quaint little town before renting our golf cart . We could only have it a max of 3 hours, so we did want to fog to be mostly lifted before we started !

We hit the casino, took in a show and retired for the evening….we love our balcony cabin on the lido deck # 9264… location, location, location! Our steward has already filled our ice bucket and we had a Diet Coke nightcap before turning out the lights. Catalina Island tomorrow!!

Main dining room rarely disappoints us….and as usual we loved our dinner tonite . The cranberry roll was warm, the butter real, and the stuffed chicken soooo good. Can’t even remember what DH had for an entree, but…… I did get photo evidence of his 2 desserts! I had more cheese🤣

So the flowers were an awesome surprise from my hubby… love having fresh flowers in the cabin💕 There also was a delicious cheese plate delivered about an hour after we got in our cabin

You will have a fabulous time!

Thanks! Not sure why the last few pix were a little messed up , but I will forge ahead❣️🤔