willdra

It was a very fun excursion, and definitely worth a try! ⛵️⛵️⛵️ Latitudes was awesome as always! It actually gets better and better every time we visit. Which is what I don’t want, cuz that means W and I will be trying to move down there with them sooner than we should! 😜

LOL 😂😂😂 Thanks for following and for the Lume laugh! That stuff had me questioning my whole life! 😭🤔

Before I fell asleep I said a prayer thanking God that I didn’t drink that cup of water on the pirate boat. When W looked at it and said “You’re not drinking that are you?”, I already knew that I wasn't going thru it, and it wasn't going thru me. If W questions a consumable thing, it’s a pretty good indicator that consuming said thing will have never ending negative consequences. A cruise is the worst place for those types of negative consequences. Therefore my gut and my butt thank you for sparing us God. Amen.

Back in the cabin W said he was going to get ice and he would get me a Starry (seriously why did you name it that Pepsi? Was there no other name available?). While he was gone I decided that I wanted to get water too. So far, I had not consumed enough H2O. Dehydration is not attractive. I got the water, then for some reason, my feet took over, and instead of taking me back to 10239, they took me outside to the pizza stand. I made a mental note to shop for new feet, then I saw that there were only 3 people in the pizza line. Naturally I stayed and got a slice. It was hot right out of the oven. I was thrilled that the cabin was such a short walk away from food and drinks. I still reprimanded my feet for disobeying and disregarding direct orders tho. W was back when I returned. We talked about our day, then read some of our books before turning in.

In order to make it to the 80's Rock N Glow Party, we went straight to the Lido after dinner. I wasn't about to get distracted and miss it. We were a little early, so we just chillaxed until the party started. Our CD "Gerry with a G" did a great job. There were new dance challenges that we had not seen before. One word of advice tho. Before entering a Michael Jackson Dance Competition, please only do so if A. You’ve heard of Michael Jackson, b. You’ve seen him dance, and 3. You have practiced a few of his dances. In front of brutally honest people. Don't try to get in there and wing it. Michael Jackson cannot and will not be winged (or is it wung?). Please and thank you. It was extremely humid out so we left about 10 minutes before the end. It was also very warm. Like brick oven warm. Yow.

When we got back to the Panorama, security scanned us in, and we went straight back to our cabin. I fell asleep and didn’t get up until W woke me up around 8 pm. 8 pm! I missed the Silent Party and I missed dinner. W would rather walk thru hades with gasoline underpants on than wake me up, but he really should've taken a chance here. I would've been nice-ish. Especially if he told me what I was about to miss. Pig and Anchor was pretty much my only option for food that late. I showered and threw on a dress to go and eat. The restaurant was empty. Prolly cuz everyone else had good sense and went to dinner like they were supposed to. The server showed up, and I ordered the Dragon Chili Cheese Fries, and the Prime Time Prime Rib. W also got the Backyard Brownie. Each one was a full meal on its own. There was a lot of food. As I was eating, I checked the app and realized that we were also missing the Love and Marriage Show. Huh? It was like they had all of the activities that night. W said that I really looked tired when we got back, so he let me sleep. Believe it or not, I was still sleepy. We ate quick cuz we were in a refrigerator. It was Stone Cold Steve Austin in there. I wish we could have stayed longer, that live singer could blow, but there were icicles forming on my pinky toes. Not ideal.

After snorkeling concluded, lunch was ready. They really had it down to a science. It was efficient and quick. W went thru the line for both of us. He brought me back a burrito, pasta salad, and chips with guacamole. I liked everything. Too much. After everyone got back on board the party began. They performed a very interesting pirate show. The bar was still open, so drinks were free flowing. During the voyage, there was a photographer taking pictures of everyone. Towards the end, they tried to get everyone to purchase the pictures, but there wasn’t enough time to get around to all of the guests. They should’ve gotten the ones who stayed aboard first, then everyone else. When it's time to go, most people are ready to go shopping or get back on the ship. Personally, I'd rather drink boiled spaghetti water, than hang back to view and purchase pictures, so we were not sad when we missed it. We got back to the pier fast. W and I collected our crap, and we tipped the crew heavily, cuz it was that good. We more than got our money’s worth. In drinks alone.

When we got close to the destination they gave out snorkel gear. I passed, I wasn't getting in. W was going tho. The bay was very calm. I enjoyed the empty boat with a few other passengers while watching the brave snorkelers. Shout out to the cool couple from MS who recognized that my toes were painted in Mardi Gras colors (cuz I like the color combination).

The ride was short, it lasted maybe 8 or 9 minutes. Once we got to the pier we found the signs for our tour and waited there. Very soon, they called our excursion to line up. We were on the Pirate Ship Sail, Snorkel, and Lunch excursion, that I purchased thru Carnival. After we signed the waivers, we got onboard. It was rowdy y’all. After we left the dock, it went from 0 to 100. Real quick. They started serving drinks and they pretty much had all types of liquor in the bar. The bartender also had a tiny gimpy hand, but that stopped nothing. He was getting those drinks out faster than we could order. I asked for a water first. Big mistake. I thought I would get a safe bottle of water. Nope. He poured the water from a jug. A random suspicious jug. Now I’m not biased about drinking water in different countries, but after K’s Rotor Rooter situation on our last cruise, I'm going to be more careful about what I consume in different countries. One thing I’m not gonna do, is drink weird water. Sorry. Not sorry. So the bartender hands me the cup of water and ice. I took it, and just stared at it. I was thinking “how can I ditch this without making it obvious and hurting anyone’s feelings?” I didn’t have an opportunity at first, so I held on to it for a long time. I was even holding it while trying to take pictures and type my notes. That's some serious tenacity. After the ice melted, and I just couldn’t take it anymore, I handed it another crew member, and she tossed it for me. Whew. Thank goodness! Weight lifted. I was then free to enjoy the festivities. As we sailed out, they celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, and they even had a dance competition. The crew did a good job of entertaining us on the way to the snorkel spot in Chileno Bay. I ordered margaritas as my next 2 drinks. They were good but I could feel the heartburn building with every swallow. The tequila was not top shelf, so heartburn should've been listed as an ingredient. Or better yet, a warning. Danger was imminent.

We took our time eating. There was no need to rush, we had an hour to get to our excursion meeting point. We made our way down at 10:50. The ship wasn’t even docked yet. The excursion meeting point was in the Horizon Dining Room. Most of the excursions met in there and when they called the excursion, everyone in that excursion went down as a group. We lined up, and as soon as we got down to Deck 0, we joined a million and 3 people down there trying to get off. They sent us either right or left at Deck 0. Both sides were packed, so it didn't matter which one we chose. Next, we boarded a very tight water taxi, then we took off. As we were sailing towards the pier, people were taking pictures by standing up and contorting their bodies in strange ways. There was a lot of stumbling, and almost falling. I thought to myself “You will have much better photo opportunities on your excursion or on your return to the ship. Don’t unalive yourself for these mid pictures”. As always tho, I kept my pie hole shut, and minded my moisturized business.

Cabo San Lucas Day 1 We got up around 9:15. Our excursion wasn’t meeting until 11. It was a sluggish morning. Before I officially got up, I said a silent “Thank you, and good looking out boss lady” to myself for picking late excursions. I know me. I never want to wake up early. Waking up early on vacation is unholy. Except when I miss Blue Iguana for breakfast. Which is exactly happened. After we got most of the debris and rubbish off of our bodies, W and I went to scavenge for food. By scavenge, I mean we just walked down the hall y’all. When we got outside I could see long lines on both sides of Blue Iguana. There was also a crew member in the back of the line holding a sign that said they were closing. Womp womp. I didn’t make the cut. It was alright that time, I didn’t have my mouth ready for Arepas and Huevos Rancheros quite yet. I would be ready the next day tho. The inside buffet area was sheer insanity. The stations are setup to minimize line forming and wait. However, people were forming lines and waiting. I got a table first then went and joined the madness. W got in the omelet line. I looked over at him and he was visibly irritated. We underestimated the amount of people who would be doing the same thing as us. Shocker. After we secured our bounty we got situated. While I was digesting, there was a family behind us talking to another family. The only reason I noticed them was because one of the men was complaining about being able to feel the ship move. He was saying “On our last cruise ship, I only felt the ship move a couple of times, but on this ship I’ve felt it so much more. I don't like that”. I don’t know if anyone explained this to Waldo Geraldo Faldo or not, but ships move. That’s literally their job. If you “feel it”, it hasn’t somehow failed. It’s doing its job and getting us to our next destination. Sheesh.

I've been around a Chick Fil A for most of my life, and I STILL forget that they're closed on Sundays! 🫠

LOL, not yet (save it tho, I may need it later). I will be posting my next installment here shortly. 🤗🤗🤗

LOL yesssss!!! 🤣😂

Thank you! 🙏🏾

Thank you so much for reading along! We love Panorama, I wish we could sail on her more, but that trip out West is so rugged. 😅

Back in the cabin, I washed my face back down to toad level. I’d officially turned back into a pumpkin. W and I read until it was time for bed. Before I fell asleep I said a prayer thanking God for good wig glue. I’ve seen some horrendous wigs with the lace lifting so bad, they looked like they were waiving at me. Good wig glue is very affordable and it lasts a long time. There is absolutely no reason to walk around with a wig looking like a hair hat. Amen.

Gerry was a surprisingly good host. He got the people moving and engaged. My only complaint was when they played all of “Greased Lightning” and not “You’re The One That I Want”. Where they do that at? The lady next to me was dancing for her life. It did kinda look like she was glitching out and short circuiting, but hey it’s your vacay. Do you. When the party was over we went back to the cabin. I needed to wash the gunk off of my face, in the worst way. Before I started that I went to get hot water for my tea, and add my gift cards to our account. When I got in the elevator two young men got in with me. One of them had the gumption to call me “Auntie”. Oh Lordt when did I get to be “Auntie” age???? Yes I have nieces and nephews who are adults with kids, and yes I’ve been their Auntie for over 30 years, but no I don’t want to be labeled as “Auntie” yet. I’m still too young for that. Un-Auntie me Jesus. One step outside and I could tell we were in Mexico. The humidity reached into my lungs and tried to snatch my breath away. Humidity will suck the life out of you and ruin your hair in the process. Cancel it. I went to use the kiosk on Deck 3 by Guest Services. When I got there I typed in the gift card number and it said the gift card had already been used. Pardon? I typed it in again. Same message. Uh uh this ain’t happening. The PIN was still covered up, so I know I never used the card. I turned around and took the card to Guest Services. It worked. Wooo. That saved me from destroying that machine. I also had an eGift card from Carnival because we still had a credit from our last cruise. I went ahead and added that too cuz I didn’t want no smoke with that machine. The Lido was my next destination. I hunted down an open hot water station, got my water, then went back to the cabin to join W. So far having the cabin on Deck 10 has been nice. I don’t know how I would feel with a fuller ship, but it’s perfect for this crowd level.

For dinner I ordered Shrimp Cocktail, Duet of Filet Mignon and Short Ribs, and Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. It was good and since I didn’t pre-eat I was hungry enough to almost finish it. When the table behind us left it got quiet. We could actually hear the music which we didn’t even know was happening. We finished eating then went to hang out in the lobby to wait for the 70’s and Motown Trivia Party which started at 10:15. This was that awkward dead zone time between activities. It was all good tho. We sat in the atrium and people watched. It was quite entertaining. As soon as I sat down I found a duck! I was so happy cuz I didn’t find one on the last cruise. This little guy was black and Halloween themed. Cute. W went and got me a Green Goblin since I hadn’t had one on this voyage yet. It was better than I remembered. While I was waiting this lady started talking to me about Motown. She was telling me this is her favorite music but her husband is more into rock and roll. Then she asked me what my favorite Motown song was and I honestly have so many faves it was hard to narrow it down. She was going on about it and I really wanted to say “This is more my parent’s music, I really just know it cuz of them”. Maybe we won’t bond over my knowledge of Motown. 80's music, on the other hand, is my jam. Gerry was a surprisingly good host. He got the people moving and engaged. My only complaint was when they played all of "Greased Lightning" and not "You're the one that I want". Where they do that at? The lady next to me was dancing for her life. It did kinda looked like she was glitching out and short circuiting, but hey it’s your vacay. Do you.

I dried up my bag and we sat out until almost 6. We were not really in a hurry for dinner. Since it was just W and I we could do us. We slow rolled to dinner between 7-8. Once I was ready W checked us in. The wait was less than 10 minutes. Nice. I don’t know if it was because Lobster Night was now the 2nd Elegant Evening, or what, but the dining room wasn’t crowded. We went to deck 4 because the table was 410. When we inquired we were told it was downstairs on Deck 3. Whet? Table 410 is on Deck 3? Ok den. We walked down to 3, and were shown to our table in the back. I didn't notice it at the time because of the table confusion, but there were zero people waiting outside of the restaurant trying to get a table. So it really can be done. People can follow directions darn it. I’m proud of y’all. Our table was in front of a really loud table. I had to shout for W to hear me. Since that wasn’t enough torture for me, they sat a couple directly behind us. The issue there was every time the lady moved, she bumped my chair. I was pulled all the way in. It was a bad configuration and it was almost unavoidable. The lady and her husband apologized every time it happened so I gave her a pass. Plus it wasn’t her fault that they put the tables so close together.

There was no one in line and I walked right up. Much to my surprise the VIFP gift was still the Fanny pack. Ok now I will just have 104 of these. I stopped by the cabin on my way back to drop off Roarie. Then I went back to find W still in Serenity. He said that it took me an hour and a half. He didn’t know that I took a detour. When I got back it was quiet up there again. The sun was starting to set which cooled it off some. W was still in the same spot but he made a mess and spilled my drink in my bag while I was gone. I’d left my drink in my backpack because it has a lid and I don’t turn it over. W somehow managed to knock my bag over which spilled my drink. He didn’t even know it until I opened my bag and saw a Rum Punch River flowing in there. It was good that I didn’t have anything in there that could get damaged. Or W would get damaged.

During our anti adulting I read some of my book to pass the time. I left to go to BAB at 3:15. When I got down there it was packed. They gave us numbers and a heart at the door. Gerry was kicking it off which I thought was cute. When it started they gave us our instructions, we did the little ritual with the heart then it was time to wait to be called. My number was 35, so I knew it would take awhile for them to call me. I couldn’t believe how many people there were! This one dwarfed the one that I went to on the Horizon. I think I enjoyed the bigger gathering. It was nice to see how excited the kids were. I was planning to get this BAB as a gift for a friend’s little girl. She loves dinosaurs and unicorns so I was hoping I could get one of those. It may sound strange that a little girl likes dinosaurs but I love how open minded she is. She likes what she likes. Me too. My number was called at 3:54. Not too bad. First I weaved my way thru the crowd to find my animal. There was a red velociraptor there so I copped it. I looked again on the other side to make sure that I didn’t miss a unicorn. I didn’t. I was happy with the raptor so I picked him out an outfit next. After that step I waited in line to have him stuffed. While I was standing there I decided to name him (or her) Roarie. Corny. I know. Once Roarie was all stuffed I got in the line to pay. Now Roarie was officially mine. As I was walking back I decided to stop by Pixels to get my VIFP gift. When I got to the stairs my bladder said “If you go straight there now, you will regret it”. Bladder, you don’t have to tell me twice! I made a pit stop then went up to Deck 5.

The brunch ended around 12:30. W and I went to Serenity after that. We found one of the sun beds that was partially shaded so we stopped there. It was comfortable out cuz there was a nice cool breeze blowing. It was even a little chilly in the shade. We sat there for about 20 minutes then a clamshell opened up. We moved over there and setup shop. I went back to the cabin to get the rest of my stuff since we now had a home for the day. I was glad the day turned out so nice. When I stepped out on the balcony earlier that morning, it was cold. Since we were out in the sun on Serenity, the sun and cool air balanced out. I perused the "What’s Happening" part of the FunTimes for the day and saw Build A Bear at 3:30. I was immediately in. There was another one on Day 5, but I’d rather go on the first day since I was awake and not extra sleepy yet. W was comfortable for the most part but I did ask if he had a food alarm that I needed to be aware of. He said no cuz he was still full from the brunch. What??? On God, I wish I could buy a lottery ticket. W not hungry never happens, and that's on Periodt.

1st Sea Day My alarm was set for 10:30. I got up around 8 to get my phone. I laid back back down after that. W got up around 10. Then he went to get coffee and check out the scene. I got up when my alarm went off. I wasn't sleep sleep, it was more like snoozing in that half awake state. I slept very well the night before, but heartburn crept up and did a drive by on me . It kicked my butt y’all. I couldn’t even fight back cuz I was so tired. I took some meds before I went to bed, but it wasn’t enough. It was the Merlot for me. Red wine gives me horrendous heartburn. It chooses violence every time. I was so sleepy, I just made my peace with the hole in my throat. Hamburger help me. The Diamond Brunch was at 11:30. We got ready and went down around 11:15. There was a line waiting to get in. We waited maybe 10 minutes and they let us all in. We sat at a table for 6. Our table mates looked like they went to Elementary school with Methuselah. It was fun talking to them tho. I explained Roll Calls and online group activities to them cuz they had no idea that people communicate with each other to get the fun started before the cruise. One of the ladies told me that getting too many text messages stresses her out, and when her daughter made a profile page for her she almost went loco because of all of the notifications. Um ma'am you can turn those off, but never mind. W and I learned that they all spend months living on cruise ships, and it showed. They go home once or twice a year but they predominantly sail. Must be nice. I guess. I love to cruise but I also love our home. I must’ve been sitting next to the group leader cuz she gave me the tea on everybody. Right down to how long they’ve been married and where they were from. I started to think after awhile “do they know you’re telling their business? What if they don’t want strangers to know everything about them?" If I didn't learn anything else, I learned not to tell Loose Lips Linda anything I didn’t want anyone else to know. We sat there and loaded up on beverages, cuz free. W brought money to tip, and we got everything that we wanted. There was a photographer taking complimentary pictures there. As soon as he insisted on taking our pictures from the side instead of head on, I knew I was going to look like a hob goblin, and I was spot on. Those pictures were pure rubbish. Gerry the Cruise Director(I finally got his name) stopped by our table and he was delightful. He seemed to have a lot of energy, which is a requirement of that job. We hung out, ate, and talked to them for a long time. When the server came around, I ordered the Crispy Boudin Sausage Balls, Filet Mignon, and Blueberry Cheesecake. It was very good. W wouldn't stop digging in for me to take a picture. Rude.

That looks so good! Congrats on your mission accomplished! 😁