lax19

In Cabo, there are small food truck type restaurants behind vendor booth B17 and B18 along the marina promenade. We had great (and inexpensive) fish tacos at La Jarocha In Mazatlan, I highly recommend the Barrio Bites Tour through https://www.flavorteller.com/ Also, in Mazatlan go to Maz Tamales for fresh made tamales. They are a block east of Plaza Machado. Go early as they sell out. (Mercado Pino Suarez, C. Benito Juárez 1308-Interior A, Centro, 82000 Mazatlán, Sin., Mexico)

True, it’s not a direct shot or a 30 minute walk. We’ve done this both ways (starting at Hotel Rosita or Playa Muertas) up and downthe Malecon and spent probably four hours wondering, shopping, eating. But that was our plan for the day. Two weeks ago we took an Uber to Playa Muertas for 139 pesos.

Check the location of each club balcony suite (formally known as mini suites). If you bid on one for an upgrade you have no choice in location. Our upgrade room was on deck 15 of the Bliss. The good was that we were five doors down from the Observation Lounge. The bad - we were under the pool deck band stand. We heard all the pool parties - though we joined most of them. They did end around 11:30. Around 6 am the crew will lid be sliding tables and chairs around, so it was a little noisy. We did like the room and the free bag of laundry half way through the 15 day cruise.

Mazatlan - head to the central district - follow the blue line from the cruise terminal to Plaza Machado. From their head towards Immaculate Conception Cathedral with a stop at MazTamales for excellent homemade tamales. If you want fresh made corn tortillas to take home - go to Tortillería Zaragoza. It’s close by. The Malecon is close by for strolling. alternately, you could hike to the top of the lighthouse - though it might be roasting hot in the afternoon. If you go, buy tickets for the skywalk at the bottom of the climb.

Or grab an Uber (cheaper than a cab). Go to the Hotel Rosita which is at the north end of the Malecon. Stroll down the Malecon and wind up and down the side streets. Plenty of shops, food and a really pretty church. As you head south in the Malecon past the river, you’ll find places to rent chairs and umbrellas.

We just got off the Bliss on the 22nd. We usually ate dinner around five or five thirty (so we could get to the 7:00 shows). No problems getting into taste or savor with less than five minute wait. The Manhattan Room usually had a longer line, but not more than ten minutes the night we went. The last night, we went at about 6:30 and both taste and savor had a thirty minute wait.

When we were there on the Bliss on the 12th, the actual terminal was not complete. We were bused to the back of a pretty sad strip mall that had only a couple of shops opened. We took a cab into old town and had an enjoyable day. Plenty of shops in town for souvenirs.

Interesting topic. There seems to be a loophole here that allows one to turn non-refundable OBC into refundable OBC. I had $250 non refundable shareholder’s OBC on my last 15 day cruise. While on board I booked an excursion through the NCL APP. I had to go to the shore ex desk to get my gold latitudes discount applied and my $50 shore ex credit applied. The $50 shore ex credit appeared after the excursion and was listed as refundable OBC. So the possibility exists to book an excursion on board with non refundable OBC, cancel the excursion and be credited with refundable OBC.

Before you go, look up the nearest Starbucks at each cruise port. Go there and make your wifi call. Also, the cruise terminal at PV or Mazatlan May have free WiFi.

Skip the overpriced tourist places along the marina and eat at the food trucks/restaurants behind the marina. Had great fish tacos at La Jarocha. Here my unedited video n how to find the food trucks. IMG_5211.MOV

Jan 19 - Beautiful peaceful day walking around the Central district! People going about their everyday business. Small police/military presence but not much more than last November.

We took the sushi class last November and had a great time. We made a spicy tuna roll and a shrimp tempura roll. The do ask about allergies before the class, and will probably make substitutions (vegetarian) if needed. Class took about 90 minutes. We signed up in august for our November cruise. By mid September, the class was full.

Try a custom tour through: https://www.stingraycitycaymanislands.com/ they were very accommodating with our family last july

On Panorama (11-5 through 11-12-2022) we had Kemar at the piano bar. He was a last minute replacement and the room was hopping. He played a bunch of requests and had the audience engaged all night. Marty, the cruise director, stopped by one night and joined in. The room was always packed, but patience got you a seat as people filtered in and out.

The first marriage license would be needed only if the second marriage license did not have her birth surname listed. for example Birth surname = Jones Marriage license #1 - Ms Jones becomes Mrs Smith Marriage license #2 - Mrs Smith becomes Mrs Johnson Current ID = Mrs Johnson

I used a spend $100 get $40 back for my recent Panorama cruise. Bought cruise cash.

Just got off Panorama Saturday the 12th. Three out of the four production shows were outstanding (Soulbound, Celestial Strings and Broadway Beats). Costuming was incredible and the performers were really good. The other show (Woodstock/Rock…can’t remember the name) was not great. Odd costumes and no real rock songs - No Hendrix or Stones. Do the ropes course and Sky Cycle on a port day when everyone else is off the ship for no waiting. Do them early because the last two sea days heading back to Long Beach are quite windy and they may be closed. we did the sushi making class in the carnival kitchen. That was a lot of fun! Sign up early before you get on board because it fills up fast ( only 18 or 20 spots). There were 4200 people on board, but it did not feel crowded. We usually ate in the MDR around 6 and never waited more than 10 minutes after booking through the App. The serenity deck was not very crowded and we could always find loungers there or at the main pool. The deck above the aft pool has some nice spots to sit and eat. The longest lines were for pizza, but still the mist I encountered was 10 people. My biggest piece of advice is get involved and get out of your comfort zone. Attend the parties and games. The fun squad is outstanding and Marty the cruise director really made the cruise enjoyable.

We stayed at the Fairmont a few years ago for three nights. Went to Vancouver for a Weird Al Concert and added a cruise just because. We had a top floor harbor view room. Very nice hotel. They also provide free (plus tip) room to ship luggage service. The Fairmont is connected to an underground food court. THe first two mornings, we skipped the overpriced hotel breakfast and grabbed some McDonalds - cause we are that classy 😉 . It did rain on embarkation morning, but it's the Pacific Northwest...didn't stop us from hiking to Chinatown for morning Dim Sum. Day 1 Embarkation Day

I've used ATT International Day Pass. Cost is $10.00 for 24 hours from the time you take your phone out of airplane mode once in port. No roaming charges nor text or talk charges provided you have an unlimited talk/text package. Uses local cell towers. I used it recently in Bonaire and Aruba to call the taxi driver with no additional charges. My daughter is currently using it in London with no charges for local calls or calls back to the states. This does not apply to ship board at sea as you use the ships cell tower.

Curious why you stayed in the SeaTac area instead of north of the city (Edmonds.Lynnwood/Everett)?

Here’s the link to the form for all Carnival brands

For a group of adults - probably not worth your time unless you are doing a dolphin encounter. Our 4 yo granddaughter did the dolphin encounter and enjoyed it, The rest of the grand kids enjoyed the fish and flamingos. Afterwards we walked to Mambo Beach which is close to the aquarium. The beach was really nice with a breakwater that sheltered the beach. I think it was $8 per person for the cab fare from port to aquarium. The cabdriver gave us his card and we called him when we were ready to head back to port. He dropped us off in town near the swinging bridge and we walked back to port. The return fare was $7 per person.

Shoes stay on, laptop and toiletries stay in your carry on. As far as airports go, Denver is a must. Last time we flew out of Denver, the regular TSA line was backed up into the check in lobby while perched k had twenty people in it. Also early flights out of PDX can have long lines that are avoided using precheck. Pre Check also saves time at Seattle and LAX.

Today's Update (10/10) on the Carnival web site https://www.carnival.com/Legal/covid-19-legal-notices/covid-19-guest-protocols?icid=advisory_cruisehealth_040122 does not mention any testing requirement for Bermuda bound passengers.

I would send two with luggage to the port and have two take an Uber/Lyft to a grocery store. Then take another Uber/Lyft to the port after you’re done shopping. There is a Ralph’s about 2.5 miles south of LGB.