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Shadowmeboy's Star studded Christmas Mexican Riviera review!


shadowmeboy
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Hi, I am Shadowmeboy!

 

My wife, Susan, and I, Matthew, love to cruise and do it any chance we can.

 

In 2016 we sailed the Norwegian Sun on a Southbound Cruise from Seward, Alaska to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. You can read the review here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2529761

 

The Norwegian Sun is pictured below in Sitka, AK.

 

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My beautiful wife and I outside of Whittier, AK.

 

In June of 2017, We sailed the Norwegian Escape to the Western Caribbean. Review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2516206

 

The Norwegian Escape pictured below in Costa Maya, Mexico

 

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Standing in the Atlantic Ocean on a Florida beach!

 

My wife, Susan, is a school teacher and I work for a grocery store. Susan and I have been married 10 years! Due to her school schedule, we cannot sail as much as we would like.

 

We live in the Pacific Northwest, along the Columbia River on the "dry" side of Washington State among the Apple and Cherry Orchards. As a result, we have sailed Alaska several times. The Escape was our very first Caribbean Cruise.

 

This is our first cruise over Christmas as well as the first visit to the Mexican Riviera. Los Angeles was convenient to get too and warm weather is a definite plus!

 

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The Norwegian Star docked in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

 

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Showing our Seahawk pride after our win over the Cowboys!

 

Most of the pictures in this review are taken with my Canon Rebel T5 DSLR, My Iphone, Susan's Samsung Moto G5 or our Fuji waterproof camera.

 

Please feel free to ask questions along the way!

 

So let's get this Christmas adventure started!

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Back in July 2017, Susan and I traveled to Kansas City for the Convention of the direct Selling company we are apart of, Scentsy.

 

We flew out of Seattle, a hub for Alaska Airlines. Can you tell?

 

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You're probably asking why I am starting in July for a Christmas Cruise to Mexico. Well, Susan didn't know about the trip yet.

 

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We got boarded and situated in our seats. I was absolutely giddy by this time.

 

After takeoff, I get some fabulous pictures of the Pacific Northwest.

 

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Puget Sound

 

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Mt. Rainier

 

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Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens

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Mt Rainier (far right), Mt. Adams (left), and Oregon's Mt. Hood (top rear).

 

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Flying over Snoqualmie Pass and I-90

 

I pull out Susan's birthday present!

 

A card, a Starbucks gift card, and a puzzle....

 

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Susan reading the instructions to her gift.

 

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Starting to work on the crossword puzzle.

 

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Reading the clues...

 

When all was said and done, Susan found out her birthday gift was a Mexican Riviera cruise on the Norwegian Star out of LA over Christmas. She was over the clouds with excitement! Literally, over the clouds as we were in an airplane.

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Let's fast forward now to December 2017.

 

We live on the drier side of the State of Washington. During the Winter, we are a lot colder than the Seattle area. We will get more snow, but its typically the more powdery type snow, like you would see on a mountain for skiing.

 

Susan had a half day at school on the 20th. I had to work but got out at a decent time. Once I got home at around 230 pm, we quickly got everything ready.

 

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Susan was really excited to load the bags into the car and get going.

 

Once loaded, we headed out of town.

 

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Our town has a large Hydroelectric Dam on the Columbia River, operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

 

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Our dog, Theo was along for the ride. He was going to be watched by my Aunt, who lives in Yakima, Washington, While we were off on our cruise. We were meeting her off of I-90 in Ellensburg, so we didn't have to go out of our way to drop Theo off.

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Drawing closer to Wenatchee, WA, it keeps getting darker.

 

We make a few quick stops in Wenatche, and then head towards I-90.

 

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Zooming past Rock Island Dam. I was trying to get these with my dslr, should have used the Iphone.

 

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We drop Theo off and head towards the Seattle area to spend the night at Grandpa's house.

 

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Snoqualmie Pass on I-90

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Snoqualmie Pass Ski Resort

 

We travel off the pass, into the east side of Lake Washington, to Bellevue.

 

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We have to make a quick stop at the Made in Washington Store to pick up our ornament for the Ornament exchange during the Meet and Greet. Bellevue Way is all decked out for the holidays.

 

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The ornament we picked out was a Washington State ferry boat. The little tree shows a similar ornament to what we got, the only non-ncl ship one on the tree.

 

Once we get the Ornament, we quickly head to Grandpa's and crash for the evening.

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I woke up earlier than i wanted. A Combination of nerves, waking up early every morning, an uncomfortable bed, and just plain excitement over the trip we had just started.

 

We told Grandpa we would take him out to breakfast. So we headed out.

 

On our way we passed the Boeing factory.

 

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If you have flown Southwest or Alaska airlines, you most likely flew on an airplane made right here. Boeing's Renton plant make the majority of 737 airplanes. Southwest and Alaska fly 737's on their all Boeing fleets.

 

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Planes arrive from Wichita, KS on train cars (shown above). They then are assembled here and join their respective airline's fleet.

 

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Susan and Grandpa talking while we wait for our breakfast to arrive.

 

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Smile Grandpa!

 

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Susan enjoying her Pumpkin Spice Coffee.

 

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Time for Grub!

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Cheesecake stuffed french toast! That was yummy!

 

After breakfast, we headed back to Grandpa's house. We were parking our car there for the time we were gone.

 

Grandpa took us to meet my other Aunt, who was taking us to the airport. We said goodbye's to Grandpa and wished him a Merry Christmas. We headed out with Aunt Denise to go to the airport.

 

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More of Renton from I-405

 

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The downtown library straddles the Cedar River.

 

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Taking the exit to the airport

 

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Got to love the traffic at the airport during the holiday travel period. Not.

 

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Mt. Rainier slightly visible

 

We say our goodbyes and wish Merry Christmas to my Aunt Denise. We check in with Alaska Airlines and check our bags to Los Angeles. After clearing security, we headed to the Alaska Airlines lounge in Concourse C of Seatac Airport.

 

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This is the newest Alaska lounge at Seatac (they have 3 now.) Alaska is the largest carrier by volume at Seatac, so all three lounges get used. The lounges are for members, elite Mileage Plan members, and First Class travelers on the day of travel (Thats us).

 

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I am patiently waiting for Susan to find a spot to sit.

 

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We find a spot near the window, where I can watch the planes take off and land.We have several hours due to getting to the airport early. You never know how long security can take at SeaTac.

 

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An Alaska Airlines 737

 

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Santa even makes an appearance!

 

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Susan had to get a picture!

 

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It was soon time to go board our flight. We were leaving out of the N satellite Concourse, so we had to take the underground tram.

 

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Susan make sure to hang onto the hand rail.

 

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We get to our gate and wait patiently to board.

 

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walking down the skybridge.

 

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Selfie time from our seats!

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