Jewel ~ S. Caribbean and Panama Canal ~ April 25th & May 2nd ~ My Diary

[SherriZ366]

Finally got my computer problems cleared up (new computer as the one I had would not start when we got home from the cruise). So I could enjoy your review.

 

I thought that the pictures in posts 125 & 126 would make good art for you to sell to RCI for some free cruises.

 

Enjoyed the Panama Canal -- as I emailed and Facebook posted, we watched you go through the canal on the webcam. Caught the ship around the Mira Flores bridges and then watched you go through the lower lock. Very cool.

 

I'm glad there were pictures posted in this thread of the construction. Once this is done, it will really impact Charleston, Savannah and other East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.

[Coralc]

Our tender ride was not so smooth! We left much later than you and it took forever to load the tender because of the swells. They had to keep waiting for the boat to even up. One person boards. Wait for the boat to rise and lower about 4 feet! Jump on quick while you can.

 

We were getting ready to go down to the tenders about ~11:30. Bill was out on the balcony and came in to say that there was a crash and screams. One of the tenders was caught in the swells and tilted into the tender platform, and sustained damage to the roof.

 

That was when we moved parallel to the Disney ship to try and block some of the wave action.

 

They halted tendering for over an hour, maybe two. When it was resumed, we went down and talked to the people that were getting off the tender. Apparently they had been bobbing around the ship for the whole time that tendering was stopped.

 

They weren't very happy.

 

We decided not to get off. I don't jump very well. :)

Edited June 5, 2015 by Coralc

[js4rq]

Oh Cabo, how I've missed you! Lovely photos as always!

[travelgoddess1]

We were getting ready to go down to the tenders about ~11:30. Bill was out on the balcony and came in to say that there was a crash and screams. One of the tenders was caught in the swells and tilted into the tender platform, and sustained damage to the roof.

 

That was when we moved parallel to the Disney ship to try and block some of the wave action.

 

They halted tendering for over an hour, maybe two. When it was resumed, we went down and talked to the people that were getting off the tender. Apparently they had been bobbing around the ship for the whole time that tendering was stopped.

 

They weren't very happy.

 

We decided not to get off. I don't jump very well. :)

 

We were on one of the tenders that sat waiting and bobbing in the ocean for about an hour while the ship repositioned. We didn't know what was happening for a long time, but a security guard who happened to be on our tender finally filled us in. I was glad to get back onboard and especially glad to find a bathroom, lol! :D (I hadn't heard about the tender that was damaged.)

 

Continued great job, Jane, and I so agree with you about Diego handling difficult passengers. He did a great job, and my already good impression of him just skyrocketed this cruise. He is the best. :)

[maxs mom]

Yes.....Ronald and his sister were on that tender. They said it was awful. They almost turned over!! They had to stay on there for two hours! There were very bad swells. We noticed the ships moving around while we were sitting on the beach. The small boats that take you out to the rocks and Lover's Beach couldn't go to Lover's Beach (bummer!) The ship's officers had to take over piloting the tenders. We were lucky......we didn't have any trouble going out or coming back in. I guess we came back in at around 4 o'clock or so.

Edited June 5, 2015 by max'smom

[maxs mom]

Finally got my computer problems cleared up (new computer as the one I had would not start when we got home from the cruise). So I could enjoy your review.

 

I thought that the pictures in posts 125 & 126 would make good art for you to sell to RCI for some free cruises.

 

Enjoyed the Panama Canal -- as I emailed and Facebook posted, we watched you go through the canal on the webcam. Caught the ship around the Mira Flores bridges and then watched you go through the lower lock. Very cool.

 

I'm glad there were pictures posted in this thread of the construction. Once this is done, it will really impact Charleston, Savannah and other East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.

 

Hey Sheri!

 

Can't believe you watched us on the webcam!! Good for you!

[maxs mom]

We were certainly very lucky with our tendering for the day compared to others!

 

 

Nice sights in the marina!!

 

 

It was crazy busy on shore!! We didn't know exactly what we were going to do. We thought we would head over to the beach and see what that was like. We were directed to the land taxis. The water taxis weren't running at that time because of the swells.

 

We grab a taxi and head over to Medano Beach. That's the beach that you can see from the ship. It's a nice enough beach but not up to my Caribbean standards. We went into the first beach bar that we see.....which was a mistake. There's almost always a learning experience the first time you go to a port! We definitely were schooled!!

 

The name of the place we went to was Billygan's. It is right next door to the Office, where a lot of people like to go for lunch.....but I was not impressed with that place either.......too crowded! No place to sit on the beach. This is Billygan's:

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

We got all set up with some beds on the beach. These were surprisingly comfortable, but we were packed in here like sardines......could hardly even see the beach.

 

 

 

 

Now here comes the worst part........Vendors!!!!! Hundreds of them......non stop.....relentless......ALL day long!!!!! They were all up and down the beach. I don't think there is any way of escaping them. We just ignored them or said "no thank you" Actually .....some of the stuff they had was kinda neat. But I don't need any more "stuff"!

 

 

 

[Kik35]

Jane-Once again great review, great beach pictures!! I also like your use of the board listing each day's port or sea day,,:cool:

[maxs mom]

There was just no way of enjoying the beach today like we usually do.....so I ordered a bunch of these!! Our favorite Mexican beer......Pacifico!

 

 

There were a few other good things about the day......the food was good. I got the fish tacos for lunch:

 

 

The Wi-Fi was pretty good here, so that was another good thing. And we enjoyed each other's company!

 

Alice, Bernadette, and I took a long walk on the beach and saw all the sites!

 

 

 

Here is the Office that was right next door.

 

 

This was our place:

 

[maxs mom]

Jane-Once again great review, great beach pictures!! I also like your use of the board listing each day's port or sea day,,:cool:

 

LOL! Thanks! I should have put that on our outside door to the hallway.....I think it would have been safe on this cruise without many children. We kept it on our bathroom door. I may put it out in the hallway next time.

[maxs mom]

This was not an easy beach to walk on.

 

 

Right when this picture was being made.....Alice and I got hit with a huge wave that came up out of nowhere up above our heads......like a tsunami!! We saw that happen every now and then. We got drenched!

 

Lots of neat hotels up and down the beach.

 

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

As we were walking along the beach I saw this place called Tabasco's. I think I read something about this place on line saying that it wasn't as crowded as the other places. This is where we should have come! We'll know better next time!!

 

 

We enjoyed our walk along the beach even though it was hard walking. Unfortunately the vendors didn't leave us alone, even while we were walking!!

 

 

 

We hung around here until around 2 o'clock or so and easily got a taxi back to the marina. John and Jerry went back to the ship, but us girls got a $10 boat ride out to the rocks and to see the arch. It was well worth it.....the highlight of the day!!! We went out in a boat like this and there are plenty of folks with boats to take you out.

 

 

These guys took us out.

 

 

We were very glad that we did this!

 

[Coralc]

The white & pink hotels are both Pueblo Bonito resorts. The are timeshare and all inclusive resorts. Pueblo Bonito Los Cabos (blanca) and the Pueblo Bonito Rose. We've stayed at the pink one. :)

[maxs mom]

The views were up close and personal. Very nice. We would have been let out on to Lover's Beach, but the swells prevented us from doing that today. Still......this boat ride was fabulous!

 

 

 

 

 

[Hoopster95]

Hey Jane... great review as always... been lurking :cool:

I see you hung out with ColoradoBabe, fun seeing people I've met through other cruises pop up here on other's reviews :p.

You are the Queen of the Beaches... if I ever need advice on any beach anywhere in the Caribbean I know who I'll be asking :D

[maxs mom]

More pictures from our boat ride.

 

 

This is Lover's Beach. Hope to get out there next time!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2015 by max'smom

[maxs mom]

Hey Jane... great review as always... been lurking :cool:

I see you hung out with ColoradoBabe, fun seeing people I've met through other cruises pop up here on other's reviews :p.

You are the Queen of the Beaches... if I ever need advice on any beach anywhere in the Caribbean I know who I'll be asking :D

 

Hey......good to hear from you. LOL! Bernadette and I found out we had several cruise buddies in common!! Small world.

 

Anytime you need any advice about beaches....don't hesitate to get in touch!!

[Realtor at Sea]

The boat ride to the rocks looked neat. Any suggestions about things to do other than the beach you visited?

[maxs mom]

Even more pictures! So many beautiful views!! By all means.....if you go to Cabo......be sure and do this!!!!!

 

 

 

And here is the famous arch:

 

 

It looks like a dinosaur drinking water!

 

 

 

 

We were very glad that we did this!

[maxs mom]

The boat ride to the rocks looked neat. Any suggestions about things to do other than the beach you visited?

 

Well......if you go on down the beach to Tabasco's......I think it is much nicer there. I checked with a few resorts there before we went to see if they had day passes and came up empty on that. I think I heard that the Puebla Bonita might let you sit at there property. I would give them a call. Any of those places along the beach have great Mexican food. There is a restaurant in town called Cabo Wabo. I heard someone say that they went there and had a good lunch. It was really hard to find any research on this!! But definitely do the boat ride!!!

[js4rq]

Beautiful photos as always!

[maxs mom]

Here's another resort right at the marina. They were everywhere!!

 

 

Great ride.....but we had to head back in.

 

 

We had to wait in a not too bad of a line for the tender when we got back.

 

 

We were unaware of all the problems that they had tendering today. We had no problems at this time of day. They had gotten everything under control by this time by moving the ship around a little. I thought it was odd that the ship's officers were actually piloting the tenders. They were being very careful.

 

They were actually using, for the most part, life boats from the ship as tenders. Here is the last "tender" being pulled back on board before we left.

 

 

 

The Disney ship left before we did.

 

Edited June 5, 2015 by max'smom

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

 

 

I think this picture is awesome!

Edited June 5, 2015 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[Realtor at Sea]

Well......if you go on down the beach to Tabasco's......I think it is much nicer there. I checked with a few resorts there before we went to see if they had day passes and came up empty on that. I think I heard that the Puebla Bonita might let you sit at there property. I would give them a call. Any of those places along the beach have great Mexican food. There is a restaurant in town called Cabo Wabo. I heard someone say that they went there and had a good lunch. It was really hard to find any research on this!! But definitely do the boat ride!!!

 

Thanks so much for that info. You have the greatest information! Appreciate it so much!