March 2009 - RCI Mariner Cruise

Saturday - Flight to Los Angeles

Kellie took some pictures out the window of the plane as we flew over the canyonlands presumably in Utah and/or Arizona. Once we arrived in LA, we took a trolley ride to a shopping area for some sightseeing, shopping, and dinner. Our hotel, the Crowne Plaza, was right next to the airport and had some nice night-photo opportunities as well.

Sunday - Checking Out The Ship

We returned to LAX and picked up the cruiseline shuttle to the port. We were on-board by 12 noon or so, and free to wander around, take some photos, and find some lunch before the room was ready.

Sunday - Our Room

Around 1:30 we were allowed to check out our room. We had an inside cabin on the 8th floor, room number 8335, which is located just aft of the midship elevator and stairs. The location was half way between dinner (deck 5) and the pool deck (11). The room itself was tight. While there is about 1 foot between the beds and the walls, the furniture blocks you from entering that space. We had to crawl on and off the foot of the bed.

Sunday - Sailaway

After the lifeboat drill we had about an hour to check out the sailaway party on the top decks before dinner. We had an early seating (6pm) dinnertime on this trip, as we sat with the other 15 or so people that were along for the Scrapbooking classes.

Sunday Evening - Night Photos

Kellie went off to the first of her scrapbooking sessions and I wandered around the ship with my camera. These are night shots and some of the interior decor that I liked.

Sunday Night - Parade

The held a welcome aboard parade in the central plaza around 10:45 that night. I grabbed my tripod and perched in a balcony at the foreward end of the 6th floor to try some photos. Most of the parade started at my end and walked away from me... oops!

Monday - At Sea Day

Kellie attended her classes in the morning while I tried to stay warm on deck and read one of my books. The weather for this trip was cooler and breezy, which made sitting around by the pools a bit too cold. After lunch we wandered and attended the first Art auction.

Monday Night - Show

After dinner we went to the dance show. It was quite good, with a mix of 20th century themes including 3 or 4 Billy Joel songs.

Tuesday - Arriving in Cabo San Lucas

I got up early on Tuesday and took my camera up on deck to try to catch a picture of the arch as we sailed into Cabo San Lucas. I was lucky enough to see 4 pods of migrating whales along the way. The ship sailed in south of the arch before turning the point and entering the harbor.

Tuesday Los Cabos Tour - Glass Makers

We took a ship-arranged "Coastal Highlights" tour of the Los Cabos area. The first stop was a glass makers' shop in town where they showed us how they blow glass. The demo was pretty neat and very quick. The turtle took about 6 minutes from start to finish. The rest of these photos are from the glasswork shop.

Tuesday Los Cabos Tour - Snack Stop

The second stop on our tour was a restaurant on the north-eastern edge of the bay. Diners there have a beautiful view of the ships in port, and the arch across the water to the south.

Tuesday Los Cabos Tour - San Jose

We continued along the coastal highway to San Jose del Cabo. There, they let us off the bus for an hour or so to explore the downtown area and see the Mission of San Jose del Cabo Anuiti.

Tuesday Los Cabos Tour - Cactimundo

The final stop in our tour was a visit to the Cactimundo Los Cabos Botanical Gardens. We had a little time to walk around the garden and view the cactus and succulent collection. http://cactimundo.org/

Tuesday Evening - Sunsets

We didn't have much time left after returning from our tour. We took a late tender back to the ship and skipped the scheduled dinner so we could take sunset photos as we left Cabo San Lucas. We tried to go swimming later that evening, but quickly discovered the pool was not heated and so it was much too cold after dark.

Wednesday - Fog in Mazatlan

The problem with an inside cabin is you can't tell what the weather is outside. We got up early to meet our tour in Mazatlan, only to find out that the ship was sitting outside the port in a heavy bank of fog. We spent about two hours waiting and taking pictures in the Dragon's Lair club before Captain Johnny announced that he was going to "try to find a hole in the fog and drive the ship through it."

Wednesday - Arrival in Mazatlan

Once we entered the port, there was no sign of the fog that had kept us out. We headed down to the gangway to meet out tour bus. The plan for the day was the Mexican Show and City Tour. The last two pictures are sights from the bus as we crossed through this busy city.

Wednesday - Mazatlan Mexican Show

The first stop on our tour was a visit to the the Mexican show. They brought us to the Spectaculare Theatre and served us refried beans and chips while we watched. Most of the show involved displaying their costumes before performing folk dances. The highlight of the show was a performance of the ages old pole ritual performed by the Papantla Flying Indians.

Wednesday - Mazatlan Shopping and Divers

After the show we were taken to the Golden Zone, dropped in front of Diamonds International, and allowed an hour or so to wander and shop. It was crowded and very touristy, but we did wander the shops and Kellie bought a few shells and vanilla. Then we boarded the bus and headed down the coast to an area where some local boys were cliff diving for tips.

Wednesday - Mazatlan Old Town

The last stop on our tour was a visit to the Old Town section of Mazatlan. We were let out of the bus about 1 block away from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. I took my rented wide lens inside and got some beautiful photos. Kellie was tired and waited on the bus while taking some pictures of the locals.

Wednesday - Mazatlan End of the Tour

As we circled the block in Old Town, the tour guide stopped the bus near a seafood merchant and showed us the size of the local catch. We then continued along the coast where we could see the two ships in port before we returned.

Wednesday Night - Around the Ship

After dinner, Kellie spent time with her scrapping group in their classroom, while I wandered around the ship with my camera. There was a late night buffet setting up, so I took a few photos and grabbed a snack to take back to the room.

Thursday - Puerto Vallarta

We cancelled our ship excursion to a local island to take the group-sponsored whale watching tour. Then we cancelled the whale tour when we found out it would be a couple hours getting wet on a small inflatable zodiac boat. We ended up just getting off the ship to the shopping terminal, which was pretty uninteresting. We should have re-scheduled the island trip. Oh well, now we'll just have to go back!

Thursday Night - Magic of Laraf

Kellie went back to her classroom and I went to the evening magic show on my own. I had a balcony seat on the left side. Laraf is Larry, the nephew and Rafael his uncle. They had a good show including a finale in the middle of the audience.

Friday - Ice Show

Kellie got tickets for us to see the 5pm Ice Show on Friday evening. The rink was small, as one would probably expect given that it's on a moving cruise ship! They put on a good show, although our side seats weren't the best for camera angles.

Friday - Evening

After the ice show, we sat up on deck and watched the sunset. We skipped the second formal night dinner since it was immediately after the ice show. We waited and ate at the onboard Johnny Rockets for dinner instead. It's a burger joint with the guys dancing around to disco music now and then. Great fun.

Saturday - Wrapping up the Scrapping Class

March 2009 - RCI Mariner Cruise - Mexican Riviera