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Any excuse to cruise works for us! We enjoy cruising out of Long Beach, CA where you can explore the MEXICAN RIVIERA on the CARNIVAL PANORAMA! This was our second time on the PANORAMA. It docks next to the RMS QUEEN MARY floating hotel, a super fascinating historical experience everyone should enjoy! We LOVE flying into JOHN WAYNE INTERNATIONAL (ORANGE COUNTY) AIRPORT then making our way over to Long Beach’s cruise port a few days in advance of our cruise to enjoy a stay on the RMS QUEEN MARY (docked next door to the CARNIVAL PANORAMA). It makes everything soooooo easy and completely, relaxingly enjoyable! The restaurants and amenities are perfect! One stay here was not enough time to fully explore this historical floating museum.

This particular cruise offered destination stops in Cabo San Lucas (for two nights) and Ensenada, Mexico. Previous cruises on this ship also have offered stops at Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, and Acapulco! Puerto Vallarta, Mexico was a defitine favorite with a REMARKABLE day spent at LAS CALETAS! LAS CALETAS is highly, highly recommended! We have visited Cabo San Lucas several times before, but the stop at ENSENADA was a new destinations for us! Probably not a place to return to again for us though. While the drive along the shoreline was beautiful…it was WAY TO CLOSE to TIJUANA for our liking. YIKES!

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“South of the border, down Mexico way. That’s where I fell in love where stars above, came out to play. And now as I wonder, my thoughts ever stray South of the border, down Mexico way.” – Jimmy Kennedy

Check out some cruise video from previous trips!

CRUISE THE BAJA PENINSULA

LUXURIATE WITH YOUR SPOUSE

Is there any better way to spend your days? We are all way too busy, right…

Our winters are so cold and miserable without lots of consistent sunlight, so we try to add a dose of vitamin D to our plans whenever we can! We love to cruise!

Now that it is easier to schedule time with just the two of us, it makes perfect sense to indulge in more reconnection moments with my husband!

We decided to indulge in a romatic get-away to celebrate my husband’s birthday and our anniversary this year!

It becomes much needed in the midst of our busy lifestyles. Now that our eldest son is busy building his career and young family in mid-Michigan and our youngest has launched his career also, this special precious time with my husband is way easier to schedule. I can list 10 reasons to cruise easily!

We really enjoy our days cruising! After an early morning walk around the track (8 laps equals 2 miles), I love to lay in the sun with a book and be left alone. My husband enjoys wandering the ship, people watching in the shade, and lounging around the pool area in between naps, but in the afternoons/evenings we reconnected over dinner and enjoyed the evenings entertainment together.

CRUISE THE BAJA PENINSULA

CLOUD 9 SPA & HAVANA CABANAS

Most cruise lines offer a discount on spa treatments if you’re willing to book on embarkation day. There’s usually so much going on that day — getting settled, learning your way around the ship, and unpacking — that spas typically have more open appointments. To fill them up, they offer a discount. We indulged in a few couples massage this trip. One as the ship was leaving port and another on a day at sea. It was such a nice relaxing way to kick off this cruise while we were waiting for our luggage to arrive to our HAVAVA CABIN on the 6th level aft, directly above the 5th level pool. PERFECT LOCATION!

HERE IS A ROOM TOUR:

A highlight of this cruise centered on the HAVANA CABINS! They come with use of the Havana Pool deck exclusively until 7pm when this area opens to the public. What an indulgence to have this wonderful space along with a larger balcony too!

CRUISE THE BAJA PENINSULA

TRANQUILITY

SUNRISE…my favorite time of the day while cruising! There is no more peaceful moment that I can begin to explain than this exact moment. Do you enjoy a SUNRISE or SUNSET? I placed my order for the daily early morning tray to be delivered while it is pre-dawn. I usually pick a pot of coffee with cream and croissants with jam to nibble on while I watch the sunrise over the waves and listen to the sounds of the sea.

I read, enjoy the moist, humid air, and soak up the warmth of the southern climate. Complete tranquility! So amazingly great! It used to be that the night before the steward would leave the next days activity list out for us to study to determine what we want to do, or not do, the next day. I would bring a highlighter to mark my preferences. Now, the CARNIVAL HUB APP has become essential to know what all the daily choices for entertainment are and to reserve your dinner reservation and table # assignments. Be sure to download the app prior to departure. So much entertainment available, if one chooses!

These precious early morning moments are priceless to me. It provides me with those stolen chunks of time to feed my need for INNER STILLNESS. This is necessary every day!

“Mexican food is one of the best culinary experiences that people can have.”
– Karla Souza

CRUISE THE BAJA PENINSULA

OH THE FOOD!

The BlueIguana Cantina offers CHICKEN WINGS! We were so excited to try these with the different seasonings and sauces! YUMMO!

The food! Oh the food! Nothing prepares you for the Lido deck! When you embark on Day 1 you go straight to the Lido deck as a place to wait while the final touches are placed on your room. Picture the never ending buffet line. Stations exist. You name the type of food…it is present, section by section, from one end of the ship to the other on the 9th/10th level of most carnival cruise ships.

Evenings you have the option to dine in one of the dining rooms! Picture chandeliers, white linen and two levels with a cathedral ceiling! Very impressive. We were seated on the lower level in the downstairs dining room next to a window to enjoy the evening sunsets. Great view! Each guest is assigned a table in a dining area. The menu is formal and starts with drinks and appetizers, salad and soup course, then the main course, followed by coffee and dessert. Many nights before dessert the servers put on a “SHOW” for you while you dine. It is a highlight and we always look forward to this experience. Elaborate breakfasts are also an option!

Entertainers travel the restaurant while you are dining! We giggled and made friends with Bharath Jayakumar the Magician & Mentalist. He was very indulgent to Galen!

On the evening of my husband’s birthday, we went to the Bonsai Teppanyaki for a show with our dinner. We had fun and enjoyed this master cook NAWKHEM and his entertainment! He was SUPER TALENTED!

CRUISE THE BAJA PENINSULA

THE DINING STAFF

Once again, the staff in the diningroom was stellar! We were so blessed to meet these amazing people! From left to right, CEM from Istanbul, Turkey (he has 4 children), Euwan from Jakarta (he has 2 kids), Indonesia, and IIP also from Jakarta, Indonesia (he has 2 kids). IIP liked to sing to himself while he was working. We were fairly sure he had no idea he was even doing it while he was concentrating on the job. This team was SUPERB!

They allowed us to slow the pace of the evening down to fully enjoy each course starting with wine service and charcuterie, then moving into appetizers followed by a soup course and then a salad course. Entrees followed gradually and were completed by dessert and coffee. We took good care of them and they took good care of us! We landed with CEM when on our first night service the exact opposite happened and we unhappily left the diningroom. CEM stepped in the next morning to solve our unhappiness when we asked him about this problem at breakfast. CEM WAS A ROCKSTAR! Hopefully Carnival recognizes in him what we did and promotes him rapidly to oversee staff to be just like him!

CEM especially made a very large impression on us. His story was so very interesting. He was educated in Istanbul then attended Cal State University – Fullerton for his Masters. 911 happened and rents increased pushing him to make the difficult decision to not be able to stay in school as it was a strain on his family. He had an uncle that was a maitre ‘d on cruise ships. The uncle assisted CEM to get a starter job there also. CEM worked 15 years on cruise ships. Covid happened. Cruiselines shutdown over night. It took 3 months for him to get home to his family during that difficult time. He was unemployed for 15 months until the cruiseship opportunity resumed for him. CEM met his Ukrainian wife on the cruiseship. CEM is a great, husband and Dad working to keep his daughter in private school (tuition). He is highly educated and recommended the book by Robert T. Kiyosaki, RICH DAD POOR DAD for reading material (which I have downloaded to my audible account!) We wish him every blessing.

As cruise passengers during the above difficult global events, it was eye-opening to hear how these global events affected the men and women that serve on these ships. It was a big dose of reality for us to contemplate the hardships that so many cruiseship workers must have endured during that difficult time.

“Drinking tequila is more about the journey than the destination.”
– Rainbow Rowell

We LEARNED THE TRICKS TO CRUISING FROM TRUSTED FRIENDS and have enjoyed every minute! The most valuable tip that they gave us was about motion sickness. We are avid boaters at home, so we were sure we wouldn’t have any problems with this. WRONG!

Ginger 1500mg, 45 Servings, Vegetarian, Gluten Free

The motion of a large cruise ship is so different than our usual boating at home. Our first cruise we encountered rough seas. The boat was really rolling in the ocean waves. My husband suffered the first night terribly. Our friends had told us to take natural ginger tablets a couple of days prior to cruising. We had not, thinking we knew better! BIG MISTAKE! Immediately when my husband began feeling ill, we both took the natural ginger tablets and sucked on ginger candies that I had packed “just in case.” WHEW!

By the next morning we started to feel better and both of us learned our lesson! We take the ginger now 2 days prior to sailing and throughout the duration of being at sea on vacation. Never have we had a problem with motion sickness since!

Consult your doctor first before taking any supplements, I am simply relaying what worked for us! Great advice from our trusted friends!

“Mexican food is an aphrodisiac which excites the passion for living. It courts, seduces, ravishes, then cherishes all five senses.” – Richard Condon

CRUISE THE BAJA PENINSULA

CABO SAN LUCAS

Cabo is such a great place to explore! This particular cruise offered two days in Cabo! We selected this cruise for this reason! The beaches are dynamite! The people were very generous of spirit!

Our favorite day was with Angel! He approcahed me about going for a tour with him to see the city. We accepted his offer and ended up drinking beers with him at a local beachfront bar. He shared his story with us, and we really enjoyed meeting him. It was really hot and he was biking us all over CABO. He had to have been so thirsty and hot too! We wish him well!

CRUISE THE BAJA PENINSULA

EXCURSIONS ~ SNORKELING OPPORTUNITY

Each port offers the opportunity to debark and explore the port. Excursions can be booked based on your interests at each location. We tend to gravitate towards snorkeling experiences. We have booked catamaran rides and private island get-aways for a day of relaxing on a beach too!

Crystal clear, turquoise blue, refreshingly soothing, salt water, calmness, tranquility, buoyancy…so many thoughts come to mind when considering snorkeling. Exploring under the surface of the water to find God’s inspiration in all creation! It’s fascinating. Antigua, Belize, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Roatan, Jamaica, Hawaii to name a few, each snorkel destination holds different adventures and underwater microcosm. Make sure to pack your SNORKEL & FINS to ensure a great snorkeling experience. The freedom afforded the underwater explorer provides extensive opportunities to experience nature in many new ways. Like the photos? Try this WATERPROOF CAMERA on your next snorkeling adventure! Don’t forget an UNDERWATER VALUABLES POUCH to secure your phone & wallet.

One of our cruise ports was Ensenada, Mexico on this cruise. We took a very long bus ride North towards Tijuana to this beach club. Probably would recommend a hard pass to anyone interested in Ensenada. Here is a piece of trivia. The Port of Ensenada is a strategically vital, major deep water Mexican port on the Pacific, crucial for trade with the U.S. and Asia, a key cruise destination, and an important gateway for containerized and general cargo, especially for electronics and agriculture, acting as an alternative to congested California ports. It was a very busy place!

CRUISE THE BAJA PENINSULA

CRUISE-SHIP VIEWS FROM CABO SAN LUCAS

As the cruise ship enters a new port, the views are always excellent and vastly different at each harbor. Lighthouses come into view, commerce of that country is exposed, and the downtown commerce is usually visible to the anxious shoppers looking for a souvenir. Interesting stories are left for the visitor to discover. The people that are met reveal a window into the culture of the location. Ears that listen, eyes that see, and patience that is excercised are rewarded with new discoveries to tuck away in our hearts if we but allow them to unfold.

CRUISE THE BAJA PENINSULA

RELAXATION & TRANQUIL SUNSETS & SUNRISES

“Peace brings with it so many positive emotions that it is worth aiming for in all circumstances.” —Estella Eliot

We tend to enjoy the sunset pre-dinner time along with a cocktail hour in our cabin on our private balcony or out on public deck space. The spectacular sunsets set the mood for a most enjoyable evening! We have been so fortunate to have excellent weather on our cruises and fabulous experiences with sunsets!

CRUISE THE BAJA PENINSULA

RECONNECTING ROMANCE

“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn Is to love and be loved in return.” – Natalie Cole

Every relationship requires time and attention to thrive. My husband is my best friend. We require time away from the stress of daily life to reconnect and try to make that a priority. We try to “date” weekly and keep our marriage growing each day. A cruise is a great opportunity to really focus on each other and truly enjoy spending time in each other’s company!

Life can be hectic! I wouldn’t trade my boys for the world, but let’s be real! We LOVE our boys and would drop anything for their needs, but even adult children can be draining! We all need “our person” to feel whole. God intended for husband and wives to be two halves that when together make a whole for fulfillment. My husband and I try to nurture that promise that we made together many years ago when we said, “I do!” Cruising is a fun and easy way to carve out special time for each other! Give it a try too! Even if it is only a long weekend or during a family visit when out of state! Carve out that special time with special people to escape to sunshine for a CRUISE adventure! It is worth it!

Leave a reply comment below on how you feel about cruising. Where are the ports that you’d like to discover? What are your favorites on a cruise? Have you taken a cruise out of Long Beach, CA? Do you have details of excursions that you recommend from CABO SAN LUCAS to share? Comment below so we can learn from your experiences too!

I look forward to hearing from you!

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Inspirationally Yours,

Barbara

BIO: https://www.inspirationaltraveladventures.com/about-us/

About Me

A 1993 graduate of Michigan State University, Barbara earned a BS in Social Science Pre-Law. She is a Business Manager/HR Director. Her passion is travel, discovering new places, experiences, cuisine, cultures while enjoying temperate climates. Barbara is a newly transitioning empty-nester who became a travel blogger. She’s a great photographer, talented writer, and has a great family to highlight in her blog posts.

WEBSITE: www.inspirationaltraveladventures.com

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