It took me a long time to figure out these were drones.
Toward the end I could see the frames.
They never bumped into one another, even doing
those intricate patterns.
This was somethin' to see!
I
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Monday, March 21, 2022
Spring Breaking on the Navigator of the Seas!!!
I had been sitting on a very special offer from Royal Caribbean for weeks. On the day it was expiring, February 28th, I decided to go for it! It was expensive to fly to the departure point (Los Angeles) and it was only a 4 day cruise (too short) but it did go to destinations which I had not visited before (Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico.) I had a big 14 days to get ready!
I swallowed my pride and asked for a wheelchair in LAX. What a good move that turned out to be. American's terminals are under massive construction, and it was miles (seemed like, anyway) from our landing gate to baggage claim--a complicated exit from one building and long walk to another. And almost immediately I began to meet angels along the way. There was the wonderful person who pushed me so far, and there were lovely Royal Caribbean reps who joined us along the way!
Waiting for the Royal Caribbean bus!
My very first view of the ship from the bus!
The first time Jack and I cruised on the Navigator was in 2003, and it was with our whole family. The ship seemed really big then, but it has been surpassed so greatly by the mega ships that it actually looked small now--at least from this distance.
Boarding was a breeze. Here is my embarkation photo!
By the time I got onboard it was after 3:00 P.M. Texas time, and I was hungry. I had gone planning to wear a mask 100% of the time outside my room, but our rooms weren't available yet. So...I went up just to check out the Windjammer for lunch. It was not crowded at all, and I was able to sit at the end of this table for 12 (!) with a wall to my back. I felt perfectly isolated and safe! Sat there again later in the cruise!
Looking forward
Looking back
And then we sailed away! I was so excited to be onboard again!
We sailed past the Battleship Iowa, docked at our port.
The guns on the front were sobering to me.
Now I must interject a bit here...it may be "Bye, bye" but we won't be far!!! We're just sailing from the San Pedro pier to Catalina Island. We have about 36 hours to make a trip which takes 3 hours by ferry, because our first day is "at sea."
So...you know how I've always said I didn't care about the ports...that the ship could just go round and round out in the ocean and it would be fine with me? Well that's just about what we did! At some point late the next day the captain announced that we were "turning around and heading back to Catalina Island!"
Then it was time to eat again, this time in the dining room. I had said I was going to get room service and eat my meals there, but my room was very small, had no table, and was difficult even for my room service continental breakfasts. So I went down just to check out the dining room situation. I told the maitre' d of my wish to be distanced, and he told the waiter to take me to "625." That table turned out to be the last in the back of an area. Again my back was to a wall. Here are pictures...I felt safe!
And the food was fabulous--but no pictures of it! I'm slipping.
Since the Navigator is older now, I took so few pictures onboard!
I didn't even take one of my room, but it was very typical!
I did get these pretty shots.
A very mediocre one of the theatre.
Almost too late I realized that I could go to the Cosmopolitan Club every day at 5:00 PM for hors d'oeuvres and drinks. I only went once, but it was fabulous! Those horse do-overs are my favorite type of food.
Wasn't it thoughtful of Royal Caribbean to have furnishings which matched my Outfit Of The Day?
After our day "at sea" we arrived at Catalina Island. I did not get the message that it was mountainous! And I had booked an excursion in an open air Hummer! "It won't be rough, the shore excursion guy told me!" Ha!
*I'm going to zoom way in on this picture later to show you something amazing!
Catalina is a tender port, and that is one of our tenders returning to the ship.
The little shore town is Avalon.
I took my Swig cup and filled it with my room service coffee. It would last all morning!
My tour was at 1:00. I got Paul, one of the Excursion experts, as my guide. As a bonus, his wife Sally, who was the spa manager, was with us. They adopted me and coddled me beyond belief! If we got off the Hummer, they would have me by both arms!
Our Hummer--holds 12, but there were just 10 of us
of our journey.
*Here is the earlier picture taken on arrival from my balcony.
I have zoomed way in on it, and atop those mountains is the exact tree line to which we traveled in the Hummer.
My tour the next day in the port of Ensenada was called
"La Bufadora & Mexican Folkloric"
Click below to see the a bit of the Folkloric!
La Bufadora is a natural marine geyser or blowhole which shoots water 60' into the air--at regular intervals when I was there!
My obligatory wildlife shot. Is it a pelican?
I almost missed this event on my cruise. It was on the last night at 9:30 P.M., and I forgot about it until all the tickets were gone. I managed to finagle one, expecting to see the usual amazing skaters. Well, I did see plenty of those, but the beginning of the show was like nothing I've ever seen before in my life! I only took a very short, woefully lacking video which I have tried unsuccessfully all day to get on here. Then I found something better!
So...please come back tomorrow to see something which would have been worth the whole trip to me!
And here I am waiting at the airport for about 6 hours before my flight home. My back is killing me because there are no chairs available at my gate. I've spent hours waiting
across the way in the Jet Blue area! But it was totally worth it! Even if it was just 4 nights!
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