Monday – Sea Day

Okay I would like to take a moment to thank my wonderful husband for sharing his cold with me. I kept waking up throughout the night with a throat that felt like it had knives in it. First thing this morning I could barely talk. 

I knew I needed to rest so I stayed in bed while Bernie dressed and went out.  Around 10 am I got up and showered and dressed and I was feeling better but my throat is sore. A good cup of hot tea helped to soothe it.

The IC is packed – lots of things going on  and one thing is the $10 Bijoux sale. 

Since I missed breakfast we go to the dining room for lunch where we sit at a table for two and have a great meal.  The soups are great (not salty either like the first one we had) so I started with a vegetable soup that had meatballs in it – called Mexican Soup.  For my main I had parmesan chicken which again was very very good.

We are both tired and when Bernie heads back to the cabin to watch tv and relax I head up on deck for some sun and reading. 

It is a bit overcast but the sun is nice and misleading and there are sunburned people walking around tonight to prove how intense the sun can be on overcast days.  I lay and read, nap for a bit, read some more, repeat.

We did see whales form the ship – note we are just around Cabo currently. It was fun to watch the juvenal whales playing, smacking their tails three or four times before diving. 

Others told me they had seen dolphins and turtles too. Sorry didn’t get a pic of the whales as I didn’t bring a camera up on deck with me.

Around 3 I head back down to the cabin and Bernie is just starting a new movie called the Hollars which was a cute movie but I will say I really miss the Royal’s On Demand TV system.

We nap for an hour or so after the movie.  How can we be so tired? Well I guess two weeks of intense touring around Peru, four days at Disney will do that to you. It is really nice to just have guilt free total relaxing days.

Tonight is the first formal night.  We did not bring formal wear this trip due to limited bags but we do dress for the evening and I wear my beautiful shawl I got in Peru.  Oh such good memories.  We make our way down to Vines and sit at the back and watch the people.

The Captain’s Champagne Waterfall is at 7 and it is lovely to see everyone mingling around in their finest. I will say that this cruise has a mixed bag of those that are dressed up. 

Some just in smart casual and some in very formal wear. I have learned to accept the situation and realize how others dress does not in any way affect my cruise.

The Patter does state that if you are to dine in Anytime or Traditional Dining room  you need to be dressed in formal attire. I am not sure if they enforced it as we are not dressed formally so we did not go.

Instead we have reservations at the Salty Dog for 7 pm. 

However when we show up they don’t have our reservation. 

Hmm weird as we just made it yesterday.  They do say the can accommodate us but since a large party just sat it may take a bit more time for the food to come out.  No problem we say. 

William sits us at our table.  We get sparkling water and Bernie gets a beer.  We are served cheese sticks with a pot of warm dipping cheese sauce.

Wild Mushroom Saute 

macaroni with lobster and foam

Crab Cake

Ernesto Burger

lemon dessert

my yummy dessert

Edward is here – we remember him from the Crown last summer. Such a great guy.  We even noticed when a woman had trouble standing he came to her aid and made sure she made it up and to her cabin okay.  That is not only a great crew member but a great man.

You pick two items from the menu, and I will say it was hard to choose.  I started with the macaroni and cheese with lobster.  

Next I got the burger which came with sweet potato fries. OMG that burger is not big in size but the patty is huge and I really enjoyed the hot peppers on it.  

For dessert I had the chocolate pot of crème with the salted caramel popcorn – again what a great pairing.  

The price is now $12 and I would say it was well worth it and a nice alternative to the dining room/Horizon Court or other specialty restaurants.  I especially enjoyed the live music in the Wheelhouse too.  

I am pretty sure we will be back.

A stop in Crooners for a martini and chat with Dominique from Peru and we are off to Club Fusion for the 50/60s Music Trivia where we sat with three sisters and one of their husbands.  We did not do that bad but came in second but more importantly we had fun.

We thought of heading to Colors of the World Production Show but we thought we will check it out next sailing. Instead we walked around and chatted with some passengers – shout out to cruise mates from Mission who approached me to say hi and introduce themselves and say they read my blog.  Hope to get to chat with them some more another time.

We decide to head to Explorers for Mark’s Where in the World Am I trivia – where Bernie and I -- well how can I put it – sucked but again it was fun and always nice to see Mark.

There was a lot going on tonight.  Production Show like I said, at 8 and 10 pm (the early shows seems to be packed with hard to find seats if you don’t go early – second show is much better).

Also happening was the Yes No Gameshow in Explorers, Flashdance Into the 80’s, Party Band Fusion plays in Club Fusion, MUTS is showing Sing Street, Animal Planet Trivia.

I have more pictures but due to limitied wifi will post them when I get home.

Sunday Evening – First Sea Day

We did end up in the Horizon Court for dinner and the food was very good.  But if you were not into Indian food there were lots of other options for you too.

We then made our way down to Explorer’s Lounge where we pretty much stayed all night.

First it was “I’ll Take Trivia for $100” their version of Jeopardy where Bernie and I did quite well but got the last answer wrong but was quite a bit of fun.

Next came Majority Rules Gameshow where a lovely couple from Arizona joined us and we had a lot of laughs. 

Last was Famous Faces Team Trivia with Mark where we teamed up with Maureen and Christine from New Jersey. We won that trivia with 36 out of 40.  A bottle of Princess Champagne (not sure if it is drinkable but I hear it cleans glass quite well).  Since Christine has officially turned 21 tonight, we felt it only right that she enjoy the prize.  

It was a fun night. It was just what we needed. More casual, more carefree, and a lot of laughs.

Sunday – First Sea Day

It was so nice to sleep in today. With an hour forward we wake at 9:30 (really 8:30) and just relax and watch the Wake Show and take our time getting ready.

Bernie does head up to the Horizon Court (HC) for a light breakfast and it is very busy he says. Hard to find a seat and when he asks a woman at a table for four with only herself if he could sit there she said the seats were all taken.  

Sadly he sits right beside her and only her spouse showed up and the other two seats stayed empty. I guess people are afraid, inconsiderate or just uneasy. But cruising is really about being on a ship and interacting. Take some time to get to know your fellow guests you just never know who you might meet.

We finally leave the cabin around 11 am and the Atrium is very busy – they are doing the raffle draw from embarkation but as soon as that is done it quiets down. 

But we take seats in Crooners and read and do crosswords.

They are doing a Curtis Stone Restaurant Open house and I really want to check it out. 

Sure looks good, so we make reservations for Thursday for the two of us.

It is now just after 1 pm and we are hungry so we head to Da Vinci for lunch.  Again we ask for a table for two and had to wait only a few minutes. 

Lunch was very good and our server Caesar from Peru excellent.  I started with the Thai soup and then the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich, for which I could only eat half of.

After lunch we wander around a bit but end up sitting in Vines reading and chatting with friends who stop by.

We happen to see Lisa Ball go by and got to say hi to her. So lovely to see her again.

We check in with the Captain Circle Host – I believe her name is Collena from North Vancouver.  Beautiful young woman and we love chatting about Vancouver.  We find out we are number 19 out of the top 40. This voyage will have a cocktail party for the Most Travelled Party on the night of Mazatlán. 

The next night is the Captain Circle Party.

The Dining Room opens at 5:30 on deck 5 and they are lined up past the IC by 5:10.  Thankfully we eat later. But tonight we are heading to the HC as they have an Indian section tonight and we love Indian.

Entertainment on Board the Ruby 7 Day

Production Shows 

• Colors of the World
• Once Upon a Dream
• Magic To Do

Comedian: A.J. Jamal

Explorer’s Lounge and Club Fusion

• Party Band Fusion
• Cruise Cult Classics: Rock N Roll Nigh, That 70’s Night, Country and Western Night
• Various Game Shows and Karaoke

Movies

Finding Dory, Galaxy Quest, Zootopia, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Ant Man, Now You See Me 2, Florence Foster Jenkins, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Jason Bourne, Keeping Up with the Joneses, Magnificent Seven (2016), Sing Street

Saturday Evening – Dinner and Welcome Aboard Show

We start out with Muster Drill.  Our location is the Princess Theater and we are on Baja so it is only a few flights down. I couldn’t help hearing a few comments that I wanted to share here.  

One was “what about people who can’t go down the stairs right now?” I responded they take the elevator.  Note everyone, if you require an elevator let the attendants at the elevators at Muster Drill know and they can assist you.  

The second was this woman who told her husband “don’t touch the railings going down – use your elbows”  I agree there are a lot of germs on ships.  But germs are everywhere including malls, parks, your home, schools everywhere. The main way to remove those germs is to wash your hands with soap and water. Going down stairs without holding onto the railing will probably be more dangerous than going down and falling because you didn’t want to hold the railing.  I will add that this person was holding the life jacket – which probably had quite a few germs on it too.  So wash your hands whenever you can.

After Muster we went up for sail away and enjoyed a drink while enjoying the company of Ali and Ginny. 

Both of us are a little tired and we just relax in the cabin for a while.

I will say that the new beds are fabulous. This is not the first time we have experienced them but we sure love them. Love not having to ask for a top sheet anymore and the bed is so plush with a big pillow top.

We need to change out our mini bar but that will have to wait till tomorrow when we can get thru to room service.

I meet up with Bernie in Vines for some wine before dinner. I get some cheese from the IC and the moment is complete.

Around 8 pm we head to Michelangelo Dining room and request a table for two.  We did have to wait a bit but not very long.  We are actually sat at the exact same table as lunch but dining room below.

Our servers seem very flustered.  They do have a large table behind us of 12 and two table of 2. We order a bottle of sparking water and they take our card but then he loses it. 

The waiter comes back asking if he returned it to us and then says he lost it.  He is looking everywhere for it when we notice the head waiter pick up a card over by the large table asking if it belongs to any of them. Well it doesn’t it is our card.  This has just made our waiter a little more nervous.

I start out with the artichoke bisque which I normally love but when I  get it, it is so salty it is not possible to eat. It is like drinking sea water.  Oh my!  They do offer to bring me something else but I am okay.

My entrée is Princess burger with mushrooms and stilton cheese – make sure to check out the burgers on the anytime side as they are often very good.  Plus none of the entrees caught my attention this time.  

Bernie had the spring rolls and the ricotta and leek tart and both were very good.

We really enjoyed chatting to the the two guys beside us who are from Vegas – I believe their names were Sam and Sheridan.  Lovely couple who we really enjoyed getting to know.

For dessert Bernie wanted a Bugsy martini but is told it is not possible to get as the bartender in the galley can’t make it. 

Oh okay…. We are surprised we have never had a problem getting it before. I get the cheesecake which is very yummy!  

So we have to go to Crooners to get Bernie’s Bugsy martini and I get a Bramble.  The staff there are fabulous – very personable, helpful and funny.  The piano player Salamon Parra is someone new we have never seen.  He is good but doesn’t appear to have the crowds we have seen with others.

At ten we go to the Princess Theater to see the Welcome Aboard Show.  The demographics are mainly American, there are only just under 400 Canadians and a handful of other nationalities.

Comedian A.J. Jamal is hilarious.  We have never seen him before and really laughed our heads off. Will definitely be back to see his next show.

Off to bed!

Boarding Ruby Princess

As many of you know we are sailing the Ruby Princess on a 7 day Mexican Riviera.  Port stops include Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas.

We arrived at the pier really early.  Much earlier than we thought we would.  Everything went so smoothly. We had breakfast at the hotel, we packed up our bags and at 10:45 we were ready.  Check out was 11 so we just decided to check out and make our way to the port.

We used Uber to get to the pier (cost was $38) and traffic was minimal – being a Saturday and all.

We arrived at the pier at 10:45 , dropped off our bags and we were in the Preferred Check In line a few minutes later.  The queue for non preferred was long, this voyage. 

Only five minutes later we are in the Elite lounge sitting down and Lisa comes us to introduce herself! So nice to meet online friends and make them in person friends!

Around 11:15 they boarded the In Transit, then there was a large wedding party that boarded and then Elites boarded. We were on board by 11:30!  

Of course just as we are walking up the gangway who do we see!  Ali and her Mom! Our first thought is they are on visiting, but as we catch up to them we are so happy to hear they are on for the week!  What a lovely surprise.

The rooms were ready so we just dropped off our bag and went down to the International Café (IC) for a cup of tea and cappuccino. 

Okay had to find out about lunch in the dining room.  
I am happy to report that Da Vinci on the port side is open for all passengers for lunch on embarkation.  Da Vinci starboard side is for Club Class.

As soon as we enter the dining room we recognize the head waiter and we are welcomed with a hug. Then as we are sitting there we see Hugo a waiter we have known for many years and many ships. He heads home in a few days so we are glad that we got to see him.

Back in our cabin our bags are delivered! We are unpacked and settled by 1:30 – that is the earliest we have ever been settled in a few years. 

Officers on board are: 
Captain Marco Fortezze, Staff Captain Michele Bartolomei, Chief Engineer Andrea Scantamburlo, Hotel General Manager Melania Parnisari, Senior Doctor Jacobus Deon Venter, Entertainment Director Lisa Ball, Cruise Director Duke Christopher, Customer Services Director Elke Pointecker, Food & Beverage Director Sandra Belchior, Staff Engineer Mauro Boracchi, Environment Officer Georgi Kiryakov, Executive Housekeeper Lorena Ferrini, Executive Chef Giovanni Sisto, Maitre d’Hotel Jean Paul Musiu

When I log onto Princess @ Sea I see a new option for ordering breakfast for the next morning. Excellent! You can set the time and exactly what you want – so far the menu looks exactly like the old paper one but it makes it easy to adjust and add or remove items.

Oh we also ran into Mark Cornish – Deputy Cruise Director.  Haven’t seen him in a while.

Also Drink Package has gone up to $52 per day.

My Tips For Disneyland

Here are some tips I have learned after two different trips to Disneyland that others may find helpful from a cruiser's perspective.

• Staying at a hotel that is walking distance to the park is very helpful but much more expensive.  Weigh out the cost with the savings you will encounter from paying or transport.
• Staying at a hotel further away is a great money saver (40% less for our recent stay). However we had to take the local transit (ART) to get anywhere.  Once we walked back and it took 40 minutes.  If you do pick a hotel further away at least find one that has a few amenities nearby.
• The local transit - ART comes in handy.  Check out day passes or 3 or 5 days passes for real savings.  A single ride cost $3, day pass is $5 and a 3 day pass is $12.  Staff on board are very very helpful and patient.
• Download the Disneyland App on your phone for quick access for park times, ride times, food venues, photo pass, dining reservation and so much more. We checked it often to see what the wait times and if rides were back up and running.
• Bring patience - but somehow as soon as we enter the park we except that everything is going to take longer and when we start to loose that patience we know we need to take a break or leave.
• Enjoy meeting new people. Trust me you won't have a choice! When you are line chat with the people around you. Find out where they are from. Smile and chat with the kids - they need as much distration as they can when in those long lines. 
• Remember that it takes a village, so offer to help out when other families need help. Like the large family who tried to board the bus with the four little kids and a stroller after a long day - offer help. When you see a family drop something pick it up. We all have been there and needed help so helping someone else just shows kindness and we need more of that.
• You can bring some food into the park.  We brought some fruit and granola bars and they tied us over between meals as we couldn't afford to eat full meals there. Oh and bring water.
• Be prepared to spend $$$$$ nothing and I mean nothing is cheap. I really don't know how families do it.  We would get a coffee in the park and that was about it.  One day we had a hotdog  and a bag of chips for $7.50 each ($10 Canadian). But food is only the begining rememer cotton candy, pretzels, pins, t-shirts, hats, bubble wands and well anything else you could consider to buy with a Micky on it.
• If you are interested in the Dine and View packages I highly recommend it.  It was expensive but the meal was fabulous and the fewer crowds at the viewing area was nice too.
• Stop and enjoy the experience, spend some time on a bench and watch the people go by.  Enjoy a band or show.  Look around and enjoy the small touches. Look for all the Mickey's hidden throughout the park.
• Oh and sing out loud even if you can't sing.  Dance even if you can't dance.  And don't worry about embarrasing your kids everything embarrases them.

Friday January 27 – Last Day at Disneyland

Since we went to sleep so early last night we are awake early and we are determined to get there early today. But first I am craving pancakes – weird I know.  I rarely eat pancakes but today that is what I want. 

We decide to catch the ART bus early and go to the IHOP right across the street from the main gate. It works out perfectly and they even let me order a three stack of pancakes. 

As soon as the park opens (9 am) we are in! We have a game plan.  First California Adventure for the Radiator Springs Cars ride Fast Passes but the queue just to get the fast passes is like 100 long! So we decide to just take our chances and head to the ride and we go in the singles line and we wait maybe five minutes and most of that was walking there.  

Next stop is Toy Story ride again and it is a long queue but 40 minutes passes as we chat with others in line.  Bernie woops my butt again! 

I head to Paradise Pier Roller Coaster and as a single I have no wait at all.  Boy that run is fun!

We wander along the pier enjoying the sites and the sounds enjoying a few bits of entertainment throughout. It’s Tough to Be A Bug is our next stop as we didn’t make it last time as the ride had technical difficulties.  I really enjoyed it! So cute and loved all the effects.

Okay we are done with California Adventure and we cross the parks to Disneyland – it is CRAZY busy.  

Maybe not as busy as the holidays but it is twice as crowded as it was on Tuesday for sure. With the train down for refurbishment it forces those to walk to all areas and it does create pinch points.

We head to Frontier Land to get fast passes for Thunder Mountain and we don’t have to wait too long. Just enough time to get a coffee and sit and watch people go by. 

The only other area I want to see is Fantasyland which of course is crazy with all the young kids. We ride Pinocchio’s Daring Journey and then the Storeybook Land Canal Boats. 

But after all the lines, crowds, we are ready to head out. We have been here for 7 hours and we are hungry and want to sit down and enjoy a good meal.

We catch the #1 ART bus down Harbour Boulevard to Joe’s Crab Shack and this time we can get in. We enjoy a great meal with great service. We catch the bus back to the park and then the #12 bus back to the hotel.

It is 5 pm and I wish I could say we still were heading out for the night but both of us are tired. 

I do some ironing – many of our dress clothes for the cruise (well all of them) are very very wrinkled. 

Bernie is still suffering with that cold but it looks like the worst is over. 

Tomorrow we board the Ruby Princess!  Really looking forward to it.

Thursday January 26 - Day Three at Disneyland

We wake and Bernie is suffering with a cold. Not really surprised after all that travel and flying and then being in contact with so many people (especially kids) in the last few days. 

We are a bit slow to get up and ready and after breakfast downstairs at the hotel we dress and head to the park for around 10 am.

We head into Disneyland first and go to get Fast Passes for Indiana Jones.  We ride Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted House, Winnie the Pooh and then Indiana Jones twice.  I really want to see the Tiki Room – it is one I remember from my childhood and it is so sweet and even cuter to see all the little ones in the room enjoy it.

The Radiator Springs Racers is still down first thing this morning and when it opens it has two hour waits. We try for fast passes but they are all gone and were gone very early today.  We ride the Toy Story ride, where Bernie beats me this time.

It is now 3:30 and we are meeting Ali for a meal in Downtown Disney.  So nice to see her again and even better to catch up on how she has been and just to see her face to face is lovely.  Just wish she was cruising with us.

After we say goodbye around 5 we check the wait time for Radiator Springs and it is still 2 hours so we both agree to call it a day.  

Bernie needs some cold meds so we walk to the Wallgreens and then walk back to the hotel.  It is about a 35 minute walk to the hotel from the park but we are already 15 minutes in so we continue down the road to the hotel. 

Oh we also bought two bottles of wine to bring on the ship.  
Tomorrow is our last day at the park and there are some things I really want to see/do.

Wednesday January 25 Day Two at Disneyland

It was so nice to sleep in and boy did we need it.  We were both very tired. 

After waking we enjoy a coffee and watch tv and just relax. 

Today we are not heading to the park until later as we will be there late into the evening to catch Color of the World.

The hotel has a great breakfast for a reasonable price and while enjoying breakfast I quickly get the blog up and pictures and stuff as the Wi-Fi in the room is minimal. The router is a bit far from our room so I have to stand next to the door just to check things on line and forget about uploading pictures to my cloud for my blog as it just keeps dropping the signal. 

Not a huge issue as I accept it and I don’t need to be connected all the time.  I am also working hard at trying to focus on life around me and not on my phone/tablet screen.

Not that I had an issue with always being on line but I want to experience life first hand and that is my goal.

After breakfast Bernie does two loads of laundry. The hotel has laundry facilities but Bernie comments that it is rather confusing to find and the room is small with no where to wait. 

We didn’t pack a lot of stuff so doing laundry is one necessity and since the weather is colder than anticipated we are wearing the clothes we brought for the Andes – long sleeve shirts, pants etc.  Shorts and t shirts are staying in the bag.

Bernie trying hard to take a selfie

We head to the park later – catching the bus just after 11. 

Today we are focussing on California Adventure.

We arrive and grab a coffee and head to the Radiator Springs Fast Pass but it is down!  Ending up being down all day making many of the other rides busier.

So we get fast passes for Soaring Around the World and walk around Grizzly Peak and then around Paradise Pier. 
Riding the Fun Wheel, California Screamin, Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.  We try to get into It’s Tough to be a Bug but it is down currently.  So we wander around A Bug’s Land, Cars Land then around Hollywood Land. 

We made sure to get a sundae at Ghirardelli Soda Fountain.
Make our way to the Soarin’ Around the World and that ride is amazing!

I should add they are celebrating the Lunar New Year and have lots of things set up around Paradise Pier to reflect the celebration including menu items, face painting, lantern making, acrobats and Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession.

I really wanted to head into Disney Animation Building and we go the Turtle Talk with Crush and the Animation Academy – that was cool.

We had reserved dinner and passes to view World of Color at Carthay Circle Restaurant. We arrive at 6 pm for our reservation.  Beautiful dining venue but odd to be dressed so casually here and the couple beside us is in a Wookie Hat and she has a Tiara seems appropriate for Disney but odd for this nice restaurant.

It is a set menu and had a few choices for appetizer and entrée and two desserts for a fee of $62 per person.  We add a glass of wine and raise our glasses to a great day.  

The food was very good but nothing special but certainly better than what I expected. Dessert was a monkey bread with caramel sauce but it was cold, sure would have been better warm.  Overall it was a nice treat but I probably would not do it again.

After dinner we try to go to the bugs life show and we make it all the way into the theater but they have technical difficulties and we are escourted out.  Oh well.  

We take the long way around to the viewing area for World of Color.  It starts with a show about the Lunar New Year that lasts about five minutes then the World of Color Show starts. All I can really say is wow!  Very impressive! 
Sure glad we saw it and how we did.

One thing I have to add is the couple beside us both had their cell phones out video taping the whole thing.  So they watch this great show thru their phone. They missed so much because they are so focussed on capturing it with their camera their eyes don't get to see it and feel it.

After the show we all file out and we arrive in the transit loop and our bus is there.  There are quite a few people and there is a family with four small kids. Two little ones are tired, one is crying.  Mom has one, Dad has the other.  The other two kids are fidgeting and restless.  Dad is balancing kid and stroller.  I offer some help and offer to take stroller but they say they are okay.  But when the child in Dad’s arm cries for Mom, Mom takes him and now she has a child in each arm.  

But she can’t board the bus easily so she turns and says here can you take him.  So I gladly take the little guy who is 3 I find out later, in my arms and he cries but settles and hangs on as we all get on the bus.  While on the bus we find out they are a large family travelling together from Utah and they stayed late and the kids missed their naps.  No worries, I am glad to help.  

Back at the hotel we quickly crawl into bed and a few minutes later we are asleep.  

One thing is today I felt like I was 8 years old in a 51 year old body.  Disney brings that out in me. 

Day One at Disneyland

After a restless night I wake around 7:30 am.  How odd to wake and wonder where the heck am I?  Worst is when I went to the washroom once and came out and bumped into every piece of furniture. I think I have bruises everywhere! And Bernie didn’t even wake throughout the whole episode.

After we both woke we showered and went to breakfast downstairs.  It was quite good and reasonably priced.

To get to Disneyland Park we are a bit far to walk (well we could but we are conserving our energy). The Anaheim Resort Transport ART has a stop right outside the hotel and a kiosk to buy passes. We buy a three day pas for $12 each – single rides are $3 so after four rides it has paid for itself. 

We board and it takes around ten minutes to get to the resort.

It is only 9:30 and the park only opens at 10 so we head to Starbucks to get caffeinated – a requirement today.

We enter the park at 10:15 and it is lovely – oh what a great feeling! We focus on a section of the park today – mainly Tomorrowland. 

The weather is rather cool for LA but we are okay with it but we did require a few layers.  The park is not too busy (according to the workers) but it is busy for us. We didn’t require fast passes at any ride and when we did later in the day it was too late to get passes before we wanted to head out.

After six hours at the park we decide we have had our fill. 
We decide to catch the bus to the Target on Harbour Boulevard to pick up some essential for our stay here and on the ship.

We cross the street to head to Joe’s Crab Shack but they have a large party of around 50 there at that time and the only table available is right beside the party so we decide to not stay.  We then opt to head right next store to Oggie’s which serves pizza and craft beers. 

The pizza we had was a Polish one and it was very very good. Our server was outstanding.

To head home we opt to not take the bus as it would require two buses and a long time. Instead we order an Uber and for just $5 and ten minutes we are at our hotel.

It is only 7:30 but we are tired and are snug in our beds watching tv.

Today was a GREAT day -- Tomorrow is going to be a great day too.

Arrived in Los Angeles

Touched down at Los Angeles airport around 1900 after a very long day of flying.

Left Lima Peru at 10 am with a stop in El Salvador.  So after flying for 10 hours we arrived and requested our Uber. Within minutes our driver Richard was there!

Nothing beats Uber – get the app – our ride to Disneyland area was $51 and took about 40 minutes.  Robert was very professional, helpful (even told us what the weather would be like tomorrow), enjoyed our conversation all the way too.

We had pre reserved the Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort for five nights.  It was a good price with great reviews although a bit further away from the park than we were last time. But it is on the ART line. We were greeted by two very professional women at the front desk.  I dealt with Jessica who was so helpful with providing the best room for us.

Jessica gave us details about the hotel and was so nice about making sure to contact them if we had any questions.  

Probably one of the best check ins we have had in a while. Especially after being in Peru where it was very sterile and basic.

Boy entering a hotel room never felt so good.  We have a nice big room with such comfy beds and four pillows!  I immediately started the bath!  Oh consistent hot water.  Of course Bernie’s first thing was to turn on the tv.  Not that he really needs it but after not having English TV for a while he is ready for it.

Bernie just asked what the plans are for tomorrow and well we know we are off to Disneyland for four days but we are in no rush to head there.  Sleep, a good meal and getting settled then we will venture to the park.

Mediterranean Tips - Podcast

Quite a while ago - actually last February Doug Parker of Cruise Radio interviewed me about our Mediterranean Trip we did on the Island in Oct of 2015.  

After recording we both realized that there were just way too many ports to cover and agreed that scaling it back to a few ports with tips about those places was the way to go.

Here is the results of that interview after editing.

If you are heading to the Mediterranean.  If you are visiting Rome, Venice, Naples, Livorno or Dubrovnik make sure to listen.  We also discuss researching for an upcoming trip. Staying safe in port and how to travel like a local.

Podcast Link - click here