Saturday - December 6, 2025 San Diego, California
We woke up at 6:30 am, ate breakfast, and left for the airport. It was very foggy as we drove and our flight was delayed by an hour due to the fog. The plane landed at 12:15 pm and we bought McDonald’s for lunch. The flight to San Diego took off at 12:55 pm and landed at 1:55 pm Pacific time. We took an UBER to the Best Western Plus Bayside Inn arriving at 3:30 pm. Our UBER driver was a Muslim woman who was 8 1/2 months pregnant. As a result, we had to load and unload our own bags. She did drive a Tesla Model 3 which was the first time either of us had ridden in a Tesla. After settling in at the hotel we walked to Karl Strauss Brewery for dinner. We each got a blond beer and shared an order of fish and chips for dinner. It was delicious. After dinner we got back to the hotel by 5:30 pm. We were really tired from the travel day so called it a night. We were both in bed asleep by 8:00 pm. It was a good start to our trip.
Sunday - December 7, 2025 Japanese Friendship Garden
I woke up at 6:00 am, took a shower, then went downstairs to get coffee. The hotel has a machine that you can use to pick several types of coffee. I picked cafe mocha and it was awful. I got a cup of hot water to mix with it and that made it just tolerable. From now on we will make coffee in our room. The hotel no longer serves breakfast so we had peanut butter crackers and granola bars for breakfast. After we got dressed we walked to Little Italy Liquor and Market. We bought crackers, lunch meat, cheese, and apples for lunch. We also got yogurt for our breakfast and some wine for the room. Once we had taken supplies to our room we walked to the nearest bus stop and rode the #7 bus to Balboa Park. We spent about 1 1/2 hour in The Japanese Friendship Garden before eating lunch in the Spreckels Amphitheater.
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| Koi pond at Friendship Gardens |
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| Bonsai trees |
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| Mike next to a statue in the gardens |
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| Mary at the garden overlook |
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| Buddha statue |
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| Stream in the gardens |
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| Christmas tree in the Spreckels Amphitheater |
After lunch we took the bus back to downtown. The stop where we caught the bus was closed because of road construction so we had a longer walk. We got back to our room and rested for a few hours. We walked to the Protector Brewery by the harbor for dinner. We each had a beer and shared a psychedelic pizza (olive oil base, mushrooms, Italian sausage, truffle oil, and arugula). It was a very good pizza.
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| Sunset by the harbor |
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| USS Midway decorated for Christmas |
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| Broadway Avenue |
After dinner we walked back to our room and called it a night. The weather today was beautiful. A really good start to our vacation.
Monday- December 8, 2025 Balboa Park
I woke up at 7:30 am and made coffee in the room. It wasn't great, but was much better than what was served downstairs. We ate breakfast in the room then rode the #7 bus back to Balboa Park. Because of construction at the San Diego Train Depot and on the street where we caught the bus on Sunday, we have to walk over half a mile to catch a bus. We walked through the Rose Garden next to Balboa Park then went to the Balboa Gardens Botanical Building. The last time we were in Sn Diego this was cloed due to renovations. Everything was decorated for Christmas and was very pretty.
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| Mike and Mary by fountain in rose garden |
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| Rose garden with mountains in the background |
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| Poinsettiias in Balboa Park |
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| Botanical Garden Building |
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| Mike and Mary in front of botanical garden building |
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| Inside the building |
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| Grinch Christmas tree next to Globe Theater |
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| Museum of Us |
We sat on a bench in the walk way of El Prada to eat our lunch. After lunch we walked around the park some more than headed to our room to rest. For dinner we went back to Karl Strauss Brewery, got 2 blond beers, and shared a pub burger and sweet potato fries. It was all very good. When we got back to our room we repacked our bags and got everything ready to begin our cruise.
Tuesday - December 9, 2025 Embarkation Day
We woke up at 7:00 am, had coffee and breakfast in the room, both took showers, and got ready to embark on the cruise to Mexico. We took an UBER to the cruise terminal (that was only 1 mile from the hotel) getting there by 11:30 am. Embarkation went smoothly and we were on board the Nieuw Amsterdam by 12:15 pm. We were able to immediately get in our room and we dropped our backpacks off before heading to the Lido for lunch. All three times we cruised on Norwegian Cruise Lines we had to wait for several hours before getting access to our room. We both got chicken tacos for lunch followed by a twist soft serve ice cream cone. After lunch we went to our muster station and walked around on the ship for a while. We stopped in the library and I checked out a book to read. Checking out really just means taking a book off of the shelf. Holland America ships have really nice libraries. We went back to our room and rested until our bags were delivered. We unpacked and organized our room for the next 11 days.
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| View of room 7098 |
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| View of room 7098 toward balcony |
After organizing our room we went to the Pinnacle Bar so that I could fill out my dinner pre-order due to my nut allergy. After that we went to the Billboard Bar for pre-dinner drinks. Mike always got a Blue Moon beer and I got a glass of chardonnay. We went to dinner at the Main Dining Room and sat with two other couples. It was an enjoyable dinner with good conversation. We both got a Ceasar salad and herb roasted chicken for dinner. Mike got a brownie cheesecake and I got a lemon torte for dessert. Dinner was delicious. Because of some type of computer clich checking identification of cruisers (we never really understood the problem) the ship didn't leave port until about 8:00 pm. We were supposed to leave at 3:30 pm. Luckily, there were two sea days so this didn't affect getting to our first port on time. After dinner we went back to our room to take our medicine then went to the Billboard Bar for drinks and entertainment. There was a solo guitarist playing this evening. She was pretty good, but not our favorite entertainment. After one set we went to the Rock and Roll Lounge for a set and they were pretty good also. We went back to our room and were done for the night by 10:00 pm. This was a good start to our cruise.
Wednesday - December 10, 2025 Sea Day
Clocks were moved forward one hour overnight. I got up at 7:30 am and went to the Crow's Nest to get a cafe latte. Another thing we like about Holland America is that we can get speciality coffees using the drink package. I took my coffee back to the room and sat on the balcony drinking my coffee, enjoying the sunrise, and reading until Mike woke up at 9:00 am. We went to the Lido for breakfast. There is also a specialty coffee station at the Lido which was nice. The coffee there was not quite as good as at the Crow's Nest, but it was convenient. We both got a made to order omelet for breakfast. The omelets were always excellent and we never had to wait too long for them to be made.
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| Sunrise from our balcony |
After breakfast we walked one lap on the promenade and went through the shops before going back to our room until lunch time. We sat on the balcony reading until we went to the Lido for lunch. We both got a salad with chicken for lunch followed by a twist ice cream cone. We went back to our room, rested, read our books, then got dressed up for our dinner at the Tamarind restaurant. We went to the Tamarind Bar on deck 11 for drinks at 5:00 pm. The view of the sunset was beautiful from there.  |
| Sunset from the Tamarind Bar |
We went to our dinner at 6:00 pm. I had the coconut crusted scallops for an appetizer, Szechuan shrimp for my main meal, and the cherry chocolate torte for dessert. Mike had the shrimp cocktail, the fried seabass, and the cherry chocolate torte for dessert. I loved the scallops, but the Szechuan shrimp and chocolate torte were not very good. After dinner we went back to our room to take our medicine and rested a while to let our dinner settle. After that we went to the Billboard bar, got Bombay tonic drinks, and listened to Krista Meadows at the piano bar. She was really good, but I kind of like when there are two pianos and singers. We stayed for a couple of sets then headed back to our room for the night at 10:30 pm. This was a really relaxing, fun second day of our cruise.
Thursday - December 11, 2025 Sea Day
Clocks were moved forward another hour over night. We were glad we had two sea days to help us adjust to this. I got up at 7:30 am again and went to the Crow's Nest for coffee. I again sat on the balcony enjoying the sunrise and beautiful weather until Mike got up at 9:15 am.
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| Sunrise from our balcony |
We both kind of had upset stomachs, so didn't eat much for breakfast. We think the rich dinner on Wednesday might not have set well with us. After breakfast we walked on the Promenade then went back to our room and sat on the balcony reading. We went for lunch in the Lido at 12:30 pm. We both had a chicken club sandwich which was really good. We walked on the Promenade again, went back to our room, and napped. We went for our pre-dinner drinks at the Billboard. We always got a chance to talk to the bartender, Apassorn, who is a young woman from Thailand. This was the first time since Covid that we have been able to just visit with any of the workers on the ship. We had dinner in the Main Dining Room, sitting next to a woman who is a Holland America personal cruise consultant (Cindy Lopez) and her husband. We really enjoyed the conversation and I learned a lot of things about benefits on the cruise that I didn't know. My dinner was seafood deviled eggs, chicken fajitas, and a strawberry lemon torte. It was all really good, but they only gave me 1/2 of a tortilla for the entire meal. Mike enjoyed his Caesar salad, seafood spaghetti, and chocolate cheesecake. We went to our room to take our medicine then to the Billboard piano bar to listen to the music and have a couple of Bombay tonics. Krista played and sang hits from the 60's and it was very enjoyable. After the second set we went back to our room for the night. This was another fun day.Friday - December 12, 2025 Puerta Vallarta, Mexico
We ordered breakfast delivered to our room because we had to get up early for an excursion. We both had fried eggs, hash browns, bacon, toast, orange juice, and coffee. It was good with eggs cooked just how we like them. The only problem was that we had ordered breakfast for 7:00 am and it came 30 minutes early at 6:30 am. Good thing I was laying in bed already awake.
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| Puerta Vallarta |
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| Pier at Puerta Vallarta |
We got off the ship at 8:05 am and joined out excursion 'Whales, Dolphins, and Mariettas Islands Snorkeling". We only had to walk about 5 minutes away from the dock to the boat for our excursion which started at 8:30 am. I snorkeled at the Mariettas Islands while Mike stayed on board the boat. It was a little difficult swimming to the reef area, but I managed it and was able to see quite a few fish. I only stayed out about 15 minutes because it was very tiring. When the snorkeling was finished, the excursion took us around the Mariettas Islands looking at the nesting birds: brown footed boobies, blue footed boobies, and frigates.
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| Mike on the excursion boat |
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| We're already enjoying the beautiful day |
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| The excursion boat |
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| The snorkeling area of Mariettas Islands |
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| Frigates and boobies nesting |
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| Another nesting area |
We started seeing humpback whales at the beginning of the snorkeling and continued seeing them throughout the excursion. All told we saw at least a dozen humpback whales. We also saw some dolphims. At one time four dolphins were surfing on the wake made by our boat.
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| A humpback whale |
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| A second shot of the whale |
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| A view of the humpback tail |
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| Final shot of the same whale |
After some whale watching we went to the Majahuitas Beach resort to relax and have lunch. Some people kayaked, paddle boarded, or snorkeled while we were there, but Mike and I just enjoyed the time on the quiet, pretty, relaxing beach..We had chicken, rice, potatoes, bread, and a salad for lunch. Mike and I also shared a beer from the open bar. We're not much for middle of the day drinking. it makes us too sleepy.
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| Majahuitas Beach |
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| Sitting area at the beach |
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| Another shot of the beach |
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| Seating available at the beach |
After lunch we headed back toward the cruise port while looking for whales. We saw several more whales while making our way back. When the boat was getting close to the port, the workers did a show dressing up as different rock bands and lip syncing songs. They were funny and entertaining.We got back to the cruise port at 3:30 pm. This was one of the best excursions we have ever been on. This was a wonderful day. on shore. |
| A group of humbacks |
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| A final shot of the whales |
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| Workers putting on a show |
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Christmas tree in the cruise terminal
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We went back to our room after getting back on board the ship, both took showers, and immediately got ready for pre-dinner drinks, and dinner at the main dining room. I had strawberry, mandarin orange, endive, spinach, and balsamic vinegar salad, eggplant cannelloni with Parmesan risotto, and caramel cheesecake. Mike had Caesar salad, eggplant cannelloni, and chocolate cake. It was all very, very delicious. The cannelloni was made from the eggplant rather than a pasta tube. It was one of my favorite dishes of the cruise. We enjoyed our dinner conversation with a couple from Boise, Idaho. After dinner we took our medicine then went to the Billboard bar to listen to Krista play and sing songs from the 70's. It was very enjoyable, but we were so tired from our excursion that we only had one drink and listened to only one set. This was a great, memorable day.
Saturday - December 13, 2025 Manzanillo, Mexico
I got up at 7:00 am and went to the Crow's Nest for coffee. When Mike got up at 9:15 am we went to the Lido for breakfast where we shared an omelette. We didn't do an excursion at this port, but just decided to get off the ship and walk around a little bit on our own. We got off the ship at about 10:30 am and walked next to the pier then across the street going through some shops. I was able to find a variety store where I could get a bath sponge since I had forgotten to pack one.
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| Port of Manzanillo |
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| Manzanillo |
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| Dancers at the terminal |
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| Sign by the pier |
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| Marlin statue |
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| A typical street in Manzanilla |
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| Decorations in a park |
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| More decorations |
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A large Christmas tree at the pier
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We got back on board at about 12:30 pm, had a sandwich for lunch in the Lido, then went back to our room to rest and read. We needed a down day after the full oday of activity on Friday. We went for our drinks at the Billboard Bar then to the Main Dining Room for dinner. I had a Caesar salad, Hake with clams, mussels, and rissoto, and coconut cream pie. Mike had cabbage soup, chicken with vegetables (the chicken was an entire half of a rotisserie chicken), and a chocolate torte. It was all really good again, but Mike couldn't even eat half of his chicken. We sat at a table for eight this evening and it was pretty good company. Only problem was being able to hear all of the conversations. We went to the Billboard Bar for drinks and listened to one set of Krista performing 80's hits. We returned to our room at 10:40 pm and called it a night.
Sunday - December 14, 2025 Matzatlan, Mexico
I got up at 7:00 am and went to the Crow's Nest for my usual cafe latte. I sat on the balcony for a while then we had breakfast in the room at 8:45 am. We debarked the ship at 10:00 am for our excursion "Bird Watching and Estuary Excursion'. Our guide, Carlos, was pretty good and very attentive to what every one on the tour wanted to do. At the beginning we watched the pelicans close to the launch site, feeding a few to get them to come to the tour boat. A little later people fed some frigates that took the fish from a stick held in the air. We also saw boobies, cormarants, ibis, and several types of herons. As the boat slowly moved through the wide part of the estuary we saw tuna fishing boats, sardine boats, and factories. The tour boat eventually went through a mangrove area on the way to the beach where we ate lunch.
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| Matzatlan Cruise Terminal and town |
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| Mike and Mary on tour boat |
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| Tour boat |
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| Feeding the pelicans |
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| A large male pelican |
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| Great white heron |
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| Tuna fishing boats and factory |
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| Sardine boats and factory |
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| A frigate |
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| Mangroves |
The beach was pretty to look at, but we weren't there long enough for anyone to participate in any water activities. We ate lunch at a restaurant on the beach. We had fried chicken, salad, and rice with tortillas. It was a pretty good lunch. After lunch we rode a open air bus through some country side of coconut and mango groves before getting back on our boat to cross the harbor to the cruise terminal.
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| Rest stop on the way to the beach |
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| Coconut farm |
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| Beach |
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| Restaurant at the beach |
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| Mike and Mary at the restaurant |
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| Mike at the beach restaurant |
We got back to the ship at 4:00 pm after a tiring, but good day. After getting cleaned up we went to the Billboard bar for drinks then dinner in the Main Dining Room. I had shrimp cocktail, sole fish, and a creme puff. Mike had shrimp cocktail, chicken with fries, and a chocolate sundae. It was all good. After dinner we went to the Billboard bar where we had one drink and listened to one set of piano greats. This was another very good day.
Monday - December 15, 2025 Sea Day
We both slept in today. I went to the Crow's Nest for coffee than went to the Lido for breakfast. After I ate I got a coffee, orange juice, and chocolate croissants to take to the room for Mike's breakfast. After Mike finished his breakfast we walked around the ship and on the promenade. We went to the Lido where we got a sandwich and french fries for lunch. After lunch we went back to our room where we napped and read our books. We had our normal drinks at the Billboard bar then dinner at the Main Dining Room. We sat through two sets of Krista singing Beatles hits at the Billboard bar. We went back to our room at 10:00 pm. This was a nice, restful, uneventful day.
Tuesday - December 16, 2025 Loreto, Mexico
We slept in this morning. I went to the Crow's Nest for coffee then we both went to the Lido where we share an omelette and fruit. We took the tender into Loreto. The tender only took about five minutes and let us off next to a promenade on the Sea of Cortez. We walked to the left until we got to the main market. We walked through the market area even though we really didn't care to buy anything.
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| Sunrise in Loreto Bay |
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| Loreto Bay |
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| Promenade in Loreto |
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| Mike and Mary enjoying the pretty weather |
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| Building next to the market |
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| Spanish Mission of Baja California in Loreto |
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Inside the mission
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When we were done walking through the market we kept walking away from the pier next to the water. We stopped at an overlook area to watch the wildlife. There were several crabs of some type, fish, and lots of pelicans. At one point the large fish chased a lot of small fish into the rocks in the shallow water then started eating them. Then the pelicans came and started eating the small fish. This is something we had never seen other than on a nature show. We walked back to the pier then went to the beach immediately to the right of the dock.
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| Mike by the Loreto sign |
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| Mary in front of the sign |
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| Humpback whale statue |
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| Beach next to the dock |
After about two hours we went back on board and went to the Lido for a chicken salad sandwich and fries for lunch. We went back to our room to rest and read. We got our drinks at the Billboard Bar then had dinner in the Main Dining Room. I had a shrimp spring roll, chicken with vegetable salsa, and caramel cheesecake. Mike had Caesar salad, chicken with vegetable salsa, and chocolate turtle pie. Everything was really good. After dinner we went to the Rolling Stone Lounge and listened to one set while we had our after dinner drinks before going to our room for the night. This was very enjoyable day.Wednesday - December 17, 2025 Pichilingua / La Paz, Mexico
We woke up at 6:30 am and had breakfast in our room. We went to the Rock and Roll Lounge to meet for our excursion at 8:20 am. We had the excursion 'El Serpentine Wild Animal Rehabilitation Center'. We rode a bus 45 minutes into La Paz where the rehab center was. Our guide was Marcos and he was very good, talking a lot about the region and especially the wildlife of the area during the ride to La Paz.
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| Port in Pichilingua |
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| Another shot of the port - not much here |
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| Cactus that are similar to a Saguaro cactus |
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| La Pas |
Once we got to the rehab center Marcos gave a 30 minute talk about different animals, a turtle, a five toed worm lizard, and two types of snakes. After the talk, we walked throught the snake house and other parts of the center. The rehab center was not very large, which was a little disappointing, but was interesting anyway.
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| Marcos with a slider turtle |
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| Five toed worm lizard |
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| A type of snake |
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| A tarantula |
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| Inside the bird house |
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| El Serpentario |
We rode the bus back and went back through town. La Paz was an interesting looking town. We kind of wished that we had taken the shuttle provided into town to just walk around. If we ever return that is what we will do.
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| There were a lot of statues by the shore in La Paz |
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| Another statue |
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| La Paz sign |
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| Christmas decorations |
We got back onboard by 12:00 pm. We went to the Lido and had a chicken club sandwich and fries for lunch before returning to our room. We rested and read until it was time to get ready for dinner in the Main Dining Room. I had a shrimp / endive salad, carne asada, and a margarita cake for dinner. Mike had grilled pineapple, pork loin with vegetables, and chocolate cake. Again, everything was very tasty. We went to the Billboard Bar for drinks and listened to two sets. We went back to our room by 10:00 pm after another fun day.Thursday - December 18, 2025 Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
We woke up at 6:30 am and had breakfast in our room. We went to the Rolling Stone Lounge to get tickets for our excursion 'Coastal Cruise and Whale Watching'. We took the 15 minute tender to the port where we met our guide. The catamaran was pretty nice, with snacks and unlimited drinks, but it had too many people on board for comfort. We went by the Land's End Arch and Lover's Beach where we saw a sea lion on a rock.
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| View of the arch and Lover's Beach from our balcony |
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| Sunrise |
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| Another view from our balcony |
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| Mary and Mike on the catamaran |
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| Sea Lion on a rock |
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| Lover's Beach |
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| The Arch |
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| Mary and Mike on catamaran in front of the arch |
After cruising by the arch the catamaran went further out looking for humpback. We didn't have much luck for quite a while but did see a lot of dolphins, at least 50. Finally, toward the end of the excursion, we saw a couple of whales. This was still fun. |
| Dolphins |
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| Humpback whale |
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| Another shot of the whale |
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| Final shot of the whale |
When the excursion ended after 2 1/2 hours, Mike and I spent about 30 minutes shopping and I got a couple of magnets. We rode the tender back to the ship and went to the Lido for lunch. I got sushi and it was not very good. Mike got chicken tacos which were good. We went back to our room and rested before taking showers and getting dressed for dinner. We ate in the Main Dining Room where I had shrimp cocktail, beef tenderloin, and creme brûlée. Mike had grilled zucchini and carrots, beef tenderloin, and chocolate lava cake. It was all really good.We especially enjoyed the people we shared a table with this evening. One of the men was a widower whose wife had died only two months before the cruise. He said he was on the cruise in her memory. We talked about her for a while then made a toast to her. When we went back to our room for our medicine, there was a 'reindeer' towel art on our bed Later we went to the Billboard bar and listened to Krista perform a set of love songs. We would have stayed longer, but Krista didn't return after the first set. She was having problems because of the cigarette smoke from the casino.
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| Towel art |
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| Krista Meadows at Billboard Bar |
We weren't interested in the performers in the Rolling Stone Lounge so took our second drink back to our room. Another wonderful day on our cruise.
Friday - December 19, 2025 Sea Day
The last day of our cruise. I got up at 6:30 am and went to the Crow's Nest for coffee. When Mike got up at 8:30 am we went to the Lido for breakfast. After breakfast we walked around the ship and on the Promenade. We went shopping and both got a pair of really good sunglasses because we had on board credit that we needed to spend.
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| Gingerbread village in the atrium |
Later we went to the Lido for lunch and I had chicken tacos and Mike had a sandwich with fries. After lunch we went back to our room to rest and pack our large bags to put out later in the night. We had drinks at the Billboard Bar and said goodbye to all the bartenders there. We really enjoyed our conversations with them. We had dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. I had shrimp cocktail, filet mignon with asparagus and mashed potatoes, and key lime pie. Mike shrimp cocktail, beef short ribs with french fries, and chocolate mousse. It was all really good. Maybe our best meal on the entire cruise. After taking our medicine, we went to the Rock and Roll Lounge but only stayed for part of a set. The bright, blinking lights were giving us headaches so we went to the Billboard On Board. Krista was performing Christmas songs and it was really good. After that we went back to our room, finished packing, and put our large suitcases out in the hall. We called it a night so that we would be ready to disembark in the morning. This was a very enjoyable cruise, one of our favorite in a long time.
Saturday - December 20, 2025 Disembarkation - San Diego, California
We got up at 7:00 am and left our room at 8:00 am to go to the Lido for breakfast. We sat in the Ocean Bar until time for our disembarkation at 9:00 am. This went pretty smoothly except that the handle of my suitcase had been broken at some point. That made it very hard to pull. We hired an Uber and got to the Best Western Plus Bayside Inn at 10:30 am. We check all of bags at the hotel since it was too early to check in. I asked the desk manager if there was a place I could get a new suitcase, in walking distance, that would not be too expensive. She recommended a Ross Department store that was just over and half mile away. Mike and I walked there and I was able to get a Samsonite suitcase for $100. We walked the suitcase back to the hotel to check then went to Karl Strauss Brewery where we shared a burger and sweet potato fries for lunch. After lunch we walked to a CVS to buy some supplies for lunch and breakfast. We walked back to the hotel and were able to check in.
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| View of San Diego from our balcony |
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| Church on Ash Street |
We unpacked enough for the next few days then rested until time for dinner. We walked across the street to Petrino's. We got a large pizza and Mike got a beer. We ate half of the pizza and took the rest to have for dinner another night. Since the CVS didn't have everything we needed for the next few days we walked to the Little Italy Market to get the rest of everything we needed. We got back to our room at 7:30 pm and called it a day. Our new room was on the 11th floor with a balcony facing the bay. This was a much better view than our previous room.  |
| Sunset view from our room |
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| View of some Christmas decorations seen from our balcony |
We both seem to be getting sick, we think with a cold or sinus infection.
Sunday - December 21, 2025 Old Town San Diego
We slept in and had coffee and breakfast in our room. We do both have a cold or something, but don't feel bad enough to just stay in our room. We got ready and rode the MTS train to Old Town San Diego. We went there when we visited in 2022, but most buildings were still closed because of Covid. The weather was nice and we walked around the state park for about an hour and a half before getting lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We shared a plate of tamales, rice, and beans and had salsa and chips on the side. It was a really good lunch.
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| Sign at the entrance |
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| Pretty flowers |
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| Mike next to a fountain in the park |
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| Some interesting artwork/decorations |
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| Mary next to a decorated donkey statue |
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| Some Christmas decorations |
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| Some more decorations |
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| A historic house in the state park |
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| A young girl was performing a dance in the park |
We had really started feeling tired and like we were sick so we went back to our room. We napped most of the afternoon. We ate lunch meat, cheese, and crackers for dinner and viewed a beautiful sunset. Later we watched the Parade of Lights on the bay. We could just kind of see the decorated boats, mainly because the larger maritime museum boat was so brightly lit that it kept the small boat from being visible.
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| Sunset |
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| Maritime museum |
We were so tired that we went to bed by 8:30 pm. We were sad that we were getting sick, but didn't let us ruin the fact that we had such an enjoyable trip until this point.
Monday - December 22, 2025 and Tuesday - December 23, 2025. Sick Days
We felt so bad these two days that we didn't leave the hotel. On Monday Mike pretty much slept all day. I only got out of the room to get some ice and go to the lobby to get Mike a beer. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner in the room. We ate the leftover pizza from Saturday for dinner. On Tuesday we did walk back to Karl Strauss and shared an order of fish and chips for lunch. It was delicious. We bought one can of a Red Trolley beer for Mike to take back to the room. Before going to bed we got all of our bags packed for our flight on Wednesday morning. This was not a very good ending to our trip. We were especially disappointed that we never went to the zoo. However, overall it was a good trip.
Wednesday - December 24, 2025 Christmas Eve - Flight Home
We got up at 7:00 am, packed our backpacks, and checked out of our room.
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| Last view from our room |
We took an Uber to the airport at 7:30 am and got to our gate an hour before takeoff. We bought a Coke Zero to share and some peanut crackers for breakfast. Our plane took off on time and we got to DFW at 2:00 pm CST. After riding the Skylink to our new gate, I bought a salad for my lunch and a chicken wrap for Mike.
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| Christmas decoration at DFW |
Our plane took off on time and we got to XNA by 5:30 pm. Ascending and descending in the airplane really made my ears hurt. We got home by 7:00 pm. There wasn't much food in the house because nobody had been there for several days. Grocery stores were already closed for the holiday before our plane landed. I had already cancelled going to Anita's for Christmas day so we knew we wouldn't have much. That was okay. Not a good last three days of our trip, but we really enjoyed San Diego the first few days there and liked the Mexican Rivera a lot.
