Vaca Part III: Cruise to Ensenada

Hello, hello! It’s finally time for the third and final vacation recap. I started out on Vancouver Island, then worked my way down to the city of Vancouver, then to Seattle, and then hopped on a plane to California.

So now here we are in Glendale, California. Finally the temperatures are warm and there is no rain. We put away our raincoats and pulled out our swimsuits.

We stayed in Glendale for two nights as we got acquainted with a group of travel agents that Dana works with. We were both so happy to meet so many kind people and a really fun group of people too! This would be the group we would be hanging out with much of the weekend ahead.

On Friday, we headed out to board our cruise ship, The Golden Princess. This was a three-day cruise with one stop in Ensenada, Mexico. This was my second cruise but it had been about ten years since I had last been on a cruise and this was Dana’s first cruise so he was excited to see what it was all about. The travel agency was hosting a conference on the ship, so as Dana attended the conferences in the morning and for parts of the day, I got to relax and do whatever I wanted!

We found our room on the plaza level and I was pleasantly surprised at how spacious the cabin was.

Outside our window we saw dolphins which were jumping so close to the ship (!), whales that were really far in the distance, and seals!

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We got all situated and unpacked our belongings before heading out to explore the ship. Not too long after we boarded the ship we were all called into the main showroom where they walk you through what to do in case of emergency situations (aka if the boat sinks). You can’t help but think of Titanic in this situation–ironically I had watched that movie just a week before our trip, but shut it off before the ship started to sink. I was not about to have nightmares of a sinking ship!

Every evening we got to get all dressed up and head to dinner with our group. We had the late dinner at 8:00 pm which was stretching it a bit for both Dana and I, so every afternoon at around 5ish we would head to the buffet and grab some snacks to tide us over.

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Dining room:

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Four course meals: shrimp cocktail, French onion soup, tofu pad Thai, and chocolate sundae! The menu changed every night.

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Other views around the ship:

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Here’s what my day would look like: when Dana was at his conferences I would wake up and eat breakfast first and foremost. Usually oatmeal with peanut butter, fruit, and a couple bites of yogurt.

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Then I would make my way to the gym and cross my fingers that an elliptical was available. I got one every day but I had to make a couple of laps around the ship while I waited. I had time, NBD. I would do my thing on the elliptical while watching some TV and admiring the beautiful ocean view, then head back down to our room, shower, relax, and then eventually I would make my way to the deck for some sun.

At lunch time, Dana’s group would break and we would enjoy lunch together. He wasn’t busy with conferences everyday all day, so I did get to see him quite a bit thankfully.

There were always tons of activities going on the ship at all times: basketball tournaments, relays at the pool, art auctions, health presentations, spa indulgences, etc. However, I chose to partake in the laying by the pool and reading my book activity for the most part. I did watch some of the other activities though.

On Saturday we reached Ensenada, Mexico where the cruise was docked and we were able to get out and explore and be on LAND! We took the opportunity to snap some photos of the ship.

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The city of Ensenada was pretty rundown, with a lot of children and women trying to see you trinkets and chiclet.

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We wandered around the city in the 90 some degree heat, but as much as I enjoy hot weather, it was just too hot for me. My head was starting to ache and I couldn’t chug the water fast enough.

We did have to make one stop at a hole in the wall bar called Cantina Hussong’s. Years ago, Dana’s dad used to go surfing with his buddies in Ensenada, and they would frequent this bar when they went so we had to go for nostalgia sake on behalf of my father in law!

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Then after walking through the gauntlet of children back to our boat, we finally made it back safe and sound.

On the last night of our cruise, we had someone else take a photo of us all dressed up before dinner so we could have proof that we did indeed dress up in the evenings.

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As much as I tried to eat healthy on this cruise, it was challenging to say the least. Food was available 24/7 along with endless amounts of desserts and ice cream. The first two days I only allowed myself dessert in the evening, but the last day was a wash. French fries, pizza, ice cream….these all made an appearance on that last day. I splurged.

I’m happy to report I didn’t get sea-sick on the boat. I wore my sea bands on the first night just as I got used to the rocking, but all-in-all I was just fine. I came fully prepared with dramamine, saltine crackers, and hard candies, but luckily I didn’t need them!

It was a whirlwind of a vacation going from point a to b to c to d, but I LOVED it! We got to see so much in 11 days. Dana did such an incredible job planning this trip for us once again.

There…I am finally done recapping the vacation I took nearly a month ago now. 🙂

Happy Wednesday my friends!

Sidenote: It’s National cruise week this week so there are GREAT deals on cruises. If you are interested in booking reach out to at beautifullynutty@gmail.com and I will get you in touch with my husband.

This Post Has 10 Comments

  1. Beautiful! I’m quite impressed with your room. It’s looks pretty nice and roomier than I imagined. I’ve never been on a cruise. For some reason they never really appealed to me and my husband is prone to sea sickness too. Not much seems to work for him either, so that’s one of the main reasons we’ve never gone.
    Holly @ EatGreatBEGreat recently posted…WIAW #18 – Feeling LazyMy Profile

    1. Melanie

      Yea I was surprised by the rooms too! We didn’t have a balcony room but you can also get rooms that have outdoor balconies (of course they are spendier). I would be more apt to go on another cruise if it was a little longer, and only sailed at night so that during the day time you were at a new port and could go explore. Maybe a European cruise?!

  2. Katie

    I’ve traveled a bit, but never a cruise! I’m interested, but since I have so little vacation time I’m hesitant to sign up for something that I might get sick during!
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  3. I was wondering if you got seasick – that’s my biggest fear of going on a cruise ship. Well that and being stuck on a boat that is sinking. I am obviously super rational with my fears 😉 Looks like you had a great time love! <3
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    1. Melanie

      I remembered when I went on my last cruise I didn’t get sick but as I get older my motion sickness gets worse and worse so I was terrified that I would be hanging out in the bathroom a lot of the trip, but thankfully I was just fine!

    1. Melanie

      I actually didn’t gamble because the casino was the only place people were allowed to smoke inside and I cannot handle smoke at all!

  4. Shawna

    Love the pix from the deck! I’ve never done a cruise but am totally an ocean/water/boat person…just not sure about the whole tiny room and not being on a beach all day thing. I’d love to do the Alaskan cruise sometime tho!

  5. Oh my goodness – it looks like you guys had such a fun time!!! I love cruises – I have only been on one so far. . . I want to do the one where you can cruise the Panama Canal – I think Scott would love that because of his engineering background!!
    Katie @ running4cupcakes recently posted…Friday Favorites: 10/25/13My Profile

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