I arranged a Cadillac Escalade car service to take us to our hotel in Orange County after we landed.
I met up with a friend of mine in the LA area for dinner at Gaucho Grill, an Argentine steakhouse in Buena Park.
The next day, the same car service picked us up at the Hyatt House to take us to the cruise terminal in Long Beach.
Upon arrival at the port, the porters got our luggage so they could be taken onto the ship. I was surprised at how efficient they are at getting all those bags to the cabins.
Our ship was the Carnival Firenze, which was a rebanded Costa cruise ship from Carnival's parent company which sailed from Italy before.
The Firenze seemed smaller than other ships I was on. The atrium was elegant, but it was not as massive as other ships.
The Queen Mary 2 could be seen from the deck of the Firenze when it was docked.
This is one of the two small pools on the cruise ship.
This is the other pool on the ship. I was surprised how small the pools were.
I was pissed that Carnival got rid of plastic straws and replaced them with these edible straws. Although tasty, they had sugar and negated the benefits of diet soda. I got the unlimited soda plan for the cruise.
The Sail Away party was around 4:00 PM as we headed out from Long Beach for our first port of call, Puerto Vallarta!
The "Fun Crew" got the passengers pumped up for the 7 day cruise to three ports of call in Mexico.
For the first night, we paid the upgrade fee to have dinner at the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse. It was like $50 more.
We got a free bottle of wine too with our dinner.
Our amuse was a mini burger.
I got smoked oysters to start off my dinner.
For my next course, I got lobster bisque. It was not bad.
For my entree, I did surf and turf with lobster and filet mignon.
My chocolate bombe dessert is being finished off with warm chocolate sauce to expose the inside.
We went to the comedy club after dinner on that first night.
We had two full days at sea to kick off the cruise. That is the blue Pacific in the distance from one of the decks.
This trio of violinists were really good throughout the cruise.
The Captain's Reception was on the second night of the cruise. It was done in a Venetian theme since we were on an Italian themed ship.
One of the activities earlier that day was making our own Venetian masks for the reception.
Carnival is known for the towel animals the cabin stewards make and leave on the beds.
Dear Future Husband was a cool production show they had on the ship. It was about a couple who had a wedding on a Carnival cruise.
After the show, they had the "reception" at one of the lounges with the cast interacting with the passengers!
I stayed fit from all the free food and drink on the boat by working out in the fitness center. This was my usual view from the ellipitcal.
This was Cabo San Lucas as we passed it on the way to Puerto Vallarta. The climate began more humid as we made our way south!
A mariachi band greeted us as we got off the ship in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!
We booked an excursion through Carnival which took us to the mountains around PV. Our first stop was a hacienda that distilled tequila.
These are the stills used to make the tequila at the hacienda.
We tasted a lot of different types of tequila included flavored ones.
Our next stop was a coffee plantation. This is the village where the plantation was located.
Here are examples of the coffee beans they grow at the plantation.
I looked scared here at the restaurant where we had a typical Mexican lunch.
Lunch was included. The tacos were amazing!
San Sebastien was a historic mountain town from the 1600s.
Here is the old cathedral in San Sebastien.
I liked the simple elegance of the inside of the Cathedral.
We went to Pancho's Takos for dinner in Puerto Vallarta once we got back from the excursion. A friend of mine recommended it. The tacos were delicious!
Here is a cool pig statue on the streets of Puerto Vallarta!
The sunset from the beach in Puerto Vallarta was beautiful.
The modern pier in Puerto Vallarta was super neat!
Puerto Vallarta is very scenic with the mountains hitting the coastline!
I got some local chocolate at the cruise terminal in Puerto Vallarta before leaving.
For dinner that night, we got sushi on the ship. The sushi was an extra charge.
We arrived in Mazatlan the next morning.
Mazatlan was my favorite port of call!
In Mazatlan, we were taken to another boat after arriving for our excursion's first activity which was an open bar cruise.
I liked this cool cave off the coast of Mazatlan.
The cruise was really scenic!
The little islands off the coast of Mazatlan were really picturesque!
In the distance is a small island that was covered with birds. Not sure if thats why the rocks are so white. LOL.
After the boat ride, we were on a bus for the next part of the excursion as we toured the town.
We passed the Mazatlan sign by the Malecon, which is the beach front.
Mazatlan is known for cliff divers too who dive off that structure in the distance to the rough water below. Crazy!
This is the cathedral of Mazatlan.
The inside of the cathedral was pretty elegant as most of the cathedrals are in Latin America.
Mexican independence day was not too far off from when we were there so they had this building decorated for it.
These open air taxis by the public market are called Pulmonias.
The ride in the pulmonia to the place we had lunch was fun.
I asked the in house band to sing us a tune as I enjoyed my mezcal!
The state of Sinoloa is known for seafood. We had some great dishes including aguachile which is shrimp cooked in a lime juice.
There was a pharmacy at the cruise terminal in Mazatlan. The diabetes medications on the top shelf are made by my former company so I was curious to see how much they cost in Mexico. I won't reveal it. LOL.
We had a 80's Rock-N-Glow Party after we departed from Mazatlan!
The 80s party was super fun!
Our Fun Crew is posing for a selfie with us after the party!
The dancing continued down in one of the lounges after the party!
We were in Cabo San Lucas the next morning. In Cabo, the ship does not dock. They tender people off the ship.
The pink and white buildings in the distance is where my wife and I got married in Cabo, the Pueblo Bonito Rose and sister property.
We went to Captain Tony's to get a drink after getting off the boat. I bought that Cowboys hat in Mazatlan.
Of course, we got tableside guacamole too!
Our next stop was Cabo Wabo!
We went to Cabo Wabo the night before my wedding also to drink! It was different during the day.
I got a signature drink. Also, I got this cool souvenir for my Cowboys room from a souvenir shop.
For lunch, we went to a great seafood place called Mariscos Las Tres Islas! The shrimp tacos were so good!
Before getting back on the ship, we went to Senor Frogs too!
Each of us were able to take one bottle of wine with us. All we had to do was pay a corkage fee to have it in the dining room.
I started out dinner after Cabo with shrimp cocktail and a seafood pasta.
I ordered two lobster tails for my dinner that night.
The panna cota dessert was great!
They had the White Party after we left Cabo where everyone wears white clothing. We met these two ladies from Texas when I was standing in line to get a gift for my wife. They were really nice.
A Longines Dolce Vita Automatic with three straps caught my eye when we started the cruise. I ended up buying it! They served us champagne as I did the paperwork.
This automatic watch has a quick release mechanism to easily change the straps. It is super elegant! Yeah, it was pricey!
Jennifer Lawrence also wears Dolce Vita watches so I posed with her with my new luxury watch to add to my collection!
I got Joy these Effy Diamond earrings the next day. The Roys have a lot of disposable income despite Biden's inflation! LOL.
I got some delicious duck on the final night of the cruise.
After taking the car service back to Long Beach Airport, we boarded the flight home via stairs since there are no jet bridges at LGB!
For Labor Day week, I
decided to go on a cruise with a few buddies to the Mexican Riveria.
Joy wanted to just chill for that long weekend so I decided a
cruise might be fun to do since I had not been on one since 2012.
Also, I wanted to go to Mazatlan, and this was one of our
stops.
We decided to fly down to Long Beach the night before our
cruise
so we would not be stressed about issues with our flight if we flew in
on that Saturday that the cruise left. After landing into the
retro airport, we took a nice SUV car service to the Hyatt House in
Cypress, CA where we spent the night before the cruise. I
ended
up meeting up with another buddy who lives down in LA for dinner at a
great Argentine steakhouse.
We took the same car service to the cruise terminal in Long Beach on Saturday morning. I was surprised at how many people were going on the ship. Also, I was worried that the porters would mess up our luggage. They had us self tag our luggage this time. We made sure to tip the porters well so they would not throw away our luggage. LOL. After checking in, we were allowed to board the ship at our designated time. Our check in time was from 1:30 to 2:00. The line for checking in was super long however! In the past, I did notice that there is usually a lot of trash who take cruises so it was no surprise when we saw some of the degenerates who were going to be with us. LOL.
As we boarded the old Costa Cruise Line ship which was rebranded the Carnival Firenze, I could tell this was a smaller and older ship when we saw the atrium. We had to go to our "muster station" once we boarded to get a short safety briefing. In the past, we had to get our lifejackets from the cabins and go to a meeting point for a longer safety demonstration, but since Covid, they shortened these a lot. A few of the restaurants such as Guy's Burger Joint (by Guy Fieri) as well as a Mexican-Italian fusion place that had great burrito bowls and homemade tortillas for their tacos and burritos were open for lunch too. The buffet was also open. The buffet area had frozen yogurt and soft serve self serve machines too. We explored the ship after getting a bite to eat at the Mexican-Italian place. The ship was definitely smaller than previous Carnival ships I was on. Although they had a mini golf course, water slides, pools, and a gym, they were all smaller.
After the Sail Away party, we set sail for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The first two days were at sea for us. We booked the fine dining steakhouse, Fahrenheit 555, for our first night. This was a $50 up charge per person, but it was worth it! They had a promo for the first night too where we got a free bottle of wine. After an amuse, I enjoyed my smoked oysters and lobster bisque before the surf and turf arrived. Dessert was not only delicious, but the presentation was lovely with them pouring warm chocolate over the chocolate bombe which exposed the inside of the ball. We took in a comedy show after dinner.
As we made our way down the coast of Baja California, I was not too thrilled with this cruise. I did not pay attention to where the cabin was that we booked. We were in the front of the ship! I was so miserable with the rocking of the boat. My doctor did give me a prescription for the Scopolamine patch so I ended up putting that on under my ear to help with the rocking of the boat. Also, it does get boring too. I can see why people eat so much on these cruises. LOL. We did have a Sea Day Brunch on Sunday so we made sure to take advantage of that. We also had a formal night too so I took a dinner jacket. Also, each of us were able to bring a bottle of wine with us. All we had to do was pay a small corkage fee in the dining room to have it with dinner. I did work out daily to make sure I did not gain much weight from all the food. We also made Venetian Masks for the Captain's Reception which was on Sunday too. They had a Venetian theme for that since we were on an Italian style ship after all. LOL. Nightly, there was a decent amount of entertainment including different genres of live music including rock, 80s, and even Latin beats. Also, they had comedians also. I did get the Unlimited Bubbles soda plan so I made sure to take advantage of that. The ship had an assortment of Pepsi products including non caffienated products with zero calories like Starry Zero Sugar and Pepsi Zero Sugar Caffiene Free. Bottled water was not included. We did each get one large bottle of water for the cabin for being repeated cruisers, but we had to buy additional bottles from the bar. Also, Carnival got rid of plastic straws so all they had were these edible ones. The straws tasted great, but they were loaded with sugar. I did like the show, "Dear Future Husband." It was about a couple who got married on a Carnival ship. After the show was over, the cast went to one of the lounges for the "reception," and they interacted with us all. Some of the girls in that show were pretty cute!
I was relived to get off the ship finally after we got to Puerto Vallarta. As we made our way down the Baja Peninsula, the weather got hotter and more humid. In PV, we were pretty much in tropical weather. It even rained a little. A mariachi band greeted us as got off the ship. We booked our excursion through Carnival so they had us line up as a group before we headed out to the vans which took us to the historic mountain town of San Sebastien. Our first stop was a hacienda which made tequila. The views were quite scenic as we were high in the mountains. After some tequila tasting, we headed to a coffee plantation closer to San Sebastien. It started raining when we got there, but we were able to explore the coffee plantation and see how they produce coffee. Then, we went to lunch at a local restaurant which made amazing tacos. Afterwards, we went to San Sebastien to walk around on our own and explore.
After getting back to PV, we took a taxi to Panchos Takos, which is a place a friend of mine suggested we have dinner at. The taco shop was small, but their food was very good. Afterwards, we went to the malecon to walk around and check out the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. PV is a beautiful coastal town. I had last gone there in 2010 when my friends got married in Nuevo Vallarta. I had time to get a foot and leg massage at the cruise terminal before we had to get back on the boat. Also, I stopped to get some local chocolate also.
The next morning, we arrived in Mazatlan! Mazatlan was my main reason to go on this cruise since flights there are not as easy to find. I could tell it was a very scenic area when we were docking. On one side was an island with some traditional homes, and on the other side was the port and the view of the skyline of the city. We had another Carnival excursion booked here too. Once we got off the ship, they took us over to another boat where we started the excursion. They took us out to the harbor and past some of the islands off shore on this open bar cruise. I had some pina coladas as we made our way to some cool islands including some ocean caves. After getting back to the port, we took a bus to a mall where they let us explore on our own before going to the old part of town where we saw the Cathedral. On the way to the old town, we saw the famous cliff divers. These divers will risk their lives diving from a high structure into rough waters below for tips. There was a large market too there. We decided to ditch the tour there and take an open air taxi called a Pulmonia to a seafood restaurant on the malecon. This place had delicious Sinoloan style seafood including aguachile. I also asked the house band to sing for us too. We got some Mexican style ice cream across the street from the restaurant after lunch. I wanted to find a Day Of The Dead style mask for a party that Joy and I had upcoming in November so we took another Pulmonia to some gift shops by the beach where I did find one.
Our Fun Squad hosted a great 80s style party for us that night! A few of the guests even wore Ghostbuster Costumes. That was pretty cool since all of us grew up in the 80s!
Our final port of call was Cabo San Lucas. This was the shortest port of call, and they do not dock there. Instead, they took us off the ship by tender. I remember this was the case when I first took a cruise to Cabo a long time ago. From the tender, I could see the Pueblo Bonito Rose Resort which hosted my wedding in 2018. Once we got to shore, we had some drinks and fresh tableside guacamole at Captain Tony's by the Cabo Harbor. Then, we went to Cabo Wabo for some more drinks. The waitresses in Cabo tend to be good eye candy! LOL. We found a great place for lunch also which served more delicious fresh seafood. We met two ladies from Texas on the cruise who were both really nice. One of them had grown children, and she was like a "grandmother" to us. She suggested the great restaurant. Actually, when we got back from the cruise, she mailed me three bags of the special edition Cowboys Tostidos ships since we do not have those in California. After lunch, we briefly checked out the eye candy at Senor Frogs before getting back on the ship.
We had a "white party" that night as we left Cabo. That is a party where one wears all white. Also, we had another formal night dinner. This one featured lobster tails as an option for the entree so I got two!
Earlier in the cruise, I saw a Longines Dolce Vita watch in the watch shop. The Peruvian sales lady was trying the whole cruise to get me to buy it. They even hosted a Scotch and Watch event where we did scotch tasting as the Peruvian lady was showcasing different timepieces. She brought my watch to that event in hopes I would be there. LOL. I think she could tell that I had money! Normally, it is $2,200. However, they had a 10% discount with no sales tax. I ended up getting it that night. The shop brought us over champagne as I paid for the luxury watch. I loved the elegant look of this watch. It is not an everyday watch, but it is for formal events mostly. Also, the watch is an automatic. The straps have a quick release, and it came with two additional straps. I already had a large collection of luxury watches, but I figured why not add this one too. Plus, it was a decent deal. I have so much stock options and stock too with my company that $2,000 is not a lot of money for Joy and me. LOL. I also got Joy a great pair of Effy Diamond earrings the next day.
On the final day of the cruise, I got a massage. Carnival sends offers to some guests via the app, and I actually got two offers. My friends did not get any. One was for some free candy at the bulk candy shop. The other one was for $50 off a spa treatment. So, I ended up getting a nice massage to finish out the cruise!
We took the same car service to the cruise terminal in Long Beach on Saturday morning. I was surprised at how many people were going on the ship. Also, I was worried that the porters would mess up our luggage. They had us self tag our luggage this time. We made sure to tip the porters well so they would not throw away our luggage. LOL. After checking in, we were allowed to board the ship at our designated time. Our check in time was from 1:30 to 2:00. The line for checking in was super long however! In the past, I did notice that there is usually a lot of trash who take cruises so it was no surprise when we saw some of the degenerates who were going to be with us. LOL.
As we boarded the old Costa Cruise Line ship which was rebranded the Carnival Firenze, I could tell this was a smaller and older ship when we saw the atrium. We had to go to our "muster station" once we boarded to get a short safety briefing. In the past, we had to get our lifejackets from the cabins and go to a meeting point for a longer safety demonstration, but since Covid, they shortened these a lot. A few of the restaurants such as Guy's Burger Joint (by Guy Fieri) as well as a Mexican-Italian fusion place that had great burrito bowls and homemade tortillas for their tacos and burritos were open for lunch too. The buffet was also open. The buffet area had frozen yogurt and soft serve self serve machines too. We explored the ship after getting a bite to eat at the Mexican-Italian place. The ship was definitely smaller than previous Carnival ships I was on. Although they had a mini golf course, water slides, pools, and a gym, they were all smaller.
After the Sail Away party, we set sail for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The first two days were at sea for us. We booked the fine dining steakhouse, Fahrenheit 555, for our first night. This was a $50 up charge per person, but it was worth it! They had a promo for the first night too where we got a free bottle of wine. After an amuse, I enjoyed my smoked oysters and lobster bisque before the surf and turf arrived. Dessert was not only delicious, but the presentation was lovely with them pouring warm chocolate over the chocolate bombe which exposed the inside of the ball. We took in a comedy show after dinner.
As we made our way down the coast of Baja California, I was not too thrilled with this cruise. I did not pay attention to where the cabin was that we booked. We were in the front of the ship! I was so miserable with the rocking of the boat. My doctor did give me a prescription for the Scopolamine patch so I ended up putting that on under my ear to help with the rocking of the boat. Also, it does get boring too. I can see why people eat so much on these cruises. LOL. We did have a Sea Day Brunch on Sunday so we made sure to take advantage of that. We also had a formal night too so I took a dinner jacket. Also, each of us were able to bring a bottle of wine with us. All we had to do was pay a small corkage fee in the dining room to have it with dinner. I did work out daily to make sure I did not gain much weight from all the food. We also made Venetian Masks for the Captain's Reception which was on Sunday too. They had a Venetian theme for that since we were on an Italian style ship after all. LOL. Nightly, there was a decent amount of entertainment including different genres of live music including rock, 80s, and even Latin beats. Also, they had comedians also. I did get the Unlimited Bubbles soda plan so I made sure to take advantage of that. The ship had an assortment of Pepsi products including non caffienated products with zero calories like Starry Zero Sugar and Pepsi Zero Sugar Caffiene Free. Bottled water was not included. We did each get one large bottle of water for the cabin for being repeated cruisers, but we had to buy additional bottles from the bar. Also, Carnival got rid of plastic straws so all they had were these edible ones. The straws tasted great, but they were loaded with sugar. I did like the show, "Dear Future Husband." It was about a couple who got married on a Carnival ship. After the show was over, the cast went to one of the lounges for the "reception," and they interacted with us all. Some of the girls in that show were pretty cute!
I was relived to get off the ship finally after we got to Puerto Vallarta. As we made our way down the Baja Peninsula, the weather got hotter and more humid. In PV, we were pretty much in tropical weather. It even rained a little. A mariachi band greeted us as got off the ship. We booked our excursion through Carnival so they had us line up as a group before we headed out to the vans which took us to the historic mountain town of San Sebastien. Our first stop was a hacienda which made tequila. The views were quite scenic as we were high in the mountains. After some tequila tasting, we headed to a coffee plantation closer to San Sebastien. It started raining when we got there, but we were able to explore the coffee plantation and see how they produce coffee. Then, we went to lunch at a local restaurant which made amazing tacos. Afterwards, we went to San Sebastien to walk around on our own and explore.
After getting back to PV, we took a taxi to Panchos Takos, which is a place a friend of mine suggested we have dinner at. The taco shop was small, but their food was very good. Afterwards, we went to the malecon to walk around and check out the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. PV is a beautiful coastal town. I had last gone there in 2010 when my friends got married in Nuevo Vallarta. I had time to get a foot and leg massage at the cruise terminal before we had to get back on the boat. Also, I stopped to get some local chocolate also.
The next morning, we arrived in Mazatlan! Mazatlan was my main reason to go on this cruise since flights there are not as easy to find. I could tell it was a very scenic area when we were docking. On one side was an island with some traditional homes, and on the other side was the port and the view of the skyline of the city. We had another Carnival excursion booked here too. Once we got off the ship, they took us over to another boat where we started the excursion. They took us out to the harbor and past some of the islands off shore on this open bar cruise. I had some pina coladas as we made our way to some cool islands including some ocean caves. After getting back to the port, we took a bus to a mall where they let us explore on our own before going to the old part of town where we saw the Cathedral. On the way to the old town, we saw the famous cliff divers. These divers will risk their lives diving from a high structure into rough waters below for tips. There was a large market too there. We decided to ditch the tour there and take an open air taxi called a Pulmonia to a seafood restaurant on the malecon. This place had delicious Sinoloan style seafood including aguachile. I also asked the house band to sing for us too. We got some Mexican style ice cream across the street from the restaurant after lunch. I wanted to find a Day Of The Dead style mask for a party that Joy and I had upcoming in November so we took another Pulmonia to some gift shops by the beach where I did find one.
Our Fun Squad hosted a great 80s style party for us that night! A few of the guests even wore Ghostbuster Costumes. That was pretty cool since all of us grew up in the 80s!
Our final port of call was Cabo San Lucas. This was the shortest port of call, and they do not dock there. Instead, they took us off the ship by tender. I remember this was the case when I first took a cruise to Cabo a long time ago. From the tender, I could see the Pueblo Bonito Rose Resort which hosted my wedding in 2018. Once we got to shore, we had some drinks and fresh tableside guacamole at Captain Tony's by the Cabo Harbor. Then, we went to Cabo Wabo for some more drinks. The waitresses in Cabo tend to be good eye candy! LOL. We found a great place for lunch also which served more delicious fresh seafood. We met two ladies from Texas on the cruise who were both really nice. One of them had grown children, and she was like a "grandmother" to us. She suggested the great restaurant. Actually, when we got back from the cruise, she mailed me three bags of the special edition Cowboys Tostidos ships since we do not have those in California. After lunch, we briefly checked out the eye candy at Senor Frogs before getting back on the ship.
We had a "white party" that night as we left Cabo. That is a party where one wears all white. Also, we had another formal night dinner. This one featured lobster tails as an option for the entree so I got two!
Earlier in the cruise, I saw a Longines Dolce Vita watch in the watch shop. The Peruvian sales lady was trying the whole cruise to get me to buy it. They even hosted a Scotch and Watch event where we did scotch tasting as the Peruvian lady was showcasing different timepieces. She brought my watch to that event in hopes I would be there. LOL. I think she could tell that I had money! Normally, it is $2,200. However, they had a 10% discount with no sales tax. I ended up getting it that night. The shop brought us over champagne as I paid for the luxury watch. I loved the elegant look of this watch. It is not an everyday watch, but it is for formal events mostly. Also, the watch is an automatic. The straps have a quick release, and it came with two additional straps. I already had a large collection of luxury watches, but I figured why not add this one too. Plus, it was a decent deal. I have so much stock options and stock too with my company that $2,000 is not a lot of money for Joy and me. LOL. I also got Joy a great pair of Effy Diamond earrings the next day.
On the final day of the cruise, I got a massage. Carnival sends offers to some guests via the app, and I actually got two offers. My friends did not get any. One was for some free candy at the bulk candy shop. The other one was for $50 off a spa treatment. So, I ended up getting a nice massage to finish out the cruise!