Spring Break

For Spring Break we went on a Royal Caribbean 7-day, Cabo, Mazatlan & Vallarta cruise aboard the Navigator of the Seas.  We were joined by Jonathan, Kami and all their kids as well as Camera, Jomo and Melody.  

We drove to Los Angeles Friday morning and boarded the ship that afternoon (in the rain).  

By far, the best part of the cruise was the food.  For breakfast and lunch we ate in the Windjammer.  It was buffett style with just about anything you can imagine.  For dinner, we ate in the dining room.  Each evening had a theme complete with appetizers, bread, main dish and dessert.  After our evening show, we would head back to the Windjammer to sample all the other desserts that were offered at dinner.

The second best part of the cruise was the entertainment.  Each evening there was a show/performance.  We saw a comedian, juggler, dancers, singers, and ice skaters.  Activites included ice skating, laser tag, swimming pools, hot tubs, water slides, flow rider, pickle ball, basketball, and more.  The activities were probably the third best part of the cruise.  But because we went during Spring Break, there were a lot of kids on the ship, so there was a lot of waiting.  Sarah and Christian ran around by themselves most of the time.  The teen girls mostly wondered around but Hannah would get bored of that, so I would take her to do an activity.

The first day we were at sea. The second day we stopped in Cabo.  We got off the ship and started to make our way to the beach since that is what most of the kids wanted to do.  We were told we could only get there by water taxi.  So we paid $15 each for a short ride in a boat to the beach (seeing the "sites" on the way).  The driver said he would pick us up at the appointed time. I am pretty sure the devil lives in Cabo.  The beach was crowded.  There were a lot of people there making bad choices.  Every few minutes (if not more frequently) a local tried to get us to buy something.  The kids did buy their fair share of bracelets and fake Oakleys. Some of the vendors were selling headbands and shirts that had sayings on them you did not want to see and definitely did not want your kids to see.  After a couple of hours, we were ready to get out of the devil's playground.  We went to where we were told to meet the taxi and they weren't there.  We started walking back to the port and lo and behold we found the boat that had dropped us off, only not where they had said they would pick us up.  I think they did not plan on coming back to get us and were surprised to see us because they were at a different location.  But we jumped on and we did not give them any more money despite them asking for some.  Darien stayed behind and Cameron tried to get me to let him stay, but there wasn't a chance in hell (because that was where we were).  

for $5 you could take a picture holding a lizard

the sights

buying braclets

The third day we dropped anchor in Matzalan.  We had researched things to do and one of the "must do's" was a "hike" to a light house that wasn't even functional.  We took a taxi to get closer to the beach because it was too far to walk.  The beach was crappy but not too crowded.  We stayed for a couple hours then started to head back to the ship.  We walked by an old cathedral that wasn't open, did a little shopping, then walked thru parts of town where we feared for our lives.  Although we weren't approached by anyone, I have never been in such a ghetto neighborhood.  Thankfully we made it back to the ship before Darien, who purchased some Xanax in Cabo and drank while we were in Mazatlan, proceeded to nearly pass out and get really sick.  That made for an interesting night for the Palmers.  Needless to say, we were not impressed with Mazatlan.

On day four, we stopped in Vallarta.  We had quick access to the beach.  This beach was the nicest one we had been to but still with too many vendors.  The kids played on the beach for a couple hours but soon became restless.  We hadn't planned to do any excursions because the consensus was everyone just wanted to spend time on the beach and we didn't want to spend too much more money.  But the beach didn't keep them entertained for long and everyone wanted to go back to the boat.   Cameron become frustrated because he wanted to "go on an adventure".  He had heard about a suspension bridge, so on the way back to the boat, we asked a taxi driver about it.  He said he would drive us there and that it would take about 1/2 an hour.  So for $80, which was all the money I had, Cameron and I jumped in a cab and feared for our lives as we were taxi-ed to the suspension bridge.  The traffic and driving was like nothing I have ever seen, not to mention, we were in Mexico.  The bridge was at a venue where there was zip-lining, horseback riding, 4- wheeling, etc.  Normally people would 4-wheel across the bridge and spend time on the other side drinking.  Cameron was allowed to walk across the bridge for $15 and the taxi driver was okay with me deducting that from the $80.  So Cameron walked across the bridge and we took a few pictures.  I was expecting it to be beautiful because we were in the "rain forest" but it looked like it had not rained in a long time.  It was dry and brown.  As we headed back to the ship, we drove thru extremely ghetto towns.   Places where you just can't imagine people living.   The driver wanted to drive us around downtown, but we politely declined.  I am not sure it was worth $80 but it was an adventure.

The next couple of days we were at sea.

Overall, I can't fault the cruise.  The food was amazing, the entertainment was fun, and the service was exceptional. Although small, the accommodations were comfortable and everyone slept great.  Spring Break is probably not the best time to go on a cruise with kids and Mexico is definitely not somewhere we will ever go again.