Cruise

Wow, did my girlfriend, Mary and I luck out.  Last week was COLD and our cruise week was picture PERFECT.   With passports in hand, we stood in a short line to get on board.  Of course, not without a few laughs as Mary set off the alarms.  I wished I could have taken pictures as they waved the baton over her multiple times, had her take her shoes off, and finally settled on that the alarm was going off on Mary's knee brace.  Anyway, it afforded us with our first round of giggles.

Carnival's Paradise at the docked at the Long beach port

The is an inexpensive cruise.  $500 and whatever you add up on your beverage, photo, and excursions.

We left Monday afternoon and came back Friday morning.  We stopped at Catalina island and Ensenada, Mexico.  We didn't have any complaints.  Everything was FABULOUS (including the Mai Tai's).

Each day a new "towel" animal awaited us on our beds.  Even our room was picture perfect.  We had a large window to look out.  We didn't need a veranda, because when we were sailing, the winds were brisk and cold.  Many people got seasick.  Not Mary and me.  It rocked us to sleep like babies in a cradle.

We only ate at the buffet the first afternoon that we came on board.  We had open seating and dined in the Elation restaurant for all 3 meals every day.  That way, we met lots of new people and most of the time we got a window seat.  The menu and food at the Elation was unreal.  You had at least 5 entree choices for each meal.  You could have seconds and thirds if you liked.  Lobster, shrimp, steak, etc.  Everything was gourmet prepared.  The waiters and waitresses were fun and efficient.  One night they formed a conga line around the restaurant.  Some of the waiters danced with Worcestershire and Tabasco bottles balanced on their heads. 

When Mary and I weren't playing Bingo or gambling we hung out at the back of the boat.  ADULTS ONLY.  There were two spas and lots of friendly chatter and the perfect amount of sun with just enough of a breeze to keep us from being too hot.  One morning we saw a pod of  whales going north from Baja to Alaska.  Several mothers and their calves.  What a treat that was!

This is what I do best...OLA OLE  Actually, this is day one...still a bit of a farmer's tan.  I got rid of that by day four.  If we weren't in the pool (spa), we were dining or gambling.

When you're HOT, you're HOT and Mary was HOT, HOT, HOT.  I'm walking back from Bingo through the casino and see this grand finals leaders board in the slot machine contest.  I started to laugh knowing only too well that the leader was my buddy, Mary. 

Come on Mary!  This is a photo of Mary playing in the finals with eight other players.  She had a slow start.  They tabulate the amount of points you get in FIVE minutes.  If they could have given Mary 15 more seconds she would have won.  She placed second by only a measly 100 points.  $500 went to the winner.  It's okay, Mary won an easy $500 playing the machines without the contest.  It sure was fun, though.

This was Mary's prize...Winning isn't everything, but it's pretty much the best thing.  Now she has a "Player's Club" hat.  hahahaha   There was a ton of stuff to do on the ship.  Tomorrow I'll blog on Catalina island (our first stop) and the next day on Ensenada (our second stop.)