I did actually wake up as early as I’d hoped to and was walking laps on Deck 19 shortly after 6am while it was still dark. It soon became twilight-y, and the scenery as the Emerald Princess cruised through the Sea of Cortez was breathtaking. I fell in love with this part of Mexico on my first visit here nearly 20 years ago, and it’s easy to understand why if you know that I equally love ocean scenery and the American Southwest.
It’s like cruising in Alaska
I stayed on Deck 19 through sunrise and then met G in the Botticelli Dining Room for breakfast. I wasn’t feeling my usual smoked salmon today and I couldn’t get my backup avocado toast on sourdough that I was getting in Sabatini’s on the Regal, so I went with All Bran and bananas…plus papaya plus orange segments. Healthy and delicious!
We had no big plans for today but maybe we should have, because we did some damage shopping right on the pier instead. We’ve also done that on previous visits, as well as taken an all-day snorkel with the sea lions excursion to Espiritu Santo Island one time spent a day in the tiny town of La Paz another and, finally, went to a long, brown sand beach where Canadian motor home owners spent their winters. It was very interesting talking with them about their winter lifestyle and I remember thinking back then…no formal nights! Sounds great! And G countered with…RV toilets and rare showers! Not so great!
But today we simply stayed right at the terminal. Cruise ships dock at a freight port, and large buses run back and forth all day, about a 30-minute drive into La Paz. The line to take the shuttle into La Paz was quite long with no place to sit as guests waited, so be forewarned. The shuttle tickets were $14 round trip on the ship or the same price on the pier, but on the pier it was payable in cash only.
We instead started wandering around the 20 or so booths selling generally higher quality items then you find along the marina in Cabo. Many years ago, G shocked me when he bought me a four piece genuine silver and Mexican fire opal jewelry set (earrings, bracelet, pendant and ring). We both love that stone. Today I added a different style of bracelet with multiple colors of opals to my collection, and G bought a white gauze shirt. It’s actually considered a dressy shirt in Mexico and he will wear it on the not-so-formal nights on board.
We should gone to see the sea lions. It would have been cheaper. 😆
G had a drink at one of the little bars set up under a canopy and we then returned to the ship for a late lunch, again on the Terrace Deck. It was so beautiful back there today, sunny and not too hot. Eventually we changed into swimsuits and spent the bulk of the afternoon alternating between the hot tubs and two pools on the back of the ship. G still misses the comfy seating on the Royal Class Horizon Terrace but totally understands the appeal of the several open decks on the back of this class of ships, too.
“Alcoholic” beverage Ultima electrolyte pack
I think this was a peach Bellini
I had spoken with Restaurant Manager Nebo at breakfast this morning, letting him know that, while we truly appreciate our table in the Michelangelo Dining Room, our plan tonight was to spend sail away on the open deck. He offered to seat us anytime we wanted to come to the dining room, (G demanded to know just what I had done to them to bring about the sudden and significant change😉), but we also had a full evening of entertainment planned, too.
Since we didn’t go to the dining room tonight, here’s the menu from the app:
We stayed outside until daylight faded, then ended up eating a small quasi-meal in the Elite Lounge and going to the Princess Theater for an Elvis tribute act performed by Dan Middleditch.
Next up was Club Fusion for a Candlelight concert by the Imperial (string) Duo. We had really been looking forward to this all day, and it didn’t not disappoint. I’m not sure you’ve been to one of these candlelight concerts on land or on a ship, but we’ve been to a few, as they really are exactly my thing. Small, intimate, candle lit settings for (usually) a small musical group performance. We weren’t sure how they were going to do the candle light part of it, but saw, when we went to the Elite Lounge, that the stage there had already been set up with hundreds of LED candles. The funny part is that some of the Emerald Princess bands members, the second they were done accompanying Elvis in the Princess Theater, raised down the outside of the Promenade Deck to Club Fusion and started turning on each of those candles.
I don’t yet know the names of the two violinists in Imperial Duo (I suspect they are from the Ukraine), so I can’t give them their personal due, but this performance was one of the top five things I’ve ever seen on a cruise. I was moved to tears a couple of times (Ave Maria and Pachelbel’s Canon in D), and even G said he felt their music right in his heart.
But, the evening wasn’t yet over. We ended up back in the Piazza to listen to party band Third Time Lucky play ABBA. By the time they wrapped it up, it was 11pm and we were hungry again, so we picked up sandwiches at the International Cafe and took them up to Crooners to listen to piano entertainer Brian Johnson.
As as it turns out, I didn’t get too far into this post before I fell asleep. I woke up lying on my iPhone with its battery exhausted, and plugged it in sometime during the night. I’m finishing this post the next morning, which is fine, because we are moving very slowly. “Most perfect days” apparently wear us out.
Life is good. :-)
Princess Port Guide for La Paz
