Day 80 An extraordinary Sea Day.

As I type this blog, I can see a ship passing by my balcony! Yes MY BALCONY and NO you are not misreading it. Let me explain...we went to bed at midnight and around 1.45 a.m. I awoke to the sound of voices and a squelching sound from the corridor. I thought I had better have a look and as I put my foot on the carpet, squelch that feels wet. My first reaction was sh....t we are sinking and we are in trouble as its reached Deck 10. I woke George to say my last goodbye, and he assured me all as ok. Anyway the culprit was a burst water pipe. Our cabin and 20 others were flooded. So for 12 hours or so we walked around like zombies, not knowing where to get a kip and Princess not offering anything really. Finally we stood at the Front Desk and refused to move until they gave us a bed to sleep in or we threatened to bring our mattress and pillows down to the reception. Hence we were given this lovely balcony, (and as we now have new carpet with a lovely bostik glue smell which we refuse to sleep in,) for the night. We crashed out for 3 hours and feel slightly better but still grumpy. I think Dawn Princess needs a holiday, big time. George said it could be worse and be sewage. Yuck.

So today we have not done much apart from having 3 breakfasts between the hours of 6 a.m. till 11.30, and drinking coffee to help us stay awake.

Tomorrow we are going to Universal Studios, and hopefully we are not tired.

Last night was formal night so we got dressed up, see pics.

Day 79 Sea Day

Our original Captain, Todd McBain got back onboard at Acapulco and already he has made a BIG impression. We knew how lovely he was before he got off in Dubai but compared to his replacement, he is even more special. This morning, at breakfast, he entered the Horizon Buffet and spoke to almost everyone at the tables. We even got a photo with him, he is just lovely and a great communicator. I think he got the message as everyone almost kissed his feet to welcome him back. I actually feel safer with him at the helm. And we may have made Dublin with him!! Who knows. Pics of the extravaganza buffet lunch.
Yesterday during my laundry time, (its becoming very tense in there by the day), the gossip was that 4 people had been put off the ship due to laundry rage. 8 have passed away I open the door very slowly when I HAVE to go in anticipation. I also heard that The Beatles Tribute Band are getting back on for the last week, HURRAH.
So now 2 days at sea then we arrive in Los Angeles.

Day 78 Manzanillo Mexico

Each and every night, we receive our Princess Patter, and it informs us of things to do and see in each port. So according to PP there was not much to do and see here and the words were, The town itself may not inspire". Well whoever wrote that must have rocks in their head!! We walked off the ship with music blaring from loudspeakers in the middle of the town. This certainly made an instant impression and created a lively atmosphere. As I had had one too many cocktails in Acapulco, we only intended to stay out for an hour or so! This did not happen once we found all the colourful, busy and inexpensive little shops. It was bustling with families as it was a Sunday, people smiled all day long and said hello. We loved it here. The coronas were available in all the bars but we could not find any to buy to bring back on the ship. One interesting thing is the pharmacy's are just open front shops and anyone can buy anything, without a prescription! We saw many passengers stocking up on antibiotics, pills etc. Cheap too, I think I heard $3 for penicillin, 24 tablets. It was very hot and we lasted over 4 hours so did well. A beautiful port and we would love to come back here. Many people did tours, (there was only about 4 offered) and everyone loved what they did.

Day 77 Acapulco

Acapulco was a magnificent sight as we sailed in to the bay early in the morning. It was still dark and the lights were twinkling all along the coast. As the sun came up, looked even more beautiful. We had nothing planned here, once again just do our own thing. In the terminal, which was very well set up. lots of tours and taxis were being offered so we decided to walk around then come back and catch a taxi for a tour around....this never happened as we ran out of time! Not too worry as we had a brilliant time anyway. We (Maureen, Kim and us) had a look around the Old Fort, which dates back to the 16th century then walked along the old streets towards the town and markets. It was very steamy, when the sun came out in the afternoon it was very hot. A lot of the food for the restaurants is prepared on the footpath or in open kitchens....you wouldn't want to eat any of it. We asked for directions a few times but no one spoke English which was the first time that's happened for us. Apparently the city has "tour guides", men wearing blue shirts who insist they are just there to help tourists find their way, but the one that found us took us all the way to a "Princess" preferred shop. George was not impressed. Anyway all was not lost as Maureen bought a lovely necklace and bracelet.

The heat was draining so we found a beach bar and had a couple of cocktails, (we had ice in our drinks, aaah, so we pray we don't get TD), it was a lovely spot.

Sailaway was great, with friends and more drinks!! A great day, probably we wouldn't visit Acapulco on its own but on another cruise, yes definitely.