10 Day Mexico and Sea Of Cortez. September, 2016 on Crown Princess. This was a very bittersweet cruise. The Three Musketeers were booked. Suzi and I in Lido 214 and Cuz in Lido 210.

Unfortunately, after we all booked the cruise, Cousin Jerry called to let us know he had the most aggressive form of cancer. At the end of January, 2016, he passed away. We had made arrangements with Princess to do a burial at sea so, technically, all three of us boarded the ship. Please click here for more about the burial at sea.

Our first port was San Diego where we had booked the Old Town Trolley Tour. The average temperature in San Diego in late September is 71 degrees. Not close. 105… No one got off the bus and away from the air conditioning.

The next day was our Memorial for Cuz. Although we were saddened, of course, we knew this is what Cuz wanted, so we were walking on Deck 7 aft, with Cuz and his hot pink Cairns, Australia baseball cap (which we take on all of our cruises now), when we passed by one of the Lotus Spa staff members. She stopped us and said “What a beautiful box! What’s in it?” So…. Suzi told her…

Next stop, Cabo San Lucas. We booked the El Arco and Coastal Cruise excursion. This was a good sized catamaran that took us around Lands End and up the Pacific. And… Provided Daiquiri’s and Margaritas. The heat stayed with us from San Diego, so we were thirsty. Since Suzi rarely drinks, I got hers! Nice.

Next port was La Paz. The port city is Pichillingue and there is nothing there other than a few vendors. We booked the Highlights of La Paz excursion.

It gave us a good tour of the city with free time on the Malecon before returning us to the ship. Temperature was somewhere around 100 degrees.

Next port, Loreto. This was a tender port. We booked the Loreto Walking Tour. Had we known how small the town was, we probably would have gone out on our own, but live and learn. This ended up being our favorite port in all of Mexico.

We walked up to the central square and saw a group performing a dance. (No… This isn’t Hawaii…)

Really hot out. After the tour broke at the church, we headed back to the ship. We were both really thirsty. We stopped by a market where Suzi got a water and I got a beer. As I’m guzzling it down, I look at my watch. It’s 10:15 AM…

After a day at sea, Puerto Vallarta. We hadn’t been here since our Honeymoon.

We did the City Highlights tour. After taking us around Banderas Bay, we ended up at Canto Del Mar Restaurant for a beverage. The margarita that changed my life. Since Suzi passed on hers, I had two. WOW! I had no idea what was in it… Special tequila? Special mix? Had no idea (until a future cruise…)

After two more sea days, back home to Los Angeles. The Crown Princess and Ruby Princess are twins, so enjoyed everything about it.