The Love Boat

Nov 14-Mom, me, Karen, Mardyne, Myrlynn and Myndee met at the SLC airport and caught a flight to Los Angeles to begin the Mexican cruise mom planned for us almost a year ago. There have been many moments throughout the year that we wondered if we would actually be able to pull it off but we made it and were so blessed that mom was feeling great and excited to finally be doing it. Everything went really smoothly at the airport and boarding the boat. The only glitch came when mom (who is extremely claustrophobic) realized she was going to have to walk down a very long and narrow hallway to get to our cabin. She had a panic attack and was in tears. We didn't know what to do. I coaxed her back out into the more open lobby so she could breathe and figure out what to do. She had expected her cabin to be right near the elevators. We later discovered that it wasn't too far but the way we had boarded the boat put us on the long end. Once in the lobby Mardyne commanded, "Mom, Just Bite the Bullet!" Suddenly mom just hung onto her wheelchair, put her head down and willed herself down the hall. Once inside the cabin she had another attack as she felt trapped once again. After a few minutes and realizing she was still breathing she was okay. We had a very nice room as boats go and a wonderful balcony which connected to the other two rooms. The set up was perfect on the 14th deck as it was just one deck down from the pools, movies and buffets. Once on board we only had a few minutes to quickly grab some food from the buffet before being herded with our life jackets to our Muster stations go over the safety drills. Once we got all that icky part out of the way, the rest of the vacation was perfect!

We spent two days at sea. The days went like this: Wake up. Go to the Buffet and eat as much as our hearts desired and then a little more. Try to decide what activity to do. Try to find each other. Check out what we might have missed at the buffet the first time. Check out the gym. Spend a few minutes in the gym burning off the mint you grabbed on your way out of the buffet. Try to find each other. Put on your suit and lay on the Lido deck watching the big screen and eating another plate of food from the buffet. Dance off the extra square of butter you just ate to the Reggae band playing on the deck above the pool. Try to find each other. Try to find your room. Shower and get ready for dinner. Spend two hours eating the three appetizers, soup, entrees and desserts you requested. Waddle down to Deck 14 to try and find your room. Head to the theater for the nightly entertainment. Wander around the ship looking for each other. Playing cards. Picking out some incredibly delicious looking pastry at the Pizzaza. Trying to decide how to spend your room credit. Convincing mom she needed to stop dancing and go to bed.

We were on the Crown Princess with over 3000 people. How they feed that many people is one of the 7 wonders of the world. The staff were all so friendly and nice and were doing the hardest job in the world. They work 12-13 hours a day for 8 months without a day off. Then they go home for 2 months and start the shift over again. Some of them never even see the whole boat. I think it would be a hard life.

The entertainment was amazing. There was a group of singers and dancers who put on several shows as well as comedians and magicians. On the second day Karen signed she and I up for "Pool games." There were 6 ladies against 6 men. The first challenge was seeing which side could gather up the most ping pong balls in the water. Next we had to sit inside a ring and fight an opponent. Karen really put her guy away quickly but I went under pretty fast. The hardest part though was keeping one of my contacts in. Next we had to do a synchronized swimming routine which we won and then a relay race paddling inside the round ring the length of the pool and back. My arms were racing as fast as I could but I felt like I was going nowhere. Karen started us off and got us a pool length ahead of the men but I was 5th in line and the guy passed me. It was a tie in the end but the audience determined that the women won and so we were awarded with water bottles.

Nov 17-We landed in Puerto Vallarta. Mom opted to stay on the ship. She had a perfect view of the port and the action below and we could see her waving from the balcony. The rest of us hired a taxi to take us to a beach where we could snorkle. It was a 9 mile drive and turned out to be the same place we had visited 8 years ago when Mom and us girls visited. Karen, Myndee and I snorkled and it was great. We saw lots of schools of large colorful fish. It was safer in the water than being on the beach where there were lots of "sharks" who wanted you to buy their wares. On the way back we talked our taxi driver into stopping at a few shops for 20 minutes before heading back to the ship. Mom was there waving to us from the room.

Nov 18-Today we landed in Mazatlan. Mom went with us on a 3 village tour. Getting to and from the ship there is always a gauntlet of junk vendors to try to make your way through. It is a challenge. A shuttle took us to an area where there seemed to be dozens of tour operators all wanting your business. I was glad we already had something arranged. We got on a bus which took us to a Tequila factory where they offered free tasting. Funny that about half on the bus were from Utah. The first village we stopped at was called Milapa. We visited the home of a lady who made the most delicious bread without yeast. They were more like huge cookies. Then we watched a man make a floor tile. They were beautiful. We traveled up into the mountains to another village of Copala. We were greeted by several small school boys who were trying to sell us wood carvings they had made. There was also a place to buy leather theatrical masks. We ate lunch here on a beautiful patio in a jungle setting. Mom did amazingly well and even endured the scary high speed bus ride along the winding roads.

Nov 19-Today the ship anchored near Cabo. Mom didn't have a very good night and said she wasn't going to get off the boat but as in typical fashion she soon changed her mind and decided to come with us. We boarded one of the little tender boats which took us into shore. Mom was determined that she was going walk in the sand as the last time we were here about 2 years ago she had an infected foot and the doctor wouldn't allow her on a beach. Once again we were bombarded with "sharks" offering all sorts of activities for "good price." For $12 each we took a glass bottom boat over to a sandy beach and were dropped off for an hour of sun and snorkeling. Myndee's snorkel wasn't working right so Karen let her use hers and she just didn't use one. The scariest part was getting back in the boat. The waves kept the boat rocking and mom had to climb a ladder back into the boat. I should have gone first so I could help her from inside but the guy helping kept telling me to wait. It was scary watching her above me hanging on the rails as she tried to climb inside. She did great though and I was very impressed. We did a little shopping before heading back to the ship and the endless buffets. After dinner there was dancing in the center court with a balloon drop in celebration of the cruise line's 50 year anniversary. There were prizes in a few of the balloons. I caught and popped about 5 of them then I saw one floating down towards me and I noticed a small rolled paper inside it. I popped it and the prize was for a "large lithograph" from the art gallery. I went to the gallery to claim it but was told I would need to come to the art auction the next day. Karen and I had already experienced one of the art auctions. They had given out free champagne. Karen had tasted it and spit it back into the glass. Somebody else probably enjoyed it later. We really didn't want to sit through another one but I was able to pick my prize up the next night. It's a "major award." The word "large" must not mean the same thing to us but it came with a certificate of authenticity. I just need to take a pen and draw a nice face on her and it will be perfect. We did our usual dancing, looking for each other and eating late night desserts.

Nov 20-Today was Myndee's 41st birthday. I stole a few of the balloons that were adorning some of the cabin doors and made a bouquet then we gave her a card with a gift card inside along with a painted turtle I picked up in the village. We enjoyed our last day at sea. The weather was nice. It will be hard to have to stop the spoiled gluttony but if we don't get off the boat soon none of our clothes will fit. I had in my mind that Daren was getting on this ship as we were getting off as he is taking a cruise with the Petersens. I taped a dollar bill with a bandaid under a table in one of the lounges then when we got phone service again I sent him a clue to find it. Turns out he is on Norwegian Cruises, not Princess. One of the advantages to being old is that you can find try to follow your own clues. I found my dollar. We spent the day much like the other days at sea but spent a few minutes sitting on the balcony with mom just enjoying her.

At dinner tonight the Head waiter brought Myndee a special dessert and we all sang Happy Birthday. I hope she had a good day. She is so beautiful and such a good natured person. I wish a prince charming would just ride in and swoop her up.

We have been so blessed that mom was able to pull this off. She is such a delight and the most generous person I've ever known. She LOVES to tip. She always says, "What good is money except to give it away." She has never had a lot but she loves to live as if she is the richest woman in the world. We all had room credits for some reason which covered our tips as well as gave us a little spending money. My final room bill (after buying things to take home) was about $2.38. It was wonderful.
We brought mom's wheelchair but she only used it in the airport. It felt like a miracle. I really believe mom is getting younger each year. She is definitely one of my greatest blessings. I sure love my family. I think we would do anything for each other. We were always commenting on how lucky we are and to have found such wonderful husbands and who would allow us to have a vacation like this. Everything went smoothly getting home and Jonny was there to pick me up. We were able to watch the last half of the Aggie football game on TV. It was very exciting and the Aggies came from behind to win by 4 points. It's been a great week. It was nice to not have to come home to the stress of work. I feel it enough just with the holidays approaching.