After almost a year of planning and saving up, it was finally time for our cruise to the Mexican Riviera. When we originally planned the trip, it was going to be my birthday present to me. I wanted something special for my 21st birthday and what could be better than a cruise with my boyfriend. I had no idea that he would be my husband in time for the trip. And since we already had this planned and paid for, this ended up doubling as our Honeymoon.
The cruise ship was scheduled to sail away from the dock in San Diego around 4:00pm on Sunday the 21st. After a slight delay with Craig's birth certificate, we were off.
Now I would like to introduce you to our ship. She is called the Dawn Princess and she is beautiful. I really had no desire to spend any time off the ship because there was so much to do and see on board. This is what the pool deck looked like when it was all lit up at night.
There were so many floors to get lost on so Craig and I had to find some landmarks that would help us find our way around. This is the picture we would look for to help us find our room.
I love that they put up balloons next to our door on my birthday. It made it even easier to find our room.
If you pay attention to the mirror you can tell what the rest of our room looked like. It was pretty small, but I didn't plan on hanging out inside unless we were sleeping. Like I said, there were way too many other things to do.
This picture is totally cheesy, but I had to add it. Every night the ship's staff would turn down our bed sheets and place chocolates on our pillows. One night they had these swans displayed on our beds as well. We couldn't bring ourselves to mess them up, so we moved them out of the way. They became our guard swans.
Now that I'm officially 21 I was able to go into the ship's casino. It didn't really feel much different than playing in an arcade with tokens but it was still a ton of fun.
When we did finally go to shore, my favorite place was this restaurant called something like "Le Frog". The statues out front were so cute. Other than that it all seemed very dusty and old. The cabs were tiny and the drivers were all crazy. I didn't trust eating anywhere besides on the ship so we didn't stay away very long.
On our last day in Mexico there was a party on board the ship. To start it off, the Captain came out and took pictures with the passengers as we participated in the champagne fountain. By pouring champagne into the top glass, the rest of the glasses filled up evenly. It was really cool. There was free champagne for the rest of the night. Sadly, I was about three months pregnant, so I only had a sip.
That same night there was a fiesta outside on deck. The kitchen had a delicious Mexican buffet set up by the pool and the staff was passing out plastic leis to all of the passengers. When Craig went to get one for me, he also got a bunch for a group of elderly women that were nearby. They thought he was such a gentleman. One lady just had to pat him on the head because she thought he was so cute. I'm pretty sure they were drunk.
Well, that pretty much sums up our trip. I can't wait to go on another cruise. It is now officially my favorite way to travel. Next time I'll just make sure to not be pregnant so I can enjoy myself a little more.
