March 5 - Ensenada

Thursday, March 5, 2026

9:00 am to 5:00 pm

I wasn't sure what this day would bring. Two years ago we visited Ensenada on the Holland America Koningsdam but that was the cruise that began with my knee injury. I knew then I wouldn't be able to walk enough to even get out of the port area, let alone stroll around the city. Little did I know that two years later I would STILL be dealing with a sore knee.

Bob was certainly not back to good health yet and hadn't slept well during the night. I thought he seemed to be feeling a little better once he woke up but he admitted he didn't really want to go anywhere today. I left him in the cabin and joined J & M for breakfast and prepared to spend another day on the ship. 

J & M got off right away to explore the city of Ensenada with a goal of finding some different medications that require a prescription in the U.S. but can be bought over the counter in Mexico. I had given Jon my notes on things to see and places to eat and they were off.

Princess restaurant suggestions for Ensenada were almost the same as what I had come up with.

J & M stopped at the fish market near the ship.

Based on Michelle's expression, the market must have been a little smelly. 😄

I started looking ahead to the next cruise and took advantage of cell service to try and find a new excursion to replace the food tour that we had to cancel in Mazatlán when the itinerary changed. The seafood tour we originally booked was only available on Fridays but a taco tour was offered on Thursdays, the day we would now be stopping there. When I checked the availability, I saw that only one spot was left. I took a chance and emailed the company, Flavor Teller, and asked if there was any possibility of a second tour being added.

To get a change in scenery, I went up to Skywalkers Lounge and sat there working on the NY Times daily puzzles...Wordle, Strands, and Connections. My daily routine always begins with the puzzles at home and because Holland America has a partnership with the NY Times, I can always access the puzzles (even at sea) when I am on a HAL ship. BUT...without a Wi-Fi package on Princess I was only able to get on the NY Times app when I had cell service in a port. 

The view looking down from Skywalkers.

Bob was up and getting ready to shower when I returned to the room. He was feeling well enough that he wanted some lunch, but he didn't eat much. I had a taco but the beef was cold and it wasn't anywhere as good as what I knew I could have gotten in Ensenada.

In my research I had discovered that there was a shuttle bus that ran from the ship to downtown Ensenada but Bob wasn't crazy about exploring the city...nor did I think my knee would last long enough to see much anyway. We agreed that we would get off the ship and only go as far as the market area around the big flag pole. (Last time we visited the huge flag was flying. This time...just a pole.)

The giant flagpole...minus the flag.

The market area under the flagpole.

I took my hiking pole and we walked slow, but we made it! I browsed the different stands but as usual didn't buy anything. To me it felt like a big accomplishment but compared to the ground that J & M covered it was nothing. At the end of the day my health app showed I had gone 2.5 miles.

Before starting back to the ship we sat on a bench watching the musical fountain perform. I checked my email while we were there and saw I had already gotten a response from Flavor Teller tours saying they had indeed added a second tour for us! Score! My knee kept getting tighter and tighter as we walked back and but I enjoyed getting to see all of the flowers growing around the port area.

Back on the ship, Bob went up to the buffet and got us each some drinks...ice tea for me and hot tea for him. It had been warm while we were walking, but sitting on the shaded balcony was cool. 

Jon and Michelle ate lunch in town and when they returned we spent the rest of the afternoon on our balconies, reading, calling home and just scrolling on our phones! We also made reservations and paid for the taco tour in Mazatlán. With two other ships in port that day it will be nice to have something pre-planned.

Lokesh managed to get us through dinner and dessert in plenty of time to get seats for the evening entertainment in the theater...Dance Fever with Katia & Zenia. The two are champion ballroom dancers. Not my favorite show during the cruise, but OK. 

This was my main course. I believe it was mahi mahi...but I wasn't a fan.

Afterwards we were able to finish the last round of our card game, Hand & Foot, in the buffet. Always nice to get a cup of tea while we play! Tomorrow will be a sea day and the last full day of our first cruise. So nice to know that we won't be spending the day packing!

March 4 - Sea Day #9

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

The cold symptoms Bob is experiencing during the day seem to be magnified at night and thus he doesn't sleep well. I wanted to give him a chance to sleep as long as possible so when I woke up I texted Michelle and told them to go to breakfast without us. I stayed in bed drifting in and out of sleep but eventually was getting so stiff I NEEDED to get up and move. I had finished my shower by the time Bob started to stir.

Bob wasn't hungry but went with me to the International Cafe so I could get something to eat and a latte. We ran into Jon and Michelle in the Piazza and they sat with us while I ate. After looking forward to getting some avocado toast, they had run out. 😠 I got an egg bite and almond croissant instead and can't complain about that...so yummy.

The "meet the captain" presentation had already started when we got to the theater, but we easily found seats on the lower level. I had thought that they would have covered more info about the inner workings of the ship, but it was more about the captain's life and job.

Afterwards, Bob, Jon and I stayed in our seats for the naturalist's talk on earthquakes. Then, rather than fighting the crowds at the buffet, we went to the Botticelli dining room for lunch. The slow service kept us from going to the Princess Pop Choir performance at 1:00 pm but it was a much more relaxing meal.

Earlier, I had not been able to get the balcony door opened. It had always been so easy to slide but today I couldn't get it to budge. I left a note for Del, our room steward, letting him know. He had gotten it open while we were out of the room but then left it cracked open a small amount. When we opened the door to our cabin, the wind was whistling through and the room was freezing cold!

I quickly closed the door but then it wouldn't open again. Jon came over and was able to forcefully open it from the outside. Apparently the suction from the wind is keeping it closed. The swells are much bigger today and we can feel the ship rolling and sometimes lurching.

Bob and I both took a nap (definitely a sea day activity for us!) Jon & Michelle went to the Explorer's Lounge for a magic class with Elliott Hunter who we had seen perform a couple of nights ago. They bought a deck of his "trick playing cards" which came with a QR code to link to online instructional videos.

I purposely blurred the QR code. 😉

When I woke up, I realized the passenger ukulele and hula show was just about ready to start. I left Bob sleeping and went by myself. The theater was pretty full and very dark when I arrived, but once my eyes adjusted to the light I could see a few random empty seats. I picked a row where I had to pass the fewest people and sat down. It was fun to see the large group showing off their new skills! At the end of the show, we were asked to stand up and hold hands across the whole theater. That meant I was holding hands with two totally strange men. This felt weird now and would have been unheard of a few years ago during the pandemic!

When I got back and opened the door to our cabin it felt like an oven! Bob had the heat turned up as far as it would go! He was just waking up...he had been asleep all afternoon.

It was formal night and I wore my sparkly top...the one that leaves a trail of glitter wherever I go! (I always say I am going to get rid of it, but it packs so nice and is very comfortable!) 

Bob enjoyed shaving on the balcony. 😁

The menu featured escargot and steak & lobster...both of which I ordered. Once Lokesh cut away the shell from the lobster there were only about 3 bites of meat and they were dry and tough. And instead of serving a small dish of melted butter to dip the lobster into, Lokesh just walked around and spooned a bit over the top. The steak was good, but was a very small portion. I will stick by my opinion that Holland America's food is better...even if they have eliminated lobster from the regular menu. 

By the time we finished eating, it was too late to make it to the 7:00 pm show in the theater (Michael Washington performing "Rhythm and Soul". ) Another option could have been an encore magic show in the Explorer's Lounge at 8 pm with Elliott Hunter but we knew seats would be hard to come by. For once we decided to skip the card games and spend the evening in the room. I think the early night is just what Bob needed to get back on the road to feeling better. Plus...tomorrow we reach Ensenada...the first time we will be on land after five days at sea.

March 3 - Sea Day #8

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

The light coming in through the crack of the curtains caused me to wake up around 6:30. I had been sleeping so hard so being woke up by the daylight was probably a good thing. I showered and by then Bob was starting to stir.

After discussing the possibility of breakfast in the MDR, we went to the buffet as usual. My go-to breakfast, sausage gravy, was warmer than usual, but the eggs were ice cold. The banana bread with a little cream cheese was the highlight.

The enrichment talk at 9 am, "Your Event from Meh to MAGIC", sounded interesting. Bob made a quick trip to the room and then met me in the theater. The presenter had worked on the opening ceremony at the Paris Olympics (which I remember had gotten not-so stellar reviews.) Perhaps that explained a little how his talk went. Let's just say the MAGIC was not happening. First he dropped his microphone and then the video feed was lost...two times. All of this within the first 5 minutes...so we bailed.

I went back to the room until it was time for Michelle and I to return to the theater for cruise director, Holly's interview with the senior ship officers at 10 am. Bob and Jon played ping pong and then also came to the theater (but sat on the lower level.) 

Afterwards Michelle and I went to the Piazza to watch a competition between officers and guests playing giant ball darts. The guys stopped by for a short time too. It is so nice to have the tracking feature on the Princess app so we can locate each other easily. 

Fun to watch, but the officers kept standing right in front of us blocking our view.

Michelle and I got to the buffet before the guys for lunch. The place was packed and the lines were long. Thankfully we were able to find a table. I'm just not impressed with the Princess buffet. Once again we saw a group of Chinese passengers with piles of fresh fruit. I wonder if Princess stocks extra fruit for cruises that attract large groups of Chinese?

After lunch, Jon took his book and went to sit by the pool at the back of the ship where the wind was blocked. Bob and I came back to the room. He started a movie but then fell sound asleep. I washed out a couple of shirts in the bathroom sink and hung them to dry on the balcony and then joined Bob for a nap. By the time I woke up they shirts were already dry!

The production show, Stardust, was being offered three times and as we had done previously, we went to the 4:30 show in the theater. Older songs from the 50's era were in the show and I love the live band that accompanies the singers and dancers. Going to a show before dinner works out perfectly...we go directly to the MDR afterwards and get there right at our reserved time of 5:20. 

I decided to wear my lei before the flowers wilted.

We let Lokesh know that we were not in any hurry and just enjoyed a relaxed dinner. I ordered the chicken satay and poached pear for appetizers, shrimp and noodles for my main and then went all out and ordered the sugar free pear poached in red wine AND a small bowl of sugar free ice cream for dessert. For fun (and to make him a little jealous!) I had texted the menu to our son in the afternoon so felt obligated to send him photos of what I ate. 😉

To make sure we got seats for the Love & Marriage game show at 8 pm, we went to the Explorer's Lounge at 7:15. But...music trivia was being held. Bob and I managed to find two random seats in the lounge but J & M sat on a couch in the walkway outside the lounge. A couple sitting near us knew we were wanting a table and were nice enough to make sure they let us know when they were getting ready to leave and so the four of us did get to sit together.

Jon always comes prepared with a deck of cards so we played while we were waiting for the game show to begin. We joked about trying to get chosen to be one of the three couples competing, but after I heard some of the questions I would have been so embarrassed! The contestants each got a bottle of champagne, a red rose, and a gift bag from Effy jewelry. But the big surprise came at the end of the game when it was announced that the winners got a free 7-day cruise to the Caribbean in June! 

Per our regular routine, we moved to the buffet area and finished the evening with more cards. Clocks go forward one hour again before our last sea day until we reach Ensenada. 

March 2 - Sea Day #7

Monday, March 2, 2026

With so much going on in the world, I feel like we are in a little bubble here on the Ruby Princess. I watched a YouTube video last night telling of a cruise ship in Dubai where passengers were told to keep their curtains closed and stay away from the windows in case of incoming missiles. Another cruise ship in the region said they would not be moving until further notice. 

Bob was still asleep after I was up and showered. Michelle texted that they were finishing up some laundry and then the three of us went to breakfast. We had already finished and were just sitting there talking when Bob finally showed up. I know he isn't feeling a 100% but if he were home, he would push through and keep going. Being able to sleep late and just relax is a luxury to him.

After we left the buffet, Bob and Jon went to one of the enrichment talks while Michelle and I came back to our rooms for awhile. I worked on my blog notes until we went to check out the t-shirt sale. They had lots of shirts from Hawaii and Mexico for $10 each. I texted Bob to see if he wanted any but the answer was "no". He has an abundance of t-shirts at home and his daily pickle ball "uniform" is wearing the tie dye shirts he makes. I was a little irritated that he brought the tie-dye shirts on the cruise but he has been stopped several times by people complimenting him on the shirts! I will admit they are unique!

From the naturalist's talk.

Michelle and I went to the Piazza and got a cookie and just sat and chatted while we "people watched." At noon we wondered if it would be warm enough to sit outside so we went up to deck 15 to check. There were people sitting around the pool, but they were bundled up...not wearing swimsuits. As long as we were right by the pizza place, Michelle suggested getting some to take back to the room. I agreed...a slice of pizza and a can of Coke from our fridge sounded good. 

After the naturalist talk, Bob and Jon had gone to play ping pong. On HAL, the ping pong table was always located near the pool on the Lido deck. On the Ruby, it was in what could have been used as a conference room near the lower level entrance to the theater. Very isolated and not a place you would find without some searching. I had texted Bob to let him know I had picked up pizza and he did the same before coming back to the room. It was a little cool, but we sat on the balcony to eat.

Bob wanted to lay down after lunch and I stayed in the cabin intending to paint. The next thing I knew I had also gotten into bed and fell asleep. (A perfect sea day routine!) When I woke up it was time to meet J & M in the theater for a presentation by Holly, the cruise director, on "life at sea". It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but more a presentation on what HER LIFE at sea was like. I did learn that she has a pretty sweet cabin!

Bob skipped Holly's talk and just took it easy all afternoon. When I got back we sat on the balcony, watched some YouTube and got ready for dinner. I am getting spoiled having such a nice balcony on this cruise. It is a perfect escape for times when you want some fresh air, but want to escape being surrounded by other people.

Tonight's show in the theater was a magician so we informed Lokesh that we wanted to be done by 6:30. He hustled and delivered all of our appetizers at the same time (yes...each of us usually order more than one appetizer!) Even eating dessert we were done by 6:30 although we skipped having coffee or tea which always seems to take an extra long time to get served.

The theater was filling up fast when we arrived. Bob wanted to sit down on the lower level and that required us to scoot past several people to reach four seats in the center. (Bob likes a closer view to see magic performances. I on the other hand could just skip the show altogether!) 

Jon ended up sitting next to a lady that appeared to be wearing a floor length bathrobe and a towel wrapped around her head. She started talking to Jon and in the course of their conversation she said her father had been 2nd in command at Dachau concentration camp in World War II. She showed Jon a gold ring she was wearing and said it had been made from melted down gold teeth fillings from the prisoners. What appeared to be the bathrobe and towel she claimed to be her nun's habit. Certainly an interesting character but wonder if her stories were fact or fiction.

The tricks that magician, Elliott Hunter, did were mind boggling. At one point he went into the audience and got rings from three different people and linked all of them together! His other illusions were both amazing and frustrating at the same time. (How in the world did he do that?!?!?)

Our Hand & Foot card game that we began last night was continued in the buffet after the show. We got through two more rounds and then I started to lose my concentration. There was talk of going to breakfast in the MDR tomorrow, but it will depend on what time Bob gets up. J & M are early risers and even had their laundry done before breakfast today!

March 1 - Sea Day #6

Sunday, March 1, 2026

Going eastbound on a cruise isn't near as fun as going the other way...we lost another hour of sleep overnight. Bob was still fighting his cold symptoms so I let him sleep and went to meet Jon and Michelle for breakfast. (I insisted Bob take a Covid test...it was negative.) 

Now that I knew how, I tried ordering eggs Benedict and surprisingly the food was delivered right to my table in less than 10 minutes. There weren't many people in the buffet so it might take longer at other times. Bob eventually showed up and we sat with him while he ate.

The gal serving coffee in the Cafe Caribe area was from Zimbabwe and we asked her if she knew our waiter, Ian (from the same country.) Her response? EVERYONE knows Ian! He was also on duty in the buffet so she went and got him and we had fun chatting. The two of them are the picture of happiness...full of smiles and big laughs!

No one had any definite plans for the morning. Jon and Michelle went their own way while Bob and I went back to the room. He plopped down on the bed and started a movie while I painted. Bob loves watching movies and it is a treat for him to have so many choices and lots of time to watch! 

At 10:15 I went to the Michelangelo dining room to pick up tickets for the flower lei making class for Michelle and I. The line extended through the dining room and out the door!! I was able to get two tickets for the 2:00 class.

While I was in that part of the ship I went and quickly looked through the shops. It was amazing that after being on the ship for so long that was the first time I had stepped foot in the shops! I wasn't really looking for anything special so just browsed. I then went to the internet cafe where I could use a computer to access the Princess website. I wanted to see if there were any excursions listed for our new port of La Paz on the next cruise...not a single one had been added. By losing Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo, we were down to only three ports on an 11 day cruise. Cabo will be an overnight port but at this point we don't have any definite plans for either day.

Bob was still into his movie when I got back to the cabin so I continued to work on my watercolor painting until it was time for lunch. We hadn't learned our lesson yet and showed up at the buffet right at noon for lunch. Almost every single table was occupied and many with just one person. By going to the very back of Cafe Caribe we grabbed a table just as a man was getting up to leave.

One of my Hawaii inspired paintings.

After lunch Michelle and I went to the flower lei class and it was real flowers! Aninia (from Jamaica) was teaching the class and we had a little time to visit with her while we were working. When I returned to the cabin I found a plate of chocolates and chocolate covered strawberries with a note saying they were compliments of the food and beverage staff. Just like Jon and Michelle's, this was most likely a thank you for giving our opinion on the food service. 

Bob and Jon spent the afternoon up on Deck 16 watching a movie on MUTS (Movies Under the Stars) and then played in a dart tournament. I decided to pair my new lei with my Hawaiian dress for dinner but at the last minute decided wearing the flowers all evening might be uncomfortable so switched to a shell necklace that I had bought in Hawaii a decade ago.

Before dinner we went to the Captain's Circle party for Gold and Ruby members. It was held in Club Fusion and the Kava Duo were playing. It took a long time before we were offered any drinks and we never did get served any of the canapes being passed around.  

We went straight from there to the dining room. It is so much fun to see our waiters, Ian and Lokesh, every evening at dinner! For his main course, Jon ordered the veal with lemon butter. He took one bite that had a very strong lemon flavor and it made him start to choke (something he deals with occasionally.) He first went to the bathroom and then returned but was still having problems so he left before dessert and went back to their room. Michelle got a cover for his dessert and took it back for him to have later.

By the time we got to the theater for the 7 pm show, very few seats were available. I was lagging behind Bob going into the theater and when he tried to save me a seat, a lady sat down in it and told him there was no seat saving. I got there within 2 minutes but by then were were no more seats in the upper level so we had to walk downstairs to find a seat. (Ugghh. Going DOWN stairs is more painful to my knee than going UP.) 

Jefferson McDonald was on stage with a show entitled: "Great Balls of Fire".  The description stated that he blends comedy with musical hits and was billed as the "Victor Borge of Rock N Roll"! I hadn't cared if we went to the show or not, but it did turn out pretty funny. Jefferson interacted and joked with the audience a lot which is always fun.

The evening ended as most sea days do with cards in the buffet area. We brought up the plate of chocolate covered strawberries to share. We hadn't played the game since our last cruise with Jon and Michelle so we had to re-learn how to play "Hand & Foot". It has a lot of rules (especially for me!) but as we played I started to remember how to play. Jon would have like to play another hand, but I called it quits at 9:15. Bob seems to be feeling better but a little extra rest never hurts.