Darla and Judy cruised onboard the Norwegian Star from Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan & Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Friday, December 5th
We took a red eye flight out to LAX. We arrived around 11:30pm and took the free shuttle to our hotel, the Courtyard Los Angeles LAX. Even though it was late at night, Darla went outside and walked a couple of blocks toward the entrance of LAX airport to take a picture. Then we went to sleep.
Saturday, December 6th
We took a town car from our hotel to the pier. A half hour and $80.00 later we were ready to get on the ship. Boarding the ship was a very easy and fast process. When we got on the ship our stateroom wasn’t ready and we had to carry our carryon luggage around with us. We went directly to the Versailles restaurant and had lunch. From there we went to the to the Market Café (where they have a buffet) and had dessert. From there we out by the pool where they were grilling and we had corn on the cob. Yea, we pretty much ate our way around the ship that first day! Then we heard the announcement that our staterooms were ready and so we headed to ours. Deck 8 cabin 8580. It was an outside, partially obstructed view. The room was a good size. The shower was actually a nice size, but the rest of the bathroom was a little small. Soon after we got into our stateroom we had to do a lifeboat drill, with our life vests. Now if you know Judy, then you know we were a little late getting to our muster station. After the muster we went to a cocktail party for other travel agents on board. Then we went to the late show – very entertaining.
Sunday, December 7th
We spend all day at sea. So we wondered around the ship, ate, shopped in the Galleria store onboard, read a book, ate some more.
Monday, December 8th
Today we arrived in Cabo San Lucas. The ship couldn’t dock at the pier so we were tendered in. We arrived a couple hours early, so we did a little bit of shopping before our NCL shore excursion – Land’s End Boat Tour & Scenic Stop. We went on a 45 minute boat tour along the very tip of the longest, most desolate peninsula in the world. We saw the famed Los Arcos, a natural rock formation that arches starkly out of the sea. Back on land, we took a minibus through Cabo to Sunset Da Giorgio’s restaurant. It has a spectacular location atop the cliffs at the far end of the bay and it provides an unforgettable view of Land’s End, it’s famed arches, and the ships at anchor in the bay. From there we headed back to our ship.
Tuesday, December 9th
Today we were in Mazatlan. The ship was able to dock at the pier, but we weren’t allowed to walk the pier. So we had to get on a little trolley looking thing to take us the couple blocks to the gates. The pier is actually gated in. There are some shops inside the gate, so you can shop in relative comfort of noting being hounded by everyone. We took another NCL shore excursion – Old Mazatlan Walking Tour. We took a minibus to the Continuity of Life Monument. From there it was a short walk to see the local cliff divers. Then we saw Devils Cave and a very interesting remains of a road where the water used to be that high. Check out the picture in the slide show. We went to an old style bakery where the woman lives and cooks and sells her baked goods. From there we did more walking and ended up at the Angela Peralta Theatre, named in honor of the world-famous Mexican opera singer. The theater was originally an open-air theatre. Then it was abandoned for 30 years, and trees grew up through it. Then it was restored and a ceiling was installed. It still has the original wrought iron gates going all the way around inside and up a couple stories. Then we walked around some more and ended at the Cathedral, dating back from 1875. It was gorgeous inside! We took a truck, they loaded a bunch of us in the back of it, back to the pier. After a quick shopping stop we went back onboard the ship.
Wednesday, December 10th
We are in Puerto Vallarta. Again we tender in. And again we have an NCL shore excursion – Yelapa & Majahuitas. This is our sun and sand day. Majahuitas is an unspoiled area of natural beauty and has a tranquil cove where we spent a couple of hours relaxing on the beach. Yelapa is a charming Mexican fishing village, with no roads, only cobblestone paths. Both are only accessible by boat. In Yelapa we hiked up a mountain to a beautiful waterfall. On the way back to Puerto Vallarta we stopped and snorkeled for a bit.
Thursday, December 11th
Spent the whole day at sea. Ate, read a book and ate some more.
Friday, December 12th
Another day at sea. More eating ensued.
Saturday, December 13th
We arrived back into Los Angeles early. We were off the ship and back at the LAX airport by 9:00am. We arrived home about 5:30pm.
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