Trip Index
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Sunday was "Fun Day at Sea". Kaleb and I slept in...no breakfast. We hit the main dining room for lunch as the past passenger free drink coupon I received was only good then. It was open seating, so we were put together with four other couples at a 10-top. All of them also had the free drink coupon! It was an interesting group. The couple next to us, Earl and Denise, had been long-distance dating between San Francisco and Los Angeles for years and went on this cruise a lot. The wife of the couple sitting across from us left the table for a short while and came back with a gold medal on her neck as she won the Classic Rock Music Trivia game. She quizzed us and Kaleb got more right than anyone else, even though he wasn't alive during the "classic rock" era and they were. Perhaps we should play more of those games...
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| spa specials |
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| page 1 of Day 3 "Fun Times" |
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| page 2 of Day 3 "Fun Times" |
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| page 3 of Day 3 "Fun Times" |
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| dining room lunch menu |
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| my free "Kiss on the Lips" |
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| sushi appetizer...it was acceptable |
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| soup |
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| delicious fish |
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| you could always order a burger |
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| caramel flan |
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| best tasting chocolate cake so far on the ship |
After lunch, we chilled on the deck reading our Kindles. There were a lot of lounge chairs available even on a sea day.
Then it was time for our Chef's Table reservation at 6:30pm. The meeting place was at the bar in the neon atrium. Most of us were dressed up and no one was wearing too high a heel as instructed, as we were going to take a tour of the galley. There were seven couples tonight, so fortunately they decided they could squeeze Kaleb and I in to make it 14 diners instead of 12!
At the appointed time, a host and Chef Jorg Schneider came to collect us and take us through a non-descript door into the galley area. To begin, the chef explained the workings of the galley and facts about how much food is consumed per cruise, etc., things that I had previously learned from watching cruise documentaries on the Travel Channel. We were also served several tasty canapes and bottomless glasses of champagne.
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| enjoying some bubbly |
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| Chef Schneider's talk |
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| chorizo and dates, parmesan core and olive |
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| langoustine fritter, prosciutto/mascarpone foccacia |
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Next, we were treated to a demonstration on how to make Carnival's popular chocolate melting cake.
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| so much butter and chocolate |
Then we were led to the other food stations in the galley. Picture-taking was not allowed, but I snuck one so you could see the cheatsheets to compose each dish.
At the end of the galley tour, we were led through the main dining room (in the middle of the dinner show, with guests dancing to Psy's "Gangnam Style") to get to the game room where a long table was set up for our dinner.
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| everyone had a place setting and menu sealed with ribbon and star anise |
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| unlimited drinks |
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| long table |
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| can see the atrium out the game room's windows |
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| personalized menu |
There were a lot of wait staff in the room composing and serving the dishes. After each course was served, Chef Schneider would add commentary about the ingredients, its preparation and how to best enjoy the flavors.
We were each presented with a ramekin of garlic brioche bread still piping hot from the oven, not mentioned on the menu. The rest of the dishes follow the menu.
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| piping hot garlic brioche |
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| tomatoes three ways |
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| tuna banh mi |
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| cornish hen (recommend not to eat the onion "spoons", just what's inside) |
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| bon appetit! |
The soup presentation was interesting: first a very shallow bowl with a few leaves, then the turnip and apple soup was poured in.
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| I thought it was going to be salad... |
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| ...then the soup was served! |
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Then it was intermission; one of the ship's entertainers gave us a fun sleight-of-hand magic show. We also took a group picture with the chef. At this time, we could see people lining up outside for late seating in the dining room and ended up spotting Earl and Denise from lunch! He waved hi to us as well as another couple...small world. Our meal continued with the remaining two proteins and dessert. I really enjoyed eating the aerated cake; it reminded me of the sponge cake in the wagyu beef course during Kaleb's birthday dinner at
Guy Savoy.
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| salmon was slightly overcooked but still tasted good |
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| wagyu short rib was good |
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| this dessert was called "88F", the perfect temperature to temper chocolate |
Sometime during the last three courses, the couple at the other end of the table walked out. I saw them leaving the game room, with the wife looking very drunk. The two were part of the magician's act during intermission and they seemed to have a good time. Someone had overheard her saying that the food sucked and that she had better meals at McDonald's. Perhaps she took too much advantage of the unlimited alcohol. I also found out that one of the men seated in the middle of the table was a recovering alcoholic and did not want to eat anything that had alcohol in it. Unfortunately almost all of the dishes had alcohol in it, so he was unable to enjoy the full experience. If you have any dietary restrictions, be sure to check with the chef first before committing $75 to the meal!
At the end of the night, the men were presented with the bill and the ladies were given copies of the group photo signed by Chef Schneider. We added a 20% tip as the service was excellent.
It was nice to have the option of the Chef's Table as a dining diversion, especially if you are celebrating a special occasion or perhaps a small family reunion. Some of the ingredients used in the dishes aren't normally found in the regular dinner menus, special cooking techniques and equipment were required, plus you get unlimited wine so a $75 dining charge is not unreasonable. (unfortunately if you are not a drinker, there isn't a discount, though you could request other non-alcoholic beverages) If you haven't had the pleasure of experiencing a tasting menu, this would be a convenient way of trying it out, as the ambiance is relaxed compared to some fancy restaurants, and you would be hard-pressed to find a $75 tasting menu with unlimited alcohol anywhere else. That said, it's not the same experience as in fine restaurants but then again, the chef is limited to the equipment and access to ingredients on a cruise ship galley meant to serve thousands of passengers. It's great that the executive chef has a chance on each cruise to exercise culinary creativity for an intimate group.
We returned to our cabin and found a new towel animal as well as disembarkation information.
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| froggie |
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| disembarkation flyer page 1 |
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| disembarkation flyer page 2 |
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Numbered luggage tags were provided to help with disembarkation, but since we had our own carry-ons, we opted to do "self assist debarkation" and leave at our leisure.
We intended to go to the adults-only comedy show later that night, but we ended up falling asleep! Too much food maybe.
Monday morning, we received our bill, which was already taken care of with the credit card on file. Gratuities were automatically charged at $11.50 per person per day. We had breakfast in the Lido buffet. Since the cruise was so short, we didn't have a chance to try out other options in there such as pizza and sandwiches. I had read that the sandwiches were very good. The pizzas were all made from scratch so you'd have to wait for it after ordering.
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| pizza menu |
After breakfast, Kaleb and I made our way off the ship and went through US customs. We didn't experience any problems getting through, even though we didn't buy anything. (I had an incident in the past where the customs officer was amazed that I declared nothing on my form after returning from a popular "shopping" cruise itinerary and questioned me a bit more than normal, which is why I usually recommend everyone to buy something, though I don't follow my own advice all the time...) We then took public transit back to LAX with no issues.
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| view of the Queen Mary from the disembarkation bridge |
We still had a bit of time to kill before our flight home. Fortunately, due to my having a United credit card which included a United Club membership, we were able to enter the US Airways Club (partner lounge) to pass the time, even though we were flying Southwest in the same terminal.
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| snacks in the US Airways lounge |
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| enjoying a free beer |
In summary, the 3-night Carnival Baja Mexico cruise is a good option for people on the West Coast who have limited time off and need a plan at short notice, as this itinerary sails pretty much every weekend year-round. It is also good for first-timers who want to give cruising a try. (they usually end up wanting a longer itinerary...not wanting the fun to end!) There is also a 4-night cruise offered during the weekdays, stopping at Catalina Island. Princess Cruises recently started offering seasonal 3- and 4-night Baja Mexico cruises out of San Pedro Harbor so you may have a choice of cruise companies depending on when you want to go.
There are stories about Carnival cruises being "booze cruises" or party boats, especially the shorter itineraries. I didn't notice a lot of ruckus during our trip, though there could be some truth to that if you go during "Spring Break" time, but that can be anywhere. I've also sailed on 7-night Carnival cruises and enjoyed myself and the cuisine. They do have those shows during dinner time in the main dining room, but I think they're really fun. I can see how Carnival's style of entertainment might not jive with other cruise lines but it's just a different experience. If you've been avoiding Carnival because of its "reputation", you may want to reconsider.
After this trip, I completed one more training for my certification, and now I am proud to declare myself an Accredited Cruise Counsellor! My next goal is to obtain Master Cruise Counsellor certification within two years...thanks to those of you booking your cruises with me to satisfy the requirements.
Next trip is Ocean City, New Jersey with Kaleb's family. Stay tuned!
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Looking to try cruising for the first time? Need a cruise recommendation to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, honeymoon or family reunion? Feel free to ping me at yellowdogtravel at gmail dot com. I can find the perfect itinerary for your needs.
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