The Last Hurrah!
The late risers, took a shuttle into the town of Ensenada. Neil got a pointer about a restaunt from one of the cruise passengers. La Guerrerense is actually a food cart. The owner/chef, Sabina, is from Guerrerense. Taught the art of preparing seafood by her husband and in-laws, Sabina has an actual restaurant and the food cart we visited. Wow! Neil and Roxanne had the shrimpiest (full of shrimp) cocktail. Every time they thought they reached the bottom, there was more fresh shrimp!
Mine… oh my goodness!!! I can still taste this tostada. Truly one of the best things I have eaten in my life! Made to avoid gluten and nightshades, my piece of heaven was a corn tortilla tostada with a bed of crab salad. On top was the freshest octopus, shrimp and tripe… all topped with avacado. Crazy good taste. Thankfully, I am returning to Ensenada three more times in the next couple of months! You can find me at this food truck!
With VERY happy bellies, we walked around looking at souvenirs. Roxanne wanted to get a couple of things. We had a few kids show puppy dog eyes, begging us to buy their things.
In his usual fashion, when Kirby spotted us in town, he yelled “ROXANNE!!!” at the top of his lungs. Over and over. Everyone was staring. Thankfully, we were about to leave anyway. Time to go chill in our little upstairs quiet spot on the ship.
Once off the shuttle, I stepped away from the others to get my typical photo. Selfie with the ship. Sometimes, our itinerary never has a good angle… whether it be due to tendering in or the gated off areas in the port… I do my best to get this type of shot every time. I’m probably about 80% successful.
While the lazy ones were wandering around, the active pair went on a bike tour. Interestingly, part of their tour included food. They visited our food truck but were too full to try anything. I might have to look into that tour next time!
Not sure everyone wanted to do this… but I made a reservation for the Laser Tag: Battle for Planet Z. In the end, seven of us showed up. We ended up on different teams, which made it all the more fun! Unfortunately, the screen on my weapon wasn’t working so I never recorded a score. But, I probably won haha!
As is the usual routine, we met in Schooner Bar before dinner. Today is picture day! The problem with taking photos on the last day is that you have to remember to pick them up! The photo shop closes at 10pm, which meant running down from the 11th floor to the third floor before meeting up to go out.
Fearless trio preparing for dinner! Except for my tostada, I hadn’t eaten a thing all day. Oh wait, I had a melted Almond Joy :-)
The ‘last hurrah” was at Jamie Oliver’s restaurant. We have enjoyed this on Ovation OTS, a couple different itineraries. Loved the food so much, we tracked down his restaurant in Rotterdam, Sydney and Adelaide. I believe all the ones based on land, closed down during Covid. All nine of us, different personalities that all got along so well. It reminded me of my favorite cruise from Tampa to Amsterdam on Brilliance. We made life-long friends on that cruise.
Our meal began with the famous Jamie Oliver’s charcuterie board! A special one was made for me… it included gluten free bread. Darn, I wish I could have eaten the bread everyone else received! It looked and smelled sooooo good! The meats, the cheeses and olives… all so tasty!
Royal Caribbean has been top notch customer service. Every night we feasted at a different specialty restaurant. The Concierge prepared a table for nine for each meal. That’s no easy task… especially at peak time! We were happy and I’m sure our waiters were happy (we took good care of them).
What goes better with an Italian meal… baby Luce! Corey and I split this bottle of wine. It’s super reasonable with the dining package discount. 40% off! Bargain.
Phyllis seems to be having a great time. Hopefully, we’ve created some new cruisers!
We got such a great photo of Jenn and Phyllis! Lots of love right there… :-)
Linda captured this gorgeous picture of Roxanne! I love it! This one deserves a little “me time”.
The perfect ending to our meal… Limoncello! Cheers to a great trip!
I remembered!!! Near closing time, it clicked to me that I was running out of time! The initial plan was that I would select one photo that is free because of being Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean. Never go to the booth after cocktails… I bought three additional. But they were so fun!
See what I mean??? Fun!!! I think in total, there were 11 photos, but I resisted.
One last “good bye” drink. Corey and Neil had some pricey whiskey or bourbon. Our fun bartender Sharon, poured them a good sized shot!
This one is added for Roxanne, Michael and Linda… as we left the ship, we got in line for the taxi. After waiting for several minutes, we were told that the guy who directed us to the line was wrong. The queue was down the walkway a little more. A guy directing customers, sent us to a bigger sized vehicle so we could all fit. He got so mad at us when he heard we were going to Long Beach Hyatt instead of the airport. His last words… “I don’t need your tip”. Sheesh.
The wall painting in Jamie Oliver’s says it all… We all just enjoyed four solid days of “Big Love”! Can’t wait to do it again! (Actually, I’m leaving Los Angeles, swinging through Houston to change suitcases and off to Miami! Until next time…
