The day of our departure the weather was simply beautiful. It was a Sunday Morning in late March - clear skies, temperatures in the low 60s, a cool breeze. We drove through San Francisco towards the docks in excited anticipation, quickly found a parking space to off-load our baggage. As we walked to the boarding area I heard two people on bicycles riding by remark "Look at that ship! It's as big as a building! It's huge! Wow!" As we waited in line to enter the building, I asked some of the passengers who were leaving the ship how they liked it. Most of them were very pleased. One even offered a must-visit restaurant tip for Acapulco.

The departure was beautiful. What can I say about a sail out of San Francisco Bay under the Golden Gate Bridge into the Sunday afternoon sun, passing the notorious Alcatraz Island and its ghostly prison on one side and Fisherman's Wharf, the Presidio and northern tip of the SF skyline on the other. The pictures speak for themselves.

Once underway we were delighted to find that our luggage had been delivered to our stateroom. We were really pleased that while we were going to visit four cities in Mexico, we only had to unpack once.

The ship seemed to be an endless series of discoveries with all its outlets for entertainment, food and relaxation. We also enjoyed the walking / jogging track on the Promenade Deck and visited it every day. One evening Christina looked up and... there was a whale swimming along beside the ship... spouting. Too bad I wasn't fast enough with the camera.

I had always dreamed of going to sea and experiencing the sight of blue water - 360 degrees - no land in sight. I had many opportunities to do that on this trip, and would often go to a vista point and just enjoy the scenery, I enjoyed photographing the various wave patterns at different times of the day in different light. Clearly the experience lived up to, or surpassed the dream. I ended up using some of the water shots as backgrounds in my photo book project.

Once we arrived in Mexico, the shore excursions were great. We'd often take the city walking tours which usually lasted two to three hours and then explore on our own for a while, always on the lookout for some more pieces of Mexican Folk Art to decorate our house. The guides were great and always wove the narrative of the sights with stories of local and national history. A great way to learn about the cities.

Also, the pre-sailing restaurant trip was right on-the-money! We went to The Paradise restaurant in Acapulco and sat on a patio overlooking the beach at sunset enjoying a great shrimp dinner. I noticed a large group across the dining area having lots of fun. I did a double-take when I realized that I recognized a lot of them: about 35 members of the ship's crew. Another endorsement for The Paradise.

After that, there were two days at sea on the way back to San Francisco. Plenty of time to relax and wind-down. We arrived back in SF in the early morning - able to see the lighted buildings through the fabled morning fog and then watch the sun come up as the fog receded to reveal that fantastic skyline again.