Cruise Review and a Special Announcement!
You are probably wondering, where in the world was Chris Daglis during episode 48 with Brian Drake? Well, I was on a cruise on the west coast with two stops in Mexico. This is the first time I went on a cruise. I was joined on the cruise by my son Cameron, Sarah, her son Wesley, and the rest of her family (two sisters, their husbands, kids and her mother). We set sail out of Long Beach, CA late in the afternoon. If you’ve never been on a cruise, it’s quite a process to get on board. First, the luggage is taken up to your room by porters. While they are taking your luggage onboard, the guests are queued to board by groups once you go through the security check (much like boarding a plane, but less stringent). Once on board, you are sent to your Muster Station, which is where you would gather in the event of an emergency. You are given a quick tutorial on how to put on a life vest and off you go. After the safety tutorial, you are invited to go eat in the commissary (it’s not really a commissary, more like a cafeteria, but I digress). Before long, we were out of the port and at sea off the coast of California, with two stops scheduled, first in Cabo San Lucas and then Ensenada, both of which are in Baja California, Mexico.
As for the food, as I mentioned, there was a cafeteria style set up for breakfast and lunch and the food was above average. Breakfast consisted of a variety of fruits, eggs, sausage, breakfast sandwiches, etc. Lunch offered several different styles of cuisines from all over the world, over the course of the 5 days we were on board. It hit the spot after a morning of lounging by the pool.
Dinner was really nice each night. You had a simple menu to choose from and there was a good variety. They had specials each night and some mainstays as well. You could select any combination of appetizer, main course and dessert. My favorite appetizer was minestrone soup, even though it was more tomatoey than I would have liked. I would have to say my favorite dinner was a vegetarian Indian curry dish which was just delicious. The curry was so damn good! Finally, my favorite dessert was the chocolate lava cake. Absolutely to die for!
There were several activities to do each day during our days at sea. There was a ropes course, basketball, pickleball, soccer, a variety of game shows and trivia. During the evening after dinner, there were more game shows, plenty of live music, and comedy shows. There was also the casino, where I ended up breaking even after a couple nights at the craps table.
And now for the special announcement. For those that don’t know, I’m divorced and have been dating Sarah for the better part of almost four years. We bring out the best in each other and challenge each other in the most positive way. We also laugh a lot together which makes our relationship so easy and fun. On the third day of the cruise, we stopped in Cabo San Lucas which is just gorgeous. Our entire party got off the boat to enjoy a few hours at the beach and enjoy the local fare. I thought that this would be the best opportunity to propose to Sarah and so I did. We went for a walk down the beach towards a rocky area away from people. I got on one knee, pulled out the ring and proposed. Before I tell you what happened, I have to say that it was a bit tricky to do this on the beach. First, I didn’t tell anyone except her mother, Cameron and Wesley. Second, I had to be strategic with the ring. I had to take it out of the box which I had in a back pack, and put in my back pocket of my swim shorts. I kept the ring on my pinky finger while keeping my hand in my back pocket. I’m very grateful I didn’t lose it! So, you may be wondering, what did she say? Of course she said yes! She dubbed it the most romantic thing that anyone has ever done for her. I still got it!