Cruising to Cabo

Before I was shouting "Thar she blows!" on our whale watching excursion, we had already viewed whales from a higher perspective.

No, I'm not referring to doing a bit of research, although we certainly had looked into it before leaving home.

We were walking laps around the Promenade Deck (2 1/2 laps to a mile) of Ruby Princess when we first spotted whales spouting in the distance.  There must have been dozens, or they were swimming in circles faster than our ship was cruising in the direction of Cabo San Lucas, and our rate was 20 to 22 knots.

On a previous Princess cruise, I learned from lecturer Wesley Smith while tooling to Hawaii that the measurement of nautical speed reading in knots came from a primitive method of tying knots spaced 47 feet apart in a log line.

This rope was then tossed in the ocean, where the end remained more or less stationary while a sailor fed slack over the rail to trail the ship.  He would add one for every knot while another sailor timed 28 seconds.

The number of knots in the "log line" that passed through the sailor's hands was approximately the speed of the ship in nautical miles per hour.

Of course, coming up with the formula would have been beyond the mathematical abilities of most people in that era before public schooling became standard, but some could count as high as 20, which was faster than a sailing ship was likely to go powered exclusively by wind while navigating unpredictable sea conditions.

At cruising speed, the trip from Los Angeles takes about 44 hours, depending on conditions, so sailing away at 4 PM got us there closer to noon than the scheduled arrival time of 1 PM.

In fact, the ship seemed to slow considerably after whales appeared on the horizon.

Had we flown to Cabo to catch the seasonal whale show, we could have probably gotten flights plus a nice hotel for the weekend for about the same price as we paid for our cruise, but airports and economy class flights aren't nearly as enjoyable as a cruise.

Not only did we get a preview of whales before debarking, but we enjoyed 5 nights aboard the recently refurbished Ruby Princess, including lots of fantastic meals and entertainment themed around our destination.

The dining room service was terrific, as were the delicious courses. The only small miss was Julie's overly-chewy Filet Mignon as part of Surf and Turf on the last night. The Maitre d' quickly brought her another, which was a better cut but a bit too rare.

The Béarnaise Sauce was delicious, and I should add the two delectable prawns included were as large as lobster tails.  The sides were all great.

On a previous night, we had the less trumpeted "Princess Medallions," which seemed like thinly cut Filet Mignon.  The new Princess dining room menu also allows you to order a premium steak from the Crown Grille for an extra fee, and that would undoubtedly give you a greater assurance of high quality on gourmet items.

The buffet food was also delicious, though as sometimes happens despite my best intentions, I occasionally accumulated a strange combination of foods on a single plate rather than sticking with a theme.

On the last day, the buffet lunch featured a terrific baked Ground Beef and Eggplant Moussaka, which I immediately decided I would try to emulate in my own Quick-Clean Cuisine style.  I already make my own version of that Greek dish in the frying pan by combining scrambled eggs, pasta sauce and assorted vegetables including salad greens that I happen to have in the refrigerator, but the Princess baked dish was definitely better.

The theatrical productions opened with a bang.  Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz ("Wicked," "Godspell" and assorted Disney musicals including "Pocahontas") produced a new musical revue exclusively for Princess, "Magic To Do," which was chalk-full of rousing melodies sung by terrific vocalists.  At first I focused on the magic tricks, but they're staples I've seen frequently.  For me, the tricks were more background props to the singing and dancing.



It was nice foregoing the usual opening night show that normally is about half taken with introduction of the crew.

We enjoyed a second fantastic cast production show on this five-night cruise, "Colors of the World," a panoramic tour of the world through dancing, elaborate costumes and music.  It did seem an odd choice for ancient Asian culture to be partially represented by Cyndi Lauper's song, "True Colors," with the performers appropriately clad in beautiful silks of the region.  Nonetheless, I liked even the less culturally immersive songs, and all the performances throughout were top-notch.

Ruby Princess has begun using a giant LED screen for changing backdrops in lieu of traditional painted sets.  While it allows for greater versatility and quicker setups, some people have a bit of trouble focusing on the dancers and singers in the forefront, especially with the darker costumes of "Magic to Do."  This is due to a combination of backlighting and to a certain extent, I would guess, a long conditioned response from staring at a TV screen through a room filled with lots of furnishings and other activity.

Other showroom performers were great too, including a Mexican Folklorico show on our night in Cabo.

Comedian A.J. Jamal had two hilarious shows, one in the Princess Theatre and one that was beyond standing room only in the Explorer's Lounge.  Our final night entertainer was Teacake, a vivacious singer from Houston who devoted most of her set to the songs of Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston.

In short, we were bowled over by the talent on the main stage, but we also love the smaller venues.  One night, the showroom band cut loose with a jazz show in a seldom used but beautiful jazz club, Adagio, on deck 16.

We were amazed to learn that of the seven musicians who meshed so well, five had boarded the prior day.  Teacake said the band practiced for only one hour to back her show, and they were flawless on all those Motown classics.

As often happens for Julie and me, we became followers of one of the lounge performers, in this case Mary Simon, who played covers of familiar folk/rock songs as well as some excellent originals in venues like the Wheelhouse Bar.  She switched between guitar and piano to back her strong vocals.

But once again, I have wandered far from where I started.  As we cruised into Cabo, we saw lots of whales spouting in the distance, occasionally catching a tail flop.  There were also dolphins playing in the wave variations created by the ship cutting through the ocean.

Never forget you're at sea when on a cruise, no matter how many great things are happening inside.  Sometimes, just "veg out," staring out at the ocean from your balcony or perhaps a railing on a public deck.

You will be captivated by the serenity and thrilled by occasional surprises of the sea life.