Norwegian Star, PhD@Sea Cruise...Cabo San Lucas

I have never had a stateroom directly above the boats used for tendering. Quite a treat standing on the balcony watching the tenders slide out, one literally five feet below me, get wenched down and launched. So, an interesting start to the day in Cabo.
Tendered ashore, took a stroll around the waterfront. Made it all the way to Mango to watch some NFL Game Day Final, and catch up on the scores and highlights from Sunday. On the way back I ran into some friends from the ship and spent an hour tourist watching and munching on chips and guac. Saw lots of marlin being carted about, but pretty small. Decided against fishing. Also was told the whale watching was not too good, yet. So I settled for buying a refrigerator magnet. I have to say, for the first time in years, the drug dealers were really getting on my nerves. Walking the strand in Cabo is worse than Jamaica. I was offered the best weed in all of Mejico at least ten times in a mile. Oh, well.
Back on board I took in another session of bingo, to no avail, and then decided to eat dinner at Cagney's Steakhouse...Oh...my...God...! It was the best meal I have had on a cruise ship in years. sTarting out with a shrimp cocktail with four shrimp, each as big as the lobster tail from the night before. Then a lobster bisque that was perfect. And on to a perfectly cooked 16oz T-Bone. Juicy, tender and flavorful, with Cagney's Fries (french fries drizzled with White Truffle Oil, and sprinkled with fresh grated Parmesan cheese), and creamed spinach (made with actual fresh spinach) on the side. Desert was a raspberry Creme Brulee that was excellent as well. Truly - the way cruise ship food used to be, before cruise ships got so damn big it is impossible to maintain quality. The service was, likewise, superb. It appeared that each waiter/busboy combo only has eight, or maybe twelve people, rather than the 30 or so they are assigned in the main dining rooms. Honestly, I don't do the premium restaurants, because, as a confirmed tightwad, I just hate to pay for anything that's so widely available for free. But the $25 surcharge is a pittance when compared to the food and service. From my home, I would have to drive `100 miles to Los Angeles, or 200 miles to Las Vegas to find a comparable restaurant, and a meal like I had would be 3 times that surcharge. My only complaint is that I ate way too much. I am getting too old for this kind of power eating. Oh, well, I will take it easy tomorrow.
After dinner, I mosied on down to the Casino, wehre Rinna from the Phillipines earned a new belt for hitting my 32 on the roulette wheel, not once, but twice...in a row. So, she is on my Mazatlan shopping list. I then went up to the Spinnaker Lounge for NCL's version of Dancing With The Stars. My other NBF's from Bingo, Candy the Asst Cruise Director, Kat, and the Transylvanian Princess Herself, Maria all told me I had to go, and, really, how could I resist? Especially from Maria with that Romanian accent. (I tried to get her to say "Ve've been expectink you, Misted-d Bond", but she didn't get it...apparently not a James Bond fan). It was a lot of fun, with crewmembers, mostly pros from the Entertainment staff paired up with passengers in a ten couple dance off. As expected, they ranged from the quite good, to the truly drunk, and a good time was had by all.
A final stop in the Casino resulted in finally breaking even for the day...and, tomorrow, Mazatlan. I haven't bothered to get off in Mazatlan my last few trips down, but I have quite a shopping list, so....Oh, and I think I will try to find a WiFi hotspot. This netbook thing is working great...type it all up, head down to the lobby, or the pool, and log on to the ships wireless. So far, total connection time under ten minutes, rather than the 20-30 mins/day I have had to burn on previous cruises. However, it's time to get caught up on email, update the Fantasy teams, etc...
Manana, mi amigos!