Norwegian Gem

Ahoy folks!

The day after the wedding aboard the Queen Mary, my wife and I embarked on a 7-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera aboard Norwegian Gem. Neither of us had been on a cruise before and it was the time of our lives! I was able to get a few shots of the Captain around the ship, but was paranoid the entire voyage that I'd accidentally drop him overboard. The above photo was from our first full day at sea.

Our first port was the lovely city of Puerto Vallarta. We went zip lining and I didn't die (which is something that I thought was surely going to happen).

I realize now I didn't get a shot of the Captain at our next port, which was Mazatlan. None of the shore excursions looked too exciting so we stayed aboard a bit longer than most and checked out an independent craft brewery just a few blocks away from the port. Definitely recommended! 

Our final port was Cabo San Lucas. We did a whale watching cruise and weren't disappointed! At one point we found ourselves in the midst of a dolphin pod and were surrounded by no less than 30 of them! It was sooo cool!

Also, here's a lovely shot of the Gem from the whale watching cruise trip.

Not a photo of the Captain, I know, but this was one of the most incredible sunsets that I've even seen. It also happened to be from our last night aboard.

Early the last morning, just as the ship was coming into the Port of Los Angeles, I was able to quickly take the Captain for a few photos in areas that were normally packed with people.

We also met the real captain, too! Captain Marin was kind enough to invite us to his VIP reception on the second night after I gifted him a book about the Queen Mary with a note saying how excited we were to be aboard the Gem for our honeymoon.

Of course this brief description and photos don't do the trip justice. But I think I'll make it a tradition from here on out. My wife and I have already booked a cruise for our 1st Anniversary. You can bet that the Captain will be coming with us!