STAR TREK Cruise VI

 

Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas

We've been on many cruises over the years. We've also attended many Star Trek conventions. But we've never been on a Star Trek cruise—mostly because they tend to leave from Florida. No excuses this year, though, as Star Trek's 6th annual cruise left February 24 from Los Angeles, sailing to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. We were onboard.

It's no secret that our favorite cruise line is Disney, so I couldn't help comparing this trip to past Disney cruises. The Star Trek vessel, Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas, was similar to other large ships: veranda cabins, theater space, a large dining area for communal meals, as well as a separate cafeteria-style dining area (e.g., all-you-can-eat bacon for breakfast—what's not to love?). This is pretty much where similarities between a Disney and Star Trek cruise end, however. Unlike Disney, this ship had a casino and almost no child passengers—which was just as well, since bar service seemed to pop-up every five feet (ugh).

Ship promenade

Music was piped into the hallways and common areas, but instead of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and "Feed the Birds" by the Sherman Brothers, we heard theme songs from the various Star Trek series and movies, plus well-known dialogue and distinctive sound effects from the shows. Passengers were encouraged to decorate their cabin doors, like on other cruises. But instead of Mickey and Minnie, doors were festooned in photos of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, et al.

Passenger door

Ship signage

Me and Spock

And speaking of Kirk, our guest cruise captain was James T. Kirk, himself: William Shatner, who appeared at two fan events to answer questions. But unlike captain Mickey, who stays aboard entire Disney cruises, Shatner returned home as soon as the ship anchored in Mazatlan. Disappointing.

Shatner at a fan Q&A in the main theater

No Disney "bounding" here, of course, but many passengers did wear their finest Star Trek costumes and uniforms, according to each day's theme: e.g., Gorn pajama party, zombies, "Knights of the Holodeck," etc. Cosplaying culminated on night #6 with a costume contest that beat anything Disney cruises offer! Our minds boggled, wondering how some participants carried their costumes home.

Lady Gorn

Contest winners: birds? angels?

Meals on the Star Trek cruise were less structured than on Disney, which assigns tables and eating companions for the entire trip. Disney also provides entertainment during dinner—for example, performers and musical numbers from, say, the movie Tangled. Star Trek cruises are much less formal—no assigned seats or companions. And instead of entertainment, you might find yourself debating favorite show episodes with the stranger sitting next to you!

Eating one of many hot dogs on the pool deck

No "Broadway-style" musical shows either, like on Disney; but the Star Trek cruise did offer a wide assortment of cast interviews, panel discussions, and celebrity readings and performances. Our favorites were: a live reading of "The Devil in the Dark" (i.e., the Horta episode), performed by cast members from The Next Generation; a reading of the radio play "The Lost World;" the Gorn "Gong Show" (hysterically funny); and a musical revue by multi-talented Robert Picardo.

Deep Space 9 panel

Voyager panel

Gorn "Gong Show"

Finally, unlike Disney, which makes all their characters available to passengers for free all week long, photo ops and autograph sessions with Star Trek celebs are by appointment only and are very expensive. Luckily, running into my fave actors in the cafeteria or on the ship's elevators was good enough for me! 

Me and Deep Space 9 "showrunner" Ira Steven Behr (red t-shirt)

having a close encounter on the pool deck

Fans waiting on line to meet their favorite celebs

So, did we have fun? Yes, but were very happy to beam home once we returned to L.A. a week later. Every Star Trek fan should go on the cruise at least once. For us, though, it's back to Disney.

Topside at dawn

Anchored at Mazatlan

Docked in front of Walmart, Sam's Club and a mall at Puerto Vallarta (really?)

In case you forget what day it is, this elevator carpet strip is changed daily

The "pointy end" of our ship

NYC to Halifax and Back Again

Disney "Magic" and tender boat to Bar Harbor, MN

Bar Harbor, Maine

After a day at sea, we docked off the east coast of Maine and took a small tender boat into Bar Harbor—which everyone warned us is pronounced "Bah HAH-bah"—a small town on Mount Desert Island, most famously known as the gateway to the Acadia National Park. Despite gloomy predictions, the weather was crisp and sunny—perfect for a hike through the woods. We were hoping to see fall colors. Our first day ashore did not disappoint.

Riding in a large motorcoach, we spent several hours touring Acadia National Park, created about 100 years ago when local millionaires, like the Rockefellers, donated land to preserve the area's green foliage. Today the area is home to celebrity millionaires, such as Martha Stewart and Dick Wolf, creator of the Law and Order franchise.

Sadly, a huge portion of the park—and Bar Harbor—was destroyed by fire in 1947. But, as devastating as this was, the good news is that other types of trees, like birch, beech, maples, etc., grew in place of the conifers, resulting in the beautiful yellow, orange and red leaves we now love. Hundreds of tourists were visiting the national park when we were there, even though it was a Wednesday in the middle of October! Lucky for us, we had excellent tour guides to lead us away from the leaf-peeping crowds.

Glorious colors!!

Creeks!

Hiking through the trees

Stopping for a selfie

More color

Diverse foliage

Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Saint John was our next day's adventure. Another small town, but with colonial roots. We took a two-hour "foodie tour" of the downtown area. The most famous attraction is the Saint John public market, located inside an 1876 building and rather small, compared to other markets we've visited in Canada. Tim did sample "dulse," a seaweed product that's high in iodine and potassium—our group was not impressed! We were, however, very impressed by the town's Pomodori pizzeria, which has won numerous awards. Who knew?

Colorful but small public market. That's Tim

peaking over our "loyalist" tour guide's shoulder.

Me enjoying Pomodori pizza!

Halifax, Nova Scotia

A true high point of our trip was spending an entire day in Halifax, the provincial capital of Nova Scotia. Lots of history here, including being the burial site of over 100 passengers who died on the Titanic. Halifax is fully exposed to the Atlantic Ocean and so has seen its fair share of hurricanes. Still, of all the places we visited, this is the one I'd move to if we had to live in Canada.

Our first stop was the public garden, a beautiful Victorian space established in 1874. Some modernists apparently want to update the grounds, but I say "No!" I loved the plants, especially the small collection of dahlias, which are the garden's specialty.

From here, we visited the Titanic gravesites—very moving—and then on to Peggy's Cove, a picturesque fishing village on the edge of nowhere. Very blustery, but happily the rain held-off until we got back to the ship. It was a bumpy boat ride back to NYC.

The public garden's gazebo, built in honor

of Queen Victoria's 60-year reign. Elizabeth

visited on her 60th anniversary year.

Outstanding dahlias

More!!

One of the many heartbreaking Titanic tombstones

Picturesque Peggy's Cove

Lobster traps

Local art

In front of the famous lighthouse

Albuquerque Balloons

Long before "bucket lists" became a thing, I've wanted to attend the annual balloon festival in Albuquerque (ABQ), NM. I blame Dr. George Fischbeck, my favorite 1970s TV meteorologist, who bragged every year about going to the festival. It always sounded so exotic, but I never went. That is, until this year when the UCLA alumni travel group offered a weekend in ABQ to see the balloons. This would be our first big post-pandemic excursion. We booked the tickets 6 months in advance and kept our fingers crossed that COVID wouldn't shatter our plans.

Not yet ready to fly, we instead reserved an overnight "roomette" (i.e., bunk beds for two) on Amtrak—a tad cramped, but far better than, say, driving to New Mexico. The travel group arranged our hotel reservation: the luxurious Hotel Chaco, adjacent to Old Town Albuquerque and across the street from the Sawmill Market, a tasty food emporium serving everything from thin-crust pizza (me) to lobster po-boy sandwiches (Tim) to amazing fruit-topped waffles (me and Tim!). Food galore.

Amtrak roomette

Sawmill Market

Pizza from HAWT (Have a Wonderful Time)

On Friday night, we attended a reception where we met the other hundred or so alums from colleges across the country. Then it was to bed, so we could rise early the next morning to catch our buses to the festival. The first event of the day: the Dawn Patrol balloon release at—you guessed it—dawn! Meaning, of course, that we had to leave the hotel at 4:30AM. Beautiful, but I'm pretty sure every one of us took a long nap once we returned to the hotel at 10AM!

Dawn Patrol balloons aglow

Once the Dawn Patrol took off, balloons started to inflate all over the airfield, so we made our way down to get a closer look. The Albuquerque balloon festival is the only U.S. airshow that allows attendees to walk among the airships as they prepare to fly. Seeing the efficiency of the ground crews prepping the balloons for flight was exhilarating. In a matter of minutes, deflated balloons lying flat on the ground were filled with cold then hot air before launching. Mass Ascension began at 7AM, ending some 2 hours later with hundreds of balloons flying above. It was crowded, loud, colorful, and absolutely exciting—everything I always hoped it would be!

Before inflation

Filling with cold air

Ground crew members

Filling with hot air—very noisy

Surrounded by color

Up close

Mass Ascension: Up, up and away!

I especially loved the "shape" balloons: Airebelle the cow (sponsored by Creamland Dairy), Smokey the Bear, Harlequin, pink pig ("When Pigs Fly"), and even a red devil.

Harlequin

Watermelon balloon

Smokey the Bear

Red Devil. Note how tiny the people look below him.

Airebelle the Cow and penguin

When Pigs Fly

We returned at sunset for the "Twilight Twinkle Glow" show, where the balloons stayed on the ground but were illuminated by hot air flames. Magnificent.

Twilight Twinkle Glow

A glorious show!

Back again the next morning for Dawn Patrol, followed by another spectacular Mass Ascension. The most popular balloons on Sunday were Darth Vader and Yoda, accompanied by several cosplayers dressed as storm troopers, rebel fighters, and, of course, Boba Fett, who all secured the perimeter while the balloons were inflated. What a thrill!

Dawn Patrol flying overhead on Sunday

Balloons in various states of inflation. Note the woman

standing in the mouth of the balloon at bottom of photo.

"There's no place like home, there's no place like home"

Mass Ascension Day #2

Boba Fett securing the perimeter, while Yoda

inflates behind him. Darth Vader is still flat on the ground.

Darth whispering in Yoda's ear: "Come to the dark side!"

Darth Vader afloat. Note the tiny gandola hanging below.

We had a wonderful time and highly recommend making the trip to Albuquerque to see the biggest balloon fest in the U.S. But you'll need to get up early to see it all!

Old Town Albuquerque