"To Dodging Hurricanes in Mexico"

Ok, so I just returned from my first cruise ever to the Mexican Riviera aboard the Carnival Pride and I just have to ask myself "Why did I wait so long to try this???"

The words unforgettable and incredible come to mind when I try to describe my cruise experience to friends, family, and coworkers! This 7-day voyage took us to Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, and due to Hurricane Norbert's untimely arrival, we had to skip Mazatlan and head up to Ensenada. This being my first time to Mexico, I was like a kid in a candy store trying to take it all in! And if you want to talk about food, I think I DID take it all in! The cuisine on the Pride was delicious and I found myself eating...and eating...and eating some more. Thank goodness for the 24hour pizza bar, ice cream stands, and late night buffets! And the entertainment was great! Go Carnival Pride performers!

The only sad part about this trip was Hurricane Norbert himself. You see, our group of 53 travelers had the opportunity to plan a service project in Mazatlan at an orphanage called "La Ciudad de Los Ninos," or the City of the Children. When the ship's captain made the difficult decision to bypass Mazatlan in order to move out of Norbet's path, it broke many hearts. Many in our group had brought entire suitcases full of clothes, coloring books, games, etc to give to the kids at the orphanage, only to find ourselves whisked past Mazatlan and to Cabo San Lucas. We were all looking forward to it, but can completely understand the captain's desire to move his ship out of the way of a Category 1 hurricane! But don't worry, we have a backup plan! We're going to collect all those donated materials and ship them down to the children at the orphanage. At Murdock Escorted Tours, you can rest assured that we'll see a project through to the end.

We've all heard it before, and I'll say it again, cruising is the best way to travel! In fact, the day after I got back to the States, I started planning my next cruise...details to come! Thank you to everyone from our Utah Jazz Humanitarian Group who made the cruise as wonderful as it was! Here's to dodging hurricanes in Mexico!

Nos vemos!