Day 7 – Acapulco

Today our port of call was Acapulco, Mexico on our wonderful cruise to Mexico on board the Celebrity Cruises Mercury.  The weather continues to be outstanding though it was overcast this morning.  However, the clouds burned off by noon and the sunny weather continued.  The humidity has also risen to high numbers, but its bearable.

For Acapulco, we didnt have any excursions booked, but still had a full day planned.  The day started with Suzanne and the kids getting off the boat and going across the street to the historic Fuerte de San Diegeo and its museum.  This fort was built by the Spaniards to ward off pirates of their lucrative trade from Acapulco.  Mr Papa really doesnt like to do museums, so he passed and got caught up on some relaxation time up on deck.

When they returned, we all went back ashore, grabbed a taxi driver with a van and made arrangements for him to spend the day hauling us around.  First, we had him take us to the Acapulco Cliff Divers as we wanted to catch their early afternoon show.  We went to the restaraunt and had perfect front row seats for the diving while we ate some delicious chicken tacos (though we would call them tacquitos).  The divers put on a nice show althought a bit short at only 20 minutes.  I dont know if the night shows are longer or not, but we were impressed but surprised at the brevity of it.

Then we had the driver take us to a few tourist shopping areas as Savannah is looking for a Mexican barbie type doll in every stop wearing an authentic folklorico dress of the state we are visiting.  However, we were not able to find one for Guerrero which Acapulco is in.  Hopefully, we will find on in Zihuatanejo as it too is in Guerrero.

Suzanne had also located this little hidden away place on the internet that is supposed to be the best spot in Acapulco for snorkeling, so we had the driver take us there.  The place was Boca Chica.  It’s basically a small, hidden, out of the way hotel/resort.  It cost us $30 to get in the place, but it also meant that we could get up to $30 in food/drink while there for free.  The snorkeling was an additional $15.  I chose to sit at the bar and drink some Pacifico Cerveza while they snorkeled.  That would also give me the chance to take some pictures and video.

The kids really enjoyed the snorkeling.  After they were in the water for about 15 minutes, one of the guides that runs the place came out into the water and gave they a guided tour of the whole area.  They got to see a bunch of stuff they would not have seen if he hadnt led the way.  Three Pacificos later, they were done and we were ready to leave.

Suzanne and Savannah got dropped off at a marketplace near the cruise ship to continue their doll hunt while Sean and I got dropped off at the ship.  The girls struck out again.  The entire time the guy was driving us around, he was telling us about Acapulco and some of the history.  It was a wonderful way to see the town.  He spoke good English and we kept trying to use our broken Spanish which made if kind of fun.

Dinner continued to be amazing.  I cant say enough about the quality of the food on board Celebrity ships.  The service staff continues extremely friendly and helpful.  This is a major reason why we choose to sail on Celebrity if possible.  I also guess we must be doing something right with the kids because not a dinner goes by where some other guests come by and compliment us on the behaviour of the kids and how nice it is to see a family on a cruise experiencing it all together.  They really like seeing the kids dressed up in the dress code of the night and displaying good manners at the table.  We must be their worst critics because we always hope for more, but the compiments are definitely showing the kids to be capable of handling themselves on the cruise ship.

Tonight was the big Mexican fiesta night.  Sailing time wasnt until 11:00pm with a big sail away party up on deck.  Also, the entertainment in the theater was Mariachis and Folklorico dancing.  They were wonderful and the kids had a ball watching them as they currently are taking Folklorico dancing.  After the show, the Mariachis moved to the top deck and played some more.  Savannah requested some of the songs that she knows Mexican dances to.  Her and Suzanne then proceeded to entertain the party goers with their Folklorico dancing to the Mexican Mariachis.  The musicians were impressed with their dancing and suprised some Gringas would know their dancing. 

It was a big party with an excellent turnout from the passengers.  After departure, we enjoyed a wonderful view of Acapulco at night as we sailed away.  Savannah managed to stay awake until about 11:30.  The rest of us stayed up on deck partying until about 1:00 am before we called it quits.

Tomorrow, we make our port of call in Zihuatanejo, Mexico.