A lot of planning and preparation along with many different parrot heads made the cruise a huge success. The ability to raise over $30,000 for Breast Cancer Research, the friendships that were made, the music and musicians and changing latitudes made this event one I would recommend for everyone. What's better than having a great time and raising money at the same time? This year's cruise will be hard to beat, but I know that they will still try for next year. Here's a brief recap of some of the activities and fun times.

Saturday April 2nd - Long Beach, CA
Attended a Bon Voyage Party (pre-cruise) in Long Beach co-sponsored by several of the local PHCs. Stars on the Water performed and Hugo Duarte joined in for a few songs. Lots of local parrot heads were also in attendance.

Sunday April 3rd - Departure
Almost 400 Parrot Heads and nearly 2000 other guests boarded the Carnival Pride and departed Long Beach headed South of Margaritaville. Boy, were those other passengers in for a surprise! We had a "Welcome Aboard Rendezvous" and lots of cruisers either met or reacquainted themselves with fellow passengers. Later that evening was a "Pub Crawl" from one bar to another bar as a large group. We ended up in the Piano Bar, which of course we closed and partied some more into the wee hours of the morning.

Monday April 4th
Yet more activities to participate in - or not! One was a "Horse Auction" in which teams of individuals bid to buy small replicas to use in the Parrothead Derby on Saturday. FYI, If you did buy a horse, you had better be sure to keep a close eye on it as they have been stolen and held for ransom before. True to form, it happened again this year. There was also a big Scavenger Hunt and Silent Auction featuring many great items. Later that evening, Hugo Duarte played a private show for us. Of course all of the other Mariachis joined in for a while also.

Tuesday April 5th
The "Parrothead Pool Invasion" took over the Poseidon Pool. Of course there was more music with Matt Hall playing poolside and he was joined by the others for a time. We also had a Tee Shirt Swap with members of the other clubs - we did get some nice shirts! Later that evening was a FREE cocktail party!

Wednesday April 6th - Puerto Vallarta
A free day in Puerto Vallarta. Went on the "Zip Line" and it was a lot of fun. Everyone went different directions and explored the town and all its many different activity options. Headed back to the ship for our entertainment for the evening. KD Moore and Fingers Taylor played and were joined again by the others. Can't say enough about all of the great music that we were able to see and hear.

Thursday April 7th - Mazatlan
Yet another big private party set up for 200 of us - a "One Particular Harbor" with food and drink by the water, and lots of activities: horseback riding, snorkeling and banana boat riding or just hanging around and eating and drinking, or a combination of all of the above. Back at the ship it was "Toga Night" and most everyone dressed up and met for a group picture. Then of course the whole group paraded from the front of the boat all the way back to the main dining room. We sure did get some strange looks from some of the other passengers, but they already knew we were on board and were having lots of fun!!!!!!!!!!

Friday April 8th - Cabo San Lucas
We headed for CaboWaboville and our private party. Our Parrothead Mariachis (Hugo Duarte, Jeff Pike, Matt Hall, Fingers Taylor and KD Moore) put on a show that brought the house down. If you are ever in Cabo San Lucas make sure to check this place out. (the tequila's is pretty good too!) That evening (morning?) we had a "Sunrise Party and Musical Jam". Hugo Duarte played and KD Moore and Ric Guerrero (PH from San Antonio Club) joined in and provided even more excellent entertainment. Did the party ever end??? There is some discrepancy as to who was the "Last Man Standing". We're still not sure, but I heard the contest was still going on at 8:30am Saturday morning.

Saturday April 9th
A day at sea - and what a day it was! We had a head wind that we were fighting that was 30+ MPH and the waves were 10' high! As you can imagine, there were some cruisers who were not quite themselves that day, but none were Parrotheads! We had a Pajama Party in the Piano Bar that evening as we commiserated about going back home.

Sunday April 10th - Docking
We arrived safely(?) back in Long Beach and drank everything that was left over (Friendship Punch). Go home wondering why we ever go home. Others planned ahead and stayed back at he hotel in Long Beach for one last day of fun together.

As for next year? Don't miss it!