2/11 Honolulu.
Today we arrived in Honolulu. We left the ship after leaving the cabin, without stopping for breakfast. In the terminal it was easy to grab a cab, and we headed to the airport to pick up our rental car. Because the discount code didn’t allow me to enter my Preferred number, it took a bit longer than I would have liked to rent the car, but we were soon on our way to the Pearl mall, near the airport. The GPS got a bit confused at one exit, and we found ourselves heading onto one of the navel bases here. We were able to U turn and eventually found the mall.
The part of the mall we went into had SBC coffee and Sears. We stopped for coffee and asked if there was another department store. The barista told us there was a Macy’s in the other part of the mall. We could get there by Monorail (50 cents each way), or walk. After a stroll through a parking lot that went nowhere, we found the mall.
Glen found the clothes he needed fairly quickly, and as we were checking out, the clerk asked where we were going. We said the North Shore, so she said we had try Matsumoto’s Shave Ice.
As we were leaving the mall (and grabbing some card blanks at the Starbucks there) I got a text from my friend Don, asking if we could meet him at the interisland terminal at the airport. So, back to the airport we went. We had a nice 30 minute chat, and then he left for Maui.
We left the airport, and headed to the North Shore. We went through the same confusing interchange, but this time we knew what we were supposed to do.
Our first stop was the Dole Pineapple Plantation. It’s very much a tourist destination, more so than the coffee and Guava farms we’d visited in Kauai on our last visit. There is a maze, a garden tour and a train, but all are an extra charge. We did walk through their pineapple exhibit and stopped for a pineapple soft serve, but it’s not someplace we’re likely to ever visit again.
Once we were done there, we used our phone to find the Shave Ice place. It was about 7 miles away in Haleiwa. We programmed the GPS, and headed down the road.
Traffic there was somewhat busy, lots of cars and people. We found the place, a general store with a long line for the ice. We parked, and joined the line, which wasn’t all that long. There were 40 flavors, and I did a fruit combo and Glen mixed green tea and root beer. If you don’t know what shave ice is, it’s like a snow cone, but the ice is shaved thin, so completely absorbs the syrup. It was yummy.
After that we decided to have a late lunch. I went to Yelp and Urban Spoon on my phone, and after walking for a bit, we settled on the Grass Skirt grill, a small and homey restaurant. We enjoyed a nice lunch and would go back.
Following that, we continued along the road until we found a beach. We parked, wandered and took some pictures. After that, we headed back into Honolulu to return the car.
That went smoothly. We had to take a shuttle from the car rental agency to the terminal to get a cab, and we chatted with a couple who were heading home to NY after a few weeks. They told us that the storm in the Pacific (same one that changed our itinerary) had also broken the mast of a father and his two sons sailing from Vancouver to Hawaii. They sent a distress call, and a tanker 120 miles away heard it and headed over. The boat sank, but all aboard were rescued.
The cab ride back to the ship was quick and Glen headed on board while I shopped. At Matsumoto’s I bought one niece a tee shirt, (she’d been texting me about something else, so I asked what she wanted and she said a cool tee), so I bought T-shirts for her sisters.
After I got on board, Glen and I headed up to the lounge for a bit, and then he relaxed while I went to a show in the theatre – this was a 3 guitar local group with their wives dancing hula. I sat with my tablemates Jack and Mary, and we all decided it was OK but not great.
After the show I went upstairs to change for dinner. Because it was so close to dinnertime, we were almost 15 minutes late. Jack and Mary were there by themselves waiting. Apparently they’d told Natalie that we’d be showing up eventually. Tonight, Frank and Wendy weren’t there, but Grace and Joey were. Last night they’d had a snack late, so went to dinner in Anytime later.
After dinner we headed to Explorer’s where the patter said Indigo would be playing. The lounge was deserted. One of the bar tenders said he thought they were playing the deck party. He called up there, and found out they were. Another couple walked in looking for them, and said they had been playing, but now it was the hula class demonstrating. (Oops, maybe I should have been there).
We decided to head up to the deck party. When we got there it was group version of YMCA. Indigo was there, and just starting up. They then did a conga line, which we joined. Once Indigo started playing we tried to dance, but they were on the smoking side, so we headed to the far corner of the non smoking side, and listened for a while.
A few minutes later, they announced we were leaving, so Glen and I headed to the promenade deck to watch sail away. To our surprise, the front of the promenade (on deck 8) was open, so we watched from there. We stayed up there through the entire sail out of Honolulu. After that, we decided to see if the band was still in the Wheelhouse. They were gone, so we practiced tango for a bit, and then went to bed.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
We went 2200 miles to have lunch with a friend
2/10/12
We woke up to no movement as the ship was tendered in the port of Lahaina in Maui. We dressed quickly and headed down for breakfast at Sabbattini’s. We found that Nancy and Ken were still there, so we sat with them. I guess they had one thing booked for the afternoon. I know they were planning to go to the Paradise Cove Luau in Honolulu on Thursday, so I asked if they were able to rebook. They were. The luau was a little controversial on Facebook, because the Luau no longer picks up at the pier, but at a hotel. They also told many on our roll call that they only drop at the hotel and many were concerned about getting back to the ship by 11pm. Nancy called and they said they would go back to the pier, but others said they were told not, and cancelled. I guess we’ll all find out after tomorrow.
Following breakfast we headed to the tenders. With our cruise card we were able to get right onto a tender. While on the tender, I called Dollar, and they sent a shuttle. When we arrived at the pier, we looked for the rental car pickup location, and as we walked the dollar van showed up, so we just followed. Once we were on the van it took about 20 minutes to reach the rental counter.
Prior to the trip, we’d arranged to have lunch with an old friend, Don Couch and his wife Leslie. About two weeks before we left, Don told us that he had to go Manilla with some state officials (he’s a member of the Maui county council). However, Leslie agreed to have lunch with us, so while Glen took care of the car rental, I called her. We agreed to meet at a new restaurant in Olowalu called Leoda’s, about 15 minutes from Lahaina and about halfway between us and her.
I realized I’d forgotten my GPS, but I did have my phone, so I used that to find the restaurant. Fortunatly, it was on the main highway, so easy to find. And we passed it on the left. We had some time to spare, so we thought we’d try to find the town and look around. Turns out, there wasn’t much to it – blink and you miss it. Trying to find somewhere to turn around was a challenge, but we finally were able to and got to the restaurant a bit early. We visited the Olowalu General Store, and Glen saw a polo shirt that he liked. They only had it in XXL, so he couldn’t get it, but then decided he needed a couple of polos. We decided to look in Lahaina.
It was getting close to lunch time, we headed to the restaurant. They offer an eclectic menu of sandwiches, salads and pot pies. Leslie arrived a few minutes later and we had a very nice lunch. I asked her if Don was connecting through Honolulu, she said he was and texted him to see if we could get together at the airport tomorrow. It might just work.
After lunch we stopped at a beach and took some pictures, including a few of my duck. Glen got some of sand crabs, and we placed the duck near a crab hole but we think the rubber duck scared the crab, so he didn’t come back out.
Following that, we decided to return the car. They’d recommended that only one of us return it, since the buses were crowded. So Glen dropped me at Starbucks in downtown Lahaina, and headed back to drop off the car. I told him to keep me informed via text.
I went in, and asked about getting an Hawaii card blank, since the case only had one marked “for disply only”. She said she had them, but in order to get them, you had to put money on them. I said I’d get 4 for 5.00 each (minimum) and then I’d register them, and move the money to another card and reregister it. She said I didn’t need to register them, any store could change them, and then offered to do it there. So I have 4 blank Hawaii cards now. I bought a coffee, and found nowhere to sit. I did find a table outside, but people were smoking so I just texted my friend on his way back from Manilla, and then went across the street to Hilo Hatties.
I chatted with a fellow passenger, and in the meantime, Glen texted that he was in that he was in the shuttle.
I bought a few food items at Hilo Hatties – some dried fruit and Macademia nuts, and then went out. I was writing a text to Glen to the effect of Where are you when he said right behind you. (I’d told him I was Hilo Hatties, so he came over there.
We next went to the ABC store, where I got candy for my dance team. Then we decided to find him some polo shirts. We stopped in several stores, but only found tee shirts and Hawaiian shirts. We decided to go find a Nordy’s tomorrow in Honolulu.
We wandered around a bit more, and then got in line for the tenders. We didn’t get on the first tender, but were in the front of the line for the second, so we were able to sit on top. That was fun – I’ve never been on the top deck before.
After dropping off our stuff, we went to the Patasserrie, where we found Vera and Vickie. We chatted with them until about 5 when we all decided to go to the Elite Lounge. On the way to the back stairs, we heard Indigo practicing for their Beatles tribute.
We met Vera and Vickie up at the lounge. We continued talking with tem until about 6:30.
We dressed for dinner, and then went to the Beatles tribute. We sat with our tablemates, Jack and Mary, and danced to a few of the songs.
We had a nice dinner, although we had a couple of no shows. Since we were in port, our guess was maybe they were too tired.
Following dinner, we did some dancing to Indigo. At the end of the first set, a (probably inebriated) gentleman asked them to play one more song. They said they’d play it after the break. He said it had to be before, because they were leaving. They asked what the song was, and he said Honky Tonk Woman. They said they didn’t know it. He told them it was B, C, G. (Something to that effect). They offered to let him play the base – so he got up, played it, sang it, and promptly fried the amplifier. So the band started the break, as a techie came up to fix the amp.
About 10 minutes later, Angela, the lead singer came out and apologized for being unable to do their last set, since they couldn’t get a new amp. We chatted with her for a while. We learned that she is engaged to the bass player, and they met on a ship while in different bands. They started Indigo, and gathered other Bulgarian musicians, After chatting for a little longer, they headed out and we went to bed.
We woke up to no movement as the ship was tendered in the port of Lahaina in Maui. We dressed quickly and headed down for breakfast at Sabbattini’s. We found that Nancy and Ken were still there, so we sat with them. I guess they had one thing booked for the afternoon. I know they were planning to go to the Paradise Cove Luau in Honolulu on Thursday, so I asked if they were able to rebook. They were. The luau was a little controversial on Facebook, because the Luau no longer picks up at the pier, but at a hotel. They also told many on our roll call that they only drop at the hotel and many were concerned about getting back to the ship by 11pm. Nancy called and they said they would go back to the pier, but others said they were told not, and cancelled. I guess we’ll all find out after tomorrow.
Following breakfast we headed to the tenders. With our cruise card we were able to get right onto a tender. While on the tender, I called Dollar, and they sent a shuttle. When we arrived at the pier, we looked for the rental car pickup location, and as we walked the dollar van showed up, so we just followed. Once we were on the van it took about 20 minutes to reach the rental counter.
Prior to the trip, we’d arranged to have lunch with an old friend, Don Couch and his wife Leslie. About two weeks before we left, Don told us that he had to go Manilla with some state officials (he’s a member of the Maui county council). However, Leslie agreed to have lunch with us, so while Glen took care of the car rental, I called her. We agreed to meet at a new restaurant in Olowalu called Leoda’s, about 15 minutes from Lahaina and about halfway between us and her.
I realized I’d forgotten my GPS, but I did have my phone, so I used that to find the restaurant. Fortunatly, it was on the main highway, so easy to find. And we passed it on the left. We had some time to spare, so we thought we’d try to find the town and look around. Turns out, there wasn’t much to it – blink and you miss it. Trying to find somewhere to turn around was a challenge, but we finally were able to and got to the restaurant a bit early. We visited the Olowalu General Store, and Glen saw a polo shirt that he liked. They only had it in XXL, so he couldn’t get it, but then decided he needed a couple of polos. We decided to look in Lahaina.
It was getting close to lunch time, we headed to the restaurant. They offer an eclectic menu of sandwiches, salads and pot pies. Leslie arrived a few minutes later and we had a very nice lunch. I asked her if Don was connecting through Honolulu, she said he was and texted him to see if we could get together at the airport tomorrow. It might just work.
After lunch we stopped at a beach and took some pictures, including a few of my duck. Glen got some of sand crabs, and we placed the duck near a crab hole but we think the rubber duck scared the crab, so he didn’t come back out.
Following that, we decided to return the car. They’d recommended that only one of us return it, since the buses were crowded. So Glen dropped me at Starbucks in downtown Lahaina, and headed back to drop off the car. I told him to keep me informed via text.
I went in, and asked about getting an Hawaii card blank, since the case only had one marked “for disply only”. She said she had them, but in order to get them, you had to put money on them. I said I’d get 4 for 5.00 each (minimum) and then I’d register them, and move the money to another card and reregister it. She said I didn’t need to register them, any store could change them, and then offered to do it there. So I have 4 blank Hawaii cards now. I bought a coffee, and found nowhere to sit. I did find a table outside, but people were smoking so I just texted my friend on his way back from Manilla, and then went across the street to Hilo Hatties.
I chatted with a fellow passenger, and in the meantime, Glen texted that he was in that he was in the shuttle.
I bought a few food items at Hilo Hatties – some dried fruit and Macademia nuts, and then went out. I was writing a text to Glen to the effect of Where are you when he said right behind you. (I’d told him I was Hilo Hatties, so he came over there.
We next went to the ABC store, where I got candy for my dance team. Then we decided to find him some polo shirts. We stopped in several stores, but only found tee shirts and Hawaiian shirts. We decided to go find a Nordy’s tomorrow in Honolulu.
We wandered around a bit more, and then got in line for the tenders. We didn’t get on the first tender, but were in the front of the line for the second, so we were able to sit on top. That was fun – I’ve never been on the top deck before.
After dropping off our stuff, we went to the Patasserrie, where we found Vera and Vickie. We chatted with them until about 5 when we all decided to go to the Elite Lounge. On the way to the back stairs, we heard Indigo practicing for their Beatles tribute.
We met Vera and Vickie up at the lounge. We continued talking with tem until about 6:30.
We dressed for dinner, and then went to the Beatles tribute. We sat with our tablemates, Jack and Mary, and danced to a few of the songs.
We had a nice dinner, although we had a couple of no shows. Since we were in port, our guess was maybe they were too tired.
Following dinner, we did some dancing to Indigo. At the end of the first set, a (probably inebriated) gentleman asked them to play one more song. They said they’d play it after the break. He said it had to be before, because they were leaving. They asked what the song was, and he said Honky Tonk Woman. They said they didn’t know it. He told them it was B, C, G. (Something to that effect). They offered to let him play the base – so he got up, played it, sang it, and promptly fried the amplifier. So the band started the break, as a techie came up to fix the amp.
About 10 minutes later, Angela, the lead singer came out and apologized for being unable to do their last set, since they couldn’t get a new amp. We chatted with her for a while. We learned that she is engaged to the bass player, and they met on a ship while in different bands. They started Indigo, and gathered other Bulgarian musicians, After chatting for a little longer, they headed out and we went to bed.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
A tale of two Entrees
Thursday 2/9
Our extra sea day. We got to sleep in a bit because of the extra hour and lack of a port. We did our usual breakfast, and then wandered around the Promenade for a while. The entire deck was open including the front part on deck 8. We worked on the reverse wave for a while, since we’d received an email this morning from a teammate, and she said the comp team worked very hard on it.
We then hung out at the Pattasserie for a while. I finally worked on the class I’m taking at Foothill college.
Prior to breakfast, I’d tried to cancel my car reservations for today via the discount website. I got an email from them that they couldn’t find it. Oh well, I tried.
From the Pattasserie, we went to the pub lunch. They had the secondary menu this time – it included fried shrimp and trifle. I asked if the shrimp came with mushy peas and chips. They said no, so I asked for some on the side. They gave me two entrees – the shrimp (which did have fries) and a full order of fish and chips. They’re not always good at adjusting orders.
After the pub lunch, I went to the line dance class. Apparently Jacki spent most of last night learning a new and very complicated dance that after today’s experiment she will never teach again. Apparently it was misrepresented as a beginner dance.
After line dance class, I waited for the hula class. The PA system played Ring of Fire, so I practiced our quickstep. A couple of people asked me about it, including a ballroom dancer from LA, and someone who asked if it was modern ballroom or square dance.
After hula, Glen and I headed to the gym and used the aerobics studio to block the choreography for our team competition routine. We heard there are some minor changes but we continued with the status quo.
After that, up to Skywalkers for the Elite Happy Hour. Following that we tried to watch The Hurt Locker, but we couldn’t really follow it, so we gave up. After that, it was down to dinner. After dinner, the Wheelhouse band was playing, but there were a lot of people on the floor – we think because of the Meringue, which was the first dance taught. We wandered outside instead, and then decided to go to the show at the theater – having no idea what it was.
At 10:15 the show started. It was Stardust – a tribute to the music of the early 50’s – Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, things like that. Generally, not IMHO one of their best.
After that, we headed to Explorers, and danced the rest of the set of Indigo. Following that – bed.
Our extra sea day. We got to sleep in a bit because of the extra hour and lack of a port. We did our usual breakfast, and then wandered around the Promenade for a while. The entire deck was open including the front part on deck 8. We worked on the reverse wave for a while, since we’d received an email this morning from a teammate, and she said the comp team worked very hard on it.
We then hung out at the Pattasserie for a while. I finally worked on the class I’m taking at Foothill college.
Prior to breakfast, I’d tried to cancel my car reservations for today via the discount website. I got an email from them that they couldn’t find it. Oh well, I tried.
From the Pattasserie, we went to the pub lunch. They had the secondary menu this time – it included fried shrimp and trifle. I asked if the shrimp came with mushy peas and chips. They said no, so I asked for some on the side. They gave me two entrees – the shrimp (which did have fries) and a full order of fish and chips. They’re not always good at adjusting orders.
After the pub lunch, I went to the line dance class. Apparently Jacki spent most of last night learning a new and very complicated dance that after today’s experiment she will never teach again. Apparently it was misrepresented as a beginner dance.
After line dance class, I waited for the hula class. The PA system played Ring of Fire, so I practiced our quickstep. A couple of people asked me about it, including a ballroom dancer from LA, and someone who asked if it was modern ballroom or square dance.
After hula, Glen and I headed to the gym and used the aerobics studio to block the choreography for our team competition routine. We heard there are some minor changes but we continued with the status quo.
After that, up to Skywalkers for the Elite Happy Hour. Following that we tried to watch The Hurt Locker, but we couldn’t really follow it, so we gave up. After that, it was down to dinner. After dinner, the Wheelhouse band was playing, but there were a lot of people on the floor – we think because of the Meringue, which was the first dance taught. We wandered outside instead, and then decided to go to the show at the theater – having no idea what it was.
At 10:15 the show started. It was Stardust – a tribute to the music of the early 50’s – Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, things like that. Generally, not IMHO one of their best.
After that, we headed to Explorers, and danced the rest of the set of Indigo. Following that – bed.
A duck and the dreaded captain announcement
Apologies - I realized that all that's in the previous posts as far as dates is the posting date. From now on, I'll leave the entry date.
Wednesday 2/8
We woke up around 9 to significant rocking (Glen said, I wish the captain would change lanes more smoothly – remember we’re from California and the land of Botts-dots). We went to Sabbattiini’s where we had a lovely breakfast with Ken and Nancy, friends from both Facebook and Cruise Critic who were able to book a suite at the last minute. It was busier than usual today, but we had a nice time.
After breakfast Nancy and I went to the atrium to join the Duck Adventure. The cruise staff gave out small rubber ducks. The challenge is to give your duck adventures throughout the cruise and photograph it. Then you pick the best picture, come up with a story, and the cruise staff puts the bests into a slide show and the audience votes on the best one. I grabbed my duck, which Glen named Fonzie because of the duck tail and we headed upstairs, grabbed some reading material, the duck and a camera, and went to the Patassiere since Eli wanted to clean the room.
I was reading my coursework, doing a bit of web surfing, and sort of attending the hula lesson in the atrium when the captain got on the PA. That was unusual – there is a noon briefing from the bridge but it’s never that early. He started by talking about the wind and sea – 50 mile an hour gusts and 20 foot swells, and the slow down of the ship. And that was followed by the inevitable itinerary change. Apparently, we were going too slow to make Honolulu tomorrow, so it’s been moved to Saturday, replacing Hilo which we are now skipping. Maui and Kauai remain the same, although we might be at Maui longer.
I spent the next hour trying to find a new rental car. Dollar was sold out, but I was able to get Avis. I don’t think they have a shuttle, so I expect we’ll have to take a cab to pick up the car. I also tried to move our Thursday lunch to Saturday (sadly, our friends are leaving Waikiki on Friday night so no friends – we’re 0 for 2 on this trip).
We then went to lunch. We were seated with other friendly people at a table by the window. We noticed that the waves were pretty close to the window.
It was after 2pm by the time we finished lunch, so we headed back up to our room – Glen took his iphone to the balcony to catch up on work email and I worked on this blog for a bit and cleared some email.
We eventually went for a long walk around the upper decks. We stopped by the spa and got stickers for our cruise cards so we could use the Thermal Suite. We also got a tour of it. We stopped in the Horizon Court for a snack and ran into a few of our tablemates and sat with them.
We also visisted Skywalkers for a bit, and then watched The Princess and the Frog in the room. I selected two new videos, and left the old ones for Eli to take.
Once again, our whole table was there for dinner, although the other two tables in our section were empty. It was the Cosmopolitan dinner night, and some of the highlights were surf and turf and Cherries Jubilee.
After dinner we danced two sets in Explorers. For the second time, we saw a couple who were doing some extremely advanced WC swing. We’d seen them before in the Wheelhouse, and thought they were great dancers, although they weren’t exactly dancing with the music. Both times we saw them, they did once dance and then left. I’d guess the guy is a professional.
After dancing we retired to the room, where I played on the web for a while, since we set the clocks back again.
Wednesday 2/8
We woke up around 9 to significant rocking (Glen said, I wish the captain would change lanes more smoothly – remember we’re from California and the land of Botts-dots). We went to Sabbattiini’s where we had a lovely breakfast with Ken and Nancy, friends from both Facebook and Cruise Critic who were able to book a suite at the last minute. It was busier than usual today, but we had a nice time.
After breakfast Nancy and I went to the atrium to join the Duck Adventure. The cruise staff gave out small rubber ducks. The challenge is to give your duck adventures throughout the cruise and photograph it. Then you pick the best picture, come up with a story, and the cruise staff puts the bests into a slide show and the audience votes on the best one. I grabbed my duck, which Glen named Fonzie because of the duck tail and we headed upstairs, grabbed some reading material, the duck and a camera, and went to the Patassiere since Eli wanted to clean the room.
I was reading my coursework, doing a bit of web surfing, and sort of attending the hula lesson in the atrium when the captain got on the PA. That was unusual – there is a noon briefing from the bridge but it’s never that early. He started by talking about the wind and sea – 50 mile an hour gusts and 20 foot swells, and the slow down of the ship. And that was followed by the inevitable itinerary change. Apparently, we were going too slow to make Honolulu tomorrow, so it’s been moved to Saturday, replacing Hilo which we are now skipping. Maui and Kauai remain the same, although we might be at Maui longer.
I spent the next hour trying to find a new rental car. Dollar was sold out, but I was able to get Avis. I don’t think they have a shuttle, so I expect we’ll have to take a cab to pick up the car. I also tried to move our Thursday lunch to Saturday (sadly, our friends are leaving Waikiki on Friday night so no friends – we’re 0 for 2 on this trip).
We then went to lunch. We were seated with other friendly people at a table by the window. We noticed that the waves were pretty close to the window.
It was after 2pm by the time we finished lunch, so we headed back up to our room – Glen took his iphone to the balcony to catch up on work email and I worked on this blog for a bit and cleared some email.
We eventually went for a long walk around the upper decks. We stopped by the spa and got stickers for our cruise cards so we could use the Thermal Suite. We also got a tour of it. We stopped in the Horizon Court for a snack and ran into a few of our tablemates and sat with them.
We also visisted Skywalkers for a bit, and then watched The Princess and the Frog in the room. I selected two new videos, and left the old ones for Eli to take.
Once again, our whole table was there for dinner, although the other two tables in our section were empty. It was the Cosmopolitan dinner night, and some of the highlights were surf and turf and Cherries Jubilee.
After dinner we danced two sets in Explorers. For the second time, we saw a couple who were doing some extremely advanced WC swing. We’d seen them before in the Wheelhouse, and thought they were great dancers, although they weren’t exactly dancing with the music. Both times we saw them, they did once dance and then left. I’d guess the guy is a professional.
After dancing we retired to the room, where I played on the web for a while, since we set the clocks back again.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Still another slow day at sea
Today things seemed a bit calmer. We headed out for our usual Sabbattini’s breakfast. Today we chatted with people at other tables, including one my facebook friends Nancy. (Later we agreed that since we eat at the same time, tomorrow, the first to arrive will ask for a table for 4 and we’ll have breakfast together).
Once again, I was off for line dance. Glen had said he might go with me, but decided to pass. I got there in the middle of the first dance, but did pick it up because it was one I’d done before. We also did a partner dance. Apparently, the hoe down is tonight and these dances will be danced.
Glen met me after line dance and we walked along the promenade deck for a while. We practiced our quickstep routine (our goal now is to dance Desiree’s choreography in every ocean in the world).
After that we went to the Patassiere for good coffee. We’d been using our old coffee cards for three days, and they’d been giving us free brewed coffee on them. Today, Glen ordered a latte and the server wouldn’t take the card. She did however, exchange it for their new card. (The old card had no expiration on anything – the new ones expire the free brewed coffee and specialty teas after the voyage they were purchased on.)
After coffee, I went to the Hula lesson. It was taught by one of the cruise staff. After class I asked her if she had a hula background (she did a good job with the class). She’s Canadian, but did study it.
After hula I met Glen for lunch in the dining room. We were seated at a table for 6 and had a very nice meal with some friendly people.
After lunch, I met one of my facebook friends for coffee up at Horizon court. She’s a smoker and not very happy with the smoking policy. It’s been on the front of the cruise personalizer for months, so she should have thought of that. Oh well, I think she’s enjoying the rest of the cruise. She’s on a low carb diet, and the dining room crew has been wonderful about her food.
After that, we went up to the Elite lounge. We talked to Maria, a late joiner to the cruise critic roll call. As we were leaving, Jackie and Chris, friends from both roll calls joined us so we stayed for a while longer. I asked the waiter for another glass of water. He said no, but was teasing, so we had an ongoing tease until we left just before 7pm.
The next stop was Explorers because Indigo was playing dance music. We got there a little late, and there was almost nowhere to sit. We eventually found a place, and danced to a couple of songs. When we got back, someone had taken our seats, in spite of a drink being on the table. We then found one seat next to our tablemates Frank and Wendy, but left soon after for the Wheelhouse. The orchestra was playing and we tried to dance, but since they weren’t specifically playing dance music we gave up and wandered around until dinner.
Tonight’s dinner was the French and Mediterranean dinner, and there wasn’t really a good choice for me. I decided to be brave and get Duck A’la Orange. I also opted for a fruit kabab appetizer, rather than the Escargot. Joey, one of our table mates joking asked for 6 portions of it. I suggested we get one for the table to try. Natalie brought it but only Glen and I tried it. After he finished his first one, Natalie brought Joey another order. He then stopped it at 2. (BTW, they were good).
For the soup course I originally picked Onion Soup, but I wanted to try the cucumber too, so I asked Natalie for some. She said she doesn’t really like it, but I could try it. She brought it. It was OK., a little strong in the raw cucumber flavor. I ate about ¼ of that and ½ of the onion. Hmmm, maybe, when I want to try two different choices, I can keep doing that. Get two and don’t finish either.
The duck was OK. The sauce was great, but the duck was mostly dark meat and I didn’t really like. I wonder if next time they have this menu they’ll do chicken a’la Orange. Frank was brave and tried the Frogs Legs. He said they were good but bland.
For dessert most of us had the raspberry crème brulee. It was made in the right kind of ramekin, but could have had the top burnt a little more.
After dinner, we stopped by the Hoe down in Club Fusion, but there was nowhere to sit. I did a line dance, and since it was hot and crowded we left. We went to the Wheelhouse and danced a couple of dances before the band took a break, and then went to the top deck where we watched Moneyball, a movie about the 2002 Oakland A’s. When we went to dinner, the winds were at force 5 “gentle breeze”, but it was pretty windy up there. The deck chairs without people in them had their cushions flipping around.
After that, back to the room to catch up on email and Words with Friends. I checked the voyage channel and noticed that we were back to gale force winds. I also noticed the speed was less than 20 knots. A quick shower, and then bed.
Once again, I was off for line dance. Glen had said he might go with me, but decided to pass. I got there in the middle of the first dance, but did pick it up because it was one I’d done before. We also did a partner dance. Apparently, the hoe down is tonight and these dances will be danced.
Glen met me after line dance and we walked along the promenade deck for a while. We practiced our quickstep routine (our goal now is to dance Desiree’s choreography in every ocean in the world).
After that we went to the Patassiere for good coffee. We’d been using our old coffee cards for three days, and they’d been giving us free brewed coffee on them. Today, Glen ordered a latte and the server wouldn’t take the card. She did however, exchange it for their new card. (The old card had no expiration on anything – the new ones expire the free brewed coffee and specialty teas after the voyage they were purchased on.)
After coffee, I went to the Hula lesson. It was taught by one of the cruise staff. After class I asked her if she had a hula background (she did a good job with the class). She’s Canadian, but did study it.
After hula I met Glen for lunch in the dining room. We were seated at a table for 6 and had a very nice meal with some friendly people.
After lunch, I met one of my facebook friends for coffee up at Horizon court. She’s a smoker and not very happy with the smoking policy. It’s been on the front of the cruise personalizer for months, so she should have thought of that. Oh well, I think she’s enjoying the rest of the cruise. She’s on a low carb diet, and the dining room crew has been wonderful about her food.
After that, we went up to the Elite lounge. We talked to Maria, a late joiner to the cruise critic roll call. As we were leaving, Jackie and Chris, friends from both roll calls joined us so we stayed for a while longer. I asked the waiter for another glass of water. He said no, but was teasing, so we had an ongoing tease until we left just before 7pm.
The next stop was Explorers because Indigo was playing dance music. We got there a little late, and there was almost nowhere to sit. We eventually found a place, and danced to a couple of songs. When we got back, someone had taken our seats, in spite of a drink being on the table. We then found one seat next to our tablemates Frank and Wendy, but left soon after for the Wheelhouse. The orchestra was playing and we tried to dance, but since they weren’t specifically playing dance music we gave up and wandered around until dinner.
Tonight’s dinner was the French and Mediterranean dinner, and there wasn’t really a good choice for me. I decided to be brave and get Duck A’la Orange. I also opted for a fruit kabab appetizer, rather than the Escargot. Joey, one of our table mates joking asked for 6 portions of it. I suggested we get one for the table to try. Natalie brought it but only Glen and I tried it. After he finished his first one, Natalie brought Joey another order. He then stopped it at 2. (BTW, they were good).
For the soup course I originally picked Onion Soup, but I wanted to try the cucumber too, so I asked Natalie for some. She said she doesn’t really like it, but I could try it. She brought it. It was OK., a little strong in the raw cucumber flavor. I ate about ¼ of that and ½ of the onion. Hmmm, maybe, when I want to try two different choices, I can keep doing that. Get two and don’t finish either.
The duck was OK. The sauce was great, but the duck was mostly dark meat and I didn’t really like. I wonder if next time they have this menu they’ll do chicken a’la Orange. Frank was brave and tried the Frogs Legs. He said they were good but bland.
For dessert most of us had the raspberry crème brulee. It was made in the right kind of ramekin, but could have had the top burnt a little more.
After dinner, we stopped by the Hoe down in Club Fusion, but there was nowhere to sit. I did a line dance, and since it was hot and crowded we left. We went to the Wheelhouse and danced a couple of dances before the band took a break, and then went to the top deck where we watched Moneyball, a movie about the 2002 Oakland A’s. When we went to dinner, the winds were at force 5 “gentle breeze”, but it was pretty windy up there. The deck chairs without people in them had their cushions flipping around.
After that, back to the room to catch up on email and Words with Friends. I checked the voyage channel and noticed that we were back to gale force winds. I also noticed the speed was less than 20 knots. A quick shower, and then bed.
Another sea day in which nothing much happens
They set the clocks back an hour, so we were able to sleep in a bit, which was good, since the ship kept hitting speed bumps every few minutes. Another nice breakfast at Sabbattini’s and another line dance class for me. Again, I caught the back half of the class, which included a review of Rockin Robin. We then wandered around the upper decks for a while since the Promenade was closed. Much of the upper deck was too.
Once again, we did lunch in the dining and met some nice couples, including Johnny and Lexie who also dance. We’d see them later in the Wheelhouse.
Following lunch we walked around the promenade deck, although because of gale force winds and rough seas, we were unable to go to the top. We also danced a little during our various walks.
After that we decided (OK, I decided) we’d go to the Cha Cha liesson. The instructor Phillipe is very nice, and very helpful, but in our opinion, give us 30 minutes with him and we could teach him a couple of things (like what the frame is, not open handed with wiggling arms) so that he could release beginning dancers on the world not bad dancers. It was a good chance for us to practice.
Following that, we went to the Patassierie, and on the way over we met up with Janet C. one of our facebook buddies. We spent a nice hour chatting with her, and I did promise here I’d meet up with her for trivia later in the cruise.
The weather was still bad, and at one point there was a pretty big movement – enough that we wondered if we’d hit something. (Not really since there isn’t anything out here to hit). However, it did cause a problem with the television management system, since it rebooted. Yes, our television showed the reboot of a Windows system. If I can get the picture I took of our tv displaying a windows boot, off my phone, I’ll post it.
Tonight, the wheelhouse band was playing at 6pm, and it was formal night, so we got ready early. At about 5:15 we went to the Elite lounge in Skywalkers. We watched the sunset from the top of the ship, and chatted with some other people.
Just after 6, we headed down to the Wheelhouse and danced until the band left at about 6:50. The captain’s welcome party was going on in the atrium, and they were supposed to have the champagne waterfall, but because of the sea and wind, they’ll have it at a later formal night. The Explorers band was playing so we danced a waltz to them.
We were the first to arrive at dinner, but all our tablemates arrived soon after, and once again Natalie and her assistant Joseph took good care of us. One of our tablemates, Grace was somewhat seasick, so they brought her apples and crackers. Hopefully she’ll be well enough to join us tomorrow.
As we were leaving dinner, Glen suggested maybe we could go to the Sterling Steakhouse tomorrow. I said lets wait for a menu I hate, and see if we get into the chefs table. Natalie heard that, and said that we were on the list and going. She sid it would be on the way back from Hawaii and would be amazing. (Not sure where she gets her info from, but OK).
Since we’d danced before dinner, we decided to get to bed early, but take a short walk upstairs. It was still windy, so we had to walk towards the back. The Jumbotron was showing The Three Musketeers, so we ended up watching that. It was a fun movie, and set itself up for a sequel.
After that we went back to the room and to bed.
Once again, we did lunch in the dining and met some nice couples, including Johnny and Lexie who also dance. We’d see them later in the Wheelhouse.
Following lunch we walked around the promenade deck, although because of gale force winds and rough seas, we were unable to go to the top. We also danced a little during our various walks.
After that we decided (OK, I decided) we’d go to the Cha Cha liesson. The instructor Phillipe is very nice, and very helpful, but in our opinion, give us 30 minutes with him and we could teach him a couple of things (like what the frame is, not open handed with wiggling arms) so that he could release beginning dancers on the world not bad dancers. It was a good chance for us to practice.
Following that, we went to the Patassierie, and on the way over we met up with Janet C. one of our facebook buddies. We spent a nice hour chatting with her, and I did promise here I’d meet up with her for trivia later in the cruise.
The weather was still bad, and at one point there was a pretty big movement – enough that we wondered if we’d hit something. (Not really since there isn’t anything out here to hit). However, it did cause a problem with the television management system, since it rebooted. Yes, our television showed the reboot of a Windows system. If I can get the picture I took of our tv displaying a windows boot, off my phone, I’ll post it.
Tonight, the wheelhouse band was playing at 6pm, and it was formal night, so we got ready early. At about 5:15 we went to the Elite lounge in Skywalkers. We watched the sunset from the top of the ship, and chatted with some other people.
Just after 6, we headed down to the Wheelhouse and danced until the band left at about 6:50. The captain’s welcome party was going on in the atrium, and they were supposed to have the champagne waterfall, but because of the sea and wind, they’ll have it at a later formal night. The Explorers band was playing so we danced a waltz to them.
We were the first to arrive at dinner, but all our tablemates arrived soon after, and once again Natalie and her assistant Joseph took good care of us. One of our tablemates, Grace was somewhat seasick, so they brought her apples and crackers. Hopefully she’ll be well enough to join us tomorrow.
As we were leaving dinner, Glen suggested maybe we could go to the Sterling Steakhouse tomorrow. I said lets wait for a menu I hate, and see if we get into the chefs table. Natalie heard that, and said that we were on the list and going. She sid it would be on the way back from Hawaii and would be amazing. (Not sure where she gets her info from, but OK).
Since we’d danced before dinner, we decided to get to bed early, but take a short walk upstairs. It was still windy, so we had to walk towards the back. The Jumbotron was showing The Three Musketeers, so we ended up watching that. It was a fun movie, and set itself up for a sequel.
After that we went back to the room and to bed.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
First day on the sea
We got a decent nights sleep, and woke up between 8 and 9. We headed to Sabattini’s for breakfast. On the Star two years ago this suite only perk was one of the great joys of the cruise, and one of the primary reasons we booked a suite this time.
Our server was Jane from Thailand, and as she was about to take our order the cruise director came over the PA. She was very funny as she made faces and pretended to fall asleep as the announcement went on. I think we’re going to very much enjoy Sabattini’s this time too.
After breakfast I went to the last half of line dancing. Since I knew I was going, Glen brought his Kindle to read while I was dancing. I got there in time for the last two dances – a relatively simple one to Red Neck Woman, and one with tricky footwork to Rockin Robin. During the teaching of Rockin Robin, Glen caught my eye as left. After class I couldn’t find him, but eventually found him having coffee. Apparetly, I missed the gesture of him drinking that was supposed to clue me in as to where he was going.
Following that, it was time for meeting number 2, the Cruise Critic group in Skywalkers.. Tripmaster, the member who set up the meet and greet did a great job organizing, and several officers showed up, including the captain. We spent some time talking to the deputy cruise director, who is from Blackpool England. When we mentioned we’d be there for a dance completion, he knew exactly what we were talking about. He also gave us some things to do suggestions.
Following that we had the typical first day lunch in the dining room. After lunch, Glen went back up to the room, and I stopped by the end of the Mergenie lesson. I noticed that the instructor was helping out individuals. I asked him what the ballroom blitz showcase was, and he had no idea. So maybe not, even though it was in the Patters.
We also went down to the Patasserie again and met up with cruise critic members Vickie and Vera. Vera will be celebrating her 100th birthday on the cruise, and Vickie is her niece. Vera currently lives in Alameda, but used to run a flower store in Berkeley. We enjoyed talking to them. After our coffee we went back to the room to watch the end of Secreatariet, and dress for dinner.
Tonight at dinner, we had a new server. She introduced herself as Natalie, from South Africa, and she is apparently our regular server. Last night, the server never introduced himself or his assistant, they just served us dinner (completently). Apparently Natalie was unavailable last night, but she told us she’s with us for the duration.
After dinner, we did a bit of dancing in the wheelhouse. Then it was off to the 70’s party at Explorers. However all they were playing was Hustle, which we suck at, so back to wheelhouse for a bit of dancing, and then an attempt to sleep.
I say attempt, because by this time, the weather, which had been a little windy with somewhat rough seas all days really kicked it up, so about every 10 mintues the ship would shudder badly, sort of like hitting a speed bump. The hangers in the closet shook all night. I think we eventually got some sleep. More fun stuff to do tomorrow.
Our server was Jane from Thailand, and as she was about to take our order the cruise director came over the PA. She was very funny as she made faces and pretended to fall asleep as the announcement went on. I think we’re going to very much enjoy Sabattini’s this time too.
After breakfast I went to the last half of line dancing. Since I knew I was going, Glen brought his Kindle to read while I was dancing. I got there in time for the last two dances – a relatively simple one to Red Neck Woman, and one with tricky footwork to Rockin Robin. During the teaching of Rockin Robin, Glen caught my eye as left. After class I couldn’t find him, but eventually found him having coffee. Apparetly, I missed the gesture of him drinking that was supposed to clue me in as to where he was going.
Following that, it was time for meeting number 2, the Cruise Critic group in Skywalkers.. Tripmaster, the member who set up the meet and greet did a great job organizing, and several officers showed up, including the captain. We spent some time talking to the deputy cruise director, who is from Blackpool England. When we mentioned we’d be there for a dance completion, he knew exactly what we were talking about. He also gave us some things to do suggestions.
Following that we had the typical first day lunch in the dining room. After lunch, Glen went back up to the room, and I stopped by the end of the Mergenie lesson. I noticed that the instructor was helping out individuals. I asked him what the ballroom blitz showcase was, and he had no idea. So maybe not, even though it was in the Patters.
We also went down to the Patasserie again and met up with cruise critic members Vickie and Vera. Vera will be celebrating her 100th birthday on the cruise, and Vickie is her niece. Vera currently lives in Alameda, but used to run a flower store in Berkeley. We enjoyed talking to them. After our coffee we went back to the room to watch the end of Secreatariet, and dress for dinner.
Tonight at dinner, we had a new server. She introduced herself as Natalie, from South Africa, and she is apparently our regular server. Last night, the server never introduced himself or his assistant, they just served us dinner (completently). Apparently Natalie was unavailable last night, but she told us she’s with us for the duration.
After dinner, we did a bit of dancing in the wheelhouse. Then it was off to the 70’s party at Explorers. However all they were playing was Hustle, which we suck at, so back to wheelhouse for a bit of dancing, and then an attempt to sleep.
I say attempt, because by this time, the weather, which had been a little windy with somewhat rough seas all days really kicked it up, so about every 10 mintues the ship would shudder badly, sort of like hitting a speed bump. The hangers in the closet shook all night. I think we eventually got some sleep. More fun stuff to do tomorrow.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Captain, please don't hit Catalena
We were able to sleep in just a bit – we slept until about 8:45. Then dressed, packed and headed to the lobby at about 10 am. We were meeting a couple from our facebook roll call to share a private car to the ship and we wanted to get some starbucks before we left.
When we arrived in the lobby, Rich and Elizabeth were waiting for us. I grabbed the starbucks drinks and we chatted while waiting. While we were waiting, another couple from our roll call stopped by.
At about 10:30 Glen went out to the front of the hotel and found our driver. Glen said he’d been trying to call me, but I had nothing on my phone. No matter, we found him. We got the luggage loaded into the van (turns out they had a lot of it), and headed out. The ride took about a half hour, but the time passed quickly with pleasant small talk.
The porter we gave our bags to asked if we’d pulled out our passports and boarding documents. I asked him if it was a problem, and he said that they often had to go dig up bags. The worst was when somebody told him the wrong ship. It took him an hour and a half to find it.
There was a short line for security and no wait to check in. We’d been given priority boarding cards, but the checkin staff exchanged them for Elite cards, which meant walk right in. We had a bit of a wait getting onto the ship, but we were on by noon.
We’d booked another suite, but this time midship. We noticed the room itself was a bit smaller, but the balcony was bigger, and less crowded. It contained two lounge chairs and a table with four chairs. We might have to do a balcony breakfast one day.
Our steward, Eli (Elizardo) came by to introduce himself, tell us about the muster drill, and find out our special requests, etc. I asked him about dining in the room, and I’m still a bit unclear about the current policy. I’ll worry about it if I need to.
After that, we went to explore the ship. While we’d been on the Sapphire in 2005, she just finished an extensive dry dock to add some features. On the top deck, we noticed a couple of the front areas are now the Sanctuary, and the Horizon court has a new case where desserts are now served.
The atrium, in addition to Vines and the International Café now has a sit down pizza restaurant. The menu is simply about 5 different pizzas and you order one. We tried it and enjoyed it.
After that Glen wanted a brief nap, so I met up with one of my facebook friends, and kept her company while she ate lunch. After that, it was muster drill time. This one was different in that the captain read the announcement, not the guy who sounds like (maybe is ) John Cleese..
Following muster was our facebook meetup. It was nice putting faces to names, and hopefully we’ll spend some time with these folks throughout the cruise. We watched sailaway together, and noticed that Catalina was visible from the breakwater. Glen spent a lot of his time there as a kid, and was amazed at how clear it was.
Following that, we headed up to the Elite lounge for a snack. While there, we met Sherry and Tom, who are on cruise critic with us.
Then it was back to our room for some down time, and getting ready for dinner.
We are again at late seating dinner. We usually get seated at a table near the entrance to the dining room, but this time we were seating in the middle. We’re at a table for 8 with three other couples. Dinner started slowly, but people got warmed up as it went on so it should be fine.
After dinner we looked for dance venues. The rock band was playing at explorers, and they were good. We did some swing and a two step. During their break we went to the Wheelhouse, where there was another band playing. We didn’t think they were as good, but they did play traditional ballroom music. We danced. We saw another couple there doing Argentine tango trick type dancing. Maybe I’ll get their story later.
After dancing we wandered around the upper decks, not much to see since we’re heading across the Pacific. We got Secretariet for the DVD player in our room, so we watched the first part of it and went to bed.
Overall, a very good embarkation day, and looks like two weeks of great dancing. It will indeed be a trip to paradise.
When we arrived in the lobby, Rich and Elizabeth were waiting for us. I grabbed the starbucks drinks and we chatted while waiting. While we were waiting, another couple from our roll call stopped by.
At about 10:30 Glen went out to the front of the hotel and found our driver. Glen said he’d been trying to call me, but I had nothing on my phone. No matter, we found him. We got the luggage loaded into the van (turns out they had a lot of it), and headed out. The ride took about a half hour, but the time passed quickly with pleasant small talk.
The porter we gave our bags to asked if we’d pulled out our passports and boarding documents. I asked him if it was a problem, and he said that they often had to go dig up bags. The worst was when somebody told him the wrong ship. It took him an hour and a half to find it.
There was a short line for security and no wait to check in. We’d been given priority boarding cards, but the checkin staff exchanged them for Elite cards, which meant walk right in. We had a bit of a wait getting onto the ship, but we were on by noon.
We’d booked another suite, but this time midship. We noticed the room itself was a bit smaller, but the balcony was bigger, and less crowded. It contained two lounge chairs and a table with four chairs. We might have to do a balcony breakfast one day.
Our steward, Eli (Elizardo) came by to introduce himself, tell us about the muster drill, and find out our special requests, etc. I asked him about dining in the room, and I’m still a bit unclear about the current policy. I’ll worry about it if I need to.
After that, we went to explore the ship. While we’d been on the Sapphire in 2005, she just finished an extensive dry dock to add some features. On the top deck, we noticed a couple of the front areas are now the Sanctuary, and the Horizon court has a new case where desserts are now served.
The atrium, in addition to Vines and the International Café now has a sit down pizza restaurant. The menu is simply about 5 different pizzas and you order one. We tried it and enjoyed it.
After that Glen wanted a brief nap, so I met up with one of my facebook friends, and kept her company while she ate lunch. After that, it was muster drill time. This one was different in that the captain read the announcement, not the guy who sounds like (maybe is ) John Cleese..
Following muster was our facebook meetup. It was nice putting faces to names, and hopefully we’ll spend some time with these folks throughout the cruise. We watched sailaway together, and noticed that Catalina was visible from the breakwater. Glen spent a lot of his time there as a kid, and was amazed at how clear it was.
Following that, we headed up to the Elite lounge for a snack. While there, we met Sherry and Tom, who are on cruise critic with us.
Then it was back to our room for some down time, and getting ready for dinner.
We are again at late seating dinner. We usually get seated at a table near the entrance to the dining room, but this time we were seating in the middle. We’re at a table for 8 with three other couples. Dinner started slowly, but people got warmed up as it went on so it should be fine.
After dinner we looked for dance venues. The rock band was playing at explorers, and they were good. We did some swing and a two step. During their break we went to the Wheelhouse, where there was another band playing. We didn’t think they were as good, but they did play traditional ballroom music. We danced. We saw another couple there doing Argentine tango trick type dancing. Maybe I’ll get their story later.
After dancing we wandered around the upper decks, not much to see since we’re heading across the Pacific. We got Secretariet for the DVD player in our room, so we watched the first part of it and went to bed.
Overall, a very good embarkation day, and looks like two weeks of great dancing. It will indeed be a trip to paradise.
Friday, February 3, 2012
And we're off for another one
It's been a long time since my last post, and I've had a few minor fun trips since then but no major cruises.
Until tomorrow. At the moment, I'm sitting in my room at the LAX airport Marriott getting ready for bed. Tomorrow, we board the Sapphire Princess (our second time on the Sapphire - last was in 2005 to Mexico) for a two week round trip to Hawaii. Once again, we're going by ourselves, but through Facebook and Cruise Critic we've made lots of cyberfriends.
We flew to LA this evening. It was as smooth as could be. We got upgraded, so we were off the plane quickly, and our luggage came quickly. We didn't have to wait long for a shuttle, and because the flight was early we were in our room 20 minutes after the scheduled arrival. A quick trip to the bar for dinner, and to bed soon.
The hotel is crazy busy - I booked because we could get food late, but I forgot this is an official Princess transfer hotel, so I suspect we'll be seeing a lot of the people here over the next two weeks.
Tomorrow morning a shuttle is coming to pick us up.
I suspect this won't be as fascinating as my Antarctic blog, but I'll try to make it fun.
Until tomorrow. At the moment, I'm sitting in my room at the LAX airport Marriott getting ready for bed. Tomorrow, we board the Sapphire Princess (our second time on the Sapphire - last was in 2005 to Mexico) for a two week round trip to Hawaii. Once again, we're going by ourselves, but through Facebook and Cruise Critic we've made lots of cyberfriends.
We flew to LA this evening. It was as smooth as could be. We got upgraded, so we were off the plane quickly, and our luggage came quickly. We didn't have to wait long for a shuttle, and because the flight was early we were in our room 20 minutes after the scheduled arrival. A quick trip to the bar for dinner, and to bed soon.
The hotel is crazy busy - I booked because we could get food late, but I forgot this is an official Princess transfer hotel, so I suspect we'll be seeing a lot of the people here over the next two weeks.
Tomorrow morning a shuttle is coming to pick us up.
I suspect this won't be as fascinating as my Antarctic blog, but I'll try to make it fun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)