A grand california coastal totally self-indulgent long day by day review

Consider yourself warned: This is indeed one of those reviews that go on and on, taking as long to get through as the cruise itself took to go on.

Now that you’ve been sufficiently notified, and you’re still reading, some background about us. We’re a couple in our very early 50s, (with a small zebra named Florence along for the ride) from rural Nova Scotia. With a 4 hour time difference totally in our favour in the early morning, but not so much in the evening, we are not lounge dwellers, nor bar hoppers, or dancers, unless you count our sleepy stumbling off to our room relatively early every evening!

So it was that sometime in the spring, DH came into our room, and said those words that bring fear, or at least a twinge of “uh oh, what did I do now?” to my heart.

“We need to talk.”

Of all the things rushing over each other to reach the foreground of my worrying place, I didn’t see the next bit coming. He had selected a time, a cruise, a ship for us to go on – just the two of us, and he couldn’t go any further without involving me, much as he wanted to keep it a surprise. Realizing that half my pleasure is in the anticipation and to give me a surprise trip with little notice before departure would deprive me of managing excel packing spreadsheets, of hours gleaning information from CC, and well...the plain fun of knowing we had a real live cruise to look forward to.

Plans made, rooms booked, truckloads of money spent, map apps loaded we were ready. The offspring were not notified until a mere 2 weeks before our departure, we were given permission to go, and after getting all our ducks on the same page, go we did.

After our last 2 cruises where we claimed bragging rights for doing carry-on luggage only, we threw caution to the wind and paid our $26 to check one bag and carry on the rest. As difficult as it was to watch our large suitcase convey out of sight, not knowing when or if we would see it again, we made our way to Departures in Moncton (New Brunswick), bravely singing a chorus of “You gotta have faith....”

The flights were uneventful and Florence was delighted to have her own seat on the longer flight from Toronto to San Francisco. We made it through customs, and apparently so did our luggage, so we relaxed just a little. We laughed in the face of the baby Pringles cans available for purchase as we hauled out our family sized canister from my “purse”. It wasn’t our most stellar nutritional day – Pringles and Poptarts....but that and the Jack Reacher in-flight movie got us through. Tom Cruise AND 10 days of vacation? Does it get any better?

The weather in SF was about the same as what we had left, so there was no shock there upon our arrival outside at 1:30 p.m. We found the Super Shuttle stop easily upon exiting the building, and within 15 minutes we were in a van and on our way. This was really easy and aside from the request for A/C turning into MAXIMUM heat setting, nearly burning my leg until DH politely requested that the HEAT be turned off NOW....please (we are Canadians after all)....it was a pleasant drive. We were the third stop, but still made it to our hotel before 3:00 check-in time. We were staying at the Seaside Inn – a great place for the price, excellent location, and as long as you’re only interested in the basics, it’s a great place. There was parking (which we didn’t need) and we walked everywhere from there – very safe and pleasant streets (not that we saw what they were like at night, since we were zonked early in the evening!). The king-sized bed was SO comfortable, and everything was new and fresh looking – mini fridge and microwave in the room. The doors are motel style – opening out to the parking lot – we were on the second floor and found it very quiet. Even though the place was fully booked, we never heard any sounds from people going by.

We heard no traffic until 6:00 a.m. in the morning when Lombard Street got busy. They provided a continental breakfast in the lobby – no room to eat there – we just took it back to our room – nothing fancy but enough Keurig selection, juices, fruit, and pastries/muffins to keep us going for quite some time.

Our room was still being cleaned, but we were able to tuck the luggage in the corner and head out to begin our San Francisco adventure.

We walked to the water, and found our way easily (if not efficiently) to Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39. The pop tarts had definitely worn off, so we had lunch, or supper, or whatever it was, at Cioppino’s. Yum. Love that sourdough bread that all the restaurants serve.

We also enjoyed sampling the Ghirardelli chocolate (Pumpkin Spice Caramel!) in the stores there – funny how we kept accidentally finding our way there – like a homing beacon or something! Day one in San Franciscoo was declared a total success, as we pried our feet out of their shoes and sunk into the coziness of our bed for sleep.

Keep it coming!! Love the review. We have friends who were on this sailing...said she needed to take Bonine the last day as seas were rough!

Consider yourself warned: This is indeed one of those reviews that go on and on, taking as long to get through as the cruise itself took to go on.

 

Now that you’ve been sufficiently notified, and you’re still reading, some background about us. We’re a couple in our very early 50s, (with a small zebra named Florence along for the ride) from rural Nova Scotia. With a 4 hour time difference totally in our favour in the early morning, but not so much in the evening, we are not lounge dwellers, nor bar hoppers, or dancers, unless you count our sleepy stumbling off to our room relatively early every evening!

 

So it was that sometime in the spring, DH came into our room, and said those words that bring fear, or at least a twinge of “uh oh, what did I do now?” to my heart.

 

“We need to talk.”

 

Of all the things rushing over each other to reach the foreground of my worrying place, I didn’t see the next bit coming. He had selected a time, a cruise, a ship for us to go on – just the two of us, and he couldn’t go any further without involving me, much as he wanted to keep it a surprise. Realizing that half my pleasure is in the anticipation and to give me a surprise trip with little notice before departure would deprive me of managing excel packing spreadsheets, of hours gleaning information from CC, and well...the plain fun of knowing we had a real live cruise to look forward to.

Plans made, rooms booked, truckloads of money spent, map apps loaded we were ready. The offspring were not notified until a mere 2 weeks before our departure, we were given permission to go, and after getting all our ducks on the same page, go we did.

 

After our last 2 cruises where we claimed bragging rights for doing carry-on luggage only, we threw caution to the wind and paid our $26 to check one bag and carry on the rest. As difficult as it was to watch our large suitcase convey out of sight, not knowing when or if we would see it again, we made our way to Departures in Moncton (New Brunswick), bravely singing a chorus of “You gotta have faith....”

 

The flights were uneventful and Florence was delighted to have her own seat on the longer flight from Toronto to San Francisco. We made it through customs, and apparently so did our luggage, so we relaxed just a little. We laughed in the face of the baby Pringles cans available for purchase as we hauled out our family sized canister from my “purse”. It wasn’t our most stellar nutritional day – Pringles and Poptarts....but that and the Jack Reacher in-flight movie got us through. Tom Cruise AND 10 days of vacation? Does it get any better?

 

 

The weather in SF was about the same as what we had left, so there was no shock there upon our arrival outside at 1:30 p.m. We found the Super Shuttle stop easily upon exiting the building, and within 15 minutes we were in a van and on our way. This was really easy and aside from the request for A/C turning into MAXIMUM heat setting, nearly burning my leg until DH politely requested that the HEAT be turned off NOW....please (we are Canadians after all)....it was a pleasant drive. We were the third stop, but still made it to our hotel before 3:00 check-in time. We were staying at the Seaside Inn – a great place for the price, excellent location, and as long as you’re only interested in the basics, it’s a great place. There was parking (which we didn’t need) and we walked everywhere from there – very safe and pleasant streets (not that we saw what they were like at night, since we were zonked early in the evening!). The king-sized bed was SO comfortable, and everything was new and fresh looking – mini fridge and microwave in the room. The doors are motel style – opening out to the parking lot – we were on the second floor and found it very quiet. Even though the place was fully booked, we never heard any sounds from people going by.

 

 

We heard no traffic until 6:00 a.m. in the morning when Lombard Street got busy. They provided a continental breakfast in the lobby – no room to eat there – we just took it back to our room – nothing fancy but enough Keurig selection, juices, fruit, and pastries/muffins to keep us going for quite some time.

 

 

Our room was still being cleaned, but we were able to tuck the luggage in the corner and head out to begin our San Francisco adventure.

 

 

We walked to the water, and found our way easily (if not efficiently) to Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39. The pop tarts had definitely worn off, so we had lunch, or supper, or whatever it was, at Cioppino’s. Yum. Love that sourdough bread that all the restaurants serve.

 

 

 

We also enjoyed sampling the Ghirardelli chocolate (Pumpkin Spice Caramel!) in the stores there – funny how we kept accidentally finding our way there – like a homing beacon or something! Day one in San Franciscoo was declared a total success, as we pried our feet out of their shoes and sunk into the coziness of our bed for sleep.

 

Marla:

I live in SF and have enjoyed your review and photos. You may find things that some of us that live here never considered. Your review will help many other people considering a cruise out of San Francisco. Looking forward to more photos and your review.

Tom:D

I love long reviews, so I'm looking forward to your thoughts, comments and photos. :)

Consider yourself warned: This is indeed one of those reviews that go on and on, taking as long to get through as the cruise itself took to go on.

 

This is my type of review!!!! Thank you!

Keep this review coming :D. Great pics. I love seeing the City with "new" eyes!!

Cheers, Denise

Consider yourself warned:

Now that you’ve been sufficiently notified, and you’re still reading, some background about us. We’re a couple in our very early 50s, (with a small zebra named Florence along for the ride) . . .

 

“We need to talk.”

 

You had me hooked at the zebra comment , then double-hooked with the dreaded "we need to talk" warning. Great review, looking forward to more.

P.s. glad you shared the pics of Florence!

Love the review, but Please fellow cruisers - no not quote EVERYTHING including the wonderful pictures, the thread will be 20 pages long before the review gets to the third post!

Love the review, but Please fellow cruisers - no not quote EVERYTHING including the wonderful pictures, the thread will be 20 pages long before the review gets to the third post!

THANK YOU Liz. Pet peeve of mine!

THANK YOU Liz. Pet peeve of mine!

Ours too... Thanks!

 

 

 

................ Love that sourdough bread that all the restaurants serve.

 

 

They deliver! http://store.boudinbakery.com/storefront.aspx

Our favorite is the chocolate raisin sourdough.

Ours too... Thanks!

Mine too. Unless you answering a specific question or comment don't know why folks do it. Takes up way too much space...

And if you're referring to one question or comment, you can selectively quote by using your delete key, too. Really makes it easy on us all.

BTW, maybe one day Florence can cruise with my friends Cow Moolatta and Tigeretta Lilly. They did a bit of partying on New years eve on the Golden:

What a delightful writing style you have! Looking forward to more. Hoping to do this cruise next spring - hmmm, which little furry friend would like to go on a cruise. Makes for fun pics! :)

Wish I had thought of this for the missions trip I just got back from. Although I did take a pic with some huge dollar store hot pink glasses for the staff bulletin board - our newest tradition in our office.

~Joan

Wonderful, thank you!

Well thank you everyone for your kind encouraging words! Oh my word...chocolate raisin sourdough bread? I saw them making some in the window, but we were holding out for the chocolate danish on the ship! Thanks for the link to order! Now if I could just order my favourite tea from Vienna I'd be all set....and broke.

Cruisin' Chick.....our little buddies must get together.....Florence was partying last New Year's Eve on the Carnival Breeze with a new friend:

Stay tuned, day 2 of San Francisco will be up shortly....as soon as the caffeine kicks in this morning.

I just realized that I totally forgot to insert dates for our California Coastal – it was September 27-October 4! Details, schmetails.....

Sleeping in until the decadent local time of 4:00 a.m., we lounged around until the rest of the world started to wake up, and got our little brekky to eat in our room before heading out. We walked to Pier 33 for our Alcatraz tour. It was about a 30 minute walk, thankfully all level, or downhill. The weather was so beautiful we just enjoyed the stroll. We were on the first tour of the day (8:45) which I had been a little concerned about booking because of the possibility of fog, but the day was as clear as could be without a cloud in the sky.

Standing in line waiting to board the ferry, there were just a few oh-so-slow flies determined to invade my personal space, but I was undeterred, and we boarded the vessel, for the easy ride over to the island. We sat up top and outside of course (you’d have to have seen my European Explorer review to get this one – The Boat to Portofino was a major adventure still waiting to be made into a major motion picture), and enjoyed the ride. This tour was the highlight of our time in SF and definitely worth every penny! Well, alright, it was one of the highlights. Getting off the ferry, everyone is instructed to wait and listen for instructions from the ranger. However, the signage makes it very easy to find your way without waiting for the unnecessary talk – though if you are interested in the various presentations, just take a picture with your phone of the daily event board behind the ranger and be on your way.

We decided to head straight up to do the audio tour – good choice, since we missed the crowds that were slower walkers and more obedient listeners this way. What a great time we had. The audio is excellent, and we found the tour fascinating. The island itself which we walked around after doing the interior tour, was beautiful and our cameras got great work-outs here.

We caught the 10:55 ferry back to the real world, after catching more than a few of those slow flies while waiting in line for it. They were everywhere! And then we heard that it wasn’t really “fly season” yet. However, once we got a few feet away from Pier 33, no flies on us...there might be flies on some of you guys, but there weren’t no flies on us. (Sorry.)

In my pre-vacation research I had learned to dress warmly because it could be very chilly – so there I was in my black plants, and hooded jacket....sweating. But not complaining. (The hood came in handy when trying to dodge flies.)

Next stop – a cable car ride on the Powell-Mason line. Easily gotten at this time of day and week, no lineups like we had seen the night before at the other Hyde St. area. There was some problem down at the end of the line, so our ride wasn’t quite as long as we had planned, but that was alright – we could mark that experience off the list, and off we walked, once we figured out where we were! Strolling through Chinatown without stopping, then delighting in the smells of Italian restaurants as we moved on past Chinatown, and then we headed UP.

Up to Lombard Street – so we could walk UP (of course, while everyone else was walking or driving DOWN) the crookedest block. By this time we had walked enough to fully justify the grumbling in our stomachs – again, not knowing if we were ready for lunch or supper, we headed back to Pier 39 and ended up at Bubba Gumps – which apparently is ALWAYS busy. But we were happy to wait for awhile SITTING outside, and soon were seated and enjoying the atmosphere and the food. Just a word to the wise: If you’re at all the competitive sort, brush up on your Forest Gump trivia before going here. There’s a test. We stopped at Ghiradelli’s on our way back to our room – yes, more free samples.....dessert! Time to rest and prepare mentally for our next day....EMBARKATION DAY!!!!!

(that's not us in the photo...we were chasing after Florence who was determined to get her free chocolate....)

Great review. And now I would like to read your European Explorer review!!! How do I find that link?

Thanks Melody! I've put the links for my reviews in my signature at the bottom of my posts so you should be able to get there by clicking on them!)

Another beautifully clear and sunny day dawned much later than we did – again up at 4:00. We re-configured our packing, and ‘relaxed’ (I use that word loosely) until we just finally could stand it no longer – checkout time was approaching anyway, so we decided to walk to Pier 35.

Honestly. We really weren’t trying to be those people that want to be the first on the ship. Really. We were just going to stroll ever so slowly there wheeling our luggage behind us. This could take hours, right? Well, again, we wouldn’t have done it if it had been bad weather or uphill, but it was neither, so we walked, deciding that anyone who saw us walking with all that luggage would only see us for a small portion of our walk, so it wouldn’t look too strange. They could just think we were going a block or so.... We stopped at Walgreens on the way for our 6 pack (of COKE) which was only a few blocks from the pier, so it didn’t add weight too early on in the saunter, and it fit perfectly in the extremely well planned spot we had reserved for it in our luggage. So, we arrived at the pier at 11:00. Yes, 11:00. Sigh. We were "THOSE people".

(Florence left her heart in San Francisco...high on a hill......)

There were still quite a lot of people waiting for transportation from the previous cruise; you know them by the forlorn looks, and slumped shoulders of a vacation over. There was the sign up saying that boarding for our cruise would commence at 1:00 – 3:00p.m. – A fact repeated, rather sternly, by the official standing guard over the door. She relented somewhat, showing her softer side, when she admitted that our luggage (and we weren't the first by the way) could be checked with the porter and we could sit “over there” (waving us off to the area leading to Pier 39) where someone would come and tell us if we could get in sooner than 1:00. We found a little spot to ourselves in the shade and lo and behold, a Princess rep actually did come over and tell us and anyone else sitting around looking wistful that we could proceed on in – so that by 11:10 we were in the building and hustling straight through check-in to the waiting corral, ...er...room where we were given cards with our group number for embarkation. We were group #1. Score.

After half an hour of waiting and observing the other passengers, and commenting quietly on the number of walkers and wheelchairs, and how young we suddenly felt – waiting there was more rejuvenating than a day at the spa! – we were given the go ahead and were able to board the Grand! Our last 2 cruises had been with our whole family on Carnival, so it was like coming home, and such a treat to be able to go straight to our room upon boarding, to drop off our carry-on things. The rest of our luggage didn’t arrive until close to suppertime.

So, what do you do when you first get on the ship? Explore? Right! We explored straight up to Horizon Court – since we were early birds, there were few people up there and it was easy to navigate the buffet and lots of space for sitting. (Yes, there was lunch served in the dining room, but we just weren’t so inclined).

When it comes to food, there’s something you should know about us. We live in a small town, not a city. We have a Subway, and I’m not referring to the underground mode of transportation. We don’t dine at Michelin star restaurants. When we dine on the cruise, I’m basically super excited to see real plates and asparagus. So all it takes to make our day at the buffet is finding pineapple, real pineapple, AND scallops at the buffet and we’re all set to have a great cruise. I did like the way the desserts are displayed in a separate area - having the soup served there as well was ...interesting......

We did truly explore after lunch and enjoyed finding things – I continued to enjoy finding things for the whole week, since I kept getting turned around or on the wrong level, and then there’s that one trickster staircase that just ends halfway past deck 7. That’s just plain mean. I fell for it several times. Well, not literally. Our room was C102 – right at the very end of the hall on Caribe Deck. We liked our spacious balcony and how quiet it was.

Something else you should know. We NEVER EVER use the elevators. So, having a room as far away from the food as we could possibly get justified how much we ate this week. Right? Just nod your head politely and somewhat patronizingly.

We attended muster drill after having a little rest in our room and meeting Roger, our cabin steward (who was fantastic, and looked after all our needs so well, though Florence did miss the towel animal buddies). Being able to be entertained at the slightest thing can be a real advantage for us, and we took much delight in counting the number of people who start trying to put on their lifejacket when they have just been instructed NOT to, and to not get ahead of everyone undoing the Velcro. I think I’d like an app that has the sound of Velcro. It could really mess with people.

Marla, I'm so enjoying your review......I can't wait to read more and please tell Florence that I get to cruise with a real, live Service Dog so I totally "get" the shots with her in them and not you!

I find myself actually looking for her....like "where's Waldo?"

So, sailaway! The band Opus, was a little underwhelming as far as I was concerned, but I did like it when they played the steel drum. So we didn’t stay in their vicinity for very long for the Sailaway party on Lido. We did go right to the front to get a good viewing spot for the sail under the Golden Gate Bridge. Of course, once the ship started moving in that direction it was frigidly cold and difficult to keep vertical. So I headed back for my jacket, returned to find DH gone, and spent some time wondering where he had gone before he found me as he always does, and we decided, “why not go to the very back of the ship and be the LAST people to see us go under the bridge instead of the first?” Good call. Very few people back there and wonderful views of the bridge with the city behind it. I highly recommend it.

When we returned to our room, our luggage was all there, so we unpacked. This was our first time with the shorter closet configuration – we’ve been on Emerald, Crown and Sapphire before, and they all had the long closet, which I really liked. There was still plenty of room here, but it was definitely a one man stand, or woman, or whatever.....two people really couldn’t be there at the same time. However, for anyone wondering if there are enough hangers in the closet.......

After checking my excel document carefully documenting what I would wear when, we freshened up for dinner and made our way to the Michelangelo dining room. Again, in our self-entertaining style, we found it an easy win to race fellow passengers who were taking the elevators while we opted for the stairs. I was glad not to be in a position to NEED to use elevators as they were very popular with this crowd. We did Anytime dining, and for this night chose to share a table rather than wait for a table for 2. This was the only night we did this, as DH just finds it too exhausting – his work ensures he has plenty of ‘visiting’ time and vacation time for him, is a chance to NOT enter into small talk. That being said, we had an enjoyable time with our table of 8 people – it’s just hard to hear everyone at those large tables. DH had his first fettuccine alfredo of the cruise as an appetizer, and I had decent spring rolls before having the porcini mushroom soup. My filet medallions for the main course accompanied a lovely little bundle of ASPARAGUS!!! Double score. And dessert? I do not ever make soufflé at home, so it’s pretty much a given that if it’s on the menu anywhere, I’m having it. So I did. And I was happy. After the 90 something year old dear sitting to DH’s left had asked him 3 times during the meal “so when do you leave?”, at the earliest acceptable opportunity, we excused ourselves and got to the 7:45 show in the theatre about 20 minutes early when there were still oodles of seats. (I think she was referring to the ship, or San Francisco, not the dinner table, but no matter.) By 7:45 showtime the place was packed, with frustrated people wondering why they couldn’t find a seat when they entered after the show had started.

Martin Lewis, the magician/comedian was quite good. However, for two passengers who are feeling their very early wake-up by this point, he would have had to have been tossing flaming arrows into the audience and sawing people in half on the stage to keep us awake. So it’s not his fault that we didn’t find him totally fascinating. It was kind of like having a wonderful grandfatherly type perform gently amazing card tricks to a small group of people. Martyn Moss, cruise director, did his first stand-up routine of the week, and we found him at least as humorous as those billed as comedians. Of the 2600 passengers on board, 2000 or so were Americans (no surprise, most were actually Californians as well), and we Canadians came in a close second (!) with 200, the announcement at which we all cheered – politely of course.

After all that eating at dinner, and in our sleepy state, we of course made our way directly to.....the lido deck. Pizza called and we got a couple of slices to take back to the room. Which we ate. Sleepily. Happily.

Thanks Melody! I've put the links for my reviews in my signature at the bottom of my posts so you should be able to get there by clicking on them!)

Thanks Marla! I read your previous review and loved it!!!

Marla:

Do you know who the current Cruise Director is?

Thanks!

Great photos. Since I live in San Francisco and was a professional photographer before I always enjoy seeing other peoples photos.

Tom:)

Absolutely loving the review and the photographs. You found the best spot for photos of the bridge. We always go to the back to see the City and the bridge. Out favorite sail away was on the Star when we had an aft balcony. Heaven.

Looking forward to more.

Cheers, Denise