tennisbeforewine

You're right.  It was an American Airlines club which allows in Alaska Airlines passengers with certain requirements - that we didn't meet.  Oh well.  

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

San Luis Obispo, CA - Home at Last!

After two weeks of pampering and just basically doing whatever we wished, we’re home where no one makes our bed, prepares) our meals, or does the laundry.  Oh no!  Actually, I always enjoy getting back home no matter whether we’re gone a week for a Mexico cruise or four months for a world cruise.

Our last evening was really nice, spending it with Jeff, Ann and Cathy in Canaletto.  There is a special every night, and as long as we’re not there on Wednesday for Liver Venice style, I’d be happy with any of them.  Sunday night’s special is Chicken Parmesan, and even though it was Saturday night, that’s what Ann and Cathy wanted, so they had ordered it in advance.  It looked delicious, but each order covered the whole plate.  At home one would just get a to-go box, but what’s the point of doing that on a ship?  I’ve learned that it’s always possible to order a small portion, but it’s hard to know what the regular portion would be.  John had that evening’s special, four huge grilled shrimp on a bed of rice pilaf and vegetables.  Jeff had Caneletto’s delicious lasagne, and although he asked for a half portion, there was enough there to feed a couple of people.  If you’re a light eater, that’s a restaurant where you might consider sharing an entree.  I love risotto, so that’s what I had and ate almost half of it.

The next morning could not have gone more smoothly.  All 4 and 5-star Mariners could disembark any time between 7:45 and 9:45, so we chose the earlier option.  After thanking our rooms stewards (financially) we had our last check out, headed down to the immigration building where we had our passports checked, picked up our luggage and headed outside to flag a cab.  One thing we noticed, both going and coming, was that taxis in San Diego seem to be very reasonably priced.

Once we arrived at the airport, it was just sit and wait.  Although we were flying first class on Alaska Airlines, we couldn’t use their “club” unless we had higher status.  We also have United Airlines club passes, but because we weren’t flying on United, we couldn’t use that room either.  Oh well, we just sat and read and eventually shared a chicken BLT before boarding right on time at 11:28.  Our plane was scheduled for 11:58, and we pulled back at 11:56, arriving in San Luis Obispo five minutes early.  Slick!

We knew we were coming home to a storm, so the first thing we did was check to make sure everything was battened down.  Our part of the storm wasn’t nearly as bad as expected, and the 1-1/2 inches of rain was sorely needed.  Our daughter, who just bought her first house in Northern California, was far more worried, but she had no problems either.

Next week the Koningsdam sails the California Coastal cruise, and Leslie and Handler, good cruise friends from Texas, will be aboard.  Since we live only 3-1/2 hours from San Francisco, we're going to drive up, spend time with them, stay the night at a nearby hotel, and then drive home.  

Overall, we’d do it all again.  The biggest “positive” of the cruise was the crew.  Their service was excellent, their attitudes could not have been friendlier, and I think all of us, passengers and crew, were just happy to be on board again - the crew to be back to work and the passengers to just love the ship and the sea.  The ship itself is beautiful and it sparkled from bow to stern.  We enjoyed meeting some officers we hadn’t known, including Ron, the Hotel Manager and Captain Macbeath.   A couple of times we had nice chats with the captain, once while we were sitting on the stairs waiting for our room stewards to finish our cabin.  The front desk staff was, as always, incredibly helpful, and we really had nothing to complain about (especially after our statement problem was solved.

Thank you for following along with me.  It’s really encouraging to know that people actually read what I write.  We’ll be on the Rotterdam in February, and I’ll hope to “see” you then.

P. S.  Questions:  Regarding the wine tour, yes they gave each member of our tour a free bottle of their red - which was pretty good.  Even though HAL doesn’t allow more than one bottle per person on embarkation, a bottle after a wine tour is allowed.

Regarding the beach tour - There are bathrooms in which to change if you like.  I wasn’t in the water very long and then I just stretched out on the lounge and let the sun dry me off.

I’d recommend both tours.

Friday, October 22, 2021

At Sea en route to San Diego

The second to last day on board the Koningsdam was perfect.  It was warm, but not too warm, breezy, but not too breezy, and we had booked a Cabana in The Retreat on Deck 12.  Not only that, but my sixth (and last) visit to the front desk encouraged the assistant customer relations manger to sit down with the Beverage Manager and solve all the problems on our statement.  I was ready to do the Happy Dance!  Thank you all who offered encouragement - it really helped.  Apparently what had happened was a glitch in the beverage computer system which failed to immediately credit the cost of any beverage to our Have it All Plan.  My nagging had caused a review of the system, so now it should be hunky dory.

We thought we’d try out a cabana for just one day.  The cost varies between sea and port days:  $85 for a sea day, $55 for a port day, and $495 for a full week.  We had a hard time understanding why people would actually pay for a lounge chair with a few perks (morning mimosa, afternoon cheese and fruit plate, someone to fetch your meals), but then realized that some very good friends book minimum inside cabins and then pay $495 a week for their “verandah.”  It’s a lot cheaper than a verandah cabin!  We especially enjoyed our day because our friend and beverage server Manny, who I’ve mentioned we’ve known since 2008, was our cabana attendant.  He couldn’t do enough for us and we loved the pampering.  Will we do it again?  Probably not, but we did enjoy the experience.

John spent much of the morning playing pickle ball, and apparently he’ll do the same thing tomorrow, since a tournament is listed in the day’s program.  Although he’d rather play tennis, the onboard option is P-Ball, so that’s what he plays.

Then there was the weekly reception at 4:00 to which 4 and 5-star Mariners are invited.  One couple was awarded their 300-day medallion and another 500 days.  We sit with our friends who are President’s Club members, so we feel pretty low on the totem pole.  We do hope to join them in a couple of years.

Last evening was the last Gala Night, and we chose to have dinner in Tamarind.  It is such a lovely, dark and quiet restaurant with wonderful Asian choices.  John had shrimp wonton soup called “Jewels of the Sea,” while I had lobster and shrimp potstickers.  They were both quite tasty.  My main dish was Cashew Barramundi with Red Thai Curry, and it was just delicious.  The fish was coated in finely ground cashews and surrounded by a somewhat spicy curry sauce.  Oh my!  John had Thai Basil Szechuan Shrimp, and while he offered me a bite, I couldn’t even finish my barramundi. Being full, of course, has nothing to do with dessert, so John’s choice was the deconstructed Yuzu Cheesecake.  It was really pretty and quite photogenic, but since cheesecake is not my “thing,” I stuck to my single scoop of lemon-basil sorbet.  It doesn’t sound like a good combination, but it really was good.

For the second night in a row, we set our clocks back an hour so that when we arrive in San Diego we’ll be on Pacific Daylight Time.  Saturday night is our last hurrah, so we’ll be having dinner with Jeff, Ann and Cathy in Canaletto.  Our friend Endrian is the manager, and he encouraged us to come - so what’s a friend to do?

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Puerta Vallarta, Mexico

It’s been a bout five years since we’ve last called at PV, and our reception here has certainly changed.  The last time we were here, we walked down the gangway, through a fairly small reception hall, and out to begin our exploration of the city.  Today, however, the tourist agencies of the city have added a grand and glorious extended building, with shops selling anything a tourist might want:  clothes, perfume, liquor, and so forth.  The problem is that the vendors, in their shiny new building and stores, don’t want anyone to miss anything that might be purchased, so there are barriers leading visitors through a maze-like path with very nice locals asking, “Would you like to look at . . . ?”  One of the possible exits leads to taxis and rental cars, but we passed by that one, just wanting to get to the street.  I was feeling a bit claustrophobic and I just wanted out.

Once having “solved the maze,” we began walking toward the main part of the city while on the lookout for a taxi.  After only about a block, we saw one coming out of a gas station and asked how much to take us to the Malecon, the extensive ocean-front boardwalk three miles away.  He responded that it would be $6.00, so we jumped in.  We have walked the those miles from the ship to the Malecon in the past, but with 88 degree heat and 85% humidity, we decided that discretion was the better part of valor and that riding in a taxi was the wise choice.

Our driver dropped us at the beginning of the Malecon and we were off!  It’s probably a good mile from start to finish, and the finish was our destination.  There are shops and cafes and full-on restaurants, and about a half dozen varieties of Señor Frog’s - bars, restaurants, and clothing/souvenir shops.  Usually we’d just amble along the part of the walkway by the beach, enjoying the view of the ocean, but in today’s heat and humidity, we clung to the shady side where the shops and restaurants were located.

On our walk we ran into our friends Jeff and Cathy and chatted about taxis.  They had gone out the “Taxi” exit by the ship and paid $16.00 for the same ride that cost us $6.00 ($7.00 with a tip).  They were understandably annoyed and said that they had learned a valuable lesson.

We kept wandering down the Malecon, admiring the sculptures as well as the phrases written with small stones in the concrete walkway.  People were friendly, bicyclists were everywhere, and it was a very pleasant walk.

Our goal, at the end of the Malecon, was our favorite PV restaurant, La Palapa.  We have good friends who come here a couple of times a year and recommended it a very long time ago.  It has indoor seating, covered outdoor seating (in the blessed shade), and tables on the beach under thatched umbrellas.  The food is excellent, the service is attentive, and the margaritas are wonderful - but watch out for them, as they have quite a “kick.”  Since we were there at about 11:30, before their lunch service began, we began with a mimosa for me and a margarita for John.  Pretty soon it was time to eat, and we ordered shrimp tacos (I love shrimp) and fish tacos, with a side of guacamole and chips.  Everything was delicious and we spent about an hour and a half over a great meal.

I really wanted to mail our postcards, but no one seemed to know the location of the post office, and none of the shops seemed to sell stamps.  I guess I’ll just keep them with me until San Diego and pop them in the mail there.

Then it was time to return to the ship for a margarita nap, so we headed up to the main street, flagged down another taxi ($10.00 this time), and were back at the shoppers’ maze pretty quickly.  I’m just not a shopper, and unlike many of my friends, I just keep walking, no matter what’s on offer.  Getting through the building was quicker this time (I guess they hope to entice shoppers on their way off the ship), and we were in our cabin, enjoying the A/C and avoiding the balcony where my reading glasses immediately fogged up whenever I tried to go outside.

Now we’re looking forward to two sea days on our way back to San Diego, and the weather should be a bit easier to handle.  Tomorrow we’ve rented a cabana in The  Retreat on Deck 12 just to try one out.  Jeff, Ann, and Cathy have one reserved for their entire 7 months, so we thought we’d give it a shot.  I’m interested to see just what is included and how we like being in a  private area.  I’ll let you know tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Mazatlan, Mexico

We haven’t been to Mazatlan for over 40 years, so I guess we felt that we had to make up for lost time.  We did everything we could to enjoy the day - and boy, did we!  Usually we don’t go on ship excursions for several  reasons:  they seem quite overpriced, we hate to be part of a large group, often a two-hour lunch takes time away from what we want to see, and the seemingly requisite shopping stop just annoys us.  Today’s tour did none of those, so we enjoyed it thoroughly.   

We showed up, as assigned, at 8:20 for our 8:30 Stone Island beach outing.  We didn’t even get a sticker; we just were given a paper bracelet so that the boat’s crew would let us on board.  Our group of about forty had only a short walk from the ship to our double-decker boat, on which we had a short cruise of the harbor and then across the water to Stone Island.  As we crossed the water, Arturo, our guide, told us that we’d be boarding a “Mexican limousine” for a short trip to our beach resort.  It was great.  Our “limousine” turned out to be a heavy-duty tractor which pulled a sort of “people carrier” which transported us to the “resort.”  It was not quite a Four Seasons, but it was a great place to spend half the day.

The beach was beautiful, the ocean was warm, the open bar served some great tropical cocktails, and the lounge chairs were comfortable.  John and I both spent time in the water and it was so much warmer than Avila (our home beach) that we enjoyed it thoroughly.

There was some “crime scene tape” to prevent the vendors from approaching us, but that didn’t stop many of our group members from bargaining on the beach for clothing, hats, and some “silver.”  The vendors were pleasant and seemed to have a good time bargaining.

At 11:00 a delicious Mexican lunch was served.  Because of Covid, a buffet was out of the question, but each prepared plate contained a taquito, some incredibly tender chicken, beans, rice, and a bag of chips.  My plate was clean by the time it was collected, and if we’d had more time at the beach I’m sure a nap would have been called for.

At 11:45 we reversed our path, with the “limousine” taking us to the boat, across the bay and back to the ship.  By then, of course, we were hot, sweaty, and sandy, so we really needed showers.  Once that was taken care of, we decided that we’d like to see a bit of historical Mazatlan, so we began our walk toward town.  The tourist folks in the city do a great job, including a four-stripe blue line that leads from the port to one of the town’s main highlights, Machado Square.  It’s a beautiful area of about two square blocks with shady trees (necessary in today’s 88-degree heat), cafes, and comfortable benches.  We weren’t satisfied with just one square, so we followed the two large spires to the heart of historical Mazatlan, home of its beautiful cathedral.  We would have liked to go inside, but it wasn’t open, so that wasn’t going to happen.

Then it was time to hike back to the ship after a total of 3.8 miles for the day.  We decided that distance entitled us to some rest, so a nap was on the agenda.  It was a wonderful day and one that we’d be happy to repeat anytime in the future.

P. S.  Regarding the postcards, I'm very happy that some of you are considering sending them.  We began years ago, and Jessica has what she calls her "treasure box" which contains every single one.  Often a shop which sells postcards will also sell stamps, but otherwise we have two alternatives:  find the local post office or just have the ship send them.  On our Coastal California cruise, we saved the Catalina postcard until we arrived in San Francisco, and then mailed both of them.  Because they live in Northern California, that really helped with the speed of delivery.  One time we sent a card from Pitcairn Island (we can't go ashore but most of the islanders come on board and will postmark and mail them for us), and it arrived about four months later.  

Right now I have postcards sitting in front of me from Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan, all written, addressed and ready to go.  Tomorrow we'll pick one up from Puerto Vallarta and then try to find a post office.  I'll let you know how that goes.  

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

It’s quite a distance from San Diego to the bottom of the Baja Peninsula, such that we had a full sea day yesterday with an expected arrival this morning at 10:00.  However, the captain came over the PA system last evening and said that the currents have been stronger than expected, slowing our progress and now resulting in an arrival at 11:00.  To balance it out, however, we’re staying an hour later, so it all works out.

I imagine many of you have visited Cabo as we have, and enjoyed the beautiful natural setting with Los Arcos - the great stone arches in the bay.  We once took a boat ride out to the arches and their beach and found the area was even more beautiful close up.  It was a bit windy this morning, so the tender to the shore bounced up and down and waves washed over the bow.

Upon arriving on shore, the wind mostly disappeared and the 80-degree heat took over.  It was a beautiful day.

On our last couple of visits here, we’ve enjoyed having lunch at Captain Tony’s, which sits on the corner of the most touristy area on the water.  We headed there again and our five-minute wait for a table was well worth it.  The margaritas were huge and tasty, and the nachos even better.  John had ordered a plate of three fish tacos (I had one), and it was like eating tempura fish filets in a tortilla:  they were wonderful.

After lunch we began the hunt for the post card. I’ve mentioned that we send our granddaughter one from every port, and usually that’s an easy task.   You’d think in a completely touristy area like this we’d have no problem finding one, but you’d be wrong.  We walked clear to the end of the restaurant/bar/shop area and had no luck.  John assured me that if we just headed back to the tender we’d find some along the way.  I hate to admit it, but he was right.  We found a card with a beautiful photo of the arches, so I handed over the dollar for it, John paid for his new tee shirt ($14.00), and we continued on to our almost empty tender for a quick trip back to the ship.

If there’s one truth in life, it’s that margaritas require a nap, and that’s what we did.  Waking up, I looked out the window and the view could not have been better; those beautiful arches and their beach looked so close that we felt that we could have touched them.   Now it’s just time to sit on the balcony and wait for our 6:30 all-aboard and 7:00 sailing, heading to Mazatlan, our next destination.  Can’t wait.

P. S.  The account adventures with the front desk continue.  

Monday, October 18, 2021

At Sea en route to Cabo San Lucas

What a difference a day makes!  On Saturday, the 1300 passengers on board were going about their quiet enjoyment of the cruise, and the evening after sailing from Ensenada was very peaceful, convincing me that they were all in their cabins packing for tomorrow’s disembarkation.  Then came Sunday, and even though the number of passengers stayed almost exactly the same, the noise level went up and the seats in the various music venues and bars were much harder to find.

When we came down from our cabin at 7:00 to enjoy the music in the Rolling Stones venue, almost every seat was filled.  We found a couple of chairs off to the side and settled into them.  Then, however, the band began playing “Old Time Rock and Roll.”  As long as I live, I won’t be able to hear that song without feeling an incredible urge to dance, so of course we headed to the dance floor and rocked out with a crowd that filled a dance floor that had been virtually unused the week before.  When the song was over, we looked and saw that our two chairs were now occupied by others, and I felt that we had just been eliminated in a game of Musical Chairs.  We did find a place to sit, however, and enjoyed the rest of the set.

At 8:00 it was off to dinner, and our area, which had been virtually empty for an entire week, was now filled with people at small and large tables.  Our dining steward and his assistant had had plenty of time to chat with us throughout dinner, but that stopped in a hurry.  In addition, we noticed that the standard of dress had changed.  One of the “rules” is that no shorts are allowed in the dining room, but we saw several men wearing them - a few with just a tee shirt.

I guess I’m just too old!  Anyway, I guess this will be an entertaining week.

While I sit in the Crow’s Nest writing, John is on the sports court playing pickle ball.  He’s primarily a tennis player, but since we have friends who play PB, he has begun going back and forth between the two.  The first day he played there were nine out there, and he had such a good time that he stayed for two hours.  I hope today is as much fun.

We’ve also noticed other changes in the dining rooms.  There are several items that are now labeled “indulgences” and require additional payment.  For example, at dinner a jumbo shrimp cocktail add an additional $8.50 to your shipboard bill, and at breakfast, if you wish to have a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice, it will cost you $3.50.  I know, I know - these are first world problems, but they are changes from the last time we were on board.

It’s almost lunch time and I’m hoping that the queue at the front desk will be shorter while people eat.  I’m still trying to get the beverage charges removed from our bill, and although they have done so beginning October 16 (the last day of the cruise), all the rest are still there.  I guess I’ll have the rest of the week to work on this, so perhaps I should just set up a cot in front of the counter until it’s taken care of.  Who knows?  Maybe they’ll just hire me and I’ll get to stay on indefinitely.

P. S.  Thanks for the info, Pete and everyone.   I do remember that there wasn't much there even before it was shut down.  

Sunday, October 17, 2021

San Diego, California

It was a beautiful day in San Diego to end one week’s cruise and begin another.  John was up at 5:00 to take a gorgeous photo of the skyline before dawn, and the sunny skies and warm temperatures made it a perfect day.  I intended to get in a half hour or so on the treadmill, but when I arrived at 6:15, it was locked up tight.   I guess that had something to do with debarkation/embarkation day, but it didn’t make me very happy.

We had been informed that a face-to-passport inspection would take place in the terminal any time between 7:45 and 9:45.  There is something called a “zero count requirement” at the end of any cruise.  That means that by a particular time (10:00 in this case), every passenger must be off the ship, regardless of whether they are done with the cruise or are just in transit (like us).   Today’s “off the ship” requirement meant we could not re-board until 11:30, so we headed into town, beginning, of course, at Starbucks.

We walked up the hill into town, hopefully headed to Horton Plaza, home of a Macy’s and a Nordstrom.  What a surprise awaited us:  the entire mall looked like it was gift-wrapped for Christmas, so there was no shopping to be had in that area.  With a bit of disappointment, we headed down the hill to the waterfront, where we found a sunny table for our 10:30 Sunday online church service.  By the time it was over, it was 11:30 and time to head back to the ship.  We had talked about taking the hop-on, hop-off trolley, but we didn’t think we’d be on it long, which made the $40 pp charge a little steep.  Besides, The Dive-In onboard was calling to us, so back we went.

Fortunately there was an in-transit entrance, so we only had to wait about five minutes before we boarded.  The nicest surprise was meeting up with our friends Ann and Cathy, whom we haven’t seen for a couple of years.  They’ll be on for almost seven months, sailing on three different HAL ships, so after this week we won’t see them until we’re on the new Rotterdam in February.

One great thing about today was that, for the first time, some of the crew members were able to go ashore.  Armand, our waiter, was so excited that he’d be able to go to Ross, and he was also interested in visiting The Midway, a famous WWII aircraft carrier.  We’re looking forward to hearing about his day out at dinner.

For some reason, it seemed like a very busy afternoon, since we’d been invited to a Mariner cocktail party in Billboard Onboard from 3:00 until 4:00.  At 3:30 there was a sail away on the back deck, but since we didn’t leave Billboard until after 4:00, we weren’t there very long.

Then it was back to the cabin to watch San Diego slip off into the distance and look forward to tomorrow’s sea day, followed by Cabo San Lucas on Tuesday.  Life is good.

6 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

@tennisbeforewineany idea if the covid test was antigen or pcr?  Happy birthday.

It was antigen (I think).  It had a 15-minute turnaround time, during which we were to wait in our cabins.  If we didn't hear in that time, we were OK.  No news is good news, I guess.  We passed.  

Saturday, October 16, 2021

Ensenada, Mexico

Between last evening and today, we’ve been two busy bees.  Since it was my birthday, I got to choose where to have dinner.  I love Tamarind, and I equally love its bar, formerly called The Silk Room but now re-named The Panorama Bar.  We met Jeff there at 7:00 and chatted and took pictures (with Jeff, that’s a given) and had a cocktail until it was time for our dinner reservation at 7:30.

The whole setting in The Tamarind is just so darned peaceful.  It’s a bit dark and people seem to talk in low voices. We began with the wonderful bubbly that I mentioned yesterday while we were served large shrimp  crackers with three sauces:  warm, medium, and burn your lips off.

I’m a sissy, so I stuck to the first one.  For a starter, Jeff loves the tempera shrimp, while John had the Chinese five-spice baby back ribs, and I had the satay sampler.  They all looked and smelled wonderful, and my satay was delicious.

For mains, John and Jeff both had the Panang Red Curry Coconut Chicken which is served with jasmine rice, while I had the Mongolian Barbecue  Lamb Chops.  After having lamb chops in both The Pinnacle and Tamarind, I think it’s time to broaden my palate.  Jeff passed on dessert, but John and I shared a Mango Posset, which was a coconut macaroon with some passion fruit jelly and topped with a small scoop of mango sorbet.  It was so good I kept wishing I didn’t have to share.

Dinner was followed by visits to both the Rock and Roll Room and the “Dueling Pianos,” and then, since my eyes were having a hard time staying open, it was time for bed.  It was a wonderful birthday!

Since our “Have it All” package gave us $100 toward a shore excursion, today was our last chance to use it, so we booked the Calafia Valley Wine Country excursion.  It turned out to be a great choice.  We climbed aboard a large, comfortable bus and drove for almost an hour out into the countryside.  We could have been driving through desert country anywhere in the Western United States or even North Africa.  Cactus was everywhere and houses were few and far between.  Apparently this environment is very kind to some kinds of wine grapes, and our tour included visits (and tastings at) two lovely wineries.  The first was La Casa de Dona Lupe, where we tasted four of their wines and had some great snacks, including freshly made pizza and a couple types of bread.  The area where we sat overlooked the rocky hills behind the winery and would have been a beautiful setting for a wedding or other celebration.  The Argentinian violinist who played during our visit just added another plus.

Then it was time to leave, but a very short drive took us to L. A. Cetto winery, which we were told is the largest winery in Mexico.  A tour of the production facility was impressive; the oak barrels extended as far as we could see inside of the huge facility.  We learned a lot, but then came what we had been looking forward to:  the wine tasting.  We tried two whites and two reds, along with a local bread, olives, and pieces of cheese - Monterey Jack from Costco, we were surprised to learn.  The piece de resistance, of course, was the bottle of Cabernet/Malbec which was presented to us as we re-boarded the bus.

All in all it was a great excursion.  We arrived back at the ship at around 1:00, and after a fairly brief break (not for lunch - we were full from the excursion), we headed out for a walk through the downtown area of Ensenada.  It’s really a cute little area, the highlight of which is the number of small cafes and Mexican (what else?) restaurants lining the streets.  We picked up a postcard for our granddaughter, poked around a few shops, and then headed back to the ship.

It had been a beautiful day, sunny with the temperatures in the high 70’s.  Right now we’re sailing very slowly toward San Diego, only 87 miles away.  John just looked outside and said that it seems we’re hardly moving at all - probably because we have 14 hours to sail 87 miles.

We’re looking forward to a full day in San Diego, and then we begin another adventure to Mexico.

P. S.  The reason I’m posting two at once is that the internet on the ship has been very far from mediocre for the last two days, so in San Diego I’m planning to find the nearest Starbucks and post both of them.

Friday, October 15, 2021 (

At Sea en route to Ensenada, Mexico

Happy Birthday to Me!

It’s our second and final sea day with lots to do.  The first thing I noticed this morning was that the internet was painfully slow.  Our daughter had sent me a Jacquie Lawson birthday card, and I never could get it to upload.  Maybe if I had waited another 20 minutes, but I’m not that patient.  After the gym/breakfast/shower routine, I spent some time at the front desk trying to get more info about why these drink charges keep showing up, even though we have the “Have It All” package which includes 15 drinks a day! - which I can’t imagine consuming.  A kind young man named Daniel was the third in that area to try to help me, but apparently it’s an IT problem that he is sure “will be taken care of before the end of the cruise.”

When we returned to our cabin last evening, we found the folded piece of card stock which usually signals, “You’ve got an invitation!”  Well we did have an invitation, but no drinks or hors d’oeuvres are included.  It merely told us to be in the Hudson Room at 2:05 PM for a Covid test.  Apparently everyone who is staying on for the next cruise must have this done, so we’ll be there - probably early in hopes of getting it done early.

The other card really WAS an invitation. At 4:00 we are to present ourselves - cleaned up and on our best behavior - at the MainStage (which will always be the Queen’s Lounge to me) to have the officers tell us how wonderful we are for having accumulated the large number of days we have spent thoroughly enjoying ourselves aboard HAL ships.  Actually, John and I had a discussion in which we realized that neither of us really knows, even within a hundred, how many days we have.  I know that the large number that always pops up is only the “informal” one, but it’s the actual “feet on the ship” days that count toward any further awards.  We’ll attend, have a photo with the captain, drink a glass of something, and then head back to the cabin to put on the shorts and tee shirts.

For this momentous celebration (and it doesn’t even end with a zero), we’ll be having dinner in the Tamarind Restaurant, described as a “Pan Asian dining experience.”  Jeff will be joining us and Manny will be our sommelier for the evening.  Since we began our cruise with a $100 cruise credit (either from HAL or our cruise agent - I’m not sure), I’m planning on spending most of it on a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne - one of my very favorites.  Of course it’s terribly overpriced, but heck, I’m not paying for it!  Adjoining the Tamarind is a beautiful little cocktail lounge which used to be called The Silk Bar, which I loved, but now has a new name which I haven’t even learned yet.  I do wish they’d stop changing names of things.  At my (new) age, it’s hard enough to remember the original names, let alone the new ones!

Our granddaughter just texted me to ask if she could FaceTime to wish me a Happy Birthday, but that is best done in the cabin, so off I go so Jessica and I can have some grandma/granddaughter time.  Then I’ll be off to enjoy the rest of MY day!

Thursday, October 14, 2021

San Francisco -  Day 2

What a gorgeous day!  Yesterday was nice and a little chilly, but today there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the temperature was in the high 60’s to 70 most of the day.  It actually got to the point that I was a bit warm with a turtleneck, cotton sweater and shorts, but it was a wonderful day.

Yesterday we headed up the hills into downtown and all around, but today we decided to go the other way - along the bay toward the Golden Gate Bridge.  There was some question about whether we’d actually get to the bridge and, having walked that far, would walk across it.  The walk itself was gorgeous.  We walked all along the beautiful piers of San Francisco Bay, from our #27 to Pier 39 (an entertaining collection of shops and restaurants) to Fisherman’s Wharf and on past all the tourist areas.

San Francisco, besides being an absolutely gorgeous place, does a wonderful job of providing activity areas for its citizens.  In today’s case, it was a wide walking/jogging/biking trail from Fisherman’s Wharf to the Golden Gate Bridge.  If you like hiking, this is a trail for you.  People of all ages (mostly young, I will admit) were everywhere, and only a few bicycles came a bit too near.   One of the most interesting sights was the great number of dog walkers we saw, some by themselves and others in pairs.  It seemed that the average number of dogs per walker was about six, and each walker seemed to have a specialty:  little, medium, or large dogs.

I understand from some reading that dog-walking is a very remunerative job in big cities, as some very wealthy people like to have their furry friends well cared for.

As we walked along we ran into our friend Jeff Farschman who had spent the morning walking and taking photos.  I don’t know anyone who enjoys his photography more than Jeff, and after we took photos of each other, we kept on toward the bridge and Jeff headed back toward the ship.

After another mile or so, we realized we had a choice:  either continue walking to the bridge (perhaps across the 1.7 mile length of it) and then Uber back to the ship, or turn around and walk back, stopping at Boudin Bakery for lunch.  After having covered about four and a half miles already, we decided that the second choice was the best.  After we turned around and headed back, we ran into Jeff - again!) and some other world cruise friends.  Howard was quite unhappy with Boudin Bakery because they didn’t sell boudin, or French white or blood sausage (yes, I know - yuck!), so we explained to him that the founder was named Monsieur Boudin.

Along with Jeff, we continued our walk toward the ship, but when we arrived at our lunch spot, we split up, Jeff continuing on to the ship to look at his photos and post many of them and the two of us entering Boudin for lunch.  It’s an interesting bakery, having been founded in 1849 along with the California Gold Rush.  M. Boudin, a French immigrant, brought along his grandmother’s recipe for sourdough bread and, believe it or not (it really IS true), all of the bread to this day uses the original mother dough.  If you’ve ever made sourdough bread, you know that you are supposed to save part of the dough, add flour and water, and let it “proof” to get the sour taste.  That’s how the same dough that M. Boudin began with in 1849 continues to 2021.

So . . . what did we have?  Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, of course.  I love clam chowder and I just had to have some sourdough.  I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, so I was also raised with sourdough bread.  For some people the taste is a little “sharp,” but John and I love it, even though there’s no way I can finish a one-pound loaf that’s been hollowed out for my chowder.  Needless to say, we enjoyed our lunch. We also picked up a loaf of sourdough for a young lady who serves us whenever we need something at breakfast on the Lido.  She's heard all about sourdough bread, but because the crew is not allowed to get off the ship on this cruise, she was disappointed to not be able to try it.  We hope she's pleased.  

Now that we’re back at the ship, after 6.9 miles) it’s time to get really nervous about the results of the Giants/Dodgers Game 5 for all the marbles.  Right now it’s 6:00 and the first pitch will be thrown at 6:07 right here in SF.  I’ll hold my breath and follow along online after we sail and Verizon goes out of range.  Oh my!

5 hours ago, Cruise Suzy said:

On the Website, under "Already Booked", "Manage My Bookings", "Shore Excursions" - you can book shore excursions immediately. The Specialty Dining reservations, under "Cruise Activities", will appear 2-4 months prior to your sailing. I made them on 8/18 for a 10/20/21 cruise and 10/8 for a 2/20/22 cruise. If you have Anytime Dining, you can also reserve times in the MDR under Specialty Dining.

 

We did book specialty dining before the cruise and tried to book some shore excursions, but the ones we wanted were waitlisted so we haven't had a chance to do those.  Instead, as a last-ditch effort, we've book a wine-tasting tour out of Ensenada on Saturday.  The problem I've had with the Have It All package is that every one of the drinks I've had is listed on our statement.  I've been to the front desk twice to get that sorted, but so far no luck.  Tomorrow's a sea day, so I'm going back since I am NOT going to pay for items which I've already paid for in Have It All.  Sorry to whine, but that's been my experience so far.  

2 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Did people wear masks during the mariner reception?  

Yes, until the wine was served. Most on board have been really good about following the mask requirements. 

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

San Francisco (for two days)

It was perfectly beautiful sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge this morning just before sunrise.  John has already posted some of the photos of SF from the ship on Facebook (dianeandjohn st john) as we sailed along on the way to Pier 27, our home until tomorrow evening.  We were in no hurry to get off the ship, since the shore excursion we were interested (Wine tour to Sonoma) was waitlisted and we knew that all we wanted to do was walk.  

In anticipation of our arrival, John and I and our long-time friend Jeff Farschman had dinner together last (formal) evening in The Pinnacle.  It was delicious and the service was excellent.  Jeff had a wedge salad followed by salmon, John had crab cakes and then lamb chops, and I had a jumbo shrimp cocktail along with those lamb chops.  We each had one scoop of something cold and sweet for dessert, and left the dining room way too full.

A couple of you have mentioned Jeff's blog, and he really does an excellent job of it.  We ran into each other during breakfast and compared our I Phones - John's an 11, mine's a 12 mini, but Jeff's is a 13 Pro.  His definitely takes the best photos, but we're pretty happy with ours.

Today was a wandering around the city day.  By the time we'd returned to the ship at about 1:00, my phone showed 6.1 miles from walking up lots of hills to the Union Square area and then back through Chinatown and finally to the ship.  Who needs to go to the gym when you can take walks like that?  The weather was overcast, and at one point we had a few sprinkles, but sweaters took care of the chill.  Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, so clothes will be a bit lighter.  (Go Giants tomorrow evening!)

We had intended to have lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, The Nob Hill Cafe, but discovered that, at least for now, it's not open until dinner at 5:00.  There's a solution for that:  we'll just walk back (it's just about a mile) and have dinner there.  It might call for an Uber return, though.  Since it looked like lunch on the ship, we decided to try out the New York Deli and Pizza, which we haven't tried since we were last on the Koningsdam in 2016.  The pizza was still great!

Since we have another day in The City, we'll have to do some more exploring and make the big decision of the day:  which restaurant to patronize for lunch.

In answer to some comments and questions:

1.  There seems to be a great deal of entertainment on tonight.  There are two movies, The Misfits (really old) on the outdoor screen, and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (huh?) in the showroom.  In addition, there are bands playing in the Rolling Stone Rock Room, Billboard Onboard, and B. B. King's Blues Club.  

2.  Candy - it was great meeting you and chatting at the SLO Airport.  We'll be doing that flight in reverse on the 24th.

3.  Nimi17 - We would have liked to meet you, but we weren't at Blend.  We did walk by the table at one point, though.

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

At Sea en route to San Francisco

If you’ve read my posts before, you have probably become really bored with me talking about how much I love sea days.  I think that’s one thing that most of our fellow world cruisers have in common.  Otherwise, why would you spend four months on board?  It’s a day with really nothing to do except what you want to.  If you want to listen to talks, play bridge, or whatever, these are the days for you.  During our two weeks on board, we only have four sea days, so I shall treasure each one.

Anyone who’s been on a cruise knows how important the crew is.  The officers are quite nice and look great in their blue and white uniforms with lots of stripes, but it’s the crew that does a great deal of the work on board.  At last evening’s Captain’s Toast, he introduced the ten top officers on board and mentioned that we have 900 crew - for only 1300 passengers.  That’s the best crew to passenger ratio we’ve ever experienced, and the service is superb.

We learned from our wonderful dining room stewards Armand and Naya that, although the crew has been on board for two months, they haven’t be allowed off the ship.  We imagine that it has to do with current American immigration restrictions, and hope that it will change soon.

Every crew member is double (and some triple) vaccinated, so I feel safer around them than I do walking into the grocery store.  We know how much crew members enjoy going ashore and picking up snacks and making phone calls, so we’re hoping that they’ll have that freedom before long.

One thing we’ve noticed as we’ve cruised up the coast is the great number of container ships here, there, and everywhere.  I know that there are lots of Christmas presents and other things

on board many of them, so we feel for the shortages that everyone is seeing.  The other thing that we’ve experienced is the enormous amount of smoke from the Alisal Fire near Santa Barbara.  In fact, when John went out onto the verandah last evening, the smell of smoke permeated the cabin.  The last I read was that it was up to 8,000 acres with zero containment, so we can only pray for progress in that area.

The fire has been made far worse by the weather we’ve experienced in the last 24 hours.  The wind is wild, causing not only a worsening fire but rough seas and high winds causing the outside areas of the ship to be cordoned off.  We’ve been asked to not go out on our verandahs, and I did threaten to report John to the Captain when he went outside, but then I took mercy on him.

Tonight is our first formal night, and we’re meeting our friend Jeff for dinner in The Pinnacle.  It will be interesting on this short cruise to see how people dress for a “Gala” night.  I’ve scaled back, realizing that since these two weeks are two separate cruises, I just have to bring two outfits, one for the first week and one for the second.  Formal gowns don’t work well with very limited luggage, so it’s just a pair of palazzo pants with different tops.

Tomorrow is San Francisco, a visit to which we’re looking forward because it’s one of our favorite cities.  We love to walk and walk and walk (uphill both ways, of course) and then complain about how much we had to walk.  We have several favorite restaurants and have decided that The Nob Hill Cafe will do quite nicely for lunch.  While we’d love to spend part of the evening at The Tonga Room in the Fairmont Hotel (which gives kitsch a whole new definition), I don’t think it’s open on Wednesday evenings yet.

So . . . now it’s time to be off to do as much or as little as I wish to do.  There are three Lincoln Center classical concerts, and I think I’ll try to make it to Mozart at 5:00.  Then there’s a private wine tasting at 2:00, and we wouldn’t miss that.  Other than those two, who knows?  See you tomorrow.

Monday, October 11, 2021

Avalon, Cataliina Island

As strange as it seems with all our traveling, there are some nearby places we haven’t visited, and there doesn’t seem to be any good reason.  For a long time our friend Jerry would ask how many times we had visited Paris (a question to which we don’t have an answer), and then would follow it with, “Then why haven’t you been to the Grand Canyon?”  The same is true of Catalina Island.  Our daughter’s been here twice for school trips in elementary school, but we’d never been.  We have now corrected that omission.

Sailing into Avalon, the main town on the island, the first thing that one notices is the Avalon Pavilion, a beautiful round building with faux pillars which sits right on the water.  It’s a theatre, a casino, and a ballroom which we’ve heard are all beautiful, but since it was locked up today, we’ll have to take other people’s word for it.

This is a tender port, and since we weren’t in any hurry, we just went about our usual morning routine:  gym, breakfast, shower.  After I spent about a half hour at the front desk getting online, we were ready to board our tender and head for land.

Avalon is different from what I’d expected, but to tell the truth, I don’t know exactly what I expected.  There is the cutest little “downtown” area that reminded us of a combination between Key West and a small European coastal town - with a bit of California hippie thrown in.  The main means of transportation (and almost the only one) is golf carts.  They are everywhere, and when I looked down a side street at the parking places, I think I must have seen ten golf carts for every other vehicle.  They are freely rented on the main street, and I think I noticed that one rental agency was charging $55 a day.  We took a pass but decided that this was definitely a place which was way overdue for a visit of several days or even a week.

When we travel, we always send our granddaughter a postcard from every port, and this one was no different.  She’s been receiving them since she was about four so the “treasure box is quite full)  and we found a lovely  map of the island, wrote it, and popped it in the mail.

After our walk to the Pavilion/Casino, it was beginning to feel a bit like lunch, so we decided to wander back while looking at seafront restaurants.  John expressed a wish for fish and chips and we looked particularly at restaurants that served them.  After a walk almost to the tender pier, we had seen several places which were rather nice sit-downs, but what really spoke to us was a little shack-like place at the end of the pier which had fish and chips (and a LOT of chips) in a little basket-like paper plate for about eight bucks.  Such a deal.  Now that we’d found a place which had what John wanted, did he get what he had asked for?  Of course not.  He had a buffalo burger, since Catalina Island is famous for its herds of buffalo.  I had the fish and chips, so we shared and enjoyed both choices.

After a bit more wandering about, including some side streets, it was off to the tender for us and back to the ship.  We’re great afternoon nappers, so I’m pretty sure that’s what’s coming next.  It’s getting cooler and windier, so a nice toasty nap will really hit the spot.   

We were in the gym this morning with a total of fewer than a dozen people. Most kept their masks on (as we did), but two did not. We didn’t see a crew member who might have enforced the rule (clearly  stated on the entry door) and we didn’t think we qualified as “mask police.”  
the gym, however is really large and well equipped. 
 

We haven’t taken a lap around the deck yet, but I do remember it (from 2016) having some narrow bits. Compared to the Amsterdam’s promenade (our frame of reference), I felt a bit claustrophobic in parts. 

For Maggieq - Getting home from Perth was very smooth.  Actually, HAL and its officers and crew couldn't have been nicer helping us to disembark, get from Fremantle into Perth and provide internet assistance.  

We stayed two nights in Perth, one dining with one of John's former students who now lives there and one at a local pub with our cruise buddies Rich and ginni.  That was actually a bittersweet dinner, because everyone knew that all bars and restaurants were closing the next day for a very serious lockdown.

We flew to Sydney (did you know it's farther from Perth to Sydney than from San Francisco to New York?), spent the night at an airport hotel and, thanks to United miles, were able to upgrade to business, both for comfort and safety reasons.  At that point, no one knew whether they would get infected from others or not.  

When we arrive at SFO, we were the only passengers in the arrivals area.  Getting through immigration (a shout out to Global Entry) was a breeze, and then, after saying a tearful goodbye to our friends, headed to the car rental area - where we were the ONLY customers.  

Driving home was almost otherworldly, with just a few cars on the road.  The downside, of course, was that so many places were closed that finding a restroom was quite the challenge.  Upon arrival in San Luis Obispo, we wished blessings upon two of our dear friends who had brought us all the necessary provisions - including a 30-pack of toilet paper!  

So . . . our disembarkation was much better than it could have been.  We're just over the moon happy to be back on board again.  

Sunday, October 10, 2021

San Diego, California

What a wonderful day this was!  Beside the gorgeous weather (sorry to those of you having terrible rain and flooding), we had some lovely surprises.  First, we discovered that our hotel included breakfast.  We’ve stayed here before, but I had forgotten that detail.  Then, when we headed out for a morning walk, we discovered that there was an actual Starbucks just across the street.  I am such a fan.  I’ve never in my life consumed a cup of plain coffee, but I’ve discovered that a non-fat cappuccino with a pump of mocha just hits the spot.

We had to check out at 11:00, so we found a table outside the Starbucks where we could have our 10:30 Methodist Sunday service online (as we been doing since March of 2020.)  We had our luggage with us, so afterward we found a bench overlooking the bay with room for three medium-sized cases.  We decided that one of us should walk down to the passenger check-in gate and see what was up.  That was a wonderful idea, because even though we had a 1:20 check-in time, they were letting people drop off their bags and then check in - and it was only 11:30!  Boy, did we cover the distance from the bench to the gate in record time!

It was sooo easy.  We gave our bags to some young men who were putting them in large containers and then taking them to the ship.  Then we began the check-in process which, as you can imagine, took rather longer than usual.  We first showed our vaccination cards and then the record of our negative covid tests.  Passports were next and then, finally, boarding passes.  It was time!!!

Finding our cabin was fairly easy, and room keys were in an envelope outside the room.  The only problem was that we had to walk forever to get to our cabin.  This is, for us, an incredibly large ship.  We, of course, are in the front of the ship and most of the places we want to spend time in (the dining room, the music venues, etc.) are in the back.  The good thing is that it’s only two floors up to the gym, our every morning destination before breakfast.

A highlight today was meeting up with wonderful former crew members.  We found Manny (our “nephew”) in The Retreat, Oscar on deck and then Endrian in the Lido, where he’s the assistant manager.  There were a few others, but I was too excited to remember names.

Since it’s Sunday, we had to keep our tradition:  we share a Dive-In burger and an order of fries after attending church.  It did not disappoint.  My favorite is the burger with sautéed onions, gouda cheese and some kind of special sauce.  The fries were great too.  They’re crunchy and cooked perfectly.  It was a wonderful lunch.

Holland America is very good at showing appreciation to its faithful passengers, so there was a cocktail party from 4:00 to 5:00 for 4 and 5 star Mariners.  We met some new friends, and stayed almost until it was over.

One of the highlights of our cruises is going to the back of the ship (there we are again) for sail aways.  Today, of course, was our first sail away, and San Diego provides a beautiful backdrop, especially on a blue and sunny day.  We had run into our friend Jeff, AKA Tanman, who I think has more days onboard than anyone else.  We’ve known him for years and even though we’ve been on separate ships in the last couple of years, it’s like we saw each other yesterday.  We met a few other cruise friends and decided that there were seven “world cruisies” on this ship.  We’re on for two weeks, but the others will be on longer, one couple for four weeks and Jeff for seven months on three different ships.  Yep, you read that right:  seven months!

Well, it’s time to go to the Rock and Roll music venue for a glass of wine before dinner at 8:00.  We’re still finding our way around the ship, but I’m sure we’ll be very good at it by October 24 when we have to get off.

I had every intention of posting yesterday, but it just didn't work out - for very good  reasons We were so pleased that our flight didn't leave SLO until 1:48 so we would have plenty of time to get everything done in the morning.  Our friend Dave picked us up at 11:30 (can't ever get to the airport too early!) and we were dropped off at 11:45 - only to find out that our flight was delayed an hour.  Oh well, we figured, it's a nice new airport with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating so we could just relax and enjoy our seating.  Then we saw the text that said our flight would be delayed an hour an a half.  That sent us to the snack bar to indulge in a glass of local Sauvignon Blanc (more like a tasting glass, actually), and a bag of barbecue chips.  While we sat (and sat and sat), we received John's negative Covid test from CVS.  But where was mine?  I guess it was a waiting game. 

You know what happened next, don't you?  The next text delayed us even further.  By the time we boarded the flight, it was the actual captain who came out to explain that when the flight stopped in San Jose (San Jose?), mechanical issues meant it couldn't be flown.  I always feel better when they replace a plane instead of trying to fix it.  Then it flew to San Diego, and thence to San Luis Obispo.  Fortunately no one had a fit or tried to attack a flight attendant or even complained about wearing a mask.  It was a short, smooth flight with some beautiful views of the Channel Islands, and 45 minutes later we touched down in San Diego.  

We love living in a small city.  San Luis Obispo has a population of 50,000 and that's plenty for us.  But if I had to live in a big city, it would be San Diego.  It has beautiful weather, ocean all around, and a laid-back populace.  It's nice to have it only a 5-hour drive or a 45-minute flight (finally), so we'll just stay where we are.

We've stayed here before cruises before, and our choice of hotel is the Springhill Suites which, although it's not the cheapest (I don't think the word "cheap" fits any hotel around here), it's immediately across the road from the ship.  Usually we're excited to watch our ship sail in the morning of departure, but it's just been sitting here for several days, so we can just watch it.  

By the time we checked it, we were really hungry, and Miguel's had been recommended, so off we went.  It was almost a five-minute walk, even visible from our hotel room and it lived up to the recommendations.  When we checked in, we were told there would be a 40-minute wait, so we just wandered into the bar (which looks out onto the bay), found a table, and ordered the requisite margaritas.  We decided we were happy where we were, so we had the front desk folks take us off the reservation list and just stayed where we were.  My chicken enchiladas were delicious, and John really enjoyed his carne asada.  

By the time we finished (and the second round of margaritas hadn't arrived), we just asked for the check and headed back across the street to our really comfortable beds. 

This morning I checked the emails and texts and found my negative results from CVS - hooray!  On our email, there were two results from our SLO County tests - both negative and BOTH for John.  Oh well, that's why we were tested twice!

The view this morning is beautiful.  The ship sits there just waiting for us and 

we can't wait to board!

We had several writing and drawing get-togethers at that marble table. I’ll have to find a matching table on the Koningsdam. 

We were on the transatlantic Koningsdam in 2016 and there was a costume contest in BB King's.  It was great fun.  The winners were two Dutch guys whose suits we couldn't understand until we realized one was covered with tulips and the other with small American flags.  They were . . . ta da . . . Holland America!  Loved it!

It was March 21, 2020, when we were unceremoniously ejected from the Amsterdam world cruise in Perth, Australia.  Since then, we've had to depend on FaceBook posts, old photos, and the HAL Cruise Atlas.  We've booked some cruises, but I'm sorry, planning and thinking about future cruises is NOT the same as sitting on the balcony watching the sea go by or wandering the hallways and greeting old friends, both passengers and crew.  

Now we have something to really get us excited:  our two Koningsdam 7-day B2B cruises begin this Sunday from San Diego, and WE CAN HARDLY WAIT!  Of course there are drawbacks, as we experienced this morning.  The fact that HAL requires a negative test within two days is a bit of a bummer, but to make sure we had at least one back in time, we spent our morning getting tested - and then tested again.  At 7:30 we were at the local Veterans' Hall, where the San Luis Obispo County Health Department was happy to jam a Q-tip up my nose and tell me it "should" be back in 1-2 days - but don't worry because we guarantee it in 5."  Great!  Then at 10:00 we drove down to the closest CVS with a drive-though to have another test, one which they tell us comes back in 1-2 days.  If for any reason neither of those come though, we'll Uber back to the San Diego Airport for a quick antigen test before our 1:20 (Group B) boarding.  Our second 7-day cruise is to Mexico, and we don't know what the Covid testing situation will be.

One of the bits that pleases us about this cruise is that at least two of our favorite crew members are aboard:  Manny and Kay.  They were both wine stewards in the dining room, but after the reshuffling, all MDR wine stewards were dispensed with and wine will be taken care of by dining room stewards.  Manny was going to be the wine server in the Silk Bar adjoining the Tamarind restaurant, but now he's going to be the beverage server for the Cabanas, and Kay said she'll be working in the Crew Bar.  It's such a shame that they have to work so hard and learn so much to become a wine steward and then have that position removed.  We're just excited to see them.

So . . . tomorrow the adventure begins.  We'll be flying from San Luis Obispo (nonstop) to San Diego and then headed for our overnight hotel, from which we can see the ship.  Usually we can watch our ship sail in early on boarding day, but this time it's been sitting there for awhile.

I'll keep you up to date on our adventures.  No matter how many problems there are, we'll just be glad to be back on board!

Monday, March 30, 2020 - Quarantine Day #7

San Luis Obispo, California (Home Sweet Home)

It's strange that one can be on one side of the globe one day and, 36 hours later, on the other side.  That's the way our (partial) round the world adventure ended, and we consider ourselves incredibly blessed to have it end the way it did.

The first time we had any inkling of a problem was actually in Tonga, when we found out that the government there had refused to dock two passenger ships before us because of Covid-19, and I believe we were the last ship to dock there to date.  In New Zealand, everything seemed perfectly normal, as it did in Sydney, Townsville, and Cairns - but then the rumors began.  There was everything from "the ship is going to turn around and go back to Ft. Lauderdale across the Pacific" to "we're OK, since we're all in our safe little 'cocoon' here."  We paid close attention to the most reliable-seeming rumors and decided our course.  

The day after Cairns, we were told that we would not be allowed to dock at Darwin, as passenger ships were forbidden from "in-transit" stops.  That meant that if we weren't all permanently disembarking, we had to skip that port.  We not only missed Darwin but also Broome, Geralton, and one other, whose name I can't remember.  Those ports on the west coast of Australia had been added on to "kill time," since we had to replace Sri Lanka, which wouldn't allow cruise ships, and Mumbai, for which we could not get a blanket visa to cover all passengers.  

We received letter after letter, from HAL headquarters as well as from Captain Jonathan.  The one that most people thought was the most interesting was the compensation letter.  We learned that, based on our full cruise fare (deducting travel agent commissions and port taxes), we would have a choice:  we could either opt for a 125% future cruise credit or a 50% refund and a 50% cruise credit.  We've made our decision and have submitted our paperwork.  

Shortly after passing Darwin, we estimated that we would arrive at Fremantle on March 21 instead of March 24, as had been planned, because of missing those aforementioned ports.  The only worry was whether the Aussies would actually let us disembark, along with the half dozen other ships that were arriving there within about a 3 or 4 day window.  Because of our lucky guessing, we booked a hotel for two nights in Perth and a flight to Sydney on March 23, where we'd stay for four nights at a Darling Harbour hotel, flying to the West Coast via Delta Airlines on March 27.  

The first shock we had was when we found out that Delta was cancelling all flights to and from Australia on March 22.  That required a quick reservation on United Airlines, non-stop from Sydney to San Francisco on March 24, since we realized that we'd better get out while the getting was good.  

On March 21, upon arrival in Fremantle (a wonderful small town, if you ever get a chance to visit), the plot thickened.  We all had a choice of disembarking on March 21, 22, or 23, with the ship sailing with NO passengers on the evening of March 23.  Passengers argued and argued to be able to stay on board, but to no avail.  We wanted to have a "sea day" in Perth, so the 21st was our choice, and we were told that our window for disembarkation was from 11:00 to Noon.  That time was set back twice before the real hammer fell.  Apparently the local government would not allow anyone to disembark unless they were going straight to the airport to fly home.  No hotel stays were allowed.  That decided us, so we made ourselves comfortable, had a Dive-In burger for lunch and realized we'd have to stay onboard until Monday, the 23rd, our departure date from Perth.  

I realize that not all stories have a happy ending, but an hour later, Captain Jonathan came on the speaker and said that the federal government had overruled the local government, and we could actually stay in hotels.  Since we were all packed and ready to go, we headed to Deck 3, checked out, and amazingly enough, found a bus ready to take us to Perth - for free.  I knew that many people had paid the $59 for a transfer to the airport or a hotel, and here was this bus, just sitting there for free.  We disembarked at the Novotel, and since we were staying at the  Doubletree, we jumped in a cab and arrived at our hotel ten minutes later.  Talk about a stressful day; I think my blood pressure must have gone soaring.  As long as HAL had shipped your luggage to the Amsterdam, we were to leave it in the cabin, where it would stay until the ship arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, when it would be shipped to us.  Since the ship was sailing with crew only first to Durban, South Africa, for provisions and fuel, and then to Ft. Lauderdale, we estimate it will take us six weeks to receive our luggage - but I really don't need any formal gowns or "pillow gifts" for now, anyway.  

We cannot say enough about Captain Jonathan and the way he handled this crisis.  He was calm and collected, dealt with an ever-changing HAL office in Seattle, and even though he was getting virtually no sleep and was under incredible pressure, he was pleasant to everyone and patiently answered all questions - reasonable and not - put to him.  The crew deserves  every kudo I can give them.  Not knowing what was happening to them, they still dealt with the passengers with grace and courtesy.  I know that many passengers are quite vocal about their "terrible" treatment on the ship; we  found that many of these people were negative throughout the cruise.

A young man whom John had in class as well as on his tennis team had married an Aussie, and the two gentlemen had decided between them to get together for dinner.  They met us at our hotel and led us around a couple of corners to a cute little spaghetti restaurant where the tables had been placed 10 feet apart - as required.  We had a lovely time, meeting Neel's wife and catching up.

The next day was our "explore Perth" day, and six miles later, we had walked down to the waterfront, through several parks, to the Bell Tower, and finally back to our hotel, where Rich and Ginni had just checked in.  Since it was time to put up our feet, a sidewalk table at the hotel's bar was a good place to catch up on ship activity and what we had done.  Rich is always looking for a good pub, and a block and a half later we'd found a great one.  We sat together at one of the 10-feet apart tables outside and had some excellent fish and chips, beer and cider.  This was to be "The Last Hurrah," though, since all bars and pubs were to shut down the next day at noon.  Sound familiar?  

On Monday it was flight day, so we called an Uber, loaded our one bag each, and headed to the Perth airport.  The Virgin Australia flight was right on time, and five hours later we were in Sydney.  Our Aussie friend Greg had told us to book our overnight at Rydges Hotel because it was right across from the International Terminal.  I'd expected "right across" to mean a major highway was in between, but it turned out that there were fewer than 200 steps to the terminal.  The hotel's restaurants and bars had closed down, so we found some takeaway at the airport and brought it back to the hotel for dinner.  

Knowing that our flight, while nonstop, was 13-1/2 hours, and that we have a plethora of United miles, we waitlisted ourselves for an upgrade to business class.  The next morning, when I tried to get a boarding pass online, it turned out that we HAD been upgraded.  Hallelujah!  Our friends Leslie and Handler were in Economy Plus, not too far behind us, but poor Rich and Ginni were stuck in coach.  We loved our flight; I watched a couple of brand new movies, took a short nap and it seemed that suddenly we were in San Francisco.  

While we were on the ship, we had seen horrific photos of mobs of people arriving from overseas at coastal airports, so we were quite apprehensive.  The reality was amazing:  we were the only flight arriving, and because our luggage had been marked for business class, it came out first, but there was NO ONE in the immigration line.  We have Global Entry, and that made it even faster.  There was no line, so we just put our passports on the glass, our fingers on the screen, and we were OUT!  We'd already said our goodbyes (without six feet of space between us), so we hopped on the "monorail" to the rental car building (where we were the only customers), picked up our car, and drove four hours home - with no stops.  

Yes, we DO realize how fortunate we are.  Our ship was virus-free, we stayed two days in what seems now like a pre-apocalyptic Perth, we arrived home safely - but to a new reality, with which you all can identify.  We've now completed week one of our quarantine, thanks to good friends who brought us groceries, brought us take-out dinner, and have made us more offers than we can accept.  Yes, it's strange to "attend" church online, and when our friends bring offerings they stay six feet on the other side of our garden gate, but we're here, we're healthy, and God-willing, we'll get to the end of this horror story soon.  

Take care, stay healthy, and STAY HOME!  It's not just our lives that are in danger; it's also our entire medical community and our at-risk citizens.