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Live from the Sapphire Princess: first post pause sailing 9/24-10/4/2022 (Baja Peninsula & Sea of Cortez)

travelin.sisters

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travelin.sisters Great Review Rare

travelin.sisters

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San Diego

          Woke up before sunrise as we were sailing into San Diego Bay. It was lovely as we slowly drifted to our berth. Soon we were parked in downtown San Diego between a Holland America ship & the USS Midway.

          Since this was our first port back to the US all passengers had to do US immigration. We were in the first group starting at 7:30 because we had a ship excursion. When we got to the Fusion Lounge where they were doing the checks there was already a line but once they started it moved pretty quickly—we scanned our Medallion to get into the room & then there were crew at any opening so no one could leave without going through the immigration check. The officers took a photo to compare with our passport photo & we were free to go. It was not as fast as doing it at the Port of LA when disembarking, they were still announcing that everyone needed to come get their check done even if they were not leaving the ship at 10:30 when we left for our tour.

          We chose to do the Hornblower Harbor Cruise which was located between the Sapphire & the Midway. We waited on the dock for our group to assemble. Then they walked us to the place to load the Harbor Cruise & we waited some more, then onto our boat for our tour. We crossed the bay to sail along Coronado Island where there is a Naval Base & private housing, then under the Coronado Bridge. I knew San Diego was a big Navy town, but never realized how big until we did this tour. In addition to the Base, beyond the bridge were the Naval shipyards where they build & repair the fleet. Then heading back past the Sapphire & toward Point Loma we passed numerous different training & other stations both for the Navy & Coast Guard. We even saw Naval dolphins training. We also saw seals, sea lions & many kinds of birds. Even though I have spent a lot of time in San Diego, there were new things for me to see & learn on this tour. It was comfortable when we were sailing with the wind, but when we were heading into it, I really wished I had brought a jacket. By the end of our two-hour tour, we were ready to head back to the Sapphire & decided any other San Diego adventures would wait for another visit.

          After lunch, a rest & more packing we headed off to our final dinner in the Savoy dining room. There was no baked Alaska dance on this cruise (which we didn’t actually miss)—they did have baked Alaska though. After dinner we rushed back to finish our packing & get our luggage out, while watching the Sapphire sail out of the bay & head toward LA. Then I ran some last errands & went to the final production show. Do You Wanna Dance was music & dance from a variety of styles. It was energetic & for a first performance well-rehearsed, but I miss the days of shows with a storyline rather than just a compilation of music & dance around a general theme. One last night at sea & tomorrow we are home.

         

 

My posts in this LIVE:

pre-cruise musing—post 1

photos of berth 46—post 2

ready to go—post 23

onboard & ready to report—post 60

embarkation day—post 67

embarkation photos—post 68

embarkation lunch photos—post 70 & 72

exploring the ship—post 80

ship photos—posts 82, 84, 88, 89, 100 & 101

day 2—at sea—post 102

day 2 photos—posts 109, 110, 111 & 112

answers to questions—post 123

Cabo San Lucas—post 126

Cabo photos—posts 147, 150,153, 154, 160, 162 & 163

La Paz—post 164

La Paz photos—posts 178, 179. 180, 181, 182 & 183

Loreto—post 189

Loreto photos—posts 191, 192, 194, 195 & 196

more answers to your questions—post 206

possibly helpful information—post 223

3 sea days!—post 224

sea day photos—posts 255, 256, 257 & 258

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margbell

margbell

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On 9/22/2022 at 11:28 AM, Pluto_fan said:

So excited to follow along!  We're booked on the Sapphire Princess next June, our first time with Princess.  Thank you for sharing your trip with us.  Bon voyage!

When in June?  We are doing June 14.  

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travelin.sisters Great Review Rare

travelin.sisters

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Home Again

          With very little ground to cover we were floating into the harbor very early. And were turning to corner into our pier before 6am. Enjoyed a nice breakfast in the buffet & went down to check our statement & cash out our last little bit of OBC as I had calculated wrong & we didn’t spend it all. I got there before the lines formed & was able to help a passenger on her first cruise who had missed all the information on disembarkation. That reminded me of all the things I didn’t know on my first few cruises & all the things I have learned from people in CC & other cruising groups. They didn’t post a platinum/elite disembarkation lounge, but when I asked, they said we could go to the Suite longue. It was not crowded & disembarkation was going so rapidly, that we just waited in the wheelchair spot with my BIL. Off the ship before 9 & home shortly after. This certainly wasn’t my favorite ever cruise, but it was enjoyable with many good moments & we are glad we sailed on the Sapphire. It is however, always good to get back home to your own bed & space.

          Next: finishing up with final photos, Patters, Menus & food

 

My posts in this LIVE:

pre-cruise musing—post 1

photos of berth 46—post 2

ready to go—post 23

onboard & ready to report—post 60

embarkation day—post 67

embarkation photos—post 68

embarkation lunch photos—post 70 & 72

exploring the ship—post 80

ship photos—posts 82, 84, 88, 89, 100 & 101

day 2—at sea—post 102

day 2 photos—posts 109, 110, 111 & 112

answers to questions—post 123

Cabo San Lucas—post 126

Cabo photos—posts 147, 150,153, 154, 160, 162 & 163

La Paz—post 164

La Paz photos—posts 178, 179. 180, 181, 182 & 183

Loreto—post 189

Loreto photos—posts 191, 192, 194, 195 & 196

more answers to your questions—post 206

possibly helpful information—post 223

3 sea days!—post 224

sea day photos—posts 255, 256, 257 & 258

San Diego—post 259

San Diego photos—posts 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 266, 267 & 268

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