Day 17: At Sea / US Immigration

Today unfolded pretty much the way that anyone who’s been on a cruise where they had to go through US immigration at a mid-cruise port could have predicted. As a result, there were also the predictable stirrings of discontent among some passengers. 

A few words of advice to those people who thought immigration went badly this evening:  don’t ever cruise in Asia. This is an everyday occurrence on Asian itineraries. 

The day to that point was wonderful. It was like any other sea day. We had brunch mid morning in the Sanctuary Restaurant and then spent some time under a heat lamp on the back of Deck 9. The weather was sunny and beautiful and not quite as windy as yesterday. 

Smoked salmon the way Dad used to make it!

Apparently we’ve passed that point in the cruise where I feel free to resume the online shopping that I’m so good at, knowing that we’ll be home before items get delivered (except for Amazon; it’s still too early for them). So what did I order today? A golf sweatshirt from a golf website that was in my feed. Now, I’ve never golfed in my life (putt putt excepted) so why this appeared in my feed and why I felt compelled to order it is unexplainable. But it’s different and cute. And I should have it early next week. 

And we’re off!😁

Captain Arma announced in his noon update that the Port of Los Angeles would not be greeting us with fanfare and fireboat sprays after all, and that just sucked the air out of the ship in a hurry. Still, party band Asian Soul was playing on the Lido Deck as the Star Princess sailed into San Pedro for the first time ever, and the weather was sunny and in the high 60s, so it was a beautiful afternoon. 

And then the immigration lines and delays started. We avoided the brouhaha and enjoyed SaxWave Duo playing on the Wake View Terrace, and then sat and chatted with saxophonist Nick from Romania afterward until it was time to go to dinner. We weren’t especially hungry (we are never especially hungry anymore. I have no idea how people eat at specialty restaurants every single night), but we each had an entree and I had flourless chocolate cake for dessert.  And then we lined up for immigration which was only bogged down a bit until we got into the Princess Arena. Once we reached the front of the line, it took about ten seconds. 

Some people who went through immigration starting about 4pm and then left the ship were surprised to find out that they could not re-board until the entire ship had been cleared. Oy vey, these things never go easily, do they? I’m glad we didn’t make plans to get off the ship until tomorrow. 

We are skipping entertainment tonight because I am so chilly that I just want to crawl under the covers to warm up. The ship is quiet and stable, and I think that will make for a good night’s sleep. 

Day 16: At Sea

I was buzzed awake this morning by my Apple Watch’s haptic tapping, and so knew something was going on. Sadly, my mom’s brother passed away overnight, not completely unexpected as we had been getting updates for the past week or so. He was 92 years old; the family longevity genes remain strong. But it had me thinking…this is the fifth close death we’ve learned about while cruising since last October. It’s obvious we’ve entered a new season of life ourselves.

Still, we have one foot simultaneously in younger lives, too. Along with the sad news this morning, we received happy pics of the future Mrs. McGuy’s college graduation over the weekend along with McGuy in his gown and hood for his masters graduation less than three weeks away. Then McGee texted, totally stoked about Sabastian Sawe’s sub-2:00 London Marathon finish.  I smile sometimes remembering back to when I thought my guys wouldn’t need me much longer…when they were 5 or 6 years old.  Instead, I’ve been tapped all winter for assistance with credit card applications, honeymoon planning, post-graduation 60 day leave travel suggestions, ideas for the best part of the country to live in when working remotely, and once I had to watch Netflix right then because Alex Honnold was free-climbing Taipei 101 and hadn’t I visited there?!?

I’m very blessed. 

So, today…

G left the cabin well before I did, but texted me that the day had a much colder feel. Not a total surprise (we felt that wind hit the ship as we left Cabo yesterday) but I had kinda figured we’d have another day or so of warmth before I needed to put away the shorts and dig out the warmer clothes.  After all, it’s almost May.  There are still people wearing shorts and T-shirts on board, but I am definitely not among them. The good news is that my “travel pants” that I always wear to fly because they have lots of pockets, and that haven’t been worn since embarkation day still fit fine, maybe even a little roomier. Oh happy day! 

We lingered over breakfast in the Sanctuary Restaurant. G has gotten quite hooked on the ham and cheese skillet while I am still attached to my Greek yogurt and citrus fruit.  And here I must interject that I love all y’all’s emails concerned about my health. Certainly, after my Mazatlan margarita experience I need all the advice I can get! But I am not on any medication for cholesterol, no statins, no blood pressure medication and nothing for anxiety…ever, so I can my indulge my love for grapefruit with abandon.  My heart’s plumbing is textbook perfect; its electrical system is a hot mess, but, then, so is all my relatives’ who are living well into their 90s. 

I had to run back to our cabin following breakfast to 

add still more layers. Our cabin has been comfortable and sleeping has been cozy until now, with the heavy comforter appreciated. But you’ve not heard me comment on the ship itself being too cold. In fact, we’ve been very comfortable in all the public areas. Until today. If you’re coming on board for Alaska, you might want to be prepared. I have just one fleece jacket with me, and am afraid I’ll be sporting it non-stop until we get home. 

We met up again in the Princess Arena for two enrichment lectures:  the first, a Behind the Seas Meet the Cast session followed by Dr. James Engman’s lecture on Life in the Deepest Seas. 

The cast from the theatrical shows

After countless lectures and two weeks of cruising, James Engman still draws a crowd. He really is the best!

I returned to the cabin afterward to see if my laundry issue from last evening had resolved itself. After 72 hours, I had received three hanging items, but a separate paper bag with my “smalls” was no where to be seen. I’ve never had the same laundry submission returned separately before, but then laundry really is the only cabin issue we’ve had. We’ve never had laundry bags and forms in the cabin, and when I ask for two I get one a couple of days later. Finally this morning I got the smalls as well as two pairs of socks that were sent earlier and have been missing for days. I’d given up on those altogether.  G has a tuxedo shirt still out and I have a submission from last night but I’m definitely not sending anything further. 

I had just soup for lunch, and then we settled on the back deck behind The Eatery where we were very happy to feel heat lamps we’d never noticed in the ceiling. I had wondered how this ship was going to live in Alaska, but features like that will make all the difference. 

I’m going to miss these soup pours!

These heat lamps make all the difference

While we were sitting out there, we heard the ship’s horn sounding the Love Boat song over and over again and didn’t know what was going on until we saw another Princess ship passing us going the other direction. A quick check of Cruise Mapper showed it was the Emerald Princess. Hello old friend!

We weren’t one bit hungry for dinner tonight - or for the Elite Lounge fare for that matter- but went to dinner anyway. We ate lightly, skipped dessert and got to the Princess Arena in time to get two seats together. Tonight’s show was the Mighty Quinn who we’ve managed to avoid at least twice during our winter cruises. His is an antic driven act, but, frankly, we kind of needed the energy tonight and enjoyed the show. 

I can’t believe that I forgot to dinner menu pics. These are from the app.

After the show, G wanted ice cream so we went to The Eatery for him to get it. We’ve made a point of checking out the food offerings in the buffet the past few days. Frankly, when we came on board, we really thought we’d be eating most of our meals there. Things worked out differently (thankfully, better) but we continue to ask ourselves if we will be happy on this ship without the Sanctuary Restaurant and the answer is a strong YES. The Eatery and The American Diner are nice venue for all meals and we love the Dining Promenade. 

And we are back in the cabin at 8:30pm tonight. Tomorrow will be a different kind of day. We were not supposed to be arriving in LA until the day after tomorrow but received a notice several weeks before this cruise that we would be arriving tomorrow at 3pm instead. The ship has been cruising at full speed since we left Cabo to make that happen, and we have felt some minor movement for the first time since we boarded. 

Our early arrival allows us to go through US immigration tomorrow evening instead of losing hours doing it Wednesday morning. Much like stopping at St. Thomas on a westbound transatlantic cruise, this could take awhile, and we received letters last evening instructing us about what group and time we’ll be clearing immigration. We drew the short straw and are not scheduled until 8pm, but, really, we don’t care. We had talked at one time about spending the night on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, but have enjoyed our time on the Star Princess so much that we changed our minds about that. 

The good news is that Captain Arma told us in his noon update today that the port of Los Angeles is planning a celebration of sorts when the Star Princess sails into San Pedro for the first time tomorrow. There will be drones and water sprays. That should be fun. It’s been very special to be a guest on this inaugural Panama Canal cruise as the Star Princess entered the Pacific Ocean for the very first time and it sounds like more fun is in store. 

Day 15: Cabo San Lucas

Our perfect weather continues, compelling Captain Arma to caution us, in his “welcome back on board” announcement this evening, that it really isn’t always quite this nice for this long on this passage. I just figured it’s payback for that weather we endured on that second Emerald Princess Hawaii cruise. 😉

This was my first view of Cabo this morning as I made my way through the sphere en route to breakfast. 

Life is good :-)

Breakfast gets simpler and simpler every morning, and more like home since I discovered Greek yogurt is an option. However, I have a feeling that it’s not the fat-free Fage Greek yogurt that’s my go-to at home. It’s too darn good dipped in orange and grapefruit segments. 

Nine times out of ten when we walk past the International Cafe en route to our cabin, it’s for window shopping only, but today I spotted a real treat:  mixed nut…somethings. I forgot their exact name. These are a great snack to keep in the cabin since they don’t spoil. Theoretically, of course. They’re also very addictive and didn’t even last all day. I hope they don’t ever offer them again. 

We were in no hurry to go ashore today, but when open tender was announced, we layered on the sunscreen and grabbed our Tilley hats and went down to Deck 4 to get on a tender. And waited. And waited. We stood in line for 40 minutes before we actually stepped on to a tender. Maybe they stopped the tender tickets a tad early. I was ready to call it quits when we finally started moving. Apparently they had only one pontoon open at that time. 

Once on shore, it wasn’t nearly as crazy as Cabo can be on busy days. There was just one other ship in port today, Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas. It was actually quite pleasant. We walked around a while and then settled ourselves on the balcony at Wizzies, our favorite place to watch the tender lines. 

G asked if I wanted to start with 2 margaritas. And we laughed and laughed. Um…no

Instead, this was my drink of choice. I’ve pretty much figured out that my reaction yesterday was related to a new med that I’ve started since I last drank on the sunset cruise in Cabo in January. Because I’ve never in my life had that reaction to two margaritas with mostly ice.

We rode to shore on a local tender but a couple of new, sexy yellow Star Princess tenders were also in use.

Someone had a good day deep sea fishing!

I know I’ve said this in the past, but sights like this remind me so much of that children’s classic book, Caps For Sale that my dad used to read to me 60+years ago.

I can’t visit Cabo without ordering fish tacos!

Looking back at Wizzie’s balcony

Finally, the tender line died down, so we paid up and headed out. Once back on the ship, we changed into swimsuits and used the hot tubs in The Dome. I keep forgetting to mention that the inside pool in the dome has not been open most days. The glass divider between the indoor and outdoor pools isn’t functioning.

We were showered and dressed for dinner and back up in The Dome for sail away. The view of the rock formations and El Arco was really beautiful from up there, but as soon as the Star Princess sailed and rounded that cape, we were hit by a huge wind that actually sent furniture sliding across the deck. I thought we’d never get that door to the indoor part of The Dome open, and it was instantly obvious why that is generally closed off while the ship is at sea. 

I really wasn’t very hungry at dinner, after fish tacos just five hours earlier, but the coconut shrimp was a treat, followed by passion fruit sorbet for dessert. 

We had plans to get to the Silent Disco tonight and the Princess Arena 9pm performance, but decided over the sorbet that we simply wanted an early bedtime. I’m trying to get this post finished and published and get to sleep before the 9pm show starts. Otherwise, sleep might be delayed 50 minutes or so. 

Whoops. Too slow. I guess I’ll watch Tia Weston’s Sunday YouTube upload instead. 

Life is still good!

Rex from Shorex!!! Nicest guy at Princess Cruises!!