Day 1: Flight to Fort Lauderdale

Our usual pre-cruise “crisis du jour” at home turned into a “crisis de semaine” that kept us on edge all last week but was happily fully resolved just in time to leave (but, boy oh boy we were about 25% confident at one point that we’d be able to cruise as planned).  It’s always something!  But today was as relaxing a travel day as we could hope for… until we ran into trouble getting a hotel shuttle at the Fort Lauderdale airport. I read that there were 16000 cruise ship passengers disembarking and the same number embarking tomorrow, and it definitely showed at the airport tonight. 

Due to our earlier Uber pick up, we spent a couple of hours at the USO where G was able to love on a black lab therapy dog named Jed (while I stayed a few feet away). I picked up a Qdoba on the way to the gate to eat on the plane and our direct flight was without incident. Luggage was claimed and we made our way out to the hotel shuttle area. 

I lost count of how many times I phoned the La Quinta in the more than an hour we waited for our free shuttle, but, in the end, we got an Uber and were reimbursed at the hotel. And no one was hurt in negotiating that deal ‘Nuff said. 😉

It was 11pm when we checked into our hotel room. We stayed at this hotel many times 15 to 25 years ago, and it’s definitely starting to show its age. However, for a few hour stay, it works. 

We are here. We’ve cruised enough to know that tomorrow’s embarkation day will be a long one. But after that, it’s all good. 

20-night Panama Canal cruise on the Star Princess

We’re off on another adventure, and thanks for being here to travel with us! I almost can’t believe that we are cruising in the Spring; I can’t remember too many April cruises we’ve taken.  Maybe an early transatlantic cruise in the late 90s qualifies.  Oh, and there was a San Juan to California to Hawaii B2B on a Royal Caribbean ship almost 25 years ago. But nothing since then, until now. And this one works only because we’ll be home to comply with that locally famous “It’s safe to plant annuals after Mothers Day” axiom. In fact, we’ll even have a few days at home at before we have to dig in (haha). 

Since my last post, we’ve had a good seven weeks at home. Two measurable snowfalls (one 8”, heavy and wet, and a 6” snow with the good manners to melt itself on the streets and sidewalks), not much other moisture to speak of, really warm temps (88° in March?), and my oral surgery, which went very well.  I was able to return to soft solid food after a couple of weeks, and have gotten slightly more crunchy very recently. All the weight I gained cruising (I’ll confess…almost 12 pounds from the time we boarded the Regal on October 8) was lost through day after day of a diet limited to protein drinks and soups. I’m now sporting a retainer that has to be removed to eat, and that is as good a means as any to eliminate snacking between meals. 

It wasn’t all dental work and starvation while we were home; we’ve been able to enjoy a few sports successes, too. I flew out to watch McGee compete in an invitational track meet at Stanford last weekend, my first time ever there, and what a beautiful campus. He was an absolute star, breaking the all time academy (and all the service academies) record time by more than 20 seconds, with an Olympic trial-qualifying time. Yes, I’m kvelling (thanks to Michael S. for that word). I can’t help it; I know how hard he works for this every single day. 

And then, how ‘bout them 2026 NCAA National Basketball Champions Michigan Wolverines?!? I’ll have to get a new coffee cup and retire the 1989 National Champions coffee cup I’ve enjoyed using for 37 years of mornings. It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine (but we fans know to buy durable natty merch that lasts, because it has to 😆). 

With nothing (much) on the calendar for three weeks, our upcoming cruise was purely an impulse purchase. In fact, I can tell you exactly when we booked it. That evening in Cabo San Lucas in early January when we went up to the open deck above the bridge on the Emerald Princess to get some sunset pics, and G went back to the cabin to change for the evening, but I was waiting to see what the afterglow would be like (sadly, not too impressive). And an announcement came from the bridge about a family of whales swimming alongside the ship from stern forward. I went out on a wing and watched their travel. Meanwhile, a fellow passenger came running out holding an impressive camera and stood beside me taking lots of pics. Before he went back to his cabin located at the very front of the ship just inside the door, we were chatting and he told me about a Star Princess cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Seattle that had dropped in price and was starting at $80pp per day. He said he had just booked it that day. 

I can’t keep my mouth shut.  It’s always been a failing. I mentioned it to G, in passing, really, because I had no desire to sail on the newest ships, nor sail in April, and didn’t think he did, either. Well, he believed the fact that our calendars were both clear (with only one minor movable appointment) was providence and the next day we booked the last inside cabin available on Deck 9.  A few weeks later I added air (United outbound. Alaska Air inbound), and we were still able to keep the base price around $100pp per day. This is a $4000 experiment. G is thrilled. I’m pretty sure I’m crazy. Big ships are really not my thing; however, this experience may provide some decent blog content. 

Most of the great reviews I’ve seen on the Sun and the Star are from people who booked Sanctuary Class cabins (with the included Premier package) or at least purchased the Premier package as an add on. We’re doing neither. We are staying in perhaps the smallest inside cabin we’ve ever been in (except, possibly, on the Carnival Jubilee), we are not getting a package, and I doubt we’ll be eating in a specialty restaurant, and, since we are both committed to not gaining a pound, I foresee a lot of salmon, salads and well done broccoli, at least in my future. 

We’ll be cruising a Sphere Class ship on a budget, which will hopefully interest a few readers. After all, a large number of people on the ship are cruising in inside cabins, and a majority are probably cruising without the Premier package. Those reviews don’t get the attention, or are not as stellar as the high end reviews. We’ll see how this goes. (I still think we’re a little nuts. It’s April- income tax and property tax season, with college graduations and weddings in the offing- plus, this is putting me at almost five months of cruising in the last 12 months, and G even more. We have officially reached our pre-COVID levels). Stay calm well and cruise on, I guess. 

In an interest to lower our per diem cost even further, I pushed for a red-eye flight connecting through Newark and landing in Fort Lauderdale at 11am on the day of the cruise, but had absolutely no luck convincing G. I then reserved a room at the La Quinta near the airport using the very last of the points G accrued while deployed in south Texas in 2004-5. I also booked the Basic Economy fare on United, which means our personal item has to fit under the seat and we don’t get to stow a bag in the overhead bins. My plan when I booked our flights was that we would share a suitcase between us since we have to pay for our checked bags, and I want it to be known that my items fit perfectly in one half of a suitcase. But that fell apart when G kept adding things (including his tux…go figure) and he ended up deciding he wanted a suitcase of his own, so, naturally, I added a few things to the original suitcase also, just to keep its weight evenly distributed. 😉

We’ve watched with interest and concern all the TSA disruptions and world political situation in the weeks we were at home, but our only change as a result was to move our Uber pick up tomorrow to an hour earlier to accommodate TSA delays. Fingers crossed that we (and our suitcases) make it to Fort Lauderdale on a timely basis. 

This itinerary has a paucity of ports, and that’s fine by us, as it will give us more time to explore the Star Princess. Still, we’re especially looking forward to Aruba (because we love it) and Panama City (never been, have tentative plans). I’m excited to return to Mazatlan again, seeing as we didn’t stop there in January, I might get a massage in Cabo and we will have a new adventure (for us) in LA, which was changed to be an overnight. We were very happy about that! I’ve done no, zero, zip sightseeing in the LA area…ever. I’ve only ever flown or sailed in/out. When is the next time I’ll do something (several somethings, actually) for the first time?  Soon, very soon!

Life is good. :-)

At home

We’ve been home for four full days now, and it’s time to wrap this up. I’ve actually just taken a Valium (the reason why to follow), so we’ll see how coherent this post is. 😆 

Our alarm was set for 7am on disembarkation morning, and we were out of our cabin at 8am. We went to the World Fresh Marketplace with our large suitcases and just parked them against our table in the back. We hung out there until it closed at 9am and then sat in Club Fusion until the last and final call about 9:45am and at 10am were in an Uber to the Long Beach Airport ($34.34). 

And once there we waited for hours, but what a pleasant airport to wait in. We now know to go to the car rental building with easy access to comfortable seating and plug ins and clean bathrooms and quiet. Blissful quiet. No boarding announcements, no standby announcements, just quiet. That’s a very welcome thing after being on a cruise ship for 52 days. 

We arrived home just after 9pm, and, yes, there was a skiff of snow falling for the first time in weeks, but it was light and short lived. We reached 73° today, and so have none of that East Coast nonsense here!

Saturday was pajamas, grocery delivery and laundry day (while watching three college basketball games). Sunday was grocery pickup and mail day and I had three appointments on Monday (yesterday). I finally today cleaned out toiletry travel bottles, refilled them and re-packed everything for our April cruise. It was easier than putting away Saturday’s laundry, especially since I won’t be needing any of those clothes before we cruise again. 

Tomorrow is surgery day, because what would post-cruise life be without a surgery? Luckily, it’s just oral surgery. The crown that came off and was re-cemented in San Pedro on a Royal Princess turnaround day in December (did I mention that?) was a temporary fix. When I saw my dentist Christmas week, she said it was time for a root canal but I opted for an extraction and implant instead. That tooth has bothered me every time I have a sinus infection for nearly ten years. I was (and am) ready for it to be gone. I was taking a risk cruising for 52 days, especially with all the sea days, but I couldn’t start the process during those few days I was home because of the holidays. My dentist sent antibiotics with me in case it blew up in the middle of five days at sea to/from Hawaii, but I never needed them. Some days were worse than others but it never kept me from eating! 

I picked up four prescriptions today, one of them for two pills of Valium. The oral surgeon prescribed one for tonight and one for tomorrow morning. I asked if I really need them and they said I didn’t have to take them but it would help me sleep better tonight. I’ve not slept well since we returned home (too much on my mind) so for that reason more so than nerves I took one about 30 minutes ago. Things are feeling pretty mellow. 

I cancelled my flights and hotel to see McGee run in the indoor track conference championship this weekend, and will have to be content to watch online. I’ll be going to Stanford in early April for an outdoor meet and then cruising again in April (hence the re-packing). Our schedule is full between now and then; we just need to get tomorrow behind us. 

We thoroughly enjoyed the first 36 days on the Emerald Princess. The crew was just as special as I remember them being, the food was decent to good, the weather was amazing and the entertainment top notch. But, oh my, that last 16 day cruise to Hawaii quickly became an endurance contest. I’ve been in rougher seas before (the Tasman Sea and the North Atlantic in December on the little Pacific Princess) but I have never been in seas that rough for that many consecutive days. Even the nights between the Hawaiian islands were bouncy. The second of five sea days back to Ensenada broke me. I could feel my cruising spirit leave my body. I just wanted to reach port. 

We each actually had a couple days of mal de débarquement after we returned home, but that has thankfully passed. But, in the end, we are re-considering our plans for next winter. I was very happy with the Hawaiian Ambassador and Naturalist programs on the Emerald Princess, and absolutely loved learning how to play the ukulele, but G commented (many, many times) on the poor condition of the Emerald Princess (especially the public bathrooms) and the ship is not going to be any newer next winter. Neither of us wants a repeat of that last cruise. And that from someone with nearly 2000 days at sea. I felt so badly for our first time cruisers, the Hawaii virgins and anyone who traveled from the UK, Australia or New Zealand. Heck, I was actually feeling kind of sorry for all of us. The only happy note (and it was a very happy note) was that the harbor pilot was quickly plucked, uninjured, from the sea outside the port of Nawiliwili. In the end, that puts everything into perspective. 

A problem we face is that we are running out of winter cruising options. G does not want to fly to/from Australia again and, after four trips to South America, we’re really not that interested in returning there either. First world problems, for sure. I’m studying our cruise options every evening while we sit in the family room, and nothing better than what we have booked is jumping out at me. Is it time for an extended land stay in a warm destination?  Possibly. 

But, in the interim, we’ll be back at it again in April for a new experience and I will be blogging once again. The BlogTouch Pro app was finally updated and worked really well for me this cruise, which is why I faithfully blogged (after struggling with publishing posts from Alaska in June and the transatlantic in October, and giving it up altogether in December). So, if you’re interested in reading more, check back mid-April. And thanks so much for being here now. I’ve appreciated your emails and support!

Source: Instagram tbrealtormarc

Day 52: Ensenada (is out there somewhere)

It was almost exactly as predicted this morning:  58° (but kind of sunny), and we fell back asleep after the “the ship had been cleared” announcement at 9am and had the best sleep of the past week. I got dressed (in my travel pants…and the tight waist is penance for all the wild living) and my Mexico shirt and earrings one last time (because the shirt is pretty much my only clean one left to wear).

I then went down to Guest Services to apply a different credit card to our folio balance and zero it out. We have been doing that lately, and then block that credit card from receiving any further charges for a few months. We’ve had too many surprise erroneous charges appear on our folio the last night of the cruise, and even received an email stating they were charging us an additional $500+ weeks after a cruise was over. 

Watch your folios!  Take precautionary measures!

I caught the tail end of breakfast in the buffet (green veggie drinks, muesli, yogurt and chia seed sludge). I at least started the day in a healthy way. Eventually I connected with G and we were able to have lunch on the Terrace Deck. It was warm enough (just barely) to do that, though the sea gulls were giving me the heebee-jeebees. It started to cloud over and at that point really did become too cool to sit outside. 

I got most of my packing done this afternoon, although we weren’t going to set out our suitcases tonight, but instead carry them off the ship tomorrow morning. Our flight isn’t until late tomorrow afternoon, and we will simply stay on the ship until the last and final call, and by then it’s easy to roll luggage off. 

We went to our final Elite Lounge of the season, enjoying sail away from Ensenada, and then to dinner in the Michelangelo Dining Room. 

Dinner service got bogged down in the whole dining room, and we had to eat our entrees and run, but did return again for dessert and coffee after the show. 

Tonight’s Princess Theater entertainment was not a variety show (yay!), but was Alex Yost. He was the country singer who performed the night of the Captains Circle parties, so we missed him then and it was nice to have a second chance. 

And, after dessert and coffee, we were early to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day.  We’ll have a long wait at Long Beach Airport before our flight, and it will be at least 9pm by the time we get home. 

But at least our world will be stable again, and that's a very good thing. 

Day 51: Eleventy-Seventh Day at Sea

I’m not joking about that. Today really did start to feel a little desperate. It wasn’t quite as bouncy as it has been but that’s speaking in relatives. It was still a whole lotta bouncy. The forecast for tomorrow in Ensenada is for a high of 58° and rain and I do. not. care. Rain and cold don’t shake the ship underneath me. Bring it on. 

Fortunately, today was a very busy day, which kept me from feeling desperate very often. We didn’t make it to breakfast again, nor did we order coffee in our cabin, but at 10am I attended Naturalist Daniel’s enrichment lecture on coral, which is one of my favorite topics. From there I fell into the galley tour line, as I haven’t seen the Emerald Princess galley in many years. We did the Chefs Table on the Emerald on its first cruise after COVID (October 2021), but the galley was not included in Chefs Table at that time (heck, we were wearing masks at all times outside our cabins and testing every so often. I don’t miss those days!). 

I got a piece of carrot cake from the dessert extravaganza in the World Fresh Marketplace and took it to the Botticelli Dining Room for lunch with G (just lentil soup for me). Yeah, my “I’m giving up sugar for Lent” vow lasted all of two waking hours today, but I did just eat seafood and vegan the rest of the day, so that part was Catholic-compliant. 😉

I had to eat that carrot cake fast, because today at 1pm in Club Fusion was the Aloha ‘Oe Hawaiian Farewell Show. I definitely hid in the back of the ukulele pack but was busy looking for G in the audience. You know those videos you see on social media where a kindergarten is performing and the child is in tears imagining mom and dad didn’t show up but then he sees them and his face lights up with a big smile?

Yes, exactly like me here (yellow shirt against the back wall on the left) when I spotted G

G wrote the chords for my songs today on my hand because I knew that music stands were going to be in short supply for today’s show and I thought I could get by as long if I knew the major chord order.

We had prepared three songs (Pearly Shells, You are my Sunshine and I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing) to perform, but I missed yesterday’s class for MTG and- surprise!- they added Tiny Bubbles. Now, I had never played that song, I didn’t even have the music in front of me for Tiny Bubbles, but, fortunately, I learned finger syncing from the best and pretended to strum every chord except C, which I played loud and proud.  

The hula dancers were very impressive and G (entirely unbiased, I’m sure) said the entire show was fantastic and he actually stayed afterwards even longer than I did taking photos and talking to other family members in the audience because I raced out to go to the Princess Theater to get our prime seats for the Voice of the Ocean. 

One singer (HJ, originally from the Philippines) was a clear winner with 86% of the vote for his rendition of Unchained Melody, but, as always, it was the comedic banter between CD Nathan and the coaches that was most entertaining. 

There was just enough time for a clean up before going to the Elite Lounge and then dinner in the Michelangelo Dining Room. I haven’t been hungry in so long that I don’t even remember what that feels line. It is going to be a hard transition going home where there is almost no food in the house and we just might leave it that way for a couple of weeks. 

We finally had a sunset tonight!

After Ebony and Ivory’s performance, CD Nathan called up many of the ship’s crews and officers on stage for a final farewell, and that is always fun. 

We returned to the Michelangelo Dining Room for coffee and dessert (mandarin sorbet for me). I’ve received a couple of emails asking if that is an acceptable thing to do and, yes, it definitely is. Theoretically we should go to the DaVinci Dining Room (anytime dining) but we know that there are many empty tables in Michelangelo Dining Room for second seating, and, in fact, our unusual wait staff (Richard and Anthony) have an empty table and host Mark always seats us with them.  We don’t do this every night but probably every fourth night or so, because we nearly always leave the dining room early in time to get good seats for the 7pm Princess Theater performance. 

I am truly wiped out tonight and suspect I will sleep long past our arrival time in Ensenada off 9am. I think it will be another case of the best sleep being that which comes after the ship is docked and stable.