Day 18: Los Angeles

It is 9:40am the next day as I start this post, sitting in the Princess Arena awaiting the start of Dr. James Engman’s morning lecture on glaciers. I guess he’s exhausted his normal retinue on this long itinerary and we’re dipping into the Alaska season. That’s fine by me; I like them all (except caves…not caves). 

There was not an ounce of energy left in this body last night to even start on this post. In fact, while we were sitting and waiting for the show in the Princess Arena…that’s all I did. Sit. And wait. 

First, a bit more about that immigration process during our first hours in LA. It was a predictable mess. Not predictable in the sense of, “ Someone could have averted the problems since they’re so predictable”, but predictable in the sense that these things never go well, fingers always get pointed, and the only people who come away unscathed are people like us who had no schedule and never intended to leave the ship that night.

The passengers who were the real losers were, ironically, those with the early group numbers who got through immigration first and then left the ship, not knowing that they couldn’t re-board until the entire ship had been cleared. They waited, and waited, until nearly 10pm, many of them stuck in the terminal with the entertainers who were supposed to be able to get on board to perform that night but couldn’t. The ship tried to deliver food and beverages to them and were apparently prevented from doing even that. And CD Dan Looney was inspired to pitch hit and do some vocals in the Piazza to keep the natives from getting too restless. 

Ah, well. Life goes on. And we were tucked into bed early and missed most of the excitement. 

Then, between 5 and 7am the next morning, the gangways had to be taken out of service for some testing and’s calibration, and, as a result, the ship turned around in its berth. I was so confused. We went to bed with the webcam facing north and woke up with it facing south. 

It was an unusual few hours. 

But the day settled down after that. We went to breakfast in the Sanctuary Restaurant and then walked off the ship surely before 10am. We wanted to get to the battleship USS Iowa docked directly behind- and then in front of- the Star Princess when it opened at 10am

I was emotional before we even walked up that wide gangway and paid our admission, simply reading some of the biographies posted outside the ship. 

She is about my age. I know how difficult those early female academy attendees had it.

This one gave me chills.

We paid about $48 for two admission tickets and toured the battleship on our own. It was a beautiful day, just a little chilly but perfect in the sun. If you haven’t yet done this tour, there is a lot of walking over irregular surfaces, stepping over bulk heads and climbing up and down steep stairs. After more than two hours of that, I was getting tuckered out. 

G had said over breakfast that he wanted to take a harbor cruise, but we weren’t aware of any. Then this boat cruised by while we were on the Iowa and we started making plans.

Vicky for Victory

These are the only active duty deaths to ever occur on the Battleship Iowa. Three men were also killed in its construction.

Looks comfy 😉

I did really well with the confined spaces as long as I could look out and see sky. But once we were down on the lower decks where the galley and mess were, I started getting antsy. 

There were over 2500 sailors on the Battleship Iowa during WW2

We then walked along the waterfront past the Maritime Museum for the 1:45pm harbor cruise

This is hard to see, but the rolling carriers in the background are all unmanned and fully automated

Even with four large cranes, it can take 2-4 days to unload a freighter.

The containers are stacked as high below decks as above.

The port of Los Angeles was the busiest freight port in the Western Hemisphere in 2025. 

Terminal Island Coast Guard station housing

The Battleship Iowa with the Star Princess just behind. 2500 men on the Iowa, 6000 total passengers and crew on the Star. We really can’t complain too much about the Princess Arena seat situation.

While the sun felt good, it was darn chilly on our harbor cruise!

We were back on the waterfront by about 3pm but had one final mission in mind. We needed to purchase a gift for someone on board, and I wanted it to be a nice bottle of wine. That shouldn’t have been too much of a problem, but San Pedro is not the best area to be wandering around in. I had called around to several liquor stores that stated they carried “fine wines” and settled on Cabrillos liquors and fine wines as being the most promising. We Ubered over and our driver seemed incredulous. “You want to go HERE?”  Well, I wasn’t so sure at that point but we went inside.

Maybe they should call themselves Cabrillos Liquors, Cigarettes, Candy and Plonk. This place was as sketch as they come…and it had seemed like the best option. Luckily, there was one corner housing decent wines, so I settled in with the Wine Enthusiast website open on my iPhone, dusted off the bottles and eventually found one that really was quite decent. Paydirt!  One was all I needed. I asked if they had a wine bag and not of the brown paper variety and they did…one. I dusted that off and paid and we walked out of the store having no doubt made the largest single purchase ever made in the history of Cabrillos Liquors and Fine Wines. 

G was holding the bag as I navigated the Uber app to get the hell out of that neighborhood as quickly as possible. Apparently it wasn’t quite quickly enough. While we were waiting, a decidedly unsavory character walked up to us and grunted something and…well, you don’t want to push at me when I am as tired as I was in that moment. I told him we had no cash and he motioned to that decorative wine bag G was holding. G said later his first instinct was to throw the bag and run but I was raised with brothers and learned early on how to stand my ground. I said “Sir, I don’t believe you will be getting what is in that fancy bag”.  Or words to that effect, and grasped my walking stick a little more firmly in my hand. The vagrant circled around us one time before our Uber drove up and we fairly flew into the back seat. 

Never a dull moment. It’s San Pedro. Let’s be careful out there!

We got back on the ship just as the Elite Lounge was starting and so headed down to Princess Live for that. The day continued to feel weird. Deck 7 was full of Princess Santa Clarita employees (I didn’t know there were any left!) who had spent the day on the ship while it was in port, so Deck 7 felt crowded when we had expected it would be nearly empty. So many passengers had had exciting plans for the day, and were still off the ship, Disneyland and Universal Studios and Hollywood and a Dodgers game.  I really wanted to stay up until 9pm to watch people returning to the ship wearing Mickey ears and carrying souvenirs, but we didn’t make it that long. 

These soup pours tickle me!

We had a quick dinner and were in the Princess Arena by 6:10pm when nearly all the seats were already filled for Stephanie Hodgdon’s first show She Will Rock You. It was fantastic!  Stephanie is the fiancé of Erik Bryan, the Magic Maker in Magic To Do on the Emerald Princess and also the Let Me Be Frank performer, and, regardless of my feelings about Frank Sinatra songs, we got to know Erik during our nearly 8 weeks on the Emerald and he told us to watch for Stephanie’s show.  I’m glad we saw it, and she’ll have a second show tomorrow night. 

That put us back in the cabin during her 9pm performance but we fell asleep immediately despite the noise. As I pointed out to G over dinner, we’d had a busy day in the area right around the ship, doing most of the things there are to do in San Pedro:  the Battleship Iowa tour, the harbor tour, and he finished with “getting mugged”. Yep, I think we’ve just about covered the local bases. 

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.