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 😆).
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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. :-)
