Insert huge sigh of…what? Relief? Contentment? Joy? Yeah, they all work.
The alarm went off at 4am, but I had already showered and dressed by that time. It makes for a long day, but for the opportunity to spend one more night in our own bed, it’s worth it. I had pre-reserved an Uber pick up, a driver had been assigned days ago (always reassuring) and Robinson was there 15 minutes early. We were at the airport in time to chat with a group of high school club soccer players going to a game in Texas. Nicest guys!!
We had signed up for Touchless ID at TSA, but that didn’t work as planned, so I need to figure that out for the flight home. Still, TSA pre check had us through security right quick. We boarded the plane, were sitting in our “extra leg room” seats, saw on the app that our luggage was on the plane (not much left could go wrong at that point) and had an on time departure and arrival in Long Beach.
Now, here it did go slightly, temporarily sideways. I was sitting right behind G, both of us in window seats. We both enjoy the western scenery and, frankly, I enjoy the peace. 😉 I was typing away my phone, responding to emails that readers/ friends have kindly sent, and didn’t realize that my husband was being a bit…overserved. That put me in charge of basically everything for a short while: baggage claim, connecting with Uber and basically dragging him through the check in process at the terminal. He was always 20 steps behind telling all the workers from the baggage handlers to security to the check in agents how nice they were and thanking them profusely and…hey, he is the sweetest inebriated guy you’ll ever find. It could be worse.
Thankfully, claiming luggage and getting an Uber is where one really appreciates the ease of flying into Long Beach over LAX. By our chosen arrival time of 11:30am, we were already on the ship. Well, there was one more notable occurrence. I placed both our roll aboards on the security conveyer belt (because G was busy making new friends) and, after they were x-rayed, was asked if I had snacks in my bag. Snacks? Snacks? I had put a few Kind bars and beef strips in a bag this morning but I thought they were in my backpack. He asked if he could open the suitcase, and while he did, asked more specifically if I had any gummies. Aaaah, I saw what he was getting at, and started to laugh. Sure enough, I had a quart size bag full of gummies. Fiber gummies. Shameless Snacks fiber gummies. I figured they were the easiest way to be certain to meet my fiber goals on these cruises. I think when he saw that I had an entire quart sized ziplock bag stuffed with these gummies he knew that they not were the kind he was concerned about.
So be forewarned. Somehow, they can tell.
By 11:45am we had done our muster check in and were in line for lunch in the Botticelli Dining Room. By 11:50am we had spent an additional $2500 for 38 days of 4-device WiFi and a non-alcoholic beverage package for G. And we’re off!!
Once a handsome young waiter placed a cloth napkin in my lap, any and all “getting ready to leave home” stress started to quickly fade. We are here. We are home.
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We lingered over lunch. Cabins were not yet open for guests. We had checked in at our Vista Lounge muster station on way to the Botticelli Dining Room and watched the safety video on our phones (wink wink) while we ate.
Once he had food in his tummy, G was safe on his own and took off to explore. I found our cabin (for 38 nights (!) though I think we stayed in this same cabin on this ship ten years ago), wrestled our luggage inside and started to unpack. Yikes, storage is tight, but I figured it out. That’s when I realized that I had seriously overpacked clothes. Six Rip Skirts and three pairs of shorts? What was I thinking? Well, they’re all here, and until we have to move to the hotel in Sydney and onto the Crown, I’m not going to worry about it.
G was on the Terrace Deck making new friends and getting his value out of his non-alcoholic beverage package which gave me over two hours to unpack. I needed it. It’s so much easier with just one person in the cabin. I then re-arranged bedding stored under the beds and made room to successfully store all the suitcases. Wucy, we’re home!
We were on the Terrace Deck for sail away (we left over an hour late but I didn’t catch why), swung into the Vista Lounge (and they had most of the window coverings open, so I can’t call it the Vista-less Lounge on this ship!) to see what the Elite Lounge is like (exquisite, with live entertainment and officers!) and went to the Michelangelo Dining Room for dinner. While G was doing his thing this afternoon, he got us a table for 4 for 2 through to Sydney. That is huge to us.
Our waiter Libres from the Philippines and junior waiter Solton from Indonesia (Java) seen very attentive, though that is one noisy dining room, especially in the back toward the galley. It’s nice to not have another couple six inches away but it’s not conducive to intimate whispered conversations. Which is fine. After 43 years we don’t have many of those any longer.
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We across the Lido Deck en route to the Princess Theater and caught the most beautiful sunset over Catalina Island. Pinch me.
Tonight’s Princess Theater entertainment (held at 7:30pm and 9:30pm- no arriving through dinner on this ship!) were Alfred and Seymour. Enough said. G fell asleep during the show; I lasted about two minutes after I got into bed. The hardest part (getting ready to leave home) is behind us. The second hardest part (getting to the ship) is behind us. It’s all good from here on out.
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