Boarding Tales of the South Pacific

DAY ONE - Monday, Sep 29: As in the brief post from our stay in San Diego, we are on the ship. We have a few welcome gifts waiting in our cabin. One was a tote bag; the other was a reusable 12 oz. cup. They want you to use the cup for “to go” drinks, nice thought on saving waste. After dropping our small suitcase in the cabin, we ventured out to see the ship and have lunch. We chose Dive In for a burger by the Lido Pool. They have expanded their small menu with a few more options both in burgers and fries. One can get cheesy fries and Buffalo fries in addition to the standard ones offered before. Service was a bit slow, flavor was good. I was disappointed in my lettuce “wrapped” burger as the lettuce was falling off. However, I could eat it with a knife and fork.

4:45 was Sail Away at the Sea View pool. Tasty drinks, a few nice snacks, and Cruise Director Claire introduced some of the Dancers for a brief performance. She continued with some dancing for cruisers after the brief show. We appreciated views of San Diego upon departure. We chose Lido Market for dinner. It was so-so. 

Dinner was followed by the daily show featuring Erwin Urbi, from Hawaii. The show was called “Home in the Islands” with many traditional Hawaiian songs. A casino stop was next. I broke even on the slot machine so I was done for now. Not sure how Stuart did with Black Jack or Craps. From there we went to the Mix Piano Lounge. We met the piano player, James. He is from Scotland. He was personable and a I am sure we will enjoy many hours there listening to him perform. Long and tiring day. We have not fully unpacked the big suitcase that arrived in the afternoon. That will be a chore for tomorrow.

Ps: I forgot to mention we did not have a refrigerator in our cabin. We were surprised as we have never been on a ship that didn’t have one in our cabin. On this ship, only suite guests have them. We have a window cabin. There are no balcony cabins on this ship either. If you want a balcony one must splurge for a suite. We were told to inquire at Guest Service. We were told we could rent one for the cruise and it would be $60 for the entire trip. However, we were told there are none available. They hope to get more in Hawaii; they are on order. When we got back to our cabin, we now have a refrigerator! They put it below the desk, so now the chair doesn’t fit there anymore. This is an older ship. It has been refurbished and looks nice enough but there are these small things missing that larger ships have. Another missing feature is outlets, but we can deal with that.

Valencia and San Diego

Sunday, Sep 21: We left home after dropping Tony off with Julie and picking up the rental car. We met our friends from the Bucharest to Budapest River Cruise for dinner. That was lots of fun to see them and catch up!

Monday, Sep 22: It seemed like a long drive to San Diego today. We stopped for Panda Express along the way.  The traffic wasn't that bad but I really dislike the multiple freeways. Before going to the timeshare, we first made a stop at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Both of Stuart’s parents are buried there. It was an emotional and touching visit. We checked into WorldMark for our 1 week stay. We unpacked what was needed and relaxed. We ate our leftover Panda Express for dinner, watched some TV, and called it a night.

Tuesday, Sep 23: Today we went to lunch and then to Trader Joe’s for a few groceries for the week. In the late afternoon we headed to Eric and Kathe’s (Stuart’s brother and wife) home to meet them for dinner. We enjoyed dinner and a nice visit. Kathe just had hip replacement surgery 4 days ago and she was eager to go out to dinner. I think that is amazing!

Wednesday, Sep 24: Today we went to the Coronado Del Rey Hotel. I had never been there before, only viewing it from the mainland. Stuart took us to Nobu for lunch and it was amazing! The weather was perfect. The hotel is historic and so beautiful. We played cards and watched a little TV in the evening. A lovely and memorable day.

Thursday, Sep 25: We both worked on our laptops for most of the. We left to meet Eric and Kathe at Jake’s Delmar by 4:45p. It was a nice dinner, but quite the lively place, so it was a little bit hard to visit. It is a nice place directly on the beach. If it weren’t foggy, we would have had a nice sunset! The food was flavorful, but the steak was a bit over for me and the entire meal could have been warmer. Still it was an enjoyable visit spending time with Eric and Kathe. 

Friday, Sep 26: Today we are just going to rest here at WorldMark. I’ve been dealing with a lot of leg swelling so I want to keep my feet up as much as possible. I have also been working daily on my album, which I enjoy. Stuart always has something to keep him busy on his laptop.

Saturday, Sep 27: Another restful day. We made meals and did laundry. We are set to pack. We are watching posts of the Facebook group. It certainly piques the excitement we are feeling. The Zaandam had a stop in San Francisco. We did a few small efforts in packing.

Sunday, Sep 28: We had a lovely brunch and visit with Eric and Kathe today. After that it was time to seriously think about packing. It didn’t take very long to organize and put everything back in our suitcases. We filled up the gas tank for a speedy return of the car at the airport tomorrow morning.

Monday, Sep 29: The day as come!!! Checking out of WorldMark was a breeze. Drive to the ship airport to return the car and then a quick taxi ride to the ship. I believe we were to our cabin around noon. Boarding was efficient.