No photos, takes too long to upload - I'll post some in Hawaii
Saturday, Sept 28:
Train/bus trip was uneventful and relaxing. We played cards part of the way
since we had a table on the train. We could have walked back to the ship at
Pier 27 from our drop off point of Pier 39 but opted for a taxi ($7.50+tip). I
don't want to press myself after the recent back injection and anyway I was
more than my 10K steps by the end of the day. However, if I can't get the
internet working my steps won't sync anyway!
So back to arrival
in SF. Our taxi dropped us at the door
where our large bag was whisked away by the porter and we were in the short
line for passport check immediately. From there it was to the "Platinum"
check in (which was longer than the standard line) which went very quickly. At
security we chatted with a couple who have a great day planned. The flew in
from AU 4 days ago and explored SF. Nice to hear they thought it was lovely.
Their BIL & SIL are on the ship already and sailed from Vancouver. They
don't know they are coming and it is a big surprise. How fun to share in their
excitement! Since it was still before
noon we took a seat and waited to board, which we were called for right
at 12p as promised. We weren't sure if our cabin would be ready but it was so
we unpacked our carryons and asked for ice that came immediately. We had a
quick toast with a couple sips of our wine from water glasses and by then our
big suitcase was outside our door. We took care of that and headed to the
dining room for lunch since it was only open until 1:30p. Since I was starved
my salad and lunch sized serving of ravioli could have been larger, but it was
very good. John had soup of the day, a burger, and dessert. Now we are off to
explore a little bit more of the ship.
First we checked the
dinner menu to see if we will opt out or not. Yes, there is prime rib so we are "in" for
sure. We covered decks 5-15 today, both
forward and aft. I can't say I know my way around just yet but it is becoming
familiar. We straggled along to Muster, which is different for us, so it didn't
seem to take long at all. We have been warned the weather will be windy as we
leave SF (no surprises) and through the night. Surprisingly, all the deck
lounges have now been stacked up and tied down. Where shall we go for sail
away? We opted for the Terrace pool at the
aft of the ship. There are tables and chairs there plus a stationary bar
that has a good view. We have been under the Golden Gate before but no matter,
it is always a thrill for me. We happen to sit by a nice young couple (50's
young to us) from Melbourne. I love Aussies, they are so fun and friendly. We had a great chat. They just flew in last
night. They wanted me to point out
various things and that was fun to reminisce about the past and different
locations. Finally it is time, the ship is
setting sail. The wind has picked up and John's fancy drink blew away!
No wonder they only serve plastic glasses outside. It is quite cool and the
wind is challenging but personally I loved it! Met up with another guy who was
friendly. He is from Fairfield, born in Fresno. Vietnam Vet so he and John had
a lot to talk about. I must say you meet interesting and nice people on a
cruise. I took lots of photos and soon the Golden Gate was on our six and we
headed to our appointed dining room.
We have Anytime
Dining. Surprisingly, even without a reservation we were seated quickly. It is
7p and we don't really like to eat so late, so we will come earlier on future
days. We didn't want to miss the Golden Gate, so that just how it worked out
today. We had a table for 6 and a decent visit with the other two couples. Only
one of them has been to AU but they certainly have traveled a lot and it is
nice to hear about other's adventures.
We went directly to
our cabin after dinner. We are tired
after getting up at 4:45a this morning. We are rockin' & rollin' but it
doesn't matter since we just watched a little TV and fell asleep.
Maybe we have been
on this ship before - OR one just like it when we cruised with Julie, our
friend June and her son Jason. We were aft and on this same deck by the Terrace
Pool. I'll have to look it up went I get home.
__________
Sunday, Sep 29: We
ordered coffee delivered at 7:30a and it came with a friendly smile and on
time. Happy to say it is decent coffee and they do give real cream, no the
little packets with years of shelf life.
I tried to get on the internet and only got "this page is
unavailable" both on my phone and my laptop, so I will try that later. Off
to the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle.
Even though it is a
bit rough, we noticed on the way that deck lounges are set up and the pools are refilled. While 4 ships
officers attended the Meet & Mingle, there was nothing there to eat or
drink, not even coffee or water. There was a bar in the Skywalkers Nightclub
but no one managing it. I certainly didn't want a drink but water, sparkling
water, or something would have been
nice. Each officer gave a little spiel and they were friendly, answering lots
of questions. No games, no prizes, no nada. Certainly one of the least
impressive M&M I have been to. No worries really, I was just surprised.
There are several
things to do on board: Lectures on Hawaii and DNA, lei making, necklace making,
trivia, book club, ping-pong, fruit carving, and the list goes on. I am happy
to see there are lectures as that is the type of thing I like to do. I would have
gone to the necklace or lei making but it was too late after the M&M. I
worked on photos and such and John read until lunch. We headed to the dining
room but nothing on the menu looked too exciting to us so we went to the buffet
at Horizon Court. There were a lot of nice choices, roasted vegetables and some
deliciously seasoned chicken were our choices. We got help, which took about 1
minute, to set up my phone for Wi-Fi but we were told it
is best in the open areas and not so good in our cabin. So to post the
blog I will need to take my laptop somewhere for good reception, I never got to
it today.
We attempted to make
a reservation for 2 tonight, apparently
you can only make a reservation if you want to share a table. If you want a
table for 2 you wait in a line. When we got there a bit after 5 there was no line
and we were seated immediately. After dinner we went to the Vista Lounge to
watch a tribute group called Beatleswannbe. Interesting little group and we did
enjoy the music, though I think the
fellow passengers dancing was almost more entertaining.
__________
Monday, Sep 30: Gentle
seas, 70F, what more could we ask for? Well, there is the food and the views
from our balcony. So relaxing, we are having a nice and restful time. At noon
we are 900 and some miles from SF, still the closest land. Traveling on an average
of 22 MPH with the deepest dark blue sea you will ever see. It was a
disappointing scrapbook day for me as my England album is now corrupted. I have
never had that happen before, of course I cannot call Forever Support until I
reach Hawaii. I spent hours working on trying to fix it to no avail. Tomorrow
is a new day. I did post the blog and managed to look on FB to see that other
Artisan users are indeed having the same issues I am having. I should have
waited to do my update but I have never had an issue with an update before.
Tonight we went to the "Happy Hour" for Platinum and above.
Apparently Princess used to offer free happy hour as well, before we got t o
Platinum. Some cruisers complained that they "took it away" so this
is what we have instead. You can buy a cocktail for $6.50 instead of the
regular price, which is anywhere from $7.50-$14.00, most right around $10. They
also have an assortment of appetizers, which was comparable to Celebrity or
Royal Caribbean. However, with the afore mentioned, you have free drinks in the
special lounge or 3 free drinks on your cruise card for your use between
certain hours. Everyplace is different. We had a lemon drop Martini, not sure
we'll go back but maybe. The spread was nice. I noticed a lot of people were
dressed formally, John insisted tonight was smart casual. Well, it isn't. We
looked at the menu and decide we will skip dinner tonight, no lobster on the
menu only leg of lamb and crab quiche appetizer that appealed to us but we are
full now after the happy hour. Captain's welcome is tonight as well, we will
try for that and our glass of champagne! Almost halfway to Hawaii!
