Chuck's Ruminations: Me, Wanda and Star Princess..Part 1

When we return from a cruise or vacation I feel overwhelming pressure and a responsibility to write a review or synopsis. It's almost as if I can imagine you are out there waiting with baited breath depending on my expertise and advice before you plan your next adventure.

Ha...By now I'm pretty sure if I haven't convinced you a cruise is a great way to go I never will. And I've come to the conclusion that a cruise, or a trip to Disneyland or even a week-end in Bakersfield with Wanda is going to be enjoyable, relaxing and fun.

So, life is what you make it. You're here once, do what makes you happy.

This was our third seven day California Coastal cruise.

We live forty-five minutes, the way Older Daughter Jennifer drives, from the port so getting to the ship should be easy. The first coastal we sailed was during a BART strike and it took over two hours. The second was in the midst of the San Francisco St. Patrick's Day Parade and it took longer. There's really nothing quite as bad as a near bursting bladder with traffic stopped in all directions as far as the eye can see. You would think with all the people drinking green beer there would have been more port-a-potties out on the streets. This departure was on the Saturday of Fleet Week and an air show with the Blue Angles was scheduled.

I took a formation photo of them from our balcony and was going to post it but you can't tell if they're Blue Angles or Canadian Geese.

We didn't know about Fleet Week when we booked the cruise. It was supposed to be a reward for surviving twenty-five years of marriage.

We made it legal at the Blue Belle Chapel of the Hills in Reno, Nevada on October 9, 1989. We were married at noon and went to the closest casino to watch the Cubs/Giants Playoff game at one o'clock. The Giants won the game made it to the World Series and eight days later the Loma Prieta earthquake hit our area causing $6 billion in property damage.

I'm not suggesting our marriage had anything to do with the quake but it does give a whole new thought process to "Did the earth move for you?"

It was obvious Princess was concerned about traffic. A few days prior to the cruise I received several "emergency" Emails, the day before I got a phone call.

Please be aware of potential delays.....leave early.

Not wanting a repeat of traffic horror, which I now realize we actually went though the second time we sailed, we purchased S.F. Bay Ferry tickets in advance and asked Jennifer to drive us to and from the Vallejo Terminal (which she graciously did as anything would have been better than going onto the city). We are less than thirty-minutes away and were just able to make the first morning ferry. We were in San Francisco at 9:30.

I had an inauspicious beginning to our journey. Five minutes into it I took my first sip of coffee, the lid came off and I dumped half the cup on my shirt and right leg of my jeans. I looked like a cross between a flat chested coed in a wet T-shirt contest and a first-grader who peed in his pants. A long time ago I learned to wear dark clothing, the stains blend in that way.

It was a sunny and warm morning, we had a few hours to wait before boarding and somehow I knew I would dry. If absolutely necessary we were within walking distance of forty-seven souvenir shops and I would have looked spiffy in shorts and an Alcatraz Rocks polo.

Now here is a little something for the folks who read this to actually get some information about the ship or the cruise.

We booked a balcony guarantee. This is the least expensive way to secure a balcony cabin. You pay the entry level price and the cruise line assigns your cabin anywhere within that category. We were placed in an aft-balcony.

See Wanda? See the row of ten black squares near the bottom of the ship about parallel with her head? See the big thing on the back that looks like a shopping cart handle? (It's really a very cool bar/nightclub called Skywalker's) Look in between the squares and Skywalker's. OK, now see the four rows of things that look like apartment balconies? Ours was on the bottom row, second from the left.....D734.

I loved the quiet, the sound of the wake and the lack of wind when the balcony door was open. I didn't like seeing where we'd been rather than where we were going. This particular balcony had an overhang so I couldn't look up. If the opportunity arose I would sail in an aft again but not in this particular cabin.