I realize some of this is repetitive information but many of you are my age so you probably don't remember much of it anyway.
This was our third visit to Long Beach and the second and last under these particular circumstances. Who am I to question the fine and inner working of US Customs but here is what it requires. When entering a US Port from a foreign port all passengers must go through passport checks. What this means is the ship empties before passengers are allowed back on board. It's time consuming and unless you have a specific ship tour or destination planned, a waste of a morning. Like many people we have ports where we would like to stay on the ship and Long Beach is one of them. This itinerary makes that impossible.
When we went thought this last March we thought it was an anomaly, something to do with rumored drug smuggling and arrests, however, it's not. In all fairness to Princess the line is at the mercy of customs and does the best it can. This visit was much more organized and we were only inconvenienced for four hours rather than six. The itinerary that sails from Mexico directly back to San Francisco is better. You grab your gear; pass through customs on your way home and good-bye.
While I understand the importance of security, it seems impossible with all the check points to get on and off the ship undetected. Clearing all the people in the midst of a cruise is, to me, overkill. And with all the people in assisted movement devices one of these days it just may be.
We did nothing in Long beach this time. One year ago we went to the Aquarium of the Pacific and given the proper circumstances would highly recommend it.
Tuesday evening we met Gordon for dinner. It was our only meal in the main dining room. When we first started cruising I was a first class buffet snob. I didn't want to eat 'Vegas style when I could feast on dishes I could never hope to pronounce or prepare. Over the years I've come to enjoy the ability of total portion control because in the main dining room if you ask for half a meal they look insulted. I enjoy eating in relative quiet and like to sample many different things. I also like the large windows and views from the Horizon Court Buffet and most importantly, in my humble opinion, the food is good.
Each evening you had your choice of salad, fruit, chicken, fish, beef, pasta and many items in between. I'm always amazed at people who complain about food on a cruise ship.
So we met Gordon Tuesday evening and shared a table with five other people. Wanda and I were the oldest of the group. The table conversation somehow got around to FitBits and other exercise motivational devices. These days it seems everyone is wired. Wanda bought one for each of us the week before the cruise. I wear mine but unlike its intended purpose which is to motivate me to exercise I check mine and am struck with waves of guilt because I can now see I haven't done enough.
I'm pretty sure some sadistic Jewish mother was behind the design and development of these and I'm glad it doesn't talk. I did see one device that actually nudges you if you don't move around enough.
This was our first cruise in ten years sailing with out good friends and I missed that. I've come to the realization I have little to talk about with young people and those my age can't hear what I'm saying anyway, so why bother. There's nothing like a group of strangers shouting unintelligible words at one another across a dining table.
Wednesday was San Diego, a favorite port stop of ours. There is so much to do in this city and over our cruising life we've toured many attractions. We've never been to Balboa Park or the San Diego Zoo and this time we decided that was our destination. My cousins Lynn and her sister Carol and Lynn's husband Marshall have lived in S.D. for years. We get together every visit and this time Lynn and Marshall, who are zoo members (I don't mean they live there) picked us up at the ship and were our tour guides.
After driving through an amazing and beautiful park we pulled into the zoo parking lot around 9:30 a.m. Marshall parked the car turned around and asked if we had our tickets.
"Do you have your tickets?" He asked.
"What tickets?" We both replied in unison.
"The ticket's I sent."
"What tickets?" We both repeated.
Needless to say, we didn't have zoo tickets.
I'm happy to say we worked things out and the zoo is fantastic. We had a terrific morning, early afternoon and I walked seven miles so my FitBit was extremely happy and I felt no guilt at all.
How do they stand on such skinny legs?
After our zoo visit we met up with Carol and had a much needed Starbucks break.
Thursday was Santa
Barbara , a tender port, which does not mean easily cut and chewed. You are shuttled
from the ship to the dock in small boats. We booked a
Trolley Tour of the city which was fun, informative and very, very interesting. I
learned a lot, chiefly, anything less than $1 million will most
assuredly not buy you a home in the area. Santa
Barbara should be a spot to visit on every
Californians and visitors to-do list.
Between the sun and the cross I'm glad I'm not a vampire.....The Old Mission Santa Barbara
Our last and final day of this cruise was Friday which was an entire day at sea. Like many things in life people wait until the last minute to decide what pictures and other souvenirs to buy and most importantly discover if their bar bill approaches the national debt. So, the ship is crowded and busy. We always do our last minute things a day and a half before necessary so we're packed and ready to leave well in advance. We avoid the more public areas on the last day and pretty much keep to ourselves.
Disembarkation in San Francisco was fast and easy. We carry, OK wheel, our luggage off the ship and were on our way home just before 8 a.m.
This cruise was different. In the past, rather than enjoy the time left, about midway through I've agonized over the final days. I often say the first three days went so slow and the last three so fast. This time I decided to enjoy whatever time I had and it worked.
In 1985 I did the EST training and the lesson I took away from that was basically, this is it and be here now, I think I did that.
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