Los Angeles
I did it! I booked a cruise. Excitement filled my whole being. There was the one I booked with my brother for May of 2021. Surely by then the pandemic would be over. Then we booked it again for May of 2022. Now it's booked out to 2023 and even that is looking doubtful because one of the stops is in Russia and now that they've invaded the Ukraine, who knows.
This one, however, met all of Deb's criteria. It has to be mostly in the United States and we have to have a way home in case it all goes south like that last cruise when we went through the Panama Canal and almost had to sit out the whole Covid thing on a ship in the ocean because no one would let us dock in their port. In the end, all efforts of stopping the spread of Covid was a bust anyway.
We were starting in Los Angeles, (San Pedro, actually) and sailing up the coast to end in Vancouver.
The number of days slowly diminished and soon we only had a month to go. Deb found out our friends were going on a cruise the same week, but not the same day. Bummer. If I knew they were willing to venture out of the Covid confinement, we could have arranged something.
We had three days to go when tragedy struck. Deb couldn't get out of bed. She had a huge case of vertigo and she and the cruise were spinning out of control.
We made it to the walk in clinic with huge effort. Getting down the stairs, by far, the worst part. The doctor there, Russian, but we didn't hold that against him, gave her all sorts of prescriptions and even called to check up on her the next day at eight a.m. I thought I told him we were retired. Needless to say, she didn't run for the phone. I ran for my phone a few seconds later. He called me when she didn't answer. That was one determined doctor.
Saturday morning was the cutoff day for canceling the cruise under the Covid inspired policies. She was able to walk across the room by herself so we were going. I know it sounds a little cruel of me to push her so hard, but in my defense, she went to her pottery class that morning and we went and played games with friends that afternoon. She really was doing better.
There are so many more hoops to jump to go on a cruise than there were before. We kept getting emails. Have you got your Covid test? Have you filled out Canada's form that says we really don't want you in our country, but if you have to come, tell us everything about you? Then there were the on again off again mask requirements. Oh, and you can't use paper copies of your boarding document so you'll have to download our app and then take our health questionnaire, twice.
We had the alarm set for 2:30 am but were up way before that. We loaded the car early and headed out. Traffic was fine at three in the morning and I dropped Deb off in front of the terminal, then went and parked the car. I'm starting to figure out this parking lot and I was able not to have to walk half a mile from where I parked the car to the terminal.
We managed to get into the line with the 3D scanner so I didn't have to take out my tablet, phone and CPAP machine. I love that line. The gate was only half the way down the row so we didn't have to go the full length of A concourse. Deb was plenty tired by the time we arrived. I went and bought her something to drink. We were able to get our favorite seating arrangement with us on each end of the row and no one between us. We did this on both legs. It didn't surprise me on the first leg because we flew out at five in the morning, but I was a little surprised at being able to do that the second leg too. I guess my putting up the arm rest, overlapping the middle seat and glaring at everyone who looks my way is working after all.
We were so tired. With only four hours of sleep we tried to take a nap every time we sat down, but were not very successful.
We line up with the runway in Oakland, but then the pilot flies past it and gains altitude again.
Deb asked, “Why on earth did he do that?”
“It was probably that plane in the middle of the runway that wouldn't take off.”
“Really?”
Then the captain comes on. “Sorry about that, folks, but there was a plane in the runway that wouldn't take off.”
The gate next to us is going to Hawaii, but there all a bunch of duds. The gate agent even says, “Show a little enthusiasm, you're going to Hawaii after all.” Nope, nothing.
On our way out of Oakland, we saw the Golden Gate bridge, a Princess ship, Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge, and then we flew over the ship my friends are in. I should have coordinated with them. Oh, well.
I keep thinking, Aft facing balcony. I've always wanted one. This will be our first one.
When we land, we are close to the front so we get out of the plane quickly. Baggage claim is a fiasco and it takes us about an hour to get our luggage. I thought for sure that someone had taken them. It's the perfect time for it. With a mask, sunglasses, and a hat, they could take one to two bags every flight and make a good living at it. I see lots of people who fit that description. No one has taken them luckily, it's just the slow service.
We take a taxi to the hotel, but we can't check in yet. Deb has seen a trip advisor ad about a quaint market so we get the hotel shuttle to drive us out there. It's nothing like the description. There are security guards all over the place and the lines to get food are very long. We walk, ten minutes, over to the Maritime Museum only to find it’s closed. The day has been a bust for activities, but we are here and close to the cruise port and that's great.
Getting on our swim suits on, we go down and splash in the pool for a little while, but then the wind kicks up. Any wet part of your body is freezing the moment the wind hits it and the only way to avoid it is to stay submerged. Of course, that doesn't last too long so I get out, try to dry myself off and head to the room. Deb only gets wet to the waist and then gets out.
We want to go to Famous Dave's for dinner, but the shuttle driver says it’s too far so we settle in on a Mexican place. The front desk lady suggests one place but the shuttle driver says this other place is so much better. We should have gone with the front desk lady. The driver probably had a buddy working there. He also says there's a better hotel in town than the one he works at, but his opinion is no longer sought or listened to.
We're so tired by the time we get back to the hotel that we can only veg on the bed in front of the tv. Not a good way to start a cruise.
Embarkation day.
Deb crashed at eight-thirty last night. I was tough and stuck it out to nine-fifteen. Of course, that meant waking up at five in the morning for the day. I tried to go back to sleep, but it was to no avail.
I get up and work on my next novel. I have a novel at home ready for editing, but I don't have the software to do it on my cruise computer. So, there it sits.
We hang around until we're ready to board the ship. There is a walkway down by the marina so we go and explore. We ran into a lady walking her dogs. She had moved to California from Maryland. She said some of her friends in Maryland questioned her sanity before she moved, but she was tired of the cold winters.
We reserved a van ride to the cruise terminal. One thing both Deb and I agree on is that we will not be staying in San Pedro again. The hotel was okay, but the short drive to the cruise port had a lot of homeless encampments and I counted seven security guards at a small restaurant complex. There is a reason they are paying them to be there and I'm not interested in finding out what it is. We'll stay at the Queen Mary and eat at Famous Dave's if we ever leave out of this port again. I know the Queen Mary is haunted, but they don't have to have security all over the place.
The time arrives and we head down to the shuttle. We meet Ron and Tiffany in the elevator on the way down. They are headed for the shuttle also. In fact, their room is only two doors away from ours.
As we enter the terminal, there are a lot of people sitting around, and I almost go join them, but Deb walks up to the lady by the ropes and asks where she should go next.
“Have you filled out the form for Canada?”
I've printed it out, so Deb shows them the form. We head up to the counter as there is no waiting once you get past the metal detector. There was no waiting there either. We are told the ship will only have three hundred and ninety people on it. That's roughly four staff per passenger. I was liking this. Well, so far.
I keep waiting for them to give me my key card so I can get into my stateroom. The desk says they'll give us that on the ship, but when we get on the ship, they don't. Deb finally asks someone. They stuck the key cards in the stateroom doors. That was weird. On our way back from dropping off our backpacks I see keys in the door of a suite. “Do you want to check out the suite, Deb?”
It was a no.
There is no crowd in the buffet I'm finding the disadvantages of there being so few passengers. A different crew member comes by every few minutes to check to make sure everything is good. I go to the taco bar and a waiter, not a cook, rushes up and stirs the taco meat for me, so it will look more appetizing, I guess. I sit next to Deb, but then decide I want to be on the other side of her, closer to the window, so I move my plate. When I reached for my water, a crew member is already there moving my glass for me.
I'm feeling smothered. I can't blame them. They have to look busy and there are so few passengers to look busy helping.
We walked around the ship to see the different area. It's familiar, as we have been on the Jewel of the Seas, the sister ship to this one. Everything is a little different, but in the same place. If that makes sense. In our wanderings we stopped by the main dining room to see where our table was. The host there talked to us for a minute after letting us in and showing us where the table is. The upstairs is closed and the guest downstairs are all by the windows. I thought that was nice. We stopped to talk to him. He said the ship had less than the 390 we were told. He also said they had zero guests when they went through the Panama Canal. I said, “You should have called me. I would have loved having a ship to myself.”
I also asked him what they did for that week. “Cleaning and maintenance.” He didn't have fun with that. They have 1900 on the next cruise so he'll be plenty busy then. It’s funny when you step in the main dining room for the first time they have a waiter lead you to your table. When we walked in, the same host said, “Don't bother with them, they already know.” So we walked to our table without help. The waiters we passed looked confused as to why we weren't being escorted.
Deb was tired when our suitcases finally arrived, so I unpacked for us.
Dinner was good. We have a small table but it's only inches away from the two tables on either side, so I strike up a conversation. One couple is from Canada and the other is from Phoenix. When I say that my mom grew up in Mesa, they admit that's where they're actually from. They are on their honeymoon. Had a nice conversation with them.
The show consisted of the band playing, then the cruise director sang as the band played. Then the comedian came out and gave us a small taste of what to expect.
I saw the movie 355 as Deb went to bed. I then came to the stateroom and woke her up accidentally.
Sea Day
The boat is rocking and rolling this morning for sure. I've been in a lot worse, but I'm worried about Deb's vertigo really messing with her in these seas. Luckily, she's still asleep and I'm trying to leave her that way.
She did finally wake up and the waves are playing havoc with her vertigo. She's mumbled under her breath several times, “Next time I'm picking the cabin.”
Did I mention aft facing balcony? Some people don't appreciate what they have. I don't control the ocean.
Breakfast was in the main dining room, then second breakfast was up in the buffet. When we came out the greeter was dancing to the music. He was pretty good, I thought.
As we were going up the elevator a man told me I was really confident for wearing purple. Not everyone was that confident. I didn't know I was wearing purple, I thought I was wearing just another Hawaiian shirt. I wonder how confident I would be if I wore one of my dragon Hawaiian shirts.
I don't normally eat lunch but we've paid for it so I did. That also was up at the buffet. After lunch we lazied around. I don't know why I'm so tired this cruise. Maybe I'm still catching up from not much sleep on the travel day.
I had tenderloin for dinner. I decided to give it a try. I don't know if I had it before but it was so tender and good. I'm a fan.
There are no crowds on this ship. We went to the Safari lounge to listen to music. Besides us, there were two other people and two band members in a room that held over a hundred. I sat down and nearly tipped over backwards in that flimsy chair. It didn't have legs but rotated. The band was in its first song, but Deb was already done. As I stood up, the flimsy chair dumped me out the side. One band member and the one audience member helped me up. I don't know what it is about someone laying on the floor that makes everyone want to stand them on their feet right away. I was wanting to stay on the floor a minute so I could take an inventory of how hurt I was. Figuring that out isn't always instantaneous. But seconds after I fell the two men were picking me up. I bumped my elbow, but not bad.
We went up to the room until the show started. They only have one show a night in the main theater because the crowd is so small. Everyone clapping doesn't quite equal an applause.
The show was Vibeology. I don't actually think it’s a word. My spell checker wants to turn it into Virology which isn't the same thing at all. The costumes were elaborate, the singing and dancing were great. All in all, I was very impressed. I felt sorry for the cast. That was a lot of costume changes. I've seen so many production shows, it takes a lot to impress me.
Sea Day
The waves are way down this morning. I stood out on the balcony watching the world pass by for a long time. It's very nice.
I ordered an omelet at breakfast.
They have a man standing in front of the omelet bar to take your order. He then
relays it to the man behind the bar who is just a foot away. I don't know why I
couldn't just give my order to the guy making the omelet as he's standing right
there. The first guy asks where I'm sitting. “I don't know. We haven't picked a
spot yet.”
“Never mind, I'll just spot the shirt.” I'm wearing my blue Hawaiian shirt
today. When we sit down, two servers come up to us. One takes our drink order
and the other one grabs my number and goes and gets my omelet for me. I know
that there aren't enough passengers to keep them busy, but this is a little
spooky.
We headed to trivia today and won. It was more up my alley than the other stuff. I asked another couple to join us and they were from Utah. Between all of us we had twelve of fifteen correct, which I thought was very good.
We watched the egg drop. Our trivia partner, Mike, has an egg in the mix. Two eggs broke, the rest land safely. Parachutes work. They say you have to use items from around the ship. Since the ship has been at sea for the last two days, how can you not use items from the ship? Mike's wife knitted him a basket out of yarn to hold the egg then he used a laundry bag for the parachute. It almost worked. It came down slow, but then someone up above must have opened a door, because it blew the contraption onto the top of one of those panoramic elevators. I hope they get it down before the egg rots.
The guy at the solarium cafe seems to like us. As Deb napped near the pool, he was heaping praises on us. I was a little embarrassed by it all, but it was nice to hear.
We started to watch a Spider man movie but Deb was done before the movie was. It was one of those series they took one movie too far. They should have stopped at the last one.
We ate at the steak house tonight. We have a deal in our house, that when you sell a thousand books you get to choose where you go out to dinner. Since I've sold fifty thousand, I got to choose. We were going on a cruise anyway, so I chose Chop's Grill. I had the bone in rib-eye.
The show tonight was love and marriage. A couple that sits by us at dinner who've been married only a week were in it. The cruise director asked some embarrassing questions. I remember how embarrassed I was when asked questions about my love life in front of my children and my grandchildren. I was glad I wasn't up there. They did better than a lot of the couples who had been married decades. Then we went to Majority Rules. We had the couple from Utah with us, the ones we had won trivia with. We didn't do so good this time.
Astoria.
We went up on deck and watched the ship dock. We've seen it a lot but never really grow tired of it. After breakfast we headed down off the ship. We don't rush to get ashore at small towns because we find that they generally don't open their businesses until ten. But here they were opening at eleven instead.
We walked over to take the trolley but it was packed so we took the river walk. In downtown we found a theater that had been built in 1912. It said free tours on the door so we went in. We met and old guy who loved to talk. His father took him to the theater when he was young. He said his father never trusted the huge decorative seal in the center of the ceiling so they always had to sit on one of the sides. They restored the theater ten years ago and use it for all sorts of plays and musical events. They even had a famous performer from the Metropolitan Opera visit them. And how the theater had perfect acoustics. He took us up on stage too. Had us check out how heavy the original curtains were. He told about the history of the town also.
Some people were painting backdrops for a play when we were there.
We then walked down and ate at Moe's, a famous sea food place along the Oregon coast. We were able to take the trolley back to the cruise ship.
We saw the young couple who participated in the love and marriage show. Poor guy is still mortified. I know how he feels. I've been there.
After dinner we went and saw the comedian tonight. I won't mention his name, but he pulled the race card first thing and then preceded to insult every nationality in the audience. According to him the only reason black people go to dances are to sit around and laugh at the white people apparently. The Hispanics and Asians were insulted too. I hope he doesn't think that's funny. It's supposed to be a comedy show not a public forum to get back at everyone who’s hurt his feelings. If I were Royal Caribbean, I'd send him packing.
We watched Battle of the Sexes Game. It was different than I've seen it before. It was fun to watch, though. I felt sorry for the participants. The men won.
Seattle
We had the ship almost to ourselves today. Deb and I went to trivia. We were the only ones there. Deb beat me by three points, but I got a pen anyway. We are just having a quiet day in the port. There isn't really anywhere to walk do and we don't want to pay for transportation through a town we've seen many times before.
I've talked to several Ukrainians crew members around the ship. One says her family is alive and living around Kiev. They won't leave their damaged home because looters will come in and take everything. Another one says she lives in an area annexed by the Russians a few years back, but now the Ukrainian army is headed that direction in an attempt to get it back. She was worried about them.
Ovation of the Seas is sitting at anchor in Seattle. It’s out in the bay and doesn't look like there's any activity on it. I don't see tenders coming and going from it. Anyway, I found it odd. I asked one of the crew members about it. It is empty. It doesn’t start its Alaska season until May 11th so it will sit there until then. You would think they could do a couple of small cruises to Canada and back. We’ve taken them before.
Vancouver
It’s funny how things work out. We sat by that nice Canadian couple during dinner. He would tell me about how screwed up his government was and I would tell him how screwed up my government was, but he already knew that because, like most Canadians, they follow our news. I guess it’s all about entertainment.
Little did I know I would be feeling the effects of both governments’ policies as I got off the boat. My first clue was being met at the terminal with masks. The mask mandate on planes, trains, and automobiles had been lifted before we stepped onboard in the United States. I hate masks. They chafe my face and rub my ears raw. Not having to wear one the whole trip was wonderful. That all changed when we tried to get into the terminal. Now we’re wearing masks again.
On the bus we were supposed to wear a mask also, but some of us might have taken them off thinking, What are you going to do to me? I’m not talking about myself alone, but everyone else on the bus, except two people. I didn’t see if the bus driver had one on or not. He started out with a mask on.
We were supposed to have a Vancouver tour with an airport drop off. The tour consisted of driving around aimlessly for two hours, getting stuck in traffic, then dropping us off at a block long tourist trap before putting us back on the bus and taking us to the airport way too early.
It didn’t turn out that we were too early, however. When we tried to check in is when we met the brick wall. “Can I see your Covid test results?” Apparently, you have to have a Covid test dated one day before you fly, maximum and my Covid test we took before we hopped on the ship didn’t apply. No one told us we needed one or we could have gotten one in Seattle or on the ship while we were doing nothing anyway. If it came back positive, we could skip Canada and fly home. Meanwhile, at our request, she had scheduled us for an earlier flight to give us more time in Seattle to catch our next plane.
They had testing right there in the airport though. We went up and stood in line to get our test done. When the people behind us saw how long the walk-up line was, they real quick set up an appointment on their phones and marched ahead of us.
The man behind us was getting a little tense. Okay, it’s hard to take someone serious when they get mad and talk with a deep British accent. I was thinking how cute it was. We had been over two hours in line by that point. Then, to quiet the man down, they took him before us. Now I’m not thinking it’s cute. It’s one thirty by this point and the lady is taking people with one-fifty appointments. Yes, those behind us in line. It was time for Clark to lose his cool. When I did, we got right in. Why didn’t I do that earlier?
So now we sit around and wait for our test results. It takes three to five hours, which means we’re going to miss our earlier flight, and maybe the later one too. Deb begs them to put a rush on it. They say they will. Luckily the guy running the test isn’t the same one I yelled at.
A half an hour later, we get our tests results. Negative. We rush up to the airline to check in. Everything is messed up with our tickets because we changed flights. We sit there a half an hour or more while the new lady fixes it. She not only gets us on the earlier flight into Seattle but also gets us on an earlier flight home. We saved an hour and a half travel time for that half hour wait.
I do have to mention that it’s the United States that requires a negative Covid test. Our passports are checked five times before we get to the gate. Doesn’t anyone trust anyone else in Canada? Do they really have to check everything themselves? Then when we get through the United States Border Patrol to get to the gate, it says, Welcome to the United States. We’re still in Vancouver. Deb asks the border patrol guy about that. “Yes, you’re in the United States,” he tells us. Then why am I still required to wear a mask?!
We still have to wear a mask on all flights to and from Canada. As soon as the flight lands, off comes the mask. Traveling is so much more unpleasant these days. Our second flight is off on time and we got home earlier. We don’t bother unpacking, just hop into bed. We’ll deal with the details when we get up in the morning
Panama Canal During Corona Virus
Reykjavik-Paris-Rome-Cinque Terre
Cruise Books by Deb Graham
