We returned from our weeklong Oceania cruise along the California coast yesterday. Given our last few holidays, I am pleased to say neither of us became ill or sprained anything. No luggage was lost, actually nothing was lost, and all flights were on time. All was well at home, the dog did just fine at the kennel. It was a very good holiday all in all.
We flew direct from Tucson to Los Angeles at midday on both flights. It's only an hour and a quarter in the air, although on both flights there was quite a bit of turbulence. I hate turbulence, the pitching of the plane, the bumps, the drops. R says it's just warm air and cold air colliding but I'd rather they didn't collide.
We had decided that we would take public transit from Los Angeles to our hotel and my Rome2Rio app on my phone told me that it was quite do-able. We were confused at first at LAX about the various signs, unsure which shuttle to take. We asked several people but it was a busy time, 4:30 pm, the LAX employees shrugging their shoulders and tourists like ourselves looking for the more expensive private shuttles. Eventually we did find the right one and squeezed on board; it was shift change time and the bus was packed. Once we arrived at the Metro terminal, Rome2Rio was very helpful with station names and transfer points.
We got off on Pacific Avenue, not the nicest area of San Pedro but it was a good time of day to be trundling along with suitcases; no one approached us or bothered us despite the obvious poverty and glassy-eyed people along that particular street. R grumbled that he was sure that the walk from the bus stop to the hotel was farther than the 3/4 of a mile the app claimed but even he had to admit that once we got close to the hotel grounds, right down at Cabrillo Marina, it was beautiful. Green grass, flowers, palm trees, white yachts bobbing on turquoise water.... Unlike Arizona, where the sun literally sears your skin, California sunshine in mid September is soft and almost beneficent, the breeze blowing off the water refreshing.
The hotel, a Doubletree, was fine for a night. The nicest part of it was its location, in lush green grounds, sprawling alongside the Marina and Yacht Club. I went for a walk along the quay in the evening, chatted with a woman who actually lives on her boat in the marina; it was a world away from our desert home. The next morning I went for another very long walk around San Pedro; most of the streets that are close to the water contain small apartment buildings and bungalows, the kind of housing you would have seen in the 1960s. It was only when I walked up as far as Pacific Avenue that the neighborhood again began to look rough. So I turned around and went back to the hotel.
We took the hotel shuttle to the Cruise Terminal at our appointed time of 11 am. Things were a little disorganized for embarkation. Nothing serious, just confusing as to which group was actually boarding, where we were to leave our suitcases, porters asking for tips--sorry, I don't carry much cash and I'd given everything to our shuttle driver. Still, remembering the terrible time we had with the Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth ships last year, it was very good. No mention of COVID tests or COVID vaccines and the woman at the desk DID recognize my online registration.
We walked aboard, spent a few hours at the Waves Grill up by the pool--I spent far more time beside the pool on this cruise than I have ever done on the other cruises, mainly because of the wonderful weather--and then at 3:00 our stateroom was ready.
The stateroom was quite comfortable for me although I never spend much time in any staterooms. I like to be out and about on the ship and Regatta is a beautiful ship with plenty of lounges and places to relax. Several wonderful coffee bars or places where I could get a Diet Coke--all part of the cruise, unlike the Cunard and Holland ships, no extra charge! R found the shower in the bathroom in our stateroom way too small for him but it was fine for me. I just had to remember to turn the shower head toward the wall before turning the spray on. The bed was softer than my bed at home but I slept really well.
I am not going near the scale for a week; I am sure I gained a few pounds. Food, food, and more food. Most of the food was good although I didn't particularly care for the Mexican nights in the Terrace Grill. Mainly because I'm not actually very big on Mexican food; the carne asada was excellent but I don't particularly like rice and beans. Still, there were plenty of other things to choose from and it wouldn't have hurt me to have cut back anyway. Sadly, I didn't. Like that old cartoon with Miss Piggy pointing to the menu in an Italian restaurant, saying "I'll just have a little salad . . . well maybe a roll . . . with butter . . . and some pasta . . . and chicken . . . what's that dessert? Oh, never mind the diet, I want it all!"
We had three stops on our cruise: Catalina Island, where I took a tender from the ship and wandered around the main town, called Avalon. I had gone to Catalina about 30-odd years ago when I went to California on a bookstore training course and had a few extra days. I vaguely remembered taking a glass bottomed boat where I and a bunch of other tourists had crowded around the glass, vainly trying to recognize various fish in the cloudy window. I didn't take any excursions this time, it was just nice to get off the boat and be on my own for a bit.
The second stop, a couple of days later, was a two-day stop in San Francisco. The boat tied up right at one of the piers, quite close to Pier 39, aka Fisherman's Wharf, so we were able to walk off, no need for tenders. The first day R and I found our way by public transit to SFMOMA and enjoyed the free art exhibits in the Museum. It was an absolutely glorious day weather wise--we had wonderful weather the whole cruise--so we walked around the park across the street from the Musem as well. We had a long wait for the trolley car going back to the ship and when it came it was very crowded; I think one had broken down. But it was all good, we arrived back to the ship in time for the 4:00 tea service. Like I needed it! The next morning we walked to Fisherman's Wharf, looked around the shops, watched the sea lions, then returned to the ship for the afternoon.
The ship left SF at 9:00 pm; the city lights, the moon beaming down, sailing under the Golden Gate, it was all quite magical. Another sea day and for our final port, we stopped at Ensenada Mexico. We had watched a tourist video on YouTube about Ensenada and we decided we didn't need straw hats or neon t-shirts. So, back to my favorite sun lounger on Deck 9, finishing the book I'd borrowed from the ship's library and that night a very fancy meal at Polo Grill where I ate too much again--and barely slept. I was thankful that it was so easy to get public transit from where we docked in Long Beach to LAX. Most people I'd spoken to--those who weren't Californians and hadn't driven to Long Beach--were taking very expensive shuttles to the airport. Our transit cost us $5.00 and was not crowded, buses and trains came very quickly. Longish wait at the airport for our flight but we were expecting it. What was good about LAX is that Terminal 3 is only for Delta domestic so it wasn't crowded at all. Flight took off on time, landed early in Tucson, we were home by 6:00 pm.
R asked me if I wanted to cruise again as they were heavily promoting putting deposits down on board on cruises to come in 2024 and 2025. (I can never wrap my head around booking something more than a year in advance, never was able to do that even when I was younger.) I thought about it for a couple of days and decided that the idea of another cruise doesn't appeal to me. At least not at the moment. It isn't that it wasn't a very nice week away, mainly because the weather was so wonderful, someone else was cooking the food, there were some good evening shows, small, with four singers, but they poured their hearts into it. I chatted with a few interesting people, avoided a few others that I'd already had an inkling liked contentious subjects, R and I rubbed along alright for the most part.
And perhaps the reason I am so-so about cruising is that we've done it twice this year. I think the French expression sums it up: ça suffit pour moi, that's enough [cruising] for me. Especially when R and I are in such close quarters for a week; we spend a lot of the waking time apart but that kind of increases my sadness because I see all of these couples my age who appear to be enjoying each other's company, enjoying the entertainment, enjoying DOING things. R is not a do-er anymore (he used to be); he likes cruising because he can find out of the way corners to plant himself and draw or work on his calculus workbooks. If he's forced into a crowded situation, or even chatting with another couple, he really doesn't enjoy it. He's told me he wishes he were more sociable but he just isn't. Vacationing with someone else has always been a bit challenging for me anyway because I feel if the other person isn't happy then somehow I shouldn't be happy either. I tend to go along with things even if I don't actually feel like doing them--but that's a whole other story.... In the past, I felt comfortable enough with R that that wasn't an issue, we enjoyed doing the same things, didn't mind skipping the same things, he didn't have the aches and pains he has now. As R has become increasingly introverted and short-tempered in the last few years, it's made vacationing less pleasant. I've kept trying--obviously, we did two cruises this year--but, at least this close to the recent experiences, the prospect of another cruise with the two of us in one stateroom, mmm, nope, don't think so. Ask me again in six months.
However, I am going off on my own in two weeks, back home to Montreal and then a short trip to Toronto to see an old friend who hasn't been well. Ten days away. I was surprised actually when I received my "11 days until your next Delta flight" reminder on my phone: when I decided to "go home" I had forgotten how close it would be to the cruise. Oh well, if I don't enjoy my trip home, I will have only myself to blame so I'd better make up my mind to enjoy it :)
Just a very few photos of the trip for the record:
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