travelin.sisters

Patter day 1

& now, the papers: the welcome flyer that we've had on every cruise this year: Cruise Health first day at sea health advisory & the Platinum/Elite letter

thank you for sharing your voyage & all the interesting details, just booked on the Discovery (not until 2024, but never too early to start dreaming)

we just got off the Sapphire & they had the fennel shrimp salad several days so it's not off the fleet-wide menu like some of our favorites--hopefully it will show up for you soon

hope all the hurricane Orlene business has settled & doesn't impact their (& your) cruise...we had the calmest seas we have ever sailed both directions

they did have Stanley Bears on the Sapphire (also Cherry, the pink girl, which they said only a few ships had--we did not get one as 3 are enough to travel with & Ruby did not want a pink sister, she likes being the special girl in the family) & they had the smaller ones: a birthday one with a party hat & a cupcake dressed body & one holding an I love you heart. They did not have any Stanley key chanins, but had some magnets. We found Stanley USB drives in the photo shop, they are adorable so we got 3!! (we had extra OBC we needed to spend)

that is nice, when we sailed in January it was very close to boarding...which was stressful

hello San Pedro! farewell Sapphire Princess!

Note that the ability to pick a boarding time does not show up on the app until shortly before you sail...maybe 2-3 weeks

Home Again With very little ground to cover we were floating into the harbor very early. And were turning to corner into our pier before 6am. Enjoyed a nice breakfast in the buffet & went down to check our statement & cash out our last little bit of OBC as I had calculated wrong & we didn’t spend it all. I got there before the lines formed & was able to help a passenger on her first cruise who had missed all the information on disembarkation. That reminded me of all the things I didn’t know on my first few cruises & all the things I have learned from people in CC & other cruising groups. They didn’t post a platinum/elite disembarkation lounge, but when I asked, they said we could go to the Suite longue. It was not crowded & disembarkation was going so rapidly, that we just waited in the wheelchair spot with my BIL. Off the ship before 9 & home shortly after. This certainly wasn’t my favorite ever cruise, but it was enjoyable with many good moments & we are glad we sailed on the Sapphire. It is however, always good to get back home to your own bed & space. Next: finishing up with final photos, Patters, Menus & food My posts in this LIVE: pre-cruise musing—post 1 photos of berth 46—post 2 ready to go—post 23 onboard & ready to report—post 60 embarkation day—post 67 embarkation photos—post 68 embarkation lunch photos—post 70 & 72 exploring the ship—post 80 ship photos—posts 82, 84, 88, 89, 100 & 101 day 2—at sea—post 102 day 2 photos—posts 109, 110, 111 & 112 answers to questions—post 123 Cabo San Lucas—post 126 Cabo photos—posts 147, 150,153, 154, 160, 162 & 163 La Paz—post 164 La Paz photos—posts 178, 179. 180, 181, 182 & 183 Loreto—post 189 Loreto photos—posts 191, 192, 194, 195 & 196 more answers to your questions—post 206 possibly helpful information—post 223 3 sea days!—post 224 sea day photos—posts 255, 256, 257 & 258 San Diego—post 259 San Diego photos—posts 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 266, 267 & 268

sailing out of San Diego Bay

Point Loma Sam Diego skyline & the Sapphire Princess and back to our ship

Ruby waving to her friends on the Ruby (her first ship)

the last night, while the boys stayed home, Ruby put on her red dress & went out to play: diet coke in the Explorers Lounge then to the Princess Theater for a show & finally, the Wheelhouse Bar for a pina colada

they thought there would be a lot to do so went to bed early & decided the space under the desk felt like a perfect bear cave:

the next night they were reading the Patter & planning their adventures for the next day...they were relieved when they realized they didn't have to go to immigration:

came back to our room one afternoon to find that Conrado (our room steward) & the Stanleys had created a bed sledding ramp!!

the Bears (& I) just got back from the Sapphire to Mexico & can't wait for their photos to be posted: "Baby Brother", "Ruby Princess" & "Captain" Stanley Bear ready for Mexico & enjoying the balcony!

Naval dolphins in training seals, sealions & birds galore

I was shocked that my sister had to buy a large of that gold bracelet as she has fairly small wrists, it also was hard for her to put on & remove so I would recommend waiting until you can try it (you will also save the shipping) ...they will send you a free lanyard & holder you can use until you get on & can try. I also bought an assortment of i-tag holders on Amazon, they will fit the Medallion, but the decorative metal ones interfered with reading the Medallion, so I am sending one back, the plastic & latex ones were fine, very inexpensive & cute.

heading back around the Bay Seaport Village (by the way there was a free shuttle to Seaport Village the day we were in port) Maritime Museum ships

the Navy in San Diego Bay the Midway (old Navy) Naval Shipyards Mercy Hospital Ship

Coronado Island Coronado Bridge under the bridge

Hornblower Harbor Cruise maybe they don't maintain it as well as the Sapphire...grass growing on the side of the boat!

Sailing into San Diego