regnig Posted November 16, 2015 #201 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Mary Ann & Bill I'm so sorry "our" cruise is coming to an end. Many many thanks for allowing us to come along. Wishing you a safe and easy trip home and look forward to "our" next adventure. Barb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare WCB Posted November 16, 2015 Author #202 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Report # 48 Sailing Towards San Diego November 15, 2015 Sunday Partly cloudy & 77 degrees Our last full day at sea was interesting. The clouds had broken up, and we even saw blue sky. It was really windy all day, however, making walking a bit difficult at times. At his PM talk, Captain Fred said two words you never want to hear while out at sea…..”deteriorating conditions”. Expecting swells up to 15 feet later in the day, he suggested to take care maneuvering through the ship, and to stash our breakables in our rooms. We have been in worse situations by far, so we don’t sweat the small stuff. Just in case, the seasick bags are available in every elevator area. When we went out on the promenade deck early this morning, we were met with high winds, mixed with ocean spray from the waves. Most all of the lounges were folded up and unpadded. Not inviting at all. In fact, there were only about 6 of us walking. Part of the reason was due to the planned On Deck For a Cause, the 5K walk to raise money for cancer organizations. It was well-attended, although not everyone made it to the 5K point. It was simply too cold, rough, and windy. There were to lectures today for those folks that stayed inside. Dr. Cooper spoke about California’s explorers and pioneers, while Dan Benedict lectured on geography as related to cruising. Our biggest job of the day was returning a book to the library. Packing was done yesterday, and now we are glad since the ship is rocking and rolling somewhat. Then we made one last trip to the front desk to make sure our accounts were combined. Don’t know why, but they kept our accounts separate this time, even though they were covered under the same card. It is important to check the math, because sometimes things go wrong, and if you don’t catch it, your card gets charged. Speaking of charges, we had a question regarding the laundry package offered at the beginning of this cruise. Being the packrats we are, we found the list in the closet. Laundry by the bag was $20. Unlimited laundry was $300. And unlimited pressing was $150. Hope this helps. Checking with Henk, our hotel director, we discussed the sandwich bar dilemma. After talking to friends Marilyn and Harry, we realize we are not alone with our thoughts. There must be more seasoned folks as well that spoke up, because Henk promised us that the sandwich maker will return on the world cruise. Premade sandwiches will be available as well. That is fair, and we are happy about it. In fact, we made a sweep past the Lido at noontime, and found a selection of sandwich meats and cheese had been added to the counter already. We may have also seen containers of egg salad and tuna salad. See, it does pay to speak up sometimes. “Let Us Know” comment cards worked this time. Since we have only had lunch from the Dive In Grill once this trip, we decided to enjoy the burgers one more time. Our plain burgers were done within 15 minutes, and we dined in the room while watching a movie, Run All Night with Liam Neesom. Another good film and actor. Come to think of it, very few movies have been rerun on this cruise. Keeping track on the 2015 world cruise, we discovered a three week pattern with the movie grid. Out of the four movies featured daily, only one of them (the Wajang movie) was new to us. Glad to see that someone paid attention to that comment as well. Three football games were on TV today. They could be seen at the Sports Bar or in our rooms on channels 33 and 39. As for sunning or swimming today? Not a chance. We figured with 47 knot winds blowing across the decks, you would have to lash yourself to the lounges. And as for available lounges? Most were stacked and tied down. Only about a dozen of them were out for the brave few that sat out there on deck 8 aft. The Float Your Boat Sea Trials were held at 1pm. We missed the sinking test in the aft pool, but we did see one of the ships someone took a lot of time building. It must have been 4 foot long and over 2 feet wide. It was made of something light, because when the wind caught it, we thought it would blow us over when they went into the elevator area on deck 8. The creator and one of the staff members were attempting to haul the vessel into an elevator to take somewhere. Hope this gentleman won, because he invested many hours into the making. It was also a day of “last chance sales”, such as up to 75% off of watches, jewelry, clothing, and souveniers. Notice they said “up to”. Always make us laugh, because few things are that inexpensive, unless they are over-priced to begin with. We discovered another little fact regarding some of the watches sold onboard. Right in their Signature Shopping magazine on our room, which we seldom read, it was mentioned that some of the pieces are created for cruise ships only…not to be found in stores at home. So that answers our question about that. We read and re-read the newsletter today, and could not find any finale for the Dancing With the Stars group. The only show for all guests this evening will be at 7:15pm, and it’s the Amsterdam Orchestra with their final concert. The sun set rather early tonight around 5pm. There was a bit of color before it disappeared behind some nasty clouds. Looking northeast, we could see the blackest horizon yet. Although Captain Fred did not mention rain, we heard that it was falling in northern California already. Gosh, we sure need it, but we do hope it will not affect our flight tomorrow. The Log of the Cruise was on our mail slot when we went back to the room. It appears that the Amsterdam has sailed a total of 14,725 statute miles since beginning the cruise in Seattle, and ending tomorrow in San Diego. Shows how massive the mighty Pacific Ocean is, and we only covered the south part of it. And a small part of that. We were still rolling pretty good by the time dinner came at 8pm. All of us were present at this different venue of the menu. Each one of the culinary experts that contribute special courses had an input on this menu. We all tried something different, but the hamburger was interesting. It was a mix of ground veal and pork, with an egg, and cheese. It came with giant fries. Desserts were special too with cheesecake, chocolate something, but the fruit with ice cream was the best. For us, this will be the last dessert for at least six weeks. Except for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and probably New Year’s Day. Cannot believe these holidays are around the corner. Got to be up early tomorrow for breakfast, since the dining room opens at 6:30am. If all goes according to the plan, they should begin calling the folks off by 8:45am. That would be us with Pink One. Love the priority disembarkation, since our flight had been changed to an hour earlier. We shall return with our final comments after we get home and back to normal, more or less. It’s been a pleasure to share our adventures with you all! Bill & Mary Ann v Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz chic Posted November 16, 2015 #203 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I'll be interested to hear how disembarkation goes tomorrow since it can be troublesome there. Thank you for all your efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbhcw Posted November 16, 2015 #204 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Thanks again for doing your blog😊 Love following along. Safe trip home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ON cruiser Posted November 16, 2015 #205 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Thanks Bill and Mary Ann for such an interesting picture of daily shipboard life during a longer cruise. I look forward to your world cruise reports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie68 Posted November 16, 2015 #206 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I'm so sorry it's over, I have really enjoyed your reports, but will look forward to the World Cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchip Posted November 16, 2015 #207 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Thanks again for the wonderful blog!!! Also, for answering my laundry question. You are coming home to a glorious fall day in Clayton!! 🍂😊 Cheers, Denise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJSULIBRARIAN Posted November 16, 2015 #208 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Once again, thank you for taking us along on your South Pacific voyage. Looking forward to your 2016 World Cruise adventure. Applause to all on your cruise who spoke up about the sandwich maker and his/her return on the World Cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josumello Posted November 16, 2015 #209 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Thanks Bill and Mary Ann for such an interesting picture of daily shipboard life during a longer cruise. I look forward to your world cruise reports. This!! Thanks so much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love the beach Posted November 17, 2015 #210 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Thank you! I loved reading your posts each day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkNC Posted November 17, 2015 #211 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Thanks for taking us on your journey. Hopefully we will get a chance to meet you on the 2017 WC! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carri cruiser Posted November 17, 2015 #212 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Report # 48 Sailing Towards San Diego November 15, 2015 Sunday Partly cloudy & 77 degrees Our last full day at sea was interesting. The clouds had broken up, and we even saw blue sky. It was really windy all day, however, making walking a bit difficult at times. At his PM talk, Captain Fred said two words you never want to hear while out at sea…..”deteriorating conditions”. Expecting swells up to 15 feet later in the day, he suggested to take care maneuvering through the ship, and to stash our breakables in our rooms. We have been in worse situations by far, so we don’t sweat the small stuff. Just in case, the seasick bags are available in every elevator area. When we went out on the promenade deck early this morning, we were met with high winds, mixed with ocean spray from the waves. Most all of the lounges were folded up and unpadded. Not inviting at all. In fact, there were only about 6 of us walking. Part of the reason was due to the planned On Deck For a Cause, the 5K walk to raise money for cancer organizations. It was well-attended, although not everyone made it to the 5K point. It was simply too cold, rough, and windy. There were to lectures today for those folks that stayed inside. Dr. Cooper spoke about California’s explorers and pioneers, while Dan Benedict lectured on geography as related to cruising. Our biggest job of the day was returning a book to the library. Packing was done yesterday, and now we are glad since the ship is rocking and rolling somewhat. Then we made one last trip to the front desk to make sure our accounts were combined. Don’t know why, but they kept our accounts separate this time, even though they were covered under the same card. It is important to check the math, because sometimes things go wrong, and if you don’t catch it, your card gets charged. Speaking of charges, we had a question regarding the laundry package offered at the beginning of this cruise. Being the packrats we are, we found the list in the closet. Laundry by the bag was $20. Unlimited laundry was $300. And unlimited pressing was $150. Hope this helps. Checking with Henk, our hotel director, we discussed the sandwich bar dilemma. After talking to friends Marilyn and Harry, we realize we are not alone with our thoughts. There must be more seasoned folks as well that spoke up, because Henk promised us that the sandwich maker will return on the world cruise. Premade sandwiches will be available as well. That is fair, and we are happy about it. In fact, we made a sweep past the Lido at noontime, and found a selection of sandwich meats and cheese had been added to the counter already. We may have also seen containers of egg salad and tuna salad. See, it does pay to speak up sometimes. “Let Us Know” comment cards worked this time. Since we have only had lunch from the Dive In Grill once this trip, we decided to enjoy the burgers one more time. Our plain burgers were done within 15 minutes, and we dined in the room while watching a movie, Run All Night with Liam Neesom. Another good film and actor. Come to think of it, very few movies have been rerun on this cruise. Keeping track on the 2015 world cruise, we discovered a three week pattern with the movie grid. Out of the four movies featured daily, only one of them (the Wajang movie) was new to us. Glad to see that someone paid attention to that comment as well. Three football games were on TV today. They could be seen at the Sports Bar or in our rooms on channels 33 and 39. As for sunning or swimming today? Not a chance. We figured with 47 knot winds blowing across the decks, you would have to lash yourself to the lounges. And as for available lounges? Most were stacked and tied down. Only about a dozen of them were out for the brave few that sat out there on deck 8 aft. The Float Your Boat Sea Trials were held at 1pm. We missed the sinking test in the aft pool, but we did see one of the ships someone took a lot of time building. It must have been 4 foot long and over 2 feet wide. It was made of something light, because when the wind caught it, we thought it would blow us over when they went into the elevator area on deck 8. The creator and one of the staff members were attempting to haul the vessel into an elevator to take somewhere. Hope this gentleman won, because he invested many hours into the making. It was also a day of “last chance sales”, such as up to 75% off of watches, jewelry, clothing, and souveniers. Notice they said “up to”. Always make us laugh, because few things are that inexpensive, unless they are over-priced to begin with. We discovered another little fact regarding some of the watches sold onboard. Right in their Signature Shopping magazine on our room, which we seldom read, it was mentioned that some of the pieces are created for cruise ships only…not to be found in stores at home. So that answers our question about that. We read and re-read the newsletter today, and could not find any finale for the Dancing With the Stars group. The only show for all guests this evening will be at 7:15pm, and it’s the Amsterdam Orchestra with their final concert. The sun set rather early tonight around 5pm. There was a bit of color before it disappeared behind some nasty clouds. Looking northeast, we could see the blackest horizon yet. Although Captain Fred did not mention rain, we heard that it was falling in northern California already. Gosh, we sure need it, but we do hope it will not affect our flight tomorrow. The Log of the Cruise was on our mail slot when we went back to the room. It appears that the Amsterdam has sailed a total of 14,725 statute miles since beginning the cruise in Seattle, and ending tomorrow in San Diego. Shows how massive the mighty Pacific Ocean is, and we only covered the south part of it. And a small part of that. We were still rolling pretty good by the time dinner came at 8pm. All of us were present at this different venue of the menu. Each one of the culinary experts that contribute special courses had an input on this menu. We all tried something different, but the hamburger was interesting. It was a mix of ground veal and pork, with an egg, and cheese. It came with giant fries. Desserts were special too with cheesecake, chocolate something, but the fruit with ice cream was the best. For us, this will be the last dessert for at least six weeks. Except for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and probably New Year’s Day. Cannot believe these holidays are around the corner. Got to be up early tomorrow for breakfast, since the dining room opens at 6:30am. If all goes according to the plan, they should begin calling the folks off by 8:45am. That would be us with Pink One. Love the priority disembarkation, since our flight had been changed to an hour earlier. We shall return with our final comments after we get home and back to normal, more or less. It’s been a pleasure to share our adventures with you all! Bill & Mary Ann v Thank you so much for taking us along on your SP cruise, I have a friend who was sailing with you, kind of helped me keep track of her!! your reviews are so interesting, and I never miss a day of reading you! safe travels home, and I will be reading you on this years WC!! thanks again, Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Copper10-8 Posted November 17, 2015 #213 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Thanks a lot for your daily reports; I enjoyed reading them! Have a safe trip home and I will see you for the World in Jan :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsas Posted November 17, 2015 #214 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Great blog. Safe travels. We board in HK March we decided to rent condo in Many Beach for Jan Feb then fly to HK to board Amsterdam. We will visit ship in Sydney sure we will see you around the ship. Allan and Sandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyingfish Posted November 17, 2015 #215 Share Posted November 17, 2015 (edited) As always, it's been a pleasure to travel with you two. Having my a.m. tea with your posts are always looked forward to. Now it's just my DH and 2 parakeets. Ahh, but January will arrive soon enough! Edited November 17, 2015 by Flyingfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TiogaCruiser Posted November 17, 2015 #216 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Thanks for all your time and effort on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hpf Posted November 18, 2015 #217 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Thanks for your great reports, now I just need to keep busy until Jan. so I can relax with a cup of tea; and enjoy the world through your eyes. Helen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare WCB Posted November 18, 2015 Author #218 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Report # 49 San Diego, California USA November 16, 2015 Monday Mostly sunny & windy Whoa…..what a ride we had last night………….the waves deepened and the winds howled all night. There was a strange noise that woke us up around 2am. It was the shaking of the empty coat hangers in the closets, sounding like jingle bells. A little unnerving that time of the night. We had left the drapes open, and the room seemed to light up like daybreak. It really was the sheets of water being blown off of the waves, then hitting the lights on the promenade deck. Needless to say, we slept little the rest of the night. The day would start early enough with us getting up at 5am. Well, we made it home safely, but only after a long day, a very long day. Honestly, we don’t have much to complain about, because we live close to San Diego with a short flight back to San Francisco. The only ones that had a closer destination with no flight were table buddies, Holly and Jim, who drove 2 hours north of San Diego to get home. Dave, on the other hand, had a flight to Boston. In a week he will be on his way on an adventure involving a religious pilgrimage in Ethiopia. Wow, now that is a unique destination. Bob and Margaret, live in Kansas, but had an early flight out, triggering a caution notice that their debarking from the ship may be delayed. Don’t know why the powers-to-be alarm folks like that, but there must be a valid reason. In the past, we also got that same notice, but were reassured that we would not miss our flight. No doubt, it does add stress, and is hard to ignore. And, by the way, we did not miss our flight back then. That sort of leads into the story of the crazy morning we all had waiting to disembark, which could have led to missed connections. The border patrol and customs agents were early in boarding, which is always a plus. But, why is it that some people do not follow directions and appear at their assigned time to meet with a face-to-face customs and immigrations check? While at breakfast very early in the dining room, we heard Gene call each group (all non-US citizens) to the check point. It seemed to be going smoothly until around 8am, when he announced that more people needed to be cleared. He repeated this message several times, each time with more desperation in his voice. By then, we had gathered our things, and went to join the line to get off. It had wrapped around both deck two hallways, in each direction. Some of these folks had expedited departure, carrying all of their luggage with them. They were supposed to get off at 8:30am. Well, that time came and went. And let us tell you that some folks were quite unpleasant, the situation either bringing out the worst or even the best in some. Lucky for us, we were surrounded with the “best” of the group, making the best of an impossible situation. The time came when Gene announced names and room numbers of the offenders. There had to be at least 8 people missing that were holding up the entire ship from getting off. If they could be found and identified, they would have been toast. Actually, it did happen, when one of the husbands left the line, admitting he was being summoned. He mumbled something about having a green card, and not needing to be seen. No, he was wrong. He ordered his wife to stay in line until he came back. Great, now we had to wait for her to go. Shortly before 9am, the line began to move. Gene did not announce the ship was cleared, because he wanted to move us out of the way first. As many times as he warned folks not to block the stairways, they came anyway. We have a solution to this process. Make it perfectly clear to all, with detailed instructions, on the need to follow directions for this inspection, or you will be fined. And not little fine. Can you imagine if passengers missed their flights because some ignorant people decide they want to sleep in late, or not disturb their breakfast, or think it doesn’t apply to them? All reasons to throw them overboard…….. We said our thanks and goodbyes as we exited, adding that we will be back soon. Since we had pink 1 luggage tags, our stuff was located right inside the terminal with a limited number of other bags. That made all four pieces fairly easy to find. Porters were numerous, as were waiting taxis and vans to take people to the airport. What’s nice about San Diego, is the fact that their airport is only three miles away from the pier. We arrived in minutes after we left the Amsterdam. Little did we know that we were in for another adventure, and not a fun one. Turned out when we checked in with United, three of our bags were overweight by a little. Even with only 2 pounds over 50 pounds (the max), the charge would have been $100 each. Yikes. Even though we had weighed them with our handheld scale, the ship was moving way too much yesterday to get an accurate reading. The good thing was that the agent allowed us to remove a little from each bag, and add it to the HAL bag, which already had all four of the wheels broken. What can you expect from a $30. bag? Quality is not one of them. It still would work as a “drag a bag”. Glad that the luggage was checked, because hauling it is not fun. Several months ago, our flight had been changed from 1:30pm to 11:40am. That is really tight, especially considering the possible delays on the ship. It is always something to keep in mind when booking flights home. If we had been thinking ahead, we could have spent the day and one night in San Diego, and took our time tomorrow getting to the airport. Maybe next year………. The flight went smoothly, and the plane was full. Seems this was one of several commuter flights. This had to be the first time ever that the luggage turned up at the baggage area well before we did. By the time we made our way there, the turnstile had stopped and everyone was gone. Our four bags of luggage had been taken off, and sat there with an attendant watching over it. We came to the conclusion that most everyone on that plane was a commuter, and had no luggage to claim. That’s why all of the overhead compartments were stuffed full. We made our usual call to the shuttle service we had previously arranged for, then waited outside for our driver to arrive. Despite the chilly wind, it was rather pleasant in the sun. Still nice enough to get away with wearing shorts, even in San Francisco. No fog today. There was traffic, but then, there is always traffic. It slowed down through downtown, then picked up once we got on the Bay Bridge. Smooth sailing from there. It was nice to see that the trees have begun to change colors. Eventually, it will mean raking and cleaning them out of the pool, confirming that everything comes with a price. All is well that ends well. With a few exceptions, we feel that the Tales of the South Pacific was very close to the ambience of a Grand Voyage. Sure, there were no special gifts for everyone, and the quality of the food was not as fancy, but the sea days as well as the port days were full of activities and excursions. With fewer “gala” nights, there was only one evening that La Fontaine dining room was decorated, and that was for Canadian Thanksgiving (thanks to Tom G, the dining room manager, who happens be be……Canadian). We certainly appreciated being singled out, along with the other five Presidents’ Club members, to receive our amenities and recognition at the Mariner’s Cocktail Reception. The 8 x 10 photo they gifted us will be a nice remembrance. So until we sail again in six weeks, we will end this with a fond farewell and best wishes for a wonderful holiday season. And, we will be back…………..soon. Bill & Mary Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz chic Posted November 18, 2015 #219 Share Posted November 18, 2015 I wonder why they have to do the inspection on the ship in San Diego. It makes it that much more difficult since there are "special" people that think the rules don't apply to them. It seems every other port I've debarked at the inspection is done off the ship, I always worry when getting off the ship in San Diego. Generally I stay an extra day after but for my next cruise I likely won't because it means the difference between getting a non stop flight and having a connection. Thx again for this wonderful thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marysb Posted November 19, 2015 #220 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Thanks so much for taking us along! Had a great time on "our" cruise. Your journal is so well written, and we really appreciate you sharing it with us all. Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJSULIBRARIAN Posted November 19, 2015 #221 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and look forward to your World Cruise 2016!!!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonaitch Posted November 19, 2015 #222 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Report # 49 San Diego, California USA November 16, 2015 Monday Mostly sunny & windy Whoa…..what a ride we had last night………….the waves deepened and the winds howled all night. There was a strange noise that woke us up around 2am. It was the shaking of the empty coat hangers in the closets, sounding like jingle bells. A little unnerving that time of the night. We had left the drapes open, and the room seemed to light up like daybreak. It really was the sheets of water being blown off of the waves, then hitting the lights on the promenade deck. Needless to say, we slept little the rest of the night. The day would start early enough with us getting up at 5am. Well, we made it home safely, but only after a long day, a very long day. Honestly, we don’t have much to complain about, because we live close to San Diego with a short flight back to San Francisco. The only ones that had a closer destination with no flight were table buddies, Holly and Jim, who drove 2 hours north of San Diego to get home. Dave, on the other hand, had a flight to Boston. In a week he will be on his way on an adventure involving a religious pilgrimage in Ethiopia. Wow, now that is a unique destination. Bob and Margaret, live in Kansas, but had an early flight out, triggering a caution notice that their debarking from the ship may be delayed. Don’t know why the powers-to-be alarm folks like that, but there must be a valid reason. In the past, we also got that same notice, but were reassured that we would not miss our flight. No doubt, it does add stress, and is hard to ignore. And, by the way, we did not miss our flight back then. That sort of leads into the story of the crazy morning we all had waiting to disembark, which could have led to missed connections. The border patrol and customs agents were early in boarding, which is always a plus. But, why is it that some people do not follow directions and appear at their assigned time to meet with a face-to-face customs and immigrations check? While at breakfast very early in the dining room, we heard Gene call each group (all non-US citizens) to the check point. It seemed to be going smoothly until around 8am, when he announced that more people needed to be cleared. He repeated this message several times, each time with more desperation in his voice. By then, we had gathered our things, and went to join the line to get off. It had wrapped around both deck two hallways, in each direction. Some of these folks had expedited departure, carrying all of their luggage with them. They were supposed to get off at 8:30am. Well, that time came and went. And let us tell you that some folks were quite unpleasant, the situation either bringing out the worst or even the best in some. Lucky for us, we were surrounded with the “best” of the group, making the best of an impossible situation. The time came when Gene announced names and room numbers of the offenders. There had to be at least 8 people missing that were holding up the entire ship from getting off. If they could be found and identified, they would have been toast. Actually, it did happen, when one of the husbands left the line, admitting he was being summoned. He mumbled something about having a green card, and not needing to be seen. No, he was wrong. He ordered his wife to stay in line until he came back. Great, now we had to wait for her to go. Shortly before 9am, the line began to move. Gene did not announce the ship was cleared, because he wanted to move us out of the way first. As many times as he warned folks not to block the stairways, they came anyway. We have a solution to this process. Make it perfectly clear to all, with detailed instructions, on the need to follow directions for this inspection, or you will be fined. And not little fine. Can you imagine if passengers missed their flights because some ignorant people decide they want to sleep in late, or not disturb their breakfast, or think it doesn’t apply to them? All reasons to throw them overboard…….. We said our thanks and goodbyes as we exited, adding that we will be back soon. Since we had pink 1 luggage tags, our stuff was located right inside the terminal with a limited number of other bags. That made all four pieces fairly easy to find. Porters were numerous, as were waiting taxis and vans to take people to the airport. What’s nice about San Diego, is the fact that their airport is only three miles away from the pier. We arrived in minutes after we left the Amsterdam. Little did we know that we were in for another adventure, and not a fun one. Turned out when we checked in with United, three of our bags were overweight by a little. Even with only 2 pounds over 50 pounds (the max), the charge would have been $100 each. Yikes. Even though we had weighed them with our handheld scale, the ship was moving way too much yesterday to get an accurate reading. The good thing was that the agent allowed us to remove a little from each bag, and add it to the HAL bag, which already had all four of the wheels broken. What can you expect from a $30. bag? Quality is not one of them. It still would work as a “drag a bag”. Glad that the luggage was checked, because hauling it is not fun. Several months ago, our flight had been changed from 1:30pm to 11:40am. That is really tight, especially considering the possible delays on the ship. It is always something to keep in mind when booking flights home. If we had been thinking ahead, we could have spent the day and one night in San Diego, and took our time tomorrow getting to the airport. Maybe next year………. The flight went smoothly, and the plane was full. Seems this was one of several commuter flights. This had to be the first time ever that the luggage turned up at the baggage area well before we did. By the time we made our way there, the turnstile had stopped and everyone was gone. Our four bags of luggage had been taken off, and sat there with an attendant watching over it. We came to the conclusion that most everyone on that plane was a commuter, and had no luggage to claim. That’s why all of the overhead compartments were stuffed full. We made our usual call to the shuttle service we had previously arranged for, then waited outside for our driver to arrive. Despite the chilly wind, it was rather pleasant in the sun. Still nice enough to get away with wearing shorts, even in San Francisco. No fog today. There was traffic, but then, there is always traffic. It slowed down through downtown, then picked up once we got on the Bay Bridge. Smooth sailing from there. It was nice to see that the trees have begun to change colors. Eventually, it will mean raking and cleaning them out of the pool, confirming that everything comes with a price. All is well that ends well. With a few exceptions, we feel that the Tales of the South Pacific was very close to the ambience of a Grand Voyage. Sure, there were no special gifts for everyone, and the quality of the food was not as fancy, but the sea days as well as the port days were full of activities and excursions. With fewer “gala” nights, there was only one evening that La Fontaine dining room was decorated, and that was for Canadian Thanksgiving (thanks to Tom G, the dining room manager, who happens be be……Canadian). We certainly appreciated being singled out, along with the other five Presidents’ Club members, to receive our amenities and recognition at the Mariner’s Cocktail Reception. The 8 x 10 photo they gifted us will be a nice remembrance. So until we sail again in six weeks, we will end this with a fond farewell and best wishes for a wonderful holiday season. And, we will be back…………..soon. Bill & Mary Ann 3 of the names called were ship entertainers. I won't name names. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JamesEM Posted November 19, 2015 #223 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Thanks for all your reports, looking forward to following along on your next adventure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momatibm Posted November 19, 2015 #224 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Thanks again, Bill and Mary Ann -- another wonderful saga. Waiting for the World Cruise to start. Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnvcanada Posted November 19, 2015 #225 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Please note that up to a couple of years ago, green card holders could go with US passport holders. I am not sure of the year it changed. 2012? Several of us were caught up in this once. There was no explanation of why the change and the cruise line was not aware of this also. It is not to excuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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