Astoria, Oregon

Hello from a short visit to Astoria, Oregon. Although our arrival was scheduled at 4:30 AM to accommodate the tides, our view still looked like this until noon.

We should be docked straight ahead.

The ship wide announcement and the letter slipped under the door had the explanation.

As we waited and waited to get ashore the inside spaces got really packed. As would be expected the shore excursions and guest services counters had very long lines. I retreated to Skywalkers but it was pretty full as well.

Still not docked

Looking for fresh air I rolled around outside Deck 7 for a while, but it was just so cold I just couldn’t do it anymore and eventually had to come back to the cabin to get warmed up. 

Cold and windy no matter which direction I looked

Once the ship was cleared I waited about an hour for the crowds to die down - and the weather to clear up - and then I went out and about. 

View from the ship

Here are just a few things I saw today…

I also saw someone dumpster diving for food and a used prophylactic on the ground. Definitely no pictures on those.

I went down the Riverwalk path as far as I could until it turned into the section where it shared the trolley tracks. A boardwalk and rail tracks all in one with a scooter? Nah, I’m good.

When I got back to the ship there was a (cue the sarcasm) little bitty bit of a backed up line. Thankfully after a while officers came around and started pulling mobility people out to go to a second shorter and less steep gangway.

Yikes

The line originated at the back of the taller red roof building

When I got back on board, I grabbed a quick snack of tortilla chips and salsa and had some of my chocolate covered strawberries before finishing up my movie while showering and dressing for drinks and dinner.

I tried a Baked Alaska martini tonight.

The great day exploring the port area in addition to the new martini and vegetarian samosa canapé must have given me some clarity. For as I was sitting outside freezing while waiting for my 7:00 dinner time (fresh air is always preferable to breathing inside crowd air during my wait) I realized I was doing something I didn’t want to do. Why should I get so cold just so I can go to a meal I really don’t want? I let the dining room know I wouldn’t be coming, and not just tonight but at least the next couple as well.

11th time having these specific choices
on a Princess ship so far this calendar year

Then I went and grabbed a slice of pepperoni and vegetarian pizza and took it back to my cabin. Covered up with a warm blanket and had dinner in. 

And realized it’s time to take back my schedule and not have to work my entire evening around getting dressed for drinks and dinner. 

Up tomorrow, we’ll be in Seattle. See you in the city!

Sea Day

Hello from a very sunny, very windy, and very cold sea day off the northern California coast.

50 degrees with 28 mph winds. BRRR

Even though it was so cold I still balanced my inside time with outside time. In the morning I bounced between breakfast, the Promenade Deck, the casino, and back to the Promenade Deck. 

Cold the entire day

My afternoon started with another Most Traveled Guest Luncheon for those 40 guests on board with the most days with Princess. We have a new chef onboard as of last week and the menu is different and quite tasty.

Did you know ensalada de pulpo was octopus salad?
I didn’t. 

Surf and turf

Delicious rhubarb dessert that had
rhubarb in the center of the ball.

After the luncheon I went back to the cabin to charge my phone for a little bit and then bundled up and went outside to Deck 16 for the afternoon movie. Can you tell what I watched?

The original Top Gun

Straight from Top Gun I went to my pre-dinner drinks. 

Lemon Drop Martini as usual

Even though tonight was formal night with a formal night dinner I went with the baked chicken again. It’s a nice small portion and mighty tasty. Somehow I forgot the picture. Didn’t forget to take the picture of the two plates of chocolate covered strawberries I found upon returning to my cabin, though. One was from the officer who hosted my table at the luncheon and the other from the casino. (The casino also sent a bottle of sparkling wine but I gave it to my cabin steward before taking a photo.)

Thanks to the tides we have a very early 4:30 AM arrival in Astoria tomorrow. You can bet I’ll be sleeping until long past then and I’ll wait to see on the weather before I make any solid plans for the day. See you then!

San Francisco Turnaround Day

Hello again from San Francisco, where I am ending one cruise and beginning another.

Awake by 6:00 AM. Go me.

There really wasn’t a reason for me to get up so early other than to check the weather. 

Looks to be a sunny day = go out and be a tourist 

Cold and cloudy = stay on board

It didn’t take long for the day to shake out. Sitting up in Skywalkers on deck 18 gave me the best vantage point of what was to come. Both before the immigration process and after things continued to look, well, definitely not sunny.

Dirty windows or not, you can see it’s dreary out there

I skipped my typical salmon in the dining room and had a hamburger in there instead. Since my clothes DID arrive to my cabin unlike last week, after lunch I spent a few minutes unpacking and sorting through the first day’s paperwork. 

Always important itinerary torn from the Princess Patter

Another thing I had in my paperwork was information on this week’s casino cruise. First on the schedule was the cocktail party where we would find out more about the going-ons. While I did have one drink and one Diet Coke, the time there was mostly a casino hosts schmoozing-with-the-high-rollers session. Pretty interesting to watch.

Some kind of a rum punch

Afterwards I tried to head back to Skywalkers for sailaway but they already had it shut down for the Elite Lounge. So I wound up in a lounger outside at Movies Under the Stars while keeping a close eye on the menacing clouds.

Rain, rain, stay away

And wouldn’t you know it as soon as we started sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge we hit the blue skies. But boy was it cold.

The Captain tells us we’ll have some rough seas tonight as we head north to Astoria, Oregon. But before Astoria we have a sea day tomorrow. See you then.

Sea Day

Today was about as a chill a day as I’ve had this entire trip. For the first time, the sun was shining on my balcony before I even got out of bed.

Oh, what a beautiful morning

After breakfast there was a meeting for the 200+ guests who are staying on for the next voyage. It was basically the same information we heard last week so it was hard to leave the sunshine.

And wouldn’t you know it when I came back to the cabin the sun was gone from my side of the ship. It was all shade for the rest of the day, and with the cool air and breeze it became too chilly to sit out there. Such a big bummer, especially knowing I’m going back into an interior cabin tomorrow.

Pretty but brrr

I spent the day packing up the cabin, talking on the phone with home, and taking a proper nap. None of this sitting up falling asleep, but a proper shoes-off, covered up with a warm blanket kind of nap. 

Who could have predicted I would be even warmer during my pre dinner drinks. 

Thanks to a

Red face from the sun

Red face from the alcohol

Red face from embarrassment

It was when all the officers started clapping that the embarrassment occurred. The clapping was followed by this huge cake presented to me. Wasn’t it just yesterday when I said the 1000th day was without fanfare or recognition?

Just when you think you can’t be pleasantly surprised
something like this happens.

After the initial shock and embarrassment wore off I looked red-faced in one too many pictures and ate much too much cake. I shared cake with as many guests as possible, cut an extra big piece to take back to my cabin steward, and had them send the rest of the leftovers down to the crew mess. What an unexpected way to spend part of my evening. Too stuffed to do anything else I had a small quick dinner of a baked chicken breast and potatoes and called it a night. 

Up tomorrow, turnaround day in San Francisco. 

Ensenada, Mexico

For my day in Ensenada, my 1000th day on Princess Cruises, with no fanfare or recognition I did exactly what I wanted to do. And skipped the majority of the activities on the daily schedule. 

I didn’t set the alarm, slept in, and went to breakfast when I wanted to. Even though it was cloudy and cool I watched the morning Movies Under the Stars feature Conclave, and fell asleep in a lounge chair for most of it. When I woke up the sun had come out and it was warm enough to take off my sweatshirt.

I went to the back of the ship, sat at the new handicap seating there, had a Diet Coke, and watched birds dive straight down in the water to get fish.

I went out in port last week to get my fish tacos so today I had a burger on deck for lunch.

My first one on board this month

I spent the afternoon on my balcony in my swimsuit in the sunshine. No other place I’d rather be.

I certainly didn’t want to go to the formal night dinner, but felt obligated. Here’s a tip…don’t go to things you don’t want to go to. I had a few minutes to kill before I could get my table so I went to the casino for a little while. What was I thinking??? It did not turn out well. With my tail between my legs I headed to a busy dining room I really didn’t want to go to and had a simple meal of French onion soup, sautéed shrimp, and mandarin sorbet. So simple not even worth a picture. 

Up tomorrow, a sea day as we head back to San Francisco. 

San Diego, California

Hello from San Diego!

Hey, there’s the Santa Fe Amtrak train depot.
I’ve been there!

This girl was busy today. When we’ve been here before (and were more able-bodied) we walked to and from the cruise ship to Petco Park (the San Diego Padres ballpark) to go to a baseball game. I wrote about that day here. Now that we’re no longer able-bodied we have to find a new way to get to the ballpark. We’ve been talking about flying to San Diego and staying in a hotel close to the ballpark. So along with my touristy things today was about exploring two hotel locations I had been looking at. 

I thought the Hilton Bayfront was going to be our best option for limited walking but it was far from it especially when you have a return trip to think of.

Start at the tall hotel on the right and walk left past the parking garage

Cross the sky bridge 

Then once across the street, walk to the ballpark.

But oh boy, my second choice became my number one when I saw how easy it was. 

Omni hotel

It’s so close to the ballpark

The best part is how you get to the ballpark. Go to the fourth floor of the hotel and go to the end of the hall.

And you’ll find a door that takes you straight to the ballpark.

Just a few short feet away

I am certain the nightly rate is probably horrendous but if we only do this once in a while, it just might be worth it.

I spent the rest of my time putting several miles on the scooter and taking too many pictures. It was such a beautiful day it was hard not to. 

Bob Hope Memorial

Huge kissing statue

Convention center to the left

Spent some time in Seaport Village

You can sit in an Adirondack chair and put your feet in some sand.
Unfortunately my Adirondack chair sitting days are long gone.  

Lots of places to eat and drink

Need these flags for my daughter

I stopped by a waterfront restaurant and had some garlic Parmesan fries right next to the ship.

Wandered by the Maritime museum with all the different ships available for viewing and touring.

It always looks like the planes are landing right inside the city.

I saw lots of things in bloom.

Looks like red bottle brushes

Pretty purple/pink

So pretty against the blue sky

Tonight’s pre dinner drinks wound up being a four martini night. Yikes. I did have a bottle of water and a Diet Coke so everything equals out, right?

Feels so good, but man I’ll pay in the morning

A little stop by Movies Under the Stars for some Top Gun Maverick. Only seems fitting when we are across the water from North Island. And to think I was just a block away from the original Top Gun bar today and didn’t even know it! (At least the internet tells me so.)

Movies Under the Stars

North Island

Afterwards a dinner of chicken breast and dessert of sugar free coconut cake and orange sorbet then a glance at the USS Midway Museum on my way back to the cabin. 

Up tomorrow, Ensenada and my 1000th day on Princess Cruises. Oh, yeah.