Saturday, May 13, 2023

A Couple of Sea Days on the Island Princess

Heading into this cruise I originally figured the first two weeks would be my settling in time where I could get into a routine and stick with it for the rest of the summer. But with this being a hot itinerary and the next ones being cold ones, I quickly realized I needed to take advantage of the super steamy weather while I could and spend every moment I could outside or in the pool. 

Except somehow I forgot the weather the first day out of Los Angeles can be a bit cool. Uh, yeah. Cloudy and windy, and with temperatures in the 50s there would be no sunning for me.

But by afternoon the sun came out and my wind-protected balcony cabin came in handy. Sit outside long enough looking at a view like this and you’re ready for a nap. (Yes, I took one.)

The second day as we got farther down the coastline of Mexico the weather held some promise. Temperatures in the 60s and scattered clouds.

My view at breakfast

The lap swimmers were out in force early (you know they are serious when you see swim caps), but they weren’t the only ones braving the still-cool weather. Chair hogs, anyone? Staking out their territory before 8 AM.

These weren’t the only two

Since we might not hit 70 today I wasn’t getting myself in the outdoor pool. The indoor pool is still closed so I didn’t head there, either. Thanks to a cabin on the starboard side of the ship, I camped out on the balcony for the afternoon sun. Tonight is formal night and since I’m not partaking I ordered pizza through the app and had my own little outdoor party on my own little outdoor patio. Great food, great views, great weather, and great company!

With real Parmesan
Oh my heavens. Oh so good.

Tomorrow, Puerto Vallarta!

Setting the clocks ahead last night makes time zone changes 2 so far.

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Island Princess - Embarkation Day

It’s embarkation day! Today is the day I check into my new home for the next 106 days. 

Island Princess entering coming into San Pedro port at seen from Crowne Plaza
6 AM view from my hotel room

Embarkation day is always exciting, and today was no different. The Island Princess was completing her World Cruise today and while many passengers already disembarked in Fort Lauderdale, many of them disembarked here. The ship also had to undergo a mandatory Coast Guard inspection today as well. Thankfully the hotel extended their shuttle times until 2:00 so we all weren’t standing around at the port waiting. Some just couldn’t wait and had to get there early (the old hurry up and wait game) but since I have plenty of time (and many days!) to enjoy the ship I held out and went on a late shuttle. 

I have a nice handicapped cabin on Deck 7 with a great sized balcony. All to myself! The balcony isn’t handicapped accessible because of a high threshold on the inside of the door but that’s what my walking sticks are for.

handicap accessible balcony cruise ship cabin on Island Princess handicap accessible balcony on Island Princess

A couple other things to note…the water in my minibar came from Abu Dhabi. Hey, I’ve been there!

I’m happy to know the Royal Princess communicated with this ship and made sure I was taken care of with the bath mats for the shower. No repeat of the fall I had there a few months ago.

The sail away party was high energy and well attended like in the before-you-know-what days. And honestly, I got chills when the Captain blew the horn and everyone on deck cheered. It took so much to get me here and I am so very grateful. 

So where are we going on this specific cruise? We’re heading to Florida by way of the Panama Canal. Why fly to Florida when you can take a ship, right?


Up tomorrow, a sea day. Bon voyage!