Day 2 Sea Day

Aloha Everyone,

I am trying to attend Zumba class as often as possible. There are 3 individuals who will be teaching. Today it was a female who I believe is in the Cruise Entertainment group led by Armando.

Immediately following, I went to the first of 10 lectures on The White Ships, a tribute to the Grand Manner of Matson.

Borrowed Gift of the Stars by M.L. Dunker and CIRCE by Madeline Miller.

Shared lunch table with 3 other couples and dinner with 2 others. While I don’t want to generalize, we’ve been meeting retirees from Vancouver, BC and those from different the geographical areas of Arizona, Nevada, Texas, South Carolina and California.

There are 16 passengers who are taking the back-to-back 48 days cruise. There are 2,500 passengers on this leg, 100 more than the first round trip to Hawaii. In general, everyone is happy with their retirement status and their current situation in life.

J.J. and I attended Showtime with Comedy Magician RJ Cantu at the Princess Theater.

Aloha -- Cathi

Los Angeles/Day 1

Aloha Everyone,

Departure day of our second cruise. Early breakfast on the International Market Place. My usual selection of food.

Returned to our stateroom to finish packing up.  By 8:30 pm, we were out of our room and waited for our turn to leave the ship. The first groups were those catching early flights or going on tours of Los Angeles prior to going home.

When we finally left the ship, it was close to 10:00 am. From then on, there seemed to be a lack or coordination between the ship’s staff and that of security personnel at the terminal. I recalled that last year it took us an hour for our transient group to board. This time it also took an hour. 

JJ and I were very impressed when we saw our new stateroom just two doors away. All our clothes that are on hangers as well as our two luggages and toiletries had been transferred. We didn’t even have to have our medallions changed. They were automatically modified.

Lunch at Lido Deck before we came back to have our daily nap. All is well. I am attaching a copy of our itinerary highlights for the next 32 days for those of you who are checking on where we are cruising.

Aloha -- Cathi

Day 15, Ensenada, Mexico

Aloha Everyone,

Coming back to Ensenada at least 8 times within the last 5 years, we decided to remain on board and get our walking. Yesterday, the ship was rolling and pitching so much that I was only able to complete 2.1 miles. Today, I was determined to do at least 5 miles :-)

Breakfast and lunch at the Lido Deck. Eager visitors who were going on excursions were putting away snacks and lunches to take along.

After dinner, JJ and I packed our two luggages before we purchased another 24 hours WiFi plan.  I was able to send 7 blogs to Jeff and will try to contact everyone tomorrow prior to our departure from San Pedro.

Aloha -- Cathi

Day 14, Sea Day

Aloha Everyone,

Happy that our 24-hours WiFi signal is working about 80% of the time, J.J. and I were able to catch up with our families and friends.

Halloween decorations adorned the dining rooms. The large decorated cakes were, for me, not enticing.

The music and dance show organized by the Hawaiian Ambassadors, Rowena & Brian was entertaining. They did an outstanding job. I think they touched the hearts of some and learned the true meaning of ALOHA. It’s easy to see why some people would sign up for another Hawaiian cruise provided that Rowena and Brian would be on board.

Dinner at Vivaldi. While we were seated at a table tucked against a corner with walls on both ends, the restaurant manager was attentive and we were served with the usual speed.

Vocalist Marco Romano exhibited his talent and formal training as a classic Italian tenor. Wonderful rendition of The Phantom of the Opera. It was sensational. J.J. and I were of the opinion that he should’ve ended his program with that piece rather than adding two more minor selections just to meet his allotted time.

Aloha -- Cathi

Day 13, Sea Day, Formal Dress Night

Aloha Everyone,

Some people come on board to eat and drink with their families, friends and strangers. Others are on board to read, play board games and relax.

A woman from Los Angeles, CA loves sea days. Her passion is to work on crocheting. She was working on tulip mass production. She buys all her materials including patterns and brings them on cruises. She loves sea days which allow her to select a sofa on the promenade deck. She alternates her time crocheting or talking to curious passengers such as myself.

To be efficient, she pre makes different parts and assembles while she is on board. Most people ask for one of her creations. She gives them away freely, especially to the staff who truly appreciate her generosity.

Aloha -- Cathi

Sea Day - Day 12

Aloha Everyone,

Tribes - Collision of Cultures was another educational enrichment presentation. Once we have a steady WiFi, I plan to download new eBooks on my replacement iPad with enrichment topics.

Variety Showtime featuring a ventriloquist, Michael Minor who entertained the audience with his comedy and songs. An elderly man who went up to the stage showed off Michael Minor’s skill as a ventriloquist. The program closed with audience favorites: Louis Armstrong’s It’s a wonderful world and Impossible Dream from the Broadway musical, “The Man From La Mancha.”

Aloha -- Cathi

Sea Day 11, Captain’s Circle Party

Aloha Everyone,

We attended the Captain’s Circle Party held at Club Fusion. The event started at 5:15 pm. By the time we arrived, the line was snaking halfway through the photo gallery area. Shared a table with Art and Toni originally from Guadalajara, Mexico. Though none of us won a bottle of champagne or wine, we enjoyed ourselves.

So how often does one share a table with two couples whose surnames are Smith? One was from Vancouver, BC and the other from California. The wife of the first Smith spent her very early childhood in Manila due to her father’s work.

The second Smith had his schooling in DOD schools. His mother is Okinawan and shared his experiences and views of the world.  We had a wonderful time.

This morning’s Enrichment Presentation was on the Evolving Electric Grid.

Met with a woman who was working on a needle point project. She said that she purchases different designs direct from Tapestry.com. Depending on the size and complexity of the design, they would be priced from $12 to $45.

Aloha -- Cathi

Day 10 Sea Day, Formal Night

Aloha Everyone,

Complimentary canapés delivered to our stateroom on Formal Nights is another perk of being Elite Class. 

Lobster & Crab cake was our choice for tonight’s main dish at International Cafe.

Our table sharing brought together people from wider regions and backgrounds.

One couple has five children, two sets of paternal twins and a child who was born in between. Calm and relaxed with angelic smiles on her face, the mother raised the children mainly by herself with occasional help from her mother who lives nearby.

The children are all grown and they now have 8 grandchildren to pamper and enjoy.

The other two are friends and traveling together. Both retired and when they heard of our nomadic lifestyle, they were most curious. J.J. and I were touched to hear one of the women from Trenton, New Jersey who talked about her family’s working in the construction industry. Aspiration for her talented granddaughter seemed to have been quashed when she too plans to work in construction. Hopefully she felt a little better when some of us suggested that knowing basic construction could lead her into a career of using Ai to design roads, buildings, and bridges.

Aloha -- Cathi