South Pacific/North to Alaska: San Diego, California

May 2, 2016

The first announcement that woke me up came at 6:40 - it was for the first group of non-Americans to go through immigration. From then on I would sleep for a few minutes, another announcement would come on about 10-15 minutes later, sleep, announcement, and on and on until I gave up around ten.

I had planned on not getting off in San Diego so I had the ship very much to myself for about two hours. I took pictures of some interesting ships (new and old), walked around deck 10, looked over the stern on deck 9, and walked around the promenade deck (3). It was a beautiful, sunny day and the temperature was perfect. At 11:10 the last group was given the go-ahead to disembark. Ten minutes later three people were called by name and asked to kindly disembark. Those of us continuing on did not have to get off the ship and then get back on as happens on some cruises.

About 11:45 I met Ester and Heinz (table mates) in the Lido. We had all decided to eat before the new passengers descended on the Lido. They asked me to join them and we had a nice meal and then spent some time picking out the new passengers while we had a cookie dessert.

By the time we finished it was time for me to return to my cabin and start folding clothes I won't need in Alaska. I am hoping to have one suitcase that I will not need to open for Vancouver and Alaska.

At 2 pm the start of the muster drill began. For about 15 minutes the crew were given their orders and then the passengers were told to report to their muster stations. Using a machine to scan the key cards has really cut down the amount of time the drill takes. We were finished in about 15 minutes.

After waiting for the crowds to clear the promenade deck, I headed aft and up to the Seaview Pool for the sail-away. The captain had told us the other day that we would be leaving earlier than originally planned to try to outrun a low front that was forming along the coast. So right about 3 pm we headed out. Nine of us sat by the pool and had drinks as we left San Diego. It was very windy and some people were cold. Instead of having towels by the pool, they had out blankets that many people wrapped up in. I was perfectly comfortable.

Sat and read my book as I had my afternoon ice cream.

I hadn't played trivia in over 30 hours so I was ready early to go to the Crow's Nest. Five of us played and we tied three other teams with 14 out of 17 correct. We lost in the tie-breaker. The good news - all but one of the artichokes have left the ship!

1.What are the four states that meet in the "Four Corners".
2.What nation has the largest desert in the Western Hemisphere?
3.Is proteomics the study of proteins, protons, or Protozoa?
4.What country boasts the world's oldest Parliament, the Althing?
5.What is the scapula also known as?

Five of us for dinner as Judy and Len disembarked today. I had a great steak for dinner and a really tasty variation on Baked Alaska.

I went down to the Front Office to pick up envelopes and cards to commend the stewards. I bumped into a lady that I had been seeing for the last month. I knew I knew her from somewhere but could never place where. She asked if I had been on the Panama Canal cruise last year. Turns out we had been assigned to the same dinner table but she had met some people who did anytime dining and she ate with them every night except one or two.

Decided to try the slots after dinner. I put $10 of my $18 bank into the machine and won $22.26 (my biggest win ever). So now my account is at $32.08 - that is a net gain of $2.08 from the $30 I have put in. I am definitely not a casino's dream customer!

Skipped the show which was billed as "An Evening of Music and Laughter" with Bayne Bacon.