Star Princess Cruise November 12-16, 2015 from Los Angeles

Catalina Cruise Nov. 12-16, 2015

by Tom P. Blake

Last February, a travel agent friend, Ann Ronan, San Juan Capistrano, asked if I’d be willing to have a four-day “Tom Blake Loving Life after 55” ocean cruise from November 12-16 aboard the Star Princess out of San Pedro, California. We’d promote the cruise in my “On Life and Love After 50” newsletter and newspaper articles.

My partner Greta and I love cruising and thought it would be fun.

 

Star Princess anchored off of Avalon Catalina Island - a large ship

 

The ship is enormous; it's longer than 3 football fields--950 feet. There was a crew of 1,100 and close to 3,000 passengers. It has 17 levels (decks) and more elevators than Macy's. Multiple Broadway shows every night. I counted 35 desserts at one lunch buffet.



Thursday, November 12

In our experience, Greta and I have found that checking in for a large cruise is always a jam-packed event. There are, without, fail long lines of people, and waiting is the norm. So, instead of arriving at 12:00 p.m., the initial check-in time, we decided to arrive at 2 p.m., after the crowd had gone aboard.

Greta, her daughter Tina Skelton of Murrieta, California, and I drove from Dana Point to the embarkation port in San Pedro (near Long Beach). On the way, we received a text message from the Star Princess stating that embarkation would be delayed until 2 p.m.—a two-hour delay. The problem began with the disembarkation from the ship’s incoming cruise from that morning.

But, we were already on our way so what could we do? Just bite the bullet and get in line. So, we parked in the terminal lot near the ship for a reasonable $16 per day.

When we got inside the building, there was an enormous backlog of people, at least 1,000, who were in line to sign in. And then there was an announcement that the sign-in was temporarily suspended. We simply took a seat and decided to wait until the line shortened. People were getting pretty frustrated.

After an hour or so, Tina talked to an official near the sign-in window, saying something about "her parents''" age, and gosh, we got checked in right then, but that was just the first step.

 

Once signed in, you went through security, and then I had to go to a table to "register" the two bottles of wine we were allowed to bring on board. And then into to another waiting room from which you boarded the ship. That room had another 1,000 people or so waiting. People were really getting antsy.



Cleared to board but ship not ready at 3 p.m., 3 hours after the check-in time



The ship handed out free water; the trash can was beyond its limits

We finally boarded about 4:15 p.m. Greta and I have learned that when traveling, there are going to be times when you've got to be patient and this was one of those times. That's the nature of travel, especially when visiting foreign countries. I was able to use the internet with my Verizon Mi-Fi device.

Before the ship sailed, everyone on board had to attend the safety demonstration on how to put your life jacket on. This is mandatory.

 

Greta holding life jacket before drill began

Our group, which totaled 13 people, met at the Wheelhouse Lounge, on the 7^th level of the ship, for cocktails and to get to know each other.



Thursday night group first get together

Then, Greta, Tina and I had dinner at Sabatini’s, one of the speciality restaurants on board—where we paid $25 per person. There are a few of these speciality restaurants aboard where you pay, but tons of other choices of restaurants where the cost is included in the cruise price. Later, we were pretty wiped out and hit the sack by 9:30 p.m.

Friday, November 13 – Avalon, Catalina Island

A beautiful, sunny day greeted us as we were anchored off of Catalina Island. This guy was perched on our railing:

 

Johathan Livingston Seagull

 To go ashore, passengers had to ride one of the ship’s water taxis, called tenders, into Avalon. You gather in one of the dining rooms and get a boarding ticket with a group number. When they call your group number, about 110 of you carefully board the tender. This can be a little tricky because the swell from the ocean can make the footing a little unstable.  

Port of Avalon with tender on left approaching ship. Concert pavilon on right



A ship's tender waiting to take passengers into Avalon
 

For Greta and Tina, the visit to Catalina is always a little nostalgic. All four of Greta’s children were born on Catalina, and Tina is her youngest child. The three of us strolled around ashore for a couple of hours and, they shopped, while I checked my internet messages. An Avalon classic old bar:

 

Marlin Club has been in Avalon forever

 

We returned to the ship for lunch and a leisurely afternoon on board. These cruise ship lines make the onboard lifestyle so enticing it's easy to just stay on the ship and be pampered.

That night, our group gathered again in the same place in the Wheelhouse Lounge, and then we all went together to dinner at a restaurant called Porto Fino, which was one of the ship’s regular dining rooms, where there was no extra charge.

 

Saturday, November 14 – At sea the entire day

Our group gathered that morning at 10 a.m. for a 1 and ½ hour seminar that was a part of the “Loving Life After 55” package. I was the moderator but all of us got to share our dating and romance experiences. It was informative to hear how the couples in the group met and to also hear the internet dating experiences that our members willingly shared. This photo was taken after our morning session.

 

Our group after the Saturday morning session

People were free to do as they pleased the rest of the day—the ship offered endless things to do.

That night, most of the group got together again for dinner. I was pleased to see how many new friendships were being formed among our members.



Sunday, November 15 – Ensenada, Mexico

On our final day, the ship arrived early in Ensendad, Mexico.

 

Most of our group went ashore, not together, but in smaller pods at different times. Greta, Tina and I walked into the city and enjoyed window shopping and we even stopped at a Starbucks (believe it or not) for a cup of coffee.

 

Hotel row in Ensenada

Hotel rooms start at 270 pesos, or about $16.00. The cost of living is dramatically less than in the states.

 

I got a kick out of this sign outside a pharmacy in Ensenada. In a newsletter two weeks ago, someone mentioned that in the USA, Viagra cost $44 per pill. In Mexico, it’s a heck of a lot cheaper:

Viagra sign outside Ensenada pharmacy

 So 5 pills in Mexico cost about $12.00. Could this be true? $44 in the USA; $2.50 in Mexico.

 

Now, I am not saying that the these Viagra pills are of equal strength as those in the states, or are even the real McCoy, but who knows? The truth be told, I did not purchase any (thought about it, but well...you know).

On the walk back to the ship, we passed this magnificent flag of Mexico. It was huge:

Flag of Mexico

Back on board, I watched a NFL football game on the big outdoor screen at the aft end of the ship around the pool.

Sunday night dinner

That night, most of us dined together again and promised to keep in touch with each other. Some of us attended the “British Invasion” musical production put on by the ship’s entertainers. It was terrific with music from the Beatles, Dave Clark Five, Rolling Stones, and Hermit’s Hermits, to name just a few.

Later that night, there was a dramatic change of weather, as the ship was sailing north to Los Angeles. The wind starting blowing and the ship started rocking. One big wave hit the port side and shook the entire ship. The winds reached 100 mph across the bow.

Greta and I had packed our suitcases the night before. When the wind picked up, the hangers in the clothes closet had no clothes on them. They were big wooden hangers and were banging so hard against the partition that we had to lay them on the floor. Even the water in the toilet was swishing around and spilling over ever so little. It was one rocky night.

We arrived in San Pedro by 6:30 a.m. and I think most everybody was happy to have the ship tie up to the pier. The three of us were off the ship and in our car by 8:45 a.m.

What a nice four-day experience and cruise we’d had.

Travel agent Ann Ronan's contact information: www.sjctravel.com