Let me just say it is painful being off this ship. What a GEM! This was also a "Gal's Cruise" which I haven't been on in several years, and proved to be a much different experience than traveling with my Perfect Man™..... (even though I missed him like crazy, it was all good).

Day 1 - Arrived San Pedro World Cruise Center around 10:45. Were given forms to sign stating we were healthy and hadn't hurled in the last 72 hours. Then were given numbered boarding cards as we entered the terminal. Didn't pay too much attention to this as we had Platinum/Suite boarding. I think our numbers were somewhere in the 200s. No line whatsoever to get our keycards. Total breeze, then went to wait in the Platinum Lounge. Apparently the last group of passengers loved the Diamond so much they had to be thrown off the ship kicking and screaming, so we didn't begin boarding until after noon. I had an instinctive feeling we'd do the same come next Saturday. Got adopted early by a lovely couple from England via Santa Monica, Raymond and Phyllis, who are in their 70s and are into transcendental meditation, and Thai Chi and I am now a convert - these two people were in the most amazing shape, with the best outlook on life, and I want to grow up and be just like them! They travel all over the world, and had lovely stories about their trip to Russia!

When they finally began boarding, we were about the tenth people to board the ship, and ran past the photographers since (A) We hate that photo stuff, and (B) I was carrying two six-pack carry-cases of champagne and my arms were falling off. We were in our cabin C400 (PH Suite) five minutes after they began boarding, at 12:20pm, and three of our five bags were already there, waiting for us. I immediately called the DINE line, and made reservations for Sabatini's at 7pm for the first night, and Pacific Moon at 8pm for the second, table for two. I was told the policy was to only allow two nights reservations at a time by Duncan who answered the phone, which was a disappointment, but nothing I thought couldn't be accomplished if we found the right restaurant person to speak to eventually. We threw a few champagne bottles into the fridge, which wasn't cold at all - but there is a small thermostat at the back inside on the left, which can be adjusted, so it was cold within a few hours. Called room service to get a champagne bucket w/ice and some champagne glasses. Went for a little walk to Sabatini's to talk to the guys at the dining info desk, and had our first of many FEMME POWER experiences of the cruise. We found Antoine, who smiled and immediately jumped to assist when I explained I wanted to make reservations for the entire week, and had been thwarted by Duncan (who was obviously just doing his job). He dialed the DINE line, got someone else on the phone, and explained, "I have two breathtakingly beautiful women here from cabin C400 who need to make dining reservations for the entire week. Please take good care of them for me." and smiling his charming Italian smile, handed me the phone. Done and done. I thanked him profusely, then we wandered down to the International Dining Room, but found it wasn't open for lunch. So we wandered a bit more to see the pools, and before we knew it, found ourselves in the Horizon Court, which we rarely go to simply because it is usually very crowded, especially on the first day. But because we had boarded so early, it was still practically deserted. They have a nice hand sanitizer setup at the entrance, and someone stationed there to indoctrinate everyone from day 1 - which seemed to work well. The stations are random/free roaming as usual, with no lines, which also works well. The people who are "line-trained" seem to adjust to the more sensible roaming-way rather quickly when they see how well it works. Since it was so early, there was plenty of seating outside by the pool, so we grabbed a seat to enjoy our lunch. We were blessed with fast cocktail service, and also got accosted several times for the wine tasting. We learned the key is to smile and say that you're already signed up, and they leave you alone quickly. After lunch we walked only a little more since my friend had the New Shoes Blues and was rather injured from them. Checked out the casino, then went back to the cabin. One more bag had arrived, and we spent the rest of the afternoon on our giant balcony, including sailaway, with our evening canapEs and champagne. aaaaahhhhhh. It was a lovely sunny day in Los Angeles, but hazy, so no Catalina viewing (which would have been difficult from the port side of the ship anyway). Read more