US Road Trip - May 2023 - Day 7

Day 7

Woke up really early, probably because we had set an actual alarm so subconsciously our body was waking up before it went off. We had checked out and had hit the I15 before the sun had found its way over the mountains. With an 11.30 am boarding time booked for the cruise, we had plenty of spare time, even if we hit some traffic.

We managed to navigate our way to Los Angeles World Cruise Center, found the car park, which we didn’t have to reserve and was $20 a day, and trundled our suitcases to the luggage drop-off area. Southampton has it much better organised, in my opinion. We have only done one other cruise and in Southampton, as we parked our car, a trailer drew up behind us and took the suitcases from the car. We didn’t see them again until they appeared outside our stateroom. This time we had to drop them off ourselves.

We were on the ship (Navigator of the Seas) by about 11.30 am and as the staterooms weren’t going to be ready until 1 pm we went for a wander round to get our bearings, and had a bit of lunch in Windjammer (the buffet on board).

Popped into the pub for a few drinks. Gener was the bar tender and he was from the Philippines. We were chatting to him over a couple of gin fizzes and a couple of bottles of Red Stripe.

Once we got access to our room, we had a bit of a Nana nap (it had been an early start) and then sat in the sunshine on the balcony for an hour or so whilst we sailed away. No Sailaway party for us - far too loud!

I found my first duck, hidden away at the bottom of our staircase! I have taken a photo and I will post about it on the dedicated Facebook Group and then I will rehide it in the next day or so.

Somewhere between dropping our suitcases off and getting to the ship, the labels had come off, and we eventually found our cases at 6 pm in Guest Services! Quick shower and we went to see the Ice Dance show in Studio 7 which was really good and then dinner at 8. We had opted for ‘My Time Dining’ which means you can select when you want to go for dinner rather than being restricted to one of two set times. Dinner was good. I had crab cakes to start and fish fillet with potato gratin and vegetables for the main. Dave went for the tomato soup and the beef tenderloin. We both agreed that it was all tasty and made a change from the rubbish food we have been eating!

We both had a little gamble in the onboard casino but didn’t win anything and went to bed around 11 pm. We are sailing from Los Angeles to Catalina Island over the next day, with tomorrow being a sea day. So far the weather is warm and sunny, but I think it’ll get cooler as we get to Catalina Island and warmer again as we sail towards Ensenada.

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