World Cruise 2020

We didn't have a tour booked today, so we had a leisurely morning.  I did manage to weigh myself before breakfast, and considering I was clothed, it wasn't too bad.  I'll have to be sure to check whenever we are stable at port if possible.  I've been trying to be good, but it is a real challenge to say no to those delicious croissants and breads.  I figure I will allow myself one piece of bread at dinner and a croissant on Sundays.  This morning at breakfast I tried their Chia Almond Yogurt and it was really good.  You can add berries or granola or toasted something or other if you'd like. We did a bit of a walkabout again today and then had lunch at a nearby Gordon Biersch pub.  We used to go there many years ago in San Francisco, and we were pleased to discover that their garlic fries are still good.  I had a few along with my ahi tuna poke salad (no rice), so no bread for dinner tonight. King Kamehameha The afternoon was spent by...

So we finally woke up this morning to see land.  It was still dark, so the lights of the island and Honolulu were wonderful to see.  We had a tour of this island which was nice since we went to some sights we had not seen when we were here last October at the timeshare.  Our guide, Kemo, had interesting facts about living here.  He lives with his parents, his wife, 3 children, son-in-law and 2 grandchildren in the family house - 10 people.  At one point, with his brothers and their families, there were 16 people living there.  They all share the expenses and duties, which is how they can afford to live here. After the tour and lunch on the ship, we walked around a bit and stopped at Walmart for some supplies.  Then back to the ship for a much needed cool drink and a rest. At Pali Lookout Haunama Bay, Oahu Michael got us reservations at Prime 7 tonight.  Since we are overnighting in Honolulu, it seems the restaurant wasn't too busy....

This morning at coffee, the Captain stopped to have a chat.  We see him a lot wandering around, which is nice.  Today's lecture was Part I of the History of Exploring the Pacific, again an entertaining and informative lecture. We had lunch for the first time up top in the buffet, La Veranda.  The weather is warming a bit, but it was still too windy to eat out on the back deck.  Lots of people were eating at the buffet set up near the pool - the theme today was Phillipino foods.  And for the first time, it looked like loungers in the shade were a bit hard to find. We're still rocking a bit, though not as much.  As we passed the fitness center after lunch, we finally noticed the scale.  With the movement of the ship, my weight bounced around in a 10 pound swing.  I'd like to take the lower number, but figure I should probably take the middle one.  Maybe when we're in port, I'll double check that that's right. I watched Gemini Man in the t...

We've gotten into a sort of rhythm for sea days.  We try to get to the fitness center first thing.  This morning we had the alarm go at 6 am and got right down the hall.  We both got our machines so all was good.  I was talking with Carol from Portland about the event later where everyone gets together with others from your state or country at a certain lounge.  Carol mentioned that there are 15 from Oregon and the woman next to me said "I'm from Oregon also".  Turns out she is from Eagle Crest!  We have friends in common and she (Andrea) and her husband, Bruce, are moving to Philadelphia to be closer to kids/grandkids when they get home!  They, unlike us, will be downsizing to an apartment. After our workout (I use that term loosely) we shower and head to the Coffee Connection where we work on the daily Mensa quiz and the sudoku and crossword puzzle until breakfast.  Then at 10 am is the lecture - today was the story of the navy cruiser th...

The weather has been cool - in the 60's - and the seas have been a bit rough with swells making it a bit of a challenge to walk around.  So glad our cabin is on the lowest deck possible (7) since we don't feel the movement nearly so much.  The Observation Lounge is up on 12 and there is a noticeable difference.  The fancier, more expensive cabins are up high - hah, bet they covet our lowly cabin now!  It's also been windy so the swimming pool has been closed, although the hot tubs are open.  No problem getting a lounger now, but that will be changing pretty soon.   Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70's with calmer seas and it will be hot pretty soon. This morning Kamang (from Indonesia) at the Coffee Connection suggested I have a Cafe Vanilla which he could make with sugar-free vanilla flavoring.  It also has a topping of black tea.  I'm pretty sure I tried that on our last Regent cruise and didn't like it, but this morning it was really g...

I neglected to answer the quesion about how old Cornelius is.  He's the gentleman who is on his 20th World Cruise.  I believe he said he was 85 - he was talking about the doctor offering him another knee replacement, but he said he wouldn't be here long enough to justify the cost.  And since he's a Canadian, he meant the cost to the government.  He said he was just fine with his cane, let a younger person get the knee. The fitness center was full this morning so we showered and went down for a morning coffee and attempt to complete the daily Mensa quiz.  I think we have 4/5 this time.  After breakfast, a bit of lounging before off to the the day's lecture by Terry Bishop.  Yesterday was a brief history of Hawaii and the events leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor - a lot to cover in 45 minutes.  Today was the Doolittle raid on Japan.  He's an interesting speaker and has a bit of the dry English humor. Since the fitness center was now ...

We woke a little before 7 am and went down the hall to the fitness center.  The seas are a bit rough so even though my treadmill was set at no incline, I felt like I was going up and down hills anyway.  Breakfast was at the main restaurant, the Compass Rose.  I tried their avocado toast with poached eggs.  It was OK, but not my favorite. There was a Meet and Mingle of a dozen or so people from the discussion site Cruise Critic.  Met Phil and Carole from Portland (and Black Butte Ranch right up the road!) and Gail and Russell from Cupertino.  The Captain even stopped by to welcome us.  He says plans are in the works for self-driving ships.  Think I'll stick with the ones with humans at the helm. After lunch, we went back to the cabin to finalize our unpacking.  I think we've found a place for everything, but we will probably still move stuff around as we see what works.  I'm pleasantly surprised that everything we brought has a place ...

Our flights to San Francisco on Tuesday were smooth and on time and the rental car was waiting for us.   We had a nice dinner with Lindsay at son Andrew and Lindsay’s place that they recently remodeled.   Andrew was in Sacramento, but we saw him on Wednesday to take him to the airport.   He’s interviewing for his fellowship year at various programs around the country.   Had a nice visit with Rita Figari on Thursday morning then off to the Ritz-Carlton.   Another perk of the World Cruise is they put us up for the night there and have a gala dinner to kick off the cruise.   After we checked in I went to hang up my dress for the evening only to discover that it wasn’t in my luggage!   I bought that dress a year or so ago thinking it would be perfect for the gala.   I made sure not to pack it in the luggage that was picked up at home, made sure I kept out the shoes and jewelry for it, and somehow left the dress hanging in the closet!   Al...

As many of you know, Michael and I are spending our kids' inheritance and taking a World Cruise.  (You have to write it as World Cruise, not world cruise for some reason.  That's how I always see it written on cruise discussion sites anyway.)  We researched various cruise lines' World Cruises (Princess, Oceania, Viking Ocean) and Michael said about each one "But that's not AROUND the world."  So when I showed him this Regent cruise that sails out of San Francisco and goes ALL THE WAY AROUND the world and back to San Francisco, he was in.  This adventure will take 131 days:  January 24 - June 4. We signed up for this trip in May 2018 and it seemed like it was so far away at the time.  And now, here we are getting ready to depart.  We have forwarded the mail to Anna, stopped the newspaper delivery and garbage pickup, arranged for someone to check the house and mow the lawn, gotten all our immunizations (flu, typhoid, polio, Hep A&B, cholera...