January 24 - Sailaway Day

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!  All my other evening clothes were in the luggage we sent ahead.  Holy moly.  So off we went to Union Square where there is a Macy’s and other stores and it is only a 3 block walk away.  Before we got to Macy’s I was distracted by a Marshall’s store.  There I found the perfect little black dress that fits like a dream and has a nice flared skirt so it was comfortable and fun.  With the little black sandals and my mother’s pearl necklace, I was channeling Mrs. Maisel and felt great.  Evening saved.  I did feel a little funny walking into the Ritz carrying a bag from Marshall’s so I folded it up so the name didn’t show. 

Dinner was lovely.  We met Cornelius who lives in Toronto and is on his 20^th World Cruise!!  Quite an interesting fellow.  Had drinks with Mary Claire and John who started in Miami and dinner with Tim and Maureen who were actually able to arrange it so they got on in San Diego a couple of days ago.  Tim has some mobility issues and flying is difficult, so since there was an empty cabin, they let them get on early.  Also at our table were staff from Regent and Jack and Bunny.  (Michael swears it’s John, not Jack, but I’m sure he’s wrong.  We’ll find out.)  You can do this World Cruise either from Miami – Miami or San Francisco – San Francisco.  We learned that there are 298 doing the whole cruise, roughly half from each starting port.

In the morning, they had it set up so we could check in for the cruise right here at the hotel and then off to breakfast before the transport to the ship.  Had breakfast with Diana and Michael who are residents of St. Thomas but also have a house in New Jersey.  Their neighbor’s son is also an orthopedic surgery resident at UCSF with Andrew!  Such a small world.

The transport bus arrived early so we set off around 11:15 for the ship.  A glass of champagne welcomed us on board and we had a bit of time before lunch in the main dining room - Compass Rose - se we chatted with some other passengers in the lounge.  After lunch our cabins were ready so off we went.  I took pictures of the pristine empty cabin to post here, but when I went to look at them later, there wasn't a single one on my phone.  I have no idea what I did wrong.  So the pictures I have now are after we've put (almost) everything away.  It looks a bit messy, but we'll get that straightened out soon.  

The luggage protector on the bed

Entry hall

Shoe holder brought from home

It all fit!

Bye bye San Francisco

We sailed away just before 6:00 pm and we were at the Observation Lounge to see the sail under the Golden Gate.  Unfortunately, it was a bit foggy and dark, but it was great just the same.  Later we had dinner with Maggs and Bob, originally from England, but have lived in the US for many years and are now retired in Santa Fe.  Lots of laughs.  Look forward to seeing them again.

We called it an early night and are so happy to go to sleep to the gentle rocking of the ship.  Let the adventure begin!