Finally Cruising Again!

After two years of disappointment, booking cruises that were cancelled by the cruise lines, Julie and I finally set sail again, cruising from the World Cruise Terminal in Los Angeles.

Check-in proved to be a breeze, having been prepared by completing our Covid-19 tests the day before as well as becoming "Ocean Ready" weeks earlier.  We just walked between ropes in a non-existent line to pick up our Medallions from a friendly port worker and proceeded "contactless" onto the ship, dropping our bags in our stateroom en route to the buffet for lunch.

The Medallion Class App has received poor reviews from presumably tech-challenged seniors whose cell phones weren't current enough to handle the program.  My own Motorola smart phone, purchased three years and nine months ago, wasn't up to the task, but Julie recently purchased a new iPhone, so she took care of it for us both.  

The App itself worked quite well on her phone, so my best guess is that most of the pans for Ocean Medallion were as a result of needing new phones.  Then again, tech is never as intuitive for me as for my children or granddaughter, so perhaps this is more of an age thing in some cases.

Princess recently announced a new App that would work on computers, for those whose cell phones can't handle it, so hopefully that will relieve some of that pre-cruise stress.

One thing we never quite became accustomed to was the stateroom door opening before we arrived, making us wonder if we had left it unlocked by mistake.   In any case, it was easier than fooling around with a key card and it never failed to work.

It was a bright, sunny day in So Cal, so after lunch we took advantage of lounge chairs by the pool.  Throughout the cruise, there were always plenty of chairs available, primarily because the ship was less than 25% full.  I couldn't help noticing a few people nonetheless "held" chairs by leaving a few possessions when they went elsewhere on the ship.  By late afternoon, clouds rolled in --- an event our Redondo Beach friend Randy would say always happens when his work day ends --- but that just created a more beautiful sunset.

The house band for this cruise, High Tide, played a nice set of music for the sail-away party, though with the big screen above them it was not as apparent that they were on the stage in the shade one deck higher than the pool.

Their covers were so good that some might have thought the music was being piped in.

As we sailed away, the traditional horn blast morphed into a deep-base version of The Love Boat theme.  Having been forced off cruises for so long, and remembering all the problems that has caused for all those workers and the cruise lines themselves, the nostalgic humor of the horn brought tears to Julie's eyes.

We appreciated the gorgeous views all around gliding out to sea.  The ship perfectly safe in harbor did what it was designed to do, embark on an adventure at sea.

As the lighthouse faded from view, we went down to change for dinner and then savored pre-dinner drinks in the Atrium, where the jazz band spinoff of the house orchestra entertained us.

One of our concerns about cruising again had been mask requirements, which we personally find ineffective and therefore a bit silly, but with the unlimited drink package as part of Princess Plus, we were able to order a cappuccino, Diet Coke, wine or mixed drink anywhere we went and unmask to enjoy it.  Princess and other lines recently announced that as of March 1, masks will be optional.  Yay!

Dinner proved delicious, as did the evening's entertainment, which at this point is blurred into a swirl of pleasant memories from our week at sea.

The next morning, we went to church.  The cruise director handed out a program for the service, which looked very much like the type of service we have at our Episcopal Church, and said that we could worship in silence unless someone volunteered to lead the service, as there was not a minister on board.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, I went to the podium, explained that I didn't know what I was doing, but because it appeared to be an Episcopal service, at least I had a template to follow.

I read the parts for the minister, and the congregation read its part.

At one point, I led the Lord's Prayer, because it seemed like there should be a prayer, and when the service actually directed that later, we recited it again.

There were some traditional songs, including "Morning Has Broken," but of course no keyboard accompanist, so I would just start singing at those points.  A baritone near the front often joined in right after I started, usually switching the key a half note lower as he took over as impromptu choir director, and everyone sang along.  At one point, we reached a song that no one knew, at which point someone suggested "Jesus Loves Me," which we all learned in Sunday School, and we sang that.

At two points in the service, the minister is expected to speak.  For the first "lesson," I just went with what I had been thinking about, namely how getting on the ship required us all to get "Ocean Ready" and then getting a Covid-19 test in the proper time frame, with the moral of the story being that if we trust God and make our best efforts, then everything works out so that we can enjoy life and in this specific case a wonderful cruise.

The second lesson once again came to me, though as Julie said later, I probably alienated all the Catholics in what is supposed to be a non-denominational service for all guests.

I spoke about what I had learned in Wondrium Classes and elsewhere about the founding of the Church of England, which became for those of us in America the Episcopal Church.  For no other reason than it happens to be what came to me in the moment, I launched into telling about the origin of that church with Henry VIII deciding he wanted to be head of the Catholic Church in England rather than following the Pope, claiming there could be only one "king" in England, and kings in feudal times thought themselves chosen by God.

Of course, that religious position had been prompted by Henry VIII wanting the Pope to grant him a divorce from Catherine of Aragon so that he could have a son as heir to the throne.  At some point, I realized I needed to wind the lesson up, though I had no particular moral of the story in mind.  I concluded with something about Martin Luther of Germany and Henry VIII of England leaving a legacy where we could speak directly to God rather than needing a Pope as intermediary, and also something about there being no Pope in the Bible.

Okay, probably a bridge too far, but in any case, my excuse is that I had no intention of leading a church service that morning, and I could only speak what was in my heart when the time came.

After church, Julie and I went for a walk around the ship, stopping occasionally to try out exercise machines, take putts on the golf green, and take in the ocean views.