October 30, 2021
Every blog post should not be about food, but I have to give a thumbs up to Happy Diner in downtown San Pedro. This hole-in-the-wall diner serves delicious homestyle breakfasts without any of the fancy restaurant flair or prices. The service was wonderful.
Today was Day One of our Mexican Rivera coastal cruise on Princess Cruise Lines. With all the COVID19 regulations, we were not sure what to expect for lines and delays at the check-in. For starters, we had pre-selected 12 o’clock as our arrival time. Our hotel shuttle driver delivered our larger bags to the drop-off location and we headed to the check-in lines. We were immediately ushered in by Princess staff. This is a MedallionClass ship, so most our boarding info is stored in a quarter-sized device we wore on our wrists. We scanned the medallion, and proceeded to the metal detectors and baggage scanners. From there we continued to the passport check point. Within 10 minutes of arrival, we were on the ramps to board the ship. Very impressive Princess! Another bonus was that our luggage made it to our room safely this time (long story from 2019).
Los Angeles weather started out overcast and chilly, but by noon the sun was peaking out and warming the skies. The Majestic can hold 3560 guests. Today we were sailing with less than 50% guest capacity and 1400 crew members from over 50 counties. The Sail Away celebration on the Lido deck was festive and fun, but not overcrowded due to the reduced guest numbers. The captain sounded the ship’s horn to the familiar Love Boat theme song and we proceeded to back out of the Port of Los Angeles. We both felt such relief and joy to be cruising once again.
We enjoyed a poolside lunch from the Lido deck food court and soaked in the fresh air and sunshine. The staff provided entertainment and music as we journeyed out to sea. Tonight we followed our tradition of Alfredo’s for our first night’s dinner and we were not disappointed. Tonight’s entertainment in the Princess Theater was Comedian AJ Jamal. He was good but after a long day and all the fresh air, we were ready to call it a night.
The ship is decorated with fun and spooky Halloween decorations in every public area. We are looking forward to celebrating Halloween tomorrow with a sea day as we sail to Cabo San Lucas. Spooky dreams!
