"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #18 Sailing Towards San Diego, California January 17, 2017 Tuesday Sunny & 77 degrees 42 Pictures

A day at sea was just what we needed today. No rush to go off anywhere, except to make it to the dining room for breakfast on time. Our waiters are incredible in the morning. No kidding, we have our orange juice, water, coffee, yogurt, and fresh fruit within minutes without ordering it. No need….they know what we like. We do switch up our entrees every day, trying to sample everything on the menu. We have finally figured out how to order bacon that is not over-done. The waiters suggested to ask for "soft" as opposed to crisp. It comes exactly right. We have been striving to order bacon this way at home at one of our favorite restaurants when we meet friends Don and Alene almost every Saturday.

While we were in the dining room, we noticed how close to shore the ship had gotten. It came as a surprise to all of us that the Amsterdam was sailing past Cabo San Lucas, one of our favorite ports in Mexico. What a tease……sure wish we would have stopped here. (We will stop on the way back after the world cruise.) Adding to the view, we spotted blows from whales. Hurrying out of the dining room, we grabbed the camera and got some photos as we slowly sailed past Los Arcos, the iconic coral formations by the marina entrance to Cabo. As we sailed up the coastline, we noticed many fishing boats and also whale-watching boats. Several dolphins performed for us as well. They were much closer to the ship, so we got some shots of them. The few whales we saw were skimming the surface, blowing out their spouts occasionally. Definitely humpbacks.

By the way, the weather cooled significantly today. Even though the predicted temperature was 77 degrees, that may have been in a protected area out of the wind. We did spend a little time by the back pool, absorbing what little heat there was in the sun. Many of the regulars were wrapped up like mummies in a half dozen towels.

We figured it would be a good time to join Barb in the dining room for lunch. She usually arrives right after trivia, so we secured our table and waited. She did arrive with friend Aart in tow. Ellen will be joining the ship in San Diego, so many of us, especially Barb, have been keeping Aart busy since Florida. We were about the last to leave the room after enjoying a nice lunch.

Every passenger on the ship received a letter concerning the US Border Protection Inspection in San Diego in two days. We are glad the staff is stressing the importance of attending this mandatory inspection. All non US citizens will be inspected onboard the ship, beginning after 7am. Once they are cleared (we understand there are about 250 of them), the rest of us will need to leave the ship, and also be inspected. There was a statement saying that all USA residents will need to bring their passports and their ARC card. What in the world does that mean? We had been given "in transit" slips, but have no idea what the ARC card is. Calling the front desk was no help, as they said just to ignore that, and bring your room key and a picture ID. It wasn't until dinnertime tonight, that Bob knew the initials ARC stood for Alien Resident Card. Whaaaaat? No wonder they said to ignore that request. Anyway, we shall see how smoothly this check point will go. Not once have we ever left the ship on time in San Diego, as there are always a few folks that do not appear at their designated time. Delays can mean missed flights, so we take this seriously. Since only a small amount of passengers are disembarking, it should be easy.

We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on computer work and news in our room. Going up to deck nine to watch the sunset, really woke us up. It was downright cold outside. Of course, it is winter time in California, so we can expect cooler weather. Actually we have been notified that we can expect rain in San Diego on Thursday by Konnie and Dell, who sailed on last year's world cruise and more. ( We miss seeing your decorated door, by the way.)

Some new items have been popping up on the dinner menu such as pork bellies and maple coated turkey breast with sweet mashed potatoes. The ship got a delivery of fresh mahi mahi yesterday, so the special was the fish entrée. The waiters are still in full service mode, although we have not heard any more about the state of the virus onboard. Deep-cleaning can be seen everywhere on the ship.

The clocks went back one hour again this evening. You know, you don't always gain the extra hour by sleeping late. You get conditioned to your body clock, and adding an extra hour in the day can be tiring at the end of the day. Now we will do this two days in a row.

One more day at sea, and for us, we will be close to home.

Bill & Mary Ann

PS Denise and Howard…..we're saving your spot at the Seaview Pool in April!

Surprise sighting of Cabo San Lucas