While we were sailing into the harbor of San Diego very early in the morning at 6am, there was a medical call for the staff in the Lido. Boy, that is surely not the way someone expected to either end their trip or begin a new one. When these things occur, we seldom hear the outcome unless it happens to be somebody we know. And as always, we wish the person well.
One of us was already up at 5:30am, so we may as well both get up and watch the sail into San Diego even if it was dark. We could hear the sea lions barking along the shoreline near the Naval Base at Point Loma. The night lights of the city were pretty as we passed by Shelter and Harbor Islands on the left side and Coronado Island on the right. Airplanes were already landing and taking off at the international airport, which is busy all day long. The Volendam was docked before 7am, and the good news was that we were the only cruise ship here today.
From the looks of it, the weather was going to be perfect with a few scattered clouds, but mostly blue skies. The forecast on TV said there would be light rain, but we can never depend on their accuracy. Today was no exception… there was no rain. We set off for breakfast at 6:45am, but we were not the first there. Many customers lugged their bags to the Pinnacle Grill to relax in there to wait for their colored tags to be announced. We were cleared by the local authorities after 7:30am, and the call for debarking guests started shortly after that. Should be an easy debark since only 300 folks were getting off.
While we were enjoying our breakfast, all of the deck six port side verandas were being cleaned. Then we discovered that there was a plumbing project taking place next to our cabin door in the hallway. Workers had the panel in the ceiling down and the plumbing door opened wide. Good time to take the computer down to deck five and the library to try to send emails. We still have trouble understanding why we get a better signal directly below our room, and get a poor one just a floor above. Reporting the problem yesterday, we had hoped someone would try to fix it, but nothing had changed yet. Our friends down on Dolphin deck report good speed, just like we had when we were there. Go figure….
There were a handful of shore excursions today starting with airport transfers. Those with early flights could get a transfer for $29 per person. If you had time because of a later flight, you could book that same transfer and add a zoo tour for $125 pp. A 6 ¼ hour tour to the zoo was $130, and the Old Town Trolley was a 2 hour ride for $70. City highlights was $75 for 4 hours, and if you added the airport transfer, it would cost $90. When we fly home from San Diego, we always take a taxi, since it is only about a 3 or 4 mile ride for less than $30 for both of us.
Leaving the ship at 10am, we took our usual route along the waterfront to Seaport Village, a very touristy spot with shops, cafes, and some nice restaurants. We passed all of the sights like the Midway Naval aircraft carrier, many street vendors, ticket kiosks, and the info center, where we picked up a good downtown map. A convention center is here as well as a really nice marina and yacht harbor. Some of the sailing vessels moored here are quite impressive. High rise hotels face this harbor and marina, some higher and newer than others.
Entering one of the big ones, the Hilton, we found our way to the walking bridge that spans the highway below and connects to the area of Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres. Following Park Boulevard, we walked behind the stadium to the historic Gaslamp Quarter. This part of town is filled with many eateries with outside dining and dozens of shops. We did locate a CVS, but they did not have what we needed, so we continued on. There was a sports grill and bar on one corner in this district, but we failed to remember the name. Going down some streets, nothing looked familiar, so we found Market Street and heading back downhill where we knew to find a Cheesecake Factory.
By now, it was time for lunch and more so….something cold to drink. So it was Cheesecake where we ordered those Stella draft beers and a Skinnylicious Mexican tortilla salad. Every Monday at home, it is Cheesecake day for us, so this was perfect. These salads are huge and easily shared. They also served their signature sourdough bread and the Indian brown bread. The best thing was sitting and relaxing for an hour or so.
On the way back, we passed by the Sante Fe railroad station, then back to the waiting Volendam. We were back by 2pm and happy to retreat to the comfort of our room for a while. The plumbing job was completed and the veranda clean. Bad news is that there was no TV reception all day. Perhaps after we leave the port, it will be restored. Nope, still nothing at dinnertime. Calling the front desk, they said there was a glitch, and the IT guys were working on it. Again, not the best way to begin a legendary voyage.
By the way, we need to make a correction regarding the name of the ship's captain. It is Captain Paul Adams. The other captain we mentioned will be a guest lecturer later in the cruise. The new hotel director is also named Glenn and is from Australia. We shall also have a new Mariner rep, and hope to meet some of these officers perhaps tomorrow at the reception in the Crow's Nest.
Sail away took place around 5pm with not only drinks for sale, but also some canapies, which is the first time for us to see some food served at these events. Our friends from home joined us, as did some friends of theirs that boarded today. Rosie and Randy, who we met back in 2013 and 2015 joined the ship today too. They probably knew we would be back at the aft pool ready to take some photos of our departure. Out in the bay, it was a lot cooler, but we all hung in there until we were out to sea. We had many pelicans, seagulls, cormorants, and sea lions to see on our way out. We even got shots of the famous Coronado Hotel in the distance as we left. Pretty much chilled, we all headed back inside.
Now that we have a full ship, the dining room was busy, especially at the early opening time of 5pm. Any time dining seems to be the trend so far as we can see. Starters for us were a seafood crostini and a Caesar salad, and one very hot French onion soup. Sure was good. Mains were a tenderloin steak, but sliced thinly with all recognizable vegetables. Quite tasty. One of us ordered the Club Orange special of Peruvian chicken, however, after waiting for a while our waiter Mario came and said they did not have it. Sliced leg of lamb was substituted. Now the last time we ordered the lamb, we were disappointed because it tasted like cardamom and was tough and dry. Tonight's lamb must have been cooked on the spot, and it was the best so far. Desserts were the mini hot fudge sundae with chocolate sauce, nuts, and marshmallows. The scoop has been down-sized to a little bit of ice cream, but they are doing us a favor.
Now we will have more than a few days at sea on the way to Hilo, Hawaii. Looking forward to it.
Bill & Mary Ann
