Day three at sea was much the same as the last two days......overcast, foggy, 86% humidity, 12.2 mph winds and 66 degrees at 10am. Being so close to southern California, we expected warmer temperatures considering where we live and also where we are headed are experiencing a heatwave. During his noon time update, Captain Thomas said the ship was 18 nautical miles off the coast of southern California, having sailed 1050 nautical miles from Vancouver. We still have 305 nautical miles to go to reach San Diego, where he will dock by 7am. He went on to give some good info about the area in regard to the harbor being home to one of the nation's largest naval bases as well as commercial and cruise ship port. There is a sizable marina where some of the world's over-the-top vessels are moored.
Tomorrow, he expects a higher temperature in the 80's, with 15 knot winds with a 7-foot swell getting there at an average speed of 18 knots. He ended his talk with a farewell to the guests that will be leaving in the morning. We inquired about how many are leaving, and the answer was 400 more or less. Another 400 will be embarking for the 7-day Mexican cruise, giving us a total of over 1000 passengers. Still not full capacity, but that is fine with us.
Remember the whiskey barrel we showed you all that is tied down and caged at the Seaview Pool? Well the story in a nutshell is that a whiskey brewery has provided these barrels so they can develop with the sea conditions. That is the temperature changes and the motion of the ocean, which will keep the brew stirred. It sounds like a promotional thing to us, but what do we know?
It has come to our attention that another ship will be joining the HAL fleet in August of 2029. It is the Arcadia, owned by P&O. It is 84,000 gross tons and was christened in 2005. It will be an addition to the Vista class ships with the Oosterdam, Noordam, Westerdam, and Zuiderdam. The name of this vessel is unknown at this point. Currently, she holds up to 2000 guests and reportedly has no Signature suites and fewer Neptune suites. The gossip on Cruise Critic is that the Volendam and Zaandam will be sold in five years. Despite the advancing age of these two R-class ships, many people prefer their size and will not be happy about the sale if that is really true. Time will tell.....
Except for a couple of deck walks and a little more shopping, we did not do much today except relax. It certainly has helped ease the pain of the fall I had. The gel packs we brought along with us have been a huge help. Just last week we learned that the security folks had confiscated a heating pad with a cord from our friends. And we don't know why we never investigated this, but we discovered that cordless rechargeable heating pads can be bought online. No extension cords are needed, just a USB port. That will be a number one project when we get home. One for the back and one for the neck and shoulders.
After watching the other half of a movie we started last night, it was off to dinner. We wondered if the waiters and chefs would do the parade, but it did not happen. In fact, the dining rooms were rather empty by 7:30pm. Our meal started with a smoked chicken plate and one cheese/avocado dip with tortillas. They finally served a dos frijoles soup, one of our favorite soups and the other one of us had the Caesar salad. Prime rib was on the menu and it was excellent. Even asking for a half-order, the portion was ample. The second entree was rigatoni with chicken meatballs. Also good, but filling. No dessert for us tonight.
Ooops, made a mistake with the entertainment as last night the cast did songs and dances. Tonight the magician took the stage with his magic and humor.
Tomorrow we will do the town of San Diego.
Bill & Mary Ann
No Pictures
