Friday - Embarkation Day - Friday April 05, 2024 Depart 3:00PM (Daily Diary Synopsis)
We picked up Dianne with the car packed and ready to go! We will arrange to get the car when we return. Paul drove the van and we chatted the entire way!
Leaving Was Tough
Scout-A-Puss really wanted to go but when he found out Aunt Irene was coming over, he relented and gave us the OK!
Scout offered to drive but we had too much baggage and his eight suitcases would have been too much (he takes after his mommy)
It was a dreary day with chances of drizzle as we crossed the bridge.
Our ship was ready for us! We were ready for it!
Did You Know? - Emerald Princess is a Crown-class cruise ship for Princess Cruises that entered service in April 2007. Her sister ships include Ruby Princess and Crown Princess. Emerald Princess launched from the Italian shipyard of Fincantieri Monfalcone on 1 June 2006. She was then handed over to Princess Cruises on 24 March 2007.
We passed by the Iowa on the way to drop off.
One always thinks of battle ships as large, not any more!
Did You Know? - USS Iowa (BB-61) is a retired battleship, the lead ship of her class, and the fourth in the United States Navy to be named after the state of Iowa. Owing to the cancellation of the Montana-class battleships, Iowa is the last lead ship of any class of United States battleships and was the only ship of her class to serve in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II.
During World War II, she carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt across the Atlantic to Mers El Kébir, Algeria, en route to a conference of vital importance in 1943 in Tehran with Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom and Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union. When transferred to the Pacific Fleet in 1944, Iowa shelled beachheads at Kwajalein and Eniwetok in advance of Allied amphibious landings and screened aircraft carriers operating in the Marshall Islands. She also served as the Third Fleet flagship, flying Admiral William F. Halsey's flag at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay.
During the Korean War, Iowa was involved in raids on the North Korean coast, after which she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets, better known as the "mothball fleet." She was reactivated in 1984 as part of the 600-ship Navy plan and operated in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets to counter the recently expanded Soviet Navy. In April 1989, an explosion of undetermined origin wrecked her No. 2 gun turret, killing 47 sailors.
Iowa was decommissioned for the last time in October 1990 after 19 total years of active service, and was initially stricken from the Naval Vessel Register (NVR) in 1995, before being reinstated from 1999 to 2006 to comply with federal laws that required retention and maintenance of two Iowa-class battleships. In 2011 Iowa was donated to the Los Angeles–based non-profit Pacific Battleship Center and was permanently moved to Berth 87 at the Port of Los Angeles in 2012, where she was opened to the public as the USS Iowa Museum.
David, our chauffeur, dropped us off and headed for home.
I am thinking about changing his name to Rodchester!
Chauffeur: noun a person employed to drive a private or rented automobile. "a chauffeur-driven limousine"
Dianne assisted with the baggage, she pointed and I lifted!
Bye for now!!
We are off and running!!
Getting On The Ship!
We got onto the ship early so we could unpack and make some reservations at the Spa also known as "Chez Mary"!
Mary was packed for the event. We had a nice man in a large cart assist us getting the baggage to check-in.
I was allowed two small paper bags!
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The itinerary includes 3 formal nights and 12 smart casual (we asked how many "dumb" ones but got no answer) nights hence the reason for eighty-two suitcases, twenty-six pairs of shoes, and four carry-ons.
The Happy Girl is officially happy!
Mary reads the map so we can find our suite.
The room was not ready quite yet so we began our eating orgy in the Michaelangelo Dining Room where we met our Maitre d' again!
The Captain visited our table and asked Mary if there was a chance she could remove some of her steamer trunks as the ship was going to leave on low tide and he was afraid it would drag the bottom with Mary's trunks on board.
A quick glance at the tide tables had the Captain worried!
In the "suite" we noticed the day had cleared up and the fueling barges were moving away!
(They were fueling up on Chardonnay)
Bye Bye bridge, we you again soon!
We walked around and visited "our place" in the corner of the Skywalker Lounge! Fourteen floors above the water
we could salmost ee San Diego.
We pulled out right on time... Another Princess ship was awaiting to sail also!
The Sapphire Princess was on its way to Hawaii with one of our passengers baggage neatly stored away!
(We heard that from the schutlbutt)
Did You Know? - Scuttlebutt, the Water Cooler Talk of 19th Century Seafarers.
When office workers catch up on the latest scuttlebutt around the water cooler, they are continuing a long-standing tradition that probably also occurred on the sailing ships of yore.
Back in the early 1800s, the cask containing a ship's daily supply of fresh water was called a scuttlebutt (from the verb scuttle meaning "to cut a hole through" and the noun butt, "cask"); that name was later applied to a drinking fountain on a ship or at a naval installation. In time, the term for the water source was also applied to the gossip and rumors generated around it, and the latest chatter has been called "scuttlebutt" ever since.
We passed by the USS Iowa and it looked so small!
Outdoors was a tad brisk but we went anyway!
The breakwater is directly ahead!
LA Lighthouse has been there for over 100 years!
Mary got an excellent picture of the lighthouse
Did You Know? - The original plan for the lighthouse was a wooden, square, two-story building like those constructed for Oakland Harbor and Southampton Shoals. However, the plans were changed and the Los Angeles Light was firmly anchored to the concrete block and built of steel reinforced concrete. It is the only lighthouse ever built to this design. The original paint on the lighthouse was only white which caused a problem with seeing the lighthouse building during fog. Vertical black stripes were added for increased visibility.
By 2011, the years of exposure have led to rusted through walls, broken windows, cracked masonry, and leaks during storms. In cooperation with the Coast Guard, the Cabrillo Beach Boosters Club completed a $1.8 million overhaul of the exterior, funded by the Port of Los Angeles. The overhaul was completed in May 2012. A $1.2 million overhaul of the interior is planned.
We passed the lighthouse and that means it is time to dance!! We kicked up our heels and danced away most of the afternoon!
It got to be dinner time and I had made reservation at the Crown Grill, one of their specialty restaurants specializing in steak!
Life is rough at sea, I had to settle for scallops!
Amazing!
A a steak to die for! Cooked perfectly
Mary went for the fillet mignon!
WAR NING WARNING!! Do NOT come between Mary and her fillet mignon!!
It was a long day and we were pooped so off to the suite and nighty-night time. We were asleep before our heads hit the pillows.
