Sunday,February 27

Here I am enjoying the balcony.

This is our amazing view from the plane window.

Ken and Wendy in the atrium.

Sunday February 27/11

Wow what a night!! Things really rocked, it felt like the ship kept hitting speed bumps.

I was fine all night but when I stood up.....what a mess my stomach was in. I took the new anti nausea medicine and laid back down. There was no way I was going for breakfast.

After 2 hours and no change I took old reliable Gravol. I felt better within a half hour. Ken went upstairs and got me a piece of toast and some tea. It stayed down so I rested for a bit and then we went to Skywalkers to meet with the Cruise Critic group. We did the gift exchange. Ken and I brought chocolate covered berries as our gift and it was very popular. It was stolen twice and finally had to be left alone. For our gift we got pancake mix and pancake syrup. Because of the weight and the restrictions on carrying liquids we will give our gift to Pam. She lives in California and she won’t have to fly.

We went to lunch. It was English Pub lunch day.

After lunch we came back to the cabin and I went to sleep. Gravol works but it makes you sleepy. I put in a wakeup call and when the phone rang at three I was feeling like my old self again. I dressed and went to the Red Hat get together. Unfortunately there was only one other lady there. Linda and I had a good visit. She is from an Arizona chapter.

Then it was back here to blog and change for dinner. I discovered that my room key did not work so I would have to get a new one. Dinner was great, we both had scallops. They were very well done.

The show in the theatre starred Craig Richard. Remember that name he is a very talented entertainer. His main talent is playing the sax, but he sings and plays the piano. He has an amazing stage presence. We really enjoyed his show.

After the show we came back here and then went upstairs to Horizon Court to have a drink and take pills.

The seas have calmed down and I am back to feeling like myself. I sure would not want to spend the entire cruise feeling like I did this morning.

On Our Way

Friday, February 25,

We got up before the alarm rang which was to be expected because of the excitement.

We were out the door and on our way to the airport by 4:45. The check in and bording went without a hitch. It could not have been a more perfect morning. The sun was shining brightly and all of the fresh snow on the mountains made it amazing, truly amazing and wonderous.

I knew that BC was mountainous but I had no idea how mountainous it was. The views literally took your breath away.

We landed in Calgary and had 2 hours to kill. It was cold outside , minus 28 but since we did not have to go outside it didn't matter.

When we arrived in LA the landing was uneventful and Ken was waiting for us. We collected the luggage and went off to get some lunch.

Then we went to Ken and Wendy's house. It was here that we discovered that a wheel was missing from my suitcase. That is a bummer and it will make things a bit tricky.

We visited and then Wendy came home from work. She made supper while we caught up on all of the news. Wendy's daughter Kendra and her 2 children came for a short visit. I helped Wendy with her ribbon necklace and then I decided to check my e-mail.

We had a message from Lois... unbelievably it was to inform us that we had been upgraded again. Instead of being in E314 which was right behind a life boat we would be in B 704. A cabin with a BD balcony. I could not believe our good forture... a balcony!!!

Because we had such a long day we went to bed early.

Saturday February 26/2011

We woke before eight and then Ken and Wendy took us out for breakfast and then we were off to Trader Joes to get some wine.

Then we boarded the Saphire Princess. We had invited Ken and Wendy to have a Bon Voyage Experience. That meant they could come onboard with us and we got preferential boarding, had our photos taken and  were given a guided  a tour of the ship.They came to see our wonderful balcony cabin and then we had a yummy 4 course lunch complete with wine. We explored the ship and then they picked up their photos and they left, they had a wonderfrul time and they loved the ship. We bid them a sad farewell and  and we came back to our room to unpack.

We met our room stewart, his name is Efrain and he seems very effecient. We asked him for wine glasses so we can enjoy wine on our balcony. I can't believe we have been upgraded to a balcony. I love balconies. We will have to have champagne breakfast again. It is not as large as the one we had through the Panama but it is fantastic.

It is a bit cool today and the sailaway is a bit late because of a computer glitch.We finally got away but it was during our dinner so Ken did not get to take pictures of Angel’s Gate lighthouse.

We met our dinner companions.   We are at a table for eight and it is near a window. The companions are Tom and Florence from Kansas, Terry and Heidi from Idaho, and Susie and Pat from California. It is a good group and I know mealtimes will be pleasant. Dinner was great as usual. But before dinner began I ordered a BLUE HAWAIAN. It was delicious. Now I can say that the cruise has begun.

After dinner we went to the Princess Theatre to take in the show.

Then we roamed around a little and I was able to get my magnet of the Sapphire Princess, have to add it to my collection of Princess Magnets.

The ship is rocking, I am surre it will lull us to sleep.

Great day, time to call it a night.

I am having trouble posting pictures. I will try again tomorrow.

Trying to get to one

I am struggling with packing and trying VERY HARD to get down to one suitcase. I have packed and repacked twice . It is so hard. Men have it so easy . A different shirt and tie is all they need for a second formal night and we need a different dress and different shoes and possibly another jacket or wrap and the list goes on. We will be gone for 15 days. That means going to dinner 15 times and different activities in the day time and shorts and swim suits and shoes and hats and make up and hair appliances and jewelery and the list goes on and on. Just how many times can a gal wear the same outfit even if she spends time doing laundry??
Anyway we leave in 4 days and I am sure I will have it figured out by then .
Isn't it the most wonderful amazing problem to have??
I have to pinch myself to believe that it is true and it is me.....

Choosing Shore Excursions

Well I am getting organized and ready for this cruise. I was about 12 years old when I saw Elvis in Blue Hawaii and I have wanted to go there ever since. That dream is about to come true in less than 3 weeks. I have to pinch myself to believe that it is.happening.

We are flying out of Abbotsford with West Jet  and we are sailing out of San Pedro on the Sapphire Princess. I have organized the shore excursions. We will go to the Volcanoes National Park in Hilo; we will go to the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu, we will go to the Fern Grotto and take the Wailua River Cruise  on Kauai., and we will tour around Lahaina and meet Al and Del under the Banyan tree.

That is right we are meeting friends in Hawaii even though we have never been there. How cool is that! Al and Del will be in Maui and Ken's cousin Joan and her husband Ian will be on the big Island and we will be able to spend time with them.

We are taking a bus tour in Ensenada. The bus will pick us up at the ship and return us to the ship. I am very nervous of travelling on our own in Mexico.Things have been so crazy there of late.

So all of the Shore Excursion have been chosen. There are so many things a person can do . It is so hard to decide and I kept changing my mind. One evening last week we had dinner with Ray and Gail Williamson and they helped us choose. They have been in Hawaii many times and so we took their recommendations.

Now to decide what clothes to pack.....

The countdown is on

We are on our way to Hawaii in 18 days and I can't wait. We will have to begin packing soon.
:-)