And We're Off!

[Please excuse the font changes and formatting inconsistencies - the blogger word processor is a piece of shit. I am frustrated and I quit (fixing the formatting)!]

So much to say. Where do I start. I thought my next entry would be an overview of the next 8 months. But we are on our first transpacific cruise and there are things to say. Mostly worthless things, but things nonetheless.

Before the Cruise

First, we said goodbye to our home of 28 years. It really hasn't been our home since we relinquished control of it to the estate sale company on September 8. All the furniture that did not sell during the estate sale was finally sold or donated, with the last of it (our living room suite (couch, loveseat, and chair) going on Sunday, donated to a women's shelter. Then all we had left was the bed that our family members who are buying the house are also buying from us and a few other items.

I have to admit, I teared up several times before we left on Tuesday; a few times about the house and a few times saying goodbye to people, including the kids Monday night at dinner. I know I will be back and will see them again (even the house) but still... We are closing a chapter of our lives and beginning a new one - the "old together" part, although I don't feel old and often wonder, "when did I get here?" The older I get the faster time flies.

But I digress.

The Day we Leave

Tuesday we woke up at 3:30 AM to hop on an early flight to Los Angeles to catch a boat in the afternoon. Our son was kind enough to get up on one of his days off and take us to the airport. I teared up again as we walked into the airport, leaving him at the curb.

We stopped by the CapitalOne lounge for a quick bite and coffee before we hopped on the first American Airlines flight of the day to Los Angeles. I hate early morning flights but I wanted the first flight out in case there were problems. I wanted plenty of options should there be a mechanical issue or something causing our flight to get canceled/delayed. When you are taking a cruise when the first stop is 14 days away, its not like you can catch up with the ship at the next port. You don't get on that ship in time, you are SOL.

Then the burning question is why didn't we just fly in the day before to be sure? Blaise didn't want to, although I did. So our compromise was to take the first flight out the day our cruise left Los Angeles. In the end, I am glad we flew out the day of the cruise. There simply was too much to do after the estate sale and we needed that extra day to wrap things up.

We did sit in the LAX airport a couple of hours before heading to the cruise port since our check in time was 12:30. The flight got there at 8:15 so we people-watched for a while and got to the cruise terminal about an hour early. They let us on early with no issues.

About this Cruise

As I mentioned this is our first transpacific cruise and we are headed to Tokyo. We have been on three transatlantic cruises (2 west to east and one east to west) and really enjoyed them.

This Cruise will be the longest we have been at sea without any stops. Since we are crossing the international date line, I am not sure if it is 12, 13, or 14 days. Yes, I listed 3 days because I also can't remember exactly which day of the cruise we have our first stop in Japan before we end up in Tokyo and I am too lazy to look it up. Oddly, I am OK with not being sure.

Once we make it across the pond, we have 2 stops in Japan before we reach Tokyo on day 17. (Again that international date line crossing is throwing me off, but the itinerary for the cruise says day 17 so I'm going with it.) We overnight in Muroran and then stop for a day in Hakodate.

We are on Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas. We don't normally cruise Royal Caribbean but this was the best fit for our plans and since Celebrity (our preferred cruise line) status matches with Royal Caribbean, we get some nice perks on the ship (5 drinks a day-anytime, a free bag of laundry each, and a few others).

There are not many children on this ship. Now, don't get me wrong, I like children, but when we are on vacation trying to relax, it's lovelier with fewer children as not all children are well-behaved. Although, you could make an argument that not all adults on these cruises are well-behaved either.

The food has been hit or miss. The first night's meal in the main dining room was good. Night two we used our buy one, get one free (BOGO) at a specialty dining restaurant, Chops Grille. While it was a decent meal, I expected better from a venue we paid extra for. We went back to the main dining room last night and the food was lack-luster. I hope it is better tonight, otherwise I will be missing the food on Celebrity. I think we'll make due though. If that's my only complaint, I'm doing JUST FINE.

We have spent our first few days on the ship wandering around and relaxing, recouping from all the running around and work involved in selling everything and getting the house ready for its new family.

Our view from the Solarium this morning- the Pacific Ocean

I was expecting the seas to be fairly rough. Wednesday, the water was smooth as glass. Yesterday it was a little rougher with minimal white caps. Today we have little bitty waves with no white caps. I expect it will get worse but for now, I will enjoy. The first day, we saw lots of cargo ships but not a ship in sight since Wednesday.

What Time is It?

We have gained an hour every night we have been on the ship (3 nights). Right now it is 8:23 AM on the ship but 1:26 PM at home. When we hit the international date line, we will jump ahead a day. I don't know if it is a full 24 hours ahead or what. I'll find out and report back.

The time shift has really thrown us off. Blaise was up at 3:30 this morning and getting coffee. I was awake by 5:30 and trying to go back to sleep. Waking up that early on a cruise ship is just wrong!

One last thing before I call it quits for now. I am thrilled to report, I have not gotten sick nor have I fallen or broken anything.

Next time I will write more about the overall plan for this trip. I really will this time!