Tricia’s Travelogue

Last night we enjoyed another good dinner at Jamie’s Italian restaurant.  Our server from our previous visit seemed thrilled that we’d asked for him by name, and he was very attentive. We shared the garlic buns, and Charlie had fried squid to start, then I had (again) the very delicious sticky short ribs. Charlie had a very simple but rich pasta dish. Fried squid  Sticky short ribs  Penne carbonara  This morning we went to the gym, which was packed, but we managed to get ellipticals next to each other. At 11:00 they had the “Loyal to Royal “ event, with free champagne and mimosas, and we enjoyed hearing from the very personable Captain James.  In addition to recognizing the three most frequent cruisers — one woman had over 4200 points (one point per night or two if in a suite) — and another woman earned her Pinnacle pin. Immediately afterwards we walked to the opposite end of the ship for lunch at Izumi. I mostly ordered the same things. The pork dumplings are r...

This morning we awoke as the ship was returning to the port at Los Angeles. We finished the last-minute packing and had to leave our stateroom by 8:30.  The 129 “continuous cruisers,” as Royal called us, gathered in the Star Lounge. (They told us that we were an unusually large group!). While we waited to be given our new keycards, our sweet room attendant Riel was moving our luggage and hanging clothes to our new cabin. (The only other time we’ve done back-to-backs, we didn’t change staterooms.).  After telling us FOUR times in great detail what the procedures would be, we were led out onto the deck to leave the ship for Immigration. We waited and waited in 45-degree weather before they finally told us the delay was due to a woman refusing to leave the ship. I’m not sure if it was a mental health issue or just someone with a later flight home, but she held all of us up for about 15 minutes. Anyway, THAT was a new experience. Who’d have the chutzpah to refuse to leave?! Immigr...

First, just a few photos from yesterday on the ship: Onion ring tower at Playmaker’s  Captain’s Platter at Hooked Coconut shrimp at Hooked This morning we were up and off the ship for a 9:20 walking tour of local food and tequila. It was a nice, small group of 10, with a few people from Iowa, Northern California, and one guy from Las Vegas. Our guide, Angel, was great!  We walked a total of three miles, and it rained on us on the way back, but I’m glad we went. We first went to an outdoor place for fish tacos, which were excellent. Here are all the hot sauces: From there, we walked to a candy store with an incredible variety of homemade sweets. We got to try as many as we wanted. Our guide took this pic of us with interesting expressions.  Next up was the tequila tasting at the Tequila Room Ensenada. Angel was telling us about the owner, “a rich redheaded Mexican called Archie,” and Archie himself walked in. We learned about the four types of tequila and sampled at least ...

Sorry for no post yesterday — it was a Sea Day, and we mostly lazed around. Here are some pics from our first evening on the ship.  As we were leaving Los Angeles Monday evening, we passed a LONG jetty, at the end of which was this lighthouse.   And the sunset that night was just as we entered Chops Grille for dinner.  I failed to take pics of our meal, but you’ve all seen salads, filets, and baked potatoes.  Here’s the 2025 door decor Charlie created: Yesterday morning we dutifully went to the gym in lieu of trying to walk outside in 40-degree, windy weather. Gotta burn SOME calories to offset our meals.  We also spent a little time in the Diamond Lounge, but it’s small and was quite full of talkative people.  We had better luck on the lounge on the top deck.  Charlie also had some fun in the casino.  I finished a book and started another, and my socks are coming along nicely. We had lunch at Izumi, with a nice two-top by the window. Alas, we wer...

I’m writing this shortly after 1:00 p.m., just after we got access to our stateroom.  This is a “free” cruise for us, due to Charlie’s hard work in the casino on past cruises. We upgraded to a balcony room, which is cozy, but certainly more than adequate for the two of us. We had “The Key” for the first time, which allows earlier access to the ship and a few other amenities. After our driver dropped us at the terminal, we found the Key line and didn’t have to wait long before they ushered us into the Security area. After our carryons were scanned, we were quickly checked in, seated for a few minutes, then allowed to board the ship about 10:30.  We zipped to our muster station to check in, then headed to the pool bar for a glass of Prosecco to celebrate. We took those up to the Crown Lounge on the top deck and relaxed in peace and quiet.  Mostly. At one point, a couple with four, count ‘em, four kids under eight came in lugging gigantic suitcases AND a collapsible wagon lo...

Yesterday we walked a couple of blocks from our hotel to the Third Street Promenade. Along with shops and restaurants, on Saturdays there’s a big farmers’ market.  We saw beautiful artichokes and other veggies, but of course, I was most taken with the flowers. We also bought some roasted, salted walnuts from a local walnut farm that has been a family business since the early 1900s.  Delish!  Along the Promenade, these two friendly guys caught my eye: We browsed in the big Nordstrom, then headed back to the hotel for naps. We passed the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica (almost across the street from our hotel), but the signage was impossible to photograph, and the church very unassuming.   We had a lovely dinner in the Penthouse restaurant atop our hotel.  We shared a huge and delicious Caesar salad. Charlie enjoyed his scallops with housemade pasta, and I opted for the short ribs and pasta, also delicious (if not very photogenic). For dessert we shared ...

Yesterday we left home for our next adventure, back-to-back cruises out of Los Angeles.  We managed to pack lightly, so for the next two weeks I’m going to look like some slight variation of this: Waiting for the elevator Our driver was waiting when we went downstairs, and due to the 4:30 p.m. traffic, took us a VERY circuitous route to the airport. That took about an hour. We got through Security with zero line — although Charlie did get pulled for a “random” bag check.  We went to the Cadillac Mexican restaurant and enjoyed margaritas and snacks until it was almost time to board.  We were the first two to board — no people needing assistance, no Concierge members — so we got settled into our bulkhead seats and were soon sipping some sparkling wine while boarding continued.  We departed at 8 p.m.  I read most of the 3.5 hour trip, finishing a book shortly before landing.  Unfortunately, our plane landed at the remote terminal, which required a short wait f...