Day 3 - Wednesday - Jan 23

Finally the day arrived when we board the Island Princess in San Pedro for our 14 day cruise.  I started the day by doing some work on my e-mail down in the lobby but that came to an end when Freddi was ready for breakfast.  The  crowd in the lobby changed significantly as there were many more older couples there as the hotel is a cruise hotel and about 300 people were there in preparation for the Panama Cruise.  The breakfast dynamic changed significantly and we got our first clue that we were on a seniors cruise.  I guess that makes sense as not many 30 something folks are thinking about seeing the wonders of the world or clearing their bucket list.  Our breakfast was fun as we had a young waitress, who loves older folks, shared with us her joy when a ship goes out.  We enjoyed a good breakfast and then prepared to move from the hotel to the Princess Terminal at the World Cruise Terminal in San Pedro. 

We checked out and drove the car around the corner to the car return.   That was uneventful and we then took the bus to the airport where we connected with the Princess folks at the Delta terminal.  They corralled the Princess folks and eventually herded us into a bus for the 40 minute drive to the terminal.  I dreaded this process as in the past we have had to deal with long lines and delays getting on board.  This time was very efficient and we were escorted through a slick process that had us only wait for a 10 minute period.  We were there ahead of the "boarding time", which 1 PM and we found we were actually on board and being productive by that witching hour of 1 PM.  We went through the health check, passport control, security, loading and we found ourselves busy with our usual start-up procedure in short order.  Once aboard we sent to our stateroom to get acquainted but only stayed there for a short period as we wanted to secure a reservation for dinner that evening, secure a position on the wait list for the Chef's Dinner, get set up on the Internet and purchase our wine package for the cruise.  All of these things were completed in very short order and we then settled down for our lunch in the Horizon Cafe.   I was not very hungry so I nibbled on some buffet fare but really did not have too much roast beef , potatoes, corn, salad etc.  It was the first of many meals that offered too much food.

Our Itinerary for the Panama Cruise

In the afternoon I managed to clear some e-mail stuff as I continued to catch up with my life.  There were still a number of messages that required some work as well as some other outstanding issues for the consulting company.  Some where in later afternoon Freddi wanted to go to a seminar to hear about walking properly so I went with her.  It was all about sole inserts for your shoes that make you walk correctly and therefore eliminate pain in feet, knees, thighs etc.  We all did a foot analysis and the attendant set us up with inserts that should make you walk more correctly and reduce pain.  Some bought into the inserts and I thought it would be good to give it a try.  I too bought into the process and will see if it helps over time.  Freddi did not buy into the sales pitch and she was the one who dragged me into this.  Huh!

We enjoyed a nice evening at Sabatini's which is one of the specialty dining lounges on this and other Princess ships.  Our waiter, Fiore, was expressive and very enthusiastic about the new menu.  It was the same one we had become familiar with when we cruised the Baltic. There are selections for appetizers, a salad/soup course, a pasta course and finally the main course.  Each of the courses has great selections and the temptation is significant. Using our wine card we ordered our separate wines.  Freddi ordered a Margarita Pinot Blanc and I ordered an Italian Barolo which I had become fond of during the Baltic cruise.  The nice thing is that one does not have to finish the bottle at one sitting as the team is willing to store the bottle until you ask for it again from within any restaurant or dining room on board.  One can also take the remnants to their room should they wish to do that.  It is a great service.  Dinner at Sabatini's  is a long experience as they present you with lots of different breads and sticks for munching while they prepare your meal.  Freddi ordered a starter of baby greens and a secondi course of chicken skewers while I ordered a soft shell crab and a lobster 3 way.  The servings came with their daily pasta interlude before the secondi course.  It was a a meat sauce with sun dried tomato.  We passed on dessert as it was a lot of food.