Stvr California

After embarking and taking a stroll around the ship, my daughter was getting a bit cranky so I took her to Playmakers for some food.  We decided to go chicken heavy.  Wings and tenders, the wings were spot on but I’m not sure they get the concept of tenders - hardly any breading.   Our server Maria was a gem on the other hand. 
 
Our muster station was about 100 yards from the spot we jumped onboard so that was taken care of in about two minutes.  The Captain shamed a few hundred folks around 3:00pm to get the job done.  Honestly it’s so easy to do  not sure why people wait so long. 
 
Our luggage came around 4pm. Not a hardship but when you are sitting in your  cabin trying to reach for your favorite pair of flip flops or change of dungarees it isn’t the best. 
 
But after everything arrived, the wife and kids had a blast on the water slides, which are pretty good (read: thrilling) for slides on a boat! It turned out that 5-6 pm was the perfect time to be on deck, while a lot of people are eating dinner. 
 
We’re starving now! Izumi sushi tonight! 

After embarking and taking a stroll around the ship, my daughter was getting a bit cranky so I took her to Playmakers for some food.  We decided to go chicken heavy.  Wings and tenders, the wings were spot on but I’m not sure they get the concept of tenders - hardly any breading.   Our server Maria was a gem on the other hand. 
 
Our muster station was about 100 yards from the spot we jumped onboard so that was taken care of in about two minutes.  The Captain shamed a few hundred folks around 3:00pm to get the job done.  Honestly it’s so easy to do  not sure why people wait so long. 
 
Our luggage came around 4pm. Not a hardship but when you are sitting in your  cabin trying to reach for your favorite pair of flip flops or change of dungarees it isn’t the best. 
 
But after everything arrived, the wife and kids had a blast on the water slides, which are pretty good (read: thrilling) for slides on a boat! It turned out that 5-6 pm was the perfect time to be on deck, while a lot of people are eating dinner. 
 
We’re starving now! Izumi sushi tonight! 

After embarking and taking a stroll around the ship, my daughter was getting a bit cranky so I took her to Playmakers for some food.  We decided to go chicken heavy.  Wings and tenders, the wings were spot on but I’m not sure they get the concept of tenders - hardly any breading.   Our server Maria was a gem on the other hand. 
 
Our muster station was about 100 yards from the spot we jumped onboard so that was taken care of in about two minutes.  The Captain shamed a few hundred folks around 3:00pm to get the job done.  Honestly it’s so easy to do  not sure why people wait so long. 
 
Our luggage came around 4pm. Not a hardship but when you are sitting in your  cabin trying to reach for your favorite pair of flip flops or change of dungarees it isn’t the best. 
 
But after everything arrived, the wife and kids had a blast on the water slides, which are pretty good (read: thrilling) for slides on a boat! It turned out that 5-6 pm was the perfect time to be on deck, while a lot of people are eating dinner. 
 
We’re starving now! Izumi sushi tonight! 

We are doing Hooked for lunch on day 6.  It’s a sea day and why not try everything?  We aren’t a big seafood family except for my son who is starting to grow gills. 

Thanks
All are welcome!
If anyone has any questions or requests please let me know and I will try and get the answers.  

Boarding was a breeze.  I have heard others have had trouble boarding in San Pedro but that was not the case for us, as suite guests. We spent zero minutes waiting in line having arrived around 10:50 for a 10:30 embarkation time.  While we did get special privileges as suite guests, honestly the other passengers seemed to be having a pretty easy time as well.
 
Getting a ride share from the hotel, on the other hand, was like getting stuck in the duldrums. We had no less than three Lyft/Uber drivers cancel on us. The Doubletree lobby was more crowded than the Royal Caribbean embarkation area. Finally, we got a ride that stuck and our driver was great - a 49ers fan in LA! Although he did mention the Titanic and were we sure our boat had enough life boats?… Five minutes later we were at the port. Overall, getting the half mile from the hotel to the port was harder than getting on the ship.

This morning we woke up to banging drums and bull horns announcing a worker strike starting around 7am.  The chant went “We don’t get a contract, you don’t get no peace”.  It was actually a catchy little tune that is now stuck in my head.  The protest lasted about an hour and then they packed up and left. Apparently they had gone home for the night when we arrived last night?
My impression of the Doubletree has not improved. 

If you look closely you can see some picket signs.

Cruise day has arrived and we are currently sitting in our room watching the Minions movie to kill time. My daughter asked, “Have we murdered an hour yet?” No, hon, we still have 45 minutes to murder …

We are doing Hooked for lunch on day 6.  It’s a sea day and why not try everything?  We aren’t a big seafood family except for my son who is starting to grow gills. 

This morning we woke up to banging drums and bull horns announcing a worker strike starting around 7am.  The chant went “We don’t get a contract, you don’t get no peace”.  It was actually a catchy little tune that is now stuck in my head.  The protest lasted about an hour and then they packed up and left. Apparently they had gone home for the night when we arrived last night?
My impression of the Doubletree has not improved. 

If you look closely you can see some picket signs.

Cruise day has arrived and we are currently sitting in our room watching the Minions movie to kill time. My daughter asked, “Have we murdered an hour yet?” No, hon, we still have 45 minutes to murder …

This morning we woke up to banging drums and bull horns announcing a worker strike starting around 7am.  The chant went “We don’t get a contract, you don’t get no peace”.  It was actually a catchy little tune that is now stuck in my head.  The protest lasted about an hour and then they packed up and left. Apparently they had gone home for the night when we arrived last night?
My impression of the Doubletree has not improved. 

If you look closely you can see some picket signs.

Cruise day has arrived and we are currently sitting in our room watching the Minions movie to kill time. My daughter asked, “Have we murdered an hour yet?” No, hon, we still have 45 minutes to murder …

Thanks
All are welcome!
If anyone has any questions or requests please let me know and I will try and get the answers.  

This morning we woke up to banging drums and bull horns announcing a worker strike starting around 7am.  The chant went “We don’t get a contract, you don’t get no peace”.  It was actually a catchy little tune that is now stuck in my head.  The protest lasted about an hour and then they packed up and left. Apparently they had gone home for the night when we arrived last night?
My impression of the Doubletree has not improved. 

If you look closely you can see some picket signs.

Cruise day has arrived and we are currently sitting in our room watching the Minions movie to kill time. My daughter asked, “Have we murdered an hour yet?” No, hon, we still have 45 minutes to murder …

The Navigator of the Seas sails out of San Pedro which is about 23 miles south of downtown LA.   
 
We chose to fly Southwest into Long Beach instead of LAX.  It’s a much smaller airport with a lot less taxi-ing around and waiting for baggage.  A quick walk out of baggage claim to the ride share area and it was about a 24 minute ride to the San Pedro Double Tree.  
 
This is our first time at the Double Tree. It is fine for one night, it’s a little dingy. The staff is adequate if not particularly enthusiastic.  

Off to find some dinner.
 

Well my friends, the time has come to raise the roof and have some fun.  
 
No, I’m not cruising with Lionel Richie - but with my beloved wife, son (14), and daughter (11). 
 
We are currently sitting in the Sacramento Intersectional Airport waiting for our flight into Long Beach. We stay in San Pedro tonight and board tomorrow.

The Navigator of the Seas sails out of San Pedro which is about 23 miles south of downtown LA.   
 
We chose to fly Southwest into Long Beach instead of LAX.  It’s a much smaller airport with a lot less taxi-ing around and waiting for baggage.  A quick walk out of baggage claim to the ride share area and it was about a 24 minute ride to the San Pedro Double Tree.  
 
This is our first time at the Double Tree. It is fine for one night, it’s a little dingy. The staff is adequate if not particularly enthusiastic.  

Off to find some dinner.
 

Well my friends, the time has come to raise the roof and have some fun.  
 
No, I’m not cruising with Lionel Richie - but with my beloved wife, son (14), and daughter (11). 
 
We are currently sitting in the Sacramento Intersectional Airport waiting for our flight into Long Beach. We stay in San Pedro tonight and board tomorrow.

Well my friends, the time has come to raise the roof and have some fun.  
 
No, I’m not cruising with Lionel Richie - but with my beloved wife, son (14), and daughter (11). 
 
We are currently sitting in the Sacramento Intersectional Airport waiting for our flight into Long Beach. We stay in San Pedro tonight and board tomorrow.

Well my friends, the time has come to raise the roof and have some fun.  
 
No, I’m not cruising with Lionel Richie - but with my beloved wife, son (14), and daughter (11). 
 
We are currently sitting in the Sacramento Intersectional Airport waiting for our flight into Long Beach. We stay in San Pedro tonight and board tomorrow.

Well my friends, the time has come to raise the roof and have some fun.  
 
No, I’m not cruising with Lionel Richie - but with my beloved wife, son (14), and daughter (11). 
 
We are currently sitting in the Sacramento Intersectional Airport waiting for our flight into Long Beach. We stay in San Pedro tonight and board tomorrow.

Well my friends, the time has come to raise the roof and have some fun.  
 
No, I’m not cruising with Lionel Richie - but with my beloved wife, son (14), and daughter (11). 
 
We are currently sitting in the Sacramento Intersectional Airport waiting for our flight into Long Beach. We stay in San Pedro tonight and board tomorrow.

Well my friends, the time has come to raise the roof and have some fun.  
 
No, I’m not cruising with Lionel Richie - but with my beloved wife, son (14), and daughter (11). 
 
We are currently sitting in the Sacramento Intersectional Airport waiting for our flight into Long Beach. We stay in San Pedro tonight and board tomorrow.

Well my friends, the time has come to raise the roof and have some fun.  
 
No, I’m not cruising with Lionel Richie - but with my beloved wife, son (14), and daughter (11). 
 
We are currently sitting in the Sacramento Intersectional Airport waiting for our flight into Long Beach. We stay in San Pedro tonight and board tomorrow.

Well my friends, the time has come to raise the roof and have some fun.  
 
No, I’m not cruising with Lionel Richie - but with my beloved wife, son (14), and daughter (11). 
 
We are currently sitting in the Sacramento Intersectional Airport waiting for our flight into Long Beach. We stay in San Pedro tonight and board tomorrow.

Wheels up from San Diego.  Looks like we are making into Fort Lauderdale around midnight(too late for the famed La Bamba for us)  We have reservations at the Hampton Airport and Cruise Port Inn.   Hopefully we can sleep fast and wake up refreshed to a sunny Florida morning.  
 
Originally we had a 10:30am boarding time, but with an extra Covid scrub of the ship ordered, everyone has been told to come two hours later.  Honestly I’m fine with that, gives us some extra time to sleep in and find a couple of bottles of Champagne to carry on board for New Years Eve.  

Air to Sea has come through for us and booked us on a different airline to get to San Diego on time.  Crisis averted and a nice perk by going through the Air to Sea program by Royal Caribbean.  
 
disclamer:  I am not a paid spokesperson for RCCL or Royal  Caribbean Blog.  Although I would like to be.