The Inside Cabin
HAL 2023 Map with text 2

Day 131, Sailing toward San Diego, California

Click "Show More Posts" to show all the links to the other posts for the 2016 World Cruise
Show More Posts

It’s definitely cooler as we continue north toward San Diego. Some deck motion has returned, although nothing like some of the days crossing the Atlantic or in the Tasman Sea near Australia.

There was another “Walk for the Cure” this morning, but we were hunkered down in our cabin packing all morning and didn’t get a chance to get to the promenade deck to see how many people were participating.

Since we live in San Diego, we decided to forgo our FEDEX shipping option and take all of our bags with us and directly home. We have a driver service we have been using for years and we told him to bring his biggest SUV as we will have about 13 bags and boxes, plus carryon. If everything doesn’t fit, we will have to get a cab to follow us home with the rest of the bags. We only live about 30 minutes from the Cruise Terminal, so we can afford to be squished in for such a short trip and hold some bags on our lap if necessary.

I took a break to catch the Location Guide, Wallis’s port lecture on San Diego. Even though we live here, I was interested in hearing how she would cover the city we are so familiar with. She did an outstanding job and her talk reminded me that San Diego is one of the best cruise ports in the world. A modern, exciting city, and many tourist sites within easy walking distance or accessible using the many public transportation options.

We were continuing to pack throughout the day so we ordered in room dining for lunch. A very good hamburger and a grilled chicken sandwich. We love the in-room dining option and used it every day for breakfast, but only occasionally for lunch. While we know you can have anything off the MDR menus delivered to your room if you order during meal hours, we have never taken advantage of this option.

I played my last Texas Hold’em game for the cruise – with my record of 7 wins, 9 second places (16 in the money finishes) out of 46 total games. I had a great time in the Casino and left with more money than I started with – always a good thing.

Final Texas Hold'em game
Final Texas Hold’em game

Judy and I played our last round of Bingo this afternoon. There was a huge turnout and the final jackpot was almost $500. About double what you usually see for Bingo. One person won the “four corner” game – where you must match the number on each the four corners of your card – after only 5 calls – only one more than necessary.   Wow!

Bingo-Caller
Joey pulling a lottery ticket for a free cruise before the BINGO game

After Bingo it was back to the room to finish packing.   We would have used FEDEX from Fort Lauderdale to ship some of our stuff home, but since we were in transit, we were not allowed to ship anything from that port.

The more we packed, the more it seemed stuff was appearing out of the “wood work” – but right before dinner, we managed to get some bags out in the hallway and could start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Here is shot of some of our first bags in the hallway. Any guesses as to what the long item is? More on that in later posts.

What is that long thing?
What is that long thing?

Our final dinner was wonderful as were the previous 130 or so. Our tablemate Brad arranged for us to have a special Indonesian Entrée called “Billy Ketchup”. Not sure if this is spelled correctly, but it was a spicy beef/pork and shrimp dish that we were told is quite popular with the crew and in Indonesia. Of the 8 people at the table, 5 of us decided to give it a try – and I found it quite delicious and look forward to having it again in the future. Any insight as to the origin or correct spelling appreciated.

International violinist, Jacqueline Roche, would be the final entertainer for our cruise. She was outstanding and we particularly like her final number which was a medley of songs from “West Side Story”.

Jacqueline Roche was the final performer for our cruise
Jacqueline Roche was the final performer for our cruise
Jacqueline Roche play a medley of West Side Story hits
Jacqueline Roche play a medley of West Side Story hits

After the show, we said our final good byes to the wonderful Casino staff and headed back to our cabin to finish packing.   We asked for the last possible debarkation time which is expected to be around 10 am. We love the fact that HAL lets you sleep in on your final day and stay in your cabin till you are ready to leave the ship.

Our final bag hit the hallway at 1am and we were finally done!

I would like to give  big SHOUT OUT to my wife Judy for editing every post and taking 95% of all the pictures!

This entry was posted in 2016 Grand World Voyage, Sea Day

12 thoughts on “Day 131, Sailing toward San Diego, California

  • Ben McDonald May 16, 2016 at 8:00 am Reply

    Very much enjoyed cruising around the world with you both. Excellent photography and I really appreciated that you did not whine about the little things that can go wrong – too many blogs become negative. Looking forward to your next cruise! What is planned?

  • Ferissa & Raphael May 16, 2016 at 11:01 am Reply

    Thank you so much Pete & Judy for the best blog ever !!! We feel so lucky that we found your blog and that we were able to “cruise” with you around our wonderful world !!! Thanks again and all the best to you both.

  • Erik Madsen May 16, 2016 at 3:18 pm Reply

    Thanks so much for the time and effort, not to say the expense, you put in on your blog. We read it daily from your departure date. You did a great job!
    Erik and Diane

  • Janetbob May 16, 2016 at 3:35 pm Reply

    Thanks for letting us ride along – what a great trip!!

  • Wendy May 16, 2016 at 3:55 pm Reply

    Thank you both for yr blog..looked forward to it every day.
    Enjoy being home now. hope you can sail agin soon.

  • Janet M Gerlach May 16, 2016 at 5:41 pm Reply

    Thanks!

  • Bev May 16, 2016 at 7:29 pm Reply

    Thanks so much for a fantastic blog of your adventures. The effort you have put into it to give such a comprehensive report of your cruise is amazing.

    I’ll be referring back to it when I start planning for my world cruise, hopefully HAL in 2018.

  • Karl May 17, 2016 at 5:10 am Reply

    Having traveled with you on two segments of the world cruise, we found the blog especially on point. It also helped us manage our own cruise withdrawal post Ft. Lauderdale. You helped cement great memories of people and places that hopefully we never forget.

    Thank you.

    • The Inside Cabin May 17, 2016 at 2:25 pm Reply

      It was great to meet you. Glad you are enjoying the blog!

  • Susan May 17, 2016 at 11:24 am Reply

    Hi Pete & Judy: Have been enjoying the blog. I couldn’t help but laugh when you were talking about stuff coming out of the woodwork… of course the rest of us had that same thought on April 29th!

    Hugs to you both,
    Cruisins (don’t like Billy Joel) Susan

    • The Inside Cabin May 17, 2016 at 2:26 pm Reply

      Thanks Susan, We miss you!

  • John L May 17, 2016 at 7:57 pm Reply

    Nice job Pete and Judy!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.