Here Comes the Sun!

Monday, May 15th - Cruise Day!

Our plan was to sleep in and not go out for breakfast this morning. Kent and Laurel had stopped at the Walgreens down the street from the hotel the night before and picked up some breakfast items to have in their room. Bob and I had brought oatmeal packets from home and were going to use the in-room coffee maker to heat water.

Well...with our bodies not adjusted to the two-hour difference in time, there was no sleeping in for us. Bob decided that he would take a walk to Chinatown while I was showering and getting ready for the day. We loved exploring Chinatown on our last visit and would have loved to have gone for some dim sum on this trip...but with only one full day in the city that plan got scrapped.

I made him take my iPhone (since he is one of the few people in the civilized world who refuses to get a cell phone) and when he returned he had photos of his walk...and also some Chinese pastries for our breakfast. (And who wants to eat oatmeal when there are baked goods to be consumed?)

The bakery where Bob bought our pastries.

This pastry was filled with bean paste and an egg yolk!

When we had filled out our online documents a couple of months earlier, NCL gave us a choice of what time we would like to arrive at the cruise terminal. The half-hour increments began at 9:30 am which makes no sense when the terminal doesn't open until around 11 am. Knowing this, we chose the10:30 - 11:00 time slot.

The four of us checked out of the hotel at 10:30. Laurel and I both summoned a Lyft car at the exactly the same time...it was going to be a race to see who got to the pier first! (Switching from Uber to Lyft gave me a "new user" discount coupon code!) 

Our driver arrived 30 seconds before theirs, but we arrived at the terminal a good 10 minutes ahead thanks to their driver making a wrong turn. Our fare? $1.75 with the discount! It's not often (like never) that we give a tip larger than the fare!

There were no porters to be seen so we got in line outside the terminal and then watched as the line grew and grew until it stretched the whole length of the building. I had visions of the nightmare we encountered before our Hawaii cruise last March, but it didn't take very long before porters came along and began randomly picking up luggage. 

Once we were free of our luggage, we were able to walk to the front of the line and enter the terminal. Others who had arrived well before us were still waiting as we went in and I could tell they were not happy (and rightly so!) Not once did anyone check to see what our designated arrival time was supposed to be. Once inside the terminal the wait to board wasn't very long and we were on the ship by noon.

That feeling you get when you walk up the gangplank to board the ship!

Our first order of business was to make a reservation for the Japanese specialty restaurant, Teppenyaki, for the next night. When booking our cruise, NCL was offering several promotions and we got our choice of two for being in a balcony cabin. We chose the four nights of dining in the specialty restaurants (which normally each have an upcharge of $25/person or more) and also 250 minutes of free internet time. I had made the reservations for the other three restaurants online 90 days prior, but because Teppenyaki is such a small venue they do not make advance reservations. Mission accomplished...a reservation for 5 pm. A little earlier than we wanted, but better than the very late times available.

The cabins weren't ready when we boarded so we opted to have lunch in the Seven Seas dining room at the back of Deck 5. Even though we had entered into the Atrium on Deck 5 getting to the dining room required going up one deck...walking to the back of the ship...and then going back down again. (The galley is on Deck 5 and makes walking through impossible.)

Lunch in the dining room took almost forever, but it was still a better alternative to dragging our carry on luggage to the buffet and fighting the crowds for a place to sit. Just as we were finishing dessert at 2:00 the announcement was made that all cabins were ready.

Our cabin was port side on Deck 9...#9017 at the front of the ship. 

Kent & Laurel had the cabin to the right of ours in this photo.

Beach towels were provided...for Alaska?? Oh...and also a bottle of champagne for being repeat customers!

Our home for the week.

Our balcony door was a little stubborn at first, but Bobby figured out the trick to open it.

The bathroom...and especially the shower...was probably the smallest that we have experienced on a cruise ship. 

The weird looking contraption on the wall was the hair dryer...a sign that the Sun is showing her age.

We unpacked our carry on bags and then spent some time exploring the ship until it was time for the muster drill at 4:30.

The fuel barge. I would hate to pay that bill!

The mandatory life boat drill.

By the time we returned to our cabin, the checked luggage had been delivered. It is always amazing to be in such a tiny room, but yet have adequate storage for everything. With my new packing cubes, the unpacking process was a breeze. 

We enjoyed a view of the San Francisco skyline from our balcony as we sailed away from Pier 27. It would have been nice to open the balcony divider between our cabin and Kent & Laurel's as we had on our Princess Alaska cruise, but NCL says "no".

The Ferry Building.

 

Sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Once we passed under the bridge and out of the bay, the the seas became very rough.

NCL is known for their free-style cruising which means casual dining options. The two traditional dining rooms (included in the cost of our cruise) both serve the same menu, but in the evening the Seven Seas has a dress code and the Four Seasons is very casual. Not wanting to dress up, we went to the latter. 

The Welcome Aboard Show in the theater was scheduled for 7:30 pm so we chose to skip dessert to get there on time. The show was a sampling of some of the entertainment planned for the cruise and included a juggler, a quartet performing rock music, an Irish folk singer/comedian, and the Norwegian Sun singers and dancers. 

Following the show we went to the buffet on Deck 11 and had some hot cobbler topped with ice cream for a late night dessert.

The buffet is at the very back of the ship and to get to the front of the ship where our cabins are located, we walked through the pool area. The water in the pools had been mostly drained, but yet the foot or so of water remaining was still splashing out over the sides. With the ship rocking and rolling, walking was difficult...and this was just the beginning as we were to discover!