Given that the cruise involves about 16 ports of call with several days of "sea days", determining the timing of these updates is a bit awkward. For example, we are now on the Pacific Ocean five days away from the Hawaiian island of Kauai, our next stop.
This lull in the itinerary seems an ideal time to brief our followers on our travel experience from Regina to Los Angeles. This would not normally be of interest to others, except for the fact that three of our four suitcases arrived at LAX. This created some anxiety for us, as it is very complicated when we were about to embark on an extensive ocean cruise.
It didn’t help that in Calgary we endured an unusual process in US Customs where we had to have "luggage clearance". The process involved waiting until your name showed up on a screen that signaled your luggage was cleared. The problem was that mine was cleared but Cintra’s was not. After a long, frustrating wait, an airline agent found a way around it and we rushed to the aircraft. We suspected from this episode that there might be a problem with our luggage.
Lost luggage is normal in the travel industry; what is at stake is how the parties such as the airline, the port and the cruise company, recover and show empathy and flexibility. So far, they are not doing so good. Latest word is we might receive the luggage at our stop in Honolulu.
On Sunday, we completed our first shore excursion in Santa Barbara, CA. This was a rare opportunity to explore Old Santa Barbara Mission and County Courthouse -- two of Santa Barbara’s most picturesque landmarks. We viewed the Old Mission an historic building originally built by Spanish Franciscan monks in 1786.
Another must-see is the so-called County Courthouse, a palatial complex built in the Moorish style, with its carved doors, wrought-iron balconies, giant murals and imported tiles giving it a unique old-world flair despite its 20th-century construction. The court house is not used as a place to dispense justice but to hold celebrations and ceremonies.
State Street had its own charm with its quaint buildings on one side and a picturesque pier, harbor, bicycle and pedestrian path and marina on the other. /s320/IMG_1132.jpeg"/>
No comments:
Post a Comment