- Back in the Saddle Again!
- South Pacific Here We Come! (Post #1)
- 26 Miles Across the Sea (Post #2)
- Getting our sea legs (Post #3)
- Tuxedo Junction – Gala Night (Post #4)
- Lady Luck Pays a Visit (Post #5)
- Thunder in the Pacific (Post #6)
- Meet and Greet (Post #7)
- Pineapple Maze in Hawaii? (Post #8)
- Hike to the top of Diamond Head (Post #9)
- Maui – Whale Watching or Waiting? (Post #10)
- Fire and Falls on the Big Island (Post #11)
- Kona Food Walk (Post #12)
- Six Days at Sea (Post #13)
- Raiatea – Swimming with the sharks (Post #14)
- Raiatea Highlights (Post #15)
- Bora Bora – Snail Rolls? (Post #16)
- Bora Bora – Fish, Food, and Fire: Patrick’s Tour (Post #17)
- Moorea – Tahiti Food Tour (Post #18)
- Tahiti – Marché Papeete (Post #19)
- Fakarava – South Pacific Snorkeling (Post #20)
- Hapatoni, Tahuata (Post #21)
- Pinnacle Gala (Post #22)
- Nuku Hiva – (Post #23)
Holland America’s ms Zuiderdam at anchor in Avalon Harbor
“Twenty-six miles across the sea
Santa Catalina is a-waitin’ for me,
Santa Catalina, the island of romance”
That’s the opening verse to the song “26 miles (Santa Catalina)” by the Four Preps
Our original schedule had is going straight to Hawaii, but with changes necessary due to certain ports being unavailable in the South Pacific, they added Avalon as our first port.
The anchor splashed into the water abour 7 AM on 28 Feb 2022 and the tenders were soon in the water.
All aboard was 3:30 pm for a 4 pm departure.
Avalon is a tender port. There are three categories of tender priority of this cruise. The Neptune Suites, Club orange, and the President’s Club have a special process that was not publicly announced. I speculate that they don’t require tender tickets but can proceed directly to the tender platform and then join the existing line using their room key as their “ticket”. Four and five-star Mariners require tickets that are available in the BB King lounge. Everyone else gets her tickets at the billboard onboard lounge.
For the early birds, they announced that until 745 am tendering would not require tickets. This is a nice option as it makes it easier for people with early privately arranged shore excursions to get off the ship promptly without having to queue very early in a tender line. From 745 until about 1045 tickets were required and then after 1045 due to low demand tender tickets were no longer necessary.
We arranged for a behind-the-scenes tour of the casino which started at noon. More information on the casino tour is HERE.
After they announced open tendering, we proceeded to the tender platform around 11 AM. The tender ride to shore was smooth and took about seven minutes.
The weather today was gorgeous. Sometimes it can be a little chilly in Avalon in February, but not today.
The casino is on the other end of the harbor, accessible via a sidewalk, about three-quarters of a mile from the tender pier.
Why is the Avalon Casino called the Casino if there isn’t any gambling – from the Visit Catalina Website
“Dominating the Avalon landscape from its regal perch on the edge of Avalon Bay, the Casino exemplifies the style and romance of Catalina Island. It gets its name from the Italian language, where “casino” means a gathering place. There has never been gambling at Catalina Casino.”
The casino behind-the-scenes tour was FANTASTIC! Highly recommended. Our Docent led us through an amazing 90-minute journey of the entire building, starting the wonderful movie theatre, and taking us thru the dressing rooms, projection rooms, meeting areas, and finally the circular ballroom on the eighth floor. Outside the ballroom is a circular balcony with views of the village and harbor.
After a quick bite to eat we headed back to the tender pier and we made the last tender without 10 minutes to spare. On the way we stopped by Leo’s drugstore and picked up a bag of Sea Salt Chocolate Caramels.
On other visits to Avalon we have enjoyed playing miniature golf – more HERE
If you have never been to Catalina, it’s a fun day trip if you are visiting Los Angeles and are looking for something different.
The water off Avalon is very deep (over 200 feet) and the ship used a lot of anchor chain. The Captain said It would take about 30 minutes to weigh anchor.
Back in our room we chatted with our room steward for a bit and learned that they are responsible for 32 staterooms.
The When and Where said there was going to be a Sunset Party at the Seaview pool around sunset – we stopped by and discovered we had the whole deck to ourselves. It was a little on the chilly side, however…
Dinner was wonderful as always – service is very good and there were zero growing pains you sometimes experience when you start a cruise with a new batch of passengers. I suspect that most of the passengers on this cruise are experienced so you don’t have as many people that need a little more hand-holding on the first few days.
On the World Stage, tonight was the Step One Dance Company’s final performance of “Humanity” on their contract. They will leave the ship in Honolulu. Not sure who will replace them.
We absolutely LOVE this show – I have seen it over 6 times on various ships and will often go twice on the same night.
Here is a video someone posted on YouTube that is almost a complete performance If you haven’t seen the show – it’s worth a look.
Hi there….sounds like you are having fun. Can you tell me about the plugs in the room, are there any bedside for CPAP machines and charging phones, I pads and computers; or is the only plug at the desk/make up table area? Interested for the WC. If you get a chance, please check out room 1015 large inside for us but only if you can. I don’t want to put you in a spot! Thanks
jane
Hi Jane, I will try and check when we return to San Diego – usually all the rooms are open and you can grab a quick peek. I was guess that there is a North American Plug, a Euro plug and a USB charging port bedside. If you get a small euro adapter you can use both plugs (but it is 240 volts remember) You should be able to plug in a phone and a CPAP bedside…