The Pacific cruise that didn't happen

No-travel-ogue: Hawaii and Pacific cruise, Spring 2020

By Roger W. Reini
This would have been the story of my cruise to Hawaii, Bora Bora, Tahiti and other French Polynesian islands in March and April 2020. However, the Covid-19 pandemic drove me to cancel the cruise a few days before the cruise was canceled outright, so this is the story of what coulda/woulda/shoulda been..

Prologue

I had been planning this cruise since January 2019, when I put down the deposit. I also bought the top-line cruise insurance plan, which allowed for cancellations for any reason up to 72 hours before departure. Fast forward to February 2020, a month before sailing, when I started hearing about cruise ships being in quarantine and other cruise ships being turned away from ports, all due to the Covid-19 disease outbreak. By March, it had become a pandemic, and family members were urging me to cancel the trip. I did just that, some 12 days before I was due to set sail. That was 4 days before Holland America canceled the cruise completely as part of a cruise industry shutdown. I would have received more of a refund and more Future Cruise Credit had I waited, but I did gain some peace of mind.

So now this is the story of a trip that wasn’t. This is what I would have been doing on the cruise and on getting to the cruise.

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Tuesday March 17

Today, I would have finished most of my packing and (hopefully) gotten a good night’s sleep prior to departure tomorrow. Most of my preparations were done.

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Wednesday March 18

I would have woken up very early in the morning to do last-minute packing and perhaps have a little breakfast before my cousin arrived at 5:30 AM to drive me to the train station. I usually drive to the station myself, but with this trip being so long (over a month), I didn’t want to park my car that long there. I would likely have arrived between 6 and 6:30, in plenty of time to catch the 6:51 train to Chicago. I would have sat in business class today, with prime access to the Cafe Car.

The train would have rolled through Ann Arbor, Jackson, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo and possibly one or two other towns before arriving at Chicago’s Union Station at 10:32 in the morning, assuming no delays en route. For Amtrak, that’s a very big and almost unwarranted assumption, as it is regularly subjected to delays from freight trains. I would have had a 4-hour layover. Some of that time would have been spent in the Metropolitan Lounge, the waiting area for first-class passengers (sleeper car occupants). Would I have left the station to see some of downtown? I doubt it, for the weather would be chilly.

Some time after 2, I would have heard the call to board the Southwest Chief to Los Angeles. For parts of the next 3 days, roomette 6 in sleeper 0330 would have been my home. The train would have left at 2:50 in the afternoon heading to the southwest. I would have made a dining car reservation for dinner, and I’d have settled into a routine of reading, checking e-mail and web surfing, looking at the scenery, and perhaps taking some pictures. What would I have had for dinner? I don’t know, but I’m sure it would have been good.

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Thursday March 19

The train would have gone through Kansas City overnight and Dodge City early in the morning. The terrain would have changed from the flat Midwest to rolling hills. Later, mountains would be visible in the distance. There would have been a lengthy stop in La Junta, Colorado where passengers could get off, walk around, and stretch. I’ve done that when I’d ridden the Southwest Chief previously. They could also smoke, if they wished (I never have wished). Then the train would have continued onward to New Mexico with another lengthy stop in Albuquerque. There, Native Americans would sell jewelry and artworks on the platform. After dark, the train would continued on its way through New Mexico and Arizona, with stops including Flagstaff and Needles.

I don’t think I would have had the world’s greatest sleep overnight. That was true on most of my previous sleeper trips. I would have gotten some sleep, to be sure, but there would have been interruptions.

I would have had three good meals in the dining car. I’m not sure what they would have been, but I know they would have been good. Perhaps I would have had seafood or pasta for dinner. I would have done more reading, more picture taking, and more e-mail checking (when phone signals permitted).

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Friday March 20

The train would be entering the greater Los Angeles area in the morning. If there had been no delays en route, the train would have arrived at LA’s Union Station at 8 AM. I would have had a layover of an hour and a half before boarding the 9:55 AM Pacific Surfliner to San Diego, which should have arrived at 12:50 PM. This would have been a new route for me, as I’ve never been to San Diego by train. How close would the train have gone to the ocean? In some places, very close, I imagine. I’m sure I would have enjoyed the trip.

Again, assuming no delays, the train would have pulled into downtown San Diego at 12:50 PM. The train station was a classic Santa Fe terminal with character, built well before Amtrak took it over (the same can be said of LA’s Union Station). Upon arrival, I would have claimed my luggage and walked one block or so to the Wyndham San Diego Bayside, where I would stay overnight. It would have been well before standard check-in time; perhaps I would have had the hotel hold the luggage for me while I went around the neighborhood. Or maybe I would have gotten lucky and been able to check in early, which has happened to me on a few trips.

At some point, I would have walked around the immediate neighborhood. The cruise terminal was close by; that was one reason I chose this hotel. The USS Midway Museum was also close by, but I’d been there before and didn’t know if I’d want to go again, not today at least. Other parks and sights were nearby, I knew. I hope that the weather would have been good. It certainly would have been warmer than Michigan!

Where would I have had supper? I don’t know. There was a Ruth’s Chris Steak House nearby, but that is a very pricy establishment. It has good food, as I could testify from the time I visited their location in Troy, MI. But I didn’t pay for my meal then; an automotive supplier did (this was while I was still working), and while I could have afforded to pay for it tonight, I wouldn’t have wanted to. Perhaps I’d have eaten in the hotel restaurant.

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Saturday March 21

I’m sure I would have had breakfast in the hotel. I imagine there would have been a breakfast buffet, which would have been somewhat pricy, the way all downtown hotels tend to be. It would have been good, I’m sure. Then I would have gone back to my room for a while, perhaps packing what I had unpacked last night, perhaps moving things from one suitcase to the other.

I would have been sailing on the Oosterdam, one of Holland America’s “dam” ships (all of their ships end in “-dam”). I’d sailed on her once before, back in 2015 in Alaska with my aunt, uncle and cousin. I’d heard the ship had received an extensive refit since then. How different would it have been? I wouldn’t know unless I sail her in the future, so any descriptions of the ship will be based of my memories of previous cruises.

The Oosterdam should have arrived at the dock and would now be discharging its passengers from its just-concluded cruise. Perhaps another ship would have been there as well. I imagine I would have walked along the shore taking pictures of the ship at dock. Then I would have gone to my hotel room to do a final cleanup and check out. There would likely be a gap between the time I had to check out of the hotel and the time I could board the ship; I’d spend most of that in the hotel lobby. And then I’d walk over to the cruise terminal.

Since the cruise terminal was more or less across the street from the hotel, I figured I should be able to walk there, find the proper place to check my luggage, enter the terminal, and start the boarding process. There would be an airport-style security line, of course. Then there would be another line or lines for checking in, depending on whether or not you’d sailed with HAL before. I’d have to fill out the health questionnaire and possibly a customs declaration card for the Polynesian islands, and then I’d check in. I’d receive my welcome packet and my ship ID card, make my way to the gangplank, get logged in via my card, and then I’d be on board my home for the next 28 or 29 days.

First, I’d want to find my cabin: room 4091, which was on the Upper Promenade deck, starboard side, mid-ship, just aft of the mid-ship elevators. I would have a view of the ocean, albeit a partially obstructed one. Most of the view would be taken up by one of the lifeboats, but I would be able to see between the bow of the lifeboat and one of the elevator shafts. Based on my previous experience, the bed would have been pointed 90 degrees from the main axis of the ship. That means that when the ship pitched up and down with the waves, I would perceive it in bed as a side-to-side roll, and when the ship rolled with the waves, I’d perceive it as the bed pitching up and down. I’d be one deck above the Promenade deck (deck 3), so access to the outside was not far away. The bag checked at the dock would arrive later on, but I could unpack the bag I had with me now and put its contents away. Perhaps I’d meet my room steward, or perhaps I’d meet him or her later (all the ones I’d had to date had been men).

With one bag unpacked, I’d start thinking about lunch. Most of the food options were on deck 9, including the Lido Market buffet, the Lido Deck taco bar, and the burger (Dive In) and pizza (New York) options. I’m not sure if those last two would have been open yet. The buffet would likely have been crowded and would get more crowded as more passengers boarded.

At some point before departure, there would have been the mandatory evacuation and lifeboat drill. When the time came, we would hear the three warning signals, and on the third, we’d go down to the Promenade deck and gather at our muster stations as indicated on our ship ID’s. I suspect my muster station would be right below my cabin, right below the lifeboat I’d be seeing outside my window for the next month. I’d show my ID and have it scanned to confirm my participation, and then we’d wait for messages from the captain, demonstrations of how to use the lifejackets in our rooms, etc., and then be dismissed. This was not a drill to be missed! Failure to check in might lead to being thrown off the ship! No refund for you!

Whenever the second bag was delivered, I’d unpack that and get everything put away. The suitcases themselves would go into the closets because there wouldn’t be much room for them elsewhere in the cabin. I’d set up a power strip to reach the plug that would be across the cabin from the bed; there, I could keep my devices close to me in bed while still keeping them charged. They’d be my clocks in the room.

Sailing time was 6 PM. I’d try to find a spot, most likely on deck 10, the Observation deck, to watch our departure. There would be great views of downtown San Diego as the ship pulled out, sailed around the north end of Coronado Island (really a peninsula), passed the Cabrillo Monument (I’d visited it in 2010) and then headed out into the Pacific. Hawaii, here we come!

I’ve usually had the second seating in the Main Dining Room on my previous voyages, so I would probably arranged for that here. What table size would I be given? On previous cruises, i’ve been at tables for 8, but on my last cruise (to Atlantic Canada), I had a table all to myself. Let’s say I would have been seated with other parties, none of whom I would know. On another night, I’ll talk about the menu options.

What would I do after dinner? I’m not much of a person for nightlife. On previous cruises, I’ve taken in the show in the show on the MainStage or in one of the lounges. But tonight, let’s assume that I was feeling tired and wanted to rest, so I’d return to my cabin, read for a while, perhaps download pictures and start identifying them, or even type up the memories of the day for use in writing the travelogue later on. When I felt too sleepy, then I knew it was time for bed. I’d make sure I had a clear path to the restroom in case I had to get up in the middle of the night, and then it would be lights out.

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Sunday March 22

Today would have been a sea day, the first of five consecutive days at sea. I’ve never been on a cruise with so many sea days in a row. There would have been plenty of onboard activities, I know.

There wouldn’t have been early crowds in the Lido Market for breakfast, as there was no pressure from early port calls and shore excursions. It can be hard to find a seat under those conditions, but today, I should have been able to find a table. What would I have gotten? Some cereal, either Special K or All-Bran Flakes; probably some salmon and some cheeses; some bread or donuts; and some orange juice and V8. I’d also want to have something to indicate that if/when I left the table to get more food, the staff should NOT clear my table. That’s happened to me several times in the past, and I was not happy about it.

There would have been hand sanitizer dispensers at the entrances to the Lido Market and all of the other restaurants. This was done primarily to protect against the norovirus, which can cause gastrointestinal problems. It was standard practice well before the onset of Covid-19 and, no doubt, would continue to be in the future.

How do you keep track of what day it is onboard the ship? You’re not working, you’re not watching your normal TV programs, so how do you know? There are many ways, of course, such as your watch (possibly) or your phone or tablet. But one clever way is to look at the carpet in the elevators. Holland America changes the carpet in its elevators every night as reminder to everyone of what day it is. I don’t know if any other cruise lines do this.

I would have bought an Internet access package so that I could stay in touch with friends and family via e-mail and social media, as well as to keep up with the latest news. There would have been mini-newspapers printed on board, but I’d use my iPad or my laptop so I could use larger type as needed. It wouldn’t have been cheap; the price would have been close to $10 a day, on the order of what luxury hotels charge for premium access.

Perhaps I would have taken a walk on the Promenade deck. It was one-third of a mile for a complete loop. I might have gone up to the Observation Decks on decks 10 and 11 — not that there would have been much to see except clouds and water. I’m sure I would have visited the Explorations Central Cafe and Crow’s Nest, also on deck 10, to get a bottle of Vitamin Water Zero and maybe a chocolate chip cookie. In the Crow’s Nest, a trivia contest might have been taking place. I don’t know if I would have participated (maybe in my head).

Other shipboard activities will have to wait for another day.

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Monday March 23

Another day at sea today - what to do? Some of the same things I did on the first sea day, for sure. I didn’t mention it before, but I also would have read some e-books on my iPad or on my Kindle device.

Tonight I would have been enjoying the first of three specialty dining experiences onboard. The Oosterdam has two specialty restaurants onboard: Canaletto and Pinnacle Grill, with a third specialty restaurant, Rudi’s Sel de Mer, taking over Pinnacle Grill for an evening. I had booked all three of them, starting tonight with Canaletto. As the name suggests, it specializes in Italian food. I’d been to Canaletto on a prior cruise; here’s what I wrote then: “Olive Garden, it was not! I ordered two courses of appetizers, an antipasto and a risotto, and for the main course, I chose spaghetti in a butter sauce with shrimp and clams in the shell. Everything was good. For dessert, I had the selection of Italian cheeses. It was cheese and crackers along with strawberries and some small nut clusters. This was not something I would traditionally associate with dessert, but as a change of pace, it was also good.” I will write about Canaletto’s sample menu in the April 14 installment.

Perhaps I would have caught a show in the MainStage Lounge. Maybe it would have been a comedian or a musical performance. On one or more evenings, there would have been a performance of Postmodern Jukebox, which takes fairly recent songs and plays then in radically different arrangements from the past. I had seen a performance on my cruise to Atlantic Canada, and I wasn’t all that impressed at the time. However, after seeing some of their videos on Facebook, the concept has grown on me, and I think I would be more appreciative today.

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Tuesday March 24

Today would have been the third of five at-sea days in a row.

There were shops on deck 3. They would never be open while in port, but in international waters, they’d be open. Some of the stock they carried were what you’d find in duty-free shops: alcohol, tobacco, and perfume. There were jewelry shops as well, with scads of watches for sale. There would be regular watch sales throughout the cruise. There would be at least one clothing shop, which would also be the shop for sundries, Holland America souvenirs, etc. I bought a swimsuit onboard once; never got to use it, though, for some reason. I remember getting a Nautica shirt on one cruise, as well. I’ve worn that many times and would have taken it on this cruise. There would also be an art gallery onboard with regular art auctions. I’ve never attended one of those.

The spa would be a great attraction onboard, but I’ve never used it on any of my cruises. I was considering getting a shave and possibly a haircut, but it would have been a lot more than two bits! More like 200 times that, if I recall the pricing correctly. Still, I might have done it. It would have been my first time being shaved by someone else; it would also have been my first time being shaved with a blade. I’ve always used an electric razor ever since I was old enough to shave; I might have received my first electric razor as a Christmas present in 1978 — or was it a birthday present?

After yesterday’s dinner at Canaletto, I would have returned to the Main Dining Room with my table mates. I imagine some of my table mates would have a glass of wine, but I wouldn’t be (I don’t drink). No, I’d have a can of Diet Coke to go along with the water served at the table. Perhaps I’d have an appetizer along with HAL’s signature French Onion Soup. Undoubtedly, salmon would have been on the menu at some point during the cruise, and I would have had some. Then I’d have one of the crumbles (peach, blueberry, apple, etc.) for dessert.

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Wednesday March 25

Today would have been the fourth of five days at sea in a row. Our first port of call would be two days away.

What would I have done for lunch today? Perhaps I would have gone somewhere other than the Lido Market. By the Lido Pool, there would have been a taco bar and the Dive In counter for burgers, hot dogs and fries. Aft, near the Sea View Pool, would have been New York Pizza. Unfortunately, pizza was only available as a whole pie, not by the slice, and I’m not sure if I’d want to order a whole pie. If it was small enough, maybe.

There would have been a number of musical performance venues on board. One of them would be B. B. King’s Blues Club, sharing space with America’s Test Kitchen. Named for the late great blues guitarist, B. B. King’s would have showcased some great blues and blues-rock performances, and I know I would have gone there multiple times. I’d enjoyed it on previous cruises; I’m certain I would enjoy it on this cruise, too. There was Billboard Onboard, a piano bar featuring fifty years of pop music. There was the Lincoln Center Stage, presenting programs of chamber music most evenings and afternoon recitals during days at sea like today. I would have attended some of those performances; as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started developing more of an appreciation for classical music.

There would have been a casino onboard, but as I’m not a gambler, I wouldn’t have visited it. I probably wouldn’t have visited America’s Test Kitchen, either

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Thursday March 26

Today would have been the fifth of five consecutive days at sea. This would not have been the final at-sea day of the cruise; far from it. But tomorrow would have been a day in port or mostly in port.

There would have been opportunities for educational enrichment. There would likely have been talks in the MainStage Lounge or elsewhere about the culture of the places we’d be visiting. At this stage of the cruise, they would have featured Hawaiian culture. With Hilo on the Big Island being our port of call tomorrow, there would have been talks about what to see and do in Hilo, talks about where to shop, etc. Those would have been aimed at those who weren’t going on a shore excursion. BBC Earth Experiences would have been shown in the MainStage Lounge (David Attenborough on the big screen!).

It you wanted to take classes in Windows-based technology, you could do so at the Microsoft Studio. Would I have done so? I don’t know, but I doubt it. I’m more of an Apple, Mac and iOS person these days, but for a while, I was considering taking a light 2-in-1 Windows laptop/tablet with me. abut I cancelled that plan when I learned that the Windows Photos app does not allow identification comments to be entered for uploaded pictures. Neither does iOS’s Photos app — but macOS’s Photos app does. I wanted to identify pictures I’d taken before I forgot where and why I’d taken them, which is why I bought a MacBook Air to use on the cruise.

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Friday March 27

Land ho! At last, the ship would have arrived in Hawaii and docked at Hilo by 8 AM. Breakfast in the Lido Market would have been very busy this morning because of everyone who had to leave the ship early to catch shore excursions. I would have been part of that crowd because my shore excursion today was scheduled to leave at 8:30 AM.

Perhaps I would have requested room service for breakfast due to the early shore expedition. I had done that before at least once on a previous cruise. So let’s say I did. Then I would have made my way to where the active gangway was, following the signs in the corridors and the shipboard announcements, along with hundreds of others. We’d get checked off of the ship, walk down the gangway, and then we’d be on Hawaiian soil (well, concrete at this point). And I would have achieved a travel milestone: visiting all 50 states, not to mention the District of Columbia! During heated political discussions, we might not want to mention the District of Columbia, but I digress…

Somewhere nearby would be the gathering point for all of the shore excursions, including the one I would be taking: the Land of Frozen Fire. As the name suggests, it focused on the sights associated with the Kilauea volcano, including the island’s newest black sand beach. Our bus would take us to Hilo’s Rainbow Falls and through downtown Hilo in addition to the volcanic area. Perhaps some of the planned stops would have to be changed because of volcanic activity. We’d want to be close, but not too close. I remember the tragedy a few months back off the coast of New Zealand, where cruise ship passengers on shore excursions actually went into a volcano’s crater, only to get caught in an eruption. Many were injured, many were killed.

The tour was scheduled to last 5 1/2 hours, which would put us back at the dock at 2 PM. The ship would sail in 4 hours, at 6 PM. Would I go into town to see what was what? I’d be hungry and would want lunch, either in town or back on board. And at some point, I would have wanted to look for a true Hawaiian shirt or two.

I’d strongly considered taking the Mauna Kea Summit Adventure excursion, which would have gone to the top of the extinct volcano. What a view it would have been, with clouds below! But I didn’t because I was unsure how well I would handle going from sea level up to 13,000 feet with no time to acclimate myself. Yes, I’d been up to the top of Pike’s Peak before, and that was 1,000 feet higher. BUT — I was 12 years younger, and I’d already been several days at, near or above 5,000 feet. And so I decided to pass on that excursion and go on another one.

Eventually, I would have gone back on board, back to the cabin to download all of the pictures I’d taken today with my DSLR and with my iPhone. I could easily have taken hundreds of pictures today, I imagine. And then when the ship set sail at 6, I’d likely be taking a few more pictures as we got underway for Oahu and Honolulu. I’m sure there would have been lots of stories told at the dinner table tonight.

A question of time: from now until April 11 (perhaps longer), the ship would be in the same time zone, some 6 hours behind Eastern Daylight Time.

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SaturdayMarch 28

According to the itinerary, we would be in Honolulu for 16 hours, from 7 AM until 11 PM. There would be plenty of time to be onshore, with many shore excursion possibilities. Maybe there were too many; there were several things I would have liked to have seen, but there wouldn’t be enough time to see them. Take Pearl Harbor, for instance. Yes, that would have been a wonderful and moving (in the case of the Arizona Memorial) thing to see, but with so many other things to do, I decided to pass on it this visit.

My two scheduled shore excursions were the Hop-On, Hop-Off Trolley, which consisted of unlimited trolley rides to and from various places in and around the city, and a Whale Watching Lunch Cruise that departed at 11 AM. The vessel would have had three decks for viewing the humpback whales as mothers and children swam about. The top deck would have been the most crowded, I’m sure, except if the weather turned bad. I’ve been on a few whale-watching cruises in the past, but the whales didn’t always oblige. It was nearing the end of the whales’ sojourn in Hawaii before they started migrating north towards Alaska, so maybe the chances of seeing them would be lower, but maybe we’d get lucky. And even if we didn’t see any whales, we were certain to see dolphins accompany our boat, surfing our wake.

The trolley (actually double-decker buses) consisted of five lines going to landmarks and tourist attractions all over the city. One line went out to Diamond Head Crater Lookout (a prime photo opportunity) ; another went out to Pearl Harbor. They all went to Waikiki. With so many destinations, I wouldn’t have been able to visit them all, but I might have been able to see them from afar.

On at least one night, and maybe more, surf and turf would have been one of the menu options in the Main Dining Room. This wasn’t just a steak and seafood combination; this was proper surf and turf: filet mignon and lobster. It is very likely that everyone at the table, unless they were vegetarians or had an allergy to shellfish, would have ordered it. That happened on one cruise of mine. For those who didn’t want it, pasta and vegetarian options would have been available (maybe vegetarian pasta!).

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Sunday March 29

Today would have been our third and final port of call in Hawaii: Lahaina on the island of Maui. Readers from the Detroit area or who spent time there in the 80’s will no doubt be thinking of former WRIF DJ Arthur Penhallow promoting contests with trips to Maui in his distinctive voice, “It’s Maui Time!” Yes, for those of us on the ship, it was Maui Time, for nine hours at least.

Unlike Hilo or Honolulu, the ship would not have been able to dock at Lahaina. Instead, we’d have to use tenders to get from the ship to the dock. Lifeboats from the ship would be used to ferry passengers back and forth. In order to get to the tenders, we’d have to go down two or three more decks from the official “Deck 1”, decks normally dedicated for the use of the crew. Seating on the tenders wouldn’t have been that comfortable, but for the short distance to shore, it would have been OK.

One of the shore excursions was a deluxe whale watching adventure, but having done that yesterday, I wouldn’t have wanted to do it today. My shore excursion choice would have been a visit to Haleakala Crater. I’d passed on the Mauna Kea summit because of altitude, but the altitude here was 3000 feet lower, plus this excursion was rated as Easy Activity versus the Moderate Activity of the Mauna Kea one. The summit of the volcano is 10, 032 feet above sea level, with a crater so wide the whole island of Manhattan could fit in it. Having last erupted in 1790, it was considered dormant (good). Views of and from the crater would have been spectacular, if weather and cloud cover permitted. I would certainly have seen some wonderful plant and animal life on the way to the crater. I would have brought a jacket with me, for it could have been cool at the summit. It probably would have been my many-pocketed Alaska jacket, so named because I received it as a gift in anticipation of my Alaska cruise. Perhaps I would have brought my Detroit Tigers warm-up jacket and worn that. But no, the Alaska jacket was more flexible.

That excursion was scheduled to be 7 hours long, so I would have had time to do little else. Perhaps I’d wanter around Lahaina for a bit before getting in the line for the tender back to the ship. Then I’d go back to my cabin and download today’s batch of pictures to my laptop I’d do an e-mail check and maybe upload a picture or two to social media. I’d record the events of the day in the travelogue I’d be keeping, though I wouldn’t flesh them out right away. Then it would be another dinner, perhaps another show, and that would be it for another day. Aloha, Hawaii!

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Monday March 30

.Back at sea today. After three days of shore excursions in a row, I think I would have wanted a break. What would I have done today? Some of the same things I did during other days at sea, such as read; walk around the Promenade Deck; get a chocolate chip cookie and some Vitamin Water Zero; identify pictures, if necessary; perhaps take some more; work on the travelogue; and so on.

Now to give an overview of onboard television. That is clearly not a big reason why one would go on a cruise; you could stay home and have more and better choices. Well, on the Disney ships, you would have quite a bit to choose from, given all of their channels and their vast library of programming. On Holland America, there weren’t that many TV channels devoted to entertainment; two or three movie channels, perhaps, as well as ESPN and ESPN2. There were four news and information channels: CNBC, MSNBC, Fox and BBC (no CNN as I recall). I appreciated having the BBC World News channel available because I have it at home and watch it regularly. There were two channels that played music, with one of then tending to play classical music; I’m not sure what the other one would be playing. Given the demographics of the passengers (older), it’s safe to say that it would be playing current Top 40 music. There would be several channels devoted to ship information, such as the bow and stern cameras, programs on future ports of call, shopping tips at those ports of call, etc. One of those channels was an information dashboard showing the position of the ship, the date and time, the current speed and bearing of the ship, the current wind speed and temperature, the effective wind speed, and perhaps the ocean depth. There would also be a graphic that showed the Earth as a full globe and then zoomed in ever closer to our position. Sometimes I would put it on in the background.

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Tuesday March 31

Today, and for the next two days, things would get a little confusing from a calendar standpoint. During the day, the Oosterdam would have crossed the International Date Line. The ship wouldn’t have been anywhere near 180 degrees West (or East) longitude, but back in the 1990’s, the government of Kiribati decided to advance its time zone by a full day in order to be the first land to see in the year 2000. And so the Date Line makes a large eastward jog. And at some point today, we would be crossing it, and it would instantly become April Fools Day.

Now I knew that there were special ceremonies for crossing the equator (more on that later). Were there any ceremonies for crossing the Date Line? Would a commemorative certificate be available to recognize the event? It would have been nice if there were. There probably would have been something on board to mark the passage. Other than that, it would have been just another day at sea. But there was something else to ponder: would the carpets be changed to reflect the day change?

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Wednesday April 1

Today, we would have been making a visit to Kiritimati Island in the nation of Kiribati. The calendar would have said April 2, thanks to our crossing the Date Line, but it would be confusing to have two entries for April 2.

Kiritimati Island is also known as Christmas Island. In fact, Kiritimati is pronounced “Christmas”. Why the local language uses “ti” to represent the “s” sound, I’ll never know. We were due to arrive in port at 8 AM and set sail at 5 PM. There were no formal shore excursions scheduled today; I wondered why that was. Was the island too small to have much to see? Perhaps. Given the name of the island, I wonder if they have Christmas-themed shops. They certainly wouldn’t have had anything on the scale of Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Now there is a Christmas decoration superstore for you. I’m sure I would have left the ship and walked around, seeing what there was to see.

At some point after the ship set sail at 5, it would have crossed the Equator. I know that there have been ceremonies for crossing the Equator for sailors over the years, and I imagine there would have been one here for those crew members making their first crossing. Now would the passengers be part of the ceremony? Would we receive certificates saying that on this day, we crossed the Equator? I would hope we did. I’ve received (or bought) certificates saying that I had straddled the Prime Meridian, 0 degrees longitude (1996 in Greenwich, England), crossed the Arctic Circle (1998 in Rovaniemi, Finland) and crossed the Equator by land (2009 in Uganda). It would have been nice to have one from this ocean crossing.

So for the next 12 days or so, the ship and I and everyone else would be in the Southern Hemisphere. It would no longer have been spring; it would now be fall. Time to break out the heavier clothing, ha ha! No, nobody would be doing that. It doesn’t get cold in the tropics! Something else to note: from here on out until we reached Tahiti, I would be going farther south than I’d ever been before in my life.

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Thursday April 2

Today would have been another day at sea. But this day would have been different, as the ship would cross the International Date Line again, this time going “eastward”. We’d actually be traveling southward, but once we crossed the Date Line, Friday the 3rd would become Thursday the 2nd. I’d live through another April 2.

What might I have done for breakfast today? I probably would have gotten some cereal, either Special K or All Bran whole wheat flakes. I think I would have gotten a muffin, preferably blueberry. Perhaps I would have gone to the omelet bar and requested an omelet; if not, then maybe I would have gotten some scrambled eggs with sausage patties. Pancake or waffle? Perhaps another day. And to drink, I would have gotten glasses of orange juice and V8. Yum!

Growing up, I was conditioned to believe that every night on a cruise ship was an elegant, formal affair, with the men in tuxedos and the women in evening gowns (thank you, Love Boat). That’s not the case anymore. However, there are still some nights when passengers are encouraged to dress up. Proper formal ware was not necessary; for men, jacket and tie would certainly fit the mood. In several locations around the ship, professional photographers would be available to take pictures of the guests in their fancy clothing for later purchase in the photo gallery. The dining rooms would be set up more elegantly, and the menu would be upgraded from the usual fare (which was already excellent).

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Friday April 3

It would have been another day at sea for the ship and its passengers as we neared the islands of French Polynesia. I don’t know what I would have been doing today — more walking around the Promenade Deck, more reading, more working on the travelogue, I suppose. There would have been presentations about Polynesian culture in general and Bora Bora in particular. I would have gone to some of those presentations.

Something to ponder: on my previous cruises on Holland America, the bow would occasionally be open to passengers for seeing the sights. On the Alaska cruise, it was open during our departure from Vancouver and during part of our trip through the Inside Passage. On the Panama Canal cruise, it was open for our passage into the canal via the Gatun Locks. On the Atlantic Canada cruise, it was open for our departure from Quebec. Would it have been open at some point during this cruise? I don’t know. It seems likely that it would have been at some point, although I wouldn’t have known for sure unless I actually took the cruise. It certainly wouldn’t have been open a sea day like today (nothing to see). I know one thing that wouldn’t have been offered: warm pea soup. It’s a great thing to drink when sailing the Inside Passage, but sailing in the tropics?

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Saturday April 4

We would arrive in Bora Bora today, but not until 2 PM, so this would have been a half-day at sea. There would have been no urgency to get up early for breakfast in order not to be late for shore excursions.

As it turned out, there weren’t any shore excursions today, except for chances to reserve cabanas over the water for overnight visits (the ship would remain docked overnight). There had been some excursions originally scheduled, and I’d reserved a spot on one, but at some point, they were removed from the catalog. I ended up rescheduling for tomorrow. Now would I have left the ship to check out what was on shore? Maybe. Or maybe I would wait for tomorrow. Either way, I’d have to tender ashore; except for Papeete, all of the ports for the rest of the cruise would be tender ports.

Tonight would have been the second of my specialty dining reservations for the cruise. This time, it was the Pinnacle Grill at 8 PM. Here’s what I had when I ate there during the cruise to Alaska in 2015: lobster bisque; 10-ounce filet mignon with grilled asparagus, sautéed mushrooms and whipped potatoes; and a big piece of chocolate cake (it had been my birthday). I imagine the menu today would have been similar to what it was back then. Let’s take a look at the sample menu posted on the Holland America website.

For appetizers, we could choose from these small plates: jumbo shrimp cocktail, steak tartare, sesame-crusted tuna tataki, jumbo lump crab cakes, and for an additional $70, Ossetra Malossol caviar; from soups: forest mushroom soup and lobster bisque; from salads: heart of romaine Caesar salad, iceberg wedge salad, or beefsteak tomato and burrata salad; and two chef’s specials, pastrami salmon and clothesline candied bacon. From steaks, we could choose the chef’s special, beef tenderloin with lobster dumplings, or we could select from a petite filet mignon, a regular filet mignon, New York strip, bone-in rib eye, or porterhouse. We could add a 5-ounce lobster tail, for a $10 supplement, to make a surf and turf meal. If those choices didn’t appeal to us, there was also a 16 oz. dry aged Delmonico ($15 supplement).

Want more options? Here are the chops and classics options: double-cut 14 oz. Kurobuta pork chop; corn-fed chicken breast; grilled lamb chops; heirloom tomato and eggplant tarts satin; cavatappi mac and cheese; and the chef’s special, braised short ribs with mushroom cavatappi. Then there were the side dishes: creamed spinach, asparagus with Hollandaise, sautéed mushrooms, mashed potatoes with truffle-blue cheese aioli, French fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, confit carrots, roasted baby beets with blue cheese, and basmati rice pilaf. I’m getting hungry typing all of this!

Of course, there were seafood entrees: Alaskan king salmon, baked Alaskan halibut, seared jumbo scallops, Alaskan king crab legs, seafood cioppino, and the chef’s special, broiled lobster with corn and bacon crepes ($20 supplement). And for dessert, we could choose from Jacques Torres chocolate souffle, tres leches cake, not-so-classic baked Alaska, key lime pie, creme brûlée, ice cream or sorbet, an assortment of international cheeses, and the chef’s special, gourmet cheesecake lollipops. Wow! Maybe I should have made more than one reservation.

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Sunday April 5

The ship would have stayed in Bora Bora overnight; it would not leave until 11 PM. There would be many shore excursions available today, including the one I selected, Bora Bora Island Discovery.

The Bora Bora Island Discovery tour was scheduled to take 2 1/4 hours in an open-air truck with cushioned bucket seats (so said the excursion catalog) with a panoramic drive around the island, allowing us to see Mount Otemanum, the central mountain of the island, the famous turquoise lagoon and a chain of coral islands. We would get to see how pareo is made (I have no idea what that is), see World War II relics left behind by US forces, enjoy the tropical foliage and see the resorts on the east coast of the island. No doubt there would have been lots of photo opportunities; I’d be taking many now and downloading many later.

After the tour ended, I probably would have wanted some lunch. Would I have found something in town? Would I have been able to get local currency, or would dollars have been accepted? Or would I have wanted to have lunch onboard the ship? Maybe I would have delayed lunch and looked for souvenirs in town or potential gifts for relatives.

At dinner tonight, I would likely have selected the French Onion soup and the Caesar salad, both of which were on the menu every day. I don’t know what entree I would have chosen.

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Monday April 6

The ship’s next port of call would have been Raiatea in the Society Islands, with arrival at 8 AM and departure at 5 PM. There were many shore excursions available, but I wasn’t sure that I wanted to do any of them. I didn’t book any here before the cruise, perhaps becoming concerned at how much all of these shore excursions were costing me. Perhaps I would have selected something after all.

Here is what was available: A Taste of Vanilla and Tahaa Motu Picnic; Anapa Pearl Farm & Snorkel; Faaroa River & Motu Beach Break; Kayak the Faaroa River; Land & Sea of Taha’a; Raiatea Coral Garden Drift Snorkeling; Raiatea Highlights; Raiatea Safari Expedition; Raiatea: the Sacred Island by Le Truck Island-Style Bus; Tales & Legends of Raiatea. The catalog showed many of those as waitlisted, so I might not have been able to go on one anyway.

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Tuesday April 7

Today, Tahiti! Island of magic and temptation (though certainly not “Temptation Island”)! The ship would dock at 8 in the morning and stay in port overnight. I had one shore excursion scheduled today, Tahiti: Around the Island, departing at 9.

As the name suggests, Tahiti: Around the Island was a bus tour that would go all over the island. We would stop at the local Government Assembly building and view its private garden. We’d make a panoramic drive up the east coast of the island, stopping at the James Norman Hall house. We would continue further up the coast to the Arahoraho Blowhole, where water would shoot up into the sky when conditions were right. We’d stop at a local restaurant for lunch and then continue Spring Garden of Vaipahi. The final stop would be the Fern Grotto Caves of Maraa, described in Captain Cook’s journals and a favorite swimming location of the artist Paul Gauguin.

The tour was scheduled to last 7 hours, dropping us off at the dock at 4 PM. There would have been time to do some looking around the dock area before going back on board. Now the other excursion I had considered was called Tahiti’s Natural Treasures. It was a shorter tour (4 1/2 hours). It would have visited Point Venus, the historic landing site for European explorers and site of the only lighthouse on Tahiti. It would have visited the Gauguin Restaurant, where we would have had something to eat or drink, and then gone for a photo stop at Papara surf beach (would the surf have been up?). Between stops, we would have had a nice scenic drive.

What other shore excursions were there? There were several opportunities to rent bungalows overnight in Moorea, where the ship would dock tomorrow. There were opportunities for catamaran escapades and sunset sails, as well as a walking tour of Papeete and a lagoon discovery adventure. So many things to see and do….

I’m sure I would have taken lots of pictures and downloaded them to my laptop for identification. Wonderful discussions about our experiences would have taken place at our table in the dining room this evening.

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Wednesday April 8

The ship had overnighted in Papeete, but it would be setting sail for Moorea at 5 AM. Three hours later, we’d be docked at Moorea, which was only a short distance away. My shore excursion of choice today: Island Drive and Belvedere, the 12:30 offering.

The Island Drive and Belvedere tour was a 3 1/2 bus tour around the island, some 38 miles, filled with lookout points and special landmarks (so said the catalog). We would have visited the Belvedere Lookout Point, the Ia Ora viewpoint, where we’d be able to see Tahiti from 10 miles away. The bus would pass some pineapple fields and visit an ancient sacred site called a marae to learn about Polynesian culture. We’d visit the Tiki Village and a replica of Gauguin’s Maison du Jouir. From the catalog description, it sounded like an interesting tour, which is why I chose it.

Often, there are so many shore excursions at a port of call that it’s hard to choose from among them. There might be multiple excursions that are of interest but take place at the same time. That was true not just of Moorea but Papeete, Honolulu, and Hilo Maybe that’s the cruise line’s way of encouraging you to go on another cruise there.

Perhaps I would have spent some time checking out the city, just as long as I returned to the ship by 6, the scheduled departure time. Actually, I would have to have been onboard before 6.

Since this was early spring, some important religious holidays would be happening soon. The first night of Passover was tonight, and Easter was this coming Sunday. From my previous voyages, I knew that there were Jewish, Catholic and Protestant services onboard; given the significance of these holy days, the services might have been upgraded. Hm - I wonder if there would have been a chaplain onboard?

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Thursday April 9

Today, the ship would have traveled to Fakarava, arriving at 9 and sailing at 6. I wouldn’t have gone on a shore excursion today; there was only one on offer, a chance to snorkel the coral garden. I wasn’t all that keen on the activity. I may well have gone ashore just to say I’d been to Fakarava, but I don’t know what I would have done there.

Earlier in this no-travel-ogue, I mentioned the spa and its services for men (shave, haircut). In real life, I’d tried to schedule those via the Holland America website, but I couldn’t for some reason. Maybe they had to be scheduled closer to ship departure, or perhaps they had to be scheduled onboard. But let’s say that I had scheduled a shave earlier in the cruise and that I would have scheduled a haircut for today.

Another thing to think about: would I have wanted to do something different with my meals today — say, gone to the Main Dining Room for lunch and the Lido Market for dinner, as opposed to the usual other way around? I do not know.

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Fridqy April 10

Today, we would have been at sea again, heading toward our last port of call of the cruise. I would have been doing some of the same things that I’ve done during other sea days: read, walk the deck, go up to the Crow’s Nest to watch the seascape and enjoy some Vitamin Water Zero and a cookie; e-mail checks and keeping up with the web and social media; and so on. I wonder if some of the entertainment options would have been repeated during the cruise — for example, would the comedian on board have had multiple routines for different nights?

At some point during the cruise, I would have wanted to do some stargazing. Southern Hemisphere skies are quite different from those in the Northern Hemisphere. There are objects that are never visible from Detroit, such as the Southern Cross, Alpha Centauri, or the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, and I’d want to see or attempt to see them. I had seen the Southern Cross and Alpha Centauri before, when I was visiting Uganda in 2009. I’d tried to see the Magellanic Clouds on the cruise to the Panama Canal, but I wasn’t successful. I should have had more success this time, being much farther south of the Equator. But would the lights of the ship hinder me?

The stars and galaxies wouldn’t have been the only unusual things in the sky. Even the Sun and Moon would have appeared in strange places (strange to Northern Hemisphere residents, anyway). Back home, the Sun and Moon normally appear in our southern sky, and we’re accustomed to seeing the phases of the Moon and the Man in the Moon in a certain way. In the Southern Hemisphere, we’d see them in the northern sky (although in the tropics, where the ship was, they’d be closer to being directly overhead). The Moon phases would appear to be backward from normal, and the Man in the Moon would be standing on his head. Weird! But for those who live in the Southern Hemisphere, this would all seem normal to them.

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Saturday April 11

Today would have been the final port of call in French Polynesia as well as the final port of call of the cruise (not counting the return to San Diego, that is): Taiohae on Nuku Hiva Island. We would arrive at 8 AM and leave at 4. Today was also the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 13 launch. The media, including NASA Television, would be full of stories and programs documenting and commemorating the anniversary of what happened. On the ship, we would miss a lot of it. That would have been one regret of having been on the cruise.

There was only one formal shore excursion available, the Taipivai Valley Scenic Drive. The description in the catalog seemed interesting, but I had seen some poor reviews of it. Also, I’d already bought several shore excursions, and this one didn’t seem to have the right value for me, so I decided to pass on it. I may still have left the ship to visit the port area.

Tonight would be my third specialty dining experience of the cruise, an evening at Rudi’s Sel de Mer. It didn’t have a location of its own (on some ships, it did); here, it would take over the Pinnacle Grill for an evening. And what does the sample menu say about the cuisine? Let’s find out. For appetizers, diners could choose from the following: steak tartare; Rudi’s Seafood Tower (crab, shrimp, octopus); escargots bourguignonne; bouillabaisse Marseillaise; tuna salad niçoise; foie gras torchon; and for a $25 supplement, fruits de mer, which serves 2.

The entrees would have included the following: broiled fresh catch of the day; broiled Maine lobster; whole Dover sole meuniere; rack of lamb persillade; salt crust baked branzino; steak frites; duck cassoulet; and soufflé au forage. Side dishes included French fries, cauliflower puree, wild rice, green beans, truffle mashed potatoes, and ratatouille. Finally, the desserts; profiteroles; crépes suzette; apple tart tatin; Rudi’s soufflé; artisanal French cheese plate; petits fours; and French press coffee or espresso.

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Sunday April 12

Today would be a day at sea, the first of six days at sea in a row. The ship would be heading back to the USA. No more land until the ship reached San Diego. It was also Easter Sunday. There would likely have been Easter services onboard, most likely Protestant and Catholic services. The evening meal might have been a little fancier than usual, but then again, all of the meals on board were pretty fancy.

Perhaps it would have been somebody’s birthday today. On my previous HAL cruises, it would be common for the staff members, many of whom would be Indonesian, to gather around the table of the celebrant and sing a song while he or she received a slice of cake. The song was not “Happy Birthday”, but I don’t know how to describe it. But I don’t need to describe it, for I found a clip on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZPO2erNbwM. That happened to have been recorded on the Oosterdam, in fact.

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Monday April 13

Today would be the second of six sea days in a row.

Most cruise lines have a loyalty program. Disney has its Castaway Club, and Holland America has its Mariners Society. Earn credit for sailing days and onboard purchase days, and watch your credits climb! I was a 2-Star Mariner at the start of the cruise, and I would likely have qualified for 3-Star status by the end of the cruise. The ship holds a luncheon for Mariner Society members on board, or should I say “luncheons,” because there are often so many repeat passengers that one luncheon can’t handle them all. There would have been a champagne toast, for those who drink. The food is excellent, of course. For the Mariner Society luncheon on my previous cruise, I had duck confit , baked cod with green beans and potatoes, and a lemon tart. One more thing: everyone receives a tile of the ship. The tile could also serve as a coaster for drinks.

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Tuesday April 14

Today would be the third of six sea days in a row. Sometime today, the ship would cross the Equator again, this time going north. In an instant, we would go from fall to spring, though you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference. Would there have been a second ceremony (assuming there had been a first one)?

Since it’s difficult to write about so many sea days, I’ve decided to describe the sample menu at Canaletto, the Italian specialty restaurant I dined at early in the cruise. Why didn’t I put this information on that day? That entry was already fairly long, whereas this one might just have been “another day at sea.” So here goes.

There would be different specials for each day. Sunday would feature chicken Parmigiana; Monday, osso bucco Milanese; Tuesday, beef short rib brassato barolo; Wednesday, veal liver Veneziana; Thursday, veal saltimbocca alla Romano; Friday, chicken curry Cipriani style; and Saturday, grilled jumbo shrimp. Here are the options for small plates: antipasto plate; veal and sage meatballs; langoustine-tomato soup; minestrone soup; Canaletto salad; mozzarella di Bufala; beef carpaccio; and grilled calamari.

Large plates (the entrees) would be the following: lasagne Bolognese; branzino alla Siciliana; spaghetti all Vongole; scallopine alla Caprese; datterini tomato risotto; grilled New York strip loin; lobster and shrimp ravioli; braised beef short rib gnocchi; grilled lamp chops; and pasta Genovese. Now for the dessert choices: tiramisu; orange blossom ricotta tart; gelato; affogato; chocolate hazelnut tart; selection of Italian cheeses; and Sicilian marzipan cassata torte.

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Wednesday April 15

Today would be yet another sea day, the fourth of six in a row. At this point, it’s become very difficult to write about something onboard this ship that I haven’t already written about. But there is something I could write about: the Photo Gallery.

The Photo Gallery was on deck 3, on the way to the upper Main Dining Room. I would have gone though it every night that I went for dinner. Here would be the pictures taken by the shipboard photographers of the passengers throughout the cruise, starting with the boarding and continuing through every big event on the cruise — the gala nights, the ports of call, and so on. There probably would have been some of me in there, all available to be purchased in one form or another. Would I do so? I don’t know, but probably not. I did get some as a birthday present from my aunt during our Alaska cruise, and I have those framed.

I’ve thought of something else to write about: After nearly a month of fabulous food at sea, would I be getting tired of it? With so many dining options on the ship, it seems unlikely, but it could have happened. Would I be craving a frozen dinner from my freezer? Probably not. What about meals from some of my favorite local restaurants, such as a cheese steak sandwich from Gabriel’s Hoagies, a patty melt from Leo’s Coney Island, or some guacamole fresca and a number 6 combination plate (enchilada, hard shell taco, rice and beans) from Los Amigos? Yes to those, and I’d have my opportunity in a week.

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Thursday April 16

Today would be the fifth of six sea days in a row. And at this point, I’ve nearly run out of things to write about shipboard life. 28 days onboard a ship is a very long time, and there are only so many things that can be done. There are longer cruises available, but after experiencing this one, would I have wanted to? There would be no way to know for sure until I actually took a cruise of this length.

Actually, there is something I can talk about today that I haven’t talked about: towel animals. On all of the cruises I’ve been on, the room stewards folded towels into various animals every night of the cruise. I’ve seen stingrays, shrimp, lobster, dragonflies, etc. I’ve also seen monkeys, usually on the last nights of the cruises. Now this would have been a 28-day cruise; would the stewards have been able to prepare different towel animals every night? Would they have repeated some? I guess I’ll just have to take that longer cruise some time and find out for myself.

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Friday April 17

Near the end of the cruise — most likely on the last sea day, which this would be — there would be a charity event, On Deck For a Cause, where passengers could sign up to walk 9 times around the Promenade deck (that would make it a 5k walk). Entry fees would go to charity. I did that on the Alaska cruise; perhaps I would have done so here.

Today would have been the day that we would have been given a souvenir of the cruise, a record of our journey, showing our route, the ports of call, and key facts about the ship, including how many passengers had sailed. If I had qualified for the upgrade to 3-Star Mariner, I would have received that pin either today or tomorrow.

Dinner would have been a little more special than usual, as there would have been a special presentation from the waitstaff. Each table would say farewell to the servers that had been with them for the whole cruise — almost a whole month, in this case.

Before going to bed, I would have to pack up, especially the one suitcase that would be checked ashore. I’d have to make sure the proper tag was on it and leave it outside my door before going to bed. I’d pack up most of the other bag, too, leaving only the bare minimum out.

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Saturday April 18

This was it: the cruise was ending today. It wouldn’t be officially over until I was checked off the ship for the final time. Arrival time was scheduled for 7 AM. Maybe I would have been awake and gone out on deck to see our arrival. Coronado Island and the naval base would be on the starboard side (the side where my cabin was), while the Cabrillo Monument, the airport and downtown would be on the port side. Hopefully, the weather would have been nice for our arrival.

I’d have breakfast at some point, of course. I’d go back to the room for final pack up, and then I’d leave and find someplace else on the ship to wait until my departure group was called. Perhaps I would use some of the time to catch up on iPhone and iPad updates that I wasn’t able to install during the trip. When my departure group was called, I’d head to the designated exit, be checked out for one final time, and head down the gangplank. The cruise would officially be over. I’d walk down more gangplanks and corridors until I reached the area where checked bags could be picked up. I’d find mine, and then I’d take everything, including my Customs declaration form and passport, to the immigration and customs area. Eventually, I’d be cleared, and then I’d officially be back in the USA!

Once I left the cruise terminal, I’d make my way to the train station. I was originally supposed to take the 1:35 train to LA, arriving at 4:36. However, I’d learned before the trip that that train had been cancelled due to scheduled track work. The only service that weekend involved taking a bus from San Diego to Irvine, then taking the train from Irvine into LA. I would have updated my reservation, and I would have taken a bus and then the train and arrived in LA, hopefully close to the original 4:36. I had a deadline to meet, as I would be catching the 6 PM Southwest Chief back to Chicago.

LA’s Union Station is a classic. It’s been featured in moves, TV shows and commercials. There was one whole wing of the station waiting room that was closed off, reserved for filming. It was in active use in the 40’s, I’m sure, but it’s not needed for everyday usage anymore.

As 6 o’clock neared, the passengers would be called to board the train. My home for the next 48 hours or so would be sleeper car 0431, roomette 6. Dinner would start up in the dining car, and I’d make a reservation for it. It would be a fairly late seating as the train traveled across greater LA and got ready to make its climb into the high desert of the Mojave. The menu might have been identical to the westbound trip, but perhaps not. I’m sure the food would have been good either way. Then I would go back to my sleeper car roomette to settle in for the evening.

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Sunday April 19

Sometime in the middle of the night, the train would have passed through Needles, home to Spike, the skinny brother of Snoopy. I’d have had breakfast somewhere between Winslow and Gallup; lunch might have been between Albuquerque and Lamy; and dinner might have been around La Junta.

What would I be doing today? Not that much. I’d be in my room, for the most part, reading and maybe taking pictures. I don’t know what side of the train I would have been on. Would I have been on the same side as on the outbound journey? If so, then I’d be less likely to be taking pictures. Of course, in the observation car, there were views from both sides of the train. If I weren’t taking pictures, I might have been continuing to identify them or start putting together a presentation album that I would show to family and friends after I returned.

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Monday April 20

If the train had stayed on schedule, it would be arriving in Chicago’s Union Station at 2;50 PM, just as the westbound Southwest Chief was pulling out (not on the same track, I hope!). I’d have a 3-hour layover until the train to Dearborn. Perhaps I’d get a bite to eat at the Pret-A-Manger sandwich shop in the food court. If it had been earlier in the day, then I might have gone to Lou Mitchell’s restaurant, which wasn’t far away (they are open for breakfast and lunch only). Eventually, I would have waited in the Metropolitan Lounge for the boarding call.

At 5:50, the train to Dearborn would have pulled out, and I’d have a business class seat once again. And when I wanted supper, the cafe car was right next door. We’d roll through the South Side of Chicago, into the industrial areas of northwest Indiana, then into Michigan. Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Jackson, Ann Arbor, and then Dearborn. Scheduled arrival was 11:26 PM; I’d get my bags and get off the train. I would be nearly home.

Now if I’d driven here and left my car, I could have gone to the car, loaded my bags, and headed home. But I didn’t want to leave my car there for over a month, so I had my cousin drop me off. I was not going to impose on her again, especially as the train would likely be late. I could have called a taxi, but would they be operating that late? As for Uber or Lyft, I’ve never used those services. There was a Comfort Inn within walking distance; perhaps I would have gone there for the night.

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Tuesday April 21

If I hadn’t made it home last night, I would have done so today. Time to unpack; time to contemplate doing laundry; time to see about merging my photo library into my main photo library; time to rest up from my vacation!

And that is it. That’s the story of a cruise that could have been, that should have been. Perhaps I will be able to take that cruise for real in the future. At the time of this writing, in the midst of a pandemic lockdown, that future seems very uncertain. Would it be possible to rebook for, say, one year from now? It’s certainly possible, but would it be wise? Will the health risks still be too high? Will cruise lines still be solvent? Only time will tell.

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THE END

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Written by Roger ReiniJune 21, 20209