Noon position: N 33º 44′ 50.88″ – W 118º 16′ 32.44″

Transition day. Welcome to the USA. So here’s what happened.

• 05:00 – Arrive at San Pedro “World Cruise Center”
• 07:45-08:30 – Passengers departing at LA leave the ship and report to CBP Passport Control
• 07:45-08:30 – Passengers continuing on leave the ship and report to CBP Passport Control
• 08:30 – Our excursion departs for the Malibu Coastline and Getty Villa

We did OK, we made it to our bus by 8:35. Then we sat and waited as others trickled in, leaving just after 9:00. Our tour guide was almost frantic but we assured her that the ship didn’t leave until 11:00 pm and the only real thing we needed to get back for was the 4:00 “Naming Ceremony” for our new ship and if we didn’t get back exactly at the scheduled 1:00 nobody was going to get all sweaty and she was fine with that and really excited that we get to be there when they break the champagne bottle.

So we proceeded on ‘with style and grace.’

It turns out that our guide was a substitute called in at the last minute so she didn’t know much more than we did about the Getty post-pandemic. She talked about a lot of stuff, spending much time on the cost of living in California, everyone moving to Arizona and Texas, and the operations of the port (3rd largest in the world) where her husband, kids and even grandchildren are employed.

Arriving at the Getty Villa we were turned loose for the better part of 2 1/2 hours.

The villa is one of two campuses of the J. Paul Getty Museum. It’s dedicated to the study of art and cultures of the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Etruscans. The collection spans the period from 6500 BC to 400 AD. The villa is modeled after the the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum (the original was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD).

Here are a few of the items we found interesting:

We returned to the ship by way of a drove along the Malibu coastline.

Arriving back at the port we had to clear a TSA-type screening (dump your water, bag thru the scanner, pass thru the metal detector, get frisked (because everybody set off the scanner). Once on the ship Cheryl pointed out a set of cranes that sure look like AtAt skeletons.

Back on board we had just enough time to swing by the cafe for a bit of sumpn’-sumpn’ before they closed. Then it was back to the stateroom to chill a bit before the festivities began at 4:00.

At the reception we chatted with a newly boarded couple from Virginia and had a tipple and a nosh.

At the Naming Ceremony people talked and the ship’s Godmother – astronaut Nicole Stott – wielded the big viking war axe and chopped the ribbon that released the champagne bottle.

Viking’s video of the Neptune Naming Ceremony

Because of the festivities the Sunday evening interdenominational church service was cancelled. But a few of us met anyway.

Following a celebratory dinner we returned to our stateroom to await the 8:30 emergency drill (that didn’t actually happen till 9:00 – I think we had to wait till the dignitaries left.)

I spent the evening very frustatedly trying to upload photos from the day (a task not completed until Monday afternoon). Sometimes the WiFi is spotty, even in port.

Eventually I gave up and headed for bed. Tomorrow will see us making a run for Hawaii, trying to avoid the worst of the seas. Wish us luck.

Cheers, R