Jane and Maura had decided that they wanted to arrive in San Francisco the day before the cruise departed and they wanted to stay a few days after before flying back to Boston. They wanted to be able to see some of San Francisco while they were there. Maura and Constance had been there before but Maura was not sure if anybody else had visited San Francisco before so she agreed that it would be a good idea.
They planned two extra evenings in San Francisco at the end of the cruise so they could be proper tourists. The cruise company provided a quick 4.5-hour tour but Maura knew where she wanted to go so, she figured they would do their own tour of San Francisco. She discussed different activities with Jane and Cailin and they decided on the activities just like they did for all the other ports that they were stopping at.
Maura really wanted to have the trip totally planned out ahead of time. Some dinner spots in San Francisco would require reservations so she needed to make the reservations. She was happy to have Jane and Cailin helping plan the trip. Maura had fun going over the details with Jane and Cailin. Jane seemed a little overwhelmed with a few things but she was able to get through it and even managed to crack a few jokes and smile. Cailin just enjoyed spending time with them and laughing and joking with them.
Friday night before they left they printed up the itineraries and boarding passes and prepared a travel packet for each of their guests. They made it seem like they were a real travel company, RIM (Rizzoli-Isles-Martin) Travel Company. The packets had a logo and everything. Jane, Maura and Cailin acted very serious when they presented the travel packets to their mothers before they left the house to go to the airport. They acted as though the red carpet was being rolled out, only the best for their Mother's Day present, right?
All three mothers laughed at the antics of their daughters and were quite impressed to think that they came up with a logo and all. Cailin was so happy that she joined Jane and Maura for the presentation of the travel packets. She felt like she had two older sisters not just one. Cailin felt very comfortable with Jane and Maura and her personality was similar to both of them. It is like she was a mix of both of their personalities.
It was an almost 7-hour flight from Boston to San Francisco. Saturday, they departed Boston around 10 AM and with a 3-hour time difference they arrived around 2 PM Pacific Time. The only event on the agenda for the day of arrival, was getting checked into the hotel and then having a nice dinner. Maura figured everyone would be tired from the flight so they would have a chance to relax and recover from the long flight.
At 11 AM on Sunday morning they checked out of the hotel and took the hotel's shuttle to the pier so they could board the ship. They had a 12:15 check-in time for their cruise. Their hotel was in close proximity to the departure pier.
The check-in process was well organized and within half an hour they were in their rooms. Their luggage would arrive sometime later in the day. After boarding the ship and placing their carry-on bags in their room, Jane's stomach was growling and she and Maura had gone in search of food. It did not take long for Jane to discover where the burger bar was and after standing in line for about 10 minutes, she placed her order for two cheeseburgers and some fries. Maura decided she would have a burger and fries as well. They put the condiments on their burgers and then found a table to sit at.
As Jane finished her first cheese burger, they saw Cailin and Hope strolling through the area and invited them to sit with them. Cailin initially sat and then jumped up to get in line to get a burger for her and her mom. Maura and Hope stepped over to the bar and ordered some drinks for them. Jane managed to steal some of Maura's fries while she was gone. She knew Maura would reach over and steal some of hers like she always did, so she figured she would stock up in preparation for the robbery. They enjoyed their lunch once everyone returned to the table. Meanwhile Constance and Angela had discovered the buffet line and decided they would eat there. They had a glass of wine with their lunch. Angela let Constance pick the wine that would of course compliment their entrée.
Everyone finished their lunch in time to go upstairs to watch the ship sail out of the bay. It was set to sail at 4 PM. When it left the dock, they watched as the ship cruised under the Golden Gate Bridge. It was quite the sight as they looked around the bay at the bridge and the city. At 5 PM they had to be at their muster location with their life jackets for a safety briefing. The meeting lasted about 20 minutes, after that they were free until dinnertime. Maura had scheduled them for the late dinner. The six of them would be seated together for their meals.
Jane and Maura had debated the dinner time but when they looked at the excursions with Cailin the three of them decided that the later dinner would give them time to return from the excursions and freshen up before dinner. The earlier dinner seating time would have them rush back from some of the excursions. Also, if someone was hungry and needed to eat before a meal time, they had several opportunities to eat, such as the International café, the buffet, or room service. Jane learned quickly she would not starve while on the ship. This fact pleased her very much.
Jane had not realized how much planning had to go into such a vacation. This was a time she was pleased about Maura's organizational skills. Jane knew she was good at organizing but this trip had quite a few pieces that needed to be put together to pull it off and Maura was just the woman for the job. She really loved her girlfriend.
Dinner was very nice and relaxed. Jane could not believe the selections of food that were available. The waiter explained that every night they had a special and some items are available at each meal. She had a hard time trying to decide what she wanted to eat. Maura just laughed as she remembered how Jane had inhaled her cheese burgers earlier in the day when they first got on the ship.
Everybody decided to do their own thing after dinner and they would meet up at breakfast in the morning. The next four days would be spent at sea as they would not arrive at their first destination until Friday, when they arrived in Honolulu. Jane, Maura and Cailin, decided to check out the dance club. They spent a couple of hours together before Cailin decided she would return to her room. Jane and Maura decided to go to the nightclub. They had a few drinks and then decided they would go to their room for a little quality alone time.
The ship provided an activity sheet that depicted what would be happening during the next day so at breakfast on Monday morning they reviewed the activities for the day and selected which activities they would participate in. Of course, not everyone wanted to do the same thing but for the most part everyone was able to do the activities they wanted to do with someone from the group. There were a few activities that everyone wanted to do so they arranged when they meet up for that activity. Everyone participated in Bingo and they had fun. Constance was the only one to win a prize. She was so excited. This was a new experience for her. Constance had never played Bingo so Angela made sure to sit by her and show her how it was done. After Bingo Maura and Cailin wanted to swim so they went to the pool. Jane went to the pool but she read a book instead of swimming. Angela convinced Constance and Hope to go to a craft activity with her.
They all planned to meet up for Trivia before dinner. They wanted to see how well Maura would
do with the trivia game. Maura did not disappoint them. She won the trivia game. They asked 20 questions and she knew the answer to all 20 questions. She did admit to Jane later that night that she had guessed on one question. She was about 85% positive that she had the correct answer. She figured it would not hurt her to guess in this instance. Jane was proud of her for guessing, she knows that Maura does not like to guess.
Her prize for winning the trivia game was little stuff bear dressed in a Captain's uniform. Maura liked it she said it was cute. That night was their first formal night so everyone retreated to their rooms so they would have enough time to get dressed. Maura had decided to wear a deep green dress and Jane was wearing a tailored suit with a shirt to match the color of Maura's dress. The two of them looked stunning. They held hands as they walked to dinner. There was a mimosa drink tower on display by the grand staircase with photographers stationed all around to take pictures of people. Maura and Jane had their picture taken and then had a mimosa before joining everyone for dinner.
They utilized the onboard ship communication app on their cell phones to message each other throughout the day. They all really enjoyed the first full day at sea and were tired but Jane and Maura still managed to find the energy to go to the nightclub and have a few drinks before they retired for the evening. While at the nightclub Jane and Maura had sat at a table away from the dance floor so they could relax while enjoying their drinks. It had been an enjoyable day. They were enjoying spending time with their family and enjoying their alone time also. It was a perfect trip so far.
At breakfast the next day they would see what activities the ship had to offer so they could plan their day.