Having had such fun over the last few days, it was hard to say goodbye to Los Angeles.  But it was time to move on to the next part of our adventure, so this morning my hero returned our rental car whilst I did the last bit of packing up.  Around lunchtime, we were there ready for the transfer to our next transportation: Seven Seas Explorer, trademarked as “the most luxurious ship ever built”.

Hmm.  we’ll see!

The fun part was that Mary and Ellis were joining us for lunch on board and having travelled independently, they were there already, waiting for us on the pool deck with cool drinks in hand.

We had caught our first glimpse of what will be home for the next couple of weeks as we drove through the Port of LA. 

By the time we’d progressed through customs checks and embarkation processes, we could see up close that there were quite a few changes from the sister ships we know and love.  Rather spiffy deck furniture for a start.

Dropping off our bags before going in search of our friends, we were struck by the differences in the design of our suite.  This is altogether a new concept ship and though it’s the same size as those we are more familiar with, there are so many changes and new developments that it’s hard to relate one to the other.

We headed right to the outdoor restaurant at the back of the ship, normally involving a climb of several flights of stairs but this time, our suite is on the deck above it. How lovely to see Ellis and Mary again – maybe we could persuade them to stowaway?

Having had a bite to eat, we began to explore, starting at the very top.  More photographs will appear as the week progresses, but for now, why not come back to ours and see what “home” is like for now.

Our suite is on deck 12 and opening the door, the first section of the room is a small galley area.  There’s a coffee machine and a bottle of gin there – all the necessities, eh?  Underneath is a fridge, stocked with wine, soft drinks and beer, plus several empty cupboards for….who knows?

Turn left and you are in the bedroom area, filled with a huge bed and separated from the rest of the suite by a double sided partition with a TV on each side.

The sitting room area is furnished with comfy seating and a coffee table, though in the galley area, there’s a round table for two at which meals could be served.

There’s a smallish closet, fine for our purposes but rather small for a lengthy journey, I’d imagine.

And last but not least, the piece de resistance, the bathroom.  This is huge with a large shower with several shower heads and sprays (fun to work out which tap works which, I can tell you – especially turning on the overhead rainfall shower by mistake when standing beneath it!)

There’s a separate loo to the left of here and double basins with plenty of storage underneath.  Actually, storage is my one issue: there isn’t really a desk as such, so nowhere to put my art kit and the few bits and pieces I brought with me.  sure, there are empty cupboards and drawers here and there, but none of them are in the right place or in the right format for my pens and paints etc. 

Whilst I think on this little issue, the safety drill bell rings and we have to gather our lifejackets and learn what to do in an emergency.

I hope we won’t need that knowledge!

(and no, Ellis and Mary didn’t stow away but are safely back at home with a copy of the brochure to book their next cruise   We miss them already)