regent voyager

Hotel del Coronado

Ahead of schedule, we are alongside at the downtown San Diego pier by 9:30 this morning. It's a bright sunny day in San Diego, with forecast highs near 70. Since this is our first re-entry into the US, customs officials are onboard for face-to-face meetings with all passengers and collection of our customs declarations. The inspection is complete (at least for the passengers) by about 11:30 and the ship is cleared, allowing passengers to go ashore. We're in port until 11pm, so there's plenty of time to wander around the gaslamp quarter or explore the nearby maritime museum.

Our excursion, "San Diego Highlights" is scheduled to depart at 1:15. Before leaving the ship we enjoy lunch on the pool deck where grilled fish, steaks and hamburgers are offered with an abundance of salads and side dishes. After gathering in the main theatre, we board motor coaches for our 4 hour overview tour of San Diego. Leaving the port area, we drive through the nearby gaslamp district which reminds us of the Denver lodo area, with restaurants, pubs and specialty shops. The first stop on the tour is Old Town San Diego, where we have about 30 minutes to walk around exploring the historic aspects of life in early San Diego. Next, we're off to La Jolla for a quick drive-through to see La Jolla Cove, the downtown area and the million dollar homes clinging to the cliffs. Our next stop is Balboa Park. Home of perhaps the city's most famous attraction, the San Diego Zoo, the park also boasts many museums, art collections and gardens. You could easily spend days if not weeks exploring this 'central park' of San Diego. We have about 30 minutes near the outdoor pipe organ pavilion and the Globe Theatre area to quickly explore before we're back on the coach. Returning toward the waterfront, we're off to our last stop on Coronado island. No visit to San Diego would be complete without a visit to the iconic Hotel Del Coronado. Here we have another 30 minutes to explore the lobby, shops, and grounds of this beautiful grand dame of Coronado Island.

Shortly after returning to the ship we're joined by a good friend that lives near San Diego for dinner. We've never had the opportunity of inviting friends onboard, but find that Regent is happy to handle the paperwork and extra security arrangements that allow visitors onboard. It's a great evening of reminiscing and enjoying the service and food in the Compass Rose dining room. After a quick tour of the ship, our friend departs about 10pm, one hour before sail away. Up on deck at 11pm, it's a beautiful (if not a bit cool and breezy) departure from San Diego. Tomorrow we're at sea, enroute to San Francisco.