We were up early so we could vacate our cabin on time. We were in disembarkation group Green 2 since we did not have to go to the airport to make flights. We went down to the main dining room and got some breakfast while we waited for our group to be called. The shipped docked on time at the cruise ship terminal in the port of Los Angeles at 8am. Since we had gone through Immigration Control at the first port in Hawaii, we did not have to do that again. When our group was called about 08:30, we checked out of the ship one last time with our cruise cards and headed into the terminal. We were guided to where our luggage had been placed and found everything in order. We were surprised to find out we did not have to go through customs at all. No declaration forms, no lines, no inquisition, just grab our bags and head for the taxi line. (Sidebar: While waiting for our taxi, we watched as people we got acquainted with during our trip found their ways out of the terminal as well. One couple, probably in their late 70s, we liked to watch on our trip loved to dance. She was tiny and petite, with a short, sassy hair cut, while her husband was nice looking with white hair and trimmed mustache. Every day they would go to the Horizons Lounge for Happy Hour and whirl on the dance floor to the sounds of the ship’s band. She was always dressed to the nines, wearing beautiful short batwing dresses or sheaths with matching shoes, jewelry and purses. They were a very smart looking couple. They pulled up behind us in line to wait for transportation. It should have been no surprise they had an attendant pushing a huge baggage truck loaded with 15 bags!!! Of course they had a ton of luggage, it only made sense! We couldn’t imagine where they even stored those bags during the cruise. Hilarious!) We took a taxi ($60) to the Sheraton Four Points by LAX airport. As we rolled into the lobby, we were met by a loud group of people walking in a picket line yelling in Spanish in front of the checkout counters. David looked it over and pushed his way up to the counter and checked us in (to heck with the strikers). Surprisingly, they had a room ready for use given it was only 10am. David noticed the hotel restaurant seemed to be closed and asked what the status was. They were unsure, but it seemed the restaurant was closed due to the strike. Then we pushed our way through the chanters to the elevators. It seems they were part of the house keeping staff and were picketing for better benefits. We got to our room and were surprised by the layout. There was a lot of unused space, the furniture was old and the bathroom was worn. Definitely not Marriott’s best property. With the restaurant closed in the hotel, we had to walk 4 blocks to the restaurants in the adjacent Marriott property. There were a few homeless and drug users wandering around and sleeping (passed out?) on the sidewalks we had to keep an eye out for. Definitely not somewhere we will ever stay again. Otherwise, we are anxious to get home.
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