The Chan Family Cruise

August 8-11, 2008

The Chan family gathered at Long Beach one Friday in August—yes, it was 08/08/08—for a three-day cruise aboard the Royal Caribbean's "Monarch of the Seas."  The "Monarch" is an 880-foot-long, 73,937-ton behemoth with a crew of 850 that will take on 2,800 passengers, but it's small compared with the newer cruise ships.

On Saturday morning, we arrived in lovely Enseñada, a town that's almost worth visiting if you have nothing better to do.  Saturday evening was our dress-up dinner, which was followed by a photo-op extravaganza and a spirited game of spoons.

On Sunday, we attended a video-church service, where we recited the Lord's Prayer together "on the count of three."  We spent Sunday afternoon playing poker and mahjong, and that evening featured a gender-based battle on a Sequence board.  Finally, after we disembarked on Monday morning, we drove up to lovely Hollywood Boulevard, where we successfully disguised ourselves as tourists.