Cruises

Our cruise to Hawaii on the Celebrity Millennium began with saying goodbye to our ship docked in San Diego Harbor and taking a  bus ride to Ensenada, Mexico , to meet it again. An act of Congress made it illegal for us to board our Malta-flagged ship in the United States because our destination was another U.S. port.  The Jones Act, a 1920 maritime law, is commonly blamed for prohibiting foreign-flagged vessels from carrying passengers between two U.S. ports, without calling at a distant foreign port along the way. The restriction on transporting passengers actually originated from an 1886 law that is now called Chapter 551, Coastwise Trade of Title 46, Shipping, United States Code.

After the coffee. Before trying to avoid talking about Reese Witherspoon. The Skinny: "Mad Men" has developed an annoying habit of introducing a character without providing any background, which leaves viewers wondering whether it's a friend or relative of a main character. If you thought Trekkies were obsessed, you haven't seen anything until you see "Mad Men" watchers dissecting minutiae on Twitter. Monday's headlines include the box office recap and how Hollywood is having a tough year in China.

If you go A number of cruise lines journey to Hawaii from the West Coast, October through April: Princess Cruises , (800) 774-6237, http://www.princess.com , from Los Angeles and San Francisco. Carnival, (888) 227-6482, http://www.carnival.com , from Long Beach. Celebrity Cruises, (888) 245-4254, http://www.celebritycruise.com , from Los Angeles and San Diego. Holland America LIne, (877) 932-4259, http://www.hollandamerica.com , from San Diego.

LAHAINA, Hawaii - "Here, take this one," Elisa said, lifting an orchid lei from her shoulders and draping it on Laurel's. "Aloha. " My wife, Laurel, and I were in the tender queue with Elisa, our "port shopping specialist," at Lahaina on Maui, waiting to be shuttled to Cunard Line's Queen Victoria for the final six nights of our 14-night round trip from Los Angeles to the Hawaiian Islands. Laurel had put off buying a lei and the vendors were sold out, so Elisa had generously given hers - a typically Hawaiian act of sharing.

After suffering a couple of box-office disappointments, Tom Cruise posted his first No. 1 film opening in years at the multiplex this weekend. The 50-year-old's science fiction flick "Oblivion" was the only new movie to hit theaters this weekend and easily claimed the top spot, debuting with a respectable $38.2 million, according to an estimate from distributor Universal Pictures. That figure includes screenings from Thursday evening, when the movie began playing in many locations at 7 p.m. The film's opening is a win for Cruise, especially considering the movie did not benefit from 3-D ticket surcharges and was not part of a franchise.

If this keeps up - and the Angels certainly hope it will - they might have to explain to their fans why they yanked their most effective pitcher out of their starting rotation. Garrett Richards dominated the Detroit Tigers on Saturday, pitching seven innings without giving up a run or a walk. The Angels scored nine runs in the first inning - highlighted by Mike Trout's first grand slam - and rolled to a 10-0 rout at Angel Stadium. The Angels scored more runs in the first inning Saturday than they had totaled in any of their first 15 games this season.

Los Angeles celebrates its sixth CicLAvia on Sunday, with Venice Boulevard mostly closed to cars from downtown to the beach. Parts of Alvarado, 7th and Main streets will be closed downtown. The idea is to give people on foot and bicycles the chance to experience the city from a different perspective. About 100,000 people have taken part in past CicLAvia events, organizers say. There will be food trucks along the route and spots for children to learn bicycle safety. Rental bikes will be available near City Hall and in Mid-City Los Angeles, and there are water stops, rest rooms and first aid on the route.

After the coffee. Before spending another day glued to TV news. The Skinny: Since ESPN has the Redskins for its opening Monday night game, the scheduling gurus at the NFL must be pretty confident that quarterback Robert Griffin III will be fully recovered from his knee injury. Hope they are right. Friday's headlines include the box-office preview, YouTube's latest legal win over Viacom and reviews of "Oblivion" and "Hemlock Grove. " Daily Dose: The Emmy Awards will be a little bit longer this year.

Even the most oblivious of moviegoers will be well aware of "Oblivion" this weekend, as the Tom Cruise flick is set to claim No. 1 at the box office. The "Mission: Impossible" actor's latest film, the only picture debuting nationwide this weekend, is poised to have a healthy debut of around $37 million, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. Meanwhile, in its second weekend in theaters, "42" is expected to hold up well at the box office. The Jackie Robinson drama launched last weekend with a respectable $27.5 million and earned a perfect A+ average grade from moviegoers, market research firm CinemaScore said.

"Oblivion" will make you remember, not forget. This Tom Cruise vehicle is a throwback to the days when on-screen science fiction was about speculative ideas rather than selling toys to tots - think of it as the most expensive episode of "The Twilight Zone" ever made. "Oblivion" is not perfect. Its dystopian story makes no apologies for its familiarity, echoing such films as "The Planet of the Apes," "The Matrix," "2001" and even "Wall-E. " And expecting the wheels not to eventually begin to fall off its pleasantly complicated, head-spinning plot (based on the director Joseph Kosinski's graphic novel)