Bon Voyage

Well, we are underway on the Emerald Princess.  We left Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale at about 6PM on Thursday.  Once clear of the barrier islands, we set a NE course toward the Azores Islands.  We’ll be at sea for five days before reaching Ponta Delgada on Sau Miguel Island (yes, it’s Sau, not San, because it’s Portuguese) in the Azores.

Getting aboard the ship was a pain this time.  When we left this same port last April, we were on the ship within 30 minutes after arriving at the port.  This time, it was at least two hours of standing in line before actually setting foot on the deck.  We were told that there were two contributing factors to the delay; the Coast Guard wouldn’t let the ship begin boarding because they didn’t have a complete list of all passengers who had disembarked from the previous cruise, and that this particular dock had only one gangway from which to board the ship instead of the three gangways that the ship normally uses.  Oh well, we finally made it. 

After taking a brief tour of the ship, we met most of our traveling companions for lunch.  In addition to all of the dining rooms in the ship, there is a hamburger/hot dog counter on the main deck so, since it was a beautiful day, we decided to eat ‘Al fresco’.  After lunch, we decided where and when to meet for cocktails before dinner.  We have to keep our priorities in order, of course.

While there are many times and places to choose for dinner, we like the traditional fixed seating where we can get to know our waiters, and more importantly, they get to know our wants and needs.  Our waiter is Francisco from Chile, and our assistant waiter is Alejandra from Mexico.  Both have great personalities and make dining fun.  As in previous cruises, the food is very good, but the number of choices makes it difficult to decide what to eat.

Yesterday, Friday, was a quiet day; we slept late and skipped breakfast.  I think we’ll do that on most sea days; two meals a day is plenty!!!  Tom went to a seminar on the history of the Atlantic Ocean, presented by a Geologist/Naturalist on board.  Debbie spent the morning reading.  After lunch, we signed up for the on-board internet, which as I said earlier, is slow and expensive.  It does work, though, and as past cruise passengers, we get several hours free during the 16 day trip.  We’ll try to stay under our “free” limit.

The weather continues to be beautiful.  Days are around 70 degrees, and nights are in the 50’s.  It’s mostly cloudy with occasional sun breaks.  The seas are “moderate” which means that there are 4-7’ swells, but since the ship is large and equipped with all sorts of stabilizing gear, all we feel is a slight roll from side to side.  It’s a very comfortable ride.

Today, Saturday, we are a little south of the Islands of Bermuda, right in the middle of the notorious Bermuda Triangle.  The Triangle is one million square miles, in the North Atlantic Ocean, between the Bermuda Islands, Puerto Rico and Key West.  Its myth originated in the fifties after a few articles in the press about accidents and disappearances of ships and aircraft which took place in mysterious circumstances attributed to supernatural or extraterrestrial forces.  Scientific scrutiny of these occurrences has found no connection between the accidents and the location, so what remains today is just legend.  We’re not worried, are you?

Tonight is the first of three ‘formal nights’, when we will put on dressier duds for dinner.  The ship’s captain, or in this case, Commodore (he’s the senior captain of the Princess fleet) will have a cocktail party to welcome the guests and introduce the senior officers.  Since there are close to 3,000 guests aboard, I think we’ll skip the party.  It can really be a hassle.  I’m sure we won’t skip dinner, though.

That’s about all for now, folks.  We hope you enjoy our tale.

Tom & Debbie

Off We Go Again!

We're presently in a hotel room in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, preparing to board a cruise ship in a couple of hours.  We spent most of the day yesterday on an airplane, traveling from California to Florida, with a stop in Houston.  Air travel isn't fun anymore, with TSA and the airline industry teaming up to make it as uncomfortable and unpleasant as possible.

But, enough about that, our adventure begins today.  We're sailing on the Emerald Princess to Europe.  Yes, Princess is owned by the same company as the Costa ship on its side in the Mediterranean, but we're not concerned.  We've sailed on Princess many times and have had a great time.

From Fort Lauderdale, we sail east for five days to the Azores Islands, where we'll spend a day in Porta Delgado, the main port city.  From there we'll head to Ireland, Cornwall, France, England, Holland, Norway and Denmark, where we'll disembark after 15 days.  We plan to spend about a week in the Copenhagen area, returning home on Friday, May 18th.

While we're away, having a local beer in every port, our good friend and cat tamer, Brenda, will be  staying in our home, making sure that our cats, Bella and Cocoa, are getting the love that they demand.

While we're on the ship, internet access can be good or bad, but the one sure thing is that it'll be expensive.  So, our posts from the ship are likely to be brief, and will probably not have many pictures.  We'll catch up once we're off the ship.

Stay tuned for more!

Tom & Debbie