Cherbourg/Zeebrugge - May 2nd

Cherbourg and Zeebrugge

Well, I guess you could say I called it in our last episode.  The Allies had to cancel and reschedule Operation Overlord (Invasion of Normandy) due to weather and that, with some help from a dazed and confused tour provider, is pretty much what happened to Uncle Jack and I in Cherbourg.

We awakened earlier than usual, excited to be seeing the beaches of Normandy and some of the history associated with our invasion 74 years ago.  Woke right up to driving rain and temperatures that would be right at home in Oregon in the winter — did I mention we live in SW Florida?  Cold wind and cold rain don’t exist in our vocabulary any more, but just to ensure we remember why we don’t live in the climes we were born in any more, Cherbourg thought she’d greet us properly.

Uncle Jack and I had a tour planned and I had checked with our operator two days before hand to double check when and where we would meet them - Check, Double Check…  So at ten after 8 in 15-20 mph winds and consistent rain showers, we got off the ship to wait for our private tour, and wait and wait…  We had of course contingency plan #1 - turn on my cell phone and call the tour operator.  “Yes, we have your names, our driver is enroute, not to worry, they will be there as planned at 0830…”  8:30 rolls around, still not there - call again.  They are almost there - not to worry.  So I don’t bore you with every thing we did do, I can cut to the chase and say what we didn’t do, which was do our planned Normandy tour…  

Why?  The tour operator had two ships arriving on May 1st, our ship and Viking Star.  Viking Star was supposed to arrive first; they ended up docking after we did - so all the tour vans were waiting at the Viking Star dock — while all of us on Zuiderdam - about 10 or 15 people, waited in the rain for more than an hour.  Two hours after we were supposed to have left, the vans finally showed up - already 3/4’s full with folks from the other ship.  Two hours late for an 8 hour tour, sopping wet and chilled to the bone, aboard a van full of folks who didn’t need to be back to their ship until 9:30pm; our departure was 5:30pm.  Uncle Jack said, “Let’s bag it” and we did.

I spent an hour writing a pretty dispirited letter to the tour operator — we were so looking forward to seeing the ground our Greatest Generation had consecrated and now we had missed our chance.  Later that evening, I received what I will consider one of the more moving apologies I’ve ever seen from the owner of the tour company.  Rather than worry about how things had gone, he cut to the chase and apologized, almost (well, actually he did) making me feel bad for him.  In these days of Risk Manager/Lawyer written apologies that are designed to limit liability while making it sound like you are sorry something unfortunate happened, this gentleman took it on the chin.  So my hat is off to Andy - a true gentleman.  I didn’t get to take his tour but having taken his measure as a person, I’d recommend him and his company in a second.

So Cherbourg was a hot mess — well, perhaps a cold, wet mess, but having a bathtub for a warm bath is not too bad a way to deal with a chill.  Next up, Zeebrugge…

Right on time again, Zuiderdam pulled into the harbor of Zeebrugge, Belgium - to, sunshine, yeah!  Hold on there cowboy, you aren’t off the ship yet…  By the time we got off the ship with Aunt Sarah; Uncle Jack having decided to stay aboard, around 1pm, things were a little bit less sunny - but at least not wet - yet…

Zeebrugge is pretty much just a port facility - the closet town, Blankenberge, is about 4 or 5 kilometers away, and the city of Brugge is probably about 15 kilometers away.  These aren’t exact distances on the map — I am judging distance based on how long we had to travel to get there, so how did we get there?

First, there was a shuttle bus that picked us up from the ship and took us to the port’s gate about 400 yards as the crow flies - it isn’t the distance but the fact that the port is a super busy cargo port and they don’t want tourist/passengers walking around amidst the cargo containers getting moved hither and yon.  From the port’s front gate, there are two ways to go - Left and Right - with right being the direction we wanted to go in order to walk to the closest tram stop to head towards Blankenberge.  It was about a 1/2 mile walk on a good side walk to get to the tram stop - passing a maritime museum (old coastguard/light house boat painted red on the shore and what I think is a post WW-II Soviet submarine in the water) along the way.  Inquiring minds might want to know how to catch the tram?  On the same side of the street you are walking on from the port is a small market.  In this market, you can buy a “Tages Kart”.  Now, I don’t know a word in Belgian, but this looked to me like the German words for a “Days Card” so I bought three of them since I’d read we would be taking both tram and bus to get to Brugge city.  The card was 6 Euros each for all the buses and trams you could ride in 24 hours.

We took the tram from the stop directly across from the market heading the same direction we’d headed to get to the market in the first place - the stop is right across the street from a church (“Kerk”) so it is a good reference point.  Once aboard the tram (clean and modern looking) we could see that the next stop was on a lighted sign at the front of the tram and the tram routes were depicted in maps on the left and ride side of the ceiling (the one we needed was on our left heading into town).  We got off at the aptly named “Station” which was where we waited to catch bus #33, that said “Brugge” on the electronic sign which was where we were going.

We rode the bus - once again, modern and clean, for the 7 or 8 mile trip into the center of Brugge.  Along the way, we were reminded again of one of the reasons we love Europe, namely, city and country co-exist side by side.  One second you are in city (Blankenberge) - homes and businesses, the next second, you are in the countryside with cows, horses, crops, sheep and farm houses.  This goes on for about 5 or 6 miles and then you are immediately back into the outskirts of Brugge city - the transition from one (countryside agriculture) to the other (city urbanscape) is so smooth it is actually kind of jarring when you are used to the distinctions we make in the USA.  At home, “Farm to Table” seems like a really big deal; here it is just the way it is…

Brugge is a modern city of brick fascias - real and appliqué - the older buildings really are built of brick, the newer are concrete block construction with brick appliqué - the overall effect is esthetically pleasing.  We got off at what we were told was the “Center” - not quite true it turned out - where we got off was right across the street from what appears to be a new urban transportation center - currently under construction.  Even though it wasn’t the historical “Center” of town, it was a nice entrance to walk into the town’s historical center.  It was a nice walk even though a cold rain was now starting to fall and we’d left our umbrella back on the ship (%^&@#$!!!).  We were at least bundled up for the weather, even if we may have looked a bit “humid” so to speak.  The town center was an easy 10 minute walk along great pedestrian streets punctuated by stores and churches (Bless me Father for I have sinned - first the American Express and then the Visa Card) - that is why they are side by side, right???

The town center was true Market Platz (German speak) - the town’s largest cathedral on one side with the other three sides taken by a historical museum and charming side walk restaurants and cafe’s.  There was also a decent line of horse drawn carriages for hire - think I saw 50Euro as the fare on one of the carriages as it clip clopped by pulled by a very beautiful sorrel horse.

Having seen downtown Brugge, and contemplating our return journey back to the ship, we caught a bus and headed back to the “Station” in Brugge - in this case meaning the train station.  At the train station, I could see a sign for Blankengberge, so walked up to the window and asked for 3 adult fares (in English) - each ticket was 3.1 Euros - and the actual time via train was 13 minutes from station to station (we hit 65mph along the way) non-stop.  We had to wait 40 minutes for the 4:05pm train but we spent it in Starbucks with a White Chocolate Mocha and internet…

Once back in Blankenberge, we walked from the Train Station across the street to the Tram/Bus station we’d departed from 2 hours previously, and caught a tram back to our Zeebruge Kerk stop.  

So what did we learn about Zeebrugge, Blankenberge, and Brugge?  Easy and economical to get around — food prices on menus are super expensive - twice what we’d pay in the States - same thing in the store window displays - I don’t think I saw a pair of shoes under 130 Euros and a bunch more than 500 Euros.  And with a limited sample size - e.g. one day on a couple of buses, trams, and trains in three small cities,  I can tell you that Belgium is a lot more like Italy than it is like Germany or Switzerland when it comes to lines and public transportation.  In Germany or Switzerland, people queue up properly and get on a bus or tram in an orderly fashion.  In Italy, it is a free for all, although elders and pretty women get some slack.  Belgium is pretty much like Italy except the pretty women and old guys are elbowing their way ahead of you to get on the bus or tram.  Local customs never bother me - I just need to know how things are done and then I will follow suit.  So after a old guy half my size elbowed his way past me the first time, I hip checked his buddy to let Aunt Sarah and Valerie get on without getting run over…  You gotta’ learn from the locals… Our overall impression of Belgians is that they aren’t the warmest and fuzziest bunch of people we’ve encountered in Europe.  But then you have to understand we think we’re half Italian (at least) and think Germans are warm, loving people with a great sense of humor (truth!)

So - all in all, a great but once again, rainy, visit ashore in Belgium.  Tomorrow is Amsterdam - one of our favorite cities in the world.  Even if it rains, we are scoring some seriously aged Gouda cheese…

MS Zuiderdam - 16 days from Ft Lauderdale to Copenhagen - Ponta Delgada and Three More Sea Days...

Ponta Delgada and Three More Sea Days…

Zuiderdam ran quickly East South East the 100 or so sea miles from Horta to Ponta Delgada arriving off the harbor around sunset.  The wind was approaching 60 knots as we entered the harbor, a fairly narrow entry with a strong sea wall to keep out the raging Atlantic.

Thus began the delicate dance of trying to get Zuiderdam to her berth, starting with turning her around to back into our assigned dock.  This started about the time we sat down to watch our evening entertainment in the Vista Theater at 8pm.  We could feel and hear our bow thrusters working hard throughout the 45 minute show.  We were still about 50 yards off the dock with two tugs pushing hard against our starboard side when we reached topside after the show ended.  We watched for the next 15 or 20 minutes as we inched our way closer to the dock on our port side, finally getting close enough for lines to be sent to the dock and pull her in the last few feet.  Our Captain, Pilot, and Tug boat crew really earned their money in our Ponta Delgada docking!

First impressions of Ponta Delgada at dark were mixed - seemed a lot less “quaint” than Horta.  Another cruise ship, Aida (a German cruise company) was docked and a small “expedition” class cruise ship “Serenissima” was next to us on the same pier.  Waking up the next morning and being able to see Ponta Delgada was a pleasant surprise - period white and black architecture, at least 6 churches in sight, and a fort 1/2 mile away to our left down the seaside walkway.  Green hillsides were in evidence behind the downtown area and on the plateau above the fort, we could see the end of the island’s runway.  One of lasting impressions of the Azores in April will be beautiful green hillsides, reminiscent of similar scenes in the Emerald Island.

We got off the ship about 9:30 or so, short easy walk off the ship to leave the port area, setting out to do some sightseeing.  Turns out, most stores don’t open until 10am so we walked around for a bit to kill some time and found out an important lesson.  In the Azores - or more accurately, Ponta Delgada, the drivers are so polite that as soon as you look like you are going to cross in a crosswalk, they stop immediately.  This is not Naples, Italy to be sure — we love Napoli and having lived there, know how you have to cross the street because Napolitani drivers will never stop for pedestrians, they just drive around you as you fearlessly proceed without stopping across the street.

Over the next hour, we walked along graffiti free, scrupulously clean cobblestone streets, a very nice morning stroll, finding in turn a pharmacy for some cough remedies, and later on, a super market for soft tissue.  Prices in both were reasonable and folks in both stores understood our questions and helped us get what we needed.  We checked out a Mexican restaurant - ouch, prices were expensive - essentially 12.90 Euros - $14 for a burrito; $25 for Fajitas.  We walked far enough along to reach the fort which is a pretty typical fortification - 3 Euro entrance fee to enter the military maritime museum, but across from a beautiful, tree-lined plaza centered on a bandstand that appears to be a civic center kind of area.  Having walked around for about 90 minutes, happily impressed with our first impression of Ponta Delgada, we headed back to Zuiderdam to take Aunt Sarah to lunch.

After lunch, we took Aunt Sarah ashore to give her a chance to see some of what we’d seen earlier.  This time though, we set course to the city market (Mercado) to see what we might see.  The Mercado was a little bit up the hill from our dock, but a very gentle and unchallenging grade.  We asked directions once since the tourist map we had didn’t do a very good job with street names.  After getting properly on course, we didn’t know we’d reached the Mercado until a delicious cheese smell wafted out of a nondescript white door.  Was so focused on walking forward, I wasn’t paying attention to the store’s entrance, fortunately, my nose grabbed my attention.  Walking inside, we could see three walls of local wine and a long cooler counter of delicious looking cheese wheels.  Have to love a market you enter through a cheese and wine store…  Once into the market proper, we could see fresh fruit and produce in the covered, 50 yard by 50 yard market area - since it was now about 1pm or so, many of the vendors were starting to pack things up.  One price that stands out was 2 euros for a 10 kilogram sack of potatoes - so prices seemed pretty reasonable all told.  Another thing that stood out was that locally grown items were designated as “regional” produce - and looking at the variety of what’s available, the green fields of the Azores are clearly productive.  The fish market was already closed but the meat market was still open — fresh meat and sausage looked great.   Once again, regionally grown meat was advertised for sale in the market so it seems the Azorians can avail themselves of local produce from farm and field.  I didn’t do a comparison between products notated as “regional” and similar products without the regional designation so can’t say if there is a substantial price differential one way or the other. 

After another hour or so ashore, Aunt Sarah and I dodged a few rain showers to re-board Zuiderdam.  Once back in our room, Valerie and I saw a phenomena which we will always remember in context of Ponta Delgada — the afternoon swim.  First a bit of additional context…

The outdoor temperature was high 50’s - scattered clouds, winds in the harbor at 20+ knots, and two - three foot waves inside the seawall.  I can’t imagine what the water temperature in the harbor was but doubt it touched 60 degrees.  First, a guy in a wetsuit jumped into the water and swam about 400 yards before pulling himself out on the steps of a sea water filled swimming pool with water sloshing back and forth into the pool from the harbor.  Geez - that doesn’t look fun - but at least he had a wetsuit on.  For the next three hours, we watched men and women from 30’s to their 70’s walk down to a small harbor side building, doff their clothes, get into bathing suits and walk directly into the harbor water for brief swims.  We froze our little tushies off just watching them - in some cases, folks spent more time getting undressed and redressed than they actually spent in the water - must be some kind of daily check off - 3 or 4 pm, head to harbor and take my daily polar bear plunge, carry on with remainder of my daily schedule.

Three earth shaking blasts of the ship’s whistle and we were away from the Ponta Delgado dock.  It was way easier leaving the dock than getting there about 24 hours earlier mostly due to the fact we were just sailing directly away from the dock and out the harbor entrance.  The Captain noted on our departure that the low pressure weather center was stronger to the east south east of Ponta Delgado so rather than taking the shorter direction, we were going to sail west around the island and from there head north.  The seas were still pretty good sized but apparently not quite as bad so off we went to our next stop, Cherbourg, France.

On the way to Cherbourg, and in celebration of King’s Day (Birthday of the Dutch King) we wandered up to the Crows Nest Bar on deck 10, port side (left) forward for a great view of Zuiderdam rising and falling on the 20+ foot swells which were heading directly into.  Fast forward two days…  Heading directly into the waves is a way smoother ride (in most of the ship except the lower areas forward) than having them directly aft (behind you).  Considering that the stabilizers keeping our ride smoothed out are like “wings” riding below the water, like wings in the air, the faster you move through the medium,  the better the wings work.  When the waves are coming from behind, they make your speed through the water, relative to the wing, less effective.  Anyway, seeing those big waves coming at us was a cool view.  Cooler still was seeing all the people pour into the Crows Nest to celebrate Kings Day — announce there are free drinks and everyone decided they aren’t going to bed at 9pm tonight…

Just so you don’t think Valerie and I were up there for the free drinks, we were drinking our new substitute for “Fireball” which isn’t available on Zuiderdam - “Damn”…  Not even Jack Daniels “Fire” is available - so no cinnamon fix for us — we had to be satisfied (and we mostly were) with Jack Daniels “Honey”.  A very nice drink to share and watch the people roll in like the tide.   The soft pitch and roll that night rocked us softly to sleep and the beginning of our three day sea journey to Cherbourg.

Weather on all three sea days was gently deteriorating as our latitude went from the high 30’s (38) to the high 40’s (48.20N) — basically off the French coast at Brest — with the temperature dropping from the mid-60’s to the mid or low 50s with gray skies and intermittent rain.  The other thing that has changed this afternoon (Sunday) is that we are now essentially in the southern end of the English Channel and there are ships ahead, abreast, and behind as this is one of the busiest shipping channels in the world.  Directly out my  window, I can see a tanker and a break bulk cargo ship (when I looked closer, I could see a third a few miles farther away) going south within a mile of our port side.  The other weather observation this afternoon is the big ocean swells that have been pushing us along, are still there but the wind (from an Irish low to our Northwest) is now coming at us on the port side so there is a lot of confusion out there.  The swells are behind us, the whitecaps are coming at our cabin with the net effect looking like the agitation cycle in your washing machine.

Predicted weather for our Cherbourg port call isn’t good - gale force winds and rain - hmmm, didn’t the Allied invasion get moved around for funky weather about 74 years ago?  I guess we’re going to have a proper tour of Normandy tomorrow.

MS Zuiderdam - 16 days from Ft Lauderdale to Copenhagen - Sea Days 4, 5, and 6

Update - Food and Weather - Sea Days #4, 5, and 6

We’ve been aboard 7 days and 6 nights now and have completely settled into the rhythm we so love on long cruises.  Go to bed a little later, wake up a bit later, and get to the gym each morning.  We are all reading and finishing books at a rate you can only achieve when you aren’t trying to live today’s “multi-tasking” lifestyle.  You also tend to adjust meals and meal times…  

When you first get aboard, the idea of breakfast, lunch, and dinner — sit down or buffet — makes you feel like you’re at an all inclusive resort.  But after a day or three, you figure out what and where you want to eat, and stop eating every meal.  Everyone has different tastes — I love sushi and Asian food with a strong backup of Italian food.  Valerie is an Italian first with an appetite for Thai or Indian as variety.  So lunch wise, the buffet is perfect for both of us…  On one side is a varying selection of Country specific Asian food, on the other, cook to order pastas and pizza.  On the Asian side, we’ve visited China, India, Thailand, and Indonesia so far and each lunch is accompanied by three different types of freshly made sushi.  Since we’ve had lots of sea days, we have also eaten lunch in the formal dining room which was quite lovely - perfect service and good food.  And dinner…?

We have truly enjoyed dining in the main dining room for each of our 6 nights so far.  Highlights?  “C n C” Why C n C?  Chilled Soups and Crisps - soups and desserts…  Aunt Sarah and I are true soupers - last night we both started with warm butternut squash soup, followed by a second soup course of chilled toasted coconut.  Another home run coming out of the kitchen - in fact, each chilled soup (blueberry, pina colada are two more that still make my mouth water) we have had has been delicious.  Then a good main - very good variety each evening. We have noted that fish courses - regardless of the specific fish or preparation - have been excellent.  And the Crisps - yes, the old fashioned things your grandmother used to make - except perhaps taking them to the next level because each of them - with a different fruit each night - has been amazing.  We have also been most happy with our primary server, Andry, assisted by Yoga and special note for our Wine Steward, Pearly Ann who has a 1 in 100 personality - every time she visits your table its like a ray of sunshine has just arrived.

Weather-wise, we’ve had a mixed bag, pretty much what you’d expect of a more northerly Atlantic Crossing.  Tropical Storm Arlene which kicked up good sized ocean rollers for two days has dissipated and we had relatively flat seas from yesterday afternoon until about mid-day today (Tuesday).  As we approach Horta and Ponta Delgada in the Azores, we are also approaching a relatively deep low to the south of the island which is generating 30 knot plus winds and increasing seas.  Nothing ugly yet but forecasts may involve missing one or both of our Azores port calls.  Better safe than sorry to be sure.

Each afternoon at 2pm, Uncle Jack and I have been attending lectures on the evolution of modern warfare presented by Commander Tall, former Royal Navy Submariner, who is presenting a 10 lecture series - one lecture for each sea day.  They have been well presented and I never cease to be amazed at the sacrifices in life and limb our grandfathers made - the sheer scale of death and destruction (thousands or tens of thousands in each battle) in WWI and WWII dwarfs anything I’ve experienced in my lifetime — these lectures are a fitting lead in to our upcoming tour of the Normandy battlefields on May Day - a day I strongly suspect will cost me many tears as I walk on ground sanctified by the blood of our greatest generation.

The Captain announced today that our Horta port call will be a tendering operation - so most likely Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jack will be staying aboard - remains to be seen if weather actually permits going ashore but if it does, will try to get ashore, see things, and take a few snapshots.

MS Zuiderdam - 16 days from Ft Lauderdale to Copenhagen - Sea Days 2 and 3

Sea Days 2 and 3

One of the “Love it or Hate it” aspects of Trans ocean cruising is getting into the rhythm of sea days.  You either love the idea of having time each day to figure out what you want to do or go nuts trying to figure out what to do with all the time uninterrupted by devices and “e-interruptions”.  Ultimately it boils down to a question of what’s more important, the destination or the journey.

If the destination is more important, then getting there at 20 miles per hour, when the destination is 2000+ miles away, is not your cup of tea.  Conversely, if the journey is more important, then the pace of trans ocean travel is perfect.

First day in the gym on our first sea day…  Nicely appointed, perhaps not as large as some we have enjoyed, but then again, since the average age on our cruise is north of 50, contention for machines and mat space was not too bad.

Learned an important lesson yesterday about the buffet layout aboard Zuiderdam and cruise ships in general.  Never assume that they’re all the same.  To date on a survey size of about 10 ships on 6 cruise lines, buffet lines on one side of the ship mirror the lines on the other side - so two sides of the same food.  Ah hah, gotcha! Because Zuiderdam is different than any ship I’ve been on before - the entree’ counter is the same on both sides but the other counters are different — pizza and fresh pasta on one side (port/left) and Asian food (sushi and hot options) on the other (starboard/right).

Entertainment thus far has been great - jazz/Motown one night; headliner comedy the next.  Fred Klett performed in the Vista theater last night and sent us home an hour later still laughing.  Comedy on a cruise ship is reminiscent of comedy when I was growing up 50+ years ago - “G” rated - and suitable for network (vice cable) broadcast during family hour.  The subject matter isn’t edgy or avant guard — rather focused on family, family situations, and married life — timeless subjects and full of humor if delivered by someone who has true comedic talent which Fred certainly has.

So what’s the take away on crossing a major ocean?  It is a return to rhythms of “Yesteryear” - reading books, watching movies, going to shows, attending lectures, and dressing up for dinner — it is the antithesis of today’s digital, plugged in, on-line lifestyle.

MS Zuiderdam - 16 days from Ft Lauderdale to Copenhagen - Embarkation

More than 12 months after we booked our cruise, April 19, 2017 finally arrived.  We picked up our one way rental from Hertz at Naples Municipal Airport, loaded up our bags, and headed across the Florida peninsula with Uncle Jack and Aunt Sarah to Port Everglades.

Zuiderdam was docked at Pier 26, towards the south end of the Port Everglades complex.  Nice big arrival area (much larger than the arrival areas on the northern end of the complex) so traffic flow was easy to maneuver for dropping off people and bags.

Embarkation was surprisingly chaotic considering our last cruise aboard RCL’s Allure of the Seas which is, passenger-wise, about three time bigger than Zuiderdam.   Even room numbers lined up to the right, Odd room numbers lined up to the right.  Security was straight forward as was handling of the wine we brought aboard ($18 corkage for each bottle over two) — having paid this corkage (and retaining our receipt) we can enjoy our wine in our room or in one of the on-board restaurants.  While waiting in the “Even” line (cabin 6076 - category “SS”), we received boarding cards with boarding group numbers so had to cool our heels for about 20 minutes until our number was called.  

All told from curb, through security, check-in and boarding took about 40 minutes.  Reasonable but certainly not the quickest process we’ve experienced.  On the other hand, having carried our bags on board, our cabins were ready upon boarding so we were able to get our bags unpacked before heading up for lunch.  So the trade off of a slower boarding process but knowing our cabin was ready when we boarded was a good tradeoff.

Lido Buffet lunch was quite good - good  traffic flow and good food - the only issue was finding a place to sit with the rest of the 2000 or so other passengers.

Lunch was followed by our mandatory Boat Drill.  HAL’s version was very civilized.  We didn’t have to carry our lifejackets with us (nor demonstrate putting them on) and weren’t subjected to the windy histrionics (from the cruise director and captain) we are usually regaled with as a captive audience.

Traveling with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jack, we had chosen Early Dining.  A very nice feature of early dining aboard Zuiderdam is that our seating is a 30 minute window - 5:30-6:00.  Dinner was really quite good - Pork Buco with risotto for main course;  banana crisp was a “Do Not Miss” dessert.  Minus points for screw up on our table - put our Aunt and Uncle at a separate table?  But by getting there right on time, we were seated at our table.

Overall condition of the ship is very good, carpets and fittings in the public areas and in our cabin show minimal wear and tear.

We like our cabin (6076) - the next size up from a Verandah (Balcony) - is the perfect size for a 16 day Trans-Atlantic crossing - two sinks in a bathroom that includes a separate bathtub (with jacuzzi jets) and shower - a private balcony (about 15’ x 8’) two desk/vanities (his and hers :) and enough room in our cabin to move around without bumping into chairs or the bed.

We caught the 8:45pm show in the BB King Club — great entertainers playing Motown hits - horn and vocal performers were right up there.  But don’t plan on ordering a “Fireball” as an apertif in BB King’s - perhaps the older demographic hasn’t discovered Fireball yet.

Bed in our cabin was very nice with a great selection of pillows for our night time slumber.  The only issue overnight was a pretty consistent “creaking” as the ship slowly rocked from side to side.

Trans-Atlantic Cruise Aboard Celebrity Reflections - April 26-May 12 - Spain Port Calls - Tenerife, Malaga, Cartegena, and Barcelona

First up,  Tenerife in the Canary Islands - our first land fall since Miami.  Arriving at sunrise on May 4th, we had spent 8 nights at sea, sailing about 180 hours to cover the 3870 Statute Miles (3370 Nautical Miles) at an average speed of almost 19 knots.

Sunrise over Tenerife

Pulling in behind Cunard Queen Victoria

To maximize our time ashore, we decided to take a bus tour.  We saw a very pretty, well kept town -- in both tourist and commercial districts.  The markets were well stocked, especially with fresh spices and flowers.

Heading out on our guided bus tour

Cobble stone streets in old town

Market in the background - beautiful clouds

Hills of Tenerife

Historic Building

We also did a couple of wine tastings - history of wine in the Canaries was very interesting - at one point in time, their wine was the most highly regarded in the world.  In our opinion, the wine we tasted was drinkable but we not interesting enough to take back to the ship.  What we did take back to the ship though were several of the local spice mixes which were reasonably priced and truly tasty.  We have used them since returning home and really love the variety they add to our meals.

Wine Tasting Location #1

History of Wine in Tenerife was really interesting

All in all, Tenerife was a very nice stop with friendly and warm people.  Next up, Malaga...

Trans-Atlantic Cruise Aboard Celebrity Reflections - April 26-May 12 - Sea Days Across the Atlantic

Balcony is perfect - Starboard side is perfect for going from USA to Europe; Port coming the other direction

"I've never seen such a beautiful crossing in my 25 years as a Captain..."  We didn't know what to expect in terms of weather for our crossing.  What we got is reflected in the quote from our Captain when we chatted with him on one of his walks around this ship.

So other than weather, what's important on a long crossing?
1. A Veranda or Balcony for room service breakfast and sunset sun-downers each evening.
2. Well prepared food with good variety of dining experiences
3. A good gymnasium
4. Good Entertainment
5. Plenty of seats around the ship to sit in - around the pool or other nice outdoor areas

Celebrity Reflections Restaurant Ratings and Tips

1. Qsine - best variety of food choices with great personality.  Staff is fun and into serving something new and different.  Located Starboard side aft with great view during dinner. (3 dinners)
2. Murano - Best reason to dress up.  Served with panache and flames. (2 dinners)
3. Tuscan Grill - Food is quite good; service was spotty - location aft is perfect sunset view location for dinner when you are heading east. (3 dinners)
4. Lawn Grill - mediocre food at best but beautiful outdoors location (1 dinner)
5. Blu - special dining for Aqua Class passengers - food spotty, often had to wait, could never get a window seat for two. (3 dinners)  Honestly, we wouldn't pay extra for Aqua; Concierge class is good enough.

Travel Intelligence Tip - When to buy additional dining...  We did not book any of the restaurants pre-cruise nor did we buy a multi-dinner dining package.  Turns out this was the right decision.  Almost every night, we would get a phone call informing us about 30-50% off dining at one or more of the speciality restaurants.  On two occasions when we didn't get a call, we just went to the restaurant ahead of time -- usually outside the main cafeteria dining room at lunch time - and asked if we could get a break.  We did each and every time - really enjoyed the speciality dining experience.

You spend a lot of time around the ship - lots of seats are important

75 Degrees and smooth as a lake

Blu Dining Room (for Aqua Class passengers)

Steak and Veggies in Blu

Caprese Salad in Tuscan Grill

Murano Grill - Super Classy with great food

Lawn Club - Beautiful vista - average food

Beautiful Theater with great shows

Our Favorite of All - Qsine - such fun food

More Qsine goodies

Presentation in Murano is everything

If you love the ocean, you'll love a crossing

Next Up...  Port Call visits

Trans-Atlantic Cruise Aboard Celebrity Reflections - April 26-May 12 - Travel and Embarkation

We were looking for a nice cruise and ran across a Trans-Atlantic offering from Celebrity.  When we did the math, it worked out to $88/per person/per day for the 16 day trip.  For two people who love their sea days, love cruising, and are newly retired, what more could you ask for? Oh - you get off the ship 16 days later in Italy...

So what did we learn on the run up to our cruise?  Well, since the fares were so good, we upgraded to an Aqua Class (A2) Balcony.  We live in Naples about 2 hours from the Port of Miami.  So how do we get there?  Shuttle (cheaper), Limousine (get to pick your seat mates) or...  Rent a car one way for 24 hours - just right.  Cost us $48 plus the 4 gallon fill up before turning the car in.  Picked it up at Naples Airport (APF) the day before our departure and had it all packed up and ready to go that evening.

When we looked at the map we noticed that Tamiami Trail (Highway 41) essentially goes straight to the Port of Miami from East Naples.  So next morning about 0900, we took off on the very scenic and tranquil drive to Miami.  Weather was perfect and driving through the Everglades at 55-60mph with little or no traffic gave us a chance to reflect on how beautiful South Florida is.  Two hours later I was dropping Valerie off at our pier.  While she was getting our bags and herself checked in, I drove back to Miami International (MIA) to drop off the car.  It was a little difficult to find the signs for Rental Car return but once located, everything went smoothly.  There is a free shuttle from MIA to the Port of Miami that stops at each of the terminals -- all told from the time I dropped Val off until I got back to the ship was about an hour (15 minute drive, 5 minutes to fuel, 5 minutes in-processing car, 5 minutes to walk to shuttle and 30 minutes on the shuttle to ship).  This was our first experience with one way rentals between East and West coasts of FL and is the subject of our first Travel Intelligence Tip for this cruise.

Travel Intelligence Tip:  If you are taking a cruise from Miami or Ft Lauderdale and live on Florida's west coast, consider doing a one way rental.  Your car stays in the garage at home, no parking fees while you are away, and the cost for two one-way rentals is equal to or less than a shuttle van and half the price of a round trip limousine ride.  We had a one way rental from Miami International back to Naples, and we have used one-ways for boat trips originating in Stuart and Cruise Planners class in Ft Lauderdale.  We have paid as little as $42 and as much as $52 for each one way rental.  One caution though - all of our trips were in "off season"  your costs may be higher "in season".

Embarkation was generally good.  As Aqua Class passengers, we were behind Suite embarkation but before the majority of the 2800 or so other folks boarding.

Travel Intelligence Tip:  Do you have to ask other folks to take your picture only to have them cut off your head or not get the beautiful scenery in the background?  Our TA cruise was our first run with a GoPro.  Now I know that GoPro is not news to someone below the age of 50 - but for those of us who are, and not planning any extreme sports - you wonder why you would want one.  If you like to take couple selfies with a broad view of the background, a GoPro on an extendable pole, is the perfect solution.  Why?  Because it takes a very broad background picture but the point of focus is perfect for getting you both.  It also comes with a remote control, so you extend the pole out, hold the remote in one hand, adjust your angles (our pole came with a little mirror on it which makes it easier to get you centered up, and snap the picture, video, or photo sequence.  The pole also allows you to change your perspective - hold in up and you can take pictures above the action.  They are very small cameras, you can get a nice water proof case so you can take them anywhere in any weather.  Why not?  GoPro doesn't allow detailed pictures so it isn't good for portraits and it doesn't have a built in flash,  So take it along as a supplement to a normal digital camera to catch those special background shots or night time shots.

GoPro Selfie - notice how nicely the background is captured

Catches background action in good focus

Met a nice lady from Vancouver, BC at the Sail Away party

Held the camera up on the pole to give a bird's eye view

The wide angle helps capture the entire scene

We left the dock with two other cruise ships in perfect weather.  

This is what Miami's South Beach looks like during Spring Break - looks like a lot of fun for the young people; I like our view and the adventure across the Atlantic more. 

We closed out our first night heading due west with the sunset behind us.  This made it easy to choose the Tuscan Grill as the place to eat since it is all the way aft (back end of ship) and had a wonderful view of the sunset.  The Italian food was pretty good too...


Entrance to the Tuscan Grill

Lucky guy with the beautiful lady who happens to be my wife.

Sharing the sunset from the Tuscan Grill