Losing sight of the shore

Ted. We are finally doing it! Like the title of our blog, we are losing sight of the Spanish shore and sailing to the New World. On a 14 day journey, we will follow the route that Columbus first took over 500 years ago - including a stop in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Hopefully we will discover a few things along the way.

Although I took a cruise in 2010 with my Dad and sister, Kathy, pretty much all that I remember is that we had a great time. So, I sort of qualify as a rookie cruiser.  Two days into our trip, I have been surprised several times.

·      Checking in was a breeze. I think it we were on board less than 15 minutes after our taxi pulled up to the dock.

·      Our room (outside with a balcony) is larger, nicer and quieter than I expected.  We even have a minifridge and TV.

·      The crewmembers are very international and very friendly. When we ran into the South African ship nurse, he smiled and said, “Nothing personal, but I hope I don’t need to see you again!” I asked our steward, “Phillip, from the Philippines!” if I could borrow a wine opener. Smiling, he handed me one and said, “Just keep it.”

·      We were attracted by the low cost for a repositioning cruise but it seems like everywhere we turn now, we are tempted to spend more money. This could easily become an expensive trip if we aren’t careful.

·      The motion of the ship is not a big deal…thus far.  The Mediterranean was practically a millpond.  We are now out in the Atlantic and there is some obvious vibration and rolling (no tai chi here). At the moment, though, it’s nothing more than a nuisance.

·      The crew is fanatical about health. Hand sanitizer is everywhere and the ship is spotlessly clean.

·      There are tons of things to do. On our first day at sea, there were 71 different activities listed in the daily newsletter! However, there are also lots of quiet places.

·      We paid extra to have wifi for our laptop. I understand that it is provided via satellite but was hoping it was reasonably fast. Not so. It is varies between slow and nonexistent.

We are meeting some very interesting people from around the world so we hope to have some good stories to share in the days to come.