Two Days at Sea

It’s been difficult to post regularly at sea because accessing the Internet has been slow, tedious, and expensive.  So, I am tinkering with ways to post photos and information more quickly and efficiently.  Formatting may get a bit screwy as I cut corners to facilitate posting through a slow satellite connection.

It’s evening of the second of two days at sea as we cruise from Barcelona to the Madeira Island town of Funchal.  Madeira is an overseas island territory of Portugal that is located southwest of Portugal and west of Morocco.  It has been a resort destination for hundreds of years. 

If you’ve been following this blog you know that we passed through the Straight of Gibraltar October 17 on our way to Madeira.  I wanted to take a photo as we cruised through the straight and show both the European and African continents in one shot.  I couldn’t do that in one photo because of the lens I use, but I was able to create something of a panoramic shot by stitching two photos together. 

The following photo shows the coast of Spain on the European continent to the left, and Morocco and the African continent to the right as we passed by.  It was taken from the stern of the ship so our wake is seen in the center of the photo.  This was a very low-light environment so the quality is not the best.  I did enhance brightness just a bit.

 

Passing through the Straight of Gibraltar on October 17 around midnight:  Spain is on the left, Morocco on the right.  (I think those are the lights of Tangiers on the right.)  The two lights in the center are from other ships.

Keeping Busy Onboard

I’ve said that one of the main objectives of this blog is to show that multiple days at sea can be as busy, or as relaxed, as passengers want.  Yesterday was a hectic day at sea for Kathie and me.  For me it started with a workout in the fitness center about 8:30 a.m. while Kathie participated in a zumba class.  Here was my schedule - it was probably not atypical.

8:30 a.m.
            Worked out.

10:00 a.m.

Attended a workshop on advanced digital photography,

11:00 a.m.

Participated in a Maitre d’Hotel Wine club tasting featuring six wines with    

            accompanying canapés to demonstrate proper pairing of the wines.
 

Noon

Stopped by the “Holiday Store at Sea” where for “3 hours only,” gifts were just $10.00.  You could buy “watches, evening bags, jewelry, ties, wallets, and much more.” I bought a watch and almost bought a hat.

12:30 p.m.

Participated in a qualifying round for a slot tournament at the casino (I won my heat but wasn’t among the top seven who advanced to the finals.)

1:00 p.m.

Consumed a cheeseburger and pizza lunch and decided on my afternoon

activities.

2:00 p.m.

Attended an “Art Auction Extravaganza” that featured originals and prints

            from such notable artists as Picasso, Dali and Warhol.  Art auctions on cruises have     
            become big business.

4:00 p.m.

Participated in “Snowball Jackpot Bingo” with a possibility of winning $1,450 on the last game of the session.  I didn’t win.

5:00 p.m.

            Free time!

6:30 p.m.

            Dinner with friends in the Allegro Dining Room.  It was the second of three

formal nights on board so we had to look spiffy.  Lobster tails with crab cakes were featured at dinner.  Outstanding.

8:30 p.m.

Attended the second of five scheduled production shows during our cruise.  This was a song and dance show called “What the World Needs Now.”  The singers, dancers, and live orchestra were all great.

9:30 p.m.

            Stopped by the casino to try to win back my losses playing video poker.  I

            recouped some. 

9:45 p.m.

Stopped by the Wheelhouse Bar, one of 10 bars on our ship, to hear a song played by Ray Coussins, former piano player for Frank Sinatra.  Ray plays several nights a week and, in addition to knocking out some great tunes, tells fascinating stories about the music biz, his seven ex-wives, and playing for Frank.

10:00 p.m.

Hosted friends in our stateroom for some wine and conversation.

11:30 p.m.

Went up top to decks 16 and 17 to watch as we passed through the Straight of Gibraltar and take some photos.  It was an odd feeling passing so close to two continents.

Kathie did much of the above plus participated in two zumba classes, attended the daily “Knitters & Natters Get-Together, and took afternoon tea.  I had intended to attend a lecture on the legacy of the Sicilian Mafia but I just got too busy.

We turned back the clock one hour last night and we will do so five more times before we arrive in Ft. Lauderdale.  It’s nice traveling west by ship – with all the time changes we get a number of days either to sleep in late, stay up late, or both.

Here are some photos of onboard activities:

Shopping is a regular activity onboard.  At this shopping event, all items were $10.

 

Art director Daniel completes an auction sale.

  

One way to enter the casino on Royal Princess is by this spiral staircase.

 

This three-level piazza is the center for many shipboard activities.  Here passengers help create a  champagne fountain - a cruising tradition.

Coming posts (assuming adequate bandwidth and connectivity):  Pompeii (including a separate post on Pompeii for mature audiences only), Roma, Cannes, Barcelona, Funchal (Madeira), a review of Royal Princess, life onboard ship during our seven-day crossing, my self-imposed weight-loss/maintenance challenge, cruise ship fuel consumption, and more.