Crossing the Atlantic – 30 November thru 06 December 2017

After leaving Funchal we headed west for our last stop in the Bahamas before our exit in Ft. Lauderdale.  We were delayed leaving Funchal due to a mechanical repair to our backup diesel generator and as it turned out, it was good as another medical emergency arose that could have caused us to turn around had we left on time. 

The Culinary staff treated us to a Mediterranean Food Feast on the night leaving Funchal to celebrate our last main port.  Delicious!!

Our first day at sea was rainy (30 Nov.) but cleared up in the afternoon.  We had a course changes and turned to a southwesterly direction to avoid a deep low pressure disturbance in our original path.  Even with this correction we experienced very rough seas throughout the night and day of 01 December, with off-and-on squalls and high gusty winds.  By evening though the seas calmed and we had a nice night.

Saturday 02 December was pleasant with sun and warm temps in the 70s.  We gained back another hour and are 3 hours behind home now.  The chefs put on an Indonesian Food Night for us this evening.  All the waiters and waitresses were dressed in their native garb and the food was hot and spicy and Robbi got her fill of satay and peanut sauce – her favorite!

The entertainment tonight was exceptional (but so has it been most evenings throughout the cruise!) as we were treated to a BBC video that was shot in the Arctic and Antarctic and put to music by our on-board musicians.  Stunning photography and the musical score brought it all together!  The video production was done in conjunction with Holland America and BBC, and only shown on their ships! 

On 03 December we awoke to rain and gusts but the seas were not as rough as 2 days ago.  By mid-afternoon the sun was out, the seas calmer and we had a pleasant day and evening at sea.  We had a wonderful Sunday service as we celebrated the first Sunday of Advent at sea.  We went to an art party for previous buyer and were treated to seeing some unique Peter Max etchings and sculptures as well as some other originals.  Wine and hors d’oeuvres which Robbi enjoys! 

The morning of 04 December we awoke to a beautiful sunrise, calm seas, and temperature of 73 deg.!!  Wonderful fun in the sun day for John and more Mah-Jongg for Robbi!  And we gained back another hour so we are only 2 hours ahead of y’all now.  Getting closer to home!What a great day at sea today was – temps in the high 70s, calm seas, with sun, and just a gentle breeze.  And we expect more of the same tomorrow!!

It’s 05 December and we have only 2 sea days left before we reach the Bahamas and then home.  It’s another beautiful morning as we are benefiting from the warm Caribbean waters.  We are doing the devotion this morning for our interdenominational worship, so pray all goes well and we don’t stumble. Well happy to report that Robbi did a superb job leading our devotion this morning – a bit nervous at first, but relaxed quickly. 

The weather stayed warm and sunny throughout and John enjoyed basking and reading and working crosswords, as Robbi played morning and afternoon sessions of Mah-Jongg.  We are having fun, relaxing, and not worrying about time or agendas.  It’ll soon come to an end, but for now…!

Robbi got her lobster tails tonight with a helping of shrimp and she smiled all through dinner.  It was a treat and she had been wanting the lobster for a while.  She was rewarded handsomely for her patience!

Very calm seas tonight with little or no wind and balmy temps.  Setting the stage for a nice day tomorrow!

Today 06 December is our last sea day as we head for Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas tomorrow and a day of fun, sun, sand, beaches, etc.. We started our day with our last morning of interdenominational worship and singing Christmas Hymns.  However with temps near 80 it didn’t seem like Christmas.  We had a nice relaxing day with Robbi playing her last morning/afternoon sessions of Mah-Jongg and John basking in the sun trying to finish up a crossword book.  We met at 4:00pm and started packing up, so we could figure out how we were going to get all our stuff and stuff we accumulated back into those 2 suitcases and still stay under our 70 pound per case limit for the flight home.  Not sure if we made it, but…!

So we’re off to dinner and a juggler/balancing act tonight and thought we’d post this.  He was postponed from 01 December, one of the rocky sea days, and should have no problem tonight.

Here’s an amazing fact – when we stop in the Bahamas tomorrow morning we’ll have traveled over 13,000 nautical miles or 14, 400 miles!!  That’s hard to imagine.