DAY 16 in VALENCIA

Currently in Spain 25% are unemployed which is a huge number for the size of this country.  However, come Sunday they still refuse to open their stores, so Valencia was ‘closed’ yesterday. There were 4 ships in port with around 7000 eager visitors waiting to spend their Euro. Finally after walking everywhere we came across a market which was open for Mother’s Day in Spain yesterday, but speaking to many people when we returned to the ship very few found the market.

Valencia is a beautiful city with interesting architecture mixing modern with the old. Just about every street is linked to a beautiful park and there were many out on their Sunday morning stroll. It is a very leafy city with many very old oak trees which are huge with massive trunks. We came across a big ‘swap meet’ of families with their children swapping cards. The ones that you collect not playing cards.  Many were Football teams and the idea is to collect the whole team, some of which are very hard to come by. It looked like the Dads were just as excited as the kids were swapping their card collection. Spain is mad about Football/Soccer the kids were wearing their team colours as were some of the Dads. Valencia is a team that does well in their league we were told. As we wandered the city we came across a soccer game of around 18 year olds.  Parents anywhere in the world need not worry about getting carried away on the sideline shouting at their team.  You’ve seen nothing until you watch a soccer game here.  It was in a local park and the Mum’s and Dads were on the sideline……some of the time, the rest of the time they were dashing on to the pitch to yell at the referee. The noise from the sideline was deafening in Spanish….lol. The only thing they didn’t have was umbrellas……. Just as well we thought. J

Tonight is the last night on the ship for those who are disembarking in Barcelona.  There are 500 of us who are continuing through to Dubai. Not sure how many are going through to Singapore with us.

The crew performed their farewell finale last night both in the theatre and at dinner.

Tomorrow we will be moving cabins to an aft corner balcony cabin. Really looking forward to that as we’ve not had an aft cabin before but know it will be perfect for our transit of the Suez Canal as we will be able to see both sides of the canal at once. J

I’ll upload some more photos from Barcelona tomorrow.

At the Market in Cartegena

Walking into Cartegena

This is a lovely bridge in Valencia

One of the huge trees in Valencia

What the Brides are wearing this Summer in Spain

The market we came across in Valencia

Sunday morning stroll in Valencia

Malaga

Celebrity Solstice and Sea Dream leaving port together

DAY 15 in CARTEGENA pronounced Cartehena in Spanish.

It was only a short walk from the ship into the middle of town.  Spanish cities and towns have the most wonderful architecture.  The shops don’t open until around 9.30 – 10.00am on a Saturday, then of course they close at 1.30pm to 2.00pm for Siesta time until 4.00pm then open again until around 9 or 10pm. They dress with style, even the children and it was so nice to see families out together enjoying a Saturday a morning shop.  The Mercado (Market) as always was most interesting we added some more anchovy stuffed olives to our collection to take home.

A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our son Chris today.  It was so lovely to chat on SKYPE with Chris and our daughter-in-law Donna this morning. Internet technology makes everything so easy.  When I was young it was communication via Postcard or letter only.  Now I’m showing my age…hahaha.

The weather changed mid- afternoon to 30 to 40 knot winds as a low pressure past through Cartegena. As a consequence our departure was delayed from the scheduled 4.30pm until 7.30pm. There were two other ships in port with us, the Sea Dream Yacht again and the Oceania.  The Oceania left before us and when the weather suddenly changed the Pilot couldn’t get off Oceania so she was hovering in the bay waiting for the front to pass so he could get back into his Pilot boat and then hop on to Voyager and take us out to sea. This delay will not change our arrival time into Valencia tomorrow morning. Looking at the chart on the TV we’re currently cruising at 13.7 knots and the wind is at 35miles per hour, 7 Beaufort, South Westerly, and the depth below us is 800metres which seems shallow after what we had across the Atlantic. Once again this ship handles so well and as I sit here in our cabin which is right at the very front of the ship on Deck 9 I can’t feel any movement.

The show tonight was one of the best we’ve seen ever; in fact it was more like a concert.  It was a Beatles Celebration and these guys were ‘The Beatles’.  They all had the Beatle moves, the hair, the talk and the sound.  If I closed my eyes I would have thought I was listening to the actual Beatles.  Everyone was singing and dancing in the aisles.  Having grown up in the Beatles era Roy and I could remember the words to every song. Of course they did an encore and got a standing ovation too. A great night. J

I must apologise if I have repeated anything along the way in my blog.  Sometimes I can’t remember if I mentioned something so I just tell you again anyway….  That’s what happens when you slip in ‘cruise mode’.  We don’t have a clue what’s going on in the rest of the world as we’ve not had time to watch FOX or CNN.  All that we know is the ships time and the ‘City of Voyager of the Seas’ is happy and rocking….not literally…lol  J

More tomorrow from Valencia….. Who would like and Orange?

DAY 14 in MALAGA, SPAIN

We woke sometime in the middle of the night to have a look at the North African lights.  Then up early again to watch us coming into the port of Malaga.  As Roy opened the slider to the balcony there was a tiny little bird sitting there.  How he got there and where he came from we’ve no idea.  Maybe he’s been hiding out there since Ponta Delgada and stowed away looking for a new life in Spain. As daylight broke flew off into the morning sun.

As I type this we are watching Celebrity Solstice dock right behind us and in the distance we can see another ship on the horizon. One of the Sea Dream Yachts is also in port.

Sitting at McDonalds in the centre of Malaga…..not drinking the coffee though, it’s so strong you could stand the spoon up in it… J

Here are some more photos:

Our Cabin

Our Balcony

The Captain

Roy's winning photo of from the Ice Show

The Ice Show

A cheese shop in Ponta Delgada

All sorts of delicious bits and pieces

Ponta Delgada

Voyager of the Seas

DAY 13

There is some blue sky today and the sun is trying to peep through.  Still a little cool outside.

Did you get the answer to yesterdays’ Trivia question? “Cuckoos”. 

The Grand Finale of our Progressive Trivia took place this morning.  Worst ever score for us……a mere 8 out of 20.  They made it really hard for everyone as it was the final.  The highest score for today was only 13. We ended up in 10^th place, so we were middle of the road and can’t complain.  We had a lot of fun.

Roy entered a photo competition a couple of days ago. This morning all entries were judged by the Officers on the ship.  Roy was most surprised to hear his named called as the winner. It’s a great photo.  I’ll put his photo up on here whilst we’re in Malaga.

While eating lunch today in the dining room we were gazing out to sea and suddenly there was big spout of water from a whale.  There only appeared to be one but we’re sure they are always in pods so the others must be somewhere close but we didn’t seem any more.

As we get closer toward the Straits of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea the sea traffic is getting busier. We’ve seen 4 cargo ships since yesterday afternoon. I’m sure we’ll see a lot more in the next few days.  Later today we will be cruising  2 nautical miles off Morocco and will be passing the Rock of Gibraltar at around 1.00am tomorrow morning. We will be able to see Tangier, North Africa on our Port Side and the Rock of Gibraltar on our starboard side. The Captain explained that the Straits are like a Freeway and we will be in a lane as we sail through and in our case we will be sailing very close to North Africa.

Tonight we enjoyed dinner at the speciality restaurant ‘Portafino’ on deck 12.  It was absolutely wonderful, superb menu and all cooked to perfection.  I would absolutely recommend it to anyone planning a cruise on Voyager. The Tiramisu was the best we have ever had with an added shot of Baileys, Tia Maria and cream on the side.

Malaga tomorrow.

DAY 12 ANZAC DAY

This morning the day started with a service held for the Australian and New Zealanders on board to commemorate Anzac day.

The weather is cloudy and misty today and quite cool outside. We’re travelling at 18 knots and there’s is a swell of 2 metres but in a ship as large as this you wouldn’t know it’s there. The ‘floor’ of the ocean is 15,000 feet below us, so we must be back in the deep end again. J So far we have travelled 5057 nautical miles since leaving New Orleans.

Everyone is still talking about Ponta Delgada, such a charming place, so happy we got to go there.  We enjoyed walking around yesterday and our Pedometers told us we had walked just over 8 kilometres.  It really didn’t feel like that far. The Army Fort was very interesting and Army Personal still live there and guard the fort. The local Prison has to have one of the best views in the world as all the cells look out toward the ocean.  We could see this wonderful old stone building as we sailed in thinking it could be all sorts of things but never thought for a minute it was a Prison.  As we got a little closer we could see the barbed wire above the great wall that surrounded it and later we were told what it was. It was built in the 17^th Century, so maybe it’s only the view that it’s got anything going for it. 

They grow a lot of Pineapples in Green Houses which rather surprised us and export to Europe and the UK. The British Royal family only eat Pineapples from the Azores. As we left the port the tug boat escorted us out of the harbour with a wonderful water canon display.  Many of the locals turned out to wave goodbye. They are very welcoming and friendly people.

Trivia was back this morning, one more day to go to before we find out who are the grand prize winners…..we know it won’t be us, the ‘42 Dayers’ we had a terrible score of only 10 out of 20 this morning.  Here’s one of the questions:  “The Easter Bunny brings us Easter Eggs, but in Switzerland who brings their Easter Eggs?” We had no idea….. nor did anyone else in the room… so at least we were all the same as we all got it wrong….lol.

On the next leg from Barcelona to Dubai I will put up some pictures of the wonderful food we are all enjoying on board.  We will be on a serious diet when we get home…. J

Wow, wow, wow just got back from the Ice Odyssey show and what an amazing show it is.  I’ll share some photos with you when we arrive in Malaga. You cannot imagine how they can skate with such skill on ice on a moving ship. This ship is going to ‘wow’ Australia and New Zealand in a big way.

 

Tonight is our last Formal night on this leg of the cruise.  There are three Formal nights altogether.

Quite often we sit and enjoy a drink mid-afternoon in one of the bars. People watching is one of the most interesting past times…..we think.  We have the Mrs Bucket look alike who gets pushed around in a wheelchair on board the ship, then low and behold there she is as large as life walking around the centre of Ponta Delgada yesterday.  We also have the two gentlemen who love to go to every show but also love to chat to each other the whole time during the performance ignoring everyone’s ‘shhhhhh’.  Then if there’s ever a queue for anything the same two gentlemen will waltz by and walk right up to the front of the queue as if they are the only ones there.  Oh well it takes all sorts to make this world and we’re sure we’ll find a few more ‘individuals’ along the way. Watch this space. J

It’s now midnight and we’ve just come back to the cabin from watching the  show tonight in the theatre.  The guy Jonathon King does Elton John.  He looks like Elton John, he sounds like Elton John and he had everyone in the whole theatre up dancing in the aisles and up dancing on the stage like Elton John used to do. An excellent show.

We put our clocks forward yet another hour at midday today.  We’ve all lost track of the time in any other part of the world and only know the time in our floating city…. J

Today’s quote from Captains Frank Martinsen’s midday report is: “Daddy how much does it cost to get married?” “I don’t know son, I’m still paying.” J

DAY 11 in PONTA DELGADA, AZORES

What a beautiful place this is.  Quite different to how we expected it to be.  Some very old buildings and a lot of history here going back from the 1400's when it was discovered.

Prices are all in Euro but are very cheap, I could easily spend here.....and have a bit.... ;)

We're sitting outside in a square in the middle of town under a lovely umbrella drinking the local beer which is only 1 Euro a bottle... we might have more than one....lol. The language spoken is Portuguese and the only word we know is 'thank you'.

I'm going to put up a few pictures whilst I'm here and have access to free internet.

The view from the Windjammer watching the sunset.

Looking at the Island Grill which is part of the Windjammer

Roy enjoying a meal in the Windjammer

Look down at the ships Bridge from the 'Peek a Boo' area

The Pig and Whistle Pub on the Royal Promenade Deck 5

Looking down half the length of the ship

Me trying it ice skate :)

Looking over the pool area from the Viking Lounge

DAY 10

This is day six at sea.  Tomorrow we arrive in Ponta Delgada, the Azores.  I must say the six days have just flown by and it’s hard to believe we’ve been on the ship for 10 days already.

Again the weather is beautiful with blue skies, sapphire sea, sunshine and calm seas.  It is getting a little cooler at night now.

An update on this our Progressive Trivia this morning…….13 out of 20.  We just don’t seem to be able to improve on that figure. We had a couple of questions where we had the right answer then after deliberation changed it…..and it ended up to be wrong and the first choice was correct.  We all hate that when that happens.  So our team has decided that we’ll go with our first choice from now on.  We’ll do anything to improve our placing…lol.  It was all on this morning because one of the questions was ‘what is the British equivalent of the FBI”?  The answer the majority had was ’MI5’, however a couple of teams were up in arms as they said the answer should be ‘Special Services’ so quiz master Chris has accepted their protest and will research and give us his finding the day after tomorrow. No Trivia tomorrow as it’s a port day.

This afternoon they’re running a ‘win a 7 day cruise’ Bingo. I guess everyone will be there, including us.  But as they say “you’ve got to be in it to win it” J We’re all trying to guess which ship it will be on, some are saying Oasis of the Seas in the Caribbean.  I could handle that.. J

Just returned to the cabin after the Bingo…….I didn’t win the cruise but the couple sitting next to me did.  They are from Adelaide in South Australia and this was the first time they had played Bingo so as you can imagine there were very excited. They’ve won a 7 night Caribbean cruise on any ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet.

We had an invitation to the introduction to the Ice show before dinner this evening.  Quite amazing to see the skaters flying around an ice rink on a ship. There are 8 dancers altogether and each of them had represented their state or country at ice skating. They were very multi-national coming from Russia, France x2, Canada x2, Japan, Hungary and Czech Republic.  We look forward to the full show in a couple of days’ time.

Thank you to those who have left comments and my apologies for not responding.  We have one hour of free internet which we have used up so we are now paying for our internet connection.  Please do keep the comments and questions coming I’m reading them all and love to hear from you.  Those who are booked on Voyager the Internet packages are as follows: These prices are all in US dollars: If you wish to just pay by the minute it is 65c per minute. Or you can purchase the following packages:

60 minutes $35.00 = 58c per minute

100 minutes $55.00 = 55c per minute

150 minutes $75.00 = 50c per minute

250 minutes $100.00 = 40c per minute

500 minutes $150.00 = 30c per minute

I missed the Captains quote of the day today.  I happened to be walking through the Casino and stopped and put in my change of US$2.50 into a slot machine and won US$36.75. The machine was making such a noise I couldn’t hear what he had to say. He’s such a friendly Captain and very informative on his midday reports.

More from me tomorrow from Ponta Delgada in the Azores. J

DAY 9

I have to tell you once again the weather is perfect, sun is shining and the ocean is sparkling.  Temperature today is 21C.

I was a bit slow out of bed this morning I’ve found muscles I didn’t know I had and they’re all aching after my ice skating attempt yesterday.  I won’t give up I’m going back to have another go.

The 70’s night was so much fun; the Royal Promenade was packed with everyone dancing to Disco music.  The crew threw glow rings to everyone from the bridge which crosses the ‘street’. The disco balls were spinning and the lights filled the street with colours. Of course everyone did a great YMCA the ship was ‘arockin’  as the Captain joked today.

We’re getting toward the shallow end of the ‘pond’ today as there is only 3675 metres below us but as the Captain pointed out it’s still the closest land…. J

The Casino opened last night having been closed since we embarked for refurbishing.  They have been installing new tables for the Asian market as the ship will be cruising Asia for a few months before making its way down to Australia. I played US$20.00 in one of the slots and in a matter of minutes won US$58.75 so took my money and ran…. J…..Quit while you’re ahead as they say.  I’ll return another night to pick up what everyone else has lost…. ;) The Captain mentioned in his report this morning he was pleased to hear the Casino was busy last night….. “I like to know my retirement fund is still healthy”, he said. J

Another hard morning at the Progressive Trivia, we scored only 13 out of 20.  We’re not proving but we’re trying hard. We’re still in the top 7…….just. There are a total of about 30 teams of 6 players in each team.

Today we don’t have to put our clocks forward.  Just as well because sunrise is now at 8.11am to be precise.

Even though this is our 5^th day at sea it doesn’t feel like we’ve been at sea that long.  The days seem to be flying by probably because there is so much to do on here whether it is during the day or the evening. The benefits of being on such a large ship are there are so many options to choose from, there is definitely something for everyone on here. The age groups are varied from quite a few young couples on their Honeymoon right through to the ‘oldies’ like us….. No we’re not that old…..really! There’s a little group of ‘walker wheelies’ who seem to spend most of their time chatting, drinking coffee and eating. We’ve only seen 2 children on here, I don’t doubt there could be more but we’ve only seen the 2.  It will be interesting to see who boards the ship in Barcelona.  Many of the guests from the USA are only doing this leg of the voyage.  Many tell us they do a Trans-Atlantic crossing every few months.

Time to get a bit of sun out on the balcony…..

Captains quote of the day…..”Man who wants pretty Nurse…must be patient.”

DAY 8

Another perfect sea day, and today it is quite a lot warmer than the past couple of days.  You’d almost think we were on a pond not the Atlantic Ocean.  The Captain mentioned we have 5895 metres below us, that is the deep end….lol

The Trivia this morning was very difficult we had a miserable 11 out of 20. Mind you others didn’t fare so well either so we’re still holding 3^rd we think.

Well I can now say I’ve been ice skating on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. J It was great fun,  had such a laugh and I didn’t fall over.  They deck you up with must haves elbow pads, helmet and optional knee pads. Oh and you have to sign an indemnity two pages long. I can now go ice skating everyday if I want to.  Somehow I think tomorrow I’m going to be a bit sore in various places, I can feel it already…lol.  Roy nominated himself as the official photographer so he could opt out….J 

Tonight is a 70’s night with a party along the Royal Promenade with the band, the dancers with include the crew and everyone will be given glowsticks, should be fun with a little bit of Saturday Night Fever, Boogie Woogie and Jive Talkin.

I haven’t uploaded photos as the internet is rather slow at the moment.  If I do I’d have to take out a mortgage to pay for it as they would take forever to upload….lol.  I’ll put some up whilst we’re in Ponta Delgada as I’m sure I’ll find a free internet café there.

It amazes me how much some people can eat on here.  You see them in the Dining Room enjoying a nice evening meal which includes an extensive menu, next thing about 30 minutes after dinner they’re down at the Café Promenade eating cakes, slices, biscuits, cheesecake or Prawn, egg and mayonnaise rolls...... :O I would say that nobody should say they’re ever hungry on this ship there is food available everywhere any time of the day or night, and room service if you prefer to ‘eat in’. There is no charge for Room Service unless you order between midnight and 5.00am, between those hours there is a small charge of US$3.95 per delivery.

Still haven’t seen any whales or dolphins, only the odd beached whale reclined in a deck chair around one of the swimming pools. ;)

We’ve just come back from a walk up to the top deck which is Deck 14, had to walk off the lunch a bit.  There is also a Chapel on Deck 15. It’s lovely up there and the view across the pool area of the ship and out to sea in all directions is superb.

Now time to sit out on our balcony and enjoy the warm afternoon sun.  The sun doesn’t set until 9.40pm making the evenings  last longer which suits us fine. J

DAY 7

Another beautiful day crossing the Atlantic. There is not much warmth in the sunshine but the Europeans on board think it’s hot having just come out of their Winter months.  Those from the colder climates are toasting themselves around the pool.

Tomorrow the ice rink will be open so Roy and I are going to go and have a Torvil and Dean moment…… should be a laugh as most have never tried ice skating before.  I last tried about 40 years ago….lol.  The Ice shows start in a couple of days, so looking forward to seeing them.

There are more sales at the shops this morning, ladies tee shirts for US$6.00.

We fared a little better in our Progressive Trivia this morning with 15 out of 20. We think we’ll have to drink to that this afternoon……any excuse…lol.

Roy’s just come back from the gym, it’s taken him 7 days to prepare himself to go to the gym lol. Now I’ll put this in writing that he says he’s going to go on every sea day from now on. He says Chris and Donna will be proud of him. The gym is very extensive and there’s a lot of equipment choices and several Personal Trainers on hand.  The Spa also offers some great deals US$99.00 for any 3 of the following treatments:- Mini Facial, Scalp, Neck and Shoulder Massage, Eye zone treatment, foot and ankle massage, hand massage, sunglow makeover, deep conditioning hair treatment. There are many other treatments available like Hot Stone massage, Herbal Poultice Massage, Seaweed Massage, Swedish Massage, Reflexology and the list goes on.

The Captains quote of the day…. “ Smooth seas don’t make skilled sailors”.

DAY 6

Another perfect day at sea with sunshine and smooth seas.  It’s getting a bit cooler with a maximum temperature today of 21C.

This morning we found a great place to visit which seems to be a bit of a secret around the ship….. well it won’t be now J.  For those of you planning a cruise on Voyager this is a must.  Walk out onto the Promenade on Deck 4 and along to some stairs at the front of the ship. Climb the stairs and walk through a little alleyway and you’ll find yourself on the ships Helipad at the bow.  A great spot to take photos or just do the Titanic pose.  There are bench seats so you can sit and enjoy the view which I must say was beautiful on a day like today.  I would imagine that area would only be open to guests on good weather days.

Went to the Royal Caribbean Dancers and Singers show last night.  The music was good but we wouldn’t say it was the best we’ve seen on board a ship. We were thinking they maybe a new dance troop and maybe only recently boarded the ship. We will look forward to seeing their next show though.

Still can’t get over how huge the Windjammer Buffet is. Today at lunch we counted about 10 buffet stations.  The area at the very back called the ‘Island Grill’ is the best spot with a great view across the back of the ship.

The internet has been quite slow these past couple of days, maybe that’s because we’re somewhere out in the Atlantic.  The best reception for WiFi is at the Café Promenade on Deck 5.

Captain Frank mentioned on his midday report that we may loose some of the TV stations during the Atlantic crossing, mainly CNN and FOX news. We’ll pick them up again as we get closer to land.

Day 2 of our progressive Trivia didn’t go well for us this morning.  We only managed 11 out of 20.  We found the questions were very hard.  It’ll be interesting to see what the others scored when we hear all the results tomorrow.  Our score from yesterday has put us equal 3^rd at this stage but that might drop after our score today. We’re ready to attack again tomorrow morning and we’ve still got six more days of the competition. J We’re all enjoying ourselves and surprise ourselves sometimes with what we do know.

The Spa and Gym are very large and there are a lot of things going on there daily.  They offer some great Spa packages too.

The Pig and Whistle Pub they have Amstel Light and Heinekin on draft at US$7.95 for 20oz which is just over a Pint.  Bud light and Bud come in the Aluminium cans at US$5.25 for 16oz which is a Pint. Plus of course the 15% Gratuity which is automatically added to all beverage purchases. A glass of wine is between US$7.00 and US$10.00 depending on which wine you choose per glass but the glasses are a good measure as they are double the measure that you would be served in Australia. Of course they always have the US$3.00 daily Cocktail of the day, and there is an extensive selection of them to try. J

We haven’t seen much in the way of wild life yet only flying fish.  There have been a couple of other cruise ships going in the other direction and a couple of cargo ships which we seem to pass as if they are standing still.

Putting the clocks forward at lunchtime everyday does shorten the afternoon and before we know it’s ‘wineo’clock’  which is exactly now.  So I’m signing off now as we’re off to the Pig and Whistle to meet for late afternoon drinks.

Just managed to download some photos.  The first one is Atlantis in Nassau, a huge resort which employess 6000 people.  The second is taken from our balcony as we were leaving Nassau, and the third is taken today from the bow of the ship showing the calm and beautiful blue Atlantic ocean.

DAY 5

Crossing the Atlantic on day 1 of 6 days until we reach Ponta Delgada in the Azores. The sea is calm and a beautiful sapphire blue colour.

This morning was very leisurely for us, we went for ‘brunch’ up in the Windjammer which is toward the aft of the ship. It's a large buffet and relaxed area for eating anytime of day or night.

Today is day one of six sea days as we cross the Atlantic.  The seas are absolutely smooth and the aft of the ship and very large.  The food selection is extensive….those looking forward to cruising on Voyager need not worry……you definitely won’t starve. J

Today is ‘wash and fold’ day.  Fill a large bag with as much laundry as you can fit in it for US$25.00. Crown and Anchor members get a discount on this depending which level you are.

The progressive Trivia started this morning.  We will play every morning for the next 6 days, have a day off for our next port then two more days.  We tally our scores each day and at the end we will see who are the grand winners.  Our team of 6 are called the ’42 Dayers’, today we scored 16, same as yesterday.

They are ‘walking across the Atlantic’ for the ‘Make a Wish Foundation’. On the Royal Promenade they have two walking machines and there’s been someone on them every minute of the day since we left New Orleans.

Another bit of information I learned about Nassau is that the colours of the buildings are colour co-ordinated, Pink is Government buildings, white is Police, Yellow is Medical, Green for schools.  They all have a wonderful colonial look about them.

I’ve never seen so many jewellery stores in one little place, they’re all Duty Free.   Saw a wonderful  6ct  Diamond ring….. can’t understand why Roy’s ears were switched off and he didn’t hear me asking him to buy it for me….lol…

Yesterday afternoon we came across the ‘Peek a Boo Bridge’ up on deck 12  I think it is.  It’s a great spot with large glass windows where you can look down into the Bridge itself.  There’s a display and map showing exactly what each instrument on the bridge does, and if you’re lucky you’ll get a wave from the Officers or the Captain.

Everyday at 12 noon we are putting our clocks forward one hour, I think we will do this for the duration of the Atlantic crossing.  As I type this it is 1.30pm here and my computer says it’s 2.30am in Australia.

Three times I’ve been asked by someone from the USA if I know a friend of theirs who lives in Brisbane and it goes something like this “their name is ‘soinso’ and he’s bald and she’s got medium length dark wavey hairJ  I say “there’s 3 million people live there you know”, they say “oh really, so you don’t know them then?” :D

Day 4

IN NASSAU THE BAHAMAS

I forgot to mention yesterday that the Meet & Mingle get together was held in Cleopatra’s Needle lounge. It was packed. There were around 400 people there, all from the very active Cruise Critic sight for this leg of the cruise.  Lots of prizes were given away.  I won a large metal sign that reads “HOW U CRUISIN” with a big picture of a ship and palm trees….now what am I going to do with that? Suggestions anyone? J It was a lot of fun and they did have a lot of Royal Caribbean merchandise to give out.

Our Trivia team is improving. Yesterday it was held at Pig and Whistle Pub. We managed 16 out of 20 this time.  The ‘Laptoppers’ didn’t turn up. I wonder why? We’ve called our team ‘The 42 Dayers’ and consist of 4 of us from Oz and 2 from the USA so we think we’ve got it covered especially if we get any USA questions.

Just had to drop into the Promenade Bakery on the way back to our room late yesterday afternoon.  There you can help yourself to coffee or tea and delicious fresh baked biscuits, pizza, fresh salad rolls, pastries, fresh fruit salad, chocolate dessert and fruit flans.  Really didn’t need it but when you see it, you just have to stop and have a little taste. J There is no fee for any of this as it’s all included.

Last night was the Captains welcome night held in the Royal Promenade. Free champagne for everyone. Formal nights are very dressy and the menu in the Dining room is excellent.  There are three levels of the main dining room Le Flute, Bohiem and Carman. 

The theatre show again was excellent. Again the theatre is huge 3 levels high and a very large stage.

There are 380 construction workers on board refitting the Casino on this leg of the cruise.  They’re working 24 hours a day and will have it complete by this Saturday.  We don’t see them at all or even hear them for that matter….must have ‘silent drills’ or something J

Oh and there’s no shower curtains on this ship…..everyone has a proper shower door. The bathrooms a really quite spacious with are larger than normal vanity.

Arriving in Nassau this morning we were ship number 4 of 6 ships in port today. We have Carnival ships plus Majesty of the Seas and us.  Must say it's not too crowded in the streets.  Many have gone to see Atlantis, a huge resort here on the island.

I'm have just download Shrinkpic so I will be able upload photos more quickly than I can at the moment.  So next time I check in I'll have more photos.

We will have six days at sea now....next port is Ponta Delgarda in the Azores.

Here are some pictures of on board Voyager, you will see how large the ship is from these photos. The Royal Promenade is a great centre for everything it's just like a street.

DAY 3

I must really be in cruise mode as I thought  we were in Nassau today…..wrong…..it’s tomorrow.

Today we are cruising between Cuba and Florida.  The seas are calm and the weather is nice and warm.

The entertainment and activities are excellent on board.  Being such a large ship there is always a bar or café with music.  The Promenade is a very popular gathering place.  We’re enjoying the Pig and Whistle pub where you can buy a pint, and relax and people watch.

The show in the theatre last night was excellent his name was El Gaucho.  We thought we may have seen this show before on Rhapsody but this wasn’t the same act.  He was excellent and very talented, played Spanish Guitar, piano, sang cracked jokes and was also very good at twirling his Bolles….work that one out…. J.

The power points in the cabin require an international adapter to fit the USA fitting.

Irons are not permitted on board and they screen all checked baggage.  Many people have had their irons confiscated until they disembark.  People bringing ‘bottles’ of wine in their luggage also had it confiscated and will have it given back to them when they disembark.

The shop prices are very reasonable.  A lot of goods on sale in the shops.  Perfumes are a great price and there is a large selection.  Just hope they keep these prices the same when the ship comes down to Australia.

We love our cabin 9220 right up the very front of the ship.  It’s a perfect spot, very quiet as nobody walks past. Nice sheltered and sunny balcony with no one else to the left of us, only to the right.

The crew are all very happy and helpful.  They’re all looking forward to cruising from Australia as many haven’t been to our part of the world before.

Enjoyed the Trivia Quiz in the Schooner Bar yesterday afternoon.  Didn’t do so well only 13 out of 21, we’ll have to pull our socks up today.  Mind you some of the answers we didn’t quite agree with, but it’s only a game.  Some others didn’t think that, and it was like World War 3 over some of the answers and with such a prize to be had it was so important to some that they snuck their laptops in to Google answers…..can you believe anyone would do that just win  ‘Royal Caribbean Key rings’…..  Happy to say the ‘Laptoppers’ didn’t win… J

Nassau is a Duty Free port so looking forward to visiting there very much. Apparently it’s a very easy place to get around.