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.