Cruising across the Atlantic

Sunset at sea

Count us among the Converted.  We had sometimes disparaged cruising-- but our 16 day repositioning trip across the Atlantic has totally changed our minds. A repositioning cruise is when the cruise line moves its ship from one area to another--usually with the change of seasons.  This one aboard the Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas started in New Orleans and ended in Barcelona, Spain.

Our ship, dwarfed by a 220,000 ton behemoth

With only four ports of call: St Martin, Tenerife, Malaga and Cartagena; it meant that we had 11days of relaxing and invigorating days at sea. If you watch your onboard spending, not always the easiest thing to do, we think it is just as economical to travel this way as to fly and it is certainly a lot more enjoyable.

Towel Creature

We were joined by Sue's brother John and his wife Bonnie, and we were pampered and coddled, overfed and entertained the entire time.  There were about 2000 passengers and some 800 crew.  The ship was in nearly pristine condition, as a result of the very hard working crew.

Sue a poolside

Someone was always varnishing, cleaning or painting on the decks; room stewards visited your room at least twice a day, including re-making your bed with clean sheets every night and leaving you a "towel animal" for your delight.

The food was plentiful, readily available at all hours of the day and night, and surprisingly delicious, given the fact that they make some 14,000 meals a day.

John & Bonnie with Urzula

Breakfast and lunch we usually ate in the Windjammer Lounge, a buffet cornucopia with a open-air seating on the rear of the boat, but we chose to be served dinner every night.  Every dinner included three courses--appetizer, entree and dessert served by a delightful team of two young women, Ana Maria and Urzula, who were from Peru and Chile respectively.  Like the rest of the crew, they sign on for an eight month contract, and from what we were able to gather, work every day of that contract, although when the ship is docked, they sometimes are released for a few hours on shore.

Once their contract is finished, they have 10 weeks of paid home leave.  Many of the crew have worked five, ten or 15 or more contracts.  Ana Maria has a three year old daughter, who stays with her mother in Peru--that must be incredibly hard.  Urzula's husband, Christian is also a waiter on the ship and we got to meet him as well.

Besides being fed like kings, the crew does its best to make sure that every hour of the day is full of excitement and diversion--bands and combos play at various venues throughout the ship; bingo and trivia games as well as language classes and self-improvement lectures are offered every day. Each night, a song and dance review or variety act is performed in the 1000 person theatre. Many of the acts were outstanding and rival what you might see in Vegas or some other resort.

White People in the Tropics 

When the ship docks at one of the ports of call, you can elect to take one of their extra cost excursions or explore the port on your own.  At our first, we chose a sailing and snorkeling junket that was great fun and provided a view of the St Martin we probably wouldn't have found on our own.

Larry & Pablo Picasso

Although the snorkeling was kind of ordinary, it did give us another opportunity to realize once again how much we liked it.  The sailing trip around the island on the large catamaran was really extraordinary and exciting. The water was crystalline blue and the sand on the beaches was as soft as confectioner's sugar.

The ship excursions in Tenerife and Malaga were more disappointing, so when we got to Cartagena we chose to entertain ourselves with a visit to a restored 12th century castle that provided great vistas of the town and harbor.

In Cartagena

One of the best surprises about the trip was how much we enjoyed our fellow passengers.  Sitting down at a bar or waiting for a lecture or game to start, you invariably would get involved in a conversation with your neighbors.  Almost all of them seemed to have interesting stories to tell, but they were also interested in our story as well.  Of course, many of them are veteran cruisers and are delighted to provide tips on traveling and booking.  Like with the airlines, no one seems to pay the same price.  We now know that you need to research the best deals, shop and compare, or work with a travel agent.

Many cruises, like the ones in the Caribbean and Mediterranean involve stops at a port every night. Based on our experience in this cruise, we don't think that would like that, but we really, really liked the days at sea--looking out on the blue, blue waters surrounding you on all sides, feeling the wind, and marveling at the great big sky overhead.

Sitting on the deck, reading a book or more likely nodding off in a nap, was idyllic and made us realize how fortunate we are that we have the time and resources to be able to do something like a 17 day cruise across the Atlantic. As you can tell it looks like we are hooked and cruising may well be in our future plans--the 21 day trip across the Pacific is really tempting.

Charlie in Audubon Park, New Orleans

Our only regret with the cruise and with our planned three month stay in Europe is knowing how much we will miss Charlie and his family--we know he already has changed and learned lots of new things since we last saw him nearly a month ago.

Charlie and his Mom and Dad, AKA Bryn and Grant, traveled to New Orleans for Jazz Fest 2014 and a visit with the ever-welcoming Simpson Family. We are told that he liked the music and especially his special day with Auntie Lois.