Bom Dia from the Azores!

We caught our first glimpse of land today about 6:30 a.m. and were cleared to go ashore on the island of Sao Miguel by 8 a.m. 

We logged about 7.5 miles wandering the cobbled black and white mosaic streets, visiting parks and churches in its Ponta Delgado – about the only thing open on a Sunday in this town of 21,000. Ponta Delgado has been the capital since 1546.

Off in the distance the hillsides are a lush green (no wonder it is the isla verde).  We were advised not to buy their famous pineapples or any other fruit or vegetable as it wouldn’t be allowed to be brought on board, so will have to rely on tourist publications that tell us this pineapple is a ‘prized commodity’.

Mid-morning was a bit too early to try their white wine, vino verde, (also known for it, we are told) so will have to wait until some future stop to try it.

I must tell you that as much as we love sea days it was nice to walk on terra firma again.  And it seemed strange to hear the roar of jet engines on planes taking off and to hear the noise of cars and motorcycles again.

A Sea foam and Sapphire Saturday

Being on the sea is the selling point for us on transatlantic cruises; days of endless sea foam blanketing sapphire water with lace coverings. That, and then not having anything that requires our attention beyond those ever-changing patterns, well, of course there are always the decisions about entertainment, activities and eating, but more on those later. 

(And even those stormy slate-gray waves we’ve had for three days have  been interesting to watch).

If we thought ‘sea days’ had gone too fast on previous crossings on Holland America ships, they were nothing compared to the speed this week has zipped away. Here we are on our sixth and final day of crossing the Atlantic. The captain tells us we are now 2,535 nautical miles fom Florida and 336 nautical miles from our first port of call, Ponta Delgada, the capital of  Sao Miguel, the largest island of the mid-Atlantic Azores and the greenest of them.

Legend has it that the Azores are that of the lost city of Atlantis (of course, we have heard that in Greece and just yesterday heard a lecture in which we learned theorists think Atlantis might be in the Bermuda Triangle somewhere.)

Twixt Twain and Us: The Transatlantic

We’re mid-way across the Atlantic Ocean now and for the last couple of our days, our 122,000 ton ship has been buffeted by gusting  35 mph winds and traveling through 10 – 15 foot waves. Stacks of  seasick bags (that look identical to those bags found in airline seat pockets) are readily available. Luckil, we've not needed them.

We’ve bumped into a few fellow passengers (pun intended) as we’ve made our way around each day. Speaking of our fellow passengers there are 2,749 of us on board, a wee bit less than capacity ( 2,850) and we have 42 nationalities represented.
Solstice, our floating home for two weeks, (the size of  three-football fields placed end-to-end and 60-meters tall) entered calm waters (photo on left) on Sunday but the ocean has gotten rougher as the days have gone by. Even with the six-meter stabilizers out on both sides of the ship we’ve been a rockin’ –n- rollin’.  (BTW, the ‘H ‘on the ship’s deck in the photo is the helicopter landing pad.) 

Considering the bounce we’ve experienced, we’ve been speculating on Mark Twain’s journey, described in his book The Innocents Abroad, that began with a 10-day Atlantic crossing in which he describes many storms and very seasick passengers.

Twain's journey to Europe aboard the steamship “Quaker City” began on June 8,1867  in New York.  He describes the trip, that was to last several months, as ‘the first organized pleasure party ever assembled for a transatlantic voyage.’ 

I doubt any of his 149 fellow passengers had any idea that they were kicking off what would become a billion dollar cruise industry. The cost of their passage was $1,250 per person, more than we are paying and certainly a considerable amount of money in those days. And being able to buy a ticket  didn’t get you on the ship – you had to apply and be approved by the Committee on Selecting Steamer. In contrast we just reserved space this morning on a Celebrity cruise in Nov. 2012 – with no more information required than our names and a credit card.

Promotional material provided those passengers  assured them that the ship would have every comfort including, a library, musical instruments and ‘an experienced physician’.

Suppose they would like the glass blowing demonstrations and live lawn sports that our ship features?  Or our theatre that seats hundreds of passengers on multi levels?  We have a number of musical groups –very good ones, I might add – on board providing cabaret type shows, theatrical performances, poolside entertainment. . .whew, and I’ve just gotten started. . . there are cooking demonstrations, wine classes, art auctions, exercise classes. . .in fact it is time to head out now. . .there’s a lecture starting soon! 

Feeling Like a Celebrity

They all said it would be like this.

But, quite frankly, it sounded too good to be true.

The emails came as did the conversations:  “You will love Celebrity,” they said.  The accolades came from both friends and people previously unknown to us. In particular, many said, they loved the Solstice.
And then it began: Our embarkation greeting Sunday was reminiscent of a cruise several years ago on Silversea: being handed a glass of bubbly  by a white-gloved waiter at the second we stepped on board

And if all those folks who told us we’d love this ship, had mentioned the long-stemmed red roses in our room (and bathroom!) I had forgotten. 

You recall we found a good deal long ago on this cruise from a company called CruCon Cruise Outlet  -- a deal so good that we were able to book Concierge Class for the price of a regular balcony room through other agencies.

So we’ve settled into to our beautiful room on the 9th floor that features both a spacious balcony and bathroom; a bathroom that featuring toiletries that remind me of the Bulgari products we were provided on Silversea.

We been so treated  like ‘Celebrities” the last few days, that you won’t  be surprised to learn that we spent part of our first morning on board talking with folks at the ‘future cruise’ desk.

Mid-Atlantic: "The Deeper the water. . .

. . .the better we float," quips our Captain Gerry Larsson-Fedde, Master of the Celebrity Solstice.

We are, quite literally, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, having reached the mid-point between Florida and the Azores around midnight.  In the distance the horizon wraps itself around our ship in a semi-circular fashion; a seam binding the deep blue of the ocean to the turquoise sky.

The Atlantic is the second largest of the world's four oceans and the most heavily traveled, yet, we've seen no other ships since the first day at sea when we saw one in the far distance.

Our days at sea are going far too fast!  One of our favorite past-times we find is watching the cloud puffs pass overhead and the waves massage our ship's hull.  At noon Wednesday we were 1,220 nautical miles from Florida and with the slow process of easing us into new times zones at an hour at a time, we are now six hours ahead of our Pacific Northwest home.

The water's depth is 15,000 feet, prompting our Captain's daily reminders of how well our ship does in such deep oceans.

I did invite you to 'come along' with us and the nice folks at Celebrity even provided some precious computer time for me to provide you posts and photos as we sail from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona, unfortunately (and this isn't news to those of you who've tried to use computers at sea) the computers are a finicky business.

 I've got a lot of posts and photos sitting in my Netbook (which is connected to the internet at full force in our room but not in the computer lab - nor will it connect me to the internet in the room. At least it isn't us, as the computer room is filled with tales offered by frustrated computer users.) So those posts will appear at the moment that broadband capacity and satellites are in the correct position. That means you may not see them until we reach the Azores or the Techno Gods smile upon us.

Then you'll join us as we dine at the Captain's Table, walk barefoot across the half acre of green grass at the top of the ship, run a gourmet gauntlet, meet the environmental officer who hails from Boston and the hotel director in charge of the guest accommodations. . .and that is just a start.

A Celebrity Bon Voyage!

We'll follow this waterway into the Atlantic Ocean
j.smith photo, (c) 2011

Just like kids on Christmas morning, we were both awake early: today is finally cruise day!

The day that seemed ages away when we booked the trip is finally here. Now we are only hours away from the time, 4:30 p.m.ET, that our Celebrity Solstice will gently slide from its berth at Port Everglades easing itself to the right and heading towards the Atlantic Ocean.

We will see land again next Saturday when we arrive in the Azores. We will  leave our hotel, the Springhill Suites Marriott, which was jam-packed Saturday with pre-cruise guests, joining them all just before noon in a parade of shuttles to the port.

Cruise lines and Port Everglades employees have so streamlined the embarkation process that it won't take long to board this floating ‘home’ away from home.
We'll likely be on board before our cabin is ready for us so our explorations will begin of this ship that sounds too good to be true. (I'll let you know about that later.  But honestly, from the first time I wrote that we were sailing on a Celebrity ship I have had emails telling me what a great cruise line it is and what a fantastic time we will have. We met another couple Saturday who echoed those sentiments and will also be on the ship with us.)

We will get hopelessly turned around as we set out to see all that each deck has to offer. And we’ll likely stay mixed up for several days, as this is one big ship! 

Then it will be 4:30 and the ship's horn will sound and a sort of magic will envelop us. We'll gather with fellow passengers first for safety drills and then to watch land disappear. There will be a potpourri of music and laughter, greetings and confusion. 

And since I invited you along, you need to grab yourself a beverage, sit back, make sure your computers speakers are on, then click the YouTube link and join us as we explore the Celebrity Solstice.

“Bon Voyage!”

Between Ocean Drive and Surf Road

That’s been our address for this carefree week of sun and sand – can you think of any better location?
We’ll be moving into the next phase of our adventure this weekend but before doing so, I had to bounce the beach ball down memory lane one last time:

The concierge at our hotel had very tactfully told us that Fort Lauderdale Beach is still a haven for itsy-bitsy, teeny tiny teens in their bikinis. Hollywood Beach, where we are, is more of a ‘baby boomer beach,’ she said. (You get the picture).

But I still wasn’t going to be deterred from getting to the  beach from my “Where the Boys Are” movie.  And I did as evidenced by the photo below.

Please note, that while I may look like a boomer; below that wind-blown hairdo and tee-shirt was a bikini-clad college girl humming the movie’s theme song. . .

You can imagine my joy when the taxi boat guide announced that Connie Frances had been on this very same beach less than a year ago “singing her heart out.”
And then she added, “. . . she was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the movie’s  release.”  

I knew then, that it was time to head back to the ‘boomer beach.’

Note:  To hear the song sung by Connie, visit the post, “Where the Boys Are”

Florida’s Wacky, Winding Waterway

No matter where we go, we try to use  public transit as much as possible. And kudos to Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale for offering some great  public transit and tourism  options, including a great water taxi.

We headed north to Ft. Lauderdale one afternoon traveling  the Intracoastal Waterway on the Water Taxi  catamaran.  Tickets are $20 ($16 for seniors, 65+) for a full-day pass.  Although their posted schedules were loosely adhered to, we filled an afternoon exploring but a small section of this 3,000 mile waterway that links Norfolk, Virginia to Brownsville, Texas. We learned it has once stretched from Maine to Texas and was built during World War II as a safe means of getting our war ships repositioned.

Our crew pointed out nature and history, along the way but the most unexpected sight occurred just as the taxi was pulling in to pick us up: two docks south a man literally jetted out over the water. A Kodak moment for all.

We went through Port Everglades where Holland America’s Neiu Amsterdam was the only ship in port and later watched it head out to sea. 

We transferred to a Ft. Lauderdale taxi just past the port and in typical tourist fashion, photographed  mansions and yachts belonging to “‘the other half’” en route to Ft. Lauderdale Beach. . .you know, the beach in the movie I’ve been telling you about.  More on that next time.