Days 5, 6 , 7 AT SEA

Formal Night

Ok, it’s time for land.  We’ve been full speed ahead for 7 days and nights and still haven’t gotten anywhere.  We need land and sun….but the ship has slowed down considerably, the ocean is much, much calmer so we hope to get outside a bit today.  Tomorrow is Porta Delgada, Portugal in the Azores.  Temps are in the 70’s.

We’ve had to move our clocks up an hour every night so we’re now 5 hours ahead of home.  It’s 2 p.m. here and 9 a.m. at home….at some point, I guess I’ll adjust….

The days have gone by very fast and we’ve not been bored but unless you want to learn how to fold napkins (we use paper), make Mardi Gras masks (already have those) or decorate your scooter (not yet!), there’s not just a whole lot to do.  There’s always trivia, bingo and port information seminars, but we’ve been playing cards ---Hand and Foot—and I’ve upheld the tradition (Ladies win) and reading.

The rest of the outfit was tight white leggings....baby doll pj top..omg

We’ve pretty well learned our way around the ship, what areas to avoid (mid-ship elevators) and the easiest route to different places.  The ship is beautiful and plenty big enough to handle the number of people considering EVERYBODY has been inside.  That being said:  our dinner mates and we all agree that it’s not the best—although they tend to say it is.  There is one dance venue in the Piazza with pretty good bands but their selection of music stinks.  The dance floor is dominated by a group of Chinese and their ballroom dancing (Ronnie calls it the “dancing with the stars” style.  We’ve watched them run into people, knock bottles off tables (full of beer) and dance on.  Heard a few comments from various people standing around…There have also been complaints (from us and others) about the lack of dancing venues and variety of music.  They listened, but we’ll probably not see any changes.  The Vista Lounge does have a dance floor---just not used.

I am always amazed at how people can cram their bodies into an elevator…we’ve actually gotten off before our stop when they just  keep on, keep on pushing on.  There are  no stairs mid-ship oddly enough, just elevators, so we have to walk forward or aft to get to the stairs…that’s what we do going down anyway….

Dinner Mates    He's from Copenhagen, She's from Japan...living in Kentucky, but have lived 35 years in Australia

One other thing we’ve  noticed that Regal doesn’t have is a quiet out-of-the way spot to sit and read.  Most of the sides of the ship in the public area are taken up by specialty restaurants (extra $$$$$) .  The Vista lounge  is in the rear of the ship, but unless there’s a movie or something, it’s dark.  And…there’s no place to get to the front of the ship outside or inside to see where you’re going.  The windowed area on the top deck on most ships is a wonderful adult only sitting area which usually has a band and dancing at night….this area on the Regal is “The Sanctuary” an adult-only, daily fee area for “relaxation”.  A wonderful waste of space.

Ok, enough griping…but it’s hard not to compare ships.  And our expectations for this one were too high, obviously.

Our third table in our little nook has been occupied for the last 3 nights by the German couple.  Visited with them a bit last night.  They are on their way home to Hamburg, Germany after spending the winter in Key West (annual thing).  He doesn’t like to fly (who does?) and they look for ships coming over or going back to get back and forth to the US.  Very interesting couple.  They shared a story of their 120 day World Cruise where they were cruising south of Yemen a few years ago.  Suddenly the cruise ship was surrounded by small pirate ships.  She said you couldn’t see down into the ships because of the rolls of barb wire.  The crew kept saying not to worry, they just were trying to sell things.  But in a bit the ship’s security came out all dressed in black carrying weapons and all passengers were ordered to their rooms.  She said shortly afterwards, they heard gunfire and then they were on their way again.  I’ve heard that all cruise ships have security/weapons nowadays…altho passengers have none.   Since most of the crew do double duty, I picture the Show Dancers taking off their tutus and donning black military garb, picking up an AR15 and protecting all.  Maybe not.

Captain did tell us that the low pressure system was still near Nova Scotia with 30 foot swells .  He said the decision to divert and keep at least 500 miles from  it was a good one.  The German couple said that on one of their crossings, the swells (she emphasied not the spray) were as high as the 6^th deck….not something I would want to experience.

This afternoon, the sun came out!!  We walked around on the upper decks for a bit---still windy on starboard side.  But by dinner, the rain started, the swells were as big or bigger than any we’ve had so far….gray, blustery, wintry-looking day.  Tried to dance to big band music---but this was not good big-band music. So it’s movie time….great, great, selection of on-demand movies.

Posting this from the local WiFi in the Azores....sitting by a fountain in a cool, modern mall (smallish).  But I forgot my camera to laptop connection cord to upload the pictures we've taken of the city.  Will do that later.