Azores Sail By

Yesterday, we saw land for the first time in days as we sailed by Santa Maria, the southernmost island of the Azores. The Azores is an archipelago and experiences earth quakes. I understand that three of the earth’s plates come together here.



The town runs up the hillside.



There is an airport on this island, several nice beaches we were told, pasture lands, and a lighthouse



Several dolphins followed the ship as we sailed by. These are not the first. We have also had a couple of whale sightings, but I didn’t catch a glimpse of them.

While hanging out in the library/internet café, I chat with interesting people everyday. Today I met Jacqueline, Joe the Navigator’s wife.



She told me that she is a WOB—a Wife on Board. She lives with him on the ship. She used to be a dancer on board where she met him. Since she doesn’t have to cook, or clean, or even make her bed, she spends time knitting.

The wind has picked up a bit, and it is noticeably cooler. It is now 57 degrees. The Captain just announced that these higher winds and waves are more typical of the Atlantic this time of year. Other passengers have said that this is still relatively smooth noting that they have been on ships where the dishes were literally sliding off the tables. I am glad that I have been initiated to extensive sailing this way.

Tomorrow we reach our first port, Lisbon. We will be in a different port every day for the next week until we reach Rome. I hope you are following along with the map on the right.

Good Friday

Navigator's Log

The term “smooth sailing” has taken on a significant meaning to me now that I have been crossing the Atlantic Ocean for five days. I have heard many experienced passengers comment that this is the smoothest sailing they have ever experienced. Even the Captain said the same, and, further, we have been blessed with unparalleled weather.




I can see why sailors get the idea that they could cross this vast expanse of water in a small boat if they witnessed weather and slight waves like this.

Since I once flew airplanes where navigation is a critical skill, I was interested in how they calculated the ship’s course taking in consideration the winds, the current, and the speed of the ship. So, I sat in on a session given by Joe, the Navigator. (His name really is Joe.)



They have a contest every day to see who can come closest to calculating what the ship’s position will be at noon. I didn’t enter the contest. I think one man has won each time.



We are now four hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time. We advance our clocks an hour ahead again tonight. Obviously, adjusting to the time change one hour at a time is much easier than coping with 5 hours of jet-lag. We



The Captain has been moving between 18.5 and 19.6 knots. So far, here are the distance we have sailed:

We have this much yet to go before arriving at Lisbon:


Tomorrow around noon, we will be passing within 1 ½ miles of the southernmost island of the Azores, Santa Maria.


The ocean depth has varied from 1266 feet to over 5000 feet. It is quite mountainous beneath us. The waves, on the other hand, have been slight—only 1.5 to 4 feet, until today. The wind has picked up a bit, so the waves are now from 4.5 to 7 feet. The north wind has brought a little cooler weather. It is now 64 degrees. It has been consistently 68 degrees.

Conditions couldn’t be more perfect.

Lectures at Sea

Each day enrichment lectures are given by two guest lecturers. The first series has been about the enormous challenges ahead in the age of our new globalization. After a general overview, Warren Salinger has focused the BRIC nations—Brazil, Russia, India, and China.


The second series has been discussions of the history and culture of several countries that we will be visiting—Portugal, Spain, Italy—with other talks focused on cities, like Rome. Dr. Kathleen Wulf, an Emeritus Professor from the University of Southern California, has been the presenter.


In addition to these, the Culinary Arts Center entertains us with a series of demonstrations of cooking techniques and food information. Three or four demonstrations are given each day, ranging from Herbs & Spices, to Wine Tasting, to Cheese Trivia.

One I attended was The Art of Flambé Cooking.

Here’s the banana flambé cooking. Smells good!


Another interesting one was about The Art of Fruit and Vegetable Carving. These men start out with a pile of fruits and vegetables. In just a few minutes, the skin is peeled and an initial design is outlined.


In less than 15 minutes, the carving is complete. This shows not only the watermelon creation, but also a bouquet of flowers made from vegetables.


Lessons are also given each day on such wide-ranging topics as: flower arranging, scrap-booking, bridge, and whole series of workshops on various aspects of digital photography, blogging, and creating webpages.


The technical workshops have been presented four or five times a day, everyday. Every session has been full. I am glad that I got my training from the Geeks on Tour in Perry, GA. Also, I am glad I purchased their videos to have Chris show and tell over and over how to do certain things. She’s been at my side every day (via her videos) while I have learned more about how to enhance this blog.

Something for Everyone

I am loving this cruise! There is literally something for everyone to do, or not to do if you just want to enjoy the sun, the sea breeze, and the ocean views.

First, I like the size of this ship, the ms Noordam. It is not one of those behemoths, but it is large enough to accommodate a variety of activities for a variety of ages and interest groups. It holds a little of over 1900 passengers and almost 900 crew members. On this particular cruise, the majority of passengers are my age, or older. There are a few younger ones, some with children. I have seen few adolescents or college age students.

As a result, it has a restful, peaceful ambiance. Background music is often classical or instrumental and is not pervasive. The volume is kept low enough so you can easily have a quiet conversation. Music is only in the dining rooms and the bars. The Lido pool deck occasionally has a DJ or a band playing, but the Ocean View deck on the bow is always quiet.

Consequently, you see people doing a lot of quiet activities, like

Sunning by the Pool



Doing Needle Point

Playing Dominoes

Playing Cards

Working Out


Most of all, you see people reading. The ship has some many wonderful places to curl up with a good book.

By the Pool


In the Crow’s Nest

And, of course, in the library, which has an extensive collection.



After a good read, there’s nothing like a nap!


In addition to doing what you want on your own, there are many daily, planned activities. I have already heard four lectures, gone to a cooking demonstration, taken a line dancing class, and taken in the evening entertainment each night. More about these in future posts.

Computer System Has Been Down

Since we boarded ship on April 3rd, the computer/satellite system has been kaput. Believe me, the Geeks on-board have been VERY unhappy.

Fortunately the problem happened when it did since we could divert our course to swing by Bermuda to pick up a systems expert and equipment to fix it. Had we been in the middle of the Atlantic, we would have had to wait until we got to Portugal. We had sailed 928 nautical miles to Bermuda from Ft. Lauderdale. It is sill another 2704 nautical miles to Lisbon.

Apparently we couldn’t enter Bermuda waters. We had to hang off-shore in international waters until a small boat could deliver the technician and the parts. His flight had been delayed. He finally arrived late Sunday night to the cheers of many who were leaning over the railings watching the mini-drama.

So that’s why you haven’t heard from me either by email or this blog. I have been writing every day, so I will post those notes now.

I am a happy cabin camper now that I am connected.

While still on the cruise, posts will be more topical than blow by blow activities. There is a lot to share.


At Sea at Last—April 3rd

After a lovely breakfast and a friendly briefing given by our tour director, Sarah, we boarded the bus for Port Everglades. The trip through Miami to Ft. Lauderdale didn’t take much time at all. Before we knew it, we were in line going through security and checking in, getting our boarding pass which will be our charge card and cabin key as well.

Only one glitch…the computer went down, so they couldn’t scan the cards to allow us on board. It was fixed in a relatively short time, and I got on board and found my cabin pronto.

I like where I am. I am on the Main Deck, in the middle of the ship, not too far from elevators. Two decks up is the ship library and internet room, but I am close enough to a hot spot to get it right here in my cabin.




One problem—using the internet on board ship is EXPENSIVE. How about 40 cents a minute!!! And that’s the cheapest rate if you purchase $100 worth of time. Oh well, I have gone to too much trouble not to use it as much as I want. I will forego drinking. A glass of wine = 13 minutes of internet time.

However, they are having some kind of computer trouble, and I can’t set up an account or get logged on until tomorrow.

Another first day cruise ritual—boat drills.



We finally got under way around 6:30 p.m. Two hours later than planned. So while the sun was going down, we left Florida and headed out to sea.

***** **** **** ****

Ship Computer Problems Continue—April 4th

10:30 a.m.

Well…not online yet. Remember I said that the computer went down yesterday during check-in. Apparently, it continued last night when the crew was trying to figure out the dinner seating arrangements. Could that possibly also be the reason we were delayed leaving for two hours? I hope the Captain of this ship is as knowledgeable and skillful as that USAir Pilot because maybe he is actually having to steer the ship.

He has gotten a relatively calm sea so far. I couldn’t sense any movement last night. However, the wind was really brisk before we even left port in Ft. Lauderdale, so I expected rough water. I couldn’t resist taking this picture of the wind whipping up the skirts of this lady. She was having too much fun to notice the wind or me.

1:30 p.m.



The computer geeks are really restless. Just now the Captain announced that the computer system is shot, perhaps as a result of several power surges while in port. Also, there seems to be a glitch with the satellite system as well. Since we are “fairly” close to Bermuda, he is going to change course to make a stop in Bermuda where they will fly in computer/satellite system parts and an expert who will come on board and hopefully get the system operational again.

We are expected to arrive in Bermuda tomorrow (Sunday) night around 6:30 p.m. Stay tuned.

**** ***** **** ******

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Since it is Palm Sunday, I went to mass this morning. The priest is from Boston, and he will be saying mass every day through out the cruise, which is nice, especially since this is the beginning of Holy Week. He is also planning on providing an Easter Vigil Mass Saturday night and a sunrise mass on Easter Sunday, the day we arrive at Lisbon, so we can make our early shore excursions departures.

After breakfast, I went on tour of the ship’s kitchen where they prepare 11,000 meals A DAY! (I won’t prepare that many meals for the next ten years.)

The results are all kinds of food all day and night. I have been on board for 48 hours and have already over-dosed. The temptations abound. I hope I am over it now and will be more restrained—at least during Holy Week.

I will write a later post just on the kitchen and the food—a major part of any cruise.

I also went to a lecture, learned to line dance, went to a cooking demonstration, and a show. Each of these will produce future topical posts.

I apologize for this long post, but it is really three posts in one. After we get online, they will be more frequent and less lengthy with more photos.

Here We Goooooo!

The day has finally arrived.

Since my last post, I have spent a lot of time and thought about getting ready. I wanted to get some Euros, needed to make sure I had all of my bills covered, had to stop the paper, and other things you normally have to do before you take a vacation.

One of the big decisions for this trip was what clothes to take for such a long time with variable weather conditions and social events. The ship has two formal dinners a week. Since I will be gone four weeks, that means eight formal nights. And then there is swimming attire, sightseeing togs, shipboard outfits and so on. Bottom line…a lot of clothes.

I was worried that this big, over-stuffed bag would be overweight. When I checked in...it was. I not only had to pay the normal fee for one suit case, but also had to pay $50 more for being 7.5 pounds over the 50 pound limit.

I also packed a lot of my gadgets and toys, like my laptop, camera, Flip video camera,jumpdrive, card reader, Kindle, binoculars, etc., etc. Each one of these electronic things has its own electric thingy to charge its battery. All of this gear went into my carry-on and back-pack. Also crammed into the carry-on suitcase was a month’s supply of all of my medications which is quite a big package.

All I can say is I am certainly glad that once I get on the ship tomorrow I won’t have to pack/unpack again until the end of the trip. Another advantage of touring via ship versus by tour bus. :-)

After wrestling my luggage through check-in and security, I was glad to get to the gate and wait to board.

While waiting, I saw a sign that concerned me.

Whew! No problem. It fit.

After about four hours of getting ready, getting to airport, getting through all of the hoops, and waiting, it took only 40 minutes to fly to Miami!

Now, I am at the Sofitel Hotel. It is really a nice hotel, and I have a great corner room with a view of the Miami International airport.

The hotel lobby/bar overlooks the pool which overlooks Blue Lagoon.

This is the dining room where we will have breakfast before our briefing session tomorrow where I will meet the other members of our tour group. I understand that there are 73 of us.

We leave the hotel at 11 a.m. tomorrow to go to the ship.

By the way, I hoped you noticed the map on the right. You can enlarge it, and click on the blue markers to see where the day-to-day progress of the cruise. At the top of the enlarged map, you can see a link to view it on Google Earth, which will fly you to different stops, provide weather info and other information. If you don’t already have Google Earth, you get can get it free at Google Earth