Cocktail Hour with Our Friends

April 24 – 33° 37.44 N, 35°40.93 W

Here we are 2380 miles from Ft. Lauderdale and 948 miles from Funchal, Madeira. This is our fifth day at sea and it’s our first somewhat stormy one. We have light rain and the wind is blowing at a little more than 47 knots. Despite that the ship is riding well as we head nearly due east at 21.7 knots.

We’ve been setting our clocks forward nearly every night. We’re now 4 hours ahead of EDT and this morning for the first time I really felt it. We didn’t get up until almost 10 AM. Between the dark clouds and the change in time it just didn’t seem like it was time to get moving. I think I like going in the other direction with 25 hour days better!

Katie tried to go up to Deck 19 to see how the sea looked from there but it was closed off as are some of the other outer spaces. We’ll just hang out in our cabin or a lounge I guess.

The last couple of days have flown by. Katie has been working on her lesson plans for the class she’ll be teaching in summer school. I have accomplished nothing constructive but it has been relaxing. Yesterday afternoon we had a luncheon for members of our internet group. More than 80 people showed up and it was very enjoyable. After lunch Katie and I played a round of golf up on the Princess links. We don’t pose a threat to any pro golfers!

We have another day and a half at sea after today before we arrive in Madeira. Hopefully tomorrow the weather will clear up a little. At some point during the night I woke up and we were doing some pretty good bouncing. Between the creaking of the ship and the clattering of the hangers in the closet we had a little symphony going on.

April 21 - The Ultimate Ship's Tour

Another sea day but this one is very different. Katie and I were among the group that got to take the Ultimate Ship’s Tour. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos along the way.

Our group of 12 gathered at 2 PM and we began our look behind the scene backstage in the Princess Theater. After getting a look at the dressing room (which must be absolutely hectic during a show since some costume changes take only 30 seconds), we made our way forward to the forward Mooring Station. Seeing the lines and the anchor chains up close was incredible. In ports like Port Everglades where there are fixed gangways, the ship must be positioned to within 5 cm. of the exact spot in order to match the gangways. For our nearly 1000 ft/ long ship, as many as 12 lines are used to secure us to the dock.

Our next stop was the galley. It was mid-afternoon so it was relatively quiet there. Nevertheless, the pastry chefs were busily preparing desserts for the dinner service and the bakery was turning out breads and rolls. Everything is made aboard the ship , including all stocks for soups, ice cream and pastas. After passing through the Galley we made our way to the food storage areas, which are vast. The ship brought on tons of food in Ft. Lauderdale, so that we won’t starve on the way to the Mediterranean. With approximately 5000 people on board including passengers and crew, a tremendous quantity of food is consumed. The ship will be in the Med until October and all fresh things like produce will be bought at some provisioning ports there. All meats and many staple items, though, are sent via container from the US. The food orders are sent in 2 months in advance. We stopped by one of the cold storage lockers and it was amazing to see the vast amount of fresh fruits and vegetables being stored!

Our next stop was the Engine Control Room which is in the middle of the ship. From what looks like a miniature Mission Control with banks of monitors, every system is continuously monitored and data updated. For each system there is triple redundancy so that in the event one system goes out another can take over.

From the control room we went to the Laundry, stopping along the way at the Photography Lab (where on an average cruise 20,000 photos are printed) and the print shop which turns out all manner of communications to both passengers and crew. The Laundry was incredible! There were huge washing machines which could hold 350 pounds of laundry each. The Ruby Princess is the first ship in this fleet to have automatic pressing and folding machines. The machine can detect holes or tears in sheets or tablecloths and spits those out the side. The good ones are sent through the machine where they are dried completely, folded several times and deposited outside. The ship carries enough linens to change every sheet, towel, etc every day. The passenger laundry is equally impressive, since they manage to keep track of each cabin's individual items without getting them lost or mixed-up.

We visited the Medical Center where if necessary surgery can be performed if the ship is too far from land for an evacuation. In the event that someone becomes ill, the response time of the medical team is usually less than 3 minutes, less than it would be on land should we have an emergency in our home.

Our last two stops were the funnels near the stern of the ship. We climbed partway up to see the massive pipes used to vent the engines, incinerators, and other systems on board.

Finally, we went forward to the Bridge where the Captain greeted us with champagne and petit fours or chocolate covered strawberries. Everything on the bridge is automated . We’re cruising along at an average speed of 21 knots and at this speed we can come to a complete stop in approx. 1.5 km. At this speed we can sail round trip across the Atlantic without refueling. If we were to reduce our speed to 12 knots we could sail for 2 and one-half months without gassing up.

Well, I’ve probably told you more than you ever wanted to know about the ship. But we found it absolutely fascinating.

The pictures I’ve included today are of the lovely Atrium, which is the center of activity during much of the day.

Another View of Sabatinis

April 20 – A lazy day at Sea

There’s not much to report for today. It’s partly cloudy and a little cool. We spent the day relaxing. Katie went to the pool briefly in the late afternoon but even she thought it was chilly. We ate dinner tonight at Sabatini’s. The service was excellent and the food delicious. Since I think pictures of the ocean probably get boring, today I’ll include a couple of Sabatinis where I eat breakfast every morning and where we dined tonight. It’s a beautiful place up on Deck 16 with windows overlooking the ocean on one side and a terrace with fountains on the other.

April 19 – Time to Board the Ruby Princess!

When we awake Monday morning it is to overcast skies, but at least the rain has stopped. We can see the ship from our bedroom window so we know we’re good to go. After getting ourselves together, our car arrives and takes us to the cruise terminal.

Boarding was easy and the afternoon passed quickly. As it progressed the sun came out and it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon with low humidity and a very pleasant temperature. Just before sailaway, some friends came to our cabin for a little party. These were old friends I had cruised with before and new ones I met on the Cruise Critic Bulletin Board.

At 5:30 we cast off our lines and were on our way from Port Everglades for our trip eastward. The seas were very calm and as the evening progressed we saw a beautiful sunset off our stern. I hope in the next 6 days we’ll see several more just like it each evening.

April 18 – Our 2010 journey begins

This year we’re sailing from the New World to the Old. Our cruise begins in Fort Lauderdale and will take us across the Atlantic to our ultimate destination, Barcelona, Spain. Along the way we’ll visit Madeira off the coast of Africa and then a number of ports in the Mediterranean.

After uneventful flights to sunny south Florida, we arrive to first a light drizzle and then a deluge. Instead of exploring Las Olas , we spend the afternoon in our hotel playing a warm-up Scrabble game. Hopefully, this weather is not an omen of the weather when we sail.