Summer of 23 - Transatlantic Cruise - Day 4 to Day 9 - Coronation, Azores, We Will Rock You & Perry Grant

 Thursday May 4th, 2023  

We put our time forward 1 hour again at noon.

We've got into a routine of having a hot chocolate, and coconut crisp cookie (they are delicious) every night at bedtime, ha!! ha!! Bryan goes to the bakery and gets the cookies daily and picks up sachets of hot chocolate mix. The girl in there has got to know him!!!

Friday May 5th, 2023

We had a relaxing day around the ship, enjoying the various entertainment and food. It's good to not have to worry about anything, just decide what you want to do and where you want to eat. Not a bad life at all.

Saturday May 6th, 2023

We put our time forward 1 hour again at noon.

Today was King Charles III coronation. I've written a separate blog about that with mostly pictures taken from my tv screen!! Here's a link to that. https://lilypadtravels.blogspot.com/2023/05/summer-of-23-transatlantic-cruise-day-6.html

Sunday May 7th, 2023

Today we arrived in the Azores and did a shore excursion. 

I took these pictures as we were arriving in Ponta Delgada at sunrise.    

I wrote separate blogs to cover the trip. Click on the links below to read them. 

1. The Azores - Ribiera Grande, see link below.

https://lilypadtravels.blogspot.com/2023/05/summer-of-23-transatlantic-cruise-day-7.html

2. The Azores - Terra Nostra Gardens, Pico Do Ferro Viewpoint, Sulphur Springs. See link below.

https://lilypadtravels.blogspot.com/2023/05/summer-of-23-transatlantic-cruise-day-7_7.html  

The gentleman who was airlifted off the ship on Day 2 posted on our Facebook group. He had a DVT/Bloodclot but was ok and back in the UK. He asked if anyone had any videos/pictures of the evacuation.

Some passengers posted videos and pictures but they were not that clear as, for good reason, no one was allowed near the area.

There was a "You-Tuber" on the ship, who posted a video on their You Tube Channel "Tall Man Cruise Adventures". Click on the link below to see it:

Medevac from Anthem of the Seas

 Monday May 8th, 2023

We put our time forward 1 hour again at noon.

We did immigration into the UK on the ship today. UK customs came aboard in the Azores and will check everyone's paperwork, passports etc. in the next two days while we're at sea.  This alleviates going through immigration and customs in Southampton and supposedly makes disembarkation day go a lot quicker. Everyone was allowed a time period to go. When we went there were only a few people there.  We walked straight up to the customs/immigration officer, who looked at our paperwork and asked a couple of questions, and we were cleared to enter Uk. Very easy and one less thing to deal with when we disembark at Southampton.

We went to the "We Will Rock You" musical show that is a story based on the band Queen's music. 

As most of you probably know I (Sue) am a huge Queen fan after going to their open air concert at Knebworth featuring Freddie Mercury in 1986.  It was the last concert that Freddie performed in. Of course we didn't know that at the time. I wasn't a great Queen fan before this concert, but they were amazing and had the audience all singing along. 

That last concert wasn't officially recorded but there is a video that was taken of parts of the day. I copied the picture below from that video. I think that is me lying down with the green top and longish brown hair, next to the guy in the black jacket. That was our group and we were all just friends that went to a few of the live open air concerts. One of the group let me sit on his shoulders so I got a better view for a while. What a brave guy!!

So, I was looking forward to this show on the ship, although I was also a bit worried it would be a let down.  It was far from a let down, it was amazing. The music and songs were used in a very clever way to portray a story here, which was easy to follow along with, and very entertaining. We both really enjoyed it and will definitely be watching it again on our return trip. 

The videos linked below give you a good look at the show. Thanks to Peter Merrell for posting these on You Tube.

We Will Rock You & We are the champions - Anthem of the Seas

Anthem of the Seas - Clips from We will Rock You

Bohemian Rhapsody - Anthem of the Seas - We will Rock You

Tonight was formal night, so we got dressed up a little. What I enjoy about this cruise is that it is informal. The only thing not allowed in the dining rooms is swimwear but pretty much anything else is ok.  The two formal nights are classed as "Dress your Best" so even then you don't have to wear formal attire.

We got certificates acknowledging our Transatlantic Cruise!!

and another towel animal. I'm like a big kid, just love these.

Tuesday May 9th, 2023 

We put our time forward 1 hour again at noon.

Another relaxing day on the ship. We went to see Perry Grant, our favorite pianist, in a afternoon show in the main theater. It was awesome. Bryan & I both love this guy. What endeared me to him even more was that he did a tribute to Princess Diana. With all the coronation festivities I was a little sad that there was no mention of Princess Diana. Of course, I can understand why. This was King Charles day, but she was a part of his life, and mother of his children and future King.  So this tribute from Perry was wonderful. 

Perry Grant - Tribute to Princess Diana VIDEO. 

Thank you Perry.  Sadly he won't be on our return cruise as he is having a break.

Summer of 23 - Transatlantic Cruise - Day 7 - The Azores - Terra Nostra Gardens, Pico Do Ferro Viewpoint, Sulphur Springs

Sunday May 7th, 2023

We left Ribiera Grande and headed to Terra Nostra Garden.  The guide led us through the gardens, explaining different plants and areas to us as we went.  

Our group at the entrance

Waiting to go in

There is a hotel here and also a thermal pool that our guide told us people come to for its healing properties. You don't have to stay at the hotel to use the pool though.

We continued on our tour. 

Unfortunately we were quite a large group and we ended up being at the back and didn't keep up with him. I got quite concerned when they went out of sight ahead of us as the path divided into different routes and we had no idea which route they had taken.  We had no map and it was a large area. He had told us we could walk around on our own but I wasn't comfortable with getting lost.  

We quickened up and followed the main route.  Eventually I happened to look along one of the paths and saw what I thought was the group in the distance. We headed that way, which was off the main trail we had been on. Fortunately they stopped and were discussing that particular area and we managed to catch up with them. 

We managed to stay with them for the rest of the tour but it was not as enjoyable as we felt rushed. The gardens were lovely though.

Our next stop was the Pico Do Ferro Viewpoint. As we climbed the mountain to get here the clouds rolled in and visibility got bad.  The guide had warned us earlier in the day that we may not be able to see much, but he left it as the last stop at this part of the island in the hopes the fog would clear. 

We still walked up to the viewpoint in th hopes of seeing something.

This cat was lurking by the car park

Views from the top on a clearest day

These pictures were the best we got!!! You can also click on this link, Pico Do Ferro Viewpoint, to see what we would have seen on a clear day. It was disappointing but couldn't be helped.

Our view

Bryan still managed a smile.

Looking down at our coach

Our next stop was the Sulphur Springs at Caldeira das Furnas. I enjoyed this stop and seeing the sulphur springs. I believe these are similar to what is seen at Yellowstone National Park in the States but as we haven't been there yet I can't be sure.  I don't think the area in the States is as green as this though.

Fountain where you can drink the fresh spring waters

Looking at the village in the distance

This was our last stop of what had been an interesting day. Our guide kept us entertained on the way back and continued to tell us local information as we passed through different areas. Eventually we arrived back at the ship.

Driving through the port area.

Back at the ship we went to the buffet to get something to eat before returning to our cabin to get ready for sail away.

Bryan took pictures as we left the port.

We had an interesting day at our first port of call. Thankfully we didn't have to put our clocks forward today.