Summer of 23 - Transatlantic Cruise - Day 2 - At Sea - Looking around the Ship

Tuesday May 2nd, 2023 

Today we decided we would explore a little and relax a little.

Bryan took some pictures of the cabin.

View from balcony

Suites on our right

Sue deciding what she wants to do for the day!!

Magnetic Hooks that we brought came in useful

Our main objective today was to see the Solarium as it had been closed for a private party yesterday. 

Our original cabin had been a spacious ocean view at the very front of the ship, a couple of decks below the solarium, and we had decided we would probably spend a lot of time here as it is over 16's as well. 

We then applied and got a "Royal Up" where they give you an option to upgrade your cabin for a bid you make. We bid $150 each to upgrade to a balcony, which we thought would give Bryan some fresh air if he needed it. We were surprised and happy to hear a few days later that we had "won" our bid. So for $300 we got our balcony. We also really liked the location of the new room as it was close, but not to close, to the elevators and on the 7th deck, so pretty much mid ship. 

Anyway back to the Solarium at the front of the ship, deck 14.

We found a couple of loungers, which we had read would be hard to find, but it wasn't to bad. They have started to put the signs that you see on my chair, advising guests that they can not reserve chairs with towels, and unattended chairs will have any belongings removed. You can see that there are unattended chairs next to me that have towels, but to be fair if you go in the pool there is no option but to leave your belongings/towel on your chair.  It has been suggested that they make lockers available for personal belongings, which I think makes a lot of sense but then they have to find room for them, hmmm!!!

It was quite relaxing just lying there and watching the ocean go by. This area is enclosed and so not open to the elements of the Atlantic Ocean and it was warm.  In fact we got too warm and ended up moving to an outside area that was semi-covered. Neither of us had any desire to swim, as most of you know I can't swim and Bryan really wasn't interested in swimming with the masses, although we both brought our swimwear for the spa.  It turned out that we didn't use the spa either. I'm not sure why but we really weren't interested in being in a crowd!!!  Although there were times we passed by, that the spa was empty, but we didn't have our swimwear!! 😄

We laid relaxing for a while before deciding to explore some more.  We went up to Deck 15.

Sue posing with a headless giraffe!! 

Aaah, there you go.  It does have a head.

Rock Climbing Wall

North Star going out over the side of the ship. We will be going on that later in the cruise.

Outside Pool Area. It was a little cool to be in the outdoor pool.

Decks 6 to 13 are all passenger cabins, so there's really no need to go to those decks. We went back down to Deck 5. Below is "The Via", where we sat when we originally got on the ship yesterday.  There were various restaurants (some speciality that cost extra), high end shops, bars 

and at the aft(back) of the ship, the top deck of 270 (a 2 deck showroom)

This was a huge computerized screen that showed various robotic type displays at different times and was used in shows here.

Back at the room I was delighted to find a "towel animal". Do you know what it is?  I think "a pig". I was really thrilled as I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE towel animals and I made sure to tell him "Thank you" when I saw him next, and that he made my day!!! I know, I'm still a big kid at heart!!!

Relaxing on our balcony, there's no fighting for chairs here.

Not far to the lifeboat if we need it, Ha!! Ha!! Officially we have to go to Deck 4 in an emergency. 

There are lifeboats along both sides of the ship, although I never think it looks as though there would be enough space for everyone!! Maximum Capacity is 4,905!!  We heard we had 3,996 on our cruise.  it didn't seem that crowded though!!!

Bryan had an afternoon nap after all our exercise!!! My towel animal kept him company!!

A channel on our TV shows the position of our ship. It looks as though we've slowed down or stopped, hmmmm!!!!

It's getting a little misty!!!!!

Well, turned out that we had a medical emergency on the ship and we need to head back to Boston to do a medivac via helicopter.  We were very concerned for the patient and their family but didn't get any details yet.

The map showed us do a v-turn and head back. We weren't sure how long this would take or if it would impact our future stops but the main priority was the passenger!!! Everyone was in agreement with that.

The ship picked up speed and very soon we were close enough for the helicopter to come out and medevac the patient off the ship.  I believe it was about 11.30pm that the evacuation happened.

The captain reported later that the helicopter came from Canada.  The passenger was from the UK and was doing ok. Very good news indeed. He also told us that the diversion shouldn't change any of our port stops and the time would be made up. So normal service, at least for us, was resumed. What a sad start for this family though, but thankfully it happened when we were relatively close to land.

Summer of 23 - Transatlantic Cruise - Cape Liberty, New Jersey to Southampton, UK - Leaving New York!!

Monday, May 1st, 2023 

Well, we woke up to no rain!!!! Thank goodness for that, it's a shame we didn't get to see New York but the weather just didn't co-operate.  At least we will see the Statue of Liberty today close up, as we sail by!!!

Our shuttle was booked for 11 o'clock and our check in time for the cruise was 12.30, so we had plenty of time.

The hotel tried to charge us twice for the shuttle as we had booked the hotel rate that included it but I pointed it out to them and they credited it back. Hmmm!!!! The lobby was a madhouse as a lot of people were getting various shuttles for the cruise and there was an overseas military contingency on their way somewhere!!

We eventually got on a shuttle and the ride to the port was uneventful. We checked our luggage in as we got off the shuttle, waiting to make sure they put the correct tags on and then took our carry on bags and went to the line to process through check in.

It was a long, long, long line!!!!! We had nearly reached the end of it around the back of the building when a "porter" was meeting people with mobility problems and taking them out of the line and to the front where there was a smaller line of "handicapped" people.  He saw Bryan's stick and told us both to follow him and he led us back to the front of the line, collecting other handicapped people on the way. This was a life saver as it cut down on us standing in a long line for what would have been a considerable time. The handicapped lanes really should be marked and not just an afterthought, but we were very thankful.

We had some batteries in our carry on that the metal detector detected and so we had to show them to verify what they were. Then we were good to go. 

We walked on the ship, it didn't take very long but we decided to find somewhere to sit and wait with our bags until our room was vacant. The nearest seats were at the bionic bar, although I don't believe it was working at the time.

We then moved to another sitting area which was more comfortable. It looks a little dark in the picture but the area was actually quite bright.

It wasn't long before the announcement came over the tannoy that our rooms were ready. We didn't rush but waited until most people had gone, and the line for the elevators wasn't bad!! 

The day is changed daily in all the elevator floors, so you can remember what day it is!!!

We got to our room and had just finished exploring around it and hanging out on the balcony when our room steward, Vernal, came to introduce himself to us. He was very nice and got us a bucket of ice, a daily printed "compass" that told us what the events were for the following day. They don't hand these out now unless you ask.  Everything is done on an app on your phone!! The daily events, anything you have booked, daily menu and times of shows etc.  We were very lucky with him as he was always around somewhere if you needed anything, although we're pretty self-sufficient. As we finished talking to him, our luggage arrived. 

We went and did out lifeboat drill before we unpacked. This has been extremely streamlined since the last cruise we were on, a few years ago!! You watch the lifeboat drill on the app and verify you've watched it and then go and check in at your lifeboat station. They may ask you to put a lifebelt on, just to check you've watched the video but they didn't ask us anything, just checked us in and said we were good. 

So, we went back to the cabin and unpacked.  We managed to get that all done and then went to find somewhere to watch sailaway. 

We were excited as we knew the captain was going to take us right up to the Statue of Liberty and then turn the ship 360 degrees, so everyone, no matter which side of the ship you were on would get a good view. This isn't something they usually do and you can usually see her in the distance as you leave the port but we found out that on Transatlantic cruises they try to make it special by going as close as they can!! 

We went up to Deck 15 

and squeezed in between a few people and got a spot on the rail on the port side. There are 16 decks and we wanted to be near the top.

It took quite a while to approach the Statue of Liberty and then turn the ship 360 degrees so everyone got a good look. It was quite something, what a way to see the Statue for a first time!!!

We wanted to be as high up as possible as we were going under The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, a bridge that is relatively low and comes close to the top of the ship!!! So we went up to Deck 16 which was the highest we could go and got as close to the front of the ship as we could.  The actual front of the ship had been blocked off.

The North Star, which goes high above the ship to give you an all around view. Needless to say it was stationary as it wouldn't have fit under the bridge if it had been elevated!!!

There's the bridge in the distance.

We got as far to the front as we could. Unfortunately the Solarium on Deck 14 was closed for a private party as that would have given a view from the very front of the ship, albeit from the inside and wouldn't have been so close to the top. It was a little annoying that the whole solarium was closed though as it was one of the places we were looking forward to seeing and quite a few people were upset they couldn't go in. It's an adults only area, over 16's and we thought it might be a quiet place to lie and relax. We'll check it out tomorrow.

The bridge was getting closer.

Here we go!!!!!

Click here for video of us going under the bridge to see how close it was!!!

Somebody posted the picture below on our Facebook page, showing us leaving New Jersey/New York.  I guess they were flying out of the airport. I think it's kinda neat that we have this picture showing the ship leaving and we are on it!!! Yeah, it's the little things!!!

Anthem of the Seas, with us onboard!!

Wow!!! we had a wonderful first day. Seeing the Statue of Liberty up close was amazing and then going under the bridge, where you find yourself ducking as it looks as though there's very little room to spare.

We went to dinner in the main dining room and met our waiters, Alexander and Lawrence, we remember them as Alexander the Great and Lawrence of Arabia!! 

We were on a table of 6 and all seemed to get along. However, it was the last we saw of one of the couples, apart from a couple of times later when they were seen in the buffet and around the ship. I actually preferred having just 4 of us as I had felt a little left out this first night when the two ladies sat next to each other, and I was on the opposite side of the table so couldn't really join in with their conversation. It was easier to converse with just Don & Judy and we had some laughs.

The Maitre D, Sachia, who frequently came to check on us even stopping by to help Don cut his steak a few nights. The steak was not that good and a little tough and Sachia knew it. However, we haven't been on a cruise for a few years but this is the first time we've had the Maitre D come and talk to us every night.

We went to see Perry Grant, who is a pianist/singer/comedian and everyone had a good laugh & sing-a-long with him for almost 3 hours.

He even chose me out of the crowd to go up and talk to him and asked me questions about where I live etc.etc. He had one of those disco ball lights and I was asked to turn his ball on!!! It was very embarrassing but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. During the night a couple of other people were asked to turn his "ball" off and then "on" etc. It was a good way to find out about people. He handed us all out maracas, so we could really get involved.

He really knew how to involve the crowd and get everyone singing along. Unfortunately, Royal Caribbean are not renewing his contract so I doubt he will be on our return cruise. We will miss him!!!

So, looks like this is going to be fun and we haven't even gone to the buffet yet!!!

We found a small pastry shop where we found some good cookies. It became a routine to get cookies to go with our nightly cup of hot chocolate and cappuccino, that we made ourselves, before going to bed. There was a kettle provided in the cabin.

It was 1 o'clock before we got to bed and didn't take long to get to sleep after a long but exciting day.

The adventure is just beginning!!!!

Summer of 23 - Introduction

Monday, April 24th, 2023

We stayed in a cabin at NAS Jacksonville at the end of a long week!!!

We have been preparing for our summer trip to the UK, packing for a transatlantic cruise and 5 month stay in UK and Ireland before returning on the same ship on their return transatlantic.

The planning has been going on since March 1st, 2022 when we booked the cruises.  There was a great sale and the cruises cost less than return flights. So, on an impulse we booked!!! We have since realized there is a lot more expense involved, the worst being a car rental for the 5 months. Yes, we could have got trains, coaches etc. but the convenience of the car and going at our own pace, not having to lug all our luggage around was worth every penny or pound of the cost. 

It is my 70th birthday this year, so what better than to splash out and celebrate in the UK. 

We have slowly devised a route and booked accommodation for most of the trip, mostly Air BNB's with weekly or monthly stays to reduce costs.

The positives of doing this before we settle down in one place is that we will have no monthly rental or mortgage payments while we are gone.  Just the storage fee for Lily. So that goes a long way to pay for our accomodation over there.

The last few weeks we have been compiling lists of what we need to take, six months of prescriptions was top of the list!!! The joys of getting older!!!  Clothes for the cruise and clothes for all climates. 

Unfortunately I believe I have everything except the kitchen sink in our luggage. The perks of driving and cruising is no weight limits to worry about!! We just have to carry/drag the bags around. 

The packing started a few weeks ago slowly and ramped up this last week, together with cleaning out the motorhome of everything food related and giving it a good clean.  We finally got it in storage today and we are exhausted. 

Tuesday April 25th, 2023

Click Route from Jacksonville to Cape Liberty to see our route in USA to get to the cruise port.

We checked out of the cabin, said our goodbyes to friends at the RV park and office and will see them all again in November when we return.

The drive to Latta was uneventful, thankfully no traffic jams and hours of moving at a snails pace like Christmas 2021, when we visited Ryan and family. We checked into our hotel for the night and tried to relax. Bryan needed a new battery. No problems we bought some and packed them before we left. One of the processes for my packing, as it has been done over a few weeks, was to make lists of what was in each case and approximately where. So, I checked the list and batteries were not on it, but we knew we had packed them so I must have forgotten to write them down.  We went through the cases as best we could as we didn't want to completely unpack and couldn't find them. Hmmm, might be easier to buy a new pack!!!

Tomorrow we will start the drive to Ryan & Christina's where we will stay a few days before leaving our car there.  We had booked a train to go from their house to the cruise port but when we saw how much luggage we have we decided to do a one way car rental. So we will pick that up on Friday, 28th and drive to Newark, New Jersey. 

Wednesday April 26th, 2023

We drove to Ryan & Christina's arriving mid afternoon.  It was great to see them again and Trystan & Colton.  How the boys have grown, most noticeably Colton who is now walking and interacting with everyone and everything.

Thursday April 27th, 2023

We had some last minute stuff to buy so went to Walmart and hopefully got everything we will need. We enjoyed catching up with Ryan and Christina. 

Friday April 28th, 2023

Christina took us to pick up our rental car for our trip to Newark tomorrow. The weather forecast for the weekend isn't good and looks as though it could be wet, windy and cold. Bryan only had one sweater so we decided to buy him another and went to the Nex at Little Creek. 

Unfortunately while everyone was out Lilo decided she was bored and tore up some of the vinyl tile flooring. I think with all the excitement of the last few days she suddenly found herself alone, and didn't quite know what to do with herself. So, Ryan & Bryan went to see if they could find a match for the flooring. Unfortunately they weren't successful but hopefully will find something that will work. Tinnie in the meantime put together a play kitchen for the boys. I tell you, these "toy" kitchens are very posh these days.

 

Saturday April 29th, 2023

Well the day has come for us to drive to Cape Liberty.  We are staying in a hotel near to the port for the next two nights.  They have a shuttle that will take us to the port on Monday and also one that goes to the nearby train station that we will use after we drop the car off there tomorrow.

It was a long drive taking about 7 hours but we got here. We checked into the hotel and then walked to I Hop for dinner.  The last couple of the hours of the journey weren't really pleasant and it rained quite heavily. The traffic was bad although we didn't get stuck for hours anywhere. It cost $33.30 in tolls but it was worth it as it shortened the drive. One of the tolls we had to pay maximum because we didn't have a ticket showing where we got on.  Not sure how that happened, oh well!!

We rented a hybrid car and have only used about half a tank of gas since we picked it up. We will see how many gallons we used when we fill it up tomorrow. It really fascinated me how it worked, watching the diagram showing on the dashboard as we were moving, showing when it was using battery power and when using fuel.

Sunday April 30th, 2023

We had an easy day. It rained most of the day and was cold and miserable so we decided not to go to the 9-11 Memorial and Museum.  There will be another time for that. 

Unfortunately Bryan slipped in the shower and actually fell over the side of the bath onto the floor. There was no shower mat or bevelled bottom to the bath, and it was very slick. No grip at all. I called the front desk and they sent someone up to see us. The hotel is being modernized but I don't think they've thought it all out very well, as the bathroom was a death trap!! They brought us towels to put in the bottom of the bath to stand on!!! Fortunately although shaken and bruised Bryan appears to be ok.

We went back to I-Hop for breakfast and then took the car back to the rental agency at the airport here. It was a bit of a maze getting there as we had to get gas to fill the car up before returning it. We did approximately 370 miles and our gas bill was $36.16. I think it was $4.58/gallon which is expensive but what you pay near an airport with car rental returns!!! Which means we got approx. 46mpg. We really liked the car and can't complain about the miles per gallon.

Tomorrow we set sail on Royal Carribean Anthem of the Seas, for a 12 day transatlantic cruise to the UK.  We will stop at Ponta Delgada (Azores), Cherbourg (France) and Le Havre(France) before arriving at Southampton on May 12th.

We have purchased an internet package for on the ship but there are many reports that it does not work that well, so we expect to be out of touch whilst in the middle of the Atlantic.

Map showing cruise from Cape Liberty, New Jersey to Southampton, UK

We will then begin a tour of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland & Wales before returning on the same ship when it completes it's European season and returns to the USA for winter season.

I took a screenshot of our 2023 UK Travel map. I know it's not great but best I can do. You can always click the link below and it will take you to the actual map with names of places we are staying. Most of these places are booked, although I've added a few spots that we want to see and may do a couple of days side trips to those from our booked accommodation.

Click the following link to see a more detailed map. 

 2023 Travel Map of UK & Ireland

I'm lying on the bed finishing off this blog. Bryan is deciding what he is going to have for dinner tomorrow by looking on the ship's app at the menu.

I think he's decided on Roasted Tomato Soup, Southern Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Corn-on-Cob, and Boston Creme Pie. Oh boy, now he's looking at day 2!!!

Anyway, it will be nice having someone else doing the cooking.

We found out today that the ship will sail toward the Statue of Liberty instead of away from her. Then do a 360 degree turn so that wherever you are on the ship you will hopefully get a good view. The weather is supposed to be better, so fingers crossed for that. 

Not sure when the next blog will be, it'll depend on what the internet on the ship is like and also if I have time amongst all the entertainment and things to do.