Atlantic Crossing to St. Maarten


After departing Cape Verde we spent the next four days at sea headed for Philipsburg, St. Maarten in the Caribbean. 

Kristi has been doing quite well on this trip, considering the chronic pain and fatigue she deals with every day. When on shore she pushes herself a little bit, and on these sea days she rests a lot more, napping a couple times throughout the day. In the last week or so the Lymphedema in her right arm is causing more swelling than usual so we wrap it on and off — compression helps reduce the swelling. 

We both caught a cold in Paris and the effects have lingered, not too serious. We bought medicine in Paris, Barcelona, and Málaga — each type helped with the symptoms. We’d love to let you try the expectorant we got in Barcelona — the pharmacist excitedly insisted that it was “super bien” for respiratory congestion. She was right, it did help, but it is the worst, we mean WORST, tasting remedy we’ve ever tried. Having a cold has not dampened our enjoyment of the trip one bit. 


We don’t think we’ve mentioned it, but the rumors among passengers are that the ship is only at 75% passenger capacity. Considering our experience compared to other cruises, we that it’s very likely true. We can always find a chair at the pool, there’s never any waiting in line or a huge crowd at the buffet (we avoid peak times anyway), and the dining room is never full. Too bad for Norwegian but great for us.

Sea Day Four (sea day one was the day after we departed Barcelona and sea days two and three were between Cádiz and Casablanca) —
Today was idyllic — sunny, very little apparent wind, and 75 degrees. Additionally, the ocean was fairly calm, making for another relatively smooth ride. We played some trivia and lounged at the pool. In the evening we saw a magician (whose comedic antics were better than his magic — he was entertaining) in the theater and had dinner. After dinner we watched some karaoke before heading to bed. 

Sea Day Five —
We woke up quite early probably because we turn the clocks back a few times as we sail west. Today was just as gorgeous as yesterday — sunny and 77 degrees. Although we did some research and found out that this is a perfect time of year to cross the Atlantic, we still are quite surprised at how lovely it is. Today was more trivia, music by the pool, cards, and other activities … and food!

Sea Day Six —
Except for a short sprinkle late in the afternoon — with a rainbow, it was another sunny day with a high of 81 degrees. We met and took a pic with the captain. Tonight’s show was a Christmas themed crew talent show. We haven’t seen a crew talent show for quite a few cruises. They are always fun and this one didn’t disappoint. And, the ocean water has begun to appear as a difficult to describe most brilliant blue. 


Captain 

Sea Day Seven —
Because we’ve been turing the clock back each night we wake up at about 6:00am. That’s not bad since we have excursions the next three days and then disembark the day after that. Temperature and humidity have gradually increased as we get closer to the Caribbean. This morning at 7:00am the temp was 79 degrees and the humidity is 74%. One of our favorite spots to hang out is at the buffet outdoor seating area; it overlooks the stern of the ship and it has good shade. 



St. Maarten —

We docked in Philipsburg, St. Maarten at 9:00am today. We pre-booked a snorkeling excursion that included lunch and more. It was probably one of the best excursions we’ve ever done. It included snorkeling, lunch and booze, a cruise to the famous Maho Beach where the planes land overhead, and music and dancing. We had a blast!










After our excursion we got back on board, got cleaned up, and rested. Kristi slept for several hours. It was a fun-filled day and a fairly good workout. At 5:00 Jim watched a Regeant ship and Virgin Voyages ship depart. 

L


We were the last ship to depart. 


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