Atlantic Crossing - 15 days at sea

This was a first, as our longest cruise had been to the Panama Canal, and I've got to say that 15 days is too long for me.  I can only play trivia, attend nightly shows and eat so much only for so long.

Food to me on the Royal Caribbean is not good, but I managed to gain weight I'm sure.  Had snails one night for appetizer.  A few stand out meals, but the rest was below par, especially their desserts and pastry.  Next cruise will be on Norwegian and they know how to cook.

It was fun that we had some Meetup friends who made the trip nice.....kudos to Christopher who kept the party going and again is charming, fun and someone I'd cruise with any day.  Made new friends and it was an interesting time

A huge advantage to this type of travel is that when you arrive in Europe you are adjusted to the time change as every few days you move your clock forward and we had to do this 6 times.

Ports:  San Juan, Puerto Rico, Ponta Delgado, Azores, Malaga and Ibiza, Spain.  All ports were wonderful, although of course way too short.  Loved Ibiza.

So I'll just add some photos here and hope that you enjoy them.  I won't go into detail.  Our weather on the islands and in Spain was for the most part overcast, so my photos are bright.  Day 15 we landed in Barcelona and we were very ready for "terra firma."

 4/17/17 - Off on the Royal Caribbean, Brillance of the Seas

Welcome aboard champagne

So glad to be on our way

Good bye Tampa

Let's get this party started

Christ and John, first drink of the day.

Towel critter, always enjoy these

 Couple of days at sea and arrive in San Juan. 

Took a nice Old/New San Juan Tour.

Cemetery right next to the ocean.

Old Fort that protected the city.

Excellent views from the fort.

When in Puerto Rico..... drink their beer.

After Puerto Rico, it is 6 days on the ship (a long time) until we arrive in the Azores.  Ponta Delgado was so green and beautiful.  We took a tour to see the volcanic lakes, one blue and one green, but it was very overcast and both lakes looked the same.  Fun to see the countryside though.

Wine and cheese tasting here

 They had probably 15 workers on this street project,

all hand laying of street

 

End our cold, overcast day in Ponta Delgada with a shot

of Absinthe -- guaranteed to warm your soul.

Now we have a few more days on the ship.  I'm asking myself how much trivia can I play.............

Table mates, from part of Meet Up group Cruiseaholics.

It was nice to make new friends.

3 course meals every night.  One can

get a little spoiled.

Entertainment every night.  We didn't go to every show, but

the ones we saw were pretty good and varied.

Always fun to return to the room at night and see

which animal the room steward created.

Chris was our room party organizer and host.

Chris, John and Donna, Meet Up friends.

Sometimes it is nice to just get away to a

quieter place and talk.

Stained glass in the Casino.

This little guy made us laugh.

We arrived In Malaga, Spain.  So glad to get on land again.  Took a free walking tour with Donna and John went on Hop on Hop off.

Good morning, Malaga

 It was an overcast and partially rainy day.

 First stop, pastries.

Donna noticed this place, we cracked up.  A little

way from Route 66, must appeal to American tourists.

Artsy trash can.

Our walking tour group

Plaza de la Constitucion

Center of the city with an amazing history

Wet street

Our ship, Brilliance of the Seas, in the harbor.

The jacaranda trees were in bloom.  We had one of these

trees in our yard in Long Beach.  Beautiful, but messy.

Pablo Picasso.  He was born in Malaga.

 This masted schooner offers cruises.  Wonderful to

see these ships still in operation.  What a beauty.

And as I've seen in so much of Europe a ferris wheel.

Saw one in Paris last year, Barcelona and here in Bergen

Norway.  I wonder how many others I will find.

Of course not enough time in charming Malaga.  A great city.  I hope I can return to Spain with a car and tour around and see so much more.  It is a wonderful country.

Last stop before getting to Barcelona, party centeral for the young of Europe, Ibiza.  We loved this little city.  Very picturesque and charming.  We even got to enjoy blue sky which was a nice change.

Seems like every city we visited had hills, some steeper than others. Had some good exercise here and a few rest stops to get up to the top to "old town" - Dalt Vila.  Well worth the climb.  Lovely views from the top and great architecture.

Top wall has cannons pointing out to protect the city.

Magnificent harbor and marina area.

A little breezy.

  Getting to the top was quite an ordeal but worth it for the views.

Founded 654 BC

Some celebration (could have been a wedding) and 

these nice ladies let me take their picture.

Pizza and Limoncello, perfect lunch.

 Statute paying homage to the hippy days that

began the popularity of Ibiza.  The hippies "discovered it".

Sad to leave Ibiza, interesting with so

much history.  Fun place to visit. 

Fun experience, saw some new and interesting places.  Now get me off this ship and onto land.............Barcelona here we come!!!!!!

Please excuse quality of photos.  I just didn't want to drag around my good camera for 6 weeks or worry about the bad guys....and most of the time it was drizzling, overcast.