A week at sea, crossing the Atlantic is either heaven or hell. I have done it three times, and I truly enjoy it. Quiet days, that develop a rhythm of their own. For others the idle time is boring and frustrating. Despite a million square feet to explore, they feel confined.
I have done the three major routes, the southern route from Florida to the coast of Africa, the northern route - the route of the Titanic, and the middle shipping lanes. If your idea of a cruise is spending endless days in the hot sun, the closest to that will be the southern route to the Canary Islands and even that is not tropical. The northern route is the fastest, and also the most likely to be overcast and cool. Perfect weather for an afternoon of reading and napping.
The days are quiet. Leisurely - with nothing demanding your time or attention. There are things to do, shows, movies, lectures, time by the pool, time to walk or go to the gym. And certainly plenty of food options. While you may have a fixed dining room time, you can always skip that and go to the buffet that is open for hours everyday.
In the three crossings there have been a couple of lifetime memorable moments for me.
We have passed through the straits of Gibraltar twice. The first time was in the dark, in high winds, and foul weather, I slept through it. The second time was in the late afternoon early evening, in good weather. I could see Spain on one side, and north Africa on the other side, and dolphins running along the side of the ship escorting us into the Mediterranean. The experience moved me in a way I didn't expect.
The other was passing over the wreck site of the Titanic, on the anniversary of the sinking. The ship had planned to stop to lay a wreath, but the weather was foggy and rainy, and in the interest of safety we kept moving. This was on a Holland America Line ship. Something I didn't know before that trip, a son of one of the founders of the line, was a passenger on the Titanic and went down with the ship.
A transAtlantic passage is not for you, if you fear time. Time alone. Time that is unscheduled. If you have a strong fear of missing out, the quiet schedule may not be for you. If you savor quiet days to do whatever you want to do, time to explore, time to think, time to not have to think, a transAtlantic passage may be the perfect trip.
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| A dolphin escort through the straits of Gibraltar |
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| Passing over the wreck of the Titanic |
Great photos. I can tolerate one day at sea on a cruise, if I have to. Confined is a good way to describe how I feel with days at sea. I would be much happier if I had a normal internet service, and there is no reason why that can't be so now, with Muskrat's satellites in the skies above.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago, we had internet at sea, and it was slow and inconsistent, this last spring I had a board meeting to attend, so I purchased one day, and it worked really well. I was on a video call of nearly two hours, only losing my connections once. The one day one device of service was $50USD, so rather expensive. But I didn't miss the board meeting.
DeleteI do love being on the open sea, but not in a huge cruise-ship-city with all those other people and the s. I was once on a new Celebrity jumbo ship for its sea trials. That was interesting! One of the ballast tanks had been installed incorrectly and they had to reinstall it and then test with no ballast and with ballast. An acrobatic performance was going on on the main stage and I don’t know how they did those tosses and managed to catch each other. I was holding my breath. Also, sitting in a bar with views of the sea while the ship did spins on its access... well, THAT was a bit unsettling. Still an interesting experience. Friends of ours regularly do smaller ship academic cruises to fascinating places. I loved the idea of that, except we visited them in port in Málaga one time and it was like visiting a nursing home (a very sad nursing home). Not quite what I’d want,
ReplyDeleteSea trials are a special experience. I am taking a larger ship in late February, I will see if it feels crowded.
Delete"The experience moved me in a way I didn't expect." -- Those can be the BEST experiences! They touch something deep, unknown, and often primal in us.
ReplyDeleteSo true. An unexpected highlight of the adventure.
DeleteI think the claustrophobia of not being able to get off the boat for a very long stretch might annoy me. But then again maybe not ...
ReplyDeleteI look forward to those long quiet days.
DeleteBeautiful photos! I'll leave the cruising to you.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd like a transatlantic crossing. I've never done it but I enjoyed the days at sea during our recent cruise, and I'm pretty good at amusing myself.
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