Crossing the Atlantic by Sea

As we left the Azores behind we began the last leg of our journey - 5 days at sea. 

This was our first time crossing the ocean on a cruise ship.  Our friends had done it twice before and assured us that it was a great experience.  On their previous sailings they had experienced good weather and smooth seas.

We were a little skeptical.  We typically cruise for the ports.  We enjoy sea days as a chance to catch up on our sleep and to catch our breath between busy ports.  5 sea days in a row was not something we would normally want to do, but we were up for the experience.

As we were sailing towards the end of November we weren't expecting hot weather.  We were hoping for warm enough weather where we could sit out on deck, enjoy the sunshine, and read a book.  Unfortunately, we had some rainy weather that also produced some wind, so we were unable to enjoy the outside decks.  For two of the days they had the decks closed. After the first couple of days the weather, not a surprise to us, became cooler.  We did have a couple of days where we could get outside and enjoy the top deck amenities, such as the ping pong, the dry slides and the hot tubs.

At no point, during our journey, were the seas terribly rough.  We experienced some swaying of the boat.  There were times where we couldn't walk straight, but we've been in much worse conditions in the Caribbean.

On the days that the outside decks were closed, all the indoor gathering places became quite clogged.  It was difficult to find a place to sit and play cards, or read a book.  The preferred place to sit and relax, a lounge called The Observation Lounge, was much too small.  Every sea day it was filled by 8 a.m. and we were never able to finds a spot to sit as people would camp out there all day. There were even people sitting on the floor as there was no where else to sit. Our only option to play cards with our friends was to wait for an open table in one of the small restaurants that wasn't used for lunch. It became our go-to place to go but, unfortunately, it was only available until 3 p.m. when they needed to begin to set up for dinner. 

There were many moments during the crossing when boredom set in. One day blurred into the other and the routine of the meals, limited activites, and the sameness of the ship's entertainment started to feel monotonous.  There was only so much reading, game-playing, or people-watching we could before we were longing for something different to break up the days.

I won't go as far as to say we didn't enjoy the experience, but we were definitely bored. Would I do it again? Yes, ... probably, knowing that I would need to be prepared for the times when boredom would set in.