Day 39. 8 Dec. Monday. At Sea. Day 4 Atlantic Crossing

Time change #4 last night may have had something to do with our waking up at 0430 this morning and remaining awake. It could also be due to last night's big dinner. The seas were still with us and wet decks indicate a rain squall or two had passed over. Throughout the morning we passed through rain squalls. At 0630 we had a thunderstorm with lightening.

find the rainbow

Breakfast in the Pinnacle. Court of Neptune after. (That's akin to morning coffee group.)

Noon report:

26º 23.04'N, 053º 57.10'W. Distance 10,095 nm. Noon to noon run of 469 nm. Wind S at 19knots (force 5). Apparent wind off port bow at 28 knots. Speed of 18.1 knots, averaged 17 knots. Course 264. Depth 5,740 meters. Temp 25C/77F. Sunrise 0611, sets 1643. About 270 nm from St. Maarten and about 1100 nm to Half Moon Cay, our last port of call before Ft. Lauderdale.

Deck patrol this afternoon revealed 3 cabins on Suites Deck are now without AC. This is a constant problem with heat and/or AC and maintenance is always working on this somewhere aboard. Deck 9 had two cabins with apparent toilet overflows/leakage with carpet driers running. Water valves are failing and maintenance is always replacing a valve somewhere. The fleet is aging. Our cabin has wooden wedges between the ceiling and walls to absorb vibration. The furniture is worn and the deck furniture for our cabin is frayed. Despite these failings we enjoy the voyage with good food and outstanding service. Our Captain has managed our course on this passage to minimize the ship motion yet make our schedule. The Hotel Director has been patrolling with his officers checking on everything. Our Cruise Director Mark is always busy with planning and executing activities. Queen, our concierge, along with Josephine her assistant make sure everything goes smoothly for us. Today, and I suspect Queen had something to do with this, a table appeared in our cabin which can be raised to desk level height to make writing and typing easier on the back. She had seen me trying to work on the only table in our cabin which is a low slung coffee table; there is no desk in our cabin.

The laundry service has been superb and perhaps the best we have encountered afloat. The crew had a drill today to practice emergency efficiency in some particular aspect I was not privy to, having a nap on deck, in the sun, at that time.

Heading into the sunset.

Late afternoon we had more showers. Dinner tonight should be lighter fare in the Canaletto (“Italian” restaurant on one side of the Lido trough.) They have tablecloths, service and hot food. Friends Ray and Loren will dine with us. The main subject of conversation tonight is to be a joint cruise.