21 – 25 october just cruising

The Norwegian Epic cruise ship is monstrous, 155,00 tonnes, towering above the dock, 19 decks high, 330m long. At midday we go through luggage check-in, passport control, card swipe and  handwash. Deck 5 includes guest services desk for those who need to sort out their on-board credit facility. We find the couple of bookshelves that is the ship’s library and promptly collect a couple of books. Tony gets “the quantum universe” to go with “the great equations”, Liz got something easier to read. Up to deck 13 we find our little inside cabin, up forward, twin beds, toilet, shower, fridge, TV, wardrobe, no window. We won’t have trouble finding it as the room is right next to the stairs in a cross hall with only 4 rooms. OK.

 

The Garden Buffet Café is a handy two decks up directly above and is already serving copious quantities of food with abundant choice and variety. There is disco music on the pool deck and the all-smiling, singing, dancing cruise director and crew lead the macarena. Down to  deck 14 to the “Pulse” gym and Mandara Spa, where the hard sell is to purchase $200 of yoga/ pilates and cycling sessions, $189 facials, $250 teeth-whitening, spa, massage, acupuncture treatments, etc. A compulsory emergency drill, back to the café for dinner, we are worried how much weight we will stack on in two weeks.

The first three days go quickly, eating, sleeping, exploring, eating, going to shows, eating, learning and playing bridge, sleeping and eating and still there are places on the map of the ship we haven’t found. The ship does 26 knots and on the second evening we leave the Mediterannean through the gap between Europe and Africa at Gibralta and into the Atlantic. The Norwegian captain makes regular announcements that the ship is on schedule, the sea is calm, the cyclone in the Bahamas is far far away too far away to worry and having a wonderful day and a smashing evening. The daily newsletter lists the day’s activities, art auctions, bars, restaurants and entertainment. The casino and poker machines do not interest us, nor does the shopping mall or the internet room at 55c per minute. We enjoy the comedy string quartet Graffiti Classic, and the BlueMan Group is entertaining and different. The Legends in Concert features three amazing performers who do absolutely brilliant impersonations of Rod Stuart, Madonna and Elvis.

 

US citizens (many from Florida) are the majority travellers, then UK, and German. We meet two young Australian boys. Justin is underage, turning 21 in five days time, so cannot purchase or drink alcohol, but is “welcome to gamble”!! Tony meets a woman who has now made 14 ocean crossings (12 atlantic and 2 pacific) on cruise ships! A few people (like us) are cruising rather than flying but the vast majority actually flew from USA to do the cruise or will be flying back to UK or Germany after the cruise.

The first shore excursion is the Azores, an island group belonging to Portugal known for volcanic lakes and tea plantations – this is country number 18 and perhaps half-way around the world. Catch up with emails on free WiFi at café and two coffees for 1 Euro with new friends Wim and Wil from Holland. The weather is warm and sunny for a walk along the coast, past decrepit but colourful houses to a small islet and beach, then up out of town to pineapple farms and back down through cobblestone streets.

 

Back to the starship Epic for a meal, a show another meal and bed. Big day! Still a long way to go, It will be six sea days before we see land again.