Sailing across the Atlantic on the Silver Spirit Archives

Two final sea days on the Silver Spirit…we say our goodbyes

December 2, 2012November 29, 2012 by Cynthia Boal Janssens

OUR FINAL DAYS ON THE SILVER SPIRIT –This itinerary ends with two days at sea. It is fun to be around the ship now because we have met so many people during these past 12 days. We have gotten to know members of our trivia team, our competitors at the daily putting contest, the speakers and those we travel with on shore excursions. Today we followed our usual pattern, taking in the two speakers, a quick lunch, …

There are many fine dining options on board the Silver Spirit

November 28, 2012 by Cynthia Boal Janssens

ABOARD THE SILVER SPIRIT –We have been on this lovely ship for 12 days. We have sampled all of the restaurants but one, the Stars Supper Club, and we have not eaten there because it does not open for dinner until 8:30 p.m., a bit too late for us. Considering this is a ship that carries a max of 540 passengers, there are many dining options. The two best dining venues are at an extra charge. The …

Caribbean shore excursions: One good, one not so

November 27, 2012 by Cynthia Boal Janssens

ABOARD THE SILVER SPIRIT –Today we were on the island of St. Maarten/Martin and we took a ship shore excursion that visited five art galleries all around the island. Not only did we visit some very interesting artists, but three of the galleries were in their homes. There were 11 in our group and we had a very nice 29-passenger bus that was air-conditioned. Our guide spoke good English and was knowledgeable. I liked this excursion because …

Our golf excursion in Antigua is rained out

November 25, 2012 by Cynthia Boal Janssens

ABOARD THE SILVER SPIRIT – Yesterday we hit land after six days at sea. We visited the island of Antigua. It ended up being a bit of a crazy day for us. Chet and I decided to choose the golfing shore excursion and headed off early with three other intrepid souls to the Cedar Valley Golf Course. The weather seemed perfect. However, we managed to play about seven holes before it began to rain – lightly, we …

Happy Thanksgiving

November 23, 2012November 23, 2012 by Cynthia Boal Janssens

ABOARD THE SILVER SPIRIT –Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the U.S. We do miss being with friends and family. This seems to be an appropriate day to talk about food and the culinary programs aboard the Silver Spirit. As you would suspect, food is an extremely important component of this cruise and there are many ways to enjoy the variety and quality offered. I already mentioned that there are a number of different restaurants, but …

What do folks do to keep busy during all of those days at sea?

November 23, 2012November 21, 2012 by Cynthia Boal Janssens

ABOARD THE SILVER SPIRIT –We are at the end of Day Three at Sea on this transatlantic cruise and the time has flown by. Not because we have been overly busy but possibly because we haven’t. Many of the people we’ve met on this ship say they choose these repositioning itineraries for the rest and relaxation of days at sea. They read books and take naps. But there are also those who choose to stay busy. What …

The ship is unusually quiet due to the low number of passengers

November 21, 2012November 20, 2012 by Cynthia Boal Janssens

ABOARD THE SILVER SPIRIT – We are now on our third day at sea on this transatlantic crossing on the Silver Spirit. We will have six full days at sea before we reach St. John’s, Antigua, then a few days visiting Caribbean islands, then two more days at sea before reaching Ft. Lauderdale. This is a very quiet cruise, for one main reason: There are only 163 passengers on a ship that carries 540 so there are …

Aboard the Silver Spirit: Trix

November 21, 2012November 19, 2012 by Cynthia Boal Janssens

ABOARD THE SILVER SPIRIT – We boarded the ship yesterday and had a fairly fast day with moving in, touring the ship, going to the opening cocktail party by the pool and having dinner with new acquaintances, Karen and Lee from Chicago. This morning began very bright and early with breakfast in our stateroom before we headed off on a day-long tour of the rather small Canarian island of La Palma. It turned out to be an …

The hop-on, hop-off bus worked fine for our all-too-brief visit to Las Palmas

November 16, 2012November 16, 2012 by Cynthia Boal Janssens

LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA –Yesterday morning we awoke after a solid night’s sleep with a new outlook on life. The frustrating day before was past and we were off to explore this city. We stayed in the city’s grand dame hotel, the Hotel Santa Catalina, which is set in a park near the city center. It is where the Spanish royalty stays when they are visiting the island. It is midway between the historic Triana area …

We thought that all was going fine, until we encountered a national strike in Spain

November 16, 2012November 15, 2012 by Cynthia Boal Janssens

LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA – Yes, we finally reached the Canary Islands, but it wasn’t easy. Yesterday was one of THOSE days. As I keep saying over and over, we leave for trips beginning in Europe two days early so that our luggage will reach us and to overcome unforeseen mishaps. Yesterday we had one of those: A national strike in Spain. Our trip began as scheduled on Tuesday with a nice flight from Ft. Myers, …