Sailing across the Atlantic on the Silver Spirit

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

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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, …

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

There are many fine dining options on board the Silver Spirit

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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 …

Read moreThere are many fine dining options on board the Silver Spirit

Caribbean shore excursions: One good, one not so

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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 …

Read moreCaribbean shore excursions: One good, one not so

Our golf excursion in Antigua is rained out

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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 …

Read moreOur golf excursion in Antigua is rained out

Happy Thanksgiving

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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 …

Read moreHappy Thanksgiving

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

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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 …

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

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

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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 …

Read moreThe ship is unusually quiet due to the low number of passengers

Aboard the Silver Spirit: Trix

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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 …

Read moreAboard the Silver Spirit: Trix

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

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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 …

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

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

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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, …

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