Pride 3/2007 Passage to Portugal Crossing Travelogue

Pre-embarkation Edition

It is March where the hint of spring tells us the Pride White Castle will make her leisurely sail across the Atlantic Ocean to Lisbon, Portugal and her European and Scandinavian fun-in-the-sun summer season. This year and next Seabourn is doing something a little different. Instead of both the Pride and Legend sailing to Europe around the same date, they are staggering the sailings in that the Pride will cross first then the Legend sails after the Pride arrives in Lisbon. This will be my first Pride cruise and my third eastbound crossing after the Vistafjord in 1999 and Royal Viking Sea in 1985. Now off we go …

The trip from home to Fort Lauderdale was a simple non-stop flight and spending the night before embarkation at the Embassy Suites. Aside from the customary delays, the journey was uneventful. I was pleasantly surprised in that, I think, Embassy Suites has upgraded their wireless internet access such that you can access your email form your desktop, sorry, laptop email program as opposed to web-based email access only. :)

Now, it is almost time to leave the hotel and embark on the Pride, check in, go through the embarkation day rituals and finally hightail it up to the Sky Bar for the sailaway celebration!

Any CCers who are also on this crossing, by all means please jump on here and post your observations, opinions, experiences and photos too! I need all the help I can get here.

So until my next report, life is good.

Hope all of you that delight us with your tales of travel on Seabourn enjoy your crossing and have calm seas and make many memories. Please report back and let all of your readers know how "Lorneross" is enjoying his cruise. He seemed so worried. Tell Maritita B. I love her upbeat attitude and she is the best representative Seabourn could have. Will be looking forward to reading your posts. We board the Pride l0 April in Roma. All the best - Rene'

Paul,

Have a great crossing! I look forward to your well written travelogue.

johnny

Paul - please tell Martha et all that I am terribly sorry I missed dinner last night. I spent the weekend in San Juan, my flight was delayed and I did not get home until after midnight!

Looking forward to reading all about your trip! ;)

Have a good crossing Pinkie and crew

This was the first time I have embarked on a Seabourn cruise from FLL. All my prior Seabourn cruises started from either Malaga, Spain or Tenerife, Canary Islands where there were no passenger facilities to speak of. After a full-up airport X-ray screening of all carry-on items and walk-through metal detector, we were greeted by all smiles by the Seabourn staff that assisted passengers with their carry-on items to the waiting area for seating. After a few minutes waiting, we were taken in groups onboard the Pride where we were greeted by Assistant Cruise Directors Simon Davies and Kami (didn’t get her last name) and to the Magellan Lounge for processing. After presenting my signed cruise ticket, passport and credit card; my signature on a charge slip was given, my mug shot taken and my ID card was handed to me. Since it was not “the anointed hour” I sat and visited with Legendary crossers I knew would be onboard but hadn’t sailed with for a couple of years and got caught up. At 3:00 pm. began the “stampede to the suites” and upon arrival was surprised that the Seabourn Luggage Valet fairy had not yet visited my suite. My friends, a few suites away, had not received their luggage either so Bill and I went to the Pursers Office to inquire. After a call we were told the Port Agent had not yet delivered the luggage.

Soon my rollaboard arrived and I unpacked that any my laptop bag. Soon, Pernilla, my lovely suite stewardess came by to introduce herself. She presented me with a salmon and caviar canapé that I immediately consumed. Next was the roll call that really counts, the muster drill. Upon arrival to my suite to stow my lifejacket, my luggage had arrived. I quickly unpacked and went up to the Sky Bar to do a few laps and was surprised to see familiar faces from Legend Nov. crossings past just in time for the sailaway celebration.

The actual sailaway was very smooth and there was not much vessel motion after we got underway. It was not too hot but very pleasant or breezy which was nice. FLL is one of my favorite places to sail from (although I have not sailed under the Tower Bridge at London or out of Sidney, Australia). From the high-rise condo towers on the port side of the ship on the shoreline, the residents there flick off and on their porch lights, wave flags or honk hand-held air horns. They honked, the Captain blew the ship’ horn back and we all waved at them. Really GREAT!!! After we bid adieu to Mr. pilot and cranked up the throttle it was very windy at the front of the ship. Then, we turned around and I thought we had to go back to FLL but Captain Rickard Lorentsen came on the loudspeakers and told us that we had to sail a 360 degree circle to calibrate the ship’s magnetic compass. We sailed several circles but when our course was set to northeast told me it was time to get cleaned up for supper.

Before dinner was Welcome Aboard at the Club where Cruise Director (CD) Helga Reiss introduced the staff to enhance our cruising experience. Barbara is the shore excursion manager and Jennifer is the Cruise Sales specialist. Helga, Simon and Kami gave a short demonstration by singing one song each which told me this will be good.

I had the pleasure of being the “guest of honor” (seated next to the hosted table’s hostess) of CD Helga Reiss, a lovely young lady from Newfoundland, Canada. The dinner of poached jumbo shrimp, tomato and white bean soup and grilled fillet mignon were delicious! Dessert for me was the cheese plate and a decaf cappuccino. Cheffy Markus is already high on my list!

Today’s Freeze Frame: CC is giving me fits over too many images in my post. I have eliminated all images and smilies and still get the error message. Grrr.

On a Seabourn Yacht, life is good.

Fort Lauderdale Condos

Out To Sea

So far for the first two days at sea have been heavily overcast, moderate swells and windy enough to blow the ocean spray up to deck 8. Hence, Lady Pride has been a rocking. This started in the early morning hours of the first sea day and has been persistent, but there have been times when the sea calmed down a bit for short periods of time.

There are two guest lecturers onboard for this crossing: Nigel West, a military historian specializing in intelligence, counterintelligence and security issues; Marion Davies (whom I had the pleasure of sailing with in 2006), a singer whose career has spanned the entire spectrum of light entertainment. Nigel’s first lecture on Tuesday was titled “Spying 101: The Impact of Espionage on History” focused on the basic elements of intelligence and the role of espionage during World War II. His talk was very interesting and informative. I look forward to the balance of his lectures.

By the time of the Captain’s Reception, I was not sick, but did not feel too well so I opted not to go and decided dinner might not be a good idea. A Trivia teammate told me that only about half the passengers were at the Captain’s Reception and in the restaurant for dinner. The sea had calmed a bit so I went to the Magellan Lounge and thoroughly enjoyed Beverly Davidson’s classical violin cabaret show. She is an excellent violinist with a great sense of humor.

Wednesday no passenger could walk a straight line due to the motion of the vessel. I was up on Deck 8 to photograph the sunrise but the heavy cloud cover made that impossible. Although the ambient temperature was not too cold, the blustery winds lowered the wind chill and I weaved from the left to right railings on the narrow deck space between the Sky bar and the aft of the ship. That coupled with the wind-generated water spray told me I was definitely on the Atlantic Ocean. Marion’s lecture “Cary Grant and his Leading Ladies” was fun especially when she included her anecdotes.

Trivia on this crossing will be two five-day tournaments with prizes awarded after each, which we all agreed to. After all three rounds and bonus question have been asked and answers written down, our answer sheets are given to another team to score while the answers are being read to minimize any inference of impropriety. Some of the questions were real “doozies!” About three-quarters of the Constellation Lounge was filled and there are about 8 teams this crossing. My team “Great Expectations” was in third place after the first round and today we are solely in second place behind “The Wags.”

Tonight, I dined with some of my Trivia team players celebrating a teammates birthday. The featured entertainment in the Magellan Lounge is ventriloquist, Phil Hughes. He is a funny guy and very good at his craft.

Today’s Freeze Frame:

Typical Sea Conditions

On a Seabourn Yacht, life is good.

Thanks for the updates. Hopefully the seas (and/or your stomach) will calm quickly. I am one of those that loves the motion, so I am a bit jealous; though note sipping drinks at the Sky Bar would be a downer.

Please say hello to the usual suspects and let us know how they all are doing.

Ahoy from the Pride White Castle. We have endured two more days of high winds, choppy seas (swells up to 10 feet or 3 metres) and cloudy, heavily overcast skies, which have translated into a lot of vessel motion. The bridge has activated the deadbolts locking all passenger balcony sliding glass doors two days ago. Because of the overcast, sunshine was very skimpy yesterday (Thursday) only appearing for a few minutes at a time but today it was sunny for a few hours. The worst vessel motion occurred Thursday night / Friday morning and it kept me awake due to the rapid rise and drops with frequent “banging” (sounded like metal-to-metal contact). Today, there were sailors at the Sky Bar and the sun worshipers congregated down on the more sheltered Deck 7. With the motion, wind and spray made it most difficult for lengthy Deck 8 power walking sessions. I think we may be following a northeaster. The good news is that passengers are getting over any discomfort due to vessel motion and the attendance levels at the various shipboard venues and especially the restaurant are almost back to full strength.

The lectures continue to be great. Nigel’s lecture “James Bond – the Fact and Fiction of Ian Fleming’s 007” was very interesting and informative. As I learned, the reason Fleming’s books were so well written is the fact that he actually served for the British Secret Intelligence Service. Marion’s lecture “The magnetism of Richard Burton” was most enjoyable as it chronicled his life and loves and she also included audio tracks of some of his readings (oh, that velvet voice).

Last night was supposed to be Kami Rodgers’ “Arias Under the Stars” with the wooden chairs brought in from the Veranda, steamer rugs issued and hot chocolate with marshmallows where she blends Broadway numbers with beautiful operatic stylings. However, the weather did not cooperate so this was moved indoors to the Magellan Lounge. Although the show lost some of its luster and intimacy with the venue change, it was a wonderful evening’s entertainment. There was a situation where Kami showed her true professionalism. During one of her songs, the tape of her background music malfunctioned. She smiled sweetly and sang “I will finish this a capella and go on to the next number.” She sang the song without backup soundtrack without any hesitation and, fortunately, the balance of her soundtrack played as planned.

Trivia has been very interesting as we approach the conclusion of the first five-day tournament. Yesterday, “Great Expectations” dropped from second to fifth place with “Masters of the Universe” in first place. Today in the penultimate round, we did very well and elevated ourselves to third place only 15 points out of first place. The “Masters of the Universe” and “The Wags” are in first and second place respectively. Hence, any team can win this tournament.

This morning, a select few Pride crossers were invited to Buccaneer Captain Black’s quarters for a morning festive pirate pajama party social and newbie keel hauling (if they don’t behave themselves). The Captains quarters were decorated for a Jo-Ho-Ho jolly good time! I teasingly told the Cowgirl turned sailor woman, who was wearing a marquee sign button that said “I Am The Greatest Captain,” that I thought she was the Admiral of this whole affair. Well, she flat out denied it and said: “why I am the next-door neighbor who just happened to wander by to see just what is going on.” Since she was wearing a holstered derringer and the threat of being keel-hauled meant Paul minded his Ps and Qs. A grand time was had by all while Captain Black graciously released us to change clothes and report to Trivia!

Today’s Pirate Party Memento Freeze Frames:

The Captain and …

… The Swashbuckler

On a Seabourn Yacht, life is good. :)

Paul - the pyjama party sounds like it was a blast! Please say hi to Pinkie et all! :D

>"It is March where the hint of spring tells us the Pride White Castle will make her leisurely sail across the Atlantic Ocean ......"

I do hope that the seas have calmed, I would hate to think of Davey Jones Locker (aka the Doctor's Surgery) filled with injured cruisers having fallen off their Sky Bar sea chests!

Best wishes to all!

New Rule--- Seat belts on the Sky Bar Stools. :D:D

LOL some of the smaller ships that do Antarctica do have "seat belts" on the beds for the Drake Passage trip. :eek:

Thanks for your travelogue. Should you run into Becky and Bill

from Iowa on board, now that the seas have calmed and

everyone is out of their suites again, please give them

my best and tell them that all their friends in Okoboji are

thinking of them. You'll know Becky by her needlepoint!

Katherine

SeaPea8ch,

When you see Simon Davey next, tell him that Bonnie & George say hello and that we are sorry that we missed seeing him in Auckland

Enjoying your travelogue Paul, what a shame about the rough weather...some people will miss out on lots of the wonderful calorie free, fat free food......maybe a bit of rough weather may have helped us a bit :( I'm sure we are all wondering if you have run into lorneross yet....or did he end up too stressed to board? ;)

King Neptune has smiled upon Lady Pride and rewarded us with calm seas and sunny skies the last two days! The cool breeze coupled with the sun and decks that are not pitching and rolling make deck walking a pleasure. We are now steaming towards Ponta Delgada at full speed ahead (the Captain had to reduce our speed during the rough seas) and expect to arrive on time at our sole port stop.

In Trivia news, after a great round Sunday, “Great Expectations” won the first tournament! Our prize was a Seabourn tote bag stuffed with Seabourn goodies. The second tournament started yesterday. One question was a real eye-opener. “What was the first country to pass a national automobile seat belt law?” One team got it right while most teams (including ours) answered Denmark (because of Volvo); however, the correct answer was Czechoslovakia!

The overall cruise experience continues to be five-star excellent! :D

On a Seabourn Yacht, life is good. :)

What no pictures from PJ parties???? :eek:

I received word from the ship that the PJ Party and Parade went off quite well (though no pix yet) and that the rockin' and rollin' have finally given way to clear skies and calm seas...after an adventure or two.

Time, albeit belated, to answer the sea mail.

Proper Lady and GrannyLorr: Rene and Lorraine, "Lorneross" and his Mom are on my Trivia team and he is quick to suggest answers and they both have helped. After about a week, they both were in the ship’s groove and when I talked to them separately, they both said they were having a grand time enjoying their cruise. This concurrs with my observations as well.

Cruisestitch: Katherine, Just to let you know, Becky, Bill and I go back aways and have done three Legend crossings together. They appreciate all your well wishes, are having a great time and always enjoy their Seabourn cruises.

Buzzland: Bonnie and George, Hellos conveyed to Simon. Simon says hello right back and was so sorry that he missed you in Auckland a well. He thought there may have been some problem with the email.

Blackbird and Iamboatman: Gentlemen, Pinkie has the exposed film, I believe, under lock and key in the safe. That is all I can tell you at this point.

Paul, thank you for your detailed answer to "Inquiring Minds Want to Know"!! Have enjoyed so much your wit and humour from your cruise and admit in similiar circumstances would probably have not been so keen as to sit and write in the rock and roll of those seas! Hope upon your return you have more tales to relate. For a while was not really sure that "Lorneross" was real - safe to say, perhaps not alone in that assumption! Thanks again - Rene'

The last two days before arriving were smooth sailing but with the wind coming out of the south meant the swells were hitting the ship broadside so we tended to roll from side-to-side as opposed to pitching up and down from fore to aft as we did for the first four days at sea. Also, the ambient temperature is cooling down as we approach our final (at least for some of us) destination. Pride crossers all seem very happy as well!

The Azores is a nine-island chain that forms an archipelago about 900 nautical miles west of Portugal. San Miguel is the largest island at 400 square miles and Cavo is the smallest only 8 square miles. Ponta Delgada is on the largest island, San Miguel also known as “The Green Island.” San Miguel is blessed with high ambient relative humidity (77 and greater than 90 percent in the summer and winter respectively) and abundant rainfall year round. Hence, all areas of the island are green, even on the sides of the volcanoes. This was in stark contrast to the lunar-like desolate surface that I experienced last November in Lanzarote, Canary Islands further south off the coast of northwest Africa. Today was a full day with both morning and afternoon tours.

After embarking on the Pride, Seabourn offered several more adventuresome tour options that included horseback riding, a Jeep tour and a Humvee tour. I chose the least adventuresome excursion to Fire Lake, as I have always been fascinated with volcanoes.

After a wonderful room service breakfast (this was the first time I have ever had breakfast via room service) I was off for my first tour and to test my “land legs.” The first stop was the A. Arruda Pineapple Plantation. I found this very interesting because this is the only place in the world where pineapples are organically grown and harvested in glass greenhouses using no chemicals or fertilizers. The greenhouses are built with a specially formulated glass pane that is sized and imported from Portugal. In the summer, the greenhouses are painted white to minimize energy transfer and keep the inside of the greenhouse cooler in temperature. In the winter, the white paint is removed to allow maximum heating inside the greenhouse during those cloudy or rainy days. When the pineapple is cut from the plant, it cannot produce subsequent pineapples. The process starts by removing the plants from the ground after the pineapples have been harvested and cutting off the roots. The roots are planted in rows and spaced two palms of our hands apart in the soil such that there is no more than 700 plants in a greenhouse used solely for this purpose. Several weeks later when the roots have “sprouted” above ground, they are dug up and moved to the next greenhouse and replanted. Here is where the pineapples stay until harvested. After the flower forms and naturally falls off the plant, the plant leaves are trimmed to allow the fruit to grow. The growing process takes between 18 and 24 months (the 24 month pineapples are usually larger) and the pineapples are removed from the plant and the process starts all over again.

A regular sized pineapple like what you can find at the supermarket sells for 5 Euro or about 7 $US and the fact that this is a very labor intensive operation coupled with the 18 to 24 months to get a harvest and the 700 pineapple maximum per “batch” plus shipping costs make this business a candidate for government subsidies. Which is what the government does. When the business started after World War I and until after World War II the business operated at a profit; however, since then they have struggled to make ends meet.

The next stop was the city center of Ribeira Grande. After taking some photos of the city center square, I found a nearby church that was 500 years old and photographed it and the surrounding area as well.

The final stop of the tour was Fire Lake or Lagoa do Fogo located in the caldera of a volcano that was created 15,000 years ago and a collapse of some of the caldera walls 5,000 years ago have resulted in the freshwater lake that exists today. The lakes are at an altitude of 950 metres (3135 feet) and range in depth from 25 to 30 metres (87 to 100 feet) depending on the season of the year. At this altitude, sometimes the clouds completely obscure the view of the lake from the lookout point. However, we were lucky and were able to see the lake in its entirety, but the clouds were moving in fast. There is no road from the lookout point to the base of the caldera but there are trails to hike down and back if you have the time. When we went to the highest point on the volcano, the clouds had moved in and it was so hazy that my digital camera could not focus to take any pictures there. Then, back to the ship for lunch.

The complimentary Seabourn Experience was in the afternoon and was similar to the morning tour but in the eastern portion of the island. The min points of interest were the volcanic lakes Lagoa Del Sete Cidades, a nearby village and green volcano cones with cows grazing.

I was impressed with the fact that all electricity for San Miguel Island is generated by geothermal energy as no fossil fuels are burned here. During the day, I saw hundreds of Holstein cows all over the island and even up near the volcano cones. I noticed there were no fences or barns. I asked the guide what kept the cows from wandering off and where are they milked? He replied, look closely, do you see that wire around the perimeter? It gives them a small electric shock and the cows all seemed happy on their patch of grass. As far as the barns go, the cows are milked outside and a few minutes later I saw a farm worker taking the milking cart up to the cows for the twice-daily ritual. This island produces 20 percent of the milk for all of Portugal.

I thoroughly enjoyed both tours in Ponta Delgada. Before arrival, I was expecting something on the order of a “Third World” experience. I was pleasantly surprised in that the cities I saw were clean, the roads and infrastructure were well maintained and they are doing major expansion work to build a new yacht marina and cruise ship terminal. This tells me that the European Union has invested a lot of money into San Miguel Island.

Today’s Freeze Frames:

Pineapples Nearing Harvest Time

Lagoa do Fogo (Fire Lake)

Cows Grazing On Volcano Cone (May Have to Squint to See Them)

Welcome Home To The Pride!

On a Seabourn Yacht, life is good.

Paul:

Thanks so much for your continued commentary and photos! You set the "bar" mighty high(!), and I look forward all the more to my first TA (on the Legend) next year!

Safe return to you and your friends aboard the Pride!

(the other) Paul :)

I look forward all the more to my first TA (on the Legend) next year!

:eek: I had no idea you were a crossing virgin! :D

:eek: I had no idea you were a crossing virgin! :D

Yep, and proud of it! :D (There ARE a few of us left, you know....!)

(Wanna make something out of it, Big Boy? :eek: ;) )