CAPTAIN'S LOGE: STAR DATE 2 THROUGH 7 - THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

4/19/22 Captain’s log; Star date 2: 30o16’09”N 81o23’10”W The Atlantic Ocean,
This is like being on a ghost ship. The picture of the buffet dining area was taken at 6:00 PM. They claim the ship is at 40% occupancy. It can’t be. This is the first crossing this ship has taken in around three years. The pandemic has decimated the cruise industry. Get back out here and cruise. There are definitely challenges. There are almost as many crew members as passengers, so it’s hard to be left alone.
I have one major complaint. It seems like the pre-pandemic crew members did not return and Celebrity replaced them with brand new folks. It’s like almost everyone is a trainee. It affects your whole day. Cold food in the buffet, orders executed poorly in formal dining, it is difficult to get simple questions answered.
They also have all the young, not-at-risk crew members masked to protect all us old, overweight, diabetic, etc. passengers who are definitely at risk- so you can’t understand what they are saying. A lady sitting near us asked for sparkling water. She had a two minute conversation with the waiter to make sure he understood, because she wanted to make sure it was covered by her drink plan. She got a glass of red wine.
So, it will take a while for the cruise industry to recover, but they will. If you were dreaming of cruising, but have been hesitant, it’s time to book one. I believe the world is opening up and people will be booking them like hotcakes. This ship his just a vehicle for us to reach Europe without flying. Everything else is just icing.
One thing hasn’t changed, even though it’s a ghost ship. The jogging trail attracts people determined to get in your way…like flys to honey. I didn’t get there until after 7:00 this morning. I need to get out there earlier tomorrow.
I also discovered two new beers. Yipee!

4/20/22 Captain’s log; Stardate 3: 32o12’90”N 062o 03’52”W The Atlantic Ocean,
I got out at 6:00 for my morning jog today. There was a 40+ knot wind with mist, so I had the place to myself. Normally I get up at 5:00 and am out there by 5:15. We have just been so tired. It’s hard to get this ancient body moving, although I still see myself as an indestructible 19 year old. Tomorrow is going to be better weather, so I definitely plan on being there real early.
Roz and I did a guided mindfulness session this morning. It was very relaxing. We both fell asleep.
Rolling right along with the videos for the grandchildren. I may be able to do one every sea day.
We passed Bermuda on our port side this afternoon. The weather was still crappy, so we couldn’t see it from the balcony. We are currently sailing 68o at 17 knots.
I was sitting on the balcony chillin’ when a bird flew onto the railing of the next birth. I thought maybe it was a baby osprey or some other sea bird. It was a damn pigeon! These things really are floating cities.
We finished our night watching karaoke. Alcohol pumps a lot of courage into folks. Peace Out!

4/21/22 Captain’s log: Startdate 4 34o20.10’N 054o27’ W The Atlantic Ocean
We slept in this morning. Really slept in. Until 9:00. In fairness, it was 7:00 in JAX Beach when we got up. We have added two hours since boarding. Getting jet lag incrementally is very interesting. We dealt with it on our passage to Barcelona several years ago. You don’t get the shock of getting off a plane and it being five or six hours later. But, it’s kind of like circadian Chinese water torture. This time it will be much different, because we make a few stops in Europe before reaching Rome. Last time we only had one stop before reaching Barcelona. I didn’t even go for a run today. Didn’t have the get up and go.
It turned out to be a really nice day today. We finally broke free of a front after two days. Supposed to turn crappy again tomorrow, and then sunshine and smooth sailing starting Saturday.
The food is getting better every day, as well as the service. Some of the passengers are assholes, but that’s how things go. Roz saw a guy lecturing a crew member who had the audacity to let the French fry pan get empty. I saw something funny..yeah maybe funny haha, but really funny no haha…a lady in a Jazzy miscalculated the opening to the elevator and got the scooter stuck. She got out and lifted one end (I guess the lighter end) and got it unstuck. Then she hopped back on it and entered the elevator. I think being able to lift the thing should preclude you from using it…just sayin…maybe they should institute a Jazzy screening process.
We did Sushi on Five.for dinner. Rocking. Magic show after. Looking for the lyric meteor shower tonight. Some cloud cover, so not a lot happening up there. It’s happening tomorrow tonight too. Go out and make a wish on a shooting star.

4/22/22 Captain’s log: Startdate 5: 35o58.40’ N. 046o34.57’ W The Atlantic Ocean,
We get to our first port on star date 8. It’s in the Azores, so we will officially be in Europe. Fingers crossed that everything is open and inflation hasn’t priced us out of the tapas market. We are doing excursions at each destination, so at least that part of it will be paid before disembarking.
According to the New York Times the meteor shower was only last night and this morning. I got out on the jogging track by 5:30 and didn’t see any shooting stars. I tried to stay out to watch us sail into the sunrise, but it was freezing. The Aquarids meteor shower happens the night before we dock in Rome. It is supposed to have a lot more meteors per hour than this past one, so hopefully the weather will cooperate.
We did silent disco tonight. You wear headphones with three channels. Each person dances to the music they want to.
We are half way across the Atlantic and the crappy Wi-Fi is going to be crappier because apparently there are fewer satellites above the ocean than the land, so some of these posts may be delayed. Peace out!

4/23/22 Captain’s log: Startdate 6: 37o09.44’ N 037o34’.29 W The Atlantic Ocean
Very cold this morning, so I hiked through the belly of the beast instead of jogging on the top.
Happy birthday Shakespeare!
We watched a movie today called “355.” It was about a bunch of woman spies shooting guns and beating people up. It lasted for two hours and during that time there was a lot more violence than plot. I was really confused. I carry a gun, but never want to use it. It seems like Hollywood wants people to think gun violence is cool. And then everyone is surprised that there is a lot of gunplay on our streets. I hope this movie is an outlier and most other ones aren’t violence-centric. I suspect it isn’t, though.
We are in an area with a lot of marine mammals. I have never seen anything from a cruise ship other than sea birds and flying fish. And, oh yeah, that friggin’ pigeon. Keeping my eyes peeled. There’re supposed to be sperm whales and orcas this time of year.
Singer and comedian tonight. Not bad for cruise ship entertainment.

4/24/22 Captain’s log: Stardate 7; The Atlantic Ocean - no entries