Tag: #nclepic

Funchal Portugal

Four sea days turned into 7 days at sea due to 6 metre swell cancelling our Ponta Delgado, Azores stop. So first stop after Bermuda was Funchal. This is my second time here and it is a very pretty island. It is a very popular tourist island. Friendly people, delicious food, lots to explore. I love the old town with its alleys of restaurants and bars.

I love the door art.

And the sculptures, with the most important one being of the great soccer player, Ronaldo and you can see what part of his body is favoured.

The most fun and crazy thing to do is the basket toboggan ride. Think billycart for 2 down a steep mountain road shared by pedestrians and cars, with 2 men using their feet for brakes and control. It is a must do.

Bermuda

4 April 2022
Arrived in Bermuda but I will not get off the ship as I need some recovery time next to the pool. Yay!! Sun bathing weather!! I will take it easy as we have an overnight stay here. We are the first cruise ship to arrive here since the pandemic. The locals are very happy for the return of tourists. There are pretty beaches and lots of fancy golf clubs which I went to last time here in 2018. The jacuzzi is calling.

Finally some warm weather

Norwegian Epic Transatlantic

I boarded the Epic around 1130am on 2 April. Bliss!!! It has been 2 years and 5 months since my last cruise which was on the Norwegian Jewel Transpacific from Honolulu to Sydney from 2 November to 3 December 2019.

Due to Covid and as this trip is what is known as a relocation cruise, it normally has fewer passengers. This cruise has
1300 passengers 1400 crew. So a luxury of 1 crew per passenger. Normally this ship takes 4000 passengers and 2700 crew.

This sailaway party is the first time I have danced with people since November 2021. Really danced. As we sailed out of New York said goodbye to the grand lady Statue of Liberty.

On to warmer weather please. I would like to enjoy my balcony

Final Day transatlantic cruise NCL Epic

21 April 2018

The last day of my 15 day transatlantic cruise is a sea day and sadly has come to an end.

However, Firstly I woke at 7:30am to watch my NRL game to find out that it would be televised live on the ship at 9:30am so I was able to get another 2 hours sleep. Unfortunately my Wests Tigers were beaten in the last minute to Newcastle Knights.

This disappointed me for a short time as I quickly remembered I needed to get in an enjoy my last day of this cruise where I visited lovely parts of the world and had fun onboard the Norwegian Epic.

One fun game played onboard was LRC (left right centre) it was the best $3 spent on each sea day. With the opportunity to win up to $200 and socialising with fun people. When we were down to me and another person fighting for the pot I had sweaty hands and felt a lot of pressure especially with 50 people chanting my name. Unfortunately I did not win the money but felt the love of many people.

Last dinner at the Manhattan room with Sarah Stu and Denny.

Final night of dancing with these friends.

Wonderful friends were made on this cruise. Luckily many will be getting off in Barcelona tomorrow so we can wean ourselves off the separation.

Sea day

18 April 2018

I had a day relaxing by the pool. There are all nationalities on this ship and I love all of the accents, mostly the American which remind me I am on an adventure like no other. I continually thank the universe that I have these amazing experiences. I know how I am doing this but at the same time full of amazement that I am.

These people live a reality that is a culture of travel and meeting and learning from diverse people. Other than retirees there are several people aged from 40 who have sold everything and are “homeless” exploring the world. Many have worked very hard and would have been classified as workaholics but decided to let work go and now enjoy life.

This evening I succeeded in getting front row seats for Piscilla Queen of the Desert. I approached the Cruise Director and told him of my connections to Kings Cross, Les Girls, Mitzi and Carlotta.

But first dinner with these lovely ladies. Julia BJ and Dorothea.

Then we had after show drinks with the cast.

Norwegian Epic

15 April 2018 Day 5 sea day Atlantic Ocean.
Since leaving Bermuda I have been enjoying days of lying in the sun at the Spice H2O pool area, meeting lots of people and discovering new cocktails (my keto diet prior to this trip long forgotten), dancing until 3am and meeting even more people.

This cruise has many time changes and this morning I went to bed at 4am. I got up three (3) hours later to watch my NRL team Wests Tigers play Manly Sea Eagles. I was so excited that it was televised live into my cabin. Although at half time I ran up to the Irish bar O’Sheehans, as it was televised there as well, because I was worried that my yelling and cheering would wake my cabin neighbours.

But as there was no sound at O’Sheehans I ran back to my cabin and cheered into my pillow for the second half. What a way to watch my team win at Brookvale while I am on a cruise crossing the Atlantic.
After recharging with a sleep, lunch and another nap by the pool I prepared myself for dinner and tonights show.

This ship has wonderful shows and there was no way I was going to miss Priscilla Queen of the Desert. The show was as spectacular as the musical in Sydney and the movie. The Aussie accents and the pictures of the Imperial Hotel in Erskineville and reminders of Les Girls in Kings Cross made me homesick. I was a rebellious 16 year old who frequented Les Girls in Kings Cross in the 1970s and then after my first divorce in the 1980s I again became a frequenter, especially as I was working in the Rural Bank in Kings Cross at the time.

After the show on the Epic I had a drink with a couple of the brilliantly cast Bernadette and Felicia.

I will approach the cruise director and inquire how I may get a front row seat for the show on 17 April. As one of the few Aussies on board I think it a reasonable request.

Funchal Madeira (Portugal)

15 April 2018

I did not know anything about this island and it is a lovely surprise. The NCL Epic has a wonderful group of solo travellers I consider friends. Denny has covered the transatlantic several times so he shares great ideas of what to do when in port. Seven (7) of us shared a taxi for 30 Euro each. The driver took us for a 3 hour tour starting with the togobban ride. I almost did not do this exciting ride down the steep winding mountain roads of Funchal in a basket. I thought it was your typical toboggan down a metal track. At 15Euro per person it was one of the most fun things I have done. It brought back childhood memories of billycart racing down the hill with only our feet as brakes. We destroyed many shoes with this dangerous but fun childhood pasttime but the baskets on the hill of Funchal are another level. you can take the cable car up to the top of the mountain or we had our taxi drop us off at the start.

You sit in a basket and are in the safe hands of two locals (and the universe) who use their well shod feet to control the basket around corners (I actually typed coroners originally lol) keeping you on track without tipping into the gutter. The locals I met said they won’t do the ride.

Many people were frightened by the ride but I loved it. I highly recommend to do this.

Then we went to the fishing village which was very picturesque and I had the local drink Ponchas which provided my first hangover for this cruise.

Winston Churchill spent a lot of time in this village painting.

A pretty spot with the NCL Epic in the background.

Some of the street art on doors.

The famous soccer player Ronaldo was born here. There is a museum in to honour his achievements.

Sail away view of Funchal

Norwegian Epic

7 April 2018
I am off to Barcelona on a Transatlantic cruise! This was not planned but I got such a great deal I could not go. I love the Norwegian Epic and this is the last cruise I could do on her from the USA as she repositions to Europe for their summer.

I have discovered I am a silver member of Norwegian Cruise Line Latitudes club. I got priority embarking no waiting in lines. A free bottle of champagne and some extra internet minutes.

This is only my 4th cruise with NCL and I get perks!!. I have been on 10 P&O cruises and get nothing. I am in the studio cabins and this cruise has only 80 children out of 4800 passengers. The majority are over 50 but the first night in the nightclub was amazing. I had 2 wonderful dance partners!! I don’t need anything else. The DJs on NCL could teach P&O cruise DJs how to keep the passengers happy. Every NCL cruise I have been on the DJs know or play what the passengers love.

The people I have met so far are wonderful interesting and all retired from USA, Canada,France, Britain, Spain and Aussies from Melbourne and Brisbane. Including investors, gold mining office manager, French professor, teacher, travel agents, accident investigator, army, emergency nurse and mission chaplain. Such diverse occupations.

I have learnt to play a gambling game left/right/centre. Lots of fun and a very social game with an investment of $3 and prize of $100. Day 3 tomorrow and with our first stop in Bermuda.