Feeling Like a Celebrity

They all said it would be like this.

But, quite frankly, it sounded too good to be true.

The emails came as did the conversations:  “You will love Celebrity,” they said.  The accolades came from both friends and people previously unknown to us. In particular, many said, they loved the Solstice.
And then it began: Our embarkation greeting Sunday was reminiscent of a cruise several years ago on Silversea: being handed a glass of bubbly  by a white-gloved waiter at the second we stepped on board

And if all those folks who told us we’d love this ship, had mentioned the long-stemmed red roses in our room (and bathroom!) I had forgotten. 

You recall we found a good deal long ago on this cruise from a company called CruCon Cruise Outlet  -- a deal so good that we were able to book Concierge Class for the price of a regular balcony room through other agencies.

So we’ve settled into to our beautiful room on the 9th floor that features both a spacious balcony and bathroom; a bathroom that featuring toiletries that remind me of the Bulgari products we were provided on Silversea.

We been so treated  like ‘Celebrities” the last few days, that you won’t  be surprised to learn that we spent part of our first morning on board talking with folks at the ‘future cruise’ desk.

Mid-Atlantic: "The Deeper the water. . .

. . .the better we float," quips our Captain Gerry Larsson-Fedde, Master of the Celebrity Solstice.

We are, quite literally, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, having reached the mid-point between Florida and the Azores around midnight.  In the distance the horizon wraps itself around our ship in a semi-circular fashion; a seam binding the deep blue of the ocean to the turquoise sky.

The Atlantic is the second largest of the world's four oceans and the most heavily traveled, yet, we've seen no other ships since the first day at sea when we saw one in the far distance.

Our days at sea are going far too fast!  One of our favorite past-times we find is watching the cloud puffs pass overhead and the waves massage our ship's hull.  At noon Wednesday we were 1,220 nautical miles from Florida and with the slow process of easing us into new times zones at an hour at a time, we are now six hours ahead of our Pacific Northwest home.

The water's depth is 15,000 feet, prompting our Captain's daily reminders of how well our ship does in such deep oceans.

I did invite you to 'come along' with us and the nice folks at Celebrity even provided some precious computer time for me to provide you posts and photos as we sail from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona, unfortunately (and this isn't news to those of you who've tried to use computers at sea) the computers are a finicky business.

 I've got a lot of posts and photos sitting in my Netbook (which is connected to the internet at full force in our room but not in the computer lab - nor will it connect me to the internet in the room. At least it isn't us, as the computer room is filled with tales offered by frustrated computer users.) So those posts will appear at the moment that broadband capacity and satellites are in the correct position. That means you may not see them until we reach the Azores or the Techno Gods smile upon us.

Then you'll join us as we dine at the Captain's Table, walk barefoot across the half acre of green grass at the top of the ship, run a gourmet gauntlet, meet the environmental officer who hails from Boston and the hotel director in charge of the guest accommodations. . .and that is just a start.

A Celebrity Bon Voyage!

We'll follow this waterway into the Atlantic Ocean
j.smith photo, (c) 2011

Just like kids on Christmas morning, we were both awake early: today is finally cruise day!

The day that seemed ages away when we booked the trip is finally here. Now we are only hours away from the time, 4:30 p.m.ET, that our Celebrity Solstice will gently slide from its berth at Port Everglades easing itself to the right and heading towards the Atlantic Ocean.

We will see land again next Saturday when we arrive in the Azores. We will  leave our hotel, the Springhill Suites Marriott, which was jam-packed Saturday with pre-cruise guests, joining them all just before noon in a parade of shuttles to the port.

Cruise lines and Port Everglades employees have so streamlined the embarkation process that it won't take long to board this floating ‘home’ away from home.
We'll likely be on board before our cabin is ready for us so our explorations will begin of this ship that sounds too good to be true. (I'll let you know about that later.  But honestly, from the first time I wrote that we were sailing on a Celebrity ship I have had emails telling me what a great cruise line it is and what a fantastic time we will have. We met another couple Saturday who echoed those sentiments and will also be on the ship with us.)

We will get hopelessly turned around as we set out to see all that each deck has to offer. And we’ll likely stay mixed up for several days, as this is one big ship! 

Then it will be 4:30 and the ship's horn will sound and a sort of magic will envelop us. We'll gather with fellow passengers first for safety drills and then to watch land disappear. There will be a potpourri of music and laughter, greetings and confusion. 

And since I invited you along, you need to grab yourself a beverage, sit back, make sure your computers speakers are on, then click the YouTube link and join us as we explore the Celebrity Solstice.

“Bon Voyage!”

Between Ocean Drive and Surf Road

That’s been our address for this carefree week of sun and sand – can you think of any better location?
We’ll be moving into the next phase of our adventure this weekend but before doing so, I had to bounce the beach ball down memory lane one last time:

The concierge at our hotel had very tactfully told us that Fort Lauderdale Beach is still a haven for itsy-bitsy, teeny tiny teens in their bikinis. Hollywood Beach, where we are, is more of a ‘baby boomer beach,’ she said. (You get the picture).

But I still wasn’t going to be deterred from getting to the  beach from my “Where the Boys Are” movie.  And I did as evidenced by the photo below.

Please note, that while I may look like a boomer; below that wind-blown hairdo and tee-shirt was a bikini-clad college girl humming the movie’s theme song. . .

You can imagine my joy when the taxi boat guide announced that Connie Frances had been on this very same beach less than a year ago “singing her heart out.”
And then she added, “. . . she was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the movie’s  release.”  

I knew then, that it was time to head back to the ‘boomer beach.’

Note:  To hear the song sung by Connie, visit the post, “Where the Boys Are”

Florida’s Wacky, Winding Waterway

No matter where we go, we try to use  public transit as much as possible. And kudos to Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale for offering some great  public transit and tourism  options, including a great water taxi.

We headed north to Ft. Lauderdale one afternoon traveling  the Intracoastal Waterway on the Water Taxi  catamaran.  Tickets are $20 ($16 for seniors, 65+) for a full-day pass.  Although their posted schedules were loosely adhered to, we filled an afternoon exploring but a small section of this 3,000 mile waterway that links Norfolk, Virginia to Brownsville, Texas. We learned it has once stretched from Maine to Texas and was built during World War II as a safe means of getting our war ships repositioned.

Our crew pointed out nature and history, along the way but the most unexpected sight occurred just as the taxi was pulling in to pick us up: two docks south a man literally jetted out over the water. A Kodak moment for all.

We went through Port Everglades where Holland America’s Neiu Amsterdam was the only ship in port and later watched it head out to sea. 

We transferred to a Ft. Lauderdale taxi just past the port and in typical tourist fashion, photographed  mansions and yachts belonging to “‘the other half’” en route to Ft. Lauderdale Beach. . .you know, the beach in the movie I’ve been telling you about.  More on that next time.

Hooray for Hollywood!

Hooray, indeed! It is everything Connie and her friends promised in that long ago movie (see the last post if that doesn’t make sense). . .the white sand, beach umbrellas, beautiful bikini-clad bodies, (some bodies that really shouldn’t be in bikinis or shorts, for that matter) and sun. Glorious, but intense, sun.

85-degrees today and the same for tomorrow. And the Hollywood Broadwalk is everything the tourist association promised.  We understand now why Travel+ Leisure Magazine voted it one of the best boardwalks around.

In fact the Broadwalk provided a type of Easter parade yesterday as hundreds strolled, biked, skated, jogged or ran along in front of the hotel.  This morning it was nearly empty as we set out to explore
Our north-facing room couldn’t be better for seeing both the Intra-coastal Waterway to our right and the Atlantic Ocean to our left. Sunrise right; sunset left.

We also had a late afternoon Easter Parade of cruise ships setting sail from Port Everglades which is less than 10 miles from us.
The first ship out was ‘our’ Solstice! It will do a final spin through the Caribbean before we board it for Europe next weekend. 
Among the ship’s departing yesterday was the Celebrity Infinity and on board it were our cruising buddies Bill and Madelin (they are the friends we made on a repositioning cruise a few years ago.) They called us just as their ship entered the Atlantic and chatted as the ship set sail for Seattle!

“Where the Boys Are. . .”

If you were a youngster in the early 60’s then the title alone should spark a memory of  that dark-haired beauty, Connie Francis, singing and searching for romance on Florida's beaches during a spring break romp in a movie named, what else? “Where the Boys Are”.

Movies --for a kid like me growing up in Yakima, Washington – were an introduction to the world; a time travel to places I hoped to visit when I grew up.  I’ve already told you how Hayley Mills in Disney’s “Moonspinners” kicked off what was to be my adult-life love affair with Greece.

In much the same way,  Where the Boys Are, created a magical image of  Fort Lauderdale; actually, anything, Florida.

Now  decades later, I’ve been to to Fort Lauderdale a few times; usually a late-night arrival to catch a cruise ship the next morning.

We’ll soon be heading there to catch our Celebrity cruise.  This time, though, we are spending a few days on the Florida coast.

Unlike those dreamy, starry-eyed teen years, I am  no longer hoping to find my true love there as Connie so skillfully planted the seeds of hope so long ago - he’s coming with me. 

But at some point under that Floridian sun, I’ll be humming that song, thinking of Connie and back to a time that my friends and I watched. . .and watched . . .and watched that film over and over again.

Connie and others like her in those movies planted the seeds for our futures: romance and travel, success and happiness. Isn't it funny how just hearing a song from one of them now can take me time traveling back through the decades to the time my friends and I were lost in the land of movie magic?

Note:  If you don’t recall the movie or need a refresher course, click on the link above, as it will take you to a great video posted by glamourous888 on YouTube. Happy Memories!

Holiday Homework, Road Reads, and other Novel stuff

Nothing like a good book to get you in the mood for travel.

We turned to our local (just up the road 30 miles or so) travel guru Rick Steves’ for the homework part of our trip to Spain  Over the years we've come to appreciate his practical tips for getting around and saving money, not to mention hand-drawn, easy-to-understand maps. We've been reading his large book on Spain, but will only be taking one of his Snapshot Series books --  Madrid and Toledo -- with us. This series provides a compact, light-weight book specific to certain cities.

(I know you are thinking, why don't they use Kindle, or Nook or some phone with apps? Well, we pack light and between our cell phone, camera and Netbook, we have all the wires, chargers and batteries we want to carry - so give us a good ol' paperback in which we can jot notes and flag pages with the flick of a wrist and we are quite happy.)

Pre-trip reading:
I’ve learned much about the Spanish Civil War and the military coup of Francisco Franco in 1936, by re-reading the novel, The Return by English author Victoria Hislop. Caught up in the story she tells of Concha and Pablo Ramirez and their children, I’ve also learned much about flamenco dancing and its importance in the Spanish culture. Even if you don't travel to Spain, this would be a great summer read for beach or armchair.

A real life story by Frances Mayes, A Year In  the World, The Journey of a Passionate Traveler has almost had me tasting the tapas she ate and certainly smelling the orange blossoms as she has explored towns and cities in Spain and Portugal.  In her usual style she has also sparked my interest in not only the poetry of Spanish son, Federico Garcia Lorca, but in his life as well.  She’s also prompted me to research the Spanish concept of duende, in both flamenco dance and life itself. But, more on that later.

On the road reads. . .okay, so on the seas, reads:
I'll be seeing views similar to this photo -- taken on our repositioning cruise two years ago -- when I open Mark Twain’s Innocence Abroad the perfect re-read for the cruise. Then I want to find a copy of Bill Bryson’s Icons of England. . .you can never have too much to read.

We’ve got a lot of sea days reading time though and I am looking for your suggestions.  Any recommendations? Books set in Spain, England or France? Cruise stories? (I read Christopher Columbus's diaries on our last cruise and it was fascinating)

Note: Although I’ve added these books to the Amazon carousel on the lower right hand corner of the blog. I've also added a link in this post for those who get this by email and may want to look more closely at a book: simply click that link - it will take you to that book's page on Amazon.