thefouramigosblog

Our first port after eight days at sea was the colorful capital Santa Cruz De Tenerife. Tenerife is one of the Canary Islands which is part of Spain.

The weather was 64 degrees and overcast but it was pleasant for our walk around town.

Our morning coffee was delivered at 8 and we took our time getting ready. We’ve been here several times and didn’t make any plans. Several years ago we took a tour to the volcano and to a pyramid. Actually they believe the pyramid was made in the 19th century to do step agricultural planting. So today is just a little walk about town.

The Sun Princess is quite impressive as we watched the fueling process from the bridge.

Like many European cities, there were many statues as well as some very nice graffiti adorning the town.

We stopped at a cafe for a cappuccino and crepes.

The crepe was filled with a pistachio filling. It was good but my stomach didn’t like it.

We walked to the Cathedral of Santa Cruz which isn’t actually a cathedral but is the main worship center in the city.

Unfortunately, there was something going on within the church and tourists were not allowed to enter. I took this picture through the gate.

Santa Cruz De Tenerife had beautiful flowers and enormous trees.

It’s a very colorful place with vividly painted buildings.

If you ever visit this port and don’t go on an excursion, walking around town is a great way to spend a few hours.

There is a museum walking distance from the pier. We decided not to tour the museum but maybe next time.

We headed back to the ship early and I was lucky to get to use the laundromat. I thought it was a perfect time to do it while many passengers were off the ship. Princess has a laundromat on each deck for passengers to use with two washers and dryers in each.

Now for the next two days, we will be at sea.

#sunprincess#cruising#santacruzdetenerife#canaryislands#spain#cathedralofsantacruz#vacation

There are so many things to do on board a ship that sometimes I wonder how I’m going to get any relaxation. There are shows, trivia, casino, bingo, eating, dancing, listening to music, and getting acquainted with many people.

We try to do a few of the things but sometimes we want to pause and read our books. Or on this ship, there have been mindful meditations.

The pastries on the Sun Princess have been delicious and I’ve indulged way too willingly. So for the next few days, I decided to reduce my food and pastry intake.

As Platinum level on Princess, we are invited to a daily cocktail hour which some days we go to and some not.

We missed the big event with the officers since I wasn’t feeling well.

Another night of entertainment with the incomparable Janice Martin.

We enjoyed the acrobat shows in the Dome with Duo Fusion and Duo Kate and Vasya.

Tomorrow we will finally reach our first port, Santa Cruz De Tenerife.

#sunprincess#duogusion#janicemartin#duokate&vasya#cruising#transatlantic#vacation#ocean

Cruising the Transatlantic is not for those who fear the open ocean or may suffer from seasickness. There are many medicines to take to counter motion sickness. From Dramamine to magnetic bracelets and patches, Bruce and I are very lucky not to need anything.

We will have eight sea days before we reach our first port in the Canary Islands. And we love sea days. We wake late to a light knock on our door bringing us our morning coffee and tea. We are in an oceanview cabin so no sitting on the balcony. Instead, our cabin has a nice couch with a little table.

We take our time waking and look at the app to see what we’d like to do. We’ve enjoyed Enrichment programs and one on travel apps. And yes it was helpful and I learned a few things I will incorporate into my travel planning.

We usually spend some time in the casino. We’ve been doing well and hopefully we will get more free cruises.

We sometimes make it to the Eatery on the Sun Princess, a buffet on other ships, for a little breakfast. I don’t like to eat until after noon but Bruce needs three meals a day.

I have yogurt with granola and fruit nearly every morning if I get up there before it closes.

We’ve played in the casino a bit and have won some and lost some, but having a good time with it.

I have a cold so I’m trying to lay low. We were going to watch a movie under the stars but decided to watch it in our cabin. It was Song Sung Blue and what a good movie. I cried.

We’ve watched the nightly entertainment in the Arena. In particular, the phenomenal Janice Martin performed. She’s a musician, a singer, and an aerialist.

The ship is lovely with so many areas to check out. I might give the infinity pool a try.

We found this cross walk on deck 9.

And every day we get together with our newly found friends. What’s not to like about cruising.

#sunprincess#cruising#seadays#janicemartin#ship#ocean

Well, it’s travel time again. Bruce isn’t fully recovered from shoulder surgery but he’s doing pretty well. He can’t reach up yet and still has a bit of pain.

Our ride to Port Everglades was smooth but getting to our ship took over an hour. It’s tough on the driver but we tried to stay relaxed. Our neighbor Brad has started a little chauffeur business and he’s getting quite a few customers.

The Sun Princess is one of the newer Princess ships. It’s quite large and we will need to get used to it.

The buffet area is called the eatery and the theater is called the arena. The first night we saw a comedian, Wali Collins, who was really funny. It is an interesting theater in the round.

Yesterday we spent the day exploring the ship. It has a very nice gym with lots of stationary bikes and treadmills. On this ship, they overlook the pool area.

There’s also a section for adults only where we spent a little time resting on lounge chairs.

Coffee and cones is next to the pools. We couldn’t resist.

We played a bit in the casino and have been doing well. It’s a smoking casino but we found it to be not too smoky.

In the morning we attended Spanish lessons, which had a huge turnout. The instructor expected about 5 people.

We met quite a few people and had coffee with our new friends.

We enjoyed dinner last night. I had a Caribbean shrimp and a Mexican dish for my meal.

The show last night was phenomenal. It was a couple, Aerialist Duo Emyo.

Today we are off to new adventures on the ship since it’s another sea day!

#sunprincess#cruising#vacation#trabsatlantic#aerialustduoemyo#walicollins#seadays

This time we are on the Celebrity Summit. First time ever!

The Summit is an older ship and only holds approximately 2200 passengers. It was refurbished in 2019 and is a beautiful smaller ship.

Our cabin is small but has a bit of storage and a nice balcony.

We set up our WiFi and then headed to explore the ship. We met up with a few people and had coffee and conversation.

We went to the spa raffle and Bruce won $100. We are going to have massages.

Our dinner table mates were two other couples from Florida and Kentucky. The food was great and I had my usual escargot and prime rib.

The comedian, Derrick Cameron was hilarious and I think we saw him on another ship. It’s a very big theater.

We tried our luck at the casino but didn’t leave as winners.

I woke up early to catch a sunrise.

Today we enjoyed massages and met up with a few people for coffee.

It’s also a chic night which means you can get a little dressed up.

We ate dinner with two other couples and that was very nice!

Now a production show and a little casino before bed! Tomorrow Key West!

This afternoon we went to a Joanie Mitchell and Leonard Cohen Tribute Show. It was great fun and highlighted their best music.

Leonard Cohen was a Canadian poet turned songwriter who was a big part of the folk scene in the 1960s. His most famous song, now used as a Christian ballad is Hallelujah, which is funny since he was raised Jewish.

Of course, that song, along with Suzanne and So Long, Marianne, was performed, and the male vocalist was quite good.

Our next stop was Fort Lauderdale, where we had tickets to Les Misérables. This is Bruce’s favorite play.

But we had some time to kill so we had pizza at The Apothecary. It was an interesting place.

Afterwards, we walked to the Broward Center and saw an exceptional performance of Les Mis. This was our third time seeing this play. The first time was 32 years ago in a little theater in the West End of London.

It was a great day with some fine entertainment.

#florida#thearts#pompanobeachculturalcenter#jonimitchell#leonardcohen#thebrowardcenter#lesmiserables#theapothecary330

Today we had no plans. We spent time here last year so we toured the fort and old San Juan. We woke a little later and had our coffee and tea in the room. We had a nice view. At least very colorful.

They were offering $20 tours by car to Old San Juan but we decided to walk the promenade or the area by the water. The Beyond is in the background. What a great ship.

It was very warm so we stopped a few times to drink some water. We saw fountains on our walk.

The views were very picturesque.

A giant statue of a seahorse overlooked the walkway.

And time for a drink of water.

We walked a couple of miles back and forth.

We walked past the Capitol on our way back to the shop.

And after lunch spent time at the spa and at the pool. In the late afternoon, we sailed out of the harbor.

Tomorrow Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.

#puertorico#celebrity#celebritybeyond#vacation#cruising#capitol#spa

We’ve had two beautiful sea days watching the ocean from our balcony and spending time in the thermal suites at the spa.

So very relaxed we decided to get off the ship in Tortola.

Shopping, shopping everywhere. And because I’m not into that we were able to pass by the stores. Lovely buildings in Caribbean colors.

Bruce and I stopped for our usual coffee and pastry. I had coffee he had a chocolate chip cookie.

There was a two-hour tour on an open-air taxi around the island. But they looked so crammed that I didn’t think it would be great. On the other side of the entrance gate, they were offering the same tour for $20. We decided to go with that driver.

He only had a total of six passengers which was great.

The ride was wild. Hairpin turns with vehicles coming at you. The roads weren’t well-paved either.

The views were spectacular and he stopped several times so we could take pictures.

We could see our ship in the harbor next to a Ritz-Carlton Yacht.

We stopped at a little open-air restaurant and had fish cakes. And a beautiful view.

Next stop was Cane Garden Bay Beach where the surf was a little rough but I did get to put my feet in the water.

It was a fun trip and a great way to see the Island of Tortola in the BVI.

Heading back to Road Town and the pier we could see the panoramic view of the area as well as our ship.

Once on the ship, we headed to lunch and then spent some time in the thermal suites.

It was beautiful on Tortola. We watched the other ship leave and then we followed suit. From our balcony, we watched the setting sun.

Tomorrow Puerto Rico.

#tortola#bvi#celebritybeyond#cruising#excursion#openairvehicles#canegardenbaybeach#vacation

This is our third cruise this month, but instead of four days, it’s seven. We are on our favorite ship, the Celebrity Beyond.

We have a lovely infinity balcony again. Although I like the outside balconies this gives our cabin so much more room.

On this cruise, I am going to eat less and work out more, hoping to lose a little weight, then gain. We signed up for the thermal suites which should help Bruce’s back.

The skyline of Miami was beautiful from the spa.

We had dinner at Cyprus. The setting sun was beautiful.

I also asked to have less sodium in my meals. This was the beet salad.

We had this crazy waiter who was flinging parmesan cheese on Bruce’s plate.

We went to the comedian and he was actually really funny. A couple of times I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes.

Today so far I did a stretch class and then the thermal suites.

We enjoyed the afternoon by the pool and after which we met some friends for coffee. No pastries for me. Some pretty decorations around the ship.

Now we are getting ready to watch a show!

#celebrity#beyond#cruising#vacation#holidays#