Month: July 2019

We crossed the Prime Meridian today while sailing from Gibraltar toward Barcelona on the final full day of this 17-night Caribbean and trans-Atlantic voyage. I enjoyed the excellent weather and got lots of planning done for my next few trips to West Africa and Eastern Europe.

This 17-night Caribbean and trans-Atlantic cruise has been a mixed bag. It started with a horrendous boarding experience in La Romana and a nightmare of onboard customer-service problems. The food and service aboard Pacifica has been mediocre, but the excursions I went on at seven ports of call were generally excellent and quite enjoyable.

I’ve been on Costa twice before, so I’m aware its service isn’t great. But I’ve sailed with the Italian cruiseline three times because of its excellent itineraries and good prices. Will I sail on Costa again? It all depends on the routing and cost! But it’s definitely not a cruiseline I recommend for the onboard experience.

Experienced a gorgeous day sailing along the Moroccan coast from the Canary Islands toward the Strait of Gibraltar today. Got a lot of travel reading done for my upcoming European destinations as well as some other work. Spanish cuisine was offered outside for lunch, and tonight was the farewell gala dinner.

Tomorrow we’ll arrive in our final port of call on this 17-night Caribbean and trans-Atlantic cruise, the United Kingdom territory of Gibraltar. I’m excited as this will be a new territory for me.

This is our sixth and final day at sea as we cross the Atlantic from St. Lucia to the Canary Islands. Experienced rough seas for the first time, which made me feel lethargic later in the day. But earlier I got a ton of blogging and trip planning work accomplished.

Tomorrow we arrive at Tenerife Island. Mom and I were there last November during our MSC Fantasia trans-Atlantic cruise from Italy to Brazil, so I won’t be doing any shore excursions. Plan to find a WiFi hotspot and get busy booking hotels and other arrangements for my next several trips. I’m not expecting to be back in the USA until mid-June.

My cruiseship crossed the Tropic of Cancer while I slept, marking a milestone on our way from the Caribbean Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. I tried out two new dining venues and continued working away on travel planning for my next three trips as we spent our fourth and fifth days at sea.

Got up at 7 p.m. April 4 aboard Costa Pacifica. While I slept this morning, we crossed the Tropic of Cancer. This is the fourth day at sea during the trans-Atlantic voyage from St. Lucia to the Canary Islands after we departed La Romana, Dominican Republic, March 25 and visited six Caribbean islands.

I ate my lunch (dinner service) at the Samsara Pacific fusion specialty restaurant this evening during our third day at sea crossing the Atlantic from the Caribbean Sea toward the Mediterranean Sea. Also got a lot of travel reading and planning done for my next three trips.

As a Costa Club pearl member, I received an invitation for a free dinner at Samsara. Normal cover charge is €15 for Costa Club members and €30 for first-time cruisers. Sat down for my lunch about 9 p.m. I discovered there is a limited menu for free Costa Club invitees, which I found to be ridiculously cheap of Costa. There’s a separate, expanded menu for paying guests.

Read about West Africa for my next trip, had my first dinner in the New York New York dining room, took in the tropical buffet and dance party, and failed to override an annoying restriction on my cabin’s TV during our second day at sea crossing the Atlantic Ocean after visiting six Caribbean islands.

Got up at 1:52 p.m. aboard Costa Pacifica. Oh man I slept almost 12 hours again. Plus there’s a one-hour time change forward from GMT-3 to GMT-2, so the time became 2:52 p.m. I missed the lunch buffet. Ugh.

I enjoyed a gorgeous blue-sky day reading, jogging, and working during the first of six days at sea we’ll be crossing the ocean from St. Lucia to Tenerife Island, Canary Islands, Spain.

Got up at 12:36 p.m. aboard Costa Pacifica. Today is our first day at sea on our Atlantic Ocean crossing after departing La Romana, Dominican Republic, a week ago and stopping at six Caribbean islands. This is a 17-night voyage from La Romana to Barcelona, Spain.