{"id":467,"date":"2016-04-23T10:10:14","date_gmt":"2016-04-23T16:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.earthlylocomotion.com\/?p=467"},"modified":"2016-04-23T10:10:14","modified_gmt":"2016-04-23T16:10:14","slug":"transatlantic-to-the-french-riviera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.earthlylocomotion.com\/?p=467","title":{"rendered":"Transatlantic to The French Riviera"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you have the time and are planning a European holiday try to coordinate it so that you can either sail to Europe from the States, or better yet sail back to the States. \u00a0I prefer sailing back (west) because of the time zone changes giving you 6 or 7 additional hours, as opposed to losing them. \u00a0Either way there is no jet lag and you will have an amazing time meeting sojourners from all over our planet. \u00a0Another good reason for opting for sailing as opposed to flying is that these sailings are what are known as “repositionings.” \u00a0Basically moving the ship from one part of the world to another, with only a limited number of ports. \u00a0On this voyage I’ll be spending time in Funchal, Madiera as well as Gibraltar and Malaga, Spain before arriving at Monte Carlo, my point of disembarkation. \u00a0Consequently, these sailings are relatively cheep in comparison to those stopping at many ports. \u00a0So, if you like sea days (and there is a lot to like), this slow mode of transportation (18 MPH) might be for you.<\/p>\n

I had a trip planned in January where I was sailing from Los Angeles to Auckland New Zealand. \u00a0Unfortunately, one day in I received an email about a death in the family. \u00a0The first opportunity to abort the trip and fly back would not occur for another 12 days when the ship arrived in Tahiti. \u00a0At that point I bailed and returned back to the states. \u00a0So the transatlantic voyage was in essence a “redo,” if you will.<\/p>\n

I’m sailing (or cruising) on a small high-end ship known as the Seabourn Quest. \u00a0I use the term “sailing” interchangeably with cruising as it is a term which is a part of a rich nautical history and lexicon. \u00a0This ship has only 450 passengers but is not significantly smaller than a ship carrying 1,600 passengers. \u00a0It is equipped with all modern stabilizer equipment and is very comfortable.<\/p>\n

I meet people from all over the world on board. \u00a0Most have a great appetite for exploration and more importantly, fun. \u00a0The crowd is for the most part very interesting to engage with. \u00a0I rarely get to my cabin before 1 AM, after drinking, dining, more drinking, and of course dancing. \u00a0It is a pretty good workout both physically and socially. \u00a0Because the first 10 days out of Fort Lauderdale are sea days, early awakenings are not necessary. \u00a0This allows for burning the candle at both ends.<\/p>\n

Daily life is pretty relaxing. \u00a0Eating, reading, the gym, daily trivia,and usually some day drinking. \u00a0This cruise line is all inclusive, and high end as well. \u00a0So as you might imagine the scene around any bar on board is very friendly. \u00a0One can be as busy or as useless during these days at sea. \u00a0Therein lies the beauty of this experience. \u00a0On sea days there is no place to go and all day to do it. \u00a0 After being at sea for some 6 days, we will not arrive in Madiera for 4 more. \u00a0Please login into the blog for that experience. \u00a0Meantime, I must return to the pool deck for some afternoon beverages.<\/p>\n

\"Fellow
Fellow shipmate from Germany. Fun guy who only got me in trouble once. Some of these Germans can really party. \u00a0But I believe I hurt him more than he hurt me.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Although
Although there are several pools and jacuzzis scattered about the vessel, this is the main pool area.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lunchtime
Lunchtime for me. This was a perfectly saut\u00e9ed wahoo. The french fries were a daily event with or without lunch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Martin
Martin shaking me up an awesome vodka martini. He was probably my favorite crew person on board. As soon as he saw me walk into the Observation lounge he started shakin’.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Another
Another shipmate. This guy is from Austrialia, as evidenced by his speedo “Aussiebum.” Trust me when I say this photo is his good side.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Evening
Evening under the stars. And when you are thousands of miles from land there are a crazy amount of them. \u00a0Acoustics are pretty amazing outside as well.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"One
One of many beautiful sunsets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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If you have the time and are planning a European holiday try to coordinate it so that you can either sail to Europe from the States, or better yet sail back to the States. \u00a0I prefer sailing back (west) because of the time zone changes giving you 6 or 7 additional hours, as opposed to … Continue reading Transatlantic to The French Riviera<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthlylocomotion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthlylocomotion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthlylocomotion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthlylocomotion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthlylocomotion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=467"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthlylocomotion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":483,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthlylocomotion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467\/revisions\/483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthlylocomotion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthlylocomotion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthlylocomotion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}