April 26 – Day 6
Cruising across the Atlantic Ocean on The Mariner of the Seas is like living on a resort! Meals are served, rooms are kept clean and entertainment is provided all day and most of the night! On the ship you can be as active or as laid back as you want to be – it is up to you. Activities are available every day and every evening/night. Sometimes it’s nice to just chill!
Now for some sailing statistics for all you sailors! When we left the Port of Nassau on Wednesday, April 24, on day 4 of this 41-day cruise, the time of departure was approximately 5:30 p.m. The ship’s log is displayed on its own TV channel continuously, so we can see the stats anytime. Temperatures were in the 80’s on day 4, and we had traveled 1,132 nautical miles (nm). Our ship’s speed was 18.5 kts, and the sea depth was 10,180 ft.
By Thursday, April 25 – day 5, we had covered a total distance of 1,522 nm, sea depth of 17,870 ft., and it was exciting to see the color of the ocean waters change from Caribbean blue to a deep, dark navy blue, when the ocean floor dropped deeper below us. Temperatures had dropped into the 70’s with gusting winds, making it seem much cooler.
Today is Friday, April 26 – day 6. At 4:40 p.m. we have covered a total distance of 1,924 nm, and the sea depth is 16,240 ft. This morning the sea depth was 16,990, so you can see that it fluctuates. We were nearing Bermuda, and at one point at 8:20 this morning the sea depth was displayed on the TV screen as 215,010 ft. We thought that couldn’t be right, but just figured that anything is possible in the Bermuda Triangle!
The temperature is still cool tonight and expected to become even cooler as we cruise NE toward Funchal/ Madeira.
After dinner last night we took in the stage production that was performed by the Royal Caribbean production team, which was an absolutely sensational Broadway-style show.
Tonight Paul Tanner, an impersonator/singer from Killeen, Texas, wowed the audience while impersonating Neil Diamond, Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Elvis, to name a few. We just left a 70’s party that is in full swing at The Promenade…so fun!
Something that I forgot to mention, which makes an enormous impact on our day-to-day life on the ship, is the time change as we are on this journey on The Mariner of the Seas from Galveston to Singapore. As we sailed out of the Gulf into the eastern Caribbean in line with the tip of Florida at 11:30 a.m. on day 3, the ship’s captain asked that everyone set their watches forward one hour. After that, we have been asked to set our time forward one hour at 11:30 a.m. on several days. As of today, we have moved the time forward three or four hours – nobody can remember exactly. So we are sort of out of kilter, not knowing what time it truly is – we only know the ship’s time now.
The first leg of this six-week cruise will end in Barcelona on May 6, and we have two more ports of call before we dock there. I’ll report on our stops at Funchal/Madeira, Portugal, and Alicante, Spain, next week followed by the last stop on this leg of the cruise – Barcelona!
Come back soon for more updates at sea! (I’m at the mercy of the ships WiFi.)

Saying goodbye to The Bahamas!

Everyone loves The Promenade in the center of The Mariner of the Seas!

Towel elephant takes charge!