New York City Cruising begins on M/S Prinsendam and Martha’s Vineyard

Monday, May, 16, 2011
Up at 5:00 am to leave Williamsburg. Reba drives us to Richmond, VA to catch an 8:00 am train to New York City. It was very foggy that morning but we got there in plenty of time.  It was a nice relaxing train ride except for Edward’s Kindle going out on him. We get to NYC and take taxi to hotel. Edward calls Kindle support and they tell him the problem he is having cannot be fixed but they can send him another one over night – that is a problem as we are leaving tomorrow on the cruise ship. The tech said we could buy another one at a Best Buy, or Target, etc. So off we go to the Best Buy in NYC about 6 blocks away. He buys a new one for the trip and was able to get his archives to download from all the books he bought last year.  They said when we return we can contact them again and they will send a new one and we can return the broken one. 
We found a great little Italian restaurant for dinner “Pomodoro Rosso” on about 70th and Columbus Ave.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
We get to the ship the Holland American M/S Prinsendam and get boarded without any difficulty as the cruise started in Fort Lauderdale, FL so only about 170 people boarded in NYC. We have a very nice room with a balcony (Edward sprung for that without telling me). 

The Queen Mary is in the slip next to the M/S Prinsendam at New York City.

Cruising down the Hudson River we see the New York skyline, Statue of Liberty, Staten Island Ferry, ship traffic and going under the Verrazano Bridge.  It is a foggy day so the pictures are not so perfect.

NYC
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NYC - Hudson River
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Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Ship arrives at Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Overcast and foggy but we go onshore to see what is in the town.   We go to shore on the Life Boats!  It was very choppy and to get on and off the tender was a little tricky.  Coming back we were sitting by the open door Edward suggested I move to the other side to keep the wind and spray from getting on me.  I moved over and guess what????  A big wave came right in the door where I had been sitting and gave Edward a wash down!!!!  He was soaked from head to feet.  It is a chilly 57 degrees and the water is very cold. 

Tender Ride
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They have a section with several Gingerbread houses, cottages, hotels and tabernacle.

Martha’s Vineyard
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Thursday, May 19, 2011
Day at sea.  We are now out in the Atlantic Ocean.  Next stop will be the Azores Islands on Tuesday, May 24th.  This will be the longest time without seeing land or having a stop.  The ship has lots of activities.  They have a free Tech Class so I have bee taking advantage of it to learn about photos, blogs, email, computer security, etc.  They have classes several times during the day so you can always fit one in the schedule.  Internet is not so great when you are hundreds of miles from land.  The M/S Prinsendam does not have the best reception.  I found in my class that I can work on the blog offline using Microsoft Windows Live Writer and then just go online to publish.  This saves a lot of online time (meaning $$$).  It is difficult to adjust to paying of every minute online and you get knocked offline and have to start over several times.  Also, there are times when there is no service at all for hours at a time.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Day at sea.  Still chilly and light rain but the waves have calmed down.  Nothing to take pictures of except water.  I wish we could see a whale or something jump out of the water but nothing so far.
Of course, now there is a guy on the ship that got a picture of a whale but I was not there to see it  I’m not sure I would even recognize one if I saw it unless it was very very close to the ship. 
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Day at sea.  Warmed up to 70 degrees today with smooth water.  Nice and sunny.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Day at sea.  Another warm 70 degree day, sunny and smooth water.  Today we are going on a tour of the ships kitchen and food prep. 
Monday, May 23, 2011
Day at sea.  Just a relaxing day. 
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Arrive at Praia di Vitoria, Azores 7:00 am.   Depart at 5:30 pm
We took the ship shuttle into the town - $7.00/person each way – A little pricey but not much of an option as it was a few miles and we had no idea how to get there. It was probably good that we took it as the town was not very large but had several roundabouts and I’m sure we would have taken a wrong turn. We found a bar/snack place and went in to get a bottle of water. It was about 10:00 am. I noticed a young man with a computer and ask if they had wi-fi in the bar area and he said no but I’m using the one from next door that is closed. So we promptly sit and turned on our computer and iPad and got on the internet. The ship’s internet is very slow and goes out often and stays out for long periods of time. I have not been able to update the blog on the ship and I still was not able to publish the blog in the café. I will talk with the tech guy on the ship to see if he can figure out what the problem could be and see if we can get it to work.
We roamed around the town for a while and looked in some shops and gardens and plazas. Not much going on in this sleepy little village on an island in the Azores. We went to the bus stop and got on the shuttle back to the ship.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Day at sea. The wind has picked up considerably today and we are having a rough ride today. The Captain just came on the speaker and gave the news it’s 62 degrees and wind is 25 mph with gusts much higher and higher winds are expected to continue today and increase to 45+ mph. Waves are 7-12 feet today so tomorrow should really be interesting.
Not much going on the ship today so we thought we would do some laundry. The self-laundry is free and they have detergent also. Not very exciting to do on a cruise but I’m just writing on the computer anyway so I can do that anywhere. Edward is reading his Kindle – I think his 3^rd or 4^th book already.
Finished the laundry and now we are watching the French Open on TV today. No one is out near the open pool areas. Most must be in their room, the library, bars and none windy areas. Not a good time to be out for the people in wheel chairs or walkers or canes. The dance tonight should be interesting to see.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Day at sea. Scheduled to arrive this afternoon in Lisbon, Portugal 6:30 pm.
As predicted by the Captain we had a rough night at sea.  The waves are 12-18 ft and more and winds of 48-55 mph or Force 9 Gale, and temperature of 62 degrees.  The ship was rolling from side to side up and down.  It was difficult to sleep and we woke up several times during the night.  It was not the gentle rocking we had previous nights.  This morning the waves and wind have calmed a little and not as bad as last night but it is raining and conditions are much the same.  We must be going at a different heading as the ship in not rolling and rocking as much (yes, it is still difficult to walk) but not has noisy as it was with the up and down motion. This will be another day of staying in the cabin or inside the ship. We are happy to have our nice size room and the balcony. Although we can’t sit comfortably on the balcony but we can go out and check the temperature and sea conditions by just walking a few steps. I’m watching the French Open and typing and Edward is reading his book on the Kindle.