Transatlantic Cruising, so much better than flying!

Tarzan posing as Santa.

Independence of the Seas

Once again Tarzan and I find ourselves on a cruise, this time across the Atlantic Ocean. We love the concept of cruising against long haul flying, if you have the time of course. These days there is usually not so much differential in the price either! We cruised from Southampton, England to Fort Lauderdale in the United States of America.

Chocolate dipped strawberries and wine.

Tarzan and chocolate dipped strawberries and wine.

Yummy and so romantic.

One of the great things about repeat cruising with Royal Caribbean is that you get to know the staff and they makes you feel special. On the Liberty of the Seas we have become friendly with many of them, as it was our third voyage on the ship.

The ancient city of Pompeii, in all of its glory.

Tarzan inside the great city walls of Pompeii.

You just had to be there!

Another stop on our cruise was the ancient city of Pompeii, unearthed from under the ash that covered the site for many years. The area was inhabited from as early as 6th century BC.

Tarzan and Jayn, we love cruising!

Tarzan and the Liberty of the Seas in Europe.

Liberty of the Seas, Royal Caribbean.

We are on another cruise! and loving it. The Liberty of the Seas is not the largest cruise ship in the world anymore, but it is certainly huge. This cruise took us around Europe with a few stops in Spain, France and Italy.

Tarzan on TV, why not…….

The Royal Caribbean cruise ships have their own TV channels onboard. Their Cruise Director on the Liberty of the Seas is James Andrews and he gives daily updates to what is going on. Interaction with the guests in the form of birthday requests, jokes etc. is encouraged. So Tarzan has decided to provide the worst jokes that he can think of to amuse ourselves when we watch the ‘Morning Show’.

Cheeky statues on Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Tarzan and Jayn with cheeky statues in Tenerife.

Our second stop on the transatlantic cruise was Tenerife. Just a short walk from the cruise ship terminal gets you into the town centre. There is still ongoing construction around the cruise dock area, but it is easy enough to navigate around. There is a particularly nice area with a large shallow pond that is made to look at little bit like a beach (with no sand!) and there we found some statues that are a little cheeky, as you can see in the photos.

Tarzan stand-up surfing, at last, on the ‘Flowrider’.

Tarzan and Jayn surfing on the flowrider.

Tarzan, finding that ‘Bodyboarding’ on the Flowrider was getting pretty easy, decided to try standing up on the small surfboard. Not as easy at it seems. All of the guests, mostly guys, had on wet suits, hum…..I guess that they must be surfer dudes!

WIN, WIN, WIN…………Tarzan does it again!

Tarzan and Jayn winners trophy.

During the transatlantic crossing the weather on deck can be a little, well windy!!!! So, what else is there to do? The casino is open from 9am till late whilst we are at sea, could this be what we are looking for?

Tarzan rides the waves, and doesn’t scrub up to bad either!

Tarzan and Jayn on the Flowrider, Liberty of the Seas.

Seven days at sea, what to do????? The big Royal Caribbean cruise ships are pretty awesome and have all sorts of things to do. At the back of the ship on the outside top decks is the ‘Flowrider’, a simulated wave that you can surf and bodyboard on. Of course this is a challenge for Tarzan! To be honest I expected the initial ‘Wipeout’, but no! Tarzan held his own, he must have stayed on the bodyboard for 10 minutes and even managed to get up onto his knees and WOW the crowd. For his first attempt, everyone was pretty impressed. I think we will save the climbing wall for another occasion.

The Best of British?

Tarzan and Jayn on Liberty of the Seas, docked in Nassau, Bahamas.

We have started our return trip home to the UK, well its home when we are there!!! Our journey back is on The ‘Libery of the Seas’ Cruiseship, a transatlantic crossing of fourteen nights. We have done these type of crossing before and they are by far the best way to travel across the atlantic without getting jetlag, if you can afford the time.