Arriving into Genoa it became clear that this city is a cruise ship haven. We left the rail station, jumped in a taxi and headed towards the port. There were 3 ships in port and thousands of people arriving and lining up to board. We splurged a little for our 17 night transatlantic cruise to stay in a mini suite which saw us get priority boarding, walk straight past the waiting groups, through immigration and board our home for the next 2.5 weeks. We had a cabin a deck above the spa, gym & pool bar with spectacular views outside. As the sun went down the bon voyage party started on the pool deck and with the ship lit up like a Christmas tree we set sail and waved goodbye to Italy and said hello to the Mediterranean.
Over night we sailed to our first destination - Marseille. We decided to not disembark in France so we spent the day exploring what the ship had to offer. For anyone who hasn't cruised before there are daily activities organised to keep you entertained, a casino on board, bars and restaurants to suit your needs and of course a day spa for a little pampering. Adding to that was our cabin which was very spacious with a balcony and blockbuster movies playing (in english!) on TV. We also had our portable hard drive filled with movies and TV shows plugged into the TV so we were happy and ready for first day at sea. 
Day 4 was a 'sea day' where we simply cruised the Med enroute to our next stop which was the elegant seaside city of Malaga. We decided to have a little fun and booked a segway tour to see the sights and ended up having a private tour covering about 25km all over Malaga. Our guide was from the Netherlands and she took us anywhere and everywhere as we had no real time constraints. We stopped at a square dedicated to Picasso and saw the building where he was born. We rode through the mall weaving through the crowds as we stopped off at the many squares littered throughout the city and visited cathedrals and monuments of importance. We took our segways up to a lookout that gave us uninterrupted views of the city and ocean for miles. At this lookout we could see the local bull fighting arena and 2000 year old roman ruins. As we rode back to town along the promenade lined with palm trees and the Med that was a picture perfect color of blue, it was clear to see why this is such a popular spot for cruises to dock and for holiday makers. Best part is we had the best weather we'd had in weeks!
The following day was another sea day as we sailed out past Africa. It was another relaxing day exploring the ship while visiting the shops to see what was on offer. All too soon we were at our next port of Funchal, Madeira Islands (Portugal). Today we celebrated being on day 100 of our trip with an island half day tour. We did a 4x4 safari around the island and were amazed at the mountainous landscape this little piece of land offered it's residents. We saw houses built on steep hill sides, villages located in the depth of valleys that some houses never see day light and sugar cane and banana crops planted in what seems like the most unnatural locations. But it works for them and with such limited space you build or plant wherever you can. Our guide took us to a local bar where we tasted the local Poncha cocktails that have 100mls of 50% local rum in each drink. Mixed with fresh orange and lemon juice as well as local honey it was a hit with the group. All too soon we were again back on the ship and just in time before the rain rolled in. As we set sail for the afternoon we sailed by the Queen Elizabeth on our way to the Atlantic Ocean.
We spent the next 5 straight days at sea. It can be easy to just sit by the pool and eat and drink all day when you're on cruises like this. And boy did we have a lot of 60+ Europeans do just that. The pool deck was filled daily with the oldies sunning themselves to improve on the dark brown tan they already had. Needless to say that wasn't our scene so I took advantage of the well decked out gym that was located at the front of the ship with walls of glass that gave you amazing views of where we were headed while hubby enjoyed time at the casino and the cabin. Our hard drive came in handy for those rocky sea days while crossing the open ocean and we snuck a massage in before getting to our next port.
On day 13 of our cruise we were finally in the Caribbean! Today we docked on 1 island with 2 countries - Sint Maarten (Dutch) & Saint Martin (French). The sun was shining, the water was aqua and the sand felt like powder. We joined a full island tour visiting both sides of the island. Along the way we stopped at a look out point to take in the views, a local attraction where we purchased a bottle of local rum and spent the afternoon at Maho Beach. This beach is made famous for being located adjacent to the airport runway approx 4m away. People gather here to watch the planes land and take off and to feel the force of the engines. We had big planes and smaller planes come and go while we were there. We took mostly videos but I've taken a screenshot of one of the planes coming in to land just to show how low they got to us standing on the beach below.
The next morning we woke up in a new Caribbean island. Today we were in Antigua, an island part of the country called Antigua & Barbuda. The weather was only getting better and the water only seemed to get more blue. We got picked up as we got off the ship and taken to the other side of the island to meet up with our reef rider tour that we booked. The company was owned by a British family who had moved over a few years ago. There were 4 of us on the tour but fortunately for us the other couple pulled out so we ended up with another private tour. We rode the reef rider, a cross between a jetski & dingy speedboat, roughly 24kms round trip along the coast to Cades Reef for an hour of snorkeling and exploring the reef. We braved the rough open seas as a patch of rain rolled by but as it cleared up it was like riding on glass. Our guide gave us time to have a bit of fun so we tested our skills with donuts and figures of eight before returning to the marina. It was the most fun we'd had on the ocean on this trip and with the beginnings of a tan we made our way back to the ship.Day 15 & 16 were more sea days as we headed to our final destination. Day 17 we were finally sailing into Havana. Lucky for us our balcony was located on the starboard side of the ship so we got a birds eye view of the waterfront as we sailed into port. We decided to once again stay on board as the ship docked in Havana for the final night of the cruise. We already have 4 days planned in the city after the cruise so we opted to stay on board one last time. The following morning we sadly packed our bags and headed downstairs to wait for our time to disembark and said goodbye to a fantastic transatlantic experience. Now it was time for Cigars & Mojitos!
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