So for the last 4 days we have seen nothing but sea. We've actually been at sea for 5 days as we left Fortaleza in the afternoon and arrived in Santa Cruz de Tenerife at 1pm with 4 full sea days in between. One of the issues whilst we have been 'all at sea’ is reception. Due to the lack of signal crossing the Atlantic, TV and Wi-Fi has been disrupted hence the respite in me posting and you receiving regular updates.

The TV (unlike the comfort of my own armchair!) has been no great loss as all the channels have been in Portuguese or Spanish. Like all cruise lines, the TV has a dedicated info channel. This provides a location map, humidity report, sea state, wind speed and direction and the depth under the keel. We had only been sailing for less than 2 hours when the depth under us was already 4,400m. That’s nearly 2 ½ miles!! Staggering but put in to perspective we were only paddling compared to some depths in the Pacific stretching 8,000 metres or more!! There are some places on earth where the ocean is deeper than Everest is high and inner space (the ocean) still remains unexplored by man.

Roisin and I have been in a pensive mood, considering all the changes we have seen (for the better) from the early days of sailing with MSC. For example the quizzes have come a long way since the entertainment team’s trivia sessions such as: Guess the animal? It would work like this: One of the entertainments team would prance around the stage saying ‘Moo! Moo!’ or ‘Quack, Quack’ whilst flapping their arms!! Now we have the luxury of interactive trivia such as a Moo-vie quiz, flags of the world and where am I? (a question I often ask myself on most days!!)

The bathrooms within each stateroom now have proper doors on the shower and not a plastic curtain that magnetically attaches itself to you if you come within 3 feet of it!!

Gone is the tome of a blue book that was about 6 inches thick and had all the ships information in 6 different languages. It made a great door stop or step ladder to reach those hard to see places on the top shelf of the wardrobe!!! All the information is now received interactively through the TV. You can also view your on board account through the TV as well as booking excursions on line.

Most of these changes are due to customers’ suggestions and feedback. MSC like to know how things are going but do not wait until the end of the cruise before sending out an evaluation questionnaire. We received the feedback form several days ago in our cabin and were quick to fill it out. Generally everything is OK – as normal as can be expected except for one issue...the cabin steward. I refer to ‘him’ as ‘the cabin steward’ as we have been on board for over a week and still don’t know his name! On all other MSC cruises, the cabin steward normally appears within minutes of settling in and introduces themselves. One can usually find a card in the cabin with his/her name thereon and a contact extension number. Not our man. This is an example that the feedback forms are looked at because the following evening we received a towel animal (possibly a pig?) in our cabin that is synonymous with cabin stewards the world over. This is our first towel sculpture since 2009 so we consider it something special. A knock also came to our door the following afternoon. It was the cabin steward checking if everything was OK and if we needed anything. It’s too late now. You can’t made a silk purse from a sow’s ear (but you can made the whole pig from a bath towel, apparently!!) Oh, and he still didn’t tell us his name!!!

When we did our first Arabian Gulf cruise on the MSC Lirica, Mike and Myra were our dinner table partners. Whilst they both liked the Lirica, Mike stated that he felt there was something missing. It was as if the Lirica didn’t have a middle as there is no firm atrium on this ship. I am convinced that MSC listen to all feedback and suggestions although the fact that the Lirica is soon to be cut in half and a ‘middle bit’ is to be inserted in order to elongate her at a cost of over US$20m is going above and beyond! I don’t think they take the feedback of their customers THAT seriously. Wouldn’t that be great though, if the refurbishment is due to someone filling out a little yellow card and leaving it at the reception!!!

We received our second lot of champagne and strawberries during the evening of our first ‘Atlantic’ sea day. This was coincidental that it arrived the evening we sent our feedback questionnaire. It was, however, to remain a coincidence as Stephen and Emelia, who are also Black Members, received their champagne and chocolate strawberries at the same time!

Speaking of the loyalty scheme, we heard a rumour that MSC are extending their loyalty scheme to a higher level. Currently 100 points are required to attain Black status. This is equivalent to 1 point for each day on board plus 1 point for every 200 dollars or Euros spent on board. Their reasoning is that too many people are becoming elite too soon. I spoke to the MSC Club rep who advised me the new level could be for 200 or even 300 points and called Diamante. This may involve free Wi-Fi, up to 40% off cruises and even discount on excursions. The new tier is scheduled to start in July. This will be interesting to see how far ‘down’ the ladder we’re likely to be pushed!! No more dinner with the Captain. That will probably be downgraded to a burger in the buffet with the junior assistant bilge pump operator!!

There are 3 main pools on board the MSC Preziosa. One midships outdoor, one midships indoor (but the roof is retractable), and one pool at the stern in a section of the ship known as the Garden Pool. Emilia likes to swim at least 50 lengths each day. The pool of her choice is the indoor pool (10m in length) as this doesn’t seem to get as crowded. Imagine her surprise when a Portuguese lady also in the pool, stopped Emilia mid stroke and complained that she was splashing her!! Emilia did point out that this was actually a swimming pool but the lady complained to the staff who pointed to the sign at the side of the pool that clearly said ‘NO SWIMMING’. Whatever next? No dancing in the disco, no eating food in the dining room?! No sweating in the sauna?! The list is endless!!

On day 1 of our 4 day Atlantic crossing, the World Champions’ quiz started. This will last during the 4 sea days across the Atlantic and the scores from each day will accumulate to the grand finale on the 4th day. This is the biggest participation I have ever been involved with. There are 26 teams with a maximum of 10 players per team. Each team is allocated a country. We have randomly been given Norway. There must be at least 250 people in the Platinum Theatre. It was utter chaos (this is starting to become the ‘buzz’ word!!) It should have started at 3:30. Not only are the Brazilians a noisy crowd but most of them can’t tell the time either. The quiz got underway at 4:10 due to its popularity. Other than Julie and Brian, we have also been joined by John and Susie from the Gold Coast in Australia and another 3 Aussies who never introduced themselves and just sit there!! The questions were read out in 6 languages but there is no thinking time before the next question is read out so no real time to discuss with the rest of the team. We scored 6/10. Probably a par score. After every answer was revealed, all the Brazilians went crazy. Balloons popping. Any excuse for a carnival! I’m sure someone had smuggled a vuvuzela on board!! They must have thought they were still at the Copacabana or the Sambadrome!!

The highlight of the 2nd day at sea was taken up by the Neptune party. We nearly didn’t make it. On the evening of 21 March, our first evening of the Atlantic crossing, the clocks went forward by 1 hour. Any time zone change is usually mentioned in the daily programme but also a card is left on the bed by the cabin steward to remind all passengers. So far so good. We were then GMT +2. However, the clocks went forward by another one hour on 22 March. Although this was mentioned in the daily programme Roisin and I overlooked this and our cabin steward did not issue any reminder during that evening so when we strolled in to breakfast at 09:15 it was actually 10:15 with the Neptune party due to start on the Aqua Park deck at 11am. Although to be fair to our cabin steward, both Stephen/Emilia and Brian/Julie also did not get the reminder and also overslept. As this faux pas does not seem to be of his own doing, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. I can’t keep referring to him as ‘our cabin steward’ so from now one he shall be known as ‘Derek’!! Or, next time I see him I could just ask his name!!!The Neptune Party is a tradition to celebrate the crossing of the equator. This tradition can be traced back several hundred years. The procession is to initiate those who have never crossed the equator by ship before. Such people are known as Pollywogs. Those people who have crossed the equator previously (Roisin and I) are known as Shellbacks.

 In the 19th century and earlier, the line-crossing ceremony was quite a brutal affair, often involving beating pollywogs with boards and wet ropes and sometimes throwing the victims over the side of the ship, dragging the pollywog in the surf from the stern. In more than one instance, sailors were reported to have been killed while participating in a line-crossing ceremony. As late as World War II, the line-crossing ceremony was still rather rough and involved activities such as the ‘Devil's Tongue’ which was an electrified piece of metal poked into the sides of those deemed pollywogs. Unfortunately stupid namby-pamby health and safety and other boring maritime law as well as the odd federal law such as thrashing someone to within an inch of their life is now deemed illegal has put the kibosh on performing these initiation rituals!

The initiation started with the fanfare and procession of King Neptune and his kingdom followed by those poor, and in most cases, unsuspecting, passengers who had signed up for this ceremony. All the initiates had their face painted with streaks of colour. Some had the odd dash of green and yellow representing Brazil whilst others had a mix of red, white and blue representing the rest of Europe. Most Pollywogs wore a garland of colours flowers (courtesy of the craft making sessions) The procession snaked its way through deck 15 and down to deck 14, (the Aqua Park) to the ‘March of the Matadors’ from Bizet’s Carmen. All the Pollywogs passed King Neptune as he anointed them with a ladle of champagne before taking their place around the main pool. King Neptune was then asked if he was happy with the initiation. ‘Non!’ he shouted ‘Let there be milk’ he proclaimed. To which the music started and with the help of the entertainments team, buckets of milk were brought out and poured over the heads of the initiates. This continued with flour, chocolate sauce, tomato ketchup and whipped cream. The activity got more frenetic with each item and the entertainments team made sure their colleagues had their fair share of gunk!! The initiation finally over, everyone jumped in to the pool to clean off. That evening, we all received a certificate saying that we have all been baptised with courage by Neptune and received the title of Brave Seaman.

There are awards for traversing or visiting many parts of the oceans around the world. Roisin and I have: the Imperial Order of the Golden Dragon for those who have crossed the International Date Line; the  Order of the Ditch for those who have passed through the Panama Canal; the  Order of the Rock for those who have transited the Strait of Gibraltar; the  Safari to Suez for those who have passed through the Suez Canal; the  Realm of the Czars for those who have crossed into the Black Sea and the  Order of the Spanish Main for those who have sailed in the Caribbean!! Unfortunately these are only imaginary medals and orders to pin on our imaginary ambassadorial uniforms!!

Day 2 of the World Quiz. The results were in from the first round after day 1. Ireland had scored 10/10 with a number of teams on 9/10. We are currently mid table with 6/10. Poor ‘Team England’ only managed 1/10 and are bottom of the pile…no change there then!!! Once again, general knowledge and once again in 6 languages and once again the Brazilians cheered after each answer was revealed. Based on yesterday’s results and a lot of teams only scoring 1 or 2, I am of the strong opinion that many of the participants don’t even know what day of the week it is!!

We have attended several port lectures during the Atlantic crossing; Cadiz and Malaga and then Ajaccio and Genoa. The lectures have been in English in the Safari lounge and conducted by Aida, a Brazilian lady. The talks whilst being informative have been a little disorganised with Aida sometimes just reading off a sheet of paper. These talks have been assisted with the use of power point and showing pictures of Ajaccio cathedral when reading about an underground river in Valencia is just one example of the rushed preparation. Luckily she has made light of these situations and still deserving of a round of applause at the end of her seminars for what must be a very nerve racking and difficult job to speak for an hour in a language that is not your mother tongue.

On day 3 of the crossing the depth under the keel was 5,420m. This must be one of the deepest parts of the Atlantic some miles off the south west corner of Cape Verde Islands. We passed by the island of Santa Filipe, one of the volcanic islands in the Cape Verde archipelago where only a couple of years ago an unexpected eruption wiped out a whole village.

The 3rd day of the World Champions Quiz. Ireland scored another perfect 10 so are looking invincible at the moment. Norway (us) are currently 7th. We did the usual trick of talking ourselves out of the right answer again today and think we scored 6/10. I hold my hands up and admit the Dalai Llama’s last words weren’t ‘Father! Why have you forsaken me??’ In my defence these words were written in Aramaic and had the word ‘lamma’ in the sentence but more importantly (and apologies to anyone from Tibet who may be reading this!!) I’ve suddenly remember the Dalai Llama is not dead!!

Unfortunately, the World Championship Quiz clashed with an activity I wanted to watch. It is the first time I have seen this advertised with MSC and maybe the last – Flip flop throwing!! There was no further information provided at this stage. I’m guessing that it would have been more involved than just throwing a flip flop as there would be a number of these floating in the Mid Atlantic by now. It probably involved aiming at a target of some description and I’m assuming no one was wearing the flip flops at the time!! Although dwarf tossing is catching on in South America so…who knows!!

The evening time saw the passenger’s talent show. Guests were asked to sign up some days ago and have been rehearsing for their big night. Roisin and I decided to give this a miss and sat drinking coffee in the buffet with Stephen and Emilia whilst Julie and Brian decided to ‘risk it’. Apparently it was entertaining, they reported back, although we’re not sorry we didn’t go!! Some acts were good, most were dreadful only being held together by the entertainments team acting the fools behind the backs of the majority of acts. One Australian lady had chosen to sing a medley from Oliver! She haven’t obviously learned how to use a microphone as apparently she would forget she had to sing in to the mic and therefore sounded like Norman Collier:

‘Con…ider your...elf a ..end, con...ider…y..elf..one…f..the…amily!!’

She was the singing equivalent to Les Dawson’s tuneless piano act although this poor lady probably believed she was the next Maria Callas. Another rather larger German lady gave everyone a lesson in how not to do the hoola-hoola dance!! If one of the entertainments team stood on the floor at the front of the stage and did the imaginary back stroke from one end of the theatre to the other, I would definitely know that the proverbial shepherds crook was slowly creeping across from stage exit left as it hooks around my neck to call time. There was one ray of sunshine as an Italian guest bellowed out Nessan Dorma to a standing ovation. He then did an encore of O Sole Mio. So it is true then…MSC DOES have talent!!

The final full day of our Atlantic crossing and the finale for the world Champions quiz. We only scored a miserable 4/10 taking our grand total to 24 but finishing 6th out of 26 teams. Ireland were crowned champions but this was never in doubt with them scoring another perfect 10 taking their score to 39/40 and each winning a model of the ship plus a bottle of Champagne.

We decided to eat in one of the speciality restaurants this evening. There are several speciality restaurants on board. These restaurants are extra and depending on the choice of food and drink can set you back US$50. However, as black card members, we are entitled to a free speciality meal each. We also receive 25% discount on drinks at these restaurants. I wanted to attend the speciality restaurant on day 1 of the cruise and order 20 bottles of wine but Roisin told me it doesn’t work like that!! The Galaxy restaurant on deck 15 specialises in sushi but the one we decided to dine in, Eaterly, specialises in Italian cuisine. Can you see what they did there? Eaterly is how an Italian says ‘Italy’ in English!! It is also a place to eat!! Bloody brilliant! And they say Europeans don’t have the same sense of humour!!!

The show this evening was called The Witches of Paris and was a full singing and dancing production with a French theme. There was a section where two of the dancers performed an Argentinian Tango (I know as I’m forced to watch Strictly Come Dancing and I know the difference between an American Smooth and a Tango – Argentinian or otherwise!!) The finale of the show was the chorus line and the world famous can-can. Roisin and I have seen similar shows to this and still find it to be entertaining and fast moving.

This has been our final day of the Atlantic crossing and although sea days are a great way to relax, it will be nice to finally set foot on land again. When we returned to our cabin, we noticed the daily programme had a change of itinerary. We will now be arriving in Tenerife at 11am and not 1pm as originally notified. From there we will visit Madeira and then Lanzarote and not the other way around. This is due to high winds along the cost of Lanzarote. Timings have been slightly adjusted but we will still receive the same number of hours ashore