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Imagine a five-star hotel in California earthquake country.  Everything jiggles around a bit but it doesn't bother anyone as it is just a normal occurrence.  That is what our cruise ship is like.
 
We left Fort Lauderdale almost on schedule -- they held up departure for an hour because a flight from Miami was late.  We didn't care - we were having Champaign at the welcome aboard party.

Our stateroom is the bottom-of-the-scale-inside (read cheapest) but it is really quite nice.  It's about 10 by 15 feet, with a couple of corners chopped out for closets and the bathroom.  This doesn't take as much room as you might expect as this is an Italian ship with an Italian-sized shower.  There is more storage space than we need, plus cable TV and a refrigerator/mini-bar.
 
Service is wonderful.  The food is just what you have probably heard about cruises.  We kind of expected an all-Italian menu, but that's not the case.    It's actually about half and half, with steak, chicken, hamburgers and hotdogs always available (for us Americans) in addition to the regular menu.
 
Pam and I elected to have a continental breakfast in our stateroom this morning, just to avoid the temptations of the breakfast buffet.
 
We then started our day with a brisk two-mile walk on the jogging path. I'm wearing my pedometer to ensure we get our minimum of ten thousand steps a day.  There is a brisk wind over the deck, so we walk a lot more quickly going aft than we do going forward.  The sea has picked up a little today so we sometimes look like a couple of drunks as we walk along.  However, we sometimes have interesting walking companions.  We're still working on getting our sea legs.  No other ill effects though.
 
We are scheduled to arrive in San Juan for a short visit this evening.  We arrive at 7 PM and leave a few hours later, at 2 AM.  We've decided we will just take a walk through Old San Juan, and maybe have a Piña Colada or two.
 
Change of plans.  We arrived at San Juan on schedule, but with rain showers.  We took a short walk into old town, found everything was closed, and returned to the ship.  On to St. Thomas for a day's visit.
 
We arrived at St. Thomas early in the morning.  We had a leisurely breakfast then headed ashore.  We met a nice young lady at the shopping area who worked for a tourist bureau and she gave us some good advice about getting a taxi tour.  We had bypassed all the taxis at the pier as they were crowded with tourists.  She directed us to a dispatcher where we boarded a 25 passenger open-air "truck" taxi with another couple and their little girl.  Had a nice, uncrowded island tour.
 
After our tour we wandered around town, bought some stamps for our postcards and made our way back to the ship.  There are four cruise ships in port now, so there are tourists all over the place.  About half of the passengers on our ship are European, so everything (announcements, newsletters, entertainment, etc.) is provided in five languages. I anticipate some interesting interactions. I'll give a few more observations about our experiences later.
After we left St. Thomas we visited St. Lucia (pronounced loo-sha), which is a British Commonwealth member.  We thought St. Thomas was hot, but St. Lucia was even hotter.  The only thing that made our visit bearable was the frequent rain showers that cleared the air every hour or so.
 
We elected to not take an island tour, which was just as well.  We heard stories of a group going to visit the Pitons (the local mountain range) getting stuck in the mud for hours with a transmission failure.  Instead, we appreciated two or three Pitons (also the name of the local beer) with our lunch.  We enjoyed some excellent grilled fish with local vegetables on the waterfront.
 
We also took the opportunity to purchase a couple of light bulbs in St. Lucia.  The bedside reading lights in our stateroom were only 25 watts, and 220 volts.  They have 220 volt (50 Hz) power in St. Lucia so we were able to find some brighter bulbs.

We had walked into town but were ready to accept a ride back to the ship on the local water taxi.   We were entertained all the way by the antics of the boatman as he flirted with all the young girls.
 
Arriving at the pier we found a music festival in progress, with a steel band leading the entertainment.  It was a wonderful occasion for another Piton.
 
Saturday we visited Martinique.  The weather was a little cooler.  Cool enough in fact that Pam was able to try on some clothes!  Following my expert advice, she bought a couple of blouses.
 
Martinique is part of France.  I believe it is a Department (like one of our states) rather than just a possession.  Everyone speaks French primarily.  We got along okay in English, but for a longer visit I would want to learn some phrases in that language.  We also found an ATM and drew out some Euros.  Except for Barbados, the currency for the rest of our trip will be Euros.  We stopped at a Cyber Café to check our email.  This was our first exposure to a French keyboard.  It was nothing like the QWERTY keyboard the rest of the world seems to use.  Count on the French to be contrary.   Not that I am a speed typist in any case.
 
Some more observations:  Driving in the islands.  St. Lucia is a British island so the cars drive in the left lane and the vehicles are all right-hand drive.  Martinique being French, they drive on the right and the cars are all left-hand drive (like us).  In St. Thomas, a US possession, they drive on the left, yet all the cars have left-hand drive.  Go figure.  You really need to be cautious when you cross the street to be sure you look the correct way for traffic.

We are visiting Barbados on a Sunday so everything is closed.  We walked into town (about a mile) for the exercise, then hired a taxi for a two hour tour of the island.  I think the island lives on tourism, but it seems quite prosperous and very British.  A beautiful island with some exclusive resort properties, but still pretty small as the Caribbean islands go.
 
Back at sea tonight for the five-day passage to Funchal.  We are looking forward to a port that will be a bit cooler.  Madeira is part of Portugal, so we hope to find the pastry we grew to love in Lisbon, Pasteis de Nata.
 
We have five straight days at sea ahead of us enroute to Funchal, Madeira.  There is internet access from the ship, of course, but it is pretty expensive.  It runs about 60 cents a minute. 
 
Some thoughts about life on a cruise ship.
 
In the three days since we left Barbados and we have traveled about 1300 nautical miles, about half way to Funchal, Madeira.  We have been holding the same course and speed (063 degrees, 20 knots) all this time.  Time for a review of our feelings about this, our first cruise.
 
We have settled into a daily routine.  We get up around seven and walk a few laps around the jogging track before thedeck gets crowded.  Then Pam goes to the exercise room for her stretching class.  I usually walk a few more laps and get a cup of coffee.  Then we change and go to breakfast.  We have tried all the options, continental breakfast in the room, buffet in the cafeteria or sit-down in one of the formal dining rooms.  We generally prefer our assigned restaurant, La Bussola, primarily because we like our servers Luigi and Giuseppi.
 
After breakfast we relax for awhile.  We like to find a deck chair back on the fantail and read for awhile.  A couple of spins around the deck and it is time for lunch.
 
Out of necessity we try to eat a fairly light lunch.  That is often a challenge as so much is offered.
 
In the afternoon we have an Italian lesson.  There is a lot of interest in the language lessons, probably because we get off the ship in Italy.  We normally have about 150 people at the class.
 
After that there is time for a movie, then dinner at 6:15.  (We opted for the early seating.  The late seating is at 8:15).
 
Time for another stroll around the deck, possibly a little more socializing, and then we head to the theater for the evening production.
 
Since we are transiting eastward, we lose an hour every night.  By the time we get out of the evening show we are ready to go back to the stateroom and read for awhile.
 
They have a "midnight buffet" every night starting at about 11:30.  We have managed to avoid the temptation so far.
 
Throughout the day (and evening) there is other entertainment in each of the several lounges, music at the very least.  There always seems to be an opportunity for dancing, although I have avoided it for the most part.  We have met several interesting couples, some with a lot of cruising experience.
 
Pam went to a cooking class to learn how to make spaghetti.....
 
We also had an interesting presentation about the ship construction and operation.  I was surprised to learn that MSC is the world's fourth largest shipping company with container ships.  They have 250 container ships and seven cruise liners.  The cruise business amounts to two percent of their revenue.  The company is privately owned.  The owner runs the shipping company and his wife runs the cruise line.  It was started as a hobby for her seven years ago with the purchase of three older and smaller ships.  They now have four ships identical to the Lirica (1,200 plus passengers).  Next year they will launch the Musica, a 3,000 passenger ship and the following year the Orchestra of the same size.
 
In general, we are enjoying the trip but have concluded the value is in the shipboard experience, not the port visits.  We have always enjoyed staying two or three days -- or a week -- in one location so we can visit the sights at our leisure without being concerned about meeting a timetable.  You can't really do that on a cruise.  We will have a full day each in Funchal and Malaga, but only a late evening and morning in Barcelona.  We talked to one couple who had visited Barcelona twice already, but really hadn't seen much.  If all your travel is on cruise ships you will have a limited view of the world. 
 
The day to day stuff: food, service, amenities, etc.
 
The food is wonderful.  It is a struggle to avoid getting carried away.  Lunches and dinners always have a choice of two or thee appetizers, salad, two or three soups, two pastas, five or six main courses and a half-dozen desserts.  Steak, chicken and salmon is always available if you don't like the menu selections.  In the nine days we have been aboard, I don't recall any dinner entrees being repeated.
 
Service is first rate.  They make up our room while we are at breakfast and turn the bed down while we are at dinner.  Fresh towels and a filled ice bucket twice a day and always fresh fruit.  Just like in many US hotels there is a mini-bar, with comparable prices.  We brought our own booze so we haven't needed the mini-bar yet, except for refrigeration.
 
The ship is incredibly clean and well maintained.  It is really a beautiful ship.  There are two shimming pools and two hot tubs, which seem to get plenty of use.  The most popular activity seems to be sunbathing.
 
Thinking back, this ship is not much smaller than the ship I took my last cruise on, the USS Ticonderoga (CVS-14).  The length and beam are close (at the waterline), though the flight deck was a bit larger than the top deck of the Lirica!
 
I can't compare size directly, as two different systems of measurement are used.  Navy ship size is "displacement tonnage" which is the weight of the water displaced by the hull.  Cruise ships are measured in "gross tonnage" which is a measure of useable hull volume.  Apples and oranges!
 
I do think the ship movement (roll and pitch) is about the same.  Our stateroom is near the bow, and Pam learned that she shouldn't stand in the bathroom doing laundry too long.  After one woozy day she got her sea legs and hasn't had any problems since.  Old sailor that I am, I got my sea legs right away.
 
We have gotten acquainted with three other couples with whom we have been socializing.  So far we have gone ashore on our own, but we are planning to go ashore in Barcelona as a group to walk the Ramblas the night we arrive.  
 
Funchal, Madeira
 
We arrived at this Portuguese island at ten in the morning.  It is by far the best port we have visited so far.  In fact, Pam and I have decided to come back here some day for a longer stay.  Since it is part of Portugal we immediately started our quest for the pastry we discovered in Lisboa, Pasteis de Belém, or as they are called locally, Pasteis de Nata.  We visited the tourist information center to pick up a local map and asked the girl at the desk if she knew what we were talking about.  She immediately gave us directions to a coffee shop where we could find the pastries.  Our trip is complete!
 
Our new friends Keith and Joan came ashore with us so we were able to introduce them to the pastries, along with some strong Portuguese coffee.
 
Then we took a short city tour on our favorite conveyance, a hop on - hop off bus.  We hopped on but we didn’t hop off until the end. 
 
Tomorrow we are at sea all day, and then Monday we arrive at Malaga.  We’ll be there one day, then on to Barcelona. 
 
Malaga
 
Today we had an opportunity to renew our acquaintance with Spain, and to remember why we love to visit this country.  We are fortunate to be here in the spring, with weather in the 70's.  Strolling the streets of this lovely city is a pure joy.
 
Some of our friends took one of the ship's excursions (their first) to Grenada.  It is their first visit to this area so we convinced them that the Alhambra is not to be missed.
 
Pam and I hopped on a city bus and rode up the hill to the Castle.  Another remnant of the occupation by the moors, it is located on the highest point of the city and provides wonderful views of the area.
We looked down the hill to the Alcazaba (the royal palace), which was connected by a zigzagging walled corridor.  The Alcazaba is closed on Mondays so this was the best view we were able to get.
 
Later as we walked around town we passed the Alcazaba and were able to see the old Roman theater which is adjacent to it.  The theater is being reconstructed so we had to view it through the fence.  We managed to capture a couple of pictures through the bars.

The city market was open so we walked through to see the produce and meats.  We are always interested to see the local produce, mostly familiar but always a chance to see some strange fruit or vegetable.
 
Back to the ship at 4:30 and under way again for out next port, Barcelona.
This was a Gala night (on with the old blazer one more time) and they pulled out all the stops on the menu.  Among the half-dozen entrée choices were lobster, grilled scallops and beef Wellington.  We couldn't decide which to have, so we had all three!  After we topped it off with Baked Alaska they rolled us back to our rooms.
 
Barcelona

There are probably ten cruise ships in port here so we were tied up a ways off.  It was really interesting to watch the ship's captain maneuver in close quarters.  Using the bow thrusters and directional stern drives he literally spun the ship within its own length then moved it sideways between two other ships.
 
We were a little disappointed by the schedule for this visit, as we were to arrive at 9 p.m. Tuesday and leave at noon Wednesday.  Not only is this a short visit for such a wonderful city, the timing is bad if you want to visit any museums (which open at 10 am). We were somewhat mollified when we arrived two hours early, at 7 p.m.  This gave us a couple of hours of sunlight yet.  Also, the rain that had been with us all day stopped just before we went ashore.

The number one sight in Barcelona is Gaudi's masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia.  This cathedral has been under construction for about 150 years and will take another 50 years to complete.  Pam and I had visited it two years ago so we played tour guide.  Eleven of us braved the subway system, changing trains during rush hour, to get from the port to the cathedral.  It was fun to see the expressions on our friends’ faces as we walked up out of the subway to see this strange, beautiful building.
 
We were unfortunately too late to go inside (it closed a half-hour before we arrived), so we walked around the outside and gawked at all the carvings.  Pam and I tried to decide what had changed in the two years since our last visit.  Surprisingly there were some obvious changes to the outside.  Clearly the construction continues at a good pace.
 
We got back on the subway and returned to the Plaça Catalunya, which is at the top of La Rambla.  (We took a different subway line, just to keep our friends confused.)  The Plaça Catalunya is the starting point for a stroll along La Rambla, which ends at Plaça Colon (the Columbus monument) on the waterfront.  We walked past the Hotel Lloret where we stayed on our last visit and were able to point out our balcony from which we spent a few hours watching people on La Rambla.
 
By this time it was getting on in the evening and many of the little stands and shops were closed.  We saw a couple of the painted mimes who were working late, which gave us a photo opportunity.  All the restaurants were open and starting to get busy.  It's funny how dinner time in Europe seems to coincide with our bed time!  We stopped in an elegant old coffee shop and had hot chocolate and churros.  Spanish hot chocolate is thick, almost like cooked chocolate pudding before it cools.  It is rich and delicious, perfect for dunking churros.
 
By the time we reached Plaça Colon and the Maritime Museum, we were glad to see the shuttle buses back to the ship.  We had walked enough for one day.
 
Back on board we found we had timed our return perfectly for the midnight buffet.  A light snack of sandwiches and fruit and we were off to bed. 
 
Tomorrow we arrive at Genoa and the end of our cruise.