Days 4 and 5 were both sea days. Since the weather was lovely and the water warmed up a lot from the first day, we spent most of those two days around the pool relaxing and enjoying the water. Pool, warm water, drinks, food, sunshine, and great ocean views, what more could you ask for in a day. It was a great way to spend the days before our next port. The waves picked up a lot toward the end of the second of the two sea days. This wind made the crew ask us to leave the pool so that they could close it for safety reasons. But we made sure to enjoy it while we could.

Some unexpected winds

Relating to why the crew asked us to leave the pool was one unexpected occurrence on day 5. Late in the afternoon and into the night, we encountered some extreme winds. These were by far the strongest winds we have ever encountered on a cruise. The in-room TVs showed an apparent wind of more than 100 knots at one point. Before then, the highest we had seen was 40 or maybe 50 knots.

The wind was so strong that they had to close off all outside decks and turn the ship closer to land to avoid the larger waves. According to the captain, we used an extra 600 tonnes of fuel during this night. This meant we had to refuel on the night before we went through the Panama Canal. One of the clamshell loungers on the adult-only serenity deck had the top broken off with the wind, see below photo.

Other than the wind, these two days were mostly uneventful but still relaxing. The evenings we mainly did the same as every night. We enjoyed a lot more fantastic food and had fun at the bars. Ohh, we also, of course, had a great time at the shows after dinner as well! Another thing we had to worry about one night is a time change. Time differences are a problem on a cruise like this because there is a 3 hour time difference between the east coast and the west coast on the United States. Naturally, we had to jump forward an hour in time a few times during this cruise, and the first change happened during these sea days.