Pam Sheppel

Last month I traveled on my first transatlantic cruise and discovered how incredibly wonderful it is! 

It was on the Norwegian Viva starting in San Juan, Puerto Rico crossing in 13 days to Lisbon Portugal.

Along the way we stopped in the Dominican Republic, St Maarten, Cape Verde, and Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

What I loved was the incredible weather the entire trip, the relaxation options on board on sea days and interesting stops along the way.

In St. Maarten, I chose a beach day with lunch shore excursion that could not have been better. From start to finish, our guide was excellent and the beach, located on the French side of the island was absolutely beautiful. Lunch was great and with an option to rent a beach umbrella for our chaise lounges in the sand, it was a perfect beach day! On the way back to the ship there was even an option to get off in the downtown area to do some shopping with easy directions on how to get back to the ship on your own.

At sea, I fell in love with the spa's Thermal spa option. Each day I enjoyed the thermal pools, various saunas and a relaxing warmed lounge area. It was refreshing and luxurious.  Delicious dinners in the specialty restaurants topped each day and the theater production of Beetlejuice offered a little Broadway at sea.

The next 2 stops in Cape Verde were really interesting and the shore excursions were excellent.

When we reached Lisbon, disembarkation took a little time, so it is important not to book a flight home too early to avoid a stressful end to an otherwise relaxing and rejuvenating vacation. I spent a few days in Lisbon post cruise and fell even more in love with this great European city.

I'd love to answer any questions you have and help you find and plan your next great vacation!