Finally back to cruising I was interested in seeing what changes would be made for covid. First of all everyone onboard was double vaccinated therefore there were no children. We felt completely safe with all the protocols in place.
We were surprised with an upgrade to minisuite. Self laundry was also free including detergent. The ship was at 1/3 capacity. No problem getting into diningroom at anytime. Wearing a mask was annoying but everyone complied. For a transatlantic we felt they could have had more enrichment talks. The biggest complaint I heard was that the cruise was boring. There were only 3 ports of call. The forth port of Bermuda was cancelled and in lieu of that there was an overnight in Cherbourg which was nice since day 2 was better weather. The cancellation of the Bermuda stop was disappointing in that it would have been nice to break up the transatlantic crossing. Also internet was greatly reduced during the crossing. If you like a very relaxing cruise the transatlantic crossing is a nice cruise. We were fortunate to have calm waters too.
Our cabin was an upgrade from a deluxe balcony. It had a full size sofa bed and drop down bunk that we did not use. The cabin is spacious has 2 TVs a large tub and a few more night tables with extra drawer space. The bedroom can be separately by a curtain. The balcony is a bit tight with 2 chairs and a larger table.
We chose a full day shore excursion. It was strenuous in that we did climb a hill to get a view but it was worth it. Sao Miguel can grow anything. It has nutrients rich volcanic soil, hot springs, thermal pools, fresh fish, pineapples beautiful beaches mountains and scenic valleys.