Our latest adventure found us once again on a cruise ship. This is our third cruise and I have to admit it’s taken us a while to get used to cruising. I honestly believe that you have to ‘learn’ to cruise, because it is very different from a land based holiday. So I would like to take a moment to show you the ship and have a chat about various aspects of cruising. Obviously, people choose to cruise for different reasons and our reason is simple. We wanted an alternative way of travelling, mainly to avoid airports and the endless queues, security checks etc.
So, first job was how to get to Southampton from the north of England. We selected a cruise on P&O Iona and booked through our local travel agent to be sure we got everything covered. The deal we got included onboard spend and a coach to and from Southampton, which meant that, even if we got stuck in traffic, or any other problem, the cruise ship would wait and we wouldn’t be stranded. I know a lot of people like to drive, so the alternative deal was onboard spend and free parking.
Nice coach, good driver and 2 comfort stops on the way down. From home to the ship took us approximately 5 hours, and we will be using the coach transfer again.
We chose our cabin with the help of our agent. They have a deck plan which helps when you want a certain cabin in a certain part of the ship. We always choose a balcony cabin, mid ship and not a high deck. This is to avoid travel sickness. If you think about it like this…. put a fork on one finger, you always put it in the middle so it will balance. It’s the same principle. Less rocking side to side and up and down. That’s my theory.
Plus, being in the middle means you can get to all parts of the ship easier. Trust me, the corridors are very long and there is a good chance that you will get lost a couple of times.
Embarkation was really very good. As I said, we travelled down by coach, so once the suitcases were put in the hold, we didn’t see them again until later that afternoon outside our cabin. We had checked in online at our agent’s ten days prior to boarding and they printed our luggage labels and boarding passes. We had to produce proof of travel insurance and register a credit/debit card. So all you have to do then is remember your passport. At the port, a representative of the coach company comes onto the coach and tells you where to go and lets you know what will happen with your luggage. One thing I would like to mention is that, if you have any medication you need to take, please keep it with you. Your case may not be delivered immediately and can take 2-3 hours to reach your cabin. It’s really very efficient, and we had no problems. The check in and security checks went smoothly. From getting off the coach to boarding took 35 minutes. Not bad, hey!
The cabin was very comfortable and our steward was obliging and discreet. Good bed, good shower, good TV. Kettle and fridge, what more do you want on holiday. Yes, I know, some want champagne service but will only pay beer money. We were perfectly satisfied with our accommodation, it was exactly what is described in the brochure. My only gripe was the wardrobes had NO DRAWERS! Still we managed.
It’s a food fest! No doubt about it. Not haute cuisine by any means, and you have to bear in mind that there may be 5,000+ people on board your cruise. It can sometimes feel like a bun fight in the Buffet Restaurant, which I must admit is not our favourite. We like to dine in the main restaurants, to be waited on is part of my holiday. We did try a couple of the speciality restaurants, some at an extra charge, some not. You can pre-book some of the speciality restaurants two weeks before you sail, and you will also have to pre-pay for them. We decided to do this on the ‘Black Tie’ nights and it worked for us.
Entertainment is also a personal choice and there is quite a bit going on, so again, you would have to check to see if it would suit you. You can do all this weeks before you cruise, because the cruise company will be sending you lots of emails. You have been warned! No, it can be very useful so have a good look. The number of times I heard folk say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know you could do this or that’ – never opened their mail. It really is all there for you to look at and pre-book or whatever.
On every cruise you will spend a certain amount of days at sea. On this cruise the first 3 days were ‘sea days’, which we found difficult. We are not the type of people who like to lie on a sunbed for hours, sit around one of the many pools, or spend time in the hot tubs. Hmm! So what to do? The good news is that there are 2 cinema screens on this ship, which were showing some good films, so we chose to see a couple and it was pretty good. There are plenty of lounges where you can read, play cards or games or just people watch. Obviously there’s plenty of snacks and drinks available, some inclusive and some you pay for. There are guest speakers talking on various topics, but we didn’t attend any of these, so I can’t tell you anything about them. Personally, we used these days to get to know the ship, book dining and shows, and check out the launderette. It’s handy to know the lay out, saves many miles of walking.
Every day you get a printed programme called The Horizon delivered to your cabin. It has all the information about the activities on the ship, including restaurant/bar opening times, dress code for the evening, shore excursions and entertainment options. Additionally, the P&O App is available for you to put on your mobile device, free of charge. Now, it can be hit and miss whether it works all the time and we found we had to re-load it if we had been off the ship. It only takes a minute though and it worked well for us, so not a problem.
The promenade decks get very busy on sunny days, as do the pools. Sun beds everywhere, quite a lot of hot tubs, but you can usually find a quiet spot to have a bit of quiet time.
Now, I am not sure how to describe the ‘inside’ of the ship. I have used the expression ‘a floating hotel’ when I chat to my friends, but it is a bit more than that. There are shops (surprise) selling loads of luxury goods like watches and handbags, but also things like toothpaste and paracetamol and other bits and bobs you may have forgotten to bring or run out of. There is a small library with board games and puzzles for you to use. A casino, gym and sports courts and a photography shop. You can purchase paintings done by many artists, and they organise Art Events to explain all about them. The Atrium is massive, over three floors. It is a good place to people watch and meet people. That’s one thing we did find. Cruisers are very friendly and chatty, in the main, and we did meet some very pleasant folk. We did enjoy the sociability of the ship.
After three days at sea we were more than ready to go ashore and do some exploring. Every port day, a crew member will make an announcement telling you a bit of information about the port, the weather and the time and place to leave the ship. More importantly, you will be told what time you need to be back on the ship. Miss it and you are stranded, they WILL NOT WAIT for stragglers, unless it’s an emergency. Should you book an excursion with the ship and you arrive back late, they will wait. Book your own and get back late, tough! This information is also in the Horizon leaflet you get everyday, so it’s up to you. Plus you are given the times and availability of shuttle buses that are sometimes in port for passenger transport when the ship is a distance from the main areas.
Our first port of call was Madeira and we moored a 15-20 minute walk from Funchal. (It is a bit hilly). Now, I have to confess that we really like this island, for more reasons than I can fit in this blog. So I will just tell you about the day we spent there on this cruise. We decided to visit Blandy’s Wine Cellars and Museum. We booked the tour online prior to our cruise because we had a sneaky feeling it would be busy and get booked up. We were correct. They only host a certain number of visitors at a time, and this made it more pleasurable because we could hear the guide, and get around the small areas much easier. It was really very interesting and for 12.50€ each, well worth the hour plus visit. Plus we got to taste some of the wine and know what we were tasting. Blandy’s Wine is a protected brand, and they have a unique product. We absolutely recommend a visit here.
Then we went for a walk around Funchal to visit the park, quirky shops and fish market. The flower market is lovely and the smell – wonderful. The people in Funchal are friendly and most speak English. So if you get lost, ask for directions and they will try to help you. The taxis are good, and if you want to see a bit more, there are the Hop on – Hop Off buses from the port to various parts of the island. This time we decided not to take the cable car up to the gardens. It was so busy and the weather forecast was showing showers, but we have done it before and again, highly recommend. We then took ourselves off to The Ritz Cafe. It’s a very popular place to stop for coffee and food, or something a bit stronger. The toasted cheese and ham sandwiches are smashing, and big enough for us to share. Just a hint here, if you order beer, please be aware that it is served in metric measures and not pints or halves. 500ml is a little bit more than a pint, but himself didn’t mind! We could have stayed longer, but had to get back to the ship, but called in MacDonalds for a quick coffee and to send some messages home. Then a pleasant stroll back after a lovely day out. Sailing away at night is often a wonderful sight, and loads of people go out on deck to see the view.
Next port was in Tenerife. I am sure you have either visited or read a lot about this island, but not the port area. We docked in Santa Cruiz, which is the key areas for cruise ships visiting the island. We found out that it is a major contributor to the economy of the island, with over a million cruise passengers visiting most years. So we expected it to be very busy and it was! The city centre was a 20-minute walk away, so we decided to take the shuttle bus to save a bit of time. It’s so well organised and they run to and from the ship very frequently. We made the decision not to book any excursions and to see what we could see on our own. We walked to Plaza de Candelaria, the main square, for a quick look around. It was busy, as you can get buses and taxis to most parts of the island from here. You can get to the ultra-modern and iconic Tenerife Auditorium, which hosts world music events, then the Castle of San Cristóbal Interpretation Centre, where you can see the remains of the 16th-century castle wall and the infamous legendary bronze cannon, El Tigre, and the Plaza de España, the largest and probably the most beautiful square in the city, centred around a seawater lake. The traditional marketplace, Our Lady of Africa Market, and the 30-acre botanical garden and palm tree collection, are also worth a visit. We didn’t manage to do all of these things, but there is always another time, it’s just to give you an idea and help you plan. Remember to grab a map at the Tourist Information Centre, but be careful. We chose the wrong one and it made it a bit more difficult to find our way around.
Then we sailed to Gran Canaria and docked in the port of Las Palmas. Our intention was to take the Hop on – Hop off bus and do a circuit of the city before deciding where we wanted to get off and maybe do a bit more exploring. Sadly, this didn’t happen. We were there when another ship had docked and it was even bigger than ours, so another 4,000 (or more) people were trying to do the same thing. The queues were terrible and we quickly decided to just go for a walk. Fortunately, we managed to get hold of the map of Las Palmas from one of the reps of the bus, and it came in very handy. That’s definitely a must. Grab a map from either the Tourist Information Centres, which are usually at the port, or ask a tour rep for one. We would have been lost without it, excuse the joke. The port is right next to a massive shopping centre and, for shopaholics, probably a nice place to visit. We would have liked to go to the old town, but it’s about a 3.5 mile walk from the port, a bit too much for us, so we just pottered around the town. We walked to the promenade, which is lovely and has the usual places to eat and drink and a very nice beach. A lot of cruise passengers were heading that way for a ‘beach day’, but we carried on. If you have mobility problems, please be careful, as many of the streets are cobblestones and pretty uneven. The buildings are lovely to look at and are often painted in bright colours, which makes the town look very cheerful. The churches and municipal buildings are very grand and worth a visit. There were plenty of benches for a quick sit down and rest. Even though our original plan didn’t happen, we still had a very pleasant day in Las Palmas, it felt very safe and friendly. It is an easy place to navigate and we would love to visit again to explore more.
In Lanzarote we docked on a Sunday in Arrecife, which is the main port and capital city of the island. Now, with it being Sunday, most of the shops were closed. I am not sure if you are aware, but in most European countries, Sunday is still a day of rest, a family day and a day to enjoy a bit of a rest. Some of our fellow passengers were aware of this, but some had a good grumble. The information was on the Horizon news sheet, as well as on the cruise website, so like I said, do your research on your ports of call. However, there was an abundance of cafes along the port side, but these were very busy, so we decided to walk a bit further away and wander down the side streets. We found a little cafe, which we assumed was used by the locals, and we were correct. There was a very nice gentleman with a Scottish accent who did his best to help us connect to the Wi-Fi, and we had a lovely conversation with him, learned a lot about the island and enjoyed a pleasant hour of his company. On another day we would have been able to do a bit more, such as going to the local markets and museums, but as they were closed, we went back to the ship. Lanzarote is a beautiful place, which we have had the pleasure of visiting before. A visit to the Aloe Vera museum, the Cesar Manrique House and much, much more, it’s great.
The next port of call was Fuerteventura and we docked in Puerto del Rosario, which is the main port and capital of the island. This island is well known for its sandy beaches, water activities and vast expanse of sand dunes. The area around the port has lots of cafes and bars, a few tourist type shops, but it’s not a buzzing place. We didn’t want to go on any excursions because they were based around water sport or dune buggy rides, and sadly, we are a bit too long in the tooth for that. So we made the decision to stay on the ship as we thought it would be nearly empty and very quiet. It was a completely different atmosphere and the ship felt like it was taking a breather too. We took advantage of the quiet ship to use the launderette, which turned out to be a good decision and I learned a good lesson there. Use it on a port day, not on a sea day!
Now, I have to admit that we did not do very much on our visits to the Canary Islands, but we have had some great holidays here in the past. We had no great expectations of things to do, but it was still a pleasure to visit the ports, which is not normally a destination when on a land based holiday.
So, off across the sea again, and this time we were heading for Cadiz. Wow, first impressions were, what a great place!
Cádiz is an ancient port city in the Andalucia region of southwestern Spain. The home of the Spanish Navy, it has more than 100 watchtowers, including the iconic Torre Tavira, which was traditionally used for spotting ships. On the waterfront is the domed, 18th-century Cádiz Cathedral, featuring baroque and neoclassical elements. It was a feast for the eyes and so we decided to pick up a tourist map and just start walking. As we were strolling down some of the narrow streets, we came across what looked like a gargoyle stuck on the side of a building, but it was a little statue. If the door was open to one of the houses or apartments, we couldn’t resist a quick peak inside, and it was brilliant. The entrances were often tiled with pretty patterns, and one we thought was just an apartment, turned out to be a hardware shop!
It was quite large inside and like an Aladdin’s cave. The cafes were very reasonable, as long as you stayed out of the main tourist areas, for coffee and tapas. Walking along one little street, we found the market, but didn’t have time to go for a look inside. We did however come across some very strange looking trees.
I wish we knew what they were called. So, Cadiz is now added to the favourite list and we will definitely be going back. There’s a lot more to explore.
Our last port of call was Lisbon. This was a very quick trip on the shuttle bus, which takes a very circular route and was very interesting. We stopped at the main square, but it was far too busy for us, so we made a decision to just walk around and pick up some information from the Tourist Information Centre and head back to the ship. The main reason for this is that we will be back in Lisbon in a few months time and will have two days to explore. I will let you know more about this lovely city in another blog.
