We went, we saw, we ate
For those who want the short version, we had a lovely relaxing time and really enjoyed our two weeks away. Lovely weather, copious amounts of splendid food, plenty of activities to amuse and entertain, as well as visiting the various ports and cities
The longer version follows for those interested:
- Friday 12th May (leaving port)
Left home 9:45am as planned and drove to Southampton. Despite a couple of really heavy showers, arrived in the car park in an hour, and with no queues got straight in and whizzed through security, so were actually on board at 11:10am !
Couldn’t get in the cabin until 1pm, so wandered around the ship exploring.
Has changed a bit in the 10 years since our last cruise, but remembered a lot of it. (Last trip was described in the previous posts http://sceaga.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/general-cruise-holiday-round-med-week1.html and http://sceaga.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/general-cruise-holiday-round-med-week2.html )
Had modest lunch at midday, with the expected vast selection of food to choose from in the casual dining restaurant (the “Windjammer”) so it is difficult to be restrained and not fill up lots of plates (although some people seemed to be doing just that throughout the trip!! )
When we got to check out our cabin, it’s huge !! Pleased we got the increased space (including walk in wardrobe) and hope to use our larger balcony area a bit more than we did last time.
Had to have our emergency lifeboat drill, but only lasted about 15-20 mins, so were soon able to get out and about the ship again. Found there are lots of places offering free raffles, went to the Spa and entered a raffle… had a talk about the ship in the theatre and got a raffle ticket, entered another raffle at the next art auction on board… had to then go to the Gym to see if we’d won their raffle (which we hadn’t) and actually missed the departure of the ship at 4:30pm (spoiler alert: we didn’t win anything, no raffles, nothing in the gambling, not a sausage 
By now it was time to get back to the cabin where our luggage has arrived, so can unpack before our allocated dinner time of 6pm for the formal dining restaurant. Although most people do dress up, most nights, including tonight, are “casual” dress code (just can’t wear shorts basically) There are three “formal” dress code nights to come though, but even these are not black tie events.
The choice of food on the menu is staggering, especially considering the number of people they are catering for ! (and there are three courses every night!) We’re on a table of 10 seats, with two Scottish couples, a Welsh couple and another English couple who seem nice enough. Food and service are superb !
Finished eating around 8pm then it’s a case of fitting in all the entertainments for the rest of the evening. Had a quick look at the shops, then had a drink in the small theatre which had a live band (albeit not our style of music) then went to the main theatre to see the show. Was Steve Womack, who is a comedian, singer, songwriter apparently. Not sure I’d bother again…
Went to our cabin around 11pm, but have to put the clocks forward an hour, so a bit of a late night by our normal standards ! (we’re so lightweight these days
As it happened, we suffered from “Strange Bed Syndrome” so didn't sleep all that well, but the rest of the cruise we had no trouble sleeping at all !
- Saturday 13th (At Sea)
Woke around 7am but dozed until 9am, when we went to the “Windjammer” for breakfast. Lots and lots to choose from so difficult to resist a three course breakfast ! As it turns out we decide to just have bowl of cereal (and a cup of tea) so lets see how long that resolve lasts !
Went to the pool deck to sit in the sun around 10am (it’s a bit chilly in the wind though) and plan the day by looking at our daily schedule. Ended up going to a seminar in the Gym “How to increase your metabolism” Was pretty interesting, but ultimately they wanted you to buy a hour session with them and then 6 months worth of sea algae… we decided to go to lunch instead
The talk must’ve inspired us though, as after lunch we had a rest for a while, then went to the Gym for an hour. After shower, it’s time for our afternoon cup of tea then had another rest, before then going to the cabin to get ready for our 6pm dinner.
It’s a Formal night tonight so we’re dressed up!
Had a lovely meal again and went to the show after, which was a singy dancy thing, but was actually quite entertaining.
Then back to the cabin to catch up on our sleep, watched a bit of Eurovision (in Spanish) which certainly helped to send us to sleep !
- Sunday 14th (At Sea)
Awake at 8am ! after a solid sleep.. Went to Gym for half hour then to breakfast where we had very healthy option of just some fruit.
Found our “beds” by the pool to contemplate our days activities. Went for a cup of Tea, where Mike was seduced by some of the pastries which are always on offer (as well as cookies, etc. etc, ) At 11am we went to a talk about Gem Stones, which was followed by a raffle as an encouragement to get you into the Jewellery shop. Then went to Casino for half hour to partake in the free training session, then it’s time for lunch.
Art sale at 1pm, huge queue to get in (probably due to the free champagne on offer !) Went on for a long time, but was quite interesting to see the art on offer and we both got a free print when we left. I had missed the 3pm Poker tournament I was planning to play, but meant we had to go and get a cup of tea and cookie instead (plus a couple of cakes for Mike 
In order to wear off some of the calories, went for a walk around the shops, Lynn buying a handbag (with an attached monkey!) Back to the cabin for sit in the sun on the balcony until time to get ready for dinner.
At dinner decided to try the Swordfish for a change. I actually quite liked it, but definitely prefer my meat !
After dinner went to the casino and “spent” $100 on Blackjack, then it’s off to the see the show. Was a Queen tribute act “The Bohemians”, who were pretty good and certainly got the crowd going.
- Monday 15th (Gibraltar)
Awake 7:30am for breakfast as we're docking at Gibraltar at 9:30am. We’re off ship at 9:50am, walking from the ship to the main street. Walked up and round the back way, then back round to the main square… all in the heat, so needed a quick pit stop in a pub for a cool drink, then an ice cream by the time we get back to the main square. Walk back to the ship to find a very long queue of people waiting to get aboard, but didn’t take too long in the end. Didn’t get to have our lunch until 1:30pm !!
Went back to our balcony to watch the departure from port at 3pm, which ended up being 4pm (Spanish pace I guess
After dinner, decided to go to one of the many quizzes that run during the day and evenings. Managed to get 10 points from 20, so quizzing is not quite our forte it seems
- Tuesday 16th (At Sea)
Awake early again, so in the Gym by 8am for half hour session, then have Porridge and Fruit for breakfast, so we’re at least starting the day in a healthy manner
Sat on the Pool deck (Sunny and warm now, but still a bit breezy) so went for a game of Bingo at 11am (Didn’t even get close!) Tried booking the 3pm Poker tournament, but already fully booked, so seems to be popular, shame they don’t run 20 seats rather than the 10 seats they offer… After a walk around the promenade deck, it’s lunchtime
Busy afternoon, had to sit by the pool again, 2pm Tea and Cake, then a Fashion show, then off to the pub for another quiz (8.5 marks from 20 this time… we’re getting worse !) then back to the pool deck for ice cream and rest!
After dinner, it’s off to the show, which tonight is a Magician “Adam Heppenstall” who was both funny and astonishing with his tricks
- Wednesday 17th (Livorno, Italy)
Woke up early again, to another sunny day, our routine seems to now be wake early then go to Gym for half hour, then have Porridge for breakfast. We’d already decided not to get off the ship, as we’d already been to Pisa and didn’t fancy the 2 hour coach trip to Florence, so it’s a day in the sun by the pool.
Sitting on the deck by 9:30am ! Had cup of tea mid morning and a swim, but otherwise didn’t move until lunchtime. Saw lots of queues on the quayside for all the trips going off ship, so we’re happy we’re able to enjoy the sun by the pool !
After lunch, it was a case of sitting by the pool again, have a swim, have a cup of tea, have an ice cream and drink lots of water until 5pm when we started feeling sun burnt. Luckily I wasn’t burnt, but Lynn did get caught by the Sun quite badly, despite having lots of sun lotion on !
Decided to skip the formal dining tonight, as having three courses can get a bit much, so went to the Windjammer for dinner. I had 2 main meals and 2 desserts, so ended up eating more than if we’d gone to the formal dining
Still was able to go to the show, which was another singy dancy thing, which was OK again
- Thursday 18th (Civitavecchia, Italy)
Same sort of day as yesterday, as we’d decided we didn’t want to go to Rome again. Awake early, Gym, breakfast, then to the pool deck. This time though we’re sitting in the shade all day !
Had a nice lunch, with me managing to only have 1 bit of cheesecake after my sandwich and fruit ! (I can resist anything, except temptation
We’re getting a bit peckish by 5:30pm (should’ve had more ice cream
Went to see the film “Fences” which was showing on the pool deck at 7pm, but after 30 mins decided it was rubbish, so went off to one of the bars for a drink, then did a lap of the promenade deck before getting an early night, as we’re actually going off ship tomorrow.
- Friday 19th (Ajaccio, France)
Up early again, but no Gym as we’re going off ship. Watched us arrive at port then went out on a 3 hour organised coach trip. Nice to see the sights in a limited time, as we did couple of hours on the coach (with couple of stops at places of interest) then an hour walking tour around the old town. As it happened, the old town is right by the port so could probably have done it ourselves, but we haven’t been before, so wanted to do an organised trip. Was getting hot by the time we did the walking though, so was quite tiring.
Got back to the ship at 2pm, so had late lunch, then went to the pool to cool off. Shame everyone else had the same idea ! Had an ice cream (2nd one today!) and a cup of tea, whilst watching our departure from port.
As we’d eaten lunch late, we were thinking of not going to dinner, but as it was a formal night, decided last minute to dress up and go. Turned out we were the only one’s who went into the formal dinner on our table, so maybe we shouldn’t have bothered !
After dinner, went to Casino to spend a free $5 bet Lynn had been given. Managed to turn it into $6.25
The show tonight was “Allan Stewart” who was very good comedy/old style entertainer
- Saturday 20th (Barcelona, Spain)
Awake at 8am, leisurely breakfast then sat in the sun on our balcony watching us dock at Barcelona. Had city sights organised trip booked from 11:30am until 4:30pm. First had about an hour trip around in the coach, then had a short lunch stop at the beach (we didn’t really have time to eat lunch though!) then had another shorter trip in the coach before getting out for the walking part of the tour. Was a hot day again, but plenty of shade. We also we to the ‘Jamon Experience’ where there was a 25 minute talk about how Jamon is produced, followed by a tasting, then a short walk back to the coach to get back to the ship.
Back to our balcony to have a nice cup of tea and think about dinner
Sat on deck to watch the ship depart port, then it’s off to see the show. It’s “Jonathan Stamp” who turned out to be a juggler. After a slow start, he did improve and was interesting to watch and he was quite funny in his banter. After the show went to the casino for a while, where I managed to only lose $20 on the Stud Poker
- Sunday 21st (Valencia, Spain)
Awake at 7am for some reason but dozing, until a ship announcement at 8am telling us the gangway was open… definitely awake now !
Decided to skip Gym as it’s Sunday
Picked some shady “beds” by the pool and made ourselves comfortable for the day. At lunch, had a sandwich and some fruit, then 2 desserts… think I’m getting worse…
Back to the cabin around 4pm to get showered and changed, as we’re booked for the ice show at 5pm, which was pretty spectacular
Went to dinner straight after the ice show, where I decided to try Scallops and Smoked Salmon for my starter. The Scallops tasted a bit too much like fish for me, and the Salmon was too smokey
After dinner it was back to the casino to lose another $10 on Stud Poker. Had to buy an electric socket adapter as I’d forgotten ours and my battery levels are dangerously low on my phone and camera now… cost $25 so will definitely remember next time !
Went to the show, was a violinist “Chris Watkins” today, who did the popular classics, so was OK, then went to the Jewellery shop to see if we’d won in the raffle (we didn’t) but Lynn enjoyed looking around (again!)
- Monday 22nd (Malaga, Spain)
We’re a bit reluctant to get out of bed today, struggling out at 8:30am for breakfast (No Gym !) and then watched us entering Malaga port.
We’re in two minds about going out as it’s so hot already, but decide to walk up to the beach, which is only a few hundred yards away from where we’re docked.
Ended up walking into the old town, as was quite a bit of shade and a nice breeze had started up by then. Had a drink in a bar, then headed back to the ship for lunch, then sat by the pool for the afternoon to cool off, only interrupted by trips to get the cups of tea and ice creams!
Then it’s time for what has become our standard routine for the evening: change for dinner, watch the ship as it leaves port, go for a lovely dinner, then go to the show. This time it’s Toni Warne, a singer who had been on The Voice. She’s OK, but not singing songs of our era so didn’t enjoy it as much as I had anticipated. Finish the evening in the Casino, where managed to lose remaining “Casino Fund” so it’s back to the cabin
- Tuesday 23rd (Cadiz, Spain)
Up at 8am and we’re already docked in Cadiz. Lovely sunny day, so had breakfast and off ship by 10am for our walk.
Walked around Old Cadiz for 2 hours taking in the sights, then back on ship for lunch.
Sat by the pool for the afternoon, sustained by Tea and Ice Creams again.
Standard evening again, with the show being a sing/dance thing by the house team, again OK
- Wednesday 23rd (At Sea)
Clocks went back an hour, and we’re heading for home, but still got couple of days left to take advantage of the weather and make full use of the ship and all it’s facilities. We start the day by having extra hour in bed
Sitting in the Sun by the pool by 10am where we stayed for the day.
Formal night tonight in the restaurant, so dress up a bit again
The show tonight is a Beatles Tribute “Beatles Celebration” who are quite good and do all the classic tunes.
- Thursday 25th (At Sea)
Went to Gym again this morning, so back into good habits. Bright and sunny day, but very windy on deck so not really a pool day, so need to take advantage of some of the other activities.
Start with the 10am quiz, followed by Bingo, then have mid morning snack to keep us going until lunch.
Then went to an art Auction where Lynn liked a picture (it had bears in it) If it hadn’t been $2500 we might have bought it ! (Lynn still thought about buying it anyway
After mid-afternoon snack, we start thinking about packing
The evening goes as normal, with the show being a comedy act “Steve Stevens” then we have to put the cases outside the door, ready for the next days departure.
- Friday 26th (Southampton)
We have 9am scheduled departure time, so can have a relaxed morning. We’re awake before 7am though, as the departures start from 6:45am ! Have a full works fried breakfast, such that I’m feeling uncomfortably full and can’t manage any pastries ! After a rest on deck, we are actually off the ship early and get through smoothly, so are sat in the car by 9am and home by 10am
