I have always promised Fran that I would take her away when we could afford a stateroom that was better then the one I have when I am away working.
So after choosing Norwegian Jade because of it’s itinerary a mini-suite seemed the perfect stateroom for us.
Imagine our delight to be offered an upsell to a category AC suite about 3 weeks before sailing. Now we will have butler & conceriege service.
Saturday 9th August. Joining our cruise (Embarkation in nautical terms)
We drove from Ashford to Southampton. On the M25 there were congestion signs between the A3 and M3 turnoffs, so we decided to come down the A3 towards Portsmouth. A bad mistake. There were large roadworks around Hindhead which delayed us 30 mins. and further on we came across an overturned caravan, which was causing another hold-up.
However we had a very nice cup of coffee at Hindhead, at a national trust café, and arrived at gate 4, Southampton docks at about 12.30
We passed through the gate without being stopped, and followed the signs for the QE2 cruise terminal. There we were directed into a waiting area as they were only letting cars into the unloading area a few at a time. Taxis took priority over private cars. We waited in our car about 10 minutes. Then were called in to an undercover departure area. Just as well it was covered as it was raining very heavily at this time. Cases were unloaded onto the pavement and Fran stayed with them whilst I returned the car to the other end of the hall for valet parking. I had to wait 15 mins or so with the car until it was checked in for parking. I then returned to Fran, who had arranged a porter to take the bags to the checked luggage security.
Entering the terminal building there were signs for VIP’s, Latitudes Members, and Check In. We went to the VIP sign, and after checking our name a member of staff escorted us to a separate check-in where we were immediately attended to, Photo’s taken, Credit card checked, and key card issued. Another crew member then guided us past the lines of people waiting, to the front of the queue for the security check. Carry on bags through an x ray scanner and us through the usual arch without as much as a beep.
The crew member than escorted us on board where are key cards were checked, and guided us through the ship to our suite. Because of this escort we missed the welcome aboard drink, although it was available in the Atrium.
Our suite was ready, so we were able to drop our coats, freshen up, and proceed to Cagney’s for lunch.
Fran had -: Green salad, club sandwich & fruit cobbler
I had -: Tortilla chips & salsa, roasted vegetable open sandwich & fruit cobbler.
After lunch we looked around, and visiting the garden court cafeteria, appreciated even more the peace & quiet of Cagney’s
Boat drill took place at 3.30. All had to assemble with lifejackets at our assembly station. Ours is the balcony of the Stardust Theatre. The drill didn’t take long and we were finished by 4pm.
Sail away should have been at 4pm, but was delayed because of scheduled maintenance to the engines.
There was no party or bar-b-q because of the bad weather.
Returning to our cabin after the drill our cases arrived. None were held back for inspection in the naughty room !!!!!!
Unpacking took a while. The only fault we could find with the suite was there is no drawer big enough to lay polo shirts flat. The wardrobe is all hanging space whereas in other rooms half is given over to shelving.
We needed a drink after unpacking, so off to bar city we went. A very nice area with all 3 bars, Whisky, Martini & Champagne all opening onto each other, and a very good piano player. We watched the sailaway from there. It was still wet and windy and few ventured outside.
About 7.30 we went to the Grand Pacific dining room. We had to wait 5 minutes or so to be seated.
Fran had shrimp cocktail whilst I had mushroom tart starter, we both had roast lamb followed by a sweet soufflé. Excellent food and service.
By the time we were finished those wanting to go to the Grand Pacific had a longer wait and were being given pagers.
The evening entertainment was in the Stardust theatre. A “proper” theatre, well decorated seating about 1200. The seats are very comfortable. The “show” was an introduction to various entertainers on the ship, Opera singer, juggler/tumbler, country singer/guitarist, and a soul-singing group. All very good quality.
Just time to visit the Garden court café for a cup of decaff cappuccino, a piece of cake, and time for bed.
Sunday 10th August. At Sea
A fairly bumpy night but we slept quite well, being that we were in a strange, all be it very comfortable, bed.
Up at 8.30 to Cagney’s for breakfast. Fran had pancakes with butterscotch sauce; I had Eggs Benedict on crabcakes. Verrrrrry nice. Also plenty of fresh fruit, cereals and bakery available.
A leisurely day exploring the ship, reading, typing this up. A visit to the casino to enter the slots tournament resulted in the rapid donation of $15 to NCL.
For signing up to the casinos at sea card, I got $20 of slot play for $10. It took some time but I eventually managed to lose my “free” $10. Still, another $10 to lose tomorrow, but hey, I might win big !!!!
There seems to be a shortage of fresh fruit on board. We have asked for grapes and strawberries in our cabin fruit basket, but today Ramadan, our butler, brought us chocolate dipped strawberries but no fruit basket. He says they will get more fruit on board in the next port.
For lunch back to Cagney’s. We both had excellent shrimp and crab chowder. Fran had Gnocchi and I had sweet & sour grouper. I finished with bread pudding whilst Fran had a pear tart.
The plan is not to use the lifts, use the stairs and we can have guilt free puddings.!!!
I entered a slot tournament to win $500 today. Joining fee was $15. Out of my group of 8 I came third, so no chance of reaching the final. The top 6 highest scores throughout the cruise go through to the final on the last day, to compete for the money.
After a quiet spell we got ready for the captains cocktail party. Penthouse & above suites were invited. A very pleasant occasion with free drinks and canapés. Many of the senior officers were present along with some NCL corporate staff who were on board. Some guests dressed up, but most were wearing resort casual.
The party ended at 8.30. We looked at the Alazer restaurant for dinner, but there was a wait of about 30 minutes. We wanted to see the show that was on at 9.30, so, as we had had a good lunch, we elected for a quick snack in the Garden Café buffet. We did notice some customers were angry at the delay for Alazar.
We went to the show Shout at 9.30 in the main theatre. A troupe of singers covering hits from the 1960’s. They were very good . The show lasted about an hour and then it was time for bed.
Monday 11th August
We had to advance our watches and clocks 1 hour overnight, so it was after 9 when we awoke. Up again to Cagney’s for breakfast where I had pancakes with a side order of bacon, Fran had poached eggs on toast. Along with fresh fruit and coffee this set us up for the day. We decided to skip lunch, and book LeBistro restaurant for an early dinner.
We spent a quiet day lounging about and reading.
There was a slide and talk presentation about the ship, by the captain, which was well attended. In the question and answer session afterwards it became apparent that some guests are upset because they were told Gibraltar was one of the port of calls, and it is not. In the NCL brochure available in the UK it was a port of call, but on the US website it never was. The captain tried to blame travel agents for the mis-information, but in my opinion NCL are at fault.
The weather gradually has got better, and by 5pm it was nice enough to use the sun bed on our balcony.
We had dinner at LeBistro. Fran had onion soup, I had scallops. Then we shared a cote de bouf, followed by crepe suzettes. One nice idea they have is wine by the glass, so we both started with champagne, and I had an additional glass of red.
Between 5.30 & 6.30 there was a 2 for 1 offer.
A very pleasant restaurant, worth the extra.
Afterwards we went to see a show in Stardust theatre with the comic Tony Stevens. He was very good. Family entertainment you could take your granny to without being embarrassed.
Tuesday 12th August
The day started badly. We knew the ship was due to arrive in Malaga at 8am, and we had a ships tour booked to depart at 8am to Granada, so we put out our breakfast order for the butler before we went to bed, and ordered delivery for 6.30am.
Fortunately we had set our alarm clock so we were awake, but the butler never appeared. When I tried to phone him the call was diverted to room service, so instead of ordering again and waiting we got dressed and went to Cagney’s where we got good service.
We had been given our coach number in advance, so we could have waited at the gangway and then been first off and got the best seats on the coach, but as the ship was a little late, we waited in the theatre with the rest of the tour and consequently when we got to the coach, Fran & I could not get a seat together. In the end this was good as we both sat next to very nice people whom we got along with very well.
The trip to Granada took about 2 hours, uphill through the mountains. The guide we had on the coach was a bit boring to say the least. We had a 20 min rest stop, and as we got off the coach first, and had some euros, we managed the loo and still had time for a coffee.
The visit to the Alhambra was great. Tickets are timed and only 7000 allowed per day, so it wasn’t crowded. 5 times during the tour our tickets were checked to ensure we didn’t overstay our allotted time of 8.30 to 14.00 and we had to enter the Palacios Nazaries at 11am. (I think you are allowed +15 mins or you lose your slot)
The weather was nice. Hot and sunny, but not sticky. Granada is very high in the mountains. In winter there is skiing nearby.
The palaces were fantastic as were the gardens, but we felt we would have liked longer in the gardens to stop and admire the views. We usually like to do our own thing rather than take a guided tour.
After leaving the Alhambra, we were brought through the centre of Granada city on a tour, and then to a modern hotel for a very good buffet lunch, paella included.
We didn’t stop on the coach journey back to Malaga, and arrived at the terminal about 4.30. There was a small shop where we bough a few small souvenirs.
After cleaning up and relaxing watching the sail away from Malaga we had originally planned just to have a snack in the Blue Lagoon café overlooking the atrium where there was some singing of songs from the musicals scheduled.
By 8pm however, we both felt hungry so we went to the Alazar restaurant. We looked at the menus and decided there was nothing we fancied so we decided to see if there were vacancies at Papa’s Italian restaurant. We turned up and got an excellent window table immediately. $10 surcharge was well worth it. We both had minestrone soup, and whilst Fran had pizza canzone, I had lobster tail ravioli. Excellent. Fran finished with a triple panacotta which was excellent, and I had tiramisu which was not so good. We are both getting the taste for champagne by the glass with our meals !!!!!
After we visited the Stardust lounge where the second city comedy troupe were performing a sketch show. Very good.
Wow, our “joining” fruit bowl arrived today.!!!!
Wednesday 13th August
A late breakfast. We plan to have a quiet day, something to eat about 5pm. The ship is due in Barcelona at 6pm. Its quiet windy and not so warm today.
Hot dogs for lunch in the garden café. Spent the day reading & relaxing. Fran rinsed out a few smalls, though we are using the ships laundry service as required for shirts & trousers.
Dinner we ate in the Grand Pacific. One great thing about having the upgrade to a suite is that our key colour is noted whenever we go to a restaurant and get the best seats available and excellent service.
Fran has scallops as a starter followed by flounder and I had braised artichoke followed by beef stroganoff. We both had a chocolate desert.
We went ashore at about 8pm. A fair walk through a modern terminal building where we got on a shuttle bus ($8 for 2 days use) The bus dropped us by the world trade centre. We walked to the nearest metro station where I got scammed paying €7.20 for 1 metro ticket instead of 10.
We took the metro to the Sacra Famillia cathedral. Very impressive and the area was nice and quiet in the evening. We did find that the interchange between metro lines entailed long and hot unpleasant walks.
We strolled and took the metro to La Pedrera, another Gaudi building, where we enjoyed sitting quietly in our own time to admire.
We worked our way back towards the Placa de Catalunya, but were disappointed to find the fountains not operating.
We started going down Las Ramblas but didn’t like the crowds, so we took the metro back towards the shuttle bus and returned to the Jade.
Thursday 14th
Fran’s birthday. Last evening I decorated the cabin as a surprise for Fran.
This morning after she opened her presents we went to Cagney’s for breakfast, where Fran was greeted with happy birthday from Ruth, the Conceriege.
We both had scrambled eggs on toast with bacon.
Then we went ashore where we got the tourist HOHO bus. We were going to change between routes to see as much as possible, there are 3 routes, 1 ticket. In the end we decided to just do the blue circuit, and thoroughly enjoyed it, just stopping for a while at the national art gallery for an ice lolly.
After the circuit we walked up LasRamblas, didn’t enjoy, and into the warren of little streets called the Barri Gotic which we loved. We went in search of the cathedral and instead found a parish church which we enjoyed looking round.
Bought dress for Bethany and picture as Fran’s birthday present.
Walked through fantastic fruit/meat/fish/spice market towards shuttle bus. Back on board about 3.30. Shoes off and dozed on balcony till ship sailed at 5pm.
Dinner at Cagney’s. We both had jumbo shrimp cocktail, then a salad, and followed with the best filet mignon steak we have ever had. Fran then had Apple crumble and I had coffee crème brulee. Along with a bottle of champagne it was an excellent meal.
During dinner Fran was presented with a birthday cake and the waiters sang happy birthday.
After dinner caught end of opera singer Lawrence Robinson show. Then at 9.30 high energy musical show “Showtime” with 10 singers. Very good.
Friday 15 August
Anchored off Villefranche.
Ashore by tender. We had VIP tickets for the tender so we could take the next one along instead of having to per-book a time.
Took train to Monaco. Plenty of staff to help you buy tickets. €5 return each. About 20 minute journey along beautiful coastline.
We walked down to sea front by the swimming pool. You could hire a Ferrari to drive around the F1 circuit, but we didn’t.
We walked around a headland on a very nice footpath, lovely fresh breezes, past the coach station. Found an elevator to the top where we found tourist information, gift shop and café, so we bought postcards & stamps, sat at an outside café with a drink, and wrote our cards.
There was a tourist train €7.00 each which took us on a ride around Monaco and Monte Carlo. We visited the Cathedral where are the graves of Princess Grace and Prince Rainer.
We had “lunch”, a slice of pizza and a panini sitting on the pavement opposite the royal palace.
Then walked back to the lower town for our train back to Villefranche. Did not have to wait for a tender back to the ship, a very frequent service.
Dinner at Grand Pacific.
Fran had duck consommé, Turkey Escallops, Raspberry cake
Derek had L’Escargots, Creole Snapper, Cheesecake
Saw part of second city act and juggling/balancing show. Sea conditions choppy.
Saturday 16th August
Arrived Livorno about 7.15. Noisy in cabin with bow thrusters running.
Breakfast at Cagney’s again.
Off ship about 8.30. Shuttle bus into town. €1 return each. Next to the bus stop was a tabac selling city bus tickets, so we went in and found he also sold train tickets and stamps for our postcards.
Return train and bus ticket €16 each to Florence.
Bus No 1 outside McDonalds to train station. Had a long time to wait for train to Florence, 1 per hour, but there was a train announced for Pisa due soon so we decided to go there first and “do” Florence later in the day.
Jumped on train after finding a ticket stamping machine that worked, and 15 min. later were in Pisa. Just as we stepped off the train, there was another announced for Florence, so we got on that and arrived in Florence at 30 minutes earlier than if we had waited in Livorno for the direct train.
On the concourse in Florence station was a tabac, so whilst I queued for bus tickets Fran chose postcards, handed them to me, so I bought bus tickets, postcards and stamps all together.
Just outside the station, to your left with your back to the trains, we found the stop for the No 13 bus. The bus in infrequent, about every 20 minutes, and we had to wait for about 15 minutes. The bus was fairly empty and we got seats. It was an interesting route around the town avoiding tourist areas. Eventually, after passing some very expensive villas we reached the Piazza Michelangelo.
This is the spot where the famous views are found. It didn’t disappoint. As well as spectacular views there were plenty of drink stalls, tourist tat stalls, and pavement artists. We bought a nice panoramic view watercolour for €20 euros (and a carrier bag for €? Euros to carry it in.)
We walked downhill from the Piazza towards the Santa Croac church. In the square outside we stopped at a pavement café for lunch, Pizza & salad with a beer.
We paid to enter Santa Croac (€5 each) but were very disappointed. It is very bare, no pews, only a few chairs before the alter and mainly wall monuments to admire. Later we found the mark of where the flooding reached in 1966 and realised why there were no pews. The lower levels of the church had been destroyed.
After leaving the church we walked towards (the square with copy of David) but this was becoming a tourist trap with lots of leather shops and tour groups. We admired him and the other statues, and then walked through to the Doumo, Florence’s great cathedral. It is magnificent outside, pink, green and white marble. We didn’t go in having heard that it is also bare after the floods. Instead we visited the baptistery next door (€3) which has a fantastic mosaic dome inside and which was quiet and reflective after the crowds outside.
We decided that as we had enjoyed Florence we would go straight back to Livorno, leaving out the leaning tower in Pisa, which by this time would have turned into a 5 minutes photo shoot anyway.
We took the first train stopping at Pisa (LaSpezia destination train) but when we got to Pisa we couldn’t find any train on the list of departures for Livorno. Luckily we did find a platform sign indicating a Livorno train which we took and were shortly back in town. There was a No 1 bus waiting outside the station which took us back into the main square, where we found the shuttle bus back to the ship.
We were tired after our day, didn’t fancy eating in the main restaurants, so just had comfort food at the Blue Lagoon. Fran had Won Ton soup, Fish & chips and cheesecake. I had chicken wings, hot dog and gateaux. It hit the spot perfectly.
After dinner we saw a show “A night on enchantment”. Some modern dance and ballet, and songs from the tenor Lawrence Robinson.
And so to bed exhausted.
Sunday 17th August
The ship was due in Civitavecchia at 7.00 We wanted an early start so ordered room service breakfast for 6.30, which arrived on time. In fact the ship was early and was all tied up by 6.30. We watched other ships arrivals over breakfast. We were off the ship by 7.15, and caught the port supplied shuttle bus to the dock entrance. From there it about 10 minute walk to the station.
We had pre-booked tickets for the inter-city 7.52 service to Rome. This meant we avoided buying tickets in the station where there was a long queue. Luckily we had reserved seats as the train (Direction Naples) was very full with passengers leaving another ship in Civitavecchia that morning.
It was about 40 minutes to Roma Ostiense station where we bought a day ticket for the metro (€4). The time on the ticket was 08.41 – not bad going. The metro station
attached to Ostiense station is called Piramide. There were very few metro maps and which platform to take not clearly marked. We took the metro to Colosseo station and came out directly beside the Coliseum. Being a Sunday some roads in Rome are shut to traffic, and being early, so it was very quiet at the Coliseum, so we could sit on a wall and enjoy the view.
We then tried to walk through the forum, but the gate I had planned was an exit, so we walked around in stead. Near the entrance gate opposite Augustus’s forum there was a viewing area which afforded us a good view.
We then walked to the Trevi fountain passing the Victor Emmanuel monument. At the Trevi we bought a gelato Fran had vanilla & panacotta and I had panacotta and mocha, which was a wonderful contrast of sweet & bitter. We tried sitting on the steps of the fountain but were moved on as no eating is allowed, so we sat on a doorstep, ate out ice cream and enjoyed the wonderful view.
Next we walked to the Pantheon. A roman temple to the gods it was converted to Christianity in 609 ad . When we went in mass was taking place, and it seemed the congregation were the local parishioners. It felt that locals had been worshiping in this spot for 2000 years. What an atmosphere. Something very special.
We now walked to Piazza Barberini but were disappointed that the main fountain was surrounded with scaffolding.
We passed a woodcarving shop on the way and bought souvenirs.
We next walked over the Pont St Angelo and passed the Castle St Angelo to St Peter’s Square.
Walking Via Concilazone we reached St Peters Square. There was a very long queue for the security check before entering the Basilica, but it moved quickly. Because we were there in August the Pope wasn’t in residence but was at his summer palace. However his Sunday blessing was relayed to big television screens in St Peters Square by CCTV, so we received his blessing whilst in the queue.
After the security check we were checked for modest clothing, knees and shoulders covered.
Then there was a cloakroom where we could leave bags, and there were very clean toilets.
We walked around the Basilica, which was very impressive and also visited the Basilica museum which wasn’t. I think most of the good stuff is in the Vatican museum, which is closed on Sundays.
We both found walking around the Basilica to be very tiring, so by the time we left we were both exhausted.
We decided to head towards the metro and on the way found a street terrace restaurant where we both had an extremely good pasta lunch. Now it was time to head back so we decided to go to Roma Termini station as we then didn’t have to change metro lines. A much bigger station than Roma Ostiense, we found a supermarket where I got supplies to refill my run-runners.
We were booked on the 15.46 intercity express, and once again were glad to have reserved seats because the train was full.
We found our train easily enough but we worried for a few minutes on the way back as the train seemed to leave the city before reaching Roma Ostiense and we wondered if we were on the right train. We were thank goodness!!!!
We reached Civitavecchia about 16.35, walked to the shuttle bus and were back on board at 5pm, about 30 mins. before all-aboard time.
For dinner we went to the Grand Pacific restaurant where we shared a table with a couple from Australia and a couple from Guernsey which was very nice. We both had prawn cocktail and roast beef.
We finished dinner just in time for the late (9.30) show. A lot of the entertainers were changed over in Rome so we had a new group of singers as well as a live orchestra.
They had songs from Cabaret, Chicago etc. Rather American in style and a lot of the audience left during the show, but we thought they were very good.
Tired and exhausted we went to bed looking forward to 2 sea days to recover.
Monday 18 August
Awoke nice and late and off to Cagney’s for breakfast.
Ruth the conceriege was waiting as usual so we asked her to reserve Jasmine Garden restaurant for tonight and Teppanyaki for tomorrow.
A very quiet morning resting on our balcony. Very hot and sunny.
Fran washed out some clothed in the bathtub, but when she went to empty the tub the plug wouldn’t lift so we had to get maintenance to sort it out whilst we went to lunch.
A light lunch in the Garden Court, I found some sushi – very nice
On our return from lunch we found the bathtub fixed, but when I went to the loo, a light shade fell off and fell on the toilet, cracking the bowl.
I reported the problem to reception, but it got mixed up with the earlier bathtub problem, so there was much confusion, and we couldn’t use our toilet until after it was replaced whilst we were at dinner.
At 4 pm I went to look at the martini tasting, but all it seemed to be were people at the bar drinking, nothing organised, but I did find the end of a name that tune competition which was good.
We were invited to cocktails in the garden court with the senior officers from 7pm to 8pm. The courtyard was very impressive with private swimming pool and hot tub.
Afterwards we were offered a free specialty restaurant dinner as compensation for our troubles during the day. We have decided to go to Cagney’s on Friday night.
Dinner was in the Jasmine Garden Chinese restaurant. Very nice but there was an issue with the service and we ended up receiving a complimentary bottle of wine.
Fran had spare ribs, prawn salad and sweet & sour pork. I had won ton crab, prawn salad and scallops. We both ended up with triple crème brulee.
After dinner there was nice piano music in bar city for a while, and so to bed.
Tuesday 19th August
Woke to a foggy morning, and cooler than yesterday. We are heading back towards the Atlantic ocean.
Breakfast at Cagney’s again.
Another quiet day at sea, reading and relaxing.
I got an update of our on board account from reception. We are in the black, just, so I added $400 cash to last us till the end of our cruise.
For lunch we ate in the garden café, I found some sushi (and a hot dog).
I played the slots for a while, and lost $2 but earned my first point towards a discount on my on board account. You need 25 points to get anything off so I don’t think I will make that.
For dinner we had a reservation at the Teppanyaki for the 5.30 sitting. 2 for one offer. Otherwise $25 per person.
It was just as good as I have enjoyed in Japan, and Fran also enjoyed it.
Afterwards we went to the David Mc Lean show. He is a singer like Neil Diamond, but not very good.
Saw some of the second city troupe in the stardust lounge, but we can only take so much of their type of humour.
Wednesday 20th August. Lisbon
It was a rough night and we didn’t sleep too well. We arrived in Lisbon about 7am, but we didn’t rush. We had breakfast at Cagney’s and then went ashore.
Our berth was just opposite the Apolonia station, so we bought day tickets for the metro, bus and tram. €4.20 each.
The machine in the station didn’t give change and rejected any excess. i.e. I owed 40 cents and the machine rejected 50 cent coins. You must have exact change, or plastic.
We took the tram to Praco de Comercio, went to the tourist office and got a map.
We then walked up the main shopping street, Buskers and souvenir stalls, but amazingly no McDonalds and few of the usual chains – great.
We looked at a few shops, and stopped at a café for coffee and a loo break. Then back to Rue de Conceicao where the main cross town trams pass. We took the first one travelling west and went up to the Bairro Alto area. It was very hilly and the old wooden tram was similar to San Francisco trams. We eventually came to a church and a park, so we decided to get off. The church was Basilica Da Estrela, a parish church which was white outside, but decorated inside with wonderful red, green and white marble. After sitting for a while we looked round and found a side chapel, which contained the most wonderful crib scene we have ever seen. It cost €1 to have the lights turned on for a few minutes. Absolutely wonderful.
We then sat in the park for a while admiring the amaryllis flowers growing outside. We then got a return tram and took it to its terminus.
By the terminus we found a shop selling ceramic tiles, so we bought souvenirs.!!!!
We walked back towards the city and found the tram heading towards the castle of St George. This took us most of the way up the hill. We got off at a viewing point with fantastic views over the river. Walked upwards towards the castle, stopping for drinks and custard tarts. We didn’t go into the castle. Instead we started walking downhill, buying more souvenirs on the way. We passed the remains of a roman amphitheatre. Then we got a tram back to the centre of the town.
As we had a little time left we decided to look at modern Lisbon, so we took the metro to a large department store, El Corte Ingles. We had a drink in the café, looked out of the windows on one of the upper floors and bought some things in the supermarket. Then the metro back to the ship and back on board.
There was a performance of Portuguese dancers and musicians before we sailed, which rounded off our day in Lisbon nicely.
We dined in Papa’s. Fran had bean & ham soup followed by Osso Bucco. I had calamari’s followed by a very good steak. Both had Panacotta to finish.
At 9.30 there was the crew show in the stardust theatre. About 4 singing performers followed by a sketch called “Fountains” which was very good.
Thursday 21st August
We docked in Vigo about 8am. We had tickets reserved on the 10.40 train to Santiago de Compestelo. There was a shuttle bus into town which was quite a way from where the ship was docked. We hoped to try and get the 9.40 train instead but we had to wait a short while for the bus to depart, and then it was a long ride in a taxi (€5) to the station, so we missed the earlier train. In the station we found today’s Daily Telegraph, so we bought a coffee and read the paper – very relaxing.
The train took 1’20” to S De C, so we arrived just after 12. It was a lovely journey up through the mountains.
We got a taxi from the station to the cathedral (€6)
S de C was packed with tour groups, and it wasn’t very nice. The Cathedral was closed until 1pm as a mass was being held, so we walked around the four squares which surround the cathedral, which were full of buskers and souvenir stalls.
When we eventually got in to the cathedral it was through a small door with backpackers leaving at the same time. The inside by the doors was filled with scaffolding which added to the congestion.
You could climb above the altar but the queue was very long. There was little queue to descend under the altar to the tomb of St James, so we went there.
Inside the Cathedral was the most irreverent church I have ever been in, with people talking at full voice, and tour guides talking loudly to groups of 30 or more.
We had booked a train back for 3.30 but decided that as the last shuttle bus was due to depart at 5 pm time was a bit tight, so we took the 2.40 train back instead. At the station we met a nice Australian couple whom we had met at dinner during the week, so we had a nice chat with them over coffee in the station, and when we got back to Vigo we shared a taxi to the shuttle bus.
There was some Galician dancing and bagpipe music on the quayside as we departed.
Dinner was once again in the Grand Pacific.
We both had asparagus soup followed by roast duck. Fran had fruit compote and ice-cream, whilst I had apple strudel.
The show was called “Smokey Joe’s Café” Very good singing in blues/rock & roll.
Followed by a farewell song from the crew.
At 11pm there was a chocolate buffet. Some of the chocolate decorations and ice sculptures were fantastic. To eat there was a lot of cake, and 2 chocolate fountains coating kebabs of fruit.
Friday 22nd August
Our last full day – At sea.
Breakfast at Cagney’s. We had a quiet day. Reading our books. I donated another $20 to the slots in the casino.
We had a snack lunch in the garden city.
There was a family trivia quiz in bar city in the afternoon. We had a go and amazingly we won first prize. We chose a beach ball and a carrier bag as our prizes.
We had been given a complimentary dinner at a speciality restaurant as compensation for our bathroom problem earlier in the week. We chose a last night dinner at Cagney’s.
It was a fantastic meal. Fran started with stuffed mushrooms and I had tuna. Then we both had lobster bisque followed by a rib-eye steak. Along with a bottle of sparkling wine and finished with a crème brulee (I had 2) it was the best meal of our cruise.
Sadly after this it was time to pack. Cases which we were not carrying ashore had to be put outside our cabins by midnight.
Then time for a last look around, and a cup of cappuccino. Then it was bed-time.
Saturday 23rd August
The ship arrived at Southampton about 5am and we didn’t have a good nights sleep with the noise of the winches and the bowthruster.
As suite guests we could have a priority disembarkation with the conceriege at 7,8 or 9am. As we didn’t have far to drive we chose 9am.
We had a last breakfast at Cagney’s and then met up with the conceriege to be escorted off. We had to swipe our key cards going off and mine was rejected because my on board account was still open.
When we joined I gave a credit card to be used settling our account, and then during the voyage paid some cash into our account. I had assumed that if we ended up in credit the balance would be paid into my credit card account, but this was not to be and I had to be refunded in cash.
So instead of getting VIP escort off the ship, I had to join the back of the queue at reception. It took ½ an hour to get sorted out.
The supposed valet parking didn’t run to getting your car returned. Coming off the ship we handed in our receipt and were giver our key back and told where our cars were. There were plenty of luggage trolleys available but it was about a 200m walk to the car park. Thank goodness it wasn’t raining.
