Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Barcelona, Spain
April 22, 2016 to May 7, 2016
We had a mini-suite on the 16th floor and were welcomed with a glass of complimentary champagne. Also, Rick had pre-ordered roses for me which were waiting in the room when we checked in.
We shared a table with Joe and Casey McClash, our vacation mates, in the smaller Allegra dining room.
On the first night and most of the other nights, we enjoyed the show in the theater after dinner and finished most evenings/early mornings at the Crooner’s piano lounge.
On our days at sea, we usually attended a port talk after finishing breakfast in the dining room. And, all four of us enjoyed watching first-run movies on the big screen over the pool; in the theater; and in our rooms.
We enjoyed three formal nights (Sunday, Thursday, and Sunday) and took advantage of special eating opportunities at the Crown Steak House, the Crab Shack, and the Chef’s Table.
On Saturday, April 24, the Captain announced that we were changing course because a passenger was sick and needed to be taken off the ship. On the following day, we made a brief stop off the coast of Bermuda while they transferred the passenger to a pilot boat to eventually be flown back to the State’s.
On Monday, April 26, Rick got his pony tail cut off!
On Tuesday, the Captain announced that we had run into a depression making it “rolly poly”. We could expect waves as much as 5 meters high and gusts of 40 m.p.h. Also on Tuesday, I sang with a choral group of passengers a selection of songs from the Sound of Music.
Saturday, April 30, found us docked at Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. Before leaving the ship, the Captain announced that there was some very bad weather expected at our next port, so we were being redirected to Lisbon, Portugal on Monday.
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Our taxi driver, Carlos, picked us up and took us to a fishing village named for the sea lions that used to live here.
We were invited into a restaurant to try some of the local drink called Poncho. It is made from Madeira wine and orange juice. Then we went to an aerial tram that runs from the highest sea cliff in Europe to the beach. After coming back up, he took us up a mountain and showed us a plant called Madeira ‘s Pride. It has lavender flowers and only grows on this island.
We went to a restaurant across the street from the beach where we had a seafood feast. Then we headed up to Monte where we took the famous toboggan ride.
We spent Monday, May 2, in Lisbon. Rick and I took a Hop On Hop Off sightseeing bus around the town while Joe and Casey explored on their own. We met for a late lunch, then Rick and I returned to the ship leaving them to continue checking out a few more things.
At 8 a.m. on Tuesday, the Captain asked everyone to stay inside. Winds were steady at 45 knots, gusting to 60. He said, with cross winds, it is blowing 70 knots on the top deck. We should get into Gibraltar around 1 p.m. this afternoon.
In Gibraltar, we took a bus tour seeing Europa Point, with its big gun and striped light house;
then we visited St. Michael’s Cave. This cavern was set up to be used as a hospital during the war, but was never needed for that purpose. Today, they have lit up all the stalagmites and stalactites with brilliant colors.
We saw the Barbary apes outside of the caverns as well as at the Ape’s Den in the nature preserve. They are called apes, but are more the size of monkeys. We also drove by tunnels used in WWII; and the remains of a Moorish castle.
In Malaga, Spain, Joe had arranged for us to take a tapas tour with We Love Malaga Tours. We met our tour guide, Damien, at noon and spent the next 3 hours visiting the market and eating at 3 different restaurants. Check them out at http://www.welovemalaga.com/ . We would definitely recommend them. It is a family business. While he was leading our tour, his father was leading another one. The picture below was taken in the second tapas bar we enjoyed.
In Cartagena, Spain, we visited the naval museum and the Roman Theater. Lastly, we visited the grounds of a castle high on the hill overlooking the port.
On Friday, May 6, we were in Palma, Majorca, a Spanish island. We saw a couple of cathedrals, went to the Majorcan Pearl factory outlet store, and to the market. After returning to the ship, we packed our suitcases for early debarkation in Barcelona tomorrow.
