| Flag: | Date: | Port: | Comment: |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
31st March 2024 |
Miami Florida USA |
Hop-on Hop-off bus tour |
 |
1st April 2024 |
Nassau New Providence Bahamas |
Blue Lagoon Getaway tour |
 |
9th April 2024 |
Funchal Madeira Portugal |
Hop-on Hop-off & wine tour |
 |
11th April 2024 |
Cadiz Andalusia Spain |
Forest Cycling Adventure |
|
12th April 2024 |
Motril Andalusia Spain |
Nazari Gardens & Winery |
|
13th April 2024 |
Alicante Costa Blanca Spain |
Amazing Guadalest tour |
|
14th April 2024 |
Barcelona Catalonia Spain |
Home by 10:45 |
Flag: | Date: | Port: | Comment: |
I awoke at 6:20 to find we had already berthed in Miami, but it was still dark. The daily programme "Passages" had the next itinerary showing that we were going back to Nassau, not Bermuda and to Funchal, not Horta in the Atlantic. Thankfully the four Spanish ports remained the same.
At seven o'clock I had the special breakfast of two eggs Benedict to eat. I had one glass of sparkling water, one of tomato juice and one cup of decaff cappuccino to drink as usual. Back in my suite, it had already been serviced.
At 8:45 I disembarked from the ship to go through US immigration. My passport wasn't scanned, so I was through in minutes. At 9:15 we got given our hop-on hop-off bus tour wrist bands. Unfortunately we didn't depart until 9:50 as the British couple sat on the top deck of the bus were hauled back to have their photographs taken.
Our first stop was at Miami South Beach, but I stayed on for the entire two hour circuit to the Bayside Marketplace. Here I used the loos and then did the twenty minute walk back to the ship. On the way I chatted to Dr Sean from Somerset West near Cape Town, who was a GP on one of the Carnival ships in port.
Back at the ship I had tomato soup and roast lamb al fresco for lunch, before heading back out again. I did the twenty minute walk back to the Bayside Marketplace to rejoin one of the BigBusCo's open top double deckers built by Alexander Dennis in Scotland. Again I did the circuit of Miami Beach, the Design district and the Wynwood street art area, but got off before Little Havana to cross the street to the starting point.
I walked through the crowded shopping mall to catch the free shuttle bus back to the ship. Here I slept for an hour and a half.
At 6:15 I bagged our spot in the Observation Lounge ready to greet the new solo travellers at 6:45. I met Anne from Pennsylvania, Scottish John from Melbourne, Gill from Cornwall, Carole and her daughter Chris from Las Vegas, Carole, Karen and archaeologist Al from Harvard. Anne was jet lagged and so had room service, but the other seven joined Clair and me at the huge Captain's table in the centre of the Compass Rose MDR. I was sat between Cornish Gill and mother Carole. I had the cauliflower soup, the Boston lettuce salad, the veal picatta and caramelised banana dessert to eat. I had two glasses of the Californian Merlot red wine to drink.
We finally finished at 9:25 ready to go to the introductory showtime in the Constellation theatre. This was a series of performances by the musicians on board, including the seven piece orchestra, the duo and the cocktail pianist plus a few singers, including Megan and CD Amelia. One dance couple did a thrilling Argentine tango routine. The half hour long show finished with a few numbers by the twelve strong production company from their Queen tribute show. I went to sleep at 10:45 having done nearly thirteen thousand steps equal to over five miles of walking during the day.
I awoke early ready for the full English breakfast out on the Veranda. At 8:30 I had to report to reception for a safety briefing, but the Safety Officer didn't turn up.
At 8:45 I went to the Constellation theatre to collect my Blue Lagoon Getaway boat ticket. We had to walk along the pier to reach our speedboat, with two enormous outboard engines which whisked just us to the beautiful Blue Lagoon in just twenty minutes. It was cloudy to begin, so I walked around taking some photographs. I didn't approve of the captive dolphins and sea lions, but they were in open sea water and seemed to be happy. Some of the dolphins were in rather small enclosures.
When the sun came out, I found a lounger to lie on. I went into the beautifully clear water, but it was rather cold. I dried off on the lounger under the umbrella.
At noon I went to the outdoor restaurant for the included lunch and drink. I had a chicken burger, a separate piece of BBQ chicken, rice & peas, chips, but not the macaroni cheese to eat. I had the lovely fruit punch to drink. I did some more photography in the hot sunshine, until we departed at 1:20. The return trip was on a larger, slower ferry which took forty five minutes to go to the new west marina berth of the new cruise terminal complex.
Back at the ship, I slept for over an hour, before getting ready for my first enrichment lecture on the Story of the North Atlantic. This lasted exactly forty five minutes and produced a few questions afterwards. At 6:15 I got set up in the Observation lounge for the solo travellers meet-up. First to arrive was Ronnie who was on her very first single cruise.
Later Al, John, Mary, Gill, Eva, Bernadette and Clair arrived. Karen said a quick hello, then left for her dinner reservation. I hosted Gill, Ronnie and John at a table for four in the MDR, whilst Clair hosted a table for five including speaker Wes, Al, Mary and Anne. I had the spicy corn soup to begin followed by the filet mignon. When the latter arrived I suddenly felt ill and had to give my apologies for departing.
Back in my suite, I had a night of an upset stomach caused I think by the Blue Lagoon luncheon. Probably salmonella or campylobacter food poisoning, but not norovirus, so I missed the new singer's first showtime. During the day I had done over twelve thousand steps equal to nearly five miles of walking.
I awoke to my alarm at six o'clock, but it was now seven o'clock, as we sailed east across the Atlantic. I forewent breakfast and worked on my Cadiz presentation. At 9:30 Napoleon set me up ready to give my forty minute port talk on Cadiz. CD Amelia introduced me as she had missed my first lecture the day before. I pointed out to her that ACD Brody had missed out my lecture on Motril & Granada, but had included FOUR of my enrichment lectures! There were only a couple of comments to field at the end of the port talk.
Back in my suite, I updated this blog, before sleeping for an hour and three quarters, interrupted by the Captain's noon annoucement. I skipped lunch and spent most of the afternoon relaxing on my balcony. At three o'clock I went to Wes Malkin's interesting forty minute talk on photography. He will be doing one other lecture in the Constellation theatre and a couple of hands-on iPhone sessions in one of the smaller lounges.
At 4:45 I did six lengths of the small infinity pool at the back of the ship for the first time. I then went up to the main pool on deck 11 to spend just five minutes in one of the large jacuzzis there. At 6:15 I went to the solo travellers meet up with Ronnie, Gill, Mary, Karen, Anne, Al, Wes, John, Bernadette & Connie. The latter pair had a reservation elsewhere, but the rest went down to the MDR with Clair, whilst I retreated to my suite with my upset stomach.
At 7:30 I ordered the asparagus soup with a roll and butter from room service, which arrived within five minutes. At nine o'clock I went to hear the Divos & Divas production show for a second time. I enjoyed hearing the songs of Frank, Rod, Freddie, Madonna, Diana, Dolly, Celine, Barry (Manilow not White), Gloria (Estefan not Gaynor) and Bruno Mars. I went to sleep at 10:40.
I awoke at 7:40 having slept for nine hours. I had the full English breakfast, but I still wasn't 100% fit again. At ten o'clock I went to Dr Bob Donaldson's interesting lecture on geopolitics. He is professor emeritus of Tulsa University in Oklahoma.
During the morning I had to work on one FOCL Norwegian bid and two Oceania bids. At noon I had just a bowl of egg drop soup, before sleeping for three quarters of an hour. At 2:30 the boys set me up in the Constellation theatre to give my Freddie Mercury lecture. At three o'clock my talk lasted for forty minutes to an appreciative audience.
During the afternoon I had to convert my Funchal presentation into the Regent format ready for the next day. Clair phoned to firm up our dining options for the evening, I opted for Chartreuse, the French speciality restaurant at eight o'clock. At 5:30 I did six lengths of the main pool and spent just five minutes in one of the large jacuzzis. The sun was still strong, so I didn't linger on the lounger.
At 6:15 I adjourned to the Observation lounge where I was joined by Ronnie, Karen, Mary, Al, John, Wes, Clair and newcomer Vivienne. At 6:45 Ronnie and Karen left for the Pacific Rim speciality restaurant At 7:45 we were joined by the Dutch gay guy Jurgen, when we left for the Chartreuse French speciality restaurant, where we had the large round Captain's table for seven in the centre of the room. Here I had the thick mushroom soup and the Tornedos Rossini with extra asparagus to eat. I had two glasses of claret to drink.
At 9:25, Clair didn't need to do door duty, so I was able to slip away to watch the show. This was the excellent Swing, Soul & Rock n Roll singer Shane Hampshier (sic) from Sarf Lundun. I went to sleep at 10:30 having done less than three thousand steps during the day. I had another troublesome night with my bowels!
I awoke at six o'clock, but it was now seven on the ship's time. I was still not well so I forewent breakfast. At 8:20, whilst the suite was being serviced, I did five laps, equal to one mile of the top deck jogging track, exceeding my total for the whole of the previous day.
At 9:30 Cristian set me up in the Constellation theatre, ready to give my forty five minute talk on Funchal at ten o'clock to another appreciative audience. One guest said that one of Churchill's jokes was originally by W C Fields. Back in my suite, I was able to watch my talk on the TV, almost immediately.
At noon I had a bowl of potato soup for lunch. I then slept for an hour and three quarters, making up for my disturbed night. At three o'clock I went to Wes's fascinating fifty two minute talk on Artificial Intelligence for Photographers. At the end he bravely did a live demo with audience prompts to create some unique images.
Back in my suite, I had received another Oceania contract which I had to process. At 6:15 I hosted the solo travellers: Mary, Gill, John, Al and newcomer Marjie. Clair took Gill, John and Al down to the Prime 7 steak restaurant, whilst Mary and I opted for room service and Marjie was escorted off by her tall butler!
Back in my suite I watched my port talk for a second time on the TV, but didn't have anything to eat. At 9:30 I listened to Paul Adams's amusing stand-up comedy, whose jokes I hadn't heard before. He was the second guest entertainer from Sarf Lundun! I went to sleep at 10:30, having done less than four thousand steps during the day.
I awoke to the dawn at 7:10 having had a good night. At 7:40 I had a cup of decaff cappuccino coffee and glasses of tomato juice and sparkling water to drink, but nothing to eat for breakfast. I then did seven and a half laps of the top deck jogging track, equal to one mile of walking in the warm sunshine. When I got back to the suite at 8:45, it had already been serviced. I spent the morning working on my laptop.
At ten o'clock I went to Jacques's future voyages presentation, where I had one Danish pastry to eat with my can of soda water to drink. I spent half an hour relaxing on my balcony in the warm sunshine. I then resumed work on my laptop.
At noon I had a bowl of soup and one scoop of sugar free ice cream for lunch, before sleeping for an hour and a quarter. At 2:30 I joined a dozen ladies at Khan's tap class, which had been advertised as a soft shoe shuffle workshop. He offered lots of individual help to the guests to learn a tricky routine. I had to slip out at 2:55 to go to Dr Bob's interesting second talk on Climate Change, where I had my first soft cookie of the cruise. I then worked on my Mediterranean presentations for my next TWO Regent and TWO Oceania cruises.
At 5:15 I did six lengths of the warm, salt water swimming pool, but it was hard work as it was very frisky. I then spent five minutes in one of the large hot tubs chatting to a Canadian couple who had homes on both Lake Superior and Lake Huron! At 5:45 I went to the Observation lounge an hour earlier than usual, as it was hosting an American party at six o'clock and I wanted to bag our meeting place. Quite soon Ronnie arrived to chat with me and then Marjie appeared. She introduced us to her live-in housekeeper and husband who were staying with her in their two bedroom, two bathroom penthouse suite, which was costing her $52,000 for the cruise! Later Mary, Karen, Al, John, Wes and Clair arrived as Ronnie wandered off to circulate around the room.
At 7:30 we descended to a seven seat round table in the Compass Rose MDR. I had the pumpkin soup, which was again suspiciously like the lobster bisque, followed by the Burgundy beef with green asparagus. I finished with the chocolate rocky road ice cream. I had two glasses of La Mancha red wine to drink.
At 9:20 I escorted Karen to the excellent Diamond Run spy thriller production show, which I saw for the second time. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock having done only five thousand steps, equal to two miles of walking during the day.
I awoke at 6:35, but it was now 7:35. At eight o'clock I had just one cup of decaff cappuccino, one glass of tomato juice and one glass of sparkling water to drink, with nothing to eat. At 8:55 Emir arrived to service the suite, so I did five circuits of the top deck jogging track, equal to one kilometre of walking. I then touched base with Florin at the Destination Services desk.
At 9:30 Cristian set me up and at ten o'clock I gave my thirty minute port talk on Alicante. I rushed through it as Wes was speaking on iPhone photography elsewhere at 10:30 and many people wanted to hear both sessions. When I had finished I slipped into his fifty minute presentation in the small, but packed Splendor lounge. Afterwards he had to spend time air-dropping his handout to guests.
At noon I had just one bowl of bean soup to eat and a glass of sparkling water to drink for lunch. At 12:30 I picked up a Panama hat from Brody & Clair, ready to decorate it for the ship's competition, before sleeping for an hour and a half, awoken by my alarm.
At 2:30 Remcie set me up ready to give my forty minute lecture on Plate Tectonics. I had quite a few questions and comments at the end. At five o'clock I did six lengths of the cool pool, but the jacuzzis were roped off.
At 6:15 I adjourned to the Observation lounge where I hosted Anne, Karen, Ronnie, Gill, Al, newcomer Annette with singer Jonah and his wife Maddie (Madeleine), Wes & Clair. At 7:30 we had a table for six with just two guests, Gill to my left and Ronnie to my right. Opposite me sat Jonah, Maddie and Wes. I had the cream of sweet potato soup and the veal, which wasn't the advertised rack on the bone.
At 9:20 I slipped away before desserts were ordered to get to the showtime. This was the Celine Dion tribute artist Crystal Cimaglia. This was excellent and I knew over half the songs. I particularly appreciated "I'm Alive" (line dance: "We're Alive"). However we didn't get "I drove all night", but we had had that in one of the production shows earlier in the cruise. I regretted having missed her first show. I went to sleep just after eleven o'clock, having done less than five thousand steps during the day.
I awoke to the dawn at seven o'clock, but it was now eight on the ship's time. I had one cup of decaff cappuccino coffee and one glass each of tomato juice, Buck's Fizz (which thay called Mimosa) and sparkling water to drink. I gave the caviar a miss and had nothing to eat as I was feeling bloated. I then did seven and a half circuits of the top deck jogging track in the warm sunshine, doing two and a half thousand steps, equal to one mile of walking.
At ten o'clock I went to Dr Bob's worrying forty five talk on Cyberspace. When that ended I slipped in to the end of Wes's fifty five minute long second iPhone workshop. At 11:30 I joined Clair at the entrance to the Compass Rose MDR to greet the solo travellers coming to the Brunch Buffet. Clair and I sat at a large round table with Karen, John, Al and newcomers Ruth and Cathy & Mary from Rochester, New York State. I had the clam chowder soup to eat, but it was heavy with horseradish which I don't particularly like. I had just one glass of the Mimosa (aka Buck's Fizz) to drink.
At 12:30 I adjourned to my suite and slept for an hour and a half. At 2:30 Cristian set me up, but my laptop had to be rebooted which took a time. I then gave my forty minute enrichment talk on Elton John.
Back in my suite, I sat out on my balcony in the bright sunshine. At six o'clock I went to the comedian's second show, which was a little more aggressive towards the audience. At 6:30 I slipped out to host the singles meet up.
At 7:15 Shari (pronouced Sheri) and I led Ronnie, Karen and Al to a table for five in the MDR, whilst another dancer and Wes led John, Gill and Anne to another table. I had the lobster bisque, the roast beef, the chocolate Napoleon cake AND a creme brulee to eat, so my stomach must have recovered from earlier on in the day. I had two glasses of the South African pinotage red wine to drink.
At 9:30 we went to the Beatles session in the atrium. Here I jived with CD Amelia and SH Clair, did a rumba with Shari and smooched with Megan, Ronnie, Karen and Gill. At the end, the latter had a funny turn and I had to call the nurse with a wheelchair in case she was having a stroke, having had a TIA previously. I went to sleep at 11:10 having done nearly seven thousand steps, equal to nearly three miles of walking during the day.
I awoke at 7:30, but it was now 8:30 back on British Summer Time (BST) ready for Funchal, Madeira the day after. At nine o'clock I had the full English breakfast to eat al fresco on the veranda. I had one cup of decaff cappucino and one glass each of tomato juice and sparkling water to drink. I checked in to Florin to get my Hop on Hop off with Wine Tasting tour ticket ready for the next day. I then did seven circuits, equal to one mile, of the top deck in the warm sunshine.
Back in my suite, I worked on my laptop. At 10:30 I attended the Country Fair around the pool. There were a lot of noisy stalls run by the various departments of the ship. Four of the dancers were synchronised swimming flamingoes catching hula hoops thrown by the guests! I spoke to SH Clair, who said she had been with Gill in the Medical Centre at 2 a.m. in the morning, but she was now sleeping peacefully. Clair asked me to host the solo travellers on my own that evening in the Chartreuse French restaurant, which was fine by me.
Back in my suite at 11:30, I continued working. At noon I had the spicy squash soup and the sugar free strawberry ice cream to eat. I then dozed for a short while.
At 2:30 I went to Barny's cha cha class. We danced the basic, New Yorks and spot turns on beat one throughout. I was partnered with Barbara from Charlotte, North Carolina.
At 4:30 I went to the pool deck, but it was closed off, so I walked to the small infinity pool at the back, but that was empty. Then the Captain came on to the PA to explain that we were awaiting a Canary Island helicopter medical evacuation! I hoped it wasn't Gill who I had referred to the Medical Centre last night. Instead of swimming I adjourned to the Observation lounge where I was joined by Mary, Ronnie, Anne, John and Wes.
At 7:50 we moved down to a table for six in the Chartreuse French restaurant. I had the thick mushroom soup, the Tornedos Rossini and the apple tart to eat. I had two glasses of the Bordeaux red wine to drink. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock having done less then seven thousand steps, equal to less than three miles of walking during the day.
I awoke at 8:15, late because I had both sets of curtains closed due to the noise of the wind on the balcony outside. At nine o'clock I had the full English breakfast to eat sat with archaeologist Al(bert) Leonard from Boston. Back in my suite, it had already been serviced, and I was able to update this blog. I got off the ship at eleven o'clock, but the Hop on hop off bus didn't depart until 11:30. I stayed on for the complete one and a half hour circuit, sat on the open top at the very back. I didn't get off back at the ship, foregoing lunch, but carried on back into the city centre.
Here I walked to Blandy's wine lodge to get my free wine tasting. I had just one glass of the sweet Madeiran wine, before photographing the usual downtown sights. I paid just €1.50 to go into Vicente's excellent photography museum. I have been telling people about it for years and finally got to see inside myself.
I was stood at the wrong bus stop by the statue of Henry the Navigator, so had to wait half an hour for the next service. I took this as far as stop number 19, where I walked along the relatively new Lido Promenade. This was an excellent paved walkway along the cliff tops for about one mile. At the other end the yellow bus attendant said that I would have to wait twenty minutes for the next bus, so I continued walking. I photographed the outside of Reid's hotel, before returning to the ship at six o'clock.
Here I did just six lengths of the sea water pool, before dressing for dinner. Anne was already installed in the Observatory lounge. Singer Megan and dancer Bryna (pronounced Brena) then arrived. Clair whispered that the medevac had indeed been Gill, so it looks like she had had a stroke the previous night. Clair whisked Anne off to an early dinner as John arrived and then Jurgen.
At eight o'clock I hosted Megan, Bryna, John and Jurgen in the Prime 7 steak restauarnt. I had the clam chowder, the surf n turf (lobster and filet mignon) and most of Megan's popcorn sundae when she had to leave for door duty. Clair had hosted Al, Wes, Karen and Anne at the far end of the restaurant. I went to sleep just after eleven o'clock, having done nearly fifteen thousand steps, equal to six miles of walking during the day.
I awoke to the dawn at seven o'clock, but it was now eight o'clock on Central European Time (CET). When Sachin and Emir arrived at 8:45, I went for the full English breakfast with tomato juice and decaff cappuccino. At 9:30 I touched base with Florin to get my tour tickets for the next three ports (Cadiz, Motril & Alicante). However I had received a phone call the previous day to say that I couldn't do the Barcelona tour en route to the airport, as I had a private transfer instead. (In the event it was just an ordinary coach ride.)
At ten o'clock I went to Dr Bob's worrying lecture on EU migrants. At 11:30 he hosted his Q&A session in the Splendor lounge, at the end of which I asked him to look at my Hitler & Putin slides. Afterwards I lunched on the potato soup, the apple mousse AND a caramel tart, but no main course. I then slept for three quarters of an hour.
At 2:30 I went to Shari's twenty minute stretch class in the Meridian lounge, as a gemstone seminar was taking place in the usual Splendor lounge. At four o'clock Dr Bob spent forty minutes going through my Hitler & Putin slides with me. Later I went up to the pool deck, but it was empty and roped off, so I just had five minutes in one of the large, square hot tubs instead.
Back in my suite, I worked on my laptop and updated this blog. At 6:15 I moved up to the Observation lounge where I was joined by the regulars plus Annette and Jurgen. At 7:15 we had two tables in the Compass Rose MDR: Wes, Dan & Shari hosting one for six and me hosting one for four. They had guests Ronnie, Al and Annette, whilst I had Mary, John and Jurgen to look after. I had the parsnip soup, the rack of lamb and the passion fruit delice with mango ice cream. Mary gave me permission to gnaw my lamb bones!
At 9:30 I went to the excellent Broadway show tunes concert by the seven musicians and the six singers including Megan and Bryna. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock, having done only thirty three hundred steps, equal to just a mile and a half of walking, during the day.
I awoke at 7:40 and had to rush to get to breakfast by eight o'clock. Here I had the special breakfast of two eggs Provencal to eat. At nine o'clock I got my bus ticket in the Constellation lounge and five minutes later we were called forward. We had a minibus for just ten guests on the cycling trip. There was a one hour run out along the motorway to Vejer de la Frontera. Here we got given out helmets and bikes and met our leader Micah from Hamburg.
We had a scenic two hour ride, mainly down hill, through the beautiful pine forests to the coast. We had some free time at the Cape Trafalgar lighthouse, which I have never visited before. We then got driven back to the port.
Back on the ship, I had anchovy salad with sweet potato fries as a late lunch, before venturing out again. I did the complete bastions circuit which is one of my all time favourite walks. I used the loo in the Atlantico Parador hotel. St Catherine's castle still had free admission, so I wandered around taking pictures as usual. In the main square, I used the wi-fi outside McDonalds, as one does.
Back at the new cruise terminal, I had to wait ten minutes for the port shuttle bus. Back at the ship, I did six lengths of the warm pool in the hot sunshine (80 degrees F) and spent five minutes in one of the square jacuzzis. Whilst I was updating this blog, Amelia rang to offer me a place on tomorrow afternoon's cooking class! At 6:30 I went up to the Observation lounge to host the solo travellers get together.
At 7:30 I dined with Al, John, Jurgen and Clair in the Pacific Rim Asian restaurant. Wes hosted Karen, Anne & Mary on his table. I had the soft shelled tempura crab, the thin miso soup, the barbeque pork ribs and the mochi ice creams to eat. I had TWO bottles of Japanese Sapphoro beer to drink.
At 9:30 I moved down to the atrium where I danced with CD Amelia, SH Clair, dancer Shari and guests Maureen and Daisy. Back in my cabin, I updated this blog. I went to bed at eleven o'clock having done twenty thousand steps, equal to eight miles of walking, during the day.
My alarm woke me at seven o'clock, ready for the full English breakfast, for the first time this cruise inside rather than al fresco. There was snow on the Sierra Nevada! Just after eight Sachin arrived to service the cabin, so I did just one loop of the prom on deck five, and one of the jogging track on deck twelve.
At 8:45 I got my bus ticket in the Constellation theatre. Our guide was Nina the Serbo-croat and the driver was Antonio. Our first stop was at the beautiful Navari Moorish garden in Velez de Benaudalla.
Our next stop was at the Hacienda Senorio de Nevada in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains (Sierra Nevada). We were shown a vineyard and several cellars, before having a wine tasting. We sampled one white and two red wines, followed by a selection of tapas. I pigged out on the white cheese, the ham and the salami.
Back at the ship, I jumped on the port shuttle bus, but it didn't leave for twenty minutes. I whizzed around downtown Motril photographing the main sights. Back at the bus stop I just missed the 2:30 bus and had to wait forty minutes for the next.
Back in my suite, I had a can of coke and got ready for my very first cooking class. At four o'clock, I was given a workstation next to ACD Brody, who had recommended to CD Amelia that I be given the spare ticket that afternoon. We made scones, a banana oatmeal pudding and egg tagine from scratch. We began with a conplimentary lemoncello cocktail and finished with a glass of rose wine.
When it finished just after six o'clock, I had to rush to get to the queue outside the Sette Mari Italian restaurant before the solo travellers started arriving. I was sat with Anne, Mary, Ronnie and John, whilst Carole, Annette, Al were sat with Clair & Wes. At the start of the meal, Al slipped me a complimentary copy of his interesting wine book. We began with a glass of Prosecco and then I had just one glass of Chianti red wine. I had the Minestrone soup, the surf n turf and the tiramisu dessert.
At 9:30 I went to the excellent Crossroads production show, which was a contest between rock 'n' rollers and country music lovers. I went to sleep at 10:30, having done fourteen thousand steps, equal to nearly six miles of walking, during the day.
My alarm woke me at 6:30 ready for the special breakfast of scrambled egg with smoked salmon and cream cheese on half a bagel. As usual I had one cup of decaff cappuccino, one glass of sparkling water and one glass of tomato juice, but I gave the bloody Mary a miss. At 8:15 I got my bus ticket and very quickly we were called to disembark. Our full size coach had only ten guests under the American guide Emilio and Spanish driver Jesus, pronounced Hey-use. We drove out along the coastal motorway to the skyscrapers of Benidorm, where we turned inland.
On arrival in the newer part of the village, I bought Jurgen an expresso coffee as I had a cafe con leche. We walked up to the top of the hilltop village of Guadalest, which means East River. I had last been here in 1995, when I attended a conference in Alicante and had had a week's vacation as well. Emilio paid for us to go in the municipal museum which allowed access to the castle on the highest point. During our free time I went in an Ethnological museum in a cave house which had free admission. I donate one euro as I left. Emilio let me into the first museum to use the loo, so I took the opportunity to climb up to the top again. We then drove back to Alicante where we had a short panoramic circuit of the city centre.
Back at the ship, I lunched on bean soup and lasagne. At three o'clock Remcie set me up and at 3:30 I gave my forty minute talk on Barcelona. Afterwards Karen invited me to join her for afternoon tea. Here I had just one small smoked salmon sandwich with two cups of tea. I then did six lengths of the warm, salt water pool, but both hot tubs were occupied.
At 6:30 I hosted the solo travellers for one last time. Karen called by to say farewell and Anne was dining elsewhere. I led Ronnie, Mary, Al, John and Wes down to the Prime 7 steak restaurant, where Clair joined us on a table for seven.
We began with the welcome drink of a tomato cocktail. I had the clam chowder and the New York sirloin strip steak with green beans, but no potatoes. I forewent the famous caramel popcorn dessert as I was full. I had just one glass of Ronnie's favourite Temperanillo Spanish red wine.
There was a lot of photography with Apple air dropping and Android quick sharing between us. Al had to leave first, followed by the rest of us later. We said our goodbyes and I adjourned to my suite. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock having done just under my quota of ten thousand steps, nearly equal to four miles during the day.
I awoke just before my alarm at six o'clock. At 6:30 I had the special eggs Benedict to eat al fresco as the sun came up over the rear of the ship. I had my usual cup of decaff cappuccino and glasses of tomato juice and sparkling water to drink. Al called by to say goodbye.
Back in my cabin, I finished packing and uploaded my last few days of pictures to my laptop from my phone. At eight o'clock Sachin and Emir arrived and I moved up to the Observation lounge, where I updated this blog. Just before nine o'clock yellow tags were called and I said goodbye to Clair and Brody at the door. There were only a handful of guests with Wes and me on the full size coach going to the airport, so we waited until 9:30 before departing.
We got to the airport at ten o'clock, but the BA desks were unmanned, so I sat outside in the fresh air for one hour. At eleven o'clock I started queuing, which took twenty five minutes, during which I ate the chocolate muffin that I had brought from the ship. Having offloaded my bag, I moved down to the arrivals hall to get a map from the tourist information office. Here I found a seat by an extension lead, so I cabled up and worked on this blog, during which I drank the can of diet coke that I had brought from my fridge in my suite on board. The flight had cost RSSC $213 to purchase.
I photographed the new unified travel card, but it still excludes various cable cars, funicular railways and the blue street car trams. I got through security quickly and then wandered around Terminal One with two large outside squares for smokers. I resisted the McDonald's chips and proceeded straight through emigration, as it was a quiet Sunday afternoon. I then had the long walk via both the E and D sets of gates to find a power outlet. No queue at emigration with just one deck open. Boarding was a little delayed, but once on board the Airbus 320, I put on my eye shades and neck cushion. I dozed during most of the two hour flight, missing out on the free water.
I whizzed through Heathrow Terminal 5 in a record breaking forty minutes and caught the tube to the central bus station. Here I was able to catch the eight o'clock coach, rather than the 9:15 I had booked on. At the end, I gave the driver a fiver for letting me on the earlier service. I caught a taxi home, getting there at 10:45 after another fabulous cruise.
The ABC (Amelia, Brody & Clair) Endorsements...
Cruise Director Amelia wrote:
"What an absolute JOY it has been, having you with us."
Assistant Cruise Director Brody wrote:
"I just wanted to reach out and let you know how incredible you were!
Thank you so much for everything and being an absolute rockstar of a human!
I hope our paths cross again!!"
Social Hostess Clair wrote:
"Thank you so much Martin!!
You have been a star."
My Agent Alan wrote:
"Great feedback from Regent - well done!"
My Agent Maria wrote:
"That's so nice Martin... I will pass it on to the shoreside booker. Thanks for being a PEEL Rockstar."
185 Cruises (see www.MPLee.Co.UK/Cruises.htm) 45 Cruise ships (see below) 14 Cruise lines (see below) 10 Storey atrium 8 Lectures given 6 Lifts 4 Enrichment lectures (Atlantic, FM, PT, EJ) 4 Port talks (CA, FM, ACB, BANC) 2 Panoramic elevators 2 Swimming pools 1 New berth (Motril) 1 New island (Blue Lagoon)
1) The Story of the North Atlantic
2) Cadiz, Andalusia: Europe's Oldest City
3) Freddie Mercury: Killer Queen!
4) Funchal, Madeira: Churchill's Pad
5) Alicante: Capital of the Costa Blanca
6) Continents Adrift: The Story of Plate Tectonics
7) Elton John: Rocket Man!
8) Barcelona: Art Nouveau City
1) Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda: The Rock in the Ocean
2) Horta, Faial, Azores: Orchard Town
3) Motril: the Port for Granada
* Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines * Saga Shipping Company * Voyages of Discovery * Seabourn (Carnival) * Princess (Carnival) * Cunard (Carnival) * P&O (Carnival) * Celebrity (RCCL) * Silversea (RCCL) * Regent SS (NCL) * Oceania (NCL) * Marella (TUI) * Ambassador * CrystalForty Five Cruise Ships:
Silver Whisper Silver Spirit Silver Wind Silver Muse Silver Moon Silver Dawn Black Prince Black Watch Boudicca Balmoral Braemar Bolette Celebrity Silhouette Celebrity Solstice Celebrity Eclipse Celebrity Edge Celebrity Apex Saga Rose Saga Ruby Saga Sapphire Saga Pearl II Quest for Adventure Spirit of Adventure (Old SofA) Spirit of Adventure (New SofA) Spirit of Discovery Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) Queen Elizabeth (QE) Queen Victoria (QV) Queen Mary 2 (QM2) P&O Arcadia P&O Aurora P&O Oriana P&O Iona Crystal Symphony Crystal Serenity Seabourn Odyssey Seabourn Sojourn Ambassador Ambience Ambassador Ambition Regent Seven Seas Mariner Regent Seven Seas Splendor Marella Explorer Oceania Sirena Sapphire Princess VoD Discovery