2019 Mediterranean cruise

April - May 2019
April - May 2019 Read more
  • 23footprints
  • 7countries
  • 26days
  • 114photos
  • 0videos
  • 27.1kkilometers
  • 19.8kkilometers
  • Day 1

    Montreal and Ft. Lauderdale

    April 13, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Arrived early after Dad generously drove us all to the airport. The plane boarded late and then we were told that we would be late leaving as they had to replace a part, power down the plane then restart it. Finally left around 2:20. They must have put on the jets because we arrived only half an hour late. Got to our little hotel by 6:30 and quickly changed to summer clothes and walked down the block to Casablanca for dinner. Mussels are becoming a favourite. Walked to the local CVS for snacks and wine for the ship. Unfortunately , the sidewalks are not lit and I missed a curb, right after I had the thought that I really should be careful. Sore knees and left hand but that’s all, except for the broken wine bottle. Had a good sleep and went down to the beach first thing Sunday morning to put my feet in the water.Read more

  • Day 3

    At sea for eight days

    April 15, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Had a very smooth embarkation experience, taking our luggage with us directly to our room. Attended a 3-5 star Mariner reception in the afternoon and made our reservations for dinner, a wine tasting and the Cellar Master’s Dinner later in the week. Slept so well and woke up in time to shower before we met for breakfast at 9. Attended the shore excursion talk before walking the promenade for 1.5 miles. Averaging 15,000 steps per day on the ship. Great way to get exercise without realizing it. Enjoying a fully refurbished ship, new carpets and drapes and upholstery. They’ve eliminated the librarian position so borrowing books is on the honour system. Entertainment on the second night was a comedian. Enjoying America’s Test Kitchen demos and new evening entertainment.
    Good Friday, day 6, has brought blue skies, a sprinkling of rain and a fleeting rainbow. Attended the florist tour, not much to see as they have cut back on such luxuries. The florist however has done a great job making do with less. Premiere wine tasting this afternoon and then the Good Friday service. No piano and but there are hymn books and a pastor.

    Saturday I attended the Bible study and connected with the Interdenominational group planing the Easter sunrise service. Have also been going to the America’s test kitchen demonstrations. Great tips for great meals in a short time.

    Gala night today and a production show in the theatre. We met a two people from Hamburg who are friends and travel together because Karin’s husband is in a nursing home. She and Ekhardt met more than 10 years ago when she and her husband were still able to travel together. It’s nice that people can come to an understanding like that.

    Garry and I sang in the choir for the Easter Sunday service . Really enjoyed breakfast after the brief but meaningful service.

    Enjoyed a Wines of the world tasting where Vic won a bottle of wine. Beautiful.
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  • Day 10

    Ponta Delgada

    April 22, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Started out drizzly and with a rainbow but didn’t take long to open the clouds to the beautiful sunshine. Wonderfully warm 19C and a breeze. Walked to the fruit and vegetable market and bought clementines the through a garden and back to the old town for lunch where Vic and I shared mussels and rustic bread and cheese and Carolynne and I shared white wine. More walking in the city in the sunshine.

    Rob, the cans of sardines are for you.
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  • Day 10

    Ponta Delgada and onward

    April 22, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    The day ended beautifully with encouraging conversation and back on board by 4:30.

    As we were headed toward a high pressure weather system, our 37-year-old captain said he’d urge all five engines to try to get us around the bad weather by going south. Experienced 13 foot swells during the night but nothing terrible.

    Because of the possibility of rocky seas, they showed the movie The Green Book morning n place of live entertainment. Excellent story based on actual events in the 1960s.

    Clocks ahead again and slept til 9 as a result.

    Attended the Collectors’ Voyage lunch with the traditional Indonesian menu of nasi goreng, pork skewer, tender chicken and Asian beef. Followed by the traditional rice pudding. One of the tastiest meals of the voyage.

    Listened to the members of Shades of Buble talk about their careers and shopped in the jewelry shops. We never buy anything but it’s fun to look.

    Entertainment tonight was a BBC film with live music accompaniment called Planet Earth II. Amazing photography and original music.
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  • Day 13

    Malaga and Caminito del Rey

    April 25, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Woke up early as we arrived at Malaga at 6 am. I slept through watching the lights of Gibraltar as I had seen them before.

    It seems the rain has stayed in Malaga as the farther west we travel, the lighter the skies become.

    We had a perfect day for this walk. Partly cloudy and around 16C.

    This Caminito was originally built for workers to build the hydro-electric system for Malaga.
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  • Day 13

    Cellar Master's Dinner and onward to Car

    April 25, 2019, Alboran Sea ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    What a great experience we had on the Caminito del Rey. So much so that we welcomed a nap before our 6 pm Cellar Master’s Dinner. This time it was held in the Canaletto, the Italian restaurant onboard. Five courses with appropriate wine pairings, the main course being a slice of tenderloin and a lobster tail with accompaniments. We caught the end of the nightly entertainment, a couple of opera singers who play guitars. Nicely done but not enough to stay up for the 10 o’clock show. We walked another 1.5 miles before hitting the sheets at 10 in order to help speed up digesting all that food. Hope it helped.Read more

  • Day 13

    Last day on the Atlantic

    April 25, 2019, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Today was our last day on the Atlantic Ocean. We will pass through the Strait is Gibraltar at approximately 11:30 pm tonight. Enjoyed our walk on the deck this morning in warm weather and attested the port talk about Malaga and Cartagena. Looking forward to Spain again. Tom who was our port expert the first time we crossed the Atlantic was brought out of retirement and gives lots of good tips for seeing the ports on your own.

    Attended the cooking class this afternoon before we met Vic and Garry at the jewelry auction. Not many people bought at auction but three items were purchased, two at minimum bid. HAL is getting out of selling jewellery and will rent the space to a third party. I expect they will make more money that way.

    The florist was changing his arrangements this afternoon and we stopped to chat with him. As a result he shared three anthurium each with us since they would go to compost anyway. we appreciate his generosity.

    Dinner this evening was wonderful and the seas gave calmed as we look forward to entering the Mediterranean. Shades of Buble will sing this evening, their last concert on our ship as they are joining the Rotterdam in Malaga tomorrow.
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  • Day 14

    Cartagena

    April 26, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Had a very short visit to Cartagena today, all aboard was to have been 12:30. We walked through the streets of old town and enjoyed a pastry and cafe and wifi before returning to the ship on time.

    Visited the City Hall where there were a couple of galleries we could visit for free.

    As we were leaving the pier the captain reversed his direction to go back to pick up a member of the housekeeping staff who had not made it back in time. Apparently he works the night shift and so had not taken note of the all aboard time. He was delivered by a police car to the Pier.

    Tonight was Gala night so it was nice to see people dressed up. We enjoyed steak and lobster tail for dinner with shrimp cocktail and a lovely dessert. Also a chocolate event at 9:30 tonight with Irish coffee in honour of King’s Day Eve.
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  • Day 15

    On the Med and onward to Rome

    April 27, 2019, Tyrrhenian Sea ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Had such a good sleep, napped yesterday afternoon and woke up at 6:15, just before Vic’s alarm went off. Once turned off, we slept again until 8:30. Had a lovely relaxing day, attended the Captain’s talk. We have had confidence in his abilities during the voyage. Though he is only 37 yrs old he is very competent and has piloted the Prinsendam through the Amazon.

    After lunch we listened to the EXC presentation on Rome. Got some good tips.

    Today is King’s Day in the Netherlands so people are wearing orange.

    Discussed our plans for Rome and attended the show. A juggler and international entertainer.
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  • Day 16

    Roma

    April 28, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Today is Carolynne’s birthday so we’re glad you’re be able to celebrate with her in Rome. Up by 5:30 and at breakfast shortly after 6. Carolynne was the first one off the ship in honour of her special day. We four were the only ones plus Rod from Florida on the first shuttle bus so ended up sharing a taxi to the train station. Caught the 7:59 train and arrived in Rome around 9:22. Partly sunny and a high of 18 predicted.Read more