TigerB

We're back home now. Left the ship at 08:10, and drove away from the port at 08:40. Did a bit of a shop and got in the door at 14:30 to find the kids had been in and put up birthday deccies. I ramped the heating up, made us both a butty (the Quays was shut), and have just picked up CoCo. Just chilling a little bit before I take the cases upstairs. I see I've got some catching up to do; I'll post a few days worth later, as they are ready to go, and I'll get to the others over the next few days.

Yes, they do. The one that is online (menu 1) is the first week. Funnily enough, menu 2 is the second week

When we did a Caribbean cruise in 2018, there was a Tiffany's in either Curacao or Aruba, I can't recall which; they were the first two port calls. I recall her seeing it and mentioning about going in on the return to the ship. But we didn't; with her 'MS brain' as she calls it, she forgot, and I simply 'forgot' to remind her! 🫢 I said there was one on Barbados; it turns out there wasn't. By hell, did I get some earache on that cruise?🙄 We've not been back to Curacao or Aruba since (he breathes a sigh of relief!)

I've not noticed this shop in the Lisbon terminal before... @Selbourne, they appear to be targeting you, me and a few others who are married to magpies! 🙄

Another rare live post... We're back onboard after two great days in Lisbon. The weather was gorgeous, if a fair bit windy. It was made even more special and memorable by our eldest daughter and our son-in-law surprising us. We're just enjoying a drink on deck 18 near the Beachcomber bar... @Selbourne, I did ask for an ambient one but they don't have any onboard; apparently Aurora have them all 😲

@mrsgoggins and @Red Ray, we saw this little beauty this morning; he/she lives in a government building not far from the port; as far as could make out, it was The Ministry Of Finance... VID_20240228_101011538~2.mp4

The thing with having such a fluffy pussy is that no matter how well I roller our clothes, we always take some of her away with us,,😂

That's the head of our household (and she knows it), CoCo 🥰

At a steady pace John, you should manage it. I'll set a reminder for when we get home to post you a map with the best route. You're not going just yet, are you?

Day 7 - Friday 23rd February - Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Scheduled arrival: 08:00 All aboard: 18:30 This was a new destination for all of us. The kids were planning to have breakfast in the Quays and get off the ship fairly early. We like to have breakfast in the MDR, and today it was the turn of Aqua. Our table number was 253, a two-seater that was about 30cm from another two-seater. Our waiting team were Rocky and Kim. It didn't start too well. For the third time of asking on this cruise, our lass received her tomato juice without Worcestershire sauce. The last time that happened I said it was a combination of her not pronouncing it properly and the waiting staff not understanding her. I did suggest that in future she should ask for Hendo's. #Yorkshire I usually have a couple of boiled eggs about two or three times each cruise; I ask for them soft boiled and every time bar none they have been perfect, with a set white and a beautiful yolky centre. This morning though, as I brought down my spoon on the top of the egg, clear snotty albumen came from within. I cut off the top to reveal a practically raw egg, which looked like it had been flash boiled for all of thirty seconds. Rocky agree it wasn't edible. As he walked away with them I did tell him to make sure the boiled egg cook gets forty lashes. Before the new ones came, I ordered a single slice of thick toast, and extra butter; for me, nothing beats a really thick slice of hot toast with lots of butter melting on and into it. My toast, just luke warm, arrived just before the new eggs, white ones this time. I smashed down and cut off the top of the new eggs. Oh dear! They were hard. Not hard boiled, but there was no runny yolk at all in which to dip my row of soldiers, waiting patiently on the side plate. Rocky was going to take them away again but I told him not to do so. My thick toast was getting cooler, and that just won't do, so I spread my eggs on it as I ate it. The kids got off the ship ahead of us, but we wanted to wait until it was quieter. Upon leaving the ship we walked/booled away from the dock, into town, and to the bay at the other side; it really didn't take long at all and was quite easy going for our lass in her wheelchair. The promenade at the other side was really good for a wheelchair. We bimbled along the promenade before heading into town and back towards the ship, having a bite to eat along the way. It was drizzling a little bit just before we got back on the ship. When we were in the town centre we went into a large Mercadona that was attached to a mall/market; just to get some chocolate bars to take home. Our lad told us to try their chocolate covered doughnuts, so we bought a packet... I must say, they were the softest and lightest doughnuts we had ever tried, and at €1.40 for four, were cheaper than you get off the bakery in Lidl. They were still really fresh the next day. While we were out a couple of photos came through of our boss, who did not appear to be missing us at all!😲 We chilled in the cabin until it was time to get ready for dinner. We were on our own again, and in Opal. We had table number 125 again, a two-seater next to another one, and our waiting team were the efficient Nixon and Valentino. Tonight's menu... Sorry! I didn't take a photo of the Chef's recommendations. We had... Starters: Both of us... That really was lovely.😋 Mains: Our lass... Me... "Another fillet and vegetables, sir"? "You know me so well, Nixon". 🐷🐯 Dessert: Our lass... Me... with a ginger sorbet chaser... Afterwards we chilled a bit before retiring to our cabin to watch a film.

Day 6 - Thursday 22nd February - Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Part 2 - afternoon & evening) When we got back onboard, me and our lass attended Taste 360 for a spot of lunch; a deck burger and some salad for her, a veggie burger for me. I ordered a pint of Punk IPA and a large lime and soda from Laguna. The cost: £8.95, so that was £1.30 for the dash of lime cordial. That's been three times now at different bars where we have been charged so much for a dash of lime; later that day I attended Reception and requested an appointment with the Assistant F&B Manager. We took our drinks and chilled out for a while on deck 18, until the kids got back onboard and disturbed our peace.🙄 Our lass was a bit wiped out by now, so I took her back to the cabin, got her settled, and I went to the Beachcomber area to write some notes and crop photos. Tonight's dinner for us two was at Beach House; the kids were at Sindhu. They later said that they enjoyed it more than they did on Britannia sixteen months earlier. Our dining time was 19:30, so much later than we normally eat. We were seated at a two-seater near to the window, which was 30cm from a four-seater; thankfully, that remained empty throughout our meal. Our waiting team were Clarah and Maria. Our lass had a Rekorderlig strawberry & lime cider, and I wanted a pint of Punk IPA, which they don't sell in the Crystal bar, which serves Beach House, but do sell in the Laguna bar at the other side of the Skydome. I asked Maria if it would be okay for her to get me the pint from the Laguna bar. She replied that she would not go and get it, but had a boy to do that for her; she then called over Christian. She said, "This is my runner, he loves to run out for drinks for me". Good lad!😀 Before I post pics, I just want to ask: Is it just me, or does anyone think that the Beach House menu on Iona and Arvia is in need of a refresh? Anyway, we ate... Starters: Our lass... Me... Mains: Our lass... She had the lava block version Me... Desserts: Our lass... She wasn't that hungry after her steak, and didn't really fancy a dessert. But being a Yorkshire lass, and paying £7 odd for three courses, she was going to have three courses. She picked at hers and guess who had the leavings!🙄 Me... We were both quite full after that, so we retired to the cabin to veg out and watch a film.

Day 6 - Thursday 22nd February - Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Part 1 - morning) Scheduled arrival: 09:30 All aboard: 20:30 Today it was the turn of our captain to get up at sparrow's fart and place a towel on the primo parking spot. Although we had a scheduled arrival time of 09:30, we were tied up by 07:00. This was a second visit for us to the same port, so I had a recollection of what was where. The kids had stayed on Tenerife before but, apart from flying in an out, had not been to this part of the island. The four of us had breakfast together in Coral; we were on table number 683, a four-seater near the windows on the starboard side. Our waiting team were Ullas and Florence. On our last Iona cruise I felt it necessary to complain to a head waiter about the state of the muffins with the Eggs Benedict. Now that they don't serve them with smoked salmon on the muffin, the middle of it was often wet from the poached egg, and the outside was rock hard, as if it had been sat under a warmer for too long. That said, the eggs were always consistent, with a hard white and yolky centre, which satisfyingly ran across the muffin and on to the plate like an orange lava flow. Today though, the muffin was better, soft all over, but the egg was like this... Oh dear! I ate it, but under protest!😕 There was a warning of non-violent gangs of pickpockets targeting cruise passengers. I chose not to take my SLR camera ashore and, like always, the bag on the wheelchair was tied up pretty well, and I held on tight to my manbag. Me and our lass walked/booled up one of the main shopping streets and had a rest in the small park at the end of it, Plaza Weyler. As we were sat on a bench, we both clocked the kid in joggers and sweat top, pretending to be on his phone, as he passed us I glared at him, which perhaps dissauded him from targeting us. He then paid attention to a couple on a bench about forty metres from us. They couldn't have looked any more like British cruisers if they had worn Union flags around their shoulders and each had on a captain's cap. I couldn't spot any obvious accomplices. After a few minutes it looked like the couple had spotted him, and they moved on. The kid still remained in the area, looking for other prey. I then opened a WhatsApp message from our lad, posted on the family chat group; it read, 'Just spotted these locals' above a photo of a couple in a park..............us!🙄 The two of them then approached us. I pointed out the scrote in the park, and our lad told us about what happened as they walked away from the quayside. He saw pickpockets about to strike their target, a bloke with his wallet showing in his back pocket. Our lad shouted at them and they hastily beat a retreat. He approached the fella and told him what had almost happened. He told us he sounded Italian, so may have been off the Aida cruise ship that was also in port. He thanked our lad, and then proceeded to tell him he had had his wallet stolen from his back pocket three times before. Talk about not getting the message previously!😲 The four of us then took a leisurely walk to the Parque Garcia Sanabria; quite a pleasant park. The lad hasn't yet had a driving course, so that is the nearest he'll get just now to being behind the wheel of one of these. Afterwards, we all headed back to the main shopping area and went our separate ways; the two of us went to Mercadona for pastries and freshly squeezed orange juice, and headed back to the ship.

No need, I'm good with measurements. I mean, this is six inches isn't It?...

To be fair, all drinks during the day were funded by Bank of Dad!😲😀

Live post - Lisbon: Folks, I'm just posting a short live report to let you know what happened to us in Lisbon today. Health Warning: There were tears, and one or two of you may shed a little tear when you read our tale. At breakfast this morning our son was really keen to know what time we were getting off the boat. "Chill out, lad; you two go and do your thing and we'll get off when we're ready". Even when his mother was in the shower a little bit later, he was still messaging and asking what time we were getting off. The two of us got off at 11:20. It was our intention just to have a bimble for a couple of hours, and then return to the ship. The other two were going to do their own thing. I did say to our lass that, if there was an accessible shuttle in, and if there wasn't a queue, perhaps we could catch it to the centre of town and walk/bool back. As it happens, after we left the terminal there wasn't an accessible shuttle in. We turned left in order to walk along the front. We had only gone about twenty metres when I felt a tug on the back pocket of my jeans. I turned around quickly and grabbed hold of the female 'pickpocket', determined to hold on to her until the police arrived. She spoke really good English, as did her accomplice.... ...I should think so too, as she was actually our eldest daughter, and the accomplice was her husband!😲 They had flown into Lisbon the day before and were staying two days so they could spend time with us. What a surprise!😊 All we needed now was for child number 3 to jump out at us from behind a statue!😲 Needless to say, our intended two hour jaunt turned into six hours, with much alcohol imbibed.🫢

Day 5 - Wednesday 21st February - Funchal, Madeira Scheduled arrival: 07:00 All aboard: 16:00 We were up as normal at 07:15, and at the MDR by 08:00; today it was Pearl. The kids didn't join us as they wanted to get off early. Our escort took us on a convoluted route to our section, and appeared oblivious to the fact that the wheelchair wouldn't pass through the gaps she walked through. Fed up with her poor navigation skills, I told her not to bother going any further, and said we would have the table we were now next to. Our chosen table was number 410, a two-seater 80cm from another two-seater Our waiting team were Xavier and Rioutus. An altogether satisfying breakfast After breakfast, we took a bimble around the back end of deck 8 to get a feeling for the weather. There was a Mein Schiff in the primo parking spot behind us... Thier captain must have been up at sparrow's fart to get his towel on it.😉 The morning announcement about the port said it was an easy walk of about twenty minutes into the town; there was a limited shuttle service available. There was a map inserted in today's Horizon... I can't recall the last time I saw that, if ever. This was our first time at this island so we intended to do what we often do on first visits: have a bimble around the town for several hours, buy a magnet, and sometimes other tourist tat, and return to the ship. We decided to take the shuttle with the likelihood that we would walk/bool back. That turned out to be a wise choice as, although the route was relatively level, the pavements leading from the port were either made up of large cobbles, or broken tiles; neither of which would have made for a very comfortable ride in a wheelchair. Our chariot was a long wheelbase Mercedes van, which could accommodate at least two large wheelchairs or scooters, and a third smaller one at a push. There were five fixed seats at the front, and three fold down ones in the back, the wheelchair space. We had the sole use of it. I did take photographs of the vehicle, and the town too, on my SLR camera but cannot post them; the WiFi it requires to transfer the images to my phone has to be its own, I cannot do it using the hotspot on my phone. I didn't take any photos with my phone, but will post several that my lad shared. The journey into town was about eight minutes or less and we were dropped in a pick-up/drop-off area near the water. We made our way along the front and crossed over near to where the cable car station was; we then went around the back of it and towards the main part of the town. The route we took was not at all good for a wheelchair, the dropped-kerbs being very hit and miss, and often quite steep. We found the accessible entrance to the market, which was full of stalls selling fresh and colourful fruit and veg, flowers, dried peppers and chillies, dried fruit, and nuts and spices. Unfortunately, the lift to the upper floor was broken, so our lass couldn't get up there. We were though able to get a view into the fish market on the lower floor. There were loads of those sabre fish, some looked to be at least two metres long. We then found an easier route into the main shopping area; that area was easier for our lass. After a coffee and a bite to eat, we were back on the ship just before 13.00. We popped to the Quays and sat outside for a little while, where I satisfied my craving for fish and chips... She had a burger of some description We followed that with a brew and a couple of cakes. Afterwards, we retired to the cabin so our lass could get some rest. I went to iron a few things. The kids remained out longer than we did. They took the cable car (€25 each, one way), and at the top visited the gardens (€15 each, I think)... He said it was like the British Museum of botanical gardens, with a lot of the species plundered from Brazil.😂 They checked out the basket toboggans... VID-20240221-WA0020.mp4 but didn't want to part with €25 each for the privilege. Instead, they took a bus to the bottom that cost €3.80 for the two of them. Our lad said that seeing the toboggan guys getting bussed back up to the top rather spoiled the illusion for him... It was just the two of us for dinner these evening, again taken in Opal. We were on table number 124 again, and served by the very efficient Nixon and Valentino. Today's menu... We had... Starters: Our lass... She said it was totally devoid of fennel Me... "Chef, chef, what shall we do with all these dried slices of bread"? "Just rub some garlic on them, and we'll serve them up at dinner tonight" Mains: Our lass... She had the cheek to ask for two fillets, the greedy cow!😲 Not to be outdone of course, I also had two fillets... 🐷🐯 Desserts: She was bothered about a dessert tonight; whereas, I had this... ...with a blackcurrant sorbet chaser Afterwards, we met with the kids for a while and discussed our respective d ays, before going out separate ways. Me and our lass watched a film before nodding off.

@Dobbers, it was absolutely devine 😋

Day 4 - Tuesday 20th February - At Sea We both had quite a restless night, with our lass not getting more than about four hours sleep. We decided to go for breakfast at our usual time, 08:00, and come back to the cabin for some rest. This morning we were in Aqua; the kids didn't join us. We were shown to table number 248, a two-seater that was about 30cm from another one. Our waiting team were Rocky and Kim. Afterwards we sat for a little while on deck 6 of the atrium, in order to give our cabin steward a chance to finish. After returning to our cabin we both read for a little while and nodded off. When I woke up I saw that it was 11:35, so I had missed the third of Julian Dismore's talks. We went to lunch late, about 13:15; that was in the Quays. Our lass had a burger and a piece of fried chicken; I had sweet and sour Quorn and noodles from Fusion, followed by a brew and a couple of desserts. Still a little bit tired, we retired to our cabin for some peace and quiet and a doze. I went to the laundry to iron a couple of things. For those of you that have an interest in such things, here are some photos of the deck 9 launderette, which is starboard side and just ahead of the mid-ship lifts... Dinner tonight was in the Epicurean, pre-booked before the cruise. Our reservation was at 19:00 and we were seated at a two-seater in the middle of the restaurant. Our waiting team were Arman and Lalit; the latter was a funny lad with a beaming smile who, when asked how he was would reply, "I'm ticketyboo", and when asked if he was getting of the ship the next day, would ask what day it was, and that they all merge into one. Tonight was Menu 1. I tried to photograph it on the board outside the restaurant, but they didn't come out well. A copy of this menu is available online. Tonight we had... Amuse bouche... Starters: Our lass... She almost always chooses this from this menu, but I end up with the Fairy liquid mouthwash, and the parchment bread roll go untouched. I asked Arman how many of the latter go back to the kitchen untouched. He reckoned about 60% or more, saying some guests don't know the best way to eat them; he was keen to stress they get put in the bin and are not recycled.🫢 Me... Even though the scallops could go with being a little bigger, I have never had a poor one of these starters. Mains: Our lass... Me... When ordering, I asked Arman if chef would allow it to be served as a single portion; it is meant to be shared by two. I ask each time and have only been refused once out of six requests; I always have the black cod fish to fall back on. When he returned he tried to kid me with his pregnant pause, but couldn't hide his smirk. The encrusted halibut I had in Opal on the first celebration night was nice, but this one was on a whole other level; truly melt in the mouth gorgeous!😋 Palate cleanser... Mango sorbet. Our lass is not keen on this, so I had both. Desserts: Our lass... Me... This is always my go-to dessert on this menu. There are still not flambéing it table side, but at least they are doing so in the restaurant, and not far from out table. The ice cream chaser was pistachio 😋 Coffee and chocs to follow Afterwards, we were supposed to meet the kids in the Crows Nest, and then I was going to join them at the silent disco. Our daughter-in-law was suffering with a bit of a dry throat, so we sacked it off. Our lass was tired anyway, and wanted to retire. I took her to the cabin, got her sorted, and went to the 7/10 Club. Tonight it was 'On The Rocks' Another great set.

It happens, and it's not really a big deal. I certainly didn't make a show of it when identifying it to the Head Waiter, and didn't expect anything extra in return. However, to continue to maintain standards and try and prevent such things in the future, the chefs need to be made aware.

It's one thing folk on nearby tables rudely judging you, but you don't need it from the waiting staff too.😕

When we got back to our cabin this afternoon there was a knock on the door... VID_20240225_145139908~3.mp4 After he set everything down, she said to him, "Are you going to sing to me, lad"? I'm quite sure he intended to anyway, but this is what she was treated to... VID_20240225_145220662.mp4 Absolutely fantastic and hilarious, especially the second verse, what with us being God fearing folk and all!🫢

Another quick live post... It's been a blessing that we have been in a port on our lass's birthday, and Cadiz is a nice port to be in too. She decided not to wear the t-shirt at breakfast, concerned that folk may mistake the word 'flocking' for another word, a word that she never ever uses!🫢😂

It was lovely 😋 I can't see us being in a suite anytime soon, so we have said we will do it at least once each cruise. It will probably work out cheaper than buying to different items at a Keel & Cow breakfast

She said, thank you ❤️

Another Live Entry... As it was our lass's BIG birthday we went to Epicurean for breakfast with the kids. The cover charge of £8.50 each was really good value, and the fayre was excellent. Nowt special there though; I always have caviar on my Eggs Royale at home😉 This photo isn't that clear, so the item that looks like slurry is actually a minute steak.😉 At the end, I asked for a croissant, thinking it will be a decent size, not like the doll's house ones they serve on the MDRs. I was wrong... 😂