Eddie99

Moving on … I’ll remind myself that today is Thursday - but I need to tell you about yesterday, Wednesday. One of the cruise days to stay in the memory. Sometimes the memory is a once in a lifetime, like the Panama or Suez Canal, or watching bears in Alaska eating salmon; sometimes it is simply a nice day and either a memorable encounter with someone, or good food 🙄. Yesterday was a food day! I’ve been bemoaning the lack of tourist catering provision in ports when the behemoths arrive. That’s not the case in Lisbon, I’m delighted to say. The bars, cafes and restaurants swallowed Iona’s 5000 with no problems Back to the beginning. I was awake as we travelled the Tagus towards Lisbon but didn’t take Captain Dunlop’s advice to be on deck when we passed under the 25 April bridge. I’ve done that before, probably in warmer days than late January. It was a pretty sail in though, starting with the communities on the river just showing as lights in the darkness, then becoming easier to discern as we neared the city. We weren't in and ready until just after 9. A new (to me) air bridge made walking off easy for those on the higher decks, as it was a simple walk-off from deck 6 (albeit that the tos & fros of the bridge gave everyone a few hundred of their daily steps without really going anywhere. Those of us on the lower decks exited via a stepped gangway on deck 4 The improvements to the dock and surrounding area which were nearly complete when we were last here (goodness knows when - 2018 perhaps) have been finished and it’s a pleasant simple walk in to Black Horse Square. With no plans for the day (what’s new?) we strolled and found our bearings again. Coffee and pastel de nata were a must-do A walk to the lovely railway station, with a hot chestnut seller outside. Lisbon is looking so much happier than say 10-15 years ago when much of the city centre was in a sorry state. There’s still plenty to be done - some buildings are shrouded with signs announcing improvements in progress; others are still awaiting their transformation and renovation. It is such a pleasant city one imagines that there would be demand for residential accommodation above the shops and offices So, finally, we had a choice of lunch venues. Should we stay in one of the main streets running back from Black Horse Square, or perhaps go to one of the side streets, connecting them? We opted for the busy streets, so as to people watch along with our lunch. Mmm, I need to do some more techno-jiggery-pokery to get pics taken on my phone onto this iPad. P&O are so mean, only allowing one device online at any one time Watch this space …

Morning all. Here we are en route home but 48 hours of Iona enjoyment still to come. However, let me tell you some of my memories of Tuesday and Wednesday Cadiz We docked quite late, about 9am, in the usual city centre berth. There was another big vessel in, but she had been allocated the further berth. A blue funnel in a ‘fish tail’ design - is that Celebrity perhaps? Anyway, we got the good place so nah, nah, nah to them 🙂 Love Cadiz. We did our usual walk around the walls to the cathedral and enjoyed spotting people, dogs, birds, including sandpipers and parakeets, and the cat colony of Cadiz, who all seem in very good condition and happy with their life in the little shanty town ‘over the wall’. It’s all very photogenic, and the weather was perfect Orange anyone? Managed to squeeze into a bar in ‘fountain square’. We’re rewarded with a welcome (free) tapas of potato salad Once again, I bemoan that the arrival of the mega ships leaves the arrival port a little swamped and the potential consumers being unable to find a spot to consume. We would have lunched out had there been any spaces when we looked. I’d hoped Cadiz could accommodate us but no - or not without going rather off the tourist beaten track. So, back to Iona for a quick forkful of salad from the Quays and then a return to the city. More strolling and sightseeing, and a seat and drink outside a nice bar/restaurant. The waiter arrived with the paper tablecloth, anticipating we were eating, but no, it was after 2pm and at a time when enjoying a relaxed Spanish lunch would have killed our appetite for 6pm at Sindhu So, talking of which, Sindhu was very good. Different from how we remember, with 3 courses at a standard price, but we found it nice to be able to chose just what we wanted to have, and to avoid (and avoid paying for) unwanted additional courses. As it happened we just about managed 3 courses, and were quite happy not to have the nibbly seeds and biscuits at the end. We enjoyed a couple of glasses of the Gewürztraminer, which is a pretty much perfect wine for curry Puri Vegetarian thali Beautiful ‘deconstructed trifle’, with delicate hints of exotic fruits & spices So that was Cadiz. Another 9am arrival in Lisbon to come. Captain Dunlop will be at the gangway, as ever, for those who wish to shake his hand I’ll write up Lisbon later. Time to hand over the internet access 🙂

It’s Wednesday (I think) and we’re sailing up the Tagus river and approaching the April bridge. Forecast is for 18-20° and clear skies. Sounds perfect I will clear up this report - which sounds more like a gastronomic tour, as we’ve avoided shows/talks/cinema/crowds - tomorrow and Friday as we send our way back to Southampton, but I thought I’d report on our second visit to The Beach House before my memory gives out completely And I should say, dear reader, that I saw that CC celebrity again, gathered my courage and went to say hello! Squeeeee, they’re as lovely as you would imagine. Very pleased So, The Beach House - well, it was as nice as the first visit was meh. We had a lovely table, at the far end of the restaurant and against the window, so that was a good start. We went early, so it was quiet initially, and never got too busy. We decided on the “beer can chicken” to share, at a £4 total supplement. I was apprehensive at how much there might be but it was actually a pretty small chick and nicely cooked. Comes “jerk-rubbed” but I removed the skin, as I do when eating chicken anyway, and I didn’t get any heat from the spice. Pictures below Crab tostadas - a nice light nibble Chicken Roasted rum-rubbed pineapple, mojito sorbet & something or other poke pie Our waiter took one of the nicest pictures we’ve ever had of ourselves on a cruise, so that’s a nice memory I still need to tell you about Cadiz yesterday & Lisbon today, but that’s for another time

Oh Selbourne, we’re currently sailing along the Tagus river about to dock in Lisbon. It’s 7.36 local time, almost fully light and we’re nearly at the bridge. It’s so lovely I’m sad for you that the fates, and your miserable captain have conspired against you, to put a mighty damper on the majority of the first part of your cruise. You’re right - things can only get better. You have missed extreme cold and 2 winter storms at home. You’re not having to do any meal planning, shopping, cooking or cleaning. That’s all good Thanks for your continued interesting reports. 🤞 that New Orleans will knock your socks off

Finally, some pics I have been waiting for have uploaded, or downloaded, or made their way to and fro a cloud 🙄 so, some more from Fuertaventura They like their murals Goat references everywhere. They are the emblem of the island, I believe More street art The luggage one is very poignant, representing the people forced by poverty to leave the island

So, where are we? Holiday mode has definitely kicked in and the sea day laziness. Fuertaventura and Lanzarote, plus second visit to Limelight and first visit to Keel and Cow (or Cow Heel Pie as my husband insists on calling it) Fuertaventura was a very nice port stop. Weather was pretty much perfect and there is a nice flat walk from the dock around to the beach. The walk up to the Main Street, such as it is, is steep but fairly short. There’s not an awful lot to see once you get there though - I think the seafront walk is nicer. Iona was the only ship in - I wonder if there would even be space for two? A photogenic place. I very much liked the statues and assorted installations. We went to Limelight again. Hadn’t originally intended to visit twice in 3 days but the scheduling of the loyalty lunch meant we had to move one reservation. Celena Cherry was a very good act. Energetic and melodic and she won over the audience very quickly. Again the food was very good, served promptly. We went for the fishy side of the menu this time, and found it equally good as the meaty theme last time So having eaten Limelight/Epicurean/Limelight on 3 successive nights, I can confirm that our future paid-for dining is likely to veer towards the cabaret Day something or another - Lanzarote Why do people say Lanzagrotty? We’ve enjoyed land-based holidays in lovely spots on Lanzarote, and there are pleasant enough places within a short walk of the port We were the only ship in So, eschewing the shuttle bus, which only seems to go a few hundred yards, we walked off to see what we could see. We mostly needed a second layer, for the first time since Madeira. It was more cloudy than sunny and there was a nagging wind. We were a bit later leaving the ship, which meant that by the time we had walked enough of a walk to work up a thirst all the bars and cafes were full. I think this may prove to be an issue with the larger ships and the small and medium sized ports. I’m hoping Cadiz and Lisbon will be able to absorb 5000 visitors more easily I’m a bit slow on the uptake but am I right in thinking Iona only calls at ports where security can be on-shored? The thought of 5000 passengers coming onboard using onboard scanning sends a bit of a shudder …. I’m imagining queues down the gangways and down the dockside. We treated ourselves to ice creams at Ripples. Quite nice and reasonable value. Don’t tell anyone but I believe I saw a well known poster there. I should have said Hello but would have been mortified if I’d made a mistake and accosted a perfect stranger Evening visit to the Keel and Cow. Our first use of the virtual queue, which worked perfectly. I’ll reserve judgement until we go again (if we go again). I had fillet steak, which isn’t my normal choice but was Irish, grass-fed, beef. The sirloin and rib eye are both grain-fed and wouldn’t be my first choice. I found my fillet nicely cooked to pink, as I prefer, but it was fillet and thus lacking marbling (and texture and flavour). OH had a rib eye, and my taste of that was delicious. So, dilemma if we go again - probably won’t. The steaks are served in a standard fashion, with a measure of chips, a garlic bulb, half a tomato and a mushroom. Also an annoying wedge of iceberg lettuce with white dressing and pink crumble (?bacon?). Once again, impossible to eat tidily and liable to result in Mayo/Caesar dressing … well anywhere really, if you weren’t very careful We had the pudding sharing plate. Nice. Good to see Purbeck ice cream. Nicer than Ripples, imo Lanza Shared puds @ Keel & Cow

Firstly, continuing thanks to Selbourne for the reports and pictures. Appreciated Secondly, one of the biggest changes we’ve noticed, after 4 years away, is the use of *extra charge* restaurants. Before the break there always seemed to be availability, indeed, waiting staff were often to be seen going round passenger spaces during the day drumming up trade for Epicurean or Sindhu This must be connected with the relative reduction in overall cruise prices? They *lure* people on, with low lead-ins, then rely on that holiday vibe to kick-in, and the “Yeah, let’s do it; we deserve it”

I hope things don’t get too bad with the ravages of Storm Isha Kids in West Country & South London have reported in that the worst has passed with no damage 🤞 for everyone

We just have calls at Cadiz and Lisbon to come. No overnights Thinking further going Epicurean - there were other factors which marred my enjoyment, sadly they were fellow guests. One woman who was obviously unwell - in the throes of the worst part of a cold, or with a nice active case of the you-know-whats. Definitely not an asthmatic or medicine induced cough - she was unwell, looked feverish and was coughing constantly, or holding a tissue to her mouth. The other was The Loud Man. Near us, on a table of four. Should I say leading a table of four? He was extraordinarily loud and dominated the group. The atmosphere changed completely when they left - calm and quiet Our first visit to Epicurean, years ago, was marred by a large table of noisy folk. Sad to say there were some uniformed officers among them. That put us off returning for quite some time, and when we did finally book we were apprehensive as to whether we would enjoy Large v small? There are plenty of pluses and minuses. We went up the Amazon on Adonia as she then was, possibly the Azamara ship you are now on. I appreciate all your points about her - she was lovely.

I was going to apologise for putting you off, but if Iona is not for you then I suppose it’s a good thing We thought we might not cope with the size but there are so many facilities it’s great i have spoken to some older people who are finding the size a problem though. It’s quite a walk from one end of the ship to the other - or from deck 3 disembarkation to decks 16/17 pools etc

I used annexe semi-ironically It is that part of the restaurant furthest from the greeting podium. You walk through the nicely spaced part and the tables we were on are in 2 lines there, beside the windows

So, I think I need to post about dinner at Epicurean after our day in Lanzarote It was a bit curate’s egg, with all the bad bits connected to table location. IMO one of the main positives about Epicurean is the relaxed ambience and feeling of space and leisure. There is space between tables in the main part of the restaurant but we (and lots of others) we seated in a sort of wing, which is akin to a wide corridor, with the tables set out either side. Probably a dozen tables in all, with a “filigree” screen each side, making 4 areas of 3 or 4 tables. Big tables (nice) but little space between them. Not as close as the banquette tables in the MDR but too close for my liking. It meant that it was easier for me to hear the people sitting either side of me than to hear my husband speaking from the other side of the large table. And, to add great insult to major injury (not really, but it annoyed me) the size and layout of our “dining corridor” meant that there could be no table side performances - we had the carved ham as starter but it was prepared elsewhere and brought to the table ready-plated. And, of course, no crepes Suzette. Boo! The guy was preparing some as we walked through to be seated. I smiled at him and said something like Yum. See you later. Well that didn’t work out - no crepes for me 😕 As for the food - pretty damn good, as usual. As I said, carved ham starter, steak for OH, cod & lobster tail for me. I think mine was a bit below par - the lobster was chewy and it was presented with a little bowl of eccentric, undressed, salad. Frisée, sliced and shredded carrot, radish. Nah! The baked chocolate cheesecake for pudding made amends. OH had the crepes but, of course, they just appeared ready plated - someone else got to see them being made So, a mixed bag. Sufficient to say we cancelled the booking we had for Thursday. I think a £30 supplement requires the event to be 100% and there’s no way we would be happy to be seated in the dining annexe again. I can forgive a small blip with the food I should say that the service was impeccable, as ever … and on we go Fuertaventura next

We enjoyed our day in Fuertaventura yesterday and the weather was just about perfect We, too, saw a gaggle of collared doves - pretty little things. No hoopoes for us though Now, a question I seem to ask every time we’re on holiday - why do we have so many seagulls all around our coast and at resorts, yet there are never any when we go abroad?

Those Miami views are almost enough to justify the whole cruise! And you still have the Caribbean & your South (Central?) America phases to come. Enjoy!

Morning from Fuerteventura. I haven’t seen Yorkshire Phil yet but I’ll keep a look out 🙂 Gran Canaria yesterday was very pleasant, though thronged with people. MSC Euribia was docked with us. She’s a bit of a beast; I suspect she’s bigger than Iona There is work ongoing, building a new terminal, so we exited the ship straight onto a building site, complete with piledriver, which kinda scuppered the plans to sit on the shady side reading for the end of the afternoon As you will have gathered by now, this is very much a “rehabilitation” cruise, where we get back into the swing of things and relearn how to enjoy all that cruises offer. So, in ports we stay in the open air and that’s exactly how we enjoyed ourselves yesterday, with plenty of walking and sitting and sitting and walking on the long long esplanade. Disappointed that we’ve never seen a repeat of the dancing on a temporary wooden floor on the beach which we watched on our first visit here. There was plenty of beach sport though - tennis, volleyball, handball and basketball I think. Plus a nice, more sedate, pastime something like bowls or pétanque, but played with a circle of wooden pegs/skittles at which participants threw another skittle. Well, that’s all appetite stimulating, so we made a beeline to our favourite beachside restaurant for our favourite type of food, plus a small white wine for me and a pint for Monsieur. Grilled sole, sardines, Canadian potatoes with a nice fiery mojo sauce and bread. Pretty reasonable for €35, considering the location Time for a break, I think I need to get my Wordle done!

We’ll be in Fuertaventura tomorrow Phil - will give you a wave!

This one is further from Southampton - an hour and a half I suppose - but I think it’s one Zapp has stayed at in the last couple of years, so could give you a recommendation or otherwise https://www.watersideholidaygroup.co.uk/our-holiday-parks/dorset/osmington-mills/

We stayed here for a few days whilst we were wondering if a static caravan would suit us There are some very nice lodges on the site, and it is well kept. Didn’t use any of the restaurants and the like (if they were even open - it was very much in early you-know-what time) so can’t comment on those https://www.shorefield.co.uk/holidays/locations/shorefield-country-park

Hello from sunny Gran Canaria! But … back to completing my account, such as it is, of yesterday’s visit to Tenerife. I forgot to mention that the overnight trip from Madeira to Tenerife was really noisy. There was a bit of movement but we heard a lot of moaning and groaning. I suppose being low to the water accentuates that? The captain did say that he would be taking a slightly amended course, to avoid the worst of the expected sea conditions, so it sounds like a good thing he did Here’s a nice shady bar from yesterday morning when it was scorchio at 26°. It could’ve over in the afternoon I think it’s only Limelight which I’ve got to tell you about. Well, we enjoyed the whole experience. The performer - Rob Howden or some such - was very personable and could certainly sing. He played Marius in Les Mis in the West End between 2016 and 2019. The food and service was good. Beef fillet, cooked beautifully medium for me, and crusted lamb cutlets for himself, also nicely pink and well presented. The whole experience was nice - something I’ve not done before. I suppose it’s similar in price and, err, ambience to Epicurean, in that the standard of food is comparable and in one you get the whole 6* service thing, in the other you get a good hour’s show The Limelight band & our lady compare did a short set before Rob. All good. The band is just keyboard, two guitars & drums, but they could belt it out Turned out we were sitting next to a very good friend of a very good friend. Small world! Lovely day in Gran Canaria today, but more on that, and our trip to Epicurean tonight, in tomorrow’s thrilling episode 🙂

It might be worth asking on board if the road is open again? P&Os port agent should be able to tell them ahead of time, or the morning you dock We had an officer at the bottom of the gangplank pointing shuttle buses that way, 10 minutes; walk that way 20 minutes, but no mention of the barriers btw - we came through Tenerife cruise terminal this afternoon, for security etc. I was a bit amazed to see P&O have 50, yes 50, check in desks in the terminal! Doesn’t mean they’ll use them all, of course, but it looks hopeful that it won’t take long to complete the processing and get you on board

I think he’s called Rob Howchen. Something like that. I haven’t heard of him and Google didn’t help much Doesn’t mean he can’t put on a good act though Watch this space

The tourist restaurant we have often used in the past was closed for 3 days for the staff Xmas party (some party!) so we took the line of least resistance and went to the one opposite. Scabard fish & banana for him (it’s a sort of tradition. It’s surprisingly good). Squid on a hanging skewer for me (as previously pictured). Lots of assorted vegetables (no green beans) and a beer for him, white wine for me. We admired the “caller-in”s people skills, swapping languages, gauging whether people were up for a meal or just a drink etc The afternoon seemed to fly by after that. It was All Aboard by 4pm, so no real opportunity to linger So that was our first port call and it went well wrt affording 5000 plus passengers the opportunity to disembark and reembark. No crowding, no long queues, no being marooned halfway up the gangplank We tried the Marabelle gin in Anderson’s before dining. They serve with fever tree tonic, garnished with a slice of green apple and sprig of mint. It goes down very well. A nice clean taste and more towards the “traditional” gin taste than many newcomers We are in The Olive Grove for the first time. I wasn’t overly impressed - service was friendly but slow, and it wasn’t very full at all. Greek mezze sharing plate was ok, lasagne and lamb tagine (£4.50 supplement), crema Catalana. All ok but nothing special. Perhaps I was expecting too much We find that the theatre, showbars etc are not appealing to us. I think that’s us and our having got used to the quiet life. I’ll do a para on the acts which have been on offer, tomorrow. Plus,we’re venturing to Limelight tonight, so I’m sure that will be a worthy subject Tenerife calls. See you

Stick squid? Tasty, whatever So, we were promised a warm but showery day in Funchal and that’s how it panned out. Plenty of short, sharp, scats and a couple of longer, more drenching, showers - the final one as we were walking the length of the ship, to get to the terminal and security, before doubling back inside the compound to get to the gangway. At times like those you wish Iona was a smaller ship! She dwarfed the Marella ship beside us. I think Captain Dunlop was a bit nonplussed that she had berthed directly in front of us, so he needed to do a *sideways shimmy*, as he put it, to leave port before Marella. I think we left before 5, so it was quite a short visit to Funchal The main road - past Cristiano Ronaldo’s place was taped off, so the first initiative test for walkers was to find an alternative. We took the high road, through the elevated park on the left going in, others used a tunnel. It all helped towards 16,000steps yesterday! 😳 Oh - anyone due to visit & using the shuttle bus - it now drops and picks up at the general bus terminus, near the cable car We hadn’t planned anything other than mooching around and lunching - which is what we did. There is still a lot of construction going on wrt the marina redevelopment, so that meant a lot of shuttering, reduction in the pedestrian walkway, and loss of sea view for a while. However,the chestnut sellers are still there, plus the bicycle tuk-tuks, coffee carts and other familiar sights. tbc

Mmm I thought port days might prove difficult to keep up to date So, a couple of pics from a showery Madeira and I’ll try to catch up tomorrow Marella Explorer (iirc) and Iona. Spot the difference The old town of Funchal is so pretty My lunch - a skewer of squid!

Thank you i enjoyed that.