Sprit of Iberia and Spanish Sensations port review

[joeholiday2]

Well it's more of a copy and paste of the cruise log I do for myself, but if it's of use to anyone then so be it. There are some tips in there and if you need any more specifics just holler.

I can recommend the trip advisor apps for Lisbon and Barcelona for phone and tablet, really good content and you don't have to be online to use them. If you have GPS it locates the attractions for you. I tried the GPS on the ship afterwards as I didn't want to walk around Barcelona flaunting my tablet, it may have got pocketed.

 

Day 1 – Thursday 10/04/2014

Malaga - SPAIN

Depart - 21:00

Arrived onboard about 8.50pm, sat in Four Seasons for 9pm meal and had drill in Royal Fireworks at 10pm. Saw Adam Franks and he got Steph up at deck party and sang Happy Birthday, she was very surprised. Had a late night partying and had to finish the unpacking in the morning.

 

 

Day 2 – Friday 11/04/2014

At Sea

Onboard

Nice sea day, weather good but breezy so went to deck 8 aft for shelter from wind. Got back on Leo and Bobby’s section and had Matt as wine waiter, Captains night, but didn’t do the reception bit. Usual staff in Rendezvous , Ida, Eko, Angel, Victor comes in later. JD at pool bar, Grace and Rose in Jubliee, Diana is home having a baby. Showteam are excellent and very friendly . Adam Gardner is on training to be ACD next winter, Katy is a good CD.

 

 

Day 3 – Saturday 12/04/2014

Lisbon – PORTUGAL Saga Sapphire Wind Star

08:00 - 17:00

Dull to start with but it brightened up for lunch time. Got day pass from St apolonia again, metro to Restauradores, went up the Gloria elevator. The church of Sao Roque is reached by turning left at the top of the Gloria elevador, really nice inside. Turned right at the elevator for the miradore alcantara. Back to Restauradores Metro station and got metro in same direction to Parque, Had a look around Park Eduaro Vii, walked to top end for view. Walked to Sao Sebastiao metro which is underneath the Corte Ingles, got on red line to Almeda, got on Green line to Martim Moniz, got 12E tram towards Castle. Get off at viewpoint and walk around castle area, walked it down to look at Cathedral and walked back to ship just after lunch then sunbathed. A nice sail out under the bridge and past Belem.

 

Day 4 – Sunday 13/04/2014

Portimao - PORTUGAL

08:00 - 16:00

Dull to start with but it brightened up for lunch time. Thomson wanted £4 each for shuttle into Praia da Rocha. Walked into Praia da Rocha along the front by the marina then along the beach up into town and along the main street into Portimao, just had a walk around, it was Palm Sunday so they were doing the church up, back on ship for lunch and sunbathing. Not much there really, but nice for a stroll around.

 

Day 5 – Monday 14/04/2014

Casablanca - MOROCCO

08:00 - 19:00

Nice sunny day, a bit hazy, didn’t get off ship.

 

Day 6 – Tuesday 15/04/2014

Cadiz – SPAIN Mein Schiff 1

09:00 - 19:00

Nice and sunny. Docked at 10am, got off and walked straight to train station, got tickets to Jerez for €8 each return, walked around Cadiz for 1 hour then got 11.10am train, took 50 minutes. Didn’t think the Alcazar looked worth the €5 entry so didn’t go in. Had a nice walk around, it’s a lovely place, went into Cathedral and there was some kind of inauguration going on. Got the 2.40pm train back and arrived at station for 2.28pm, decided to pop into a small bar at the side of the station for a fino, looked at tapas and ended up having a pork sandwich,(€5.50) it was amazing, got the train in time and back on ship for 4pm.

 

Day 7 – Wednesday 16/04/2014

Gibraltar – GIBRALTAR ms Nieuw Amsterdam

08:00 - 18:00

Nice and sunny. Walked to cable car took 35-40 minutes, paid £37 for both to do cable car one way and nature reserve. A really good day up there, we saw the Apes at the top and then walked to St Michaels cave and then across to the Siege tunnels, went in entrance to WWII tunnels (the full tour is extra again as you have to pay for a guide) and then into Islamic Castle. It would have cost about the same to do the same things on a taxi tour but we could set our own pace (was out and about for over 5 hours) and not be rushed by the taxi driver wanting to get the tour over. It’s fine if you are a good walker. Walked back down into town and into Morrisons, got 2x 1ltrs of Bombay Sapphire for £10.50 each and some hula hoops for Eko as he has never had them.

 

Day 8 – Thursday 17/04/2014

Malaga – SPAIN MSC Orchestra

Depart - 21:00

Sunny again, had planned to get the local bus to the botanical gardens, but it was packed out because it was Santa Semana parade where they bring the Christ out of the Church. Watched Navy Ship arrive and the seamen match to much pomp and ceremony, followed the crowd to see more marching and then followed again to end up in a large square at the side of the Church watching them bring out the Christ on a large screen. A really good atmosphere, absolutely packed out, thousands were out and about, back for 2.30pm.

 

Day 9 – Friday 18/04/2014

At Sea

Onboard

Another nice sea day, spent on deck 8 aft again.

 

Day 10 – Saturday 19/04/2014

Barcelona – SPAIN

09:00 - 18:00

Nice and sunny again, place was full of Toulon and Perpignan Rugby fans, all good humoured. Walked to Drassanes Metro at bottom of ramblas and got L3 Metro to Vallcarca. Single Metro trip is €2.15. Walk to Parc Guell, up the outside escalators. Cracking views of Barcelona from up there. Got back on Metro to Espanya (going back same way) Walked over to Museum past the fountain, around the right side of Museum and up the steps through the park towards the Olympic Stadium, over to the mirador and walked back through the town across to La Ramblas again then back towards the ship, just after lunch time. Gave chocolate out to our favourite waiters as it was Easter.

 

Day 11 – Sunday 20/04/2014

Toulon - FRANCE

10:00 - 18:00

It rained most of the day, but brightened up late afternoon. Went for a walk around town and market, good job we took umbrella. Back on before lunch for a coffee and went back out later to walk to beach.

 

Day 12 – Monday 21/04/2014

Mahon - MENORCA

10:00 - 17:00

Nice and sunny, was up to see most of the sail in, walked around Mahon then back on Ship for lunch and sunbathing. A nice sail out.

 

Day 13 – Tuesday 22/04/2014

Valencia – SPAIN Costa Fortuna ms Ryndam

09:00 - 18:00

Hot and sunny, Thomson wanted £5 each for shuttle bus but we got bus no4 for €1.50 each each way, just follow the arrows on the floor to bus stop, didn’t have to wait at all, we got straight off, same coming back. Some lovely buildings to see in Valencia, a nice place to walk around. Went into ceramics museum (€3 each) really good, the exhibits were OK but the house itself is stunning inside, reminded me of Chatsworth House on a smaller scale. Back on Ship for lunch and sunbathing, looked like there was a big fire in Valencia later on.

 

Day 14 – Wednesday 23/04/2014

Cartagena – SPAIN Silver Cloud

08:00 - 15:00

Hot and sunny, walked around back of Roman Theatre up to castle and viewpoint, along the main street and back along the coast road past the Arsenal, back on Ship for lunch and sunbathing. A really nice town to explore, looking at the Roman excavations and views from the hill.

 

Day 15 – Thursday 24/04/2014

Malaga - SPAIN

Arrive - 06:00

Hot and sunny. Walked to the Alcazaba lift just behind the old city hall and got €3.55 each ticket for Alcazaba and Castle entry. Alcazaba is lovely, very peaceful atmosphere even with a group of primary School children on a tour. Walked up the VERY steep path to the Castle, nice up there, some lovely views over Malaga. Back on Ship for lunch and sunbathed until 4.30pm the off to the coach at 6pm.

[campolady]

Great report Joe! Glad you managed to see something of Malaga - so many people never see more than its airport LOL!

[joeholiday2]

Great report Joe! Glad you managed to see something of Malaga - so many people never see more than its airport LOL!

 

 

Loved the place, we said next time we holiday on that coast we must find time to explore Malaga again.

 

Thanks for your tip on going to Jerez instead of Seville, the pork butty was one of the highlights of the whole cruise, sometimes these moments just occur out of the blue.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

We took a boat trip to Malaga when we were staying in Benalmadena a few years ago and then got a bus back. We thought it was a lovely city. We had coffee and croissants in a little cafe by the cathedral- the best croissants I have ever tasted :)

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Great review Joe :) Notes will be taken for future reference. We got a taxi into Valencia, didn't know about the bus :rolleyes: I loved Cartegena and would love to go back.

[Little Nell]

Thanks for the review, Joe. It sounds a lovely itinerary. I really enjoyed reading all about it :)

[kruzseeka]

Thanks Joe. Sounds like a really good and varied itinerary. Glad you enjoyed it so much. ;)

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed your report.

 

Keith

[joeholiday2]

I am sure I saw a post on here yesterday from someone saying they were a student at Valencia Uni and they wanted a questionnaire filled out??

 

Admin must have removed it, they might consider it spam, or maybe it went to a dodgy site?

[campolady]

I am sure I saw a post on here yesterday from someone saying they were a student at Valencia Uni and they wanted a questionnaire filled out??

 

Admin must have removed it, they might consider it spam, or maybe it went to a dodgy site?

 

Same person posted several times on Valencia threads of the SPAIN PORT forum on here and these have all been removed too.

[joeholiday2]

I don't mind doing these sort of things to help students out as long as they are genuine and don't go asking any personal questions.

 

If approached in port by someone with a clipboard I would always be wary of them,(I always think someone who stands on the street doing this is only out to take money off you, the timeshare touts have given them a bad name) but on here I wouldn't mind as it's not eating into my holiday time.