Hopefully "Live" Ryndam Athens to Tampa 2014

[mollyanne]

What beautiful pictures! This looks like a place I MUST visit one day!

[cruz chic]

Thx for the cat fix and the great pics. The cat on the right is especially cute.

[Mtn2Sea]

We're at sea today, our last full day on this segment of our cruise. Tomorrow we'll be in Barcelona where some passengers will get off and new ones will get on. Tonight's program in the showroom is the finale of the Dancing with the Stars contest. Accordingly to DW, there haven't been a lot of contestants on this leg of the cruise. I'm planning on reading a library book, so you may not hear from me again until tomorrow. In the meantime, here's today's complete program.

 

 

 

 

Until later.

[Oahucruiser]

This is the BEST review! Love the photos and descriptions. Can't wait to see what you do in Barcelona, one of our favorite ports!

[Mtn2Sea]

After the ship docked early this morning in Barcelona, I stepped outside on the balcony to check the weather and began watching all the luggage being transferred to the terminal building. Fortunately, our luggage is still under the bed for another couple of weeks! Today is a holiday and most museums will be closed. We signed up for a HAL excursion to visit the cathedral. Here's today's program.

 

 

 

Until later.

[MaisonRose]

We're at sea today, our last full day on this segment of our cruise.

 

Until later.

 

Hi Robert, please look for me at the 2 nov meet n greet, I would like to learn how to upload photos on CC.

It has been a joy to follow you across the Adriatic and Med to BCN.

SEE YOU SOON!

Susan

[Mtn2Sea]

The architecture in Barcelona is quite unique and, at times, mystical. Our tour highlighted the work of Gaudi, culminating with a visit to Sagrada Familia, a church whose construction began in 1882. This amazing building is scheduled to be finished in 2026 (100 years after Gaudi's death). The first part of the tour was disappointing, partly because we chose to sit on the right side of the bus instead of the left. Our guide kept pointing out things to the left! We also had trouble hearing and understanding the guide at our first two stops. We had over 50 people on the tour, so if you didn't make an effort to stay near the guide, you had trouble hearing her over the noise of the city. Our first stop was at a music palace that was in Gaudi's style. The building, however, was closed, so we only saw the outside and what little we could see through the window. Here're some photos.

 

 

When we walked back to our pick-up point, we had to wait 10 minutes for the bus. We next stopped at a street with "houses" of Gaudi's design. These houses are really buildings that are several stories high. The family lived in part of the house/building, but rented out the rest. Again, we had trouble hearing the guide. Here're a few photos.

 

 

Finally, we got to Sagrada Familia, which is why we booked this tour. All of my discontent with the tour evaporated at this point. Despite the crowds, we had a marvelous time here. Words really can't adequately explain what it's like to walk around this church. From all the carvings/statues to the stained glass windows, the building is simply remarkable. Our guide started at the eastern facade, explaining the messages being told by the building.

 

 

 

We then went inside and marveled at the size of the place, as evidenced by its 52 columns and numerous large stained glass windows.

 

[Mtn2Sea]

More photos inside the church.

 

 

 

Finally, we exited the building to look at the western facade, which has a totally different feel to it as well as a different message.

 

 

They still have a lot of construction to do in the next 12 years. The admission ticket actually says the fee is a contribution towards the construction of the Sagrada Familia, which means we've help build this unique building.

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

I'm enjoying your report and pictures. Thanks for sharing!

 

If I might ask a favor.... if you have a chance to inquire with the Neptunes that play in the Ocean Bar, I would like to know if the plan is to have the Neptunes on the Ryndam for the holdiay cruises, Christmas and New Years. (I realize the muscians could change, but wondering if the Neptune format will continue.) Also, if you could find out the current trio as well as if they know who will be on for the holidays if the same format continues. Thank you so much if you can find out this information.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise. It seems to be fabulous so far!

 

I've been told the current Neptunes band will be leaving the ship in Tampa, when another group will come aboard. I haven't been able to find out the names for the next group. The current members are Steve, Klaas and Caylon. Steve is on the piano and is the vocalist for the group. He's quite good. Here's a picture of The Nepunes, as well as Matt who plays in the Mix and the violinist with Adagio.

 

[RetiredMustang]

I'm sorry, and you can call me an old curmudgeon ("hey, you're an old curmudgeon"), but the Sagrada Famiglia always makes me think of Richard Harris ... it looks like a cake left out in the rain.

 

Dave

[Mtn2Sea]

We won't reach Cartagena until around noon today. HAL only set up one excursion for this port and it's a walking tour of the city. We're just going to play it by ear and see what we see. Since we're at sea all morning, our meet and greet for this segment of the cruise is scheduled for 10:00. Yesterday a short note reminding us of the meeting as well as name tags arrived in our daily mail. Here's today's program.

 

 

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

Over 150 people signed up for the roll call for this final segment of our cruise. Our area of the Crows Nest was full of fellow CC members. Shortly after the meeting, we had a leisurely lunch in the dining room before our planned walk into town. Here's a photo looking back at the Ryn.

 

 

After walking just a short way down the Main Street, we saw a museum that looked interesting - more Roman ruins! Here's some photos from the museum and from around town

 

 

 

 

 

[Mtn2Sea]

More photos from around Cartagena.

 

 

 

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

After walking around Cartagena for a bit, we stopped at a small cafe where we got a cappuccino and some free wifi. We nursed our drinks for over an hour while I was uploading the photos I took today and then posting them. It's been interesting experiencing the different levels of wifi in the various ports we've visited. Today's internet just stopped at times and would then start working again for a minute or so at a fairly decent speed. When you begin thinking you should just wait until you return to the ship to go online, you know the connection isn't good. When we were back in the port area and almost to the gangway, I noticed a number of passengers using their devices. After dropping off my camera in the cabin, I returned to where I saw people using the internet. Although the connection was slow, I was able to download emails onto my laptop and return to the ship prior to our 5:30 all aboard time. The Ryn left the dock a few minutes prior to six. We watched the sail away from our balcony, which capped off another beautiful day of our cruise.

 

I mentioned earlier that HAL only had one excursion for this port, which was a walking tour. I thought that meant there wasn't much to do here; however, at lunch from the dining room we watched over a dozen busses pull up to the other pier where the Oceania Marina was docked. Don't know why HAL didn't have its normal array of excursions, but it didn't really matter for us since we enjoyed walking around town soaking up the local flavor.

 

Tonight's program was supposed to have been Epic Moves; however, the performers didn't make it to the ship today. Presumably they'll catch up with us soon. The magician/comedian Mel (didn't catch last name) agreed when asked at the last moment to move up his show. He was quite funny and full of wit. Everyone seemed to enjoy the show.

 

 

Until later.

[kent4489]

I've been told the current Neptunes band will be leaving the ship in Tampa, when another group will come aboard. I haven't been able to find out the names for the next group. The current members are Steve, Klaas and Caylon. Steve is on the piano and is the vocalist for the group. He's quite good. Here's a picture of The Nepunes, as well as Matt who plays in the Mix and the violinist with Adagio.

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing this info. We are planning to go on the New Year's cruise, but have been hesitant as we know some of the ships are using a 2nd HalCat group instead of the Neptunes. We won't go unless there is a Neptune group.

Also, thank you for the wonderful review you've been posting. Such a fantastic voyage.

[Mtn2Sea]

We've just now pulled into Malaga and it's still dark. Our excursion for today will take us to see Granada and the Alhambra. We're both looking forward to our tour. Here's today's program.

 

 

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

Our excursion to Alhambra left this morning at 8 AM. In order to give us a brief view of the city, the bus took us through the downtown area. I was quite impressed with the area we saw - a lot of parks, big trees and modern buildings. The ride to Granada took approximately 2.5 hours with a short rest stop. When we got to Alhambra, we first walked around the gardens (We did a lot of walking today!). Our tickets to the palace had a specific time for entering that area. Here are photos from the grounds as well as the buildings.

 

 

 

 

 

[Mtn2Sea]

More photos from Alhambra.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple of photos showing workers doing some restoration as well as one of the cats we saw and a dog outside the front gate.

 

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

Tonight's performance in the showroom was by Elvy Rose, a very energetic singer and dancer. She did a variety of songs, such as Big Band and 60's music, but she primarily did Spanish music. She concluded her performance with the song Granada.

 

 

The Captain has let us know we can expect some foul weather tonight and our arrival in Cadiz tomorrow may be delayed slightly due to high winds. We've been told to secure our personal items prior to going to bed. Our near perfect weather for the cruise may be changing!

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

Last night was rocking and rolling a bit and taking a shower this morning was an adventure! All of this reminds me of the days when we owned a sailboat. Last night while we were at the show, a notice was slipped under our door advising us the meeting time for our excursion was being delayed one hour. When I looked out at 7:45 this morning, the sky was very overcast, the seas had some whitecaps, the balcony deck was all wet, and the balcony door was a little hard to open due to the wind. Overall however, I didn't think we had that much motion. In fact, I heard one woman comment this morning that she had been hoping it would be rougher last night. Our excursion to Seville will be leaving shortly.

 

 

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

We're on the bus heading to Seville. This is the first bus of all the ones we've used for our excursions that has wifi. Our excursion was scheduled to leave at 8 AM, but we didn't leave until 10:00 due to weather. As a result of our late arrival, the ship will be leaving this evening at 8, so we will still have our full day excursion. The Captain also announced this morning that we will not be in the Azores in two days due to a front that is coming through; instead, we will be going to Maderia. We need to cancel our private tour and see what we can find to do in this unexpected port of call.

 

Until later.

[pxn748]

I am really enjoying y'alls posts. The pictures are great. This is a dream itinerary for us. We are seeing many places we want to go and now there are places we never knew we wanted to see. Thank you for your hard work!

[Mtn2Sea]

Our bus took us into Seville on a route that let us see some very nice older homes. The bus was not able to get us very close to Seville's cathedral, so we had to do some walking through a nice park and some very interesting pedestrian streets to get to Spain's largest cathedral. Here's some photos, first showing some street scenes around Seville.

 

 

Here are some exterior shots of the cathedral and then some interior views.

 

 

 

 

Here's the resting place of Christopher Columbus, who is buried within the cathedral.

 

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

After visiting the cathedral, we walked back to the bus in order to go to a hotel for a quick buffet lunch (lots of food). I think originally we were suppose to visit the palace prior to lunch, but our two hour delay required some adjustments to our schedule. As a result, the bus took us back to the same drop off point and we walked back to the same area, although we took a different route. We then entered the Alcazar palace for a visit. As with Alhambra, Alcazar has the same Moorish influence, but is in better condition. It is, however, much smaller. The king stays on the second floor of Alcazar when in Seville. We were restricted to the first floor, which has no furnishings. Here're some photos.

 

 

 

The ceilings are quite remarkable.

 

 

In this final set of photos, I've included a picture of a small dog who was staying right next to his master who was doing a watercolor painting of the building (Didn't see any cats).

 

 

After a leisurely walked back to the bus, we traveled a short distance and stopped for a short photo opt at a building that was built for a 1929 Exposition. From the street side of the building, we wondered why we were stopping, but once we walked through the building to the other side, we understood. Here're some photos.

 

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

Last night we did not go to the show since we had seen Livewire perform during an earlier segment of our cruise. After a late dinner at the Lido, which fit our schedule since we were so late getting back from Seville, we went to hear Adagio, but they went on break before we could even find a seat. We then went to listen to Matt, but he also was going on break. The Ocean Bar was our next stop, where we were able to listen to the Neptunes for about 10 minutes before they went on break. At that point, we decided to go back to the cabin where I was able to post yesterday's report on Seville. We're having a leisurely day at sea today before arriving in Madeira tomorrow morning. We've purchased an excursion through the ship since we don't know anything about this substituted port. The excursion desk said the weather is suppose to be very nice for our visit. While I went to the excursion desk, DW went to a book group that is meeting during this segment of the cruise. Here's today's program.

 

 

 

Until later.