Madeira excursion

My wife and I will be in Madeira on A731a on 24th Oct this year. According to a cruise port timetable website the ship is scheduled to leave at 1700. We would very much like to go to Reid's for afternoon tea at 3pm and was wondering if anyone knows how long it will take to get back to the ship from Reid's and whether we would have enough time to relax and enjoy afternoon tea, i.e. if the ship is scheduled to leave at 1700 I guess we will need to be back onboard by 1630 which only leave 90 mins for afternoon tea and time to get back to the ship.

Any advice from someone who knows the area or has been to Reid's would be much appreciated

Thanks

When we last went there with P&O they did an excursion to Reids for afternoon Tea - you would be covered then.

thanks bee-ess, I should have mentioned that I have previously read that passengers on the P&O excursion to Reid's tend to be seated inside rather than on the terrace. I don't know if this is correct or just happened to be true on one occasion but we would prefer to have afternoon tea on the terrace and I thought going independently would be the best way to guarantee that.

Afternoon tea at Reids is a lovely experience and it is better to do it on your own, but given that the back on board time would only leave you an hour, I would suggest doing it with P&O.....

BTW- I think it would probably only take you 10 mins to return to the port from Reids by taxi.

I've just booked tea at Reid's for 3pm on October 19th direct through Reid's website at 6 o'clock yesterday evening and got confirmation at 11 this morning for a table for two on the terrace.

I find it's easier to book it and then cancel rather than leave it just in case and then find they are fully booked.

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Reids isn't far. As an idea of distance you can walk it in about half an hour.

About 5 minutes in a taxi. Ask nicely and Reids may have one of their own cars available to take you down to the port!

Ask nicely and Reids may have one of their own cars available to take you down to the port!

thats a good idea - thanks, although I think if the port departure time is correct (1700) then we will probably stick with a P&O excursion just to be on the safe side

I'm sure Reid's themselves are fully aware of the time the ship leaves, after all they will have a booking from P&O and I would imagine they would get it all done in good time, so when I go I'll keep a watchful eye on the excursion, ask Reid's to organise a taxi and leave 15 minutes or so before they do!

There, that sounds like a plan eh? 🤔

What could possibly go wrong..................?

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It is many years back. Reids use to have a black Mercedes. I was taxied around the island using it. The driver was a local but had worked at the Gleneagles hotel. He was very proud of the fact he drove a black car as all the taxi were bright yellow. Reids had an exemption from the regulations.

If you get chance the gardens are beautiful. When I stayed in theory they were only open to residents. They also have a couple of Picasso drawings. He sketched the hotel when he was a resident.

I am not sure what the dress code is for afternoon tea. It may have been relaxed since I stayed. The dress code use to catch visitor out particularly in the bar.

I have stayed in a few good hotels. Reids will always be special to me. Much like the QE2.

When I go to Madeira next year I will not go back to Reids. Somethings are best left as a wonderful memory.

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This is an excerpt taken from my confirmation email: 'For your information, tea price is € 34,50 per person and our dress code is smart casual. However, no shorts, T-shirt or sport attire is allowed.'

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We've been to Reid's a few times and always been very glad we'd organised it on our own rather than doing the P&O excursion. There is too much difference between our experience - sitting on the terrace enjoying magnificent sea views in the sunshine, admiring the gardens - to the P&O tour where you are in a lounge with no views. It's probably about an hour sitting down but if you arrived well before three you could explore the hotel and the gardens before being served. We've mainly walked back to the ship but we also asked them to call us a taxi.

BTW if you decide to book on your own, make sure you ask for a table at the front.

We have had afternoon tea several times at Reeds, the last thing you should do is rush it. Agree with the other posts, you need to be on the terrace. Try and get an earlier slot is my advice.

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We are stopping at Madeira in October. I'd planned on a trip to the caves in the morning, returning at 13.30 then going to the market. Now I'm wondering if we should book Reid's instead of the market [emoji85]

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One thing to bear in mind is that if the ship is down to leave dock at 5pm then all passengers will be expected to be back on board at 4:30pm, not 5.

We are stopping at Madeira in October. I'd planned on a trip to the caves in the morning, returning at 13.30 then going to the market. Now I'm wondering if we should book Reid's instead of the market [emoji85]

Florry, I think it is better to go to the market in the morning as the fish part tends to start closing around lunch time. So, maybe your idea of Reid's would be better. The caves is a good trip with just enough time at the end for coffee and pastry :D.

Florry, I think it is better to go to the market in the morning as the fish part tends to start closing around lunch time. So, maybe your idea of Reid's would be better. The caves is a good trip with just enough time at the end for coffee and pastry :D.

Decisions, decisions!

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