RachelG

I have been given many of these offers in the past, none recently. But I did take on because it was so generous, really couldn’t say no.

We just use our normal Verizon phones and pay the $10 per day. Now when out in the ocean, if you can’t get a signal the ship to shore phone is the only option, but it is very challenging to connect to at times. I have been so frustrated with it. Worth $10 per day to have good phone service from Verizon.

October 9, 2023–Dublin to Home, and final thoughts We had a good 5 1/2 hours sleep at the Dublin Airport Hilton, which is actually no where near the airport. Our cab driver from the airport to there was very funny and drove FAST. A 5 1/2 sleep makes all the difference between feeling like you have been run over by a truck and feeling refreshed. Plus a shower helps. They also had a veryIrish breakfast buffet, so if anyone had a hankering for black or white pudding, it was available. Our Air Lingus flight from Barcelona to Dublin was fine and on time, but very basic. They charge extra for water. It was in coach as they don’t have business class but only a 2 hour flight. We didn’t have to pay extra for luggage as it was a codeshare with AA, and were in business class on the rest of the trip home. For a $3000 pp saving, no complaints.. AA flight from Dublin to Chicago was on time and very comfortable. Going through customs ahead of time in Dublin is really nice. I got another nice nap in the AA business class seat. Now final thoughts. The ship was completely full. I really never felt that it was crowded, and we didn’t have to wait in lines. The crew was top notch, plus really happy after they were able to stop wearing masks. Our cabin stewardess was proactive and responsive. Most passengers were 50+, with a couple of mother/adult daughter combos. Only one child onboard who was a cute little 4 year old son of an officer. As I said before, he was a delight. There was a particularly obnoxious large Asian group who felt that they were entitled to the large table and the surrounding ones in Compass Rose every evening and pushing in front of people at the buffet in La Veranda. One took a whole bowl of cocktail sauce for the shrimp and dumped it on her plate while George was waiting to get some. I never saw them on any excursions. Food was mostly good to great with very fresh produce, some of the best tomatoes I have ever had on a ship. The burgers at the grill had improved immensely. George had a few steak and lobster issues, but the steaks I had were delicious. They brought on fresh fish at every port, which was pretty amazing. Wines were just ok, though we did find some we really liked and just asked for those. The Meridian Lounge has great innovative cocktails, but it was just too loud when the music started. Too small a space for the band to play. The pianist in the Observation lounge was more conducive to conversation. We had some really great excursions and some just so so. The wineries in France were terrible, but the Spanish ones were fabulous. The excursion with only 30 minutes in Sintra and 30 minutes is Cascais was really disappointing. Total waste of time as it took longer to drive there than we got to spend there. The weather was great, though warmer than expected, but this time of year is a good choice for the itinerary. Our suite was 816 and we had more storage space than we could ever hope to use. We had more storage than I have in my bedroom and bath at home. It would be a good suite for a longer cruise. It also has a larger balcony, though we didn’t really have time to use it much. Wifi was acceptable. Slower than on land, but definitely better than I have had on most ships in the past. I only had trouble uploading my office stuff once, which is better than average. It was too slow for me to upload photos efficiently, so I just did that onshore. It was great getting to meet Forgap and her husband after all these years, and of course, we had several other friends onboard. Plus we met some new friends who we Hope to sail with in the future.

Montserrat

Lunch in Tarragona

Street festival

Tarragona

October 8, 2023-disembarkation in Tarragona, Spain We woke up early as you had to be out of the suite by 8 am. Our driver was not arrive u til 9 am, so that is what I requested as disembarkation time. We just sat out in the lobby area and visited with friends. They actually called our tag number early. Fortunately the driver was there, so we were on our way by 8:45. As our flight was not until 11pm, we had the whole day to explore. I had researched and hired an excellent private guide who specializes in hiking and wine tours. I had been in touch with him for a few months, we had set an itinerary to fill the day. Not cheap, but worth it. We spent the morning walking all over Tarragona and exploring the Roman ruins which are very extensive and well preserved, the medieval ruins, and the cathedral. Along the way, we ran into a parade which was part of some sort of local festival. They have these huge figures of people and animals which they carry through the streets. The octopus was squirting people with water. It was really fun. We ate lunch at a Michelin starred restaurant which had outstanding wines and very innovative modern Spanish cuisine. They brought out what looked like a green olive to begin. You bite it, and it was a fondant filled with olive oil. I thought the sea bass which was the fish of the day was a little dry and unimaginative, but the filet of beef was excellent and well priced. The bread was amazing, and the salad and ravioli starter were great. We finished with a delicious creative chocolate dessert. They have two tasting menus but that just seemed to be too much food to us. What we saw of it looked great though. Then we drove out of town and up to Montserrat, the famous monastery up in the mountains. People go there to see the black Madonna. We weren’t interested in that particularly though we did take a look. We were interested in hiking. We rode a cable car up then hiked further. There were excellent trails, and by the time we were finished, we had done over 8 miles. The drive to Barcelona was uneventful. Very little traffic. Check-in and going through security and customs was torturous, particularly security as the x-Ray machine didn’t like George’s back pack, and the security guys couldn’t figure out why, so they kept sending it through the machine. They finally gave up and let us through. We fly to Dublin tonight, then on to the US tomorrow. We have a room booked at the airport Hilton for tonight.

View from Bellver

Lunch

Alfabia Gardens

October 7, 2023–Palma de Mallorca, Spain Another smooth night sailing, and when we awoke we were in a large port next to what appeared to be a big ferry. Down the way were 3 other huge ships-Aida, Marella,and GNV, what ever that is. GNV appeared to have seen much better days. The Aida ship was a huge monstrosity. The Marella ship, which is apparently owned by Tui, a large travel company which supplied many of our buses and guides this trip, seemed to be the best of the batch, but no where as nice as Regent. Forecast for the day—again warm and sunny. Our excursion for the day was to be to Alfabia garden then to a Mallorcan lunch followed by a visit to Bellver Tower. We have been to Mallorca before, so I was trying to pick something different. We boarded our bus and took off into the countryside. Soon we were out of the city and in a beautiful valley surrounded by high peaks on 3 sides. A small group, only 14, with two of those being the wife and 4 year old son of one of the officers. He was a delight, very polite. His only English words were “My name is …”, but he said it with confidence. George taught him a game, and he was our buddy for the trip. The Alfabia Gardens are in an old Moorish estate with a large beautiful house, all the old stables, and expansive gardens and orchards with water features. I would highly recommend. We wandered all over. There were photo ops everywhere. With the shade, it wasn’t hot. Then we walked across the parking lot to Los Vascos, a typical Mallorcan restaurant, where we were served lunch consisting of fresh tomatoes, cheeses, ham, potato salad, croquettes of mushroom and potatoes, oxtail sandwiches, bread with olive oil, and cheesecake. It was so fresh and delicious. Oh, and free flowing red and white wine. Probably one of the best meals I have ever had on a tour, and it was not an extra charge tour. We then drove to Bellver for photos—couldn’t go inside. There was a wedding going on, so we got to see the bride and groom leaving. Then a quick stop by the cathedral and back to the ship. All in all, a wonderful excursion. But a sad sight awaited us—luggage was out on the bed. We got busy and packed pretty quickly and, amazingly, found room for everything. The show was early tonight at 6 pm, and was one of my favorites as it was the Broadway music show, but unfortunately I didn’t get to attend as George had scheduled so many social events with old and new friends. We had drinks, then more drinks, then dinner in Sette Mare ( food was great but service was terribly slow), then more drinks. I took to pellegrino with lime. But we were able to visit with some really nice people. We went back to the room and set out the luggage.

Winery

Inside the church

Novelda

Alicante

It was. The tomatoes were so fresh.

Senorio de Nevada. They have a very elegant looking small hotel and restaurant there as well.

October 6,2023–Alicante, Spain We had a late sleep as the ship was not to arrive in Alicante until 10 am. Seas were calm, and the weather forecast was again for warm and sunny. I would have brought more summer clothes for this trip. I didn’t bring a single pair of shorts or sundress, and I have been missing both. Alicante is a beach/resort town with a lot of Moorish and Spanish history. Our tour for the day was a walking tour of Alicante and Novelda, another nearby town then wine tasting. We were in port with a huge MSC ship, so it was quite crowded. To one side, there was a long white sand beach filled with sunbathers as well as two huge rocks with old forts on top. On the left was a large sailboat marina, and behind the old town, with tiny streets, old buildings and an undulating tile promenade. We walked through, hard to do as we were tempted on all sides by the tapas places. We then boarded a bus to Novelda which is an inland town that produces marble. The area is very dry with mostly olive and almond groves and vineyard. Above Novelda is another big rock hill and on top of that an old moorish fortress, a triangular tower, and a beautiful church designed by a student of Gaudi. We were able to climb to the top of the tower then go inside the church. Inside, there is an organ made totally of marble,including the pipes. It isn’t totally finished yet, as the guy who was carving it had covid really badly apparently, but it is enough finished that it can be played. We listened to Canon in D major, and as my husband said, he i ordered hopes heaven is this good. It was transcendent. We then rode to a big very nice vineyard nearby, and tasted some really good wine as well as olives that they grow. Again much better than any of the ship’s wine tastings in France. We drove back to town. There was the option to stay in town. We came back for trivia and came in 2nd. We decided to go to the observation lounge pre dinner. Tonight was cruise capers as well. Then dinner in Prime 7. My filet was perfect. George had the surf and turf and the lobster was over cooked, they brought him a new one which was good. But why not just cook it perfectly the first time. The entertainer was the illusionist and I decided to give him a second try. Much better. I could actually follow the show.

Lunch

Lovely Spanish winery

Cat of the day—very friendly and wanted me to pick up and pet

Village church

Cave in the garden

Nazari gardens