L454S

When we were leaving Gibraltar on Wednesday, the Captain made the departure announcement and included the fact that they might require tugs for assistance because of the high winds(and there really were high winds). The Bay of Gibraltar is littered with anchored merchant ships right up to near the docks. He said the thrusters could only handle winds up to XX and they were right at that point. We did some sideways and spin moves within close proximity to other vessels and when pointing out to the straight he just went on out. Never saw a tug pushing or pulling? The ship went out and got just to the east of the rock in the straight and did a 360 for photo ops.......

Am on the NS now heading for Barcelona at a posted 18 knots. Have not noticed any problems or timing changes across the Atlantic or in any stops up to now. No announcements of any kind either.

The captain just came over the PA and gave the daily announcement about time to leave this port as scheduled and how he would do this maneuver, as well as how far to Barcelona and that we would make 17 kts. to arrive as scheduled in the AM.

Have not heard a word about this. Our schedule has been kept on time. We are leaving Alicante this evening and arriving in Barcelona in the morning for debarkation. If I hear anything I will respond with what I hear.

Heading into port of Alicante, Spain this morning . Beautiful sunrise over the Mediterranean. We do have a wine tasting tour today.

I enjoyed the music that is piped in very much at both of those venues. I thought I would enjoy the pianos more, but a rock song with guitars, bass, and drums does not come across well on piano. Elton John and Billy Joel do OK. The live band did very well with 45 minute sets. 7:45 to 8:30 and another set later. Could have listened all night. Bravo! Not much of a casino buff, but walked through many times and it was never full. BB King is a large venue that did draw better crowds than I thought they would. I am not into Jazz or Classical music, but evidently some are.

We stayed onboard today instead of going ashore(been here a few times). This sailing had more to do with HAL(as it is today) overall than the ports. We have been very satisfied overall with the product compared to our other preferred lines(cutbacks not withstanding). Future Cruise made us an offer a few days ago that we took. 22 day South America/Antarctica on Jan.6, 2025. Aft Bcy. 5185, Santiago,Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina. A bucket list for us. Did not care for Celebrity's offering.

This morning 4/20/23 is the port of Malaga. Most tours will pick you up at the cruise terminal. If you just want to walk in old town, there are shuttles to old town entrance. After breakfast we got back to our cabin and found these tiles from the Mariner Society. They are Pinnacle Class ship tiles. I know it seems funny, being 7 hours ahead, I am posting this stuff while back home everybody is asleep.

It's about 3/4 mi. walk from the ship to the old town bastion walls. If you're not taking a tour of the rock, you might like this. There are signs to guide you. This is a British territory, but they drive on the right side of the street. Lots of shops and some restaurants.

Earlier in the thread Gail & Marty Sailing Away made this post about Taramind Rest. Good post and I can see why it's their favorite. It was the best of the 3 specialty dining venues. From the medley and tempura shrimp apps to the crusted beef tenderloin and Szechuan shrimp entrees. Then you pick a few sides like in Pinnacle Grill. Very enjoyable....a hidden gem.

Woke up to the rock of Gibraltar this morning along with a cruise ship with sails. Probably just walk into town at the outdoor market and have a fish and chips at Roy's in the square. We've toured the rock previously. By the way, avoid the fish and chips or fried cod onboard, mostly breading and oily.

You're welcome BJ4016, I have been on the Zuiderdam, but it was 18 years ago. By the deck plans it looks like they have tried to implement some version of the music venues. Have seen these for a few days now in the Dutch Cafe. They come out about 11 AM. They are called Boussche Bols. A monster chocolate cream puff.....OMG. Yes, they are free.

They will start bringing out different apps as you finish them. No the peanuts don't count.

We tried the lunch at the Pinnacle Grill. For $15 it sounded good with the menu posted. I would recommend it. We had a crab cakes app and the Pinnacle Burger(I do love a GOOD burger). I think the kitchen sink was on there somewhere. Surprised to see that many people in there, it was full. We pulled into Cadiz, Spain this morning. Have been before, one of the things we like to do is walk into town and find a sidewalk cafe serving a big pitcher of Sangria and tapas.

So far I think it has been offered on 2 evenings in the Main Dining Room. This is day 9 of this 14 day sailing. Yes, we got it and it was pretty good. It comes on a white multi hole ramekin as opposed to the stainless ones on other cruise lines. Sorry, I didn't take any pics. Found this pic online.

I'll try................................................. It would be OK with me if it became one of my favorites too.

Wanted to add a point I forgot while talking about Pinnacle Grill. We had been seated at about 5:45 and there were only about 2 other couples there. Figured by the time we left, it would be rocking and rolling. We left about 7:10 and there were still only a couple people there. .......Make of that what you will. This was day 2.

Agree with you 100%. These upcharge places are not cheap! They used to list salads apart from apps, now group together and allow you one. Absurd. We have dealt with other lines(RCI) cutbacks too. Seems they are trying to find the pain threshold. As long as bookings stay up, they will keep doing these things unfortunately. Business 101 I guess.

We are going to Tamarind in a couple days, have read some good and some bad. We wanted to give them all a try with the HIA booking.

I get what your saying, we went to the Pinnacle Grill on night 2. DW had a filet that she enjoyed it, I had the rib eye and it was tough. I ended up cutting it into small pieces to make it a bit better. A little story about the Pinnacle Grill. We had heard about the powers that be wanting to charge you for more than one appetizer. Sure enough, what they did was group the apps and the salads together. You can only get an app or a salad and only one or there will be an additional $7 charge. I saw this on the menu and when we ordered I called this out to the waiter. I told him if I couldn't get an app and salad that we were going to leave. He bent over and said "order what you want, I will bring it." I'm not bragging, just what I had decided to do if these rules were in place and call out the BS.

No osso bucco, that is a Monday only dish. Wish it would have been on the menu, DW likes that. I'm not Italian either, just like Italian food. The osso bucco is on the menu every day in Giovanni's, as well as filet mignon, etc., but as stated, it does cost more. Arrived in Ponta Delgada, Azores today at 12 noon. Will be here till 11 pm. Pretty sunshine day with clouds in the mountains.

What I find is that they don't use icing on anything. What looks like and should be icing on everything is just whipped cream instead. Very bland, but looks great.

Had dinner in Canaletto last night. I'm sorry to say that I can't recommend it . First, it is just some seating in the Lido that has been chopped off with a glass wall. Everybody passing in the lido looking in. It's very small and the servers have to make a trek to get your orders. The food was very hit/miss. Appetizers: The antipasti plate was good, but tiny. The calamari was TOUGH. The veal meatballs were very good. Mains: The lamb chops were tough and TINY. The beef short ribs/gnocchi were very good though not very Italian. Good thing they let you order a few apps. Royal Caribbean's Giovannis is a far better experience overall though it costs more.

My son is an ATC Supervisor at Baton Rouge. I am a private pilot.

@mgatc, I spoke with the cabin attendant, he said he would leave the lounger for you on the balcony. Are you an air traffic controller?