* LIVE from the Rotterdam - 30 day Passage to Spain and Western Europe - Mar. 30th*

Here is our When and Where for our sea day - April 20th

It was a Gala night tonight.

Here is the menu:

There was a slot pull tournament today so what the heck, I decided to play. I made it to the finals but, naturally, I came 2nd which gives you nothing but a hat. The winner who placed first walked away with $388.

In between the slot pull, we had our cabin crawl for those that had come on the second segment. A little surprise for everyone as WayneFougere had scored an upsell to the Pinnacle Suite and they were kind enough to host their cabin. Everyone had fun chatting there at the end.

And, soon it was time for Bingo. Very few sea days on this segment so this was the first sea day. I had lost my other roll call Bingo buddies from the last segment as they had disembarked but had a new one which always makes it fun. Surprisingly, I managed to win one game, but I had to split the winnings with another. Something is always better than nothing though!

Soon it was time for dinner. We had Le Cirque reserved so we headed to the Pinnacle Grill.

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Sorry to hear you missed Gibraltar! We loved our visit there last year on Koningsdam and had a terrific private tour. I hope you get there someday.

We have done Le Cirque several times so we thought we would have different things than our "usual".

the amuse bouche was the same one we had had before, so I didn't bother with pics. If I don't enjoy it, I don't take a picture. I think that tells you what I thought of the Amuse Bouche.

We started with the lobster salad which was different than ones we have had in the past. Quite good.

Thought I should test the escargots. The combination was a little strange IMO but the escargots were good.

DH ordered the pasta which he said was average.

And I ordered the sea bass which was quite edible.

Ok, we had one of my favourite desserts to share. I love a good Creme Brulee so even though we have had it before, we ordered it again. It was VERY good.

Of course there were the usual after dinner treats.

We have always enjoyed Le Cirque and always thought it was worth the money, but, we are now thinking that the Pinnacle Grill may be better value. While some parts of the meal were very good, other parts were just ok. We'll probably still try it on the next cruise as our experience on the p'dam has always been good.

Talking to fellow cruisers who ordered the lamb chops they said they were cooked perfectly and delicious so, obviously the kitchen does some things very well and other things not so well.

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So sorry to hear you are missing Gibraltar. I loved it on my first, and only TA, in 1995. I checked WindyTV and there seems to be a system blowing off of Algeria and right out to the Atlantic.

 

But that just meNs you need to try again! Enjoy Malaga the second time around.

It was really windy in Cagliari and on the ship yesterday, too. The boat was rocking last night from the wind and there was quite the "bump" when we approached Malaga.

Jacqui. Sorry you can't get into Gibraltar.

The night we transited the strait on the Westy we had 70 knot winds.

I know you were a day behind us, I hope it was much calmer for you.

 

 

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Thanks. We weren't as bad as you wind wise. Winds were due to approach 60 knots which is why we diverted to Malaga. What seemed like motion of the ocean to some was simply waves from the wind and wind against the ship, I think.

Thanks everyone for the sympathy on Gibralter. It is what it is.

DH is happy to return to Malaga. At least he can get his hair "fixed" from the botched job on the ship.

Well we are finally in Malaga. And I do mean finally.

I'm starting to wonder if our Cruise Director has any common sense. She announced that the gangway had changed due to high winds shortly after 9 a.m. So, I wonder why she decided to announce that embarkation had delays at 10:30? We heard the announcement as we were FINALLY walking to the terminal in Malaga.

Why didn't she make that announcement an hour ago? No one knew what was going on. Those of us that do stairs were stuck in a never moving conglomeration of people.

Nearly an hour later as we got to the security and the gangway, I understood what the problem was.

First, the people getting off the elevator were just bumping everyone who had been waiting coming down the stairs and no one was helping things move or keeping things in order.

Secondly, the wind was blowing hard so that the crew members had to hold down the little gangway and were only permitting two people at a time on the gangway, so, everything was back logged.

Between that and the shuttle bus fiasco, it took us nearly and hour and 1/2 to get to Malaga.

Hopefully, that is the 3rd thing (all bad things come in 3's right?). And tomorrow will go as smooth as silk.

Huelva tomorrow and I had to book a new company in Barcelona since the other one was no longer operating. I had researched them before leaving but I needed DH to talk to them on the phone. (They prefer phone reservations).

Huelva and Vigo were on of the reasons we booked this itinerary (I know, that's dangerous) so hoping all is smooth there.

Here is our When and Where for today - April 20th.

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I laughed when I saw your lobster salad from La Cirque - DH refers to it as Ikea salad, or do it yourself, here are the ingredients. LOL Your food porn kills me; I think I'd better hit the treadmill.

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

Good evening from the lovely Rotterdam.

We are setting sail from Huelva in a few minutes.

The Captain has come on and explained the difficulties of Malaga and the winds. The motion we felt was from the winds and waves and swells earlier. Apparently the Rotterdam had a hard time holding position to remain in Malaga and the Captain thanked the crew for all of their hard work.

Not only did they have to use thrusters all day to stay docked, the crew had to work constantly to prevent this being another sea day. The mooring lines actually broke while we were docked and new ones had to be attached.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg from the sounds of things. Winds are high and we are back crossing the straight of Gibralter again to get to Huelva.

So, Thanks crew of the Rotteram. A day in port beats another sea day for sure.

The captain has warned there will be huge winds, swells and rolling and pitching shortly and probably all night. Everyone has been asked to hang onto hand rails at all times as there will be a lot of very sudden movement because of the winds and waves. I didn't hear any wind speed but I am sure we will be informed later.

So, it might be a bumpy ride tonight.

And speaking of tonight...it's going to be a tough choice for dinner. Why does all the good stuff (or the stuff we like) appear on the same menu?

Here is tonight's menu. It's going to be tough to decide between the fish, beef or calves liver. Yikes!

Oh my, just watched the pilot try to approach the Rotterdam and that ship was bobbing and turning in the water. It looks like it is going to be a very bumpy ride tonight.

I am still laughing at DH. The barber asked who destroyed his hair and remembered him from 2 years ago. The only thing to be done to repair the job was to trim it even shorter. LOL. I'm not used to the "new look" yet. If we had only known we were returning to Malaga, DH would have waited for his hair cut and not had it done on the ship. Oh well, it is what it is and repaired now.

We have pulled away and the ship has already started to rock and roll and we are not even out of the harbour. This could be one bumpy ride tonight.

I better get changed for dinner now before it gets too tricky. Cheers as we sail from Malaga.

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Good luck with the lumpy sea! Remember the rule of cruising: One hand for you and one for the ship.

I'm enjoying your food porn, too. I suppose the lobster salad was described as "deconstructed"? That's one of the new trends. I think it just saves the chef the work of chopping and mixing. ;p

Remind your DH that hair is a renewable resource--it will grow back. How nice that the barber remembered him! When we used to visit our English relatives in Yorkshire every year, DH would visit the local barber for a haircut and a lot of football (soccer to us) talk.

It's disappointing to learn that your DH received a poor haircut. I'd hope that he made a complaint to the Spa Manager. I must be fortunate because any haircut that I have received aboard a ship was well done.

Remind your DH that hair is a renewable resource--it will grow back.

My hair is not renewable, it is being replaced by skin.

My hair is not renewable, it is being replaced by skin.

[emoji23] Good one!

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Jacqui, congratulations on your bingo win! Made me wonder if Patsy and I brought you bad luck on the first segment of your cruise. We have been following your "live from" thread since disembarking in Barcelona. Sounds like things have become very exciting on this second leg of your cruise. Enjoy your remaining time on board the beautiful Rotterdam.

John & Patsy

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Good luck with the lumpy sea! Remember the rule of cruising: One hand for you and one for the ship.

 

I'm enjoying your food porn, too. I suppose the lobster salad was described as "deconstructed"? That's one of the new trends. I think it just saves the chef the work of chopping and mixing. ;p

 

Remind your DH that hair is a renewable resource--it will grow back. How nice that the barber remembered him! When we used to visit our English relatives in Yorkshire every year, DH would visit the local barber for a haircut and a lot of football (soccer to us) talk.

LOL - the lobster salad was not described as deconstructed.

DH loves this barber in Malaga.

It's disappointing to learn that your DH received a poor haircut. I'd hope that he made a complaint to the Spa Manager. I must be fortunate because any haircut that I have received aboard a ship was well done.

This is the first time that DH has been unhappy with his cut on board.

REALLY unhappy. I don't think he has complained. I told him to do a LUK card if he doesn't want to say something.

He hasn't done it, yet.

We've both had good luck in the past but now I am a tad nervous even for a trim.

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Jacqui, congratulations on your bingo win! Made me wonder if Patsy and I brought you bad luck on the first segment of your cruise. We have been following your "live from" thread since disembarking in Barcelona. Sounds like things have become very exciting on this second leg of your cruise. Enjoy your remaining time on board the beautiful Rotterdam.

 

John & Patsy

 

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Hi John & Patsy. Miss you.

You didn't bring me bad luck. I won one game playing with you too, remember?

This would have been a nice one at $222 but I had to share. Life is good. Just the same. :)

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We are in Huelva today. The port many hate to read CC ports boards and have had an unbelievable time.

A great day. I need to compose and choose pics for you all.

And I need to charge my ipad.

So for now, here is the When and Where for today:

Our dining room menu for tonight.

Dining room menu sucks for us. Pretty much a repeat of 2 or 3 weeks ago and we we weren't thrilled then, so we are hitting the Canaletto tonight and give it a try.

Bear with me. Wifi is slow and wasn't great on the tour.

I'll be back, I promise, once things are composed and can be copied and pasted. And I will take you all on the route of Columbus.

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Getting caught up again.

Sorry you missed Gibraltar. We loved our day there many years ago. No high winds.

Your Canaletto's menu sounds yummy! It is different from the one offered during the 2016 VOV.

Your Canaletto's menu sounds yummy! It is different from the one offered during the 2016 VOV.

It was delicious. Food porn and comments later. One of the best Canaletto's I've had - food and service wise.

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First of all, I apologize, I realized I kept the When and Where for our port yesterday and accidentally posted it today. So, here is the When and Where for our Huelva day.

So, today, we were in Huelva.

Now, if you read the ports boards on CC, Huelva is the dregs of all ports. Certainly the dock spot is not attractive and it is around 8 miles to get into the port but Huelva provides a FREE shuttle and anyone who stays on the ship is literally missing the boat.

This was such a day. I don't have the words. We were doing the path of Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus)

Kazu, the planner had it all figured out and then the tour company she chose said they had closed one month before. I had researched other companies, but my emails did no good and we were too close to cruising when we found out. So, I wrote all the points down for DH to make the call to the alternate plan in Barcelona and we secured a new one.

The only problem was that they had the English guides booked and we had a Spanish speaking one, but I can fake it a tad and it is DH's main language. All good right? And then DH got sick.

Frederico rushed him back to the ship (we were only at the first stop). I suspect it was the "roughing" last night and I know he was sorry he missed it. Fortunately, we had our other Jose on the tour (hello "las ninas") who was happy to help.

OMG, whoever said this port wasn't a good stop didn't get off the ship or didn't do this.

It was a fabulous day - far beyond any expectations I had. I thought when we went to La Rabida it would just be a cold monastery but I wanted to travel in Columbus' footsteps. This is the monastery he knocked on the door and begged for shelter.

It looks pretty plain from the outside doesn't it?

And they gave refuge to Columbus. He spent his time here and in Moguer when he was negotiating with Queen Isabella of Spain who pawned her jewels to build his ship.

Two were built at our previous port as "punishment" for smuggling.

I really don't know where to start with pictures. I took so many.

This was far more than what I expected.

So we will start here with the beautiful outside and if you are bored just skip the next few posts.

There is a statue of Columbus, one of his Captain and a huge monument to the "Discovery".

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The monastery is cared for by the Franciscan monks. You can see the Moorish influence as well as the Spanish throughout it.

Beautiful floor in one of the courtyards.

The courtyards were simply exquisite inside the La Rabida.

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So much history here. The art is fabulous and some of it dates back centuries.

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The frescoes on the walls were simply amazing.

The rooms reeked of history. Imagine being in the room where Columbus met with negotiators to see the Queen!

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Soon it was time to move on so we bid farewell to La Rabida, totally enchanted.

Next, we were on to Palos de la Frontera.

This is the place where Columbus set sail. Do you see the well? That is actually where the sea used to go centuries ago and has since receded. This is where Columbus sailed from.

The plaque for Columbus

And then we were off to Moguer.

This is an important town in the story of Christopher as some of his crew stayed here as did he when he met with Queen Isabella of Spain and her intermediaries.

As we walked to the spot, we saw so many wonderful things. A very beautiful spot.