Last minute canaries cruise

[rosiebee]

Just confirmed booking today for cruise on Majesty, Canaries, 5th April. Previously have always booked at least year ahead and spent ages researching places to go, things to see. Well I call it research, my DH calls it fiddling. [That's a polite translation!]

Booked the cruise mainly for rest and relaxation following a couple of health issues but I'd hate to come back and think we'd missed something special. We're quite happy at the moment to come off the boat and potter around, have wine and lunch, but has anyone any suggestions of things we should not miss. We did hear about a cookery 'trip' in Morocco that sounded interesting. Has anyone done that? We're doing ok and are happy walking or doing the odd coach trip.

Really really looking forward to just being away, somewhere warm. Loved the review by 'Cruisin' Linda.

Thanks for all help.

Rosie:)

[Little Nell]

Just confirmed booking today for cruise on Majesty, Canaries, 5th April. Previously have always booked at least year ahead and spent ages researching places to go, things to see. Well I call it research, my DH calls it fiddling. [That's a polite translation!]

Booked the cruise mainly for rest and relaxation following a couple of health issues but I'd hate to come back and think we'd missed something special. We're quite happy at the moment to come off the boat and potter around, have wine and lunch, but has anyone any suggestions of things we should not miss. We did hear about a cookery 'trip' in Morocco that sounded interesting. Has anyone done that? We're doing ok and are happy walking or doing the odd coach trip.

Really really looking forward to just being away, somewhere warm. Loved the review by 'Cruisin' Linda.

Thanks for all help.

Rosie:)

 

Hope you have a lovely time. Sounds like you need and deserve it :)

[kruzseeka]

Hope you have a great time and enjoy some R&R rosiebee - much needed from the sound of it!

 

One of my favourite places to visit in Lanzarote is the Cesar Manrique Fundacion. Below I've copied a post I did for Jakanne a week or two back about it. Easy to do yourself.

 

 

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jakanne1

Thanks for the links Debs. The Manrique is a must. I notice Kruzseeka posted it so it must be good.

 

You will have got off by the time we get on as our flight is late arriving. Hope you and the children have a lovely time.

 

 

Goodness - I hope you won't be disappointed Jakanne! :eek:

 

But I must say we've been to some amazing places - iconic and very memorable but the Fundacion is very special. I think it's the sheer genius of Manrique - the vision and inventiveness which took my breath away. We visited it along with the other main Manrique sites when we were staying in Costa Teguise some years ago and when we went on a cruise and called in Lanzarote (I think it was the Dream relocation from Palma to the Canaries a couple of years back) it was the place we most wanted to go to again.

 

It was his home fashioned out of five lava bubbles which had been full of ash. They were excavated, connected together and made into 'rooms' which are underground spheres. One has a hole in the top of the bubble and a palm tree is growing out of the top - the floors and half way up the walls have been sprayed with concrete to make smooth and painted white - the upper half being the rough, black volcanic rock. Now imagine circular red leather seating in one bubble going around the perimeter and you can begin to see how the space has been transformed!

 

There is a garden too with small swimming pool, little bridge and purpose built BBQ and again furnishings for al fresco dining which only an artist could design! There is some conventional buildings on the surface which now house a small museum and a few paintings/sketches (even a Picasso one I think). One room has a huge picture window looking out across the typical Lanzarote landscape towards Timanfaya but it has a lava flow coming through it (the glass is set in a deep channel in the lava flow) - now who would think of doing that - bringing the outside in and particularly the lava which is so Lanzarote! Inspired!!!!!

 

Feast your eyes on these pics - it will give you a feel for how unusual it is and with such attention to detail - arty installations and effects everywhere - even the toilet signs! You get the feel that everything has been chosen, placed, designed specifically. You really need to take your time and look carefully - there is something round every corner which made me think how absolutely fanastic his achievements were and how visionary his approach. I'm no art buff I can tell you but in my book - respect!

 

Most of these are of the Fundacion although one or two from other places like the Mirador del Rio (the one on a viewing balcony) have crept in.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ma...w=1280&bih=610

 

And if you have the patience this is quite a good video to give you a good impression. I think a couple of hours max to take your time, have a coffee is realistic.

 

 

Hope you enjoy it if you go! ;)

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Just confirmed booking today for cruise on Majesty, Canaries, 5th April. Previously have always booked at least year ahead and spent ages researching places to go, things to see. Well I call it research, my DH calls it fiddling. [That's a polite translation!]

Booked the cruise mainly for rest and relaxation following a couple of health issues but I'd hate to come back and think we'd missed something special. We're quite happy at the moment to come off the boat and potter around, have wine and lunch, but has anyone any suggestions of things we should not miss. We did hear about a cookery 'trip' in Morocco that sounded interesting. Has anyone done that? We're doing ok and are happy walking or doing the odd coach trip.

Really really looking forward to just being away, somewhere warm. Loved the review by 'Cruisin' Linda.

Thanks for all help.

Rosie:)

Aww, thanks Rosie. Hope you have a lovely time. If think of anything else, I will let you know . Pity you aren't going to Fuerteventura, they have a brilliant shopping centre there :) I'd say it is worth doing the trip in La Palma, it is a beautiful island, although the town is nice too, if you just want to potter :)

[Jakanne1]

Just confirmed booking today for cruise on Majesty, Canaries, 5th April. Previously have always booked at least year ahead and spent ages researching places to go, things to see. Well I call it research, my DH calls it fiddling. [That's a polite translation!]

Booked the cruise mainly for rest and relaxation following a couple of health issues but I'd hate to come back and think we'd missed something special. We're quite happy at the moment to come off the boat and potter around, have wine and lunch, but has anyone any suggestions of things we should not miss. We did hear about a cookery 'trip' in Morocco that sounded interesting. Has anyone done that? We're doing ok and are happy walking or doing the odd coach trip.

Really really looking forward to just being away, somewhere warm. Loved the review by 'Cruisin' Linda.

Thanks for all help.

Rosie:)

 

I'm also doing a last minute cruise of Canaries but on 12th April. Just to put you in the picture I'm going with 2 girl friends (all retired) but went on the Canarian Flavours cruise beginning of March with my husband. I have been doing some extra research for the 2 different ports.

 

Ideas: Gran Canaria. Lovely place just to walk around. Hoho buses at the entrance to the port will give a good idea of the town. 5/6km beach and promenade. Lots of shops and restaurants. A real Spanish/Canarian town and the cleanest port we visited. Useful information kiosks where we got maps and excellent information. Lovely cathedral and Christopher Columbus house/museum in the old town which you can visit on the hoho bus.

 

La Palma : will probably do the "Scenic" Thomson Excursion that Linda did.

 

Madeira: hoho bus, cable car, Monte Botanical Gardens, Flower, Fruit, Fish

Markets and the famous Toboggan rides, Blandies (not sure what it is yet).

 

Agadir: A Thomson excursion, stay on ship or we will probably get a taxi to a hotel on the beach and have a walk along the promenade

 

Lanzarote: Cezar Manrique .....The one that Kruzseeka recommends!

 

Tenerife: Santa Cruz was rather disappointing so probably stay on ship on last day.

 

Well, these are my ideas, but there lots of other things to do instead. Just hope for good weather. :)

[Jakanne1]

Thanks for putting that on Kruzseeka. I was just going to trawl back and find it for Rosie. :)

[kruzseeka]

Thanks for putting that on Kruzseeka. I was just going to trawl back and find it for Rosie. :)

 

 

Pleasure. :)

 

You seem to have planned a great mix of things to do Jakanne - varied and interesting. Have a wonderful time - you too rosiebee! ;)

 

(Just please don't tell me afterwards if you hated the Fundacion - I'll feel so bad after hyping it up so much! :eek: )

[Jakanne1]

Pleasure. :)

 

You seem to have planned a great mix of things to do Jakanne - varied and interesting. Have a wonderful time - you too rosiebee! ;)

 

(Just please don't tell me afterwards if you hated the Fundacion - I'll feel so bad after hyping it up so much! :eek: )

 

Thank you, Kruzseeka. Don't worry, we will enjoy the Fundacion. I have tried to include variety in the programme to engage all our interests. There will also be a lot of walking as we are all keen walkers. This is my new career....travel planner. :).

 

My two travel companions and I are having a Cruise Meeting this afternoon to have a fun time deciding on what to take and who packs what, and to have a look at the itinerary. Bottle of Kir Royale already in the fridge. :). Photocopies of research still to do.

 

We shall not make any definite decisions about what to do, but we will have a good knowledge of what we can do and make our decisions on the ship. The weather will make a big impact because it is as uncertain/unsettled there as it is here only about 20C warmer!

 

Just re-read this... this "new career" seems to be a reflection of my past one...research, planning, flexibility, awareness of different needs, worksheets...but Kir Royale instead of water! :rolleyes:

[kruzseeka]

Thank you, Kruzseeka. Don't worry, we will enjoy the Fundacion. I have tried to include variety in the programme to engage all our interests. There will also be a lot of walking as we are all keen walkers. This is my new career....travel planner. :).

 

My two travel companions and I are having a Cruise Meeting this afternoon to have a fun time deciding on what to take and who packs what, and to have a look at the itinerary. Bottle of Kir Royale already in the fridge. :). Photocopies of research still to do.

 

We shall not make any definite decisions about what to do, but we will have a good knowledge of what we can do and make our decisions on the ship. The weather will make a big impact because it is as uncertain/unsettled there as it is here only about 20C warmer!

 

Just re-read this... this "new career" seems to be a reflection of my past one...research, planning, flexibility, awareness of different needs, worksheets...but Kir Royale instead of water! :rolleyes:

 

And don't I identify with all of that? At least now there is immense pleasure in it all and each time the goal posts having been changed by choice with each new itinerary :) and not by some bureaucrat who has never been at the sharp end!

 

Enjoy the Kir Royale! :D

[Jakanne1]

And don't I identify with all of that? At least now there is immense pleasure in it all and each time the goal posts having been changed by choice with each new itinerary :) and not by some bureaucrat who has never been at the sharp end!

 

Enjoy the Kir Royale! :D

 

Ah! Retirement! Says me, who is trying to Spring clean my son's bedroom who left home years ago and insists on keeping all his "rubbish" here.

[Deb71]

Hi Rosiebee, we are on the same cruise as you, looking forward to some sun! Our plans fairly similar to Jakanne's

 

Gran Canaria - hoho bus/have a wander around and maybe find some nice Tapas!

 

La Palma - dont plan to go too far here, just have a look around the Santa Cruz

 

Madeira: hoho bus, cable car, Botanical Gardens, have a look around Reids Hotel (favourite place of Winston Churchill) Blandies for some Madeira wine!

 

Agadir: A Thomson excursion, probably to Taroudant - Kruzseeka, if you read this can you tell us what the itinerary is, think you went on this one? :)

 

Lanzarote: either spend the day in Arrecife or do the Fire Mountain trip

 

Tenerife: probably not much as we are here for a week before the cruise although we do plan to visit Mount Teide during our stay

 

We are travelling with our 5 year old daughter so we dont go at a very fast pace, just plan to (hopefully) soak up some Canarian sun!

 

Here is a link to the sightseeing buses, I havent got the leaflets to hand at the minute but if you have a look at each location (Madeira, Gran Canaria and Tenerife) there are various discounts on them so worth bringing hopefully! http://www.city-sightseeing.com

[Jakanne1]

Hi Rosiebee, we are on the same cruise as you, looking forward to some sun! Our plans fairly similar to Jakanne's

 

Gran Canaria - hoho bus/have a wander around and maybe find some nice Tapas!

 

La Palma - dont plan to go too far here, just have a look around the Santa Cruz

 

Madeira: hoho bus, cable car, Botanical Gardens, have a look around Reids Hotel (favourite place of Winston Churchill) Blandies for some Madeira wine!

 

Agadir: A Thomson excursion, probably to Taroudant - Kruzseeka, if you read this can you tell us what the itinerary is, think you went on this one? :)

 

Lanzarote: either spend the day in Arrecife or do the Fire Mountain trip

 

Tenerife: probably not much as we are here for a week before the cruise although we do plan to visit Mount Teide during our stay

 

We are travelling with our 5 year old daughter so we dont go at a very fast pace, just plan to (hopefully) soak up some Canarian sun!

 

Here is a link to the sightseeing buses, I havent got the leaflets to hand at the minute but if you have a look at each location (Madeira, Gran Canaria and Tenerife) there are various discounts on them so worth bringing hopefully! http://www.city-sightseeing.com

 

Just read the hoho bus link and note that the price stated is €15 but they were charging €18 at the beginning of March. They were not very happy when I claimed 10% discount with my Liverpool hoho ticket which took the price down to €15.30. Tip: Keep your tickets and then you can claim 10% off the red hoho buses anywhere in the world.

 

I'm tempted to buy tickets for Madeira the first port we would need them then at least we would be able to walk past any queues and save some time waiting.

[kruzseeka]

Hi Deb71 :)

 

 

Taroundant - it was a surprisingly interesting journey from Agadir. You could see the Atlas Mountains in the distance and the landscape is much greener than I expected and we saw lots of people walking around - we kept wondering where they were going as there was often nothing in the vicinity! But we did get the feel of experiencing something which for us was quite different.

 

Here are a couple of posts I did from way back:

 

You said you'd like to go to Marrakesh but said it was a bit too far - and you're right it is a long coach trip. Have you thought of doing the Taroundant (sp?) as a compromise? It's called 'little Marrakesh' and is about a 5/5.5 hour excursion (classed as a half-day trip). We felt it gave us a flavour of Morocco and was an interesting drive past the Atlas Mountains and you see the tree climbing goats too. There was a refreshment stop (sweet mint tea or freshly squashed orange juice) included and we thoroughly enjoyed it and given what the previous poster said about Agadir, you'd have the security of being with a party and having a guide with you.

 

The hour plus journey with the Atlas Mountains in view was interesting and included a stop to see the tree climbing goats (an photo opportunity) and a refreshment stop for freshly squeezed orange juice or sweet mint tea (we liked it despite usually taking tea without sugar - 'when in Rome'!).

Taroundant was very interesting but as already said, you are subject to pestering. We stayed close to our guide - but be wary of the souk where tourists are subject to 'cons'. Don't wander off with supposedly well meaning locals to 'find your guide'. We've been told of tourists being deliberately 'lost' by locals who then charge to take you back to where you were!!

 

It's an experience! We hadn't been to Morocco before and were just interested to see something of the culture - but you have to be prepared for it to be that really - an opportunity to see another culture. It's not like most places we've visited, no touristy infrastructure and you do need to stick with the guide imo. We enjoyed it but can understand how some might not.

 

 

But I would also just chip in again about Lanzarote Deb. :o I know I'm a big fan of the Manrique Fundacion in Lanzarote but I know it wouldn't be everyone's choice of things to do. However I would urge you to do something in Lanzarote and get out of Arrecife. It is an unusual island. I never thought I could be captivated by a black volcanic ash landscape. But it is fascinating.

 

Manrique's influence can be seen all over the island - even down to the height of houses - no taller than a palm tree (except from one hotel in Arrecife which was built before planning regulations imposed by the then President - a friend of Manrique's and clearly under his influence). They are all white sugar cube style and woodwork can only be painted in green (for the plants) blue (for the sea) and perhaps brown (for the earth?).

 

There are mobiles of Manrique's design in the centre of roundabouts, a cactus garden he designed plus restaurants and a cave complex too in different locations around Lanzarote. There are vineyards (geria) with horse-shoe shaped little low-walled structures make from blocks of lava in the centre of which the vine plants grow. All make for a very interesting place to visit.

 

But I think it's definitely worth taking a trip to see something as Arrecife itself isn't interesting or very attractive at all imo. It was a real disappointement for us when we went and I think you would miss the real flavour of Lanzarote if you didn't go anywhere else.

 

Your idea of the Fire Mountain is a good one. It is fabulous - you will also see something of the island on the way and with a guide learn some of its fascinating history. The formations and colours in the lava on the way to the top of Timanfaya are unbelievable. On top of the mountain they do demonstrations - burning scrub from the heat coming from the ground, putting water in a hot spot and seeing it vapourise plus there is a restaurant there (designed by guess who? :D:D). Well worth considering.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise. :)

[Deb71]

Thanks Kruzseeka that's extremely useful :) Decisions decisions, I'll be sure to report back what we did!

[Julessmiles]

Debs - we did both the Taraoudant trio & the Fire Mountain trip with our children - they were older than your daughter but I can recommend them both as nice family trips. We also did the hoho bus in Madeira which was very good.

[rosiebee]

Thanks for all your great replies. I'm always telling people about how lovely and friendly the Thomson forum is. As I write this, our garden is still covered with snow, so reading about all the places to see on the cruise, is cheering me up no end! I think Kruzseeker, you could probably set up a forum of your own. I remember printing out all your reviews of a Caribbean cruise for friends who were going for the first time. I think the artists's place sounds and looks fascinating. Thanks everyone. You've really put me in the mood now to go and sort some holiday clothes out. Maybe by the time we're back we'll even be putting our woollies away.:):)

[kruzseeka]

Thanks for all your great replies. I'm always telling people about how lovely and friendly the Thomson forum is. As I write this, our garden is still covered with snow, so reading about all the places to see on the cruise, is cheering me up no end! I think Kruzseeker, you could probably set up a forum of your own. I remember printing out all your reviews of a Caribbean cruise for friends who were going for the first time. I think the artists's place sounds and looks fascinating. Thanks everyone. You've really put me in the mood now to go and sort some holiday clothes out. Maybe by the time we're back we'll even be putting our woollies away.:):)

 

 

Thank you rosie. :) You're very welcome. Hope you have a fantastic time! :)