Independence Med Spain cruise June 28th-July 12th repoooooort

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Sinny, I loved your review of the Southern Caribbean. We followed your advice and stayed at Tres Palmas Inn in San Juan and we loved it! Thank you (Although it wasn't for everyone in our large group, it was exactly what my DH and I prefer.)

 

I am really looking forward to the rest of your review. I love your writing style. We are planning a cruise to the Med in a couple of years (Greek Isles out of Barcelona.) Who knows, you may convince me to look at other options and ships!:)

[Nami]

Another great review from you Sinny. Thanks.

Looking forward to reading more :)

[Sinppu]

Love your review and it's bringing back such happy memories ...but we've been on Indy four times now and I've NEVER noticed the sheep. Lol. Where were they ? I must walk round with my eyes shut. Lol

 

They're at the gym :D

 

Sinny, I loved your review of the Southern Caribbean. We followed your advice and stayed at Tres Palmas Inn in San Juan and we loved it! Thank you (Although it wasn't for everyone in our large group, it was exactly what my DH and I prefer.)

 

I am really looking forward to the rest of your review. I love your writing style. We are planning a cruise to the Med in a couple of years (Greek Isles out of Barcelona.) Who knows, you may convince me to look at other options and ships!:)

 

HI!! I'm so glad hear that you liked Tres Palmas Inn. It suited us very well.

[Sinppu]

Our first port on this cruise was Vigo.

We decided to go DIY in every port and had nothing planned in advance.

It turned out to be a great plan :)

 

We'd heard the previous night that Vigo was an industrial and boring city with nothing special to offer, but we disagree.

 

 

 

Vigo had character but maybe not the kind many people look for.

 

We got a map right at the pier and decided to head for the fortress to see the views over Vigo.

 

 

 

Vigo has plenty of stairs and hills so walking might not be an option if you are agilitically challenged.

 

 

A lot of souvenirs which were not too expensive.

[Sinppu]

The big shopping centre right at the pier allows you to avoid the first set of steep chairs into the Old Town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed towards the fortress.

 

[Sinppu]

It took about a half an hour to reach the hill but we were not in a hurry.

 

 

It was a hot day (June...Spain...tends to be like that) so we took every opportunity to rest.

 

 

 

 

This happy camper found a squirrel. It was funny to watch.

 

[Sinppu]

The views from the fortress were wonderful.

(Sorry for the foggy photos, we didn't notice our camera was sweating too.)

 

 

 

 

 

We headed back to the ship after maybe 30 minutes.

 

We stopped at a café called Puerta Principe. They had excellent Wifi and we ordered drinks. The tapas were complimentary!

 

[Sinppu]

Spain is a very liberal country and they had rainbow flags even in the government buildings (this monster is the police station).

 

 

 

The weather got less sunny in the afternoon and we got back to the ship just in time before the rain shower hit.

 

 

This evening it was the MDR again.

We were very lucky and got seated at the same table for two throughout the cruise.

 

Today the starters were a melon slicy thingy salady...

 

...and a reddish soup.

 

Hopeless.

And sad.

 

Not the foods, my memory.

[Sinppu]

I had a vegetarian main course with cheese on it. I do remember liking it!

 

 

And Lowry had this Indian...gourmet. He liked it, it was spicy enough for him.

 

 

OK now this I know!! Strawberry cheesecake, everyone. Always a hit.

 

 

And something low-fat again.

 

Just to make a point: Lowry isn't on a diet, he just chose the least wheaty desserts and usually the were low on fat as well.

[Sinppu]

This evening the show was a headliner act, The Bohemians.

They are a Queen tribute act and a GREAT one at that.

 

We also participated in a Queen Music trivia during the evening and did OK.

 

We both love Queen so we had high expectations for the show.

 

 

And they delivered.

 

 

No disrespect to any nationality, but the British sure know how to sing along.

 

And dance.

 

And party.

 

 

And appreciate an amazing show.

 

 

It was a very good day and night.

Lisbon tomorrow, everyone.

[jennywren46]

Sheep at the gym. ...we'll that's why I've never noticed them ...nearly 70 so not my favourite place . :D

[Sinppu]

Sheep at the gym. ...we'll that's why I've never noticed them ...nearly 70 so not my favourite place . :D

 

But at least now you know you've had your eyes open, love :D:D:D

[Sinppu]

So glad to see you back! Looking forward to this review!

Thank you! And to everyone else as well [emoji3]

If only work wouldn't interrupt me the whole time!

[Sinppu]

Lisbon was the port I wanted to see the most and I wasn't disappointed.

 

There were plenty of taxis in the port and they would've charged 15 € for a ride to the centre.

 

We opted for the HOHO bus which was 18 €/person and had two different lines. It's wise to reserve about 3 hours to see everything and a little more if you plan to step off the bus somewhere.

 

They only accept cash but there is an ATM in the nearest building.

 

 

 

Lisbon was sunny, warm and had a very unique feeling and atmosphere in my opinion (which of course can also be counted as an universally acknowledged truth).

 

There are so many beautiful houses it's hard to pick a favourite.

 

Edited July 27, 2014 by Sinppu

[Adayatatime]

sinny

 

Didn't you find going under the bridge surreal? I loved it d

Edited July 27, 2014 by Adayatatime

[russnob]

Great review. Was the mad man playing his violin at Vigo. I'm told he is always there. He certainly was last year and I'll be there again in a few weeks on the Indy to see for myself.

 

 

Carousel. Med 2001

Voyager of the Seas. Med. 2010

Adventure of the Seas. Med. 2013

 

Independence of the Seas. Med. 2014

[gillyd42]

Great review. Was the mad man playing his violin at Vigo. I'm told he is always there. He certainly was last year and I'll be there again in a few weeks on the Indy to see for myself.

 

 

Carousel. Med 2001

Voyager of the Seas. Med. 2010

Adventure of the Seas. Med. 2013

 

Independence of the Seas. Med. 2014

We visited vigo about 10 days ago and he was still there, with his enchanting music and sense of humour - you always get a bon voyage from him.

[russnob]

We visited vigo about 10 days ago and he was still there, with his enchanting music and sense of humour - you always get a bon voyage from him.

 

 

He is always smiling, but definitely a bit mad. Lol

 

 

 

Carousel. Med 2001

Voyager of the Seas. Med. 2010

Adventure of the Seas. Med. 2013

 

Independence of the Seas. Med. 2014

[Sinppu]

Here are some more photos of Lisbon. Just scroll through, no unnecessary comments anywhere ;)

 

 

 

 

 

[Sinppu]

Lisbon photos without unnecessary comments, part 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sinppu]

Lisbon photos without unnecessary comments, part 3.

(This is not an unnecessary comment, might I add. It's an unecessary title.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sinppu]

sinny

 

Didn't you find going under the bridge surreal? I loved it d

 

I did!! It was amazing. I also took a video of it.

 

 

 

 

 

[Sinppu]

After coming back to the ship from Lisbon we enjoyed some cold drinks and hot weather.

 

The tennis match was a great bonus.

 

 

I clicked with Lisbon and would love to come back here for a longer stay.

 

 

This evening was a WJ night again. As you can see, dinners there are quiet.

 

 

We went to see the Headliner show today. There were many comedians but unfortunately not all of them were very good.

This chap wasn't too entertaining. His name escapes me (surprise!! No?)

 

 

Did you know that water actually is blue and not clear as many people think?

We find it fascinating that oceans and seas have different colours.

Here you can see how the Atlantic is quite dark bluegreyish.

 

 

I will return on this subject ;)

[Sinppu]

On to the next day!

 

Gibraltar was our next stop. Lowry has been here on a family holiday over 20 years ago but I've never visited.

 

 

 

Gibraltar is very clean, good for walking and had again an abundance of people offering tours of the Rock. We weren't interested in monkeys as we've experienced them in the wild in Bali and they are pesky little things.

 

Easy to navigate here.

 

 

 

 

[Sinppu]

Gibraltar is exactly what it is: A British town in Southern Spain.

 

 

We liked it, it's unique.

 

 

 

 

Lowry found that there's a casino in Gibraltar so we set out to visit it.

 

 

But as you can see, it'd been closed. :(