Live from Spirit of Discovery.

[Host Sharon]

I’m in heaven! It’s been a while and after a rough year in which I had a bad accident, I am finally back on board a cruise ship. The sea is calm, the sun is shining and I am dozing on our balcony. There is a big difference however in my current cruising and that is that I now have to use a rollator. So, first issue. Saga provide complimentary transport to the port but - I couldn’t get in the smart Mercedes people carrier. Not in the front passenger seat, not into the back. The step was just too high for me. My neighbour kindly provided a solution in the form of a shower step but …¦. The motorways were jammed but otherwise it was a slow but straightforward drive down, picking up a couple and another solo lady on the way. Next issue - this was my first time boarding at the new cruise terminal at Portsmouth and it is not disabled friendly. The luggage is dropped off first and then passengers are taken to the main entrance. I had booked assistance but this doesn’t start until after the shuttle ride so there is a long walk and lift ride to check-in, then a further short walk to the shuttle bus (which fortunately did have a ramp access) and then you await your assistance person with wheelchair to take you up the steep air bridge. I was taken right to the cabin though, unlike previous cruises where I was only taken on board and then had to follow the stewardess to the cabin. Now came another major issue I had not anticipated. My rollator would not fit past the end of the second bed. (I’m sharing a standard cabin with a friend) to the dressing table and balcony! A solution was eventually found by turning one bed 90 degree but for tonight we’ll have to manage. Dinner was an open sitting in the MDR. Good company and delicious food as usual, after which I retired to bed as exhausted. More tomorrow.

[Host Sharon]

Day 2

Woke early after a good night’s sleep. Breakfasted in The Lido. There is not much use of hand gel on board as in all eating places you are first directed to a hand-washing station after which they take you to a numbered table. I don’t eat much for breakfast so asked for a small plate of fresh fruit and a croissant. Normally you choose your own like in any buffet but since I can’t carry it I got waiter service - in this instance a huge dish of melon, oranges, apricot, pear and peach! Toast is brought round all the tables with marmalade, honey etc. Butter is on the table. Since it was such a lovely day and feeling my normal first day lethargy, I then spent the morning sitting in the warm sun on an aft deck until noon. That was the time for the Solos meet and greet with Prosecco and ent. staff. Back in the cabin it had been rearranged for us and was great. Let’s just hope they let us keep it that way. Lunch was a small portion of beer-battered cod, chips and mushy peas before another doze in the sun. This is how I like the Bay of Biscay! Showered, changed and after my favourite cocktail, went into dinner and was seated at a table for 4. Chose vegetable tapas, poached salmon and the best sticky toffee pudding I have ever eaten. It was not too sweet, crispy on the outside and a perfect sponge in the middle. Went to cabin to watch what was left of the Eurovision Song Contest. 

[nosapphire]

Glad to hear that after the initial hiccups you seem to be off to a good start.

You may have been unlucky with your car, as I have problems with high steps into people carriers, and in both cases when I could not get in the driver dug under his seat and produced a step-stool to get me in.

I can sympathise about Portsmouth - not a good place for people with any leg problems.

Hope the rest of the cruise (including the return journey) carries on in the best possible way for you.

[Lady Meer]

I hope your trip runs smoothly after a tricky start. I shall be following your every move!

 

I did hear that the batter on the fish is now gluten-free for everyone. I wonder if you would be kind enough to check if that’s true.

[Host Sharon]

3 hours ago, Lady Meer said:

I hope your trip runs smoothly after a tricky start. I shall be following your every move!

 

I did hear that the batter on the fish is now gluten-free for everyone. I wonder if you would be kind enough to check if that’s true.

I’ll try and find out.

[Windsurfboy]

Hope you have a  great time. Favourite ship. 

 

Last time I was on Spirit of  Discovery in November last year had a great cruise,  but it was still suffering from aftermath of previous disastrous cruise. One noticeable thing , very few steamer chairs on promenade deck , less than half versus on our previous Saga cruise. I think a lot got swept overboard even though tied down.  What's the situation now,  is there enough to fill both sides of ship on prom deck.

[Host Sharon]

On 5/12/2024 at 8:55 PM, Windsurfboy said:

Hope you have a  great time. Favourite ship. 

 

Last time I was on Spirit of  Discovery in November last year had a great cruise,  but it was still suffering from aftermath of previous disastrous cruise. One noticeable thing , very few steamer chairs on promenade deck , less than half versus on our previous Saga cruise. I think a lot got swept overboard even though tied down.  What's the situation now,  is there enough to fill both sides of ship on prom deck.

16 sunbeds and steamer chairs per side.

[Host Sharon]

Days 3 & 4 followed a similar pattern. Lazy days interspersed with talks, craft lessons (complimentary materials) and meals. On Monday we had a solos lunch. This was carefully organised with name tags and every table ad a host - on mine was the chaplain. It was a slightly reduced version of the general lunch menu. Today, 14 May, we arrived in Gibraltar. The seas have been calm throughout so far and by 9am it was hot and sunny. My friend has gone on the included tour while I chill on board. We have a mutual friend who lives here and we have arranged for her to come o board for lunch. Till then, a cold beer and chair in the shade beckon.

[Windsurfboy]

1 hour ago, Host Sharon said:

16 sunbeds and steamer chairs per side.

 

 

Thank you. Looks like there is plenty of room for more. Think I  remember more on SOA in 2022.

[Host Sharon]

On 5/12/2024 at 1:50 PM, Lady Meer said:

I hope your trip runs smoothly after a tricky start. I shall be following your every move!

 

I did hear that the batter on the fish is now gluten-free for everyone. I wonder if you would be kind enough to check if that’s true.

Yes, beer battered cod is gluten free.

[Denarius]

4 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

Yes, beer battered cod is gluten free.

But what does it taste like? Sadly, in my experience when things go gluten free they rarely taste as good as they did before.

[Lady Meer]

4 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

Yes, beer battered cod is gluten free.

Thanks for confirming that. My mother was gluten free for 50 years but I can’t tolerate gluten free flour - the irony 🙄!  I can’t go to our local fish n chip restaurant 🥲! 
 

I hope your friend enjoyed her onboard visit.

[Host Sharon]

On 5/14/2024 at 7:18 PM, Denarius said:

But what does it taste like? Sadly, in my experience when things go gluten free they rarely taste as good as they did before.

I would never have known. Delicious as always. Our captain is Franko Papic, easily understood. our friend had to disembark at 2pm but enjoyed her visit and meal. I sat in the sun until sailaway at 3pm. Pre dinner drinks in the South Cape bar before dinner of delicious duck spring rolls with hoisin sauce and barramundi. Unfortunately the blueberry cheesecake (sugar free) was.tasteless so I left half and had a chunk of Brie to clear my palate. Just waiting for the show to start.

[Host Sharon]

Another lazy sea day before Toulon. As it is only 400m to the old town we don’t get a shuttle. We picked up the pilot about 9am and slowly entered the large harbour. My friend set off soon after we berthed at 10am. Due to my walking problems I stayed on board. It was HOT! Much warmer than I was expecting. I found a table in the shade on the Liod deck and read until the grill there opened. The waiters were bringing round trays of cranberry juice and ginger ale. I opted for some scampi + hold the chips. Discovery was berthed as close to the old town as it was possible to be so we had a lovely view from our cabin balconies of typical Italian Riviera style apartment blocks, interspersed with the occasional chapel or bell tower. Along the waterfront was a main road which I assume led to a major hospital, judging by the number of blue lights and siren blaring ambulances which sped along it. Just after sailing at 6pm, we showered, changed and went for cocktails. I love sitting in The Living Room at this time, where the. Classical quartet plays. Dinner was on a table for 8 with snow crab tian, roast chicken and pistachio baklava. 

[Host Sharon]

A nice calm night’s sail and we arrived in Livorno around 8am. Again, we have the closer berth, beside mega, super yachts. NCL Epic is over with the ferries. It is hot with a cloudless sky. I can hear bells in the distance from the campaniles dotted around the city. My friend did the included tour around Livorno, then caught the shuttle bus back in the afternoon. She thought it an interesting city with enough to see for a day. Many of course went to Florence or Pisa, but we have both been there. We didn’t sail until 7pm as not far to go to Elba. We went to the solo’s Met and then to dinner on a table of 4. I enjoyed a salmon starter, Guinea fowl stuffed with haggis and a clootie dumpling. 
the ‘Comedy ventriloquist’ wasn’t my cup of tea but I’ve seen worse!

[JMMKUK]

Hope you are having a fabulous time. Just looked at the CM route & the lines of your ship's travel look crazy & don't make sense. Hopefully the map's blip.

Going back to Saga's home ports I wish they would use Tilbury more often. We had a great experience from it on SoA's inaugral cruise. Dover is too busy with ferries. Southampton favours Cunard, P&O & huge ships from other lines. Portsmouth is just a PITA with its drop off & shuttle bus.

[Host Sharon]

We another sunny warm day in Elba, despite an iffy forecast. The island looked delightful from my spot on my cabin balcony and my friend enjoyed her tour of the south of the island. We seem to be surrounded by storms but have escaped them all - so far. At lunch I succumbed to a seat in the sun in The Verandah at the back of the Grill, and a small portion of their beer-battered fish and chips which are truly delicious. Later I enjoyed a Singapore Sling while listening to the Lirica Piano Quartet before joining other solos for a dinner of a prawn starter, Kevin Woodford chicken dish and cinnamon pudding. Tonight and tomorrow there is a special Agatha Christie play in the theatre. Everyone has been allocated a ticket for one night or the other, so no one misses out.

PS: now I know that other lines water their cocktails down! 

[Host Sharon]

We arrived at 8am at Calvi in Corsica. It was dull, but warm and dry. It was the final of our 5 ports in a row and the last tender port. It looked interesting, backed by high mountains, with a fort and lighthouse to the right. Shortly after arrival we were joined by Emerald Sakara, one of Emerald Cruises new ocean yachts. She certainly looked the part of a super yacht. My friend did a ship’s tour again as she had been to Calvi before, staying on to explore the port area afterwards. She was lucky to make it back by 2.30pm as the heavens then opened - our first rain. I guess not many were still ashore as they had brought up three of our four tenders. I enjoyed a room-service lunch of a cheese platter and glass of white wine as I didn't want much. 

[JMMKUK]

2 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

 Later I enjoyed a Singapore Sling while listening to the Lirica Piano Quartet before joining other solos for a dinner of a prawn starter, Kevin Woodford chicken dish and cinnamon pudding. Tonight and tomorrow there is a special Agatha Christie play in the theatre. Everyone has been allocated a ticket for one night or the other, so no one misses out.

PS: now I know that other lines water their cocktails down! 

Is Kevin one of the guest speakers? He & his wife are lovely if you get the chance to chat to them. Believe he was on the problem cruise so it's good if he's back on board.