The Atlantic Adventure, part 2

Wednesday, November 29 – Funchal Again Today was at least the fourth time we have been in Funchal.  We usually take a ship’s shuttle to town and just walk around although we did take a ship’s tour in 2001.  The local market, filled with local produce and handicrafts, is a must for us as is a visit to the fish market behind it.  Last year, there was no shuttle offered and the nearest stop for the HoHo bus was almost a mile away, so we stayed on the ship. This year, there was no need for a shuttle as we were docked at a new facility [new to us, at least] near downtown.  The problem for us was that the gangway was at water level and the terminal, such as it was, was at street level.  There did not appear to be an elevator available and the incline from sea to street was quite steep.  To compound our difficulties, MA twisted her back last night and was unsure if she would be able to walk the incline in either direction.  Our plan to go ashore for lunch in one of the cafes was shot

Tuesday, November 28 -- Good News We continued west today heading for Madeira.  Seas were calm and there was almost no motion to the ship. Apparently the noro-virus plague has been conquered.  Yesterday we noticed that silverware, napkins and salt & pepper had reappeared on the tables in the Lido restaurant and on the tables by the pool.  Today, the self-serve taco bar was open for the first time since the noro scare began.  Naturally, we celebrated with ooey, gooey nachos for lunch. Other than that, we spent the day reading before our regular afternoon SCAN and mentally prepared ourselves for what we consider the last real port. TOMORROW – Funchal, Madeira 

Monday, November 27 – Casablanca The Casablanca port is strictly commercial.  There is no cruise terminal and the only way out is on a ship’s tour, a private tour or a shuttle bus.  The walk to the assorted buses seemed to be a half-mile or so although that may be an exaggeration.  It was long enough that the walkers and wheel chairs were moving very slowly by the time they returned from their tours. We have been here several times, starting in 2001.  On that first visit, and on the advice of Jon and Briton, we took the ship’s tour to Marakkech.  Jon had told us that Casa, as it is known was just a big, dirty European city.  He was right. Further visits have taken us to Rabat and, last year, on a Jewish heritage tour of the city which included a visit to, and tour of, the Hassan II mosque.  So, we’ve “done” Casablanca and did not even consider the 5 euro shuttle to the UN Plaza.  We’ve seen it, too, and did not want to do any shopping in the adjacent souk.  As a result, we

Sunday, November 26 – Cadiz, the Final Frontier Cadiz, Spain, sits on the southwest corner of Spain and was our last stop on the Continent.  We will be in Casablanca, Morocco, in northern Africa, tomorrow and Madeira, a Portuguese possession in the mid-Atlantic, on Wednesday.  So this is absolutely the final frontier. We love Cadiz.  We have been here several times before and taken the HoHo; followed a painted path through old neighborhoods; and just wandered the pedestrian shopping area.  Cadiz is like Cartagena, Malaga and Katakolon because we can literally walk off the ship and cross the street and we are there; in Katakolon we do not even have to cross the street.  Other ports make it easy, but these are the best. We did, in fact, cross the street around 11:30, allowing plenty of time for the Mongol hordes to disembark for their tours and hunts for WiFi.  We walked through a park to get to the pedestrian area, passing a Burger King on the way.  We did not even get clos

Saturday, November 25 – Gibraltar, Rock of If this cruise were a horse race, we would be rounding the three-quarter pole and heading for the stretch run.  We have less than two weeks left and only a few ports to go.  We always know when vacations are over – we start making mental and written lists of things to do when we get home.  On that basis, the party’s over. The Good Ship Lollipop is in Gibraltar today and tonight.  We have been here several times beginning in 2001 when we did a ship’s tour and saw the Barbary Apes and other highlights.  At that time, the apes used MA as a springboard, so we have no desire to tour here again.  In 2009, we walked into the old town which is now just an open plaza surrounded by cafes.  Retail stores including Marks and Spencer are nearby.  Last year, we started to walk but turned back when rain started and this year we made no attempt whatever to leave the ship.  The authorities may have offered to pay us to use WiFi, we were not going anywhe

Thursday, November 23 – Cagliari, Sardinia It may have been St. Augustine who referred to a “city on a hill,” but he wasn’t talking about all of the hill towns we have seen.  Cagliari is another example of a city rising from the edge of the water and going straight up.  Like many of the others, it is primarily beige.  Whether these cities are constructed mostly from stone or stucco, the color is the same. There are exceptions, of course.  Palermo and Naples come to mind.  Although they, too, are vertical, they are more modern, the result of reconstruction due to damage suffered during WWII.  Their streets are just as narrow and winding, and often cobbled, but there are more high-rise offices and apartments than there were before the bombing in the 1940s. Cagliari has its share of tallish buildings, but the oldest section is still relatively low; the taller structures are on the fringes of downtown.  The streets we wandered were stone with handrails on the sides to assist i

Wednesday, November 22 – Palermo, Italy This was supposed to be another pastry-and-cappuccino port, but the family [or ship’s] cold has gotten the best of MA who spent most of the day in bed.  Last year, we discovered Bristro [not a typo] near the dock as we searched for a compatible ATM to get euros. We passed it on the way up the hill and stopped for a 7 euro lunch of cannoli and cappuccino on the way back.  We do not need more euros, so we were just going for pastry and WiFi.  Oh, well, one less picture of pastry for the album. TOMORROW – Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy

Tuesday, November 21 – More of the Same We decided that, if MA felt better, we would go out for lunch today.  We fondly remembered the restaurant where we had eaten in 2009 and, luckily, D was able to find its name in the journal for that cruise.  He took the time to Google it yesterday and found references to its being closed.  The young lady at the port’s information kiosk was kind enough to call the restaurant but with no luck; she called one of her coworkers who is assigned to that area of the island and verified that Ron’s was no more but that there is now another restaurant in the same location. In the meantime, he had written to the travel agency we had used in ’09 for information on a possible substitute for lunch and invited the owner and/or the guide we had used to join us.  Alas, Joan, the guide, was sick and Chris, the owner, had too many appointments to have lunch with us.  After all, it was very short notice.  Chris did offer the alternative saying that Ron had m

Monday, November 20 – Valletta, Sorta Free at last! Free at last!  Following the shortest quarantine in the ship’s history – less than 24 hours – D was able to have breakfast in the MDR and to go anywhere he wanted.  Of course, he was advised to take it easy the first day, so breakfast was soft-boiled eggs and toast.  It was reminiscent of watching his father eat the same thing every day for eternity.  The only difference was that there was no springer spaniel to catch buttered toast.  [Are you reading this, Linda?] As for Malta, we saw the major archeological sites as well as some of the historical ones in 2009 and had decided before the noro episode to stay aboard today.  Several of the MDR staff expressed curiosity about Valletta and Cuba, so D tried to connect the laptop to the printer in the “library” to print out our journals, but to no avail.  Our journals may would probably have bored or confused the waiters anyway. So today is “bits and pieces” day. LAUNDRY A

Sunday, November 19 – Could It Get Worse? We are at sea today, a well-earned day off for the hardy travelers who have been up at the crack of dawn so they can be first off the ship.  For obvious reasons, we did not need another day of rest.  HOWEVER… For the first time in all of our cruising, going back to 1986, D has been infected by the noro-virus, a particularly nasty bug which causes diarrhea and vomiting.  Yes to the first; no to the second.  So far.  He did not feel quite right on Friday, you may remember, but showed none of the signs of noro, so the doctor gave him meds for the dizziness which, of course, did not help. Yesterday, he again spent most of the day in bed although he did join MA for another very light breakfast.  At dinner time, he thought he was better and accompanied her to the MDR.  Again, he ate very little and the waiters were concerned that he did not like the food.  As we left to visit the casino, the nether regions gave enough warning that we got

Saturday, November 18 – Souda and Chania Souda is the port for another unknown Greek village with a walled old town.  Between D’s fever and dizziness; the continuing rain; and the 20 minute ride on a city bus, we decided to stay home again.  The shame in missing these old towns is that they are filled with cafes, churches and synagogues.  We were hoping to add several of the latter to our “collection.” TOMORROW – A Sea Day at Sea!

Friday, November 17 – Rhodes Mix more cobble-stoned streets and rain [again?] and you have a lethal combination.  Add a bit of the flue [D] and stay home.  We really wanted to visit Rhodes, but health and concerns prevailed; we did not want another episode like the one which sent D to the hospital last year.  We have missed too many ports for a variety of reasons, but there are no bad cruises. After a very light breakfast, D spent most of the day in bed with a fever and dizziness.  He finally visited the doctor on board and got some medication for the dizziness.  MA went to dinner after ordering chicken soup and ginger ale from room service.  The food showed up an hour later with tasteless soup and a glass of ice water which had been the ice for his soda.  No one had the initiative to send fresh ice although the steward who brought it had added a warmer bowl of the horrid soup. The good news, if there is any, is that MA said he did not snore last night.  There is always a

Thursday, November 16 – The Rain Gods Visit Athens We had no intention of leaving the ship today.  We saw the ancient highlights in 2009 and D saw some outside of Athens in 2011.  There was no reason to do it again.  Like Rome, Athens is a big, dirty city surrounding really old stuff.  It’s even older than we saw it but probably not in better shape. To top it off, it was raining, hard at times.  We could only picture the little old people on their walkers struggling up the final ascent to the top of the Acropolis to see the Parthenon.  It is hard enough in good weather. So…we stayed home and had a sea day.  The end. TOMORROW -- Rhodes

Wednesday, November 15 – Our Kind of Town We love Katakolon.  Period.  As we have written before, it is the Brigadoon of the Mediterranean.  In the 1954 Broadway musical, Brigadoon is a Scottish town which appears once every 100 years.  Katakalon, as seen by tourists, appears only when there is a cruise ship in port. We were here on Greek Easter in 2015 and everything was open for the passengers. The town is only four blocks long, two parallel streets.  The lower one is almost at water level; the “street side” is home to clothing stores, souvenirs stands and jewelry stores.   There is a pharmacy, too, and a small grocery.  Behind these stores, on the water side, are cafes and ice cream shops although some of the retails businesses go all the way through from street to water.  Obviously, the stores on the other side do not have a “back” except for the hill where the other street is.  We have never walked the upper street and only rarely the landside of the lower.  Yet, we are c

Tuesday, November 14 – More Corfusion We have had several sea days in port.  Today we had a port day at sea.  They look pretty much the same.  The Veendam was due to discharge passengers to their various excursions at 8 this morning, but by 8:15 there had been no announcement.  The Cruise Director finally alerted the passengers that the captain and the pilot were having difficulty getting into the port, much less tying up to the dock.  Winds were howling at 30 – 50 knots.  Finally, the captain gave up in the interest of safety.  He wasn’t sure he could get the ship in and then worried that the strong winds, including those in predicted squalls, would tear the mooring lines and set us adrift.  He did give “props” to the Costa Marinara which did manage to dock. So we spent the day drifting toward Katakolon, Greece.  He has plotted a new course which will double the distance to Katakolon just to kill time as he cannot land early.  Katakolon is one of our favorite ports, so he

Monday, November 13 – Gruz, Croatia We were docked in Gruz today, the closest port to Dubrovnik.  Our impression is that the only way to get ashore in Dubrovnik itself is by tender.  With the number of walkers and scooters on the ship, tenders would have been a disaster waiting to happen.  So Gruz it was. Streets awash in blood! Half-naked women running through the town!  Warriors and court intrigue.  These are all elements, we are told, of Game of Thrones which we don’t watch.  Well, we didn’t see any of that today either because we stayed on the ship.  It was a woulda/coulda kind of decision, but with MA’s dizziness yesterday, pre-existing walking problems and cobblestone streets, we were afraid of a face-plant in the middle of town.  Add the threat of rain to the mix and we opted on the side of caution and safety.  It was a great disappointment since we had never been here [and someone was looking forward to the running naked women].  The rain either did or did not occur a

Sunday, November 12 – The Last Sea Day for a While Tomorrow starts a week of ports.  That is the one difficulty with Mediterranean cruises; there is no rest for the weary.  So today was a day to rest, something we have perfected. We followed the sea day routine of breakfast in the MDR followed by the NYT crossword.  We had decided to attend a 2 pm concert by a pianist we saw the other night [and failed to include in the journal].  She is quite good and today played a selection of dance music including a Chopin Polonaise and his Fantasie Impromptu ; de Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance ; two selections from the Nutcracker ; and something from Stravinsky’s Petrouchka ; as well as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue . Since we had been disappointed by the port talk the other day, we skipped not one but two of them today.  Instead, we returned to the cabin for R&R and a chance to prepare for tonight’s Gala Night.  Of course, we were all glammed up but were not surprised to see that many

Saturday, November 11 – Another Mission Accomplished Here’s another Forrest Gump day when we did what we have done before.  As mentioned Thursday, when we were here in 2009, Fabrizio showed us the Amalfi Coast.  In 2015, D scoured the city looking [successfully] for a BNP bank ATM to get euros.  Returning to the ship, he brought a pizza and local cannoli for our lunch.  However, the port lecturer on that trip spoke of getting pizza literally below the Naples cruise terminal, so last year we did just that.  If this were a hole in the wall, it would be a step up, but the pizza was good and we decided to return today. First, however, was the Dance of the Free WiFi.  D ventured forth into the terminal after breakfast while MA worked on the crossword puzzle.  He was lucky for two reasons: most of the crew was still on board for a drill AND most of the passengers were on excursions.  There was plenty of room in the terminal and a good connection.  As he walked into a seating area, h

Friday, November 10 – Roamin’ We were docked in Civitivecchia today, the closest port to Rome.  Close is relative since the city of emperors is still an hour’s drive away.  We did the “grand tour” of antiquities in 2009 when we arranged a tour which included the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, the Pantheon and catacombs.  We also drove past lots of other old stuff.  In 2011, we toured outside the city but did a little sight-seeing there on the way back to the ship as mentioned yesterday.  We have yet to visit St. Peter’s itself as a matter of principal; we refuse to pay to visit the grandest church of the richest religion in the world. With all of that as background, it is no wonder we had made no plans for the day.  If we had considered taking public transit [i.e., the train], we might still be in Rome rather than in our cabin because there was supposed to be a transit strike in Rome today.  Maybe the trains would run on schedule and maybe not; Mussolini would not have be

Thursday, November 9 – Fabrizio and Florence Readers of last year’s journal know that D had an episode of situational vertigo as we arrived in Florence and that we spent 4 hours in the ER of the Maria Nuova Ospidale [spelling optional].  No explanation was ever offered and follow-up tests in Florida also showed nothing in his brain [ba-dum].  We were determined to get to Florence at all costs. In 2009, we used the services of Fabrizio, a driver recommended by others on Cruise Critic.  He drove six of us from Naples to Positano and Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast.  Fabrizio talked non-stop for the entire drive – in both directions – and led us to a lovely, non-tourist pizza palace for lunch.  At the end of the day, he presented us with a bottle of limoncello made from the local lemons; it is still in our refrigerator and is now fine, aged limoncello. Because Fabrizio said he does not like Florence, the next day he sent us with Sabrina.  She was not as outgoing as Fabrizio but