Spain/Portugal Cruise
Wednesday - Leaving Barcelona
We walked from our apartment on Las Ramblas and down to the port and boarded our cruise ship at 1:30pm. We dropped by our rooms - ninth floor right under the spa, like our Greece cruise - and headed to the buffet for a late lunch. The boys are so excited. Nachos, pasta bar, and the best juice. Salad bar for me. So nice to have options for everyone. We sat on the deck outside and ate. We’re missing the rest of the fam - especially since this cruise ship is the exact replica of our Greece one. Everything is exactly the same. We enjoyed our first meal in the dining room with Juan - our head waiter and Edna - the assistant. Both great.
Thursday - Sea Day
A sea day. I woke up earlier than Chris and quietly got my things togetehr and headed to the gym. Stretches and floor work and then 45 minutes on the treadmill. Chris and the boys came up and got to work doing some arm machines and I joined in. Chris hung out in the solarium and I worked on editing pictures. Then lunch at the buffet, and then the newest Mission Impossible movie at the outdoor theater, which was so fun. Dinner at the dining room.
Friday - Malaga, Spain
We ported in Malaga at 8:00am and had eaten breakfast and were ready to get off the ship. We found a taxi and had plans for him to take us to the local car rental location to rent a car, but after listening to his offer to take us everywhere we wanted to go, we opted to just save a little time and ride with him for the day. We stopped first at a cute cave town. Earlier in the week, when we were looking into different options for our day, the boys were excited to see this town - and it was so cool. Our taxi driver to us to a viewpoint and then left us outside one of the streets to wander for 40 minutes or so. So many really unique streets with houses built right into the caves. It was fun. Then on to Ronda. We enjoyed the bridge and the views, went under the bridge, walked through the gates and streets nearby and then enjoyed the view of the bridge from below. It was a great stop and the weather couldn’t have been better. When we walked onto the ship we headed straight for the dining room with our bags and everything. Now every time we come Edna says, ‘Welcome, my family.’ ‘We’re starving!’ we told her and she said, ‘You came to the right place.’ We’ll take care of you. We loved our cold pear soup and Cobb salad. Chris and I almost always order the same appetizers. They I ordered a Linguini with cream sauce and Chris and the boys loved their Chicken Chiquita and fancy Pork and smeared beans meal. Always I’m disappointed with the desserts and Chris loves his Creme Brûlée. Then off to get all layered up to watch the Barbie movie on the top of the ship.
Saturday - Cadiz, Spain
We ported at Cadiz at 8:00am but had decided to enjoy a relaxing morning aboard the ship and then had signed up for a tour through the ship with our $800 cruise credit. We had the workout room to ourselves and did some leg machines all together - which is nice to use in a gym that has everything. Then I walked on the treadmill and did some floor work and stretching. I grabbed my traditional little fruit plate from the Spa Cafe and then took it to the room to get ready. Then I edited some pictures while Chris and the boys headed up to the main deck to read, get in the pool and work on trick shots. I put on shorts but then after visiting them, decided I would wear my leggings to be warmer. After lunch at the buffet then we met up with our bus tour. We are for sure the youngest people on the tour - actually on the whole cruise… especially the boys since it’s 10 days in November and no one our age with teens would do that. We did a panaramic drive around the old town and it was beautiful. Basically it’s a little island with bridges connecting it to the mainland. The bus dropped us off in the main area of town and our guide took us through the city showing us squares, historical gates, cathedrals and palace apartments. It was really interesting. The boys are so tired of Rick Steves at this point so they really enjoyed hearing from someone new. Haha At the end of the tour we entered a restaurant and gathered around a big raised platform to watch a guitarist, a Spanish singer and two Flamenco dancers. It was so fun to watch them sing and dance with passion. It looked as if they were enjoying themselves and kept smiling and chatting to each other. Matt noticed that they seemed to be ‘free-styling’ and working together to put together a show. It was really fun. We drank orange soda’s while we watched. It was fun.
After our tour we walked through a Botanical Gardens and the boys took some pictures and then we headed out to the castle at sea and enjoyed the boardwalk while the sun set.
The boys decided on the Buffet for dinner so they went and enjoyed the pasta station and multiple trips to get ice cream after playing ping pong and pickle ball, while Chris and I went to the Dining Room. Cream of Broccoli soup, Apple Pear Salad and a Pork entree with red cabbage and sweet potatoes. Then the boys went to watch the Haunted House movie while Dad and I hung out in our room. When they got back we played 5 crowns together. Our first game on the ship. We’re missing the rest of the fam.
Sunday, Sea Day
It’s Sunday morning and Dad and I are sitting in the solarium. I read the book of mormon and Chris is working on reading ‘Build the life you want’ a second time and taking copious notes on his phone. I think I’ll go get a little fruit plate from the Spa Cafe for breakfast. We let the boys sleep in and at 10:00am they came up to find us and said, “Why didn’t you wake us up?” They were so frustrated to have wasted one of their cruise ship hours. The boys love the freedom to wander the ship together, playing ping pong, getting ice cream and and doing some basketball trick shots. Chris and I spend most of the afternoon on lounge chairs looking out onto the ocean and every half hour or so the boys would come back - usually with food - and sit on the end of my chair and we’d talk about their latest adventures. The people around us got quite a kick out of them.
We ate dinner at the Dining Room with Juan and Edna. We loved the BBQ Pork Spring Roll for our appetizer and then the boys loved the Beef Brochette with rice and chimichurri sauce. I got the grilled chicken and it was great. Chris ordered the Vegetable Wellington and Juan joked that it was so small that he’d lose a pound after eating it. Chris loved it. The dessert was a chocolate lava cake and it was amazing! Highlight of the cruise right there.
Sunday night the boys decided to head up to the youth activity center for ‘games’ at 9:00pm. They weren’t sure what they would find, but weren’t prepared for how excited the youth counselors were at seeing them walk through the doors. “You’re here!” You’re Matt and you’re Luke! You’re 15 and you’re 14. Turns out they’ve been waiting for the only teens on board to show up. Pretty funny. They ended up playing some ping pong and fuseboll with the counselors for awhile and then taking off. So funny. Besides Luke and Matt we’ve seen about four toddlers. That’s it.
Monday - Lisbon, Portugal
Today was a good day. We got up early and after eating a little plate of fruit, headed off the ship to explore Lisbon. Chris and I have been here before with Scott and Elisha – but the boys haven’t so we walked around a few different areas of Lisbon, took in the view of the castle and hillsides covered with colorful buildings, browsed the oldest bookstore and made it back to the ship for a late lunch at the buffet. Then we relaxed in the solarium and played Azul – a perfect game for having just seen the tiles of Portugal. We stayed late and sat in the hot tub after everyone else left the solarium. Then ate a late dinner at the buffet.
Tuesday - Sea Day
Because of the Harbor Workers on Strike in Lisbon we ended up with another SeaDay today and didn’t complain at all. We worked out in the gym and then spent most of the day in the solarium. I edited all of my Madrid pictures, played some Rook with the boys, enjoyed another egg salad sandwich from the Deli, and read some of my book. The boys did some trick shots, played basketball and had elevator/stairs races seeing who could make it to the bottom floor first. The boys checked out the menu for the dining room and we decided we’d enjoy dinner at the buffet instead. Dinner was ok but the chocolate mousse was so good. After dinner we played a game of Azul with Matt while Luke read his book and then went to the show in the theater. A pianist who was quite incredible. It was fun. Then the boys headed to the hot tub and off to get ice cream one more time. When they got up there the ice cream stand was closed but the ice cream lady, having just left, saw the boys and said, “Where have you been?” and then opened it back up to get them some. Being the only teenagers on the cruise ship has its advantages.
Wednesday - Cartagena, Spain - My Birthday
Our new bonus city is Cartagena, Spain… a port town with Moorish buildings, Roman ruins and a narrow little beach. We woke up at 8:00 and headed upstairs to work out. We docked at 10:00am and made our way off the ship just after that. We wandered the downtown area finding a busy main street filled with shops that the boys followed me in and out of. I noticed quickly that prices were fairly inexpensive and was happy with a purchase of four different sweaters for me and a shirt and tie for Luke. It was fun. Then we headed back to the ship for lunch and the best key lime pie ever and spent the rest of the afternoon outside by the pool. It was definitely our warmest day with the least amount of wind and sitting in the sun felt heavenly. Katie called and we video chatted for a while, which was so fun. The boys did their normal routine and bounced around from the teen center to ice cream to the hot tub to the basketball court. It’s a dream life for them – except they are so frustrated that they are full all the time. We dressed up for dinner and ate in the Dining Room. Juan and Edna made a big deal asking where we’d been for the last two days. Matt and I split the sun dried pasta and beef bourganonne. Both were good. Then another lava cake for dessert. We ended up sitting in the solarium for the evening. Chris worked on videos. Megan called me to wish me a happy birthday and it was fun to talk. Then Matt and I played a game of 5 Crowns while Luke finished his book.
Thursday - Alicante, Spain
Chris had a hard night. He’s just not feeling great… sore throat, runny nose and feeling weak. I sat on a lounge chair in the solarium and responded to several emails and birthday wishes and then we got ready to leave the ship. Todays port was Alicante. We shuttled to the main part of town and then hiked up the mountain to the castle on top. The views were gorgeous and it was fun to wander and take some pictures. On the way down we came across some fun streets and alleyways and then headed to the beach. The water was freezing but the boys braved it for a minute and otherwise practiced doing backflips and covering themselves in sand. The sun was perfect. Chris and I relaxed on towels and read and then we headed to the ship. Another fun day. We ate lunch and then headed to get ice cream and because I was with Chris then Mira – the ice cream lady – said, “Oh! You’re the mom!” It was so cute. We relaxed by the pool, sat in the hot tub, skipped out on dinner and worked on videos/editing.
Once, when Chris and the boys were in the hot tub a lady came up to me and said, “I just have to say… Your boys are just so nice… and they are so enthusiastic about everything. Just everything he said about how much he loved the lemon ice cream. So great.” We talked for awhile. She was so nice. It made me laugh. The boys definitely don’t go unnoticed – especially being the only teens on the boat. Can’t believe we just have one more day and then we’re flying home. I’m ready.
Friday - Valencia, Spain
We were up early today. We ate breakfast and met up with our group in the celebrity theater. When we walked on the bus another couple said, “oh, you’re the mom of the flamenco dancer. After the flamenco dance in the tour earlier in the week, your son stepped up after and gave us all a good show.” Haha I just can’t believe how much everyone on the cruise ship knows exactly who we are.
Our excursion took us to some subterranean caves. We hopped into boats and had to duck our heads so that we wouldn’t hit the stalagtites and tops of the caves. It was so cool. We took a series of trails and boat rides. When we neared the end of the tour about 10 or so boats gathered in the largest cave room, they turned off all the lights and then played a ColdPlay song - Viva La Vida - while we watched a light show. It was one of the highlights for sure.
Saturday
Flew home.