Mum and I have just got back from a fantastic 2 week cruise. Our ship was the Balmoral from the Fred Olsen Cruise Line and we enjoyed every fantastic moment aboard her. And after two weeks of snowy cold weather, we were definitely looking forward to some sunshine and blue skies.
We set out on 7th December. Colin drove us to Southampton and thankfully we got there without mishap. We took our time getting there and stopped for a nice lunch on the way, reaching the docks and our ship’s berth by around 2 pm. An hour or so later we were aboard and moments later were in our cabin which was on the same deck - Deck 6 - the main deck. We had been offered an upgrade a couple of weeks before sailing and had accepted the offer as we were two decks higher than originally booked. We were very impressed with our cabin which was very spacious and had a huge picture window - although we had a picture window in the original booking it wasn‘t as big as those on Deck 6, plus the cabin was bigger. The bathroom was nice too and the only fault we could find was being allocated one with a bath tub and shower inside it as poor Mum at 82 can no longer climb into bath tubs. I said we would try and get that sorted out the next day as embarkation day was just too hectic.
The ship was due to sail at 4.30 but ended up leaving around an hour later. A couple had failed to make it to Southampton in time due to the snow and the Captain held on as long as he could. By this time we had unpacked and were venturing out to explore the ship a little bit and saw the passing scenery from ship windows rather than up on deck in the cold. There was a sailaway party up on deck with a band playing etc but we preferred to stay inside in the warm. I knew there would be other sailing parties in warmer places as we left the ports of call.
At dinner that evening we met our waiters who were lovely guys - Sanjiv from Mumbai in India and Dop from the Philippines - as well as others. We were on a round table by the long picture window and sharing with two other couples. We had been allocated the late sitting which seemed fine by me, dining at 8.30 pm, but as dinner wasn’t over until gone 10 pm we later regretted not having asked for first sitting as it was a late start for the evening shows and Mum found it hard to stay awake!
The food on offer was absolutely amazing and remained so throughout the cruise. There were no end of courses on the menu and one could choose as few or as many as one wanted. To begin with Mum and I chose nearly everything even down to the cheese board afterwards but soon dropped that after a couple of days as we never felt hungry, all the meals were so lavish and we then just picked out a few. That night’s show was called Parisian Nights and included the Can Can and we enjoyed it immensely. By the time we retired to bed around midnight we were pretty tired, where it was nice to find a chocolate on our pillows, which proved the case every night. We both slept soundly until the following morning.
The next three days we were at sea, sailing towards our first port of call at Casablanca, Morocco, on the Atlantic coast. The seas were quite calm and over breakfast I pored through the Daily Times which was a flyer telling you all that was going on throughout the day. Our waiters served breakfast but we also had the option of choosing for ourselves off the buffet which I often did as the choice was so extensive.
We further explored the boat and in the process I went to see the Customer Relations lady to ask about another cabin and once I had explained Mum’s difficulty she offered us one about 50 cabins down the corridor. She said Housekeeping would help me move but rather than wait I went ahead and moved everything myself as I had been given a temporary key to the new cabin. It was pretty exhausting moving everything and then the task of putting it all away again. I had just finished when the phone went and I was told we could not have that cabin after all! They had just been notified that it had been allocated to the couple who had missed the ship but that they were flying to Casablanca to board the ship there. Mum was really disappointed as she had already undressed ready to take a shower in the spacious walk in one! Thankfully they said we could stay in it overnight and that they would see what else they could offer the next day. Later that night there was a letter saying they had no other cabins on deck 6 and we could either stay where we were or move to a lower deck and if we chose the latter we would be offered a partial refund. We chose to move back to our original cabin so after breakfast I moved all our stuff back after Mum had had her shower. The following day they did actually manage to find an empty cabin on Deck 6 and gave us a temporary key so that Mum could have a shower in it, then later they said we could move to that cabin if we wished and we did. You can imagine how relieved I felt after unpacking for the fourth time, knowing we were there to stay!
Each day the Captain would give an announcement over the ship’s tannoy at 9am, then again at noon, telling us where we were, our bearings and headings, depth of the sea, outside temperatures etc. He was Captain Atle Knutsen from Norway, a lovely approachable man, and all of us would meet him that first evening as it was the first of three formal evenings and before dinner we were attending his Welcome Aboard Cocktail and Canape party. When I was getting ready for it I was dismayed to find I must have put on weight as I couldn’t do up the zip on the beautiful full length strappy floaty pure silk dress which I had bought from Monsoon a few months back. In the end I managed to do up the zip first and then struggle to get the straps up over my arms afterwards but it was a pretty tight fit! I love any excuse to dress up really nicely and wished I had thought to try it on before packing it as I had other beautiful long dresses at home I could have taken instead.
At lunchtimes passengers could dine in any of the four restaurants if they wished - although dinner always remained the same. Our waiters looked after us so beautifully though that we mostly stayed in the same one except when it was closed whenever we were ashore. We just missed seeing dolphins on that first day. They also served afternoon tea each day in the Palm’s Café, which was a nice informal gathering and were we were able to chat to different passengers - that is where we met Jenny and John who we liked most out of everyone we met and thereafter we looked out for them wherever we were during the days.
After tea Mum and I would go into the library and read the daily bulletin giving us a bit of news from home, and we would sometimes have a game of scrabble. There were hundreds of board games of every description for passengers to borrow and enjoy. There were also photocopies of crossword puzzles, sudokus and quizzes each day for those interested. The ship’s daily news given to us each day had a whole programme of events going on throughout the day and we hardly attended any of them as it was impossible to fit everything in. This included daily quizzes, fitness sessions, lectures and demonstrations, carpet bowls, port talks, bridge and whist sessions, crafts classes, shuffleboard, reindeer racing, darts, dance classes, golf putting, Black Jack and Roulette in the casino, chess and cribbage sessions, deck quoits, table tennis, bingo each day, Nintendo Wii sessions, all kinds of health and fitness sessions in the Fitness Centre on deck 10 and much more. One lecture we did attend was called ‘Eat More, Weigh Less’ which we went to in hopes of learning something new. Suddenly the room was full of tubs hoping for a miracle … which didn’t happen. We didn’t learn anything we didn’t know already and at the end the only way to get answers to our questions was to book a session in the Fitness Centre and pay big bucks for the priviledge.
There was live entertainment going on regularly every day and my favourite of these was the Rosario Trio who played four times a day and once I heard them I tried to get there whenever I could. They were double bass, violin and keyboard, playing mostly classical and lively Hungarian pieces. The double bass player had the most amazing voice and his rendition of Louis Armstrong’s A Wonderful World sounded just like the original. There was a band playing in the other ship’s theatre, the Lido Lounge on deck 8 but somehow we never got to get up there and hear them. The band in the Neptune Lounge, the main theatre, were called the Balmoral Orchestra, a really professional band who performed the music behind much of the cabaret shows except where another band was featured. There were two bars, on decks 7 and 11, which also had resident entertainment and we got to hear the music of one of them on our last day.
By the time we entered our second full day at sea we were in the Bay of Biscay and you could tell the difference as although seas looked fairly calm the ship began to roll more, sometimes quite heavily, and I had to hang onto Mum who felt very unsteady on her feet as she already has a balance problem and has to rely on two sticks. Overall though we were pretty lucky throughout the whole cruise as it never got worse than Force 8 which wasn’t too bad at all as the ship was brilliantly stabilised - force 8 is a 45 mph wind speed and is classed as Fresh Gale as opposed to force 9 being strong gale, force 10 being whole gale, force 11 being storm and force 12 being hurricane. That evening at dinner we were down to four diners on our table and the missing two explained later that they preferred the buffet meals in the Palms Café which they could partake of earlier. We didn’t realise straightaway that the other couple decided to do the same, so that by evening 3 Mum and I had a huge round table all to ourselves and it remained so for the rest of the cruise. We didn’t mind as people on the tables around us were very friendly and we had a lot of interaction with them. The entertainment that night was a jazz band called The Hot Rhythm Orchestra under the direction of Colin Bryant and they were very good. Before and after the shows the huge stage was lowered and became a dance floor where couples could ballroom dance and Mum enjoyed watching that too whilst we waited for the show to begin.
By the time we were into our third day at sea we could feel the difference in temperature whenever we ventured outside on deck. Showtime that night was a night of comedy with Phil Lowen which was also very enjoyable. We chose this over ‘The Wonder of Elvis’ show going on in the Lido lounge on deck 8 as being late sitting diners we could only see one or the other, whereas first sitting diners could watch first one, then the other.
On Saturday morning, 11th December we docked early at Casablanca, Morocco. Mum and I had already decided to get the shuttle bus and do our own thing, as I had been to Casablanca many years before on a cruise with one of my sisters, when we did the ship’s tour, which rushed us to so many places we could hardly enjoy any one thing and I knew that Mum would never keep up with the pace of it. So after breakfast we took the shuttle bus which itself Mum was worried about getting on as sometimes coach steps are pretty steep to climb. I always took a little fold up stool with me though to enable her to reach the first step. She soon realised there was nothing to worry about though as there were other passengers in a more disabled state, some in wheelchairs. Unfortunately where we were dropped, somewhere in the centre of Casablanca, was hectic and busy, with road works going on everywhere so even crossing roads was an obstacle course and there were no nearby shops to speak of. The pavements were broken and hazardous and someone had washed them down before we got there so they were slippery as well. The couple of shops we did find were horrendously expensive, a small hand towel for instance working out at £15 at fixed prices, not prices one could haggle over, so we didn’t buy anything. I was delighted to find an internet café and went in wanting to send a message home, only to find the keyboards were French, ie with a different layout than ours at home, and I gave up as being a touch typist it proved impossible. Although there was an internet café on board the Balmoral with lots of computers, unfortunately it too was way too expensive at £24 an hour, especially as it was a slower than usual internet service being at sea. After being ashore less than an hour we decided to go back to the ship as we were not too impressed with the part of Casablanca we had seen. There were plenty of taxi drivers offering to take us places but we didn’t want to wander off that far and have the worry of getting back. We could have gone to their famous mosque but I had seen it before and it is impressive, but Mum might have been more interested in going to a beach but we didn’t know how far away it was, so decided to play safe and go back.
Casablanca is an interesting city with an individual style, its buildings a blend of Art Deco and Neo-Moorish architecture with cupolas, belvederes, cedar wood balconies and turrets. On the edge of the sea stands Hassan II Mosque, a colossal building that dominates the city, its prayer hall capable of accommodating 25,000 worshippers, its espanade 80,000 more. Unlike other mosques, which are forbidden to non-muslims, Hassan II is open to all. The Habbous district is the home of the souks and near to the port and the city centre is the old medina area, its labyrinth of streets and alleys a magnet to those seeking the true colour of Morocco. Here can be seen coppersmiths and ironmongers, butchers and barbers and all manner of traders, bargaining in the best traditions of the country, all standing cheek by jowl with a modern, bustling city.
That night the show was Miss Fadwa and the Meknassi Orchestra, star of the 2nd World Belly Dance Championship, which unfortunately we missed as I hadn’t noticed the different time when I read the Daily Mail bulletin that day. This was local entertainment and the ship was sailing at 11 pm so obviously they had to get back ashore afterwards whereas all other entertainment throughout the cruise had the entertainers staying on board. I was really disappointed to miss it as I love belly dance shows.
So Sunday were were at sea again and being in a much warmer climate we went up on deck for a while and enjoyed some time in the sun. This was when I saw the first of the ship’s two swimming pools. I had not brought a swimsuit with me as I was not intending to swim but I was disappointed not to have suitable attire with me when I saw the Jacuzzi baths, each of which could accommodate six or more people, who looked as if they were really enjoying themselves in there. That evening was another formal evening and this time I wore a beaded cocktail dress. Our show that evening was Andrew Robley, a well known singer, accompanied by the Balmoral Orchestra which was very enjoyable.
On Monday morning we arrived at Arrecife, Lanzarote, to glorious weather so were looking forward to going ashore. We took the shuttle bus but still had a tidy walk after the dropping off point until we got to town, but it was a pretty walk with plenty of seating or walls for Mum to have a rest on at intervals until we got there. It was just heaven to be out in the sun after the weather we’d left back home. We did a bit of shopping in town, enjoyed some nice cold beers, and later found an internet café where I was able to send a couple of messages home, and then we walked back. On all our ventures ashore we were able to get back on board in time for lunch which continued each day until 2 pm. Mum was always glad to sink into her chair at lunchtime after much more than usual unaccustomed exercise! The ship sailed at 5.30 so as it was still daylight we went up on deck for the sail away party which was magic, what with the band playing, waiters circling bringing drinks, the shore receding away in the background. That night at dinner they put on their version of Olkahoma which was absolutely brilliant and made a brilliant end to a perfect day.
Arrecife, the administrative and commercial centre of the island, is founded on maritime traditions, and draws its name from the numerous reefs and volcanic outcrops and islets that abound off its shoreline. Further afield, the island offers an astonishing landscape of some three hundred volcanoes, the so-called Mountains of Fire, part of the Timanfaya National Park - all extinct of course,, with the last eruption recorded in 1824. These may be visited on excursion or by car, and it is even possible to travel part of the way by camel!
We awoke next morning in Gran Canaria and from here we were able to walk ashore. Outside the dock gates is the Castle of Light (Luz) built in 1474, whose stone walls stood beside the sea, and the Church de la Luz is one of the oldest on the island. The Parque Santa Catalina is popular for its outdoor cafes, restaurants and many shops, and at night it is a cheerful area in which to enjoy the varied nightlife.
Although it was a kilometer into town we just ambled along the waterfront sitting down to enjoy the view at intervals and enjoy the warm sunshine, and after a while we came to a huge indoor shopping centre and went in there. We did a bit of shopping on the various levels and ended up on a deck with seating upstairs and just stayed enjoying the sunshine and glorious views. Back downstairs we enjoyed another cold beer and walked back to the ship for lunch. Our entertainer at the show that evening was Michael Bacala, a virtuoso on the violin from Poland, who was absolutely brilliant - that night’s show was entitled ’Fireworks on the 4 Strings.
On Wednesday we woke up in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, and although we didn’t know it then, this was the best place for shopping of all the places we visited. The Greek writer Homer spoke of the Canary Islands as “a kingdom where winter does not exist”. Tenerife, the largest island of the archipelago, basks in glorious spring like weather all year round, and indeed it was another lovely warm sunny day for our visit ashore.
There was no shuttle bus as we were told the distance was walkable but it was a very long walk, especially for poor Mum and took us a long time as we had to stop frequently for a rest. By the time we finally reached the shops she was already exhausted so we sat at a pavement café and enjoyed a cold beer for about half an hour before we continued. This helped but unfortunately the shopping streets were all uphill. We did stay shopping for quite a while though as the shops were so interesting and we both spent a fair bit of money there and found some lovely things both for ourselves and for gifts for people back home. The long walk back nearly finished Mum off and when the waiter held out her chair in the restaurant at lunchtime she fell into it! After a nice leisurely lunch she recovered quite considerably though. And that night after dinner we went to the deck sail away party again, rather than the show in the Neptune lounge, where the Balmoral Show Company put on their tribute to Abba which was very enjoyable whilst enjoying a drink and seeing the shores of Tenerife recede in the background. One guy dancing on his own around the rim of the swimming pool got pushed in by his mate with an almighty splash which raised a laugh or two!
Next morning we awoke in Santa Cruz, La Palma, which being a smaller island we would not be staying at as long as the other ports of call. We would be sailing again at 2.30. Again the distance to town was walkable so no shuttle bus was provided. This was our last sunny day but was interspersed with a bit of rain and it was incredibly windy - still warm but so windy at times we felt we would be blown off our feet. Because of this Mum decided halfway not to go all the way into town but would slowly amble back while I did a mad dash to buy more cigarettes so that I could give a 200 pack to each of my three sons. Whilst walking I saw a Tall ship berthed called the Lord Nelson and stopped to take a photo, especially as there as a lovely rainbow in the background, when suddenly a voice behind me asked if I would like a photo with me in it … and it was our Captain from the ship who then proceed to take two pictures of me with the ship in the background, which was nice. I was only ever able to be in any of my pictures when there was someone available to take the picture as Mum doesn’t understand digital cameras and her eyesight isn’t so good these days since partially losing the sight in one of them a few years ago.
Santa Cruz is the capital of La Palma and claims to be one of the most attractive towns in the Canary Islands, with its tree lined squares and elegant houses. The most north westerly of the islands in the group, La Palma benefits from the moisture bearing north east trade winds, which enable the island to live up to its sobriquet ‘La Isla Verde’ or the Green Island. Hills surround the town on the landward side, and the main shopping and commercial area, the Calle Real, lies just behind the waterfront.
That night’s show was a kind of variety night, featuring Phil Lowen again and then Andrew Robley whose show that night was hilarious. He was dressed in a kilt and did comedy sketches and sang but the best of all was his last song, which I have only discovered since coming home is called ‘Let’s Do It’, a comedy sketch about an elderly couple, one of whom felt amorous and wanted to act on it and the other did not. Singing in the two voices it was so funny that Mum and I could hardly breathe for laughter and were rolling about in our seats. Checking out his Cds later in the shop there were 4 of them and I did not know which song was that one, and with 4 Cds of his on sale I didn’t want to buy the wrong one so didn’t, but since returning home I have checked out his website and listened to some excerpts of songs and now know which CD so will be buying it online sometime soon after Christmas.
On Friday 17th December we arrived at our last port of call - Funchal, Madeira, where unfortunately we had awful weather as it was pouring with rain. By the time Mum and I got the shuttle bus ashore it had eased off a bit. My photos were mostly taken from the bus and a few after we got off. We explored a little shopping centre and ventured out the other side to a street with a Christmas market going on but didn’t see much of that as the heavens opened and we got thoroughly soaked to the skin and decided to go back to the ship after refreshments in a little café - having been unable to find a bar for cold beers without getting even more wet. So we had an early lunch back at the ship and as the rain had died off by then decided to go back ashore again as driving away from our shuttle bus pick off point we had seen another shopping centre nearby that we missed because of the rain. Yes you have guessed it, once out of the bus and walking to that shopping centre the heavens opened again and we got soaked to the skin again, but we still explored the available shops and bought a few more souvenirs.
Funchal is the island’s capital and principal port and is a pretty place with glorious flowers, wonderful views and a romantic small town character. The streets are lined with jacaranda trees, and there is a pleasant bustling atmosphere in the shops and markets - although we did not witness this due to the rain.
One of the best ways of seeing Funchal and the surrounding area is by taking the cable car. This runs from the old part of the city and is a truly exciting way to see Funchal’s landscape. The Monte station is situated amidst very charming scenery and is near to Monte Palace tropical garden. From here you can take another cable car on a new panoramic route with extraordinary views of Funchal bay and over the river of Joao Gomes, an area of rare exotic beauty. Unfortunately the cable cars were closed that day due to the rain and windy conditions.
That afternoon we skipped tea and went to a Talent show put on by some of the passengers and this was very enjoyable. And after dinner the Balmoral Show Company put on a show called Swing Time, which was big band music from the 30s and 40s which was excellent and especially enjoyed by Mum. We then stayed on and watched another cabaret put on by crew members and didn’t get to bed until gone 1 am which is hours past Mum’s normal bedtime. She fell asleep in parts of both shows but enjoyed the bits she did see!
After Madeira we had three more whole days at sea with about 1500 miles to sail until reaching Southampton on the morning of 21st December. The weather was still rainy that first day at sea so we didn’t venture up on deck. That afternoon they put on an extra special tea with myriads of exotic cakes and pastries on two long tables with chefs lined up to serve them, all whilst listening to the beautiful music of the Rosario Trio, which was lovely. That night there was an Indian dinner buffet in Palms Café but we went to our usual restaurant as we much preferred being waited on. By this time we had got to know both waiters and grew quite fond of them as they were always willing to go the extra mile to please. For instance once they knew that Pistaschio icecream was my favourite, they ordered it in especially for me and I had a couple of scoops of it added on to whichever pudding I chose each evening. They would fetch ice for my drinks, let me choose different accompaniments to whichever main course I chose each evening, would fetch hot milk for my coffee rather than the cold milk provided on the table etc. The service was such that they could never do enough for you, even though they had so many other passengers to look after, and for that they earned a big tip from us at the end of the cruise. We had Michael Bacala, the Polish violin virtuoso again at showtime that evening who did a marvellous rendition of popular songs from around the world, which was really brilliant.
Sunday 19th December was the last of the three formal evenings, with another cocktail and canape party so that we could say farewell to the captain and I wore another cocktail dress for this, but mainly I dressed up every single evening, whether formal, informal or casual, just for the pure pleasure of dressing up more than usual. That evening there was a chef’s parade on stage in the Neptune Lounge before the show which was pretty impressive, and the show that night was a fantastic extravaganza of music and dance and wonderful costumes put on by the crew of the Balmoral, from Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippes. Every single member was from those countries, but mostly from the Phillipines, even down to all the band members and everyone down to the washer upper, the cabin maids etc. After this I had time to take Mum back to her cabin as she was tired out, and then I nipped down to take a few pictures of the gala buffet laid on at midnight … but only to take photos as there was no way I had appetite to eat anything that late.
Finally, Monday 20th, our last full day at sea and we felt sad all day knowing it was the last day of what had been a fantastically enjoyable two weeks. Also we knew we were going back to still more snowy weather and were not looking forward to that after enjoying sunny weather in our ports of call. Before dinner that evening the Balmoral Bar Department put on a Christmas carol service for us on stage, and we were all handed carol sheets to join in, and it was lovely. Afterwards every single member of the crew came on stage, over 500 of them. That night was a fantastic Christmas dinner with all kinds of extra things down to petit fours at the end, and our waiters singing some carols for us after the main course. Then the final show which was a variety show featuring all our entertainment from the cruise - Phil Lowen, Michael Bacala, Andrew Robley, Colin Bryant and his Hot Rhythm Orchestra, Bartosz Barasinski, a classical pianist who had done some recitals during the cruise, plus the Balmoral Show Company sang and danced for us accompanied by the Balmoral Orchestra, all of which was a great finale to a magnificent holiday, which Mum and I may even repeat if they put on a similar one around the same time next year. If they don’t, we quite fancy the 22 night Eastern Mediterranean cruise on a sister ship the Black Watch, which other passengers told us is just as wonderful a ship even though a little bit smaller than the Balmoral. Back at our cabin we had to put our suitcases outside for collection by porters, so we would not have to worry about them again until collection ashore at Southampton the following morning.
Even our last day, disembarkation day, was very enjoyable. We got up early in order to have time for breakfast and were ashore by 9.30 am after collecting our suitcases and arrived outside just in time for the arrival of my cousin’s husband Klaus who had come to collect us to take us to his house as they live in Southampton. It was fantastic to see first him, then my cousin Georgina again as we had not seen them for many many years. We spent a very enjoyable several hours with them, and Colin arrived around 12 noon and we enjoyed a fantastic lunch with them and several glasses of wine. It really was fantastic and we all agreed we were not going to let the years pass like that again, and have already made plans to go down and stay with them next summer and they will come up to Bath and stay with me and see the rest of the family. We finally got on the road about 3.45 pm as Colin wanted to get part of the way home before it got dark. The journey home was busy and took longer than usual because even though the roads were clear of snow, there were very long delays leading to Salisbury and beyond. In the village where Mum lives the snow was thick on the ground and we both took an arm each to help her safely indoors. And a short while later Colin dropped me off at home as well. All in all it was a fantastic holiday and we now look forward to the next one! My photos can be seen on facebook but I will try to put a link to them here on my blog if I can work out how to do it. Check this space again to see if I succeeded!
Well I have checked it out and this link should take you there:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=307746&id=652226114&l=baa3bcbead
You may have to cut and paste it into the bar at the top to be able to reach it.
