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Absolute Beginner: 'Spirit of Iberia' Thomson Celebration April 2018


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Had a quick look, but can't find any other threads for this one, so as the title - total newbie to this 'cruising' game and looking forward to this first little experience :cool:

 

My BIG burning question at present is 'what to do when docked in the ports?' - is it best to prepare/book something or wait until on the boat?

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Part of the fun of any holiday is in the planning and if you leave any port destination until your on the ship you could miss out on some amazing trips/sights. However many do just rock up to the destination dek and ask what the crack is for tomorrow.

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We tend to like to do a little of both - but it generally depends on the ports themselves. We scan the reviews for the ports from the same cruise before we go - to get an idea of what people have done on previous cruises. Thomson does provide an overview of the port (map, top things to do, how to get around etc) the evening before each port - so if you know a port is an easy 'walk off and do your own thing' type of port before you cruise - you can avoid having to 'plan' for that port and wind the night before and when you get there.

 

We're doing the same itinerary in November this year (-:

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We tend to like to do a little of both - but it generally depends on the ports themselves. We scan the reviews for the ports from the same cruise before we go - to get an idea of what people have done on previous cruises. Thomson does provide an overview of the port (map, top things to do, how to get around etc) the evening before each port - so if you know a port is an easy 'walk off and do your own thing' type of port before you cruise - you can avoid having to 'plan' for that port and wind the night before and when you get there.

 

We're doing the same itinerary in November this year (-:

Lol then I look forward to your summary, you sound an expert in cruising in comparison to me [emoji5]

 

Sent from my F3111 using Tapatalk

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Just had a quick squint at the itinerary.

 

 

 

  • Malaga, Costa Del Sol
  • Lisbon, Portugal
  • Portimao, Portugal
  • Cadiz (for Seville), Spain
  • Casablanca, Morocco
  • Gibraltar, Gibraltar
  • Malaga, Costa Del Sol

I would suggest considering the ship's organised trip for Casablanca.

 

Otherwise DIY for the other ports of call.

 

Lisbon - hop on hop bus is one of the best hoho runs we've done, and it picks up/drops off near the berthing locations

 

https://city-sightseeing.com/en/80/lisbon

 

Cadiz also has a hoho service, but it's just as easy to walk around the city - otherwise see ports of call forums for Seville, We did the "Seville On Your Own" provided by the ship - but it's just an overpriced glorified bus run and back.

 

Portimao is another easy DIY.

 

Doubtful if you'll have much time in Malaga either arriving or departing - depends on flights.

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Just had a quick squint at the itinerary.

 

 

 

  • Malaga, Costa Del Sol
  • Lisbon, Portugal
  • Portimao, Portugal
  • Cadiz (for Seville), Spain
  • Casablanca, Morocco
  • Gibraltar, Gibraltar
  • Malaga, Costa Del Sol

I would suggest considering the ship's organised trip for Casablanca.

 

Otherwise DIY for the other ports of call.

 

Lisbon - hop on hop bus is one of the best hoho runs we've done, and it picks up/drops off near the berthing locations

 

https://city-sightseeing.com/en/80/lisbon

 

Cadiz also has a hoho service, but it's just as easy to walk around the city - otherwise see ports of call forums for Seville, We did the "Seville On Your Own" provided by the ship - but it's just an overpriced glorified bus run and back.

 

Portimao is another easy DIY.

 

Doubtful if you'll have much time in Malaga either arriving or departing - depends on flights.

Wow, thanks for the info [emoji5]

 

Sent from my F3111 using Tapatalk

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We did this cruise last year on Spirit, great itinerary.

 

Malaga - if you have time it's easy to walk to the quayside shopping area and there is also a noddy train that you can use to travel the whole length.

 

Portimao - Thomson put on a shuttle which was payable on board the ship which stops at the town and the beach. People were also walking.

 

Gibraltar - There are local shuttles which are payable which run up to the centre of town. You can also walk in 10-15mins. Half day tours are available either locally or through Thomson we did one and they can drop you off in the centre for shopping if you want.

 

Lisbon - We did a Thomson half day tour but then went out by ourselves in the afternoon. Hop on Hop Off buses are available, the walk to one of the main plazas is an easy 10 minutes walk.

 

Casablanca - we did a ship tour again for half a day. The port is industrial - though there are taxis there I saw.

 

Cadiz - Having been to Seville before we did the trip to Jerez and the sherry bodegas for some tasting. Then back for something to eat and then off again to explore Cadiz. Easy to walk to the old town from the port again a short walk.

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I did a quick look before we booked some time ago - off the top - I seem to recall Gibraltar was a port folks thought you needed to have booked something as well - would you agree?

 

No - as Colbrit says there will be plenty people carrier taxis at the quayside offering local tours. The driver/guide will take you to the various "must see" tourist locations, including up the Rock to see the apes. One word of advice........ don't carry large bags, or foodstuffs of any description - these primates will (and do) snatch anything that looks as if it might contain scoff. Likewise, avoid wearing hats which are also targets for the apes !!!

 

Going back to Lisbon - print off the bus route guides and you can make a plan of action. There is a limit as to what you can do in one day, this is the best option IMO. There are two separate routes which have a few interchange stops common to them both.

 

We took the bus to the top end of Eduard VII park (there's a megahuge Portuguese flag flying there) and strolled all the way down to the bus route interchange at the bottom, stopping off at the popular cafe restuarant en route for a wee refreshment - very pleasant. Then you can rejoin the bus on either route to continue your journey. You can make reservations online, or pay on the day with cash or major cards.

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Thanks WeeMan -

 

appears to be a consensus that ports are all pretty much DIY with minimal planning except for Casablanca - so we'll take a closer look at the Thomson excursions for those before we set sail (-:

 

Thanks for the advice about the hats - my husband is 'follically-challenged' and usually wears a hat to protect against the sun - he may need to pack the hat away at some point in Gibraltar though - haha.

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Were doing this in November and I've booked the Seville trip as it's quite a hike and I'd rather the assurance of getting back on time afforded by a ships trip! All others we'll do our own thing. As we called in to Casablanca on another cruise in February were unlikely to do it again!

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Were doing this in November and I've booked the Seville trip as it's quite a hike and I'd rather the assurance of getting back on time afforded by a ships trip! All others we'll do our own thing. As we called in to Casablanca on another cruise in February were unlikely to do it again!

we''re on the fence about this one - was thinking of just taking our own transport (train or bus) to Seville, but not sure its worth the travel time for us on this trip. This will be our 2nd time to Spain (coming from Canada) but I like to think we will have a future opportunity to see Seville and it sounds like Cadiz is a nice port (although not as nice as Seville I understand.. if we had more time...)

 

Gotta always leave a reason for another vacation - :D

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we''re on the fence about this one - was thinking of just taking our own transport (train or bus) to Seville, but not sure its worth the travel time for us on this trip. This will be our 2nd time to Spain (coming from Canada) but I like to think we will have a future opportunity to see Seville and it sounds like Cadiz is a nice port (although not as nice as Seville I understand.. if we had more time...)

 

Gotta always leave a reason for another vacation - :D

 

We actually prefer Cadiz to Seville - smaller and, in our opinion, with a more authentic Andalus feel rather than catering for the tourist masses.

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As mentioned above, the sherry bodegas of Jerez are worth a visit, not sure how easy it is to get there from Cadiz though.

 

We did this many years ago - the Tio Pepe option, with the casks signed by a multitude of A list celebrities, as is (or was ?) the custom.

 

The highlight was when the guide put a sherry schooner in a corner with a set of tiny wooden ladders up to the rim - after telling the party to step well back and keep silent, a wee mouse scurried out, scaled the ladder and scooped up some of the sherry, just like this video footage !!!

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just done the Timeless Europe itinerary which covered Lisbon, Portimao and Gibraltar.

 

Portimao is easily walkable from the ship - 10 mins and in the other direction you can walk to Priar de Rocha

 

Lisbon can't be covered easily in a day, as too much to see and hilly, so choose the highlights you are interested in. You can get a day ticket from any Metro station ticket machine that costs approx 6.5 Euros, which covers all tram, bus and metro journeys, but its more time consuming to cover sites, compared to the hoho bus. We rode tram 28 (see tripadvisor), but queued for 1 hour before we could get on, and the journey was approx 50 mins. Belem Tower is out on a limb.

 

Gibratar - as other have said

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