SarahHben

Well done reading all my ramblings in one go 😂 I hope that you and your daughter enjoy it as much as we did! I didn't pay particular attention to the vegetarian options on each days menus but we did chose a vegetarian option a few times. Thank you, the photos I have posted on here are just from my iPhone so that I could post them straight away. However I have spent ages this afternoon transferring all my photos from my Canon DSLR onto my computer, all 900+ of them 😟it will take me a while to sort through them all!

Thank you. On Ventura we were both given lanyards with a separate key card for the Retreat when we went along to the Spa. The holders had space for our cruise cards on the other side. Yes towels are provided, as well as blue swimming towels, blankets for if it got chilly and white robes for use while in the Retreat. There was chilled water and fruit infused water always available and the staff frequently brought round tea and coffee, lunch around 12, afternoon tea between 3:30 -4pm and if we wanted a drink from the bar the Retreat staff took our cruise card and went to fetch the drinks for us.

Thank you. Our next two cruises are both on Britannia. Norway at the end of May next year - Stavanger, Olden, Flam & Bergen, and then the Med in August 2025 - Cadiz, Mallorca, Cagliari, Ibiza, Cartagena & Gibraltar.

On Saturday morning we were awake early so went down to Saffron for breakfast around 6:45, there was already a small queue but we were seated straight away. We then went back to our cabin, got our hand luggage, had a quick chat with our lovely room steward who was going back home to spend time with her family for a few months. Our time for going to the theatre for disembarkation was 8:45-9 but having no where else to go, we got there an hour early & sat and read our books. I got through 5 books in a fortnight - a sign of a good holiday for me 😊 We were given regular updates on how the disembarkation process was progressing. Everyone was asked to sit down and not stand especially near the exits, quite a few people ignored that of course 🙄 At one point it was announced we would have to wait another 20 minutes, there was a loud chorus of groans around the theatre which we both thought was unfair to the staff as it wasn’t even our disembarkation time at that point. In the end it was around 9:10 when we were called so we thought they was pretty good. They took a few rows at a time and of course some people got up and left regardless of what row they were in! We disembarked easily, found the 2 main cases straight away but the small one we put out late the night before took some searching! Straight through to collect our car from CPS. We were home, car unloaded and the first load of washing in the machine by 1ish 😊 I’m now browsing excursions for our Norway cruise next year while watching the football 😁

It’s still the small tv’s I’m afraid. That didn’t bother us at all as we only used it for the safety video and the navigation channel. I understand that isn’t the case for other people though.

Thank you all for your lovely comments 😊 much appreciated

Evening We had a lie in today and went down to Saffron restaurant at 9:20 for our last leisurely breakfast of the holiday. We were given a table for two straight away. It’s a good job we wanted leisurely as the service was really slow and it was close to 10 by the time our food arrived. In the meantime we got chatting to the couple next to us, and while talking we discovered they live in Kent too, in the Medway Towns like us. The husband used to live in the same road as us, 12 houses away, he would have lived there for a few years while we were there. The lady that bought his house is the lady who does my nails and we know some of the same people. The wife works in one of local shops that I shop in often, I did think she looked familiar. What a small world it is! After a good natter we went and packed another case and then went to the Retreat. We sat there for an hour or so but it was a bit drizzly so we decamped in the buffet for a cup of tea and a light lunch. We then went to the Havana Club for a virtual bridge tour talk by two of the ships officers. They said they haven’t got back to doing proper tours since covid and that this was the first virtual tour they had done in 6 months. It was very interesting, both informative and humorous. The Deputy Captain came down for it too. I’d forgotten that the Captain had changed mid cruise and we now have Alan Hawkins. After the virtual bridge tour we finished packing as much as we could and then relaxed. Dinner was at the Beach House tonight. I had prawn starter, chicken sizzler plate and we shared a delicious chocolate fondue, the churros were particularly good, so good I dived in before photographing it all. The Headliners theatre group did a show with songs from musicals, the three female vocalists had very good voices well suited to the songs they sang. We don’t particularly enjoy the Headliners shows where they act in between songs but this one was just singing and dancing. Sadly we are all packed and ready to leave tomorrow morning. We have absolutely loved this holiday and I will do a quick summary of our thoughts of various aspects either tomorrow or Sunday. Only 286 days until our next cruise 😁

Evening. I did indeed stay put 😊 Mr B went to the talk but said he could have done a better job and that the speaker didn’t get all of the aeroplane details correct 🙄 My day was spent reading in the Retreat and then reading on the balcony! It was formal night and the dinner was very good. We went to Cinnamon around 6:20 and were seated at a table for two straight away. I didn’t photo the starter and soup as we were chatting to a lady, but I had the scallop & crab tian which was good, followed by chicken & sweetcorn chowder, again very nice. Then for main I had lobster & king prawn fuillette which was delicious, Mr B got twice the amount of lobster bisque than I had. Dessert was biscuit glace which tasted good but looked like it could fly away. If we hadn’t had people next to me I may have popped the raspberries in as eyes 🥴 A magician called Phil Hitchcock was performing in the theatre and he was very good, extremely clever. We've now packed 1 case and will do the rest tomorrow. It’s been a great 2 weeks and I’d happily stay onboard for another fortnight.

Morning We have another morning of glorious weather. Haven’t heard a forecast so far this morning but are making the most if it in case we get the rain that was forecast last night. Our day is likely to be spent in the Retreat. Mr B might go to a Battle of Britain talk this afternoon but if the weather stays nice I’m staying put in my nice comfy seat with my kindle 😊

It was looking at the photos of it afterwards that made my eyes go funny 😊

Evening It’s been a good last port day. We took the Benfica Stadium Tour, and it made Mr B happy. The tour was good, even I enjoyed it but it wasn’t particularly well organised. There were 2 coaches from P&O and the other group went off to do the museum first while we were supposed to see the stadium and then we would swap. We ended up just waiting around for ages outside. Our guide went off to see what was happening and she was away for quite a while. She then took us to the museum first with a tour guide from Benfica who said we could view the museum at our own pace. There was no arranged meet up time, when asked the guide just said we’ll all go into the stadium together once everyone had seen the museum 🙄. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing the tour guide said we could have 20 minutes in the museum which didn’t go down well. Somebody pointed out we’d waited outside for 40 minutes, I’m not sure that it was that long but it was certainly too long. The guide then said we could have more time after all and told us where to meet. Neither guide really seemed to know what to do. Anyway once that had been cleared up and a meeting point and time set it was fine and the tour was very enjoyable. We were originally due back at the ship at 1:45 but the trip was running late due to the delay at the start. The driver made s stop at the shuttle bus drop off point and some of us got off there to explore. I think it was around 2:30, by which time Mr B & I were starving so we had some lunch out including a delicious pasteis de nata each. We then made our way down towards the port stopping at various squares and streets on the way. It was lovely but very busy and very hot and because we thought we’d be going back to the ship first neither of us had our hats and I didn’t have my big camera. We didn’t get a chance to go to the cathedral but we will just have to visit again one day. We were up on deck for sailing under the bridge, quite an experience. Neither of us were very hungry as the lovely Orson who works in the retreat had persuaded us to have afternoon tea quite late. We went down to look at the MDR menu around 7:30 and there was nothing that took our fancy, there was lots we liked but it felt a bit samey compared to other meals we’d had recently. We decided to try the Glass House but the wait there was around an hour which didn’t appeal either. So we decided to go up to the buffet and we had a pretty good meal there, beef in black bean sauce and veg & noodles amongst other things. Sea day tomorrow, the Captain said that we may get some rain in the afternoon but seas should be calm 👍🏻

We did see two of the eagles but they weren’t being flown, they were sitting on their perches at the edge of the pitch. Of all the trips we’ve done this cruise it was probably the most chaotic organisation wise. I’ll say more about that in a while but I’m going to enjoy a drink & a rest now 😊

Yes we were on our balcony for going under the bridge this morning and we’ll be on the open part of the retreat when we go under later this afternoon. The coach driver stopped at the shuttle stop in town to drop off those of us who wanted. We didn’t see everything that we wanted to see but will just have to come back again another day 😁

Morning We are approaching Lisbon now 😊 Mr B has booked us onto the Benfica FC stadium tour 🥴 so I’m not sure how much of Lisbon we’ll get to see afterwards but we’ll do our best. We’re having room service breakfast today so that we don’t miss going under the bridge or seeing any views. We went down to dinner at Cinnamon restaurant at 7:15 last night and didn’t have to wait for a pager, straight to a table for 2.

Before we came I didn’t know if we were wasting our money paying for the retreat for the whole trip but it had been fantastic! I think there’s only been 1 day when we haven’t spent any time up there.

Cadiz has been wonderful. We didn’t have an excursion booked but Mr B had found a walking map that took in the main points of interest. The map wasn’t very well drawn so we made it up as we went along 😊 We walked quite a long way round the sea front and out along the jetty to Castillo de San Sebastián then through the botanical gardens and up to Iglesias del Carmen. We walked through several pretty squares including the main cathedral square, lots of lovely little side streets and some lovely gardens. I wouldn’t say we got lost, but for a while we weren’t entirely sure where we were 😂 I resorted to google maps at one point! We then had a well earned rest in the Retreat, it’s very nice having the Retreat staff fetch our drinks for us. Mr B said he’s going to miss afternoon tea being served at 3:30 -4ish everyday when he’s back at work 😂

We sat and had a drink in a bar in one of the gardens, very nice!

I suppose it was fairly sweet but i have a sweet tooth. I have had sweeter afternoon teas in London. I overheard someone say that the pistachio fancies were quite dense but it was one of my favourites. I’ll try to add a photo of the menu

Morning We have arrived in sunny Cadiz, a cooler day today, highs of 28° forecast. Yesterday we had a very lazy day so not much much to report on. I ironed a blouse which is the only time I intend to use the laundry 😂 although being a sea day it was a social hub in there, quite a few people having a natter. We then spent a good 4 or 5 hours in the Retreat just relaxing & reading. It was quite windy yesterday and the adult pool was closed, I heard someone say that all the pools were. We really enjoyed the Epicurean afternoon tea, quite a few people near us left some of it, one table barely touched theirs. One of the desserts had a little tube of rum that we had to squeeze on top, delicious! Maybe we’re just greedy but we ate everything! We then relaxed on our balcony for the rest of the afternoon. I needed to wash my hair and while I was in the shower Mr B saw 4 dolphins swim by! It was formal night and we went down to Cinnamon restaurant at 7:15, we were given a pager and went to have photos taken but were paged after 15 minutes so had to go back later to have photos taken. We had a lovely dinner time talking to the couple on the table next to us. We were actually served chocolates at the end of the meal for the first time in the MDR, they were nothing like the ones in Epicurean. We didn’t take any photos at dinner as we were chatting to the other couple. Celebrity Silhouette has docked opposite us this morning, it’s the first cruise ship we’ve seen since we left Southampton.