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What did you do on Treasures of Southern Spain & Morocco OR Spanish Symphony?


Ski Mom 2
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OK folks, I'm looking at so many ports and my roll calls are a bit on the quiet side so I thought I would put it out there on the main Windstar board.

 

Here are our ports of call on our Treasures of Southern Spain & Morocco in September, 2018.

 

Lisbon

Tangier

Malaga

Almeria/Granada

Cartagena

Ibiza

Tarragona

Barcelona

 

Did you take a WS tour or hire a different tour/guide? Did you DIY? Any and all information about tours for these ports would be appreciated. And yes, I have read the boards for each of these locations and I started a role call but for those of you who have sailed on WS, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thank you!!

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I'm on the 7/5 cruise out of Lisbon. I am also trying to decide 'last minute'.

I did book the tour of Alhambra in Granada. It came highly recommended by someone at work.

Sounds like it gets sold out and it's quite a ways from the port. I tried to book with an outside group and couldn't get it for the date we are there.

 

Since I am going before you, I will have more input when I get back after July 13.

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We were a group of six traveling together last summer to these ports, so private guides made sense for some of these ports. We used Heritage Tours in NYC for Tangier and Almeria. The Alhambra is a long hot day but worth t. My husband and I also used them for a day tour of Barcelona and a trip north to the Dali Museum and Girona. All were outstanding. We were in Morocco during Ramadan and a heat wave, so having our own van and driver were particularly nice.

 

We hired another guide for a wine tour of Priorat out of Terragona. It was a great place to go, but I can’t recommend totally the outfit we used.

 

In Ibiza and Malaga (Torremolinos) we rented loungers at beach clubs and enjoyed the beach and beverages. If that’s your thing, I can find the names of the clubs we went to.

 

Elsewhere and for a few days in Barcelona and Lisbon, we did our own thing.

 

It was a fantastic trip. The Windsurf is our favorite ship.

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Thank mylola and can I say I'm so happy you're up first!

 

We did go ahead and book the Alhambra tour through WS because they told me the same thing, it sells out and my husband didn't want to chance a private tour.

 

I'll look forward hearing what you end up doing...can a wonderful trip!!

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Thanks Pudgesmom for your info! We hope to meet up with a friend of our son's who is in the Peace Corps in Morocco but we don't know yet if she will be able to come to Tangier. If not, I will definitely look into Heritage Tours.

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Pudgesmom:

Do you think by mid September the beaches of Ibiza would still be a possibility? I mean will it be nice and warm to sip some fabulous drinks by the water? I suppose this stop would be our best chance at a beach day. I'm always about beach days in the Caribbean but didn't know if September would be good for the Med.

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Pudgesmom:

 

Do you think by mid September the beaches of Ibiza would still be a possibility? I mean will it be nice and warm to sip some fabulous drinks by the water? I suppose this stop would be our best chance at a beach day. I'm always about beach days in the Caribbean but didn't know if September would be good for the Med.

 

 

 

The first week of June was fairly cool and the water was almost cold. We love the beach and did manage a short! dip in the sea. If it’s anything like the Atlantic, I would guess water temps would be much warmer at the end of the summer. I went with my two children and their spouses that day. We loved chilling on the beach with Lounge beds, umbrellas, sangria and some “whomp whomp” day jazz playing. It was a fantastic day.

 

 

 

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I have been to S. Spanish coast, Sicily, and S. Italy in mid to late September the water and air were always warm enough to enjoy the beaches. You shoukd be fine and with a lot less people. Happy Sailing

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We did the same start and end port last summer on the Breeze, but mostly other stops, so not much help. However, in Malage it was shopping with the chef time (Olven), there were only 3 of us and it was really special and great experience.

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I would love to go shopping with the chef! I wonder if they are continuing to do this? If so, I'll at least have a 1 in 3 chance to do it while on board. Thanks for the heads up; I had forgotten about this possibility!

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I would love to go shopping with the chef! I wonder if they are continuing to do this? If so, I'll at least have a 1 in 3 chance to do it while on board. Thanks for the heads up; I had forgotten about this possibility!

 

My son and DIL are currently on the Windstar and his highlight was the shopping trip to the local market in Cadiz today where the chef bought many items but the highlight was a whole tuna for the cruise.

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We did the April 20 Windstar cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona. A few thoughts/observations:

 

Lisbon - We did five days on our own before the cruise and had a wonderful time. Lisbon is hilly, but easy to get around once you figure out the buses and subway. The tram tour of the Alfama district got us some great views (and saved walking up some steep hills); it's a HOHO so you can get off if you find someplace you want to spend more time at. We also did a day trip by train out to Sintra to see the old summer palace. Even in April it was getting pretty crowded by mid-morning so you might want to go early.

 

Malaga - We didn't think any of WS' tours sounded interesting so we took the free shuttle into town and walked around. We took the lift up to the Alcazaba, wandered through the gardens, had some ice cream, and headed back to the ship. We'd done a lot of walking the day before in Cadiz, so an easy day was just the thing.

 

Almeria - The tour to Granada was scheduled for nine hours and that was just too long for us. We took the WS walking tour of Almeria which was a good overview of the city and included the castle, the cathedral, and a stop at a bar for wine and tapas (which were quite good). Granada is really the main attraction here. Almeria is pleasant, but in hindsight we'd probably think harder about doing Granada.

 

Barcelona - Lovely city but very crowded; I understand why the locals are concerned about over tourism. Due to scheduling we only had a day here before heading home so we did he Gothic Quarter on our own.

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We did the April 20 Windstar cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona. A few thoughts/observations:

 

Lisbon - We did five days on our own before the cruise and had a wonderful time. Lisbon is hilly, but easy to get around once you figure out the buses and subway. The tram tour of the Alfama district got us some great views (and saved walking up some steep hills); it's a HOHO so you can get off if you find someplace you want to spend more time at. We also did a day trip by train out to Sintra to see the old summer palace. Even in April it was getting pretty crowded by mid-morning so you might want to go early.

 

Malaga - We didn't think any of WS' tours sounded interesting so we took the free shuttle into town and walked around. We took the lift up to the Alcazaba, wandered through the gardens, had some ice cream, and headed back to the ship. We'd done a lot of walking the day before in Cadiz, so an easy day was just the thing.

 

Almeria - The tour to Granada was scheduled for nine hours and that was just too long for us. We took the WS walking tour of Almeria which was a good overview of the city and included the castle, the cathedral, and a stop at a bar for wine and tapas (which were quite good). Granada is really the main attraction here. Almeria is pleasant, but in hindsight we'd probably think harder about doing Granada.

 

Barcelona - Lovely city but very crowded; I understand why the locals are concerned about over tourism. Due to scheduling we only had a day here before heading home so we did he Gothic Quarter on our own.

 

We are flying in early to Lisbon too. I’m looking forward to visiting Sintra. How was the train? Did you then use the bus to get up to the Pena Palace? Any other recommendations for that day?

 

Did you visit any other areas outside of Lisbon?

 

Thanks!

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We are flying in early to Lisbon too. I’m looking forward to visiting Sintra. How was the train? Did you then use the bus to get up to the Pena Palace? Any other recommendations for that day?

 

Did you visit any other areas outside of Lisbon?

 

Thanks!

 

The train is a basic commuter service, nothing fancy, but it runs about every 30 minutes or so during the day and takes about 40 minutes to make it to Sintra (which is the end of the line). It was quite crowded with tourists going to Sintra but less so in the afternoon. If you're at the front of the train there is a second set of fare gates there which might be less jammed than the main gates in the middle of the platform. I'd recommend going early in the day since it was very crowded in April.

 

We went to the National Palace instead of Pena so I'm afraid I don't have any information on the bus. We were swarmed outside the train station by people trying to give us flyers for various tours so you should have plenty of choices. The main HOHO bus leaves from the plaza in town which is a bit of a hike from the station and right in front of the National Palace.

 

The cruise also stopped in Portimao on the south coast of Portugal. It's a pleasant beach/yachting town where we did a winery tour and wine tasting. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see more of Portugal, but it's been added to our ever expanding list of places we want to see.

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We did the Barcelona to Lisbon cruise 2 years ago.

 

We arrived a couple of days early and stayed in Barcelona - we enjoyed a guided tour of the Gaudi. Park - so fascinating - highly recommend this tour which I booked on the website. We also watched a flamenco dance performance which was fun but our seats weren't great. We loved going out for tapas and drinking sangria!

We did the ship's tour to the Alhambra which included a lunch stop. I was disappointed in the tour. We had a guide who spoke with a very heavy accent and was difficult to understand. I think his English vocabulary was limited as well. Others with different guides had a better experience. He also ran out of time for us to have a stop in the museum gift shop - I love museum gift shops and so I was not happy! Being so far from the ship,mi would not have wanted to risk a private guide, however.

 

In Malaga we went with the chef to the market - this was only advertised the night before in a flyer - by the time I saw it, the tour was full - only 10 guests - but I asked the chef directly if we could go we had gotten to know him a bit earlier in the week - and he said yes - we had a delightful time, stayed in town for cappuccinos and a light lunch. My DH then went back to ship and I had an afternoon of shopping!

 

We stayed a couple of days in Lisbon - we took the train to Sintra - very easy and cheap. We bought tickets for the shuttle bus to the castle but the lines were long and I. The hot sun - wish we had just grabbed a taxi instead. I really enjoyed the castle but wished I had a little more time to poke into all the little shops in town. Another thing that we did was listened to Fado music - our hotel happened to offer it but I would go to one of the Fado music halls if I did it again. Fado is a soulful folk song type music played on special guitars - songs of fishermen going out to sea. You have a traditional Portugese dinner with the Fado music - makes for a fun evening!

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  • 3 weeks later...
I'm on the 7/5 cruise out of Lisbon. I am also trying to decide 'last minute'.

I did book the tour of Alhambra in Granada. It came highly recommended by someone at work.

Sounds like it gets sold out and it's quite a ways from the port. I tried to book with an outside group and couldn't get it for the date we are there.

 

Since I am going before you, I will have more input when I get back after July 13.

Hi mylola! Are you home from your cruise? How was it? I’m looking forward to hearing what you did at the ports. I’m still working out our schedule for this part of our cruise. :)

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In Ibiza and Malaga (Torremolinos) we rented loungers at beach clubs and enjoyed the beach and beverages. If that’s your thing, I can find the names of the clubs we went to.

Pudgesmom: I think we are going to make Ibiza a beach day. If you remember the name of the beach clubs you visited there, I'd appreciate any information you have. Did you take a taxi? How was the food and drink? Thanks!

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We went here: https://www.ibiza-spotlight.com/night/bars/nassau_i.htm

 

The daytime vibe was relaxing with excellent beachfront service.

 

We rented online before leaving on the cruise. We had two person loungers, each of which had an umbrella. Music was great all day. We had lunch on the beach but I don’t really recall what we had - Which could be because our group of five enjoyed a couple of pitchers of delicious sangria! The loungers were expensive, not exactly like a couple of chairs on a Caribbean beach. We stayed most of the day.

 

We caught a cab there and back. There were plenty at the pier in the morning. The restaurant called for a return cab. It was about a 10 minute ride. Not expensive.

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  • 1 month later...
I'm on the 7/5 cruise out of Lisbon. I am also trying to decide 'last minute'.

I did book the tour of Alhambra in Granada. It came highly recommended by someone at work.

Sounds like it gets sold out and it's quite a ways from the port. I tried to book with an outside group and couldn't get it for the date we are there.

 

Since I am going before you, I will have more input when I get back after July 13.

 

Mylola...are you back and on cruise critic? How was the cruise and what did you end up doing at the ports? We leave tomorrow for Lisbon for 4 nights and then boarding Wind Surf. I’d love to hear what you did!

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Ski Mom 2 & Mylola & Anyone else who did the Windstar tour of Alhambra in Granada.

 

I would be very interested in hearing how arduous the tour is. My wife & I are not as fast as we once were, and a climbing more than a staircase could represent a problem. We get around, but not quickly. Would this be a problem on the tour?

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  • 1 month later...
On 9/4/2018 at 1:15 PM, monemavasia said:

Ski Mom 2 & Mylola & Anyone else who did the Windstar tour of Alhambra in Granada.

 

I would be very interested in hearing how arduous the tour is. My wife & I are not as fast as we once were, and a climbing more than a staircase could represent a problem. We get around, but not quickly. Would this be a problem on the tour?

So we have returned from our glorious back2back2back cruise and I'm still trying to wrap my head around all the fabulous things we did. I did want to answer you about the Alhambra tour on Windstar. We signed up to do this several months ahead and it's a good thing we did because it was sold out way before the ship sailed.

 

We had a 2.5 hour bus ride to Alhambra that included a 30 minute bathroom break. Once we arrived we started walking...and walking...and walking. It was very uneven in most spots and lots of ups and downs. We literally walked for hours and not at a leisurely pace since there is SO much to see. It was fabulous but it is not for the faint of heart. We had several folks that had to stop and sit and missed the last portion of the tour. (There were benches at that point and the last portion of the tour started and ended at the same point so sitting for those that needed it worked out.) You have to be able to keep up. The guide was wonderful but she knew she had a time schedule to keep. I won't say that we walked super fast, it's just that it wasn't a leisurely stroll.

 

Afterwards, we drove to the restaurant for a lovely lunch served with Spanish wine. We all enjoyed it and the folks that own the restaurant and the ones that waited on us were all very good. After lunch, we had a 2 hour bus ride back to the yacht (there was no bathroom break on the way back).

 

Overall an amazing tour and well worth the money. I would not have wanted to have something happen and miss our ship. That being said, if you avoided the bathroom break on the way there, had a tour guide all set up at the Alhambra for when you arrived and skipped lunch, it is probably doable on your own. Would we have done it on our own? No. While we DIY a lot of our cruise this is one we were both happy we had spent the money on and chose Windstar's tour.

 

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Back from our cruise and I thought I'd share what we did at each port in the hopes it will help someone else who might be undecided about all the options!

 

We arrived in Lisbon 4 nights early to acclimate and to sight see in Lisbon. We rented an AirBnB in the Chiado area and it turned out to be the perfect place! We walked everywhere and there were so many wonderful restaurants and cafe's right near us. We used We Hate Tourism Tours for 2 different tours - lunch with the locals (thanks Gonzo for a great lunch and chat!) and a trip to Sintra. We used Uber a few times and it worked like a charm. Walked to the castle and wandered the neighborhoods. Ate lots of fresh fish, drank sangria, and enjoyed our time very much.

 

Boarding in Lisbon was a piece of cake and while in line, we met 2 other couples that will be life long friends. We toured together a few times, we ate dinner together almost every night, and we laughed a lot. So happy we were all willing to take a chance on new friends!

 

Tangiers: Had a wonderful experience with http://www.visitangier.com/ a private tour guide company owned by Ahmed Taoumi. I arranged a private tour ahead of time and our guide was fabulous. We have friends in the Peace Corps in Morocco who traveled 6 hours on a bus to meet us. I had rented them an apartment in the Casbah for two nights and they joined us on the tour. We started out early so only the locals were around in the Casbah. Our guide was informative, friendly, and had such an interesting life story that he shared with us. After our morning walking tour, we invited our guide to lunch and then he arranged to return in the afternoon in a taxi to pick us up and bring us back to the ship. We visited with our friends on the balcony of their apartment and when it was time to leave, our guide and taxi was waiting outside for us. He even walked us back to the ship! There was no way he was going to allow us to miss our ship. The kindness of our tour guide and the people of Tangiers will not be forgotten.

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Our next stop after Tangiers was Malaga. We had no plans except to wander around and find the Picasso museum. The city is beautiful and we loved the pedestrian streets. Unfortunately, by the time we found the Picasso museum, the line was down the block and there was no way we were going to wait. If you want to go, I suggest you go right away in the morning. We did find the Market and loved walking through. Our new friends did the Hop on Hop off bus and enjoyed it.

 

Our next stop was Granada and we took the WS tour to the Alhambra. I've talked about it in a previous post so I will not go into detail here except to say we were very happy we took the WS tour and we enjoyed it very much. We had a wonderful tour guide at the Alhambra who made it so worth it. And the lunch following was delicious and at a lovely restaurant.

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After our long day in the Alhambra, we decided to DIY in Cartagena, our next stop. We walked among the ruins and then wandered the streets. The architecture was so interesting, we did a little shopping and we stopped for a drink in a sidewalk cafe. Our friends did the WS walking tapas tour and said it was fantastic (and they were just a bit tipsy too!). 

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Our next port was the island of Ibiza. My DH decided we should do the WS Jeep tour so we all loaded into jeeps and just as we pulled away, the skies opened up and the rain started to pour. There was lightening spotted and that meant we turned around and the tour was cancelled. We went back on board but luckily, about 2 hours later, the rain stopped and the sun came out and we headed out with our friends to wander the streets of Ibiza. 

 

It was about noon or so and we were hungry but not very many places were opened yet. We saw signs on nightclubs that said they opened at 11 p.m.; no wonder it was pretty quiet! We found a place that served fantastic meats with beer and wine and made a lunch of it. The shops gradually started to open and the people started to appear. We had a low keyed day in Ibiza which is probably not too typical but it worked for us.

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