Voyage 5115 - 18-25 June 2011, Lisbon to Barcelona on Silver Spirit - Anyone else?

[justfoxie]

My mom (55) and I (30) have just booked this cruise as a special mother daughter trip and are super excited! Anyone else going to be on the cruise with us?

 

This will be our first experience on any of the luxury lines, and if the reviews are anything to go by I doubt it will be our last.

[lilnemo]

Hi Justfoxie, my daughter (21) and I have recently signed up for this cruise, also a special mother daughter vacation. We have done Regent and Seabourn so we are looking forward to trying the final option of the all-inclusive luxury lines. Can't imagine ever taking any other kind of cruise. :)

[marp109]

My husband and I are also on this trip and it's our first SS. We did Seabourn last year and thoroughly enjoyed it but they didn't have anything like this itinerary. Hope we all have a wonderful time!

[justfoxie]

Hi all, unfortunately my mom and I have had to cancel this trip due to work commitments (mine), so we've rescheduled. I'm happy to leave this open though for the rest of you who are lucky enough to be going! I'll look forward to reading all about it.

[lilnemo]

Sorry to read you won't be joining us. We had to cancel our cruise last year and rebook on another line. We were quite disappointed, had our tours booked and everything. We ended up on a Seabourn ship and couldn't have been happier. Enjoy wherever your travels take you.

[lilnemo]

Been away for a while. Marp109 are we the only ones on this cruise! Getting pretty excited. Although still waiting on the paper work, it's at the TA as she gathers all our other trip information. Have you booked any tours? I'm trying to figure out Portimoa and whether I should try to book before we leave. We were thinking about a charter boat but not really sure. Any thoughts?

[marp109]

We booked Granada/Alhambra as our only tour so far, with SS. We're big DIY tour people and there doesn't seem to be much to do in Portimao besides eating grilled sardines! Have done all sorts of research for other ports e.g. cable car in Gibraltar, etc. As to anyone else on the ship, last I checked there was still availability in all veranda levels. More room for us!

[lilnemo]

Grilled sardines sound interesting. I think we'll play Portimoa by ear. We're spending another week in Spain after the cruise and will do Granada then. We did book a couple of Cadiz tours with SS but I'm not so sure we will go through with them. I just looked at the SS site, depending on how many of those veranda suites are available we might very well have a lot of extra room!

[marp109]

Cadiz is one of the stops where we're doing our own thing. We have a very long day there and we're heading to Jerez to do the sherry thing. From what I gather, the horses are "off" on Mondays but we'll see what's happening. We're going to take the train on our own as we find that to be part of the adventure of traveling. Have done so much research (thanks CC!) that I'll have the current train schedules, etc. Have started packing and am muy excited!

[dusababy]

Cadiz (Cadeeth??) is one of my favorite ports and very easy to do on your own. You will enjoy it.:)

[sakaara]

Just a thought regarding Portimao. We holiday often in the Algarve and 45 mins away by car, Quinta do Lago has fabulous beaches and golf. Our favorite

Restaurant on Quinta beach is Gigi's. they serve the freshest seafood simply grilled over charcoal with salad. The setting is spectacular, with views over the Ria Formosa on one side and the golden sandy beach on the other, Andrea Bocelli playing in the background. It's very casual.

Lunch is pricey but unforgettable. I can forward you phone numbers for reservations if you are interested and also details for Algarve T the excellent local taxi company with modern reliable cars & drivers.

 

Alternatively you may just prefer to relax aboard the beautiful spirit.

 

Have a wonderful trip.

[lilnemo]

Sakaara thanks for the suggestion. Is Quinta do Lago a private resort or are beach and restraurant open to public?

[sakaara]

Hi,lilnemo. Anyone can visit Quinta Do Lago the beaches are public. Gigis has simple wood tables built on a deck with yellow parasols, very rustic, but the food is fabulous. There is no menu, you just go and look what they have in for the day. Maybe Dorada, StoneBass, Turbot,Blacksole, or lobster freshly grilled.

I recommend starting with the salad, maybe some sizzling fresh King prawns with garlic served in a clay pot, to share,followed by your choice of fish simply grilled and a side of coriander rice.

All fish is priced by weight. You must make reservations. Lunch is served from 12.30pm phone 351 964 045178 check if they accept credit cards

Algarve T luxury taxis 351 289 35 2525 request Eduardo, Martinha, or Manuel.

 

Close to the beach is Quinta Shopping a small centre if you have anytime left. Little cafes,

Bars and lovely shops, eg MaxMara, Sand, Escales and Dunas home ware.

Please let us know if you decide to visit.

Best wishes for your cruise.

Regards Sakaara

[lilnemo]

Fresh grilled fish on the beach, what could be better? (Maybe an ice cold beer). If my daughter is in we're headed there. Thanks for the info. I will try to post from ship.

[ct-andy]

This is my second cruise with my parents on SS and I have managed to persuade some of my friends and close relative to join with us this time.

 

So we are a group of 7 adults and one 18 months baby girl. :)

 

We have done Regent and Seabourn so we are looking forward to trying the final option of the all-inclusive luxury lines. Can't imagine ever taking any other kind of cruise. :)

 

I am planning to take Seabourn as my next cruise, would love to chat to you about your review on Seabourn.

 

Andy :)

[lilnemo]

Hi ct-andy, I absolutely loved Seabourn but similar to marp109, Seabourn itineraries didn't work for us. From everything I've read and even from people on our cruise last year SS and Seabourn are the top two lines. Some people from our Seabourn cruise even said that SS was better. It's hard to imagine, but I can only hope that it is true!

[ct-andy]

haha I see, hopefully you will find it SS is better than Seabourn! Oh and thanks for your quick reply!

 

Hi ct-andy, I absolutely loved Seabourn but similar to marp109, Seabourn itineraries didn't work for us. From everything I've read and even from people on our cruise last year SS and Seabourn are the top two lines. Some people from our Seabourn cruise even said that SS was better. It's hard to imagine, but I can only hope that it is true!

[ct-andy]

While boarding from Pairs to Lisbon this afternoon, a couple in front of me is also taking V5115 this Sat. hahaha

[marp109]

the morning we were to leave for Lisbon my brother-in-law died after a long battle with cancer. Luckily we weren't already in Europe and were able to leave immediately to be with our family. Always get trip insurance as his death was not expected this soon and it will enable us to re-schedule later this year.