Gibraltar

[Shorebrook1]

I am booked on the November 3 Brillance cruise from Spain to Tampa. I would like to visit Gibraltar if possible.  Do any of the ports offer that option?  Thanks

[GOARMY]

Our Gibraltar experience actually on (not transiting) "The Rock" was a segment aboard Regent's Explorer during its inaugural season--Miami via Barcelona to Venice--March-April 2017.  Interesting.  Very-compact British hunk of earth that the Spanish still pine for.  That is the place where our tour bus had to stop, wait, and check to make sure an airplane was not landing or taking off because the bus route required transiting the one and only runway.   

 

That particular tour--and there were several offered--was sightseeing, then having High Tea at a local hotel.  Then a bit more sightseeing.  The weather, while quite windy, was bearable.  One could easily see across the Strait to Africa. One of the other tours offered was via cable car to the top of The Rock.  That one, I think, had to be called-off due to the wind.  

 

There was one other cruise ship there--a bigger one, but I can't recall which Line.  

 

GOARMY!

 

 

 

[chuckw]

We were on that cruise also and went to a cork farm in Spain.  Had to go through passport control in and out of Spain.  The tour was very interesting and wish there were more stops at Gilbraltar.  We would have liked to see more of the rock.  I think the other ship was the Mein Scheiff.

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, Shorebrook1 said:

I am booked on the November 3 Brillance cruise from Spain to Tampa. I would like to visit Gibraltar if possible.  Do any of the ports offer that option?  Thanks

 

@Shorebrook1

Would it be better to ask this question on the Royal Caribbean Board or the Roll Call for your TransAtlantic on Brilliance of the Seas?

[merlot101]

We are going there on the Explorer leaving England Sept 23, 2019

[Hambagahle]

We hated Gibraltar.  Loved looking at the rock from the sea but close up we found the town more than scruffy.  If your cruise line offers a tour to Spain from Gibraltar I would take that instead.   (at the time I wrote on CC that if Spain could take Gibraltar over it would be a lot cleaner than it is...)

Edited June 26, 2019 by Hambagahle

[swansong]

Just remember that at the last referendum Gibraltarians voted 98% in favour of remaining British. If you haven’t visited recently you will find that the Rock is much improved in terms of the environment.

[flossie009]

We visited Gibraltar during a cruise on Seven Seas Voyager in 2017. We did not find the town to be in any way "scruffy". 

We well remember the excellent and fascinating Regent excursion, "Upper Rock Walking Tour", which included taking the cable car up to see the Barbary Apes and a look around some of the extensive chambers within the Rock.

The tour was enlivened by a very efficient, chatty and amusing retired Wren officer

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, swansong said:

Just remember that at the last referendum Gibraltarians voted 98% in favour of remaining British. 

 

Although the 1967 Sovereignty referendum was an overwhelming landslide, it should be noted that this was over 50 years ago; at a time when General Franco was still in power in Spain and the British Royal Naval dockyard accounted for the bulk of the Gibraltarian economy, employing much of the population.

Much has changed on both sides of the border in the intervening years.

During the 2016 referendum on United Kingdom European Union membership ("Brexit") 96% of voters in Gibraltar voted "remain".

 

[Travelcat2]

We have been to Gibraltar three times and enjoyed it.  Must agree that as you you get within a mile or two of the Spain border, it does look very run down.  Those of you that did not take the tour to the farm in Spain, you likely did not see this part of Gibraltar.

 

The center of town was nice and we enjoyed the private tour we did very much.

 

Whatever is suppose to happen with Gibraltar will happen.  I would like it to remain the way it is but with the chaos surrounding Brexit, if it ever does remove itself from the European Union, it could be very difficult for Gibraltar so seeing it sooner rather than later is likely a good idea.

[swansong]

For information the last referendum on Gibraltar was in November 2002 when the question was ‘ do you approve of the principal that Britain and Spain should share sovereignty over Gibraltar ‘

98.97% voted No.

 

Gibraltar is undoubtedly British in its character and frankly Brexit has nothing to do with the issue.

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, swansong said:

For information the last referendum on Gibraltar was in November 2002 when the question was ‘ do you approve of the principal that Britain and Spain should share sovereignty over Gibraltar ‘

98.97% voted No.

 

Gibraltar is undoubtedly British in its character and frankly Brexit has nothing to do with the issue.

 

My perceptions are coming from someone born and raised in the U.S.  To some of us, Brexit weakens the UK.  When Brexit started the GBP plummeted.  We read about issues regarding trade between the European Union and the UK if Brexit is completed.  So, it appears that since Spain is part of the EU, they have the power of the EU behind them.  Plus, some people in the EU are not happy with the UK so they could pull something with Gibraltar - just because they can.

 

In any case, Regent ships will likely continue to visit Gibraltar - whether it is under EU or UK rule since we have no issues with either side.

 

 

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

This discussion was about visiting Gibraltar.

Twenty years ago, We visited Gibraltar and throughly enjoyed the experience. Saw the Barbary apes and lost my bag of chips to them,  visited inside the rock, and stopped at a synagogue in town. Also did some fun shopping. Took that bus across the runway. A memorable port on a cruise. 

Sheila and Herb