Live from Ventura

[Beckett]

@SarahHben: thanks Sarah for allowing us to be on your cruise with you. The photos are lovely. Keep on enjoying. Best wishes. Jane xx

[Caullkhead]

Thank you for taking us along with you Sarah! 

[SarahHben]

23 hours ago, JudithAnn1 said:

Thank you for letting me know about the retreat, the sun beds look very comfortable.  It sounds as though you are having a great holiday.

Here’s a photo for you showing other seating in the Retreat, plus there’s comfortable sun loungers as well.

[SarahHben]

Hello

it was a late night last night and an early start this morning so I didn’t get a chance to catch up earlier. 
We very much enjoyed our Epicurean experience last night, we chose to go on a formal night and ate at 7pm, it wasn’t busy but there were enough people there to not feel like we were eating in an empty dining room.

 

We started with the trip of breads, the beetroot one was very tasty and I don’t like marmite but I liked the marmite butter. They brought out an amuse bouche of pineapple & Bacardi which was delicious.
Then we both had the snow crab starter, which we both enjoyed apart from the cucumber mojito that neither of us were keen on.

For our main we shared the rib eye steak for two which was carved at the table, it was so good that we wondered if there was an extra charge but there wasn’t 😊

The palette cleanser was an iced blackcurrant & white chocolate lolly, it tasted a little bit aniseedy, very nice.

We both had the crepes Suzette for dessert and it was cooked at our table, very theatrical. Then it was finished off with a selection of chocolates and a coffee for Mr B. We would definitely go again another cruise, we talked about going next week but there are still other things we want to try.

 

After dinner we packed our bags for our Tenerife trip and then went to the late theatre show to see Tom Ball. He is so so good, one of the best voices I’ve heard. 
 

I’ll update about today later on this evening as I need to write some postcards, digital not real ones, can’t be doing with buying stamps 😊

 

[Selbourne]

7 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

Hello

it was a late night last night and an early start this morning so I didn’t get a chance to catch up earlier. 
We very much enjoyed our Epicurean experience last night, we chose to go on a formal night and ate at 7pm, it wasn’t busy but there were enough people there to not feel like we were eating in an empty dining room.

 

We started with the trip of breads, the beetroot one was very tasty and I don’t like marmite but I liked the marmite butter. They brought out an amuse bouche of pineapple & Bacardi which was delicious.
Then we both had the snow crab starter, which we both enjoyed apart from the cucumber mojito that neither of us were keen on.

For our main we shared the rib eye steak for two which was carved at the table, it was so good that we wondered if there was an extra charge but there wasn’t 😊

The palette cleanser was an iced blackcurrant & white chocolate lolly, it tasted a little bit aniseedy, very nice.

We both had the crepes Suzette for dessert and it was cooked at our table, very theatrical. Then it was finished off with a selection of chocolates and a coffee for Mr B. We would definitely go again another cruise, we talked about going next week but there are still other things we want to try.

 

After dinner we packed our bags for our Tenerife trip and then went to the late theatre show to see Tom Ball. He is so so good, one of the best voices I’ve heard. 
 

I’ll update about today later on this evening as I need to write some postcards, digital not real ones, can’t be doing with buying stamps 😊

 

Great to hear that you enjoyed Epicurean Sarah. We intend to book a few visits when we are on Ventura in a few months time. I’m pleased to hear that the Crepes Suzette is done as it should be, rather than the lame kitchen prepared version that we had on Britannia. Shame that they are still serving the MDR chocolates though, rather than the lovely selection of petit fours that Epicurean restaurants used to have. Seems like they have ditched those permanently. 

[JudithAnn1]

Thank you for posting another photo of the Retreat, it looks a lovely place to relax.  Glad to hear you enjoyed the Epicurean.  We went there last year and are looking forward to going again on this next cruise.

[elmsliebev]

On 8/10/2023 at 10:11 AM, Adawn47 said:

 

I'm enjoying reading your blog Sarah and pleased you're having a lovely time.

Whenever we go to Portugal we always have a coffee and the gorgeous Pastel de Nata. We have recently found them in Tescos😋 

Avril

After extensive research, Lidl have the best pastel de natas! 

[grapau27]

5 hours ago, SarahHben said:

Hello

it was a late night last night and an early start this morning so I didn’t get a chance to catch up earlier. 
We very much enjoyed our Epicurean experience last night, we chose to go on a formal night and ate at 7pm, it wasn’t busy but there were enough people there to not feel like we were eating in an empty dining room.

 

We started with the trip of breads, the beetroot one was very tasty and I don’t like marmite but I liked the marmite butter. They brought out an amuse bouche of pineapple & Bacardi which was delicious.
Then we both had the snow crab starter, which we both enjoyed apart from the cucumber mojito that neither of us were keen on.

For our main we shared the rib eye steak for two which was carved at the table, it was so good that we wondered if there was an extra charge but there wasn’t 😊

The palette cleanser was an iced blackcurrant & white chocolate lolly, it tasted a little bit aniseedy, very nice.

We both had the crepes Suzette for dessert and it was cooked at our table, very theatrical. Then it was finished off with a selection of chocolates and a coffee for Mr B. We would definitely go again another cruise, we talked about going next week but there are still other things we want to try.

 

After dinner we packed our bags for our Tenerife trip and then went to the late theatre show to see Tom Ball. He is so so good, one of the best voices I’ve heard. 
 

I’ll update about today later on this evening as I need to write some postcards, digital not real ones, can’t be doing with buying stamps 😊

 

Excellent photos Sarah.

The chocolates are the same as we have had in Epicurean on 7 P&O cruises since our  staycation on Britannia in August 2021.

[SarahHben]

Evening. 
Today we have been, and still are, in Santa Cruz, Tenerife. It’s been jolly warm today, our sunscreen was melting on our arms and feet at one point 🥵

Our excursion was at 8:30am so we ordered room service breakfast. 

We had booked the Mount Teide National Park excursion, not the cable car one fortunately as that was cancelled due to strong winds up by the cable car station.

As I’m prone to, I have developed a nasty cough, I feel absolutely fine and have tested negative twice for the dreaded lurgy but it’s embarrassing on a coach of people and the higher we got the more I wanted to cough, I’m sucking so many cough lozenges my teeth will probably fall out 🥴 There we’re a few others coughing too.

Anyway the excursion took us up through the forests up towards the National park. It was quite hazy, the tour guide said it’s sand from the Sahara.

We stopped at a view point for photos then went on to a refreshment & loo stop for half hour before going to the Roques de Garcia, a stunning area of rock formations at the base of Mount Teide. We had a 30-40 minute stop which was enough time to climb the path up to the rocks and back again, getting up there was easier than getting down! Study shoes needed. Then we walked up some steps on the other side of the area to get a different view.

The trip is well worth doing in our opinion but we would have preferred to have had just a quick loo stop, no tea or coffee and a longer time at the main stop. On the way back the driver stopped at another spot where we could see the different layers of rock, very interesting! 
 

We got back, security was very thorough in the terminal, we had to take watches & belts off, & we went up to the buffet for lunch, it was almost empty up there. We thought if we went to the Retreat we wouldn’t get moving again so we had a little reading time/snooze before heading out into town.

I have to say it’s not the prettiest town and port side 🥴 the tour guide said there are plans to regenerate the area, with maybe an artificial beach.
It was so warm that we came back after a few hours. 

 

We went down at 7pm to Cinnamon restaurant expecting to be given a pager but were shown to a table for 2 straight away. We wondered if it was because quite a few people were ashore for the evening, we weren’t complaining though.

 

We both had chicken satay starter which was delicious, wild mushroom risotto for main which we really liked but I won’t subject you to a photo because it wasn’t the most photogenic meal 😂 then I just had ice cream for dessert.

 

When we got back to the cabin we found we had no water in the taps, shower or loo so we called reception and 2 decks had been affected by a leak, it was around an hour before it was sorted. I’d began to wonder if we’d be taking our toothbrushes to a bathroom downstairs in the communal areas.

 

We are currently sat on our still very warm balcony waiting for sail away.

 

Gran Canaria tomorrow with another fairly early start

 

[SarahHben]

[Presto2]

Take care Sarah and hope that cough gets better 

[grapau27]

7 hours ago, SarahHben said:

Great photos.

[DamianG]

Thoroughly enjoying reading this Sarah and as ever your photos are fantastic. 
 

I’m just wondering if you have the cabin air con set at the coldest level and if that has contributed to your sore throats? 
 

It used to be an old trick turning it up a little higher to prevent coughs and sore throats. We’ve tried that on Arvia (after feeling sore throats coming on earlier in the week) and it seems to have worked.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise and fingers crossed that cough goes away soon.

[SarahHben]

28 minutes ago, DamianG said:

Thoroughly enjoying reading this Sarah and as ever your photos are fantastic. 
 

I’m just wondering if you have the cabin air con set at the coldest level and if that has contributed to your sore throats? 
 

It used to be an old trick turning it up a little higher to prevent coughs and sore throats. We’ve tried that on Arvia (after feeling sore throats coming on earlier in the week) and it seems to have worked.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise and fingers crossed that cough goes away soon.

Thank you, we’ll try that! Fortunately I haven’t got a sore throat just an annoying chesty cough.

 

Im looking forward to reading about your cruise when I get home.

 

Temperatures could reach 38° today apparently 🥵

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by SarahHben

[AndyMichelle]

1 hour ago, DamianG said:

Thoroughly enjoying reading this Sarah and as ever your photos are fantastic. 
 

I’m just wondering if you have the cabin air con set at the coldest level and if that has contributed to your sore throats? 
 

It used to be an old trick turning it up a little higher to prevent coughs and sore throats. We’ve tried that on Arvia (after feeling sore throats coming on earlier in the week) and it seems to have worked.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise and fingers crossed that cough goes away soon.

We always seemed to get 'kennel cough' on cruises and put it down to the aircon.

This time Michelle took a small humidifier, which also lights up if you want it to, very calming. 

No coughs this time. 

Andy 

 

 

 

[elmsliebev]

2 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

We always seemed to get 'kennel cough' on cruises and put it down to the aircon.

This time Michelle took a small humidifier, which also lights up if you want it to, very calming. 

No coughs this time. 

Andy 

 

 

 

@AndyMichelle  that sounds like a good idea, I often get a cough too. Can you share the type you've got?

 

[SarahHben]

7 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

We always seemed to get 'kennel cough' on cruises and put it down to the aircon.

This time Michelle took a small humidifier, which also lights up if you want it to, very calming. 

No coughs this time. 

Andy 

 

 

 

That’s a good idea, thank you. I’ll remember that for next time. I do have one at home somewhere.

[SarahHben]

Hello

Its been very hot today, the deputy captain announced this morning that it was due to be 38° in port and in the 40°s elsewhere.

 

We booked the ‘Leisurely Gran Canaria’ excursion which took us first of all to see the sand dunes, we had about 20 minutes there, then we went to a view point to see a view down a valley to the coast Then the main stop was in Puerto Mogan which we really enjoyed. We walked along to the marina after getting a few gifts to take home including a very tacky bright green lizard with googley eyes for our grandson 😂 and some nice tasteful china dishes for the grown ups. The marina was very nice, we’d like to go back one day. It’s possibly the nicest town we’ve spent time in this holiday. 
We had lunch in the buffet when we got back, I had a very nice haddock & leek crumble followed by an eve’s pudfing which I thought would be sponge with apple underneath but I think they forgot to put apple in mine 🤷‍♀️

 

I can’t remember if I mentioned yesterday that we found the Starbucks in Santa Cruz, Tenerife to buy a Starbucks Canary Islands mug, well my mum decided she wanted one too, so we walked across to the beach today and found another Starbucks to buy her one too. We both had a mango & dragon fruit cooler from Starbucks which was very refreshing, not too sweet.

 

After a stroll along the sea front we came back onboard and had a dip in the adult only pool and then settled down in the Retreat. It’s very nice up here, peaceful.  

[SarahHben]

[AndyMichelle]

6 hours ago, elmsliebev said:

@AndyMichelle  that sounds like a good idea, I often get a cough too. Can you share the type you've got?

 

This worked a treat for us. 

Would also come in handy for a night light. 

Andy 

[Presto2]

13 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

Hello

Its been very hot today, the deputy captain announced this morning that it was due to be 38° in port and in the 40°s elsewhere.

 

We booked the ‘Leisurely Gran Canaria’ excursion which took us first of all to see the sand dunes, we had about 20 minutes there, then we went to a view point to see a view down a valley to the coast Then the main stop was in Puerto Mogan which we really enjoyed. We walked along to the marina after getting a few gifts to take home including a very tacky bright green lizard with googley eyes for our grandson 😂 and some nice tasteful china dishes for the grown ups. The marina was very nice, we’d like to go back one day. It’s possibly the nicest town we’ve spent time in this holiday. 
We had lunch in the buffet when we got back, I had a very nice haddock & leek crumble followed by an eve’s pudfing which I thought would be sponge with apple underneath but I think they forgot to put apple in mine 🤷‍♀️

 

I can’t remember if I mentioned yesterday that we found the Starbucks in Santa Cruz, Tenerife to buy a Starbucks Canary Islands mug, well my mum decided she wanted one too, so we walked across to the beach today and found another Starbucks to buy her one too. We both had a mango & dragon fruit cooler from Starbucks which was very refreshing, not too sweet.

 

After a stroll along the sea front we came back onboard and had a dip in the adult only pool and then settled down in the Retreat. It’s very nice up here, peaceful.  

We once looked at a winter break in Puerto Morgan and went to Fuerteventura instead. Looks like somewhere to consider again. 

[elmsliebev]

49 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

This worked a treat for us. 

Would also come in handy for a night light. 

Andy 

thank you! Ordered one. We have a 22 night cruise soon so we'll give it a go. 

[SarahHben]

I’m feeling sorry for myself tonight. My big toe had locked up, it does that sometimes, so I was limping a bit and didn’t see how wet the stairs down the outside of the adult pool and I slipped down them. Hurt my forearm, wrist and pride 😳. Nothing badly hurt but I need my toe in working order tomorrow as we’re doing a cave type excursion tomorrow. 
I even forgot to photograph my food.

Anyway, we went down to Cinnamon MDR around 6:45 and we’re given a pager. We only had to wait 15 mins though.

I had an Asian platter for starter, which consisted of a samosa, onion bhaji, cauliflower pakora and a satay sauce, they were all very good.

Then I had pan fried chicken with root veg and potatoes with a small amount of garlic butter. What was on the plate was ok but it needed a gravy or jus.

My dessert was a selection of ice cream & sorbets.

We missed the 8:30pm theatre show and I don’t want to stay up too late tonight so we’ve returned to our cabin for a cuppa.

 

Lanzarote tomorrow 

[Purdey16]

Really enjoying your blog Sarah and your doing just about the same excursions we have done , sorry to hear about your fall and I hope your big toe is a lot better for tomorrow, I think you’re going to the caves in lanzarote we went to as well , can’t remember the name of it but it’s on my fridge magnet if it is you will see tiny little white crabs in the water 😁  hope you haven’t done to much damage to your arm and wrist.

[CarlaMarie]

Hope you are not in too much pain and that you will be ok for your excursion tomorrow.