LIVE from Anthem June 2-21 - B2B Canaries and Fjords

[mil76]

Second boil and fry bag sent out last night and returned today.  Pretty impressive stuffing job if I must say.  I sent out one bag and got back 2 full bags!

Edited June 10 by mil76

[SEA DOGY]

On 6/8/2024 at 1:47 PM, FionaMG said:

This happened to us too! We did take umbrellas and ended up not needing them. What we did regret not bringing were beach towels. We ended up buying one at one of the shops beside the beach! 😂

We are planing to visit this beach do they have umbrellas for rent ?TIA

[SEA DOGY]

On 6/9/2024 at 11:22 AM, mil76 said:

Next stop was the camels.

 

 

 

What you recommend to do in this island Lazarote 

[mil76]

15 minutes ago, SEA DOGY said:

We are planing to visit this beach do they have umbrellas for rent ?TIA

This wasn't the normal beach I am used to where there are hundreds of loungers and umbrellas for rent.  I remember seeing a bunch of people on towels on the sand, and it looked like the people with umbrellas brought them themselves.

[mil76]

13 minutes ago, SEA DOGY said:

What you recommend to do in this island Lazarote 

From my experience, I think you would want to book an excursion in Lanzarote. I thought our tour was incredible, but there also were also tours to the north of the island.  The port town (Arrecife) didn't look like it had much to do from a cruise visit perspective.  If I had to do it over again, I would have also booked an excursion in Tenerife.  Walking around the city in Tenerife (Santa Cruz) was OK, but nothing really stood out to me. 

 

La Coruna was very walkable, and you can take a taxi to Hercules tower and walk back.  Madeira had lots to see near the port, and Gran Canaria had the Canteras beach within walking distance from the ship.

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, SEA DOGY said:

We are planing to visit this beach do they have umbrellas for rent ?TIA

 

56 minutes ago, mil76 said:

This wasn't the normal beach I am used to where there are hundreds of loungers and umbrellas for rent.  I remember seeing a bunch of people on towels on the sand, and it looked like the people with umbrellas brought them themselves.

 

That was my impression too but I just had a look at my pics and there does appear to be a small area with what look more like rental umbrellas and loungers, although I have no idea how much they would have cost. There were definitely toilets and showers.

 

You can see the blue and white umbrellas and loungers on the right of the first pic. I think that might have been where the toilets were too and I think both were probably around the central part of the promenade in the second pic.

 

 

 

The pics don't really do it justice. I thought it was a very nice beach.

 

We were there in the lull between the end of the summer season and the start of the winter season, which would potentially explain why it seems so empty. There are several hotels along the seafront so I have to imagine it would be much busier when the season is in full swing.

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, SEA DOGY said:

What you recommend to do in this island Lazarote 

 

1 hour ago, mil76 said:

From my experience, I think you would want to book an excursion in Lanzarote. I thought our tour was incredible, but there also were also tours to the north of the island.  The port town (Arrecife) didn't look like it had much to do from a cruise visit perspective.  If I had to do it over again, I would have also booked an excursion in Tenerife.  Walking around the city in Tenerife (Santa Cruz) was OK, but nothing really stood out to me. 

 

La Coruna was very walkable, and you can take a taxi to Hercules tower and walk back.  Madeira had lots to see near the port, and Gran Canaria had the Canteras beach within walking distance from the ship.

 

 I agree that an excursion in Lanzarote is a must-do if you've never been before. The one @mil76 chose is a great one. Another really interesting place to visit, if you find an excursion that goes there, is the Cueva de Los Verdes cave system: https://cactlanzarote.com/en/centre/cueva-de-los-verdes/

 

In Tenerife, an excursion that takes you to Teide National Park, which is a Unesco World Heritage site is well worth doing: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1258/

 

I also agree with La Coruna being very walkable. We actually walked to Tower of Hercules and went up inside it. It's very cheap, only a few euros, except on the first Monday of every month, when it's free. But it's not for the faint-hearted or if you're mobility-challenged. Lots of stairs in a very narrow enclosed stairway...

 

And if you continue walking beyond the the Tower, the road eventually brings you back into town alongside the town beach, which is also lovely. From there, a nice stroll through the shopping area brings you back to thes ship.

 

It's a really great itinerary and I'm glad I had the chance to do it. I've been thoroughly enjoying reliving it through this live report, so thanks very much for that @mil76 ☺️

 

 

[fuinseog]

8 hours ago, mil76 said:

Second boil and fry bag sent out last night and returned today.  Pretty impressive stuffing job if I must say.  I sent out one bag and got back 2 full bags!

 

 

Do you find any of your items shrink in the high heat? Trying to decide if laundry will work for my cotton shirts.

[SEA DOGY]

8 hours ago, mil76 said:

From my experience, I think you would want to book an excursion in Lanzarote. I thought our tour was incredible, but there also were also tours to the north of the island.  The port town (Arrecife) didn't look like it had much to do from a cruise visit perspective.  If I had to do it over again, I would have also booked an excursion in Tenerife.  Walking around the city in Tenerife (Santa Cruz) was OK, but nothing really stood out to me. 

 

La Coruna was very walkable, and you can take a taxi to Hercules tower and walk back.  Madeira had lots to see near the port, and Gran Canaria had the Canteras beach within walking distance from the ship.

Got it thanks 

[mil76]

Today is Lisbon.  Sail-in was incredible.

 

 

Ok,.now I am humming Red Hot Chili Peppers...

 

 

 

Portside wins the most important view lottery of the trip!

[mil76]

Currently in a van on the way west to Sintra and vicinity.  The person who planned our original cancelled tour found us another private tour for 6 people.  

[heatherb1958]

36 minutes ago, mil76 said:

Currently in a van on the way west to Sintra and vicinity.  The person who planned our original cancelled tour found us another private tour for 6 people.  

You will love Sintra, another  World Unesco site. Enjoy your day. 

I am starting to pack for Friday. 😎 

[mil76]

First stop Cascais

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mil76]

Cabo da Roca.  Western most point in Europe.

 

 

 

 

[FionaMG]

I'm glad you managed to get an alternative tour. It looks like you're in for an amazing day. 😊

Many people don't realise just how far west Portugal is as it tends to get lumped in with Spain and considered a Mediterranean country even though it isn't. 🇵🇹

[mil76]

Wonderful lunch in Sintra at a restaurant called Dona Maria.  Great food, and even better view.  I had the octopus.

 

[mil76]

Then up the hill to Pena Palace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mil76]

Interior of Pena

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mil76]

On the way back into town we stopped at Belem.

 

 

 

Had to pick up some of these. 

[mil76]

Since we are not leaving until midnight,  we could still go into the center of town to do a bit of exploring and have dinner. 

 

 

 

 

 

I could not believe how much we got accosted by every restaurant as we walked by, and when we sat down we had to deal with aggressive buskers and people coming up trying to sell things.  I felt like I was in Ensenada.

Edited June 11 by mil76

[mil76]

Finally headed back to the ship at 9pm.

 

[mil76]

Sail away wasn't a cool as sail in.  Apologies for the pictures.  This Android phone does alot is things well,  but night pictures isn't one of them. 

 

 

 

 

That's all for Lisbon.  Now 2 seas days to Southampton.

 

 

[mil76]

On 6/11/2024 at 1:25 AM, fuinseog said:

 

Do you find any of your items shrink in the high heat? Trying to decide if laundry will work for my cotton shirts.

I don't think anything shrunk,  but I'm washing cotton t-shirts that have been washed and dried many times before.  I did throw in some of my polyester board shorts and they didn't shrink.  I'm hand washing anything nice, as I don't want to risk it. 

 

Best bet is to look at the tags.  If it says tumble dry low or hang dry, don't chance it.

[mil76]

Sea day today.   59/15, and we still are not north of Portugal yet.  Brrrr!  Seems like the Fjords cruise has already begun! 

Lots of whitecaps and really windy.  I don't think deck 15 will be crowded today.

[snaefell]

1 hour ago, mil76 said:

Sea day today.   59/15, and we still are not north of Portugal yet.  Brrrr!  Seems like the Fjords cruise has already begun! 

Lots of whitecaps and really windy.  I don't think deck 15 will be crowded today.

Aclimitisation for the Fjords,RCI think of everything!😎😎

Hard to believe that a year ago we were in the middle of a spell of record high temperatures & the weather people were telling us that was the norm for the future,some chance!