Day Fifteen–At Sea .

Although the ship has now left the Mediterranean and the journey home has commenced, there is still plenty to occupy everyone. This morning after the quiz [no,we didn’t win!!] there was a presentation in the theatre about the audition and rehearsal process of the Headliner’s shows. It was most interesting to realise that the whole cast are chosen together and not as individuals.

The main event after lunch was the children’s fancy dress competition, where the competitiveness of the parents really came to the fore. Mothers ,and indeed some fathers, were locked away for most of the morning sticking, sewing and generally creating outfits for their youngsters. Poppy and her Dad made a simple outfit, but it was primarily made by Poppy herself.

She enjoyed posing in her Princess Poppy outfit……

and joining in the parade before being interviewed by a hot dog.

She didn’t win, being beaten by a mother, I mean child, who had spent all day creating a “Package Holiday” costume, but she really enjoyed taking part. Joey on the other hand decided not to compete looking rather suspiciously at one of the judges.

Later on I bumped into Ted Robbins and we had a chat about our common family name. He gave me some information about his grandfather who was well known in Welsh football and this may allow us to investigate any family links. Sylvia reckons there may be some family resemblances in that we are both ‘slightly’ overweight, but I think she was just being rude.

In the evening the wind began to pick up and the “sick-bags” appeared on the staircases, a clear sign that we are about to enter stormy weather. This was further confirmed by an announcement that the cabaret show tonight featuring the Motown Foursome “The Tops” had been cancelled due to the Four Tops being reduced to two because of sickness. We, in the meantime, had a fabulous evening meal and watched the ship navigate the ever rising waves from the Planet Bar at the back of the ship. Victoria, rather surprisingly, enjoying every minute.

Tomorrow is the last day which means packing the cases before making the journey back to Wales on Saturday. This will be the last posting of the blog as my credit has virtually run out. I hope you have all enjoyed reading it and look forward to the next occasion when the Robbins’ Ramble again.

Day Fourteen–Malaga.

The best thing about cruising is opening the curtains each day to a different sight, it’s like your hotel room moving in the night. This morning the sea was calm and yesterday’s winds had disappeared leaving the sun to gently highlight the peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains. A brilliant start to the day giving a perfect opportunity for some topping up of the sun tan.

 

The medical emergency from the other day meant our arrival into Malaga was delayed until noon, and we had some great views of the city as we slowly made our way to the berth.

Sylvia and I had a walk ashore looking at the shops…

…taking in a park…

…before making our way to the bull-ring…

where we had the obligatory silly picture.

The sail away parties as we depart each port of call are very much a tradition on a P&O cruise with the biggest and best party saved for the final sail away. Today was that day!!! It’s a very British affair with lots of flag waving and patriotic songs from all four corners of the British Isles. Needless to say we all joined in, Poppy sitting on Grancher’s lap flying her flag and singing.

Meanwhile Joey sat by his Dad taking in all the sights.

The choice of songs for the various regions needs a mention. While England gets “Jerusalem” and “Rule Britannia” and Scotland gets “Scotland the Brave” and “Flower of Scotland”, poor old Wales gets Tom Jones with “Delilah” alongside “Land of my Fathers”. A great party atmosphere and I’m sure all the singing was appreciated by our Spanish hosts.

Having had such a British send off we decided tonight to eat in the buffet which featured “The Best of British Fare”, which would allow us to see Gibraltar.

The entertainer tonight was actor, comedian and TV warm up artist, Ted Robbins talking about his life in show business. Oliver and I went to see him and were thoroughly entertained. He was funny without being crude and the time just flew by. A great evening and now for the journey home.

Day Thirteen–At Sea

After the poor weather yesterday it was pleasing to wake up once again to sunshine coming through the balcony doors. The wind however was still quite blustery although it was easy to find a spot that was protected from the worse. The kitchen staff were busily setting up the tables for the on-deck barbeque so it was anticipated that the crew were aware of an improvement in the weather.

We have had quite a success in the quizzes over the last few days, but as always a winning streak must come to an end. Today was that day!! The quiz was a TV comics quiz, usual format recognise the star from the photograph and then answer a supplementary question. We only failed on three questions,unable to recognise one guy completely [I still can’t remember who he is!!], getting the wrong name for Mrs Merton’s son and forgetting Ralf Little’s name. Unfortunately that was enough to lose by ONE POINT, so no prize today.

We all decided to eat at the BBQ and after collecting the children, settled down to enjoy our burgers, chicken and hot dogs.

Joseph loved sitting on the sunbeds and playing with his Daddy.

While Poppy met up with Ruby, her friend from Kid’s Club. You would have thought that they had been separated for months rather than the ten minutes that had been apart!!

The entertainment tonight were a Tamla-Motown soul tribute band called “The Tops” who were excellent. They played a number of classics including “Mustang Sally”, “Land of a Thousand Dances”, finishing with the Four Tops’ “Reach Out I’ll be There”. They not only sang well but also performed all the moves expected of this type of band.

Wonderful company tonight again in the main dining room, altogether yet another successful day. Tomorrow the last port of call – Malaga.

Day Twelve–An Eventful Day at Sea.

It started just the same as every other day, the early morning sun breaking through the open curtain. As usual I got up around 7.00 and opened the balcony doors to let the fresh air into the cabin. The weather didn’t look very promising with both the sky and the sea having a rather dull grey colour. I went back to bed to watch the early news on the TV and it was then that the first strange event of the day occurred. A small sparrow-like bird suddenly flew from the bathroom area and perched itself on the back of a chair momentarily before flying out of the balcony door. Sylvia and I both just looked at each other with a sense of disbelief as we had not seen the bird fly in at all, although we assume that it did. Perhaps it was an omen.

The weather lived up to it’s early promise with the grey skies slowly growing darker and the rainfall more persistent. The lounges inside the ship slowly filled as fellow passengers realised that there would be no sun bathing today. Luckily there were enough vacant seats in Brodie’s for the TV show quiz as we went for our hat-trick of wins. Half way through the quiz was interrupted by a message from the Captain: a medical emergency had forced a detour from our route to Sicilian waters and this would delay our arrival in Malaga. After the quiz [Yes we did win it.] the ship stopped for around an hour to allow the medical teams to get the patient safety ashore. Our course was altered, and we proceeded through the Straits of Messina in order to reduce our travelling time.

Afternoon tea today featured the famous chocoholics spread, with many cakes , pastries and a centrepiece of a chocolate fountain. We were unable to obtain a picture of Oliver’s plate as he made it to the buffet way before the rest of us, but this should give you an idea of the goods on offer.

We took Joey with us and he had a look of anticipation on his face when he started….

…but by the time he had finished it was difficult to see any of his face!!!!!

The yellow on his face was a pirate face painting as he had just come from a pirate’s party in Kid’s Club.

Tonight was formal night another opportunity for all of us to dress up in our finery, with Poppy choosing a beautiful white number…

…while Victoria and Oliver stuck closely to the “Black & White” theme as they glided down the Atrium stairs.

Dinner followed where we were joined at our table by two sisters from Yorkshire and their husbands. A very enjoyable, eventful day at sea.

Day Eleven–Dubrovnik.

Once again the sun burst through the window as we arrived in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik. Sylvia and I had visited here last year and so had agreed to look after the children while Oliver and Victoria walked the city walls.

After an early breakfast we made our way to the shuttle buses for the short trip to the old town. The main street was crowded with visitors from both our ship and another moored in the harbour where we were last year. We walked with Poppy and Joseph looking in the shops and taking in the sights…………

……. until we found a shaded spot where a guitarist was playing. We all really enjoyed this.

Oliver and Victoria thought the walk around the walls was excellent giving some wonderful views across the roofs of the Old City. It takes about an hour to complete but the many steps make it impossible for the children. We met up for a drink together at a small street cafe.

Where Poppy thought that her apple juice resembled wine.

Once the children were reunited with their parents Sylvia and I wandered around encountering this folk dancing group on our travels.

I thought that they need some expert guidance so decided to join in, picking the most attractive partner available.

The dancing lesson over we continued into the harbour experiencing the superb views across the bay.

Despite being ravaged by war in the 1990s Dubrovnik still has all the charm of a medieval city and well deserves it’s place as a UNESCO World Heritage site. If you’ve never visited this beautiful city put it on your list for a visit in the near future, you will not regret it!

One of the unique features of a P&O cruise is the themed buffets held each evening. Tonight,once again, was Oliver’s favourite, the Indian Buffet. Deciding  not to have any dessert he made up for the loss of a final course by having three plateful of mains. I’m sure he will tell you all about it on his blog. Needless to say we all enjoyed it.

While Oliver looked after the children and digested his Indian, the rest of us were entertained by a Motown tribute performed by the singers from the theatre company. A polished performance although the harmonies were a little off in places.

No-one answered yesterday’s question, so I’ll give you the answer, “Death in Venice” was written by Thomas Mann.

The journey home has now commenced and hopefully we will have some more good weather over the coming sea days to make sure the tan is well and truly established before we arrive back.

Day Ten–Venice and the Doge’s Palace.

When we heard that the ship was repositioning last night we had assumed that we would have little or no view when we opened our curtains this morning. Imagine our surprise when we were greeted by this “Turner-esque” view of the city.

Sylvia was so impressed with this view that later on she sat on the balcony and painted it.

According to the literature we were moored four bridges away from St. Marks Square, although I’m sure I counted six, it was only a short walk away. We were surprised that on reaching the Doge’s Palace that there were no queues, and therefore decided to venture in. I’m so glad that we did as the art and the sculptures it contains are magnificent.

We were only allowed to take photos on the outside in this large courtyard, where I stood transfixed by the splendour that surrounded me.

Although I did manage a sneak shot of this elaborate ceiling of the Golden Staircase leading to the state rooms.

Contrast that opulence with the view from the Bridge of Sighs as you passed into the prison area.

After walking around the palace for a couple of hours we emerged into the hustle and bustle of a Saturday morning in St. Marks Square, with the various orchestras playing their tunes outside the street side cafes.

Even though it was so busy there were still empty gondolas slowly making their way down the canals eagerly looking for potential customers.

Another very enjoyable and very hot day in Venice, as we made our way back to the ship ready for a 4 O'clock sail away.

 

Today’s question,

“Who wrote the novella ‘Death in Venice’ on which the 1971 Dirk Bogarde film was based ?”

Answers as usual tomorrow from Dubrovnik.

Day Nine–Arrival at Venice

As reported last night the late departure from Korcula delayed our arrival by some two hours. If this unfortunate event had not occurred this would have been the view greeting us this morning.

Through the night a thick fog had descended in the area meaning little of the scenery could be viewed. Fortunately by the time we arrived at Venice the sun had burned away the fog giving these splendid views.

They say that the views of Venice from a cruise ship are second to none, and I have to say that I fully agree with that statement. There must have been 3,000 cameras all pointing at St. Mark’s Square as we sailed by, and they will all have a similar photo to this.

In fact I’ve still got several hundred from last year!!!

Today we had agreed to stay on the ship in the morning to allow Oliver & Victoria to have their gondola ride, the romance of it would have been spoiled with Poppy and Joey. The arrangements however were further complicated due to Poppy being sick in the night and having to attend the doctor’s surgery. A throat infection was diagnosed as the cause and after a prescription of anti-biotic, she started to buck up. Joey on the other hand didn’t need anything to pep him up, being full of beans . For the next two hours while Poppy gently recovered in her cabin, either Sylvia or I were pulled along the corridors, up and down in the lifts and back again. We were relieved when at almost exactly 1 o’clock he asked to be put in his cot and went straight to sleep.

In the afternoon it was our turn to venture forth and we decided rather than catching the water-bus that we would walk. The weather today had been exceptional with clear blue skies and very bright sun, so we were pleased that by the time we had decided to go out it had cooled a little. The walk from the ship takes you to the far end of the Grand Canal which is the busy backbone of Venice, alongside all the tourist craft can be found commercial boats delivering products to the shops that litter the banks.

This end of Venice is less crowded but still gives the opportunity for the standard holiday snaps.

We were able to explore the small streets that were quiet and relatively tourist free.

But still come across gondoliers resting after a busy day plying their trade.

And we were able to still enjoy an ice-cream….

and a drink in a canal side bar.

But when you are in Venice, no matter where you are all roads really do lead  to St. Marks Square.

The boat is going to re-positioned  around midnight to a new mooring just down the road from the Doge’s palace, so tomorrow it will be easier to get off. More on Venice then.

The answer to yesterday’s question, the currency in Croatia is the KUNA, the current exchange rate being around 8 to the £. Another Venice based question tomorrow.