Day Twelve - At Sea with The Cookery Club.

Unique amongst cruise ships, Britannia has on-board the world’s first cookery school at sea. Designed in consultation with TV’s James Martin the school runs classes on a daily basis with the resident chefs but on special occassions Masterclasses are hosted by celebrity chefs. Today was one of those days with Vivek Singh owner of London’s Cinnamon Club being the host. Oliver, Victoria and I booked in for the morning, Sylvia drawing the child-minding short straw.
The cookery club itself is well equipped with twelve identical work stations containing everything a modern kitchen requires, even better than at home as no washing-up is required.

We cooked two dishes under the direction of the chef, a Butter Chicken and a Shrikhand Cheesecake with strawberries. In addition Vivek demonstrated the preparation of a tamarind chutney which we used in the cheesecake dish. I worked with Victoria while Oliver had another lady partner.Unfortunately as the sea was a little rough she felt unwell so Oli worked mainly on his own.

At the end of the session we got to eat the food we prepared and it was really delicious. I forgot to take a photo of the chicken as I was too busy eating it but remembered the cheesecake before it was too late.

Afterwards I bought the obligatory signed book and apron which offered a chance of a photo with the celebrity chef for both Victoria...

and I.

I know what I’ll be cooking next time Win and Jim come to visit!!!

Tonight’s post will be the last of the cruise,as my internet package will shortly run out, so a few final words about the ship. It is very large and it took me several days to work out which was the front and back but it is immaculate as you would expect from a brand new ship. The cabin was superb but I’m not sure that the extra you pay for a suite is fully worth it. The plus points being the two separate areas...

…and the beautiful bathroom.
Service on the ship as always was very good but if the waiting staff were a little slow they did have self service stations for both wine….

and beer.

With the weather being very good for most of the journey it has been an excellent holiday but travelling in the school holidays does mean a crowded ship and lots of kids.
The next trip is some 195 days away so time to lose some of this extra cruise weight.

Day Eleven - The Rock of Gibraltar.

It’s always a little sad when you reach Gibraltar as you know that it is the last port of call before the trip across the Bay of Biscay back to Southampton. It’s always a popular stop so we were a little surprised to be informed originally that it would be a tendered port and imagining the chaos that this would bring about had decided to stay on-board. It was therefore quite pleasing to be told that this was not the case and we would be moored alongside. We left the ship quite early taking the short taxi ride from the docks to the town walls. Walking through the town towards the cable car and the gardens beyond we stopped for pictures along the way.

On our last visit we discovered an animal sanctuary at the far side of the gardens and it was here that we once again headed. The ring tailed lemurs were out in their cage but they weren’t posing for photos as much on this occasion….

…preferring to chat amongst themselves.
Poppy had been wanting to see the lemurs ever since she saw our photos from last time, it was therefore no surprise to bump into Victoria, Oliver and the children as we entered the sanctuary.
There was a lovely play area in the garden but I’m sure the children enjoyed playing on the cannons as much.

Even helping Grancher when he got stuck.

The main reason though for any visit to Gibraltar is to pick up that precious duty free and with two large cruise ships in port today the streets were bustling with people,the sound of bottles chinking together reverberating down the main street.

Returning to the ship for lunch we prepared for that great P&O classic, the Great British Sailaway, a heady mix of patriotic songs coupled with much flag waving. The passengers on the Caribbean Princess moored alongside us looked on with awe.

Tonight was the final of “Britania’s Got Talent”, with our very own Poppy Shingler as one of the contestants. Playing her Grade 1 piano piece Poppy produced a very professional performance which although not winning obtained some very positive comments from the judges.

I don’t think that I could get up in front of an audience like that when I was nine, Well done Poppy.

Day Ten - Cartagena

The main disadvatage about cruising on today’s cruise ships is that generally the size prohibits docking close to the town, with berths in commercial dockyards or tendering the norm. Today ,however, was an exception as we sailed into the beautiful Spanish port of Cartagena with its marina full of small sailing boats.

Although the Britannia may have looked a little out of place in the marina,….

..it meant that with a short walk from the ship we were on the main marble paved street of the town.
The town is steeped in history from its founding in 200BC by the Carthagenians acting as a base for Hannibal’s invasion of Italy, but is perhaps most famous for the Roman period in it’s history. The centrepiece of this is the Roman Theatre which was only discovered by chance in 1987. Unbelievable when you see the size of it.

The theatre is acessed through a small museum that in addition to telling the history of the town displays many artefacts that have been discovered on the site.The theatre itself was built to entertain over 6,000 spectators and dates from the first century BC.

Today it entertains many visitors from the cruise ships.

It was once again a very sunny and hot day and with the sun reflecting off the bare stone and marble streets it appeared even hotter. The town is full of other significant archaeology which we visited on our last trip here last year. Today we decided on a gentle stroll down the main streets looking at the shops and admiring the architecture of the buildings we pass.

The streets also contain some interesting bronze statues depicting local life such as a postman, a lady on a bench and these three sisters on an Easter procession.

After a relaxing afternoon watching a movie with the children the ship set sail for our last stop of Gibraltar, passing one of the medieval forts on the way out of the harbour.

Cartagena is a gem of a port to visit, small enough to get around easily but with so much to see. For me it rates as one of my favourite ports of call.

Day Nine - At Sea and Formal Dinner.

After the hectic schedule of five ports in five days it was nice to get a quiet day at sea. The children stayed with us last night and in doing achieved something their parents haven’t, they spent a night in a suite. They were very good although they stayed up until 11.00 watching a film and insisting that they watch it all including the closing credits. Having despatched the children back to their mum and dad and after taking part in the obligatory progressive quiz we took a well earned break on our balcony.

That really was the tale of the day relaxing in the warm sunshine either on the balcony or on the open deck. It was a lovely sunny day with temperatures in the sunshine reaching the high twentys or low thirties although there was a chilly breeze across the deck at times. It was so warm that I took the unprecedented option of a late afternoon dip with the children and Oliver.

I’m not sure who enjoyed it more the children or Oliver & I.

It was the perfect way to prepare for this evenings formal night where we all dressed up in our finery. Sylvia and I took the opportunity of a selfie while we were waiting for the others.

After a slight delay waiting for Poppy to finish her rehearsal for “Brittania’s Got Talent” (more about that on Gibraltar day), we all assembled for some group photos. Firstly Mother and daughter….

…….then father and daughter with Poppy in her beautiful party dress…..

and then the other father and daughter.

And finally Joseph allowed us to photograph the best dressed boy of the night.

Due to the delay we had to wait for a table in the restaurant but despite this both children were well behaved even though they looked very tired by the end of the night.
Tomorrow we visit the beautiful Roman town of Cartagena in Spain, the penultimate stop on the cruise.

Day Eight - Lucca, City of 100 churches.

Yet another glorious morning greeted us as we arrived in Livorno the gateway to Pisa and Florence. Victoria and Oliver made the trip to visit both cities but once again we had decided on an alternative. Originally we had booked a visit to an Italian farmhouse to see and sample real homemade pasta. We were therefore very disappointed to recieve an e-mail from P&O informing us that it had been cancelled due the family not making pasta on a Sunday. As a substitute we booked a half-day trip to the small town of Lucca, a charming town situated about 14 miles north of Pisa.
They call Lucca the city of a hundred churches as every corner you turn another church or tower comes into view.

Lucca is also famous for being the birthplace of the great composer Giocomo Puccini in 1858, and his residence now houses a small museum. Strangely the museum is located on the second floor of a block of flats the other floors of which seem to be occupied by other families. The visit therefore required a ring on the doorbell to let us in.

Outside the museum is a statue which gives a perfect photo opportunity.

The museum itself contained many artefacts from Puccinni’s life although none of his great works were written here, interesting never the less. After our museum visit we made our way to the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, the Roman amphitheatre. Although this dates back to Lucca’s Roman period, it is today lined with modern shops and cafes.

A short walk away you find the church of San Frediano, a magnificent building with the bell tower behind.

From here we walked to the city walls, now the site of a tree lined garden pathway and bicycle route from where you gain super views of the city roofs and towers beyond. Including the one with a small oak tree wood on top.

Coming down from the walls we continued our walk through the uncrowded streets with fresh views coming at every corner...

…until we reached the cathedral of San Martin.

Unfortunately time had beaten us and we didn’t have time to go inside to view the Tintoretto painting of the Last Supper (Apologies if that is not spelt correctly).
A magnificent trip with the only criticism being we didn’t have enough time to see and do all the things that we wanted. Ah well, we’ll have to come back again!!!!
Tonight as a special treat Poppy and Joseph are having a sleep over in Granny and Grancher’s cabin. They are watching a film as I write this. Tomorrow is a sea day as we make our way back to Spain and the port of Cartagena.

Day Seven - All roads lead to Rome.

By the time we woke this morning we had already arrived at our next port, Civitavecchia. This is known as the Gateway to Rome and for most people, including Victoria and family, this would be today’s destination. Sylvia and I decided to do something different as we felt that Rome on an August Saturday might be a little oppressive. We left the ship at around nine and travelled for about an hour to the small town of Marta which is situated on the shore of Lake Bolsena, Italy’s fifth largest lake.

The old town is made up of narrow alleyways leading to small squares...

….while the tiled rooftops made interesting patterns.

However fishing is the main occupation in the village as witnessed by the number of small boats on the side of the lake.

After walking around the town for about an hour we reboarded the coach for the second part of our excursion a journey to the hilltop town of Montefiascone and a wine tasting. This took place in a small family run winery where we were greeted by the owner Stefen Stefanoni who served us six wines together with a sample of the local food.

To be fair it was less of a wine tasting but more of a wine sampling with the wines only being referred to as number 1, number 2 etc. Obviously there was an opportunity to purchase some of the wines and although we didn’t take up this offer I understand the pricing was very good.

The journey back to the ship was very quiet only interupted by the intermittent snoring of some passengers who had sampled a little too much of the wine. Altogether a really good trip showing us a part of Italy that we would not usually see,I would highly recommend it if you are travelling this way.
This afternoon was really hot and sunny and with so many people on long trips the ship was relatively quiet. I decided to go into the town of Civitavecchia to download some information for the car insurance while Sylvia stayed on board.
Victoria and Oliver arrived back on board around 5.30 and decided to cool off with a swim. Joey enjoyed riding on his Dad’s back……..

and Poppy soaked up the sunshine.

Tomorrow we visit the port of Livorno for visits to Pisa and Florence, although once again Sylvia and I will be doing something different.

Day Six - Monte Carlo - Playground of the Rich & Famous.

There cannot be a better way to wake up in the morning than with the sun bursting through the window and being greeted by the superb sight of Monaco before you.

With the ship moored in the bay today’s trip involved a tendering operation. Normally this would involve obtaining a numbered ticket and waiting for an available tender, but as suite customers we had a priority ticket to by-pass this system and proceed straight to the boat. Our butler also provided Victoria with a priority card so we all left together.
Although small in area Monaco manages to pack a lot into the available space and our first port of call was to be the Palace. This involved climbing several sets of stairs before reaching escalators and lifts which took us the final stages. We then made our way through the Jardin de Saint-Martin towards the palace. This gave some good opportunities for photos, of mother, daughter and grand-daughter...

……and Joey in his new Grand Prix cap.

We arrived in a very crowded Palace Square just as the clock struck twelve noon, the signal for the changing of the guard. For those who have not experienced this, it is a real toytown type event, nothing like that at Buckingham Palace. Not being able to get to the front to take photos I handed the camera to Poppy who sneaked her way to the front and got some great shots, like this one.

Photography must be in the Shingler genes!!!
It was now getting very hot and Sylvia and I decided to make our way slowly back to the quayside taking the more picturesque route on our return. Through the old Fort Antoine….

and more gardens with views of the harbour…….

….and the ship beyond.

Tonight we make our way down the Italian coast towards our stop tomorrow in Civitavecchia. From here many people including Victoria and family will be making the trip to Rome where as we will have a leisurely trip for some wine tasting.