Couples Cruising with Bubbles and Pedro

15/10/2023

Day 2 was in Marseille. We have got into a routine of having breakfast and going to the 10am quiz in The Schooner bar. The prizes are small and inexpensive merchandise, but who doesn’t want a RCI stress ball or highlighter pen ? Both of us have been to Marseille before so we decided to stay on the boat exploring again. We went up to deck 16 to play crazy golf, and table tennis, found the spa, and watched some people attempt the flow rider - if you get the chance to do this, it’s a must, looked so much fun.

We walked down to the boardwalk neighbourhood, which is like walking along a pier back at home. There’s an amazing carousel, a hot dog stand, Johnny rockets American diner, the sports bar, and right at the end was the pool where the water shows are held, in front of this is the biggest helter skelter I have ever seen.

We booked on to see a show this evening “Hairspray” and how wonderful it was. Located in the ships theatre it was as good as anything I had seen in the West End, all singing and dancing, I was truly amazed.

15/10/2023

Day 1

We have found ourselves in the middle of the European heatwave, and temperatures are climbing to the mid to high 30’s thank god for the air conditioning literally everywhere on the ship ! Today we were in Palma, Majorca. We left the ship to go shopping for some shoes (don’t ask). Taxi’s we aplenty and not overly expensive. A cab was an essential as it was too hot to walk the half an hour walk to the shopping mall. Straight back to the air conditioned Ship after our purchases as the heat was intense, but also giving us time to explore our new surroundings.

Different areas on the ship are called neighbourhoods, apparently Symphony has 7 neighbourhoods. One of them being Central Park - and you literally feel like you have been transported there. Birds are singing, there’s lush greenery, a bar, speciality restaurants, and lots of designer shops (think bulgari) such a beautiful and peaceful place, to sit and relax, play cards, read, socialise with new friends, whilst drinking a cold beer, a crispy white Sauvignon, soft drink or literally anything you desire.

15/10/2023

CRUISE NUMBER 4 - ROYAL CARIBBEAN, SYMPHONY OF THE SEAS

Fast forward 6 months. An absence of cruising, as my lovely daughter Sacha got married, and we were far too busy and excited with her up coming nuptials to holiday. Pedro did however come up with the idea of going away the day after the wedding. So onto google I went, and found a suitable cruise, leaving from Barcelona the day after the wedding (which was also in Barcelona)

Now you know when someone goes on about something, well thats Pedro when talking about Royal Caribbean International - he's "Loyal to Royal" anyways, we boarded Symphony of the seas on 16th July and I really didn't want to like it, as he loves it so much....... and I fell in love with this beautiful ship, everything he said about this cruise line was true.

Symphony is currently the second biggest ship in the world. Second only to Wonder of the Seas. Walking on board was breath taking, just by the shear enormity of it, however, once on board it didn't feel like we were on board a huge vessel, because the bigger the ship, the more facilities, space and things to do.

It was at this point that we decided to start a cruise blog for couples, as our journey together until now, has been so exciting that we wanted to be able to share all our experiences, tips, and tricks with you all, so you can enjoy these experiences as much as we do. So this trip will be a little more informative because of our decision to share with yourselves.

Day one for us was quite tiring, we had enjoyed ourselves so much at the wedding the day before that this week was going to be a week of relaxing. Boarding the ship was effortless, there were barriers set up for the queues of people to embark, however there was no queuing at all at the time we arrived (approx 2pm) there is a separate priority check in for pinnacle class or for people that have booked suites, but as I have said, this really wasn't necessary for us. We checked in, boarded and headed for the solarium. This is a beautiful indoor space, all glass, with cabanas, a couple of small pools and a couple of jacuzzi's, a restaurant, bar, and during the day - child free. The biggest pull to there though was that Judith and Bruce had arrived earlier and were waiting for us (Told you we had promised to meet up with them again) It looks very empty, and to be fair it never got over crowded all week, but I think most people were in their rooms unpacking. Drinks in hand, and a place on one of the cabanas was the perfect start to the upcoming weekCRUISE

15/10/2023

Just a couple of hours left before we leave for the airport. so we headed off the ship and down to a bar, which is popular with travellers, the atmosphere is great and the WiFi is free. WiFi is quite expensive when paying a daily charge, so look out for the bars which offer it for free. We enjoyed the last couple of hours of sunshine before heading back, ready to say our goodbyes to a great holiday. It was my first Christmas away from home, and as much as I missed my family, it was really really worth it.

15/10/2023

So, the final night has come, and Bubbles decides to be ill again !! It was Karaoke tonight, which we both really enjoy, thankfully this was before sickness struck. We said a fond farewell to our new friends, and promised to meet again. Suitcases all packed in advance but still time to spend a few hours in barbados tomorrow before leaving for the airport.

15/10/2023

15/10/2023

The penultimate day of the cruise was spent in Martinique. What a beautiful island. Pedro and Bruce went out on the jet ski, leaving Bubbles and Judith hold the fort at the white sandy beach. A lovely peaceful relaxing day (which bubbles needed) then back on board for the final night. Unfortunately there aren’t many photos, as relaxation took over. If we stumble across any we will post them. This however was the view when disembarking

15/10/2023

Unfortunately for me (Bubbles) I developed static vertigo on this cruise, and spent most of the rest of the cruise laid up in bed. I seemed to be ok, when I was off the ship for a couple of hours, but not good when on board, I missed the whole of Christmas Day, and only managed a few hours for the next few days, Pedro, was left on his own so the next few days weren't documented very well. - NO it didn't put me off. As soon as we were back, we had already booked he next cruise for the summer.

15/10/2023

Time to dress up for the evening - Marella Cruises don't have formal nights, so its a great choice of cruise if dressing up isn't your thing, however, it was Christmas, so why wouldn't we get dressed up.Bubbles and Judith don't scrub up too bad do they ?

15/10/2023

Welcome to Dominica - a little out of sequence, this was Christmas eve. We were supposed to be in St Lucia, but the weather decided to change course for us. So we stayed a day extra in Grenada. The second day we had to tender in as we were only booked for a day in port. However, it wasn't so bad, my anxiety kicked in, as Bubbles is dreadful in deep water, but the tender boats are amazing. This is also the day that we met our new friends for life, and new cruise buddies Judith Lesley Harkus-Jeffries, and her husband Bruce so how could the day get any better ?

15/10/2023

Zip wiring over the Antiguian rain forest on Boxing Day. What a great feeling. This was booked onboard through Marella Cruises and it was worth every penny. Photos and videos are taking throughout the experience, which can be purchased at the end of the trip. A coach picked us up at port, took us there, and then brought us back. Such a brilliant and memorable day. I can't recommend this enough.

22/09/2023

CRUISE NUMBER 3 - MARELLA CRUISES, DISCOVERY

Bubbles first fly cruise, and a 7 night caribbean cruise with Marella Cruises from Barbados. In fairness, TUI dream liners are incredible, great pitch size for the seats, not that we are a particularly "tall pair" but when you're on a long haul flight the space means a lot. We booked this through IGLU as we do most of the cruises, and unfortunately we couldn't secure the premium seats, these seats go very quickly, and are really reasonable in price, so if you book long enough in advance and have the opportunity to book these seats, we would highly recommend it.

The boarding process in Barbados was effortless, and we got to talk to lots of nice people in the queues, which seemed to move along really quickly.

We had a couple of problems on this cruise unfortunately, stating with our luggage getting put on a different level outside a different cabin, which I get, does happen occasionally, but we waited for what seemed an eternity for the cases, which in reality was around 5 hours. In the end Pedro went off looking for them and found them in exactly the place they shouldn't be ! Lesson learnt here : Not just on long haul, but on all journeys - put medications and all things you will need within a 24 hour period in your hand luggage, just incase it gets lost.

The atmosphere on board was great, it was a Christmas cruise (22nd December 2022) so everyone was in good spirits, the ship was decorated in its Christmas finery, and we were all looking forward to lovely party nights.

11/09/2023

The start of almost 2 days in Amsterdam.

Pedro likes to watch the ship come into dock in Amsterdam, as it has to go through a series of locks, so coffee in hand at 7am, we were on top deck to watch the boat moor, it was amazing. It was again beautiful weather, so no big coats needed. It was however quite a long walk from the port into the City centre. Id say around 25mins, so if you have mobility issues, I would advise you ask at the front desk for a cab to meet you at the port exit to transport you into the City. There were lots of bikes for hire too.

In our naivety, we headed for Anne Franks house, unaware that everything had to be purchased online, and on doing so, couldn't get tickets for another couple of weeks, so we had to miss that opportunity, and perhaps on another trip we will manage to make it.

We did, however, manage to walk along the canals, buy some Edam and Gouda cheese, and grab a coffee in a local coffee shop, I also managed to try on the biggest pair of clogs ever. There were lots of excursions available, but we decided to make our own way around

11/09/2023

CRUISE NUMBER 2 - CUNARD QUEEN VICTORIA. OCTOBER 2021

11 months ago, I had the lovely surprise of Pedro taking me on Cunard's Queen Victoria for my birthday. And it couldn't have been more different to the first cruise if it tried. Welcome to The Queen Vic as she is affectionately called.

Another no-fly mini cruise from Southampton, 3 nights, visiting Amsterdam. A small ship by comparison to MSC Virtuosa, but what she lacks in size she more than makes up for in elegance and opulence. This was a first timer for both of us onboard Cunard, and she didn't disappoint.

In total contrast to the modern clean lines of MSC Virtuosa, The Queen Victoria is like stepping onboard how we imagine The Titanic to be. All polished wood, and old fashioned in design, and so terribly "British" I loved it.

Check in was at a different terminal from our last cruise, and this ran so much more quickly and smoothly. An absolute breeze.

The waiters knew us by name within minutes of stepping on board, and as we stood in the atrium we looked up, and the only word I could think of was WOW. We went straight to the Chart Room, which is a small bar, which also serves coffees/tea/pastries, this is where I met the waiter who would become my new best friend. We went in to see him every morning for coffee, plan out our day, and also the occasional glass of bubbles.

Although this isn't an adults only cruise, there weren't many children on board and those that were, were very much seen but no heard.

First night in the main dining room was delicious, as you would expect, and after explaining my food allergies to the maitre D, he produced the next days menu within minutes for me to choose my selection for the following day, so my food was prepared and cooked separately with no contamination from my allergens.

11/09/2023

Couldn’t finalise this lovely “taster” cruise without a mention to a couple of special highlights on board this lovely ship. Firstly MSC ships have a Swarovski crystal staircases, and designated areas on the ship. Also, the lifts - they’re mirrored. Proving this to be a beautiful modern ship. It will always hold a special place in our hearts because it was our first joint cruise. A couple of photos are in the comments, as we couldn’t add a video and photos together 🤷🏼‍♀️

If I had to point out any "faults" it would be that the cruise lines were still under COVID regulations, meaning everyone had to test 24-48 hours before, which we willingly did. However the website for uploading the (expensive) tests crashed, so we took photos of the results shoeing the date and times of the tests, and took them with us, this obviously wasn't good enough, and we were sent outside to take a private test costing £90 each, before we were allowed on board, and believe me, we weren't the only people, there were loads. The cost was added to our cabin charges, so we had a £180 bill before we even go on. This kind of spoilt the whole boarding experience - right up until the moment we stepped on board.

On the whole a brilliant first cruise, and couldn't recommend it enough. Pedro, being a very seasoned cruiser, now has a shipmate in bubbles for life.

11/09/2023

Day three (Sunday) was spent in Cherbourg. The biggest piece of advice I can offer here is - book an excursion if you want to see around and about. We didn't take into account that it was a Sunday, and that everything would be closed. It did however give us time to explore the boat a little. There was so much to do. Lots of cafés, bars and eateries. However the main dining room is amazing, and the food was incredible. Someone once told me - if you like eating, you'll love cruising, and they weren't wrong, its my favourite tag line to people now when they are toying with the idea of cruising for the first time. There is however a fully equipt gym on board for working off a few pounds. There are also indoor and outdoor pools, and jacuzzi's, and a wealth of entertainment and games. Also being a short mini cruise, although there were a wealth of photographers at every turn, there was no formal night. This turned out to be a brilliantly fun night, as everyone decided that as it was the last night on board they would make it into their own formal night, and I believe most ladies had at least one clothes change (Bubbles had three!!)

Recommendation is to pack you suitcase and leave it outside your room on your last night. Then during your sleep, the stewards come along and take you case to a communal collection point. Everyone then has assigned disembarkation times, and when you leave the ship, your case should be there waiting for you. We decided against this, and took our own cases with us the following day, which worked for us.

11/09/2023

After a lovely restful evening, we arrived in Rotterdam. It was beautiful weather and took us around 15-20min to walk from the port into town, walking across the famous Erasmusbrug bridge. We stopped by at a little cafe, chatting and interacting with some of the locals. We had a nice stroll along the river bank, looking at the moored boats and yachts. It was a really beautiful day, and time flew. Before we knew it it was time to board the ship, and get ready for dinner. We didn't book any excursions on this trip, as previously mentioned we wasn't sure how Bubbles would be at sea, so decided to take it easy, but you can book lots of excursions for wherever you're stopping on board your ship. We had booked into one of the speciality restaurants for our first evening. A lovely teppanyaki restaurant called Kaito's. Speciality restaurants are an additional charge to your all inclusive food, but I can highly recommend it. Not only was the food amazing, the chefs were very entertaining too.

11/09/2023

CRUISE NUMBER 1 - MSC VIRTUOSA. MAY 2022

So, 16 months late in starting this, but we are going back to the beginning (well for Bubbles anyway) and the first cruise she experienced on MSC Virtuosa.

This was a no-fly cruise from Southampton, on the last weekend of May, Whitson weekend. This was a great introduction to cruising which we highly recommend if you haven't been cruising before, Pedro suggested a 3 night short break taking in Rotterdam and Cherbourg, which wouldn't be too long at sea if Bubbles didn't take to it.

However from the minute we stepped on board the magic started.

Tip number 1. Take a bikini/swimsuit/swimming trunks in your hand luggage, because your luggage is taken before you check in and it could be another few hours before you are reunited with it at your cabin door.

Virtuosa is a relatively big ship and it was fun walking around finding out where everything was and what there was to do, and in honesty 4 days wasn't enough time to explore everything that there was on board.

The promenade was amazing with a St Georges flag emblazoned across the ceiling in a huge lit up display, and periodically throughout the cruise the "dome show" would commence and it would take you on a journey through capital cities of the world.

11/09/2023

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