We arrived in Tenerife on the 29th December. Zenith was up ahead, undergoing her final cruise for Pullmantur as she had been sold to Peaceboat. Originally Queen Victoria was supposed to be in with us but they swapped ports due to work at Gran Canaria. We got breakfast then sat on the deck while the steward did the cabin. Neither of us planned on going into town so sleep then lunch. All that sea air is so knackering! My dad enjoyed the shade od the boat deck as I went for dock photos. While it would have been nice to have had Vicky there for a size comparison between the 22,080grt Marco, 47,413grt Zenith and her, it was nice having small ships. Then I rejoined my dad for a while before afternoon tea. Zenith was supposed to sail at 8pm but I gave up waiting and went to dinner, taking my usual post-dinner stroll afterwards. We sailed at 11pm. |
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| Another early start on the 30th as we arrived in Gran Canaria. AIDAcara was already there on a turnaround, supposedly arriving for 8am while we followed Columbus in, who was scheduled for 5am but was more 6.30am. We were only there until 1pm with Columbus 2pm so after breakfast, I took a wander for ship photos while my dad went back to bed. The sun was annoyingly in my eyes. Captain's Club when back onboard for a much needed cool drink then we grabbed a table on the aft deck for lunch before it filled up. Our departure time was 1pm with Columbus an hour later and we had a sailaway party: A Hard Day's Night - Cocktail Shake-Off, which was 45 minutes of the Entertainment team singing Beatles songs while three teams battled to sell the most cocktails, either alcoholic or alcohol-free versions. They started out as £2 each then around halfway through were two for £2. Doreen joined us. We left slightly late but it was glorious weather, despite being a bit windy and we stayed out until 3pm, my dad getting sunburn for the first time since before he retired in 1993. A nap before I went back out for the sunset. Dinner and during my stroll around the deck afterwards, I spotted Columbus behind us. Then watched some telly and bed. |
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| The 31st December was the highlight of the cruise - Madeira! It was incredibly windy. I was up early and spoke to one of the maintenance crew who said it was unlikely we would tender. After breakfast, it was back on deck. Stupidly, as it turned out, I wore a dress so did my Marilyn Monroe impression under the bridge wing! I quickly popped in to change into trousers and a top. There would be 13 ships for the fireworks, one more than the 12 there had been in 2007, plus these were so much larger. Back then, Aurora (which I was on) was the biggest all day with Costa Serena beating us by midnight. In 2007, the smallest was Van Gogh, followed by Athena and Princess Danae. Twelve years later it was Ocean Majesty then beautiful Marco Polo and Saga Sapphire while the largest was Mein Schiff 4 followed by Queen Victoria and Marella Explorer with Aurora fourth. Ocean Majesty, AIDAstella, Mein Schiff 3, Aurora, Queen Victoria, Zenith, Saga Sapphire and Columbus were there by the time we caught up, anchoring in the bay equivalent of the back end of beyond. We grabbed a couple of seats on the aft deck by the railings. Due to sea conditions, tendering for us and Columbus was delayed. Others were doing it but it was very rough where we both were. The Marella came to anchorage after us with Mein Schiff 3 moving nearer her. Tendering was officially abandoned at 12.30pm. They opened the ice cream stall so I bought a couple. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, apart from that wind. Balmoral arrived late. |
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