Surviving the Iberian Cruise
The Cruise Line is Holland America, and the ship is the MS Eurodam with 11 decks, holds 2100 passengers, is 935 feet long, and can do around 24 knots.
Our itinerary is: fly from LAX to Barcelona transferring directly to the ship; cruise to several Spanish ports along the Mediterranean (Valencia and Cartagena), sail through the Straights of Gibraltar (with a stop in Gibraltar), around the Iberian Peninsula stopping at several ports in Spain (Cadiz and Vigo) as well as Lisbon, Portugal; traveling through the Bay of Biscayne to Portland, England; across the English Channel to Cherbourg, France; up to Brugge, Belgium, and then through the North Sea to our final destination Copenhagen, Denmark. We'll stay in Copenhagen two nights before flying back home. The cruise itself is 12 days long - total trip 16 days.
Can we handle a 12-day cruise (our longest yet)? Can we survive the flight over in economy class? Will we win the battle against 2000+ passengers for access to the breakfast buffet?..and my first day on board the ship, I discovered that our "Drink Package" which included 15 free drinks per person per day (including alcohol) is not like roll-over minutes - if you only consume 5 drinks one day, you cannot have 25 the next day. *SIGH*....A true test of our survival skills.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Day 1/2: April 25/26 - Traveling to Barcelona
Friday, May 15, 2015
Day 3: April 27 - Valencia, Spain
View of Valencia Harbor |
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Day 4: April 28 - Cartagena, Spain
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Day 5: April 29 - Gibraltar
Monday, May 11, 2015
Day 6: April 30 - Cadiz, Spain
The Port of Cadiz, Spain |
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Day 7: May 1 - Lisbon, Portugal
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Day 8: May 2 - Vigo, Spain
Coming into Vigo Port |
Vigo is in the part of Spain north of Portugal. We opted for a tour around the countryside hitting a few historical sites. We first stopped at a medieval Celtic Settlement on the Monte do Castro hill near the center of town.