Smithy's Cruise Blog

This week the parties have come thick and fast. The Cunard World Club party for frequent travellers and two days later the Senior Officers party. Exactly the same format for both, with the Commodore making a brief speech at the end to signal the fact that it was time to leave the free alcohol and go to dinner!

It was Samuel Cunard’s birthday today and there was the inevitable cake!

This island should not be muddled with Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. “We have not been here before” I told everyone. Jane thought otherwise. But of course I know best.

But further up the main street we came across a familiar looking square.

I said nothing but Mrs Smith insisted that we had been there before and said she recalled photos we had taken of the square and the buildings surrounding it. I had to protect my position and said nothing, but after turning a corner we spotted a row of coloured townhouses.

I had to admit that I was wrong. We had been to La Palma before. It must have been on tha maiden voyage of Queen Elizabeth. It must be an age thing. Mrs Smith is, of course, much younger than me.

More memories. Jane and I first came to Tenerife in March 1977. Jane was pregnant. We stayed in the dreaded Playa De Americas at the Hotel Tenerfe. We spent most of our time by the pool, but after about a week the worlds worst ever air disaster happened at Los Rodeos Airport in the north of the island.

This time we were docked in Santa Cruz, in the north, and as we approached the town we found that we had joined the Tenerife Marathon. The whole Waterfront area was packed with runners and their supporters. It was sunny and hot, but that didn’t appear to deter those taking part. It was a great occasion. 

While we talked, other passengers came up to talk to him. Did he remember this? Did he remember that? He said he did, although I wasn’t so sure. But he still has a fantastic memory for dates and places and people, despite his 91 years. He certainly doesn’t look that age.

We spent our honeymoon in Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria all those years ago. And we also used to come to the island for Easter holidays when Louise and Michael were small. We usually stayed at the Costa Canaria Hotel in San Augustin.

We also had a wonderful holiday with the Holts in Maspolomas when Katie and Louise were toddlers. That place made headlines last week when a boatload of refugees from Africa arrived on the beach amongst a group of naked gay men, who quickly scattered, fearing that the boat people might be infected with ebola.

When Jane and I came to Las Palmas on the maiden voyage of Queen Mary 2 – our first cruise together – in 2004, we decided to locate the honeymoon hotel and were somewhat upset to find that it had been converted into what looked to be a rather run down apartment block!

This time we thought we would take a taxi to the south of the island and find the Costa Canaria, but before leaving the ship I looked at Trip Advisor which revealed that the hotel was in the middle of major renovations. There were some very disgruntled holidaymakers who had sent in negative reviews. So we decided to give the south a miss.

We wandered into Las Palmas and were about to watch some traditional dancing in the square, when the heavens opened. We scurried to a cafe with large umbrellas outside. The dancers fled and we eventually ventured across town, but the threat of more rain curtailed our exploration.

The sun is shining and the 8 metre waves and Force 8 gale have been left behind. We are some 200 miles from Lisbon and will be on our berth in Funchal, Madeira by 0800 tomorrow.

Today we were entertained by the legendary voice of F1 and motorsport – Murray Walker. He was due to speak at 1100 this morning, Wednesday, but the start was delayed as they tried to shoehorn into the theatre the masses of people who wanted to listen to him. He was brilliant, telling plenty of stories about the personalities of the motor racing world and a multitude of tales of his gaffes while commentating. He is of course renowned for his faux pas, many of which he told against himself.

This is not easy but we will get through it! Five ports in five days. We are not trained for it. We like a port and then a few sea days to get some rest and build up the stamina with plenty of food and plenty of Malbec for me.

It was sunny and hot but we had to get back to the ship to get ready for a formal night and dinner at the Captains table. The Deputy Captain Simon Love was the host. He is the man who went to sea as a young man, but after marrying decided to go ashore and join the family business. Some 18 years later he was persuaded to return to sea and after retraining he joined Carnival. He must be well on his way to a command in the not too distant future.

Remembrance Sunday – 9 November 2014. We are excited to be joining Queen Victoria again for two back to back cruises, the first to the Canaries and the second to the Western Med.

We have 3 days at sea before our first port – Madeira – which strangely was our last port back in April, but more of that later.

The last 3 days from Madeira to Southampton passed quickly.

Would we do it again?  Yes we would!

We are back in Europe!  Madeira was sunny but a bit nippy when we tied up at 0800.  Last time we were here it rained heavily all day and we were unable to leave the ship.  There were mud slides, massive flooding and houses and dogs were washed into the sea.

This time the Atlantic crossing was gentle with no big seas or winds. An uneventful passage but there was plenty happening on the ship.  Jane took control again in the jig saw department. We had some new table companions for dinner – John and Pat Thompson stayed – but as Jim and Liz Burnett left in Fort Lauderdale we were joined by Bernd (Bernie) Hochstadt and his wife Leah Smith Hochstadt who spend their time between Berlin and New Jersey.

The journey took us through an area of forest that had been ripped apart by fire last year.  We had a number of stops for photos and at Santo we had a comfort break and coffee at the Golf Hotel overlooking the course that hosts the Madeira Open each year.  It appeared to be in excellent condition but there were very few people playing.

From Santo we wended our way down slowly to Machico on the east coast and then to Santa Cruz and the airport.  We probably all know about the Funchal airport and its reputation as one of the most dangerous in the world.  We drove under the runway, which has been constructed on stilts, and despite the runway being 2780 m it looks very short.

When the new runway was opened in 2002 a jumbo apparently landed on it and didn’t fall off the end.

On Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, there was a large disembarkation, including all those who had boarded on 12 January in Ft Lauderdale.  Theirs was a 94 day voyage that qualified as a Full World Voyage!  In the main they were US citizens.

There was the usual horrible delay in getting through the US immigration formalities to get ashore.  The delays led to various degrees of unpleasantness by a few Brits. Some questioned why there was a separate lane for wheelchairs when that line moved more quickly than theirs!  Horrible people.  

We made a quick visit to Macy’s and Jane picked up some amazing bargains – 75% off and then another 10% for being a foreigner!

We now have 7 days at sea, a visit to Madeira and then 3 more days at sea before we are home.