Cruising From Malta – Part Four

Day 12 – 2nd Monday – Corfu

As we had sailed from Dubrovnik in Croatia to Corfu which is Greek we have had to put the clock forward an hour overnight to Greek time which is two hours ahead of the U.K. We arrived in Corfu early and when I woke at six we were already tied up alongside. I ventured onto the balcony and the Azamara Explorer is docked behind us. Only a small ship, but the captain has just announced that was will be one of four ships in port today, one is on its way in now and one is not due until early afternoon.

I am on an afternoon excursion so I’m in no rush for my breakfast. I might even have time for a bit of sh*t posting this morning. I ordered my breakfast in the MDR and got moaned at by the waiter because I asked for fried bread with my fried eggs and bacon. He grumbled, “It’s not really on the menu, you really need to pre-order fried bread.” It always used to be on the menu and is always available in the Buffet. It is just a tad more difficult for them. The whole of the table vowed to ask for fried bread tomorrow! It’s a rebellious lot we have on board.

The next ship into port was the Oceania Cruises Vista, which is about the same size as us, but cruises on board are much more expensive as it calls itself luxury cruising and I believe drinks are included in the fare. Not for me, a few drinks a day wouldn’t make up for the price difference. Then about 13:00 an MSC ship docked on the other side of the pier. The MSC Splendida is a little larger than Azura in passengers carried but of a similar tonnage, so I suspect it seems more crowded aboard.

As my excursion is not until 14:00 I took up station by the pool with my Kindle and enjoyed finishing my book over a cold drink. I didn’t have to go far for lunch as the buffet is on the same deck as the pools. Today I made myself a prawn salad which, for a change, I washed down with a glass of cold house white and jolly good it was too. The coach set off bang on time on my ‘Leisurely Corfu’ trip. We drove out from the port heading northwest and our first stop was at a place where they processed kumquats which are grown on the island. They make kumquat everything from liquor to glazed fruit. I tried all sorts of things, but my favourite was the kumquat marmalade, somewhat like bitter orange marmalade. Back on the bus and a tour of the coves and beaches on the northwest coast some of which were quite stunningly beautiful.

Next a drive up into the mountains and a long wait at traffic lights to enter a village. The streets are so narrow that traffic through is only allowed in one direction at a time and many of the houses had scrapes on the side where they have been hit by trucks or busses. We finally stopped at a modern cafe/bar with a terrace giving a beautiful view down to the coast. The cafe also had apartments to rent and a swimming pool, all very quiet and scenic, but you would definitely need to have a car to get there and I’m not sure about driving on some of those narrow roads with loads of hairpin bends.

The all-aboard time was supposed to be 16:30 and it soon became obvious we were going to miss that, but as we were on a P&O excursion I had no fear of the ship sailing without us! There was also a girl from the excursions department with us and I believe she rang the ship to warn them we were going to be late. To compound matters further the coaches were not allowed to drop you at the ship, instead you had to go through the cruise terminal with all its security and if lucky there was a shuttle bus, or it was an eight-minute walk to the ship. I was one of the first off the coach and hurried through security and was delighted to get on a shuttle bus that was just leaving. I think there were only two other people from Azura on that bus, the rest were for the MSC ship which was docked on the other side of the pier to us. It was 16:50 when I checked into the ship, and I heard two officers saying, “We still have 47 passengers and one crew ashore.” I thought, ‘And I bet they were all on my trip.’ The next two shuttle buses brought everyone, and we sailed only 10 minutes late.

As my dinner sitting isn’t until 20:30, I had plenty of time to chill out before my shower and shave. I got to the dining room just as the doors opened and bumped into my table companion Gary the Aussie. He had been on a beach excursion and despite paying extra for a ‘luxury’ sun lounger and his own umbrella, had caught the sun and was rather red. At long last the waiters on our table have realised that no one else is joining us for dinner and are only laying two places.

A quick scan of the menu and I decided to start with chicken noodle soup. I have often had it before on P&O and it is always full of chicken. When I ordered it the waiter said, “No tomato soup tonight?” I must say I do like P&O’s tomato & basil soup, but you can’t be too predictable. I followed that with loin of pork, which was delicious, it came with new potatoes, spinach and carrots. I am delighted to say we are getting a far greater selection of vegetables on this cruise than my last in the Caribbean. The pork had been thickly sliced and it was almost like eating a pork fillet.

I nearly went for mixed ice cream for my dessert but suddenly noticed that on the chef’s menu was treacle tart and custard. Now, how could I resist that? So that was what I ordered, and the waiter said, “With custard and ice cream of course.” I could hardly say no, and it was really good. We are now being served coffee without ordering it as the waiters have got to know our likes and dislikes. Finally, up one deck to the Planet Bar where the waiter also knows I am going to order a vodka and lemonade and it too appears without being asked for. That’s the kind of service that will deserve a tip on the final night of the cruise.

Day 13 – 2nd Tuesday – Taranto, Italy

Well, after having to put the clocks on an hour for Corfu it went back an hour overnight for Italy. I was woken early by a beautiful sunrise over the sea, but it was before 05:00 so I went back to sleep. I finally woke up just before 07:00 which gave me loads of time to prepare for breakfast and my final excursion of the trip which is not until 10:00 so I have plenty of time to get proper MDR breakfast and not have to bother with the buffet.

I joined six people already on an eight, just as the waiter was taking the last of the six’s order so he rushed me a bit. Fortunately, I knew what I wanted; orange juice, rice krispies, a ham omelette and square toast. All of which were delivered very quickly this morning. One man on the table had ordered two soft-boiled eggs, but when three lovely brown eggs arrived the waiter told him he had brought him a, “Bonus egg, because they are only small.” I have mentioned it before, the eggs a remarkably small, much smaller than you can buy in the supermarket. I wonder if P&O buy all the small eggs that the supermarkets reject?

It was rather overcast when I came down the gangway and walked over to my bus. Despite me being ten minutes early the bus was nearly full, and we departed bang on time for my countryside drive and olive oil tasting. The ride through the Puglia countryside was quite spectacular. This is the rural south of Italy and is lovely and full of olive groves and vineyards, not to mention fig and almond trees. The roads are lined with red, white and pink oleander, which is very pretty, but poisonous if ingested. We were heading for the town of Martina Franca. The story is the town was originally called St Martina but to encourage people to move there in the Middle Ages a nobleman declared any anyone moving to the town would not have to pay taxes. In this case franca means ‘tax-free.’ The only stop on this trip is at a small family-owned olive oil factory. We were first off, given a tour of the facility and shown how the olives are received, washed and separated from leaves, twigs and stones. I never realised how many types of olive oil there are and just how many products it went in to.

The plant is only in production from the autumn to spring so having busloads of tourists in the summer is good business. They started by showing us the granite roller mills they use for crushing olives for the basic oil with skin and pips. The next process is to press the left-over tapenade to extract the remaining oil, this is the better-quality oil “cold pressed virgin” but has to be centrifuged to remove water because the fruit contains over 50% water. The water goes on the land and the oil is bottled. The over pressings go for pig food.

We moved on to the tasting room where we tried oil made with the pips, without the pip’s (much nicer not so bitter), extra virgin, which they said is the best for cooking. Then we tried oil flavoured with lemon, then with garlic and finally as a sort of balsamic vinegar which was sweet and is made to go on dessert and ice cream. The extra virgin was good, but I could imagine the lemon would be good on white fish.

We then moved on to the whole point of the visit, to try to sell us stuff, but I didn’t really want to buy anything, I don’t use olive oil at home and admittedly it was considerably cheaper than in Tesco but if I had bought some it would sit in the cupboard, unopened, until I threw it out. They also had body lotion, hand cream, chocolate and beer, but still I wasn’t tempted.

The trip back to the ship was considerably faster than the trip going as we used the motorway. The trip was due back at 13:30 and actually got back at 13:33 so I wasn’t complaining. Plenty of time to head back to the cabin, dump my hat and water bottle and then get some lunch. Today it’s a burger and chips with a regular size Pepsi Max, except the drinks waiter brings me a large Pepsi and leans over conspiratorially and says, “I have only charged you for a regular size one.”

It going to be an easy afternoon the clouds have lifted a bit; the sun is on my balcony and the temperature is up to a pleasant 28°. So, it will be a read and snooze afternoon until it’s time to get ready for the last formal night of the cruise.

Down to dinner and as usual on a formal night it starts with an amuse bouche, tonight it’s watermelon and cucumber, sounds a bit odd but wasn’t bad. The starter I chose was asparagus and hard-boiled egg, which is one of my favourite starters. Then it was cream of onion soup which was pretty good. For main, I went for turbot which again is one of my favourites and dessert was a raspberry soufflé which came with a raspberry sauce to pour into it and vanilla ice cream. One of the best meals of the cruise.

Day 14 – 2nd Wednesday – At Sea

It was rather hazy when I woke up, but according to the TV the outside air temperature was already 25°C. As it’s a sea day the Main Dining Room doesn’t open until 07:30 because on sea days no one gets up early! So, I did a bit of sh*t posting on GP before getting ready. It was just after 8 am when I was shown to an unoccupied breakfast table for eight people. The section waiter was over immediately with the coffee pot as I was the only person on any of his tables. He asked if I would like to have my Rice Krispies immediately as it might be a while before anyone else arrived. I said OK and he then asked if I was going to follow it with an omelette and square toast and I said, “Yes please, a mushroom omelette.” We then had a chat about other P&O ships as the commie waiter went for my food. As we chatted the table suddenly filled.

The man who sat to my right had shared a breakfast table with me before and we got talking. After chatting for a while it emerged that, like me, he was researching his family tree. We had a long chat about our research until we realised the waiter had virtually cleared the table!

Up to the cabin to begin my packing. I have nearly all day, so I am in no rush. But it is the Peninsula Club lunch at noon so I will do a bit before and a bit after. A delicious meal. We started with a glass of Champagne and after that there was a choice of red or white house wine, and it kept coming throughout the meal. I started with chicken terrine, which was very good, then a passion fruit sorbet, I chose loin of cod for my main and it was a huge chunk. Then for dessert I had the semifreddo which was a delight. Finally, it was coffee and vanilla fudge. A delicious meal made interesting when I discovered the man sitting next to me had worked for China Light & Power (CLAP) in Hong Kong commissioning Castle Peak A and B power stations, which I had helped design and build.

After a short nap I finished up most of my packing. There are only a few bits and bobs left to put in my case after dinner. I am not terribly hungry after my big lunch, but I must go as I want to give my MDR regular waiters a tip. After thinking about it for a while I have decided that what I will do tonight is have two starters (as they are only smallish) and a dessert skipping the main course. A look at the menu and that’s me certain that my plan will work. Tomato and basil soup first off, it can be relied on to always be good, then chicken satay again a tasty dish and not too filling. For dessert it’s mixed ice cream, vanilla, coffee and a scoop of ginger sorbet. Then my usual coffee.

It looks like just about everyone on second sitting on our waiter’s section are either going home at the end of their cruise or, like Gary the Aussie, being moved to a different table for the rest of their holiday. Anyway, the waiter and his commie were happy to be collecting tips, although I note that not everyone tipped them. I know that basic tips are included in the fare, but these two guys have been excellent and have really done everything to make the meals a pleasure. I don’t mind giving them a little extra on top of their share of the Tronc.

Suitcases must be outside your cabin door by 2 am to ensure they are taken to the plane under bond. Gary and I had a post-dinner drink in the Planet Bar before I left him to it. I have a couple of little bits to throw in the case before I can put it outside the cabin door to be collected overnight and sorted so it goes on one of the 20 flights taking people back to the U.K. tomorrow. There are five flights to both Gatwick and Manchester and others to Belfast, Bristol (2), Birmingham (2), Newcastle, Stansted, East Midlands, Glasgow and Heathrow. All the cases have colour-coded labels to try to ensure they are put on the right plane; my label is bright orange. I just hope the steward who takes mine from outside my cabin is not colour blind.

Day 15 – 3rd Thursday – Malta and home

I have plenty of time to breakfast in the Main Dining Room this morning as it is open earlier than usual. We are supposed to be out of our cabins by eight o’clock, but Dexter is happy for me to leave my cabin bag there while I eat as he knows he can go in and strip the bed and empty the bins etc. His deadline for having his change-over cabins ready is 2 pm and he tells me he will be done well before that. Again, a departure tip helped to make him happy and obliging.

So, it’s down for my last breakfast on board at 07:05 just as the door of the MDR opened. I was shown to a sharing table for eight in an almost empty dining room and after waiting a few minutes for anyone else to show up the section waiter came over. He suggested pouring me a coffee and getting me my Rice Krispies while I waited. Well, of course, no sooner than he had poured my coffee than the table started to fill up meaning I got my cereal along with others getting their cereal, porridge or yogurt. The waiter apologised saying there were no mushroom omelettes this morning, the only fillings were cheese, onion or ham, but I could have all three if I wished. Today it was onion, and very nice it was too. One lady on the table had sat with me on a previous morning and remarked that seeing me ordering an omelette had made her order one also and it had been done perfectly to her liking.

Back to my cabin to pick up my hand luggage and find a seat to wait until it became time to leave the ship. The procedure for disembarking was quite complicated as there were 20 different groups heading for flights to the U.K. as well as those Maltese, who were on board and those who were continuing their holiday in Malta. I didn’t have very long to wait as my ‘orange’ group were to meet in the theatre at 10:00 for a midday flight. It was about ten past ten when the coach left the dockside and 10:30 when we got to the airport. As we had no cases to check in, it had gone to the airport in bond, and we already had been given boarding cards on the ship, we were led directly to the security check.

I am amazed how this varies from airport to airport. Here we could keep our shoes on but had to put tablet computers, phones and coins through the X-ray machine. Once again it was a long wander through the duty-free outlet, where I got cigarettes for the LGND’s daddy. Twenty Silk Cut in Malta were about 25% of the cost in the U.K! It was about 10:45 when I found a seat in the departure lounge and my flight was on the departure board for boarding at 11.05. As we had not yet been through passport control, considering how long that had taken when arriving, I thought this was cutting things fine for 12:00 noon take off.

Slowly the boarding time was put back to 11:10, 11:15, 11:20 and finally 11:30. When the flight was eventually called we headed for the departure gate but to get there we had to get our passports stamped again and there were huge queues. However, this time the queues moved more quickly as the computer system was working (slowly) unlike on entry, when everything was being written out longhand. However, it was already past take-off time and a queue was growing at the gate which had not opened. Everyone was finally on board the plane at ten past one, but it was then announced that we were waiting to be refuelled!

We finally took off at 13:45, an hour and three-quarters late! An uneventful flight home but we didn’t catch up any time. However, it was a simple exercise getting through the airport and recovering my car. Of course, I was now in the Friday afternoon traffic, and it took much longer to get home than I expected.

I dug out the presents to the LGND and took them round. She was absolutely delighted and named the cuddly bunny glove puppet “Sparkles”, because she couldn’t decide if it was male or female and that name could be either.

Well, that was a most enjoyable cruise made better by the excellent weather, good service and the food onboard. The only fly in the ointment was the inability of Malta to handle the number of people coming through the airport on the way in and on the way out. My next cruise is to the Caribbean over Christmas and the New Year.

All Photos were taken by WorthingGooner and are his copyright.
 

© text & images WorthingGooner 2024