Image generated using GROK AI
Willie put his spoon down in his saucer and said, “That lunch was lush.” At Izzy’s suggestion the twins had eaten lightly, skipping a starter, had a chicken salad baguette and then chocolate ice cream for dessert. Jinnie smiled; she and Izzy had shared a chicken korma for two and it had been delicious. She was happy to be on board again and to be able to enjoy a coffee after a meal, then just get up and walk away.
As they walked out of the restaurant the announcement came that the staterooms were ready. As usual, their cruise cards were in their post racks and once in the suites they found invitations to the sail away party with a free drink, the ship’s programme for the day, a letter from the captain welcoming them aboard, and an invitation to a special lunch for returning suites passengers.
Within a few minutes of being in the suites the butler arrived, introduced himself and asked if there was anything he could do for them and did they want him to unpack for them. Jinnie and Izzy opted to do the unpacking for everyone but asked for the connecting doors on the balconies to unlock, which the twins immediately made use of, rushing between suites. Willie stood on the balcony fascinated by the activity on the dockside, with cages full of luggage being forklifted into the stem of the ship and pallets of food and drink going on at the stern. The forklift trucks seemed to be doing a crazy dance, but somehow they didn’t crash into each other.
Eventually their cases arrived, so Jinnie and Izzy did the unpacking while Paolo took the twins to register at the Reef for Surfers. The Reef Ranger registering the twins told them that, being the school holidays, there were expected to be a lot of children on board, adding, “It was a good job they had come early as they could only sign up a fixed number, and latecomers might not be registered.” The twins were shocked; they couldn’t imagine cruising without being able to go to the Reef.
Back in the cabin Willie went out on the balcony to check on dockside activity and reported back that it was very quiet; he only saw one luggage cage coming aboard. Izzy said, “That’s because the ship is getting ready to sail, we are supposed to sail at five thirty and it’s gone five, I expect all the passengers are on board.” Jinnie asked, “Are we all going up to Deck 18 to watch the sail away?” From high up on the Panorama Deck the twins watched as the rope handlers freed the mooring lines until there were only two left. The ship’s hooter made the twins jump as three short blasts sounded. The last ropes were let go and Arvia pushed off the dockside and backed out into the Solent.
The ship swung gently to starboard until it was pointing downriver. Slowly the ship started to move forward, and it was soon sailing past a ship still docked at another terminal. The twins jumped again when the ships hooted at each other. Paolo explained that the other ship was the Queen Anne, and it was a Cunard ship, and it was at the Queen Elizabeth II Terminal. Cunard and P&O were both owned by Carnival, so that was a friendly greeting. It was rather nice in the evening sun, heading down the river to the sea, watching the sailing ships and the Isle of Wight ferries, until Jinnie said, “Come on gang, it’s nearly time for dinner, we have a table booked in the Meridian Restaurant for six fifteen.”
There was a very short queue to get into the restaurant that had two lines, one for people who had made a booking and one for those that didn’t. Paolo gave the receptionist their cabin number and said they had booked a shared table. The receptionist looked at the computer and said, “I have a table of six for you by the window,” printed out a ticket with the table number on it and handed it to the waiter who led them to the table.
The twins knew the routine and were quickly seated and looking at the menu. Willie said, “This is easy, tomato soup, shepherd’s pie, and ice cream.” Jinnie shook her head and said, “You two certainly know what you like.” When the waiter took the order for the starter and main course he explained that the shepherd’s pie came in its own bowl and was quite a large serving. Willie replied, “Good, we like shepherd’s pie,” amusing the adults.
Millie was just a little slower than Willie finishing her mixed ice cream and said, “Mummy, why have you got three scoops of ice cream and we only got two.” “I guess it’s because the waiter doesn’t know you two are ice cream monsters,” Jinnie replied. “Next time you order ice cream I suggest you ask for three scoops. Now I am going to have a cup of coffee. Are you two going to have hot chocolate.” The twins looked at each other and, without speaking, Willie said, “Can we have a cup of tea please.” “Of course,” said Jinnie. As Izzy was supervising preparations for bed, Willie said, “We like having dinner in the restaurant, it’s a bit like eating at Uncle Alberto’s but the menu is different every night.” “It’s not quite as posh,” said Izzy. “But it is a bit posh,” said Millie.
***
The next day was a sea day as the ship came out of the channel and turned to edge around the Bay of Biscay. Being suite passengers, the party had a table allocated in the Epicurean for breakfast. The twins rather liked this because on the first day of the cruise the table they got was theirs for the duration of the cruise. Consequently, they were in a hurry to get to breakfast as soon as the restaurant opened and had everyone waiting outside a couple of minutes before the doors opened. The receptionist remembered them from their Christmas cruise and suggested they pick the table they liked best. The delighted twins went straight to a table for six in a corner where there was a big window to one side, a solid wall behind and a view of the restaurant on the other two sides.
Their waiter took the order which of course was Rice Krispies and boiled egg for the twins. Jinnie congratulated the twins on picking an excellent table and Millie said, “We remembered this one from Christmas and we wanted to sit here, it is the best table in the restaurant.” Jinnie said to Paolo, “I think that is right, even if you sit with your back to the restaurant you have a view out of the window.”
The twins hurried their breakfast and were impatient for Paolo to finish his toast and marmalade as they didn’t want to chance Surfers being full. Izzy explained that they were registered for both today’s morning and afternoon session so they were definitely in, but the twins weren’t quite as sure. Paolo and Jinnie went to get loungers by the Skydome Pool, as the roof was open. Izzy took the twins to the Reef and promised to pick them up for lunch.
***
The twins arrived for their hot dogs and chips full of their morning. One of the Rangers had read them a pirate story, and it had been ‘Ace’. Then they had made pirate hats and eyepatches and this afternoon they were all going to dress up as pirates and go on a pirates treasure hunt. Jinnie chuckled at little pirates searching the Reef for ‘treasure’. Jinnie and Paolo popped into the buffet to get artisan sandwiches and coffee for the adults while the twins sat on their loungers eating their lunch.
Jinnie came back with a chicken salad sandwich in crusty white bread for herself and an egg salad sandwich for Izzy. Paolo had a hot roast beef and English mustard sandwich and a holder with three paper cups of coffee. Izzy looked up from watching the twins eat and said, “Gosh that looks good.” Jinnie answered, “I was delighted to see a queue for sandwiches, but the servers were keeping it moving quickly. Considering this is a sea day in the school holidays, I can’t imagine it could possibly get any busier and they were coping well. The selection was impressive; it was just like one of our restaurants. Once I’ve eaten my lunch I’m going to message Brooke and tell her what I think.”
Willie couldn’t take his eye off the egg sandwich and asked, “Mummy, did they have big soft baps, I would like that egg salad in a bap and a big chocolate chip cookie.” Millie nodded enthusiastically, “That would be lush.” Jinnie said, “Well you could have that instead of a hot dog or burger another day and there is a cookie station in the buffet where there are half a dozen types of giant cookie to choose from.” “We might have a sandwich tomorrow,” said Willie.
***
That evening was the first of four dress nights, and the twins were really looking forward to it as they got the chance to dress up in new clothes that mummy had bought them especially. Millie had a new blue dress that she loved and was itching to wear. She had matching shoes and Izzy helped her get it just right, while Willie had his shower. Izzy said, “Now you look beautiful, but I have something that will make you look even better.” From her pocket she produced a clip-on hair bow that was exactly the same shade of blue as her new dress. Izzy gathered her hair at the back and clipped in the bow. Millie studied herself in the full-length mirror and said, “I love it.”
Millie withdrew to the lounge area to read her Kindle; it was a story about a girl who adopted a baby hedgehog and fed it kitten food. It was good. Izzy helped Willie get his new suit on, it was black and had long trousers and he thought it made him look grown up. He had a white shirt, and mummy had bought him a new blue and white striped tie where the blue was the same shade of blue as Millie’s dress. Izzy picked up the tie and said, “This is nice, but I think this is better,” producing an elasticated bow tie in the same blue as Millie’s dress. She ran the tie under his shirt collar and clipped it together, adjusted it until it was perfect and then helped him into his jacket saying, “Gosh don’t you look handsome”.
The twins walked hand in hand into their parents’ suite where Jinnie was putting the last touches to her makeup. Seeing the movement in the mirror she turned and was presented with her children standing just inside the door to the balcony grinning from ear to ear. “Oh my,” said Jinnie, “You two look so good and I love your bow and bow tie. Where did they come from?” “Izzy gave them to us,” said Millie. “She is just too good to you two. Where is she, I must thank her,” said Jinnie.
Izzy said, “I’m here,” stepping into the suite from the balcony, “don’t they look wonderful.” “And so do you,” said Jinnie. “Thank you so much for those little extras, they look fantastic.” Turning she called, “Paolo, the twins and Izzy are here, come and see them.” Paolo walked out of the bathroom, putting on his dress suit jacket, grumbling about his bow tie. He stopped in his tracks, looked at everyone and said, “I’m amazed, is that my twins, I nearly didn’t recognise you. Where are your normal shorts and T shirts. Don’t move, I want a photo on my phone.”
Jinnie said, “I have an idea. I read in Horizon that the ship’s photographers were taking official pictures in the atrium this evening, if we go now we could have a family photo. We could hang it on the wall in the living room. If we go now we might have time to have a photo taken before our dinner booking.” “Oh yes please Mummy,” said Millie, “We’ve never had a posh photo.” “What about that one at Izzy’s wedding,” said Jinnie. “That wasn’t a family photo, that was a wedding photo with lots of other people in it,” answered Willie.
The family found the photographer and his assistant had set up in the ship’s atrium to take photos using one of the sweeping staircases that allowed the smaller children to stand on a higher step to better frame the photo. The assistant saw them approach and asked if they wanted to be photographed. Paolo said, “Yes please,” and Paolo, Jinnie and the twins were quickly posed on the stairs, and the photographer was about to take his first picture when Jinnie said, “This is not right, Izzy should be here, she is an important part of this family.”
Izzy was added to the group, and the photographer took several photos. As they moved away the assistant handed them a card with a number on it and said, “If you go to the Photo Gallery after your meal and enter this number into one of the screens you can look through the photos, select any you like and have them printed at the size of your choice. The cost of each photo is clearly displayed, and the total will be charged to your cabin account and the photos delivered within twenty four hours.”
The restaurant receptionist directed them to the same table as the previous evening and said, “I have put you down for the same table every night, I shouldn’t really, but it is easier when you have dinner early like this.” The twins had their rolls, glasses of iced water, and serviettes and took the menu and had quickly had their heads together selecting their dishes. The waiter said to Jinnie, “Are your children happy with the main menu tonight or should I bring them the children menu?” Willie looked up and said, “We’re used to posh menus, thank you.” It was all Jinnie could do not to laugh.
After a discussion with Izzy over what some of the dishes were they decided to have the amuse-bouche as they remembered it was just a tiny glass of juice. The starter came next and they opted for mango and orange ceviche which Izzy explained meant it was chopped up and marinated in orange juice and lime juice with a sauce on it made from almond. They agreed it was super yummy.
Then came the soup, disappointingly it was not tomato but French onion and Jinnie remembered that at Christmas it came with a giant cheese crouton which the twins didn’t like, so she asked the waiter to leave it off. They said it was quite good, but tomato was better. For their main course they chose a roast pork fillet, a fondant potato, a cabbage parcel and crackling. Izzy had pan-fried salmon and Jinnie and Paolo had beef Wellington. The twins told Izzy it had been between the pork and the beef, but it had been the crackling that had decided it.
Finally, the twins chose mixed ice cream, very cherry, cookie dough and vanilla. Willie said, “That dinner was good, I’m stuffed.” Jinnie said, “In that case you won’t want your chocolate truffles with your cup of tea.” “I think I can eat it; chocolate goes down a different hole,” replied Willie.
They walked back through the ship to the photo gallery and Willie quickly grabbed a terminal, quickly logged in using the code and was soon whizzing through the menus and had the photos up on the screen. Jinnie looked at the thumbnails and liked what she saw. She asked Willie to pull up the photos one by one, and the adults decided which ones they liked best. In the end they decided to buy half a dozen of what they considered to be the best as prints and everyone digitally on a USB drive so they could print off as many photos and what size they wanted when home.
***
The following day the twins were up early again, washed and dressed and watching from their balcony as Arvia edged into A Coruña in northern Spain. Izzy came through the open connecting door from her balcony and stood with them watching as the ship spun one hundred and eighty degrees on the spot and backed into her dock. The rope handlers had retrieved the throwing lines and were pulling the first mooring ropes when Jinnie joined them on the sunny balcony. She told them it was time for breakfast and their half-day excursion departed soon after.
The family assembled on the quayside and were issued with wristbands before being led to their coach. The bus set off on a quick tour of the town and stopped at a car park at the bottom of a hill at the top of which was a tall building which the courier said was the Tower of Hercules. She explained that the tower was originally built in the first century AD as a lighthouse, but was rebuilt in 1757 on the same site but had now been replaced by a modern lighthouse. She then told them that there were two local myths. The first one was that Hercules battled a giant on the site as one of his seven tasks. After three days and three nights Hercules won and cut off the giant’s head which is buried in the foundations of the tower.
The courier then led them to a huge statue at the bottom of the road that led up to the tower. She explained that the statue was of King Breogán, the king who founded the Celtic kingdom of Galicia. She told them that the second myth was that the king took his two sons to the top of the tower from where they saw a green land far away. His sons vowed to visit the land which was Ireland and it was them that made Ireland a Celtic nation. The twins said, “That’s silly you can’t see Ireland it’s too far away.”
The twins took photos on their phones, before deciding that they didn’t have enough time to climb the hill and go up the tower before the coach was ready to leave, instead they had ice creams from a kiosk and sat in the sun eating them. The coach then took them past the town beach, and the twins were amazed, it went on for miles and appeared to be perfect sand to dig in. But they didn’t stop as the coach took them to the whole point of the excursion, the aquarium. They were turned free to wander the displays but told to gather at the big outdoor pool at midday for the feeding of the seals. Immediately after they were to head back to the coach, it was leaving for the ship at twelve forty.
The twins wandered round the various tanks to view the fish and weren’t terribly excited; they had been told not to miss the shark in a tank in the basement, but it was a huge disappointment as it was only about 3 feet long and nothing like the man-eater they expected. Jinnie hadn’t realised that all the labels describing the content of each tank were first in Spanish and then in French. It was only when she heard a fellow cruise ship passenger say that they wished they had been told there was no English signage when they booked the excursion, as they wouldn’t have bothered, that Jinnie realised that even the twins had been reading the French as second nature.
They were ready at a good vantage point when the staff arrived to feed the seals. One keeper walked out onto a jetty carrying a bucket of fish and proceeded to throw five seals one fish each, before walking away. Willie turned to his mother and asked, “Is that it?” Seeing the keeper leaving the enclosure with an empty bucket, Jinnie answered, “It looks like it.” While Paolo said, “I think the seals are on a diet.” On the short trip back to the ship Millie said loudly, “I think this is the worst excursion ever. The only good thing was the ice cream at the tower.”
It was lunchtime when they got back and everyone went for a sandwich; the twins had their threatened sliced hard-boiled egg and tomato in a big soft buttered bap and a three chocolate chip cookie that was still warm from the oven. Paolo found a table at the back of the buffet, where it wasn’t at all busy, to sit and eat, and Izzy got a drinks waiter to bring the twins a Pepsi Max each, with no ice, you got more Pepsi that way.
Willie licked a finger and used it to pick up the few crumbs of the cookie from his plate, before saying, “That was good, we might have that again another day.” His sister nodded enthusiastically and said, “It’s as good as a cheeseburger, but not quite as good as a hot dog with a load of fried onions.” Now it was Willie’s turn to nod. Jinnie said, “Did you learn to wet your finger to pick up crumbs at school, because it’s not something you’d do in a good restaurant.” A grinning Willie replied, “But this is the buffet, it’s got some nice food, but it’s not a posh restaurant.” Jinnie turned to Paolo and said, “We are bringing up a pair of restaurant critics.” “What’s a restaurant critic,” asked Millie. “Someone who goes to restaurants and tries the food and then writes about it in a newspaper or on the internet,” replied Izzy.
“Wow,” said Willie, “do they get paid to eat?” “Not directly,” answered Izzy, “they usually try to look like ordinary customers, so they don’t get special treatment. They pay for their dinner, but they get paid for the articles they write. Some get to be quite famous, appear on TV and get invited when a famous chef opens a new restaurant.” The twins looked at each other and nodded before Willie said, “We think we would like to be critics and write about our dinner.” Jinnie said, “Well I can see your report now, the famous restaurant critics the De Luka twins, the tomato soup was good, the spaghetti bolognese was lush, and the chocolate ice cream was excellent. You must eat all sorts of different food and write about it in an entertaining way. You two would have to broaden the range of things you eat and be especially good at spelling and writing and languages. Many restaurants have their menu in French or Italian.”
“We are good at French and Italian,” said Millie, “but would we have to try snails and horse?” “Possibly,” replied Jinnie, “but I thought you wanted to be spies.” A grin spread across Willie’s face before he said, “We could be the world’s first restaurant critic spies,” and was surprised when all the adults laughed out loud.
***
The next two days were sea days, with the second being another formal night. The twins were happy as they spent as much time as possible in the Reef where they played games, were read to, met Wallace and Gromit and had a swimming party. When the twins were occupied it was good for the adults; they could relax by the pool and concentrate on their tans. The only time they had to think about the twins was mealtimes, and they were easy.
The twins had obviously taken on board what Jinnie had said about having to be more adventurous with their choice of dinner, as they tried some different dishes which they admitted were mostly good and one or two were excellent.
The next stop was Malaga and the twins asked to go to the beach. Jinnie checked the recommendations on her iPad, and they agreed to get a cab and to go down the coast ten km or so to what was described as the fishing village of Benalmadena. After a leisurely breakfast the party made for the taxi queue and negotiated a return trip to a good child-friendly beach and the driver took them to a lovely beach with perfect sand, loungers and umbrellas and several places for lunch. The driver got half the round-trip fare, and the promise of the rest and a decent tip when he picked them up in good time to get back to the ship.
The twins dug in the sand, splashed in the sea, tried Spanish ice cream which was lush, had hamburgers and chips for lunch which were good, played in the sea with mummy and daddy and, despite liberal applications of factor fifty, caught the sun. The taxi turned up exactly where and when promised and on the way back to the ship the twins declared they had a great day, they liked the Spanish beach. Jinnie could see the taxi driver grinning.
***
The next morning the ship arrived in Alicante and docked at the cruise terminal while they were eating breakfast in the Epicurean. About 08:30 the Captain announced that passengers were free to go ashore and that the ‘all aboard’ time was 16:30 for a 17:00 sailing. Jinnie said to the twins, “You know we have decided to go to the San Juan Beach this morning. Should we stay all day or come back for lunch and then you can go to the club this afternoon.”
The twins had a quick discussion and agreed to have a morning on the beach and an egg and tomato sandwich lunch, then they could go to Surfers in the afternoon. Wallace and Gromit were appearing, and they were going to show a Wallace and Gromit film. When they checked out from the ship Millie loved putting her cruise card on the reader, seeing her picture come up on the security officer’s screen and an automated voice saying, “Goodbye”. She always giggled all the way down the gangway onto the dockside.
The family walked past the queues for the excursions, the shuttle buses into town and joined the short taxi queue. The driver dropped them on the promenade and pointed out the taxi rank for their return trip. The twins were impressed, as far as they could see was a wide, soft white sand beach with tiny waves lapping it. They walked a little way along the prom to a less crowded area, paid for loungers and umbrellas and the twins set about digging in the sand and splashing in the sea.
As lunch approached Jinnie rounded up the twins, who left their excavations to several other children who had joined in to help, and headed to the taxi rank and back to the ship. The twins got their wish, sliced hard-boiled egg and tomato baps, a giant chocolate chip cookie and a Pepsi Max. Then it was off to the Reef while the adults lazed by the Skydome pool.
Chapter Seventeen, The Camp Nou
© WorthingGooner 2026
