WG’s Summer Cruise, June 2026 – Part Three

Sunday 14th June – At sea, off southern Portugal and into the Mediterranean

When your intrepid diarist woke, it was still dark, but a tap on my iPad screen revealed it was 06:45. Then I remembered the clocks had gone forward an hour during the night, and I had set my watch, iPad and iPhone to what was described as “Barcelona Time” before going to sleep. As it’s a sea day, breakfast is back to 08:00 today, so I have plenty of time to wash and dress.

When I left the cabin, it was eerily quiet, even the cabin steward wasn’t to be seen, but his cart was parked two cabins down. Anyway, I stuck the magnetic “Gone Exploring” sign on the door frame, the door is made of wood, and headed for the lift. Still nobody about, and the lift was empty. Still no one as I walked the length of deck 2 to the Meridian restaurant, where I was relieved to see the doors were open and the MDR reception desk was manned. I was allocated a sharing table, and the girl whispered, “it is very quiet this morning, it usually is after putting the clocks on. So, I have put you on a six, it will fill more quickly”.

I was guided to the sharing table for six through a sparsely occupied MDR and found two ladies already there. As I sat down, a man who has been on the same breakfast table as me on two previous occasions slid in next to me. The waiter took having a table two thirds full as a hint to bring around the breakfast menus and start serving tea and coffee. Then another lady arrived, and that was time to start taking breakfast orders. Today, being Sunday, I have decided on my normal Orange Juice, Tea and Square Toast, but the cooked part is going to be Fried Egg, Bacon, Sausage, Hash Browns and Beans. For you beanists, they come in a ramekin.

Fully replenished, it’s back to my cabin to pick up my iPhone and Kindle. I put my phone on charge earlier, as it was down to 36% battery. It is displaying a message saying “Optimised battery charging engaged, your battery will be fully charged by 17:00”. As it is only 10 am, I resort to Google to find out what “Optimised Battery Charging” is. Apparently, it stops charging at 80% to increase battery life and can be turned off in settings, so I have turned it off. I have an iPhone Ten, it’s an old phone, and if its battery starts playing silly bugger, I will trade it in for a new iPhone.

Despite it still being overcast, it is warm, the TV tells me it is 25° and well warm enough to sit on the balcony. There is, however, a breeze, mainly due to the ship doing 17 knots, so I will continue with my Black Magic story while the ship turns eastward into the Straits of Gibraltar.

I popped down to the Lido deck, one below my cabin on the Sun Deck. Most of the decks are named after countries or their purpose. For example, deck one is Australia Deck, deck 3 is the Promenade Deck, 5 is Egypt, 9 is Lido and 10 is Sun Deck. On the Lido deck, not only is the main pool but the Spa, the Neptune Grill, which serves hot dogs, burgers and fries from 11:00 to 18:00 every day, the Neptune Bar, and the Horizon Buffet, for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and midnight snacks. But next to the Neptune Grill is a chilled counter where, at lunchtime, they serve an assortment of filled rolls and trays of salad stuff so you can make your own salad or filled roll. Today I headed there and picked up a mayo chicken and an egg salad roll. I found my seat and, catching the attention of a passing waiter, I decided that today I would have a Thatcher’s Gold cider for a change. A most enjoyable light lunch.

Back to the cabin for more sun, reading and views of North Africa. My cabin is on the starboard side of the ship, so I will only see the Rock of Gibraltar if I can be bothered to go out on deck at about 13:15, and I can’t be bothered, I’ve seen it before. A lovely afternoon on the balcony, reading, writing chapter 6 of Jinnie Book 10 and snoozing. This is the life and why I am quite happy when it’s a sea day. I popped back into the cabin about 16:30 to make a mug of tea and grab a couple of biscuits. The cabin is well equipped!

After sitting outside in the warm, I was a little sweaty, so it was most enjoyable to have a shower before dinner. Back to 7 on the table tonight, the man who missed the first two evenings but was with us for the second two was missing again. I understand that he is 92, so I do hope he is not ill again, as he was on the first two evenings. Tonight is a casual dress evening, so it’s a three-course menu. Pastry crusted duck pate to start, followed by beef bourguignon, and as I was a bit full, just three scoops of vanilla ice cream. So far, I have not had a bad meal.

Of course, it was a night cap in the Crow’s Nest before bed.

Monday 15th June – Alicante, Spain

It is many years since I set foot in Alicante, I think it must have been on a trip while staying in Benidorm when in my early 20’s. We backed into the dock so we can make a straightforward exit this evening, the docks are not wide enough or deep enough to do a 180° turn, hence the manoeuvres are carried out at sea first.

As it’s a port day, breakfast in the MDR starts at 07:30, but when I arrived, arrived just after, it was sparsely populated. I was shown to a six, and it must have been ten minutes before there were 5 at the table, and the waiter thought that enough to start taking orders. Back to my regular breakfast this morning, orange juice, Rice Krispies, a mushroom omelette, square toast and a minimum of three cups of tea. A pleasant chat over breakfast with people I had either breakfasted with or met before.

I have not booked an excursion today, nothing took my fancy. It’s a twenty minute walk into the city centre, so I think it’s a stroll to the first bar, a beer and a bit of people watching. Mind you, Spanish bars are not renowned for opening early, so I’m in no hurry to go ashore. I might just get on with Jinnie on the beautiful sunny morning. So, I set out on a stroll off the ship along the break water we were moored at and out of the port onto the road into town in the warm sun, after walking for a good quarter of an hour I came to an open bar that looked quite decent. So, I sat in the shade with a cold draught beer. I have no idea of the brand, but it was cold, wet and more of a lager than a British beer, but quite decent. After about half an hour of watching many people I assumed were from Arcadia walk by, I had recovered enough to head back to the ship.

For lunch I headed up to the Neptune Grill, collected a hot dog and fries, found a table in the shade by the unusually quiet Neptune Pool and bought a cold bottle of Doom Bar and enjoyed my lunch. After which I returned to my balcony, which was now in the shade, and got on with chapter 7 of Jinnie’s Story Book Ten.

As it was nearing time for dinner, I went for my customary shave and shower, followed by a short lie down before preparing for dinner. A casual night tonight, and for once I remembered to take my Metformin with me and didn’t have to return to the cabin to take them after dinner. I started reading the menu and wasn’t impressed by the starters, so it was my old standby tomato soup for the first time this cruise, and it was as good as I remembered it. Now the main course was a more difficult choice, as there were several things fancied. In the end I had a P&O mixed grill, and it was an excellent choice, comprising lamb cutlet, a small steak, a sausage, chips, grilled tomato, peas and sautéed mushrooms. For dessert I honestly could have eaten and enjoyed any of the six options, but I chose key lime pie on a chocolate pastry crust. It came with a blob of whipped cream, but I asked for a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and it was superb.

Of course, it was all washed down by a lovely hot cup of tea before I trudged the length of the ship and up 7 decks to the Crows Nest for my night cap.

Tuesday 16th June – At sea, crossing from Spain to Italy

I woke up this morning and looked out of my balcony window and found it completely covered in condensation on the outside. I guess it was humid overnight and the glass was chilled by the cabin air conditioning. Down to breakfast, and I was put on a table for 8 with five people I have breakfasted with before. My normal start of my breakfast, orange juice, Rice Krispies, square toast and tea, but the cooked course today was scrambled eggs and bacon.

It has turned into a beautiful morning, so with a flat calm sea, warm sunshine and what they call on board “light airs”. So, it’s the balcony and catching up on this journal and writing a bit more of Jinnie Book 10. I went to lunch but realised that my iPad had got down to just 35% charge, so I put it on charge and went off to get a bit of lunch. Today it was a couple of egg mayonnaise white rolls and a Doom Bar. Then back to my balcony, where it is still in the sun. Apparently we are heading to the north of Corsica and then east towards Livorno, arriving at about 07:30 tomorrow morning.

A lovely easy afternoon, but it another black-tie formal evening, so I must drag out the dress suit again tonight. I hate getting ready, but I usually enjoy the special meal. I wonder what is on the menu tonight. Tonight it’s an amuse bouche, pate for a starter, French onion soup, which is always good, and a steak, by which time I could only make space for a bowl of ice cream. The good thing about formal nights is chocolate petite fours with the after-dinner tea or coffee.

Then it’s up to the Crows nest for a night cap before bed.

Wednesday 17th June – Livorno, Italy

This is the port for trips to Pisa, of leaning tower fame, or Florence, which is much further away. The first time I was here was probably 8 or 9 years ago, and I went to Pisa and somewhat enjoyed the sights. Last time I went to Florence, and it was breathtakingly beautiful. This time I fancied something that didn’t involve hours of coach travel. So I opted for something a bit closer to the ship, called Livorno Sightseeing and Canal Cruise. It was shown as departing at 09:30 and back at 11:30.

As it’s a port day, breakfast starts at 07:30, and as I was awake early, I was there shortly after. Today it was my normal Rice Krispies and a mushroom omelette, and as usual the omelette was perfect. The man sitting next to me had a boiled egg, and I thought of Jinnie’s twins and wondered if he would make soldiers out of his toast, but I am sorry to say he didn’t. I have now got into the habit of remembering to take my pills down to breakfast so I can swill them down with orange juice. They tend to dissolve when taken with hot tea, and that can be rather nasty.

They ask you to get to the excursion coach 10 minutes before departure. This is not always easy to achieve. At Lisbon it took a good 10 minutes to walk to the coach once you left the ship. A walk that involved an airbridge, a walk along a long, elevated walkway, down an escalator, through the terminal building and across a coach park. Today is down a very short gangway and onto a coach parked only perhaps ten metres away. Today, a quarter of an hour before the departure time scheduled, the coach was rammed and I had to walk nearly to the back to get a seat.

It was about a twenty-minute ride to where we picked up our open-air canal cruise boat. I can only describe it as not dissimilar to a ship’s lifeboat you see in 1950’s films. We chugged off down the canal looking at all the old churches and warehouses that were now flats. If I had a pound for every time the guide said “This was bombed flat during the war but rebuilt in the old style”, I would be a rich man. Eventually we came round in a full circle back to the starting point, but from the opposite direction we had set off from.

We then followed the guide, past the above statue, on a walk to the indoor market and a free cup of quite decent coffee. The big aim of this stop was to sell jars of what was described as pistachio cream. I had a tiny sample and found it not to my taste. Then it was a walk through the outdoor market back to the coach and the ship, where we were a full hour behind time. But at least we only had a few yards to walk to the gangway, and P&O had set up a cold-water station with seats in the shade for anyone needing rehydration.

An easy afternoon catching up on this journal before dinner. Another casual evening as it was a port day. There are four formal nights on this 19-day cruise, and the next is on the next sea day, the day after tomorrow. It is also the Baltic lunch day, so I expect to eat so much lunch I might just skip the formal night. An interesting menu this evening, only a choice of two starters that I fancied the description of, pate or the old reliable tomato soup. So, I had the pate as I can have the soup any day. Then it was peri peri chicken, something I have never seen on a P&O menu before. It came with a tomato and onion salad and was quite delicious. For dessert I had something I wasn’t sure what I was getting, but the menu talked about fresh raspberries, sponge and cream, so I opted for that with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Well, all I can say is the dessert was nothing like I envisaged. It consisted of an individual plain sponge pudding with a well in the top filled with raspberry purée, a semi-circle of whipped cream dots that got increasingly bigger and a small jug of custard. It was very nice but not at all what I expected. Tea to finish, and as it was about ten to ten I shot off to watch England play Croatia. By the time I got to the pub, the Rising Sun, it was standing room only. So I made a strategic decision to forego a night cap and watch the game from the comfort of my cabin.

Thursday 18th June – Civitavecchia, Italy

Civitavecchia is not far from Livorno, and we picked up the pilot about 04:30 and were alongside what the Officer of the Watch called the “Northern Mole” by 06:00. But as I didn’t wake up until 06:30 I was unaware of any of this until it was reported with the “free to go ashore” announcement just after 07:30 when I was sitting down to breakfast. I had my normal orange juice, tea, Rice Krispies, mushroom omelette and square toast and enjoyed it as I do every morning.

Today’s excursion is not to Rome, I can’t sit in a coach for two hours there, walk around for 5 hours in 37° heat and the two hours back. I have done it before when I was young and stupid, but I am now old and sensible. I am off to the ancient walled hill town of Tarquinia, that was founded in 600 BC. It’s 20 minutes by coach and the trip leaves at a civilised 10:00 hours and is due back at 12:30, so I can get lunch when I get back.

When we reached Tarquinia, the coach pulled behind a trolley train, the sort of thing you see at the seaside doing sightseeing trips, and we all transferred. Tarquinia is a wonderful old town, with narrow cobbled streets, ancient city walls, castles and churches. The town was too big to walk around and the streets too narrow for a coach. The trolley train was perfect. We stopped 3 times for photos and finally at a lovely shady park where the coach would pick us up later, but not until we had all been given a voucher for ice cream from a cafe. From about 20 flavours of ice cream, I chose lemon and it was fabulous, a quick look around the shops which were proper local shops and not tourist traps and a rest on a bench in the park before a ride through the Tuscan countryside back to the ship. I rather enjoyed this trip, it was far better than yesterday’s.

One little oddity, we were told to take our passports with us today as we would need them to be allowed on the dockside to board the ship. Of course, there were people on the trip who knew better and took photocopies or the boarding passes we had used in Southampton, but the gate security was strict. I saw several couples with the wrong paperwork and security was letting one go to get their passports from their cabin while the other was detained as a hostage.

We were back from the trip in time for lunch, which today was a hamburger and a beer. A pleasant afternoon on my balcony watching ferries and container ships coming in and out of this busy port and catching up on Jinnie’s story. I am sure you’ll be pleased to know it is now flowing a little better.

Dinner tonight was once again only 7 people on our table for eight. Our 92-year-old man, Maurice, was missing again. This evening I started with minestrone soup, then it was a gammon steak with chips and peas. This always makes me think of a Berni Inn, but the gammon was tender and very tasty. Most of the table went for banana split for dessert. But not me, perhaps I am odd, but I hate bananas and banana flavoured things. It was a good old reliable bowl of vanilla ice cream, followed by my usual cup of strong tea with just a drop of milk. Then it was off to the Crows Nest for my night cap.

Friday 19th June – At Sea heading to Spain

Another beautiful morning with a cloudless sky and calm seas. As it’s a sea day, the Main Dining Room doesn’t open for breakfast until eight. I was down there a minute or two after eight and the MDR was almost empty. Only one person I knew on the table, a man who I have dined with on several occasions, and I have heard all his stories many times, so I took a seat at the far end of the table. My normal breakfast, orange juice, Rice Krispies, omelette and square toast and 3 cups of tea.

It really is rather nice on the balcony this morning, with only a very slight breeze. Apparently we are doing twenty knots and there is a twenty-knot breeze from the stern, so they cancel each other out! Today is the Peninsular Club lunch for the two top tiers, the Baltic and the Ligurian. I made the Baltic a few cruises ago and the lunch is usually a rather decent affair. Unlike formal nights, the dress code is “Casual” and the invitation clearly states jackets are not required, which is a good thing as I don’t have one, except the jacket of my dinner suit.

I arrive at the allotted time of 11:45 for 12:00 noon and there is a huge queue. The only problem with this ship is that, it being adults only, it tends to attract older passengers, of which I am one. The Main Dining Room on Arcadia is spread over two decks, 2 and 3, connected by a glass staircase. Together they seat 1,150 passengers at one time. Normally only the restaurant on deck two opens for lunch, but the deck 3 restaurant is open for today, especially for the club lunch. I am allocated to table 38, an eight, with only seven places taken. To make things a little more special, the Captain and many senior officers are there to greet you as you enter, but officers hosting tables for the lunch disappeared with the advent of COVID and everyone is handed a glass of fizzy white wine they don’t call Champagne.

Strangely, my table, no 38, is being served by my evening set dining waiter and commis waiter. As I sit down behind my name place marker, Won, the very pleasant commis rushed over to say hello and shake out my serviette and place it in my lap. Funny looks from others on the table, so I explain about her being my set dining waitress. While looking at the menu, the iced water arrives as well as the first of many glasses of house red or white wine. I have attached a copy of the menu as I know you like to see what I have to choose from. Today I have the watermelon starter, lemon sorbet, the fillet of beef, medium rare, and tonka bean panna cotta.

Every course was a delight, and the beef was extremely tender. Won knows I always have tea after my meal and served it without asking whether I wanted tea or coffee, again drawing looks from my fellow diners. A delicious meal and I doubt I will want another big meal tonight.

I had only just got back to my cabin after lunch, intending to write up my lunchtime experience, when the ship’s captain came on the tannoy to say that tomorrow’s port, Cartagena in Spain, had been cancelled due to expected high winds. He said the approach to the port was through an “S” shaped channel and the expected wind is “above company limits”. So, it is another day at sea tomorrow and an unexpected added stop at Gibraltar on Sunday.

When it got round to dinner, I was not very hungry, but I went down to dinner anyway. I examined the menu carefully and decided I could manage a bowl of woodland mushroom soup, which was extremely good, and sticky toffee pudding with custard for dessert. On a normal night I would have chosen liver and bacon, chips and peas, but not tonight. A cup of tea and then off for my night cap.

To be continued in Part 4.
 

© WorthingGooner 2026