No sooner has one blog ended than the next one begins. This one is a little different in that we are on a cruise. However, it is not that different as I am way behind in putting e-pen to e-paper and Val and I have already sailed across the Atlantic, been to Florida and are now on our way to St. Kitts – or are we? For this has been a rather unusual voyage in many ways….
Let me explain.

First of all, we were meant to be sailing for 65 days round South America from 3rd January, 2018, but surprise, surprise, Caroline (our youngest for the uninitiated) and her partner Nick (you remember, in the other blogs) are only expecting their first child and more significantly for us, our first grandchild on or about 20th January. So there was no way we were going to miss that, so a change was needed. We managed to swap our cruise for two cruises, the one we are on and another one next year.

So that was the first change, but more was to come. Remember Hurricane Irma? Well it seemed to have booked much the same itinerary as our cruise so even before arriving at Southampton we were already rescheduled with Dominica, Tortola and the British and US Virgin Islands suffering too much for us even to be able to dock.

Anyway, we did make it to Southampton and boarded the P and O cruise liner, Adonia. And so our story begins….

Saturday, 14th October, 2017

The ship is very nice, being the smallest in the P&O fleet with 710 passengers (almost exclusively British) and about 350 crew. This means that it maybe does not have quite as much in the way of facilities as some of the bigger ship, but not surprisingly it is a bit more intimate and you do start to get to recognise many of the other guests and staff. It is also easier to find your way about though there is still the odd occasion when you head aft instead of forward. Note my expanding nautical terminology!

More on our daily life soon. First, we came on board very smoothly (nod and thanks to Chris for the lift to Southampton) and were delighted to discover that we had been upgraded to a cabin with a balcony, which was a nice surprise. The cabins are cleverly designed and there is a surprisingly large amount of storage and whilst I do have to step out of the bathroom to dry my hair, we have settled in well.

We went on deck for the sail-away with flags and music and made our way out slowly through the Southampton Roads and past the Isle of Wight and on our way to the Atlantic and our voyage to the Caribbean.

Now, I mentioned that this trip has had its ups and downs and we discovered almost immediately that there was to be a change in itinerary due to the weather and that our visit to Horta in the Azores had had to be cancelled and that instead we would call in to Bilbao in northern Spain. This was a shame, but such is the nature of cruising and I for one was keen to see Bilbao. We made our way through the Bay of Biscay, thankfully relatively calm considering it is a notorious body of water that always seems to feature heavily in all the nautical tales I have read.

Before we reached Bilbao, we settled in to our onboard routine. If you have read the blog before you will know that a table tennis table is an absolute necessity to any of our holidays and we were pleased to find two on board. We soon found other enthusiasts and have become keen participants in the daily doubles competition. An alternative is to lounge by the pool…….

Another significant moment in a cruise is the moment you discover who your dinner companions are for the next few weeks. You have a choice of going to the cafeteria/buffet or the sit-down more formal dinner in the dining room. We opted for the latter, first sitting of two and arrived in our smart casual clothes (the required dress code) at our table of 8 and met the first couple, who hailed from Scotland. A few minutes later, we met the next couple, also from…….Scotland. The fourth couple weren’t there on the first evening, but did appear on the second and, yes, you guessed it, they too were from Scotland. You can almost feel evolution at work as our ears become attuned to the accents, some of which are pretty strong, but we are coping well and have become a very happy band of dining brothers and sisters.

Monday, 16th October, 2017

More on life on board in due course, but first our day in Bilbao.

We docked and made our way ashore with our first stop the Guggenheim gallery. Unfortunately, the cruise being what it is, this was Monday, so it was, of course shut! Still, it is very impressive from the outside and we walked round it snapping away, including the large floral dog out the front.

The city itself is very attractive with some fine old buildings most with a solar or mirador (is that the right word?) and some nice pedestrian only streets and a nice looking river.

The cathedral was also worth a visit with some lovely cloisters.

And the Piazza Nueva was also very attractive with some great eateries where we sampled some tapas-like delicacies.

And the theatre and even the railway station were impressive.

All in all a very pleasant visit. I can recommend it.

Right, to confuse you yet further, I am now typing this in a restaurant in Grenada (as in Grenayda) in the Caribbean on Sunday, 6th November. CORRECTION, I am now typing this in St Kitts on our second visit and it is 10th November! That is how far I am behind with the blog, but I will try to catch up soon, promise. Anyway, I will publish this now to get the ball rolling.