Dancing At Lunacy

We set off on our belated honeymoon – a cruise around the Mediterranean! We’d booked it rather last minute, so I only had about 3 weeks to get ready, packed etc. I also wasn’t too sure what to expect from a cruise, this being our first one. I did some research on each of our stopping points, and noted the one “must do” in each, and noted them on my phone.
It was an early start – the flight was leaving at 6 am, so I wanted to be at the airport at 4, which meant leaving the house at 3, and setting the alarm for 2 am. It hardly seemed worth going to bed! But we did manage to drag ourselves away from the Queen’s Jubilee concert on telly, and got a few hours sleep.
I didn’t look too bad, given the hour…

Capsule wardrobe items: Gladiator sandals (M&S footglove), cotton turn-up trousers (from an organic cotton place on Lisburn Square that is sadly no longer there), tribal T-shirt (TKMaxx) and light shirt (Craghoppers). Battered old panama hat, and hand luggage which I bought at Banjul airport last time I was coming back from The Gambia. Grey pashmina from my daughter.

We paid £20 for extra legroom, but I found that I really didn’t like being separated from my handbag, which isn’t allowed to be stowed under the seat in front on these over-wing-exit seats.
Palma is a pretty big airport – but then Majorca is still a huge tourist draw for the UK and elsewhere. The Thompson check-in and transfer procedure was very smooth, and we were being welcomed aboard the cavernous Island Escape by about 11.30, heure locale.

Our first experience of the Beachcomber restaurant was pretty good, and I easily fround some grilled fish and salad for lunch. Some reviews had complained about the melamine plates in this restaurant, but that’s to allow you to take your food outside, or to eat by the pool.
We picked up a taxi outside the port, agreed a rate to take us to the cathedral, on my list of Palma musts. Entry to the cathedral costs 6 euro, but it is a stunning, vast cavern of space and light, with the most beautiful brightly coloured stained glass windows.
Leaving the cathedral, we called into a pearl shop – I’d said that I wanted a string of pearls as a honeymoon present, but we weren’t keen to buy anything in the first shop we found. But the assistant was extremely helpful, warning me to guard my handbag in the area round the cathedral, and giving us a map directing us to the little streets of the old town. We had a very pleasant wander of the tiny alleys, settling down to an iced coffee and some people-watching at a cafe on the Placa de Aeulia.
In Spain, Rog usually does the talking, but I managed to dredge my knowledge of Eurovision Nul-Pointers to remember that poor Spanish girl in her striped blue and white tablecloth dress, and recalled the word for boat. So I asked the taxi driver to take us to “la barca grande”. Which he did.
After the compulsory safety briefing (post the Costa Concordia disaster, it is a requirement that all passengers take part in this on their first day), we changed for dinner and decided to treat ourselves to the wine-and-dine package at the Oasis restaurant for £14.99 (all prices on the boat are in sterling). It was delicious.

I wore a sleeveless black dress accessorised with coral jewellery, a coral wrap, and black fancy sandals. Felt very elegant!.

We found a quiet spot on deck to watch as the ship set sail at 11, and glided past the night-time lights of Palma…

Cruise Tip Of The Day: It can take a few hours for your luggage to get to the cabin, so pack a swimsuit and flip-flops, Tshirt and shorts in your hand luggage, so that you can change out of your travelling clothes.

Filed under: travel | Tagged: cruise, island escape, palma |