Roemin Aboat

We took a Celebrity tour to Nicosia the capital of Cyprus today. We visited the old cathedral of St John and saw the checkpoint between the Greek and Turkish sectors of Nicosia. The old city is enclosed in a wall built during the islands Venetian occupation. Its a modern city now with a high student population. Just time for coffee and sandwich in a french cafe before the 90min drive back between the mountains to Limassol. It's been sunny today and we went to the show again. The young energetic cast obviously enjoyed it, but I had no idea what it was all about. Apparently most of the music was Ed Sheeran - which explains it! Good food in the main restaurant as usual but we did need to buy another bottle of wine. Taking advantage of our Elite level perks when we can.

The first sea day spent cruising from Kusadasi to Limmasol on Cyprus. Blue skies and sun on the balcony all afternoon. Talented musicians on board playing in the bars and a matinee performance by Nate Simpson. High energy Motown show by West End artist.

We had an early arrival and took the ships short panoramic tour to Ephesus. We saw the ruins of the Temple of Artemis from 3000BC, the old town of Ephesus from a distance and the virgin Mary statue.  She is believed to have lived and died here along with St John. We had snacks at the handmade carpet factory where we were shown the beautiful, but very expensive work. We had lunch back on board and took a short stroll along the promenade for a photo opportunity with the evening sun making the Infinity look amazing. The photo was taken by a group of German girls on holiday after taking their university finals. 

It rained a lot in the night so we stayed on board, I started the blog and we went to the show. It's dress up smart night. Met Sarah Leanne again I think she is stalking us. The Broadway show was the best we have seen on board a ship. Good well balanced production with energetic and talented performers. The food in the main terrace restaurant is good and the waiters very attentive. The sommelier Sergio is from Ukraine and very amusing.

Overnight rain made a gloomy start to the day. We walked to the iconic White Tower of Thessaloniki along the long promenade, stopping for a photo opportunity at Aristotle's statue (he was born in the old town, many moons ago). We had a coffee and a plate of mixed starters for lunch to support the local economy. The promenade was lined with bars and restaurants which were all very busy. It was Saturday and Valentine specials were much in evidence so I guess that may be the reason. We went to the show, a very good Motown singer from UK and made friends with the cruise director Sarah Leanne.

Had a short walk to Omminio Square before taking a cab to Piraeus cruise terminal. There were a lot of  people staying at the hotel who were going on the cruise. Discussed premier league with the football mad taxi driver during the 20min journey. He knew all about the famous Foxes triumphant victories under Claudio Ranieri. Check in was smooth as usual and we were soon on board Infinity in cabin 7156. It's a bit cool and overcast at the moment and will get increasing so as we head north overnight to Greece's 2nd city Thessaloniki. It is St. Valentines day today and the ship was staging a mass marriage vow renewal event, so we joined in. It was a bit a laugh too, as it was officiated over by the cruise director and was pretty chaotic. There was plenty of champagne around and we are now officially on our second honeymoon!

We are off to Athens for a pre cruise 1 night stay. The 8:15am flight with Jet2 was delayed for almost an hour and we arrived eventually at 3:00pm local time. We had an 11 seater luxury transport to ourselves to get to the Melia Hotel in central Athens. It's in a rather scruffy area where you don't go out at night! We didn't want to go out and had a nice dinner in the hotel.  There was a good view of the Parthenon from the rooftop garden.

We flew to Barcelona just after the 37th Americas cup final and spent a few hours looking around  Port Velli. We enjoyed our 9 days on Equinox and the two days in Barcelona despite some rain on 3 out of 4 port days. In contrast the 3 sea days were warm and sunny and we took full advantage of the sun on our balcony. We did not do the planned sunset cruise in Lisbon, we missed most of the showers in Porto, Asilah in Morocco was sunny but the rain in Tangiers prevented us looking round the Medina. Rosemary's fall getting off the ship did not stop us walking Cadiz and it's fish market. The food in MDR was not as good as previous cruises with celebrity but we enjoyed The Petite Chef dinner in Qsine on the first night. The shows were too loud, as usual, but entertaining and we enjoyed cocktails in the Martini bar and coffee in Cafe Bacio. We spent most dinner times with Steven and Caroline from New Jersey  experiencef cruisers who were escaping the US elections. Ticked off our 3rd C...

Our planned 'stop on board till 2:00pm' was cancelled so that the ship could be deep cleaned. So we were off the ship at 9:00 for our 3rd panoramic tour of the city. We had a tour guide and coach for just 11 people. This time we stopped at the Sagrada Familia for a comfort break and were dropped off at Terminal 2 in plenty of time for the flight home. Ryanair and our taxi were both on schedule and we were home by 8:30 - (16000/15000 steps.)

The previous night and today we had calm seas and clear skies making for another pleasant day at sea. Meanwhile a few tens of miles away on the Mediterranean coast record rainfall events where causing catastrophic flash floods around Valencia. We had breakfast and lunch (a Taste of Equinox special menu) in Tuscany and last dinner in MDR with Stephen and Caroline. We were told that our 'stay on board' experience was cancelled due to the need to deep clean the ship after some sickness had been reported. (11000/8000 steps)

We cruised overnight from Tangiers and docked in Cadiz with 3 other cruise ships. It was a very murky start with heavy rain showers. We only planned to wander around the town so waited until the rain eased and equiped with umbrellas set off to visit the cathedral. A port shuttle dropped us at the gate and it was just a 5 min walk. Rosemary slipped over at the bottom of the ramp, new shoes to blame, but fortunately did not sustain serious injuries. After the cathedral, ok but not spectacular, we found our way to the market by which time the showers had finished. The fish market was one of the most impressive we have ever seen and occupied over half of the building.  We bought a huge cone of mixed fried fish for 10 euros and had a coffee in nearby cafe with a huge portion of churros. They do things big in Cadiz. On our way back to the shuttle I spotted a really nice cosy looking coffee shop which was full interesting old stuff, so we managed another coffee and a crepe bef...

We are docked in Tangiers today and got up early to take a ships tour to Asilah on the Atlantic coast 40km south of Tangiers. We had an overview of Tangiers on the way passing through the city centre and the expensive California residential area where the King has his palace. Then we were taken via Cap Spartel which has a lighthouse 1000 ft up on the NW tip of Morocco and gives spectacular views of the coast where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean. The remaining drive to Asilah was down the 30km sandy beach, almost deserted now, apart from a few cows, sheep and camels, but rammed in the summer and weekends apparently.  Asilah is a small but expanding resort, known as the white pearl, but was originally a fortified Portuguese village. We had an interesting walking tour of the old part with its white stone buildings (many holiday lets) and craft workshop. There is a traditional working fishing harbour and there are numerous sea food restaurants outside the old walls. W...

Clear blue skies and calm sea an ideal combination for a sea day. After breakfast in seaview we took a Bacio takeaway coffee and spent most of the morning chilling on the balcony, deleting surplus photos and updating our blog. When the ship turned east and we lost the sun on the balcony we went up to the mast bar for a burger lunch and found two loungers in partial shade for an afternoon of sunbathing. Rosemary read her Kindle and I listened to my music for a couple of hours. The pool bar did a great Tequila Sunrise and Pina Colada. I went to see how many people were watching the Man U v West Ham football on the Sky lawn.(not very many!) while Rosemary finished her book. We visited Future Vacations desk before tea and sorted out some options for a family cruise next year, then paid a small deposit to secure a good deal. MDR for dinner again. (9500/7300steps without leaving the ship!

We are in Porto for the day and took a 4 HR  panoramic bus tour, with 3 stops, to see some of the old town that we missed when we came before in 2009. Although it was a day of heavy showers the rain stopped whenever we had a walkabout.  Lots of history and great views over the city from it's 6 bridges. MDR again with the US couple but missed the show.(12000/11000 steps)

Decided to walk back to the square and find a HOHO to do the old part of town. We bought some 'designer' tins of sardines (silly prices) and had a cheap coffee and pastel de Nata in small cafe. It took a while but we eventually got on a small open top bus that could negotiate the narrow steep windy streets of the old town. There was a big Princess cruise boat in the dock which swelled the crowds so we stayed on the bus for most of the route in case we could not get back on. Saw most the sights from a distance. Then swapped busses, after a hot chocolate, to get back to the cruise terminal without another long walk. Saw the Americans at dinner in the MDR after a cocktail and skipped the show.(14000/14000 steps)

We sailed into Lisbon during breakfast, passing the Belem tower and going under the 25 August bridge we drove over in 2006. Went ashore and walked to historical riverside commercial square which has nice tapas bars/restaurants and is a hub for tours. We had some Portuguese style cod and sea bass, more rustic than gourmet but nice surrounding streets. Walked back in time for cocktails but ate in Seaview buffet. Cancelled the sunset sail as it was murky and threatening to rain but had a good sunset after glow from our balcony overlooking Lisbon.(14000/13000 steps)

The weather was warm and sunny for our first sea day and we had the sun on our balcony for most of the day. Lunch in ocean view, a few coffees and cakes in Cafe Bacio, relaxed on balcony. First dinner in MDR, met our dining companions, US pensioners avoiding the elections, with lots to say.(10000/7000 steps)

The breakfast at INNSIDE was excellent again and after leaving the cases in storage we wandered back to Port Velli in daylight and I bought two Americas cup lapel badges (silly price). All the raza mataz was packed away so nothing much to see. Walked back to claim the bags and grab a taxi to the port 2 mins away. Smooth check-in,  aboard by 2 o'clock, cabin 7285 port aft. We got a deal at Qsine so our first dinner was an animated 3D show projected onto our plates and table. It was fun and the food was excellent, cod loin, filet steak en croute, a sweet and soup to start. Then we did the show, a Brit singer/entertainer. Quite good but too loud as usual.(15000/12000 steps)

We arrived in Barcelona two days after NZ retained the Americas cup. We had some issues with the taxi transfer but it all worked out eventually. Staying at the INNSIDE again which was a short stroll to the Time Out food market at Port Velli which is now an attractive shopping, eating and music venue. We dined on grilled calamari and crab and prawn croquettes with a glass of wine on the terrace overlooking the Swiss and UK yacht 'garages' on the marina. We had a coffee in the hotel lounge before retiring.(15000/12000 steps)

We are off to Barcelona again to join the Equinox on Tuesday after a night in the Inside hotel. Taxi booked for 10am and we will not be back till Halloween.