Final thoughts on the Iberian cruise and goodbye to the #MarellaSpirit

Just over six weeks now, since we returned and by  the Spirit will  have left the fleet going to another company. We have been on the Spirit twice before and on boarding, it was like meeting an old friend. Not being too big, it was easy to find our way round again and our favourite band was still playing in the top bar area.

It was a little strange because in the past we had sailed in school holidays and this time there were no children on board. In fact the first week seemed like it was full of all the grandparents enjoying their freedom now that the grandchildren they had been looking after had gone back to school. On the second week a few children did board the ship  though.

The entertainment crew must have been the hardest working ones we had ever seen putting on more shows than ever, although it was the first time that a couple of the shows had been repeated on the second week. The top bar had a slightly different feel to it because of the age range on the ship and there were times when it was hard to find a seat. When we had to share a table we were  soon in conversation, sharing holiday and cruise stories and general conversation

As with all holidays, there were individuals who you seemed to keep noticing, the man with his Hawaiian shirts, the lady and gentleman who always wore the same hat or the gentleman who wore cowboy shirts and enjoyed his dancing. These made good subject matter for sketching.

We always enjoy Marella cruises because we like the idea of only one sea day and waking up in a new port each day. This cruise visited a number of towns we had never been to and having had a brief glimpse of the places there were a few that  we would look forward to visiting again.

​As well as the busy days in port, there were several lounges to relax in and again these gave me plenty of chances for quick sketches,

The ship was a little worn in places but always a pleasure to sail in. Some guests even came on this cruise just to say goodbye to it as it brought back so many happy memories. We chose it because of where it was going not knowing about this being its last month. We will now have to look forward to going on the Dream or another one in the fleet and see if these have the same friendly feeing.