Recent #Iberia #Cruise first day and day at sea.

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to go on a cruise visiting ports in Spain and Portugal. Because of preparing for my exhibition, this is the first chance I have had to put down some of my thoughts and observations.

We arrived at Manchester early in the morning and were surprised by the long queues to get through customs, as well as the chaos caused outside the airport, where cars were stopped to drop people off to avoid the new charges. The flight though was without incident, although the guy next to me was a little large for his seat!

On arriving at Malaga, there was a very long wait for the cases before we set off for the port. Having booked the holiday for some warmer weather, it was a shock to arrive to heavy rain. After boarding the ship, we waited for our cases only to find that one of them was soaked through. When we opened it, we were fortunate,  as my jacket had taken the worse of it. Another couple, we spoke to, had to send half their clothes down to be dried out in the laundry room. It seems silly these days that a simple plastic sheet couldn't be used to protect the cases.

The next day was spent at sea, sailing to our first port of call. This gave us a chance to relax into the cruise and get our bearings. We thought about sunbathing but although sunny it was very windy. 

We decided to find a place to sit and it gave me a chance to do some sketches. Having had a long day travelling to the port, quite a few passengers soon closed their eyes to catch up on their sleep on the settees whilst others read or played card games etc.

A relaxing day and a chance to plan what we wanted to see over the next few days.

We enjoy cruises because we can go to bed at night and in the morning we are in a new port or country and have the opportunity to explore the sights and culture.

We were all inclusive as well, which helped with holiday financing! With a buffet-style eating area and a 'sit down and be waited on' restaurant, we have the best of both worlds and as cruises are now much more relaxed in 'dressing for dinner', this type of holiday offers us  a  relaxing combination of style and comfort. With onboard entertainment included, we were now set up for an enjoyable two weeks!

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