Lazy day at sea Gained another hour (we are slowly working our way to EST so are now three hours behind Spain.). Woke up early to a pretty cloudy morning, decided to make the most of it, order breakfast room service and watch the Liverpool game in bed. The breakfast luckily cheered Alex up as unfortunately Liverpool lost. Dragged ourselves off to lunch and a walk round the ship, the sun had come out with a vengeance so had an hour on a Posh bed before heading to the gym in the hope more people would show for the TRX class. Still got a sore knee and ankle after my fall and been fighting an annoying cough for a few days so really wasn't feeling it but six people showed so I was committed! Had a ... read more

Air/sea rescue Woke early again 06.00 having gained another hour, we are now two hours behind Spanish time. Popped out on the balcony for a peek at the sea and the sun wasn't even up. Suddenly the unmistakeable sound of a helicopter drowned out the silence and seemingly out of nowhere a Portuguese army chopper appeared at the side of the ship. The chopper hovered on the top deck slightly forward of our cabin, soon everyone was out on the balconies looking to see what was happening. It was obviously a med-evac rescue. Alex grabbed his bathrobe and camera and headed up to the top deck. As I watched the chopper hover above us, I noticed what appeared to be an island in the distance and that the rising sun seemed to be in the wrong ... read more

Atlantic breeze As we entered Portuguese waters, another time change just to confuse us again, luckily the navigation channel on the tv told us, along with a handy note from our cabin steward who deserves a mention at this stage, especially as we found bathrobes, chocolates and a boxer dog towel animal on the bed waiting for us last night! it was like having Frazier with us but with less drool! During the night we could definitely feel we were out in the open sea with the ship gently rolling. Took advantage of the extra hour at 07.45 and went off to the jogging track and did a few km lengths of the ship. Stopped by the coffee shop for a latte and then off for breakfast and to claim our comfy beds on the posh ... read more

Woke up at the crack of dawn clocks went back last night, with modern technology all our gadgets reset themselves...or did they...? So basically had no idea what the time was, had to text Karen to confirm! It was 8am but by that time I was wide awake and ready to get going, dragged Alex up got showered, sat on the suitcases again to sqeeze them closed and headed out to get a cab to the port. As the cab turned into the port the imposing sight of the magnificent Norwegian Epic rose into view, 15 decks high, 350 metres long, passnger capacity of 4,300, crew of 1,700, the third largest cruise ship in the world. Now on our last cruise from port of Miami everything was super swish and efficient, I guess I should have ... read more

Yipeee! At last, the time has come, after a busy working year, thankfully a positive and profitable one with the help of our hard-working team, we survived another long hot summer and are packed ad ready to go. When I say packed, I actually mean, packed, weighed, unpacked, repacked, weighed, shuffle between cases, repack, reweigh, argue, stress, unpack and finally lock the suitcase. Oh and then do the same with the carry-on baggage. Due to flight timings and the cruise departing on a Sunday we had to fly to Barcelona on the Friday, giving us two days to enjoy the city, result! A short and very civilised flight from Almeria to Barcelona, checked into our cute little Pension, in a great location, close to the port, next to La Rambla and just around the corner from ... read more