All good things come to an end - even Mediterranean cruises!

As we rapidly approach the final month of 2023, it's perhaps worth taking a look at the final chapter of last month’s marathon Mediterranean cruise. You left us as our ship, the Queen Victoria, departed the Sardinian capital of Cagliari. That was on the final Saturday of the voyage, and by the end of the week we would be back in Southampton. After leaving Cagliari we had two full days at sea, and for the first one, the weather was just as glorious as it had been for the majority of the cruise. That day was also the morning when our ship passed through the Straits of Gibraltar.

Unlike our passage through the "Pillars of Hercules" on the outward voyage, which took place after dark, Sunday morning’s passage took place in daylight. Unfortunately, the view towards the shore was spoiled slightly by hazy mist, as we passed through this narrow stretch of water that forms the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. 

From the top deck it seemed as if the rest of the cruise ship was there too, in order to enjoy the spectacle. Our passage through the straits began at 11:00 am, which was an hour earlier than the captain advised the previous day., and despite the crowds we managed to find a position where we could see both sides. So, with Africa on our port (left) side, and Europe on the starboard right) side, we watched as we departed the Mediterranean and headed out towards the open Atlantic. The haze was less pronounced on the Spanish side and with the aid of my binoculars, I had a reasonably good view of the rock of Gibraltar and the settlement around the port area at the base of the rock.

The second sea day, which was a Monday, was definitely the last one of warm, sunny weather and calm seas, although It wasn't until early evening that the sea conditions started to deteriorate. After enjoying Curry Night at the Lido Buffet, we went up on deck where we joined a group of fellow passengers and enjoyed a few drinks plus a chat. The news on the boat was that a storm was forecast to hit Lisbon the following day, which was the day we were due to dock at the Portuguese capital. Rumours were rife that the captain might decide not to call at Lisbon, due to perceived difficulties and turning into the estuary of the Tagus river.

Speculation continued as to where else we might end up, with Vigo or even Cherbourg touted as possible alternative destinations. With this speculation buzzing around in my head, and sea conditions worsening I didn’t sleep that well, despite being quite late to bed. The following morning, whilst it was still dark, I looked out the balcony window to find my eyes drawn by a number of bright red lights, seemingly above the ship. It turned out to be the Queen Victoria passing beneath the impressive Ponte 25 de abril suspension bridge, which crosses the river Tagus a short distance from the centre of Lisbon.

We had obviously made it to the city, and as the dull, grey, and rather overcast day slowly dawned it was a very windswept Lisbon that we were looking out over. We had breakfast in our cabin that morning in readiness to disembark on a pre booked excursion, with a selection of scrambled eggs, streaky bacon, toast, and plenty of tea, sufficient to set me up for the day. The disembarkation point was down on deck 2, and once on terra firma, we had a bit of a route march through the port processing area, and down to the exit and the waiting tour buses. Our coach was nice and comfortable, but heavy rain, driven by the strong winds rather spoiled the view out the windows.

Leaving the cruise terminal our coach continued along the shoreline, before heading inland, following a route that climbed uphill, through some rather unattractive looking, high-rise developments. From the direction of travel I guessed, correctly as it turned out, that we were heading towards the Ponte 25 de abril, the large and impressive suspension bridge we had passed under earlier that morning. We crossed the bridge, high above the river Tagus and the settlements far below. After being delayed in a residential area we reached our first stop, but to be brutally honest it wasn't one that impressed me as much as it perhaps ought to have done. The Cristo Rei (Christ Statue), is one of the most iconic monuments in Lisbon, standing high above the southern banks of the Tagus estuary. It depicts Christ with his arms raised, blessing the city, but with a gale blowing, and the rain lashing down, being on top of a hill, with only a café and gift shop for shelter wasn’t exactly the best place to be.

I'm not at all religious, although I like churches, cathedrals, and other ecclesiastical structures, but this huge and austere looking concrete statue did absolutely nothing for me. Had the weather been better we would have enjoyed a fantastic panorama of the bridge, and the city from a viewing terrace at the base of the monument, but we only found out about this after we returned home. After a quick “comfort stop” there was insufficient time to grab a coffee, before being herded back onto the coach. Unfortunately, this became an all too familiar feature that of the tour.

The highlight of the tour certainly for Eileen, but also for me, was enjoying a Portuguese custard tart each. I picked these delicacies up at the café attached to the Maritime Museum, but after waiting for Eileen who had joined the queue for the ladies, again there was very little time away from the coach before having to be back on board. We just had time to enjoy our tarts, but again there was no time for a coffee. The rest of the tour was spent on the coach, although I did manage to get more than a glimpse of Lisbon, and it certainly seems an attractive city and somewhere worthy of a future visit. 

Our guide was pleasant and very knowledgeable and helped make the tour enjoyable and interesting. She apologised for the delays which were down to heavy traffic. The guide claimed this was due to the adverse weather, as for some reason local people prefer to drive and sit in their own cars, rather than wait for buses and trams in wet weather. This was my second visit to Lisbon, the first time being whilst still at school, as a pupil in the fifth form I'd also arrived in the city on a cruise ship, but it was a very different vessel to the Queen Victoria.

This was because in 1971 I was on a two-week educational cruise made up of school parties drawn from across Kent. Our vessel was very different from the luxury of Queen Victoria, as the SS Nevasa was a converted, former troopship, operated by the British India Steam Navigation Company. The shipping line itself appeared to be a throwback to colonial times, because the crew (ordinary ratings) was drawn from the Indian subcontinent, whilst the officers, who were almost exclusively white, were largely British. Instead of a comfortable balcony stateroom, I slept with a dozen or more schoolmates in bunks, in a dormitory, where the only view was out through one of the portholes.

It was good fun though, and as my first overseas trip, the cruise certainly opened my eyes to the outside world. Later during 2023’s “Leisurely Tour” of Lisbon I recognised several landmarks that I’d visited half a century before. The only difference was the weather, as that first visit to the Portuguese capital took under blue skies, and warm, sunny conditions – a complete contrast to October’s stop-over. The weather couldn’t be helped and, as alluded to earlier, the tour certainly provided inspiration for a return visit.

That evening, our ship sailed down towards the mouth of the Tagus river, and out into the open waters of the Atlantic. As we left port, captain advised over the intercom, that the seas might be quite choppy, especially where the waters of the river meet with the ocean currents running along the Portuguese coast. He was right, and Eileen and I had fun making our way to the buffet that night, hanging on to one another as we passed the mid-ship swimming pool, up on deck 9, with water from the pool sloshing all over the place, as we did our best to avoid getting wet.

After a good night's rest, we awoke feeling refreshed, the motion of the ship having rocked us gently to sleep. I left Eileen in the cabin, to enjoy her room-service breakfast and headed to the Britannia Restaurant for some brekky of my own. The waiter guided me to a table, and pulled the chair out, so I could sit down. As I was about to do so, I realised I was directly facing the large set of windows at the stern, where the view of the horizon moving up and down, was very noticeable. I quickly asked if I could sit the other way round, which he of course agreed to, and without the reference point of a moving horizon, everything was fine. It's weird that the relative motion the ship could make one feel queasy, which I feel it might well have done, had I sat there staring at that up and down movement for too long.

Afterwards I'd planned on attending a question-and-answer session in the Royal Court Theatre with the ship's American captain, Evans Hoyt, but after walking several laps of the promenade deck and noticing that the sun had come, I decided to park myself on a vacant sun-lounger and read my book instead. 

It was most relaxing lying there reading, soaking up the sun, as the ship made her way steadily northwards. I decided I ought to go and track down my wife, even though I knew she'd be up on deck 10 having a vape. I joined her and we spent a very pleasant day out in the open, as the weather steadily improved, and the seas calmed right down.

There was a further day at sea, before we arrived back at Southampton, but it was quite uneventful, apart from having to pack our large suitcases and leave them outside the room, ready for the crew to collect and remove them from the ship, prior to disembarkation. We docked, early in the morning at the Queen Elizabeth Cruise Terminal, which is some distance from the Mayflower Terminal we departed from. The Q.E. Terminal is cramped, in comparison with the Mayflower, and it was rather chaotic when we got off the ship.

After struggling with our suitcases, we found a spot where we could wait for our pre-booked taxi to pick us up. Our cabbie eventually arrived, having been being stuck in heavy traffic around the port area. He loaded our luggage into the boot, and we then set off on the drive back to Tonbridge and home. We had been away from a total of 19 days, meaning we’d missed a sizeable chunk of October. It was a great experience though, plus a most relaxing and enjoyable holiday. Next year’s voyage probably won’t be quite as long, although we’ve plenty of time over the winter to see what’s available.