Day 3 and another sea day as we sail south off the coast of Portugal. The weather was nice and warm this morning so after another gym session and a reasonably healthy breakfast (if you ignore the cheese and ham croissant) we headed to the Terrace Pool at the aft of the ship for a spot of sunbathing. The sun loungers right next to the pool were already taken (this was about 9:30ish) but there were plenty available on the higher terraces overlooking the pool.

By about 12:45, my pasty, white Celtic skin was beginning to cook so we retreated to the MDR to try lunch in there. Lunch is available in two of the dining rooms and I’m not sure whether or not they have different menus but we tried the Oriental restaurant as it was the only MDR we hadn’t been in yet. I decided to go for a light option of Butternut Squash Soup and a Jerusalem Artichoke Salad followed by Peach Melba for dessert.

Following lunch, we had a stroll around the ship to get our step count up before managing to find chairs and a table and eventually loungers right by the Terrace pool. By 4pm, we were again feeling the heat so we decided to cool off with our first dip in the pool. It was very cold as they’d had to drain them (although I think they’d pretty much drained themselves!) during the choppy weather on the first 2 days. It was nice and refreshing though.

After drying off, we headed back to the cabins to get changed for an early dinner. Again we ate in the MDR, arriving at about 6:30 and managing to get a table for 3 with no waiting. Dinner was again very tasty – I enjoyed a Duck Rillette with orange and walnut salad and beetroot ketchup followed by Miso Glazed Tuna with stir fried vegetables, pickled ginger and jasmine rice. For dessert I chose Blueberry Cheesecake which, unfortunately was disappointing and I didn’t finish it (I am a bit of a cheesecake connoisseur though) so I’m pleased that I’d had the foresight to ask to try the coconut ice-cream too which I’m happy to report was delicious!

We went to post-dinner drinks at the Blue Bar at the top of the atrium and were pleasantly surprised to be served with some tasty Thai Chicken canapes. I was still full from dinner but I tried them in the name of research and I’m pleased to report they were very tasty.

Our choice for the evening’s entertainment was a comedian by the name of Rudi Lickwood in the Manhattan Lounge. His set was short at only about 45 minutes but he was pretty funny and apparently is doing another couple of shows later on in the cruise including an adult only show so we’ll probably go to see him again.

We finished the night in the Glass House wine bar where I enjoyed one of my favourite wines – Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc – before heading to bed early-ish ready for our first port day tomorrow when we will visit the Spanish city of Cadiz.

Thanks for reading,

FFF