Packing again

The time has come to start packing again for our adventure on MV Funchal. I have to admit to being a bit excited and at the same time apprehensive as she is the smallest ship I will have sailed on at 10,000grt. On the up side, she is a proper liner with a deep 7m draught and a fine bow (in looks she reminds me of a miniature QE2); on the minus side - it looks like we will be sailing into the tail end of a hurricane!

I will of course be reporting on both the ship and the cruise in due course.

Meanwhile I have been busy selecting some of my cruise ship photographs for a new calendar to be published by the German company Calvendo. It will be available on Amazon very shortly.

Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1325027405

Here is a preview of a few of the images in the calendar.

And the next cruise...

is only just over two weeks away now! 

My friend and I booked on the classic liner MV Funchal. Built in 1961, she originally operated line voyages between Portugal and the Azores. For a period she became the Portuguese Presidential yacht but was completely refitted a year or so ago for Portuscale Cruises. They also own Azores, another classic ship which is being chartered to Cruise & Maritime Voyages next year, so, when it was decided for CMV's Discovery to go back to her owners All Leisure Group before her charter was up, I suppose it was natural to look to Portuscale for a fill-in ship to take over Discovery's last two cruises. I have sailed on Discovery last year so this was a bonus.

http://sharonp-shipsinmylife.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/discovering-discovery-april-2013.html

Funchal will be sailing from my local port of Avonmouth, although we have to fly home from Lisbon. Look out for my blog of the cruise when I get home.

And from a tiny ship of 10,000 grt to a monster! We have recently booked a three night cruise on Anthem of the Seas! This will be my first time on RCI but we are not treating it as a cruise - more an experience. I am curious to see the widespread use of modern technology on the ship - virtual balconies for example - a floor to ceiling screen in inside cabins giving a live life-size view of the sea outside the ship. Robot bartenders - to name just a few.

And finally - I have got round to uploading a small selection of my photos from the Adonia cruise to Iberia and Morocco here.
https://plus.google.com/photos/114801993219771801790/albums/6065997580997398465?banner=pwa