THE SHIP

THE SHIP

I really like the way these ships are designed.  The rooms were very comfortable and had such fine bathrooms.  The sundeck was just too cold for most people, but I went there often because I liked the panoramic view of the countryside.  Still, even inside in the lounge 





the views were excellent.  Most people contented themselves with these or with the views from the large cabin windows which were also delightful.

The pianist was just great and while that feature is not flavored Portuguese, I like that it is there for us.



As well as a place to look out, this was a great place for meetings, lectures, small workshops, and music.  Coffee/tea/hot chocolate was always available and drinks could be had from the bar at reasonable prices.  Usually, because we drink so little, we just brought along a water from the room or some of the port that we bought in town.

A couple times I had the Portuguese brandy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macieira_Brandy

This is very good, and I hope we can find some here in the States.

There were two eating areas, one that was more buffet and another than was more restaurant and so the choices were quite good, considering we were on a ship and far away from much source of local produce.
Food on the ship may not have been Portuguese enough for me, but it was very good and we rarely sought meals out in the towns that were deserted for the most part.  This was not tourist season.

There was a heated swimming pool and I was tempted.  Had I not had the arthritis, I'd have tried it.  The air was wintry, so the hard part would be getting out wet and getting back down to the warmth of the ship.  My slow limping would have meant freezing.

The crew were all friendly, upbeat, helpful, tolerant and they all worked hard every moment. In particular, we liked Marta who was a very personable waitress.  She remembered our names and what we liked and she joked and talked to us and to everyone.