Voyage to the Canaries

Early December before the festivities began *and passed so quickly) we did a repositioning cruise with Marella. We have cruised with them before and previously enjoyed our repositioning cruise from the Canary Islands to Corfu. 

Our previous cruises have been on Marella Explorer but this time our ship was Marella Voyager, it was like going home with some of the furniture moved. I have already blogged about life on board so this blog is all about where we visited.

Flying from Gatwick after an overnight stay we arrived in Malaga. Spain isn't a country I have visited much off and although dark it was interesting to travel through this popular holiday resort, the Christmas lights added to its welcoming look.

Our second day we awoke in Gibraltar, a place we have visited before and really enjoy as a wander around stop. There were excursions to the top of the rock or the WWII tunnels but we were happy to stroll into the town and browse around.

There is so much history here with it being in a strategic position at the entrance to the Mediterranean. The Battle of Trafalgar was not far away, the sailors cemetry is at the top end of the town, and there is evidence of the previous inhabitants as far back as the Moors 

There was certainly a Christmas feel, a little odd in warmth and blue skies and birds of paradise in fill bloom. 

We were very lucky to be in the main street when the guards marched through.

Being a winter cruise the sun sets late afternoon, great to see before going to dinner. The Gibraltar Rock looked stunning with yellow and orange hues.

Arriving in our next port the sunrise was as stunning as the previous night's sunset hut to our surprise just an hour later it was thick fog outside. Even more surprising were the blue skies the appeared as we set off to explore Cadiz, a place I have always wanted to visit. 

Again we didn't take an excursion instead we enjoyed a wander along the Atlantic coast promenade and around the city square amongst its Christmas decorations and market stalls.

Cadiz is certainly a place I would like to visit again as there was so much to see. We couldn't visit the Cathedral as being a Sunday there were services on. It was a stunning view as we sailed away with another beautiful sunset once out in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Atlantic revealed itself on our sea day, nothing too rough but certainly choppy and quite a hazy sky which was disappointing for our fellow cruisers that enjoy sunbathing by the pool. We enjoyed time on our balcony and a wine tasting afternoon before dinner and watching another superb show.

Arriving in Funchal was quite an experience, wet and windy weather making it hard work for our Captain and the two pilot boats.

As we were docked overnight in Funchal, Maderia, we had planned to walk into town the first afternoon and stay until dark to see the Christmas lights but the weather was not very inviting. Funchal looked stunning with so many lights stretching high into the hills. Funchal is a port that is very popular for New Year's Eve cruises as the whole town is lit up with fireworks.

This was our fourth visit to Funchal, we have previously taken the cable car high up to fantastic views and an excursion into the mountains to a hidden valley. We have also enjoyed a trip to Blandy's to learn about Maderia wine so this visit we decided to wander a round and take in the Christmas atmosphere. It was a bit of a dull start to the day but dry and blue skies did appear later in the day.

Marella Voyager looked stunning looking through beautiful red hot poker plants with the blue skies. The flowers in Maderia are so beautiful.

Our penultimate day was in Tenerife after a day at sea traveling from Maderia. The weather had certainly turned with wind and rain. We ventured out but not for long as it was quite rough. As with Maderia we have visited Tenerife a few times and so did not mind going back onboard to enjoy Marella hospitality.

Our final night's crossing from Tenerife to Gran Canaria was very rough with 6m waves and 70mph winds. 

On our tv in the cabin there is a channel showing the route of our cruise. We were surprised to see how wigglely our journey had been from Maderia to Tenerife and on to Gran Canaria, our Captain was certainly trying to avoid the worse weather. It was quite rough disembarking in Gran Canaria and I know Voyager did not sail that day due to the storm, I think we came home at the right time.

Another great cruise, we do enjoy the repositioning cruises although I don't think we could manage the 8 days at sea to the Caribbean. Voyager was a lovely ship but we do prefer Explorer and are very much looking forward to cruising the Mediterranean on its Marella 30th Birthday Cruise in May.