The Woodyren's 2022 wanderings. Maldives Mallorca Malaga Mykonos and the Matterhorn plus many parts/ports in between.

[woodyren]

Departed from the resort at around 4.30 pm.
Speed boat to Kooddoo and then a buggy ride to Kooddoo airport. We were the only guests departing.









Met a Male domestic by another Pullman rep who escorted us to international check in and then to the Leeli lounge. No alcohol and basic food offerings but it was comfortable enough for our 2 hours or so wait for our flight.

 

[woodyren]

In case anyone was unconvinced by the previous posts I will just reiterate. The Pullman met or exceeded every expectation we had.

 

[woodyren]

MLE-SIN-LHR flights all booked through KF J Saver.

Service and food were up to the usual post COVID standard. Amenity kits provided on request SIN-LHR.

Can't even remember exactly what meals we had on each leg but I do recall really enjoying the Red Prawn noodles and have developed a liking for Choya Umeshu on the rocks.



LHR arrival on time and baggage collected quickly.

Air tags worked well to give us regular reassurance.

Purchased an E-sim for Europe from Airalo. $100 USD for 90 days with 50GB data. It activated seamlessly on arrival and Mrs Woodyren has been hooked up via my phone hotspot.

All still going to plan despite many unknowns or firsts for us.

 

[woodyren]

From LHR we caught the tube to our hotel. A little crowded and hot but manageable easily with out luggage.

Noticeable that hardly anyone was wearing masks in London. Even in the most crowded situation.

Probably of little interest to many but from my perspective with a 40+ year career in rail maintenance, management, inspection, training, auditing etc I was shocked at the amount of scrap left lying around and the general untidiness of the rail corridor.
Our London hotel is the Intercontinental O2 situated between the Thames and O2 arena. Having zero knowledge of London I made the booking due to the price compared to other 5* hotels at the time and because the good deal came with lounge access.

First impressions after 1 day of the hotel, lounge, staff and general area have been good.

Our room is a 10th floor corner room with views over the Thames in both directions.

 

[craven morehead]

In case anyone was unconvinced by the previous posts I will just reiterate. The Pullman met or exceeded every expectation we had.


View attachment 287741View attachment 287742

What a stunning place!

 

[woodyren]

Spent the last 3 days in London. Only a quick first visit for us as the trip was mainly about utilising previously booked and cancelled cruises so we had to work around available dates.

The Intercontinental O2 situated on the Greenwich Peninsular was another winner for us. Booked for no other reason than it was substantially less expensive than similar standard hotels, came with lounge access and was need a tube station.

The lounge breakfast, afternoon tea and nightly happy hours with snacks have been excellent. As have the staff.

Nice views over the Thames.

 

[woodyren]

The other unexpected winner was the area around the hotel and the ease of access to central London.

A few pictures of the surrounding area. Lots of art and very vibrant at most times of the day.
Really enjoyed the evenings walking the location.

 

[woodyren]

Yesterday morning was spent getting our pre cruise supervised RAT and we also took the opportunity to scout out our train connections to Southampton pre cruise and from there to the Eurostar post cruise.

Visited a number of stations and utilised various tube lines.

We even managed to get stuck in the middle of a full emergency evacuation at Green Park underground. Still have no idea why but all platforms were hurriedly cleared.

 

[woodyren]

We have been so busy in the last week so I have been neglecting the TR. Time for a little catch up today.
We arrived at Southampton Central station and decided to walk to the cruise terminal.


Checked in within 15 minutes of arrival.

Anthem is a Quantum class Royal Caribbean ship. Nearly 170,000 GT with a capacity of almost 5000. We enjoy the large ships and the various activities they offer. Just a few random photos from our first few days.

 

[woodyren]

Two sea days to begin with as we sailed towards Gibraltar.




We almost exclusively cruise on Royal Caribbean. We enjoy their product and they have an excellent loyalty program. I also try to book ships that have a flowrider. First thing for me on departure day is to head to the flowrider. Departure day has far less people in line as they are all still exploring the ship.

First day is also the time to find a trivia team for progressive trivia. Both missions accomplished.


Sea days normally consist of breakfast usually in the buffet. Then a decent coffee which is complimentary as part of our loyalty benefits. Breakfast normally consists of smoked salmon and fruit.

 

[woodyren]

A few more ship photos.




Cabin photo. Obstructed balcony.

Our favourite show so far. Beatles tribute. Just to brag a little. I won the Rolling Stones trivia solo against teams of up to six Brits.



The wonderful solarium area. Wonder of the seas the world's largest cruise ship in front of us.


Dinner last night in the Solarium Bistro.


Overall the ship and staff have met our expectations. Despite being at or close to full capacity we have enjoyed the interaction and have always been able to find a quieter place if needed.

I even managed to be called a Git by a young English lady for pointing out the queue I was in that she was trying to bypass. Disappointing that the full title of Silly Old Git was not used.

 

[woodyren]

First port stop was Gibraltar. Aside from Barcelona all the ports are a first for us.

Unless there are no reasonable options we rarely book ship's or even third party excursions. We prefer to walk or utilise local public transport options.

We were off the ship reasonably early and walked to the main area of town. It was quite crowded in the main square and street but was still interesting enough.

 

[woodyren]

It has been very hot every day. Mrs Woodyren returned to the ship and I headed off to see much more.

First to find the airport and it's unique road through the runway.
Interesting walk there to boot.

Was fortunate to arrive just as a plane was taking off so watched the whole process of road closure plus sweeping the road section of the runway.

 

[woodyren]

Time now to head for the rock. Took a detour through the Moorish quarter. Only two directions (up or down) so it's difficult to get lost. Hard and hot but I enjoyed the walk a lot.

 

[woodyren]

First stop after I reached the road up to the top of the Rock and paid my 16€ entrance fee was the Moorish Fort.

It was also the first or many interactions between my head and various tunnel or passageway roofs.

 

[woodyren]

Second hill stop was the World War 2 tunnels. Fantastic to be in what was historically one of the most important militarily strategic locations on earth.

Compulsory helmets were useful in preventing significantly more cranial damage.

 

[woodyren]

Just before the almost simultaneous expiration of my legs and phone battery I managed to reach the Great Seige Tunnel. No helmets here despite a lower roof in places. Ouch.



Slow walk from here down the road and then a different route back to the ship.
Over 20,000 difficult steps.

All in all a great day in port.

 

[woodyren]

Next port stop was Malaga. We have found that all the Spanish cities have wonderfully maintained and clean old sections that are interesting just to walk through and admire the sights.

 

[woodyren]

Next port was Valencia. City centre was a 5€ shuttle bus ride from the port. Too far to walk.

Firstly the old fort gates and the early part of our walk.

Wonderful old architecture.

 

[woodyren]

Then on to the Central Market and surrounding areas. Hot as usual and another long walking day.