Gibraltar is a small but very interesting British Overseas Territory. Everyone was out on deck this morning to watch as we sailed in to see “The Rock.” We were joined by the Sky Princess at the same dock, so we were expecting the streets and main attractions to be busy.

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It was a late arrival and a relatively short day, so we all had to be organized about our plans.

There were tours going to the top of the Rock to see the Barbary Apes, others visiting the historic Siege Tunnels, the lighthouse at Europa Point, and more than one including the cable car ride to the top for those amazing panoramic views.

It’s about a 15-minute walk from the pier to the start of the tourist part of town, which is Casemates Square.

It’s a bustling gathering place, lined with shops and large outdoor cafés. It leads directly into the long main street, which is pedestrian-only and a popular place for strolling and shopping.

Rock of Gibraltar

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Botanical Gardens

We ended our day there, after a visit to the tranquil and beautiful Botanic Gardens.

We saw the long lines waiting in the sun for the cable cars but opted to walk the multi-level gardens instead.

We started to walk out to Europa Point, which is at the southern end of the city, but gave up when the terrain got really hilly, and the time was growing late.

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Gibraltar is connected to Spain by a narrow isthmus of land.

It is a pedestrian walkway and road between countries that also serves as the airport runway, which is perpendicular to the road.

A fun thing to do is stand in the middle, hoping for a plane to come in. At which point you’ll be immediately chased to one side or the other.

We didn’t see a plane today but did walk across and back. After 8 miles of walking, a refreshing iced latte was the perfect end to our day.

Steve on the Runway

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Taste of Morocco

We intentionally didn’t look for any local food specialties in Gibraltar so we could save our appetites for a special dinner on board that evening. One of the visiting chefs was preparing a “Taste of Morocco” dinner experience. She is from Schenectady, New York, where she has several restaurants. Our 5-course dinner with wines to match included all the things you would expect and a few you would not. The poached lobster was a treat, and the carrot salad, marinated in the traditional Ras el Hanout spice was delicious. There was oh-so-tender rack of lamb with couscous and a fabulous stew called Harira. It is made with chicken, lentils, chickpeas, rice, and dates. We also enjoyed meeting the chef - very enthusiastic about her cuisine and fun to talk to.

Ship Meet Up

Way back at the beginning of this voyage, we mentioned there would be a meet-up between our ship and the Zuiderdam, which was doing the traditional Grand World Voyage - circling the globe from West to East instead of South to North. Tomorrow is that day! And we have an overnight stay, making it possible for the crew to go out and enjoy the city.

Arrangements have been made for guests from both ships to visit each other simply by presenting their key cards at the gangways. There is even a skyway shortcut connecting the ships, to avoid going down into the terminal from our ship and back up again to the other. There is a joint tea being held on the bigger Zuiderdam and then dueling parties in the evening, along with a drone show viewable from the back decks. The ships will be docked “bum to bum” as our Cruise Director expressed it, so we can see each other during the parties.

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Zuiderdam and Volendam in Barcelona

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A group of the most senior Mariners and Neptune suite guests from both ships have been invited to a special off-site dinner at Castell de Sant Marçal. We will have the new President of Holland America Line in attendance, as well as some visiting Vice Presidents from Seattle and Senior Officers from both ships. The Volendam is also disembarking about 100 guests and embarking about 400 new guests, making it a very logistically challenging day for the crew. One officer said to us he would like to go to sleep and wake up in Lisbon in four days!

Barcelona

Beyond all these visiting arrangements is the magnificent city of Barcelona, one of our very favorites. We had a presentation today listing the top ten things to do in Barcelona and Daniel, our Cruise and Travel Director, admitted he had barely scratched the surface. You really can’t see Barcelona in two short days or even in a week.

This is a city defined by its art and famous artists - Gaudí, Miró, and Picasso among them. So included in the top ten are Gaudí’s awe-inspiring Sagrada Familia basilica, Park Güell  with Gaudí sculptures galore, the Picasso Museum, and Fundació Joan Miró. Wonderful walks on La Rambla (watching out for the pickpockets all the time), through the Gothic Quarter or into Ciutadella Park await. An often-overlooked destination is Montjuïc, high over the city and reachable by cable car, walking or driving. It is home to the Castle and the Olympic Stadium.

And as we knew it would be, it was two great days in one of the great cities of the world. We ran out early on day one, taking the shuttle for a quick walk on the lower end of La Rambla. It was relatively quiet at 9:00 am but lots of construction had many of the sidewalks and streets ripped up and blocked.

Back to the ship by 11:00 am to meet up with friends from  Zuiderdam, who had just arrived. It was great to see our fellow host, Tom Mullen, and lots of our favorite people from past voyages. Too quick a visit but we had to get ready for our special visit at the Castel.

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What a lovely evening in a magical place. Set up on a hill and looking very much like a castle, this beautiful banquet hall was the venue for our dinner. But first we were entertained and offered wonderful finger foods and drinks in the lush gardens.

Flamenco music and dancers were the backdrop for visiting with more friends from both ships. Holland America’s new President and several other corporate officers were there. We shared a table with Zuiderdam guests we knew and the Head of Marketing for Holland America. Excellent food and fun conversation.

Castell de Sant Marçal

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We returned to the ship just in time for the start of the dueling parties at 8:00 pm. The DJ got the crowd moving and it seemed we were competing with the other ship for who could be the loudest. It was a great party, and the finale was the much anticipated, first-ever for Holland America, Drone Show. We were not disappointed. Besides being technically astounding to see 500 drones take to the sky in front of us, it was a beautiful tribute to the historic meeting of the two Grand World Voyage ships. The images of the world map, the penguin, the Sagrada Familia, and the Sydney Opera House were some of the crowd favorites.

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First-ever, Holland America Drone Show

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Onboard party

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We devoted day two to Barcelona. We were in port with 5 other ships, the largest holding over 6,500 passengers and another 5,200. There were over 16,000 cruisers in the city for the day! As a result, there were no buses available to provide shuttles. So, we caught an Uber to the top of La Rambla de Catalunya, way beyond where most tourists from the ships would walk. Our reward was a beautiful upscale neighborhood, full of remarkable buildings, many either designed by or in the style of Gaudí. Others were just amazingly intricate and ornate. Even the streetlamps are works of art here. We worked our way back to the Plaça de Catalunya and continued walking into the crowds on La Rambla. We then detoured into the narrow and fascinating side streets of the Gothic Quarter. We walked by the Mercat de la Boqueria, which was so packed with people it was difficult to even get in.

We wound up covering 10 miles for the day as we did walk all the way back to the port and to our ship. But we loved our time here and always feel we need to return soon. This is a location for your life-list for sure if you haven’t been here!

After all of that, we were happy to have a sea day before our next four port days in a row. But that turned into a very busy day as well. We have two Vice Presidents from Holland America travelling with us and they gave a presentation on the Grand Voyages for 2027 and some of the new concepts we can look forward to - like expansions of entertainment offerings, more guest chefs and cooking demonstrations, and more unique itineraries. They also stayed for almost an hour of questions from the audience, with promises to investigate several issues. There really were not any major complaints from the crowd but there were a few good suggestions and lots of compliments for the captain and crew.

Our next port is Cádiz, Spain, another beautiful small city to explore.

Fondly,

Wendy and Steve 

Continue Reading:

A Bon Voyage! | Costa Rica & Panama |  Ecuador and Northern Peru  | Wendy's Adventures in Peru | Steve's Adventure in Machu Picchu | Arica and San Antonio, Chile | Robinson Crusoe & Southern Chile | More Chile & Argentina | Antarctica | Falkland Islands | Montevideo & Punta del Este | Brazil | The Amazon | Salvation Islands | Arriving in Africa | Canary Islands & Morocco | Gibraltar and Barcelona | Spain & Portugal | France, Belgium and The Netherlands | Scotland and Norway | More Norway | Iceland | Greenland | Canada & New England | Voyage Summary 

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