October 31, 2025 - Halloween and My 75th Birthday! In Las Palmas, Gran Cararia

 I slept like a rock last night.  They've turned off the balcony lights at night, which I prefer, so I kept the curtains open.  I woke up about 2:30 a.m. to see lights.  I assumed we were docking early but then realized it was a Royal Caribbean ship cruising next to us.  They're now docked in front of us.

I'm feeling much better although a bit "tippy" even though we're docked.  Like many older women I tend to get "land sickness" which I thought was a made-up thing until I got it.  No big deal, just makes me feel like I'm about to tip over all the time.  It will pass.  And, I was contemplating my "sea sickness" yesterday...was it the movement or was it the "table mayo"?  But, I'd eaten maybe a teaspoon of the mayo hours before getting queasy so assume it wasn't that.  So much for fascinating info on my health.

When my friend Roland visited me in Cartagena last winter, we spent a lot of time trying to decide what I should do for my 75th.  For 50 and 70, I did world cruises.  60 was the Peace Corps.  I'm celebrating half decades now and will go annual once I hit 80.  

We never came to a firm decision but I had great fun thinking about how to treat myself.  How about just enjoying 75 perfect days this year?  Which I've already done!  When I saw the cruise, I knew I wanted to do it.  And what better way to enhance the experience than planning a couple of Michelin dining experiences along the way?

First was the wonderful Caelis in Barcelona.  Today is Sorondongo, in Las Palmas.  I have a 2:00 pm lunch reservation, and since we don't depart until later this evening, I'll have plenty of time to dine and check out the food/craft market nearby.

Photos!

This doesn't look good.  

Ah, Konry and Julius made a heart on my bed for my birthday.

It is about 70 and sunny.  Lots of people off the ship to explore.  Las Palmas is relatively small and there are 3 of us giant ships in town.  This is why I often stay onboard.  

Hey, Fred, kinda egotistical to have your name that big on your private yacht, don't you think?  Kidding.  It's a ferry, which can take you around the Canary Islands.  And Sicily, apparently.

Excellent weather!

People in the bridge.  Did I mention the behind the scenes tour is $299?  It was free on HAL as a perk for being on the world cruise.

What the heck kind of ships are these?  Isn't my blog informative?  

The photos are in reverse order again, sorry.  I did figure it out.  Has to do with which device is connected to the internet when, for uploading.  I'm too lazy to reverse everything.

This was as we slowly cruised in, following the two other ships.  Note the tiny sailboat anchored among the freighters.

I always love cruising in to a new port.

I was hungry this morning and happy I'd stocked my fridge with date bars.

And, fresh fruit and yogurt.  I'm really loving the carry out options.  

The bow camera had raindrops in the wee hours.  But now, ideal sunny weather.

Ok, I've got too many photos, so I'm going to break this up.  Check out my fabulous lunch in the next post.  And wait until you see some of the Halloween photos.

Thursday, October 30, 2025 - At Sea

 There are three things I love on a cruise and last night was a trifecta!  First, we set our clocks back an hour.  Second, as soon as we left the port, there were heavy swells and the ship started rocking.  AND, it is a sea day today.  

As always at sea, I slept very well.  I'm starting to (finally!) get over the jet lag and woke up at 6 a.m.  I got breakfast and snacks from the Galley then went for a stroll.

I'm planning a personal spa day today - because I'm thrifty, instead of hitting the ship's spa, I'll be doing my own mani/Pedi plus I brought facemasks and foot masks so I'll do a little pampering.  Not as much fun as the ship's spa and my "facial" isn't in the same class but I'll save about $750.  Seriously, cruise lines make their money on the casino, spa, shore excursions and booze, not on the cabins. 

There are also a couple of shows I'd like to see, if the lines aren't too long.  I understand why reviews complain about having to stand in line for an hour, trying to see a show.

I also plan to go shopping!  Even before getting on the ship, I was excited about the hammock and had researched them online.  THEY HAVE THE KIND I WANT IN THE GIFT SHOP!  I'm excited to be able to try it, since it is "portable" and while it promises to hold up to 500 lbs, I want to make sure it is study enough so I don't break a hip trying to get out of it by my pool.  UPDATE - I went down and tested the hammock.  The hammock itself is fabulous.  But the portable frame, while sturdy, didn't give me confidence that I'll be able to get out of it safely.  Well, that saved me $500!

Photos!

I cruised through the Galley to see what was available for breakfast, before I picked up my takeaway overnight oats.  The Sweet Shoppe has desserts the rest of the day and some nice healthy'ish breakfast treats.

I like the small servings, like this glass of plain yogurt.  

Breakfast sandwich anyone?

Anybody else just want to grab a stick of butter and a chair and have at the rolls?

See the one on the right?  A breakfast sandwich made from two huge slices of French Toast.  Yum!

Some people hate buffets.  And Virgin swears this isn't a buffet.  But I like the option of getting just one slice of bacon.  Or, a dozen.

Samples of the omelettes. 

The taco stand offers eggs Benedict.  A classic Mexican dish.  Or not.

Breakfast at the taco stand.  Lots of people were getting avocado toast that was HEAPED with avocado.  As in, a whole avocado on each slice.  I wonder how many they go through in a cruise?

Breakfast at the noodle place.

There are many good options.

While I was looking at the window I saw another cruise ship in the distance.  Then I noticed the speck of white...it's a sailboat.  I love the idea of sailing around the world in a sailboat.  But I'm too chicken.  

After checking out all the options, I grabbed food for the balcony.  A bento box of fresh cut fruit for an afternoon snack.  Homemade date bars that are a delicious snack instead of dessert.  And the tasty overnight oats that have been my breakfast every day.

A cup or less with a bit of fruit is the perfect size breakfast for me.

One of the many bars.  With a few windows.

Many of the bars have live music or shows in the afternoon/evening.  This is where I watched the magic show.

I like the names of things.  "Dry Dock" is a hair salon.

"Stubble and Groom" is for men.

I'm too cheap for the casino, but if I gamble, it will be at a slot, next to a window.

Me in the hall to The Manor.  Looking every bit of 75 years.  Grateful to be upright and moving, wrinkles and all.

I played this once, in Las Vegas.  I was young and very broke.  A guy came and put down $10,000 chips, making a $100,000 bet on a single number.  He lost, smiled and walked away.  I've never forgotten that.

Duty free liquor store.  And no, you can't take the bottle back to your cabin.  They hold it until disembarkation in Miami.  You can buy bottles of liquor for your cabin from room service on most cruise lines.

A shop that sells sunglasses.

Like these.

Wouldn't this be perfect by my pool?????  Except that getting out, for those of us not in great shape, would be tricky.  Rats.  I already had a place for it picked out.  This is collapsible, BTW.  I prefer the stability of the one on the balcony.  Anybody know if I can attach it to the top of the screen enclosure around my pool without damaging the integrity of the structure?

Another place to hang out.  I like to walk around "early"- before 9 a.m.  Most passengers seem to be in the Galley or in bed at that hour.  But all the bars, etc are busy in the evenings.

This is a closeup of the wall shown below.  How do they dust this??  I'm a big fan of textured walls but how do they get clean?

This is just some of the textured wall.  Cleaned with an air hose during wetdock?

One popular place in the morning is the coffee shop for the "fancy" coffees and teas.

It doesn't get better than this.

Outdoor seating.

The pizza place and take away 'fridges do a good business.

There is something about a burger at sea.  I LOVE Holland America burgers and these were very, very similar.  With a view.  And, I used the "table mayo" and did not get sick.

Very crispy, double-fried French fries.  I prefer sweet potato fries but these were excellent.

Lunch with a view.

So far, the best dessert I've had.  Thin chocolate cookie on the bottom, topped with cheesecake mousse.  I can't figure out what the orange stuff is.  Like a very, very fine crumb.  Perfect size and taste.  

After lunch I headed back to my cabin for some reading time in the hammock.  We were having some big swells, causing the ship to gently rock back and forth.  It made the hammock swing, which was delightful.  Until it wasn't.  I rarely get sea sick and this wasn't awful but enough that I spent the remainder of the day in my cabin.  I skipped dinner and went to bed early.  I plan to be feeling much better for my Michelin lunch tomorrow!