2 cruises on the Windstar Legend, a day in Marseille and 18 days on MSC Meraviglia
across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and back to the USA

Part 1 - Getting There
September 5th - MedExpress for Covid Tests - Easy/Quick/Professional and NEGATIVE test results
Breakfast in Wendy’s – “Honey Chicken Biscuit” Surprisingly Good
Noon – parked at airport, texted a pic location to Jeanne - Easy check-in/boarding/flight -Same at Dulles
Sept 6th – United flight arrived in Barcelona early
BW Hotel shuttle (Alfa Aeroporto) waiting - Arrived 9:30 but we could check in at 11:00 – NICE!
Ate at bfast buffet - Room clean & pleasant – good choice
USPS Forest called (Kim) Will take care of the forwarding problem
Dinner – Oops! 8-11pm Seriously? We forgot how late people eat in Spain
We walked to a local place “La Pera” - No English, local workers eat here.
Good food and nice staff understanding my basic Spanish

Part 3 - An Interlude from Istanbul to Marseille and the Frioul Islands
Setember 23rd – Istanbul
Very easy disembarkation. Very attentive Windstar escort through the airport checking at Turkish Airlines.
The “new” Istanbul airport built 2018-2019 and closed during Covid (2020-21) is huge, well designed & quite beautiful. Lots of seating, nice food court & clear travel info. Visa fees likely needed for the expense of this and the lost revenue during Covid.
There was lots of seating at the gate too. The only surprise – one announcement only “ready to board” and a mad rush for the plane. Very strange.
Easy flight & surprisingly good meal with wine.
Taxi to Marseille hotel, a BW older center city hotel near the “Old Port”
Got Covid tests at a nearby pharmacy - $15 (15 Euros) Our US tests were $225 each.
HMM – the “Very French” couple in the apartment across the alleyway. We shut our drapes since they did not!
Sept 24th – Marseille & Frioul Islands
Connected with Bernard by text. Will meet at 12:30. Weather is cooperating. Rain is holding off.
I walked around town & the port by myself. Bought a pair of pants for 10 Euros. Very French!
Bought lunch at the Ankara Grill “to go” & Baklava at the bakery
12:30 – Met Bernard and took the ferry to the Frioul Islands. Met 4 of his friends and and a very comprehensive historical tour of the battle there in 1944 when the islands surrendered to the USS Philadelphia. Just like Dad wrote in his WWII diary.
This was a wonderful, historic day - Photos tell the story
Dinner – same Ankara Grill meal. They know me now.
BW staff was very helpful & printed ALL the documents we need to board MSC cruise tomorrow
Weird thing – Joe rolled off the bed around 11 pm and scratched his head on the corner of the end table, his arm too. It’s nothing compared to the 12 stitches in his foot which he treats every morning with peroxide & bandages I bought at the pharmacy.
Sunday – September 25th – Ready for Cruise #3
We have a taxi to the cruise port for 12:15
Easy taxi ride but embarkation on MSC COULD have been a disaster.
MSC had 2 ships in port in 1 terminal. We were directed to luggage drop off & check-in. All went smoothly through many document checks. They had to see our last EU passport stamp and my passport to FULL of travel stamps.
THEN the final check-in guy noticed that we were on the WRONG SHIP! A very helpful woman took charge, found our luggage and directed us to repeat the check in process on the RIGHT ship, the Meraviglia.

September 25th - Part 4 (Cruise #3) - MSC Meraviglia - First Impressions
This is a huge international floating city – 6 languages
English/Italian/Spanish/French/Portuguese/German and food to satisfy all cultures.
Very modern & artistic décor
Pro – good size cabin (deluxe balcony) and decent seating on the balcony itself
Con – Need more storage space. Would be fine for a shorter itinerary but we are here for 18 days.
Dinner was excellent as good as any other cruise line. I had an eggplant napoleon starter and chicken parm – perfect!
Show – A magician from Spain – OK, not bad
26th – Genoa, Italy
Very comfortable bed – slept well. Bfast at 6:30 in the buffet. Amazing food selection. Even fancy dessert cakes for breakfast. Must take photos.
Our historical excursion of Genoa was cancelled “not enough people”
Thousands on the ship and not enough interested in what we want? Perhaps they have been here before? Americans are a minority.
Days later we learned that MSC often cancels people if there aren’t enough to fill the “next bus” on a tour. That doesn’t seem right.
On my own with a map I walked the streets of Genoa. The map was detailed. The street signs were not. I bought 2 magnets and took lots of pictures since Joe couldn’t go.
A nap in the afternoon & another great dinner (Greek salad, lasagna, baklava)
Table companions (Mary & Dennis from FL) said the food is not up to the quality of “other lines”
Really? Seems fine to me.
Show in theater (ensemble) “Journey” Excellent
27th – Ajaccio, Corsica, France
Tour of Napoleon’s City – History, monuments etc
Ship provided rain ponchos and they were needed for a sudden downpour
Lunch in Buffet – I really like the “Wellness Options” Joe likes the ribs
Met a nice staff guy from Honduras
Afternoon – Relaxed in cabin – Internet/read/nap – high wind and waves but nothing like our “whole gale on the North Sea in the Spring.
Dinner – Ship is rocking & waves smashing the hull
MDR (main dining room) Not many options for me i.e. lots of FISH
Veal was OK. Should have gone to the buffet, lots of options there.
The menu is posted online and viewable in our cabin. Must learn to check it first,
Show #1 – Singer from Brazil – Great voice but not my choice of songs. Ship rocking so much that the crowd leaving was all thrown to the left
Show #2 – “Houdini” postponed for obvious safety reasons. Can’t have acrobats in angry seas.
28th – At Sea – Much calmer today
Slept until 7 – Bfast in buffet – good as usual
Went to a Spanish Lesson & got the daily program in Spanish. Good practice
Joe went to the medical office & got some of his stitches out. Will return tomorrow afternoon for a recheck.
Checked out Malaga options. We have been here before. Hop on/off bus? No, bad reviews
Castle? Maybe next time – Joe’s foot not ready for a long climb. Likely a shuttle to town.
Lunch – buffet OK I’m sticking to Wellness options. Great desserts, better than the dining room, I think.
Con – No ice cream without a special add on package. Even soft serve by the pool is $3-$4. Really? No problem for us but if you have kids, then probably need an add on package.
Seems this is how they keep prices so low. You don’t pay in the cruise cost for stuff OTHER people want.
For example: We paid $3700 in a deluxe balcony for this 18 day cruise.
We added $10 a day for Internet. We do not get the drink package, but a bottle of sparkling water is included in the MDR.
There is great free entertainment every night in the Broadway theater and 2 “specialty” shows in the Carrousel theater which carry a $15 charge with a drink included ($5 if you have an alcohol package). “Houdini” was the Specialty show tonight – well worth the fee. Aerials, tumbling, dancing, singing – lots going on at once. Drink quite good – Vodka & raspberry juice.
29th – Malaga, Spain
We were here on the NCL Escape in the Spring and took a great tour to El Torcal National Park. Today we will take the shuttle to town. If Joe weren’t injured, we would hike up to the Moorish fortress “castle” above Alcazar (El Gibralfaro)
Bfast in buffet – tried the “cake desserts” OK probably the same calorie wise as having pastry.
On our own in port. The ship operates shuttles to town every 15 minutes. Not far to walk but best to ride for Joe’s foot. Nice walk around the center city. Bought candy in the terminal shop an “ricolla” just in case.
Joe got his foot rewrapped and went to the veterans get together.
Dinner in MDR – VG – The only place for free ice cream if no beverage package.
Show – “Houdini” Aerial/acrobats/dancers/singers VG but so much going on all at once – somewhat distracting.
15 Euros pp if no package (5 otherwise) includes a free drink. Quite well organized
Captain’s announcement – We will pass Gibraltar at 8:30. We joined others in the sky lounge and open deck (windy) for photos. There were lights on the shore of mainland Europe & Africa but not on the ROCK itself. No wonder I never saw it on our spring crossing at midnight.
30th – At Sea
Bfast in buffet. Added a “baked apple” like Dad used to make except he used brown sugar not a prune in the middle. Not a fan of that.
Met Jim from last night’s vet’s meeting. Lots in common regarding music from Cincinnati
I paced off the corridor of our Dec 13. 1 round trip = .25 miles
Joe met Glenn & Iris from FL & exchanged travel info.
At Spanish class I talked to SF guy & Nomad lady. So many different traveling lifestyles. Got info on paid accommodations for English speaking volunteers in immersion programs in 7 countries. Bookmarked the sites for reference.
Buffet: Strawberries, fruit tarts, eclairs. Love these desserts.
2 pm – Port Talk on Madeira, Portugal – our next stop. “The most beautiful island and free”
Interesting history & environment. Closer to Africa than Europe. Funchal the capital (fennil)
Dinner – Good choices, even cheesecake
Captain & crew intro before the show. People just stayed for the 1st show so very crowded. We stayed in the back until they opened the “reserved” Yacht Club area.
Show – “Cool” the 2nd ensemble show – energetic disco – dancing, singing and even a roller skating duo.

October 1st – Funchal, Madeira, Portugal – our last stop in Europe
Madeira is an island in the Atlantic south of the Azores & north of the Canary Islands
Visiting here means walking up, up, up. We went by bus up to several viewpoints & walked thru the town afterwards.
We bought placemats & 3 necklaces from crafts women in booths in the park.
There are still people boarding and disembarking today. This ship is like a big ferry with people coming and going at each port.
Every afternoon there is a safety drill announcement for newcomers. Very different than other cruise lines where occasionally people get off early, but never new arrivals unless they “missed the boat” at the original port.
Dinner – OK
Show – A multi-instrumentalist originally from Poland – Kuba Kwanik
Vibraphone – like a xylophone but with metal strips and electric
Kalimba from Africa – which he found in an antique shop in Ushuaia, Argentina
_____________ from Russia which is played by waving your hands above it.
I even bought his CDs. He is donating the proceeds to Ukraine relief
Oct 2nd – Sea Day #1 as we sail across the Atlantic
Walked some miles on the outside track. Bfast in Buffet. Toured the Spa. We may use our free hour in the area once Joe gets his stitches out. I know people like this experience, but it doesn’t seem to be something for me.
Spanish Lesson. Joe reading on deck 16. It’s OK and not crowded since only 1300 passengers left for the crossing. The ship holds nearly 5,000.
Lunch is the Waves Restaurant – 3 courses – no stuffing ourselves.
Met Kuba on the pool deck. Told him I found his website. We discussed Jeannie’s music program especially for disabled students.
Joe got the last of his stitches out & went to meet his new vet buddies.
Dinner - MDR menu was uninteresting. The buffet a better choice.
Show Ken Boyd, comedian – Black guy with jokes accordingly.
Bad timing for a card to appear in our cabin afterwards detailing how to report crime or suspicious behavior
including phone numbers for the FBI in all ports we will be visiting.
This was one show with an all English speaking audience. Other shows have not been language specific.
Oct 3rd – Sea Day #2
Up at 4am YUK! Bfast in buffet at 6 sharp. Walked the deck, met Richard & Brenda from FL. Info on YC. The ship may be at 25% capacity but the YC (exclusive ship within a ship) is almost full.
Spanish Lesson – Showed Benedicta Lamberg from Munich area web photos of April 2019 trip of Jeanne playing at the Gasteig
Very interesting people attend these language lessons.
Doctor wants to check Joe’s foot 1 more time now that the stitches are out. Joe met his Vets group
We are setting clocks back 1 hour each night to coordinate with Eastern time once we arrive in the Caribbean. This is changing our automatic wake up time but better than a 5 or 6 hour change all at once.
Oct 4th – Sea Day #3
Up at 5:30 – better. Bfast in buffet at 6. Full buffet opens at 6:30 but we are fine with coffee, cereal, fruit, yogurt & pastry until then.
Others rush the counter as soon as they see the food.
Walked the track with Brenda & Richard Noyes. They had checked out my website in detail. That was very nice.
Lunch – I wanted to check out the Wellness selection in the buffet before deciding if MDR menu was better. The buffet hours are 12:30 – 2:30. At noon must be the same crowd from this morning. Quite a mob sitting at tables watching for food to be set out. They swarmed (some ahead of the 12:30 opening) like storm or war victims waiting for rescue supplies. After the initial rush, things calmed down. A much smoother experience.
Another easy day on calm seas. Spanish lesson/info talk on the Caribbean as usual/ Joe’s Vet group
Dinner in MDR. I had 2 entrees – chicken kiev and the vegetarian eggplant dish which I knew would be tiny – almost like a side dish.
Show – Kuba again, but a different show. He even played Chopin on the piano in addition to his unusual instruments.
After the show we met the comedian Ken Boyd and shared the “FBI/Crime report card” that appeared after his performance last night. He loved the unfortunate coincidence and kept the card. Likely it will find a way into a future act of his.
Oct 5th – Sea Day #4
Up at 5:30 again, not bad. Bfast in buffet at 6. Walked the track. Spanish Lesson.
Lunch in Buffet – It is the Day of Fancy Desserts – The “Chocolate Buffet” There was a huge line for those.
The afternoon lecture was “Explorers” The presenter is very knowledgeable.
Lots of reading/relaxing. I’m reading Rutherford’s book “London” – a historical novel in the same vein as the Paris and New York novels that I read on our last transatlantic crossing. The time frame of this one is much longer.
Begins with Caesar’s invasion of Britain 54 BC and goes through 1997

Oct 14th – Drove home, picked up our car and returned the rental at the Lynchburg airport.
The adventure ends.