Having left Andorra, we hopped aboard the Royal Caribbean Ship the Explorer of the Seas for a Trans-Atlantic voyage from Barcelona (Spain) to Miami (USA) via Valencia, Malaga and the Azores (a Portuguese territory). Before we even really got going, we had a huge win. At the welcome party Jill and I were looking around to see if there were any staff or people that we recognised (having cruised a bit now it is not uncommon to run into people that you have met).

And sure enough, there was Patrick. After an excited greeting, he disappeared and returned with Anna within minutes. We had exchanged details the year before and I had attempted to reach out when we headed to Sweden, but technology failed us and the communications never landed. This was fixed this cruise and you can expect to see them featuring again in future episodes.

We had actually done this cruise the year before on the same ship, with no incident. The 2023 version took in stops in Cartagena while the 2024 version would stop at Valencia, Malaga and the Azores. Having not been to the Azores (a Portuguese territory consisting of nine volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, about 1,400 km west of Lisbon) we figured, well why not.

In the leadup to departure, the news had been consistently reporting on major flooding in and around Valencia. So when the call came that Valencia would be pulled from the itinerary it came as no surprise to anyone.

Cartagena

The alternative was that we stopped at Cartagena in Spain instead. We had been here the year before and found it to be a lovely town with great and cheap coffee, amazing churros and enough old buildings and Roman ruins to amuse yourself for a day.

We found the coffee and churros shop again and kicked back with Patrick and Anna in some bars, sampling the sangria, beer, tapas and just the generally laid-back Spanish lifestyle.

Malaga

Malaga was next and the weather gods smiled upon us (eventually). The birthplace of Pablo Picasso (obviously there is a Picasso Museum here), but the first obvious tourist attraction is the Calle Marqués de Larios, or Calle Larios. This is a massive pedestrian and shopping street that was conceived back in 1880 and has been the main thoroughfare and shopping district since then.

At the end of the shopping area, you run into the Cathedral of Málaga or Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica de la Encarnación. A massive church started in the 16th century and evetually finished in the 18th.

In addition there is a Roman Theatre, the French Pompidou Centre (art gallery), Collection of the Russian Museum, the Alcazaba Fortress and an
Art District (Soho Málaga).

Next stop was (meant to be) the Azores. But the weather conditions made the Azores a little treacherous and the decision was made to divert to the Canary Islands instead.

Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest and most populated of the Canary Islands. Any list of things to do in Tenerife and the Canary Islands more broadly will pop up with a long list of beaches. Our foray into Tenerife (officially Santa Cruz de Tenerife was brief and hampered early by some pretty ordinary weather. But the weather cleared and a lovely afternoon was able to be had exploring the town.

Given the weather, we started a bit late and found ourselves dashing about a bit. But while we didn’t get to see all the sights, we certainly got a really nice and comfortable feeling about the place. It was laid back, relaxed, and reasonably priced. There was the usual tourist fare on offer but not at silly or obscene prices.

So why was it an ill-fated journey?

The Issue

On the evening of 7 November 2024, the ship was hit with a sudden and powerful squall that caused the ship to tilt violently. The captain steered into the wind and righted the ship within a matter of minutes.

The below video featured in many of the media articles. The guy in white holding the chair up was Patrick and Anna (seated) and on the right-hand side ( a few times towards the end) I can be seen in a blue shirt with galahs on it.

A lady had slid across the floor landing at my feet, having bashed her head. I gave her my seat as she was in shock and Jill kicked into nurse mode getting ice from our favourite waiter (Singh) and calming a clearly shaken woman down. I then tended (in a non-medical manner) to others around, some of which were shaken.

The effect

The effects of the gust and violent tilting were that:

• Tables and chairs (sometimes including the people in them) slid across the ship
• Drinks fell off flat surfaces (my beer landing in my lap)
• Alcohol (and glassware) on bars hit the floor
• loose items like plates and cutlery in the dining venues went flying
• Food and plates on tables hit the floor
• Shop merchandise hit the floor
• pokie machines in the casino fell over
• the piano on stage (supporting a Celine Dion tribute act) slid off the stage and
• One person was injured

Bottles of alcohol had shattered across the floor, mixing with spilled drinks and broken glass. While the stores weren’t completely destroyed, everything from T-shirts to postcards, magnets, and jewelry was scattered across the floors. Witnesses’ videos show furniture sliding across the deck, a man holding onto a counter, a sign hitting a man, glass breaking, and people screaming and running.

Afterwards, we were all ordered to our cabins so that a 100% headcount could take place to ensure that everyone was on board. We were thrown about pretty violently on level 5 indoors, the effect of anyone on higher decks or the smokers outside had the potential to be catastrophic.

While sitting in the cabin, several announcements were made seeking individual guests, sparking concerns of people slipping overboard. The next was for a 100% staff count. In the meantime, there was the odd medical announcement being made for injured or stressed out passengers.

Due to an injury the ship made a U-Turn and headed back to Las Palmas, Spain to complete a medical disembarkation. This caused a three day delay in arriving in Miami. Importantly it was a nightmare of logistics as people would now be 3 days late missing flights, other cruises, work commitments etc.

Media Reporting

The media reporting of the incident was absolutely rubbish. As two people who lived through the experience, the things that were reported as fact online and in the mainstream media was nothing but lies and speculation. This started the very next day as media outlets and online reporters were reporting us being hit with a massive wave.

This then evolved, over time, with some of our fellow cruisers making up stories in their own little heads about what had actually transpired. The day we got off the ship, it had evolved to the point where passengers were claiming that the Celine Dion tribute act was singing the Titanic theme song at the time of the incident (total Bullshit).

The desperation for notoriety, fame or even attention has fuelled a constant barrage of bullshit being jammed down our throats constantly. Media reports are published with zero fact checking, and are then republished. Then, over time the stories grew, anything for other people to grab their 15 minutes of fame. Jill and I played the ‘guess what crap they’re saying today’ game as this story continued to unfold.

Las Palmas – Gran Canaria

We had been here the year before and did not really like it. We found groups of underemployed African youths wandering menacingly around the streets creating an uncomfortable environment.

Our opinion, a year on, was much more positive. The underemployment issue seemed to be resolved (or at least moved elsewhere) and the wander through the streets was highly enjoyable and not in the least bit threatening.

And being with Patrick and Anna we wandered along the beach, found some establishments willing to quench a thirst, and all of a sudden all was right with the world.

Unlimited Dining Package

As a side note to the cruise, each cruise ship has the normal dining options (a main dining room, a buffet, and some snack options) in addition there are usually some specialty restaurants that offer a different experience (at an additional cost). This cost can vary dramatically, from cruise to cruise, depending on the popularity and deals on offer.

The restaurants can be booked as one-off ala-carte style eating, as a package (set menu) or as an unlimited package. Jill found the unlimited package on special for this particular cruise and for the first time ever we indulged. The unlimited package meant that every dinner (15 nights) could be at one of these. In addition, every day when we were at sea the lunches were also included (another 11 meals).

The restaurants on board (for our trip) were:

• Chops Grille – a high end steakhouse
• Giovanni’s Table – a high end Italian joint
• Izumi – a high end Japanese joint
• Johnny Rockets – a franchised burger joint

We had eaten at each of these restaurants before (with the exception of Johnny Rockets) but usually as a one-off so we always tended to gravitate to the things that we like. By way of example, my choice at the steakhouse always tended to be:

• GRILLED BLACK PEPPER BACON – Slow-cooked Berkshire pork, with a sweet and spicy glaze
• WILD MUSHROOM SOUP – with white truffle oil, chives
• PRIME BONE-IN RIBEYE – USDA Prime 16 oz. bone-in cut, well marbled for peak flavor, deliciously juicy

• A choice of sides that include

The unlimited package meant that we could try everything on the menu and be better informed for future cruises. This meant that my choices (at Chops at least) went from GRILLED BLACK PEPPER BACON to:

• COLOSSAL SHRIMP COCKTAIL – Horseradish cocktail sauce, lemon
• TUNA TARTARE* – Avocado, ginger, wasabi caviar
• JUMBO LUMP CRAB CAKE – Chipotle aïoli
• CHARRED BEEF CARPACCIO* – Rare charred beef, Parmesan cheese,
  arugula, truffle-mustard dressing
• and of course my GRILLED BLACK PEPPER BACON

My Mushroom soup was added to by:

• LOBSTER BISQUE – Brandy, tarragon cream,
• CAESAR SALAD – Romaine, shaved Parmesan, tossed in Caesar dressing, fresh baked crôutons
• CRISPY GOAT CHEESE SALAD – Green apples, candied walnuts, cranberries, balsamic dressing
• THE WEDGE – Iceberg lettuce, blue cheese crumbles, smoked bacon

And my 16 oz Prime rib on the bone had to now compete with:

• FILET* – 9 ounces of our most tender cut of lean, midwestern beef
• PETITE FILET* – A smaller 6-ounce cut, but equally tender and delicious
• PRIME NY STRIP* – A 12-oz. full-flavored USDA Prime cut, with a slightly firmer texture than a ribeye
• RACK OF LAMB* – Tender oven-roasted rack of lamb, seasoned with thyme and rosemary
• ORGANIC ROASTED CHICKEN – Half chicken slowly roasted, perfectly seasoned with thyme, served with au jus
• And some seafood options that include:
• GRILLED BRANZINO – Sautéed spinach, olive oil, lemon, sea salt
• SPICY JUMBO SHRIMP – Red pepper flakes, creamy garlic butter
• GRILLED ATLANTIC SALMON* – Whole grain mustard sauce
• BROILED 1 ½ LB. MAINE LOBSTER – with drawn butter and fresh lemon

And these sorts of choices were replicated across the 3 restaurants.

The sheer volume of food meant that we ate the majority of our meals at Izumi Japanese. Their meals were the lightest and (arguably) the healthiest of them all. Starting off with some edamame beans and miso soup is much lighter than the charcuterie board and breads with olive oil and balsamic vinegar at Giovanni’s. Don’t get me wrong, the charcuterie board was good, but maybe not every day.

The sushi and sashimi were also considerably lighter than steaks and pastas. Jill virtually inhaled raw fish and steak the whole time that we were on the ship. We have had the Izumi’s on several ships now and they are quite hit and miss. Not in a food sense, but certainly in an ambience sense. This one was high-end and lovely, but others that we have been to have left you feeling more like you were in a noisy cafeteria.

After all of this food there were elaborate dessert menus on offer to cap off the meals. The Italian (obviously) had a tiramisu and cannoli, while the Japanese had mochis, red bean sesame balls and the steakhouse had key lime pie, red velvet cake and chocolate self-saucing pudding.

To say that this experience was amazing is an understatement, but it was also too much. We ended up skipping every breakfast on the entire 15 day cruise (settling for just coffee) and swapped out many of the lunches for more simple options (with Patrick and Anna) in the main dining room.

I’m not sure that the exercise offset the food on offer, but we had to do something other than just eat. So the daily (weather permitting) exercise was our attempt. For those who caught up with Jill when we were in Brisbane, will remember the terrible pneumonia cough that she had, needless to say this made playing a tennis derivative a little on the interesting side.