Embarkation at Civitacecchia on November 4 was the easiest and smoothest of any of our more than twenty sailings. The fact that Prinsendam only carries about 840 passengers, and that there were a fair number staying on board from a previous itinerary (one couple had boarded on October 15 and would stay on board until April - she did not get her luggage until Lisbon on November 9 - but that's another story, and an airline foul-up, not HAL's) plus the fact that she did not sail full, made the process fairly easy. We arrive at the pier at about 10:45 AM - after six beautiful sunny days in Rome - and boarded the ship before 11:00 - and were able to go right to our stateroom, followed by our luggage before noon.

Sailing was delayed by an hour or so due to late delivery of supplies, but it made no matter as we had two sea days before our first port at Cadiz - where we moored within a five minute walk of the center. The next day was Portimao, Portugal - where we moored a fair distance from everything, but reasonably priced taxis were available. Then came Lisbon - again within easy walking distance of the center. The weather was wild - fluctuating between bright sun and heavy rain, bur there were plenty of churches, cafes, etc to take shelter during the brief downpours. Upon leaving Lisbon we were advised that, due to heavy weather in the North Atlantic our two port calls in the Azores would be cancelled and replaced with a stop in Madeira. There was some grumbling, as a number of passengers had specifically booked because of the Azores, but Funchal, Madeira is probably one of the loveliest ports anywhere - and the diversion put us on a trans-Atlantic track some 300 miles further south - resulting in significantly warmer water and air temperatures - riding to around 80 towards the end.

Debarkation in Fort Lauderdale was handled as well and smoothly as embarkation. Read more