Join us for part one of our cruise onboard Marella Explorer. We begin the holiday in Luton Airport as we were flying out to meet the ship in Palma, Majorca, for a seven-night 'Magic of Spain' cruise calling at Gibraltar, Cadiz, Malaga, Cartagena, and Valencia.

Did you know that you can pre-order items to collect from an air-side boots in an airport to save on the liquid restriction in security? We did just that. As the luggage was limited to 23kg per person, and one carry on bag each, we decided to order our toiletries in advance to collect in the airport to make the process that little bit easier. And it worked a treat!

The flight was quick, only 2 hours and 6 minutes down to Palma, although it was a little bumpy due to the storms in the area on take-off. As Dan is not a fan of flying he didn't enjoy the first 15 minutes of the flight, but soon got more comfy as the turbulence subsided.

Our arrival into Palma was stress-free. We collected our luggage from the luggage belt, and headed over to 'Exit Door Number 5' where we spoke with the Tui reps who provided us with luggae tags and directed us to the shuttle bus to take us to the ship. We handed our luggage to the driver who loaded them onto the bus. We didn't have to touch the luggage again until they were outside our cabin door! It was really handy!

Once at the cruise terminal we headed straight into the check-in area, collected our cruise cards, and off we went.

Once onboard we got ourselves settled into our cabin, and completed out cabin tour. We were staying in a balcony cabin on deck 8 forward, and couldn't have been more pleased by the location, just by the stairs and lifts. The cabin itself has had a recent renovation and is spacious enough to be able to unpack everything and still have storage spaces left for bits and pieces you pick up on your cruise. The safe was on the smaller side, and sockets were scarce in the room (be sure to pack a travel adaptor). That being said, the shower was large with a glass door and probably the best water pressure we have had at sea, the balcony was also large and comfortable with two reclining chairs and a table. Overall, we were impressed by the cabin.

As we were late in our departure from Palma (due to late inbound flights from the UK because of the storms), we decided to head to bed for a fairly early night.

The next day we enjoyed a relaxing day at sea sailing towards our first port of call, Gibraltar. As you will find out over the course of this series, we really enjoyed 'The Kitchens' onboard as there were so many dining choices to choose from, so we visited again for both our lunch, and our dinner. In the evening we enjoyed 'The Exchange', this bar offers a pre-bookable immersive show a few nights a week. We had prebooked to attend The Heist. We wont give too much away as we don't want to spoil it for you, although we will say the bar is in the style of a 'speak-easy', a secret bar hidden behind a telephone box, but you must call and give your codeword to enter. The Exchange does sell out quick online prior to your cruise, so be quick to make sure you book your place in advance.

The following morning we arrived in Gibraltar. We booked the 'Royal Ways, Canapes, and Mayors Parlour' excursion and thought it was great! We began the excursion driving to City Hall where we enjoyed some light canapes and drinks while taking in art and talking with the Mayors Team about the history of Gibraltar and City Hall. We then headed up the Rock of Gibraltar where we were then taken on a scenic walk along the Windsor Suspension Bridge and down towards the Ape Den. Although the weather was lovely, we only saw two monkeys when we arrived at the Apes Den, this was in part due to the heat of the mid-day sun, they were all sleeping.

When we got back on the ship, we decided to relax for a bit, before heading to the show lounge to enjoy '80s Vision', an all singing, all dancing, theatre performing showcasing classic 80s hits.

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CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro
1:39 Travel to Palma
3:09 Balcony cabin tour
10:23 Surf & Turf
15:40 Day 2 - At Sea
22:12 The Exchange - The Heist
28:15 Day 3 - Gibraltar

Tropical Dreams by LiQWYD   / liqwyd  
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