Gibraltar is only 193 nautical miles from Casablanca. The length of time we will have in port is from 09:00 to 14:00. All on board by 13:30. Roisin and I are booked on 'the best of Gibraltar' tour. A trip to the ‘Rock’ wouldn’t be complete without going up it!! We had looked at alternatives but due to the short time we have ashore, decided that an official excursion would be the best option.The cabin steward places a daily programme in y...

Having thankfully missed the Mr Made in Italy contest last night we had a full day at sea before arriving in Casablanca. There was an evening of activities with an Italian theme to celebrate 150 years of Italian unification. Apparently Italy has only existed as a single country since 1861. We were also told that there is so many varieties of pasta to choose from you could eat a different type for every day of the year. Why didn't we just get told there are a...

Breakfast at the OK Coral. We were not scheduled to dock at Barcelona until midday so what would be more perfect than a leisurely breakfast? Unfortunately at precisely 09:30am, the exact time we entered the Pago Pago buffet, the other 3000 or so guests had decided to take breakfast at 09:25. Barcelona is also an embarkation port. This was the end of the road for most of the Spanish guests. The way they were piling the food on their plates, you would think that it...

It's the day of embarkation. The weather looked overcast but at least it was dry. After a leisurely breakfast we checked out just before 10am. Leaving our bags at the hotel, I persuaded Roisin to travel up the funicular/lift to Castel Albertini where you would be able to spy the MSC Splendida, which would become our home for the next 7 days.Having travelled this particular funicular/lift last time we were here I knew what to expect. I could see Roisin was ner...

Our tale begins not, as you would expect, from now but it begins in a small room deep in the bowls of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) 3 months ago, in November 2011 at about 3:52 in the afternoon.A letter was received from Meester and Meesus Oggson, as we were known on our last MSC cruise to the Arabian Gulf. We felt the service had slipped since our first experience with this Italian Cruise Company. In retrospect, I suppose it depends on what Italian cr...