Location: Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Summary: A cancelled tour, a quiet day onboard, accidental sunburn, good music, and the best meal of the cruise arriving on the final night.
Another Cancelled Tour
I woke up in the port of Palma de Mallorca and learned that the full‑day island tour I had booked had been cancelled overnight. As I still wasn’t feeling brilliant, I decided to stay on board. I had toured Palma on my last visit, so I didn’t feel I was missing much by not going ashore.
A day resting again
In the morning, I collected my passport and Spanish identity card from the reception desk. It was all very straightforward, though I still questioned why the ship needed to take everyone’s passports in the first place.
I didn’t feel like eating, so I went down to the Atrium Bar for a couple of coffees instead of breakfast. I watched passengers heading off into town for a while, then wandered around the deck filming Palma from the ship. After that, I decided to find a quiet spot to read my Kindle and sit in the sun. I walked up to the top deck and found an empty area with a bar nearby. I ordered an alcohol‑free cocktail, settled into a deck chair, and read in the warm, still air. It was a lovely day, sheltered from the wind, and soon it grew hot. I ordered another drink and kept reading until I began to doze off, which told me it was time to head back to my cabin.
Back in the cabin, I took a shower to cool down. One look in the mirror told me I had stayed in the sun far too long; I was very sunburnt. I turned the air conditioning down to cool myself off and lay on the bed for an hour or so. Whether it was dehydration or some lingering bug, I still felt drained from the day I visited Civita di Bagnoregio.
In the afternoon, I walked down to the piano bar and listened to the pianist for a while. He was pretty good, and I was happy enough with an iced peach tea while I listened.
In the evening, I met Gail for dinner. I was feeling a bit better and quite hungry after not eating all day. I ordered creamed cod with truffle for my first course, but was served veal instead. Starving, I kept quiet and ate what I was given. Gail received the cod she had ordered. In the end, I think I got lucky; the veal was lovely. For my main course, I had veal cheek stewed in Chianti wine, served over mashed potatoes with rosemary and cherry tomatoes. It was delicious and probably the best meal I had eaten on the ship. Dessert was Swiss chocolate cake with chocolate and coffee sauce, which was also excellent. A shame it took all week to find a meal I genuinely enjoyed.
After dinner, Gail and I met Val in the Teadora Lounge and listened to some of the music from the bar. I stuck to another alcohol‑free cocktail. I felt a bit better after eating, but was still very tired, so I went back to my cabin early. I needed to pack my case and have it outside the cabin by 23:00 anyway. Once it was packed and left in the corridor, I climbed into bed and went straight to sleep.
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