What could have been the world's most boring cruise turns into one of the best. Photo / 123rf
Dominick Merle has his heart set on the European cruise of a lifetime, but his health had other ideas.
What began as the most frustrating trip I have ever taken, having seriously injured my knee on day one on board the luxurious Star Pride of Windstar Cruises, gradually ended in fulfilment and gratitude.
It was also relaxing, because as I transitioned — from wheelchair to crutches to cane — the Star Pride likewise morphed, at least to me, into a luxury, private R&R yacht.
However, I would miss all the glamorous port stops on my 12-day itinerary, from Lisbon to Barcelona via Casablanca. I could only imagine them from my lonely cruise ship, while most of the other guests were off on tours.
“Hello Algarve! Nice rock, Gibraltar ... Strange bazaar, Morocco ... Some cathedral, Seville!”
As a consolation prize, my wife Susan partook in the actual tours and would fill me in on her eyewitness experiences with accompanying photos.
Back to the plus side. I have never made as many friends on any other cruise. Misery loves company, as the saying goes. Many of my shipmates inquired about my injury and then trumped it by recounting their own previous woes (braggarts!), sometimes making me feel like a piker or a whiner.
But a large tip of my press hat to those cruisers with permanent disabillities who persevered daily and overcame, what to me would be major obstacles, with a wink and a smile. They are to be admired for their courage and it was a humbling and heart-warming experience to have cruised in their shoes for a brief time. I truly hope the wake-up call stays within me.
The Star Pride is an eight-deck, all-suite cruise ship that can accommodate about 300 passengers and half as many crew. Windstar is often described as a luxury cruise line —and that it is — but it is a relaxed elegance and not hoity-toity or pretentious.
Dress is casual, the crew are there when you need them, invisible when you don’t. By day three everyone seems to know your name and personal tastes.
My first stop shortly after boarding was to the Medical Centre where my knee was examined, rubbed and wrapped, and I was then wheelchaired off to my suite. Recovery would take at least two weeks, the medic examiner said, and I should limit my walking (there go all the tours).
So the Star Pride and I would be up-close-and-personal shipmates for the entire voyage. By the end of the cruise, I could have given a professional tour from the crew’s quarters on decks 1 and 2 to the Yacht Club Cafe on deck 8.
The Star Pride even had an Acupuncture Centre, which I promptly visited only to learn that several treatments would be required for any improvement. I took one session with 15 needles any way in hopes of a miracle cure.
I also enjoy an occasional cigar (I know, I know, bad for ya), and one of the ship’s officers arranged a private smoking area for me where it would be out of view and not annoy the other cruisers.
While I was unable to enjoy life ashore with the locals of the various countries, sometimes they came to visit me. At various ports, the Star Pride hired local entertainers and chefs to perform in the ship’s main showroom — fado singers from Lisbon, tagine chefs from Morocco, flamenco dancers from Spain etc.
The cruise, titled Souks & Sherries, began in Lisbon on Portugal’s West Coast and ended in an abbreviated U-turn in Barcelona on the northeast Spanish Coast. Port stops included Portimao in the Portuguese Algarve, Gibraltar, Casablanca and the Spanish ports of Cadiz, Malaga and Cartagena.
The highlight of my wife’s tours took place in the Moroccan countryside near the small town of Essouira. As she described, it looked like a scene from an animated movie. Perched on the limbs of a tree, like high-wire artists, were a group of goats munching away.
The Tamri goats have a sweet tooth for the leaves of the argan tree and have become adept climbers, entering the tree via low-hanging branches. But the goats also consume some of the argan nuts and from these nuts comes the most prized and expensive oil of Morocco, used sparingly on salads, vegetables and couscous.
So the farmers have an ongoing feud with the goats, trying to harvest the almond-shaped nuts before the acrobatic animals get hungry (I’m rooting for the goats). And tourists, if they’re lucky and the timing is right, get a sight they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.
Other port stops most talked about by cruisers were that little pipsqueak Gibraltar with its one-rock spectacle (for about $50 you can cable up or take a taxi to the top and browse out at nearby Africa), and the dazzling white villages of Andalusia, Spain, that looked like they were whitewashed daily.
Windstar has a fleet of six luxury cruise ships carrying about 150 to 300 passengers. It goes to 150 ports in over 50 nations in Europe, the South Pacific, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, New Zealand and Australia. It’s usually listed among the top three luxury cruise lines, often the first, in the world in service, dining and suites.
So if you’re unfortunate enough to be injured at sea, it’s a pretty neat place to rehab.
Limping down the gangplank in Barcelona at disembarkation, assisted by the ship’s hotel manager, I turned to say farewell to my shipmate. The Star Pride was there for my every shuffling step, even going the extra nautical mile for me.
Before embarking on our Windstar cruise and the knee injury, we spent three unhurried but eventful days in Lisbon. It made for a smooth transition. Among our Lisbon highlights:
Lodging: Stay at the Memmo Alfama, a boutique hotel in the historic district. The price is right, the location is excellent to walk the narrow winding streets in the old Alfama area, and views from the balcony and patio are extraordinary.
Dining: Portuguese seafood classics merge nicely with French cuisine at Restaurante Federico, a courtyard eatery located in an old cellar at Palacio Ludovice. Follow Chef Ricardo Simoes’ suggestions and you can’t go wrong. Figure about NZ$85 per person with wine.
Sightseeing: Book a half-day tour with Viatour that includes stops at several neighbourhoods in the Barrio Alta, a visit to the Jeronimos Monastery and the Belem district, original home of those delicious Portuguese custard pastries known as pasteis de nata.
Entertainment: Fado translates to fate, and the traditional Fado music in Portugal is highly emotional, often focusing on broken hearts and adventures at sea. We spent our final evening at O Faia, one of the oldest Fado restaurants in Lisbon, dating back to 1947. We left teary-eyed but happy.
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When there's nothing as far as the eye can see, you may appreciate the company.