Christmas Cruise aboard Oriana

We've cruised several times before but never over Christmas, so it was with great excitement as we approached Southampton docks we caught sight of the beautiful Oriana. I've had the pleasure of sailing on her before, about ten years ago, but this was a first voyage on Oriana for my husband and 5 year old daughter. A couple of days at sea allowed us to get our bearings and sample many of the activities on board. I particularly enjoyed my visits to the Oasis Spa and was surprised at the great value of the treatments on offer. Our first port of call was Madeira where we jumped in a taxi and headed straight for the cable car. The views on the way up were amazing and it was great to feel the warmth of the sun after the cold and damp we'd left behind. We then headed for the toboggan station, the three of us squeezing in for the rather hair-raising ride back down the hill. The guides did a great job avoiding cars and pedestrians - what fun! Our next stop was Tenerife where we joined a pre-booked excursion to the fabulous Loro Parque. The highlight for me was watching the hilarious sea lions and my husband and daughter especially loved seeing the dolphins and killer whales. There is so much to see and do, a day isn't really long enough. Gran Canaria was our next port and a first visit for all of us. We hit the shopping centre as soon as we'd docked then returned to Oriana mid-morning to join our excursion to Puerto Mogan, where we boarded a submarine for an underwater adventure, seeing a wide variety of fish and a couple of shipwrecks. Puerto Mogan is such as beautiful resort - it's a place we'll be going back to. Christmas Eve saw us in Lanzarote where we soaked up the festive atmosphere and wandered around the shops, visited a fortress and had refreshments in a 'tucked-away' cafe. The excitement was mounting back on board, especially for all the children. The captain had received a report that an unidentified object was approaching Oriana, a red glow to the fore and bells jingling! - we were going to get a slightly early visit from Santa! Lo and behold, he appeared from a smoking funnel and came down to meet all the children saying he'd be back the following day to join them for a party. And boy, did he know how to party! Christmas Day was spent at sea and with so much going on, it flew by. Santa's afternoon party was exclusively for children though parents could go along if they really wanted to! On Boxing Day we docked in Vigo, northern Spain, where, thankfully, all the shops were open. After spending most of the day climbing the steep streets and melting some plastic, we returned weary to Oriana to join the farewell party held aft. We Brits sure know how to have a good time - even Noddy was up for a boogie! I hope you enjoyed reading my journal and looking at my photos. If you'd like to find out more about cruising or any of the places we stopped at, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to your call.