Spirit of Discovery blog

It was Captain Horne with the con this morning for our arrival into Gibraltar and as usual there were many ships arriving and departing from both Gibraltar and Algeciras. Both ports share the Bay of Gibraltar and there is an awful lot of VHF reporting to be done to cover both ports. Once the pilot had embarked it was a case of weaving our way through the anchored ships and getting lined up for the berth. It was another successful docking, with Captain Horne quickly becoming familiar with our podded propulsion system. We were all fast by 0745 and clearance was granted by 0800.

Gibraltar, a favourite for many cruisers, has long been known as the gateway to the Mediterranean. Gibraltar has been held by the British since 1704, covers an area of 2.5 sq. miles and is home to the Barbary apes as well as a myriad of caves and tunnels which were made during the Great Siege of 1779-1783.

Five tours were on offer today; Fortress Gibraltar, Dolphin Watch, Alameda Gardens & Cable Car Ride, and Europa Point & English Tea. I know speaking with Guests they really enjoyed their shore excursions and particularly the Dolphin Watch where they saw lots of activity. Although not available in Gibraltar, swimming with Dolphins with my family is definitely on the “bucket list”!!

It was yet another day of sunshine which was absolutely perfect for all the tours and especially the tour to the top of the rock via the cable car with views across to North Africa.

We refuelled the ship today with 350T of heavy fuel oil and I did offer my credit card hoping to “boost” my air miles!!

At 1400 all Guests were back on board ready for our sailaway.

Captain Julian Burgess