Visiting Ponta Delgada on a private tour

The first thing we learned on our first ever port visit to Ponta Delgada in the Azores, is that there's many ways of pronouncing the name of this Portuguese archipelago. Americans typically pronounce it as A-zores while Europeans would say Ah sor ehs. When we researched pre-cruise for what to do in this port, we decided we wanted a simple city highlights tour that was a few hours long. None of the ship sponsored excursions interested us so we looked into private options. 

The tour we chose to do was booked through Viator (or Vivitar as my dad keeps thinking it's called) and was called Private Half-Day Tour in Furnas Sao Miguel Island. This private four hour tour for two adults cost us $297.76. The tour included the use of our own car and driver/guide. By booking online with Viator, I was able to earn some cash back and later receive just over $14 in Viator credit for reviewing the tour when we returned. 

At this port, there are benches in an enclosed building once off the ship and through security where you can meet or wait for your private guide to arrive. Our guide arrived right on time and led us to his car parked nearby.

The nice thing about booking a private tour is that while various stops were on our itinerary, we completely played it by ear as to what we wanted to see. Our driver ended up being a relative of the tour company's owner. The owner would give him some tours to do when they had a lot of bookings. Our small group was perfect for getting to know each other. We traveled through the country learning about the area from him while he asked us just as many questions about life in America. 

While we stopped at many viewpoints and overlooks, the main part of the tour was spent at the Lagoa Das Furnas. Our guide helped us get a discounted admission into the site. We arrived at the perfect time to watch locals burying pots of stew into the ground so that it uses the geothermal energy to cook all day. Think of it like an electricity free slow cooker meets buried pig at a luau. 

After the locals have paid to bury their pot, they are given a numbered stick to place in the top of the mound so they can remember where their pot was buried.

Perhaps this is where the term pot luck came from?

The guide was above and beyond courteous and patient with Dad catering to his walking needs. What was most impressive to me was seeing how our guide took the time to give Dad the support of his arm and together they slowly walked over the rugged terrain to get down to a viewpoint. 

This place even had a gift shop but it had more ducks than people for customers.

The lake view that our guide helped Dad slowly climb down to see.

The steam even rises up over the lake.

Ducks weren't the only cute creatures wandering the area:

One of the high overlooks that gave us a great view of the town we'd just visited. Our guide pointed out all the places we'd just left and answered a bunch of questions about daily life for those residents.

We briefly rode through a small area with many figurines and sculptures. The area was packed with a crowded ship tour that would have made walking around very frustrating. Our small car was able to loop through the area like a drive through sculpture version of a light show and get back on the road leaving the crowds behind. It was so nice to be able to make our own decision about what was worth stopping to get out and explore rather than a planned itinerary that shared a tiny space with 200 other passengers. 

As we drove, our guide kept suggesting the landmark spots noted in the tour description but we had no interest. We routinely reassured him that we had no need to visit all the touristy spots. Instead we drove from one end of the island to the other enjoying the views, the stories, and the chill company. Soon the four hours flew by and our guide dropped us off right by the terminal entrance. After learning all about his life and recent hardships, we gave him the remainder of foreign currency that we would no longer need after this port stop. He confirmed that there was a place on the island to exchange it all. We felt the extra tip was well deserved. 

Thank you for reading any or all of another trip report. I hope you enjoyed hearing about the Sky Princess/Sky Suite, visiting European ports, and the experience of a transatlantic sailing. If I missed answering any of your questions or you want to know more about what I covered, please drop a comment here or message me on any of my social media listed on the site. 

What's coming up next in my trip reports? Still to come is the story of how we stuck closer to home on another river cruise. Two more repeat itineraries with a new twist are also on the books for later this year. And yes, Prince S will be making a return appearance at one of them since he thinks he's the real Star of this blog, wink, wink. Keep coming back as there's more new content on the way!

Time to Catch some dinner

Our final specialty restaurant that we dined at multiple times is The Catch by Rudi. While a good amount of the menu is seafood based, there is still plenty to enjoy if you're more a fan of riding above the water than eating what lives below it. This restaurant normally costs $55 per adult and $27.50 per child aged 3-12. Or included for those who booked under the Princess Premier rate. The Catch by Rudi is known for focusing just as much on presenting the food as they do on taste. This results in some playful presentations to various dishes. The most famous example is of the Rudi's Artistic Face to Face dessert where the chocolate truffle based dish is arranged to look like a face on the plate. Click here to view a sample menu from Princess' website.

Somewhere along this cruise, Dad's account was somehow mistakenly marked as having a dairy allergy. Josue was the first to point this out to us when the Concierge Lounge crew was concerned about him choosing a finger sandwich with cheese. Once confirmed that it was a mistake, Josue assured us that he would take it off Dad's account. Fast forward to one of our dinners at The Catch by Rudi. Throughout our dining experience on the ship, the wait staff has always been on the ball with asking if we have any allergies or dietary restrictions. We were asked by our waiter at the start of this dinner and we told him no. After placing our drink and food order, I noticed that it was taking an unusually long time. I watched our waiter run back and forth checking their computer screen. Finally, he returns to our table and starts politely trying to explain how Dad couldn't have something he ordered because of his dairy allergy. It took some convincing from us to get the waiter to believe that it was a mistake. So if you're concerned about Princess taking your food allergies seriously, here's an example of how seriously they take it even when you don't have any! All kidding aside, Princess has been great with food allergies and restrictions whether it's pointing out what you can't have on the menu or offering a substitution like using gluten free pasta. As always, make sure it is noted on your account and that you mention it to your waiter so they can make any changes necessary. 

Every meal at The Catch by Rudi starts off with their take on loaves and fishes - a single breadstick style loaf, some flavored butter and olive tapenade in a glass dish shaped like a fish. The water "pitcher" that is brought to each table is shaped like a clear glass fish standing on its back fins.

One of the evenings I was joking around about the fish pitcher to Dad and one of the waitresses came over. She topped off our water glasses and then smiled as she walked away with the pitcher. Perhaps she has heard about my clumsy tendencies and knew I shouldn't have fragile things left next to the edge of the table. :)

Dad ordered the Smoked Salmon Sensation appetizer - honey brushed hot smoked salmon under a smoking cloche with green spring vegetables. The tableside presentation of this dish is such a fun experience as the waiter lifts the cloche to release the plume of smoke rising up in front of you. An appetizer with a side of facial for dinner tonight.

My appetizer of Shrimp on the Rocks - horseradish cocktail sauce. Served in a large bowl filled with ice and shaped like it's being held by an octopus' tentacles.

Calamari appetizer - seasoned panko coating, lemon aioli. I also like trying calamari everywhere I can and this one was pleasantly lightly breaded with just the right amount of chewy texture.

My lemon aioli came as a conjoined twin with something resembling a cocktail sauce but seemed more like marinara. The Italian lineage in me appreciates the attention to detail using the combo to create the colors of the Italian flag.

Sea & Shore entree - surf-n-turf filet mignon 5-6 oz., lobster tail 4 oz., red wine sauce, and steamed vegetables. This entree is included in the cover charge. Honestly, I think we had the best cooked and best tasting steaks here out of all the ones we ate onboard. There are three different upcharge options for $30 each featuring a whole 12 oz. lobster tail, a whole lobster split, or salad of a whole lobster. While each of these do include other things in the preparation, I'm not sure all of them should be priced at $30. I've never ordered any of these upcharge choices. Maybe next Princess cruise...

Served in the shell:

Removed from the shell:

My butter dipping sauce for the lobster arrived in a dish shaped like an oyster shell:

For those not into seafood - we also tried the Poivre Perfection entree - steak frites with peppercorn sauce, french fries, and frizzled onions. These fries are served in ice cream cone shaped dishes and lined with parchment paper. Y'all - these fries with their own garlic parmesan flavor profile have dethroned the fries at Crown Grill for me. How I wish I could order these fries on their own when those late night munchies hit and I need a little something to nosh on while watching Love Boat reruns on the cabin TV!

Our fish and loaves dish made a repeat appearance to serve my Chef's Classic dessert - Crepes Suzette with vanilla ice cream. Unfortunately, I have to rate this as the worst dessert on the menu. It was so saturated that the crepes were like waterlogged heavy paper towels. I could barely lift it up to eat a piece without risking dripping it all over. The taste was so overbearing that I gave up after a couple bites. 

If you still have room for dessert, the best choice I've tried is the Chantilly Lace - mini croquembouche filled with creme Chantilly and hot chocolate sauce. Here is the one Dad enjoyed on this cruise:

My order of the same dessert from another night:

Each visit, the end of our meal came with a small bowl containing a sample pile of all the little chocolate garnishes used on their desserts. I may have snuck them back to the cabin wrapped in a tissue for snacking later.

Touring on our own - Cherbourg, France

Given that we'd had our fill of Normandy and D-Day on the Viking River cruise we'd just finished, we had no interest in the many Normandy themed tours offered for our port visit to Cherbourg. After doing some research, we learned that literally right next door to the cruise port is a great maritime museum called La Cite De La Mer. The museum has a small Titanic themed exhibit and a much more extensive self-led tour through Le Redoubtable, the first French nuclear ballistic missile submarine. The website for the museum lists a range for ticket prices from 13.50€ to 15.00€. We were given the tip onboard to mention being cruise passengers for a unique rate. 

The ship terminal Princess used when visiting Cherbourg was historically used as a baggage carousel for Titanic passengers. This is part of the museum but is closed off to any non cruise passenger visiting when a ship is docked. As you walk back and forth to your ship, there are many informative signs to read as well as videos and holograms displayed on the walls. One such display was even interactive allowing you to hold your hand up and direct a cursor while standing in front of the wall. Definitely worth the time to look around even if you spent the day elsewhere on a tour. 

The interactive wall:

The main entry to the museum features an exhibit on unique watercraft. 

This one reminded me of the submarine on Viking Octantis.

There can be a good bit of walking depending on what you wish to see as the museum covers multiple buildings. On the plus side, once you're tired of walking, the ship is a short walk around some security fencing away.

Our next stop was to satisfy my inner Titanic nerd by visiting the Titanic exhibit. The exhibit is a bit modest compared to others we've visited. If you can only visit one in your travels, I highly recommend the Titanic Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland. You could fill several hours there visiting everything from a ride that takes you through a Titanic building simulation to a solemn dark painted room filled with pillars simply spelling out the communication from the advance iceberg warnings to the calls for help. Reading them in order as you move through the quiet space really made me feel like I was in that moment with them.

This Cherbourg exhibit also featured a sort of timeline setup along with mockups of cabin types, and interactive communications examples. Information was in both French and English.

The smooth floors made it fairly easy to move around for all abilities making only our directional skills a challenge. The venue was pretty busy with a lot of families and groups so it was tough to move through in any real order.

It was great to see little touches like this sign written in text and braille to explain the sextant tool.

Next stop was to visit the Le Redoubtable that Dad had been looking forward to checking out. We asked at the counter where you pick up the audio guide if it was doable for Dad and his cane. This part of the museum is the actual submarine so you need to be able to move around in narrow spaces, step through hatches, and climb metal stairs. The employees said they thought Dad could do it but also informed us of an option to sit just inside the vessel entrance and watch a video walkthrough for those with mobility issues. Dad chose to try the video and an employee escorted us inside the submarine to set him up at the video station. The employee had to step away but promised to come back and collect us. They keep strict count and whereabouts on whomever goes in to the submarine. Before she left, she gave us a brief explanation on how to walk through and pointed out some of the places we could reach before steps were required. 

After viewing the video, Dad said he wanted to try and make his way through the submarine after all. We both had to do some less than elegant body moves to maneuver through all the transitions but I'm proud to say that we both made it the entire length of the submarine! Once you start moving through, it's really easy to follow the directional path to the end. I wouldn't start the effort however unless you feel capable enough to see it through since there's not many spots to turn around and go back.

The video screen to watch the walkthrough if you aren't capable of doing the walking.

Scenic shots from throughout the journey through this submarine - not pictured is the steps and narrow doorways that you had to step up and over. Was too busy holding on to the railings!

Our sense of accomplishment was only briefly dimmed when we made it back to the counter to return our audio guides. The poor employee who'd escorted us to the video screen had finally come back to collect us only to find us gone since we were off walking through the submarine. She must have been a few turns behind us because she never saw us until we arrived at the counter. We apologized for the trouble but instead of being upset, she was more ecstatic that we'd been able to complete the walkthrough!

Lastly, we checked out the aquarium exhibit. There were also several interactive things to do here mostly geared toward children.