October 2010 – Canary Islands Cruise – Real Concerns With Feeding

We’re ticking something off that list of things we were going to do together – as our options on holidays became limited due to Carol’s progress flying wasn’t on the cards anymore, so a cruise was the obvious choice. Never done it before (which is why it’s on the list) and we needed a UK port for departure – Southampton it was. We booked with Royal Caribbean on the” Independence of the Seas” – a 10 night cruise with stops in Madeira, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Spain.

Everything plus the kitchen sink was packed up to go – no luggage allowance is a really bad idea believe me! Just a 4 hour drive to Southampton and parking on the quayside – that first look at the ship (wow is the standard response here) and on through the rigmarole of customs and check-in, although again the wheelchair assistance was much appreciated. Our room was on Deck 2 and disabled access which meant a lower bed, wider doors, wetroom with support rails all round and a seat in the shower. It was all very nice and our view was almost at water level for watching out of the window to see what was passing by – I was hoping to see whales or dolphins but didn’t catch sight of anything.

I’ll deal with the developing feeding issue before briefly talking about the trip itself – feeding Carol on the cruise was a major problem. We were surrounded by more food than you’ve ever seen in your life, different restaurants serving everything you could think of 24 hours a day – and Carol couldn’t eat any of it. We ended up ordering room service breakfast every morning and Carol had porridge or yoghurt or maybe scrambled egg. The thickener had come with us so drinks were treated the same as at home. Carol tried the main restaurant area once but became really self-conscious of the fact that I was having to feed her so all future meals (lunch and dinner) consisted of me going and eating by myself, while Carol either sunbathed or watched TV in our room, and then I’d find something for Carol and carry it back to the room so she could eat. Carol survived the whole trip on a mixture of mashed potato, passata sauce, yoghurts and sorbet or torte type desserts. Occasionally I’d try to mix it up with some soup or pasta or mincemeat / gravy types of meals – but any food with texture caused Carol to choke so we always ended up going back to those first choices – as I said it was a major problem. Carol was fed up by the end of the trip – and we both knew the PEG was our priority when we got home.

The ship was magnificent – they’re basically floating towns so everything you need is available for you. A massive gym, ice-rink, cinema, theatre (we watched a couple of shows – Rat Pack & Abba tribute’s), casino, ballroom, library and a shopping area. Everything sparkled and the whole effect was quite stunning. There were bars for drinks and quizzes and they even had an Elvis hour on our last night! There was a newsletter delivered to our room every night listing the activities of the next day. Swimming pools and play areas and fabulous hot whirlpools which actually hung over the side of the ship.  There was a climbing wall (I don’t like heights but did climb this), tennis court, crazy golf and a flow-rider (surfing and bodyboarding – really great fun!). A cruise is definitely something you should try – even if you only do it once.

Watching Carol whizz around the decks in the powered chair was certainly a sight - when she was in 5th gear you just had to make sure you kept out of the way and let her shoot on past you - she just didn't care! 

We reached Funchal in Madeira after the first couple of days at sea – with the weather warming up very nicely the further South we travelled. We’d been warned about the Bay of Biscay being rough but didn’t really notice it. We either had good weather or the ship was so large – I’m not sure which. We had a few hours in port so wandered around town, we stayed on the front so didn’t make it into the shopping areas and we didn’t really have time to go up in the cable cars which was a pity (not that Carol would have anyway).

Santa Cruz in Tenerife was next and we were able to get out and about again. I liked it there with the narrow streets and architecture – there was the large pool just across from the port and we sat in the park where there was a children’s sports event going on. Carol went shopping and bought clothes, perfume and various other bits I’d have to try and pack into our already bursting bags for coming home – that luggage allowance you see!

Las Palmas in Gran Canaria was our next stop and there was a big outdoor / extreme sports event on in town with stalls and equipment for sale – and very loud music. Carol looked around the market instead – much more sedate. There was also a shopping centre but, as it was Sunday, everything was closed – remember those days? We tried to find somewhere to eat but Carol wasn’t happy sitting outside – that self-consciousness creeping in again.

The last of the stops in the Canaries was Arrecife in Lanzarote. This was the only place where we didn’t get off the ship as the town was too far away from the port to walk – and transporting that powered wheelchair with Carol in it just wasn’t happening. It’s a pity we didn’t get to see the town - we had to satisfy ourselves with spending the day sunbathing on an almost empty ship – that was such a hardship (excuse the pun!)

Our final port of call was Vigo in Spain. This was another place I really liked, from the views along the channel as we cruised into port to the bustling centre of town. We had a good look around and there were lots of things going on in the port – Carol found her favourite shop in the shopping centre - Desigual – so we had to buy something just because we’d found it – no different to Regent Street or the Westfield Centre but there you go! There was a P&O cruise in port at the same time as us and we followed them out – it really was incredible watching those enormous ships move around.

Heading home we sailed through the Bay of Biscay again – a little bit more choppy this time but still minimal and as we travelled further North it started to get chilly – it was almost November after all – so time to say goodbye to the Winter sunshine. We docked in Southampton at 6am and it was a case of waiting in line for disembarkation then into the terminal to find our luggage – I have to say once again this was a very smooth operation. Next job was to try and fit everything back into the car before the 4 hour drive home – and there it was gone.

We needed to focus on the PEG when we got home and I don’t recall either of us thinking at the time that the cruise would be our last holiday – but it certainly turned out that way.