From Sunrise to Scotch – A Day of Firsts in Porto
Sunrise solitude
I awoke super early today—about 5am. After lying in bed feeling the ship gently rocking side to side, I decided to wander the boat and see what was happening. Turns out, not much. It felt like I had the whole ship to myself. I went up to Deck 10 and got some spectacular sunrise views across the water.
Later, I returned to the room to grab a few shirts I needed to iron. By the time I was at the ironing board around 7:30am, a few more passengers had started to stir—but it was still blissfully quiet.
Rocking and rolling
You could definitely feel the movement of the ship this morning—3 to 4 metre swells. At times, it felt like we weren’t even moving forward, just gently bobbing in place.
A leisurely start
Breakfast today was at the Yacht Club. An impressive spread with the option to order from the menu, and staff who were attentive and eager to help with anything.
Since we weren’t due into Porto until around midday, we had plenty of time. We returned to the Yacht Club for lunch—gyros and roast lamb leg, followed by a perfectly light and creamy strawberry mousse.
Porto, Ponchos, and Port Wine
The Scenic Lounge buzzed with people awaiting the start of various excursions. Ours was a walking tour of Porto, followed by a visit to the Gaia wine cellars.
On the bus ride into town, it started to rain, so out came the ponchos. At the wine cellars, we were treated to a virtual tour of the Douro Valley region (actually 100km away from Porto) and two tastings—one red and one white port.
Let’s just say Ros’s face made it clear how she felt about them.
Unexpected conversations
We ended up chatting with an American couple, and it turned into one of those powerful, unexpected moments. Ros shared my 2.5-year journey post-pancreatic cancer, and the man opened up about his own—15 years after stage 4 oesophageal cancer. They gave him no chance. He had a 14-hour surgery that rearranged everything—including moving his stomach up near his neck.
He shared that his wife still struggles with PTSD from the experience. Ros nodded—she understood completely. It was raw, real, and a little emotional—sometimes strangers just get it.
We also spoke about his involvement with Knight Cancer Research. He shared a fascinating story a person with pancreatic cancer and some of the ground breaking research and treatment of getting right into the part where the cancer cells were. Fascinating stuff and I'm keen to hear more.
A Lumière evening
We had a booking at Lumière tonight, so we were keen to get back to the boat and get ready for dinner. Upon entering, we were told it’s format – a seven-course degustation menu. The food was fantastic with every dish fully explained for maximum enjoyment. It truly was a memorable night aboard, made so much better by the company of Ros 😊
A nightcap in the lounge
We were absolutely stuffed, but decided to stop by the lounge before heading back to the room. I decided to try something from their high-end collection—Royal Salute, a 21-year-old Chivas Regal. I started with it neat, but eventually added a bit of Coke.
Final sips and soothing spa
I thought I would then try out the spa and put in some of the ‘soothing’ oil and just sat and watched the waves go by. It didn’t take me long to fall asleep once I got out and went to bed though …