This is a guest post about Tenerife by Sam Whiteside, Port Presenter with P&O Cruises. You can find out more about Sam at the end of this article. 

As the largest, most populous and most visited Canary Island, Tenerife is the ultimate holiday destination. If you want beaches, it has them. If you want scenery, it has it. If you want activities, you can find them all. And if you want food, there is plenty to keep your taste buds excited. Around 5 million tourists visit the island every year, making it one of the most important tourist destinations in Spain. It is the economic and cultural heart of the Canary Islands, with several UNESCO World Heritage sites including Teide National Park. The latter is the highest mountain in all of Spain, and is the third largest volcano in the world.

With two airports serving both the south and the north of the island, it is an easy location to get to. For those visiting on a cruise ship, the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the main gateway and is the capital of the Canary Islands, a title shared with Las Palmas on Gran Canaria. It includes the city of La Laguna, which was the first capital of the island before Santa Cruz replaced it.

When docking in Santa Cruz, I would advise first time visitors to head away from the city and explore some element of the island. For example, it is a great destination for families due to the number of attractions it has. These include the world’s best water park (according to TripAdvisor), Siam Park in Los Cristianos, and also the famed parrot and animal park Loro Parque in Puerto de La Cruz.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Home to approximately 200,000 people, Santa Cruz is the commercial heart of the island and the seat of the island council. The heart of the city spreads out from the Plaza Espana which is the first place you come to from the port area. It is where the island council building is located and you will find the main shopping streets, tapas bars and cafés branching off in all directions.

If you take a stroll from Plaza Espana you will discover the Auditorio de Tenerife, possibly the most photographed location in the city. Designed by famed futurist architect Santiago Calatrava, this cultural centre is located next to the sea and was opened in 2003. The majestic profile of the auditorium has become an architectural symbol of the city. It is also regarded as the finest modern building in the Canary Islands and is one of the most emblematic buildings of Spanish architecture. From the port of Santa Cruz it is approximately a 20-minute walk along the new pedestrianised zone next to the harbour of Santa Cruz. This is easily reached by following the painted blue line on the pavement from the cruise area.

After a wonderful four weeks on Ventura, we are now travelling on her sister ship Azura. It’s been lovely to join the ship and see lots of familiar faces from my time working at sea. Over the next two months we’ll be taking in the sights of the Baltic region, Iceland, the UK and the Canary Islands. I am particularly looking forward to returning to one of my favourite ports – St. Petersburg.

Today’s stop was the pretty city of Funchal on the island of Madeira. I have spent a lot of time here over the years and the island’s beauty never disappoints. From the stunning botanical gardens and dizzying heights of the cable car to the traditional toboggan ride, I’ve been lucky to visit most of Funchal’s attractions.

The city has a lively centre with a good selection of high street shops and independent stores. Be prepared to do a bit of walking though, as the shopping district is not restricted to one main street. However, the entrance to the cable car is centrally located and is easily accessible from the main tourist area. With a vast array of cafés and restaurants, there’s never a shortage of places to sit and relax in the sun.

While on the subject of food, I mentioned that Madeira is famed for its steak on a stone. This is as simple as it sounds. Raw steak is served on a very hot lava rock and customers then cook the meat to their taste. This is often served with fries and other sides such as garlic bread. In Funchal, Kon Tiki is one of the better-known steak restaurants and it specialises in fillet steak. Personally, we like to go to O Solar de Santola, which is about a fifteen minute walk from the ship. With great views across the harbour, excellent service and several different types of sangria, lunch there is never a disappointment.

Today I just decided to go for a bit of a walk and a spot of lunch. After a bit of window shopping, I walked back through the picturesque Santa Catarina Park (located close to La Vie Shopping Centre). Spanning 36,000 square metres, this pretty park overlooks Funchal harbour and boasts a pretty lake with water fountains in its centre. Other features include a monument to Christopher Columbus, numerous walkways and varying types of flora and fauna. It is around a fifteen minute walk back to the ship from the park.

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This is a guest post by James Allen a thirty-something Senior Naval Engineer from Bath, who cruises regularly with his wife and two young children. James and his family have sailed on board Harmony of the Seas, their first Royal Caribbean experience. He has kindly shared his thoughts on the ship, and the cruise line, below.

My first Royal Caribbean experience

As an experienced cruiser of 30 years – having started cruising with my family as a young child on the P&O Cruises ship Canberra in the late 80s, which led to a 15 year career working on Carnival UK ships as an Engineering Officer – it’s safe to say I’ve been on many cruise ships of all shapes and sizes. I’ve gained vast knowledge and experience of the cruise lines I worked for within the Carnival Group (P&O Cruises, Cunard, and Princess). I’m also an avid ship spotter and general lover of all things marine and nautical!

When the largest cruise ship in the world – Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas – was making her maiden sailings from Southampton for a series of mini cruises back in 2016, I couldn’t resist taking my family aboard for 3 nights to experience a different cruise line on the largest cruise ship in the world! (Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas is now the largest ship in the world).

Other than the three Carnival brands I worked for, the only other cruise line I have experienced was a 3 night mini cruise on the Carnival Legend when she debuted in Harwich in 2002. So the trip on Harmony of the Seas was the first ever non-Carnival Corporation ship I’d been on.

The 3 night trip to Cherbourg was the perfect taster to experience the Royal Caribbean product and to see what the line and their ships have to offer.

Size

First things first these ships are big, and not just the Oasis Class ships (which include Harmony of the Seas, and her sisters Oasis, Allure and the newly launched Symphony of the Seas). Royal Caribbean don’t do small ships, so be prepared for a lot of walking around on board along with the possibility of getting lost.

But with the ships’ massive size comes the amazing range of activities, unique features, accommodation choices, shops, restaurants etc. that can be found on board. And guests…don’t forget the number of guests!

Harmony of the Seas and her sisters can accommodate, when sailing full, over 6500 people, and that’s before you include over 2000 crew members. That’s a lot of people. With such large passenger figures, it’s inevitable you will face queues for restaurants, activities and gangways. It didn’t bother us much, but maybe that’s because we are used to it. But it’s often a bugbear for many passengers who travel on large ships, who are unsure what to expect. Although I have to say, because Harmony is so huge, it certainly didn’t feel like there were over 5000 people on board.

You are never short of something to do

Royal Caribbean are famous for the activities and features their ships offer, with surfing simulators (called the flow riders), rock climbing walls, mini golf, water parks and water slides being common place on the majority of their ships. There is so much to do for all ages. You don’t need to worry about getting bored or finding something to do on the ship, and of course you can also go ashore to explore the ports you visit on your cruise. Or, you can of course do absolutely nothing, and that’s the joy of cruising. You can always find a secluded corner to read a book or catch a nap! The choice is yours.

The atmosphere on board Royal Caribbean is aimed at having fun and guests are encouraged to try new activities and make the most of the on board entertainment. The ships are tastefully decorated inside, although when comparing them to Princess ships, they are more theme park in style (in addition Carnival Cruise Line ships could be described as Las Vegas at sea!)

The ships are most definitely American, and US dollars are used as the currency on board. This can make purchases expensive when comparing them to prices at home in the UK.