LISBON, PORTUGAL

IBERIAN POWER OUTAGE

LATE PASSENGERS DELAY

SAIL-A-WAY EXTRAVAGANZA

Monday, April 28, 2025, 6 AM, Temperature 63 Degrees, Humidity 60%, W- ENE@ 8mph

Lisbon was beautiful at sunrise as we sailed into the Harbor. There are four Cruise Terminals in Lisbon; fortunately, like Cartagena, Spain, two weeks ago, we tied up at the Cruise Terminal in the Old Town section of Lisbon and had a beautiful view off our balcony. We also had the Volendam off our stern again (she pulled an hour after us), but there were no celebrations or drones this time!

Lisbon is the largest city and capital of Portugal. There are almost 600,000 people in the city and 3,000,000 + in the Metropolitan area. The city is on the western portion of the Iberian Peninsula and on the shore of the River Tagus. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, predating other European capitals by centuries. It was settled by pre-Celtic tribes and founded as a city by the Phoenicians. Like many cities in Europe, it was captured by the Romans, then Germanic tribes, and later the Moors in the 8th century. In 1147, it was captured by Alfonso Henriques and became Portugal’s capital in 1255. It has been the economic, political, and cultural heart of the country ever since.

In 1755, Lisbon was leveled by one of the most destructive recorded earthquakes. It is estimated to have been 8.5 – 9.0 magnitude. The death toll between the earthquake and the Tsunami that followed is estimated to be 30,000 – 70,000 in Lisbon, 60,000-100,000 across Portugal, Spain, and North Africa. The Marquis of Pombal was chosen to rebuild the city, and the tree-lined boulevards in the central city are due to his influence. It was also one of the first uses of prefabricated buildings. There is a monument in his honor.

We took a Hop-on-Hop-Off bus that didn’t take us as much through the Old Town as we wanted, but we got good views of many other city landmarks. The April 25th Bridge (often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge) was inspired by the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and built by the same company that built that bridge. The Monument to the Discoveries, with carvings representing Portugal’s past of exploration & expansion, was dedicated in 1960 to mark 500 years since the death of Henry the Navigator. The Belem Monument is a medieval fortified tower. The Sanctuary of Christ the King – Cristo Rio was inspired by the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio and represents Portugal’s religious gratitude for escaping the horrors of WW II. It has become a popular pilgrimage destination. Lisbon is known for its beautiful tilework. We passed many buildings with tile facades and sidewalks in mosaic cobblestone designs.

After returning to the ship, we learned of the power outage affecting Lisbon and most of Portugal and Spain. It didn’t affect us on our Hop-on-Hop-Off ride, but it did affect some passengers. We had an all-aboard of 3:30 PM, but at about 4:30 PM, during the Seafood Extravaganza on the Lido Deck (more below), it was announced that 10 of our “shipmates” were among the “missing” and the ship only had communications with one! The ship would wait until they returned; no one was sure of the reason for the delay, or if the electricity blackout was responsible. That’s unheard of – a cruise ship waiting for anyone not on a sponsored Excursion! But after discussions with the HAL Corporate office in Seattle, it was decided to wait because the people wouldn’t have the documentation and passports with them to be able to fly to meet us in our next port (Tangiers), and no one was sure when the airports would be reopened. The passengers were all aboard and accounted for by 5:30 PM, but unfortunately, we lost our pilot boat “slot” to an incoming ship and had to wait two hours. It was 7:30 PM when we sounded our horn and pulled away from the dock – behind schedule with an uncertain arrival time for Tangiers.

When we leave a port, we always have a Sail-A-Way celebration, usually just a special cocktail and light snacks on the fantail. Sometimes, it's a bigger deal with a band and an open bar, like when we left Sidney. We don’t usually attend, but didn’t want to mess this one! There was an amazing Seafood Extravaganza when we left Lisbon with unlimited seafood – cold lobster tails (larger than any we had at dinner), crab appetizers, oysters on the half shell, mussels, and king crab legs. There were also five wines and other beverages. The Rolling Stone Lounge Band played, and the pool roof was opened to a clear blue sky – incredible all the way around! We cannot begin to calculate what it cost (or why – we had Birthday Cake for the traditional King’s Birthday Celebration the day before, but nothing like this)!