Norwegian Encore - Transatlantic - Day 3

Norwegian Encore - Day 03 - December 5, 2024 - Vigo, Spain

On Day 3, we arrived at Vigo, Spain - the first of three planned port days on our trip.

One of the main issues a lot of people have with cruises is that you tend to spend so little time in any one place. That’s true. You only get a taste. I like to think of it as an appetizer sampler.

A lot of people like to do as much as possible in a place because they may never be there again. My attitude towards travel is to always assume I’ll go back. I don’t need to do everything and see everything. I want to enjoy myself and not feel too rushed or pressured. There may be some key plans, but it’s also nice to leave some room to veer from those plans. And if I’m wavering about something I think to myself “Will I be regret that I didn’t do this?”

Work and life were hectic prior to this trip and I didn’t really do much prep. Upon arrival in Vigo, I took my phone off of airplane mode and did a little bit of research while eating my breakfast on the ship. I ate at The Local. It’s one of my favorite places to have breakfast, if I want it served.

The thing to eat in Vigo, I learned, is oysters. I love oysters. There was even a place called Oyster Street or Oyster Alley. I thought I’d have to check that out for sure. I searched for Christmas markets and learned that one would open in town the following day.

From the ship, I could see that there was clearly a place to to go that required walking uphill - Fortaleza de Santa Maria do Castro. This is common in a lot of coastal spots in Spain and Portugal. Hills. It didn’t look like it was too far, though - about a half hour walk. I’d do that first.

I got off the ship and started walking. A few blocks in, there was an outdoor escalator to bring pedestrians up the first hill. I decided to skip it and walked. My calves could feel it. I hopped on the next escalator I saw.

The escalators didn’t last long, though, and pretty soon, there were only paths and stairs to climb. I remembered that I’d brought a cloth with me on my trip to mop up my sweat on days like this. It was sitting in my cabin. At least I’d remembered to fill up my water.

The exercise felt good, even though it was hot. One habit I’ve never gotten into is wearing sunglasses. I don’t even think about it until days like this. I do often have hats, but didn’t bring one on this trip.

There were other people from the cruise making the trek, but not hoards. I passed some. Some passed me. Someone asked if I wanted my picture taken in front of some anchors. I thanked them and said no, but I was happy to photograph their group for them.

When I went through the entrance to the fort and reached what seemed like the top, one of my fellow passengers passed me and said “There are just five more stairs!” I found them and went up. There were beautiful views of Vigo and the sea from the top. The Norwegian Encore looked massive from afar, compared to the surroundings.

Aside from the fort itself, there was a running fountain and statue to see. There was some signage, all in Spanish.

Now that I’d completed this goal and the most difficult walking was done, I decided to wander aimlessly for a bit and then find Oyster Street. I headed downhill, sweaty and red-faced. When I hit the anchors again, I took a selfie with them. I didn’t look much better than I would have on my way up, but hey, why not.

When I got to town, I found where the Christmas market would be the next day. I’m sure it would have been very nice. Later, I heard someone complaining about how Vigo is known for its lights and is supposed to be beautiful at night, but that our itinerary had us back on the ship before dark. Unfortunate, sure, but out of our control. If you want to have more control over your itinerary, cruising isn’t really the best way to accomplish that.

In the center of one of the main streets, there was what appeared to be a Christmas walk. There were lights and sleighs and Santas set up, with traffic on either side. It looked like people would start on one end and follow it to the other, with lots of photo opportunities along the way. In one section, it looked like Santa’s sleigh had an accident, with reindeer sprawled out. What happened? Does this go along with a popular story I’m unfamiliar with? I stopped to sit on a bench and take a selfie with a Santa. I saw the whole thing in reverse order of what was intended.

I walked towards Oyster Street. When I got there, everything looked touristy and pricey. It reminded me, in a way, of Little Italy in New York, where there is probably some good food to be had, but I’d prefer to get my Italian fix somewhere else and leave Little Italy to the tourists.

It occured to me that although I love oysters, I didn’t particularly feel like having them. Still, I looked up what looked like good seafood restaurants elsewhere and decided to walk by one in particular. I’d tried to download the Google map of Vigo, but it was acting up, so I looked at the tourist map that I’d picked up just off the ship. I found the street and worked my way over.

When I found the restaurant, I was sure it would be a good pick. They had oysters by the dozen, along with lots of other choices. Would I regret not eating there today? No. I decided to put it on my list for next time.

There were a lot of bakeries around and that seemed more appealing to me in the moment. When I saw one that caught my eye, I picked up a chicken empanadilla (?) and palmera (plain, not with chocolate) to bring back to the ship.

By this time, I’d spent several hours wandering and decided to head back to the ship. They ask you to bring you key card along with your Passport to all ports. They scan the key card when you leave and again when you return. It’s rare that anyone actually asks you for other ID, but it’s good to have in case of an emergency or in case you somehow get stranded.

When I got on the ship, I was faced with a decision. Elevator or stairs? There are 18 decks on the ship. My cabin is on the 12th deck. The most common decks to be on are 6-8 and 15-17, which all have common areas, like the dining rooms, buffet, theaters, atrium, etc.

Some cruisers have “no elevator” rules. I’ve never been one of those cruisers. BUT on the first day I didn’t take any elevators. Then, on the second day, I didn’t take any elevators. So now I was thinking maybe I could do 12 days without elevators. It’s not terrrible overall, but the biggest test of will is after you’ve been at a port, walking and climbing hills all day. You get on board toward the bottom and have to get where you’re going. I went for the stairs thinking that at least I could get through the third day. If I had the drink package, I would have stopped to get something cold and delicious along the way. (Probably better to do elevator and no drink, right?) Anyway, I don’t have the drink package, so up up up I went.

When I got to my cabin, I enjoyed the treats I’d gotten at the bakery. Delicious!

Because so many people were busy at and returning from port, I thought it would be an excellent time to check out one of the hot tubs. My favorite hot tub times are whenn they are likely to be empty, like at weird times or in less than ideal weather.

I suited up, grabbed the bathrobe I’d requested, and headed to Deck 17. I was correct. There were no people in the hot tubs. I got in, started the jets and was starting to relax when I noticed that the waterslides were open and no one was on them. I’d never done them before. Should I do it? The convincing thought was that I had my waterproof pouch for my phone and it would make a good video. I got out of the hot tub and headed over.

They weigh you before you go. I was like “Um, what’s the limit?” I was under it. I climbed the stairs to the top, where a staff member had a tube for me to get on for the ride down. I turned my camera on and was on my way. Wheeeee! That was fun! It occurred to me that I should also have a video of myself going down, not just POV. So I went back to the start. They weighed me again. It’s a rule! And off I went for a second time. Super fun!

There’s a second waterslide that has an initial drop straight down AND it goes out over the edge of the ship. I didn’t do that one.

I headed back to the hot tub, very pleased with myself. As I was soaking, I could see a gentleman talking to a staff member about the water slide. They were pointing up and she seemed to be explaining it. They both walked in my direction and I took it upon myself to suggest to the man (who was about my age, I’d guess) that he try it. He was very friendly and introduced himself as Hamde - I’m unsure of the spelling. I shoed him a little bit of my video and he seemed amused and excited at the thought of it. I think he said something about his wife’s phone being broken (so he couldn’t take video?) but it was a little hard to hear with all my hot tub bubbles. He pointed at the scarier slide. I said if he did it, I would too. He said he may take me up on that. He went on his way.

Will I ever run into him again? Who knows!

It started to rain a bit and someone else got into my hot tub. I stuck with it for a few more minutes, but then headed back to my cabin for a shower, followed by another scone from the observation deck and then a nap. Naps are great. I’m incapable of taking one at home, but am good at it on a cruise.

The ship had left port by the time I moved to my evening plans. I had dinner at an MDR (Asian ribs, Caesar salad, bang bang chicken & shrimp, bananas foster). I went to the early show of one of the comedians (Buddy Fitzpatrick), followed by a theater show with a mentalist (Brett Webb), followed by the late show of the other comedian (Travis Nelson).

Both comedians repeated some of the material they’d done in the thater the first night, but also had some things we hadn’t heard. I thought they were both better in the smaller venue. The Social Club has a main room and then a weird one off to the side. It has some comfy chairs and couches that look through a window at the stage from the side. Buddy commented on it and interacted with people in that section. Travis didn’t even acknowledge it.

One funny thing was that there was an older man and woman sitting in the main room when Travis was on stage. He interacted with them a bit. It turned out that the passengers had just met that night. The woman was from New York City and it seemed she wanted to take over the act. It took some effort, but Travis managed to get out of the interaction eventually and avoided contact with her for the rest of the show.

Brett Webb’s show in the Encore Theater was called Rethink the Impossible. “Get ready for an interior journey that explores the mysteries of the mind, the power of belief, and the exciting electricity of transformation!” This is not the kind of thing I gravitate towards and I’m not wowed by him being able to figure out cards people are holding or numbers in their minds. But some of what he talked about was the kind of common sense that I need to be reminded of once in a while. Like how easily negative thoughts can come to our minds and how much of our day is spent in the past or the future rather than in the now. He said that we all have tapes running in our heads all the time and most of it was “recorded” by the time we were 8 years old. So what we experience is through that lens. He said he would be doing a free seminar later in the cruise. My cult radar went off (it’s easily triggered), but I decided to go if it fit into my schedule.

It was a long day and after the second comedian, I went back to my cabin. The next day we’d arrive in Lisbon.