This is a big area though some ships only ever do the popular islands. The Canary Islands have for a long time been a sunshine state for the British holidaymakers to retreat to, especially those who prefer not to fly. Each time you visit the islands you can find new things to do. Doris Visits tries to offer you some of the many options you might like to consider before you revisit somewhere you thought you knew well and connect you with others to expand the knowledge base. This Atlantic Ocean cruise ranges from Spain, down past the Canaries to Cape Verde off the African Coast. The most common cruise is the Canary Islands, but it can be flavoured with Morocco. See how interesting it can be.
Funchal
few clouds
19.7
°
C
20.6
°
18.4
°
60 %
3.1kmh
20 %
Wed
23
°
Thu
22
°
Fri
22
°
Sat
21
°
Sun
16
°
- BRIEF: Funchal.
- CURRENCY: Euro
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: A version of Portuguese spoken here. English spoken.
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: Rhapsody of the Seas, AIDAstella, Azura, Ventura.
The Monte Palace Tropical Gardens in Madeira
At the top of the cable car, don’t walk straight past the gardens to get to the toboggan ride.
Madeira Guide, complete guide inc Funchal and beach Santa Cruz
Madeira is on the way to so many adventures, you may get
Toboggan or Sled or Sleigh Ride? A ride with no snow in Funchal, Madeira
OK, so Christmas tradition is a sleigh ride,
MADEIRA Tours available, what is there to be found
Take a look at what is on offer if you are visiting Madeira, but don’t forget to see our filmed guides as well as this research.
Porto Santo
few clouds
18.2
°
C
18.2
°
18.2
°
82 %
2.1kmh
20 %
Wed
18
°
Thu
19
°
Fri
18
°
Sat
18
°
Sun
17
°
- BRIEF: A small Madeira Island, Porto Santo is a cruise stop for some smaller ships. Its glorious beach stretches the length of its southern coast
- CURRENCY: Euro
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: A version of Portuguese spoken here. English spoken.
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: Rhapsody of the Seas, AIDAstella, Azura, Ventura.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
broken clouds
19
°
C
19
°
18.7
°
82 %
5.1kmh
75 %
Wed
26
°
Thu
30
°
Fri
32
°
Sat
34
°
Sun
28
°
- BRIEF: Santa Cruz, La Palma.
- CURRENCY: Euro
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Spanish. English spoken
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: Rhapsody of the Seas, AIDAstella, Azura, Ventura.
La Gomera
scattered clouds
30.9
°
C
30.9
°
30.9
°
56 %
5.1kmh
49 %
Wed
37
°
Thu
38
°
Fri
38
°
Sat
37
°
Sun
30
°
- BRIEF: Lisbon. Major City. Fishing is a main activity here.
- CURRENCY: Euro
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Spanish. English spoken
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: Pullmantur Zenith, Ventura, Crystal Serenity, Aegean Odyssey.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
broken clouds
19
°
C
19
°
18.7
°
82 %
5.1kmh
75 %
Wed
26
°
Thu
30
°
Fri
32
°
Sat
34
°
Sun
28
°
- BRIEF: Santa Cruz, Tenerife is the port shown, but there is a second cruise port at Los Cristianos. The bus service is excellent as shown in our film guides below where we get in town and to the beach easily, all in one day.
- CURRENCY: Euro
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Spanish. English spoken
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: Marella Dream, AIDAaura, Ventura, Azura.
TENERIFE TOURS & EXCURSIONS
Take a look at what is on offer if you are visiting Tenerife, but don’t forget to see our filmed guides as well as this research.
Tenerife, the old town of Laguna and Don Quixote Museum. Jean films for Doris Visits
San Cristóbal de La Laguna, better known as La Laguna is definitely worth a visit
TENERIFE, PUERTO de la CRUZ – Jean gets there by public bus for Doris Visits
It might be the case that your ship does not
Tenerife, Canary Islands – Jean’s video Guide of Santa Cruz for Doris Visits
Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands and it has an active volcano, Mount Teide, which often rumbles and has a dramatic moonscape landscape now a National Park.
Las Palmas
clear sky
20.4
°
C
20.4
°
20.4
°
53 %
2.1kmh
0 %
Wed
25
°
Thu
23
°
Fri
22
°
Sat
21
°
Sun
17
°
- BRIEF: Gran Canaria, great bus service, easy to get to the beaches. See our films.
- CURRENCY: Euro
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Spanish. English spoken
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: Azura, Ventura. & many ships.
GRAN CANARIA TOURS & EXCURSIONS
Apart from a walk round the town, a visit to an iconic rock formation, Gran Canaria is about beaches and boiled potatoes with chilli.
Gran Canaria, Maspalomas Beach by public bus from cruise terminal
Jean’s film for Doris Visits takes you from the cruise terminal to Maspalomas by public bus; a legendary beach in Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria, Old Town Guide. Jean’s film from the Canary Islands.
This is an easy place to explore on foot, but there are many things that make an excursion worthwhile, and the beaches are fantastic.
- BRIEF: Arrecife, Lazarote. Great bus service to markets and beaches and Puerto del Carmen. Sundays it can be very closed in Arrecife so plan to travel. See film.
- CURRENCY: Euro
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Spanish. English spoken
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: Oceana Marina, Azura, Ventura, Boudicca, Deliziosa.
Lanzarote, Doris Visits Puerto del Carmen
Lanzarote is another volcanic island with black, red and white sand beaches. It has
LANZAROTE TOURS & EXCURSIONS
Take a look at what is on offer if you are visiting Lanzarote,
César Manrique, Lanzarote
César Manrique was an artist and an architect and there is a park in his name in Lanzarote based around the incredible house.
- BRIEF: There are two ports of call possible in Fuerteventura, the Puerto del Rosario is shown on the map, the smaller Gran Tarajal is here and that is used by Fred Olsen’s Balmoral and Braemar.
- CURRENCY: Euro
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Spanish. English spoken
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: Marella Dream, AIDAnova, P&O Oriana, Marella Explorer.
This coast of Morocco, on the Atlantic Ocean is very cosmopolitan, influenced by so many from the French, Berber, Arabian and European visitors amongst many others. Morocco is considered the 5th safest country among the tourist destinations studied, tied with Japan and Canada according to a ranking established by the British magazine “Which? Travel”, with a score of 6.1.
Agadir
scattered clouds
18.3
°
C
18.3
°
18.3
°
69 %
5kmh
50 %
Wed
24
°
Thu
23
°
Fri
21
°
Sat
22
°
Sun
16
°
- BRIEF: Agadir, Morocco.
- CURRENCY: Moroccan Dirham, Euros taken
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Arabic, Berber, French and some English spoken.
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: Marella Dream, Marella Explorer.
Casablanca
broken clouds
19.8
°
C
20.2
°
16
°
77 %
4kmh
54 %
Wed
23
°
Thu
22
°
Fri
21
°
Sat
21
°
Sun
16
°
SAFI- currency Moroccan Dirham, Euros taken but you lose two exchange rates which might be expensive
Safi
overcast clouds
18.8
°
C
18.8
°
18.8
°
66 %
2.3kmh
91 %
Wed
29
°
Thu
29
°
Fri
26
°
Sat
22
°
Sun
15
°
Tangier
light rain
15.6
°
C
19.6
°
15.6
°
94 %
1kmh
6 %
Wed
23
°
Thu
21
°
Fri
20
°
Sat
20
°
Sun
16
°
The group of islands feared by cabaret acts – because they normally work a four day shift which means it is likely to be their change over port, flying on. But, the Azores is a port that is often missed because of poor weather which means the acts lose their next gig. They can see four seasons in a day, weather can change fast, but they are beautiful, have some of the best diving of anywhere, and are relaxing. There are nine major Azorean islands and an islet cluster. The main ones for cruise stops are listed below with guide films and information. You can see the weather and what people wear. Main trade is fishing.
Horta
overcast clouds
16.7
°
C
16.7
°
16.7
°
91 %
5.8kmh
100 %
Wed
17
°
Thu
17
°
Fri
16
°
Sat
17
°
Sun
16
°
- BRIEF: Horta is a small city with a fishing and yacht port on a group of islands, the biggest being Faial Island. Though Portuguese and the Volcano you can see considered to be the furthermost part of Europe (excluding Caribbean adoptions), there is a section of this group of the Azores which sits on the North American Plain. The port is small, a marina you can walk round and a cafe.
- CURRENCY: Euros
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Portuguese, some English spoken.
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: Star Pride, AIDAcara, Seven Seas Explorer, Artania, Azamara Pursuit.
Ponta Delgada
light rain
17.4
°
C
18.4
°
17.4
°
94 %
8.8kmh
40 %
Wed
17
°
Thu
18
°
Fri
18
°
Sat
18
°
Sun
16
°
- BRIEF: This is the administrative capital of the Azores, on Sao Miguel Island. A proper cruise port, which means most of the larger ships will stop hear. Good diving, but book in advance, see our films. The film also shows town, easy to walk to walk round, bus tour or horse and carriage. War museum is very cheap, see film.
- CURRENCY: Euros
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Portuguese, some English spoken.
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: P&O ships, AIDAdiva, Silver Spirit. Busy port.
Praia da Vitória
light intensity shower rain
16.1
°
C
17.1
°
16.1
°
100 %
9.5kmh
75 %
Wed
17
°
Thu
18
°
Fri
17
°
Sat
17
°
Sun
15
°
- BRIEF: It translates as beach of Victory, but I guess that depends which side you were on, because someone lost. It is the second largest administrative authority on the island of Terceira. Administrative duties spread between the islands. A large marina and a good size port, which means many mid size ships can dock there. There marina is all based around a bay with a nice beach.
- CURRENCY: Euros
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Portuguese, some English spoken.
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: P&O Oriana is a regular, Queen Victoria, and AIDAcara is also a regular spending Christmas eve there.
Fogo
light snow
1.6
°
C
1.6
°
1.6
°
100 %
6.7kmh
99 %
Wed
2
°
Thu
-0
°
Fri
0
°
Sat
3
°
Sun
3
°
- BRIEF: Small port, few cruise ships visit. A short transfer to the small town of Sao Filipe.
- CURRENCY: Euros
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Portuguese, some English spoken.
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: The Phoenix Amadea is the only ship we can see that stops there.
Mindelo
clear sky
25.8
°
C
25.8
°
25.8
°
57 %
8.2kmh
0 %
Wed
26
°
Thu
24
°
Fri
24
°
Sat
23
°
Sun
21
°
- BRIEF: A port which attracts the smaller ships.
- CURRENCY: Euros
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Portuguese, some English spoken.
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: Saga Pearl II, Black Watch, Azamara Pursuit
Porto-Novo
overcast clouds
28.9
°
C
28.9
°
28.9
°
78 %
2.2kmh
100 %
Wed
33
°
Thu
34
°
Fri
33
°
Sat
34
°
Sun
29
°
- BRIEF: A small port, little used by cruise ships.
- CURRENCY: Euros
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Portuguese, some English spoken.
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE: Artania, Crystal Symphony
Praia
broken clouds
28.3
°
C
28.3
°
28.3
°
24 %
6.2kmh
75 %
Wed
28
°
Thu
27
°
Fri
26
°
Sat
26
°
Sun
22
°
- BRIEF: The main island of Cape Verde, the capital and the most interesting. It is very like an African island, and the villages and small restaurants in coves cooking fish straight from the sea are wonderful. From our experience, investing there with the protection of Europe and Portugal is a non starter, it has been our experience over 12 years that the courts are very apart from laws we understand.
- CURRENCY: Euros
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Portuguese, some English spoken.
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE REGULARLY: Artania, AIDAcara, AIDAmira and TUI ships.
Sāl
clear sky
17.9
°
C
17.9
°
17.9
°
48 %
2.2kmh
7 %
Wed
30
°
Thu
28
°
Fri
24
°
Sat
25
°
Sun
16
°
- BRIEF: Sal is an uprising of sand that formed an island, there is nothing there but sand. The most wonderful beaches have meant holiday developments, and because it is windy, the wind surfing world championships have been held there. Wind Surfers paradise.
- CURRENCY: Euros
- LANGUAGE/PHRASES: Portuguese, some English spoken.
- VISA: Entry with cruise card.
- SHIPS SEEN HERE: Artania, ms Europa 2
