An Autumn cruise with the Sapphire Princess on the Atlantic and Mediterranean Oceans

Empty lounge chairs during an early morning on the Sapphire Princess' Promenade Deck 7.

I have been working on my cruise photos in dribs and drabs for a few months. I cannot wait to share all the various collections I've put together. For the last post of the year, I thought I would get things rolling with some snapshots of the cruise ship. I embarked on this floating hotel at the end of October 2018 and found it a fascinating place to explore, especially as a first-timer. In my last post I described my previous boating experience of the Skellig Coast.

Deck on the Sapphire Princess cruise ship during an early autumn morning.

Deck chairs lined up on the Sapphire Princess cruise ship.

We went aboard the Sapphire Princess in Southampton and sailed across the English Channel for Le Havre in Normandy, Northern France. We took a day trip to Rouen. Followed by two days at sea, we arrived in Lisbon, Portugal where we visited Sintra and Cascais. Onward we sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar and docked at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula to explore the limestone outcrop. Then, we spent anther day at sea before we arrived in Barcelona, Spain. Our next port was Toulon, where we visited Aix-en-Provence and Marseille in the South of France. The following three days were spent in Italy. Our first port of call was Livorno and we went to see Florence, capital of Italy’s Tuscany region. The next port was Civitavecchia and we traveled to the ancient city of Rome. The last stop: Naples in southern Italy where we visited Sorrento and Pompeii. The trip was not over yet, as we still had another day of sailing. After crossing the Strait of Messina, we arrived in the port of Valletta on the largest island of the Meletese archipelago.

Ship and sea view from the balcony on the Sapphire Princess at sunset.

View of the Captain's Bridge on the Sapphire Princess at sunset.

An aerial view of balconies on a cruise ship and agitated sea water.

A night time view of the Sapphire Princess gym from the outside.

Having had four full days at sea, there was plenty time to explore all the nooks and crannies. Although, most of the first day was spent feeling sea sick and sleeping, we had an incredible opportunity to visit the Bridge. I witnessed stunning sunrises and sunsets, both in ports and out at sea. On a sea day, I had a lot more time to watch the sun rise and take photographs. Those were my favourite moments of being surrounded by water on a cruise ship. Watching movies under the stars and a full moon was also pretty surreal.

Early morning light on the Atlantic Ocean from the Sapphire Princess.

A round pool on a cruise ship on a sunny day.

Cloudy skies over an open deck on the Sapphire Princess.

View of blue skies, a pool and the sea from the back of a cruise ship.

Cloudy, blue skies over the Atlantic Ocean from the Sapphire Princess.

Weather was typically autumnal. We had sunny, windy and rainy days. As well as mildly "stormy" days. We were lucky to miss a bad storm that hit Rome just two days before.

For the most part, I took photos with my trusty little Fuji. Normally I only post photographs taken with that camera, but I will also be sharing mobile captures too. There were times I didn't have my camera on me, or it was quicker to take a photo with my phone. My phone also allows me to take cool panoramas, effortlessly compared to the Fuji.

View of the Sapphire Princess docked at sunset.

A lit up cruise ship docked in a harbour before night fall.

Setting sun reflecting off a window on Captain's Bridge on a cruise ship.

Panoramic view of a lit up gym on a cruise ship at dusk.

A panorama of the open deck on the Sapphire Princess at sunrise.

A view of sunset clouds above the Sapphire Princess cruise ship.

View of the water and sky while sailing on a cruise ship.

Sun rising over the mountains in the horizon with rain drops on a railing in the foreground.

View of the Rock of Gibraltar from the Sapphire Princess cruise ship.

Sunrise sky from the Sapphire Princess cruise ship.

Going on this cruise was an incredible experience, maybe even a once in a lifetime. It was not a relaxing holiday like you might imagine. Especially when you go on excursions and want to see as much as possible in only a few hours. Most of the tours are organised early in the morning. There was a lot of walking to do and many hours spent on buses as well. It was amazing to hop from country to country and visit so many different places in two weeks. This trip is way up there, along with motorbiking across Europe the year before. I have four posts up from that experience: Poznań, Marburg, Bruges and Amsterdam.

Hope you enjoyed the first installment of the travel series and are looking forward to seeing the next ones!