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Created on Monday, 17 May 2010 01:10

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The ship was in the port of Lisbon, Portugal two days ago. That’s wasn’t the first time the ship visited Lisbon but that visit was the first time for the ship to berth at Santa Apolonia Passenger Terminal. Well, distance to the city square from the terminal isn’t that really near but at least a bit closer compared to where the ship regularly docked, at Estacio Maritima da Rocha. Lisbon is among the most visited places in the world especially for cruise ships. Three other cruise ships were visiting the port of Lisbon on that same day, namely, Jewel of the Seas, AIDAcara and Seaborne Spirit.
The city itself is packed with many interesting sites for visitors to explore. One of these is the Belem Tower or the Tower of Saint Vincent, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The tower was built in the early sixteenth century to strengthen the defense system of the area and to serve as fortress to guard against invaders. Presently, the tower is one of the most visited tourist spot in Lisbon. The tower should be visible from the ships entering or leaving the port and just very nearby to Lisbon Port Control and Lisbon Pilot tower. By the way, Lisbon Port Control monitors all ships leaving and entering the harbour, so all ships have to make contact to Lisbon Port Control through VHF radio (or by phone) before entering or leaving the harbour.

Belem Tower as viewed from the ship leaving the port on May 15, 2010.

The ship is now heading for Southampton, UK and we are expected to arrive tomorrow morning. Presently we are over Biscay Bay area. Weather forecast looks good so as the sea condition around Biscay. Bay of Biscay is often very rough but at this moment it is fantastic – I did not hear any banging sound here in the Crew Day room, the only WiFi enabled area of the ship for crew.

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