October 28, 2026

Wednesday

On Board the Seven Seas Mariner docked at to Málaga, province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, España

Málaga is probably best known as the birthplace of Pablo Picasso. Unfortunately, since we booked this cruise very late, we were unable to find any shore excursions we wanted to participate in. So, instead we will take the shuttle into town and walk around for a while.

We had placed a breakfast order before going to bed last night. They delivered our breakfast at 07:30. Coffee, cream of wheat, toast, fruit and a bagel and cream cheese. More than sufficient to get us through the morning.

Since the stores, museums and churches don’t open before 10:00 there was no hurry to take the shuttle bus from the pier to downtown. We did head out about 09:45 for the shuttle bus. It was quite a long walk from the ship to the bus. They have a fairly new cruise ship terminal, but it is a long walk down the gang plank and through the terminal to where the bus is.

The bus ride to Parque de Málaga and the bus stop at Plaza de la Marina took about twenty minutes. We disembarked from the bus, crossed Carretera de Mediterráneo (aka N-340 or the ancient Via Augusta) and walked down the semi-pedestrain street Calle Molina Lario. We were looking for La Santa Inglesia Cathedral Basílica de la Encarnación de Málaga (The Holy Cathedral Basilica of the Incarnation in Málaga) an iconic Renaissance and Baroque monument located in the heart of the city's historic center. The cathedral is also known as "La Manquita" (the one-armed lady) because its south tower was never completed, resulting in an asymmetrical façade.

 La Santa Inglesia Cathedral Basílica de la Encarnación de Málaga

Construction of the cathedral begun in 1528 on the site of the former main mosque following the expulsion of the Moors in 1487, construction continued until 1782. And like most monuments in Europe currently undergoing renovation. The north tower stands 84 meters tall (92 meters to the pinnacle), and the vaults reach a height of 41.79 meters—the highest in Andalusia. The cathedral supposedly features spectacular wood-carved choir stalls by Pedro de Mena, as well as historic 18th-century organs, however the entrance was through and under scaffolding, there was a long line, and we just didn’t want to fight it all.

We walked a little further down the Calle Molina Lario until we found a tabaco (tobacco shop) where we could purchase butane for my lighter. We then spent the next hour or so walking through the pedestrian area of the old town. It was mostly restaurants, trinket shops, and large chain stores. We did stop in the Hard Rock Shop (the restaurant being closed for renovation?) and got Grace a T-shirt for her Christmas present.

They must really love Christmas, the decoration were already up - before November 1 

While Mary was shopping in Calzedonia, I sat on a bench outside and filled my two lighters. Bringing the butane canister on the ship is against the rules, so on the way back to the bus we stopped in the same shop and returned the canister, minus a little gas, to the shop owner. We told her we couldn’t take it on the ship and only used a little to fill two lighters. We just gave it to her. She was confused but ok with the exchange.

We walk back to the bus and arrived just before he was getting ready to pull out. Twenty minutes later we were back at the ship. We put our things in our suite and headed up to La Veranda for lunch.

La Veranda as nearly empty, with most passengers being out in town or on excursion. We just ate from the buffet. This was going to be our main meal of the day. I had the veal scaloppini in a mushroom sauce, vegetables and rice. Mary had the barbecued chicken leg, vegetables and mashed potatoes. She also had a small salad. It was a nice meal.

After lunch I went to the Connoisseur Club and had a cigar. Then I came back to the suite and took a two-hour nap. After my nap we played a game of Canasta. We decided to dress for dinner and headed down to the Compass Rose for dinner.

On the way we stopped by the cruise consultant’s office. Eddie was in, we have worked with Eddie on prior cruises, and we discussed the 2029 & 2030 world cruises. Apparently, it is best to book a suite and request an upgrade, than just to get on the wait list. We are already on the wait list for a Penthouse suite.

Penthouse suite on the Mariner is 42 M2. The concierge suite, like we are currently in is only 28 M2. For a two-week cruise a concierge suite is fine, but for a five-month cruise we would really need the bigger suite. We really like the cruise plan of the 2029 cruise and hope we can get upgraded. With our new platinum status, booking now, and requesting the upgrade to a penthouse suite, it is “possible” we will be able to go on the 2029 cruise. We’ll book it on the 3rd, after the credit card billing period cuts off.

We had a drink the the Horizon Lounge to watch the sunset as we left Málaga. We went down to the Compass Rose and had dinner about 19:00. We also realized that we would be sailing past Gibraltar about 21:00 and it would be dark. It would have been good to see.

 Bye-Bue Málaga

We both started with a shrimp cocktail. The I chose the sea scallops with Thai sweet chilly sauce, and asparagus with hollandaise sauce. Mary had the salmon and asparagus, be she skipped the hollandaise sauce. Mary ordered the strangely named soufflé for dessert. I skipped dessert. The soufflé was an individual portion, with loganberries and topped with a very sweet meringue. It should be skipped, way too sweet.

After dinner I had a cigar and called it a night.   

Buonanotte e Ciao,

Enrico & Maria.