Carnival Pride Europe Cruise Review: Day 8 – Lisbonfeatured
I’ve almost been to Lisbon so many times. It’s been on my list forever. We got so close earlier in the year, but we ultimately went to Madrid instead. So I had this day circled on my calendar. I was very excited.
We wouldn’t dock until after 10:00 AM, so we had a leisurely morning getting up and ready for the day. Stephanie was on the balcony as we started pulling in to the channel that separates Lisbon from Almada. We spotted the 25 de Abril bridge and thought we may be docking close to it. The bridge is super distinctive — it is the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge and looks very similar to the Golden Gate Bridge (they were designed by the same group!). As we got closer and closer, it became clear we weren’t docking near the bridge — we were going to sail BENEATH the bridge! It was a super cool experience. I’m not sure how many people caught it because I don’t think the captain or Felipe announced it, but it was another really cool experience to watch this ship glide gracefully beneath this behemoth of a bridge.
Once the ship had fully cleared the bridge, we went upstairs to the Lido deck for breakfast. We came up at the tail end of breakfast service (which ends at 10:30 AM) and it was packed. On previous cruises, there would be a buffet line kept open for late risers, but not so on the Pride. I’m not sure if it’s permanently gone or if it was a temporary cut back, but also to note, not all buffet lines were open. During breakfast hours, I think they opened two lines, and they got congested quickly with many items (breads and toasts, bacon, pancakes/french toast) being served by attendants instead of self-serve. We got some made-to-order omelettes and sat out by the Blue Iguana with a beautiful view of the city of Lisbon!
Because we were docked in the city proper, we decided it was the perfect port for another DIY port day. For us, that means just wandering around to see the city and do whatever looks fun for us! The terminal building had shops, ATM’s and independent tours. We bought tickets for the Hop On Hop Off bus for €25 Euros a piece. I think we took the City Sightseeing bus, but there were at least three lines that came all the way up to the terminal building. It was a super convenient way to fill a day.
I normally love Hop On Hop Off buses. I think they’re a great way to see a large city in a condensed time. I didn’t love it in Lisbon, largely because the buses move fast and Lisbon is a city of small details. The colors, the textures, the patterns — the buildings are all unique and I wanted to see everything. I found myself frustrated that I couldn’t — there’s just so much to see! But the bus was convenient to see the high points: we saw the cable cars, the aqueducts, up down and all around Baixa. We even made it out to Belem, the famous cliff diving hotspot. We would have gotten off but it was very windy and my Zara dress left me ripe for a wardrobe malfunction.
We rode back to the city in nearly a full loop before we hopped off to explore more by foot. We found Pink Street and the nearby Umbrella Street. We marveled over the cable cars and street art. We snapped pictures of mosaic tiles. I thought Lisbon would remind me of some of the cities we’ve visited in Spain, but I actually found myself seeing more similarities to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The vibrant colors and distinctive buildings felt so reminiscent of one of my favorite cities in the Caribbean.
The skies were getting darker and we knew a storm was likely to come, so we walked over to the Time Out Market, one of the city’s most popular food halls. We actually have a Time Out Market in Chicago, but one of the great things about the Time Out Markets are how local-focused they are. There were more than a dozen booths to choose from and it was bustling. I ordered from a pop up booth from Marlene Vieira, chef de cuisine at the Zunzum Gastrobar, one of Lisbon’s top rated restaurants. The daily special, a crispy pork belly with potatoes and bacon, was extraordinary. To cap that off, I got a port sangria from one of the wine booths that may have been one of the best I’ve ever had. Stephanie had a steak sandwich that was supposed to be a local speciality, and we both had to have some Pasteis de Nata, the famous egg custard tartlets that everyone told us we had to try in Lisbon.
By the time we finished at the market, the rain had cleared out in favor of bright sunshine and we headed out to explore more of the parks, monuments and buildings!
We stopped one more time at a coffee shop, The Cakery, and had the most interesting coffee drink I think I’ve ever had. It was supposed to be an iced cherry vanilla coffee, but it was like an affogado with a shot of espresso, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and cherry syrup, topped with raspberries. We also had a slice of their homemade banana bread, and it was the perfect afternoon treat.
I can’t ever leave a city without doing some shopping, so we popped in and out of shops as we came across them, buying Ginjha (a local cherry liquor) and little odds and ends.
We took our time walking back to the ship. With the sun out, every corner we turned brought something new and beautiful into view and I just wanted to see all of it. I know I’ll be back in Lisbon someday (note from the future: will definitely be back in Lisbon, in June, on the Venezia), but I always end up lingering when things come to an end because I just don’t want it to end.
Whenever I’m in San Francisco, I find myself at Crissy Field for hours just staring at the Golden Gate Bridge. Having such a similar, equally beautiful, massive bridge here in Lisbon, I couldn’t tear myself away. Before we turned back to the cruise terminal, we just kind of sat out by the water, looking out at the bridge and reflecting on our day in Lisbon.
There was a back onboard time of 6:30 PM and I think we got back just after 5:00 PM. We passed through security, walked through the terminal, dinged in, dropped our bags at the room and freshened up before checking in for dinner in the app.
The dining experience continues to improve but is still a far cry away from where it was as recently as our December cruise. All of our food arrived and the meal didn’t take much more than an hour, but we were rapidly discovering the food was just okay — things that used to be superb were passable. The breads were stale. The meats were chewy. The dessert menu, which used to offer three or four items in addition to the warm chocolate melting cake and cheese plate now only featured two items (one of which being the no sugar added option). It was noticeable, but we were hopeful this cruise was an anomaly and not a sign of things to come because, well, we generally like Carnival’s food a heck of a lot more than we like the standard offerings on other cruise lines.
After dinner, we hopped outside to the promenade to watch the ship set sail. We cruised out of the harbor, past the brightly-colored facades of Lisbon, and passed again underneath the 25 de Abril bridge. It was just as special the second time and we saw so many crew FaceTiming their loved ones to share in the moment!
Once we were out into open waters, the seas got really rough and choppy. It wasn’t the worst motion we’ve ever faced, but it was heavy enough to be noticeable to me (and I can never even feel anything light or moderate). I’m the only one of us that doesn’t get sea sick, but I do get sleepy. We ended up calling it an early night, watching the waves on the water and The Eyes of Tammy Faye in the room (great movie — highly recommend!) and we called it an early night, hoping the weather gods would shine on us for our day in Porto!
