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The next morning we boarded our ocean liner, the new and beautiful "R-2," one of the premier ships-of-the-line. It was a sight to behold, the gracious lines, the white and blue scheme of the ship, with its signature jutting prow sitting at dockside waiting to welcome its new shipmates. The liner is smooth with sleek curves on the outside and many private balconies and promenades shining in the early morning sun. After a check-in at dockside we board the boat and almost immediately have a safety drill where all passengers and crew participate and are assigned assembly areas to report to in case of emergency. This lifeboat drill is in accordance with international law. We get to see the efficiency of the crew in action and the first-timers realize that we are really to going to sea. It is an impressive demonstration of organization and seamanship.

There is a welcoming Sangria party and then off to our cabins to unpack and prepare for the voyage. The restaurants on the "R-2" are world class and are well staffed and managed. There are bars to mix with fellow passengers like the "Sweets and Martini Bar" where you can enjoy desserts, martinis and Spanish brandies. The popular "Sports Bar" with its dark woods and club atmosphere. This is a rendezvous spot for many of the passengers to swap stories and experiences.

The leisurely Club Restaurant with its continental-inspired menu is a great meeting and eating place. The Club Restaurant is open for lunch and dinner and along with fine dining there is dancing to live music. "The Panorama" buffet serves local delicacies in a relaxed indoor-outdoor setting where the view of the ocean is the main attraction. It serves breakfast as well as lunch and the dress is casual. For the connoisseur there is the "Italian Restaurant" which is a romantic jacket and tie affair with elegant appointments and classic Italian cuisine. For that extra bit of flair in dining there is the Hollywood-theme inspired, "The Grill", which offers steaks, chicken and seafood. It’s glamorous and the atmosphere is very dramatic indeed. "The Grill" is special, fun and good fare. For other options in relaxation and dining there is the poolside barbecue and bar as well as 24-hour room service. One innovation that everyone seems to like is the open-seating dining, where you can pick where you eat, who you eat with and when you eat. For the more formal restaurants reservations are recommended. The "R-2" has a magnificent wine cellar and stores many aperitifs.

The first night out I eat at the truly wonderful and atmospheric "Italian Restaurant" and have their chef’s specialty "Seafood Ravioli" and one of their premier Pinot Grigio wines. They also serve the ice cream confection, Tartuffo, for dessert. Between the Maitre D’, the service, food, wine, aperitif, dessert and espresso, you will enjoy a night in Rome while viewing the Mediterranean Sea as you dine in a four star restaurant. Fantastico!

There are many venues onboard the ship to make the trip as pleasurable and educational as possible. The whole concept of the Renaissance cruises is to experience the destination through the ports of call and excellent ground accommodations and expertly guided tours. But if you want to stay shipboard and relax and enjoy the facilities, this is not only fine but is a worthwhile option because of the range of activities and "no hassle" atmosphere.

Renaissance prides itself on entertainment and recreational activities as well as innovations. For instance, there is a gambling casino, a well-stocked library, an Internet Cafe where you can surf the net, send and check your e-mail and even attend computer workshops, a spa and fitness center. The spa offers European-style massage, aroma therapy and whirlpool. The fitness center has personal trainers and top-of-the-line equipment. Another nod to health is the "smoke-free" environment that is scrupulously maintained on board. This is a unique innovation pioneered by Renaissance. These "R" class ships are the industry’s first completely non-smoking fleet.

Of course, there is the pool, deck games, and a variety of shipboard programs to fill the time or you can lounge quietly on deck chairs and take in the ocean breeze and view. Some people just need this for a vacation, they enjoy the way they are treated by the attentive staff and the pleasure of the restaurants and poolside snacks while most of the other passengers are off on inland sightseeing excursions. At night there are stage shows at the at the Cabaret Lounge and dancing. The ship, incidentally, is adults only! This is where you go to escape the children. The R-2 has its first class stores where you can buy everything from sports clothes to designer watches. The ship is well appointed with paintings, wooden panels, rugs and many sofas and well-stuffed chairs throughout.

The "spiral staircase" with its skylight reminiscent of the Titanic’s famous trademark is a tribute to another age of grand sea travel and serves as a background for many portraits. Also, there is a professional photographer who takes portraits as well as a photo shop that will develop and print the photos of your personal travel experiences. Accommodations range from very good to superb. For instance, almost 70% of the cabins and suites are "outside" with spacious private balconies. I had a large outside cabin and enjoyed my complimentary bottle of champagne on its balcony as the ship glided on a tranquil sea under a full moon towards its next destination, Malaga. I watched my color TV as I got my camera gear together for the next day’s tour.

Malaga is a famous resort and rich port in Southern Spain on the sun coast, "Costa del Sol." There are mountain ranges surrounding this picturesque town that dates back to the sea-faring Phoenicians. The tour I decide to take when I disembark is to what many consider the soul of Moorish Spain, Granada. As the song says, "Granada, I’ve fallen under your spell and if you could speak’ what a fascinating tale you would tell." The Moors built the magnificent walled city that guards within its perimeter a masterpiece of Islamic architecture, the Alhambra Palace. Sumptuous, magnificent and romantic—no adjectives can really describe this jewel of gardens, pools and courtyards where Moorish princes ruled their Spanish Province.

It is a one-day walking tour back through history and has been called a "man-made Garden of Eden." Delicate colonnades, intricate tile designs, carved cedarwood ceilings and the famous Lion Fountain which lies in the spacious Court of the Lion, where sultans conducted their domestic lives, can be seen by the modern traveler. Back on the long beautiful bus ride though the fabled Southern Spanish landscape, the spirit of a forgotten age fills your senses and no destination can quite equal, Granada, it still lives and still beguiles.

I enjoy a dinner with new friends at The Club restaurant and try the Malaga-style seafood and the rich coffee and cakes that are popular in this part of Iberia. One very important aspect of the R-2 cruise ships is the very high two-one passenger to crew ratio This makes unequaled service commonplace. You can see it in the restaurants and on deck, the crew is always there. On the one-day layover in Gibraltar, I choose to stay on board and enjoy the hospitality and ease of the ship. It’s cloudy and I have no desire to feed Barbary Apes, but I have got a penchant to read up on Spanish folklore in the comfortable Library enjoying a glass of Spanish sherry.

We cruise at night and reach the ancient port of Cadiz, the oldest city in Andalusia, being over 3,000 years old. This part of Spain is home to cattle ranches, white washed villages, vineyards and has a history that reaches back to Carthage and Hannibal. It was a major recruiting ground for the Roman legions and was an important trading center, being close to North Africa which lies right across the sea and is visible from the port of Cadiz.

The tour I choose to take on this bright morning is to Seville, a triumph of Southern Spanish art and architecture. Home of the famous Cathedral of Seville, the world’s third largest Gothic cathedral with flying buttresses, stained glass rose windows and holy treasures that have been passed down through the ages. There is also the legendary tomb of Christopher Columbus as well as the chapel where Spanish royalty is entombed. While I was there a choir was singing Latin hymns to the echoing sounds of a centuries old pipe organ, the reverberations were enchanting and evoked the religious heritage of classical Spain.

We visited the Alcazar, the Moorish castle, the ancient Jewish quarter and the still-intact classical plaza with its stucco houses and blue-tiled walls. The history of Spanish explorers and the regions they came from are told in the thousands of tiles that line the open baroque square. Walking along the cobbled side streets, life still goes on as it has for centuries, a guitar player and a bread salesman add to the historic setting. Traditional horse carriages are waiting at the huge Plaza of Seville to take you on excursions through this slice of Spanish soul.

Back onto the ship for dinner at the Grille and then take in a show at one of the night clubs and end the evening with animated conversations with shipmates about the splendors of Seville with a night cap at the Club Lounge. At this point on the cruise everyone knows everyone by name or by sight. This is our last night on the ship and several parties ensue. Tomorrow we operate as land lubbers once again and reminisce about the wonderful journey on the R-2 and its cruise on the ancient Mediterranean.

We arrive in Lisbon and disembark for check-in at the fabulous Four Seasons, The Ritz Hotel. Once we are settled in we arrange our tours for the next two days. A day tour of Lisbon is on the schedule. Walking the winding cobblestone streets of the "Old Quarter," I manage to photograph the black and white sidewalks and street peddlers hawking their wares. We stop at a shop for some sherry tasting, a popular Portuguese past time. We then go to the famous Maritime Museum of Portugal, home of Henry the Navigator. Royal Portugal was the ocean-going capital of the world with a far flung empire that ranged from Africa to India to China and the Americas. The museum is a must for people interested in any type of sea-faring history as well as the cultures of the world.

Early that evening we take a tour of the famous Equestrian Center of Leziria Grande just outside of Lisbon. This school has some of the most beautiful thoroughbreds in the land and trains them in the traditional Portuguese Art of Riding. The horse and rider provide a collaboration of motion and technique between horse and man in this stunning dressage performance. These horses can trace their bloodlines back to ancient Roman days when they were the stock of the Roman cavalry and many were shipped to Rome and the provinces to race in the many hippodromes of the empire. We watch and photograph the show of horsemanship and then head for a family-style dinner at the school.

We feast on a local Portuguese buffet of langostino and chicken and then watch children perform traditional folk dances. Later over our espresso and cakes we listen to the enchanting singing of the famous Fado, the troubadour songs of Portugal. Two excursions the next day make it a full and exciting day of Portuguese culture and country life.

First we visit Obidos, the Middle Ages era walled country town. It remains virtually the same with its whitewashed walls punctuated by splashes of bright colors like blue and yellow for highlights and brown tile roofs. These roofs are traditional and also date back to Roman times. We view the aqueduct and roam through the quiet streets stopping at local shops to buy tiles and pottery, lace and glassware. This is a wonderful town for photography and it lends itself to the medium with its old church and medieval architecture and character as subject matter.

A bus ride through the early spring countryside brings us to "romantic" Sintra, as the locals call it, gateway to the Portuguese Riviera. This town is a picture postcard in its layout and architecture and color. A favorite of the Portuguese for centuries. It is known for its arts and crafts. Just outside of Sintra is one of its main claims to fame and power , there lies one of the homes to the Royal family situated in a sculptured landscape, the magnificent Rococo and Baroque Queluz Palace. This large edifice is full of antiques and paintings and is a living testament to the Portugal of the romantic age.

The Mediterranean cruise and trip to Spain and Portugal are finally over. The culture of the countries are imbedded forever in our minds, the kindness of the people, the beauty of the landscape, cities and towns and, most importantly, the wonderful memories of the R-2, our modern time machine to times and places we will never forget. I start day dreaming on the plane from Lisbon to New York about where and when I will go on my next Renaissance cruise. Perhaps Northern Europe, no, maybe Tahiti or Greece, only time will tell, but I will go again and again because I am now one of the veterans, I am caught in the Renaissance and I like it there.

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