TUI Mediterranean 2019
Our first cruise with TUI: a few days in Arenal, then 10 days on Mein Schiff 4 via Cádiz, Lisbon, Gibraltar, Málaga and Valencia to Barcelona – with a comparison with AIDA.
- Dates
- 2019
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For a long time we had planned to take a trip on "Mein Schiff" so that we could make a direct comparison. In 2019 the plan was finally put into action, and we booked our first cruise with TUI: 10 days in December from Mallorca along the Spanish and Portuguese coast.
We had booked a "Flex" balcony cabin, so we couldn't choose the cabin ourselves – it was allocated by TUI. As we had never sailed on a "Mein Schiff" before, we wouldn't have been able to choose a cabin anyway without being able to judge the pros and cons. We hadn't booked the travel package, as we flew to Mallorca beforehand and also spent a few more days on Mallorca after the cruise.
On Sunday morning we flew from Hanover via Frankfurt to Palma de Mallorca. It was December, and the sun welcomed us.
The taxi took us to the Iberostar hotel in Arenal. As the crow flies, our hotel was only 100 metres from the Megapark. The Megapark and most of the bars in Arenal close their doors at some point in November, so this time of year is very quiet in the area. Our hotel room had a wonderful view of the pool and the sea.
On Monday, under a brilliant blue sky and at 18 degrees, we set off for Palma – more precisely, for the Hard Rock Cafe. Our route led us all along the promenade, past many great stretches of beach and through a park. We had somewhat underestimated the distance, as in the end it was almost 19 kilometres.