TUI Mediterranean 2019 · Page 3

On Sunday we reached Lisbon, where the ship again lay close to the city. First thing in the morning we left the ship and grabbed one of the e-scooters, of which there were plenty at the terminal. We rode through Lisbon on the scooters, but it quickly turned out that scooters aren't the best means of transport in Lisbon. Many streets are cobbled or so steep that the scooters can't make it up the hill. So we parked the scooters again and continued on foot through the city centre.

For the afternoon we had already booked an excursion through Mein Schiff: a city tour by bus and on foot for 45 euros per person. This tour (actually) started very well. The bus took us to individual sights, and we also had time to explore the area at each stop.

In the afternoon the weather changed and it started to rain heavily. We had two guides on the tour: Kathrin from TUI and a local guide (LG). Unfortunately the LG decided not to adapt the tour to the weather. We walked up onto the hills of Lisbon while it was by now pouring with rain. The LG said several times that she would stick to her programme, as that was what had been booked. The TUI guide spoke to the LG several times, but it didn't help. More and more TUI guests left the group and walked back towards the ship on their own. As the LG walked up the steep streets very quickly and the guests tried to keep up, a woman fell on the slippery street. Almost the whole group now rebelled, and we went back to the ship by the shortest route. Our first TUI excursion was a big flop, and we would have liked a bit more flexibility from the tour guides here, adapting to the weather.