Cadiz, Spain

6/25/2026

Waterside Dinner Menu.

Before leaving for dinner, we received a letter indicating that we would arrive to Lisbon this Friday at 8:00 PM rather than Saturday morning. Due to maritime and port authority regulations we were asked to follow the guidance provided.

While guests can go ashore to visit the city of Lisbon they must return to the ship. No guest can debark that evening and must went to debark until Saturday.

Also, guests willing to debark as early as 6:00 AM on Saturday can do so but must carry all their luggage as the offloading of checked luggage will begin at 6:30 AM. Standard debarkation is to begin for all guests at 8:00 AM.

Last evening we dined at Beefbar with fellow guest Yvonne. We met Yvonne and her husband on the full 2019 World Cruise. This time Yvonne is by herself.

A little about this dining venue which is located on deck 12. Originally, this dining venue was a casual alternative without reservations and staffed entirely by the personnel known back then as Lido Deck Stewards. It had a set menu with a couple of appetizers, salad, and entrées of salmon, steak and chicken and ended with dessert.

Many years later following a dry dock when the area was transformed with the removal of the indoor pool, new furniture, a living wall and other enhanced features it became Tastes. Most of the staff came from Waterside with a few members of the Lido team assisting along with a Head Waiter. Reservations were recommended. The cuisine was Tapas representing different areas of the world which more than one person could share.

This venue was eventually converted to Silk by new owners which served Chinese cuisine.

Following the restart of new Crystal by the new owners the restaurant returned to the cuisine it served when it was Tastes until a longer-term dining concept could be implemented and when that happened it became Beefbar.

Beefbar is an upscale global steakhouse which was developed by Riccardo Giraudi. Think of it as combining meats with street food. All portions can be shared or eaten by one person. It is not all about beef serving other items including vegetable such as a cauliflower entrée.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner with non-stop conversation, excellent service along with tasty food and great wine.

Anne Marie and Kieth shared the Ribeye ham which is prosciutto with panettone salato. The combination makes for a very tasty start of the meal. Anne Marie had the Tacos which include Angus beef, tender wheat galette, avocado,with Kobe beef butter and habanero. Another very tasty appetizer. Keith had the Tuna Ceviche which was also very tasty. Anne Marie had an appetizer while Ivi and I had our main course. She had the Bao Buns which is Wagu beef on a Korean Buns served with jasmine tea. It is smoked so when it comes out they lift the cover making for a wonderful presentation. Keith had the Filet Mignon without any of the sauces accompanies with Parmesan cheese & summer truffle French fries. Both of us have very little beef and on this cruise other than the Vintage Room this is the only time we have the beef. Keith made two other exceptions. He usually have beef cook medium but will often defer to the chef and this was recommended medium rare, so he went with the recommendation which turned out to be a great decision. The other exception was having French fries.

Before retiring to bed last evening, we forwarded the clocks by one hour to the time

Despite turning forward the clocks by one hour Keith was up early and enjoyed a visit to the Fitness Center followed by a fast walk on the Promenade Deck. Unlike the day before, there were no wind gusts only a nice breeze with moderate temperature.

Second walk while docking at Cadiz. This is RCI's newest ship whose maiden voyage was June 11 of this year.

We arrived at Cadiz by 7:00 AM. One of the nice things about the port is being right across the street from this lovely city. A variety of tours were offered including a walking tour of Cadiz, a couple of walking tours with tapas tasting, a Andalusian Culinary workshop, A Royal  Andalusian School of Equestrian Art and Wine tasting, an exclusive Flamenco performance and a visit to the Andalusia White Villages. A tour of beautiful Seville was offered. The drive is 75 miles each way and drive time of about 90 to 120 minutes. Another alternative transport method is the train.

Our first visit to Cadiz was in 2007 on board the full World Cruise. Since then we have visited many times.

It was substituted in liue of Casablanca because of security concerns.  A few months earlier there was a terrorist attack on tourists.

Cadiz is considered to be the oldest inhabited cities of the Western World and is estimated to be 3,000 years old.  It has a long history of being ruled by various forces.  The Phoenicians ruled this area in 1100 BC and by 500 BC the Carthaginians ruled until the Romans occupied the city. Eventually this city became part of  Spain.  Many years later Christopher Columbus set sail for the New World from Cadiz.

Cadiz has a population of 120,000 residents. Major highlights include:

Catedral Nueva built between 1722 and 1832 and is a Roman Catholic Church.

Plaza Topete is a triangular plaza located close to the Catedral and is popular with the locals.

Museu de Cadiz is resident to Spanish, Italian and Flemish paintings from the 16th century.

Museo de las Cortes Cadiz was opened in 1912 and is a local history museum.

Torre Tavira was built in 1717 and was the official watchtower of Cadiz given its proximity to the city centre.

Keith went ashore and walked around the city while today was Anne Marie’s turn to visit the salon for her haircut. He revisited lots of places from prior visits and covered new ground. Lovely weather and just fun to explore this city by foot. The good news is the city is right across the street from where we are docked.