Other places in Madeira

Arco da Calheta Calheta Caniço Caniço de Baixo Funchal Garajau Gaula Machico Paul do Mar Ponta Delgada Ponta do Pargo Ponta do Sol Porto da Cruz Porto Santo Prazeres Ribeira Brava S. Vicente Santana Santo da Serra Sta. Cruz

1966 all over again

From the Mail on Sunday
Until we got to the Bay of Biscay it was pretty smooth sailing. Then things got a little bumpy.
What was slightly worrying was that the ship was going all over the place - while the captain was sitting next to me enjoying a five-course dinner.
I've been on cruises before and, apart from the fact that I always put on weight, I love them.
The nice thing about cruises is that mix of being on the sea then on land. And seeing a lot of countries in the space of two weeks.
So when former England footballer Dave Watson asked me if I'd be interested in a 1966 World Cup reunion cruise with the lads on the good ship Sundream, I didn't need persuading.
The idea was that we'd talk football to the other passengers and just generally enjoy ourselves sailing to Portugal, Morocco and Madeira The wives thought it a great idea, too, as they always enjoy seeing each other again.
Sadly, it couldn't be the full team. Our great captain Bobby Moore died tragically young back in 1993 and our boss, the legendary Sir Alf Ramsey, passed away two years ago. But of those of us who survived, only Bobby Charlton couldn't make the cruise because of business commitments.
There was still the same banter and usual mickey-taking. If that's changed at all it's only to have got worse as we've become even more familiar with each other.
There's always been a strong bond between the players. Sir Alf Ramsey created a club environment within a national team and succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Sir Alf's not here today but he would have been proud about how we still feel about each other.
That's something he was totally responsible for.

Read more in our destination guide to Madeira.