Balmoral In Funchal: Madeira Island’s Flower Festival

I’ve experienced and witnessed Madeira Island’s Flower Festival several times and there are only two words I can think of to best describe the event – vibrant and colorful! The event is celebrated around the whole island from May 5th to May 29th but the main events take place in Funchal, the island’s capital.

The ship arrived in Funchal just in time for the Flower Festival’s most awaited event of the entire celebration – The Allegoric Flower Parade. During the parade, the main street of Funchal is filled with upbeat danceable music and a colorful parade of floats with participants in colorful costumes.

Tourists travel to this famous Portuguese island every year just to see and experience this event. And we are not an exception, we have Funchal curated in the ship’s itinerary long before the ship’s planned reactivation from lay-up. In short, we have passengers/guests onboard booked this cruise just for the colorful flower parade.

So today, the Balmoral is here in Funchal, the island’s capital. This is where cruise ships normally docked. We arrived today and we are staying in port overnight!