Itinerary:
Page 1: June 30 – July 12
June 30 - Leave Toronto
July 1 - Arrive Rome
July 2 - Board Ship
July 3 - Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii
July 4 – At Sea
July 5 - Mykonos, Greece
July 6 – Santorini
July 7 – At Sea
July 8 – Malta
July 9 – At Sea
July 10 – Barcelona, Spain
July 11 – Ville Franche, Monaco, France
July 12 – Civitavecchia, Rome, Venice, Italy
Arrival at Pearson airport at 3pm..Terminal 3 check-in is a breeze…go to post security waiting room and check wireless connection on tablet….connect to email and find an urgent note from Parker travel about our villa.
Turns out that the operator has gone bankrupt! – They offer two alternatives – both unacceptable- we decide they should find us suitable villa similar to our Casa Giorgo.
While waiting to board the plane, we search other villa rentals that Fran had researched in February…we find seaview and they have a villa in Castelina in Chianti!.. We choose a 2 bdrm typical Tuscan looking apt….and hope for the best
Board plane – good flight except for loud Italian couple behind us – talk all the way to Rome at the top of their voices…food less than appetizing
July 1
Arrive in Rome 8;15am – an hour ahead of schedule…luggage and security is a breeze – find cab for trip into Rome and our hotel – the Bernini in Piazza Barberini – a block from the Trevi fountain.
I arrange for transfer to the ship with the celebrity rep in the hotel lobby – 55 E each.
We get our room at 12;30….we shower and crash for a few hours before going out for a pizza slice and a walk to the Trevi fountain
This part of Rome is very smoggy with diesel fumes and incessant cigarette smoke – the traffic is chaotic on the main roads – the back street alleys are cool and much quieter – a pizza bar, caffe bar and leather shop every 20 ft.
Back to the room for another nap and then get up at 7pm for dinner…
On the way we stop at an internet café to check and send email – we get an answer from seaview on an available villa so we decide to fax their contract to hold the property for 24-48 hours – as of yet we have not heard back from parker on an alternative
- we found an outdoor café with a menu touristica that featured spaghetti for first course, then a chicken breast with basil and side salad, .5L of fruity white wine and bottled water….had my first doppio espresso macchiato…they offered the foam in a separate mini pitcher so I can add my own amount…very civilized…our dinner is perfect….a jazz quartet arrives near our table to serenade all the café goers with standards…including Brazil !!!10pm we arrive back at the Bernini for a well deserved rest.- I make and receive a call from Parker properties – they have no substitutions yet…this confirms our decision to go ahead with Seaview just in case.
July 2, 2004
We set the alarm for 6;30 to put our luggage outside the door for pick up and transfer to the ship.We are out by 8am to find coffee and morning sandwiches….no one is offering what we like, so we head back to the hotel until 9am,
We go to a café in the piazza that offers “American breakfast” – Fran has a lovely omelet, and a delicious de-caf cappuccino -I take some yoghurt, cereal and fruit….and an espresso macchiato…this time no extra foam on the side….but still satisfying….
10:00 am - We go to another internet café near the hotel and check email….no response from seaview or parker….we will have to check on board ship from now on…we find and download friends addresses for post cards later on…
1pm – meet the celebrity rep in the lobby to take our transfer transport to the ship…we can board when we arrive – take a tour, have some lunch…our luggage will be in our rooms later this evening.. We sail at 7pm….perhaps a sunset over Rome as we make our way overnight to Naples and our first day at sea…
Our shuttle bus makes the rounds of two other hotels in Rome before completing the 1 ½ hr journey to the port of Cittavechia….affording us another tour of Rome before we board ship.
Once at the port, we get quick clearance thru check-in thanks to our “Captains Club” status and we are on board by 3pm, check in our room, our luggage is waiting for us already – (since ours was taken too early from the hotel and dropped of at the ship – they thought we were taking the Vatican tour and then going to the ship – it is our advantage!) - we unpack and then we make a quick tour of the resort deck with pools and views of the port then make our way back to our cabin to prepare for life boat drill at 4:30pm….this a little crowded but necessary to teach all passengers to obey on-board announcements and to line up in an orderly fashion – we will be doing this for all meals and shore excursions for the next 10 days!!!
- more exploring and a little nap before dinner….answer some email in the grand foyer where internet costs are .75 per minute…we rack up 24 minutes quickly while we get confirmation from the Parker company of a new villa opportunity….I quickly cancel the other company we contacted and pass on the good news to all those at home and in England.8:45pm….we make our way down to the second seating for dinner….feeling the movement of the ship a little for the first time….not unsettling, but you have to watch when you get up and walk….we meet our dining mates – a friendly couple from new jersey – she Debbie hails from Montréal, and Mark, a cardiologist from the Bronx – great new York accent….our two side table partners are couples our own age or less…..and are also friendly – we will see these people on our tours thru Naples, Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii tomorrow.
- Our meals are very good, and we begin to lose the queasy feeling – service is top notch – perhaps because our tables are all veteran cruisers?....
- We have a restful sleep and wake up the next morning to dawn over Napoli.
July 3
Big day of touring – up at 6am – light breakfast delivered to our room – assemble in the century theatre at 7:15 in preparation for our excursion to Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii.There are 12 groups of about 30 people each who are taken by hydrofoil to Capri – the trip takes 40 minutes and we are given portable listening devices so we can listen to our guide for travel instructions and site information. The hydrofoil is a little tippy and we feel a little seasick at the dock…once we are under way, the feeling subsides and we are used to the motion.
9;00am…we arrive at Capri and line up ( see?..told you!) for the funicular ( vertical cable car) that will take us up the steep cliffs to Capri town where we take a walking tour of this very exclusive playground of the rich and famous…Mira Sorvino was in residence at the posh Hotel Palma…where she was married…as far back as emperor Tiberius there have been vacationers here….we stroll the shops and view the beautiful bay and finish our visit with a delicious “Caprese” salad ( tomatoes, unripened mozzarella, basil and olive oil…I have a “double” ( not doppio) espresso and Fran has a frizzati Pellegrino…we feel a little cooler under the cafes canopy while we wait for the other tour members to assemble…then back down the funicular/funiculi and return to our boat transfer…despite the warnings and ongoing instructions from Franco, our friendly, enthusiastic guide, we leave 3 people behind on Capri who will now have to make their way back to the ship at their own cost….we sail at 7pm…we wish them luck!
12:00pm a 20 minute boat ride to Sorrento, for lunch in a gorgeous garden enclosed restaurant…it is so tropical….terra cotta floors, vines, lemon trees laden with enormous yellow knobby lemons… a stray cat peers out from the wall high vines in search of tiny prey…. An adequate lunch of spinach and cheese cannelloni, poached chicken, water and local wine, then we explore a local marquetry style inlaid fine furniture shop…
(The music – jazz guitar and female singer -just started up in the rendevous lounge where I have deposited myself – one of three wireless internet connections on board ship)
We board our frosty A/C bus coach for the trip to Pompeii.. the temperature has been rising steadily all day…upper 30’s, humid and hot sun…we huddle under trees and canopies for shade while we “wait in line” for buses, trams etc….
3pm….we arrive at the Pompeii site…I take an hour long movie of the entire walking tour…..it is fascinating….
5pm…we are heading back to the ship by bus….stopping at a cameo factory and showroom….we shower off the heat and dust of the day…get dressed for dinner and enjoy another wonderful meal…we share the days tour stories with our new found friends….after dinner we wander into the stratosphere disco and enjoy a few dances and a late night cocktail….we end up on the 12 deck laying flat on deck chairs staring up at a full moon and a sky full of stars….unaware of the muscle aches we will be feeling the next day!
July 4th…American independence day
We awake at 7am…take breakfast in the oasis casual dining area….head for mass in the cinema at 9am…..we spend the entire mass sitting down since it is difficult to maneuver the “ups and downs” on a moving ship….we grab a quick decaf cappuccino for mom ( a little too much milk.. next time we order it “very dry”….and I have a sweet, strong doppio espresso macchiato…then into the celebrity theatre for a talk on shopping and tours in Mykonos and Santorini….
11am…..a quick lunch of salad in the Oasis then out to the 6th deck starboard side to read and snooze….we spend the better part of 4 hours here!....creeping our deck chairs closer to the railing as the sun makes it’s afternoon journey towards us ….it starts out at 12 inches from the rail and ends up a glorious warm blanket of 3 feet….the tops of our shins and feet get lightly sunburned!
That takes us to a pre-dinner nap and preparations for our first formal dinner….tux for me…long dress for Fran….
Another delicious dinner, then a live show afterwards….overnight at sea…
July 5 – Mykonos Greece arrival 12pm
We go ashore and into town….beautiful white and blue buildings set into the hillside, winding alleyways with shops and cafes….we have a beautiful lunch of two salads composed of lettuce, feta, pine nuts, figs, tomatoes, bread, olive oil, we add a plate of humus (the centre of the humus has olive oil and pine nuts in it) and pita….local white wine….we sit for over an hour looking at the activity along the shore…browsing thru shops and then back to the ship..4pm….naptime….Update journal…create pages for website update….sit in Rendevous lounge…one of 3 wireless networks on board ship…only time I can connect successfully….when we are moving the satellite has trouble keeping a consistent signal…the shipboard network gives me 11mbps….and about 128kb internet connection….
Both places I get my “doppio….” Have waiters trained to set it up right…pretty good only 3 days into the cruise!
So windy after dinner we retired to our stateroom while the dinner staff attempted to stage the sherbet, ice sculpture parade at poolside….the table cloths were flapping in the wind as we were making our way to the elevators.
July 6 – Santorini
8:am - Breakfast in the main dining room this morning…met some other people, had a nice “sit-down” breakfast…Mom was able to get a nice omlette.
Took the tender from the ship around 9am….5 minute ride across calm seas to the volcanic island of Santorini – history in the brochure- 3 minute steep cable car ride to the top of the island – arrive in picturesque village of winding streets, white buildings with blue and coral shutters, and in the early morning, just a few hundred cruise passengers…we make our way thru the shops, meet a few interesting cats and one jewelry salesman who would pick a fight with George Bush and the President of Celebrity Cruises if they walked into his shop – luckily he felt we were on his side and gave us a lecture on Greek economics starting with saying his beautiful cat is a disguised being from ancient times who is really a woman but in a cats body…and thus makes the perfect salesperson to draw people into his shop.
The crowds grow into the thousands as two more cruise ships empty their contents into tiny boats bobbing on the Agean Sea and deposit them on the shores of this enchanting island to wander the streets….
12pm - We take the next cable car down, meet a charming Danish couple who know Toronto!..so far we have met or heard about 10 people from the GTA on our ship!.....buy some postcards and paprika Pringles ( all the rage duing eurocup) and get the next tender back to the ship….
We spend the next 6 hours by the pool, swimming, reading, people watching, filming the island and taking some lunch.
Now we are off to an informal poolside buffet dinner featuring greek cuisine, greek dancing and music provided by a troop from santorini.
Overnight to malta….
July 7 – At Sea
Up at 7am – brisk walk around deck 11- 12 times around equals one nautical mile – we shower – get some breakfast and stake out a spot by the pool for an early swim – the water is cool and refreshing – it is sea water that is piped in and filtered – there is a fresh water pool as well…we dry off in the sun and then settle in to our deck chairs by the pool under the canopy so we don’t burn – we spend about 4 hours here, reading and snoozing…I take some movies of the ship as well.
2:45pm – informational talk on Malta, Medina and Valetta for our next port stop…interesting history is given and some idea what to expect in our stop over.
8:00pm- It is formal night and we have a Captains Club Cocktail party to go to before dinner at 8:45…We get in a dance and meet the king and queen of the cruise…they have 13 cruises to their credit….we get our formal picture taken in our finery.
Excellent dinner ( again)…we get a surprise anniversary cake from the 3 other couples who are in our table setting – off to the show in the Celebrity theatre – it is a new one called “Elements” – it is marvelous…very innovative use of music, sets, costumes and acrobatic talents of the mix of American and European singer and dancers….
July 8 – Malta
We are up early at 6:30 to get breakfast and prepare to disembark by 8:15 am for our scheduled shore excursion into M’Dina and Valetta.
Overall we are less than thrilled about how the tours are run…very little direction, hard to hear the guide over the noisy traffic in town, crowded, hot bus ride…nothing we could not have done ourselves…very different from the efficient tours in Capri….
We break from the tour at 11am and go in search of pastici, kinni and espresso…we find a café but not the kind of patsici we are used to….nice to sit down though…we end up finding some at a stand near the city gates….they are very good…
We are back on board by 1pm….
If we had more time we would have taken a bus to brisebuggia for a true taste of malta…but the thought of navigating the confusing transportation routes in the plus 35C degree heat does not appeal to us….
I retire to the Rendevous wireless lounge to upload more pictures to the website and Fran relaxes with her book in the cabin..
6pm – we enjoy a very dramatic sailaway from Malta – grandiose music and a slow exit out the harbour…we get a really good look at the historical buildings, the structures carved out of the islands rock….we pass by the three out islands including Gozo….
Casual dinner dress this evening…
We are at sea again tomorrow on our way to Barcelona….
July 9 – At sea enroute to Barcelona
8:30am – we attend the Captains Club Champagne breakfast in the Orion dining room – this is an exclusive, invitation only event that only those with more than two cruises to their credit… I have 5….we are treated like royalty…4 waiters for every couple….we enjoy champagne, omlettes, cereal and an espresso…very enjoyable…then off to the starboard deck to take some sun until our massage appt.
10:30am we have booked a couples massage…we have two masseuse, one from south Africa and one from Alberta…we enjoy traditional Swedish massage to work out the tension built up over the last few days of preparations for the trip….it is wonderful.
11:30am – we had planned to attend Dr. Ruths seminar on aging couples and how they can keep the spark alive….fun and informative…
1pm…a quick lunch on the resort deck 11 and back to the celebrity theatre to watch a private viewing for CCM’s (Captains Club Members) of Love Actually…
3:30pm…espresso and pastries from tastings on deck 6, check our email….we seem to have been forgotten….then out to the port side where the sun has started it’s trip across the deck….before it sinks into the western horizon around 9pm tonite….with deck chairs pulled to an angle about 3 ft from the rail and in line with the sun ..books in hand, tablet to write this days entry….we are settled in for some worshipping….
We have been experiencing some higher winds, grand, large waves and sea spray on deck today…when we look out over the vast azure blue sea, we imagine ancient mariners in papyrus boats sailing into the unknown being tossed by swells much higher than the 10 foot one we see from our floating hotel…we barely feel the motion…captain must have the stablizers on all the time….
Glasses getting fogged up with sea spray…can’t see the keyboard…and the sun has jujst lowered to the brim of my hat, so I will sign off….we stay on deck until 7pm…then dress – business informal for dinner….we purchase a bottle of the cabernet sauvignon from sequoia farms vineyard ( napa valley)…it is delicious with my scallops, shrimp and pasta meal….
11pm – we go fwd on deck 6 to the celebrity theatre to watch the live newlywed and not so newlywed game – played out with volunteer couples who have been married for only a few days to 33 years…wives and husbands answer questions about each other and the audience hs a great time with the foibles…
12am – off to the stratosphere lounge on deck 12 aft to dance a few Motown tunes…then off to bed,…we have an early morning tour in Barcelona at 8:30am…
July 10th – at port in Barcelona by 7am
Typical sea port with loading areas and docking for 9 cruise ships.
We are taking a well organized tour with a Spanish tour guide, a/c bus – the tour will take about 4 hours and we will see the new and old city from the bus, then stop to look at the exterior of the goudi cathedral – and the medieval cathedral in the old district (600 yrs old)…rebuilt over the Romanesque, that was built over the ruins of the first church on this site – demolished by the moors in the 2nd century.
The Gaudi cathedral is awesome – still another 20 years before it is completed – due to lack of funding and the untimely death of the architect in 1927 in a tram accident. The innovative design and concepts of the life of Christ depicted on the exterior of the cathedral are the most original I have ever seen.
Into the old city, preserved from the city’s renovations in the mid 19th century in an effort to increase commerce and an increasing population – entire blocks are created over the old city walls – creating a placa on every major corner. The old city walls are tall and the narrow passageways wind labyrinth-like until they spill into a stone courtyard, complete with gargoyles, crests over doorways – as you continue on thru streets you hear the faint sounds of Spanish melodies, on guitars, hammer dulcimers, violins, celtic-style harps…the music floats towards you and and drifts up the walls of the alleys and then fades behind you….one musician has a home-made guitar device that is amplified and fills the ancient courtyard with Spanish melodies and song….we buy his cd so we can relive the experience (like the classical guitarist we heard in the Uffizi loggia) - the medieval cathedral is very interesting – true gothic style, with vaulted ceilings, unadorned stone - two sets up buttresses, similar to notre dame in paris – build around the same time – late 13th century…there is a baptristy that houses a huge font used to baptize the 6 american Indians brought back from America by Columbus in 1495….there are many alcove chapels, each dedicated to a saint, some with relics…
1pm – 3pm – we have been on the resort deck all this time, I went swimming in the cool salt-water pool – we got some sun and then retreated to the canopy out of the sun….mom has been reading, while I have been updating the journal, uploading pics and titling them….mom has a corona, I have found a bottled guinness…the band has started playing Gilberto-style brazilian jazz – sax, piano, drums and vocals…
July 11 – VilleFranche – French Riviera
We are up early – 6am – get breakfast and are in the rendevous lounge by 7:30am in order to get our tender to shore for our excursion to Monaco, Monte Carlo….all by bus that winds up mountainous roads past luxurious French homes and villas that overlook the azure bay. We drive from villefranche, a small port village, up the hill and cross over the boarder of the principality of Monaco - where we get out and visit the old part of the palace town – built in the 13th century by the grimaldi family – it is the longest living dynasty in Europe – over 700 years – we take an audio assisted walk-thru tour of the palace and get back just in time to re-join our tour group – on the way back to the bus, fran buys a soccer scarf for Dan from the Monaco football club.
Back on the bus and we head to the very chi chi town of monte carlo where we exit the bus and walk to the casino square – here we find the very well-heeled jet set going in and out of the hotel paris and the café paris – we sit in the outdoor café and wait 20 minutes for any waiter to take notice of us – all the tour are in the same boat, so we just enjoy people watching and rejoin the group after a half hour of sitting in the most exclusive café in monte carlo….some Americans begin their dance of “serve me!...I am an American”….what should I say…”Surrender?”….unbelievable arrogance….I think we travel to experience another cultures daily activities…be willing to learn something new, not expect to have an “American version” of every European city you encounter…
1pm – back on board – we take a light lunch – go to our new suntan spot on the 8th deck aft – then down to tastings at 3pm for espresso, earl grey and pastries in the comfortable lounge near the email terminals – then at 4pm - out to the starboard 6th deckchairs to watch the tenders come back in…the sailboats and luxury cruisers come into the Villefranche bay in time for dinner on shore….
6pm – we have decided on our last night aboard ship, we will have dinner in our room – to partake of the bottle of Mumms champagne we got with the anniversary package – we get a menu from Antonio – our cabin steward – and place an order to be delivered by 8pm…we decide to pack our bags in preparation for leaving them in the hallway for pick-up around midnight…during the process, I lose the remote – fran prays to st. Anthony – 5 minutes later, Antonio is at our cabin door with the remote in his hand – saying we left this on one of our bags in the hall!!!
We enjoy a lovely dinner – watch a movie, finish our books – Frans 3rd!....mine is Francis Mayes “ Bella Tuscany”….then early to bed at 10pm – only to be wakened frequently by the noisy banging and crew conversations as they move the 5000 pieces of baggage thru the 14 decks into the hold for transfer to shore the next morning in Civittavechia…our last port.
July 12 – civittavechia – home port
We are up at 6am with the Italian cruise port in sight from our stateroom window…a few other cruise ships are starting to arrive….we go on top for a quick breakfast and then to the theatre to await our number “Red 1” to be called down to the embarkation deck 3 – where we can exit the ship and pick up our luggage – get to the pre-arranged transfer bus to the Fiumincino airport in rome to connect to our luftansa – air one flight to Venice.
The transfer is very well managed – we were asked to be in the theatre by 8am – we get the call at 8am to disembark – the bus is there, our luggage is found easily and transferred to the bus, we enjoy an hour long air conditioned ride to the airport…
10am - we arrive to find our flight at 3pm is the only one available – and we can’t check our bags until 1pm – there are very few comfortable chairs in this airport – we finally stake our two and we spend two hours people watching – finding how to order a simple sandwich, salad and espresso in an airport bar – look at our pictures on the tablet –
1pm – we check our bags then proceed to the gate area where we find more sandwich bars – another espresso and sfiziaforno and cesare sandwiches….and sit in comfortable chairs by the gate.
2:30pm – we are ready to board our flight to Venice and about 2 hours away from K&A…
