Cruising the Mediterranean Part I

So as I have alluded to, our whole trip to Italy emerged because we wanted to cruise the Mediterranean Sea. We looked at a couple of cruises but settled on Royal Caribbean. There are a couple of reasons we selected this cruise line over others: first, it went to several places we wanted to see; Spain, France and the northern part of Italy. Second, Royal Caribbean usually has really good offers throughout the year and it made it cheaper to go with them, plus we got more with them than the other cruise line we considered. With the other line we reviewed, we would have had an interior stateroom and it would have been about $1000 more, but with Royal Caribbean we were able to have an ocean side balcony stateroom plus we received on board credit and it helped add to our credit to the Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor membership - making us Platinum after the trip (also our third reason to go). Finally, we were able to book the cruise through Costco, who honors the Royal Caribbean promotion, and by going through them we also received a Costco gift card to use after we completed the trip.

We had to travel about an hour outside of Rome to reach the port where the ship was docked. Once we arrived we got through checking in relatively fast order. (the fastest I have ever gone through check in, if I am being honest.) We were able to go immediately to our stateroom and unpack. We then went to a muster drill that is required for all guests. We were all in the theater and I remember thinking this was weird. Also, something that was weird to us, our sea pass card was orange and not blue like normal. It wasn't until dinner time that we realized what was going on. Royal Caribbean had two different cruises on one boat. What I mean by that is we were getting on towards the end of the cruise that had set out of Barcelona on Sunday. So at times we often felt like we were the odd group out. It also made sense why we got on so easily and the small group muster drill. I did think it was interesting that this was not communicated when we booked the cruise, but we actually didn't mind it. By boarding toward the end of the cruise we had a more relaxing cruise in my opinion, than if we had started out in Barcelona like most of the passengers. Here is our itinerary by getting on in Rome: Day 1: Rome, Day 2: Naples, Day 3: Sea Day, Day 4: Barcelona, Day 5: Palma de Mallorca, Day 6: Marseilles, Day 7: La Spazia (Florence and Pisa), Day 8: Rome. If we had booked and left from Barcelona our last day would have been the sea day and that is a lot of sightseeing with very few breaks.

We ended our first day on the boat by going to the main dining room. We assumed we would have a table for just the two of us but we actually were sat at a table for 10. We liked it because we got to meet a couple of other couples who we ate with on occasion. So on the first night there was only one other couple with us. They were from Seattle and like Ken and I had only been married for about 4 years. We would have dinner with them a couple more times In the trip. They actually took advantage of the other restaurants that the cruise offered but were not included in the price. I have never taken advantage because I like eating in the main dining room and getting to know our servers. Because we had such a busy five days before the cruise we were wiped out and after dinner we went straight to bed to get ready for our first stop the next day.

Day 2:

So the first stop for us was Naples. We decided to do a group tour offered through Royal Caribbean. Tip: it is better to book through the cruise in my opinion than going through a third party. If something happens that might delay a tour, and it is through the cruise, the boat will wait for you because it is usually you and about 40 other passengers they would be waiting on and are communicating with. However, if you go through a third party that may not be the case and you could get left.

Capri

So the tour we selected started with us taking a hydrofoil out to Capri, then taking a smaller boat to Sorento and then going by bus to explore Pompeii. The hydrofoil out to Capri was fairly smooth and lasted about an hour. We sat inside the boat to be out of the sun, since we were going to be gone all day and the last part of our tour had us walking outside for about two hours during the intense heat wave that hit Europe back in June. Once we got to Capri, we got out of the boat walked toward the lower part of the town and took a funicular up to the top part of the town. The views at the top were incredible, it was a little hazy but you could still appreciate how beautiful that part of Italy truly is. We walked as a group to the Imperial Gardens. Fun fact: After Augustus died, his heir was Tiberius and he spend most of his time living in Capri, rather than Rome. The gardens have a spectacular view of some small islands off the main island. The gardens are full of some of the prettiest flowers I have ever seen. The soil is very rocky and you wouldn't think that an island with that kind of soil could have such beautiful flowers but it does and it is breath taking.

We then slowly made our way back toward the funicular. As we walked we explored on our own for about 50 minutes. The main items that seemed to be in demand was a perfume that is exclusive to the island and linen. I was able to find a beautiful linen shirt that was fairly inexpensive. The perfume had a very strong citrus fragrance, which makes sense because that is a big part of the agriculture in that part of Italy. The name of the company and perfume is Carthusia. I have included a link to the perfume but also it gives the history of how it came to be. After our free time in Capri, we boarded another boat and headed for Sorrento.

Sorrento

When we arrived at Sorrento, we took a small bus to the restaurant where we would be having lunch. This was included in our tour. Our lunch was Cannelloni, salad, bread, water, wine and a lemon dessert. The food was really good and Ken liked the dessert. (I am not a big lemon dessert type person.) After lunch we walked to this store that specialized in wood inlay. We saw a brief demonstration and then had about twenty minutes to browse. Ken and I decided to go sit in a park during that twenty minutes and it was great but we had to leave because it was closing. We then boarded a tour bus and headed off to Pompeii.

Pompeii

When we first arrived in Pompeii we went to a shop to learn about the art of cameo, which depicts a profile of a face or a mythical scene usually done on a shell here. It was beautiful and interesting to see.

I have always been fascinated with Pompeii. I feel like I have said this a lot but this was a dream come true for me. Pompeii was a Roman town that was preserved when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. It was buried in ash and that helped preserve it. To walk through and get a sense of what a town during the Roman Empire would have be laid out like and to see some similarities between our world now and theirs is amazing. Some of my take aways from seeing Pompeii are first: I didn't realize how large the town of Pompeii actually is nor did I realize only about 75% of the town was been excavated since it was discovered in 1748. Second, the Romans were great at city planning, the stones in the road way were perfectly laid out to allow certain size carts through, but also function as stepping stones for when there was mud and water on the roads.

Third, how much entertainment was important. When we entered the city, we entered in through the entrance to the gladiator barracks and training grounds, we also went to the theater and baths.

The ruins of the baths were incredible to see. You can still see the layout of the floors that were designed to allow the upper level of the floor to be heated and you can see the cold room as well. The roof is still intact and the frescoes and artwork that are still visible is amazing. We only went into the men's side but you could also go to the women's as well.

Fourth, they also had their own version of to go meals. As we walked along the streets we passed several corner shops that had counters with holes in them. We were told that these were food shops and Romans could come in and order what they wanted and take it with them.

Fifth, that most of the bodies had been removed. Hindsight I should have known they wouldn't have been there but it still surprised me. When you get to the Forum there is a set of shelters that have been setup. Most contain vases discovered in Pompeii but they also hold four casts: three are casts of people and the fourth is of a dog. Those are the only remains we saw. The rest are in a museum in Naples.

Sixth, the mosaics. We saw some really pretty tile work. We also got to see one of the more complete floor mosaics still at Pompeii and it was so intricate. The craftsmanship was amazing!

Final take away: We saw a lot but we still could have seen so much more. We were able to go into a home and see these huge fresco in what would have been the banquet hall of this large home. However there were several gardens and homes we passed that were closed and we could not have gone in.

We also did not get to go to the famous "red light district" of Pompeii. Again it was huge and it was a lot to take in. It was so surreal to me. In the background of the town looms the volcano, Mt. Vesuvius, and Naples. It is crazy to me that people live here and the threat of Vesuvius remains. They believe it will erupt again and when it does it will be worse than during the Roman Era.

Back on the Boat

After we returned from our tour, we went back to our stateroom and got cleaned up and headed for dinner. Dinning with Royal Caribbean you have three options: my time (you go to a specific dining room and eat when you are ready), 5:30 or 8:30. We opted for the 8:30 because we didn't want to feel rushed to get back to the boat to make the 5:30 seating. Looking back it wasn't all that necessary because only two of the nights did we really need the later seating but it did allow for naps and time at the pool (which I was there for). So on our second night we meet a different couple. It first needs to be stated that this was the only time we saw them. They were from New York. When they arrived at the table, you could tell the lady was not happy with the table. I figured she just didn't want to be with a bunch of people. Boy was I wrong. Come to find out she and her husband where suppose to be on the vacation with her brother and his kids. They however were unable to make the trip due to weather back in the states and the sister had to spend the two weeks with just her husband. (Her words not mine). We tried small talk to take her mind off of the fact that the table was suppose to have her family and things were going pretty well until she asked us where we were from. Of all the places her brother could have lived of course he would live not only in North Carolina but Raleigh. She knew how close Charlotte was and it set her off again. Needless to say, she and her husband never joined us again. I hope she was able to still enjoy her trip!

Day 3: Sea Day

This was a much needed rest for us. We had been going full speed since the day we landed in Italy. It was nice to sleep in, go to the Windjammer, the cafe on board, for breakfast and spend the day being lazy by the pool.

Ken loves to layout by a pool, I tend to get bored pretty quickly, so I was very proud of myself that I lasted til about 2 o'clock. I left him to go to the gym and then joined him to go zip-lining on the boat. When we got there we didn't realize you need to have socks, so we couldn't do it that day but we did the next. It was weird. Just as you get use to it, it was over and it felt like a lot of work to get in the harness and gear for such a quick trip. We also like to watch the people brave enough to try the Flowrider surfing simulator. It was fun to watch people wipe out. I am not brave enough to try it and feel fairly certain that if I did I would permanently injure myself.

After dinner, we went to watch the dive show. The Oasis of the Seas and her sister the Allure of the Seas both have a dive theater on the back of the boat. You have high divers, divers and acrobats that perform all these spectacular stunts and you can hardly believe that they can do that on a boat. It is a thrilling experience and we so enjoyed it. Our sea day was just what we need to reset for the last week of our trip.

Stay tuned for Part II of our cruise and find out all the neat things we did at our remaining stops! Each place we went offered its own adventure.