Greek Cruise and Rome – 2018

Itinerary:

Aug 29 – Depart

Aug 30 – Arrive Italy and board ship

Aug 31 – At Sea

Sep 1 – Mykonos, Greece

Sep 2 – Piraeus and Athens

Sep 3 – Rhodes

Sep 4 – Santorini

Sep 5 – Chania, Crete

Sep 6 – Valletta, Malta

Sep 7 – Messina, Italy

Sep 8 – Naples (Pompeii)

Sep 9-11 – Disembark then tour Rome

Sep 12 – Naples

Sep 13 – Tivoli

Sep 14-15 – Fly back

Darrel's Travel Blog

We had so much fun two months ago when we visited Italy, we decided to return. However, this trip is a bit different since it is only 17 days long and of those 17 days we will be spending 10 days of that on a cruise ship. I am not sure if the cruise will be any more relaxing since we stop at a number of different ports where we will repeat our routine of using the HoHo Bus and see and explore as much as possible.

August 29

We closed up our condo and caught a taxi at 1700 to take us to the airport. Our first flight departed at 2025 and we arrived in Abu Dhabi some 6 hours later. Our intention was to try to sleep on this flight and then watch movies on the next. However, shortly after taking off they offered us dinner (which included a very yummy brownie cake) so that kept us entertained for an hour or two. We did manage to get in a few winks before landing in AD.

August 30

Our second six-hour flight was to leave AD at 0225 but due to a missing passenger we did not leave until 0315. Because we did not get much shut eye on the first leg we thought we would get some sleep now and watch movies closer to the end of the flight. However, shortly after taking off they gave us a snack and drink to keep us entertained. We did manage to get some sleep before they rolled out the breakfast carts about mid-way through the flight. It was at this point Loretta said "we are doing well exercising our stomachs so they will be stretched and ready to go when we are on the floating buffet". MY NAME IS DARREL SMITH AND I AM A FOODAHOLIC! 

Btw our pilot picked up our speed and made up for the delay so we landed in Rome right on schedule. That should be good news since it meant we were stuffed like sardines for about 45 minutes less than we prepared for, but in our case it meant we never finished watching the movie Red Sparrow so we won't find out if she dies at the end until our journey home. (It turns out that Loretta didn’t like the torture scenes so we didn’t watch it to completion after all.)

We caught two trains to take us to Civitavecchia which is close to where we are hoping to find our boat.

By the time we walked to the port from the train station it was time to hop on the shuttle bus that would deliver us to our ship, the Norwegian Spirit. The registration went very smoothly and by 1300 we were on board and found our berth. 

We did a bit of exploring of the ship and then headed to one of about ten different eating areas. This being our 4th cruise (not including the ten year cruise on CanKata), you would think I would know by now that a cruise is not the best place to lose weight, or maintain that young girlish figure. I would describe our first meal which was a buffet with a very wide assortment of yummy items, not to mention the multitude of desserts, but it was just too disgusting. Or at least that is what I am trying to convince myself of to avoid over-indulging at future meals. And yes they had a separate Ice Cream Bar with caramel and chocolate toppings to add.

Nifty elevators on the ship

We loved walking around the decks.

It was so hard to not overeat!

To wind down the day we attended the entertainment show at 2100 that included singers, dancers and a magician. 

We finally fell into bed just after 2300 for a well deserving snooze.

August 31

Today is the only day at sea without any port stops so it will primarily be a day of leisure.

We woke up at 0530 and had to kill time before the restaurants opened. We read for a while then walked the deck to watch the sun come up. We prefer it outside where it is warmer than the air-conditioned space within the ship.

After a scrumptious but well-paced brekkie, we participated in a number of the ships activities such as: art auction (no we did not buy anything), info session regarding port excursions (we plan to do it all on our own), ate lunch, relaxed by pool, ate dinner, and went to the theater for the evening entertainment.

Btw, in order to get access to Wi-Fi aboard the ship we would have to buy a special package (it is not cheap and apparently not very robust). We thought that instead of buying a package we would instead stop for a cold beer/wine with free Wi-Fi during all of our port stops.

September 1 - Mykonos

After being at sea for some 41 hours, in perfectly calm seas with very little wind and a cloud-free sky, we arrived at our first port in Greece. 

Mykonos is an island which is famous for its windmills, sparkling bays, white houses and churches with blue or red domed roofs. Apparently a lot of rich and famous go there to get some R&R away from the crowds.

We disembarked the ship at 1200 and took the shuttle bus to the town center. We then walked along the very narrow walkways and twisted through the town to the windmills. 

From there we took a different route back and stopped along the way to talk to locals (one of which was originally from Canada but has been living in Greece for 26 years) and for a local beer. 

Mykonos reminded us of Venice but we both preferred it over Venice. Not sure why, perhaps it was because it was our first Greek stop where we saw the stunning white houses. 

Along our journey we came across an ice cream shop so we just had to try Greek ice cream.

After some more wandering through town we stopped at a small quaint bar to try an ouzo. 

We arrived back to the ship around 1700 in time to clean up before going to dinner, followed by the evening entertainment show, before heading to bed. Every night when we get back to our room we find a new animal (made of towels) guarding our bed.

September 2 – Piraeus and Athens

After a great sleep, we woke up at 0600, had showers and then a nice leisurely breakfast. I purposely tried to control my right hand from dishing out too much food on my plates (btw pluralized plates is not a typo) so we could eat a Gyro while on shore today.

Our ship docked at Piraeus, Greece just before 0800 so by 0815 we had disembarked and boarded a Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus which would take us on a tour of Athens.

Normally, when we visit a new city we take two days to do the HoHo Bus with the first being an overview while doing the various routes. The second day is when we would stop and visit the sites we selected from the day before. We do not have that luxury on this trip so we had to pick our routes and hop off stops ahead of time.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus

The highlight of the tour would be the Acropolis and its Parthenon.  This was an amazing site and an incredible piece of history. We spent over two hours viewing the various structures from almost every angle possible. On our way off the site we were very thankful that we made this our first stop, for two reasons. Firstly we were there during the coolest part of the day with the sun still relatively low. And secondly, we could see the very long line up of people now heading into the Acropolis. 

Our next stop was Plaka which is an area of narrow walking streets full of small shops, restaurants and ice cream shops. By the time we explored this area, had an ice cold beer, ate a Gyro and topped it off with an ice cream cone, it was time to start making our way back to the ship. We were only able to do the Green and Red Routes but I think we saw the best of Athens on them.

Waiting for beer and gyros.
There was a lot of graffiti everywhere.

A very delicious gyro.

Back on the ship we ate dinner, sat in a lounge listening to some tunes, watched the early entertainment show, went to games night and finished off the day by listening and dancing to a group playing Beatles music. We arrived back to our berth shortly before turning into pumpkins.

September 3 - Rhodes

We were in Rhodes from 0900 to 1700. We first took the HoHo bus to get an overview of the city and harbour where the site of Colossus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is believed to have been (yawn). Then we walked around the moat of the Old Town.  We ended up at our ship so we jumped on board to have lunch. 

Windmills along the harbour walk

Heading to the moat

After lunch we entered Old Town through the gate nearest the ship and found the most interesting old town we have ever seen. It not only contains a number of ancient buildings but the Old Town is fully alive with restaurants and all kinds of shops.

The gate to the Old Town

Things we didn't buy:

An ancient city with free wifi and cold beer:

Signs of modern-day life:

The remains of a church.

September 4 – Santorini and Oia

The island of Santorini, Greece was the highlight of the cruise. If you have ever seen pictures of whitewashed, cubiform houses clinging to cliffs overlooking the Aegean Sea, that is most likely Santorini. We had a hard time believing that it would be the highlight because of what we had already experienced on this cruise.

This was the first (and only) port where we had to take a tender from the ship to shore. Not only that, once ashore we had to get from sea level up to the town of Fira situated at the top of the cliffs. There are three options to go up: 1. Walk up some 600 steps; 2. Take a donkey ride up some 600 steps (or would that be 1200 steps since the donkey has four legs?); 3. Take the cable car.

Our original intention was to walk but the staff on the cruise ship advised us against it since the path is slippery, covered in donkey poo and in places you may be very up close and intimate with a donkey when meeting them on the path. We refused to ride the donkey, so we took the cable car.  At the top, we found Fira an interesting and picturesque town. 

After doing a walkabout we came across a sign which indicated a local bus station, so we took a bus to Oia which is a town at the North end of the island. The trip was 30 minutes each way and only cost 1.80 Euro and the bus was just getting ready to leave as we got there. When we got on there was standing room only but shortly after taking off we both ended up getting a seat. The ride took us along the coast and through a number of small villages. Once there we sat down and had a strawberry smoothie. We just started walking around and headed up a winding narrow pathway that led us to a spectacular view.  Wow, what a beautiful spot.

Things we didn't buy:

After spending about an hour and a half walking around Oia we caught a local bus back to Fira. We stopped and had a beer and made friends with an Australian couple who were also on the cruise.

There were 3 cruise ships in the harbour so when we got back to the cable car there was a 45 minute lineup but we made it back before the ship took off.

The evening entertainment was a magician. Our restful sleeps were magical.

September 5 - Chania, Crete

Chania is known for its 14th-century Venetian harbor, narrow streets and waterfront restaurants. At the harbor entrance is a 16th-century lighthouse with Venetian, Egyptian and Ottoman influences. Chania was our shortest port stop but we made the best of it, i.e. were able to see a good portion of Old Town, have a beer and an ice cream, and see an archaeological dig taking place.

Things we didn't buy:

September 6 – Valletta, Malta

We said goodbye to Greece yesterday and landed, or docked, in Malta (referred to by the ancient Greeks and Romans as "the Island of Honey") which is a small independent island South of Italy and Greece. 

It was one of the most beautiful ports to enter, very picturesque. We were in port from 1300 to 2100 hours. 

We did the HoHo bus here but only had time to do 1 of the 2 routes.  We did the longest route which was 3.5 hours long and took us out to the Northern Region to the city of Mdina, which was the island's fortified capital from antiquity to the medieval period. 

Along the route, we also saw some of the shopping and beach areas of Malta.

After returning to Valletta we went into Old Town by taking a lift up the cliff. The lift was much faster and less smelly than any donkeys. We toured around, found a quaint spot for a beer and stopped for a gelato on the way back to the ship. 

We didn't stay for the show.

Now where can I find a beer?

Ahhh.

There's always stairs!

Red posing with red.

Here are some interesting facts about Malta: 

- the prehistoric temples in Malta are OLDER than Stonehenge, 2800 BC. 

- the Oscar winning film Gladiator was filmed in Malta. This is where Christopher Reed drank himself to death during the making of the film. 

September 7 - Messina, Sicily

We are now back in Italy. We arrived in Messina at 0800 and didn't leave until 1800 hours. 

The route of the HoHo bus we were wanting to take was not running due to mechanical issues so we got together with 5 other passengers and booked a minibus to take us to Taormina which is where the famous Greek Theater is and it is close to Mt. Etna. 

Stairs, of course.

If things had gone as planned, we might have sailed here in CanKata.

The town of Taormina was very quaint and the Greek Theater was impressive. The Theater is still being used today which is mind boggling to think that it has been used for the same purpose for all those years. 

The Town:

After our return to Messina we walked around the old section of town and of course had a beer. Actually we had a bit more than a beer. As we were sitting at the table, Loretta's half-full glass of beer exploded sending pieces of glass up to ten feet away. (Maybe from putting ice in a warm and defective glass?) Some landed in my half-drank glass of beer. Most of Loretta's beer ended up in her lap. The bar owners apologized and said they have never seen this happen before.  They offered us two new beer but we told them one would be enough. 

Before the crash.

The bell tower with astronomical clock.

Banned?

Back at the boat, after dinner we went to the usual 1930h entertainment show, and what a performance it was.  Top notch singing, dancing, magic and at the end about 100 of the ship’s staff went on stage so we could show our appreciation. 

September 8 – Naples (Pompeii)

Even though the ship called in at Naples, our primary objective was to visit Pompeii. We didn't have enough time to properly tour both locations, so we planned to visit Naples from Rome once off the Ship. (To visit Pompeii from Rome would be a longer train ride.)

After disembarking we walked to the Metro station and caught the noisiest subway train we have ever experienced. Not only was it noisy but it was also the deepest (4 very long escalators to get down to our line) subway we have been in. 

Walking to the train station.

There seemed to be a lot of graffiti. We noticed this on our second visit, too.

We then caught a train that took us right to the gates of the ruins of Pompeii. We both knew something about Pompeii but were nonetheless impressed with how extensive the site is. We were there for about 3 hours and we only covered half of it. Amazing site to visit. 

The guilty mountain.

Unfortunately they do not have any establishments to sell ice cream or beers (or anything for that matter) so after the 3 hours in the dry heat, we decided that was enough. 

As soon as we got out we found a small restaurant where we were able to quench our thirst with a beer (that did not explode) followed by an ice cream cone, sitting right in the vicinity of the ancient city.

We then retraced our trip back to the ship. 

Our evening was consumed by dinner, entertainment, bandkiokie, and dancing. Not sure if I spelt bandkiokie correctly but I have to tell you the people that got up and sang with the band blew our socks off. The last performer did a Tina Turner song without any song sheet and she danced and twirled like there was no tomorrow. 

We returned to our berth just before midnight and packed to prepare for our final disembarkation tomorrow. 

September 9 – Disembark then tour Rome 

We got off the ship in Civitavecchia and caught a local bus to the train station in Civitavecchia.  We caught the 1044 train and arrived in Rome at 1150. We walked a short distance to our hotel and checked in, unpacked and then walked across the street to an outdoor pizzeria where we had a pizza and a beer. 

We then walked the neighborhood, bought some groceries and had an ice cream cone before heading back to our hotel for a quiet, good night’s sleep.

September 10 - Rome 

After breakfast (which was a very limited selection and not near the quality of the food on the ship PLUS we had to pay for it before they would let us leave), we walked to the train station where we bought our HoHo bus tickets. Loretta had researched our bus options (I think there are 5 different companies here in Rome) the night before so we knew which company to head to. However, when we got there we found out that they only offer the night tours on Sunday night. Loretta had her heart set on a night tour of Rome. So we walked 5 feet to the next company and found they offer a night tour, 4 different walking tours and a special route to the Catacombs just outside the city of Rome for a few Euros more.

Normally we do the complete route before any hopping-offs, but because we decided the walking tours sounded really interesting we started with them. The first tour started at 1200 so we caught the HoHo bus to the location where the walking tour started and did some touring around there on our own to kill the hour we had to wait. We planned to do the first two walking tours today and the remaining two tomorrow primarily because we did not think we would be able to get to the starting points for the third tour in time. All the walking tours started from different stops along the route. But when we met the guide at the first starting point he mentioned he would be the guide for all four tours. So we thought we should do them all today and then do the HoHo Routes and stops tomorrow.  

"These boots are made for walking"

Our tour guide

We didn't stop to shop.

We did stop to refill water bottles.

Regular fountain stops helped us stay fresh on a very warm day.

We weren't the only ones walking around.

The four walking tours were great and we saw much more and learned much more than if we were on our own, BUT the first tour started at 1200 and we didn't finish the last one until 1800 hours. In that time we only had one break of about 45 minutes. We barely had enough energy to get to an outdoor pub for a beer and then a stop for ice cream on the way home, but we did it anyway. 

Rome is without doubt the city with the most historical sites within the confines of the city. Not only that but it also includes the smallest country in the world, i.e. Vatican City. This country has an area of 0.2 square miles. I expected the Vatican to be as gaudy as Versailles, but actually we found the Vatican and its colonnades to be very beautiful, at least from the outside. 

The site that I was most looking forward to seeing was the Colosseum. Wow, again to see it up close was beyond my expectations. A few facts: it sat 50,000 spectators, and more than 2000 gladiators died in it. 

We did the night tour at 2030 to 2130 but one of us, and I am not going to mention who, kept falling asleep during the tour. But I took photos so the one of us could see what she missed. 

September 11 - still in Rome

Today was a piece of cake compared to yesterday. We started our day by doing the Catacombs Route where we hopped off to tour the Catacombs of San Sebastiano (no photos were allowed). 

Blue skies and a scenic route out of the city:

We were allowed to take photos in the Catacomb Museum: 

And then we returned to Rome through the city gates:

We then did the other route with stops at the Colosseum (again) and the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain was a stop Loretta was looking forward to (she had seen the movie Three Coins in the Fountain) and when we got there we discovered that a few other people were also wanting to see it. What a beautiful and impressive fountain (except it made me want to pee). 

An old photo.

A quiet spot.

 After peeing, and quenching our thirst and having something creamy and cold, we hopped on the HoHo bus to complete the route and then got back to our room just before 1800 hours. 

September 12 – Naples

Today we hopped on a train to go to Naples (Napoli). A nice reminder of how nice the trains can be in Europe. Comfy seats with lots of leg room, quiet, smooth and travels 300 km/h. 

Our only objective here was to do the HoHo Bus (2 Routes) and have lunch. We had some difficulty getting our bus tickets (two agents were unwilling to give us our well-deserved 10% discount) but once they were on hand we took the two routes back to back. 

The first bus tour provided a nice coastal view:

The city tour was mostly ordinary, 
but sometimes gave us the impression that the city is in trouble: 

  

We did find a great place for some pizza.

After the HoHo bus we had pizza and a lemon beer and then walked to the Duomo not too far away from the train station. 

Unfortunately the area around the Duomo was under construction so we could only see it from a distance. Otherwise we would have had to walk around the block which looked to be a questionable area. The area we were in reminded us of a mix between Johannesburg and Soweto. 

I am sorry to have to say this but if anyone is coming to Italy, I would strongly recommend taking a miss on Naples. 

After a drink we went back to the train station to get our train back to Rome.

The train ride back to Rome was smooth and scenic.

September 13 – Tivoli

Before we left Thailand we decided we would take a side trip to Tivoli from Rome. Tivoli is a small village about an hour’s train ride from Rome. It would be our reintroduction to a natural rural community after spending the last 2 weeks in larger centers. 

From the Tivoli train station we walked to the Parco Villa Gregoriana gorge (at the feet of the city's ancient acropolis) where there were some waterfalls, ruins and caves to explore. 

 It took us about 2 hours to get through the park after which we walked into the quaint village for lunch, then ice cream, followed by a cold beer/wine. 

Lunching outdoors in the rain.

The village has a good view of the countryside.

The sky was overcast today, which was our first for this trip, and it eventually started to rain so we bought an umbrella and then headed back to the train station and picked up an earlier train back to Rome. 

We fly out tomorrow.

September 14 - Last Day in Rome

We didn't have an early flight, so we had some time to do a bit more touring of the city - on foot again. And we finally bought ourselves some macarons and discovered that they are absolutely delicious. At the airport, we found a popular restaurant where we had the best sausage ever. So we were pleasantly full ... again ...for our long flight back home.

Last lunch in Rome

At the airport

Macarons. Yum!

Summary of Cruise 

The 10-night cruise on the Norwegian Spirit was a wonderful cruise and we recommend it to anyone. The ship itself was in excellent shape, the food in all the restaurants we tried was fabulous with a great variety to choose from, the entertainment at the main stage as well as the dance lounge was top notch, and the ports of call in three different countries all had something of interest to visit. Here are some interesting facts about the ship: 

- built in 1998 

- maximum number of passengers is 3000 (some new ships carry more than twice this number, but I personally think smaller is better, i.e. shorter line ups) 

- approximately 1000 crew from 58 different countries 

- 881 feet long, 106 feet wide, and 13 decks high 

- 4 main engines, only 1 used at a time - goes through 400 gallons of ice cream every week 

- fuel capacity is 660,500 gallons

Washy washy

There was one ship activity that we found amusing. When you first board the ship you are greeted by a crew member who sprays your hands with a disinfectant. Each and every time you enter the main restaurant there is a crew member standing at each of the three entrances with a spray bottle waiting to disinfect your hands. Loretta and I usually took our food outside to eat, as did many others, so each time we re-entered the restaurant to get more food or drink we would be re-sprayed. Staff kept us and themselves amused by greeting us with “Happy happy washy washy” and it became a general greeting between passengers.

Temptation versus Willpower 

Another comment I would like to make is that there seems to be a direct relationship between cruise ships and, how can I say this delicately, hmm, supersized people. We noticed that there were a lot of supersized people on the ship and they were eating supersized meals. Okay, guilty as charged! However, I do have to say that we never "loaded" our plates. We may have returned for seconds though. My point is, if you are trying to lose weight, or for that matter, not gain weight, I suggest you avoid going on a cruise. The food is just too good, great selection, and too readily available. Burp! 

Rudeness 

After watching people jump the queue, talk loudly on their phones, or place towels on chairs and lounges to mark their territory, I thought I had seen the worst on the "rudeness" scale. But one day as I was making my way to the apple crumble station I noticed a woman ahead of me who scraped off all the crumble and left the apple base. Pretty crummy, eh.

Rome

Rome was a very pleasant city to visit with oodles of sites to see and visit. We are glad to have returned to Italy and stop at Rome. We spent our last day walking around Rome and then caught the bus to take us to the airport for our journey home. We are now home enjoying the Thai food, people and culture. 

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