Transatlantic Cruise - Day 1

Saturday - Step 1, taxi to the cruise terminal. It took quite a bit of searching to determine which terminal Royal Caribbean used in Barcelona. The RC app gave just a general address for the cruise terminal location which has at least five terminals. I ended up looking at a live map provided by the port which showed what ship was where. 

We are boarding Explorer of the Sea, an older (smaller) Royal Caribbean ship heading for Port Canaveral in Florida. This is a repositioning cruise which means a one way trip to move the ship from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean for the winter. These are usually cheaper and there are a lot of sea days. I believe there are four stops. Two in Spain, the Azores, and Bermuda. 

The Royal Promenade shopping area is in the first picture and it is much narrower than the other Royal Caribbean ships we’ve been on recently. Nowhere near as many shops, which is fine. On this cruise, we did spring for the Internet package as we will be on for 13 days. 

We have a balcony on the starboard side, which for most of the trip, will not be in direct sunshine. That makes the balcony more usable if it’s mostly sunny. The fancy building in the picture is a fancy hotel right on the beach. This is the view from the front of the ship. 

In the background, you can see that cathedral we went to yesterday. It really does tower over the rest of the city. It’s 3:15 and we are supposed to be getting underway soon. 

We had lunch at the buffet and, I must admit, the best item I had was the hot dog w/sauerkraut. Kind of pathetic. Bridget pointed out the made-to-order station that I missed. Those are usually pretty good.

Dinner in the main dining room was delicious, as usual. We share a table with David and Marilyn, complete strangers. This is the first time we are on a cruise without knowing anyone in a long time. The last time was a Carnival cruise to Ensenada in 2015.

Barcelona, ES - Day 2

Friday - We decided to try out a new to us tourist option. The hop-on-hop-off bus. It was €28 (senior fare) and we ca use it for 24 hours. And there is an English audio to plug into. The only negative is that not many people get off. 

I’m not sure what to think of our first stop. Pretty weird in a Dr Seuss way. It is the Basílica de la Sagrada Família and it looks like it’s still under construction. 

We got back on the bus on the upper level and stayed there for the remainder of the loop. It was a nice tour of the city. 

Lunch today was a burger w/sweet potato fries. I know, not from the area but for us, an occasional burger is a nice change. My burger had goat cheese. Not feta but something with a stronger flavor. It was good as have all three of the burgers I’ve had in Europe (Florence, Rome, and Barcelona).

Last night we tried a couple of tapas. One was olives stuffed with anchovies. I already knew I’d like that one. The other was a waiter recommendation. Patatas Bravas. Basically fried potatoes with a sauce made from mayo and spicy tomatoes. Not a favorite even though it is supposedly the most ordered tapas according to the internet. 

Leaving Rome to Barcelona

Thursday - We took the hotel recommended car to the airport this morning. It was €10 more than a cab, which was close enough. It was a very pleasant ride though the ridiculous traffic that is Rome. Everyone cutting in front of everyone else with scooters cutting in front of and around everyone. We arrived with plenty of time, which was fortunate, as the check-in line was over an hour long. Security was trivial though you weren’t even allowed to carry your passport through. And like everywhere else, lots of pushing as the trays of stuff didn’t necessarily go through in the same order as people. 

We had lunch while waiting for the gate assignment. I guess the airline we picked, Vueling Airlines, must not have permanent gate assigned. The Rome airport is huge with tons of shopping. I keep wondering who buys all this high-end stuff. The flight itself was fine, no issues. We initially had concerns about Bridget’s carryon being slightly oversized for under the seat but it turns out that our ticket included a bag in the overhead compartment. 

Arriving in Barcelona was a new experience. It took a long time for our checked bags to show up. Then trying to negotiate the taxi system. Yelp has a fixed rate to/from the airport but we just joined the regular taxi queue. The price ended up being about the same. And the cars are the same.

 

For dinner, I had one of the classic dishes of Barcelona. Seafood paella. I must admit that I was a little disappointed. No socarrat, the scorched rice on the bottom. Both DaveS version as well as my own attempts have more vegetables and more flavor. But then again, this is a tourist version made in single serving. 

Rome, IT - Day 4

Wednesday - Today was a rest & relaxation day plus some chores. We dropped off laundry a couple of blocks away and it was €12/load. Much cheaper than on the ship. We then walked to a shop that Bridget wanted to see. While she shopped, I had a cappuccino and ricotta cornetto (pastry). We then walked around a bit more ending up back at the hotel around 12:30. Our laundry still wasn’t done nor was the room cleaned so we just waited in the lobby. 

At a tourist shop down the street, I picked up a MagSafe charger as my phone charge usually runs out by mid-afternoon on this trip. A lot of gps use and taking pictures. 

While walking, we passed a 2-door Jeep Wrangler and it looked huge compared to the other vehicles. In Italy, even a Smart car is not as small as they get. Numerous two passenger and a few one passenger cars are much smaller. Scooters too numerous to count. We’ve seen a couple Harleys and BMW GS bikes and they seem huge compared to the majority of the local bikes. We’ve even seen a couple of sidecars all attached to scooters. 

We think that Italy may be a one-and-done for us. There are still many places in the world to see and, at least for me, walking isn’t as easy as it used to be. Travel with suitcases is a lot of work.

Rome, IT - Day 3

Tuesday - A city bus ride through Rome traffic, followed by a never ending queue. Bridget purchased a timed-entry ticket for the basilica but the line was still over an hour.

Multiple ticket checks and a metal detector before entering. Pushy tour guides cutting in front of others seems to be the Italian way.

Swiss guards are a real thing not just something I’ve read about in school.

The over-the-top grandeur of these places is somewhat upsetting to me given the conditions most of the commoners lived in. This is our tour of St Peter’s Basilica.

The first marble statue of many. I remember having a plastic replica of this that I won in some sort of school contest. I think I was in 3rd grade. 

After a while, all the pictures start to look alike. I’m not really a historic church or cathedral person.

I did find this bit of technology interesting. Instead of votive candles that you light, after making a donation, you use Apple Pay and switch on a led candle.

After lunch, we went into the Vatican museum. Room after room with these painted domes. And lots of typical museum stuff but housed in these ornate domed rooms. 

We finally ended in the Sistine Chapel but no photos allowed in that room.

We finally headed back to the hotel exhausted. Enough that we took a taxi instead of a standing room only public transit bus. I think that I have reached my fill of cathedrals and museums. All of these locations have so many people. 

Rome, IT - Day 2

Monday - This morning, we walked to one of the most iconic locations in Rome, the Coloseum. Like everything around here, it’s all pay to visit. If they figured out a way to charge for seeing the outside, they would. 

Adjacent to the Coloseum is the Temple of Venus and Rome. Yet another €20 to visit. You can spend a lot to see, imho, more of the same. 

I’m more than happy to visit and just enjoy the views. 

In the afternoon, we took a two hour golf cart tour of some of the more popular locations around the city. On this trip, I’m feeling tired more often. Before, 20k step days didn’t phase me. Most of the days in Italy have been 12k steps and I would be wiped out. 

Our first stop was the most photographed fountain in Rome, the Trevi Fountain. The tour would drop us off on one side then meet us after we wade through the crowds at the attraction. During peak season, you need reservations to see the fountain. 

The next stop was the Spanish Steps. I guess it was popularized by movies such as Roman Holiday back in the 50s. Now, it’s a popular selfie location. The tour dropped us off at the top and picked us off near the bottom so we didn’t need to climb the 135 steps. 

The next stop was Piazza Navona which had the fountain of Neptune depicting four continents Europe, Asia, Americas, and Africa.

There was another obelisk there that has a history. The original Roman obelisk was blank, no carvings. A later person hired an artist who made a replacement with Egyptian hieroglyphics carved on all four sides. The artist had no knowledge of hieroglyphics and just picked ones that he thought looked good. It took 300 years before they declared it all gibberish. 

The last stop was an overlook of Trajan’s Market. It is a group of ruins at the opposite end of the Roman Forum from the Coloseum. 

I would recommend the golf cart tours. They actually fit in the small alleys and ridiculously crowded streets. The driver and guide were fantastic. 

Dinner was spaghetti cacio e pepe. A simple dish of pasta, Pecorino Romano, and black pepper. With pasta cooking water to finish the sauce. Simple but delicious. All of the food we’ve had has been fabulous. I didn’t mention the hot, pressed sandwich with mozzarella and prosciutto. 

Rome, IT - Day 1

Sunday - Departure day from the ship. We had an early breakfast at the buffet. Made-to-order omelet was good as were a few other items. Some items were were barely mediocre. We were off by 7:45 and took off on foot to the train station about 3.2 km away. 

All of the ticket machines at the station were down because of a computer issue. The customer service agent told us to get on the train and purchase the ticket from the agent on board. 

We arrived in Rome about 9:45am, and started walking to our hotel, a Best Western kind of near the train station. We stopped for coffee (and more importantly, a bathroom) at a sidewalk cafe about ¼ mile from the hotel as we assumed that the room wouldn’t be ready for several more hours. We checked in and, surprise, the room was ready. 

Mid-afternoon, we went in search of a grocery store. Not the ones in the tourist areas labeled as “supermarket” but one of the ones off the beaten path where you can find bananas or bread, and other normal grocery items. 

We just wandered out of the hotel and looked at menus of the many small restaurants we passed. We picked one almost at random as the menus seemed pretty similar. As a side dish, I had Roma artichokes, considered a must-try if you are in Rome. 

The other dish was spaghetti all’amatriciana. The sauce was not the typical marinara that it resembles. And there was a lot of Pecorino Romano melted in. Delicious dinner. All this delicious food we’ve been having in Italy made the cruise fare seemed average. 

Naples, IT - Sorrento & Pompei

Saturday - We tried to get an early start this morning to try and beat the morning traffic. But tour bus delays got in the way. Our first stop was Sorrento, about an hour south of Naples.

It was hectic at the cruise terminal trying to find our bus tour. I don’t know what the old, castle-like building is, but it looked cool.

Sorrento is well known for lemons and everything there had lemons as an ingredient or decoration. We spent about an hour there then headed for Pompeii.

Mt Vesuvius is just north of Pompeii and when it erupted, the ash and lava covered the city. I have a lot of pictures to look through. 

Another Sea Day

Friday - Today is a sea day. Our next stop is Naples, IT. Today’s event is a get together with our group of mostly RVers for hors d’oeuvres and give aways. This trip was put together by three RV YouTube brands. Finding our Someday (FOS), Less Junk More Journey (LJMJ), and Driven to Venture. And, they got some donations to give away as door prizes.

After a morning, informal meetup for coffee and a light breakfast, I headed to the solarium. It was much more crowded than before but, then again, yesterday’s numbers was a pretty low bar. While there, we went through the edge of a rain storm. The rain on the glass roof was a relaxing sound. And the unlimited Coke Zero is a nice perk, at least to me. 

Around 11, the solarium was getting warm so we headed indoors and sat at Giovanni’s Wine Bar. These locations are very comfortable and even though we weren’t purchasing anything, we were more than welcome to enjoy the quiet,comfy seats.

After lunch/brunch in the main dining room, we went to the theater in the stern for a technical demonstration of the different technologies used for their shows.

The group had a get together before dinner where there was a Q&A session, hors d’oeuvres, and door prizes. They also mentioned that they were thinking of next year doing a repositioning cruise from Vancouver, BC, to Hawaii. But it’s just in the thinking phase. 

Over the PA system, the cruise director mentioned that around 10pm, we would be passing an active volcano on the port side. Our room is on the port side so we should be looking around for something. 

We passed San Vincenzo right at 10:00pm and it is an active volcano. Google has images from just four days ago showing lava spurting out on the northern slope. Once we were north of the island, we were able to see the orange lava spurts. And that the clouds that looked like they were from the top was also from the vent. The pictures are just from the iPhone camera in night mode. I had to manually set it to do a 10 second exposure. I didn’t even realize that it was an option. 

Mykonos, Greece

Thursday - After yesterday’s long “excursion-ing” day, I’m all for some quiet time. I met with a small number from our group at 6:30 for coffee at the nice shop in the stern where we’ve been meeting most mornings. Some coffee, light breakfast, and good conversation. 

I then headed to the solarium at the front of the ship to enjoy the hot tub. I was almost the only one there. Most people were probably getting ready to go ashore as we just docked at Mykonos, Greece. After our stay on Santorini Island, I’m good to spend most of the day on board. 

The classic white-painted buildings are nice but not as picturesque as Oia, our last stop on yesterday’s bus tour.  This may be a lot less touristy as yesterday’s stop. So we might venture into the port area a little later. The deadline for re-boarding is 4pm, so not as much time as yesterday. One change was actually docking instead of tendering. Much more convenient.

On port days, the North Star, a spherical capsule at the end of an arm, is only allowed to go up and down. While the ship is underway, they can move it horizontally over the sides of the ship. So on port days, the attraction is free. 

We got a nice view of the port area of Mykonos as well as a nice view of the ship. We would need to take a water taxi to get to the old city. 

Tomorrow is a sea day as we head back towards Italy. Our next stop is Naples and Pompeii. 

The afternoon was spent working on blog posts, catching up on email, and other things that need Internet. This is the seating area for that coffee place I mentioned at the beginning of this post. It is also a theater in the evening. 

On this cruise, I had not picked up the Internet package but relying on Saily, an eSIM provider. Much more cost effective but it only works while we are in a port. And, is data only. No associated phone number. For voice calls or texts, I have a Google Voice number. So I can write this post while we are here but tomorrow is a sea day, so that post gets written in notepad then cut-and-paste into Blogger when we get to the next port. In this case, that will be Naples, IT. Only a couple more days…

Santorini, Greece

Wednesday - An early morning today. A small group met for coffee at 6:30 when we discovered that the coffee place didn’t open until 7. At 7:30, we wandered down to deck 2 to get loaded on tenders for the short ride into Santorini. No boat docks.

This place is very photogenic. All of the buildings are painted white as electricity didn’t arrive until 1967 and the white kept the buildings cooler. The blue trim was mandated by the government for uniform appearance. And is the color of the Greek flag.

We took a cable car to the top of the cliff. The other options were walking and donkeys. The €10 for the cable car seemed like a bargain. 

This picture was the start of the tour. The first stop was at a black sand beach (next picture), where we had a mid-morning snack. I had the grilled sardines just because I wanted to try something different. 

We had about 1½ hours of free time at the beach. 

The next stop was Megalochori or huge village in Greek. Cobblestone streets and lots of hills. We visited a historic cave dwelling. 

We then went to Oia, where the stereotypical photos of Santorini are taken. It was extremely crowded and the prices were steep. Lots of people taking selfies. 

Our stop here was only about an hour as the tour guides thought that the group would enjoy more free time in the reasonably priced location at the top of the tram. 

We were told that real estate prices were completely out of hand here. Some hotel rooms have been known to go for over €10k per night!

We had a very late lunch back in Fira, the village at the top of the tram.