Seasoned Traveler

This morning we woke up early to take full advantage of the city of Palma in Mallorca. The ship is very clever by charging per person to take shuttle buses from the port to the center of the city. As soon as we get to the center we are determined to rent bikes and ride around the city with our new friends. Fortunately they also have an iPhone app of the city that shows us where we are in relation to popular city sites. The most treacherous being the castle Bellver on the hill, which of course we decide to bike. While the view was beautiful, it was slightly disappointing inside. Thankfully the bike path was downhill from there. Once back in the center we headed to the Arab baths which were extremely disappointing. No in-ground pools, no side rooms meant to be a sauna. We paid 2€ to sit in a garden named a bath. Lunch consisted of paella and tapas, and an angry waiter who accidentally brought us 4 pitchers of sangria instead of one pitcher and four glasses. Drinking and biking on tiny bike paths seemed a bit risky.

Our next stops were the church of San Francisco and la playa bike path. However once on board we found that we would not be docking in Marseille due to windy conditions but instead in the port of Toulon and San sur mer. Many people were upset and crowding the excursion desk. According to Paul, the English speaking host, many French people that boarded in Marseille had driven and parked at the port to catch the ship. Therefore, they have to arrange for transport for all those passengers from Toulon to Marseille. After last years accident, they don’t want to take any risks trying to park the ship at a windy port. Overnight the ship was extremely rocky. I have not experienced such turbulence on a cruise before.

Apparently Marseille is going through some sort of cultural restoration where they’re knocking down the city and rebuilding. I thought France was in dire financial troubles but what do I know. Hopefully Toulon will make up for the change in schedule.

Our new friends wake up earlier than us and came knocking a little after 8am. Surprisingly I was almost ready and James was the one dragging. (Apparently the soreness of racquetball lasts for days). They graciously waited for us and we made our way to the free shuttle into the center of Olbia. However at 830am there’s not much going on and we were quickly trying to figure out what to do. We found an open air market and some outdoor cafes. Slowly the shops began to open and the town came to life. Even though we forgot our bathing suits and towels in our haste to leave the ship, we tried to see how to get to the beach.

This consisted of asking multiple Italians how to catch the bus, how far the beach is and how much money it would cost. Of course everyone gave a different answer, or didn’t speak English. We temporarily gave up and went to sit at a cafe where we indulged in Mirto, the local liquor. Even in this sleepy town, there were gypsy’s begging us for money while we sat in the restaurant. After talking with some other cruisers, who were Spanish, and a local, our friends decided to head to the beach and we decided to stroll around some more before heading back to the ship.

Back at the ship we hopped into our bathing suits and hit the deck. Despite applying sunscreen multiple times, James somehow managed to get the weirdest patchy sunburn. It’s pretty hilarious. Almost as funny as us attending the Italian lesson and learning his Italian name is Giacomo!

Tonight was the Captain’s gala. Everyone was in their evening finery and making their way to the cocktail reception. There was flutes of prosecco and mimosas along with finger foods. The captain and the cruise director impressively spoke in Italian, English, Spanish, French and German. Afterwards we had a pleasant dinner at table 192 with our new friends, along with a family from Toronto, a couple from New York, and a couple that speaks Spanish and no English and must feel really left out.

After dinner we joined our friends on their balcony for some after dinner drinks before hitting the onboard clubs. We may or may not have stumbled into the 17 and under club. The jury is still out since there was a full bar…hmm. Fortunately, there is round the clock room service and James and I were able to order a nice lunch at about 4am. Let’s see how well we hold up for tomorrows excursion in Ibiza.

Our flight into Rome was delayed by an hour due to congestion out of JFK, shocker. After getting our luggage, and sorting out customs, which consisted of getting our passports stamped without making eye contact. We exchanged some Usd for euros and had our selves some cafe au le and split a prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich. Power breakfast! The bus was roughly an hour and a half from the airport to the port of Civitavecchia. The port was a bit more chaotic considering it’s Italy, and organization is not something they’re well known for. Once onboard we found that our room is actually very spacious and that we are fairly self sufficient besides the fact ever announcement and activity is in Italian. Somehow we managed to book a couple of excursions and sync our credit cards to our room key without the help of any english speaking assistance on board. But we were a little confused when it came time for the safety drill. Bottom line; each cruise line has their own way of performing the drill and its important as passengers to recognize that and realize that it only really cuts about 20 from your vacation time. No biggie.

There are 2 seatings for dinner, 7pm or 9:30pm….woof! Being in our mid to late 20’s we decided to suck it up and go for the 9:30 seating. Thankfully there is a nice young couple from Jordan and Lebanon sitting at our table. We’re excited to meet new and fascinating people and explore Olbia, Sardinia tomorrow.