This was quite the journey. The cruise, itself was from November 17th, departing from Civitavecchia and arriving at Port Everglades on December 2nd.

Suzi and I decided to fly into Rome several days early, so left from LAX on November 12th and arrived at FCO at noon on the 13th. We took ITA Airways and had a wonderful flight. It was 11 hours but after a couple of movies and a great meal and snacks, we were in Rome!

I had arranged through our hotel, Hotel White, for a car. The driver, Maurizio, was right at baggage claim and off we went. There was a marathon that morning, so we actually got some extra sightseeing in, to get around the closed streets.

The hotel was perfectly located. It was two shorts blocks from Trevi Fountain with many shops, restaurants and, of course, gelato eateries galore. 5 minutes away were the Spanish Steps.

We ate dinner at two restaurants. The Grill and Wine House was literally 10 steps from the entrance to our hotel. I had fish in a parmesan basket one night and Pasta Carbonara the other night. Suzi had Minestrone Soup and roasted potatoes both nights. Here is the fish dish:

The other restaurant we enjoyed was Hosteria Trevi. I had Carbonara one night (Carbonara is my litmus test for Italian Food). The next night, I had Oso Bucco. Suzi had soup and an Omelet / Frittata. Here was my dish:

We did a LOT of walking. Suzi’s fit bit logged about 15,000 steps per day.

Trevi Fountain

Tiber River near the Vatican

Fountain of Neptune

The Forum

Marcello Theater

On November 17th, we arranged for a car to drive us to the hotel where we met the Princess Rep and catch the bus to Civitavecchia. The ride took about 45 minutes and check in was a breeze. We were in Balcony Stateroom Lido 122. Very nicely located as we always try for the Lido Deck.

On our last Mediterranean cruise, back in 2006, we were unable to dock in Livorno. Livorno is normally the port to Pisa and/or Florence. So… we never got there.

After thinking about the time it would take to get to and from Florence compared the the amount of time actually in Florence, we decided to take a tour to Lucca.

About 10 minutes before we set sail from Rome, the Captain announced that due to poor weather conditions, we would not be docking in Livorno… However, Princess was able to secure us a spot in the port of La Spezia. This sent the entire Shorex crew into a frenzy as they had to contact all of the tour providers and redirect them to the new port, in addition to having to void and reprint all excursion tickets. After talking to one of the officers, the Shorex team was up until about 2 am making all the changes. Great job!

Port One – Lucca

Lucca is a city about halfway between the port at La Spezia and Florence. Like many old cities, the historical center is surrounded by a wall.

The journey back to the ship took us through some beautiful country.

Port Two – Genoa

Our second port of call was Genoa. We took a Princess excursion for a walking tour. We walked around the harbor, then into the old city and finally to the main piazza.

Port Three – Ajaccio, France (Island of Corsica)

Our next stop was the Island of Corsica and birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. We boarded a hybrid walking / highlights bus tour. Our first stop was the memorial for Napoleon.

Then we headed West to a beautiful beach area.

In this video, you hear the pebbles clicking together as the waves recede.

Afterwards, we drove back into town for the walking portion of the tour.

And from the Regal Princess.

Leaving Ajaccio

Port Four – Gibraltar

Our fourth stop was to the Rock of Gibraltar. It’s at the southern most part of Spain but part of the United Kingdom. We booked an excursion through Princess and gave us an overview of the town and surrounds before climbing up halfway of the “Rock” to the St. Michael’s Caves. Absolutely stunning. There is an amphitheater inside where they hold concerts. During touring hours, they run a lightshow every 10 minutes, or so. Fascinating!

And, of course, the infamous Apes of Gibralter.

Port Five – Santa Cruz De Tenerife

Next, and last stop before crossing the “pond”, was the Canary Islands, specifically, Tenerife. (Per our tour guide, Nico, it’s pronounces Tene-reef, not Tene-reefa.) We booked a tiur that took us over the Anaga mountain range to the other side of the island, Taganana. This is an extremely narrow, winding, road that sounds much like the Road to Hana in Hawaii.

Road to Taganana

After an included stop at a hillside restaurant, we headed back to Santa Cruz before heading to La Laguna.

Our tour let us have some free time in La Laguna in the city center where there was a thriving Farmers Market.

After returning to the ship, it was time to really relax as we had 7 full days at sea. The crossing was a piece of cake. There were a couple of days in the middle where there were some sizable swells.

We did, however, encounter several beautiful skyscapes along the way.

If you recall, we met several of the Band Members / Entertainers on Cruise # 23. We have stayed in contact with a couple of the crew, especially Tony “Tromboney”. In fact, when he had a layover in L.A. between ships, we took him for a tour of Santa Monica and Hollywood. When we boarded Regal Princess, the house band was performing in the Piazza, so I took a photo of the players and sent it to Tony to see if he recognized anyone. He immediately responded “Ramiro” (Trumpet / Flugelhorn). Tony said “Great Player”. After they finished, I introduced Suzi and I to Ramiro and showed him Tony’s photo.

Again, we found most of the entertainers and guest-facing crew seem to eat on the starboard side in the Horizon Bistro, so that’s where Suzi and I ate all of our meals.

As time went on, we were able to meet quite a few of the house band members, including James, the bassist and Music Manager. One night, James stopped by to say hi and noticed Suzi had a bowl of marinated asparagus. James’s eye lit up and asked where she got it. She told him where in the buffet to find it. He went searching but we noticed he came back empty handed. Suzi went back to the buffet and found the staff had, indeed, removed the asparagus as they were running low. Suzi asked if there was any left, so the staff gladly gave her what they had. She delivered it to James, who was beyond surprised. He said something to the effect of “We’re supposed to make your vacation special, not the other way around!”

A couple of days later, we saw James in the Piazza. He handed Suzi a bag with two stuffed animals and a letter of appreciation for tracking down the asparagus.

Of our 16 Princess Cruises, the entertainment staff was excellent. Gary, Natalie, Oleks, Erica and Jacinta led the activities. The Singers and Dancers were among the best we’ve seen and the house band were incredible. The show headliners are constantly rotated around the fleet. Those that require the band have limited rehearsal time so the band has to learn the music, often by sight-reading and perform like the professionals they are. Kudos to James (Bass / Manager), Ramiro (Trumpet), Jake (Sax), Roman (trombone), Gio (drums – a lefty), Vince (Guitar) and Samuel (Keyboards). During the sea days, a few of the singers were highlighted in matinee concerts. In particular was Sujana Chand. Quite remarkable.

Once we got to Florida, we chose a late disembarkation of 9:30. Due to the number of non-Americans on board, Customs slowed to a crawl. They were prioritizing those that had flights, so we got to stay a bit longer. As it happened, James popped into the Vista Lounge, so we visited with him while the Piano tuner was replacing a string.

We got off the ship around 12:30 and grabbed a transfer to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood airport to pick up our car, then headed up to our brothers place for 10 days.

All in all a great cruise. Looking forward to #27 in April. Going to Hawaii on the Crown Princess.