Day 5: Naples/Pompeii/Amalfi Coast

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Port: Naples

Sleep does not come easy – I am awakened in the night because I am extremely hot. OMG – is this my first hot flash? Do they start immediately upon one’s 47th birthday? I relax a little when Hubby also wakens up – also hot and sweaty – and we realize our air conditioning has either stopped or has malfunctioned. We have been closing the curtains around our bed and it somewhat “traps” the air in there – I am reassured to know that I am not pre-menopausal – yet.

Hubby is disappointed in the breakfast from Room Service yesterday- he complains his eggs were rubbery – so he showers first and heads to the Windjammer to see what culinary delights he can find. He swears he won't get the stale toast or lumpy oatmeal again. I get ready at my leisure and head to the Concierge Lounge for some orange juice…no breakfast for me today, as my clothes are increasingly shrinking on this trip (I swear, it must be the air on cruise ships that mysteriously begins to shrink fibers - it certainly can't be the THREE desserts I'm eating every night.)

My poison ivy is looking better today – still a little red – and still a little itchy – but my life-saving $5 cream appears to be working. Thank you, ship doctor.

We exit the ship through Deck 5 (aft) and meet up with the same 3 couples from yesterday. We are the first to arrive today as we are determined to not be last anymore. We don’t want to give a bad impression to the other couples. And we're not last! We're actually first today - woo hoo! We wait for a few minutes for the others to arrive. A photo of our driver, Giovanni, for the day, along with Erin & Bryan and me.

We're in Naples today. Soon to get out of Naples, if we can. Naples is the 3rd-largest city in Italy, with a population of over 1.5 million. It lies at the foot of a range of low hills on the west coast of southern Italy. Since the destruction inflicted during World War II, Naples has become an important industrial and commercial center. The Bay of Naples makes it Italy's second most important sea port, surpassed only by Genoa. Naples is known as the home of the pizza - and also has a reputation for being controlled heavily by "the Mob."

This is our 3rd and final tour with Rome in Limo. Giovanni is our driver today – a very nice middle-aged Italian from Sorrento. Hubby swears later that Giovanni is part of the “brotherhood of Italy” – if you know what I mean. I tell him he is crazy. Our plan today is to get the heck out of Naples, drive up to Pompeii and have a guided tour, and then head down the Amalfi Coast to Sorrento and Positano. Sorrento and Positano are supposed to be beautiful; I can tell, just from the port, that Naples is not.

Our van is a little smaller today – for the past two days, we had an extra large van that had the driver and a passenger in the front row; two passengers in the 2nd row; 2 passengers in the 3rd row; and 3 passengers in the back room. Today, however, we only have 3 rows of bench seats – and so we must do three, three, and three. Tight – but we manage. I squeeze up in the front in between Giovanni and Hubby.

Because Naples doesn’t have parks or other open-spaces, it is Europe’s most densely-populated city. I had heard horror stories about the traffic in Naples – how traffic lights are discretionary – and we find out immediately that there is truth to this. As we pull into an intersection – cars from EVERY other direction also pull into the intersection at the same time. SHRIEK! Giovanni doesn’t even break a sweat – he stops – waits – and eventually a car backs up, allowing the rest of us to proceed through. Welcome to Naples, everyone.

We drive for awhile and eventually arrive at Pompeii, where we are met by Salvatore, our guide. Rome in Limo arranged this guide for us. Not to be confused with Salvatore, our guide yesterday in Rome. No, this Salvatore is a very proper, distinguished professor – and he quickly obtains tickets for us (bypassing the regular line) and we enter the gates of Pompeii.

We are not alone. We are joined by dozens of stray dogs. They apparently have the run of Pompeii. Just a forewarning - a couple of them got into a major fight while we were there; I thought it would be a fight to the death until a guard broke it up. They shouldn't bother you while you're there - but don't touch them or feed them!

We find out that Salvatore is very good friends with the security guard on the grounds – this friendship will prove invaluable, as Salvatore arranges it with Albert, the guard, to allow our group access to sites that are normally closed off from the rest of the Barbarians. This was really nice - the 8 of us felt like celebrities, going past "roped-off" areas and seeing things that we knew no one else would be seeing that day! It's the little things that impress us.

Our first stop is the "Baths" area. This is an impressive site – and normally not part of the tour – and so we feel privileged to see this and to have Salvatore explain how it all worked. The Pompeii residents would visit these baths and have a 30-minute massage before heading to the sauna. The baths had cold water, warm water and hot water – it was all explained to us on how it all worked, but it’s complicated. And I can't remember much anyway of what Salvatore said. Sorry, Professor.

After leaving the baths, we learn how important water was to the community – and how abundant it was in this well-plumbed city. Fountains are at almost every street corner – they were the social center for the community; streams of water would flush the chariot-rutted streets clean. We could see stepping stones in the streets that would allow the residents to cross the street and not get wet.

We see street after street after street – beautiful artwork, beautiful mosaics, and beautiful frescoes….and then we keep seeing the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius in the background, knowing that in 79AD, the city was obliterated and thousands of people and animals were killed. And who knew - as evidenced in this photo, if you look close-they even had sprinkler systems way back then??!!!

Pompeii was excavated back in the 1700’s – and the king of Naples demanded, “Bring me the best of whatever you find!” This is why most art and artifacts are NOT in Pompeii itself but are back in a museum in Naples. I had been rather surprised at the lack of artifacts until I learned this.

We then are treated to another roped-off room, which contains an assortment of erotic frescoes painted on the wall. Think Pompeii Penthouse. Salvatore delights in showing us the naughty pictures and imagining what happened way back when. There are Roman numerals under each painted “scene”; all we can figure out is that a patron could “order” off the menu what they wanted. It was very intriguing. Naughty, naughty.

We walk along the streets and visit average homes, as well as the home of the wealthy. We visit a bordello and a drinking house and other buildings; it is amazing how BIG this place is – we had no idea. It's also very beautiful - which surprised me. I had envisioned hot and dusty and "ashy" - not expecting flowers.

Salvatore was very good at avoiding the “Barbarians” that were starting to "invade" Pompeii. If he saw a tour group heading our way, he would quickly get us ahead of the group and to a quieter, less-congested area. He is the one who labeled the large tour groups “Barbarians,” and I loved the name so much – it really was apropo – that it stuck with me and I adopted it for the rest of the trip. Barbarian groups are all over Italy – some of them have flags, even – and they are to be avoided at all costs.

Our overall impressions of Pompeii are that it was WELL worth a visit – we agreed that it was a definite highlight of the overall cruise. Also – a guide is a MUST; trying to navigate this on your own would not be fun. We talked to people that night on the ship who did not use a guide and who had no idea what they were seeing. Salvatore made all the difference for us at this sight; he was EXTREMELY helpful and I would request him again.

TIP ALERT: Pompeii can get hot – there is not much shade, and the streets are concrete, which can radiate heat. Go early in the morning to avoid the crowd and be sure to have a bottle of water. Hats and good walking shoes are helpful here, too.

Back to the tour.

We leave Pompeii, squeeze back into the little van, and begin our drive down the Amalfi Coast. The Coast is the southern coastline of Italy – and is an absolute beautiful drive. The only thing I can compare it to is the drive down Big Sur in California – only a little more dramatic than that. We went around curves and cliffs and breathtaking scenes in front of us – very pretty, but not for the faint of heart.

Every so often, Giovanni would stop so we can hop out and take the touristy pictures.

We drive to Sorrento, a small touristy village that overlooks Capri and the Bay of Naples.

We are dropped off and given time to explore and shop. The village is very charming - and slightly crowded.

We all split up and Hubby and I wander through the shops, talking with shopkeepers and making a few small purchases.

Somehow, I find myself in a gelato shop – how strange….? How does that happen? I must have built-in radar for gelato shops. I have 2 scoops of gelato which earns me a very disapproving look from Hubby, as it is almost time for our lunch reservation. The first scoop is spangola, which earns a 7.2 on my scale. The 2nd scoop is caramello, which earns a strong 8.1 – one of the highest scores yet on my gelato testing. It was very good. As I leave the gelato shop, defiantly eating the yummalicious gelato, I spy cannoli in the display case of the shop. And it isn’t burnt! It looks delicious – the cannoli that I am used to! However – slight problem – I now have two scoops of gelato that I must eat – and we are heading to lunch. I look wistfully at the cannoli, and whisper, “I’ll be back…I promise.”

We stroll out of the gelato shop and start walking towards the restaurant where Giovanni has graciously made us reservations at 1:00 pm. It is called Tasso’s, and we arrive where the rest of our group has already sat down. Because we are very close to Naples – the birthplace of modern pizza – we decide on getting pizzas. No brainer. I order the margherita pizza. Supposedly, this pizza was made in 1889 in honor of Queen Margherita. It even has the colors of the Italian flag. The pizza is very good – but then, I don’t know that I’ve met a pizza I didn’t like.

Although the food in this restaurant is good, we all agree that the service is just not up to par like what we had yesterday in Rome. The waiter never really talked with us or made us feel comfortable – it may have been a language barrier, as he appeared to not speak English well – if at all. He had brought us all bread and oil before the pizza, and we were a little surprised to find a charge for the bread. I really do think he should have told us about the cost – and not just placed it on the table without warning us. Oh well. With wine, bread and pizza, it is $31E per couple. Not bad, really.

When lunch is finished, I tell my friends about the cannoli I had left behind in the shop…and of course, they all want to go meet this cannoli. Well, who am I to deny them of this wonderful opportunity? After we settle the check, we have about 5 minutes before we are to meet back up with Giovanni – plenty of time to walk across the street and see this cannoli. As I walk back into the little shop, leading 6 friends behind me, the owner, Joshua, comes out to chat with me. He introduces himself to me and asks me what drew me back to his shop. I said, “Well, that cannoli is calling my name!” He gives me a big kiss on the cheek, a hug, and wraps up two giant cannoli for me. What a guy. I am loving Italy. And I am doing a great job of eating my way through. I am not sure what warranted a kiss from Joshua, though. I insist to Hubby it’s because of my wit and charm; Hubby says it’s because I brought six paying friends into the store. Whatever.

We all leave Joshua’s shop with our cannoli and gelato in hand, and find Giovanni parked not too far away. We squeeze back into the van – a squeeze even tighter now that we’re all full of bread and pizza and gelato and cannoli – and we drive further south along the Coast – now on our way to Positano. The time is just past 2:00 pm.

Along the scenic drive to Positano, we stop at a little fruit market way up high on an overlook of the town. There, Giovanni lets us get out and take some scenic shots of Positano down below us. He also surprises us by buying some fresh cherries at the fruit stand – the cherries are delicious and were refreshing and tasty.

Then, Giovanni bought some apricots and let us eat those. By now, I’m silently thanking God that I wore elastic pants – between the bread, oil, pizza, gelato, cannoli, cherries and now apricots – I am busting at my seams. But it was all good. Giovanni takes a few minutes at this scenic overlook to point out Positano.

And another tourist picture - this time with ME!

At some point during the tour, Hubby had told Giovanni that I am a writer. That's stretching it - I really just blog - but it became apparent that Giovanni thought I was the next J.K. Rowling - he started gearing the tour towards ME - and only ME! It was like the other 7 people didn't even exist on the tour. He even said, several times in fact, "I hope you write good things about me." I told Hubby that he shouldn't have said anything to Giovanni - but Hubby thought it was funny. So, dear readers, a lesson - I guess if you want special treatment on a tour - tell your guide you're a writer. He'll fawn all over you. Ugh. Next time I will bring duct tape for Hubby's mouth.

We arrive in Positano around 3:00 pm and Giovanni turns us all loose to sight see and shop and explore. Positano is built on a hill – so the streets are steep – and the only thing I really want to do is try some of the famous limoncello. Limoncello is an Italian liqueur made primarily in this region – and can be quite addictive, from what we’d heard. We find a little bar and we go in and I sample some – and I’m hooked. Okay, I must have a bottle. This stuff is good – but it can be very strong – so one must be careful when consuming limoncello. It really was good.

We wander through the streets and explore an art gallery where we find the most delightful little paintings that feature Positano. Although we find one we like, we can’t agree on a price with the owner – the price we both like must be paid in cash, and we don’t have that much cash on us; we’d prefer to pay via credit card. Oh well – it wasn’t meant to be, and we had a delightful time haggling – always fun. On to more things. The owner did let us take a picture of the painting. We liked the vertical one - this is with the lights off in the galley - it made the painting take on a very, weird effect.

The streets of Positano are very steep. Oh, I already mentioned that? I'll mention it again. It's a nice walk DOWN to the beach - but I keep remembering that I will have to walk back UP at some point - and it's hot! Perhaps a nice, refreshing shot of limoncello will help. I'll keep that in mind.

It is now about 4:00 pm – time to meet back up with Giovanni. We all arrive and squeeze ourselves back into the van, and it is time to head back to Naples. Most everyone else falls asleep in the van, but Giovanni insists on talking to me – as I am sitting by him in the car – and so no sleep for me. Giovanni is still trying to insure that I will write good things about him.

Perhaps to seal the deal, Giovanni presents me with a bottle of limoncello when we arrive back at the port in Naples, around 5:30 pm. Lovely – now I have TWO bottles to get confiscated by the Royal Caribbean alcohol police. We graciously thank Giovanni for a lovely tour and then head onto the ship – where my pretty yellow bottles disappear for the rest of the cruise. Drat.

We come up to get ready for dinner. Tonight is 50/60’s Night – I didn’t pack a poodle skirt or saddle oxfords; I did try to smuggle in an Elvis wig for Hubby to wear but he wasn’t having any of it. Hmm - wonder why? After we dress in our non-50/60’s clothing, we head to the Concierge Lounge to get our drinks. Tonight, I take about three sips of my Screwdriver and I about keel over. I am either very hungry, or very tired – or both – but I don’t normally react so strongly to a drink. Perhaps I’m still affected from the limoncello. It really WAS good.

Before we head to dinner, I leave another gift for Alston. Tonight, it is 3 tubes (brand new – in the packaging) of chap stick. I also tell him he can have my birthday decorations if he wants them – and it appears he does. They're gone when we return to the ship later.

At dinner, we head down to our usual spot. Our table was big and lively – we have fun. Dinner was good – but I have no idea what we had….I simply can’t remember. The screwdriver is affecting my memory, among other things. Or perhaps the limoncello. It was good, though.

Tonight's show was Nick Lewin, a magician. He did two shows - one at 7:15 pm and another at 9:00 pm. We missed both of them - so I can't comment on them. I heard he was pretty good. Not as good as the limoncello.

We head to the Colony Club at 10:15 pm so we can play "50's & 60's Name That Tune" Trivia game. We are determined to get a key chain – but no luck. The elusive key chain – so close and yet so far. I console myself by reminding everyone that I wasn't even BORN until the 60's - and I was a baby during that decade. Hubby rolls his eyes.

After the trivia game, the Colony Club became a sock hop – time for the Rock ‘n Roll dance party. We dance, twist and jive the night away. It was very crowded - and there was a huge dance contest where a King & Queen of Rock 'n Roll were crowned. We give up about 11:30 pm and head back to the cabin. That twistin' will kill ya'.

No towel animals again…have they been cut due to costs? How sad – I miss my little critters from previous cruises.

Tomorrow: At Sea Day

Day 6: At Sea

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

Ahhh…finally, our first at sea day of the cruise. With some itineraries – or shorter cruises – I do not look forward to sea days. They intrude upon my intent to divide and conquer each port – and see everything there is to see. However, this itinerary is much different. After 5 very intensive days of fighting barbarians at each port, today offers a much-needed and appreciated day of rest to regroup, rethink, and possibly revise our strategy from this day forward. There are still barbarians to deal with on sea days - those on the ship, who have no manners– but THIS army of barbarians is smaller and much more controllable.

The seas are still very calm – which induces a sense of lethargy among all of the barbarians onboard, and the entire army sleeps in. That old poem, “…not a creature was stirring…not even a mouse” was very fitting. We do not arise until 8:30 – feeling very refreshed and ready for a gorgeous day at sea.

For breakfast, I slip across the hall to my usual spot – the quiet and serene Concierge Lounge – and have my usual smoked salmon and cheese for sustenance. Katarina comes in and I have her cancel our Chops reservation for later in the week. Hubby and I have been having so much fun with our dinner table mates that we don’t want to miss any opportunity to socialize, so I have her cancel our Chops reservation and my Salt/Ginger Scrub at the spa for next week.

At 9:30 am, Hubby and I head to the (already getting crowded) pool deck where we purchase t-shirts for $10.00 apiece to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This morning, there is a 1-mile Charity Walk on the top deck to benefit the Foundation. Shirts are not mandatory to participate - but Hubby and I knew it was going for a good cause, so what the heck.

After purchasing the t-shirts, Kieron, our faithful Cruise Director, gathered all of the walkers around and gave us all a pep talk – thanking us for what we were doing, and reminding us of who we were doing it for.

At 9:45 am, approximately 45 walkers walk 6 laps (1 mile) around the upstairs track on Deck 12, along with our Cruise Director.

We’re all dressed in our shirts – so here we are, at sea, participating in a charity walk. How fun. You can only imagine the looks we got from some of the people already plopped in the loungers who had no idea what was going on.

The chair hogs are out in force already by this hour – although there are still several open lounge chairs. Towels, books and hats have already begun sunning themselves, with nary a live human being around. There was one hog in particular who really took the cake – she had severe personal space issues. I watched as she claimed both chairs on either side of her – one by laying her shoes on, and the other by laying her bag on. You might think, “Well, perhaps she is saving those other 2 chairs for friends or family.” No, dear readers – nary, during the entire day, did anyone else join her – she simply did not want ANYONE laying on either side of her. One hog – three chairs. Unbelievable.

After the walk, Hubby and I return to our stateroom and put on our own suits…grab our own books…and head up to Deck 12, where we find two empty lounge chairs right in front of the Sky Bar. We actually USE our chairs (gasp of surprise); our books will not be left unattended. As we are sitting there, I notice the pool attendants (3, that I could see) begin walking around the area, and you could see that they were notating the chairs that had towels, hats and books – but no people – and I hoped they would enforce the 30-minute rule.

At 11:00 am, Hubby and I gather our belongings, give up our chairs, and head back to our room to make sure it is clean – we have company coming today! We get dressed in our shorts and t-shirts and make our way up to the Hollywood Odessy Bar on Deck 13, where our Meet ‘n Mingle is scheduled to begin at 11:15 am. I pass out the “ice breaker” sheet I had prepared in advance, as well as golf pencils that I had brought with me. The sheet encouraged people to get up and actually MINGLE at a M&M (again, gasp of surprise!)

Our Cruise Director, Kieron, came over and wanted a copy for himself, saying it was an excellent idea, as he has been to too many M&M’s where people sit in their chairs and never meet…never mingle…how sad! We have free appetizers, free fruit punch and free juice. We get our free gift of a name badge holder, and then the raffle begins. The usual Royal Caribbean Rubbish is distributed – tote bags, highlighters, keychains, etc. I don’t win anything – darn it – so my quest to obtain the Royal Caribbean Keychain continues.

After the raffle, the Captain shows up and says a few words to us…Kieron then invites me to come up and address the group. I welcome everyone and review what our group has done so far – beginning with our pre-cruise dinner in Barcelona; our Welcome Party at Sailaway; our Gift Exchange; our Cabin Crawl; and a Farewell Luncheon. I remind everyone to pass it forward – on their next cruise, THEY can easily plan all of this; it’s actually very easy!

Kieron then says that he had heard at the May 22 sailing about our group – they had been reading our boards on CC and knew we were an active and fun group; so the staff was somewhat forewarned!!!

A photographer then came in and took a group picture of all of us. The photo was available for sale down in the usual Mug Shot Wall in the Photo Gallery on Deck 5.

Our hometown gift exchange followed – we had 8 participants; we put slips of paper in and we each drew a number; I drew #1 and so got to make the 1st choice of what gift bag to select. After our choices, we each opened them and got to figure out where the gift came from.

Hubby and I received a statuette carved in coal from England from Dave & Kerry, along with a postcard. It is the figure of a miner pushing a cart full of coal.

After the gift exchange, I tell the Cabin Crawl participants to meet back at the Centrum at 12:30 pm – about 30 minutes from then – and we would begin the Crawl.

Hubby and I rushed up to the Windjammr and I grabbed a burger and some mashed potatoes and gravy. Not spectacular – but hey, it was sustenance.

I then ran back to our room and grabbed the Cabin Crawl supplies…when I arrived at the Centrum (a few minutes late – sorry!), we had about 10 families waiting. Each participant got some mardi gras beads (to make it festive, of course!) and we then struck out. I also had a print-out of all of the cabins we would be visiting – the deck number, room number, the type of stateroom, and the host/hostess of the room.

We began on Deck 2 in an Interior Stateroom; it was interesting to see these rooms and it was even more fun to see how many of us we could squeeze in. We didn’t quite get everyone in – but we made a valiant effort. Thanks to Andrea & Jim for hosting!

We visited a Deluxe Ocean View on Deck 8…and then a Superior Ocean View on the same deck – which was nice, because we were beginning to get a little tired of all of the stairs. Thanks to Dave & Kerry, as well as Beth & Al, for hosting.

We then went up to Deck 10, where we had Room 1604 – which is a Superior Ocean Aft room….It had a great balcony. This is the inside of #1604 – the aft room on Deck 10. Larry was our host in this room – I can’t tell if he’s happy or mad in this picture of all of these people in his room.

We then went right down the hall and visited Room #1100 – which is a Junior Suite Aft. Again, killer balcony! Thanks, Jackie & Mark, for the visit!

Next stop – my room – a Grand Suite on Deck #10, Room #1556. It was fun sharing my birthday decorations with everyone – and I had set up chocolate “kisses” - my upbringing would never allow me to NOT serve some sort of food at a party.

I also had some business cards set up in my room, so all of my new ship friends can keep in contact with me. I included my Facebook name, my Cruise Critic name, my email address, and my blog address.

After the Grand Suite, we had the final – and fitting – visit – right next door to us, Room #1558, the Royal Suite. Susan, Pete, and their son, Ian, were our hosts. Now, indulge me as I give you a tour of the Royal Suite:

We were greeted in the suite with Susan playing a lovely tune on the piano – I think she’s having a bit too much fun. The umbrella on the piano is a decorating touch by Susan – it is not normally part of the Royal Suite décor.

This is the living room area of the Royal Suite. The sofa pulls out into a bed – perfect for a teenager – especially with the big-screen television!

Thelma is checking out the bar area – unfortunately, it didn’t come stocked. Darn.

Now to the bathroom area – wow. Not only a toilet, but a drinking fountain, as well. (That’s a joke – the first time my son, then aged 4, saw a bidet, he thought it was a drinking fountain. It’s now become part of the family joke lore.)

For those long, tiring days in port – you can come back and soak in the relaxing Jacuzzi bathtub.

The shower – wow! None of those sticky shower curtains here clinging to your backside. Personally, though, I don’t care for the clear glass – I prefer a little more privacy when I’m bucknaked in the shower. Oh well – just my personal opinion. We could have had the Meet’n Mingle in this shower, though, based on the size. Dang.

Here I am, checking out the bathroom.

Last but not least, we have the master bedroom in the Royal Suite. All in all, very nice!

After the Cabin Crawl, Hubby & I headed back to our cabin to relax. We’re pooped. Hubby lays on the balcony chair for awhile, and I realize that I must connect to the outside world to confirm our Venice tour for tomorrow. I grab my coupon from my C&A book, head down to Guest Relations, get my coupon applied to the internet, buy Venice shuttle tickets (I bought the unlimited shuttle tickets for $35 apiece….ouch) and then head back up to Concierge where I can use the computer. I immediately confirm the tour with The Venice Experience, and also see if 2 more friends can join us on the tour. I then quickly check Facebook and am tickled to see all of the birthday wishes from my friends – I read as fast as possible and then sign off – internet at sea is slow and costly!

I head back to the room and join Hubby on the balcony where we both doze for awhile….at about 3:30, I head to the Spa where I am supposed to have a Seaweed Wrap. I arrive, check in, and go back to the relaxation room. After about 10 minutes, my attendant comes in and takes me back to the treatment room. She sits me down and asks if I’ve ever had the Stone Massage before. I say yes, but that’s not what I’m here for – I’m here for the Seaweed Wrap. She looks surprised and says that I booked a Stone Massage. I gently correct her and tell her that I KNOW what I booked and I would NOT have booked a Stone Massage – I don’t like them - and I have my booking card in my room where it is very clearly written, “Seaweed Wrap.” She then disappears for awhile and comes back and says that it must be their mistake (you think?!) and unfortunately, she can’t do a Seaweed Wrap as they take 90 minutes and she only has 60 minutes. Would I like a free 15-minute back massage instead? Or, would I like the Stone Massage after all? I reply, gently, that if I had wanted a Stone Massage, I would have booked the Stone Massage. She feels bad that this is messed up and wants to make it up to me – I rebook the Seaweed Wrap for Monday afternoon and tell her she can give me free champagne to make it up. I’m so easy – I settle for free alcohol. She agrees.

I leave the spa and head to Colony Club to tell Hubby (who is taking free juggling lessons - don't laugh) that I will be doing TV Theme Song trivia in the Schooner Bar. I meet up with Susan, Joe & Thelma and we proceed to bomb at the game. We got some very easy tunes, but struggled with the difficult ones….darn, still no key chain! The quest continues for Royal Caribbean Rubbish!

Hubby has now joined me and we leave to head back up to the room to relax before dinner. Tonight is our first formal night; Hubby has rented a tux and I have to pray that at least one of the 3 dresses I brought will fit.

We arrive in our room and are delighted to find the complimentary cheese tray waiting for us – as I am now close to starving, it hits the spot perfectly. You can really work up an appetite crawling up and down the stairs visiting cabins! We relax and then it is time to gussy up and dress up – first formal night of the cruise.

We notice the swells in the sea are beginning to pick up. We are heading into a headwind that will get increasingly stronger as the day goes on. The ship is beginning to bounce a little. Uh oh.

Before we leave for dinner, I leave another little gift for Alston. Tonight, I leave him some chocolate kisses, as well as the mardi gras beads we had left over from our Cabin Crawl. I made a little colorful arrangement in a dish, and put the “kisses” on top.

Hubby & I look like we can walk the red carpet – we head to the Concierge Lounge around 6:00 pm for our usual drinks & chit chat. It is then time to head down to dinner. Along the way, we stop at various photographer points around the ship and take the obligatory paparazzi photographs.

Now – a side note here – and a bone of contention for me. On the Cruise Compass, it is listed “Ladies Rock Wall Climbing” at 6:00 pm this evening. Are you kidding me? It’s FORMAL night and you think ladies are going to show up to climb the rock wall at 6:00 pm? What lame-brain scheduled this? I was actually a little peeved – I like to climb the wall at least once on every cruise – and it would have been nice to climb it with fellow ladies – but NOT ON FORMAL NIGHT at 6:00 pm!!!! As Hubby said, “I guess you can go climb it in your dress.” Right.

Okay, I’ve climbed down from my soapbox – and back to the day’s events.

As we arrive at the Dining Room, we decide to become paparazzi ourselves and take photos (and we won’t charge $20 apiece!) of our friends as they arrive for dinner.

First down the red carpet, we have Kathleen and Larry, from Springfield, Il – looking stunning in their coordinated black outfits. Even after burning up a curling iron in Barcelona – just barely avoiding a fire in the hotel – Kathleen’s hair looks very good.

Next, we have Susan, Ian, and Pete from Colorado. Again, stunning in their coordinating attire – did Ian and Susan plan on both having gold accents? Hmmmm….only they and their fashion coordinator knows….

Next, we have Mark and Jackie, from San Antonio. They are demonstrating that you do not have to dress in a tux for dinner – and you will not get tossed from the dining room. Mark chooses lime green and Jackie goes with the always elegant black/red combination.

Last, but not least, we have myself and Hubby – unintentionally coordinating our black/white attire for the event. We have noticed that the longer we’ve been married, the more we accidentally coordinate our clothing. Does every couple do this?

Our group has now grown by another couple – we now have 12 of us around the table – wow. Dejan is one popular waiter! Or maybe it's MY sparkling personality...? And the staff REALLY doesn’t like twelve people around the table – this is two more than what they like to accommodate. For dinner, I start with the lobster bisque and oxtail soup – I love oxtail – had it in Jamaica – and I have to recommend this. It was very tasty – light, not overpowering, with just the right seasoning. For dinner, I have the filet steak – medium well – and it is pretty good. Not excellent – but good. For dessert – it’s my favorite “cruise” dessert – the Grand Marnier soufflé. Ahhhh….the portion was a little small – but it was soooooo good. I could have probably have had another one – but I really would like to fit in the other two formals I have brought with me for later in the cruise.

After dinner, we head up to the Colony Club for the Captain’s Reception – which began at 8:00 pm and it is now almost 8:40. The Club is packed – but we manage to squeeze in…waiters are offering free wine or champagne. The captain is just finishing up introducing his staff, so it is almost over. Oh well. Another time.

We stroll out of the club and make out way to the Theater to catch the Tango show. Along the way, we run into Kieron the Cruise Director, who says, “Hey, Sherri – how are you?” You know you’re special when the Cruise Director knows you by name! Imagine that little warm glow of excitement I had to be recognized! (He knew me from the M&M earlier today – remember – I basically took it over!) He asked us if we were headed to the show and we assured him we were.

We stopped in the Casino along the way and talked with Rose & Howie; then made our way to the balcony seats in the theater. The Make-A-Wish Foundation Charity auction was about to begin. The grand prize – a tour of the engine room with the chief engineer. Hubby really wanted to do this, so we agreed our top price was $500. We got into a bidding war with a gentleman on the bottom floor and I graciously allowed him the prize at $575. I was not disappointed to lose.

After the auction the show started. Imagine a Cirque de Soleil done Spanish style – it was good – but a little different. We found out at the end of the show that this is a brand new cast this week – and so for only being together one week, I would say the show can only improve with practice – and would be a “do not miss.”

We can really feel the ship rocking now – it feels like a boat when it goes over a wake in front of it. Bouncing from front to back – no side to side rocking. This will end up being the worst rocking/bouncing we have all week.

After the show, we make our way to the Casino. It is non-smoking night in the casino – so a perfect night for us to go. Hubby hands me some money to go bet. I find a good machine and begin playing – it was a nickel machine – as I am the last of the big spenders. I am down to my last 20 cents in the machine when I hit a 7 and another 7 and – get this – a 4X Wild Card. I ended up winning $120.50 – over 2,000 nickels clinked out of the machine, because of course, I cashed out! I’m not stupid. A crowd gathered around to congratulate me – and even helped me by handing me cups to scoop up the nickels. I am kicking myself now for not putting quarters in the machine. That would have been a nice win!

I managed to get Hubby's attention as the machine was spitting out the money and after we got the last nickel, we headed to the cashier to collect my winnings and then it was time for bed. You know, carrying 2,000 nickels to the cashier's window to cash in can make you exhausted. Those little suckers are heavy.

When we arrive at our cabin, we walk in to the room – and it is pitch dark with the television blaring. Huh? We did not leave the TV on – and what about our turn down service? Normally, Alston has the lights turned down low and the bed turned down – this was not very welcoming…. As we walk in, I see our first towel animal on our bed – a dog – forever named “Spot” – who is holding the remote control in his hands, and is watching TV. What a hoot. I love it!

So, it takes almost 5 days for our first towel critter to appear, but the wait was well worthwhile. A TV-watching dog named Spot.

Tomorrow is….Venice!

Day 7: Venice

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Port: Venice.

Finally. The reason we booked this cruise.

Venice.

Situated on a lagoon on Italy's north-eastern Adriatic Coast, Venice is one of the most beautiful, romantic and best loved cities in the world. This truly unique city, a maze of waterways, walkways, narrow streets and small squares, is built on approximately 117 islets which are separated by 177 canals and spanned by some 400 bridges. The buildings are supported by literally millions of poles driven into the marshy sediment.

My first and most important tip: be prepared to do some walking. Wear very comfortable shoes. There are a LOT of steps to climb in Venice - up and down, over the canals. As you can see, with 400 bridges - all done via foot - that's a LOT of walking. I'm just sayin'.....

For the first (and thankfully, only) time during the entire cruise, the seas got very rough last night – we were rocking and rolling all night. I went to bed with a scratchy throat, hoping it would disappear when I woke up.

I woke up with a worse sore throat. That’s not good. Nothing like being sick on a cruise. I finally drug myself out of bed at 8:30, and headed over to the Concierge Lounge for breakfast. But there’s a problem. My key won’t open the door. Uh oh. I went back to my room – and now my Seapass won’t work, either. Yikes. Nothing like going to Guest Relations – feeling half dead and looking even worse – to get the cards fixed. The line was long at Guest Relations – as usual – so I stood there forever. I made my way back to the Concierge Lounge – and the CL key still didn’t work. You’re kidding me. I knocked on the door, and thankfully, Katarina was inside and let me in. She quickly exchanged my card for a card that works. I FINALLY got some breakfast – smoked salmon, yum – and then checked email briefly.

Hubby and I went out up to Deck 12 around 10:30 am, as we were approaching Venice and we wanted a good ‘spot’ to view the scenery. It was pretty windy – and chilly. I had to run back to the room for a jacket – it was that cold! The wind is at 45 knots per hour. We find a spot on Deck 12 – right in the very front of the ship – you know, the “I’m king of the world!!” spot (if you have seen “Titanic”, you know what I’m talking about!). This spot was perfect as we could see both the right and the left sides of the ship. But - it WAS very windy!

We sailed into Venice around 11:30 am – it was beautiful. The deck was very crowded by then, and we managed to take some great photos.

We headed down to the Windjammer around 12:15 for lunch, as we weren’t going to be let off the ship until around 1:30 pm. We could both barely eat, in anticipation of FINALLY being in Venice!

After lunch, we head back to the cabin to grab our stuff to go, and we find that Alston, our sneaky cabin attendant, has already been to the room. He has moved Spot, our "dog", from the sofa to a chair by the balcony. And Spot has binoculars - there is a ship parked next to us, and it appears I have a "peeping Tom" - or "peeping Spot" - as he appears to be spying on the women at the pool on the ship next to us. Oh, that Alston. Always a sense of humor!

We got off and then took a water shuttle to near St Mark’s Square. The unlimited water shuttle tickets – sold by the ship – were $35 apiece. I think it was a little pricey – but it beat walking. We figured we would be doing enough walking once we got deeper into Venice, and so we didn’t want to have to walk back to the ship as well. Here's a photo of loading up the water shuttles - this was between our ship and the ship docked behind us:

The shuttle ride takes about 10-15 minutes; we got off the shuttle and waited for Larry & Kathleen, our Cruise Critic buddies, who we were sharing today’s tour with. We met up and then waited for Mike, our tour guide. Mike is from The Venice Experience, a tour company – he is a transplanted American from Baltimore who now lives in Venice.

While waiting for Mike, I have to use the Ladies Room. A curious thing about Venice - if you look down, you will find signs pointing you to the nearest "Water Closet" - or bathroom. Just follow the signs. Easy!

Mike showed up around 2:30 pm. Mike was very nice - but just very laid back; almost too laid back for my taste. Overall, his 4-hour walking tour did show us some things we may not have found on our own - but we really didn't get the stories, the history - the culture - that Hubby and I like to hear while taking a tour. This may be because Mike is not a Venetian - but a transplanted American. Oh well. Here's Mike on the left with Hubby on the right, looking very debonair in his new hat.

He began by walking us by the Bridge of Sighs - which is partially blocked due to some construction going on. The Bridge of Sighs is a baroque stone bridge built in the 17th century, connecting the Doge's Palace with the old prisons. It was named after the despair of prisoners who were led across to be executed or incarcerated.

We walked by the Doge's Palace, a residence of the Doges and the seat of government.

We then made our way to the front of St. Mark's Basilica. It was beautiful - pictures never do it justice - you have to be in front of it to really appreciate the beauty of it. It was built in 830 and was originally a chapel for the Doges.

My teenage son - who is quite a historian - had said the only thing he wanted from Europe was a picture of the 4 horses. I asked, "Where are these 4 horses?" He said, "I don't know - somewhere in Venice." Well, that's certainly helpful. As we were standing in front of St. Mark's Basilica, I looked closer and screamed, "There's the 4 horses!!!!" Mike must have thought I was crazy. I was so excited - I found the 4 horses and my son was happy and life is good.

Once we had taken in the beauty of the Basilica, all we had to do was turn around to take in St. Mark's Square. This square is the center of life in Venice, a popular meeting place where people can stroll, listen to music, browse in the shops, or feed the pigeons. BUT - if you are caught feeding pigeons OUTSIDE of the square - that is illegal and you can be fined! Just a heads up.


We walked by the Grand Canal - the main waterway of Venice, approximately 2 miles in length, lined with over 200 marble palaces. My photos - of which I took hundreds - don't do the beauty of the Grand Canal justice. You have to be there. Seriously.

Hubby and I are weird (perhaps) in that we like the weird things about cities that not too many others know about. Mike indulged us in explaining about the "pee blockers", for lack of a better term. They installed these in every corner of Venice to prevent men...or ahem...little boys....from "doing their business" in the corner. So now you know.

Mike walked and walked and walked with us. We got off the touristy path and into some back streets - they were beautiful. We were so lost - but Mike kept us on path - we would never have found our way around without him. We stopped for delicious gelato and drinks; we peeked into churches; we went into courtyards and squares....it was great.

Venice is beautiful - but you really DO need to get lost to appreciate it.

Our gondola ride reservations were for 7:15 – but we were to report 15 minutes early – so we left Mike and the others and quickly walked back to the Hotel Griti Palace. We were assigned a gondola that included a mother and daughter from the States, as well as a gondola singer and his accordian player. The singer sang quite a few songs – including “My Way” in Italian. The accordian player cracked me up at one point when he played, “New York, New York” – not something you’d think you would hear in Venice! The ride was worth it – we enjoyed it immensely. The singer’s voice was very good – and when we got off the Grand Canal – and into the back, small canals – the buildings would cause his voice to “bounce” - creating a really nice effect on the music. It was twilight – so the lighting was wonderful. Our gondola operator never interacted with us at all – other than to initially tell us where we were to each sit.

The scenery we saw on the ride - wow. We also saw evidence of Venice sinking.

After our ride, Hubby and I got lost trying to find the restaurant where our reservations were. After much walking, and much looking, we finally had success. I had pasta with red meat sauce; then, veal in marsala sauce with salad. The veal was good. Everything else – just okay. We waited and waited and waited and finally got our check; after settling up, we began to make our way back to where the shuttle was.

We found ourselves at St. Mark’s Square around 10:10 pm and it was flooded! Water was everywhere – it was still burbling up through the manholes on the ground – and the barbarians were everywhere, taking pictures. Of course, we had to take a picture, too! You don’t get opportunities to see this every day!

We managed to snag the last seats on the shuttle and we head back to the ship. We get in line on the pier to go through security; and then go through security again once on board. I feel really safe. We were back in our room at 10:30 pm.

There are no activities tonight onboard, as the ship crew is assuming that people are spending their entire evening in Venice.

My sore throat – which began last night during the show – has now gotten progressively worse. Tylenol is helping a little – but I’m congested and tired and cranky. I just want to go to bed.

Day 8: Venice

Monday, June 22, 2009

Port: Venice (Day 2)

Well, I woke up today. Which considering how I feel – this was a major accomplishment. I feel very sick – the throat is on fire; I have a severe headache; and sinus pressure; and I am very dizzy – probably due to the pressure on my ears.

It is an easy decision for me – I will not go ashore today into Venice. I saw it yesterday; yesterday’s memories (for me) will have to be enough until next time. Hubby does decide to go ashore – I am grateful, as I am glad we are both secure enough to do things alone every now and then. We are both happier this way. He will conquer St. Mark’s Basilica today and whatever else he can squeeze in. He leaves to go ashore around 8:45 am.

I stay in bed for a while but they are washing balconies today and the (rather loud & annoying) spraying starts. I decide to go upstairs to the pool deck and lay out side, as the weather is delightful – cool but very sunny. A nice, gentle cool breeze is blowing.

I head upstairs with my book in hand - there is a plethora of loungers to choose from. I choose a lounger near the Sky Bar – so I can get fluids easily – and settle in…dozing…reading…dozing some more. Soon, my tummy – which is feeling just fine - is calling for food – it’s about 11:00 am and so I head to the Windjammer for some corned beef hash. I run into Dave & Kerry who have also opted to not go in. Kerry is not feeling well – she has an ugly-looking rash on her legs.

After eating, I head back to my lounger. The pool is filling up now- more and more people are returning from Venice, as the last shuttle back is at 1:20 pm and all aboard is at 2:30 pm.




I start to get nervous about Hubby – I pray he doesn’t miss the last shuttle. Can he possibly do this alone? Without me to guide him? I am normally “the navigator” when we travel – what if he gets lost? Misses the boat? What if my 7 children lose their father?

I head back to the cabin around 1:30; still no hubby. Hmmm….I leave a note for him to come find me when he gets back. He finally comes up on the pool deck around 1:50 pm. He made it! He is excited – he went into the church and up the bell tower and explored all on his own.

He decides to go get some lunch at the Windjammer– I decide to head into cabin and take more drugs. The pool deck is getting very crowded now. I order Room Service about 2:30 pm – soup, burger and cookies. They tell me it will be about 30 minutes before it is delivered – and that’s fine.

I sit on our balcony and enjoy the nice air and sunshine. Hubby joins me. It actually gets chilly for me – so I get a blanket and cuddle up. My lunch does not arrive until 3:30 pm – the porter apologizes and says they are really very busy. Apparently.

My clam & mushroom soup is very hot – and very good. Okay, this may have been worth waiting an hour for. The bistro burger was okay – just a burger. The 3 chocolate chip cookies were a little hard and crunchy, but tasty. We began leaving Venice around 3:00 so Hubby and I sit on the balcony, watching the passing scenery and enjoying the solitude.

At 4:15 I leave for the spa for my seaweed wrap/massage. I have Silvana – I strip and lay on a sheet of aluminum foil. She slathers me with liquid seaweed mixed with peppermint for a good smell. She then wraps me up in foil – think of a Martian mummy. I lay like this for 20 minutes as she gives me a scalp massage – it was wonderful. She played with my hair which felt really good. I then got up and took a shower and then got back on the table. She wrapped me in warm aluminum foil and then put very warm blankets over me – a steam sauna – I was sweating out impurities, apparently- and I laid like this for 20 minutes as she gave me a very thorough foot massage. Ahhh….bliss.

I then got up and took another shower using lavender (for relaxation!) soap. I then got back on the table face down for the full body massage. Silvana used warm oil and massaged just about every square inch of my body – back, shoulders, arms, hands, legs, feet – it was a 1-hour massage and it was one of the best I’ve ever had. She then left the room; I got dressed; she came back in with water and my champagne (because of the mix up the other day). We talked about Spanish – she is from Argentina; we compared notes on how difficult it was for her to learn English and how difficult it has been for me to learn Spanish. It was time for me to go – I paid using my 15% Platinum coupon – and then saw the time. 6:30. Yikes! That’s what time our dinner reservation is for! I am late!

I run back to the room – Hubby is patiently sitting in the room in his tuxedo waiting for me and I am still covered with massage oil. I tell him to go on to the Dining Room and make my apologies to the group and tell them I will be late.

I shower, put on make up, blow dry my hair, get dressed – and make it to dinner by 6:45 pm. I am not kidding – I moved in fast motion and did not waste one second. Even I was impressed on how fast I moved. And formal night – no less!

I ran down to the dining room and the group had not ordered yet – bless their hearts – they had waited for me. I’m glad I was fast!

I had crab salad for an appetizer, but Dejan brought another appetizer for me to sample that I enjoyed better – some type of pasta like a ravioli in butter/cream sauce. One of the reasons Dejan is so good is that he knows his guests – he has learned our likes and dislikes – and he just knew I would enjoy the ravioli – which I did. For my entrée, I got the beef shoulder & mashed potatoes – pretty good – and for dessert - the Bailey’s Crème Brule and the chocolate trilogy dessert – yummy.

During dinner we heard Susan’s story of setting off the smoke alarm from too much steam in her shower. (She had seen a button in the shower (royal suite) marked “steam” and pushed it.) She got a call from the 1st officer and even after she explained what happened, she still got a visit from security – while Pete was now in the shower who had to scramble out for decency’s sake. She had me crying with this story I was laughing so hard.

After dinner, Hubby and I went back to room to put on my comfortable shoes. My designer yellow heels were a little tight – I have fluid retention from this cruise – or else the 5 extra pounds I’ve gained are all in my feet!

We headed back to the Theater where we watched the British comedian, Jeff Stevenson, do his bit. He was...average. A lot of it was ad-libbed because we had a British heckler in the audience who kept yelling things out. Stevenson was good at coming right back at him. Stevenson did two shows tonight - one at 7:15 pm and one at 9:00 pm. We did the later show.

After the show it was 10:15 or so – and we were tired –so we headed back to the room – no masquerade ball for me. The Venetian Masquerade Ball was scheduled for 10:45 pm until midnight in the Colony Club. My only mask I wore was my sleeping mask – as I drifted off, hoping I would feel better in the morning.