Day 9 – Arrivederci Roma

We woke up early… packed… and the “limo driver” was actually 15 min EARLY to pick us up to bring us to Civitivecchia. It was the same gentleman as last Wednesday… and when I say limo, think “driver with vehicle to convey you to another location” NOT “long black luxury car” – ROFLOL!!! The man’s minivan with stashed personal repair kit and random ‘homemade repairs’ would hardly be considered “limo”, but he was polite… and could navigate the streets of Rome without difficulty, even while telling my FIL in Italian that the woman on the phone in front of him driving PAINFULLY slowly had spaghetti in her brains – LOL!! You’ve gotta love the locals!


We arrived unscathed after MANY a horn blowing, traffic swerving incident… and while check-in wasn’t ‘smooth’, much of that was our own fault, not the fault of the company. We boarded, rec’d our “sign/key passes’ and headed to the elevators to get to our rooms.

Before I continue I must tell you that we have always cruised with a “window” but never a balcony b/c we’ve never been able to justify the upgrade, and even on this ship, where 85% of the “window cabins” have balconies we were on the first floor. Not a problem, there are lots of wide stairwells and even plenty of elevators. However, I began to think something had gone terribly wrong when I got off the elevator and the woman standing by the corridor was saying, “I apologize, they’re not quite done preparing your rooms, please head out to the veranda for a buffet luncheon”. ????? There’s no “buffet” on our deck? There are no BALCONIES on our deck… something must be wrong… after all that confusion at check in, somebody must be mistaken. As I get to the doors, carry on luggage in tow, I stop and say, “DH! Something’s wrong. This isn’t our floor.” To which he responds, “Surprise! Happy Birthday… and Anniversary”.

I was aghast! Stunned! I had no words, which, if you know me, is saying quite a lot. I couldn’t believe it. I was torn between the “He really went ahead with the upgrade they offered him 2 weeks ago after we discussed it and I said, ‘Nah, no thanks’… he’s such a Dear Heart from Heaven”… and “You upgraded and spent the money on the bigger room with the balcony, I’m gonna have to smack you at some point” ROFL! It’s a tough decision.

I know I would’ve been absolutely, perfectly happy on the first floor instead of the 10th… but the room is VERY nice, the balcony will thrill the kids - though if they ever cruise again they’ll have been spoiled by the view (DH says “I think that was the point. They offer the available balcony rooms at a discount to long-time cruisers because they know that you are far more likely to get the more expensive rooms in the future. Same reason Lexus wants you to test drive their cars and drug dealers will even give the first taste for free)… and to think that my husband thought of this as a “special surprise” for my vacation is just more thrilling than words can tell. (DH says – Nah… it just let me get the room I wanted, stay out of trouble for the expense, AND now I don’t have to buy either a birthday gift OR an anniversary present win-win-win right?)

We checked out the kids’ area. It really is AMAZING how much square footage they’ve devoted to “just kids” on board the ship. They’re hosting a “fellowship” for families tonight from 8:30-9 and then a little “get to know you party” from 9-10pm tonight (the kids are usually in bed by 8… wonder when they’ll konk out) and we’ve already been given their “activity schedule” for the different age groups. I know they’ll have a great time.

We’ve now unpacked, wandered around the ship, and even been through the emergency drill “muster station” speech… and dinner is delayed 30 minutes (b/c of the emergency drill thing being delayed by an Italian railroad strike)… so I’m updating now. I’ve seen the menu, the food is as I remembered it… plentiful and delicious. It really is the way to travel.

Update to Day 9 – The wait-staff was wonderful, dinner was plentiful…. DS1 couldn’t BELIEVE there was an entire MENU just for dessert… and needless to say, we all ate well (Doodle Bug ordered a fruit salad AND the chicken nuggets AND the adult portion steak - this being the five year old the size of some three year olds). The final note, I chose “Crème Brulee’” for my dessert… NOT as good as DH’s… sadly, not even close. What can I say… some things are better at home.

You'll note that the kids are "patiently" waiting for an opportunity to go to the waterpark. Only the bravest onboard have been willing to get into the hot-tubs so far. I think the temperature will have to rise out of the 50s before they'll get their chance. :-)

Day 10 is Naples… volcano anyone? But we’re at sea for a day and a half right after that and won’t be able to update until we hit Venice. See you soon!