Tim's Cruise Blog

Posted By admin on May 5, 2012

When we got to Rome, of course there were certain sites that we had to see. The Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, and others. Rome On Your Own was a great way to see these landmarks. Instead of being tied to a tour group, we got to go and see Rome on our own term.

The bus took us from the pier in Civitavecchia to Rome. We were given maps, and dropped off in Piazza del Popolo, or The People’s Square. Our tour guide gave us a brief orientation, and then turned us loose for a few hours for us to explore Rome by ourselves.

At first I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to find my way around Rome, but it was actually very easy. Opposite of where we entered the square were three streets, on the left, the street led straight to the Spanish Steps. The middle street led to the Venetian Palace, and beyond that, the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. The street on the right led to the Pantheon.

We chose to see the Spanish Steps first, then the Trevi Fountain, and the Colosseum. It was very easy to find our way from one to the other, and then back to the Piazza del Popolo.

On the way back, we decided to stop for lunch in a little restaurant at the corner of Via Del Tritone and Via del Nazareno. I believe it was called Caffe Accademia. Fortunately, the waitress spoke enough English that we got by just fine. After all of the walking, it was nice to just sit in the alley, watching the people walking by. After lunch, we headed back to the People’s Square to wait for our bus to pick us up again, and take us back to the ship.

One thing to be aware of is there are a lot of vendors around the landmarks. At the Spanish Steps and other landmarks there were people trying to get you to buy roses from them, others were pushing sun umbrellas. Near the Colosseum and Roman Forum, there were characters dressed as centurions charging 20 Euros to have your picture taken with them. There were also several other performers in the area, asking for donations, but they really weren’t too pushy.

The Good:

It was great being able to explore Rome by ourselves, and not be tied to a tour group. We were able to see what we wanted, and not follow someone else’s itinerary.

The Bad:

Although the Colosseum is within walking distance of Piazza del Popolo, it is still a lot of walking, especially on a hot July day. I think the tour could have been a bit shorter. Once we had seen everything that we wanted to see, we still had a bit of time once we got back to the People’s Square. We had to try to find a nice shady place to sit down while we waited for our bus.

This was a great way to explore Rome, and despite my fears of getting lost, it was easy to find our way around. Even though my wife and I spent a good part of our day on our feet, we were both glad that we had chosen this shore excursion. The primary thought running through my head the entire day was “Wow. We’re in Rome!”

Category: Italy, Shore Excursions | No Comments »
Tags: Colosseum, Piazza del Popolo, Roman Forum, Rome, shore excursion, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain

Posted By admin on May 3, 2012

This day was a busy day, three shore excursions in one day. My wife and I rushed from the ship to the Skyride to Paradise Point. By the time we got there, we didn’t have a lot of time. We rushed back to the ship to put on our swimsuits, and then back to the dock for a snorkeling trip. After that, we headed back to the ship to change back into our regular clothes, and then back to the dock for this shore excursion.

After such a busy day, this was a great way to end it. After boarding the catamaran, the Castaway Girl, we simply took a leisurely cruise around Charlotte Amalie harbor, sipping on champagne and rum punch and watching the sun go down over the Caribbean. There weren’t as many people on the boat as there were earlier for our snorkeling excursion, and the atmosphere was much more low key.

As with the snorkeling excursion, the crew came around, spending time talking with the guests, and explaining a bit about the history of St. Thomas and Charlotte Amalie harbor. As we were headed back into the dock, we had a great view of the cruise ships lined up at the pier, all lit up against the growing darkness.

The Good:

Again, this was just a great way to end a busy day. It was a chance to just relax with a nice drink and enjoy the scenery. We loved chatting with the crew and the other guests.

The Bad:

I really can’t think of anything bad about this shore excursion. We did plan on taking this cruise again on a later cruise, but unfortunately there weren’t enough people signed up, so it had to be cancelled.  At least we did have the chance to do this on our first cruise.

Category: Shore Excursions, St. Thomas | No Comments »
Tags: catamaran, champagne, Charlotte Amalie, cruise, rum punch, sail, shore excursion, St. Thomas

Posted By admin on May 1, 2012

One of the great things about the Caribbean is the warm water. Snorkeling is one of the best ways to enjoy the water. You get in the water, swimming around, enjoying the sights of the fish and the coral.

We were met on the dock by one of the crew members of a catamaran, the Castaway Girl. He led us about a quarter mile to another dock where the boat was waiting for us. Our first impression of Jonathon is that of a California surfer boy… but he was from Kentucky or Tennessee, or somewhere in that area. But he had so much infectious energy that it rubbed off on the rest of us on this shore excursion.

After we had boarded the catamaran, we sailed for about 30-45 minutes to Shipwreck Cove, off of Buck Island. On the way the crew distributed the snorkeling gear to the guests, and when we arrived at Shipwreck Cove, they gave us a briefing on how to use the equipment, and instructions not to touch the sea urchins or the fire coral.

We were then given about 45 minutes to swim around. We were allowed to swim around on our own, or to follow one of the guides on a tour of the cove. At one point, the guide found a group of squid, and he chased them out so that we could see them.

Shipwreck Cove was certainly aptly named. In about 30 feet of water was the wreckage of the Cartanza. From the surface, it wasn’t that easy to see, but it was certainly visible.

There wasn’t really a lot of marine life to see in the cove, until we started swimming back to the boat, where we saw a lot of Yellowtail Snappers, which are pretty abundant in the Caribbean.

One of the things I like about the catamaran shore excursions, is that they turn into party boats on the way back to the dock. The Castaway Girl was no exception. Once we got underway, the crew started serving snacks and rum punch. The music started playing, and everyone was dancing and having a great time. It was a bit crowded, but it was fun.The crew of the boat was incredibly friendly, mingling with the guests, spending some time chatting with everyone.

The Good:

The crew of the Castaway Girl was very friendly and fun. We loved the party atmosphere of the boat on the way back to the dock. Not only was the crew friendly, but so was everyone else on this excursion.

The Bad:

There really wasn’t a lot to see underwater. We did see some squid and a few fish, but nowhere near as much as I’ve seen in other snorkeling locations.

My wife and I loved this shore excursion, and even if we don’t get to see a lot while snorkeling, we would certainly do this shore excursion again. We were certainly happy to find out that the Castaway Girl was going to be the catamaran for our next shore excursion, the Champagne Sunset Cruise.

Category: Shore Excursions, St. Thomas | No Comments »
Tags: catamaran, party boat, rum punch, shore excursion, snorkeling, swimming

Posted By admin on April 28, 2012

When my wife and I are on a cruise, one of the shore excursions we always look for is a day at the beach. We enjoy soaking up  the sun and relaxing on the beach, we enjoy playing in the surf. When we were looking through the Messina shore excursions, we found this beach day, and chose this one over the other shore excursions.

From Messina, the bus took us down the coast to a town called Giardina Di Naxos, underneath Mt. Etna. It was great watching the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean as we drove down the coast.

We got to the beach, and were led to our beach chairs, and I was extremely disappointed. It was crowded, and the chairs were so far back from the water that we could barely see it. In the Caribbean, on Orient Beach, the beach was crowded, but we could still see the water.

Between our beach chairs and the water, the sand was extremely hot, but that’s to be expected in the middle of July. But once we got to the water, the swimming area was small and crowded, and the water was way too cold to swim in. We spent most of the time just sitting on the beach chairs soaking up the sun… and being harassed by the numerous vendors. Even when you say no to one vendor, there is another one waiting to swoop in and try to sell you something.

In addition to the vendors there were also some Asian ladies coming by and offering leg and back massages. My wife and I did take one of them up. The massage was nice, and it was reasonably priced, but not as nice as the massages in the spa on board the ship.

The Good:

The ride from Messina to Giardina Di Naxos was pleasant, and at least we did get a chance to relax on the beach. Also the massage was nice and relaxing.

The Bad:

The beach was far too crowded, the sand was too hot, and the water was too cold.

All in all, if we go on a Mediterranean cruise that stops in Messina, we would probably choose one of the other shore excursions over the Beach Day, and just go to the beach in one of the other ports of call.

Category: Italy, Shore Excursions | No Comments »
Tags: beach, beach day, mediterranean, ocean, sand, sea

Posted By admin on April 23, 2012

Probably the most fascinating shore excursion on our cruise to Italy was the Ruins of Pompeii tour.

Many of you have heard of Pompeii, the ancient town that was buried in an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius on Aug. 4, 79 A.D. The ash that buried the town preserved it as it was at the time of the disaster.

We boarded the bus at the dock, and then took a drive to the ruins. On the way, the tour guide explained some of the history of Pompeii, and some of the mythology of the area.

Once we got to Pompeii, we were first taken on a short tour of a cameo factory near the entrance to the ruins. We were shown one of the craftsmen carving out a cameo from a seashell, and then allowed to tour the shop downstairs. This part of the tour didn’t seem to serve much purpose, other than to try to sell jewelry to the tourists. I will have to admit, though, that they had some really cool chess sets in the shop.

After the tour of the cameo factory, we were given some time to look around the souvenir booths. Some of the booth owners just let us browse, and choose what we wanted to buy, while others could be extremely pushy, trying to get us  to buy more and more and more.

After some time to look through the souvenir shops, we started the main part of the tour, a walking tour of the ruins of P0mpeii. We were given radios so that we could hear the tour guide as he explained the various buildings and sites in the city. We had a chance to see one of the ampitheaters near the entrance to the ruins, as well as houses, shops, and the forum. At a couple of points during the tour, there were some castings on display, made from the bodies left buried in the ash by the eruption. The tour of Pompeii probably took about an hour, after which we were given more time at the souvenir stands before we boarded our bus to go back to the ship.

The Good:

Ancient history is a fascinating subject, and this tour of the ruins of Pompeii was a great chance to see ancient history, to see how the people lived when the volcano erupted.

The Bad:

The tour of the cameo factory really didn’t seem to add anything to the experience. I really could have done without it. Also the pushy vendors somewhat brought down the entire experience.

Overall, this was an enjoyable tour, getting  to see an ancient historical site, and getting an idea how they lived back in the time of the Roman Empire.

Category: Italy, Shore Excursions | No Comments »
Tags: ancient history, artifacts, Pompeii, Roman Empire, Rome, ruins, Vesuvius