Our Mediteranean Cruise - July 2012

              Cruising on huge floating hotels has become a popular vacation activity combining a luxurious lifestyle with leisurely travel to exotic destinations. My wife and I had first ventured on a cruise in the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale travelling around but without touching Cuba to several ports and decided to repeat the experience with the same cruise line in the Mediterranean Sea. Our recent voyage was during the first week of July 2012 on the MSC Musica, a sister ship of the MSC Poesia we travelled on the last time.

               A cruise ship is typically very long and narrow with many decks and is confusing during the first few days on board. We thought we would know all about it based on our previous voyage but it was still confusing. The cafeteria, pools, bars and sporting facilities are on decks 13, 14, 15 and 16 while the dining rooms, lounges, shops, casino and theatre on are decks 5, 6 and 7. Most cabins are on decks 8 to 12 all connected by four banks of elevators and stair cases. The ship is 293 meters long and 32 meters wide at 89000 tons and carries about 2550 passengers with nearly 1000 people in the crew.

               Our cabin with balcony was on deck 10 located towards the bow on the starboard side just above the lifeboats between decks 7 and 8. The cabin steward, a very nice Filipino, kept our space ship shape when we were on other decks. On sunny days when we were at sea the population on the upper desks was dense to say the least as hundreds of people congregated in bikinis and speedos all grabbing a rays from the brilliant, hot sun. The entertainment teams kept busy animating people to dance, exercise or play games accompanied by loud music. Many of the bronze bodies are attractive but most of the older gentlemen are not pretty in their speedos. On this voyage the majority of passengers were Italian and Spanish with a smattering of Australians, Germans, other Europeans and some from Canada and the USA. There were many children of all ages. We often took the occasion to sit on our balcony and escape the crowds on deck 13 and 14.

                                                            Deck 13 on a sunny morning

                The ship was scheduled to stop at ports in Italy, Greece and Croatia. We decided to go on tours to see Olympia, Mykanos, Athens, Corfu and Dubrovnik and didn’t go ashore at Bare and Santorini. Our first visit was at Katakolon, Greece on Ionian Sea with a bus to Olympia, a few kilometers away. Once there we were guided through a beautiful museum where many artifacts found on the site were housed in striking displays. We then walked to the site where the Olympic facilities and games were played. Many columns and pillars have been erected where they had been at the time. The Olympic torch used to light flame at summer and winter games today is lit here from the sun’s rays. The ancient games were stopped when Christianity supplanted the Greek and Roman gods because sport was considered a heathen practice. 

                                                   Olympus in Greece
 

               The ship arrived at Santorini the next morning and most passengers were ferried ashore to climb the high cliffs to the towns looking like snow on winter hills of home. We stayed on board to enjoy deck 13 to ourselves. It was wonderful until the crowd came back for lunch and the restaurant became a zoo as the ship sailed to Mykonos for the evening. We went ashore at Mykonos to visit a Greek restaurant out in the country to enjoy local food, dancing, wine and a good time. Mykonos is where Shirley Valentine was filmed for those readers who remember the 1989 chicflik.

                                                           Santorini Greece

                                                            So many cruise ship

                                                                  Ashore on Mykonos

               Piraeus is the port for Athens. I boarded the bus for a tour of Piaka, the Acropolis and the Archeological museum under the guidance of a wonderful woman who told us the story of Athens and the Parthenon. Athens goes far back before the Athenian society we know evolved. It was not a peaceful place and Athens was conquered, raped and pillaged by the Spartans, the Persians and Romans, Crusaders, the French, Venetians, the Ottomans, Britain, Germany and others. The city always rose up again and when it became wealthy new invaders arrived to steal what they could. The British were among the thieves taking as many artifacts as they could carry to London. The Parthenon had been destroyed by the Venetians fighting for control against the Muslim Persians so the British easily collected remnants from the Acropolis. Athenians are quite bitter about what the British did and make it known to everyone who will listen.

               We climbed the Acropolis with the crowds of tourists to see the  restoration of the Parthenon and other temples on the top. It provides a spectacular view over the city. After the visit we walked to a beautiful new museum where many artifacts the British miraculously didn’t find are displayed. The artistry of the ancient culture is wonderful to see. On the other hand it was Athens where I first encountered hordes of mopeds driven by crazy fools without concern for cars, rules of the road or seemingly their personal safety. It repeated even more so in Rome. I don’t know how the bus drivers manage to get through the narrow crowded streets with cars parked almost anywhere and mopeds darting in and out of traffic. At every traffic light a horde of probably a dozen or more mopeds gather in front of the cars waiting for the light to change and then dash across the intersection before the first car has moved.

                                                         The Acropolis and Parthenon

                                                     The Parthenon

                                                                

                                                        Athens from the Acropolis

 

          Athens was the mid-point of the cruise and the ship began the voyage back to Venice. Entertainment on the ship was generally good. There is a huge auditorium in the bow on decks 6 and 7 where musical, magic, gymnastics, and other colourful shows are presented on most nights after supper. Meals on the ship were, in my opinion, good but not spectacular. There were several choices for each course and service was usually fast. Our table partners were fun, a couple from Toronto and a couple from South Carolina. We enjoyed joking and teasing during the meal particularly concerning the beer choice. I had bought a voucher for draft beer but I didn’t know they served only Heineken. It isn’t my first choice but complaining didn’t help and I got used to it. I enjoyed a birthday celebration with a special cake Lil had arranged and the waiters did the Happy Birthday thing. We also celebrated Canada Day and the Fourth of July. Not many other dinners in the room had any concern for either of these special days. We were all surprised by the water policy. The only water served was in a liter bottle when ordered at a cost of 2.30 euros. No free water in the restaurant but there was a source in the cafeteria on deck 13. I think water is a commercial product in Europe because it was the same in Rome and other places we visited. Prices of other beverages at the bars on board were in the 5 to 6 euro range plus 15% service charge. Prices in bars on shore were about half the on board price.

               The next stop was Kerkyra, Corfu where I went on a tour and visit to Achilleion Palace, a large house built by Queen Elizabeth of Bavaria (known as Sissi), said to be the most beautiful woman of her time (early 1800’s). The place was dedicated to Achilles, the Greek god, and has a lovely outlook on a high hill under the gaze of a huge bronze statue of Achilles. It became the summer residence of Baron von Bismark, the German ruler in WW 1 and there are many of his personal effects on display in the house.  Corfu is a very pretty place for summer vacations and tourism. 

                                                            Sissy, the Queen, notice her waist

                                                       Eat your heart out, shw worked hard for that

                                                                        Hercules on Corfu

            Our last stop was the city of Dubrovnik where we met a man who guided us around the old walled part of the city. He described the history of the city and spent a lot of time talking about the war with Serbia in 1992. The Serbs had attacked the city with aircraft, missiles and artillery destroying most of the infrastructure and many buildings. They were finally driven away by the Croatians when the international community under pressure of the Pope took a stand against Milosevic and his army. There is a great deal of bitterness among the Croatians.  The old city was pleasant to walk through and I found an outdoor restaurant with beer that tasted so much better than the stuff on the ship. Lil came with me on this tour which was nice. Her feet had become swollen and painful so the touring in the next few days would be a challenge for her.

                                                        Dubrovnik Street Scene

                                                 It's not Heineken, thank goodness/

 

           The ship entered the Grand Canal of Venice about 7 AM and cruised slowly to the pier. I had watched the voyage out the week before and watched the inbound trip for a while but we had to assemble in the theatre in preparation for disembarkation. Everyone had a colour code to ensure an orderly exit from the ship and to identify where our bags were in the terminal building. Our plan was to take a cab to the railways station but it turned out the cab could go only to a foot bridge over the canal and then a walk along the canal to the station. This was not a fun part of the trip but eventually we were on our way to Rome.

                                            The Foot Bridge Across the Canal to the Station

                                                                 Venice Canal

Venice from the ship deck

         The train went through a series of long tunnels under the mountains before arriving in Florence for a stop and then on to Rome. Our hotel was close to the Rome Termini (station) so we dragged our bags through the city streets and after a few false starts found it and checked in. Whew!!! The area is full of hotels. The buildings are quite plain but the insides are interesting and our hotel was a surprising place, definitely not a Holiday Inn, but very well appointed and comfortable.

               What to do now? We found a place nearby to eat. It was a sidewalk café and we immediately learned about the Roman pizza (see last picture). After consulting brochures from the hotels we decided to visit Rome for one day and then a tour to Pompei the next. After eating we walked along the street and Lil found a corner stall with purses and bags. She found one and bought it. It seems bags and some clothing is good value in Rome unless you chose the name brand stores.

               The next morning we were hustled onto a ‘hop on-hop off’ tour bus. It turned out to be a good hustle and we got off to an early start with a nice drive through the tree lined streets before the tour actually started. After a few stops we hopped off at the Coliseum to join the throngs of people clustered in the plaza around it but it didn’t take long before we were on a guided tour of the structure. Several steep flights of stairs led to the upper level where we looked down over the arena and the open chambers that had been covered by the original floor. It is large but not overwhelming. Our guide told us how the games were run and we learned a lot and not as portrayed in Hollywood films.

                                                       The Coliseum
 

                                                                     Trevi Fountain

        We hopped back on the bus and continued the ride past the Vatican and across the Tiber a couple of times. It was hot and crowded in the city but we stopped at the Trevi fountain area where we joined another throng of people gathered around it. It is a beautiful fountain and famous for the movie at least to older people. By now it was mid-afternoon and we needed a rest so we hopped back on the bus and it eventually arrived at the Termini stop, near our hotel. It was cool in the hotel. We could have done more trips on the bus but that was enough.

              

             The trip to Napoli and Pompei left early from the Green Bus Tour office. We were guided there by a pickup guy and fortunately it was close to the hotel because we walked. The road to Napoli is called the highway of the Sun and goes from Milano to Napoli, almost the length of Italia. It passes through farm country, vineyards, mountains, past Monte Casino (location of vicious fighting in WW2) and on to Naples with a refreshment stop along the way. Naples or Napoli is an important city on the coast. We stopped at the yacht harbour for a stretch and looked across the hundreds of private boats, large and small, toward Mount Vesuvius not far away. A quick bus trip through the main section of the city past a number of huge cruise ship and we went to new Pompei for a typical Italian lunch.

                                                    Naples Boat Harbour and Mount Vesuvius

           A tour guide from Naples joined the group and took us to the ruins while explaining the story of Pompei and the archeological findings. The first location was the amphitheatre which required climbing another steep stair case but after that everything was on the same level. We walked along the ancient streets past houses and shops, the baths, the house of prostitution, the forum and so much. It is a remarkable place to see under the not very distant cone of the still active Vesuvius.

                                                          Pompei ruins

                                             A cast of a Roman who died in Pompei

                                                                  The Forum of Pompei

          It was a typically hot day and we were happy to get back on the bus for the three hour ride back to Rome where we arrived just after nine PM. We found another sidewalk restaurant and enjoyed a last Roman pizza before our journey ended. Our flight home was the next day and there is nothing interesting to say about it.  

       Our last Roman meal of pizza. She is tired after the long day on the bus. When they serve pizza in Rome they serve the whole thing as shown. They taste good but you'd better be hungry.