| The canal ride was quite interesting, albeit a bit smelly in parts. And we got some close ups of the ships which was good! Everyone has a boat and apparently they're very cheap to buy but it's the mooring fees which make the costs shoot up. |
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| We were given some free time in the town so I called home then went to buy a bottle of water. I wasn't going to pay RCCL prices when you could get 500ml for 50 cents. Afterwards we returned to the port. |
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| It was time for lunch so I went to the Seaside, bumping into Mustapha who was dealing with a passenger. He offered to show me the Tuscan Grille so up a deck we went. This area on Deck 11 just up the stairs from the Seaside used to be The Conservatory, a lovely, peaceful area to sit which also held a flower shop. Apparently the shop didn't do so well. While they had used the space very well in the changes, it hadn't been well thought out considering you could just walk through to and from the outside deck. Mustapha's friend Aleksandr was there. I told him about my experience in the Equinox one. |
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After lunch I had a doze in the cabin for a few hours, making sure I was on deck for the 7pm sailaway. We weren't the only one down for that time but it turned out we slipped away from the berth slightly early as I was trying to get some shots of Crystal Serenity up the end and were first to leave. Back home it was the maiden voyage of the new Cunard Vista, Queen Elizabeth, on this day (although she'd have sailed an hour before but my dad was unable to get down to due my mum). Here I was surrounded by five. I know where I preferred to be, cold and wind an' all! |
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| I sat outside a while since it was an absolutely gorgeous evening despite the cold, then returned to the cabin to prepare for dinner. Doris had got into a habit of doing my cabin early so when I got there I found the pin badge below. It was a nice thing for them to do so I hoped it would be worth it. Find out the next night. |
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| After dinner I went on the Promenade Deck to see the ship Scott had noticed was passing. I thought it had been Ocean Princess, since she was due in Civitavecchia on a turnaround for 4am but it was Thomson Destiny instead. |
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| I popped into Michael's Club on the way back to the cabin. There was a lot of laughter coming from inside from people watching Perry Grant. I stayed there a few minutes, standing at the back since all seats were taken, to see what all the fuss was about and can see why he's rated so highly and incredibly popular. He is brilliant! Excellent singer and piano player with wonderfully hilarious repartee, even on a one to one basis with someone in the audience. From what I understand he's a regular on Connie so be sure to see his act at least once and he was definitely on during my last trip because I recognised the photos on the mantlepiece and by the piano. |
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| An early night due to another early morning for the ships. The 13th October 2010 was four years since my first cruise and that day I was on my twenty-fifth. Some feat! Mind you, most have been short to try the ships and it does help having so many on my doorstep. Just wish Connie was then I could go more often! Civitavecchia would be holding a whopping (for me) nine ships this day, including ourselves. It was how I wished Southampton could be. When I was there in August 2009, disembarking Equinox, only two others joined us which was a huge disappointment for what was supposed to be the height of the season. Ocean Princess, Thomson Destiny and Le Diamant were already snug as bugs in Italian rugs while we followed MSC Lirica with Voyager of the Seas, Crystal Serenity, Grand Holiday and Norwegian Jade brining up the rear. When I got onto the deck, Serenity was along our port side while Grand Holiday was starboard as we slipped between. It was astill freezing and windy. |
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| After breakfast, giving excursion people a chance to sod off and empty the ship, I began exploring to get her new layout around 9.30am. I was surprised to find so many people still aboard. It turned out some had tours later while others were staying on like me. Wednesday is a bad day for visiting Rome by all accounts due to the Pope doing services so many places are crowded or closed. It's a shame since tour descriptions include visits to certain buildings and they can't go in. Anyway, I began up top at Reflections, the observation lounge above the bridge. They had returned to its original name. When I was last on it was Bar at the edge of the Earth with incredibly dull decor. It was then like sheets thrown over the chairs with some undercoat. Now they had added colour again and it looked gorgeous, better than the Solstice class. |
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| Cellarmasters and Bistro on Five replace the old Champagne and Martini Bars, which were interchangable. Café al Bacio and Gelataria replace Cova Café. |
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The Gamma Meeting Room was open so I had a quick peek inside before exploring more of Plaza Deck (3). The cinema was open too then I went to have another look at the Ocean Liners Restaurant, since I had a better camera now. The Maitre'd had been on Eclipse for her launch before transferring to Connie in early May, just like Mustapha and it was his first time on her. I told him how the ship looked back in 2007 compared to now. The statue I had last seen in the Cova Café was now near Guest Relations. |
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