"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #106 Civitavecchia, Italy April 15, 2016 Friday Sunny & 67 degrees Part #1 of 3 86 Pictures

Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2016 2:25:18 AM
Subject: Report #106 Civitavecchia, Italy April 15, 2016 Friday Sunny & 67 degrees Part #1 of 3 86 Pictures

Today's port was Civitavecchia, the drop-off city for the tours in Rome and the surrounding areas. And we certainly were not alone in this busy port, as we docked right next to the newest HAL ship, the Koningsdam. We had a date to tour this vessel, starting at 9:30am.

The Koningsdam's inaugural cruise began on April 8^th, with a seven day round trip to here. Great timing for all of us who wished to tour the ship, since we docked right next to them shortly after they had arrived.

We heard there was three hundred of us that passed on the tours to Rome to do this tour. The line extended all the way back to the Amsterdam. All we needed to board was our room key, which was taken in exchange for a visitor's pass. With a simple tap at the ship's kiosk, we were let into the lobby on A deck to wait for the elevator up.

Guides took groups of 70 to the Plaza and Promenade decks, where we walked from one end to the other, seeing all of the public areas. We felt that the ship's public areas resembled a hotel, more than a ship. A nice, new hotel, but so different that it did not resemble anything HAL owns at the moment.

Out of all of the venues, we think the nicest had to be the dining room. It was done in light and bright whites and reds…..really a class act. After visiting with a couple that had been on this ship for the last 7 days, they admitted that the open dining times for both the lower and upper dining rooms had been more than a challenge for the staff. They do offer fixed dining times, but they found that the dinner times over-lapped most evenings. Takes a while for these things to get ironed out, so 7 days doesn't do it.

By 10;30am, we were led to the World Stage, where we were handed mimosas, and offered canapes, while we waited for the special welcome. The cruise director, as well as the Captain, welcomed us with a short and sweet talk, then the show began.

What began as a rather unremarkable stadium-like showlounge, turned into an artistic light show with the singers and dancers performing on the stage. Looked like every seat in the house had a birds-eye view of the stage down below. The three-skit dance was quite professional, as it is obvious, only the very best worked here.

From here, we were allowed to explore on or own until 11:30am, when we would be asked to de-bark. So we found our way to see some of the staterooms, as they were being prepared for the new passengers. We saw one of the smaller-sized veranda rooms, which appeared to be smaller than the deck six verandas on this ship. The best feature in the room had to be the flat screen TV on the wall across from the bed. It was huge for a stateroom. You could read words on this screen. We also liked the multiple plugs on the desk and the nightstands. The bathrooms seemed on the small side as well, at least on the deck we toured.

Wanting to see the aft pool and Lido, we took an elevator to the upper deck. Although the Lido was not open for serving yet, we could see behind the curtains. There was ample food here, similar to what we have on the Amsterdam. Only bigger. There was a definite cafeteria-feel about the seating area, since, after all, that's what it is. One interesting thing we noticed, was a special hand-washing sink, where you could stick your hands in an automatic washing-sink, using paper towels to dry your hands. Not sure if this was meant for staff or passengers. Another item missing in this food-serving area and outside all restrooms, were the Purell stands. We saw none. If they were there, we missed seeing them.

The aft pool area was really nice, surrounded with dozens of tables to dine outside. The pool had railings and stairs to make entry easy and much safer. The decking looked like "real" teak, but we are not certain it was the plastic imitation flooring. You know, the type that tends to burn your feet off.

We saw no lounges around the pool, but then, they may have been removed for the sail away later in the afternoon. There were two level above the pool full of lounges. We ran out of time to pass through the center pool area. Later we did talk to friends who hung around for the Lido to open. They had stayed for a quick lunch, even though we were supposed to be off the ship by then. No one was checking your room key to see if you were passengers on this ship, or on the Amsterdam.

We left by 11:30am, trading the guest card for our own room cards. It had been fun, and we were glad to have had the opportunity to see this new ship. Later in the day, we discussed the pros and cons with Henk, our Hotel Director. He was thrilled with the new build, and explained it from the corporate decision to make a ship such as this. It will fill a need in this part of the cruising world, appealing to a different clientele, competing with the mega-ships that are being christened by the dozens. No argument from any of us looking at that angle, but since all of the cruises on this new ship will be of a short duration, we doubt we would ever sail on her. As the Amsterdam gets older, we fear this family of ships will be faized out in time. We would hate to see this happen, as we love the ambience of the traditional HAL ships, and also the size of the Amsterdam. So much more like "home" to us. But that is just our humble opinion, but also a feeling shared by many of our buddies. Words used to describe the new ship were sterile hotel without a personality. Perhaps time will give it one…………Her next cruise of 12 days will take her to Greece, Turkey (Istanbul), Rhodes, Crete, Naples, and back to Rome.

On with the day, and some info on Italy. The country of Italy has 116,317 square miles with 58,126,212 Italian-speaking people. The capital is Rome, the eternal city, founded in 753BC, built on seven hills. There is so much history here, that it is hard to put it in a few words. There are magnificent monuments and masterpieces in Florence, Rome, and Venice. The dramatic cliffs of the Amalfi Coast, and the ruins of Pompeii gives a passion for travel that never gets dull.

The best time to visit is April, June, and September to avoid extreme crowds and summer heat.

Top things to see are ancient Rome with the Colosseum, the Forum, Palantine Hill, the Pantenon, and Vatican City. There are priceless masterpieces in Florence's Uffizi museum and statue of David at the Galleria dell'Accademia. Our first time visiting Italy was not what we had expected. Specifically the long lines and crowds at the major tourist sites. Good to know that without being in a group, chances of being able to see the spectacular sites in a timely manner was not good. Most of your day could end up waiting in lines. We sure are glad we were able to see the Trevi Fountain without being covered or fenced for restoration. Back then, we did throw the coin over our shoulder to ensure our return to the city. It worked………..

One of the best tours we did was a walking tour of the sites. The thing we remember well was avoiding the speeding vespas, and the little tennis shoe cars that ran you over. Other fabulous cities to explore are Naples, Lucca, Pisa, Florence, Milan, Venice, the Alps, Tuscany, and both Sardinia and Sicily.

What do they eat in Italy? How about tripe with potatoes, tomato, and pecorino cheese, t-bone steaks in Florence, and pizza in Naples…….one of the best in our opinion.

Trademarks are Renaissance art, ancient ruins, pizza, pasta, olive oil, espresso, and Pavaratti. Mad drivers, Vespas, and the world's best ice cream come to mind too.

Random fact: On average, 3000 Euro is tossed into the Trevi Fountain daily. Perhaps a bit less now that it is covered up for restoration work.

Since we have been into Rome and the outlying areas, we chose to stay in Civitavecchia. There were shuttles provided to take us from the massive port area to a designated bus stop in town. We had lots of company in the port with five cruise ships docked here today. Of course, we already described the Koningsdam with 99,500 gross tons and up to 2650 passengers. The next largest ship was CDF Croiseres de France, the Zenith with 1800 French-speaking passengers. Celebrity's Constellation was moored across from us with 2450 passengers, and one large Grimaldi ferry named cruise Ostra. But the one that took the prize today was MSC Fantasia at 138,000 gross tons and 4363 passengers. Combined with our passenger count of 800 plus, there were going to be a whole lots of tourists in this area today.

We walked the waterfront and found our way to the main street full of stores, restaurants, and museums. Up the hill and to the left, we ended up at the fish and meat markets. Downhill from there, was the flea market with all sorts of everyday items and some clothing and knock-off purses. We just looked, but bought nothing. The only thing we searched for were biscotti cookies, but they were sold out for the day. Many of the stalls were being gathered up to close for the afternoon siesta time.

Following our path back, we found the restaurant that we enjoy pizza every time we come here…..Restaurante da Vitale Bar and Pizzeria. Running into our buddies Greg, Heo, and Martha, we gave them directions to this unassuming café, and were pleased to find them there dining on clams, pasta, and pizza.

Taking the last of the tables for two outside on their patio, we ordered two margherita pizzas and two draft beers. They were wood-fired, thin-crusted, and simply delicious. We savored every bite. Sure was nice sitting in the warm sun with a fresh breeze, watching the world go by. With all of the ferry boats and cruise ships in the port, many folks were pushing or dragging suitcases from the nearby hotels. They don't hesitate to walk the distance to the cruise ship buses with their luggage.

On the way back, we stopped for ice cream, a must while in Italy. Got back to the ship on a bus meant for the Zenith folks. Friends Barb, Ellen, and Aart had taken this bus, and had the driver top to pick us up. The driver took us and some other folks all the way back to our ship, which saved us a lot of time. We were all exhausted after our busy day.

There was a special "sail away party" at 3:30pm, but not for us. We were wishing the Koningsdam passenger a fond farewell as they sailed out of the harbor one hour later than scheduled. We had the mini pizzas as they left the port. Hey, it worked for all of us. We could see florists Eddy and Calista waving from the top deck. They are missed here, but will be back at the end of the year we heard.

All but one showed up for dinner tonight. We all had various stories to share…..all fun stuff. No one had gone to the mime last night, but some did plan on going to hear the tribute to the Beatles this evening. Or not, as everyone had a long day here, and the fresh air and exercise had us all pooped.

Tomorrow's port will be Livorno, one place we have not stopped for many years.

Bill & Mary Ann

Celebrity's Constellation