Cruising the Mediterranean - Part 3 Sicily

Part 1

Part 2

On Monday morning, we arrived in the Port of Messina at 10am.  It's the 3rd largest city in Sicily and was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1908.  So, the architecture is more modern than you see elsewhere in the area.

Based on recommendations from others on CruiseCritic.com, we had pre-booked a private tour through Sicily with Mario.  Everything was handled via email and they were helpful and quick to respond.  We were joined by another couple that we met on the Roll Call and the four of us were quickly off with our Sicilian driver, Marcello. 

He showed us a few of the sights of Messina which is a vibrant port city. 

At noon, each day the clock tower chimes and all of the moving parts perform.  It's supposed to be quite special, but we didn't stay to see the performance.  We were heading along the coastline in an air-conditioned van to the picturesque town of Taormina.  It was about an hour drive.

Along the way, Marcello stopped at a beautiful overlook so that we could take some pictures.  He brought out some ice cold water and some lovely little pastries for us.  He was so sweet and took such good care.  He was a quiet man, but pointed out all of the important details and answered all of our questions.  

Taormina is a gorgeous little town on the Southern coast of Sicily.  Beautiful beaches, mountains, and ruins are nestled along the Ionian Sea.  Photographers, writers, and artists flocked to the area in the 19th century and made it a popular tourist destination.  Goethe and Capote both came to the area to write. 

Our driver took us up to the central area and dropped us off.  He made plans to meet us after an hour and a half of exploring.  We visited the Teatro Greco which was set up for a Film Festival.  We shopped for some pottery and stopped for a lemoncello gelato.  It was so good as the day was getting hotter. 

The streets are beautiful and dotted with plenty of cafes and shops.  We took our time exploring and taking pictures. 

The Sicilian pottery is spectacular!  All of the shopkeepers were friendly and helpful.  I wanted all of it!  I just love pottery.  I wish I could create something so beautiful.  We picked up a few small pieces created by a local artist. 

The crowds were starting to increase as the busloads from the ship started to arrive to the little village.  We stopped for a refreshing glass of local wine and Italian beer and then met up with our driver. 

We then zigzagged our way further up the mountain to the smaller town of Castelmola.  It's only about 10 minutes further up the mountain, but a lot quieter since the buses don't typically go up that far. 

We parked at the top and were treated to 360 degree views that were just breathtaking.  (Especially if you're afraid of heights.)

We explored just a little.  Most of the stores were already closed for siesta.  Marcello led us to a local restaurant for lunch. 

We ate out on the back balcony with a clear view of Mt. Etna which is one of the the most active volcanoes in the world.  It was sending up little puffs the whole time we were there.

The other couple with us was from Norway.  We had a terrific time getting to know them and after hearing them talk about Norway, we know it will be a future destination for us. 

I had my first taste of Spaghetti Carbonara.  It was so fresh and simple.  I had to pinch myself.  Here I was sitting on the side of a mountain in Sicily having this fantastic lunch with terrific company.  I had a moment. 

It was definitely a hot day with temperatures of almost 100F (38C).  July is probably not the most ideal time to visit the Mediterranean.  Be sure to wear light clothing and take plenty of water. 

That's one of the reasons we were glad we booked a small private tour.  We could set the pace and tweak the itinerary is we wanted.  And we were quick out of the gates to avoid the larger crowds.

The local kitties were all sprawled out napping on the stones, trying to keep cool. Several of us might have had a cat nap on the way back to Messina.  Full bellies and air-conditioning... you can't really blame us. 

Marcello dropped us off at Messina.  We paid him cash directly in Euros.  It was a very reasonable rate for a great day.  We made a quick stop for an authentic cannoli.  And after a few minutes walk we were back on the ship.  

Sicily was the perfect way to start off the adventure.  It's definitely on the Return for an Extended Stay List (but not in July).

Thanks again for following along.  I know it's probably more information than you want unless you are planning on taking the same cruise.  If so, I hope it helps you plan your trip.  Our next stop is Athens, Greece!

xoxo
Selena

Part 4

Part 5
Part 6

This is not a sponsored post.  All photographs are ours. 

Cruising the Mediterranean - Part 2

More about the Navigator of the Sea... continued from Part 1

The passenger make up on the Navigator was probably 40% Italian, 30% American and 30% other nationalities, particularly European.  All of the announcements and presentations were done in both English and Italian.  And some of the activities and entertainment seemed a little more geared toward a European audience. 

There is a massive casino on deck 4 but it never seemed to have more than a dozen people gambling at a time.  It's also a big smoking area. There is a disco, cigar bar, ballroom, ice skating rink and a large theater.

The entertainment was hit or miss.  They have some great dancers and singers.   The ice skating show was fantastic.  And the aerialist did things with her body that no one should be able to do.  Not the best entertainment we've seen but nothing to complain too much about.  Although I did almost walk out on crazy-clown-quick-change-pantomime guy.  I just didn't get him at all.

There were people of all ages... couples, singles and families.  Cruising is certainly no longer a pensioner's sport.  You can certainly find a ship that caters to your tastes and interests.

We had a balcony room on deck 5 close to the forward bank of elevators/stairs.  It was a great location and close to the promenade.  

The rooms are spacious with a king size bed and a sofa.  The bed and bedding is wonderful.

I just love sleeping on a cruise ship, although this time there was hardly any of that gentle rocking to help lull you to sleep.  We had calm seas all week.

The bathrooms are tiny and if my hips get any wider the shower could be a challenge.

There was a hairdryer in the room.  But, we did have a minor hair crisis when my straightener and curling iron wouldn't work.  The ship has US outlets and my UK stuff wouldn't heat up using our universal adapter.  A straight UK to US adapter might work better but we didn't have one.  So, it was on to Plan B...the curly look.  Luckily I had some Beach Babe wave spray that kept the frizz at bay.  Pretty much, anyway.

Our room steward was efficient and friendly.  One of the best things about cruising is the staff.  They are from all over the world and they work so hard.  They are friendly and interesting.  I hate to see passengers give them a hard time over the stupidest stuff.  We got particularly attached to our dining room staff.  They were so much fun. 

We had the 6:30 dinner seating at a table of ten.  We were seated with two of the nicest families.  A family with their teenage son from North Carolina and an English family with two teenagers and grandmother who are living in Spain.

We had so much fun with them.  In fact, we had reservations at one of the specialty restaurants on the last night that we canceled so we could spend more time with the group. 

The food was good.  It's obviously not cooked to order and can sometimes be salty.  But, you can tell they try very hard to give you a good meal with good service.  The appetizers are always excellent.  We usually order two.   I've even skipped an entree and just has 3 appetizers.

The grandmother at our table is originally from Jamaica.  She mentioned to a staff member that she was craving jerk chicken.  A few nights later they delivered four plates of it to our table.  The chef had made it specially for her.  You just can't beat service like that.  She was thrilled!

We had dinner one night at Chops Steakhouse which has an extra surcharge.  It was okay.  We also had burgers at Johnny Rocket's for an extra fee.  They were nummy! 

There is a limited room service menu that does not cost extra that you can access on your interactive TV in the room.  It's nice to pre-order breakfast for the next morning and eat on the balcony.  

There are several pools and hot tubs on the upper decks and even an adult only area.  Typically, we wear swimsuits everyday on a cruise, but not this time.  We stayed inside and enjoyed the AC. 

 

There is a rock climbing wall, goofy golf, volleyball, basketball, in-line skating, jogging track, a gym and a spa/salon.  If you get bored on a cruise, it's because you are just being difficult.  

There is also a peekaboo bridge where you can see into the control center of the ship.  If you do some exploring there is no telling what you will find.

It's beautiful and romantic up on deck in the evenings if you don't mind a little wind.  (By little, I mean hurricane force.)

There really is just nothing like cruising.  I absolutely love it and as soon as we get off of the ship we are dreaming about our next one.  Blue as far as the eye can see and so many interesting places to visit and wonderful people to meet (not to mention the shopping). 

At 5pm on Sunday, we celebrated Sail Away with a toast up on deck and headed South with not a cloud in sight.  

 Next stop... Messina, Sicily.  Stay tuned. 

xoxo

Selena  

Part 3 - Sicily
Part 4 - Athens
Part 5 - Ephesus 
Part 6 - Kusadasi

btw... this is not a sponsored post.  If anyone would like to send me on a cruise, then by all means contact me.  I'll be happy to oblige.  

All pics taken by me or TE on the Nikon D90.  

Cruising the Mediterranean - Part 1

So, where does a woman with a mild fear of heights, water and social situations go for a vacation?
Well, on a cruise, of course!  

Throw in a flight to the port when she has a paralyzing fear of flying

and you have a winning combination, my friend. 

Actually, I absolutely LOVE cruising!

My first was in '06 and I was instantly hooked.  I've cruised out of  Texas with Carnival four times to the Caribbean. TE has also done several Caribbean cruises on Carnival, so last year for our first cruise together we decided to try Royal Caribbean from Puerto Rico for  7 nights to the Eastern Caribbean.  We had a wonderful time and found something we both love.

With only a few weeks before TE starts his job, we decided, what the hell... instead of sitting around waiting we would book a cruise on this side of the pond.  I'll recap our trip over the next few posts and try to give you a few cruise tips along the way.

We decided on the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Sea for their 7 night Eastern Mediterranean itinerary.  The cruise includes stops in Sicily, Greece, Turkey and Crete with 2 days at sea.

We find cruising the perfect way to travel to several different areas.  You get on board, unpack your bags and wake up each morning with some new, wonderful location to explore.

It's a good opportunity to experience a few places where you wouldn't want to spend more than a day.  And also a chance to find a few places that grab you and implore you to return for a more extended stay. 

Here is my biggest cruise tip:  If you're considering a cruise, make the Cruise Critic website your very first stop.  This website has more information on cruising than you can imagine.  You can read about every cruise line and every ship.  Be sure to sign up for the forums.  They provide a wealth of information from other cruisers.  From details about specific rooms to what to wear... everything you need to know. 

We flew from Heathrow to Rome's Fiumicino Airport.  The flight was uneventful other than my usual heavy breathing and whimpering.  The heavy breathing might have been because I chose Fifty Shades of Grey for my vacation read.  The whimpering was definitely because I HATE FLYING. Have I mentioned that I hate flying?

I almost had another panic attack when I visited the ladies room at the Rome airport.  Yikes, it was stinky and apparently they've cut out the toilet seat budget this year.

We quickly passed through customs and gathered our bags.  Because TE has an British passport, we bypassed the extremely long lines for non-EU passengers.  If you have US or non-EU passport be sure to leave yourself additional time to get through customs. 

CruiseCritic.com also has a Roll Call on the forums where you can meet other people that will be on your cruise.  This is how we arranged for our transport from Rome to the dock at Civitavecchia.  We shared a taxi with two other couples and paid half of what we would have paid for the ship transfer.

I'll share more about our stops and shore excursions in future posts, but for now let's just focus on the ship.  

The Navigator of the Seas is one of Royal Caribbean's Voyager Class and at 138,000 tons is one of their larger ships.  She carries a crew of 1,100 and sails with 3,100 passengers.  She was launched in 2002 and is currently covering both the Mediterranean and Caribbean during a portion of each year.  

She is a beautiful ship with plenty to see and do.  You'll find lots of space and will rarely feel crowded.

However, we've decided that we  prefer the smaller ships and will likely never cruise on one of the new mega ships.  The smaller ships feel more intimate and it's easier to get to know the staff and other cruisers.  We usually come away with a few new social media friends, but that's harder on a larger ship.   We didn't connect with as many other cruisers as usual.

Some of that may also be due to the different crowd found in Europe compared to the U.S. as well as the locations visited.  We found the Caribbean cruises to be a little more relaxed and festive.   A little more chillin' on a beach versus exploring ancient ruins.  Not worse, just different.

The Navigator is aging a bit, so there is some wear and tear but you really have to look for it.  And some of the decor is starting to look a little outdated.  I believe she is due for a dry dock and some minor updating soon.   But we really have no complaints about the ship or the staff.  The space is engaging and open.  There is always something to do or someplace quiet to hide away.

There are 15 decks and a long promenade running through the center of the ship on deck 5. It's like a floating mall. 

The promenade includes a cafe, shops, a pub and wine bar.  You'll notice the windows above the shops.  You can get rooms with a Promenade view which comes in handy for the parades and parties that they have in this large area. 

We were excited about the pub, but it's one of the few areas that they allow smoking so we ended up only visiting once and increasing our pace as we passed by.  The two beers on tap were Amstel Light and Heineken with a large number of world beers available in a bottle. 

There are several other bars throughout the ship and plenty of places to have a cocktail.   I've mentioned that alcohol pours in the UK are regulated.  Well, let me tell you, they are not regulated on board this ship.  My gin & tonic was more like a gin with a tonic bottle passed over the top of it just for flare.

I'll also mention that while food is included in the price of your cruise, sodas, beer, wine and cocktails are not and they can add up quickly.  The average drink on this cruise was about $10 USD including a 15% gratuity.  When you get on board, they give you a plastic swipe card to use as your room key.  It's also used to charge all of your additional items while you are on-board.  You settle up at the end of your cruise.

If you want to be all responsible and stuff by keeping track of your on-board expenditures, you can use the interactive feature on your TV to check your balance each day.  Or to make things more exciting, you can wager with your spouse as to how much it will be in the end and wait until the last day to see who is closer.   (I'd like to reassure my parents and in-laws that we kept track of our expenditures each day.  ::nodding head::  Definitely. ::shaking head::)

To be continued... Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

xoxo

Selena  

btw... this is not a sponsored post.  If anyone would like to send me on a cruise, then by all means contact me.  I'll be happy to oblige.  

All pics taken by me or TE on the Nikon D90.