Roma! What can I say? It is wonderful! Rome is one and
a half hours from the port
of Civitavecchia. If you're only there for a day, you won’t have enough time to see everything,
so get to the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, St. Peter’s Basilica, the
Sistine Chapel and the Vatican
Museum if you can.
We
took one of the ship’s tours on one of our Med cruises and were not
disappointed. We saw all of the sites
and had a traditional Italian lunch complete with wine! I was so enchanted that I asked the maitre d’
for a souvenir book of matches and he gave me a bottle of Chianti, saying “For
you… Come Back to Roma, Ciao” and then a big hug and kisses on both
cheeks. We enjoyed the Chianti on our
balcony later that evening while listening to Andrea Bocelli’s “Con Te Partiro"!
On our most recent visit, we stayed in Rome for several days prior to our cruise. Rome is a very walkable city, but you will
need a map, which you can obtain from most hotels. There are several hop-on hop-off buses that
will give you a great overview.
You've likely discerned that I am somewhat of a foodie. I MUST try local cuisine when we travel. Although Rome is not known for its cuisine, we had some great food there. House wines are generally really good. However, a lesson that I learned is that if the restaurant has pictures of the menu items posted, then don't go there! The pizzas were frozen and the food was not great. We were wandering around Piazza Navona and stopped in for a quick lunch and serenade (yes!)... the serenade was great, but not so much the lunch!
We use RomeCabs for transportation
from the airport to our hotel (pre cruise) and then from the hotel to the pier.
They were prompt and efficient. They also do private tours in Rome and were recommended on cruisecritic. Contact Stefano at romecabs@yahoo.com
Napoli! There's lots to see and do from the port of Naples. The Isle of Capri, the gorgeous Amalfi Coast, the ruins of Pompeii, wining and dining, beautiful ceramics, and more! The Amalfi Coast is one of my favorite destinations.
The
first time we were in Naples, we took the ship’s
tour which included Pompeii, Sorrento
and Capri.
Be sure to see Pompeii;
there is nothing like it in the world. The
Isle of Capri is beautiful! It was a
full day but we saw a lot. We had lunch
in a wonderful restaurant in Sorrento
and I remember the waiter serving me profiteroles for dessert and saying
“Amore” while he did so. Ah, Italy. Another time when we were in Naples,
we once again took a ship’s tour which included an olive and lemon farm. We saw how olive oil is made. We were served a light lunch of Italian
cheeses, salami, wine, and limoncello!
Delightful!
On our next visit to the area, we
did an independent tour of the Amalfi Coast with two other couples. We saw Amalfi, Positano, Ravello, and had a
wonderful Italian lunch in a charming local family-owned restaurant overlooking
the sea. The lunch was a family style
tasting menu and included wine and all flavors of limoncello. I bought some beautiful pottery, some
watercolor paintings, and, of course, limoncello.
Here's a photo of me in Positano with Roberto, our guide:
And when we were there again...
Our tour was Sorrento and Amalfi Drive and it was perfect
for us, since we had already visited Capri and Pompeii. Our guide was excellent, one of the best we have had. In
Sorrento Ken found a doctor - an Italian sculpture, a piece of art for
our home! The doctor is an anesthesiologist, so it's a perfect fit!
Quite intricate and beautiful. The landscape of olives, lemons,
grapes, kumquats, artichokes, and capers is terraced and breathtakingly beautiful. We
had lunch overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in Amalfi. Divine -- first a
glass of champagne, then cannaloni filled with spinach and ricotta, followed by chicken breast stuffed with mozzeralla and topped
with pomodora sauce... dessert was sponge cake filled with -- of course
lemon sauce- and strawberries.... the white wine was flowing! Amalfi
is beautiful and the hair pin curves along the Amalfi Drive can be
terrifying! Most cars that we saw had no side view mirrors because they
had been stripped off when meeting other vehicles - the road is VERY
narrow... but the scenery is breathtaking. I could live in Italy very
easily!
When we again docked in Naples two years ago, we decided to wander around and explore Naples since we had done most everything else. I would not recommend doing this. It was dirty and pickpockets were everywhere. I had been hoping to go on a self-mapped pizza tour to sample the famous pizza from Naples... but this did not happen! We enjoyed our pizza back onboard Celebrity Silhouette. So my advice is to take a tour here, either private or ship's tour. I think you will have a much better day!
