A Trip of Many Firsts (very detailed, Med Cruise)UPDATED 3/8

[amyren]

I'm reading. Getting ideas for our cruise in June. Looking forward to more updates.

 

[akluss]

I am so happy you are continuing with this report. I can't stop thinking about our wonderful European Magic cruise and I enjoy reliving it any way I can! Also, I know last year when I was planning our excursions I looked for any information I could get about the ports. I think you have inspired me to do a short report about what we did at each stop to help out the lucky people going on the cruise this summer. Looking forward to more of your report.

I hope your husband is doing well and is safe in Iraq. Karyn

 

[Kaleigh]

Karyn, Amy and JoJo, thank you so much for reading and commenting. James is doing well and is over half way done with his time there.

Naples Continued-

So we pick up after dodging Naples traffic, some unsavory looking characters and bags of trash on the sidewalk. We finally arrive at the Archaeology Museum. One more note about getting around Naples....this year when we go back, we are investing in some quality maps. I urge anyone who is traveling to Europe to do the same. Actually, my plan is to convince my husband that I need an ipad, and save some good, zoomed in, maps to it and carry it around.

The museum is not expensive, especially compared to some of the other museums we will visit (I think 6 euros a piece maybe) After finding a restroom (again, no seats), we head down a hall and encounter one amazing sculpture after another. It is in this museum that we realize that we both enjoy sculpture more than paintings. And you could walk right up to them, take pictures (at least no one told us not to ) and theoretically touch them. (Though we didn't and they probably discourage this ) In the US, these treasures would be behind ropes or glass. This museum is HUGE and really great. It is a do-not-miss for the Naples area. I think it is criminal that there are no Disney ship excursions that visit this museum.
Two exhibits were closed during this visit which I had to figure out by asking guards. Now, on this trip, I know exactly 4 Italian words: grazie (thank you), scusi (excuse me), buongiorno (good day) and dove (where is). Luckily, the Italian people are extremely generous, especially if you try to speak a little. So armed with my words, I go up to a guard to ask about a mosaic of Alexander the Great which is very famous from Pompeii and is in this museum. "Dove Alexander?" ..."Chiuso" is the answer. Closed for renovations.
Now, after watching Rick Steves travel videos, we learned that there is a secret room in this museum with all of the "dirty" art from Pompeii. You must ask a guard to go into this room, and children are not allowed. Intriguing, no? And, of course it is my responsibility to ask the guard, armed with my four words. I gather up my courage and "dove erotica Pompeii?" is my best attempt. Stifling a giggle, the guard replies "chiuso" and we move on. (I have already searched the website, and the exhibits are both reopened for this year!) We take a few final pictures, and head out back into the craziness of Naples.

 

[Kaleigh]

More Naples!

We head back out into the city and start walking toward and through the old part of the city (what?! it gets older than what we have seen?) I convince James that we should stop for gelato, and that turned out to be a great idea. Just for reference, when you order gelato, try to order in Italian. Look at their menu and cone descriptions. If you just walk in and ask for a gelato, you are ripe for ripoff. I order 2 (due) medium cones (cono medio) and we only pay 4 euros. I have heard horror stories about tourists paying 8 or 10 euros for this huge monstrosity that they didn't really want, all because they didn't know what to ask for. Another thing, you first go to the cash register, order the size and number and pay. They give you a receipt and then you go to the guy who is scooping. He will say "me dica" or "prego" and will expect you to select 2 flavors for each cone or cup. James and I randomly select flavors and he comes out ahead, having ordered something super tasty. Both of us enjoy our gelato and decide that it isn't a day in Italy if you don't eat gelato. (Since the trip, I have researched various flavors and am ready with my order when I go back: stracciatella is like chocolate chip and bacio is like nutella, yum!)
We make our way to the Galleria Umberto, and while most of the stores are closed, it does not matter. This is a mall?

Here is the ceiling

After gawking for an appropriate amount of time, we step out the door and see our ultimate destination and cross the Piazza del Plescibito off our list.

 

[Elfinjojo]

Glad to hear that your husband is doing well on his tour of duty and hope he is safely home with you soon.

We enjoyed Pompeii as part of a DCL tour. It was just me and the two children as DH decided he wanted to trek up Vesuvius, so we split for the day. We were suitably impressed, but couldn't believe how crowded the place was with so many tour partys. We had a great guide though who using a wisper mic system was able to tell us great tales with lots of humour. My daughter loves history and was walking right up front with the guide while I hung back a bit with my son and I could hear her chatting away to him about all sorts of things

Its incredible to think that we were walking the streets and tripping over the cobbles that the Romans once walked. I was born and brought up in a Roman City over here in the UK but the history wasn't so obvious there, so this was truely remarkable to me.

I would love to have seen other parts of Naples but that is for another time.

 

[clayfolks]

I just found your trip report and spent the evening reading it. Thank you for coming back to it. I can't wait to read more!

Sue

 

[talie]

Count me in as another person who is glad you restarted your report. It really makes me want to visit these places.

 

[sissy_ib]

I just found your report a few hours ago and am loving it! I am doing the 7 night Med in August and cant wait! Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Kaleigh]

Sue, tallie and sissy: I am so glad you found my trip report and are enjoying it. It definitely helps to know that people are reading it.
If anyone is planning a med cruise trip and has any questions, please feel free to PM me. I would be more than happy to help with whatever I can.
On with the report...

So back on the boat, I am drawing a blank. I know we ate on deck like most days, but I am looking through the navigator and nothing is ringing a bell. Maybe we napped. That would not be shocking considering how much walking we did that day. The only thing that was happening in the big theatre that night was "Disney Oceans" which I could not care less about. That evening in Rockin Bar D's was just a concert by the "Right Stuff" and I have no idea if we saw them this time. (I kinda doubt we did, in preparation for our Rome day tomorrow), but I will take this time to say a little bit about the "Right Stuff".

The Right Stuff is a musical group which basically plays music all over the ship whenever Disney needs something to plug into a blank spot. There were 5 of them:2 girls and 3 guys and they would play in various combos which almost always included at least 1 of the girls. The girls sang, but didn't play any instruments and the guys sang backup and some lead songs and played all the instruments. I know, nothing interesting yet, but believe me when I tell you they were amusing. Often, they attempting songs way too big or difficult, and often they were stuck playing in the Promenade Lounge which, if you have ever been on a Disney cruise is a weirdly shaped lounge which is open to a very popular walkway and is usually deserted. They set up board games in the lounge from time to time and hold the occasional trivia contest, but this is NOT a hopping place. So usually at least once a day, you would walk by this lounge and see 2 or 3 of the "Right Stuff" jamming out, obviously wishing to be shot rather than playing music for no one or the 2 people that were sitting there. And who were the 2 people?!? James and I, of course. We decided to start trying to catch them whenever we could, just for the unintended humor. (I know this is slightly mean-spirited, but at least they had an audience and we did not laugh or make fun of them to their faces) One girl was drop dead gorgeous varied between getting really into a difficult song like Lady Marmalade and blanking on the words to an Elton John song. There was a guy who played keyboard for her almost every time and I kid you not, the looks he was giving her, you could believe that he despised her. Most guys would be at least peeking over at her as she shimmied, not him. Stone faced and bored or obviously agitated, he did not give her the time of day. Maybe they dated previously or maybe he was gay or maybe he wanted to be the lead singer instead of her (we caught him singing Michael Jackson once, and he was really great). Either way, it made for interesting "concerts". The other girl was just slightly big (like my size) and wore clothes that were wayyyy to tight. She was usually extremely confident, dancing and slightly sexual. The other background guys blended mostly, and perhaps this whole description has been overkill, but there are few things that make me smile like remembering "The Right Stuff". Oh, to be back on the boat, listening to their tribute to ABBA...

 

[Kaleigh]

Rome!!!

Actually, Civitavechhia, but there you can find the train to Rome. We are up at the crack of dawn and are literally the third and fourth people off the boat. How do we know? Because our tablemates, Eliza and Maynard are on the port bus when we hop on and they were 1 and 2. Did we meet our most compatible tablemates or what? Seriously, if there was a couples eHarmony, Eliza and Maynard would be our match. The bus which takes you from the boat to the gate is free and great. The four of us get off the bus, cross the street and walk the couple of blocks to the train station. (Super easy to find, by the way) We go in and each purchase our BIRG ticket which is 9 euros and allows you unlimited travel to Rome, the return trip and, get this... in and around Rome on the metro and buses. It is a super value and amazingly convenient. After hanging out on the wrong platform for a few minutes (not missing the train or anything), we figure out the right one and get on the train. There are several stops in Rome, but we are starting at the Colosseum, so we take it all the way to the Termini station where we can catch the metro.
At the Termini station, we pay to use the restroom (35 cents, I think) which is clean and has seats. Then we take the metro 2 stops south to the Colosseum stop. This metro is probably the least nice one I have been on. It reminds me of the really old New York subways, and it is crowded! Men, wear a money belt. Women, wear a purse across your body and keep your hands on it. (Just as you would do on a crowded New York subway) Walking up from the metro, when you reach the top, there is the Colosseum across the street. Really surreal. It looks like every picture you have ever seen, but it is odd to be seeing it in person. We decide to take Rick Steves' advice and purchase our tickets at the Palatine Hill gate instead of standing in the long line at the Colosseum. After getting lost by taking a wrong turn up a hill and meeting another American couple doing the same thing, we find the ticket office and purchase our combo ticket with no trouble. (The Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and Colosseum are included. You can purchase Colosseum or Forum/Hill separately) We trek back to the Colosseum and see that the Disney tour groups have arrived. We head on in and honestly, it feels like entering a modern sports stadium. It is amazing how similar the structure is to what we have now. We explore the different levels and follow the Rick Steves tour, but it is the sort of thing where you go in and see it and that's it. If you already know the history, which we do, there isn't much new to gather. It looks like it does on TV. As much as it may be hard to believe, if I had to suggest something for people to skip going inside in Rome, it would be this. I doubt we'll visit the interior again until Veronica is with us. It is neat, but that is it.

So, not a disappointment, but believe me... our day will be definitely going up from here.

 

[mkmommy]

Another person pleased your are finishing your report, the Magic is heading back to the Med soon

Question on the train to Rome, if you were the first people off the ship did you make it to the station by 8:00 AM and in Rome by around 9:00-9:30? and were the trains crowded.

 

[akluss]

great updates. Rome was my favorite stop on the cruise. I know what you mean about the Coliseum. When we pulled up in front of it I was about to jump out of my skin I was so excited to see it, it is one of the iconic symbols of the world. The inside is interesting, but we spent less than an hour in there and that was plenty of time to get an understanding of the place. Of course we took tons of pictures both inside and out and these are some of my favorites of the trip. Looking forward to more of your Rome report. Karyn

 

[Smiling Tink]

Loved reading about your trip! Can't wait to read the rest of the story.

 

[Kaleigh]

Hey readers! What is the one thing that can spur me into action on my trip report? The procrastination of cleaning in preparation for my parents' visit... So here we go with more ROME!!!

After the Colosseum....
We head back down to Palatine Hill. The original plan was just to go straight to the Forum, but James sees a sign for the house of Augustus Caesar (pointing up a hill, mind you) and decides that he needs to see it. Apparently Caesar kept a fairly modest house on this hill throughout his emperor-ship rather than building an enormous palace like those who would come after him. After climbing a hill I was not physically prepared to climb, we followed several paths around and finally came to the ruins of his house. It isn't a whole lot to look at, being a modest house and all, but just think. This is the Caesar that made the proclamation saying all Jews had to be registered to pay taxes, making certain that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. I have heard about this guy since I was a kid, now I am seeing his house. Unbelievable. Now, as much as I hate being in a tour group, here is where a guide would have come in handy. Palatine Hill is a big bunch of ruins that are very difficult to distinguish from one another. We did take pictures of his house and marvel at the fact that it is still (mostly) standing. We would go back to Palatine Hill, but here are some considerations...
It is not at all crowded, so that is super nice. It feels like you have all these ruins to yourself. You can see the Circus Maximus from there(you know, the chariot race place) It is spread out, so it requires more time than the Forum. Get a guide or a good map explaining everything.
Back down the hill to the Forum...
There are 3 big arches in the area. One is next to the Colosseum, one is at the beginning of the Forum and one is at the end. (Arch of Constantine, Arch of Titus, Arch of Septimus Severus (like Harry Potter ) To get an idea of how big these thing are, here is me standing in front of the pedestal for one of the legs.

Yep, these things are huge. The Forum is amazing. It is everything you hope Rome to be. Using Rick Steves' guide, we rambled around, taking pictures until our camera battery died. In the Forum. Before the Pantheon and St. Peters. Ugh. Will be charging it constantly now. Do try to get a good guidebook or guide before you go to the Forum. It will make everything have more meaning. One of the coolest things was seeing where Julius Caesar was cremated. It is this rock that has flowers on it inside a "temple". Wow. I mean Julius Caesar like the play right here. Before the time of Jesus. Super cool.
The Forum is between 2 hills, so to get out of the back, more stairs. But, you are rewarded with an amazing view at the top of Capitoline Hill. More to come!

 

[tdizzle]

I hope everything is going well for you and James, I just found your TR and have been avoiding housework this am by reading it. Thank you so very much for sharing with us!

Terri

 

[Kaleigh]

Thanks Terri! Glad you found us!

More Rome-
At the top of Capitoline Hill, we wish we had more time so that we could visit the museum, but we are people on a mission today and the next stop is the Pantheon. As we walk down the stairs to the street, to the right we can see the Victor Emmanuel monument which is ENORMOUS. Bigger than you can imagine and pretty impressive. But, we press on. Through the back streets of Rome, across piazzas, again risking our lives by crossing streets, Rome is captivating. History surrounds you, but it doesn't feel seedy like Naples yet it has more pulsating energy than what we will discover in Florence. (Next day coming eventually.) I think I could spend weeks in Rome and never get bored. Seriously, it could possibly be the best city in the world to visit for James and I as far as the amount of things to do which perfectly coincide with what we like to do. (If that makes sense) I am trusting James to get us to the Pantheon, doubting his navigational skills, when suddenly we come to the back of a very old building. In a trench. Building is round. Hmmm. Yep, it is our destination.
Now, if you don't already know, the Pantheon is the oldest building in constant use since antiquity. So it looks great and old at the same time. It is so cool how you kind of have to walk down a slope to get to it because it is so old that centuries of Rome has been built up around it. It is free, which is awesome, and is just so interesting. I mean, Brunellesci came here to try to figure out how to build a dome for Florence's duomo which Michaelangelo later copied here at St Peters and we now have on our Capitol Building. All modern domes began here. Church has been held here for centuries. First, worshiping all gods (hence Pantheon which means all gods), then as a Christian (Catholic) church until this very day. The famous hole in the roof is even more intriguing in person and the columns outside would take 3 people holding hands to encircle one.
After the Pantheon, it is time for lunch (remember the schedule) at a nearby Rick Steve's recommended pizzaria. And I can't find it, even with a map. What do I do? Of course, I bust out my four Italian words to ask some Italian men standing around in trench coats for directions. (Dove...?) They point us in the correct direction and we find Pizzeria Zaza. In Italy, you often order pizza by the weight or etto which are then cut into squares of the proper weight. (And pepperoni isn't spicy sausage. It a pepper.) Again, I order, employing my phenomenal language skills thanks to Rick Steves (due etto, un etto) but mainly by pointing to what we want. (By the way, due etto is a nice good portion. Un etto is good if you just want a snack or don't usually eat much) I think we paid more for our Cokes than we did for our pizza. It was pretty good, not like the previous day, but not disappointing. We were mainly thrilled by how cheap it was. (Less than 10 euros for all of it)
After lunch, we head out in the direction of St Peters, accidentally find Piazza Navona (really cool place with amazing Bernini fountains. wish we had spent more time here) Our reservation for the Vatican museum was getting somewhat closer and, after taking a wrong turn, we happen on a bus that is going right where we need it to be. (Bus number 68) The cool thing is that, remember our bus rides are covered by our BIRG pass that we bought back in Civitavecchia. And we are off!
More to come...

 

[Elfinjojo]

Thanks for the further update on Rome.
We did Rome with a DCL tour, but found it very restricting in what we actually saw. We managed the Trevi fountain, Colluseum and Vatican city- all very impressive but would have loved the opportunity to wander round and see other parts . Dh and I are hoping to make a return trip for a weekend in Rome to see it our way!

keeping an eye out for the next update

 

[Kaleigh]

Another person pleased your are finishing your report, the Magic is heading back to the Med soon

Question on the train to Rome, if you were the first people off the ship did you make it to the station by 8:00 AM and in Rome by around 9:00-9:30? and were the trains crowded.

Yes, we were at the station prior to 8. Think we actually took the 7:50 train (?) And we were at Rome certainly by 9:30. The train got progressively more crowded the closer we got to Rome, but since we already had seats, we were good. Civitavecchia is the end of the line for that train, which helps with going. Coming back, however...

 

[Kaleigh]

More Rome/ Vatican-

I know, I am way too slow with the updates. But, I just found out today that James is coming home early by about 2 or 3 weeks, so I need to finish!

Correction- the bus was number 64 to get to St. Peter's. The buses tend to be crowded and tourist filled, so just be smart about your purse/wallet etc.

So, the bus reaches our destination, and we walk around a corner to see St. Peter's. Wow. The size of the piazza cannot really be described, and the church is so big, you can't really take it all in from any perspective in the square. We head around the side to the Vatican museum and walk right in, due to our reservations that we had made on line. I must say, it didn't appear to be super crowded anyway, but the reservations did give me peace of mind. We stopped a the gift shop because I wanted a rosary from the Vatican and for a few other items. Then, we headed up.
Being a Rick Steves devotee, I knew ahead of time that unless we wanted to walk all the way back around the building at the end of the tour, we needed to go ahead and see the Pinacoteca (Picture Gallery) which is normally visited at the end. It was a little weird going against traffic to see the paintings, but well worth it later on. (I will explain later) The paintings were good, but the only really impressive one was Rafael's Transfiguration which I have seen in books etc many times. After that, we went back to the beginning and started our tour through civilization starting with Egypt.
This is a world class museum and is AMAZING. The only problem is that everything is so important and interesting, that you start feeling the need to skip things or see things fast in order to avoid burnout before the Rafael rooms and the Sistine Chapel. It is hard to explain, but my brain felt like it was going to burst from overload by that point, and it is a shame because those things are so good, I really wanted to focus on them. But I couldn't. By that point, it was like "uh huh, uh huh, okay." My advice, get a good guidebook of the museum before you go and highlight specific things that you know you want to see. We love sculpture, so we should have just seen the mummies, then headed on over to the sculptures like Laocoon (a Greek original) which inspired Michaelangelo, then breezed through to the Rafael rooms and the Chapel. Don't take your time with this entire museum. See what is important to you and move on.
Okay, that said, let's skip on to the Sistine Chapel. Words don't do it justice, so I won't try, but here is the important thing I was talking about earlier... There is a door marked "tour groups only" which will lead you out right next to the entrance for St. Peters instead of having to go all the way back up through the picture gallery and around the building. This was a great shortcut and I would suggest it to everyone. No one said anything to us about going through it, but if you are nervous, follow a tour group through it.
St. Peter's was next and is, again, difficult to describe. It is so huge and breathtaking. We were also a little on art overload at this point, so I don't think we were able to appreciate all the art like we might could have. We plan to go back this year, and I expect to enjoy it more with a clearer head. But, it was very emotional for me to be at the center of the most beautiful church in the world and know that it was also my church. (I am a fairly recent convert, so it is all somewhat new to me) We prayed in a chapel for a bit, and then headed out to see if we could find the crypt.
The crypt is to the right of the church on the outside, next to the baggage check and the line to climb the tower. Signs might also say the "grotto". Multiple popes and saints are buried here, as well as John Paul II and you can catch a glimpse of the tomb of St. Peter. It was a very peaceful, moving experience. (A note for this year, John Paul II is being moved to a chapel in the church due to his beatification.)
We headed back out to the square and it began raining. After this incredibly full day, and with our minds still muddled from all the art, we decide to head on back to the ship via Santo Pietro train stop. Unfortunately, it was 4:30 in the afternoon and we had to wait several stops until we were able to actually get a seat on the train.
Back in Civitavecchia, we pass a gelato shop and decide that it is the perfect time for gelato. I get stracciatella (chocolate chip) and I cannot remember what James got because I was in such heaven. We headed across the street to where the buses pick up passengers and enjoyed our gelato in the rain until our trip back to the ship.
What a crazy, lovely day in Rome! I can't wait to return.

 

[TimeforMe]

I very rarely post on trip reports, but felt compelled to tell you how much I am enjoying yours in the hope that you will continue on until the end. DH and I are considering this same cruise (unbeknownst to him, of course) so I am grateful for this information and all the details.

Can't wait for the next installment.