Renée's Camera Gear added 6/30: 05-28-2011:Where In The World... 11-Night Med Cruise

[DVC2042]

Enjoying your report. We leave Los Angeles in 22 days 23 hours and 9 minutes for our July 9 Med Cruise!

PA

How cool is that... July 9th is my B-Day!
Have a fantastic time!! (Malta should be quite 'toasty' by mid-July) They told us by August it get's into the 40's (105+F)

 

[DVC2042]

We are enjoying your report. We live in Matthews, NC and will be on the June 18th Med. Cruise.

Hope you didn't book through JFK for your flights... we had an absolute disaster on the return trip Charlotte (we live in Concord) that includes sleeping in the airport. I'm a few days away in the trip reports from those posts.

Have an exciting and wonderful time... we had the time of our lives!

 

[jessrose18]

lovin the report!

 

[DVC2042]

lovin the report!

Thanks! MALTA is next... watch this space

 

[DVC2042]

I was*so* excited to visit this location. The place has an amazing history that dates back before the pyramids at least 5,200BC!
Here’s a rather nice write-up on the islands: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta
I liked this picture of a prehistoric pygmy elephant (oxymoron)
Malta is a part of the European Union since 2003 and Maltese and English are both national languages. As our guide told us on the way to see the Blue Grotto “93% of all Maltese people speak English, the other 7% are foreigners”

Approaching the ‘Big Island’ of Malta 7:00am and hazy




Here’s a map of the spectacularly huge port area. The red pin shows where we docked, it’s quite a site as we entered and exited the port.

The Port of Malta seen from the aft/starboard side of the Disney Magic.


Here we are in port and stopped at 8:10am local ship’s time on Monday May 30th. This is provided on the in-room ship’s position monitor:

This is displayed 24hrs a day on one of the TV channels in each room. I tried to remember and capture a shot each day as we arrived in port.
There’s Tunis off to the left, our ‘lost port’… sad not to see the ruins of Carthage. We we close enough to it overnight that my mobile phone picked up the service from the mainland for awhile.

++++++++++++++++++++

Today’s Port Adventure is a trip to the Blue Grotto and then off to a ‘typical fishing village’ (Adult Only Departure)
I should mention here that Renee and I have been going to Disney World ‘as adults’ for 10 years and we really love it. We are fortunate enough to live about 9 hours driving distance and went down the ‘slippery slope’ of DVC (Disney Vacation Club) back in 2003. This cruise was paid for with 1 1/2 years of vacation points so that’s pretty awesome! We have taken some friends with us to the parks “as adults” who have young kids and they agree it’s a whole different experience! One of the joys we have found aboard the ship is that if you don’t want to be around kids… you won’t be hardly at all. The Adult-Only areas of the ship are great and the ability to isolate sound from one part of the boat to another is nothing short of amazing. Most of the kids are off having fun all day in the Oceanears Club. We’ve spoken to many parents aboard that tell us the kids check in there in the morning and they don’t see ‘em again until dinner/Showtime and then they go right back.
So, we booked ‘Adult Only Departures’ wherever possible and we did not have to contend with strollers keeping up.
After about 30 minutes of bus ride, we arrive at a scenic overlook near Wied iz-Zurrieq, allowing us to look down on part of the Blue Grotto area. There’s also a sign advising “TODAY THE BOATS ARE RUNNING”
Be advised! These are open, outboard motor boats that seat 8 people max. If the seas are running, the boats will not be. Be prepared to be disappointed if you take this tour as it sounds as though it’s a 50/50 proposition… our native guide was happily surprised to find the boats running!!

While standing at the overlook, I was able to shoot this itty bitty island off on the horizon since the day was so clear. Shot with an effective 300mm lens, this is the smallest island of the Malta group.

The overlook itself:






And what we could see from it:


Then it was off to the town and access to the protected cove to load up the boats and adventure out to see the caves carved out by the sea:
Here’s a three-step zoom-view from the water back up to the overlook (double-click the pics to see them zoomed up to full size):

Here’s a quick bit ‘o video at one of the six grottos… it doesn’t do justice to the experience… strongly recommended!!


The Blue Grotto Sneak Peak: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SEk2YJBkCF8

So we thoroughly enjoyed that adventures, climbed out of the boats, walked up a steep hill where I captured this candid photo:

While we caught a (provided) bite to eat and a welcome drink, I spotted this salty dog and his spotty dog


So now it’s off to the second half of our day in the fishing village of Marsaxlokk with a whopping 3,200 +/- people

What a great little slice of life. Renee and I really enjoy going to the smaller, less travelled locales. There’s so much to see and a lot of culture to soak up.
I particularly appreciated the local banking hours:



Here’s a brief pan of the picturesque waterfront of Marsaxlokk. Notice (once the clicking of a certain person’s massive camera stops) how wonderfully quiet it is. I particularly like the fisherman repairing his net right at the end.

Marsaxlokk, Malta in late May 2011 during a Disney Magic cruise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeV3NoYLeb0&feature=player_embedded

After about an hour touring the town, we head back to our floating hotel…

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Disney Magic, seen through the buildings near the Port in Malta as we returned from the day’s adventures:




End of the day and we settled into Sessions for some mellow tunes and vodka on the rocks as we sail away to our next Port of Call – Sicily… good night!

 

[keenercam]

I am loving your trip report! The pictures are wonderful! Thank you for sharing!

 

[DVC2042]

I am loving your trip report! The pictures are wonderful! Thank you for sharing!

^^^^^^^^^ WooHoo 4 You! Have a blast, it's an awesome city and a spectacular cruise

 

[DVC2042]

Disney Magic makes a rapid departure from the Malta Port
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEyZiXWVqyI&feature=player_embedded

PS: Now you know what the second stack is REALLY for


...Okay, so I had a little fun with this one. This is about 18 minutes of footage crammed into 2. Just a little frivolity!

 

[keenercam]

^^^^^^^^^ WooHoo 4 You! Have a blast, it's an awesome city and a spectacular cruise

Thank you, Steve! BTW, I LOVE your writing style. Sitting here with a smile on my face, enjoying your efforts.

 

[DVC2042]

Thank you, Steve! BTW, I LOVE your writing style. Sitting here with a smile on my face, enjoying your efforts.

Thanks... BTW I just noted your 'Location' in Delaware. Bizarre! 'Born & raised' we moved here to North Carolina 12 years ago from Bear and before that North Wilmington.

The world of Disney is small, after all

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

I have been enjoying your report! I love getting a sneak peek at what we are going to see in just a few short weeks! My kids (and I) are counting down the days until we leave.

Keep 'em coming!

 

[DVC2042]

Our second port of call, this was a replacement for Tunis, Tunisia following the turmoil in that region in the early part of 2011. I was still disappointed
though we understood the reasons. I had really looked forward to seeing the historic ruins of Carthage as well as stepping onto the continent of Africa… rats!

We planned to do a whole lot of nothing today. There was not much that excited us to hop on a bus and go off to see and the weather was
spectacular (75F/24C and Sunny)


Renee did get off long enough to shoot some pictures near our berth in the port of Palermo,

There are. perhaps, more points of interest on the eastern shore of Sicily but this location was too far to visit Etna for instance..
Here’s a couple links that may be of interest to those on upcoming Mediterranean cruises:
Palermo, Sicily: http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=159
Private Tours:
http://www.bestofsicily.com/sicilytours_shore.htm
http://www.prestigerent.com/palermo-port.phtml
All-in-all this was the ugliest, most industrial port I recall being in during the trip. We berthed next to a monstrous grain (I think) storage facility.

I really enjoy the smarty-pants humor Renee has.
She spotted the fact that the Disney Magic had berthed in a no-parking zone with 24-hour towing

Here, we can see that they need to get a bigger tow-truck. I think they
were trying to put a boot on the anchor until they could find one…

Since that didn’t seem to be working………


At about Noon, Captain John had to come on the public-address system
to advise his crew that they needed to be prepared to remain aboard for
safety inspections (that went over well <sarcasm>). We heard from some
sources later that this was very unusual to have to announce it publicly.
It turned out that the Italian authorities had popped a surprise safety drill
on the ship and were requiring all the port-side lifeboats to be run out and
for the crew to actually lower a couple away, crew them, drive them
about and recover them! While they have the authority to do this, it’s
really rare to call for it in such a fashion. We think the tow-truck incident
played a role…












“Downtown Palermo off the Port bow!”

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Finally, late in the day as we departed, Renée did capture a couple very nice city scenes…
She does a lot of cool photography work with growing commercial success.
If you’ want to follow her work, become a friend of Renée Peoples Photography here:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Renee-Peoples-Photography/92744637355

“Do you have a Renée?”​

As we sail away from the island, I say “Sorry” to those who may have
wanted more info about Palermo, Sicily.
If you have done any Port Adventures here before (or since) or you have
visited near Palermo recently, please post up a response or three… we’d
love to hear about your experiences, good or bad.

We’re off to the Italian mainland and the next Port of Call… NAPLES!! Sweet!

 

[keenercam]

Awesome! The pictures are fabulous. Had to laugh at the tow sign. LOL!

 

[DVC2042]

Awesome! The pictures are fabulous. Had to laugh at the tow sign. LOL!

"7days" egads we just left a week ago ourselves. You must be SO excited!!

 

[DVC2042]

Our fun, exciting, most EXCELLENT serving staff for 11 nights...

JASON - Our Head Server.
He took care of our dinner orders and food. He is from the Philippines.

GABRIEL - Our Assistant Server
He handled our wine and beverages. He is from India.

If any of you have sailed on the Magic and had these guys as your serving team, we'd love to hear about it... They were brilliant as far as we were concerned!

 

[cannp123165]

Great trip report so far!

 

[DVC2042]

Great trip report so far!

Thanks! Glad you are enjoying it. Looks like you're off to do the same in August! Very sweet!!

 

[heatherbelle]

Thanks for posting, looking forward to the rest.

 

[DVC2042]

Thanks for posting, looking forward to the rest.

Glad you are enjoying it... From the looks of your signature, you'll be there in just a couple months. Woohoo 4 you!

Naples Port of Call coming later today!

 

[DVC2042]

Early in the morning as we approach the Port of Naples, the remains of Mt. Vesuvius dominate the horizon as I look eastward from the veranda of our room:


It’s 8:00am now… we have visited the COVE CAFÉ (or at least *I* have) and brought back a large latte for Renée and I am enjoying a triple-shot Americano.
We have a cloudy day and about 72 degrees expected for a high temperature. The weather forecast from the bridge is a little uncertain for today with a bit of a chance for rain.

​

~~~~~

We have a double tour today, first we are off to the lovely city of Sorrento near the Amalfi Coast and then to the ruins of Pompeii. Although we didn’t know it at the time, here’s what the geography of the trip looked like.
We would leave from the port at 8:30, drive around the foothills of Mt. Vesuvius, past Pompeii and along the coastal highway until we reached the city of Sorrento.
After lunch, we would return the way we came and go to Pompeii for the afternoon and return to the ship late in the day

​

Here’s the scale of this picture courtesy of Google Maps

Driving directions to Piazza Tasso (Central Sorrento)
1 hour 9 mins A3 and SS145 51.6 km

…something to keep in mind, often nothing is close to the ports!
~~~~~~~~~~
Since Renee is carrying some really expensive photography gear and my DSLR camera is not very weather-resistant, I’m toting my KATA R-103 backpack which is fitted out with sectioned, padded areas for cameras, lenses, etc. It’s moderately weather resistant and has an additional rain-proof sleeve that can be used if needed. Better safe than sorry. These are stock shots to give you an idea…

Occasionally you’ll get to see some really superior photos. I’ll call them out when they appear. These are taken by Renée with some pretty sweet equipment.

I’ll have a special posting of camera pr0n when my Kung Fu is better…later on

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here’s a shot of Vesuvius I took through the bus window as we drove past it towards Sorrento. Things are looking a bit ominous!

As we neared Sorrento, our lovely tour guide ‘Julia’ arranged for us to pull off the winding two-lane road that was working down the cliff-side towards the city.
It offered some interesting shots, which I did a lousy job of capturing.
Renée’s will be much better… but they aren’t ‘ready’ yet (smack!) ow!!



The Hotel Mega Mare was off to the right of this little look-out


…and this was below it. It seemed somebody had a bad idea for this location, whatever it was supposed to be.



Renée caught this rather spectacular vision of that hotel hanging off the cliff-side :
(which is why it's worth waiting for her pictures!)


It’s just starting to spatter some rain, so it’s back into the bus and head down the road to Sorrento:


Julia, our tour guide, calls us ‘her family’ and gathers us all together as we get off the bus to make sure we know where and when to meet. This is an ‘on your own’ tour, which we like.
The service gets us reliably back a forth to the destinations, but doesn’t clutter up our time for soaking up the local flavor. She offers to walk us down to the beach entrance so we can see the Mediterranean from here.
This is an awesome shot Renée took, looking back at the cliff-side we stopped on above.
It’s about halfway up the slope and off to the left of the hill you see in the offing.
As you can see it’s already raining back where we came from and looking a bit threatening here.

After a bit of gawking about, Julia points out the way to the center of the town and then we were off…
…just as it started pouring-down rain! The skies opened up on us at this point. I’d already secured my less durable camera in the KATA and stopped to wrap it’s ‘raincoat’ onto the backpack. Renée has planned ahead and brought a large Ziploc bag in her shoulder bag, so she shoves her Nikon into it. She had also thought to bring a Totes umbrella, clever girl!
A few vendors saw an opportunity and stuck small boxes of little, collapsible umbrellas out. 3 Eurolater I am the proud owner of a floppy, but rather serviceable, rainbow umbrella.


Things started getting a bit too wet even for Rene’s camera!

So now we were off to see the town. Due to the rain, there’s little evidence of this part of the trip, but we had a fun time walking through this picturesque place filled with folks going about their regular midday lives.
We decided to find a place to grab some lunch. We knew we had about an hour and it was starting to rain even more with a rumble of thunder in the offing.
Renée navigated us to the city square and spotted a little pizzeria with outdoor seating tucked under an awning. We dove across the street and slid into a seat.
Unfortunately the seam for the awning was right where I sat down and it kept squirting me in the back every once in awhile. Not that I wasn’t already pretty wet, but still…
Our server came by and we asked if there was a drier seat available and he offered us a snug place towards the back.


Piazza Tasso courtesy of Street view on Google Maps. This would be standing at the square looking back towards Pizzeria Aurora where we had just been seated. We ate just under the awning a couple table behind the maître d’

We knew we were staying for a leisurely lunch and have learned not to be in a rush when eating in most places in Europe. I saw more people spoil either a pleasant atmosphere or an otherwise great meal by being pushy and impatient.
Slow down a bit, relax, enjoy your holiday!
…and if you can’t, please stop following me around

We asked our server for a bottle of a local red and thoroughly enjoyed this one:

In the meantime, Renée ordered a small Margherita pizza, a specialty of the house at Pizzeria Aurora http://www.pizzeriaaurora.com/en/

I had a slice and wished I’d ordered a pie for myself. Thin, but not crunchy-crispy crust, olive oil, basil, the ‘sauce’ was nobody’s paste from a jar. It smelled and tasted like crushed, fresh tomatoes… just… tomatoes, and finally the most delicious buffalo mozzarella in small slabs, just melted enough.

MMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

So while we are drooling over the pizza and sipping this nice local wine, it’s still pouring down rain. By this point there’s thunder and lightning and WOW!
I glance over to my right were a couple has just stepped under the awning awaiting a table and become very envious of this great umbrella this guy is carrying.

“Renée! Check out this really nice golf umbrella. This white one with a Disney Cruise Lines logo on it. I wonder if I can get one aboard ship?”

She got that impish look on here face I know so well…“Ummm, maybe… maybe not… check who’s carrying it.”

I look up just as the server is coming to seat them… and it’s Captain John!!!, Master of the Disney Magic along with his wife who is sailing with him on this first trip in the Med for him.
Egads!
We greeted him and he recalled us from the formal night, as I was apparently the only one in a kilt aboard this entire ship, imagine that! We chatted for just a minute and then let them head in to their table.
With all the places to go to, they decided to come an hour and a half out from the ship to this little restaurant. Guess we picked the right place to eat!

I hope they had a bit of anonymity to enjoy a meal ashore. And I still want an umbrella like his!



It was lovely, but we had to make our way back to the meeting place for the bus ride to Pompeii. The rain had eased up a tad but was still coming down as we walked back. On our way back, Renée caught this nice shot from under the umbrellas:



Here I take a pause…
We’re off to see the ruins of Pompeii next.

… in the rain