Med Cruise vacation

I am vacating currently, traveling aboard the Celebrity Century cruise liner on the Meditteranean Sea. So far we have spent seven nights on board and called on six ports (Barcelona, Spain; Provence (Marseille) France; Villefranche (Nice, Cannes and Monaco / Monte Carlo) France; Tuscany (Liverno (gateway to Florence) Italy; Civitavecchia (gateway to Rome) Italy and Ajaccio, Corsica

Enroute to Barcelona:

Our Culliton limousine driver picked us up around 6 PM Saturday September 27 and we arrived in Barcelona 20 hours (including a 6 hour timeshift) later on Sunday September 28 (we had a 4 hour stopover at the airport in Zurich where we transferred from Air Canada to Swiss Air). We checked into the Regina hotel in Barcelona for a single night on Sunday (although we will return for another two nights in Barcelona at the end of our tour). We were able to do some touring before dinner. We were assigned a large room that adjoined a terrace on the 1st floor (which is actually a floor up from the ground or lobby floor). Following a refreshing nap, we took a late afternoon walk down from Place Catalunva via Las Ramblas (which is the main pedestrian only thoroughfare down to the sea from the city centre) to the Mirador de Colom and then along the seaport promenade. . We walked back to our hotel via Laitana via the Gothic Quarter pausing to sample some sangria on the patio of the Hotel Colon across from the cathedral. We ended our first evening in the city by dining at the Attic restaurant (located directly on Las Rambas). The cuisine was fine (if unremarkable) but the service was somewhat slow and unattentive. On Sunday morning (after having coffee at the Starbucks behind our hotel) we walked up in the other direction into the Passeig de Gracia shopping district. Vendors sell books streetside from under awnings along this thoroughfare. Following our walk, we headed back to our hotel in time for the noon checkout time and then caught a taxi to the seaport to board the Century Celebrity. Arriving at the seaport, we noticed that RCI’s Navigator of the Seas was also in port preparing for departure.

The boarding process took less than an hour from the time our tax dropped us off at the pier. We had filled out the forms on line for express pass boarding but the line to reach attendants at the counter wicket positions designated express were almost as crowded as the general registration windows.

The celebrity Century made an excellent first impression for a ship its age. The decor is tasteful and restrained. Our stateroom was located on deck 5 which is the same level as the first level of the three story grand atrium (which is the level guests embark and disembark on at the terminal (although other port disembarkation is from a gangway two levels below)). Our section of the deck featured extra wide corridors and the stateroom ranks as one of the most spacious interior side staterooms we have ever been assigned at sea. After enjoying a delicious buffet lunch in the Island Café on the pool deck (level 11) and unpacking and began to explore the vessel. We then reported for our muster drill (conducted mainly in the Celebrity theatre, although we were escorted to our lifeboat station on the promenade deck at the conclusion of the safety instructions / demonstration). Immediately following the muster drill we went up to deck 11 for the sailaway, finding seating at a bistro table (that was well sheltered from the breeze) and ordering some sangria from a poolside attendant.

Following sailaway we had a brief nap before arising to shower and dress for dinner (the dress code on board for most evenings including our first is “smart casual”, which means no jeans or shorts). We were escorted to a table for eight. In addition to our party of three we were seated with a party of four from Manchester in the UK (John, his wife Marlene and their friends Anne and Pat) John was a retired banker who spent the better part of his career working as a commercial mortgage lender for an institution that is now part of the Citizens Bank group. Following dinner we adjourned to the Martini bar and then retired to or staterooms.

Marseilles, Provence

We awoke Tuesday morning at the port of Marseilles in the Gulf of Lions. Marseilles is the second largest city in France, the largest port in the Med and the fifth busiest port in Europe. We had booked a half day city tour coach excursion with a morning departure. In addition to a panoramic tour through the city centre and old port (featuring a fish market), the tour featured stops at the city’s water tower and Notre Dame de la Garde basilica which towers over the city from atop of La Garde hill. Our local guide’s name was Christielle. Following the formal tour we were left in the city centre, where we explored the fort, fortifications, had lunch on a patio (sandwiches and a carafe of local white wine) and when shopping for bath oils / salts in a department store in the Centre Bourse mall. At the end of the day we caught a bus shuttle back to the port and had a nap before our 5 PM departure time and o prepare for our formal night on board. After dinner, we attended an 11 PM show in the Celebrity Theatre entitled “A Touch of Broadway” featuring the Celebrity singers (4) and dancers (8) and a Russian adage duo. At this show we met our cruise director Damian who is Canadian. The show featured production numbers from such shows as The Producers, Hairspray, Cabaret and The Lion king. It was typical of cruseship entertainment.

Cote d’Azure (Nice and Monaco (Monte Carlo))

The Century anchored just off shore in the port of Villefranche on the Cap Ferrat peninsula for our visit to the French Riveria. We had book a full day coach excursion with a morning departure. We had to take a tender boat in to the coaches located at the Citadel, a 16th Century fortress, where our local guide Dominique met us. The port is charming and picturesque featuring colourful trompe l’oeil style houses set on rolling hills.

Our first tour stop was in Nice which is three miles away from the port. There we strolled through the market in the sidewalk café lined Old Town, the Place Messena garden square. and several winding city streets. We also drove past the Acropolis, several museums and three luxury hotels(the West End, Negresco along the palm tree lined Promenade des Anglais and Regina (on the hill above)).

Following our visit to Nice, we proceeded on to the village of Eze which is perched on a rock high up on a hilltop on the ruins of a 14th century castle. The village featured steep windy cobble stoned streets featuring terraced restaurants, shops and hotels. We paused for a group lunch here at a restaurant where we were served a tuna salad, a chicken entree and a bottle of wine.

Then it was on to the principality of Monaco. The tiny principality (it covers less than 2 square kilometers) within France has been under the rule of the Grimaldi family since 1297 and is a tax free sovereign state. It is renown for its famous Monte Carlo casino and it annual May Formula 1 Grand Prix motor-race. In Monte Carlo we entered the Grand Casino and up to the Prince’s Palace past the stately residences of princesses Caroline and Stephanie. Along the way we went into the cathedral (most famous for the marriage of King Ranier to Grace Kelly and where they are entombed) and past the Jacques Cousteau oceanographic museum.

Following our tour of Monaco, we returned to the port of Villefranche, caught tenders back to our ship and sailed away toward our next port (Livorno) at 8 PM.

Tuscany and Florence

We arrived at the port of Livorno just before sunrise. Here we had booked a half day tour (following by some free exploration time) into the city of Florence, which is the 6th largest city in Italy and has a population of 500,000. Livorno is a highly industrialized port 62 miles away from Florence. On tour in Florence we first ventured to the Piazza del Duomo which features three buildings – the Cathedral of Santa Naria del Fiore (the second largest in the world and featuring a cupola larger than St Peters or the Pantheon) , Giotto’s 14th century Bell Tower and the baptistry featuring the gilded bronze “Gates of Paradise” doors created by the artist Ghiberti. Next on our itinerary was the Piazza della Signoria which features the Neptune fountain an outdoor sculpture garden which includes a copy of Michelangelo’s David, Cellin’s Perseus and Giambologna’s “The Rape of the Sabine”. It also features the Neptune fountain. Then we walked on to the Church of Sante Croce (where Michelangelo,Galilleo and Machiavelli are buried0 and finally to the Piazza San Lorenzo (featuring the Medici family church), where our final guided tour ended.

Our tour-bus guide Jonathan , an Australian, was kind enough to guide us to a chandelier store on a lane just off this piazza where we were able to purchase a gorgeous light fixture (that we plan to hang over our bath-tub) for later shipping back to Canada. We also shopped at a lovely wine shop across from here and purchased some local wines, olive oils and a 21 year old sweet balsamic vinegar.

Following shopping, we ventured off on our own, wondering to the Ponte Vecchio over the River Orno, where we had patinas and pizza for lunch.and finally to Pitti Palace.

We were exhausted and took power naps on the long bus ride back to the port. Post dinner, our evening’s entertainment included catching the final set of a concert by the
a-capella group and the start of a poorly attended White Party in the Crystal Room.


Rome

Our port for Rome was Civitavecchia, which lies on the Tyrrhenian Sea. For our excursion we had booked another half day city coach tour (with free time to explore independently thereafter). Our local guide in Rome was Hugo and our coach guide was Sabina. Hugo escorted us first to the Church of St. Peter in Chains, home of Michelango’s sculpture of Moses. From there we proceeded down to the Colosseum on the edge of the Forum and then reboarded our bus to go to St Peters Basicalla in Vatican City. Hugo took us inside the basilica to admire the Pieta sculpture, the frescoed dome and altar. The formal tour then terminated in Pizaza San Pedro. From there we made our way independently down to Piazza Navona (where we had a pizza lunch) crossing the Tiber at Castelo Sant’Angelo.

The evening’s entertainment on board the ship included a newlywed style comic gameshow in which four couples competed for a couples massage pass to the ship’s AquaSpa.

Corsica:

The port at Ajaccio on the Island of Corsica is picture postcard picturesque. Corsica is located near Sicily and Sardinia. Although it is under French control, its families’ ethnic roots are mainly Italian. We had a half day afternoon tour booked so spent the morning exploring the city and port independently on foot. We walked toward the portion of the old walled fortress and then up to the palm tree lined Place du Foch and beyond into the Place du Gaulle Square where the equestrian statue of the island’s most famous son Napoleon Bonaparte is erected. The tour got underway around noon. Our first stop was a tour train station part way up the mountain where we transferred to a train to travel to a scenic point overlooking the man made lake (created for water supply) below. Thereafter, we continued a trek through two small quaint mountain villages and into Prunelli Gorge. The hair-pin curves on the narrow two way winding roads with cliff-face on one side and a sheer drop on the other challenged our coachmen’s driving skills. On the descent down we stopped at a beekeepers’ honey farm to sample five honeys and purchase jars of our favourites from the family store. Overall this was my favourite port to date.

Check out my facebook vacation photos