Rome – Transatlantic 2009 Day 10 – Barcelona, Spain
December 4, 2009
Yesterday, we had a port of call in Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona is a busy cruise port and there may be many cruise ships in at one time. At the dock we were located at, we were sandwiched between the Grand Princess and the Azamara Journey. It was my first look at one of the new Azamara ships. It looked nice and was a relatively small size. Having been to Barcelona last year for our transatlantic cruise and having spent four or five days before the cruise, we didn’t feel like we needed to visit Barcelona again.
I arose early and watched our arrival into Barcelona from the top deck while eating some breakfast. The water was calm and the sun was out. It was a bit chilly, but still a good start to the day. I also managed to snap a few pictures. We should have a quite an album to upload upon returning home. We like to run the pictures through photoshop to resize, crop and clean them up before we upload them.
I spend the morning walking around the ship looking at the Barcelona sights once again, remembering the trip last year. I must say, while Barcelona was fun, the pre-trip cruise to Rome this year, was much more memorable.
After a quick lunch, I did a rare thing. I took a nap. I don’t take too many naps, but the time seemed right. Unfortunately, some cruise line employees were doing some work on the bow of the ship right outside our cabin so while restful – I did get some sleep – it was a bit interrupted.
After my nap, Suzanne and I spent some time topside again looking at Barcelona. The kids were enjoying the day in the Fun Factory so we had some rare quiet and alone time. The idea of taking our next cruise without the kids seems to be gaining favor. However, it has been our family vacation for the last five or six years, so don’t know what will happen.
In the evening, after our departure from Rome, Sean and I went looking for watches. I have had a bit of a hankering for a new watch and Sean has been wanting me to give him my old watch. I have never been a big jewelry guy and struggle with paying big bucks for a watch (or anything else you wear). Many years ago I bought my current watch, a Citizen, on a cruise ship and it has been the best watch I ever owned. I have put this through hell without a single issue. I love the fact it never needs a batter (EKO life of something) and has constantly kept good time. When on a cruise, the Tag Heuer watches have always caught my eye, but the price tag was always the deal break. My wife still needed to get me something for Christmas, so I thought this might be the year.
After looking at hundreds of watches, I again ruled out the higher priced watches as just not making sense for me. I liked the appearance, but just couldn’t spend that much money on a watch. The watches seem to be getting bigger and bigger too. I finally found a couple of Citizen watches that I liked. Both were made of titanium which made them very light. After dinner, I took Suzanne to the shops and got her opinion on which one she like better. So, I know have a new watch! Thanks for the Christmas gift honey! Oh, and birthday gift too!
Its broken record time again, but dinner was fantastic again. Sean had his usually shrimp cocktail appetizer while Suzanne had a seafood risotto. Savannah had a consommé while I passed on all the courses except for the main entrée course. For that, Savannah and I enjoyed a Cajun style Rib Eye steak with a baked potato. They were cooked to perfection and were very tasty. Sean had a turkey penne pasta dish that he said was the best turkey he had ever had. Suzanne had Osso Bucco for dinner.
After dinner it was again karaoke night. The kids left us. Sean went to the Fun Factory again and Savannah went to turn in for the night. She wanted to hit the Fun Factory early in the morning before we went ashore in Cartegena, Spain. I tagged along with Suzanne to hear her sing. She sang I Dreamed the Dream, Unforgettable (duet with another singer), A Liza Minelli song that I can’t remember the name of and Linda Edder song that I also cant seem to remember the name of. It was a fun night.
We returned to the room about 12:30 and called it a night. Today we will be in Cartegena, Spain. It’s a relatively short visit as we are due to dock about 10:00 am and then depart at 5:00 pm. We don’t have a tour planned, but do plan to get off the ship and walk around the small Spanish coastal town.
NOTE: I seemed to have messed up my day numbering somewhere along the line so have titled this post to get back on track (and will edit the titles of the others).
Rome – Transatlantic 2009 Day 9 – Villefranche, France
December 3, 2009
Yesterday, we made a port of call in Villefranche, France. It was another tender port since there is no dock for cruise ships. The two primary points of interest in the area are Monaco and Nice. We had chosen to stay in the area and just walk around the quaint little town.
Having stayed up rather late the night before so Suzanne could do karaoke, we slept in and didn’t get up until almost 10:00. We decided to grab an early lunch before heading ashore. The tender ride ashore was very nice as we got to up on top and were provided a very nice panoramic view of the sheltered harbor that is the Villefranche. It was very picturesque and we should have some good pictures.
Savannah wanted to do some shopping a get a French beret hat. During our walk around town, we must have poked our heads into a couple dozen shops, but none had the hat she was looking for. In fact, Sean was the only one who bought anything as he got a Monaco baseball cap.
After about an hour or so of walking the town, Sean and I decided to head back to the ship. The girls stayed for another 30 minutes.
After returning, the kids went and did some Kids clubs activities while Suzanne caught up on some computer stuff (ie Cruise Talk blog posts) while I strolled around the ship and enjoyed some more looking at the countryside.
With last night being the first formal night, the girls wanted to show out. Sean and I wanted to clear out. We didn’t want to be near them trying to get ready. The battle over Savannah’s hair and other things is not pleasant. So, we left and went to the Martini Bar to relax while they got dressed. We gave them 90 minutes and then went up ourselves to get dressed. We then proceeded to our nightly pre-dinner spot, the CellarMasters lounge and enjoyed a California flight of wines.
Hate to sound like a broken record, but dinner was once again wonderful. Suzanne and I enjoyed Chateaubriand while Savannah had quail and Sean had lamb chops. Sean and Suzanne also enjoyed some shrimp cocktail, escargot and frog legs.
Being the first formal night, early in the cruise, it was also the Captain’s welcome aboard toast and opening Broadway style show. The Captain was very entertaining and quite funny – not like the ordinary Captain you seem to get. He was also very young – 41, I think, but that’s a funny story in itself that he told. I must say, I was impressed with him.
The Broadway show was okay. Suzanne liked it more than I did. There wasn’t anything wrong with it per se, I just didn’t think it stood out. It will be interesting to see what the cast does the rest of the cruise. As a formal night, the show is after dinner, so when it was over it was about midnight, so we decided to call it a night.
Today, we will make a port of call in Barcelona, Spain. Since we spent almost a week in Barcelona last year this time prior to that transatlantic cruise, we are unsure what, if anything we will do here. Perhaps we will get off the ship and just walk around the marina area.
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