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.
Rome – Transatlantic 2009 Day 7 – Boarding the Celebrity Solstice
November 30, 2009
Yesterday, we began our Transatlantic cruise from Rome (Citavecchia) to Ft Lauderdale back in the States. As much as we enjoyed our stay in Rome, we were still anxious for the cruise to begin as it was the most looked forward to part of the whole vacation.
The morning began with a bell pepper, onion and cheese omelet. Having the apartment and being able to cook breakfast each morning was helpful and a cost savings. Rome is quite expensive from a dining standpoint. Even buying groceries in Rome was significantly more expensive than we are used to. The weak dollar vs Euro just make its worse too.
After breakfast, we had to pack back up and do a quick straightening of the apartment. We had hired a driver to take us to the cruise ship terminal which is about 70 miles from where our apartment was. The fee to get to the terminal was 80 Euros. The driver showed up about 45 minutes early which was fine by us as we were ready. The drive to the cruise ship was uneventful and painless and we arrived about 11:30 am.
Boarding was supposed to start at 12:30, but as usual, they started early and we were onboard the ship in about 15 minutes. Since the room was not yet ready, we proceeded to grab some lunch. After lunch, we went and got the kids checked into the kids club. Looks like a total of 11 kids on this sailing, which is almost double the 6 from the transatlantic last year. Sean is in the teens this year and they have a pretty sweet, private set up. There is only 1 kid in Savannah’s age group, and he is Polish, might not speak English and 3 years younger than Savannah, so she is hopeful of getting moved up to the teens.
After getting the kids checked in, it was announced that the rooms were ready so we went down to ours. The luggage arrived about the same time. Our room is huge! Never thought I would say that about a cruise ship cabin, but it is. We have what is called a family ocean veranda (or something similar). Basically, it’s a ocean veranda room, but its in the very front of the bow of the ship facing forward. Its on the far right side, in the corner if you will, so the balcony is on the side. But, its almost like a suite, coming in at over 550 sq feet. We have two bedrooms, a small one for the kids and then a good sized one for us, and a big living area with three desks, a couch and two oversized seats. We pretty much have more space than we know what to do with. The best part is the price is the same as a standard ocean veranda room. It has two big picture windows, one the living area and one in our bedroom looking forward over the bow of the ship, plus the balcony which is actually on the side of the ship.
We were slightly worried about the size of the Celebrity Solstice. We have typically sailed the smaller class ships of Celebrity. The Solstice holds about 3000 passengers. The ship is significantly bigger than most that we sail on. Its also newer. And it is most definitely very nice. The ship is immaculate. The kids and I took a our private tour of the ship while Suzanne unpacked. We visited the bars and lounges, theater, stores, dining room – basically all the public areas. I was quite impressed. I found what is likely to be my hangout, the cellarmasters lounge.
After the tour, we went back to the room to see Suzanne’s progress (glad it was her unpacking!). When she was done, it was about time for the Muster Drill. In a first for us, the Muster Drill no longer requires you to put on (or even take) your life preserver. Instead, you proceeded to the muster station (the theater in our case) and were presented a talk and video – much nicer than wearing your life preserver and actually going to the muster station.
After the Muster Drill, we dressed for dinner (smart casual) and proceeded down to the Cellarmasters lounge to enjoy a flight of Italian wines before dinner. We once again have late seating (8:30 pm) on this cruise. As a family, we all prefer the late seating.
We have a nice table for four, situated near the Captain’s table and by the 3 store wine cellar prominently displayed in the dining room – its quite impressive. Both our waiter and his assistant are from Turkey and are very nice.
The dinner was quite nice and enjoyable as usual on Celebrity. Me and the kids enjoyed a Spaghetti Carbonara (nope, didn’t get my fill in Rome!). Suzanne had Coq au Vin. We started slowly on this first meal and passed on several of the courses to avoid over stuffing ourselves. We did splurge and have Crème Brule for dessert.
After dinner, the kids and I retired to the room to wind down and prepare for a relatively early turn in time as we need to be up for the thing in the morning for our port of call in Livorno, Italy as we were taking a bus and tour to Pisa. We are scheduled to dock in Livorno at 7:00 am. Suzanne swung up to the Michaels Club for about 45 minutes to check out the piano player and to hang out with a couple of her Cruise Critic Roll Call friends.
We have ordered room service for breakfast and are looking forward to our touring of Pisa, Italy.
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