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Our first Costa cruise on the Diadema Day by Day


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Quick edit - when I normally copy these from the blog the pics also appear but for some reason this new forums style wont let me do that. Anyway you can see the pics using the blog link until I sort it out.

 

Day 1 Barcelona

 

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A surprisingly painless flight, although bags took quite some time, Jet2 Manchester to Barcelona. Anyway into a taxi (Barcelona is the city of taxis - you never wait for them and every other car seems to be one) and 39Euros later plus tip we are checking in at the cruise terminal and on the ship for 2pm along with what looks like an entire classful of 16 year old students who are never seen again!

 

 

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The Costa check in procedure is a little different though a lot quicker - No one asks for a Credit Card or takes a pic or even hands you a ship card. Sign here - wait there - and get called to board. Hopefully all will become clear at some point and hopefully in English as apart from a couple of Canadians and two American ladies we seem to be the only English speaking people in the check out line. Eventually we are called and taken aboard where your photo is taken just as you set foot onto the deck. We have a balcony cabin which is well proportioned and clean. Its nicely laid out and functional, it just lacks a little plushness and luxury of say Celebrity and can't compete with NCL on wardrobe space - this is more functional and oddly feels a little dated in the decor even though this is a practically new ship. One unusual design feature is the lack of french windows - instead a door leads out onto a pretty decent sized balcony. Your ship cards are waiting for you on the bed and your drinks package and dining arrangements are printed on the rear of this. You then scan your card at one of the many portals around the ship and link it to your credit card. Its hard to judge if this saves any time as the Diadema is a year round,same route & can embark at any port. So less people per port embarking & disembarking.

 

 

 

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We decide to head to lunch in the Buffet/Lido. I wouldn't call this an easy ship to navigate as the amount of Italian bling decor can be a bit confusing as it leaves a lot of the public areas looking very similar. However we find the glass elevators and follow the general flow of people to the buffet restaurant. All I can say is it is much nicer than I expected as a lot of people had commented on how poor the choice is, how you can never get a seat and how rude and aggressive the passengers can be. We found none of this and there are hundreds of seats if you walk a few steps to the aft as the area used for Corona Blu restaurant is opened up during Lunch time. We both choose some lovely roast ham from the carvery, washed down with lots of red wine and finished with fresh beautifully baked foccacia and cheese. The other choices look fine, plentiful and hot. OK a lot of the dishes may have an Italian theme to them but guess what, this is an Italian ship with a mainly Italian or Spanish clientele (if you need a Yorkshire pudding with every lunch your probably on the wrong ship).

 

 

Muster practice is unusual in that we actually have to don life jackets - fortunately the demonstration is only in two languages & is over quickly and efficiently.

 

 

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Dinner is in the main dining room where we meet Jamie our waiter and find we have a table to ourselves. We never normally do the set time dinner thing but decide to give it a go. Costa seems to run the dining room a little differently. Your waiter runs 3 or 4 tables himself which includes taking orders, serving, clearing and drinks. It seems to work fine, Jamie never lets the glass run dry (we have the entry level drinks package, Brindiamo) and is attentive and helpful. The meal is beautiful, 4 courses presented Italian style; light starter, pasta dish, main meat/fish followed by dessert) its all very well presented and extremely tasty. Good service, the wine and water continuously flowing (thank God its included) and the food and plates always hot (NCL take note). The Diadema slips silently out of Barcelona some time during dinner.

 

 

 

We find a Bar (at this point the ships still a mystery so I have no idea what it is called) for an espresso and capuccino as coffee is not served in the MDR. Wherever you wander on this ship the smell of freshly ground coffee permeates the air like a glorious perfume. It appears this rooms going to have some sort of talent competition so we move next door to a smaller club (the piano bar) where an Italian or Spanish singer/piano player (Stefano Marcolini) does a marvellous set - they also know how to mix the perfect campari and soda.

 

 

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Wander around a little more and find ourselves at the main theater where a rock style show is taking place - nice theatre, good staging, and most importantly a live band. Quite enjoyable and certainly better than some I have seen on other ships - again the band making the difference.

 

 

 

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The ship has a nice multilevel, large and spacious feel to it with many rooms, bars and restaurants spread around. That does not mean this is a quiet ship though, in fact it's quite the opposite - the decor is loud and the people are lively. Its not annoying though - to slip into stereotypes; there's a positive listening to a lively Italian or Spanish conversation - you can't tell what the foreigners are talking about :)

 

Tomorrow - Palma

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Sounds like your first impressions were all very positive, that's good to hear! My wife and I will also leave from Barcelona, but we'll be on the Mediterranea. We embark this Friday.

 

If the ship smells like fresh coffee, I'll want to drink it all day! So, I hope they have decaf for the evening:)

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Sounds like your first impressions were all very positive, that's good to hear! My wife and I will also leave from Barcelona, but we'll be on the Mediterranea. We embark this Friday.

 

If the ship smells like fresh coffee, I'll want to drink it all day! So, I hope they have decaf for the evening:)

 

Hello ej. Hope you both have a fab cruise on Friday. Looking forward to hearing about it. We embark the neo-riviera for 5 weeks, a week on Friday. Also booked on the mediterranea in September. Happy cruising. :)

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Glad to see you are enjoying yourselves. The new CC format is a real pain. I could not click and open your block, had to enter on google.

 

I am also battling with the photos but that's not new for me:D.

 

Have you noticed that you are unable to enter something where it says message at the top of the reply to thread. So you cannot put a heading to your entry. If someone has figured this out can they post please.

 

Hope you had a good day in Palma.

 

Alicat

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Day 2 Palma

 

Awake for Breakfast at 7.00am delivered to the cabin- not convinced we actually got what we ordered but hey its the first morning so we'll let it go. One thing I have noticed with the Diadema is its noise and vibration level. Its practically nil when docking and using bow thrusters compared to other ships we have cruised on - though it has to remembered this ship is only 2 years old.

 

 

 

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We arrive in Mallorca in bright cool sunshine but its more than warm enough for us Brits to take tea and croissants on the balcony. We were only in this port last year so it looks familiar now and we walk to the bus stop into the city. Last year the Jade had managed to dock on a pier that was a lot nearer to the city, the Diadema seems to be in a berth that's as far away as possible - so on reflection just take a taxi if you're docked all the way out here, its actually just as cheap and far more convenient than the bus as we discovered on the return trip.

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The Old Town with the Cathedral

 

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Musea de Mallorca

We wander around the beautiful old town spending some time visiting the Musea of Mallorca (free today as are many museums and galleries as its the Balearic Islands Weekend Festival). This is hidden down a maze of back alleys and is home to a beautiful collection of pieces in a well laid out set of rooms that takes you from the 14th to the 19th Century It also gives you an overview of the changes in art not only on the island but how the renaissance in Italy influenced those changes. Even if your not interested in the collections of art and tiles the two former palazzos the museum is housed in are wonderfully restored.

 

 

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We take a break for coffee in a charming little establishment next door to the Cathedral then we hail a taxi to take us up to the old 14C Gothic Castle Bellver which has stunning views of the Island and the city of Palma .

 

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Donjon of Castle Bellver - Cathedral of Palma can bee seen through the archway

A little tip here is to pre book a return taxi back from here as all the cabs in the rank are usually already reserved for the day - or you could simply follow the old steps down to the nearest main road; you'll be able to hail a taxi from this point in minutes once you reach this point.

 

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View from the Castle Walls

 

 

Nice paella onboard for lunch (take a tip from the Spanish passengers and get a separate dish to load extra mussels and prawns into) then sat around the stern pool with a nice cold beer. Sunny and mild for us though the Italians on board seem to be dressed as if its the middle of deep winter.

 

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Mid Afternoon in Palma

 

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Just a few more observations re Costa and the Diadema - As I mentioned before the first thing that you notice is the decor/bling - its seriously OTT in a charming yet slightly jarring Italian/Spanish style - its quite startling until you get used to it especially if your used to the calm low key decor of other cruise lines. Personally I think it also causes another problem; gold leaf walls with yellow signage in a bizarre selection of randomly mixed fonts doesn't help you navigate. And the tiny signs for the washrooms (again yellow on gold) are easy to miss. As usual I get lost at every opportunity.

 

Dinner in the Main Dining Room again tonight and Jamie is on hand remembering our wine and water choices instantly. We learn from Jamie how the menu has changed a lot in the past few weeks because the prime customers (Italians) had not taken well to the last executive chefs menu. Things are now more traditional ie simple but quality ingredients. It works because tonights menu is actually one of the best MDR experiences I have had on any ship. Jamie supplies me with a copy of the menu so I could get the listings correct.

 

 

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For Antipasto we had the Veal millefeuilles with black pepper, crisp salad and walnut with a pear and Gorgonzola sauce. Melt in the mouth buttery meat. Jamie asks us for full details on how we enjoyed this as its a new dish and he has not had time to try it - apparently the Italians who have our table on the next sitting are keen for a full description of every dish on the menu.

 

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Zuppa (Soup) was Pappa ai pormodoro on a potato cream with sauteed endive and olives - think NCL Cagneys Baked potato soup and refine it a little and you're near the mark. Delicious. The olives give it that extra zest and saltiness (Jack would disagree; olives being her one gastro hate)

 

A Pasta dish follows of Garganelli with swordfish , tomato and basil, on a cream of cannellini bean and strong ricotta. Superb.

 

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For the Piatti Principalli I chose the beautiful lamb cutlets with green crust and dried fruit, saffron potatoes and marinated courgettes with a thyme/masala reduction

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Jack had the sliced beef fillet with aubergine pie au gratin, basil sauce and milk stracciatella.

 

 

Apparently we are two of only 50 English speaking guests on board. Its not an issue because all the staff have English as their first language. As Jamie our Philippine waiter explains - "You just watch the body language when your serving the Italians or Spanish and you can usually work out what they mean"

 



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After a decent amount of rest we had the warm chocolate and walnut pudding with blackberry sauce and a lemon scented custard.

 

 

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And lastly the rather comical looking Fruits of the Forest bavarois with cooked grape must. After a few more glasses of wine we head to a bar for espressos and cappuccini.

 

 

The theatre show tonight is a solo opera singer which the Italians love; hes actually pretty good. We spend a little time in the piano bar sipping Camparis and then try the "rock country club" - a really well proportioned room (This is the size the tiny Cavern should be on the Epic) though even for us its bloody loud in here (its only a two piece and they have way too much reverb on to boost up the sound).

 

People had mentioned on CC how everyone dances on this ship - waltzing, rumba(ing) or jiving. Earlier today in the Atrium I passed a large group having cha-cha-cha lessons - on other ships you can spot the instructor, spot who knows what they are doing (unsurprisingly on our Eclipse TA last year that was a group of Italians) and admire those who try their best. Here its like watching a group of pros en masse. Its beautiful to watch - though I'm left feeling inadequate especially as Jack is quite capable.

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Glad to see you are enjoying yourselves. The new CC format is a real pain. I could not click and open your block, had to enter on google.

 

I am also battling with the photos but that's not new for me:D.

 

Have you noticed that you are unable to enter something where it says message at the top of the reply to thread. So you cannot put a heading to your entry. If someone has figured this out can they post please.

 

Hope you had a good day in Palma.

 

Alicat

 

Think I have fixed the broken links now in the signature but cant get my head around the pics yet. :o Lots of food pics in the last entry

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We are doing this cruise starting on Monday so your posts are very interesting. We were on Diadema late 2016. It was the same cruise but stopped at Naples instead of Citiaveccia. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't know why so many people moan about Costa. We also did Barcelona to Rio in December on Fascinosa which was also fantastic.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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ighten,

 

Thank you so much for your thoughtful review and great photos. I am enjoying it very much!

 

We are going on the Diadema in four weeks departing from Savona, so very interested to hear about your experiences. Maybe you could help me understand the dinner options? I am pretty sure that I read someplace online that the ship had recently added an informal evening buffet option. Don't find any mention of it on the Costa website, and the official Cruise Critic review says no buffet after the afternoon tea. Have you seen any evidence of the evening buffet? I am travelling with kids so might be a good option sometimes. They are 11 and 13 so should be ready to try some new things but you never know.

 

Thanks, and keep up the good work on the blog! We are hanging on your every word out here in California!

 

KatapultMike

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ighten,

 

Thank you so much for your thoughtful review and great photos. I am enjoying it very much!

 

We are going on the Diadema in four weeks departing from Savona, so very interested to hear about your experiences. Maybe you could help me understand the dinner options? I am pretty sure that I read someplace online that the ship had recently added an informal evening buffet option. Don't find any mention of it on the Costa website, and the official Cruise Critic review says no buffet after the afternoon tea. Have you seen any evidence of the evening buffet? I am travelling with kids so might be a good option sometimes. They are 11 and 13 so should be ready to try some new things but you never know.

 

Thanks, and keep up the good work on the blog! We are hanging on your every word out here in California!

 

KatapultMike

 

Hi Mike

 

We never actually used the Buffet (other than lunch) but I'll copy what it says on the daily diary letter.

 

The Buffet is served in Trattoria Lido Diana deck 10 Hortensia

 

buffet is open 6-30am - 10am breakfast

10am - 11am - late breakfast (I assume just a smaller selection or they close the Lido part)

12am - 4pm Lunch

 

4pm-5pm La Meranda (basically means snack - afternoon tea)

7-30pm - 9.45pm - Casual Dinner Buffet

 

Note that the far aft of the buffet there is a large seating area in the center and you can use this until about 2pm to eat your buffet lunch if the window seats are taken or you just want somewhere a little quiter.

 

This same area becomes the corona blue open restaurant in the evening.

 

 

I'll try to scan the entire list later and see if I can post it

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ighten,

 

Thanks so much for the info! With buffets running approximately 12 hours a day, even my kids on a bad day are not going to have much to complain about.

 

Please don't go to any more trouble on our behalf. You need to attend to the serious business of making that drinks package pay off!

 

Enjoy!

 

KatapultMike

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Costa reintroduced the evening buffet in December 2015, first ship was Diadema then rolled out fleet wideby June 2016.

 

Check theis link out (Costa UK), look at the Self Service Restaurants:

 

http://www.costacruises.co.uk/gb/restaurants-cuisine/index.html

 

Thanks for the link, G.M.T., I had not been on the U.K. site before.

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Finally - worked it out... Only prob is there is a limit on photos - so the rest are on the blog as usual..

Mar 2017 - Costa Diadema - Day 5 (La Spezia)

 

 

Day 5 La Spezia

 

 

 

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It's a little misty and cloudy as we edge carefully into La Spezia passing the oyster farms and getting our first glimpse of the Cinque Terre landscape. La Spezia is a large port - much larger than I was expecting. If you suffer from insomnia and want an alternative to counting sheep then theirs enough containers here to put you into a coma. Quick breakfast in the room again (we never seem to get the same attendant twice, so not only is it a mystery who will deliver the breakfast and at what time; theres the added fun to see how they interpret the order - what random bit of bread have they included for that tick box that says muffin).

 

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You have to take a bus shuttle to the port entrance from the ship - watching this procedure early in the morning from the balcony there seemed to be some lack of communication between the ship and the drivers resulting in long lines forming; it soon sorted itself out though and when we went down the line had completely gone.

 

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For some reason I had neglected to upload a port guide here as we knew we wanted to get to the railway station and head up to the villages of the Cinque Terre by train. (In the Spring and Summer you can do this by ferry which dock on the public waterfront - but they are not running at the moment and TBF the train is much quicker and only costs a couple of Euros). So after studying maps near the taxis we were just about to set off when an English couple (where have they been hiding all week) asked if we wanted to share a taxi. On reflection if the weathers good (which it is today the grey cloud having now lifted) I would walk - its not as far as the map seems to indicate and is a pleasant walk along the waterfront - just follow the fat palm tree boulevard along the waterside then turn right. It will take about 20mins if you stroll and as there's only one train an hour north you could use this to pass the time.

 

 

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As it was we ended up at the station way to early - so we wandered back into a little square in the town and sat in the sun. Very peaceful and La Spezia itself has some lovely architecture that reminds me a little of the South of France.

 

 

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A short train ride took us 'Michael Portillo style' to the village of Riomaggiore. The villages are scenic but the train ride is mainly through tunnels. Its a remarkable work of engineering. Just remember that when the train stops in a tunnel it's probably because the station can only fit a couple of carriages on so get out and walk along the tunnel towards daylight. Until the arrival of the railway in 1874, the five villages of the Cinque Terre were little fishing hamlets, accessible only by sea.

 

DSC02375.jpg Harbour - Riomagiorre Our great plan was to buy a ticket for the coastal walk path and hike to the next village but unfortunately most of the paths have been closed this year as they have become too dangerous for the public to use (which beggars the question what have they been doing with the money they charge to use the path). So after climbing down to the tiny little village harbour (you reach this through another tunnel) we climb out of the steep valley and around the village - all the time looking for a little gem for lunch.

 

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That little Gem happens to be tucked away on a balcony at the foot of the main village. Its a lovely little family run trattoria with everything prepared freshly prepared by hand. I often have doubts about family made and handmade claims especially when the village is so isolated but a quick look up the main village street shows a fantastically stocked butchers and a fish shop full of this mornings catch. I have the seafood ravioli in a red mullet sauce -Individually made soft raviolis, packed with clams, crab, parmesan and more with a thick red mullet sauce containing full pieces of fish fillet. Jack has a traditional veal bolognese which is also beautifully seasoned with a hint of nutmeg running through it. We wash it all down with a local DOC cinque terre - perfect for seafood and as crisp and dry as a sauvignon.

 

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Another walk and climb around before we head back to the station (for some reason the trains are more frequent going back as the intercity service from Savona stops at this village on its way to Genoa and Pisa) and head back to La Spezia where we stroll through the town and along the waterfront (the route we should have used this morning).

 

Dinner tonight in the MDR was interesting as I shocked Jamie by ordering the rabbit - he seemed to want me to change my mind and order the other meat choice (I think he was worried about the bones) and in the end I think we both lost track of what we had ordered. Rabbit however turned up and he offered to change it but I stuck with it and it was delicious. A nice thick sauce accompanied it - though to quote that old saying "It tasted like chicken" - though a good strong chicken with taste.

 

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Tonight we catch TNT - a french 4 piece rock group who do wonderful covers ranging from Pink Floyd to the Beatles in the Country Rock Bar. Now these sound good; nice and loud but in a strong and exciting way. When they take their break and the usual two piece come on it confirms my theory that the two piece are adding so much reverb to make themselves sound a bit fuller its distorting the sound and booming out the room.

 

 

Later we catch a bit of a Spanish guitar style duo who are playing classical numbers that the dancers are going nuts for, filling the dance floor with superbly executed sambas and flamenco moves. My head says I can do this but unfortunately my body doesn't seem to comprehend whats required.

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Hi Ighten

 

What did you do in Savona?

 

Did you see the vitriol on the rollcall about the Diadema?

 

Alicat

 

 

Hi

 

I'd seen the review on the main review section and then on the roll call. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but when a review contains things which are just factually incorrect or misleading, it's a shame there isn't a way to comment on it, in the review section.

The thought of a daily drill would be so off-putting to someone just reading the review - although it is non-sensical.

Ah well.

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Just about to post Savona - work and gardening got in the way whilst the suns been out .. but I'll catch up.

 

Looking forward to this entry too - Have told my mum she is having a "sea day" that day and I'll take a walk around town. So I'm hoping that you didn't head off and do something exotic like going to Genoa :D

 

After reading the Civitavecchia entry, I've let my mum know about the Italian night. It'll be our first night, so told her that "That's Amore!" won't be happening every night. She can't wait for it now!

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Mar 2017 - Costa Diadema - Day 6 (Savona)

 

 

Day 6 Savona.

 

 

 

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The memorial (above)to lost mariners watches over the harbour in Savona. Drizzle greets us as we arrive into Savona - a pretty port town where the Diadema seems to be almost within reaching distance of the town for a change. Fortunately we have a trip booked today or to be more precise we have a bus booked for a simple drop off and return to Genoa - which is probably a good thing looking at the darkening skies above.

 

 

 

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We are a mixed bunch on the coach, mainly French and the rest made up of various countries who just happen to understand English. It makes for a rather interesting commentary as we travel along the coast across huge floating bridges and deep tunnels. Our bi-lingual Italian hostess speaks perfect English (and French Jack reliably tells me).

 

 

She supplies us with a handy little map and goes through everything we'll need to know (and where to go) re Genoa and handily also dishes out a Costa waterproof poncho to stop you drowning in what is now a proper English downpour. Fortunately Jack has come prepared with a rather battered parapluie so at least she doesn't have to look like a cling film wrapped tourist...

 

 

The rain has slightly eased when we arrive but looking at the sky I don't think it is over yet so I don the emergency Costa poncho. Every trader in Genoa of course immediately surrounds the bus on arrival to sell you an umbrella. Genoa itself is a very walkable and stunning medieval town. The main sites are all in easy walking distance of each other and luckily most of them can be reached by staying under the loggias of the buildings.

 

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Our first stop is the Cathedral of Santa Lorenzo. It reminds me from the outside of the cathedrals of Florence or Sienna with its imposing striped granite facings both inside and out. The cathedral had a fortunate escape during the second world war when the city's port and warships were being shelled as part of a British Operation. Due to a slight miscalculation, a British battleship fired an armour-piercing shell at an Italian Cruiser and missed (by quite a margin) - the shell landed in the south-eastern corner of the cathedrals nave. The soft material of the walls (compared to armour) failed to detonate the fuse and the shell therefore did not explode. It is still here displayed in a corner - I presume they defused it!

 

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Next we continue across the square to visit the Church of Jesus and the Saints Ambrogio and Andrea. A stunning building on the inside despite its rather more modest exterior in comparison to the main cathedral. The altarpiece is the thing to see here, a 1608 masterpiece by Rubens "The Circumcision" (ouch).

 

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Coffee and some respite from the rain being needed we nip into a little bar - everyone seems to be wandering in for a quick coffee and a piece of focaccia for a morning snack.

 

From here we wander through towards the old gate of the city, the Porta Soprana with its two majestic towers, where tucked away in a corner behind the city walls is the house of Christopher Columbus. [below]

 

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Other than the churches the big attraction in Genoa is the UNESCO area of bankers palaces so we make our way through the Maddalena: a network of narrow medieval alleys that lead to the city's unmissable Via Garibaldi, dubbed "the street of kings".

 

 

We start in the Palazzo Doria Spinola which is one of over 40 Rolli Palaces in Genoa that was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2006. Rolli Palaces were built and owned by the Noble republican families of Genoa and were the first example of exclusive public lodging in Europe, providing sumptious accommodations to visiting cardinals, princes etc. Here today we seem to be the only guests and the building is now used as an administration building for the town hall. A serious looking police officer shows us how to get to the first floor balcony to see the large frescoed maps decorating all the walls of what were the important trade points. The rulers of Genoa wanted to step out and look at the wealth. The windows have been blown open and it's raining on these majestic works of art so we run around closing the windows. Every wall is covered in a city map painted in the 16C ; a few maps are missing/destroyed because at some point (I bet it was the 60's) some lunatic architect added doorways to office rooms straight through the middle of the frescoes!

 

DSC02438.jpg Genoa Then we wander down the drenched Via Garibaldi before diving into the bar in a museum for wine - focaccia and coffee. A young Japanese lady who also looks a little drowned asks where I got my wonderful Costa poncho from and is overjoyed when I produce a spare from my ruck sack and give it to her. My good deed for the day done the sky clears and the sun pops out.

 

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By the time we arrive back in Savona for a late lunch on the ship the sun is out and you would never have known it was raining this morning. Please don't tell me the sun came out and the rain stopped as soon as we actually left this morning.

 

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Savona is actually one of the few places on this cruise where it's actually been possible to get a decent picture of the ship. You are normally either too close or there's a huge building alongside her. She's quite a graceful looking vessel for her size with nice classical form - as opposed to looking like a tower block at sea.

 

 

Dinner tonight is excellent - the main being a lovely cut of melt in the mouth veal for myself and red mullet for Jack. Tomorrow we head for France - but tonight its rocking away to TNT and mellowing out to more Pink Floyd whilst sipping an espresso - ahh life is good.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you so much for this thread! My Nana and I are sailing on this trip in October, leaving from Barcelona as well. The pictures were gorgeous and I'm going to send her a link to your blog. The sights look amazing and the food looks absolutely delectable. This is my Nana's first time to Europe and I really wanted that European experience at sea, not just in port.

 

Also, the idea of good coffee and gelato on board every day? Yes, please!

 

Did you do any other formal nights, like the White Party or the Gala?

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