Solo Senorita EPIC Western Med Review

[sunbird21]

Hi all! So I’ve been researching my Mediterranean cruise on the Epic since last September,and have read many blogs that Ive enjoyed(and taken some tips from).I wanted to return the favor,esp. since I went on one of the first Med cruises this season,and hopefully will be able to provide some tips to those planning on this cruise in the coming months!

Some background about me: I’m single,in my thirties(though my title says "Solo Senorita," I am NOT Latina,not that it matters,but I AM a single female and i like alliteration:),and love to travel. It’s a hobby that Im only able to do once or twice a year(for international,usually every 18 months or so),and I’ve traveled solo for quite a few trips. One of the reasons that I originally looked at cruises on NCL Epic is because of the studio cabins that are priced for solo travelers.When I saw that the price of the cruise was comparable in either the Caribbean or the Mediterranean,I chose to go to the Med since I hadn’t seen many of the places that this cruise visited. I actually booked it so early that I started the roll call for my cruise,and researched/organized a few excursions with others on here.

The first part of this review is pre-cruise,mainly regarding my travel to and first days in Rome,so skip ahead if you are mainly looking for the cruise review!

The Epic has embarkation points in Barcelona(the main startong place) Rome, and Marseilles. I chose to get on in Rome as I had not been to Italy yet,and couldn’t see how I would squeeze in everything in one excursion day.

My travels started EARLY on a Sunday morning,with a Megabus trip from Hartford-Manhattan. It was a good deal at $20 for the trip,and let me off by Penn Station,where I caught the LIRR to JFK.That was my third mistake(first being packing too much,although what female doesn’t?-and second wearing wedges). Ive taken the subway to JFK before,and assumed the LIRR cars were similar-NOT SO! The aisles were VERY narrow and luggage unfriendly.I know I made some people a little snippy as I was trying to get into my seat,butI did the best that I could:) The good thing about the LIRR though was the speed-we were at the airport in 15 minutes.I connected to the Airtrain,got off at Terminal 1,and checked in easily.

After killing some time at the airport,I boarded my Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt(had a lengthy layover) and settled into my aisle seat. Just as I was putting everything away,the guy next to me asked if I would switch with his wife,who was also in a middle seat in the row ahead of us.I felt a little bad,but I declined politely,stating that I preferred the aisle seat(and had selected it months prior). Apparently,the passenger seated next to his wife felt the same way,so they were stuck sitting an extra few inches away from each other for the 6 hour flight.

The guy was NOT happy,and he promptly sat in his seat with his legs V-d out so that he was in my legroom.I reluctantly kept my mouth shut(others on Tripadvisor say I should have said something,but it was a 6 hour flight that was completely full,and didn’t want it to be worse than it could be),until he threw his blanket over himself,spilling a large amount into my seat. I picked up the piece that was dangling over me and lightly placed it back into his space. He was quiet until I got up to go to the restroom,when he stood up in the aisle. As I made my way back to my seat,he refused to allow me in,saying that he wanted to stand.I stood next to him until he finally let me sit down.

Other than that unpleasantness,the flight was fine-we had seatback entertainment,free alcohol,and the dinner was decent.The staff was very polite and even came around offering warm washcloths after dinner.

Since we had left at 4pm,it was light most of the way,and the FA’s didn’t turn out the main cabin lights until we were 4 hrs into the flight. I didn’t get a lot of sleep before we landed in Frankfurt at 5am.

I had researched day trips into the city during layovers,and had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do,but since it was so early when we landed,the airport was pretty much shut down.I knew nothing in the tourist area would be open yet either,so I found a row of benches and closed my eyes for about 45 minutes. I then found out that FRA has shower facilities,and gladly paid the 8 Euros for a little shower room to freshen up(and hopefully wake myself up).

Then,I made my way through the airport,found the train station and bought my ticket on the S-bahn,and took the train into Hauptwache,the tourist shopping area of Frankfurt. Unfortunately,it was very rainy outside,and chilly.I wandered around for a couple of hours,then headed back to the airport,where I found a “relax lounge” area-I think it was on the A concourse,but it had several ergonomically reclined chairs and plugs/USB ports to plug electronics in. I stayed here for a couple of hours,then it was time to board the flight to Rome!

This time,I was extremely lucky-I had a row to myself! The flight was about two hours,and I was able to rest some but also read and observed the scenery outside. I was amazed as we were approaching FCO-the sea was sparkling turquoise,similar to the Caribbean,and Italy was much greener than I had imagined! The sun was shinign so brightly,I envisioned many warm days on the ship.(Sadly,that wasn’t to be-stay tuned!)

After landing,I found the baggae claim easily and then found the Terravision bus stop near the entrance. I was 8 euros RT for a bus to Termini station-seemed like a good deal. However,upon our arrival into Rome,the bus didn’t stop near the entrance,so it was a bit of a challenge to find the taxi line(I was too jet lagged and overloaded with bags at that point to try to navigate the Metro to my hotel).Once I did,I got a cab whose driver knew little English(this was to be the case in most of Italy)so I used a lot of pantomiming and repeating the address of the hotel. About 10 minutes later,the driver indicated that we had passed it,so we had to circle around,since it was a one way street.Once I arrived,it was 15 euros for the ride-grrr!!(I later found out it should have been about 9).

Anyway-the hotel itself was nice-I chose the Hotel Versailles,which was near the Borghese Gardens,at $67/night. It was a few blocks from a Metro stop,but the main bus stop for the hotel was at the Porta Pia square,which was only about 50 feet away. The staff at the hotel was very helpful at checking me in,giving me advice on local restaurants,and the typical tourist advice. The room was actually a bit larger,by European standarsd,than I had expected,and had a balcony and mini frige,and free Wifi!

It was nearly 8pm at this point,and I was way too tired to venture out into the main tourist area of Rome. Instead I walked around my hotel,found a local trattoria,and had my first authentic Italian meal,which was excellent! I also tried some gelato on the way back,and have to say,its NOTHING like the gelato they try to sell at the local US grocery stores!

Once I was back at the hotel,I pretty much crashed for the night!

[sunbird21]

By the way,if ANYone knows how to post pics on here,please let me know!!

[sunbird21]

Day 2

My first full day in Rome started early,as I headed to the Colosseum. I had downloaded the e-book version of Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise ports onto my Kindle,and followed his advice to get my three pack ticket(12 euros) at the Palatine Hille(third sight in the Roman Forum,Colosseum,Palantine Hill complex).Whereas the line to the Colosseum stretched around the complex(luring many tour guides to call out their services to those waiting),the wait at the Palatine Hill was only 15 minutes. I toured this part first,then hit the Colosseum,and then the Forum,using my guidebook,which directed me around quite well!

All in all,it took about 4 hours to see all three(and I had another gelato on the walk). It’s definitely an area where I’d watch out for pickpockets,though-crowded at parts,and there are a lot of tour guides,street vendors,and street performers all looking to earn some money.

After leaving the Ancient Roman complex,I took the Metro one stop,an walked over to the St Peters in Chains church,a small church that supposedly has the chains that held St Peter when he was arrested about 2000 years ago.I’m Catholic,though not strict,so I figured I should try to visit some of the churches since I was in RomeJ It was actually a beautiful,smaller church,and has an amazing Michaelangelo sculpture of Moses in it as well.

My next stop was the National Museum of Rome,which has a lot of ancient sculptures of Roman politicians and nobility. Rick Steves book gives a good guided tour and interesting detail about Roman history,and it fit well with the visit to Ancient Rome.

Finally,I headed back to my hotel for a little break,then back out to Campo de Fiori,where I had planned to do this self guided walk from the book(its supposedly best at night). Campo de Fiori is a bit hard to find,as its not immediately at any Metro or bus stops,but once I did,I was delighted by the square full of trattorias,lights,music,and street performers. I found a restaurant,sat on the patio,and enjoyed another EXCELLENT Italian meal-the noodles of the lasagna were so soft,they were like butter! Unfortunately,by the time I was done,I was so tired,I decided to forgo the walk and head back to the hotel for the night.

[sunbird21]

I got up a little earlier today,as I wanted to fit in a few more sights before I headed to Civitavecchia. I got a taxi from Porta Pia to Termini,found the left luggage(which is way in the back by Track 24 and downstairs) and dropped my bags off. Then,I headed for the bus and got off near the Pantheon,explored it,and walked from there to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. I stopped at another café by the Spanish Steps to have pizza before I left Rome. While it was very good,the waiter seemed a bit insulted when I asked for the check. I know this is common in Europe,though-they take their time with meals,which is nice when you can,but hey-sometimes people do have to eat and go!

I made my way back to Termini(theres a metro right by the Steps)and collected my luggage. I had purchased my train ticket to Civitavecchia the day before as I was traveling through Termini by going to one of the many Trenitalia Biggliteria machines,and only paid 5 euros for the trip. After looking at the screen,I saw that the train left from Track 25,which I didn’t see anything after 24,but was told that it was “behind 24.” It turned out that it was a LONG way down the platform behind Track 24-it took about 10 minutes to walk it.

Right outside the train,a guy waring a Trenitalia shirt asked if I was going to Civitavecchia,and when I said yes,he took my ticket,stamped it on a machine outside the train doors,and grabbed my bags,along with another guy,and loaded them into a seat on four for me. As soon as I sat down,they held out their hands and asked for 10 euros each. I laughed,and said I didn’t have any cash on me(not true,but I quickly figured that they weren’t actually train employees,and even so,they only loaded the bags onto the car-I had to drag them all the rest of the way!)They lowered the price to 5 euros each,and I continued to stare them down. Finally they gave up(after probably cussing me out in Italian) and left me alone.

Then,the train took off and I was on my way to the Epic! It turned out I had gotten the slow train,which took about 90 minutes,but it was only 2:30 when I arrived,so I had plenty of time. As I got out into the station,I noticed many others with baggage looking beweildered and asking each other,”where do we go?” I knew from reading that it was a long walk out of the station area to the ships shuttle buses,so I exited the station and walked in the direction of the ships. Other people started following,and conversing,and it turnd out most were going on the Epic as well.

About 15 minutes later,we all came to a large shuttle bus with the NCL logo.loaded the bags on,and were on our way!Once we arrived at the terminal,porters were outside to collect our bags,and I made my way into the terminal,passed through security,and got in the check in line. People were coming around having us fill out small forms asking if we had any cold or flu symptoms. I think if you answered yes,you got a free checkup before you were allowed to board the ship.

Luckily,it was only about a 20 minute wait in line,and then it was time to board! I walked outside to take my first picture and discovered that it was RAINING!! Oh NO!!! I was still certain that it had to be a fluke-after all,it was sunny and warm back in Rome.

I boarded the ship on Deck 4,got onto the elevators quickly and made my way to Deck 11 and my studio cabin,11500,which was at the front of the ship.The hallway was much like the pictures I had seen,with blue and pink mood lighting,and once I found my cabin,I was greeted with the same mood lighting,alternating from shades of blue,purple,pink,red,peach and white.The cabin looked like I had expected,small but certainly well organized and cute!I started exploring the cabin and all of the cubbies,and as I was putting my carryon bag away,there was a knock at the door-my luggage had already arrived!

It was about 3:30,and I decided to discipline myself and put everything away right away before going to explore the ship.I had two bags plus my carryon,so it took about an hour. In the meantime,announcements were made for the lifeboat drill. I decided to keep unpacking until they did their rounds to call people(on Carnival,they come knocking on everyones dorr to drag them to the drill).Before I knew it,was was after five,and apparently I missed the drill. I guess NCL does it a little differently! Oops!

After unpacking,and reading all of the dailies and weekly schedules, I decided to go explore the ship before the solo gathering at 630.As I entered the Studio Lounge first to check it out,I saw a couple of guys at the bar,so I greeted them,and sat down to have a beverage as we chatted about our respective first days(they were also American,and were traveling with a married couple who were staying in the Haven. We ended up chatting for so long,it was 15 minutes until the solo gathering. I left quickly to deliver some flyers to the cabins of the fellow Cruise Critic members who were going to be on the Livorno excursion with me.

As I was handing them out(theres a slot above each cabin number where you can leave fliers,notes,etc) someone called my name from behind.I turned around and it turned out to be a fellow CC roll call member E and her husband R!(I’m only using initials to respect privacy of others who may not intend to be characters in my blog LOL,though the people who were on it can probably identify most). We introduced ourselves,chatted,and confirmed plans for the Meet and Greet I had organized later that night.

Once I handed out all of the fliers,it was time for the solo gathering,so even though I STILL had not fully explored the ship,I didn’t want to miss out the initial solo meeting.As I walked back to the lounge,I found about 10 people in there including C and A,the two guys I had met earlier. The lounge is set up very interesting-if you walk in from the entrance by the front of the ship,you have a bar on the left and a booth and table on the right. Walking towards the other door,theres another section of chairs and tables on the right beyond the staircase,and more tables with booth like seats on the left,behind a couple of white boards where the solo organizer has the days agenda written on it. On the counter by the bar is the infamous espresso machine,a mini fridge with snacks,and a juice dispenser.There are also a couple of large flat screen TV’s on this side of the lounge. By the opposite door there is a vending machine selling bottled soda,water,energy drinks,etc.

Anyway,I sat down at the booth by the bar,and immediately met K,another solo traveler who was also on the CC roll call,so we got to chatting.A few other women were nearby and introduced themselves,and soon the solo organizer,Vianey came and sat down. She was a bit quiet at first,but introduced herself a few minutes later and kind of let us talk.About 10 minutes later she asked if everyone wanted to go to dinner together,and she suggested going to the Manhattan Room since no one was in shorts(I guess Taste is the more casual complimentary dining room). About 10 of us agreed,so we walked to the elevators and headed to Deck 5.

Upon entering the Manhattan room,I found it similar in style to the main dining rooms on Carnival,except the two story window looking aft,and the live band playing.Festive! Vianey sat with us for the first 20 minutes,showed us how the menu works(left side is the daily specials,right side never changes,and menu is the same in both Taste and Manhattan).and chatted a bit.That night I went for the NY strip steak,spring rolls,and chocolate raspberry cake-all were pretty good. We all ended up talking for so long I almost lost track of time,until I saw that it was 830,and the Meet and Greet was at 9!!! I excused myself,told B and K I’d see them upstairs,and scrambled back to my cabin to collect my Mardi Gras beads,and headed to Deck 15 in search of Spice H2O.

When I had picked Spice as the location for our (informal) Meet and Greet,I figured it would be a fun atmosphere to get to know everyone and get into vacation mode,poolside with music and the stars and sea around us. Unfortunately, I did NOT count on the wind and rain,which the ship hadn’t seemed to escape since our departure from Civitavecchia.It was downright chilly outside! I found a spot outside the entrance to Spice that was covered and had some oversize cushioned chairs,and was near two elevator entrances. I figured this would be a central place to meet whoever dared show up,and we could (semi) avoid the elements. I began to think it was a lost cause-no one was going to come out in this!

Luckily,K and B came out shortly after I did,followed by E and R. A few minutes later,V and her husband M,K and her son J,C and his mom P, and J and her husband(I cant remember his name!!!) came. Before I knew it,all but one couple arrived,beads in tow. Everyone seemed to be in the vacation spirit in spite of the weather,and we all compared travel stories,excursion plans,and impressions of the ship(all positive so far!). As I said,it was a pretty casual Meet and Greet,but we enjoyed getting to know one another,and we were there for about an hour or so.I stayed until the end,about 1030,and headed back to my cabin,as I had to be up SUPER early for our Florence excursion the next morning! I did manage to do a quick walk through of Deck 15 before I jumped on an elevator back to my deck.

As I settled in my studio cabin for the first night,I found the bed to be quite comfortable,and even though I was at the front of the ship,I did not notice much movement. I fell asleep easily,after setting my wake up call for way too early the next morning!

[NauticalMom]

Hi Sunbird,

 

Enjoying your review! Keep it coming! I especially like the information re the train! Was the Freestyle Daily you received on embarkation day in Rome listed as day 4, or day 1?

 

Thanks!

Nautical Mom

[sunbird21]

Thanks!!

 

They really dont list the days numerically-just the location of where we are stopping that day. However,the day i got on,I had another flier listing an overview of the weeks activities,and that started with Rome as Day 1. Then,on the day we were in Barcelona,I got another weekl overview,listing Barcelona as Day 1. Go figure:)

[anandaindonesia]

Following with interest. Thanks for sharing.

[NauticalMom]

Thanks!!

 

They really dont list the days numerically-just the location of where we are stopping that day. However,the day i got on,I had another flier listing an overview of the weeks activities,and that started with Rome as Day 1. Then, on the day we were in Barcelona,I got another weekly overview, listing Barcelona as Day 1. Go figure:)

 

Oh yes, I was referring to the "Look at your Week" page. The recent daily I printed (someone who embarked in Rome) had the Look at Your Week with Barcelona as Day 1 . .. and that makes the most sense to me. . .but I asked NCL and she said she thinks Rome would be day 1 for me. I wondered how they would keep track of who embarked where. . and she joked that they put a giant "B" on the Barcelona doors, and giant "R" on Rome doors! :D She also said they print the dailies on the ship! So they probably put the extra flier starting with Rome as day one with those newly embarking, and all the rooms get the dailies in Barcelona. Thanks for the insight!

 

Looking forward to more review!

[mscasey95]

This is like a good book that you can't put down!!! I need more...... Quickly please!!!!!:p

Patti

[mj]

Great review so far. The walk from the train station to the port is something I am not looking forward to next year. I will need to pack lighter.

 

Keep the review coming.

[sunbird21]

OK, trying to add some pics here....If they go through,they are from the flight to Europe and Frankfurt,Germany

Edited June 23, 2013 by sunbird21
trying to post pics!!!

[Annhawthorne]

That was great. My husband and I are in our early 60's and this is our 1st venture to Italy . Keep up the advice.we are staying at the rome park marriott so our travel will be a little complicated the day of the cruise. We have to pack,see more of rome ,then travel to the port

[karoo]

Enjoying your review and looking forward to reading more. I'm embarking in Rome as a solo traveller in a little over a week. Just one quick question-did you have to go to the safety drill at another time?

[sunbird21]

OK,I am not having any luck with the pictures...there has to be an easier way. Anyone???

 

Karoo-Im probably going to get bashed for this,but no. They sent me a message telling me about a make up drill,but I skipped it and they never said anything. Im not advocating for skipping,if its your first(or second) cruise,by all means,go...I'm all for safety,really...it just happened that I missed it and by the time I got the message I had missed that one,too. If I really wanted to,I suppose I couldve gone to one on the day we were in BArcelona,but it was more than halfway through the cruise,so I decided to take my chances.

 

Thank you everyone else for the comments so far! Yes,traveling from Rome to Civitavecchia was a bit of a pain,just allow youself a good 2-3 hours for everything(getting to Termini,finding the train,the ride,and walk to the ships port shuttle,then the shuttle ride to the ship itself).

[sunbird21]

OK,this is split into two parts,as it was a LONG day!!

 

Day 4.

My wake up call was successful,but it came VERY early.After getting ready,I debated where to try to grab breakfast. I had arranged for everyone to meet at the Atrium café on Deck 5 at 745,figuring it was a large area out in the open,and should be easy but not too crowded for everyone to find.I also figured it would be close to whatever deck we would be disembarking from. This turned out to be a good choice,so for anyone planning private excursions,I’d recommend it as a good meeting place-there were plenty of chairs and couches,and there’s a,little bar for people to grab coffee/tea while waiting.

 

A little background on this particular excursion: This was one I had really put a lot of thought and research into. I had read many reviews on this cruise,and one excursion that stood out to me was written by a woman who cruised the Epic last summer that did an excursion that included a stop at a Tuscan winery,along with time in Florence and Pisa. This sounded like the perfect excursion to me,as I have recently been getting into learning about wines,and I really didn’t want to miss the opportunity to visit a winery in the Tuscan countryside.I also wanted to see the other two cities as well. I investigated pretty much every company,and almost went with the one that she had used-All Around Italy-as it was one of the only ones that would do all three.(Rome In Limo,while it has received RAVE reviews,wouldn’t include a winery visit-said the schedule would be too tight.) then I came across Smart Cruise Tours,which was offering excursions at a fraction of the cost of the others. A typical 8 person private excursion runs about 600 euros with most companies-SCT offered it for 360.

 

I started emailing Julia back in November,and we exchanged many emails over the next few months detailing the itinerary I was interested in,the cost,and she even listened to my concerns about setting up shared tours with,well,basically strangers. Since this company did require a deposit,I worried a bit that I would get people who wanted to go but wouldn’t show up on the day of the tour. Julia reassured me,saying,”You’re likely to get many more people than spots-and if you do,we can increase the group size,and the cost will go down.”

 

 

She was right-as soon as I posted it on CC,I quickly got 7 others to go,and 4 more emailed me a few weeks later. I continued to contact Julia,we increased the group size twice until we eventually had two vans and 15 people. There was only one hiccup during the process,where she didn’t tell me about an extra driver fee,which brought the cost up a few extra euros per person,but I consulted people on the roll call,and after obtaining everyone’s agreement,we went forward. As we got to the 15th person,however,the price dropped again,so we were good.

So we were a GO-but I still worried that I may have some no shows as the cruise approached. SO-I decided to ask those on this excursion to email me their cabin numbers,as a way to contact them,and in return,I let them know what mine was once I received the email. I stated it was to give them a flier of the itinerary,but I’m sure they knew what my concerns were,and luckily everyone was agreeable.

 

 

OK-back to the day of the tour. Sorry if that was a bit dry,but I’m sure others who set up private tours may have similar concerns,so I wanted to share that aspect of the planning.

As I left my cabin,I decided to try the Garden Buffet for a quick bite. Fortunately,I ran into B,who had the same idea. Unfortunately,we also ran into about 2,000 other people who did,too. It was a bit chaotic at the buffet lines,and the only way to get silverware was to sit at a table-if you could find one. We ended up grabbing a (dirty) table as someone else left. I had enough time to eat a few bites,then left B to go down to the Atrium Café,figuring I should be on time since I was the organizer. And B had more good news-he had found another solo traveler who wanted to take the last available spot on our tour,which meant the final price per person was a LOW 51 euros per person!!

 

 

When I arrived at the Atrium Café, I found 6 of the 15 people already there at 740!! Yay!!! I sat and chatted,and two more couples showed up within minutes.Soon there were only a few people to go. As I looked around,K(with son J) came over and told me that their was an issue with the remaining couple to show up. It was with E and R,who I had met last night. K pointed to E standing at the guest services desk and told me, “R is missing. He hasn’t been seen since 3 in the morning.”

 

WHAT?!?!

Soon the conversations amongst everyone else came to a halt. As we sat there with our mouths open,K continued to say that E was filing a missing persons report. I got up and went over to her to find out what was going on. E was pretty shaken up as she told me that R had been having trouble sleeping the night before,and decided to take a walk,but never returned. As we were talking,the guest services member was giving a description of R on a walkie talkie.

I tried to reassure E the best I could,as visions of Dateline NBC specials were running through my head. It had rained all night,so I couldn’t imagine that anyone would be on deck and therefore be at risk for going overboard,but I had NO idea how someone could be missing on a ship?!?!

 

 

Thankfully,a few minutes later,a member of the crew came over and said he had been found-he fell asleep in the library! He came down a few minutes later,and we left E to talk to him. We waited in our (big) group ,relieved that R was ok. E came over a few minutes later saying that R was going to skip the trip that day,but she would cover both of their costs.

 

 

So with a double sense of relief(that everyone showed and no one went overboard) we set off to disembark. Outside,it was still chilly and lightly raining,and just off the gangway was a huddle of private tour guides bearing name cards. We walked around until one of the others found two women holding one with my name. They greeted us,and walked us around the dock to two minivans,and we divided up. I went with the 8 person minivan and the driver S,who seemed to be the more experienced of the two.

 

 

S seemed to be concerned that there were 15 people instead of 16( once we had 15,Julia suggested to increase the reservation to the max of 16,figuring that I would likely find a 16th person-and did). I explained to her about R staying behind,but she still seemed baffled and called Julia. As we started our drive to Florence,she took a few more calls until she handed me the phone. I got on,and it was Julia,asking me how the reservation went from 16 to 15. After a LOT of confusion,we got it straightened out,but it was a bit irritating to have to deal with instead of focusing on the excursion!

Anyway,as we drove along,I tried to make conversation with S,but it was clear that she did not have the *best* grasp of English. Examples:

 

 

Me: So,when is your colleagues baby due?

S: Yes,I have two children,ages 7 and 10.

 

 

So chatting was out,but she was very nice in any case,and her driving was impeccable.

 

 

About an hour and a half later, we arrived on the outskirts of Florence. S pulled over to a scenic lookout,and we all got out and took pics of the skyline,including the river and the Duomo.Luckily,the rain had stopped,and the sun was starting to peek through! I have to admit,I didn’t have a strong opinion either way on Florence prior to this trip-I wanted to see it,but didn’t have any special attachment to it-but as I looked at the skyline,I noticed that Florence had this picturesque Italian village charm to it,and I became eager to see more.

 

 

We left the lookout after about 20 minutes,and then crossed the river into the historic center.I was then even more grateful for or private tour buses,as the streets were VERY narrow.The larger group buses would NEVER be able to venture that far into town!

 

 

Our next stop was the Santa Croce Church,where Michaelangelo and Galileo are buried. The curch faces an open square,with older apartment buildings and offices facing opposite of it. Of course,the market was filled with booths selling various trinkets…and some beautiful leather goods,such as belts,hats,wallets and (cough)purses(cough). The good news was that we had only a few minutes to stop here,so my credit cards were safe. Bad news was that there wouldn’t be enough time to go into the churchL Instead,I pulled out my Kindle,and read RS’ blurbs on the church.

 

Then we were off to the main square by the Duomo and Bell Tower,where the majority of the group was going to be let off for about an hour to shop,explore the church,etc. Four of us would be taken to the Accademia for our respective tours. E had purchased the guided tour,and I had not been able to book my advance skip the line tickets,so I purchased R’s ticket from her(also to help her recoup a little of his money lost for the day) and went on the guided tour instead.

 

When we got to the museum,I was definitely glad I had purchased the ticket from E. The entrance line was LONG! Another couple on our tour had also purchased the guided tour tickets,but they decided to skip out during the tour and head back to the square to see a bit more of Florence before we had to leave.

 

Our tour pretty much took us through the first few rooms before getting to the David sculpture at the end of one of the halls. Our guide was pretty informative,giving us an overview of Florentine history and culture,as well as some interesting facts about the David. For example,the sculpture has these electronic sensors that notify the museum curators when there is any decay occurring in the marble. Talk about technology! I did have to admit,especially after seeing the Moses in Rome,I had a better appreciation for Michaelangelo’s work after leaving the Accademia. I’m by no means an artistic person AT ALL,but to see what one person can create out of marble nearly 500 years ago was AMAZING.

 

 

Once we left the Accademia,we headed back to the square to pick up the others,and we were off to the winery! By then,the sun was really shining,and as we drove up the hills in the countryside,the view was incredible.I felt like I was immersed in a movie-Under the Tuscan Sun or Eat,Pray,Love-the rolling green hills dotted with tiny trees,vineyards and little cottages…it truly did seem like the movies had come to life.

The winery,Fattoria San Michele,was only about 20 minutes or so from Florence.I could tell everyone was getting hungry,so the timing seemed pretty good. The tour guide at the winery gave us a tour through the cellar that was just about the right amount of time. She gave us a brief tutorial on Chianti(the main wine of that region),starting out by asking if we knew what it was. J piped up and said,”Wine?” making us all crack up.

 

 

 

Soon she led us back upstairs to a long table with trays of bread and what looked like prosciutto set out.As we all sat down,she poured us our first sample of wine and proceeded to talk about the olive oil we were eating with the bread. A few samples later,she suddenly pulled out a book and started showing us pictures of pigs.

 

 

“Look at these pigs. See how happy they are? They have a good life here in the Chianti region. They bask in the sun all day,they have good,rich grass to eat..” she rambled on.

I was starting to wonder what pigs had to do with wine. Was it Italian culture to let them sample the grapes?

 

 

 

Then she looked down at our trays. “Yes,our pigs have very happy lives. And now,you can taste what quality meat come from our happy pigs,” she concluded.

Oops. Well,there’s a different spin that would really add some drama to those California Cow commercials.

 

 

Everyone else looked kind of stunned as well as we were encouraged to sample the three different types of meat-salami,prosciutto,and some other meat that we were told was basically belly fat.

 

(Yes, I KNOW pork comes from a pig. But Im not usually presented with images of the animal Im eating right before I eat it).

 

 

Needless to say,the belly fat did not get scarfed down.The prosciutto wasn’t bad,though.

 

After several samples of wine,our guide brought out some Grappa(40% alcohol) for us to sample.Talk about strong-it was like drinking rubbing alcohol! One of the guys in our group did manage to gulp the whole sample down,though.

 

We finished up our time there by polishing off the remainder of the bottles(they had left them out,so we started pouring)-between 15 people,its not like we got plastered,but it was a nice,relaxing break in the day. After we finished,and of course made several purchases in the shop on our way out,many people commented on how the winery was a nice touch to the day. That made me feel glad that I had put so much research into this excursion-and definitely happy that I held onto this part of it as well.

 

 

On the way to our last stop,Pisa,you could tell the wine was hitting everyone-several people dozed off. S was nice enough to allow us to use her pocket WiFi to connect to the Internet,so myself and a couple of others took advantage of it during the ride.

 

 

Our final stop was in Pisa,and as MANY others have said,a quick stop is PLENTY here. K,J, and I were interested in climbing the tower,and while we had time(45 minutes) the tours were booked until 15 minutes before we had to leaveL So,instead, I wandered around,took the obligatory picture,and donated some money to the market booths and received a beautiful Italian leather purse and Gucci(probably Fucci) watch for my donation.

Edited June 23, 2013 by sunbird21

[sunbird21]

The ride back to the ship was also quiet,and the skies seemed to grow darker the closer we got to port. Sure enough,as soon as we pulled up to the ship,it started sprinkling. I stayed behind to collect everyone’s portion of the excursion and help S count it out.Luckily,that went smoothly,and I thanked both her and the other driver profusely for their service. All in all,it was definitely worth what we paid for the tour. I did end up enjoying the tour I later took with Rome in Limo,but considering everything that was included in this,and the cost,I was satisfied with Smart Cruise.

I was feeling a bit isolated as I walked back onto the ship by myself,after being in a large group all day.But,one of the advantages of being by myself was that I didn’t have to debate my next decision with anyone else. I was STARVING once I returned to my cabin,and since it was over an hour before our solo gathering(which meant at least two before dinner if I went with them) I decided to try out the pub for dinner right then.

So I grabbed my Kindle and head to O’Sheehans,and had the spinach dip and chicken pot pie for dinner.I settled in at the bar overlooking the bowling lanes and had a relaxing meal. The food was incredible! I loved the chips that came with the dip,and the chicken pot pie was to die for…it had a thick,flaky crust on top of the chicken and veggies.The service was quick as well. This ended up being a frequent spot for me during the cruise.

I finished in time for the solo gathering,so I head down to the studio lounge for a drink before everyone else went to dinner. I met L from Switzerland there with K,and we chatted about our days. Soon,A and R(not a couple) from England joined us,and before I knew it,there were about ten of us chatting away.(these would become the people I ended up spending a majority of the cruise with).

Vianey strolled in a few minutes later and told us that tonights dinner was in Taste,the other complimentary dining room. I told her that I had eaten already,and she looked kind of concerned and said,”Well,you should still come with us. You can just get dessert,you can’t go without THAT!”

Well,who am I to say no to that?

So we headed to Taste. There were so many of us that we had to split into two tables. I sat at the smaller table with B(from Belgium) S(from US,but in military currently) A, and R. I cant remember what I had for dessert,but between that and another drink,I was there for about an hour before I left. However,before I did go,our table made plans to meet up at the Ice Bar later that night.

By myself again…I finally decided to walk around the main decks inside and get an idea of where everything was. This took the better part of the next hour,before I met up with B,S,C,Kand older B(from England) outside the Svedka bar. We donned our furry coats from the racks just outside the entrance. After we paid the entrance fee of $20,we were given two drink coupons and some thin black gloves.

Walking inside,we were hit with the -17 degree Farenheit chill.Yikes! At first,it wasn’t so bad,as we were busy taking pictures next to the ice sculpture,on the ice bench,with the group,etc.

Then the professional photographer came in,and a new onslaught of pics took place.I tried to chug down my first fruity vodka drink from the ice cone that it came in,but they are STRONG. Soon,I began to feel my fingers go numb

.Luckily,the bartender has probably seen this happen numerous times,and he made my second drink to go. All in all,I lasted about 15 minutes!

Everyone else joined me within a few minutes,and we headed down to Bliss,which was my first time there. We found L and A settled on one of the couches in the back,and joined them.The DJ was playing 90’s/00’s music,and the next couple of hours included another drink or two and some dancing(once the few drinks set inJ

We ran into Vianey who pulled R into the cage with her for some pretty interesting dancing.(I should mention,R was at least in his 70’s,so it was hysterical seeing his let loose with Vianey. I did take a video but I’m not risking anything posting it,sorry! Despite his age,R ended up closing the bars down with us many nights on the cruise).

Before I knew it,it was almost 1am. We were due in Marseilles at 10! I said my goodbyes to the few remaining,and headed back to my cabin.Like the night before,I fell asleep quickly,and noticed no movement or noise from my part of the ship.

[NauticalMom]

CC needs to develop a "Like" button! Keep it coming!:)

[karoo]

After killing some time at the airport,I boarded my Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt(had a lengthy layover) and settled into my aisle seat. Just as I was putting everything away,the guy next to me asked if I would switch with his wife,who was also in a middle seat in the row ahead of us.I felt a little bad,but I declined politely,stating that I preferred the aisle seat(and had selected it months prior). Apparently,the passenger seated next to his wife felt the same way,so they were stuck sitting an extra few inches away from each other for the 6 hour flight.

The guy was NOT happy,and he promptly sat in his seat with his legs V-d out so that he was in my legroom.I reluctantly kept my mouth shut(others on Tripadvisor say I should have said something,but it was a 6 hour flight that was completely full,and didn’t want it to be worse than it could be),until he threw his blanket over himself,spilling a large amount into my seat. I picked up the piece that was dangling over me and lightly placed it back into his space. He was quiet until I got up to go to the restroom,when he stood up in the aisle. As I made my way back to my seat,he refused to allow me in,saying that he wanted to stand.I stood next to him until he finally let me sit down.

Interesting to read this. That has happened to me quite a few times lately, unfortunately most people book their seats so if you don't book you are left with just the middle seats. When I've had complaining seat mates, I'm usually very polite, but explain that I've paid extra for my plane seat and ask them very nicely (lots of smiles etc.) why they didn't think about booking their seats? (I always book my seat as soon I book my flight to ensure I have an aisle seat-sometimes I pay extra, sometimes I don't depending on the airline.) I haven't had anyone as nasty as that man, but after years of flying and sometimes having awful people near, kicking the back of my seat, invading my space etc I think I would now report them to a flight attendant. I have seen this done by other passengers. What a rude man. I'm glad you didn't give into his bad behaviour and swap with him.

 

 

[NauticalMom]

This is like a good book that you can't put down!!! I need more...... Quickly please!!!!!:p

Patti

 

Agree with Patti ! This reads like a great book! What an adventure you had!:) Keep it coming!:D

[QuattroRomeo]

Thank you for the fun review! I can imagine the lecture about contented pigs would be a little off-putting just before eating!!.. Different cultures and languages make for interesting trips though!

[KAY0513]

Hi Stacey,

 

I loved re-living the EPIC experience. I was impressed with the EPIC, and I would definately take it again...one day. I was just looking at my photos, and even though, I have tons, I wish I had taken more. (Did you get a copy of the group photo we took before we went to the White Hot Party?). I am working on a photobook and this will take ages to complete. My fav memory was being in the Tuscan countyside, after sampling the Chianti and the infamous Grappa. ( I also think this is what rubbing alcohol would taste like if I drank it) Many years ago I watched Under the Tuscan Sun, and after watching it , I put it was on my bucketlist to get there, and I did. ( Thanks to you for organising a small group excursion, because if I had just taken the NCL excursion to Florence, I would have missed out). Thanks again

 

K

[sunbird21]

OK,I apologize if anyones still reading this-I meant to have this finished WEEKS ago,but between moving,illness,school,and my office going under,I've been seriously delayed. But I do want to get this up,even though i know EPIC's time in Europe is drawing to a close.Still hopefully this will be helpful to some,and maybe useful for next years early spring group,SOOO

 

Without further adieu,here are the next installments of my crazy,adventure filled,fun loving solo trip on NCL's EPIC:)

***************************************

 

Day 5-Marseilles,France

 

Before I start with the day’s adventures, I wanted to describe a little bit more about the studio cabin,for those who want more detail.

It IS 100 square feet,but as many others have said,it is pretty well designed. I had chosen cabin 11500,since it was all the way forward and not immediately connected to any other studios, I thought it might be a bit quieter.It was a little more secluded,although it was across the way from a linen room,so I was able to hear the cabin stewards in the morning,but it wasn’t too bad.

 

Once you walked into the cabin,the large,queen size bed was to the left(it really was two singles pushed together,and the ONLY drawback was you could tell where the split was in the bed).Underneath the bed were two bamboo bins,which you could use for storage/dirty laundry,etc. An extra purple blanket was in one. I ended up not using them,as there was enough space without them for all of my things. I did manage to shove my two suitcases and carryon under the bed(s) without any problem.

 

 

Directly in front of the door was the sink/vanity area,with storage under the sink(shoes went here).To the right were four cubbyhole shelves,one with a door,and the pull out trash can drawer on the bottom.To the left was the first closet,with about 5 hangers(girls,bring some) and two more shelves. A sliding door covers this closet.

 

Moving left of the first closet is the TV,a little table that you could pull out if you wanted to(with an ice bucket) and an ottoman(where I did put dirty laundry). Above the TV was one more shelf,nd to the furthest left was the second closet,with another five hangers,the safe,and the life jackets. On the wall in front of the last closet was the phone and a shelf with some magazines.

 

To the right of the vanity was the shower,and across from it,the bathroom. A full size mirror was in between the two.

As I said before,I definitely overpacked, and even I managed to put everything away nicely in this cabin

 

Sooo…back to Day 5…

 

I woke up around 8,got ready and decided to try O’Sheehans for a breakfast,since it was in the general direction of where I had to meet my tour for that day. As I was getting ready, I heard the cruise director on the overhead announce that we had cleared French customs and that people could get off the ship.We were about an hour early-the Daily said we would dock at 10!

 

As I head into O’Sheehan’s and waited for the host(ess) to seat me,I heard someone call my name. Sure enough,B,S, and older C were eating at a table already! I joined them and as soon as I sat down,a server came over and took my order. O’Sheehans had a simple menu for breakfast,but decent-there was a choice between a basic bacon and eggs combo,made to order omelettes,and a couple of other things. I ended up getting the omelette and what ended up being my favorite,the bakery basket. This was a little assortment of pastries-a croissant,pain au chocolat,cinnamon roll,and a jelly roll.

 

We chatted about our plans for the day-B and S were choosing to forgo leaving the ship(B even stated that his parents lived about 20 minutes from port,thus explaining his lack of enthusiasm for exploring the area).Older C was planning to just walk around Marseille.

 

I ended up going with an NCL tour on this one,much as I hated to take an overpriced shore excursion. Unfortunately,even with my research,I couldn’t find a cheaper DIY way to go to both Avignon and Aix en Provence,so I coughed up the $89 and went with NCL. I ran into K in the Manhattan dining room(the meeting spot) and we went on the same bus. As we left the ship,I noticed the temperature was cooler than what I dressed for(I wore a sleeveless top and shorts) and the sky was gray…..

 

Sure enough,as we were en route to our first stop,Avignon,it started POURING.A few people in the front of the bus started randomly singing “Walking on Sunshine” in vain. As we pulled up to our stop,the tour guide opened the door,yet no one wanted to leave the bus-it was raining THAT hard! Finally she insisted that we get off and follow her to our “meeting point,” where she would turn us loose in the town for about an hour and a half.

 

As we darted down the narrow streets,I looked desperately in the souvenir shops that we passed,planning to buy the first tacky souvenir sweater I could find. Once our guide left us in front of one of the shops,I tried my luck at the nearest three stores. Good news-I could have purchased enough lavender soap or sachets to furnish my apt a dozen times over. Bad news? Not a sweater/sweatshirt to be found.Nor were there any umbrellas or ponchos or anything to ward off Mother Nature.(And I was NOT the only one looking)!

 

About 20 minutes later,the rain let up a little,and K and I,along with another girl who we met on the bus,J,headed towards the Palais des Popes.This was the main attraction that I wanted to see(I think the other two were open to anything),which was basically the residence of the Pope in the 1300’s.Apparently,Italy was not very receptive to Catholicism during that time,so the Pope was relocated to Avignon for safety. For only 10 euros,it was a decent tour,and had incredible views on the rooftop of the French village town. You could even see the St Benzenet bridge(Pont d’Avignon),which is a bridge that is only half finished. The ticket office at the palace offers a combo ticket to see both attractions,but we opted to skip it,due to the rain/chilly weather.

 

On our return to the bus,we had just enough time to explore some of the local shops. I managed to use my warbling French well enough to ask for the time and barter a discount on a really cool skirt that I found for the ship’s White Party that night.

 

As we waited at the meeting point for our tour guide,one couple was describing how they found some sort of connection device for their camcorder,and were thrilled.Apparently,they had been searching for it for days along their vacation,and were happy that they could spend the evening gazing at their photos on the TV screen in their cabin. To each their own,I suppose…

 

Once we were back on the bus,on the way to Aix en Provence,J told K and I how she had been pickpocketed in the airport on the way to Rome.This was NOT the first story I had heard about people being pickpocketed on this trip,which was unusual. Granted,I know it’s the most common crime to occur while traveling,especially internationally,but considering I’ve had four previous international trips that were uneventful,I was surprised to hear so many tales of this occurrence. In any case,poor J had no other means to access funds,so she was desperately trying to locate a Western Union,and was anxiously awaiting the one in Aix.

 

We arrived in Provence about an hour later,and were told we had about 2 hours there. I was starving at this point,as was K,so we headed for the main tree lined,shop filled street as J went in search of her Western Union. We ended up eating at one of the streetside cafes for lunch. Despite the picturesque Parisian like scenery,we opted to eat inside-it was THAT chilly outside still! I attempted to use my French to order again,but the waitress quickly redirected me back to English(hey,it’s hard to pull up French last used 10 years ago,when you’ve been hearing a mix of German,Italian,Spanish,,etc the last few days). All things considered,it was a typical French café,service was good,and the food was excellent,of course.

 

Afterwards,K and I did a little window shopping and photographing before heading back to the bus. Right near the bus stop,there was a creperie stand,and I confess,despite just having eaten a filling French meal,I was dying for a nutella crepe.I had my first crepe underneath the Eiffel Tower a few years ago,and ever since then,I’ve always associated them with France(I know they’re not).

 

So I went to get in line,and found J already standing behing a group of older women. I greeted her and she began telling me her tale of woe-long story short,she didn’t have some number that she needed,so was unable receive her wire transfer. I felt bad for her and offered to cover her crepe purchase just as she approached the counter,when-

 

“Excuse me! I was next,” one of the four women,who had very clearly been standing at the SIDE of the booth,stated,pushing in front of J.

 

J looked bewildered for a moment,before replying that very statement.She pointed out that the woman,who has been immersed in conversation,was nowhere near the counter when J approached.

 

The woman was not about to wait a moment longer for her crepe.”I was NEXT,little girl!” she shouted,wagging her finger in J’s face.

 

I haven’t seen that move in quite some time.

 

The poor French saleswoman,inside her stuffy little booth,immediately began tending to the pushy woman. J,who was pretty frustrated at this point,decided to opt out of waiting,and headed back to the bus.

 

A few minutes later,it was my turn,and my crepe was halfway done when K waved at me frantically.”The bus is ready to go!” she called.

I felt bad,but I had already paid,and there was only about a minute to go before my crepe was finished.I signaled as much to her. A few seconds later,the tour guide popped her head out and waved that it was ok to wait.

 

I grabbed my crepe,ran for the bus,and as the tour guide announced that NOW we could leave,I heard a sigh and someone muttering that we had better not miss the ship because I had to get my crepe.

 

Guess who THAT was?

I shared half of mine with a starving J,sitting behind me. The ride back to Marseille was quieter,but we had a good view of the length of the EPIC as we wound our way down into port.I managed to get a few decent pics.

 

As we were walking to the gangway,there were several private booths,selling “last minute” French merchandise-postcards,clothes,shotglasses,and of course(in case you could have possibly missed it) more lavender soaps.

 

The three of us separated once on board,and I went to my cabin to unwind for a few minutes.I was debating my plans for the night-I REALLY was not in the mood for dinner in an hour-when I received a call from A,asking me if I wanted to tag along with some others skipping the early dinner, and go to the Blue Man Group at 7pm.

 

So I wasn’t the ONLY one who had too much heavy French food that afternoon

 

I consulted my on screen concierge,which allows you to make specialty dinner reservations and book tickets to the shows such as Blue Man Group,Cirque Dreams,etc. It was pretty simple,and there was availability,so I told A that I was in.

 

I took a very short nap,freshened up,and headed to the theater. All I had to do was show my card and they had my reservation on there. I found A and older B near the back,but we didn’t see anyone else.We ordered some drinks and settled in for the show.I had seen BMG the first time only a few months prior,as my boyfriend at the time had heard me saying how the show would be on this cruise,so he decided it waould be a good idea to go and see it right before I could’ve seen it for free….go figure.

 

Anyway.I’ve read reviews saying that its awful and disgusting,and I’ll admit,the bit with the regurgitated Twinkies is a bit much if you are eating at the time. Overall,its eclectic and has its funny,silly moments. Its not meant to be a dramatic Broadway production,or a moving musical number.It’s lighthearted,and funny,and definitely better than most productions I’ve seen at sea.It was the perfect activity for me at that time though,transitioning from a long day to what was going to be a busy night.

 

After the show,we headed over to Shakers,the Martini bar,and had another beverage,and were soon joined by a number of people dressed in the best white clothes.The White Hot party was due to begin in another hour in Spice,but earlier,Vianey had indicated that it (likely) could be relocated in Bliss due to inclement weather.

 

Since there were 10 of us,we all wanted to get a group picture. R had the most expensive looking camera of us all,and somehow he rounded up one of the Shakers staff to take our picture in front of the main chandelier.Which the poor guy did…with ALL ten cameras. God bless him.

 

(It’s amazing because,now ,a few months later,whenever I’m talking about this “solo”vacation,I show this pic as proof as to how NOT alone I was on this vacation!!)

 

We relocated to Bliss to watch karaoke, and sure enough,it was announced that the White Hot Party would be held there due to high winds and rain.

When the party started,the entertainment staff were very outgoing,walking through the dance floor,drawing people into the two cages on side of the stage.Once again,R was one of the first up there,bumping and grinding with Vianey and a few other girls.I migrated between dancing and drinking and chatting most of the night,and before I knew it,only R,older B,S,B,L(who had just embarked in France that night) and I remained.I had had no intention of staying up that late,even though we weren’t due into Mallorca until 1 the following day. However,when I went to leave,B,who had the unlimited drink package,bought ANOTHER round of drinks,and then it was 2am and Bliss was closing.

 

Suddenly,I was STARVING. I hadn’t eaten since Provence,and I decided to check out what O’Sheehans had to offer in the middle of the night. I wandered off by myself,and discovered that,actually,the menu is quite large in the middle of the night. As I was also discovering the FANTASTIC chicken wings they had, S and B found me,and decided to join in. B kept making fun of the mess I was making(it was 3am,and I was eating chicken wings while drunk…enough said).

 

Finally,it really WAS time to call it a night.We headed our separate ways,and I ran into C outside the studio lounge.It was clear that he had had his share of drinks that night as well,as we joked and talked for a bit.He kept trying to get me to spin around by tapping my head,and we kept laughing hysterically.After a bit of this,I gathered myself and finally headed to bed for the night.

[sunbird21]

 

 

DAY 6-Palma de Mallorca,Spain

 

Needless to say,I woke up later this morning. The ship was a bit quieter when I ventured out,since we weren’t getting into port until the afternoon. I attempted to go up to the sun deck and lay out for awhile,but found that even though the sun was out,it was windy,and not very comfortable laying out in shorts and a shirt,let alone a bikini. I made an attempt at reading outside for awhile though,before giving up and going back inside.

 

Just before we approached the island of Mallorca,I decided to purchase the transport bus pass-$12- which would take you from the ship to a major intersection on the island. I hadn’t really found anything that I was crazy about doing on Mallorca,but since it clearly wasn’t going to be warm enough to remain on deck and use the pool/slides,I figured I’d at least walk around a little bit.

 

Surprisingly,the island was very picturesque upon approach.It was almost deceiving of the cooler weather,to see the sparkling turquoise water surrounding the Gothic cathedral spires of a church and see the older Spanish architecture sprawling around the edges of the island. As we sailed closer,you could hear Latin music bands playing on the shore I was getting more interested in seeing the island,and even found myself heading to the gangway as soon as our arrival once announced.

 

 

There were a lot of large buses outside the main gangway,and they were pretty efficient and getting everyone to town quickly. We were let off right near the church,and I spent the next few hours wandering around that area as well as on another tree lined,pedestrian only street,similar to the one in Provence the day before. I had a glass of wine and one of the outside cafes in the middle and relaxed a bit before doing some souvenir shopping. Had it been warmer, I might have tried to locate one of the beaches on the island,but otherwise,my impromptu itinerary suited me perfectly. I might have remained on the island longer,had it not grown cloudy.

 

Sure enough,by the time I made it back to the EPIC,it had started to rain. Sigh. I was still tired from the night before,so I went to take a nap before the solo gathering.

 

When I made it to the studio lounge a while later,there was a sense of melancholy. It was the final night for those getting off in Barcelona the next day(older C,A,and R). Vianey took us to Taste for dinner,and we all exchanged emails,Facebook names,etc. We were discussing our plans for the evening when S slipped a foil packet to B furtively.Upon seeing L and I staring at her,she told us that it WASN’T what we thought it was. So of course,that silenced the table,and we all had to know what the package was.Evidently,it was some sort of dissolvable Alka-Seltzer like Tylenol product-European,obviously,as most of us hadn’t ever seen it before.

 

In any case,it got us all going,and we were cracking up as S inquired if we REALLY THOUGHT she was giving B a condom in the middle of dinner.

 

Anyway,after dinner,I walked around,attempted to take a video giving a tour of the main decks so I could post it on here,but alas,the battery died .I ran into L and S at the whiskey bar,Maltings,and indulged in another Forbidden Fruitini(those martinis were AWESOME). Later we headed to the Howl at the Moon show,where we met up with the English crew leaving the next day,and ended up spending the rest of the evening there.

 

I’ve been to Howl at the Moon shows before, in Cleveland and Louisville,so I knew what to expect,but my European pals hadn’t. Basically,for those who don’t know,it’s a stage with two piano players who take requests(they have a wide range of songs from all genres) and they sing them,slightly twisting the lyrics for comedic effect. Oh,and there’s plenty of heckling to the crowd from the players.

 

One last thing-they’ll take requests from anyone,but they only play them if you give them $$...or a drink.Needless to say,my pals found this out quickly after they submitted a few requests that were ignored.

 

As we were watching/listening,we also discovered there are just some tunes they WONT play…for ANY price.

 

As one of the female players accepted a bill,she opened up the paper,scrunched up her face,and…

“Taylor Swift?!?! Oh, HELL NO!!! Who here is trying to get me to play M*** F*** TAYLOR SWIFT?!?!”

 

I think everyone was looking for the Swift demographic audience and we were stunned when a 20 something guy sheepishly ducked his head,raising his hand.

 

“Honey,you gotta woman with you?” the player inquired. The guy shook his head.

 

“Yeah,that’s because you’re trying to woo her with Taylor *(&(* Swift. Gotta work on your moves,sweetheart,” she mocked.

 

I felt bad for the poor guy(and a little guilty b/c I love country,and was now afraid to request any LOL)

That became the running joke throughout the evening for the players…although the guy stuck it out!

 

I kept telling myself I would make it a semi early night,as I wanted to have a full day in Barcelona,but L offered to buy me a drink,so I took that,and reciprocated..then older C bought a round,and next thing you know,it was 2am before I made my way back to my cabin

 

 

 

[sunbird21]

 

DAY 7-Bareclona,Spain

 

The bells tolled EARLY the next morning,about 5:30,with the cruise director announcing our arrival in Barcelona.

Then at 5:50,with him saying that the first group was free to disembark.

 

Then 6:20,with the second group.

 

Then 6:30 with the third.

 

And so on,until 7,when I gave up and decided to get up and ready for the day.

 

Prior to the cruise,I’ve read and questioned what the process was when there were two main embarkation points on the same cruise. Many of us had similar questions: How does the staff distinguish between those who are supposed to get off in BCN and those who are merely in port for the day? Do we have to go through registration again? How crowded are the gangways to get off the ship?

 

The night before,some of those ?’s were answered..with my turndown service,I had a flier designated for people getting on in Rome,stating that they must wear a sticker that would tell the crew that they are “STILL ON VACATION”,thus designating that we had clearance to get on/off the ship easily.

 

Even so,once I got ready and made my way to O’Sheehans for breakfast,I encountered a few quirks in the system. As I ordered a soda with my card,the servers were in a frenzy,b/c the computer systems were locked until after the new Barcelona passengers were to embark. However,after a few minutes,the manager simply had me fill out a paper receipt to be charged later.

 

Also,just to warn you…despite the MANY MANY announcements…the decks are a MESS with people and luggage.Be prepared.

 

I went down to Deck 5,where they were disembarking,and looked for the so called “designated” line for people going into port for the day Finding nothing except a LONG line of people with luggage,I was ready to go up to my cabin for a bit when I spotted Vianey by the door.

 

She waved at me,and asked, “Are you going into the city now?” I said yes,but didn’t know what line was for the Rome peeps. She glanced around,and after spying the same line I had,she motioned for me towards the scanners. “Go ahead out here,” she pointed.

 

So I did,not knowing I committed a faux pas until later…

 

The Barcelona terminal was easy to navigate through,and after bypassing many peope collecting and pulling luggage in the terminal,I made my wwat outside,looking for the so-called shuttle bus that takes you to te Christopher Columbus monument(at the base of Las Ramblas,the primary drop off point). According to Rick Steve’s book,most cruises landed at the Moll Adossat terminal,which I belive we were at,and theres a cheap shuttle bus that runs frequently.

 

Seeing nothing except other passengers looking clueless,I followed a few of them until we spotted a woman selling tickets for said shuttle. I believe it was 10 euros RT,so I purchased that,and climbed aboard the equivalent to a city bus.It took about 10 minutes to get to the monument,and we were let off on the side of the street facing the water.There was a tourist booth steps away,selling tickets and passes to just about everything you could want to see.

 

Oh,I almost forgot to add….When I woke up and checked the weather outside,it was sunny and clear. I (stupidly) thought it would be a nice spring day,so I wore a sundress for my day touring Barcelona.

 

As I got off the bus,it was freezing. AGAIN.

 

Hoping it was because I was by the water,and praying that it was warmer further from the shore,I looked at my map and quickly walked to the nearest Metro stop at the base of Las Ramblas. Once underground,it was a little better,and I bought a day pass for the Metro and headed for my primary sightseeing location,the Sagrada Familia church.

 

Having seen a handful of international city metros now,I have to say Barcelona’s was probably on par with New York as far as ease of finding stops and cleanliness.So far,I’d have to rank Rome as one of the worst,London one of the best.

 

Anyway,finidng the Sagrada was pretty easy,its just one transfer after you get on at Las Ramblas,and the signs when you get off at SF stop practically walk you to the right exit yourself. That was the good part.

 

Bad part? It was still freezing once I emerged from the underground.

At that point,having suffered from chilly weather in Palma,Marseilles,and even Florence to a degree,I caved and popped into the first souvenir shop displaying a sweatshirt.

 

As I left the store and found the church across the street,and the even longer line wrapped around ¾ of it,I felt like it was the best 20 euros I spent on the trip.

I may not have won any fashion statements as I stood in that 70 minute line,wearing a blue sundress underneath a dark green I <3 Barcelona sweatshirt,but it made the wait SO much more tolerable.

 

To those who are wondering-Barcelona and Palma are the only two ports I didn’t specifically pre arrange tours or tickets in advance. I explained my reasoning for Palma earlier. With Barcelona,I knew there was a handful of different things I would want to do,but didn’t feel the need to buy into a packaged tour.I figured that the things I wanted to see and do were easy enough to go to spontaneously,and we did have 11-12 hours there,so time wasn’t THAT limited. So while I knew that I could pre-purchase tickets to SF,and probably should have,I wanted to play it a little more by ear that day. Yes,it was a long wait,but I had my Kindle with me,and once I was warm(er),I was fine reading while I waited.

Luckily,the sun was shining at the entrance of the church,so I managed okay with the sweatshirt off. Soon I paid the entrance fee and was underneath all of the Gaudi goodness

SF is definitely a must see-despite its quirky walls and the dozens of spires,it really is an amazing church inside. There are several stained glass windows that filter in the sunlight to give an even quirkier effect on the architecture.It’s almost impossible NOT to walk around without your head tilted up to look at something. Once again,RS guide gave a decent walking tour that I was satisfied with.

Outside there are a few other buildings,including one that looks like it was the inspiration the the Epic’s curved cabin design.

Once I left the church,I wandered through the street fair across the street,then took the metro over to Casa Mila to see even more Gaudi structures.I meant to seek out the Casa Basil(?) but my sleep deprivation was catching up with me,as was the rapidly cooling temperature,so I headed back towards Las Ramblas.

 

I did get to see an interesting daytime Bachelorette party in the metro though,with the lady in question sporting a giant pink tutu and a sign proclaiming her state.

 

Upon arriving at the top of La Ramblas,the sun was playing chicken,with some moments that,if not warm,at least weren freezing. I wandered around by the gardens and fountains there before strolling down the wide,tree lined,shop filled avenue.

 

Here’s where I’m probably going to sound awful. Las Ramblas is beautiful,and picturesque,and theres a lot of stores and cafes and booths and street performers to see.The problem is,it was the THIRD such street I had seen in as many days,which dampened the appeal somewhat for me. I think that was the point where the actual port intensivity of this cruise hit me,and I started to think that it might be a bit much.

 

Then again,my disposition might have been different if the weather were warmer and I had a little more sleep.

 

Nevertheless,I still took my time wandering down the street,searching for my sister’s damn elusive wine glass,before settling on a shot glass shaped like a wine glass bearing Barcelona’s imprint on it. Satisfied that that was as close as I would come to a wine glass inscripted with Barcelona,I chose a tapas restaurant about halfway down the boulevard. After examining the many choices on the menu,I settled on a potatoe like tapas thing along with their paella special. As the waitress stated,if I were ever to try paella,it might as well be in Barcelona.

 

I was glad I did-both dishes were great!

 

Afterwards, I concluded my walk down Las Ramblas,and after taking quite a few pics of it and the Christopher Columbus monument,I decided to head back to the ship. Luckily,the shuttle bus came quickly,and once again made the trip in under 10 minutes.

 

Seeing the embarkation lines in the terminal,I held my breath,expecting there to be some sort of issue to get back on. I showed my sticker and card to one of the NCL guys at the door,and he pointed me over to security,on one side of the line. After walking through here,I was directed to the hallway behing the check in counters,and made my way through the terminal easily!

Well,not quite…I was approached by several NCL staff offering me tickets for the sailaway bingo,free raffles,free spa tour…where was all of this on MY embarkation day? I took them all,even though I wasn’t exactly a shining new passenger….

Once I was back on the ship,I stopped by my cabin and decided to attempt to try out the hot tubs. The weather was still bipolar,but I figured I had a 50/50 shot at some decent deck time. Sure enough,there were very few people in Spice,so I stayed moderately comfortable there for an hour or so,rotating between the hot tub and a lounger. I actually ran into E and R in the hot tub,and we compared tales on our day as well as the weather.

As the clouds rolled in and a few raindrops appeared,I decided to check out the free spa tour. I was greeted by the friendly staff,who gave me forms to fill out for the raffle,and the worlds quickest massage sampler. Then I got the tour of the spa suite. I have to admit,this was not something I was initially intrigued by when reading about it-I mean,it sounded like a couple of saunas with an indoor pool and hot tub. What was it actually worth?

Then I was led through the changing room,shown the two female only saunas with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the sea. And saw the thick white robes. And the orange water.

Next,we walked into the main part of the suite,where there were two MORE scenic saunas,an herbal steam bath,and a giant “massaging” pool with “therapeutic jets”…basically,there were seats in the pool with Jacuzzi jets,and a giant lounger at one end where you could lay submerged in the water with the jets underneath you,gazing up at a dark ceiling dotted with sparkly lights,resembling a planetarium effect. In the middle was a giant fountain creating a waterfall effect. Not to mention there was an oversized hot tub overlooking the pool.

But the piece de resistance for me were the two rows of these ergonomically shaped brown tiled HEATED loungers. I touched one of them and felt the sensation on my hand that I had longed to feel coming from the sky all trip long.

Finally,at the end of the room was a deck with about 5 padded loungers and two larger cabana like benches,overlooking the aft of the ship.

As I was led outside of the tranquil world,I ran into B and S,both in the white robes,exclaiming how relaxing their day in the suite had been.

The tour guide told me about the weeklong price for access to the suite,at which point I admitted that I had boarded in Rome,but hadn’t had a tour yet. She then told me that they day passes were $39(plus gratuity),but that they didn’t offer them on sea days. However,since they hadn’t been promoting the spa when people got on in Rome,she talked to her manager and they were willing to offer me a discount price to have access for the last two days of the cruise,at $80.

It was a generous offer,and I would have loved to have taken it,but I knew it would be wasted on Tuesday,when I would be in Naples all day,which I explained. They nodded understanding,and decided that if I was interested,they would make an exception and sell me the day pass for the sea day,if I wanted.

It was a gamble,as I wouldn’t use it much if it were sunny and I had a chance to spend time on the decks outside. But it had been soo chilly the last few days,and those loungers were just so damn comfortable looking.I decided the price was worth it to guarantee some warmth for the following day.Out came my Seapass. Honestly,if I hadn’t had a preplanned excursion for Tuesday,I may well have purchased the two day option.

It was almost time for the spa raffle,so I lingered around(you never know). Sure enough,it was primarily a sales pitch,although they did give away 3 or 4 decent spa treatments,although I wasn’t one of them Then,the spa manager,announced that she had a special “for everyone attending this RIGHT NOW”,of a 2.5 hour long combo of three treatments(choosing from massage,ped,mani,facial) for $150. It’s a pretty decent price,especially for a spa on a cruise.Had I been earlier in my cruise,I would’ve considered it. My advice to all those contemplating any spa services-show up at this raffle on the first day,I’m sure they ave similar offers,and theres only about 50 people who show up.

After that,it was almost time for the solo gathering,so I stopped by the cabin and headed to the Lounge. Sure enough,there were a handful of new people there,along with young C(who was the only C left,but for continuity’s sake) and K. Christian the bartender served us our generous drinks and we chatted with the newcombers,giving them our wisdom on the ship(the whole 4 days of it,that is).

K and I were talking at one point,and we had both indicated that we were interested in trying out Le Bistro.Despite it being the newcombers first night,we knew our opportunities were dwindling,so we got a reservation. It turns out that we weren’t the only ones in need of a change from the main dining room. B,S, and L decided to go to Teppanyaki,and young C and A were going to Cirque Dreams. So after the meet and greet with Vianey,we went our separate ways.

Le Bistro is on Deck 5,I believe,and is tres elegant.Its decorated in blue and gold,and has a very 18th century feel to it.There are a few booths by the windows that you can overlook the water,but we were seated along the edge of the room.The service was excellent,though,and the food was exquisite. I had the coq au vin,and they must have marinated it since Rome,the meat was that tender.I forget what K got,but she raved about it as well.The portions were huge,too-I couldn’t finish it,which left the server anxious that I didn’t like it. I reassured her that the dish was fantastic,I just couldn’t eat the entire thing!

That didn’t stop me from having dessert,which was the artistic chocolate concoction.I struggled to finish that,as well.We left the restaurant with PLENTY of substance to soak of future alcohol that evening

K went back to her cabin for a bit, and I walked around the casino and shops,just people watching. As I was walking,I ran into a few other people from my Florence tour,and chatted for a bit. They were heading to Howl at the Moon that night,and invited me along. It was amazing-for a ship with 4,000 people,I kept running into everyone I knew!

 

With that,I accompanied them to the bar,and we watched the piano duet at it again. A while later, young C,A,and their friends staying in the Haven came in,and sat by us. The two guys had that Unlimited Beverage Program(as did B,and I believe S),so the drinks were flowing.

 

From what I know about the UBP,it covered a good amount of mainstream brands of alcohol,liquers,beer,and wine under $10 a glass,as well as soft drinks. I had thought about it briefly,but decided that there was NO way I would drink enough to break even(it comes to under $400 for the entire cruise,including gratuity). I thought it might be worth it on a Caribbean cruise,with more sea days,but especially this one,with all of the ports it definitely would be a waste.However,after seeing a handful of people with it,I began to wonder. I’m not a huge drinker by any means,but I will drink socially,and even on this cruise,I had about 3-4 drinks a night.If you add in a glass of wine at dinner,a couple of sodas throughout the day,and a cocktail or beer in the afternoon if you were on the ship,it actually wasn’t a bad deal. It still made more sense for me on a Caribbean cruise(as I’m likely to have a couple poolside drinks,wine,and a couple in evening,plus soda) but I was seeing that even on this one,the people who had it were breaking even(and were not trashed by any means throughtout the day).

 

 

Also-and this is probably frowned upon,but I’m just reporting the facts-there were a few times during the trip where a couple of the guys used their cards and bought a round of drinks. The servers would bring a couple at a time,then the guys would walk up to the bar and get one or two more from a different bartender. I’m not advocating the practice,or telling others its likely to work on your cruise-just telling you that’s what happened on mine.

 

 

Anyway,S and L came in later,and once again,we closed down that bar and headed to Bliss. With the next day being a sea day,no one was in the mood to go to bed early.

 

After an hour or so in Bliss,S and I were taking pictures on the beds and funky couches. As we went to the entrance to get pictures by the horses,someone(hides my face) had the great suggestion to climb on the horse and take a picture.

 

The problem(one of them) was that these horses were pretty high and we were short. So after some inebriated unsuccessful flinging of ourselves at the horses,we gave up.

 

We told the others of our shenanigans as we went back insideYou would think they would laugh and say how ridiculous,dangerous,and probably illegal(well,at least not allowed) it was.Nope.

 

 

“Oh,you girls HAVE to get on the horses. Come on,” young C said.

 

Did I mention it was about 2:30 a.m.???

 

And that’s how the remaining five of us found ourselves at the horses,with young C lifting me on,then climbing on as well,and A and L on the other horse,with S snapping pics on all of our iPhones(she now refused to climb on). One of the bartenders walked by us,carrying a bucket of ice,and just shook his head,laughing.

 

I’m assuming we weren’t the first (and probably not the last)group to try this stunt.

 

Luckily,no one got hurt,although S did talk C into taking his shirt off.

 

At this point,we decided it was way past time to head to bed. Which we planned to do as we took the elevator to our floor-until it stopped at S’s floor and she invited us to come see her balcony cabin. I was actually glad to see what one looked like,and it was a decent size,especially since she had it to herself.As the two guys were competitively doing chin ups on the balcony,I told S about the controversial bathroom comments I had readabout the infamous bathrooms on the Epic.

 

She walked into each stall to demonstrate,and I noted that all you could see was the outline of a person-you couldn’t see them nude or whatnot.Also,there was a curtain you could pull separating the stalls from the rest of the cabin.

All in all,it was a nice cabin,and the balcony was pretty large.Looking out into the sea that late at night was a bit scary,it was so black,but peaceful at the same time.

 

When we saw that it was nearly 3:30,we left S alone,and FINALLY made our way back to the 11th floor,where we collapsed in our respective cabins for the night.

 

 

 

[sunbird21]

 

DAY 8-Sea Day!!

 

Due to the extremely late night,I should have slept in. But,in the crazy,drink filled hours of the morning,S came up with this great idea to have a group breakfast at O’Sheehans,and badgered us all into agreeing(as well as B,who she called in his cabin at 3am)to meet there at 9:30.

 

So reluctantly I dragged myself there,only to find a bleary eyed B and L also grumbling about lack of sleep. 15 minutes passed with no sign of S. Finally,B walked down to her cabin,where she was fast asleep.

 

The lesson here? Never agree to anything at 3am.

 

The three of us ate,regardless at that point.Although some of us had talked about doing the martini clinic that afternoon,the three of us decided we were alocoholed out at that point. We made tentative plans to show up”if we felt like it.”As we saw the cloudy skies from the windows in O’Sheehans, L flat out stated she was going to spend the day resting in her cabin,watching movies. B stated he was going to bring breakfast to S.

 

I decided to make use of my spa pass and headed straight for Deck 14/15.

I briefly wandered outside on Deck 15,saw about ¼ of the loungers were filled,but not as much as I would expect. It was still cold. No more playing chicken with the weather-I was going to be warm. I went to the spa,donned my fluffy white robe,crawled onto a tile lounger,and promptly collapsed there for the next three or four hours.

 

 

Once I felt semi-rested,I explored the saunas and even the padded loungers on the aft balcony,but it was still pretty chilly. It was early afternoon,so I left the spa and headed back to O’Sheehans for lunch.I got a little table by a window and dined with a view.

 

 

After lunch,I made one final attempt at trying to enjoy the outdoor decks. There were lines for the slides,mainly kids who didn’t care that it was about 55-60 degrees outside. I found a section of empty loungers facing the railing(should’ve been a clue) sat down,and willed the sun to come out for a few. Ten minutes later,when I was covered in goosebumps,I realized it just wasn’t going to happen.

 

 

I couldn’t believe after what was one of the worst winters in Connecticut,I finally made it to my Mediterranean vacation,and was going to come back as pale as I had left.

 

 

As I slunk back to the spa,I immersed myself in my robe,and sampled the herbal steam baths. It may sound strange,but they were quite relaxing. You sit on really warm tiles and inhale steam scented like chamomile,lavender,rosemary,eucalyptus,etc and spray yourself with water.

I ventured again into the saunas(they all have different levels of heat,with one of them being like an oven).

 

I ran into E and R again,who teasingly accused me of stalking them before they admitted they had the idea to get a day pass from me when we had talked the day before. We all agreed it was the most comfortable option,especially given the crappy weather.

 

 

I spent the remainder of the afternoon on one of my precious heated loungers,reading and napping. I explored the pool and hot tub as evening approached,and ran into a fellow solo traveler who got on in Barcelona.Before I knew it,it was almost time for the solo gathering,so we left and headed back to get ready. I bid a fond farewell to the spa suite-it was definitely $39 well spent.

 

 

During the gathering,a majority of the Rome guard once again wanted to go to specialty restaurants.Even though I didn’t think it was a place I wanted to go before the cruise,I thought a lot about Moderno over the last couple of days. The group dinner was in Taste that night,which was not my favorite of the two dining rooms,although I couldn’t tell you why. So after the meeting,we split up again,with four of us going to Moderno,and another 4 going back to Tappenyaki.

 

 

I am definitely glad I tried Moderno-Its one half of the large dining room(Cagneys is on the other side) and definitely has a steakhouse décor going on,contrasted nicely with the large windows overlooking the aft of the ship.As we sat down,we noticed a gorgeous sunset,which I manged to get a few photos of.

 

 

I knew the concept of the churrascarra,and the waiter explained the process again. There were servers walking around the room with about 10 different types of meat on a spike.Theoretically they went down the list,and if you had your placecard flipped to green,they approached you with the next meat on the list.If you didn’t want it,you flipped it to red until you were ready. You could do this through however many rounds of meat you wished.

 

Of course,they let you start at the salad bar,where,as many oters have decribed,you could feast on it alone. There were about three differents types of lettuce,dozens of veggies,fresh cheeses,meats,garnishes,seafood,fruit,bread to make a meal before your meal.All of the ingredients were fresh and delicious-a vegetarian would be quite happy here.

 

 

After salad,we started with our meat. I tried taking a small portion of the first few meats and was soon overwhelmed with the varieties coming at me,so I flipped to red.I soon found the order didn’t matter,if you turned your card to green,everyone pretty much circulated around dangling meat in your face. It was heaven for a carnivore.

 

 

I was out pretty quickly,but I made sure to at least sample some of each of the ten items up for offer.It was all fabulous,and I was glad that I went.

When we were all out,we met the others back in Bliss,where Vianey had tried to talk a few of us into participating in the Dating Game show. L and I reluctantly agreed,and did C,but thankfully for all of us we were too late(oh darn) by the time we arrived. Instead we settled at the bar with our drinks and watched the poor fools who were on time.

 

It was HYSTERICAL! They had a single guy(or girl) on one side of a mobile wall,asking questions to three girls on the other side. On the guys turn,this one significantly older woman put the two younger,cuter girls to shame with her sensuous answers.The guy picked her and hid his shock well,but it was funny

 

Not as funny as the girls turn,however,when one of the guys answered a question graphically describing what he do to her on their date.She turned bright red and said her parents were in the audience.The poor guy was mortified! Needless to say,he didn’t get picked. Afterwards,he tried to slink out of the lounge but the girls’ parents approached him and teased him a bit.

 

Next it was time for karaoke,which we watched,and C actually got up there and sang(badly)a bit. Then it was time for the outdorr party,which for once was actually going to occur in Spice.It wasn’t one of NCL’s specialty parties,just dance music,but it was nice to be in a different location. Although it was chilly,the winds had died down(we were moving further south)and dancing on the deck was tolerable.

 

I ended up staying until a little after midnight,early for me so far, but I had a busy excursion day tomorrow in Naples with Rome In Limo tours planned,so it was bedtime!