Emerald Princess Civitavecchia to Barcelona: 30/05/15 - 06/06/15: Our First Cruise

[LH2015]

Welcome to my first ever trip report!

 

OK, so I told a little lie. I have actually been on a cruise before with Voyages of Discovery aboard MV Discovery (now awaiting scrapping in India). Funnily enough she used to be the first Island Princess (who was used to film some of the scenes from The Love Boat). I guess technically, I've sailed with Princess before without knowing it! But the ship was very basic, had practically no facilities (we weren't allowed access to anything other than the basics) and was so long ago I can barely remember it, so it doesn't seem like a cruise as we know it. So for all intents and purposes, I'm counting this as my first proper cruise experience.

 

Getting there:

 

After a very comfortable and enjoyable stay at the Gatwick Sofitel, which I highly recommend as a great airport hotel, we were awoken at 6am by our alarms. This hotel is connected directly to the North Terminal so you can literally be into the departure lounge within half an hour of waking up, if you wish. Our BA flight was at 8.30am, so we did a bit of morning window shopping and then we boarded. It was a nice 2hr 20 flight to Rome and the weather was good along the route allowing for some great views of the Alps. We were met at the airport by a private driver which was lovely and off we went to Civitavecchia port.

 

 

The room:

 

We were pleasantly surprised. No one overlooking us as the few balconies on Deck 15 were in line with ours and we had no overhang from the Lido deck, so we still got the sun. We were roughly in line with the bridge overhang so we could see all the goings on, which was often fun to watch when we were delayed leaving port as you could see the crew gesticulating wildly. The bed was comfier than I was expecting as I'd heard the beds were rock hard, but we thought they weren't too bad. The bathroom is very small, but in the end this wasn't really a problem and we're not bath people, so didn't feel like we were missing out on anything.

 

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Close up of the bridge. The Commodore is the one to the far left.

 

First look around the ship:

 

The first part we really got to see was the Piazza, which with a pianist playing made for a really lovely atmosphere. The lighting in there is very nice and somehow makes it seem more elegant. It certainly feels like the 'centerpiece' of the ship. We had a nose a round the various bars and casino and then headed up to check out the pools. The number of pools on the Emerald works well and there's a pool for every taste, which is good. To be honest we didn't really have any idea where we were going, so wandered around like headless chickens for a bit and just enjoyed this new experience. We tried to book the Ultimate Ship Tour but were told it wouldn't be running this cruise due to 'health and safety reasons', is that codeword for something else? I was very disappointed as I was really looking forward to this. But hey ho, nevermind.

 

 

Our very first sail-away:

 

The Captain (Commodore Giuseppe Romana) announced we would be delaying our departure for at least an hour as there was a problem with some sort of mechanics. We could see from our balcony that the problem was at the port side bow as there were numerous engineers and divers trying to fix something. We headed up the sailaway party by on of the middle pools to check it out and it was quite a joyous atmosphere. We waved at the various other cruise ships departing and I was a little disappointed that there was no 'horn battle' which I've read happen fairly often as ships leave port. The party finished and still the Emerald Princess remained at dock. We returned to our balcony to watch our first sailway in private. I noticed a huge amount of onions still waiting to be loaded. I found out later this was just the onions until we got to Florence! Eventually at nearly 9pm, we very slowly started to push out with the help of the tug boat. We still hadn't been to dinner yet as we wanted to witness our first sailaway, but we were beginning to cut it fine, so once we started the 'three point turn', we headed down to dinner.

 

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MDR Impressions:

 

We opted for Anytime Dining. I can't remember if we ate in Da Vinci or Michelangelo the first night, but I remember being awed at how the kitchen could turn out so much food so quickly to the standard they did. I think the standard of the food was very good, some of the dishes were exceptional and some just OK, but we never had a bad meal and all things considered, I was impressed with the food. The rolls were exquisite. Everyone seemed to stick to the dress codes, which was nice to see. But this brings me to my next observation...

 

Other passengers:

 

Most of the cruisers we saw were pleasant, respectful and generally good people to cruise with but some stuck in my mind for the wrong reasons. On several of the dinners I noticed one particular woman who it seemed was going out of her way to ignore the dress code. She was always dressed totally inappropriately, not just not to my taste, but TOTALLY inappropriately. I know it's such a small thing but it really taints it when people think the rules do not apply to them, especially when everyone else makes an effort. She was rude to the wait staff as well, which i disliked immensely.

 

The next was a woman who really seemed to have a problem with kids. There were few kids on board, but she seemed to have a problem with them all. Calling them names and splashing them on purpose in the pools. On one day at the aft pool she nearly got into a fight with a Russian couple, who to be fair had completely ignored the rules about no kids in the aft pool, but she handled it completely inappropriately considering the child was really young. Everyone watched it with an awkward feeling not really knowing what to do, but the situation calmed itself in the end. The staff at the aft pool were really good asking kids to leave if they were there, so I don't see why she couldn't have just had a polite word with the staff rather than making a big scene. But maybe that's just the British in me?

 

Finally whilst we were in the casino one night, I found a cruise card that someone had dropped. I handed it to the guy working there who said he knew the woman. I watched as he very politely gave the card back to the woman, who without even thanking him, told him to 'Go Away! I'm speaking with my friend'. He looked embarrassed and I felt bad for him. I will never understand what makes people think they can speak to other people like that, especially staff who are only trying to help.

Other than those 3 people, everyone else that I came across seemed to be perfectly lovely.

 

After Dinner:

 

We went to watch 'Welcome Aboard' show, which was quite amusing and then we retired to bed ready for our first day In Palermo.

[LH2015]

Day 1: Palermo Part 1

 

We awoke to what must be one of the best views you can, the beautiful Mediterranean sea with sun shining upon it's surface. In the distance we could see the coast of Sicily beckoning us. We headed to breakfast and returned to watch ourselves dock. Indeed this would be the only morning we docked late enough to actually see it. After the announcement was made that we could disembark we waited a bit to avoid the rush and then made our way off. We decided we'd explore on our own today.

 

 

Palermo ahoy!

 

 

Looking over to 'Old' Palermo

 

We made our way through all the people trying to sell you tours and found a rickshaw/tok tok thing to take us to the Catacombs. That was a hair-raising ride. I made noises I've never heard myself make before as we nearly crashed several times. It's worth seeing some Catacombs if you've never seen them as it's not everyday you see dead people literally hanging up for people to see. It was interesting in quite a morbid way, but I have no desire to see them again. I was surprised at how recent some of the bodies were, some had only been put there in the early 1900's.

 

We then decided we'd walk back at a leisurely pace back to the ship through the streets, stopping to view some things on the way. Palermo seemed pleasant enough and had some lovely architecture, but I wouldn't return. I'd like to see more of Sicily though.

 

 

Government building - Palazzo del Normanni.

 

 

Piazza Pretoria

 

After returning to the ship (I am pleased to see the level of hygiene and security every time you board), we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon by the aft pool. We found some loungers by the stern flag and relaxed. It is quite something to sunbathe so high up overlooking a city! I was pleasantly surprised with the pool temperatures, not too hot, not too cold. Just right, like Little Red Riding Hood's porridge.

 

 

Baby got back (Sir Mix-A-Lot reference).

 

Palermo Part 2 coming up.

[LH2015]

Day 1 - Palermo Part 2

 

Tonight was our first formal night (we had 2). So we got all dolled up and headed for the champagne reception and waterfall. It was nice to put names to faces when the crew introduced themselves. No one seemed particularly bothered by the champagne waterfall and it was dismantled after only a few people had posed with it.

 

 

Commodore Giuseppe Romana

 

 

Cake commemorating the 50th anniversary. Both the left and right were completely edible!

 

We decided to get some formal pictures done. Boy, isn't that an awkward and cheesy affair? I tried not to laugh as we were told to look into eachothers eyes and place my hand on his face. But we went with it, it's part of the experience after all. I think the awkwardness and laughing was obvious in the pictures we looked at and we declined to buy any. But we'd give it another go next formal night.

 

Dinner was the Special 50th Anniversary menu which was excellent. We had the Norman Love cake for dessert which was lovely and great to look at.

We then watched a show in the Theatre and headed to the casino for a little a little Roulette and Slots. I wanted to play Poker, but was too much of a wimp to pay the price for a buy in. This was the night where the incident with the rude gambler occurred. We then took some drinks back to the room, read our books on the balcony and went to bed ahead of the long day in Naples tomorrow.

 

 

Norman Love cake.

 

I don't have time to post the whole trip report in one go, so I'll be posting it over the course of a few days.

[Bimmer09]

Thanks for taking the time to post this.

 

Great narrative and excellent crisp photos. Can't wait to read more.

 

I am doing this cruise September 26th on the Emerald.

 

I found the Palermo parks near the dock to be very dirty (thank you dog owners who don't pick-up) and the traffic not so good at stopping for pedestrians. I hope your experience was better.

 

Thanks again!

 

Norris

[partybarbie]

Thank you so much for posting. We will be on the Emerald in October and your review makes me feel like I'm on the ship with you right now. I think we know Mary Ann and Jim. We met them on a TA cruise on the Pacific Princess a couple of years ago. They're very nice people and we had drinks with them a few times in the Elite lounge.

[Keith1010]

Great report. Look forward to the next installments.

 

Keith

[Colo Cruiser]

Excellent review! :)

[Colo Cruiser]

I found the Palermo parks near the dock to be very dirty (thank you dog owners who don't pick-up) and the traffic not so good at stopping for pedestrians.

 

We found this in a few places we visited in Italy.

Venice was the eye opener. :(

Edited July 12, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[srpilo]

LH2015

Your reviews off to a great start, can't wait for more :)

 

 

Thanks for sharing

Srpilo

[LH2015]

Day 2 - Naples - Part 1

 

We ordered room service for a wake up call as we had an early start for our trip to Vesuvius and Pompeii. I dread to think what the room service man must have thought of some half awake yeti woman with bed hair answering the door. After getting ready we headed to the meeting point and disembarked to the coach. I was really impressed with the guide on this tour, she was really knowledgeable.

 

So off we went to Vesuvius with a stop off at the shell engraving factory. Although impressive, it was a bit pricey and I thought the natural conch shells were more beautiful. I was sad to see how dirty Naples and the surrounding area was. Rubbish and graffiti everywhere. The rubbish continued most of the way up Vesuvius and I thought it was sad a natural area of beauty was so littered. We hiked the final part of the volcano which offered amazing views of the city and the Bay of Sorrento.

 

 

Climbing Vesuvius with the view to Naples and the port.

 

 

And there she is basking in the Italian sun.

 

 

The darker area is where the lava flowed from the last eruption.

 

The crater was bigger than I was expecting it to be and was still gently smoking reminding us that she wasn't dormant quite yet. I would have liked to have walked around the upper rim, but time didn't allow. Oh well. After stopping at the top for a while and admiring the view, we headed back down to the coach and off to Pompeii.

 

 

The crate is so big I couldn't get it in one shot. Sorry for the sun glare.

 

 

A friendly lizard.

[LH2015]

Day 2 - Naples - Part 2

 

Pompeii was interesting to see. I did Latin at school and we learnt all about the eruption and what Pompeii worked and functioned like in its hey day, so it was cool to see it in the flesh. It was the little things that impressed me the most in terms of ingenuity and early technology that we still use to this day. I was also surprised at how well some of the paintings and delicate stonework had survived. It was difficult to imagine that this was from over 1500 years ago. I would have liked to have seen the bodies preserved in ash, but we were informed these had all but been removed to the various museums. There were a few replicas which were interesting and morbid at the same time. After A LOT of walking we headed back to the coach, which my sore feet were quite relieved about.

 

 

Vesuvius looming in the background always reminding Pompeii of its fate.

 

 

A surprising amount of wall art still remains.

 

 

The intricate ceiling sculptures still visible.

 

 

Apparently the shop layout (adjacent shops down a corridor) gave us out modern day layout. Each square was a shop.

 

 

He was either praying or trying to cover his face when he was overcome by the poisonous gas.

 

 

Back on board we phoned room service to arrange an Ultimate Balcony Dinner for the next night. Peter came to our room to discuss our options and made a few adjustments from the set menu to meet our needs. Peter really must get a special mention, he really made the whole experience better and for that we nominated him for Consummate Host. After that was arranged, I headed to the Lotus Spa to see if I could sort out a massage for the sea day. I was in luck, they had had a cancellation for my ideal time of 6pm the next day. I opted for the full body massage.

 

We were sailing past Capri as the sun was setting and what do we see? Only a pod of dolphins playing in the surf we were producing. Soon you heard cries of 'Dolphins!' coming from other balconies, so I'm glad other people got to see them too. Unfortunately I couldn't grab my camera quick enough to get a picture. Little did I know this wasn't the last of them.

We were tired from all the walking today so we headed for dinner, a show and then straight to bed.

 

 

Moonrise over Vesuvius as we sailed away.

[LH2015]

Day 3 - Day At Sea - Part 1

 

For the first time this cruise we could have a lie in, no need to get up at 7am today! We had a leisurely breakfast at Horizon court and decided what to do. Those link sausages are really good!We decided on having a lazy day by the pool. By this point we had established the Aft and Lotus pool as being our favourites. There was no space by the Aft, so we used the Lotus instead. I must say I had apprehensions that on a sea day there'd be a lack of sunloungers and that you'd be packed in like sardines, but this wasn't the case at all. Plenty to go around and you could move wherever you wanted within reason.

 

When we go too hot, we took a dip in the pool. I like the thing in the Lotus pool where you can swim against the current, it feels like you're getting a good swim and workout even though the pool is small. Word of advice though ladies, make sure your bikini is not too loose fitting otherwise it might..erm....struggle against the current.

 

I wanted to get some 'sailing' pictures so we had a walk around the ship to get pictures of the wake and the shot down the length of the ship from the top deck.

 

 

Wake from the top aft deck.

 

 

Side shot.

 

Thanks to my genes I rarely burn and I always apply st least SPF 30, but what no one seems to tell you on a cruise is that you seem to burn way easier and without realising, I had burnt my shoulders, nose and side of my breasts, despite being really careful with these areas. So to avoid causing anymore damage, we went back to the room to cool off.

 

The time came for my massage and I headed up to Lotus Spa. I found the staff here really friendly and professional. You fill out a questionnaire to say what you like and don't like and if you have any health conditions. Then it was 50 minutes of bliss. I adore massages, but I never know if you're supposed to speak to the masseuse or not, in any case I was way too relaxed to form a coherent sentence. I walked back in a daze to the room. I'm pretty sure anyone who saw me must have assumed I was high on something.

 

We got ready for the Ultimate Balcony Dinner. This was an experience we really enjoyed and I can wholeheartedly recommend it. The food was fantastic, especially the steak with the gravy too die for, I could've drunk a whole mug of it. And so much food. We couldn't it all, so they put the rest in a doggy bag and let us keep it in the room to eat later. Let me set the scene: The sun is setting, Corsica and Sardinia can be seen in the background, we're eating a fabulous dinner. Then we see something, are our eyes decieving us? No, it's a whale! I grabbed my binoculars and camera for a closer look. It only breached briefly, so my picture i not the best, but I've never seen a whale before and I was so excited. It dived and breached alongside us a few times and Peter observed that the ship had slowed down, which I was pleased to see so as not to cause too much danger to the whale. Just when the excitement started to die down, a pod of dolphins turned up! They were were playing in the wake of ship again. Sadly they were so quick, it was again hard for me to get a good picture, but I did my best. I later read that we were sailing in the Pelagos Sanctuary which is notorious for whales and dolphins and is one of the best places to see them in the whole of the Med. I felt honoured to have witnessed such a thing.

 

 

Table set up.

 

 

Canapes.

 

 

Whale breaching and blowing air out of its spout!

 

 

Incredible sunset.

 

The rest of the UBD pictures coming in part 2.

 

I went to bed very happy that night.

Edited July 13, 2015 by LH2015

[LH2015]

Day 3 - Day At Sea - Part 2

 

 

I had the crab cake tart to start.

 

 

He had the goats cheese souffle to start. This was amazing.

 

 

We both had the steak for mains. Gravy was unbelievable.

 

 

Dessert. Delicious!

 

Final UBD pictures coming in Part 3.

[LH2015]

Day 3 - Day At Sea - Part 3

 

 

A pod of dolphins then showed up.

 

 

A dolphin breaching.

 

 

Petit four to go with coffee.

 

 

Chocolate covered strawberries.

 

We also had a salad between starters and mains, coffee and copius bread rolls, but I didn't get a picture of these.

 

Day 4 coming soon.

[daddyfixit]

we are on our first cruise in a little over 3 weeks, I do like to read other cruisers reports, but as they say "Pictures don't lie"...........

 

and I cant wait to get at the deserts !!!

[PescadoAmarillo]

I want to print out the photo of the goat cheese soufflé...and eat it. I miss those!

[Lizziebiff]

Thank you for the review and beautiful photos. 25 days till we sail on the emerald.

[gailjen]

Thank you for the review and beautiful photos. 25 days till we sail on the emerald.

 

25 days for us too, although I was on Regal Last summer I still love reading reviews and looking at the photos.

 

Looking forward to the next instalment x

[Colo Cruiser]

Yum!! :D

[homeinboca]

Beautiful pictures and great trip review. Thanks for sharing

[sunsetbeachgal]

This is one of the best reviews I have read, and your photos are simply breathtaking. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!

[azdmelani]

Thanks so much for the review! We are doing this itinerary in September- I cant wait to read the rest

[LH2015]

Day 4 - Livorno - Part 1

 

Another early morning for our Pisa and Florence self-tour. It was HOT today. The patter said 25C, the actual temperature was mid 30's, not great for walking around a city. I really loved just observing the Tuscan countryside out the window and made a mental note that we must return.

 

We arrived at Pisa and had about 45 minutes here. We headed straight to the ticket office for the tower. I was surprised at how tall and intricate it was, in pictures it looks smaller and more plain, so this was a nice surprise. Unfortunately there was a lot of renovation going on so a lot of the sights were out of bounds, but we didn't have long anyway. So up the tower we went, which offered good views over the city. If you're going to climb it take shoes with a good grip, the stairs have become worn and slippery over the years.

 

 

Looking up at the tower.

 

 

View over the cathedral with ongoing renovations.

 

 

Overlooking Pisa with it's very Tuscan red roofs.

 

 

I took a picture holding the camera straight so you can see the lean.

 

 

We waited at the meeting point for ages because a couple had decided to go off and not listen to where we were meeting. Turns out they'd just gone back to the coach. Whilst we were waiting a lady took a nasty fall and hurt her knee. I do hope she was OK. Back to the coach we went and off to Florence.

[LH2015]

Day 4 - Livorno - Part 2

 

Florence was much busier than i was expecting considering it was a week day, out of season and very hot. But wow. Florence is really beautiful. Easily the prettiest city I've ever visited. The queues for Uffizi and David were huge so we realised if we did this we wouldn't have time to see much else. So we had to make do with the replica. We grabbed an authentic Italian pizza for lunch (yum!) and then with a map made our way around. I did an audible 'wow!' as we turned the corner and came face to face with the Cathedral. So beautifully ornate. The thing I really loved about Italy is the amount of detail and attention to it in even the most simple of architecture.

 

 

Sorry for the sun glare. It was very bright today

 

 

Ponte Vecchio.

 

 

The unbelievably beautiful architecture on the Cathedral.

 

 

And a close up.

 

 

The famous red dome.

 

 

We didn't have time to see the real one so we made do with the replica.

 

I'm normally really good with the heat, but by the time we finished our tour, I was glad of it. It was so hot that even the locals were complaining and trying to get in the shade. I started to feel a little sick at this point with the heat and started to feel quite faint and dizzy, so the air con on the coach was a real treat.

 

Back on board we were so tired from all the walking and the heat that we just napped in our stateroom until dinner. After the treat of the UBD, dinner in the MDR seemed less exciting, but enjoyable none the less.

 

This night it hit me that we were over halfway through the cruise and we only had two more days before we would have to leave this beautiful ship. That's when I realised that I really enjoyed this whole crusing thing. My thoughts turned to where we may wish to cruise next. I think that's the 'hook', the moment you realise this is just the first of many cruises you will take.

 

Barely being able to keep our eyes open, we went off to bed.

[LH2015]

Day 5 - Genoa - Part 1

 

Up for another early start to visit Rapallo, Santa Margherita and Portofino. I was so excited to visit Portofino, I had seen it so often on TV and been bowled over by it's beauty. The week before we left we had seen Andrea Boccelli performing there on TV which just added to the atmosphere.

 

When we got to Rapallo we could see Cunard's Queen Victoria anchored offshore, with the posh yachts and pastel coloured architecture, you knew were in the Italian Riviera. I really loved Rapallo and I could see myself living somewhere like this. I love how you have different shops for all your different fresh produce rather than altogether in a supermarket. In the square you've got antipasti, cheese, fish, meat, vegetable and bread shops which were emitting wonderful smells. After a brief walking tour we headed back to the coach to Santa Margherita to catch the boat to Portofino.

 

 

Cunard's Queen Victoria at anchor.

 

 

The ornate decoration on something as simple as a bandstand.

 

 

Orange trees line the streets of Rapallo.

 

 

The typical beautiful colours of the Italian Riviera.

 

 

One of the many private yachts on the way to Portofino. You can rent this for a minimum of $20k per week fully staffed and serviced.