Emerald Princess Rome to Barcelona September 26 -October 3 2015 in photos and video

[Bimmer09]

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Another zoom shot

 

 

 

 

 

So we leave Livorno. We never actually set foot on one of it's streets, alas, as our excursion took up the whole day. Tomorrow we would wake up in Genoa....

 

I had taken a lot of photos today. Carol captured me in the act...

 

 

If you can correctly identify the photo I was taking at the time-and I'll need the jpg number, please- then you'll win a flyer from the Lotus Spa that can help you change your footprints and knock 20 years off your age.

[jlf1]

Judy, the important thing is to TAKE the photo in the first place. The more the merrier! That wasn't so easy in the days of film...the memory card in my camera could hold the equivalent of about 150 rolls of 36 exposure film and if I take a bad photo it goes in the trashcan at no cost.

 

Photography as a hobby could consume a person and I haven't caught that bug yet. It's a tool to aid our memories and stop all the cruises and traveling we do blurring.We've done 6 trips this year and I've taken over 4,600 pics.

 

Modern cameras simply take good pictures as long as you use common sense. I see so many people use flash outdoors at night to photograph a big scene when the flash will only light up about 12 feet or so. Posing with the sun behind you gives a nice silhouette-if that's what you're after.

 

I've seen a great CC photo review of the Baltic from a British guy who only used an iPhone so everyone has a good camera on them at all times. You just have to think of using it when you see something worth capturing.

 

I've watched and bookmarked a few "how to " videos on Youtube-fantastic resources if you want to take better pics in all sorts of lighting conditions. There's a lot to remember and consider once you switch the camera into Manual mode.

Better results can follow and I practice in Michigan where there is a lot to shoot but for a review like this in crowded conditions where speed is of the essence auto is the way to go and then fix the shot in Lightroom.

 

Norris' 2 cents

Norris,

 

I did take a ton of pictures. .some of which I stitched together. They actually came out pretty good.

 

Judy

[jtagphillycruiser]

Norris: Your photos & narratives of Florence were wonderful. Thank you for the street scenes & Tuscan drive-bys, as well. I really appreciate all your efforts. Thank you.

 

Joanne

[Bimmer09]

Our schedule for tonight, Wednesday September 30th, the day our disembarkation papers were delivered (ouch!!) would be as follows;

Dress for dinner- casual night.

 

Go to Princess theater via the photo gallery (a daily visit for us)

 

See Ventriloquist Kieran Powell at 8.15

 

Dinner in Michelangelo at 9

 

Princess Pop Star karaoke at 10.15 in Explorers (which I don't for a second remember at the moment)

 

So, while we are getting dressed and munching on the chocolate covered strawberries that were just delivered I'll leave you with a movie to watch.

 

 

[YOUTUBE]x2Yx25eIqxc[/YOUTUBE]

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris: Your photos & narratives of Florence were wonderful. Thank you for the street scenes & Tuscan drive-bys, as well. I really appreciate all your efforts. Thank you.

 

Joanne

 

Joanne, this would be a waste of time if no one but me was enjoying it (the end result, not the thousands of computer commands it needs) and I'm very glad that you are following along and appreciating it.

 

So-it becomes a labor of love when I see the people who are reading it.

 

I haven't normally committed so much time to writing reviews as I have on this one- many of my posts have been written at 5 a.m and I even wrote when we were away in Michigan last week at the winery-but I knew when I started this that it would take a while as there is so much material to get through and I don't want this to drag on for a year (as can happen with some reviews ). I have another cruise coming up in January and there's work to do and life to get on with. So- I am powering through and that's better for the narrative as you don't have to wait long to find out "what happens next?" We'll all get out of this alive, I promise you!

 

Knowing there is an appreciative and patient audience keeps me coming back to the computer-so I thank you and everyone else who takes the time to respond.

 

Norris

[ar1950]

...........................................

I had taken a lot of photos today. Carol captured me in the act...

 

 

If you can correctly identify the photo I was taking at the time-and I'll need the jpg number, please- then you'll win a flyer from the Lotus Spa that can help you change your footprints and knock 20 years off your age.

 

Hey Norris, I tried, but, all that I could come up with was that it probably wasn't this one :rolleyes::

 

 

 

Enjoying the review. Look forward to more everyday. Thank you for the effort!

Edited October 29, 2015 by ar1950

[Bimmer09]

A ventriloquist who is very good at what he does (even while 10 ft from the dummy as he's playing a keyboard) and is also funny- had a great spoof on the Dating Game with the dummy asking questions of three ladies picked from the audience. That's Kieran Powell from the UK and the third great UK entertainer we've seen this week on the Emerald.

 

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We had booked Michelangelo for 9 pm and arrived on time. I'll show the food in the next post so the photos don't get split up.

[Bimmer09]

Carol's notes tell me that we had "dinner" in Michelangelo.I can't locate the details, therefore I can't be 100% sure what one of the dishes was.

 

We had the usual circus with my wine. If you recall the night before the waiter said he'd have both my bottles (a red and a white) brought down from Da Vinci.

So tonight I asked for the white. After a few minutes the waiter comes back to say he can't find it. I tell him it's a bottle of Pinot Grigio to help narrow his options. Still can't find it. Can you guess where it is??

 

All together now....Da Vinci!!!

 

So that wasted 10 minutes of wine enjoyment. I asked for and got a Riedel glass again (worth waiting for)

 

So here is the food with a description if it's obvious....

 

Caesar salad-old reliable which tells me there was no compelling soup

 

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I'm guessing Salmon

 

 

A sorbet between courses

 

 

This entree has me stumped as to the meat on the plate-pork maybe?

 

 

Whatever it was we cleaned our plates!

 

The notes say Karaoke after dinner but I haven't the foggiest recollection of such and so we'll have to skip that. We're in Genoa in the morning at 7a.m and in a bus at 7.30 and have a 9 hour excursion to Cinque Terre so let's just get to bed, hang out the Room Service sign and get some sleep!

 

Next up- arrival in Genoa in the dark plus Costa Concordia.

[Bimmer09]

Phone alarm goes off at 5 a.m. Breakfast will be delivered at 6.

I go to Horizon Court for my usual morning coffee- I have an old coffee card from Diamond Princess which I use for espressos. I don't find the fresh brewed coffee worth buying a new card for so I make do with the coffee syrup in the buffet which is free for all.

 

Coffee is this way

 

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Then here

 

 

I want deck 15

 

 

I am looking forward to this day!

 

 

Another new Italian harbor!! Time to get the camera out of the bag.

[Bimmer09]

First sight

 

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All's quiet on deck

 

 

Tradewinds where I drink my first coffee. The staff put coffee flasks out for the smokers around 6.30

 

 

Back at the stern I found a little friend had come along to help

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

There's an oil rig ship

 

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There's another ship in a wet dock beside it

 

 

The eerie remains of the once beautiful Costa Concordia

 

 

 

She's being dismantled, day by day, deck by deck. What a sad end. Not as sad of course as the deaths of 32 passengers who put their faith in the Captain, as we all do.

[Bimmer09]

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A fast ferry

 

 

I had to get back to the cabin to eat and get ready to leave for the day. In the hallway I found this-if you ever wanted to know what's behind those doors you pass...

 

 

Our muster station for the tour was the Princess Theater and off we trooped. There were 5 buses called, so over 200 people heading to Cinque Terre.

[Bimmer09]

MY APOLOGIES

 

I am not a man to sweep egregious errors under the carpet-there's no room as that's where I usually sweep the dust.

 

Today I read the first page of this review for the first time and saw to my chagrin that I had listed the itinerary wrong-not life threatening, stay calm!-I listed the sea day after Livorno instead of vice-versa.

 

Also I said we mustered for the Florence tour in the Explorers Lounge. This was a blatant mistruth! It was in the Princess Theater!

 

Hopefully I can win back your trust and together we can forge a new beginning and build a new world where people with well over the legal limit of Guinness in their veins (which, in my defense I didn't know existed) can once again walk in the sun, with their held held high and lead us to a new and profound appreciation of long cruise reviews where we will feel compelled to shower the author with personal checks (mailing address to follow).

 

ANOTHER APOLOGY

 

I am about to unleash a RIDICULOUS number of photographs of our excursion to Cinque Terre. Duck and cover!!

 

No Guinness was involved so Dublin is in the clear on this one. Many of the shots are blurry bus ones where it looks like we might have lost a wheel- NO MATTER!!

It's either that or nothing. I may only travel that route once and I saw remarkable towns out of the window that I couldn't describe as quickly as I can show. Scroll down if you need to.

 

When we get off the bus I can guarantee you some crisp photos of beautiful places. We'll travel by bus, by fast boat, by train. We'll dine well on a fresh catch from the sea. On the way home we'll see some of Genoa.

 

I am excited to show you what we saw.

 

Once your check has cleared I'll begin...

 

Norris

[tigerbeth]

MY APOLOGIES

 

I am not a man to sweep egregious errors under the carpet-there's no room as that's where I usually sweep the dust.

 

Today I read the first page of this review for the first time and saw to my chagrin that I had listed the itinerary wrong-not life threatening, stay calm!-I listed the sea day after Livorno instead of vice-versa.

 

Also I said we mustered for the Florence tour in the Explorers Lounge. This was a blatant mistruth! It was in the Princess Theater!

 

Hopefully I can win back your trust and together we can forge a new beginning and build a new world where people with well over the legal limit of Guinness in their veins (which, in my defense I didn't know existed) can once again walk in the sun, with their held held high and lead us to a new and profound appreciation of long cruise reviews where we will feel compelled to shower the author with personal checks (mailing address to follow).

 

ANOTHER APOLOGY

 

I am about to unleash a RIDICULOUS number of photographs of our excursion to Cinque Terre. Duck and cover!!

 

No Guinness was involved so Dublin is in the clear on this one. Many of the shots are blurry bus ones where it looks like we might have lost a wheel- NO MATTER!!

It's either that or nothing. I may only travel that route once and I saw remarkable towns out of the window that I couldn't describe as quickly as I can show. Scroll down if you need to.

 

When we get off the bus I can guarantee you some crisp photos of beautiful places. We'll travel by bus, by fast boat, by train. We'll dine well on a fresh catch from the sea. On the way home we'll see some of Genoa.

 

I am excited to show you what we saw.

 

Once your check has cleared I'll begin...

 

Norris

 

The cheque is in the mail !!!!!:)

[Bimmer09]

Okay it's the crack of dawn and we are on another bus. As you can see we met up in Explorers lounge...

 

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Our guide is Andreana,she of the long gray hair and big smile- our driver Julio.Our bus says Lorenzini on the side.

We board on the dock which is handy and make our way up and out of Genoa. We'll see it on the way back.

 

We are going to be high up as this is mountainous land. We'll hug the coast as much as possible on our way to Manorola our first stop. From there we will take a boat to Monterosso where we will have lunch. Then back to the ship.

 

You join us on the road....

 

There were a lot of tunnels through the mountains on this route. We'd come out of one and suddenly there would be a village or town so I had to be quick taking photos.

 

 

The places will have no names until we get to La Spezia

 

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

Ok- I already have one check on the way from Tigerbeth and I must say it's rather generous-that's the spirit! LOL.

 

On we go

 

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[Bimmer09]

What a sky!!

 

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Nice bridge

 

 

 

 

 

Trees stripped by disease

 

[Bimmer09]

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We're going to have a stop soon for coffee or a bathroom break

 

 

And here we are

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

Neither coffee or bathroom overtake a smoke on my priority list. It's cool and breezy. You saw all those cloudy skies on the way here. Low 60s. I have my leather jacket on.

 

This is a gas station with a coffee bar inside serving made to order espressos and cappuccinos so there is a line for that. There is also a fully stocked store with candies, road snacks, maps, coffee mugs etc and it's busy.

 

There are long lines for the bathrooms. The women's line is so long that after 10 minutes outside when I go to use the men's room there are ladies in there too but at least they said hello to me as I was standing at the urinal.

 

Back outside....

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I hear this pull up

 

 

The extra tag on the back says it's a rental. Note to self-rent one!

 

 

 

 

I was outside having another cigarette when I heard an American man from one of the buses complaining about the messy bathrooms and that there weren't enough of them. There was one for each sex but sadly not one for whiners.

 

Why don't they have enough bathrooms?

 

Well Einstein, see those three 48 seater buses there? 3 times 48...that's 144 people needing a bathroom. You're right-the guy who designed this gas station out in the country only put enough stalls and urinals in to service about a dozen people at once, no waiting. I'd have put 72 in for each sex and cut out the shop where he's making all that money selling coffee! I'd have a dozen janitors on the payroll each with a state of the art toilet brush.

 

The building is what it is. The mess was caused by all those people in front of you with the poor aim, the water splashing and the missed paper towel dunk on the way out the door. Toilets don't mess themselves.

 

Time to get back on the bus and push on...

[jerseyridgearts]

cannot wait for your photos and commentary on Cinque Terre.

 

On another cruise we were warned against taking the train - that we wouldn't have time etc. etc. I regretted it ever since (especially since some fellow passengers DID go and, of course, loved it). Thanks so much for all the effort and passion you've put into this review.

[Bimmer09]

cannot wait for your photos and commentary on Cinque Terre.

 

On another cruise we were warned against taking the train - that we wouldn't have time etc. etc. I regretted it ever since (especially since some fellow passengers DID go and, of course, loved it). Thanks so much for all the effort and passion you've put into this review.

 

Slowly getting there-we start in Manarola and end in Monterrosso. Both of them photogenic.

 

Early tomorrow is my best guess.

 

Thanks for staying with it!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

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We're coming to the city of La Spezia, where we will eventually join the coastal road to Manarola one of the 5 Cinque terre hill towns

 

 

 

So it's goodbye to the highway

 

[Willow45]

I don't know about blurry photo's, the ones on the bus are pretty good. No not as good as your others but any photo I take moving usually are a lot worse. Totally loving your review it has given me some great idea's on when I go on my first cruise next year. Like getting up early when going into ports to get some arrival shots or even lovely dawn shots, drinking at the same bar so the server will great my drink ready when they see me coming. And I think I will have the same problem with the bottles of wine as I drink different wines with different food so usually have a few open in the fridge. I will have to remember to stress its the white or red or worst case get my husband to have a glass or two and then we don't have a half drunk bottle of wine instead it will be empty..

 

And I have found following along with your review to not leave it too long between visits or I find I have pages to catch up on LOL.

Edited October 30, 2015 by Willow45

[Starfish10]

Couldn't agree more about the car! Talked to someone in our Alfa club who rented one for a day on their trip to Italy and had a blast.

 

Restrooms, yep, they don't mess themselves up.

 

Keep the good stuff coming and thanks again for the review and great photos.

[Bimmer09]

I don't know about blurry photo's, the ones on the bus are pretty good. No not as good as your others but any photo I take moving usually are a lot worse. Totally loving your review it has given me some great idea's on when I go on my first cruise next year. Like getting up early when going into ports to get some arrival shots or even lovely dawn shots, drinking at the same bar so the server will great my drink ready when they see me coming. And I think I will have the same problem with the bottles of wine as I drink different wines with different food so usually have a few open in the fridge. I will have to remember to stress its the white or red or worst case get my husband to have a glass or two and then we don't have a half drunk bottle of wine instead it will be empty..

 

And I have found following along with your review to not leave it too long between visits or I find I have pages to catch up on LOL.

 

Hi, Willow glad to see you following along!

 

The pattern for my early rising has been with me since my first cruise on the Coral and those scenic Alaskan ports. Great time for photos when others are in bed.

 

I always find my go-to waiter on day 1 and from then on just raise an eyebrow or empty glass. I look for one with personality so we can banter.

 

On the Emerald day 1 I bought my white wine at lunch in the MDR and my red at dinner in the CG. You just have to remember where it is so they can find it again. They write your folio number from your card on it.

 

The blurry bus photos are better than none and give you some idea of what's on the way to your destination. Glad you appreciate them!

 

Where are you going on your first cruise and on what ship?

 

Thanks again,

 

Norris