14-28 July, 2018 Barcelona to Barcelona cruise.

[frantic36]

“....As we had been on for the previous segment we didn't need to repeat the Muster drill which we were all happy about.

 

Julie

 

I thought one has to repeat muster on each segment of a SB BTB cruise (at least we did) — is this new?

 

Our last B2B cruise was on Encore last year and we did a repeat muster then but didn't have to do so this time. As Nomads said, you do have to repeat if you are sailing more then 30 days.

 

Julie

[frantic36]

Bonifacio, Corsica - As we have been a couple of times to this port and was tired after a busy days in Paris plus port intensive cruise we declared a sea day. It was a tender port and the water was choppy so that helped confirm our decision. We enjoyed just relaxing, talking with each other and reading. A pleasant lunch on Deck 8 outside with some Rose' with quiet, followed by a nap. The fish of the day was Dorade and I had the special pasta which was shrimp in a tomato based sauce.

 

For those who like to explore, previously we have visited the Citadel here and the Cemetery which is built high on the cliff. The cemetery might sound macabre but the views are great and it is quite interesting with many house like Mausoleums built along "streets". There is also various military areas for example the Crimean war and for Legionnaires. The town itself has a nice port area with many boats anchored plus cafes and shops.

 

The next day was Livorno which is where we have done shopping with the Chef previously which was fun. We organised a driver to take us to Pisa and then to Lucca. There was four of us in a roomy new Fiat van. Our driver was Simone who spoke good english. He is the type of driver I prefer.....happy to point out a few interesting sights on the way, happy to answer questions and describe in more detail if asked, however not constantly talking and giving too much information......YMMV.

 

As Simone lived in Pisa he knew the streets well and could point out some interesting features of this University town. He also got us nice and close to the Piazza where the leaning tower was giving our friends an opportunity to see it for the first time. We chose not to climb it though.:)

 

Lucca is an interesting medium sized walled town which has ramparts you can walk and bike around. There seemed to be many places to hire bikes. Many churches and lovely old buildings. We also found a fascinating shop with all sorts of interesting gadgets and knives. One amazing little gadget was a small knife to cut mushroom stems when foraging. This also had a small brush attached. A Mushroom forager's Swiss knife......can you tell I like quirky. Next time we visit Lucca I will explore this shop in depth.

 

Our driver took us to a restaurant for lunch near Lucca town at Trattaria da Giulio. We shared an antipasto plate for four. Then our party enjoyed dishes of scampi pasta, Veal with vegetables, gnocchi with gorgonzola and walnut cream sauce. Dessert of tiramisu, biscotti with a amaretto liqueur and for me a delicious panacotta with a fresh strawberry coulis.

 

Then back to the ship.

 

Next time we visit this area we will use Simone again as his prices were very reasonable we thought. For 6 hours it was €300. We could easily have fitted another couple without feeling crowded.....though I preferred just the four of us.

 

His details.....WWW.SPECIALTOURNCC.COM

We noticed a few vehicles with this company waiting at Livorno port so ask for Simone.

 

Julie

[rols]

Julie - thanks for all your posts - please keep them coming. This weekend we are definitely going to try fixing some excursions as we're 3 weeks away now. Was trying to work out if we can visit the Rome catacombs (the ones under St Peter's) however the timings don't work. The ship is in Rome for a very short time!

[Kate-AHF]

Julie, I can't thank you enough... so timely, I've been searching for a trip to Lucca for November, but so far all I've found are tours with shocking prices (as in 895 euros). Again, thank you, thank you,