Hello from Lecce, Puglia, Italy

Been very busy & having a great time. Internet access is not that great & I do have it on my cell but it is very cumbersome to use. Covered a lot of ground since I last wrote.

5/19/10 - The friend of people I met on the ship who lives in Rome (Michael) invited me to join him for a picnic birthday party for one of his UNESCO friends. It was at a lovely park near the Colosseum. Nice group of people. Most of them work for the UN. Later that evening he invited me to join some other friends for dinner at a pizzeria. All in all it was a very nice day.

5/20/10 - I took a train & bus to small hilltop village called Calcata. I read about it in National Geographic Traveler magazine. It was a great journey & I really enjoyed this small village. They don't get many visitors on weekdays so I practically had the village to myself. Met one of shop owners that filled me in on the town. Had a bit of scare because I wanted to take a 3pm bus back to train station & went early as recommended to stop. There was a bus that pulled up 20 minutes early & didn't get a chance to ask if it was the right bus. Thought I missed my bus & would have to wait for 2 hrs before last bus from the village but luckily the bus I was waiting for arrived 20 minutes later than schedule, whew, was I happy. Turned out to be a great day.

5/22/10 - Today I made an excursion to an area near Rome know as Castelli Romani. This is one of the wine districts near Rome. There are thirteen towns in the area but I decided to only hit one of them due to logistics. Went to Frascati which was a somewhat worn town but still fascinating. There is lovely Villa Aldobrandini which is situated at top of a hill overlooking the main square, Piazza Marconi. The Baroque palazzo was designed by Giacomo della Porta at the turn of the 16th Century. The entrance had a grotto on the other side of it that was decorated with statues set in different scenes. It was really something to see.

5/23/10 - My friend (Michael) from Rome recommended that I visit one of the beach areas near Rome. He said Sperlonga is one of the best. I took a train to Fondi then a bus takes you to Sperlonga. The town is perched on a hilltop & and is another delight. Filled with shops, restaurants, and narrow winding alleyways. There are 2 stairways down to the beach areas. There are several beach clubs/restaurants that separate the long, sand beaches. One of the issues with traveling in Italy is the midday break. Most everything closes at 1-1:30 pm & doesn't open up again til about 4:30pm. This also affects the local (urbano) transportation systems. I got into Sperlonga at 1pm & the first bus out was 4:15pm. I wasn't sure how I was going to pass the time but I did a lot of walking & saw most of the town & beach areas. Michael was right, it is really a beautiful spot.

5/24/10 - Spent my last day in Rome visiting some of the churches, San Giovani in Laturno including the Scala Santa which are the knealing steps. The weather was very nice for several days except at around 5pm lightning, thunder & rain would come through for about 20 - 30 minutes. My 10 nights in Rome really flew by. I still believe it is a great city.

Food has been great throughout. Have had wine every night & ice cream almost every day. I've been spending between $30 - $45 per night for dinner but every meal has been very good to wonderful. Cheapest part of meal has been the wine. Pizza is also really great here.

5/25/10 - Took the train from Rome to Lecce. There is a problem with repair on the tract so we had to take bus for an hour then got on another train before arriving in Lecce. Trip was about 6 hours but wasn't too bad. Eurostar trains are really great. I booked a B & B online that indicated it was near the station which is what I wanted since I planned to do day trips from Lecce. Boy did I make a mistake on this one. It was a 16 euro cab ride to this B&B that was in a remote residential area. Place was a home that was very nice but they didn't provide me with towels & breakfast consisted of coffee from espresso machine with no milk & packaged rolls. It took me 30 minutes to walk into town & 35 minutes to walk from train station back. There was a bus nearby but it stopped running around 8pm. I was suppose to say 4 nights but left after first night. Found original B&B that I wanted to stay at & it is really delightful. Big room great breakfast & only half a block for the train station. Same price as other place, 30 euros per night. A real bargain & the young couple that run it are delightful.

5/26/10 - Yesterday I took the advice from the great young girl at the tourist office & went by urban train (you really have to see this operation like in the movies) to Otranto which is a seaside port town. Very charming & interesting with a Castel & Duomo of course. Met a woman on train from Connecticut & we hanged out together for the day. Also met a couple that bought a home in Lecce 10 years ago & come here every year for few months. They are both professors from Florida State. They gave us some super info on the area. Really nice ancient town. Train ride was a trip.

5/27/10 - Today I planned to stay in Lecce & go to Gallipoli tomorrow but found out there was a strike set for 5/28 so went today. Again on local urbano train. They took us by bus to a station about 25 km. away & then we boarded a train for Nardo. Changed trains there for Gallipoli. This is another lovely port city which was originally a Greek city. The old town was a maze of meandering & twisting street. Had lunch at Il Bastione Restaurant that overlooked the water and was recommended in one of my guide books. Had the gamberi rossi crudi (raw red shrimps & langostine) that this area is famous for. Was expensive but very good. Then took train to another old town, Galatina, which is known for the church of Santa Caterina di Allesandria. This church has stunning 14th century frescoes covering its interior walls & ceilings. Also maze of meandering streets that behold some wonderful examples of Baroque architecture. This was also a wonderful day. Very sunny & warm. I was told they don't get any rain here during this time of year.

Well it is getting very late & the town closes up early so I'm going to sign off for now. Next place is Ostuni which I'll be at on Saturday.

Hello from Rome, Italy

Arrived in Rome on the 15th at end of cruise. Rest of trip was also wonderful. Really enjoyed my port days. After Gibraltar we arrived at:

Alicante, Spain.
Took a ship excursion to Guadalest which is a medevial hilltop town 1.25 hrs from Alicante. It was a very scenic drive with beautiful villages and countryside on the way. Guadalest is really small, quaint & charming. We visited a four level house & then views from the terraces around the town. There is a dam below that created a small lake which is small & charming. Plenty of small shops & other places to visit. Were there for about an hour before heading back to Alicante which is also a lovely city. Great esplanade & old town area plus I took ascensior to top of hill and the old fort for super views of the city & surroundings. Weather was bit overcast & some rain but I was lucky because when I went to Avignon it was sunny & beautiful. When we were on this ship the sky opened up & rained hard for abut 45 minutes. We were very lucky with weather throughout this trip. Next day went to:

Barcelona, Spain
Been here many times before & really love this city. A couple of years ago I met a guy there who was from Chile. We became friends & I visited him in Chile in '07. He is back in Spain & we met for the day to run around Barcelona. Covered a few new neighborhoods & several old ones before going back to ship. Got caught in showers a couple of times during my day here. Very little sun here also. Next stop was:

Marseille, France
This port doesn't have good transportation from port to town. It is about 4 miles & taxis try to rip you off (40 euros for 4 mile trip). Ship had shuttle but originally was not suppose to start until 8:30 am which was 1.5 hours after we docked but they started earlier (8am) so I took it. Wanted to go Avignon. Took Metro to train station & just missed the local train that I wanted which would have arrived right near center of town. I found out that there was an accicent on the tracks & only trains operating were on TGV High Speed which arrives in station 15 minutes by bus to centre. Avignon is really great city. Best know for Palace of the Popes. This was residence of papacy in 14 Century. Pople was afraid of invasion from Turks so relocated here. Place is enormous but mainly empty rooms. Spent about 1.5 hours here before visiting famous bridge that the French song was named for. Sorry but forgot name. Rushed back to bus then train into Marsaille. Walked around for short time mainly from train station to Vieux Port where I picked up shuttle back to ship. Was very surprised to see majority of population around Vieux Port was Muslim. Didn't see many French walking the streets.

Last stop before Civitavecchia was:

Livorno, Italy

Again, ship got us for shuttle into town. Cost was 5 euros which wasn't too bad. Met a great couple on ship earlier in week who joined me for day to Pisa & Lucca. We took bus to train station then train to Pisa. Walked around for awhile & really had lovely time. Decided to go to Lucca but this wasn't my best decision. When jumped on train tried to validated ticket before boarding but had difficulty so just got on train from Pisa to Lucca. Conductor wanted to charge us 40 euro each for failing to validate but she was nice & only charged us 40 euros total for all three of us. Spent around 45 minutes in Lucca before trying to catch a train back to Livorno. Had to buy fast train ticket in order to get back to ships shuttle on time unfortunately trains were running 30-45 minutes late so we missed our connection. Didn't get back to Livorno til around 6pm & took cab to ship. Whew!! Just made it with 15 minutes to spare. My travelmates were very understanding & great with all the agita we were experiencing. All in all was a good day.

5/15/10 - Arrived in Civitavecchia early in the morning. Stayed onboard until about 10 am. Really enjoyed the ship & was sorry to be leaving. It was raining quite heavily & was a bit chaotic leaving ship with my bags but was able to get a shuttle to beginning of port with only a 15 minute wait after navidaging through wheelchairs & people trying to get on the ship for the next cruise before boarding the shuttle. Walked to statione & got the train into Rome Termini.

I checked my bags at the station & walked around to find a room for next 10 nights. Hotel service at station only had rooms starting from 90 euros which was way over my budget. Went to 4 hotels before finding one that wasn't too expensive. Negotiated rate of 52 euros/night which is pretty good for Termini area. Had to change rooms a couple of times but all OK now. Breakfast good at hotel. Lots of pastries, yogurt, coffee, rolls, cheese & cereal.

5/17/10 - Met my friends from ship & spent day together. They have brother of a friend who is living in Rome & we walked around before we all went out to dinner in Trastevere at a great place. He was super in showing us some areas before/after dinner.

5/18/10 - Walked around a bit yesterday & found discount electronics store where I bought GPS. Brand is Mio which was cheapest. Will try for few days. In Rome you can exchange but no refunds. Also got a SIM Card when I arrived for phoning & internet but had problems configuring. Company I used, Wind, is low priced but poor support. Will not support from store but will from calling but little or no English. Was finally able to find office that had someone that helped me.

My number again is: 3273124102 if anyone wants to call.

Rome is still one of my favorite cities but still having problems with my feed but getting better. This is a terrific walking city.

My Cruise Critic Review - Crown Princess - 5/1/10 - 5/15/10

Crown Princess Cruise Review by Sweetd

Home > Reviews > Member Reviews > Crown Princess Cruise Review by Sweetd

Crown Princess Member Name: Sweetd Cruise Date: May 2010 Embarkation: Miami Destination: Transatlantic Cabin Category: BD Cabin Number: B222 Booking Method: Internet Agency

Great Transatlantic Voyage on Crown!!

* Background Information: I'm a single, 66 yo seasoned, cruiser. 25 cruises in past 5 years. Live in NY. Really enjoy Transatlantic voyages & this was one of best. * Hotel Info (if any): Stayed couple of nights in Ft. Lauderdale before cruise at Riverside Hotel. What a lovely place. Got it on Priceline.com & it was great. * Travel To Port of Embarkation: Enjoyed my 2 days in Ft. Lauderdale area before cruise. Always go couple of days early before cruise leaves so there are no issues. * Ship Info: The Crown Princess is a really lovely vessel. Very clean & well maintained also well appointed. Plenty of room in public areas & on decks to roam. Quality of fellow passengers was also great. Everyone was very pleasant, interesting & friendly. One really nice touch on this ship was automatic doors on all areas leading from interior of ship to outside decks. Haven't seen this on any other ship. This was Transatlantic voyage with 9 nights at sea. I was a bit concerned because of so many nights at sea but turned out to be wonderful. Longest time at sea in past was 7 nights on QM2. * Activities: Enjoyed Movies with the Stars on pool deck except a bit cold a few nights. Cruise Director & staff were very good. Would have liked more cooking demonstrations. There were many activities available during sea days. Crew made every effort to keep us busy & happy. * Service: Excellent throughout voyage. Staff was very friendly & always accommodating. I attribute this to the Captain. He was great & funny. Not stuffy at all. Staff seemed very happy & showed it to the passengers. * Port & Shore Excursions: Ports were very good. Two were new for me so I really enjoyed them. Took one of ships Shore Excursions & it was very good. Handled professionally, although slight bit disorganized. Really wish shuttles at ports would be built into cost of cruise. Only way to get into town at some of the ports was by shuttle. Didn't have a choice so would have been better if included. * Stateroom: Well appointed & comfortable. Cabin Steward was great. Took super care of me & listened to my requests when I first got on board. Had problem with my balcony door opening on its own. He provide a great solution. Would like more light in bathroom but it was OK. * Dining: Really enjoyed the Open Choice Dining. Ate in the Da Vinci Restaurant every evening. Never had to wait for a table & had very good to excellent food & service throughout. Breakfast was in the Horizon Court/Cafe Caribe. Found it was better than dining room although dining room was fine. Also enjoyed the Vines Restaurant/Bar in lobby for sushi & International Cafe for their chicken salad & shrimp. The coffee on this ship was great. The cookies were also better than other ships I've been on. * Entertainment: Very good to excellent throughout. Productions show were very well done & cute. Comedians were great. Most of musical guest performers were also great. Lounges also had very talented entertainers & venues. * Disembarkation: It was raining when we disembarked. Exit from ship was one of fastest I've experienced but had a jam up leaving from baggage area. Only had one way in/out & people were trying to get on while we were leaving. Caused a bit of a mess but worked out fine in the end. * Summary: One of best cruises I've experienced. Ship, staff, food, entertainment, ports & fellow passengers were memorable & outstanding. Would definitely travel on this ship in the future.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=69287

Port Reviews
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/portreviews.cfm?EntryID=69287

Hello from Gibraltar, UK

Just arrived here after 10 days at sea. Has been a wonderful voyage! Ship is super! Food is terrific! Passengers and staff are wonderful! Having a great time. Seas were very calm all the way across the Atlantic. Will be in Alicante tomorrow. A bit rainy here in Gibraltar. Walked around, went up on the "Rock" & went to Europa Point (lighthouse).