All Aboard!

November 16, 2011

Upon arrival at Civitavecchia, we boarded the Jade and hooked up with the rest of the Coxes. Early arrival meant we all had to hang out on deck and while away a few hours with beer and buffet while waiting for our staterooms to be ready, before late afternoon departure from port.

We also explored our confines, some 14 long decks holding 2400 passengers and over 1000 crew. Amenities included many pools, spas, a basketball court, bars, lounges, restaurants, casinos, etc.

Eventually we got our room assignments and settled in for the journey, including a memorable welcome aboard production in the ship's Stardust Theatre, as the massive vessel glided slowly out to sea....

Off to the Mediterranean!

November 14-16, 2011

Started our fabulous Mediterranean odyssey with a flight out of Toronto, direct to Rome, courtesy of the fine folks at Alitalia. Free wine and emergency exit legroom translates roughly to "heaven" in Italian.

Eight hours and six time zones later, we touched down at Fiumicino (aka Leonard Da Vinci) airport, and relatively promptly boarded the express train to downtown Rome. After dumping our rather large and heavy backpacks at Hotel Montreal, near central Termini Station, we set off to explore Rome on foot and mainly force ourselves to stay awake as long as possible to stave off jetlag.

Large and frequent groups of police, Carabinieri (military police) and media helped us stay alert, as Italy ushered out reviled Prime Minister Berlusconi and ushered in a new era amidst economic turmoil in the Eurozone. Having said that, the country has none less than 38 political parties jockeying for leverage, and the average federal government last 8 months.

Having seen the sights, including the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona, we finally succumbed to body clocks and crashed. The next morning we caught another train bound for Civitavecchia, the port of Rome over an hour west to the coast. It was here that we would catch the cruise ship Norwegian Jade, and hook up with the rest of Jane's family for a ten day voyage around the cradle of civilization.