5 Star Experience on the Star Princess - Mediterranean & Greek Islands - Aug 10 - 22

Let me preface my review that I am first one to agree that when traveling, stuff happens and you need to roll with it and expect setbacks and some disappointments. However on our recent trip to Europe was blessed with perfection. We booked this special trip to celebrate our 55th birthdays together. Everything went as planned and as expected, the weather was perfect, nothing went wrong, and it seemed the stars were aligned.

Pre-Trip to Rome

We arrived in Rome after a 9 hour overnight flight. Didn’t sleep a wink, but got to see 3 movies I hadn’t seen yet. Flight was on time, our bags arrived, and the pre-arranged limo driver was at arrivals in FCO with my name on a sign. So far so good! Our driver was Aldo and got us to the hotel in record time, doing 170 KPH on the highway to Rome in his Mercedes. I didn’t think they had the Autobahn in Italy also!

We arrived at the Hotel Delle Nationale, right by Trevi fountain to begin our 3 day stay prior to embarking at Civitavecchia. The hotel was a nice small 4 star boutique style place, and the room was comfortable and clean. A nice full breakfast was included and the location was great as you could literally walk out the door and toss a coin in the fountain, but far enough away so the noise of the place didn’t disturb us at all. Our room was ready early, we checked in dropped off our bags and away we went to explore the Eternal City!

Our first stop was Trevi, where we both tossed coins in the fountain to ensure our return to Rome one day! The place was hopping; young lovers like us, families and tourists, and maybe even some locals, covering every inch of the place. Central Rome is really easy to walk around; you just have watch for Vespa’s running in every direction.

We headed out with our Rick Steve’s Guide, and turned a corner and hey look it’s the Column of Marcus Aurelius, it’s been in that spot for 2000 years! Amazing! That is what is incredible about Rome; you are walking along and then, bam! You just run into history. Next stops were the Pantheon, Fountain of Four Rivers at the Piazza Navona, and the Spanish Steps. I couldn’t help but get very emotional as I was seeing these sites that I had read about since I was a kid and always to visit. My dream trip was coming true.

We headed back to the hotel and had a brief siesta, before heading back out into the city. We found a nice charming place in an alleyway for dinner, and our waiter was from Sardinia, the best island he claimed! When I told him I thought Sicily was the best island, he cursed something in Italian I didn’t understand. Rome in the evening is a magical place, as the lights turn on, it gets a little cooler and the music starts everywhere. We strolled back to Trevi, had some gelato, and turned in for a good night’s sleep. Day 1 – Perfect so far!

After a much needed good night’s sleep, we woke on Day 2 to a glorious sunny day in Rome. We booked a tour with Through Eternity Tours for the Coliseum and Roman Forum in the morning. Walking along Via De Corso, and heading to the Roman Forum was easy from our hotel and took around 20 minutes. Our guide, Luca arrived on time and led our small group into the Forum. He was an archeologist, who worked on the site, and was very informative and very pleasant. The Forum was quiet, but the Coliseum was very crowded and hot, but with Luca, we were able to bypass the very long lines and walk right in. Once again, I found myself very emotional at the sight of the Coliseum, something I’ve always wanted to see.

We had a pleasant afternoon exploring parts of the old city, and met up with some friends who were also touring Italy at the same time.

Day 3 was dedicated to the Vatican Museums and St Peters. We had booked with Through Eternity Tours again, and our guide today was Tyson, also an Archeologist. Once again, we bypassed the very long lines to get into the museum and started our long day. The Vatican Museums are huge and overwhelming, but Tyson was great and very informative. It seemed like it took forever, but we finally got to the Sistine Chapel. It was a sea of humanity in there, but we scoped out a section for our group and Tyson spent a long time explaining Michelangelo’s masterpiece. Looking up, I could not believe I was actually seeing this with my own eyes. Tears welled up, as I was caught up in the emotion of the moment. The scope of the thing is overwhelming.

Heading into the St Peters, you are taken away by the dimensions of the largest church in the world. I grew up in Montreal, and was familiar with large Roman Catholic Churches, but of course, nothing compares. The Pieta was beautiful, even if you have to see it from a distance and behind bulletproof glass. The Dome of St Peters is awe inspiring. It was another magical day, and I haven’t even gotten to the cruise yet!

Cruise Day 1 - Embarkation – Civitavecchia

Our pre-arranged limo arrived on time at the hotel and we were on our way to the Star Princess. Check-in was smooth and we were onboard and in our cabin in no time at all. We booked a balcony cabin on the Aloha Deck forward Port side. The location is easy for us to get up one flight and we are at the pool. We also love having an early coffee and a glass of wine on the balcony. I don’t think we’ll ever book a cruise without a balcony, we really enjoy it. Once you do balcony; you can’t go back is my belief.

We were familiar with the layout of the ship as we had sailed on the Emerald previously, so getting around was easy. After a several hectic days in Rome and a very busy and port intensive upcoming cruise, we were ready to just relax poolside for the afternoon.

It was nice to be back on a Princess Ship. The Star Princess is looking fine, even though she is going to dry dock this fall for an update. I’m not aware of what they are going to update, but I’m sure Princess will keep us informed like they did with the Grand Princess recently.

We did anytime dining and sat with a nice family from Holland. The first evening show was basically an infomercial for services on the ship, so once the bad comedian started we walked out and went to Trivia in the Explorers Lounge. I enjoy Trivia and found the Cruise Directors staff from Australia were a lot of fun. Much funnier than the comedians we saw. We spent many evenings in the Explorers lounge with this group and had a lot of laughs. We didn’t stay up late as we had an early departure for Nice in the morning, so we turned in and had an early night.

Cruise – Day 2 – Monte Carlo, Nice, & Cote D’Azur

One cruise standard for us is a 6:00 AM room service to bring coffee and juice. We are always up with the sun anyways, so we have this every day of our cruise. Also, since I find the coffee is pretty bad, I brought a supply of Starbucks VIA Instant coffee and just ordered hot water and made my own. It was outstanding and much better than the regular coffee. I also did make use of my coffee card which I bought on my previous cruise and still had some stamps left on it. They make a decent cappuccino in the International Café.

We woke to the glorious coastline of Monaco and Monte Carlo. The buildings were shining like diamonds as the sun rose and hit the glass of the $ million condos on the mountainside. We booked the Princess excursion to Nice in the morning and planned to explore Monte Carlo in the afternoon on our own. By 7:30, we were on the tender heading to the port of Monte Carlo. We saw the most amazing yachts in the harbor. Money is everywhere in this town.

The 30 minute or so bus ride to Nice was spectacular. We drove by Eze, VilleFranche, and other amazing towns on the coast. Our guide was very informative showing us the homes owned by Bono, Elton John, King Faroukh and others. We had a brief little tour of the old town of Nice and we were on our own for a while. We went to the market, bought some Herbes de Provence, some French wine to take back to the ship and had a café latte and the most wonderful bread and preserves at a café on the beach. La belle vie!

We were back in Monte Carlo by noon and took the HOHO bus right at the port for 18 EU that took you all over town. We got off at the casino, and of course my DW had to go in and throw some money away. I was checking out the cars in front of the Casino and Le Hotel de Paris - Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, Bentley’s, etc. In case she won big, of course! Then a young guy with long hair in jeans and tennis shoes pulls up in a two door-powder blue, Rolls Royce Silver Shadow convertible, with winged doors and a white leather interior. It created a bit of a scene; don’t know who he was, but what a nice car!

It was a great first day of the cruise, can it get better? The evening on the ship was quiet, as was most evenings. We watched RED on Movies under the Stars. It seems to me they really don’t put a lot of effort into the shows for these port intensive cruises in Europe. I’ve seen better entertainment on our Caribbean Cruises. I think most people are tired from being off the ship all day.

Cruise Day 3 – Firenze!

Today I am crossing another one off the bucket list. I’ve always wanted to visit Florence, city of the Renaissance, the home of da Vinci, Galileo, Dante, Michaelangelo, and so many others. We booked a Princess excursion, with a brief guided tour and then time on our own. Since Florence was 90 minutes from port, we wanted to ensure a smooth trip. I’ll have to say it for Princess, they really organize their excursions very well and things run like clockwork.

Once we arrived in Florence, our group headed straight to the Duomo and the Bell Tower, what a masterpiece! It was still early so the crowds were still light and got to spend some time there and got up close to the Gates of Paradise in the Baptistery. We then headed to Piazza del Signora, Ponte Vecchio, and Piazza St Croce. Our guide was informative and we had time on our own to explore the city.

Of course, my DW wanted to visit the Leather Market; we got some nice purses, belts and wallets for ourselves and for gifts. Very fine leather goods in the city. Some of the stores had very expensive jackets that were the softest leather I ever touched.

Since we only had a few hours, we decided to bypass the Ufizzi, and got tickets to the Accademia. We will just have to go back and spend more time! Best way to do this is call directly and pre-reserve. You don’t have to pay up front and you bypass the long lines. Walking into the museum and seeing the original David in all its glory takes your breath away. It’s a magnificent piece of art; many say the most famous statue in the world. And you are standing 5 feet away looking up with your jaw open. This was another very emotional moment for me.

We also visited the Great Synagogue, designed in the 1800’s in a Spanish Moorish style. It’s a very unique and beautiful building. We were told of how the building survived WWII, and how the partisans defused the mines and bombs that were left behind to in an effort to destroy the building. We spent the rest of the day exploring this beautiful city, found a nice spot for lunch, and enjoyed a bottle of Chianti under the Tuscan sun. Ah, la dolce vita!

Cruise Day 4 – Napoli, Pompeii, Positanto &Sorrento

For our stop in Naples, we went with a private tour guide – AP Tours of Sorrento. We got great reviews and recommendations for this company on Cruise Critic, and they weren’t wrong. Everything went perfectly well, and I would highly recommend them. We had found two other couples on the roll call to share with us and we met them for dinner the previous night. They were very nice people that we ended up spending additional time on the cruise with at other ports.

Vitorio from AP Tours was at the port waiting for us and whisked us away in his new Mercedes Van. The ladies were very pleased with Vitorio, a very handsome young Italian man, with a great sense of humor and a great personality. As our tour guide for the day, he made the drive enjoyable, even with the traffic getting out of Naples as it was a holiday weekend.

Our first stop was a Pompeii, where AP Tours arranged a private guide for us. Pina was a native of Naples and was a great guide for our 2 hour tour. She was friends with the guards, and we got into some areas that are normally off limits. Pompeii is a unique site that preserved a town from 2000 years ago. We spent 2 hours walking around, visiting some of the well preserved homes and shops. It was amazing to see how people lived 2000 years ago. Evidently, it was quite the party town also as the red light district proved.

Once our tour was over, we were on our way to the Amalfi coast to Positano. I’ve been on some nice coastal drives, but this one was amazing. The views at every turn were jaw-dropping. We made many stops along the way to take pictures and admire the coastal views. Once we got to Positano, we spent some time on the winding streets in town. It’s very quaint and upscale town.

We had booked a lunch at La Tagliata, which is high up in the mountains overlooking Positano and the coastline. We sat down and there’s no menu, the food and bottles of homemade wine just arrive; heaping portions of antipasto, different homemade pasta dishes, and grilled vegetables, all grown in their own gardens. It’s a family owned restaurant with Mamma doing all the cooking in the open kitchen. We finished off with some delicious desserts and a toast of Limoncello! It was quite the experience, along with the view made this the best meal we enjoyed the entire trip.

We stopped in Sorrento for a while on the way back and really enjoyed the little town. We could have used more time there. Everywhere you look you see giant lemons, Limoncello factories, beautiful old buildings painted a bright yellow, it’s an enchanting spot. No wonder legend says the Sirens stayed here.

Tomorrow, a day at Sea, we could use the break! Stay tuned...

Fantastic review thus far... keep it coming!! :)

Lovely start to an excellent review! Thanks lots for this glowing report...

More please!:)

Thanks for the very entertaining and articulate review. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment.

I'm drooling...

thanks so much for this fantastic beginning - I can't wait for your next installment. On Saturday, we are deciding on a Med cruise (or a land tour) for next year and you've just tipped the scales (for me, at least)

thanks again!

What a wonderful review so far! Keep it coming!!!:)

Thanks. Very interesting. I bet I know what your Sardinian waiter said. ;)

This itinerary just never seems to disappoint. Thanks for the great review.

You wouldn't happen to remember what houses Pina was able to get you into in Pompeii, would you? I am planning a trip to Naples in March specifically to see the Roman sites. My main frustration with previous trip to Pompeii (well, besides the brief time spent there) was how many houses were not open to the casual visitor.

we were on the same cruise and second this review--great trip, great ship! The Star was 5* for us, as well. We had a wonderful time, food was excellent, entertainment fair--but we didn't care. We flew on FF miles and did a "budget" trip. We had a partially obsstructed view cabin (E414), which was still a very good view and only cost $200 more than interior.

To save $ and b/c we like to explore, we did all ports DIY except Livorno, where we did ship's tour of Cinque Terre b/c it would be impossible to DIY within the time restraints. We did Eze (hill town) and Nice at Monaco using a combo of cruisecritic and ricksteves DIY for buses--wonderful cote d'azure ride (cost us 6 euros total). Pompeii and Ercolano using the Circumvensia train, Greek beaches using public buses at Mykonos and Corfu. Took the tourist train to Olympia. We rented bikes in Split, Croatia and biked about 10km around a penisula with beaches and parks (we will take snorkels and suits next time). We liked Eze/Nice and Croatia the best and Pompeii for the ruins.

I was the tour guide, using Rick Steves for most things (finally put that European History degree to use). We did our own walking tour of Venice, St. Mark's Basilica, Doges' Palace, Venetian houses (interior tours), and finally a train-ride back to Milan to fly out.

For those who DIY--you really have to be comfortable not knowing exactly where you are at times (we rode our bikes in the direction of town--but no roads we took were on our map--and then suddenly, we were back at the road to the walled city), and asking for directions a fair amount---sort of like a jr. version of the "Amazing Race" on TV. Speaking a bit of French/Italian helps, but a phrase book would work OK in a pinch, as well. We always padded a 2 hour time onto our return to be safe. It was a great trip.

FYI--for those considering their 1st trip/cruise to Europe. We loved the ruins in Pompeii and Athens and absolutely loved this cruise (our 20th anniversary), but preferred Western Med. (French Riviera, Italy, Barcelona) to Eastern Med. (we found Santorini, Mykonos and Corfu OK, but sort of boring). Elaine

I'm reading with such excitement I can hardly stand it :D We're flying into Rome next Thursday and 2 days later heading to the Star for the same cruise. I can't wait to read about the rest of your trip!!!

Thanks for the great review of your trip so far.

This itinerary just never seems to disappoint. Thanks for the great review.

 

You wouldn't happen to remember what houses Pina was able to get you into in Pompeii, would you? I am planning a trip to Naples in March specifically to see the Roman sites. My main frustration with previous trip to Pompeii (well, besides the brief time spent there) was how many houses were not open to the casual visitor.

Hi cruisemom42, It was a private home right at the beginning off to the left of the main entrance. The area is just being excavated, so we weren't allowed much time there, but it had some great paintings on the walls.

i'm really enjoying your review! so detailed, thank you. i look forward to more.

Thanks everyone for the positive comments. I've enjoyed writing this review as a way of sharing with our CC Community and remembering forever our trip of a lifetime..Here's part 2

Cruise Day 5 - At Sea

Finally a day at sea! We could really use some time off and got to sleep in a little and spend the day just relaxing on the ship. Unlike Caribbean cruises, where chair hogging seems to be a major issue, there seemed to be plenty of chairs by the pool all day. We spent the day relaxing and chilling out and recalling the events of our trip so far. Sometimes it still didn’t sink in that we were really in Europe and sailing the Mediterranean Sea.

This was the first formal day and we skipped the MDR and went to the Crown Grill for dinner. We decided against bringing our formal wear this time, and despite the open minded nature of the Maitre‘d these days when it seems anything goes in the dining room, we opted to not to participate, even though we usually love to.

The meal at Crown Grill was good, certainly worth $20, and I enjoyed my Filet cooked to order. I don’t order beef in the MDR as I find mass prepared steaks not to my liking. It was also very quiet in the Grill, which was very different from our experience on the Caribbean cruises, where if you didn’t book early, you didn’t get a seat. The menu also didn’t include lobster, not sure why that was.

We shared our evening with some new found friends we met on our Roll call from Washington DC, and had a very nice dinner. We tried not to talk politics, but of course when you find yourself sitting with someone from DC, and with the recent mess in the Senate and the House, I couldn’t help myself.

Cruise Day 6 – Santorini

We were looking forward to seeing Santorini, as our Greek friends have told us; it’s literally heaven on earth. After spending a glorious day there, I can wholeheartedly agree. The view from the top of the caldera takes your breath away. The blue sky & deep blue sea, the black lava rock mountains, freshly painted white buildings perched at the top of the hill, it’s breathtaking. Pictures just don’t do it justice. I can see why Travel + Leisure Magazine named it the World’s top island in 2011.

We joined up with another two couples from Seattle and San Francisco we met on Cruise Critic, who had arranged a private tour with Dimitrios from Oceanwave Tours, and had a great day with him. He was very friendly and knew lots about the island. It wasn’t really much of a tour, as much as he was just a good driver to take us around, and this gave us the flexibility to spend time where we wanted to. That was fine; the views are all you really need to see here.

We tendered in and took the tram to the top of Fira, where Dimitrios was waiting for us. He explained the history of the island, the volcanic eruption that created the caldera and we started off at the famous Blue Dome Church that you see in all the postcards. It was Aug 15, Feast of Assumption, which is the third most important religious holiday in Greece after Easter and Christmas, so the churches were all decorated.

We got to spend a good amount of time in Oia, took tons of pictures. They have built a beautiful promenade with lots of quaint shops and restaurants that is very pleasant to stoll along. Afterwards, we stopped at the beach where they filmed Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, and then drove down to the south part of the island, stopping at Santos Winery, where we sampled some nice wines and bought a bottle to bring back to the ship. Dimitrios took us to little roadside stand, where we met Anna, who gave us samples of all her homemade goodies: Almonds rolled with sesame seeds and honey, sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, homemade wine, red grapes, black olives…it was all so delicious. We all bought a few things and then it was on to lunch at a Taverna right on the black sand beach.

We all enjoyed typical Greek cuisine of olives, taramoslata, tzatiki, calarami, feta, tomatoes, and salad. The food was great and the tomatoes were outstanding. “You can grow anything here”, Dimitrios kept saying, because of the volcanic soil.

After lunch, he dropped us back at Fira, which was very crowded, and we spent some time shopping before taking the tram back down to the dock. The lineup for the tram wasn’t too bad. It really was a magnificent day, and this is a place I would go back to in a heartbeat.

Cruise Day 7 – Athens

We arrived in the Port of Athens to a beautiful sunrise over the city, and thankfully the taxi strike blocking the ports was over. We had booked the Princess excursion to the Acropolis and Plaka on our own. Once again, Princess had everything organized very well and we arrived at the base of the Acropolis fairly early in the morning before the heat of the day would make it difficult to walk up the 80 steps to the top. I was a little concerned for my DW, as she has some trouble with stairs, but she has been a real trooper all trip and she made it up to the top with everyone else.

It gets very crowded as there is only one entrance and one exit to the Acropolis. Once you are on the top, things spread out a little and you can actually move around and spend some time. The Parthenon is a sight to see. It’s very impressive to see this structure that has been around since 400 BC, survived wars and earthquakes, and is the place where democracy was born. The Erechtheum is also a very impressive building, even if the Porch of the Maidens are replicas. The originals are in the New Museum and one is in Britain, thanks to Lord Elgin who depending, which side of the story you hear, he either stole them or saved them from destruction. This is a very sore spot for the Greeks.

After a bit of a guided tour, we were left on our own to wander around the grounds. We then made it down the 80 steps (much easier!) and took the bus to the Plaka. We also stopped at the Marble stadium of the first modern Olympics from 1894. We spent the afternoon in the Plaka, shopping, having lunch, and trying the Ouzo, buying Olive Oil soap, Baklava, and Greek Delight to take home. Just don’t call it Turkish Delight in Greece! You’ll get scolded by the shop keeper.

Cruise Day 8 – Mykonos

Our ship arrived in Mykonos at 1:00AM, as the trip from Athens is very short. People were getting off and heading to Mykonos Town as the party really ramps up and the bars are open all night. Ah, to be young again. I hear it’s quite the party town.

For our stay in Mykonos, we booked a day pass at the St. John’s Resort. This is a very nice resort on the south side of the island. The hotel picks you up right at the ship in their van and brings you back. I’m very surprised this is not more popular, its reasonable and perhaps people are not aware of it, but there was only a few other couples from the ship at the resort, included the 2 couples we shared the tour in Naples with. We had a very relaxing time; the salt water infinity pool was great and the blue water just seemed to go on forever. It was also situated on a nice quiet sandy beach and we went for a swim in the Aegean Sea.

In the afternoon, we got dropped off near Mykonos town and wandered around the waterfront shops and restaurants. I found this area a little gritty, and for the first time on our trip, had people asking me for money. I was looking for Petros the giant Pelican, but couldn’t find him. We didn’t stay long, found a nice Greek Taverna and had a nice lunch right on the water.

Back on the ship, we enjoyed the Greek wine we bought in Santorini on our balcony, and had a quiet evening on board.

Tomorrow, Ancient Olympia! more ruins, DW is so excited....

...I was the tour guide, using Rick Steves for most things

Did you use the new Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports book?

If so, what did you think about it?

Astroflyer--no, I did not know about it (that would have been great)--I just had a selection of his regular books that we had used for 10 days land in Europe last year. I also surfed the web (esp. Cruise critic-many posts for DIY ports on Europe ports BB) and found step-by-step directions on how to do Monaco-Eze-Nice by bus and Cricumvesia to Pompeii, as well as several walking tours---we really had almost too much info (ex Rick Steves for St. Marks Basilica is 10 pages long). I looked up local bus/train schedules online, etc. You really have to do A LOT of pre-planning for DIY---as much pre-planning time as hours you are actually there vs. our Cinque Terre ship's tour, for which I just read 3 pages in a tour book (and watched RS video for 15 minutes) and then just got on the bus. But, we probably saved at least $750 PP DIY. I had 4 other tours booked thru the ship, but once our Monaco and Pompeii DIY worked so well, we cancelled the other tours.

What a wonderful review. Makes me want to go back and do it all again! maybe we will.

Ohiodoglover

What a great review. I thoroughly enjiyed reading it......:):):)

Bob

I'm drooling...

 

thanks so much for this fantastic beginning - I can't wait for your next installment. On Saturday, we are deciding on a Med cruise (or a land tour) for next year and you've just tipped the scales (for me, at least)

 

thanks again!

Hi Genessa, thanks for the comments, I think a cruise is a great way to go. While it gives you a little taste of many places, you unpack once and away you go. It's wonderful to wake up everyday in a different place.

Having said that, we could have used some additional time in some of the places that a land tour would offer. Why not do a little of both like we did, either come in early, which is advisable due to baggage issues sometimes, or stay afterwards as many did on our voyage.

Either way, you can't go wrong! Europe is just magical!

Your review is magnificent! I have visited all of the ports on prior cruises and we just sailed on the Star in March and loved her, so thank you for allowing me to re-live my experiences as I sit here watching the outer bands of Hurrican Irene pelt our house...(I live in North Carolina)..:rolleyes:

Your review is magnificent! I have visited all of the ports on prior cruises and we just sailed on the Star in March and loved her, so thank you for allowing me to re-live my experiences as I sit here watching the outer bands of Hurrican Irene pelt our house...(I live in North Carolina)..:rolleyes:

Thanks for the positive comments, I hope you are ok and don't get too much rain. We are glad we didn't get hit in Florida.

Hi cruisemom42, It was a private home right at the beginning off to the left of the main entrance. The area is just being excavated, so we weren't allowed much time there, but it had some great paintings on the walls.

Sounds like you were in the area of the nice, sea-facing houses in Pompeii. Lucky you, these are often hard to get into!

Could it have been this one, by chance (one of the most opulent)?

http://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/pompeii/regio-vii/reg-vii-ins-16/house-of-m-fabius-rufus

...our Cinque Terre ship's tour, for which I just read 3 pages in a tour book (and watched RS video for 15 minutes) and then just got on the bus. But, we probably saved at least $750 PP DIY.

I'm very interested in your Cinque Terre DIY experience because we thought the only good way to do it would be on a ship's tour. I'm not seeking to hijack this great review but to expand upon the subject of Med cruise ports. :o

Sounds like you were in the area of the nice, sea-facing houses in Pompeii. Lucky you, these are often hard to get into!

 

Could it have been this one, by chance (one of the most opulent)?

 

http://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/pompeii/regio-vii/reg-vii-ins-16/house-of-m-fabius-rufus

I don't recall it being this elaborate, but it certainly had the grassy area in front of it, and the yellow rooms looked familiar.

Thanks. Very interesting. I bet I know what your Sardinian waiter said. ;)

ha ha, I saw him the next day and yelled out to him "Sardinia bella!"

AstroFlyer--no, I worded that poorly. We did ship's tour of CT ($129PP) and it was great. That was the ONLY way to do it with the time restraints. I meant that we did DIY in all OTHER ports, except CT. For DIY Q, I will respond over on Europe ports BB.

Ron--enjoying reading your review very much--making me miss the cruise already. Elaine