Detailed Photo Review of Carnival Sunshine 12-Night Mediterranean Cruise 9/8/13

[deladane]

Diego met us at the arranged time, and we drove along the Almafi Coast to Positano. The drive was beautiful, and we stopped at another view point on top of the hill to see the coast before descending into the town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[deladane]

Diego dropped us off in town and said we could have 1 hour to walk around. I walked all the way down the hill and down 85 stairs (yes, I counted!) to the black sand beach. The views were amazing, and it was worth the work out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of my favorite photos from the entire trip. He was painting the church up on the hill:

[deladane]

Now it was time to head back up the stairs...

 

 

 

 

The lemons are HUGE... just for reference, these are my sunglasses!

 

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Good to know! Thanks! If we plan on $250-300 per port for the two of us, does that sound reasonable?

 

 

I think it does. I found the tour group through the cruise meet here on CC. Your group may already have some that you can join.

[deladane]

Diego was always aware of the time and knew that all aboard was at 6:30pm, so he said we had to leave Positano by 3:45 in case there was traffic. We got back to Naples at 5pm, so Diego drove us around Naples briefly and let us walk around the town square for 10 minutes.

 

 

 

 

When we got back to his van, Diego had bought us a little snack- he said it was Naples' version of a canoli. It was a pastry with an orange cream filling. It was okay, but I didn't think it was worth the calories haha Diego then drove us back to the port, and he gave us a bottle of lemoncello to share on the ship. Overall, this was one of my favorite days of the entire trip, and I hope to someday have the opportunity to return to the Almafi Coast and spend more time exploring!

 

We took very fast showers and arrived at dinner a little late at 6:15pm, but it was fine. We got to watch the sail away at 7pm as we ate dinner.

 

 

Udon noodles with seafood and chicken as a starter

 

Escargots

[deladane]

Spaghetti and Meatballs

 

Dessert menu

 

Amaretto cake

 

Sunset as we left the port of Naples

 

No one knew any details about the show for tonight except that it was called "Man of Steal." It turns out, the performer was a master pick-pocket and he was the best solo performer of the cruise! He was very funny and a unique entertainer. After the show, we went back to the cabin to rest up for Rome and my favorite towel animal was waiting to greet us!

 

[NCTribeFan]

OK, I'm looking at the plug on the wall in that last photo. I have a plug that fits on some ships but not others. Just depends on where the plug is located. It works on Conquest class, and on Pride, but it didn't on Splendor.

 

That looks like it's up on the wall. In fact, that looks like my plug. Mine does not have a rotating plug which is partly why it didn't work on Splendor (an inside cabin with the plug over the desk but the lip of the mirror didn't let it fit).

 

What cabin did you have? We're in an inside (not a "new" cabin). Don't want to carry it with me if it won't fit the plug.

[deladane]

OK, I'm looking at the plug on the wall in that last photo. I have a plug that fits on some ships but not others. Just depends on where the plug is located. It works on Conquest class, and on Pride, but it didn't on Splendor.

 

That looks like it's up on the wall. In fact, that looks like my plug. Mine does not have a rotating plug which is partly why it didn't work on Splendor (an inside cabin with the plug over the desk but the lip of the mirror didn't let it fit).

 

What cabin did you have? We're in an inside (not a "new" cabin). Don't want to carry it with me if it won't fit the plug.

 

We were in an inside cabin on deck 7, midship. By "new" I assume you mean the ones on deck 5 that were added in the dry dock? If so, then no, ours was just a regular original cabin but it was renovated completely (as were all the original cabins). I think there were actually 2 outlets in our room... one up by the TV set, and another down on the lip under the mirror near the desk (like in all the older ships). I always travel with my Belkin multiplug outlet that does rotate so I can use it no matter where the plug is, but with the second set of outlets, we didn't really need it. I'd say you should take yours anyway because it will fit in that upper plug for sure :)

[aquarianne11]

Enjoyed reading your experiences and looking at the lovely photos.

 

Thank you very much! :)

[deladane]

Enjoyed reading your experiences and looking at the lovely photos.

 

Thank you very much! :)

 

Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it :) I will post a bit more today.

[deladane]

Tuesday, September 17th - Rome, Italy

 

The day had finally arrived! After months of planning and anticipation, I was finally going to Rome!!! This was obviously one of the ports I was most looking forward to when planning this trip. As soon as I knew my cruise would be going to Rome, I knew I wanted to see as much as I could in 1 day since I had never been there before. The problem was, my mom spent 4 days in Rome less than a year ago and she had no desire to repeat everything she just saw. It didn't take much time for us to realize that we should split up for this port day and each do our own thing. She ended up organizing her own tour with Rome in Limo, geared towards people who have been to Rome before (Jany even let her use the 50 Euro discount for booking multiple tours, even though I was also benefiting from that discount for my tour!)

 

I booked the Rome Highlights tour and found 7 people from the roll call to join me. Like usual, I woke up at 6:15am, ate breakfast on Lido, and met my group at 7:45am in the lobby. We met our driver Enrico just outside the port area at 8am. Enrico told us a tidbit that made me even happier I booked all these tours with Rome in Limo... he said that he and all the other Rome in Limo drivers arrive at the port 1 hour before our tour is scheduled to start! He had been in the port area since 7am even though we weren't supposed to meet him until 8am! He said that way, the drivers can discuss any traffic issues they know of, and if someone has problems with their van, they have time to get a new van before the tourists get off the ship.

 

We drove for 1 hour and 20 minutes from the port area in Civitavecchia into the city of Rome. Our first stop was the Pantheon. Enrico left us right next to it and gave us 20 minutes to explore. I listened to the Rick Steves audio guide as I walked around and took lots of photos. Sadly, it was an overcast day, and the light streaming in from the oculus didn't create the direct beam of light effect which I have heard sometimes happens. The room seemed brightly lit, and lacked the spiritual effect that I was hoping to experience.

 

 

 

 

[deladane]

Next, we drove to the Trevi Fountain, and Enrico left us a 5 minute walk away, pointed us in the right direction, and told us to meet him back at the van in 20 minutes. When we arrived, there were a few people there, but it wasn't very crowded. Of course, we all threw coins over our shoulder in hopes the legend would come true and we could all return to Rome someday!

 

 

 

 

After we got back in the van, Enrico drove us past a few other famous landmarks...

 

The Spanish Steps

 

The Victor Emmanuel Monument

[deladane]

We got back out of the van when we reached Circus Maximus and the Paletine Hill. Enrico explained a bit of the history, and even showed us a book with pictures of how it likely looked when there was actual a stadium there...

 

 

 

Up next, we drove to the Roman Forum, and we had about 20 minutes to take photos and walk through the museums on Capitol Hill to meet Enrico at the bottom of the stairs.

 

 

 

 

[cruiseclues]

Thanks for the Mediterranean Photo Review...always love the Food Photos. :):):):)

[deladane]

Incredibly, we had done all of that and it was still before 11am! Our next stop was the Coliseum. Enrico dropped us off and said to meet him at the Arch of Constantine in a few minutes while he parked the car.

 

 

 

When I was planning this trip, my goal was to pre-purchase tickets to as many attractions as possible. My mission was accomplished with one exception: The Coliseum! For some reason, they never updated their website to sell tickets for any dates in September. I literally checked it multiple times every day, but for whatever reason, they never had tickets available for our date. I had emailed Jany a few times about the problem, and she said she was aware of it, that everyone was having the same problem, and not to worry about it. We told Enrico about it when we first met him at the port that morning, and he was able to purchase our tickets magically so that we had our skip-the-line passes by the time we arrived at the Coliseum later that morning!

 

After he parked the car, Enrico escorted us directly to the entrance. We literally had no wait at all, but there was a HUGE line waiting to get in (Enrico said they had at least a 2 hour wait! The skip-the-line passes were well worth the minimal extra charge!!) Enrico said to meet him at the van in 30 minutes, so I listened to the Rick Steves audio guide as I quickly walked around the first and second levels and took tons of photos. It was a bit rushed, but in the end, I don't think I missed anything by not staying longer.

 

 

 

[deladane]

The next part is a bit of a spoiler alert, so if you are planning to take this tour, you might want to skip ahead to my next post...

 

For our last stop before lunch, Enrico drove us to the top of a hill with several embassies. He told us to look through the keyhole, and we had a perfect view of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica! Sadly, the Basilica isn't visible in my photos, but you can just imagine how cool it was to see it through that little key hole!

 

 

 

[deladane]

Ok, you can continue reading now if you skipped ahead...

 

Enrico gave us two options for lunch. We could get some take away food in a market or go to a sit down restaurant. Enrico said we had the time to sit down, so we chose the restaurant option. We went to a place called L'Insalata Ricca.

 

 

They offered very reasonable prices and a huge menu with many options for appetizers, salads, pizzas, pastas, and entrees. They also allowed us to do separate checks.

 

I ordered the brushetta with garlic and olive oil:

 

They brought out each dish from the kitchen as it was ready, but mine was last to arrive and came 15 minutes after the last person before me, so everyone was almost done eating by the time my dish arrived. The waiter said it was because we did separate checks, but that did not make sense and I think they probably just forgot about my dish.

 

 

I ate very quickly, and we paid and left to drive to the Vatican. We arrived at the back entrance to the Vatican at 2pm to meet our guide Marco. He has not given many Vatican tours before, but he was a great guide. He warned us that we would have to walk/run fast to see everything in just 2 hours. We had pre-purchased tickets online, so we went through the metal detectors and exchanged our vouchers for real tickets.

 

Marco took us through several rooms and halls, and stopped along the way to explain the history and art. It was very crowded inside, but Marco moved fast and dodged between people so we had to rush to keep up with him! It was worth it though because we got to see a lot.

 

 

 

[deladane]

 

 

 

[deladane]

I was amazed by the ceilings throughout the Vatican... I think I gave myself a neck ache by the end of the day because I spent so much time looking up!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[deladane]

Marco explained each of the paintings inside the Sistine Chapel before we entered because you cannot talk inside. Unfortunately, no photos are allowed but it was incredible to view in person, especially considering Michelangelo had no prior experience painting before he did this project!

 

Once we left the Sistine Chapel, we made our way back outside and ended up in St. Peter's Square.

 

 

Marco lead us into St. Peter's Basilica. I was not prepared for how grand it is inside this building! The ceilings go so high and looking down the hall, it looks so majestic.

 

 

 

 

Marco showed us the tomb of Pope John the XXIII. I was very weirded out by it because his body is so well preserved despite him passing 50 years ago.

 

Marco then lead us out to the exit at 4pm, which was timed perfectly to see the changing of the guards!

[deladane]

 

 

 

 

We met Enrico with the van on a side street right next to the Square. Our last stop was to see Piazza Navona for some gelato. Marco gave us 20 minutes to see the square, take photos of the fountain featured in the drowning scene from Angels and Demons, and to buy gelato. It was delicious and the perfect way to end a fabulous day in Rome!

 

 

[deladane]

 

 

 

On the 1 hour drive back to the port, I read some of the information in the Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports book to try to take in all that I had seen and learned all day. It is a jam-packed itinerary, but it was fabulous and well worth the extra expense over doing it yourself on public transit. We really saw all of Rome in 1 day!

 

We got back to the ship at 6pm and said goodbye to Enrico before boarding the ship to get ready for dinner.

 

 

My mom got back from her tour at 6:30pm, and neither of us was hungry at all, so she called Irena in the MDR. Irena said it would be okay if we came to the late seating in the MDR. She sat us with our usual wait staff because one of the tables was empty as they ate at the Italian specialty restaurant. It was kind of funny to have a table for 8 all to ourselves, but we were grateful that she accommodated us and we could avoid eating from the buffet.

 

 

[deladane]

Mediterranean Seafood Chowder

 

Hawaiian Fruit Plate

 

Duck a l'orange

 

Dessert menu

 

Pistachio and Almond Clafoutis

 

We finished dinner at 9:30pm and we were completely exhausted! We were very happy we didn't have the late seating for dinner every night haha We went back to the cabin and were asleep by 11pm.

 

 

Up Next: "Under the Tuscan Sun" in Pisa and Florence!

[NCTribeFan]

OK. This is all your fault. I came to this thread hoping to see photos of the ship.

 

And now, because of you and your need to re-post a thread I never saw the first time, I'm on the verge of booking the inaugural Vista itinerary.

 

And I haven't even seen the rest of your photos!

 

It's all your fault!!!

 

:p

[indiaksue]

Can you tell me the name of the restaurant you went to in the Plaka when you were in Athens. We are going to start our cruise from there and we are staying in the Plaka and wanting some good recommendations.