Star Princess Mediterranean Cruise
Drift
Through the Night and Wake Up in a Different Port
Do this for yourself . . .
On October 2, 2007 we left San Francisco to fly to Rome and thence
to Civitavecchia to board our first cruise. This was a trip of "firsts":
Although we had visited more than 20 countries through the years,
Through this website, we booked a night in an Expess by Holiday Inn
in Rome. While we can't recommend the location as it is inconvenient
to the city (unless you rent a car), the price was excellent (low
as compared to most accommodations in Rome), the Inn clean and very
quiet. Also, the complimentary breakfast was the best complimentary
breakfast we've ever had. It was a full breakfast, not just Continental,
with great coffee, fresh fruit, eggs, home-made rolls . . . (Rome-East
Vio Giorgio Perlasca 50, Rome 00155 IT 39-06-252172. Approximately
5 miles from downtown Rome, 9 miles from Ciampino Airport, 22 miles
from Fiumicino International Airport.)
We took an early morning bus/walking tour of Rome that included the
Colosseum This grand monument is an elegant reminder of the mighty
Roman Empire. Seating 50,000, the arena was flooded for naval battles,
then dried and sanded in just a few hours for battling gladiators.
On October 4, a 2-hour drive in a private limousine delivered us to
the Star Princess berthed in Civitavecchia, an old seaport and gateway
to Rome. Princess Cruise's extremely efficient operation moved 2,000+
passengers with great ease into their staterooms.
The ship is enormous
. . . it is a floating city . . . and it often looked out of scale
compared to the small ports we sailed into.
Our
room, E711, was an oceanview double on the Emerald Deck (8th floor
-- the ship is 14 stories high). The room was a disappointment as
we were assured by RCI Travel that we would have a large picture window
with an unobstructed view of the Mediterranean; we did have a large
picture window, but the view was very obstructed by rigging. Other
than that, the room was comfortable, quite roomy, and we had a fantastic
time on board; however all future cruises will be with a balcony to
enable us to escape air conditioning, which is really cooled, recycled,
stale air.
STAR PRINCESS FACTS
Launched: 03/16/2002; Registry: Great Britain
Officers: Italian; Crew: International
Cuisine: Continental, room service, International Dress Code (Dress
codes on board were sadly ignored by many people)
4 Outdoor Pools, 9 Whirlpool spas, a state-of-the art fitness center
with trainers, a beauty salon and the Lotus Spa with the latest in
health care, wraps, aromatherapy.
Sophisticated, high-tech theatre (with performances choreographed
and performed by Princess' staff), 17 bars/lounges, a huge casino,
a nightclub suspended 15 decks above the ocean, shops, drugstore,
library, game-room, self-service full laundry room (with irons and
ironing boards), elevators.
Suites: 208; Outside Doubles: 938; Inside Doubles: 362; Verandah Cabins:
710
Oct |
Cities
(Click on Links for Photos) |
In Port |
| 5 | Monte Carlo, Monaco, Nice | 7am-6pm |
| 6 | Livorno, Italy for Florence/Pisa | 6:30am-6pm |
| 7 | Naples for Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri | 8am-7pm |
| 8 | At Sea (A Day spent in the Spa) | |
| 9 | Santorini, Greece | 7am-6pm |
| 10 | Kusadasi, Turkey (Ephesus and the Resting Place of the Virgin Mary) | 8am-5pm |
| 11 | Mykonos, Greece | 7am-6pm |
| 12 | Piraeus for Athens, Greece | 6am-5:45pm |
| 13 | Katakolon for Olympic, Greece | 8am-5pm |
| 14 | Corfu, Greece | 7am-5pm |
| 15 | To Venice, Italy (at sea all day) | 10pm arrival |
Reading departure signs in some big airport