WESTERN MED CRUISE 2004

This is a record of a cruise round the Western Mediterranean from the 13th to 27th Sept 2004 (the cruise was 12 days, then we stayed 2 days in Rome at the end).

The route took us in a strange zigzag – just making up the number of days – from Barcelona to Casablanca, Gibraltar, Cannes, Malta, Messina, Naples, Livorno (for Pisa or Florence), and finally Civitavecchia (for Rome). Over 3000 miles in all, with three full days at sea, and 2 of these were formal dining nights. Our favourite stop was Rome, followed by Barcelona and Malta.

I am 61, my wife is a little younger. We like eating, walking round town and a certain amount of culture. We also like a reasonable degree of comfort.

Although we travelled quite late in the season, this is actually pretty much peak time, most places we stopped at were very busy. The ship was full.

The weather was mostly excellent, though we did have a thunderstorm early the first morning in Barcelona, and it was a bit windy and rough on the last night. There was some rain in Pisa, but we managed to avoid it.

THE SHIP – STAR PRINCESS

This is a big ship – over 100,000 tons, with 2600 passengers and 1100 crew. But it is broken up into fairly small sections – the atrium is ‘only’ 3 decks high. Over all we thought this the best ship we have been on (our third). The cabin (C609) was a little noisy (tip – avoid the area under the funnel), but it had a lovely balcony, a large comfortable bed, and plenty of storage space. The bathroom was typically compact, but worked fine.

Service was of a typical high standard (with 1100 crew!), we never had to wait long for fresh towels or food in the restaurants.

Trips

We took three – Barcelona, Herculaneum and Pisa. Cost was high, and quality variable – the Pisa trip did not give us long there – though it was very crowded. Sometimes the arrangements for trips and disembarkation could have been a little better. Several people we talked to arranged shared taxis, which seemed to work out pretty well. At several ports there were shuttle buses to take you into the town (at a cost), but these were not advertised (they want you to take the trips).

Food

Princess offers flexible dining (as well as traditional fixed seating) which we opted for. We sat next to a wide variety of interesting passengers, mainly from Canada and the U.S., but also from Mexico, Brazil and Australia. The Americans came from all over – Chicago, Indiana, Nebraska, Mississippi, California. There are two restaurants for dinner, (plus the fixed seating one) and the Horizon Court buffet is open 24 hours. Food was good to very good, 6 choices of entrée at lunch and dinner, plus some always available choices including excellent steak and salmon. The buffet lunch was maybe our favourite, with a wide choice of hot and cold food, and the bread was always fresh and delicious. Sometimes we had to wait a while for dinner (especially the formal nights), but not long, and there were never lines at the buffet. I though the wines were expensive ($20 and up), and not good enough at the price – but you could keep some of the bottle for the next day.

Entertainment

Was not much to our taste – there was a classical string quartet, but we only got to hear them a couple of times. The shows were quite professional, with glitzy staging, but a bit too loud and brash for us, and I am not a fan of quiz shows, Bingo and Karaoke. Still, you could get away from it easily enough.

Deck Facilities

Deck 7 was the promenade, but typically nowadays not wraparound (you could make a circuit by going up a deck, but only during the day). Also – disappointing for me – not a proper teak deck, just some plastic composite. The swimming pools were very good – 2 large, one small at the stern, and a current pool forward, which I used a lot. There was also a choice of 11 jacuzzis and a large health spa with sauna and steam room.

Internet was available on board at a ‘reduced’ price of 35 cents per minute. We used it, but not for long.

BARCELONA

Our Ship	Barca Street Architecture

We thought we might do Barcelona on foot, but when we saw the distance from the dock, we took a morning trip which drove us around the city (stuck in traffic a while) and took us into the fascinating Gaudi Cathedral, built with public donations. It will take another 20 years to complete. Then we stopped on Monjuic for the views. We opted to be dropped of at the Columbus Monument and walked up the Ramblas a while – very crowded, but with a wonderful fish and vegetable market. Shuttle buses were supposedly available, but we didn’t find one. We did take a taxi back to the ship (€6). I was impressed by Barcelona – lovely architecture, and a lot to see – You could spend a week here – I hope to return.

CASABLANCA

Again a long way from the dock into town (well over a mile), but we did walk it this time, and made our way through the Medina to the new Mosque where we took a tour (€12). This place is huge – the third largest in the world, and amazingly it was built in only 6 years (with the help of 10,000 workers in 24 hour shifts). Apart from this though, we were disappointed in Casablanca – the film just won’t seem the same afterwards. I won’t be going back, though Marrakesh is tempting. We must have walked about 6 miles.

GIBRALTAR

Saw dolphins in the straits. We had been to ‘Gib’ before from Spain, and had not been impressed, though we hadn’t gone up the rock. When we arrived it was early and quiet, and seemed quite pleasant. We took a shuttle taxi into town (£1 or €2) and walked to the cable car where we took the full ticket (a whopping £14.50 each). Views from the top were splendid, and we trekked along the upper roads to see St. Michael’s Cave and the old Siege tunnels. It was a long walk, but worth it. We also had to walk down again (all the taxis there were full), so you might want to consider a taxi up – but be aware that the entrance fees to the caves and tunnels are additional (both £7). (see www.travel-wise.com/europe/therock/). When we returned, the crowds had arrived, and once again it looked tacky. Walked 4 or 5 miles. Having done the Rock, I won’t be going back again.

Casablanca Mosque	View of Star Princess, Gibraltar	Cannes

CANNES

This was a tender ride right into the middle of Cannes (no walking this time!), so we strolled along the front in brilliant sunshine, and the back along Rue D’Antibes. Very pleasant, but shops were closed as it was Sunday – not that I’m into designer shops. Frankly, Cannes doesn’t have a great deal to offer apart from the sun. I won’t be likely to return, though I wouldn’t rule it out.

MALTA

We were lucky to have old friends in Malta who we haven’t seen for about 20 years, so they picked us up at the dock (not very far from town) and drove us around. I liked what I saw in Malta – we have had very differing views from many people who have been there. It isn’t pretty, in fact quite scruffy, but there is a wealth of character and impressive buildings, and enough history to even interest me (I’m more of a techy really). The grand harbour really is grand, with fascinating views in all directions. I hope to return and spend a bit of time there.

MESSINA (SICILY)

We docked close to the town centre, so we walked around a little in the morning, and saw the cathedral and campanile with its mechanical moving figures (be there at 12 noon). We returned (when we got a map from the tourist kiosk on the dock) in the afternoon and walked up to a church with a great view over the town and the sea. Messina was pleasant enough without being exciting, I don’t expect to return.

NAPLES

Once again we docked really close to the town, so we walked a little in the morning round the castle Nuovo to the Galleria Umberto – a wonderful old shopping arcade with huge high vaulted glass ceiling. In the afternoon we took the cruise trip to Herculaneum, which we enjoyed possibly more than Pompei were we had been previously. It wasn’t too crowded, and there was a lot to see (it hasn’t all been taken to the museums).

Messina	Messina	Guess Where

LIVORNO (PISA)

Took the cruise trip – about an hours drive, and Pisa was packed. We had a very short time there, but enough I suppose to see the tower, though not to walk up it. We were taken into the cathedral, which we enjoyed very much – it was beautiful and peaceful.

The Forum, Rome	Piazza Navona, I think	Vittorio Emanuele Monument

CIVITAVECCHIA (ROME)

I had been to Rome a couple of times before, so I was a little blasé about it – Vatican, Trevi fountain, Colosseum – seen it, done it. Well, I have to admit I was mightily impressed – there is a huge amount to see as well as the top spots, and Rome is another city full of beautiful architecture.

We had arranged to take the cruise transport to the airport, where we left our large cases and took a shuttle bus (from the ‘Hotel Reservations’ desk - €12 each) to our hotel – the Julia in via Rasella, not far from the Trevi fountain. The hotel was adequate, and not excessive by Rome standards (€160 per night). The room was fair – a bit noisy, but then so is most of Rome, bathroom was good, bed Ok though a bit firm for us; the breakfast was poor – cubed ham and processed cheese – in a city full of wonderful food. The location made up for it – easy walking to many of the main sites.

We had copied some walks from a guide book (AA), and just about managed to do all four in 2 days. We saw the Trevi (of course), Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Castell San Angelo, St. Peters, Piazza Del Popolo, Palazzo Farnese, Villa Borghese, Piazza Venezia, Forum, Colosseum, Trastevere, Santa Maria Maggiore and a lot more. We loved it.

We used a bus once to Vittorio Emanuele near Piazza Campo de Fiori – as it was Sunday the shops selling tickets were closed, but we got one from a machine in Piazza san Silvestro. We also used the metro to return from Manzone to Barberini – crowded but bearable.

Food Our hotel recommended a local trattoria Gioia Mia which was very enjoyable family run, friendly, good food, and not very expensive (€45 for two). Try the antipasta. On Sunday it was closed, so we went to the second choice Trattoria Tritone – more upmarket, more expensive, but very good food – the best Canneloni I have ever eaten. Both places were busy and booking is advisable unless you go early (7 PM).

Finally we took the shuttle bus back to the airport where our BA flight was delayed a little, but made up most of that on the flight home.

St. Peters	Colosseum	Castel San Angelo

BARCELONA

Our Ship

Barca Street Architecture