Traveler

Day 6 Naples.
This is the easiest port as it's located very near the city , just a convenient walking distance. We actually slept a while during the morning , I guess all the wine from Chef table helped ?. We  skipped breakfast as even the WJ was already closed and we did our way to the city. It was again a very hot day so after a while (and the must coffee in Naples) we went to find a good Pizza. I checked the app (the fork) for  what is around and found a nice restaurant which offered 50%  discount for all the  items in the menue  and got good reviews (most in Italian). The restaurant was less than 400 meters from us so we got there quite fast. It's located inside a very narrow old  street but the restaurant itself quite modern with a big pizza oven.


The most important thing they had air conditioning.
They gave  us a tablet for order whatever we wanted, very traditional I must say. We ordered two pizzas, water , diet soda (no they are not accepting the soda packages) and waited for the food. The pizzas arrived after 10 or 15 minutes then we understood the big mistake we have done again , we should have ordered only one to share , they were quite big (maybe we thought about Sorento) after fighting with the pizzas (which were very good)



we order a traditional Naples cake and two coffees . All in all after 50% off and service charge it was 16 Euros, added some tip and we went away to walk some more in the city before heading back to the ship after buying some  balsamic vinegar to take back home.



Quick beer at the diamond club , and a fruit dinner in WJ (could eat anything else , too much food). 




We went to see the "come fly with me show" the acrobatics act was very good , the singers on the other hand could practice some more. We spent some time at the casino and went to see the quest , this time it was in Blaze and not studio B which made it hard to track what happened but still nice with decent amount of participants.

 

Day 6 Naples.
This is the easiest port as it's located very near the city , just a convenient walking distance. We actually slept a while during the morning , I guess all the wine from Chef table helped ?. We  skipped breakfast as even the WJ was already closed and we did our way to the city. It was again a very hot day so after a while (and the must coffee in Naples) we went to find a good Pizza. I checked the app (the fork) for  what is around and found a nice restaurant which offered 50%  discount for all the  items in the menue  and got good reviews (most in Italian). The restaurant was less than 400 meters from us so we got there quite fast. It's located inside a very narrow old  street but the restaurant itself quite modern with a big pizza oven.


The most important thing they had air conditioning.
They gave  us a tablet for order whatever we wanted, very traditional I must say. We ordered two pizzas, water , diet soda (no they are not accepting the soda packages) and waited for the food. The pizzas arrived after 10 or 15 minutes then we understood the big mistake we have done again , we should have ordered only one to share , they were quite big (maybe we thought about Sorento) after fighting with the pizzas (which were very good)



we order a traditional Naples cake and two coffees . All in all after 50% off and service charge it was 16 Euros, added some tip and we went away to walk some more in the city before heading back to the ship after buying some  balsamic vinegar to take back home.



Quick beer at the diamond club , and a fruit dinner in WJ (could eat anything else , too much food). 




We went to see the "come fly with me show" the acrobatics act was very good , the singers on the other hand could practice some more. We spent some time at the casino and went to see the quest , this time it was in Blaze and not studio B which made it hard to track what happened but still nice with decent amount of participants.

 

Sometimes it's good to check the WJ , you never know what you will find

And it's the real ones @twangster ?
 

Sometimes it's good to check the WJ , you never know what you will find

And it's the real ones @twangster ?
 

Day 6 Naples.
This is the easiest port as it's located very near the city , just a convenient walking distance. We actually slept a while during the morning , I guess all the wine from Chef table helped ?. We  skipped breakfast as even the WJ was already closed and we did our way to the city. It was again a very hot day so after a while (and the must coffee in Naples) we went to find a good Pizza. I checked the app (the fork) for  what is around and found a nice restaurant which offered 50%  discount for all the  items in the menue  and got good reviews (most in Italian). The restaurant was less than 400 meters from us so we got there quite fast. It's located inside a very narrow old  street but the restaurant itself quite modern with a big pizza oven.


The most important thing they had air conditioning.
They gave  us a tablet for order whatever we wanted, very traditional I must say. We ordered two pizzas, water , diet soda (no they are not accepting the soda packages) and waited for the food. The pizzas arrived after 10 or 15 minutes then we understood the big mistake we have done again , we should have ordered only one to share , they were quite big (maybe we thought about Sorento) after fighting with the pizzas (which were very good)



we order a traditional Naples cake and two coffees . All in all after 50% off and service charge it was 16 Euros, added some tip and we went away to walk some more in the city before heading back to the ship after buying some  balsamic vinegar to take back home.



Quick beer at the diamond club , and a fruit dinner in WJ (could eat anything else , too much food). 




We went to see the "come fly with me show" the acrobatics act was very good , the singers on the other hand could practice some more. We spent some time at the casino and went to see the quest , this time it was in Blaze and not studio B which made it hard to track what happened but still nice with decent amount of participants.

 

Day 6 Naples.
This is the easiest port as it's located very near the city , just a convenient walking distance. We actually slept a while during the morning , I guess all the wine from Chef table helped ?. We  skipped breakfast as even the WJ was already closed and we did our way to the city. It was again a very hot day so after a while (and the must coffee in Naples) we went to find a good Pizza. I checked the app (the fork) for  what is around and found a nice restaurant which offered 50%  discount for all the  items in the menue  and got good reviews (most in Italian). The restaurant was less than 400 meters from us so we got there quite fast. It's located inside a very narrow old  street but the restaurant itself quite modern with a big pizza oven.


The most important thing they had air conditioning.
They gave  us a tablet for order whatever we wanted, very traditional I must say. We ordered two pizzas, water , diet soda (no they are not accepting the soda packages) and waited for the food. The pizzas arrived after 10 or 15 minutes then we understood the big mistake we have done again , we should have ordered only one to share , they were quite big (maybe we thought about Sorento) after fighting with the pizzas (which were very good)



we order a traditional Naples cake and two coffees . All in all after 50% off and service charge it was 16 Euros, added some tip and we went away to walk some more in the city before heading back to the ship after buying some  balsamic vinegar to take back home.



Quick beer at the diamond club , and a fruit dinner in WJ (could eat anything else , too much food). 




We went to see the "come fly with me show" the acrobatics act was very good , the singers on the other hand could practice some more. We spent some time at the casino and went to see the quest , this time it was in Blaze and not studio B which made it hard to track what happened but still nice with decent amount of participants.

 

UIDay 5 part 2 
So we arrived enough time before we needed to go to the chef table. We booked it on the ship on day 1 , when we have asked if there is any offer they told us 20% and been told it's 20% as it's only day one and they have only spots for day 4 and 5 . We booked it for day 4 which became day 5 as most of the people canceled for day 4 . The chef table take place at a strange location - it's inside the suite lounge across from the bar near the CK. Not the best location but Ok we did not mind. It was us and a family from Madrid that did not spoke English but we got alone after the the third glass ?. Food was good as always and they kept fillings the glasses if you  allow them. 
We started with the scallop carpaccio 

Continued with the amizing smoke tomato soap which came in a big bowl but we finish every last drop of it.

Next was the shrimp salad  that replaced the lobster one I thought it was it was better  , maybe because all the wine I consumed until this point.

The truffle spaghetti followed , it was my second one for today , but this one with truffle oil so different.

For main course we both took the fillet it was amazing and came with truffle mushed potatoes.

At this stage I was already heaving food comma but could not leave  it in the plate.
For dessert we got the famous chocolate sphere I could only take one spoon of it no more although it was quite good.


That came with chocolate martini

All and all it was a good experience which I might do again next time , but maybe a day of fast before 
 

Day 5 Rome (part one)
We arrived around 7 am  to the port , not that I know the exact hour as I was sleeping during the process. We had a train tickets to Rome which I have booked online for 9:16 am and did not cost much (19 $ I think). When we planned to go out I noticed I can not find the tickets so we spend around 10 minutes to find them but  no luck , we decided to use the online copy I had. Quick breakfast at the diamond club and  we rushed to the shuttle bus which took its time. By the time we were near the gates it was already 9:05 , quick look in Google maps show that it will take us around 19 minutes to walk to the station. Although there is a bus to take you to the station I could not seen it so we had to think what to do . One option was to try to catch the train maybe it has some delays (quite common in Italy considering it's was not the first station for this train) and if we miss the train just to take the next one which was 30 minutes after or to take a bus/taxi. We decide to approach one of the people that offer a ride to Rome (you have there a Bazar of offers  each one try to shout loader and offer a ride) they offer a bus ride which will drop us neat the Vatican , they want 19 for return trip and agreed to 18. We boarded the bus and after 5 minutes we started our ride . During the ride they offered skip the line tickets for the Vatican, HOHO tickets for the panoramic buss and Leonardo Da Vinchi museum , we took the museum tickets which cost 12 Euro .The ride took around 70 minutes and we done our way to the museum which is near the basilica.



The museum is small but interesting enough , it contain models of his inventions and copy of is famous paintings , you also get an audio guide with interesting information . Most of the models are build to be touched so I think it's a good option for children's during an hot day.
 




Next we started our way to Navona square were we found a nice restaurant to eat lunch


. I took the truffle pasta , mind , for a change it was not a facke truffle oil but the real thing , the waiter come with a truffle mushroom and shread it over the pasta , it was very good.

We started our way to the train station planning to pass near some of the famous places but it was a very hot day so after a while we decided to call for a taxi (not before getting tone of the supermarkets to buy some Italian wine) I used the local taxi application and after 30 seconds our taxi arrived. What a relief he activated the air conditioning , not something that common around here. After few minutes and 8 Euros we arrive to Tremini train station were we schedule to meet an old friend which we did not meet for many years,  he actually leave near Rome. So we had a nice meeting over a coffee and grappa until it was time to take the train back. It was super easy to find the train and it took less than 45 minutes to arrive to Civitavecchia train station, we took the 2Euro bus back to the port , it was only 5 minutes ride, by the way , I checked the price of trains to Rome , it was 4.5 Euros if you took the early 8:40 am  train  or the 9:45 train.
Strange , the port security did not told us anything about the wine bottles so we just took it with us to the ship.
We went back to our room to get prepared for chef table which will get it's own post.
 
 
 
 

So, final day and observations
I woke up at 4 and couldn't get back to sleep so read and waited for 6 when I could get Dave up. Eventually we made it to Windjammer for breakfast which was quite good. Took final pictures, hugged and kissed friends goodbye then went to Boleros to wait for wheelchair disembark
1. Boleros is right outside of the casino. Even though everything was closed we couldn't stand the smoke smell from the casino. It was Bad  if you are sensitive I would stay away from the 4th floor. We had to get as far away as possible
Wheelchair disembark is not well organized. You show up in boleros, and a staff person is there writing down names in some random order. I told her we had the rented wheelchair and it needed to stay on board. She really didn't know anything about it. Eventually a nice man in dress whites told us they would bring a wheelchair and we could leave this one in boleros and special needs would pick it up. After waiting for a while a pusher came and the crew member asked if they had a large wheelchair for someone else  there was some discussion and then she told him to push us out. I told him again about the rental and he said it was fine he'd push us to terminal and then bring chair back to ship. So he took us past scan out, up gangway to terminal, and then we exchanged wheelchairs with a pushed in port building.  He took us down to get our luggage, then asked what id we had. Dave and I had only our birth certificates license, and he said that the incredibly long line was for those people, passports could walk right out.  So, if you were wondering, THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE A PASSPORT!  However, he told us to be quiet and then he took us around the line and right to customs who looked at our stuff and waived us through.  While I usually try not to place the disabled card, in this case Dave would have really suffered so I was ok with it. Then we went out to get picked up by our private car
The port building and pickup really harshes your mellow. It's a beautiful building but the pickup area was designed by idiots. The area reminds me of a cage match between Chicago, New York, and LA cab drivers. It's disorganized, cars randomly stop, block, cut each other off. There are obviously "special" people who are allowed to sit at curb longer while everyone else gets threatened with tickets. The fumes are causing premature death. Our wheelchair pusher was nice but we basically were in everyone's way until our driver came and he had to drive around 3 times before he could stop and get us.  I really was shocked at how badly it was designed, and he said Saturdays are twice as bad. So, plan for plenty of time and craziness. 
Eventually we made it out and went to FLL. there was a terrible accident going south on 95 and traffic was backed up for miles. So, anyone driving down to ship was going to get there much later than they planned, so, I agree you should try to get to terminal as early as possible so you don't have problems. That said, don't get there until the boat is unloaded and all of those people are out of the way 
FLL airport was crowded. The wheelchair pusher was very nice but security worked a little differently than Cincinnati and it was more crazy. But she nicely took us to family restroom and waited while we went. Dave was really not feeling well so we took forever and I ended up having to give her a really big tip for waiting. FLL gate seating is tight and not setup like Cincinnati so it was crowded and you couldn't sit near counter. In Cincinnati Ms Ginger took our boarding passes to gate and made sure they knew we were there to help us. FLL didn't and when I went yo talk to gate people they really didn't much care. Basically said to figure it out and when they were ready to board a pusher would get us. Eventually he did, they called for us to go forward, he said we had to wait, and basically the other passengers pushed him to take us up front. It was confusing and I feel bad because I didn't tip him. Eventually though we made it and first class was still worth it. A more turbulent flight but went OK. A nice young guy from San Diego cane to push us off plane and to baggage. We asked for family bathroom again and he said they are locked and pushers don't get keys. So, we ended up waiting at baggage. I called for shuttle and they told me pickup spot but it was hidden and we went to wrong place. Finally asked safety guy and he gave me better directions. Shuttle guy was great, took us right to the car, helped Dave in. Got luggage loaded and headed for home, where I was looking "forward" to the loads of laundry awiting me.  Which would have been much smaller had I not overpacked so much!! 
So, observations
Dave and I would cruise again, but I would prefer a port I could drive to
I'd bring a lot less stuff
I'd try for an itinerary that started with a sea day so I could rest up and then enjoy Port days on ship while everyone else is gone
I'd take the time and effort to get passports even if they aren't necessary 
I'd skimp in other areas to be able to spring for 1st class if flying
I'd have just arranged a private car to take us from home to airport and pick us and take us home
I'd take a closer look at wheelchair options, because larger front wheels would have made pushing around ship easier. If Dave wasn't blind I would definitely recommend a scooter instead for getting around the ship
I'd make sure I knew exactly what I needed to bring to use the oxygen with the cpap and I wouldn't have been so slow to realize I didn't have tubing
I used my friend Denise to arrange everything since she is a travel agent and I would definitely do that again. In fact, I recommend using a travel agent no matter what. It's free and they are the experts so take advantage of what they can tell you
I'd use Robert at Prestige as private car in Florida and let him get gray hair from Miami traffic
I wouldn't get the drink package again, mostly because I didn't get out enough to use it
I would eat in MDR as long as I was meeting friends or not in hurry. The food in MDR was better than the buffet as was service but it's not a quick meal. I would have ordered more desserts too. 
I'd eat at cafe promenade more because that was actually the best food I had. I actually ate a lot less than I thought I would the whole cruise which is good for my waist but not as much fun. El Loco fresh was good too. 
I'd hang out in viking lounge during the day more, where it's quiet but a nice view
I'd get a virtual balcony if offered, that really made the room feel bigger
While I don't like heights I never found that to be a problem on ship even standing at balcony
I was incredibly disappointed with the coffee. You better like your coffee really strong/burnt. You cannot put enough cream and sugar in to make it palatable. 
I'd take a longer cruise. Since the travel to and from is the hardest part, a longer cruise would have allowed for more relaxation and we would have eventually done more stuff. When we planned this a year and a half ago, I had just started my own company and I couldn't see being away 5 days much less longer. Now I know I can make a longer vacation work and/or take a computer if necessary
I'd make a bigger effort to learn and remember people's names. I was discombobulated and always keeping an eye on Dave and making sure I didn't lose anything and it interfered with my natural desire to be gracious and friendly
I wouldnt try to travel with just Dave alone. That was hard and I either need to have really good friends along or bring a companion to help me keep track of Dave and everything else. 
That's about it for now but I may add some comments later as I think of things
 

I read on another site that they are currently recruiting a new cast for Cats so it doesn't look promising that they are changing it out.  So stupid...so few actually enjoy this show !

This is probably my greatest disappointment with the advertised changes coming in the fall.  I can't believe that they are keeping Cats as UNpopular as it is.  I was also hoping they would add Hooked but it looks like Oasis is getting a barbecue place instead.  Oh well... something different, I suppose.  But please CHANGE Cats !

UIDay 5 part 2 
So we arrived enough time before we needed to go to the chef table. We booked it on the ship on day 1 , when we have asked if there is any offer they told us 20% and been told it's 20% as it's only day one and they have only spots for day 4 and 5 . We booked it for day 4 which became day 5 as most of the people canceled for day 4 . The chef table take place at a strange location - it's inside the suite lounge across from the bar near the CK. Not the best location but Ok we did not mind. It was us and a family from Madrid that did not spoke English but we got alone after the the third glass ?. Food was good as always and they kept fillings the glasses if you  allow them. 
We started with the scallop carpaccio 

Continued with the amizing smoke tomato soap which came in a big bowl but we finish every last drop of it.

Next was the shrimp salad  that replaced the lobster one I thought it was it was better  , maybe because all the wine I consumed until this point.

The truffle spaghetti followed , it was my second one for today , but this one with truffle oil so different.

For main course we both took the fillet it was amazing and came with truffle mushed potatoes.

At this stage I was already heaving food comma but could not leave  it in the plate.
For dessert we got the famous chocolate sphere I could only take one spoon of it no more although it was quite good.


That came with chocolate martini

All and all it was a good experience which I might do again next time , but maybe a day of fast before 
 

On port days it can be 2-3am depends how many players , on sea day the slots machines might be open the full day and night.

When one can't sleep at 130 in the morning, at least there view is great!  Majesty should be here in a few hours!!

Ok....my stupid tab crashed on my phone.  Yikes!  I was very witty the first time, now I'm crabby lol!  
We were very excited to leave this morning.  I like having later flights to be able to sleep in, but I hate getting to our destination after 5.  This flight was much cheaper though so we left late.  We had to say goodbye to Annie and Tiger Lily which is very hard to do!  (Oh yeah, and my husband who is teaching summer school!)

I gave the girls their presents... Matching shirts, tumblers and tote bags which they liked!!


The flight was super turbulent, and we left late.  I've never had to abort a takeoff before... We started down the runway and then slowed down because there was some tail cross wind that was too high.  Still... We were excited to get out of Chicago... It was cold this morning! 

We taxied to the Hilton Marina hotel.  We have stayed here before and it is just fun to look at the port and the intercoastal waterway.


We had a laid back evening.  After snacks by the pool, we walked a few blocks to Walgreens to get snacks and shampoo, and then decided going out to dinner was way too much work.  We just had chicken tenders and quesadillas at the pool bar and called it a night.
This may be the most boring blog on the planet.  The last month has been exhausting for all of us with finals (the girls) and work (me).  We are so happy to just spend time together and relax.  I asked the girls if they wanted to do the water taxi tomorrow and go see stuff, they pretty much said, nah, let's lay by the pool land do nothing.  So we will do nothing (I will take a few pics of the pool area) and then we will Uber to Las olas for dinner.  We are saving la Bamba for when we have a microwave for leftovers so we were thinking hitting a pub or burger place but there are a million of them.  I guess we will just have the Uber drop us in the middle and then we will see what looks good.  @tonyfsu21 and @AGSLC5 are there any restaurants that stand out (not super fancy, we don't want reservations, just a bar or something where my 16 year old can go in) and if we get there by 6 on a Friday night, will it be insanely packed?  
I will end with a picture of our friends who come on every trip with us!  Jake the dolphin, Jeffy the panda, and Suki the ? say goodnight!!!

Day 9 - at sea
Well the cruise is coming to and end has been a great cruise.   Give me a couple of days to get home and I'll type up a summary of our trip.   Thanks for everyone who was following along.   It's been great to be your host on this cruise. 
We did hit prime status with the casino and think we get a free cruise or money off another one, but will have to figure all that out soon.  I'll do another post here once we get all the details. 

According to this, I think it's going to be where Dazzles is. 
http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Oasis/19067374_OA_Amplified_Infographic.pdf
 

UIDay 5 part 2 
So we arrived enough time before we needed to go to the chef table. We booked it on the ship on day 1 , when we have asked if there is any offer they told us 20% and been told it's 20% as it's only day one and they have only spots for day 4 and 5 . We booked it for day 4 which became day 5 as most of the people canceled for day 4 . The chef table take place at a strange location - it's inside the suite lounge across from the bar near the CK. Not the best location but Ok we did not mind. It was us and a family from Madrid that did not spoke English but we got alone after the the third glass ?. Food was good as always and they kept fillings the glasses if you  allow them. 
We started with the scallop carpaccio 

Continued with the amizing smoke tomato soap which came in a big bowl but we finish every last drop of it.

Next was the shrimp salad  that replaced the lobster one I thought it was it was better  , maybe because all the wine I consumed until this point.

The truffle spaghetti followed , it was my second one for today , but this one with truffle oil so different.

For main course we both took the fillet it was amazing and came with truffle mushed potatoes.

At this stage I was already heaving food comma but could not leave  it in the plate.
For dessert we got the famous chocolate sphere I could only take one spoon of it no more although it was quite good.


That came with chocolate martini

All and all it was a good experience which I might do again next time , but maybe a day of fast before 
 

Day 5 Rome (part one)
We arrived around 7 am  to the port , not that I know the exact hour as I was sleeping during the process. We had a train tickets to Rome which I have booked online for 9:16 am and did not cost much (19 $ I think). When we planned to go out I noticed I can not find the tickets so we spend around 10 minutes to find them but  no luck , we decided to use the online copy I had. Quick breakfast at the diamond club and  we rushed to the shuttle bus which took its time. By the time we were near the gates it was already 9:05 , quick look in Google maps show that it will take us around 19 minutes to walk to the station. Although there is a bus to take you to the station I could not seen it so we had to think what to do . One option was to try to catch the train maybe it has some delays (quite common in Italy considering it's was not the first station for this train) and if we miss the train just to take the next one which was 30 minutes after or to take a bus/taxi. We decide to approach one of the people that offer a ride to Rome (you have there a Bazar of offers  each one try to shout loader and offer a ride) they offer a bus ride which will drop us neat the Vatican , they want 19 for return trip and agreed to 18. We boarded the bus and after 5 minutes we started our ride . During the ride they offered skip the line tickets for the Vatican, HOHO tickets for the panoramic buss and Leonardo Da Vinchi museum , we took the museum tickets which cost 12 Euro .The ride took around 70 minutes and we done our way to the museum which is near the basilica.



The museum is small but interesting enough , it contain models of his inventions and copy of is famous paintings , you also get an audio guide with interesting information . Most of the models are build to be touched so I think it's a good option for children's during an hot day.
 




Next we started our way to Navona square were we found a nice restaurant to eat lunch


. I took the truffle pasta , mind , for a change it was not a facke truffle oil but the real thing , the waiter come with a truffle mushroom and shread it over the pasta , it was very good.

We started our way to the train station planning to pass near some of the famous places but it was a very hot day so after a while we decided to call for a taxi (not before getting tone of the supermarkets to buy some Italian wine) I used the local taxi application and after 30 seconds our taxi arrived. What a relief he activated the air conditioning , not something that common around here. After few minutes and 8 Euros we arrive to Tremini train station were we schedule to meet an old friend which we did not meet for many years,  he actually leave near Rome. So we had a nice meeting over a coffee and grappa until it was time to take the train back. It was super easy to find the train and it took less than 45 minutes to arrive to Civitavecchia train station, we took the 2Euro bus back to the port , it was only 5 minutes ride, by the way , I checked the price of trains to Rome , it was 4.5 Euros if you took the early 8:40 am  train  or the 9:45 train.
Strange , the port security did not told us anything about the wine bottles so we just took it with us to the ship.
We went back to our room to get prepared for chef table which will get it's own post.
 
 
 
 

Day 4 - La Spezia.
What a wonderful day , finally the weather was much better and finally it was a full day without any conference calls. As I shared at the beginning of this blog my main plane was to rent a car , drive to Milan and retrieve my cell phone from the airport lost and found, but since I already got a new cell phone and my numbers were duplicated I decided it can wait. We did not had any plans because of my cellphone so we decided to take it easy and just visit the city , let our legs take us wherever it feels like. We started to walk on the boardwalk of this nice city and we were stoped by some girl offering us to buyt tickets to Portovenere which is a nice town near the bay , we said thank you but skipped it as we already visit it last time. 200 m after another one offered us a private bought tour to the same place,  we refused that also until finally we came to something which looked crowded , apparently it was the ticket booth for the HOHO boat to Cinque terre , you pay 35 Euro for a full day boat services which allows you to get off in each of the villages and get on the boat again later for the next village. Just to compare, same excursion with RCL will cost around 120 $. As we saw its almost the time for the boat to leave, we had a short discussion between us if to take it or not as it's a full day activity and decided to go for it , my spouse told me "you want to take it so you will have many pictures for the blog right ?" Well I can not argue with her ?.

 
On the boat we took the time table we got and tried to calculate the best route and strategy to maximize the number of ports we visit (without drinking package) , we found out the best route for us.
 
We past Portovenere but decided not to go off there so we continued all the way to Manarola , a very lovely village with great views. We spent half an hour there.






we took the boat to Verenazza where we proamed around and ate quick lunch. 








Next we stopped at Riomaggiore as it was already in our way back...





 continued...
 

Day 3 - Marseille
No big plans for today  , we visit this port at the past and I had many planned conference calls (some that I lead so I can not just  come to the call and stay mostly  on mute while saying every few minutes "yes we should handle it , or let's take it ofline"). My spouse wanted to visit the city for  few hours so she can buy some french cosmetics and other stuff as  it was a quite cold day with s good chance to rain so less outdoor activities . There are few ways to get from the port to the city: 
The firs is to take a shore excursion , the second is to take a taxi (25 $ each way) the third will be to use RCL shuttle which cost 20 $ per person (which mean taxi is cheaper for 3 + people) and there is the hash hash secret option which no one from RCL will tell you about - free shuttle from the port gate. All you need to do is to follow the green lane until you arrive the port gate were you will see a covered waiting area with a big sign "free shuttle to the city". We decided to try it as we had enough time and so I will have some content for today blog . 10 minutes walk (which we follow other people that seem to know the way or maybe they also  just followed other people that  they thought  knew  the way) we got to the station

, I guess we just missed the shuttle which should go every 20 minutes as we were waiting for quite a while until it finally came. Here is the time table:

10 minutes ride and we were in the city, nice option. My spouse did some shopping while I located a quite place and started my conference calls, once they were done I still had time to update the blog (and to add funny spelling / Grammer mistakes) so it was time well spent ? . We did learn one big lesson regarding bring your passport with you while going of the ship : When you buy several things  (besides food)  over 175 Euro in one shop or one mall you can claim the taxes back by fillings a form in the shopping center desk and with the sign form you can claim it in the exit point from the EU. Good thing , but we did not  bring the passports with us so we could not claim anything ....  Oh well lesson learned. We went back to the free shuttle station , this time we only waited 3 minutes until it came , 10  minutes ride and 10 minutes walk we arrived back. We went up to the diamond club got few drinks and continued to the C&A event were the sand artist gave some nice demo 

. 150 Diamonds, 120 D+ and 15 pineapples , top cruiser had  1570 points. Later we went to eat dinner in Solarium Bistro. Food was good and the service excellent , they also accepted the Diamond vouchers. The cost , well nice round 0 , nice option indeed.



 
 




 Next  day at La Spezia

UIDay 5 part 2 
So we arrived enough time before we needed to go to the chef table. We booked it on the ship on day 1 , when we have asked if there is any offer they told us 20% and been told it's 20% as it's only day one and they have only spots for day 4 and 5 . We booked it for day 4 which became day 5 as most of the people canceled for day 4 . The chef table take place at a strange location - it's inside the suite lounge across from the bar near the CK. Not the best location but Ok we did not mind. It was us and a family from Madrid that did not spoke English but we got alone after the the third glass ?. Food was good as always and they kept fillings the glasses if you  allow them. 
We started with the scallop carpaccio 

Continued with the amizing smoke tomato soap which came in a big bowl but we finish every last drop of it.

Next was the shrimp salad  that replaced the lobster one I thought it was it was better  , maybe because all the wine I consumed until this point.

The truffle spaghetti followed , it was my second one for today , but this one with truffle oil so different.

For main course we both took the fillet it was amazing and came with truffle mushed potatoes.

At this stage I was already heaving food comma but could not leave  it in the plate.
For dessert we got the famous chocolate sphere I could only take one spoon of it no more although it was quite good.


That came with chocolate martini

All and all it was a good experience which I might do again next time , but maybe a day of fast before 
 

UIDay 5 part 2 
So we arrived enough time before we needed to go to the chef table. We booked it on the ship on day 1 , when we have asked if there is any offer they told us 20% and been told it's 20% as it's only day one and they have only spots for day 4 and 5 . We booked it for day 4 which became day 5 as most of the people canceled for day 4 . The chef table take place at a strange location - it's inside the suite lounge across from the bar near the CK. Not the best location but Ok we did not mind. It was us and a family from Madrid that did not spoke English but we got alone after the the third glass ?. Food was good as always and they kept fillings the glasses if you  allow them. 
We started with the scallop carpaccio 

Continued with the amizing smoke tomato soap which came in a big bowl but we finish every last drop of it.

Next was the shrimp salad  that replaced the lobster one I thought it was it was better  , maybe because all the wine I consumed until this point.

The truffle spaghetti followed , it was my second one for today , but this one with truffle oil so different.

For main course we both took the fillet it was amazing and came with truffle mushed potatoes.

At this stage I was already heaving food comma but could not leave  it in the plate.
For dessert we got the famous chocolate sphere I could only take one spoon of it no more although it was quite good.


That came with chocolate martini

All and all it was a good experience which I might do again next time , but maybe a day of fast before 
 

UIDay 5 part 2 
So we arrived enough time before we needed to go to the chef table. We booked it on the ship on day 1 , when we have asked if there is any offer they told us 20% and been told it's 20% as it's only day one and they have only spots for day 4 and 5 . We booked it for day 4 which became day 5 as most of the people canceled for day 4 . The chef table take place at a strange location - it's inside the suite lounge across from the bar near the CK. Not the best location but Ok we did not mind. It was us and a family from Madrid that did not spoke English but we got alone after the the third glass ?. Food was good as always and they kept fillings the glasses if you  allow them. 
We started with the scallop carpaccio 

Continued with the amizing smoke tomato soap which came in a big bowl but we finish every last drop of it.

Next was the shrimp salad  that replaced the lobster one I thought it was it was better  , maybe because all the wine I consumed until this point.

The truffle spaghetti followed , it was my second one for today , but this one with truffle oil so different.

For main course we both took the fillet it was amazing and came with truffle mushed potatoes.

At this stage I was already heaving food comma but could not leave  it in the plate.
For dessert we got the famous chocolate sphere I could only take one spoon of it no more although it was quite good.


That came with chocolate martini

All and all it was a good experience which I might do again next time , but maybe a day of fast before 
 

Breakfast in Naples