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Cruise EG10 M211
in the Western Mediterranean
on the brand new Celebrity Edge

(Please scroll down to see my photographs and read my report)

Date:	Flag:	Port:	Flag:	Comment:
5 Jun 2019		Civita- vecchia Italy		On board at 2 o'clock!
6 Jun 2019		Naples Italy		Three funiculars!
8 Jun 2019		Palma de Mallorca Spain		Fort & Foundation
9 Jun 2019		Barcelona Catalonia Spain		Parks & Gardens
10 Jun 2019		Barcelona Catalonia Spain		Bus, Trams & Trains
12 Jun 2019		Monte Carlo Monaco		Cap-d'Ail France
13 Jun 2019		Santa Margherita Italy		Portofino!
14 Jun 2019		La Spezia Italy		Cinque Terre!
15 Jun 2019		Civita- vecchia Italy		Home at 10 p.m.
Date:	Flag:	Port:	Flag:	Comment:

First Travelling Day - Hounslow - Tuesday the 4th of June 2019

   I left home at 9:20 driving up the A31 and A3 to Roehampton in London, where I checked out Mark Urwin's suggested park and ride spot at one o'clock. You can park here for free just off the Kingston by-pass and catch a bus into South Kensington or Victoria. I enjoyed a meat feast submarine roll in the Subway sandwich bar there, before driving out to my favourite Skylark B&B in West Hounslow, which I got to at 2 o'clock. They only charge £45 per night plus £3 per day for off-street parking.

   I then caught a bus into Hammersmith, but bought nothing in the shops there. Back in West Hounslow, I purchased a couple of steak and kidney meat pies, which I heated up in the microwave back at the B&B for my supper. I watched television until 9:30 when I went to sleep. I kept waking up in the night, anxious not to miss my early flight.

Rome & Civitavecchia - Wednesday the 5th of June 2019

   Eventually I was awoken by my TWO alarms at 4:30, meaning I was in Heathrow terminal five by 5:20. I sailed through check-in and security, but we had to queue to be bussed out on to the runway. By booking late, flight BA552 out and flight BA559 back had cost Celebrity $618.60! We pulled back only five minutes late at 7:05, arriving in Rome on time at 10:30. I sailed through immigration and baggage reclaim, before buying my €11 (£10) ticket for the train. On the platform they announced that my direct train to Trastevere was cancelled, so I jumped on the stopping train which actually both left before and arrived before my train had been timetabled to! I just missed the connection at Trastevere, so had to wait half an hour for the next Pisa train stopping off at Civitavecchia.

   I shelled out €5 for the people carrier taxi to the ship, getting there by two o'clock. However my name was not on the passenger list again and my case sailed off to the wrong cabin as usual. In my lovely contemporary stateroom, I had a lie down before the safety drill. After this, I touched base with Bethany the Activities Manager from Burnley. She sorted out all my admin and then gave me the password for my free wi-fi!

   I did three lengths of the long outside pool, equivalent to six lengths of other ship's pools. I wallowed in one of the high level jacuzzis, as we sailed away in the sunshine past the MSC, Aida and Norwegian cruise ships with P&O's Aurora at the end of the pier. I then tried out the indoor pool and jacuzzi.

   At 6 o'clock I dined on the mushroom soup, the lamb shank tagine and the yoghurt dessert in the Cypriot speciality restaurant, sat with Jill & Peter from the Pennines and Case, an Iraqi-Canadian gentleman. At 8:15 I went to the very brief presentation on Naples Highlights down on deck two. I then started on this blog and finally my suitcase arrived, so I could unpack at last.

   At 9:30 I went to the Overtures sixties pop showtime. I knew most of their classic songs by the Beatles etc and managed to stay awake throughout. I visited the late night supper, but made do with a just a glass of the cherry favoured fruit punch, before going to bed at 10:45.

Naples - Thursday the 56th of June 2019

   I awoke at 6:20 when we were already berthed in Naples. I had the full American breakfast with coddled egg al fresco with a lovely view of Naples in the sunshine. I was soon off the ship, but the tourist information booth told me that the Sorrento trains were on strike from 8:00 until noon. I walked south west along the quayside past the ferries to Capri, before turning inland to get to the majestic Piazza Plebiscito.

   I shelled out €2 for a 90 minute travel ticket to go up the central funicular (Funiculare Centrale) and then down the Holy Mountain railway (Funiculare di Montesanto). When I tried to go back up the latter, the turnstile said no, so I walked around the antique city centre (Centro Antico) instead, going in several magnificent churches, including the cathedral (Duomo).

   At the railway station I found out that the strike was actually 9:00 until 13:00, so I gave up all hope of going to Sorrento for a port reconnaisance. Back at the ship at noon, I lunched on a minute steak with jacket potato and tomatoes, before sleeping for two hours to get over the last of yesterday's jet lag. I then went back into the city again taking the central railway up, but this time catching the third funicular down (Funiculare di Chaia). At the top I reconnoitred the old castle (Castel Sant Elmo) and St. Martin's monastery (Cartosa di San Martino), but didn't go in either. The views across to Vesuvius were stunning!

   Back at the ship again, I didn't have time for a swim. I dined at six o'clock in the main Cosmopolitan restaurant on the French onion soup, Manhattan cut steak and sugar free pecan nut ice cream, sat with Jeff & Rochelle from Las Vegas. Jeff had been born in Jamaica, but grew up in Hackney, before emigrating to the States. Here he was a manager on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in San Francisco.

   At 7:30 I went to the Hype show which was all high energy singing and dancing by the production company, accompanied with high energy sound and lights. I then watched the late sailaway from Naples from the top of the aft deck.

   Back in the cabin, I downloaded my days photos and updated this blog. At 9:45 Bethany rang me to ask if I could report to the theatre after the second show to get my laptop checked out, as the morning programme was so packed. Unfortunately my laptop only had a VGA rather than an HDMI connector, so I had to copy my presentations on to their computers, so I didn't get to bed until 11:30. According to my Honor lite 10 smartphone, I had walked over forty thousand steps or 16 miles today, beating my previous best achieved in Split on my last cruise.

First Sea Day - Friday the 7th of June 2019

   I awoke at 6:15 ready for the full American breakfast with coddled egg at 7 o'clock. I then worked on my presentations to make the fonts fit their more modern version of PowerPoint. At 10 o'clock we went through the strait between Corsica and Sardinia.

   At 10:15 I went to Soloman's shorex presentation in the theatre, before slipping out at 10:40 to set up for my first lecture in the Club. I was introduced by English Kate, one of the cruise staff. My talk on the "Story of the Mediterranean" lasted exactly 45 minutes.

   At 1 o'clock I gave my second lecture back in the theatre. I was introduced by Ryan from Loughton near Harlow in Essex! I spoke for 40 minutes on "Barcelona: Art Nouveau City".

   At 2 o'clock I went to the Rhumba class led by two of the professional dancers for ten couples. The chap began with the side basic, with a pause on beat two, not on beat one! He continued with the box and then the quarter turning box. He finished with New Yorks which he called Check Outs. I danced with Diana from Phoenix, Arizona.

   I had a late lunch of cheeseburger and fries, with no bread, before sleeping for an hour and a half. I then did half a dozen lengths of the small, indoor pool. The indoor jacuzzi was hosting a large party of Hispanics, so I climbed up two storeys to find that one of the free-standing outside jacuzzis was free. The sun was bright but there was a cool wind.

   At six o'clock I went to Normandie the French speciality restaurant. I was placed on the sharing table in the far corner by the window, but had to wait half an hour to be joined by Rick & Catherine from Vancouver. I had the yellow corn soup, the Caesar salad, the proper Beef Wellington (boeuf en croute) and the sugar-free strawberry ice cream.

   I caught the second half of the Overtures second show, which was again British sixties pop songs. At 9:30 I sat on the steps in the Club to watch the amazing ceiling acrobats. I had one small slice of pepperoni pizza, before going to Phil William's late night comedy session in the Theatre. The British comic was mildly amusing, if somewhat racist. His impression of Donald Trump amused the Yanks on board! I got to bed at 11:20.

Palma de Mallorca - Saturday the 8th of June 2019

   I got up at 6:40 ready for my favourite breakfast: TWO eggs royale, as we sailed into the harbour. I was one of the first off the ship, when we were cleared at 8:20. Unfortunately the Porto Pi shopping mall didn't open until 10 o'clock, so I pressed on to the Joan Miro Foundation. This offered free admission after 3 o'clock on a Saturday, so I determined to come back later that afternoon.

   Nearby I found the lovely Sea Wind Gardens (Jardins de Marivent) already open and complete with some Joan Miro sculptures. I got to Fort St Charles (Castell de San Carlos) just after it opened at 10 o'clock. This is a really super fortress and military museum with free admission and I don't know why I had never been here before, despite always mentioning it in my port talks on Palma!

Bellver Castle, Palma, Mallorca, Spain

   On the way back I went in the huge Carrefour supermarket in the basement of the Porto Pi shopping mall. The tins of anchovy fillets were 62 cents, about the same price as Lidl/Aldi in England. They also had vacuum packed decaffeinated coffee for €1.09, which is cheaper than back home. Back at the ship, I updated this blog and then lunched on a large barbequed lamb shank (for a second time), followed by two pieces of bakhlava.

   I then slept for two hours. At 2:45 I headed back out again, climbing up the hill to get to the Joan Miro Foundation just after 3 o'clock. This consisted of one large modern art gallery of his works, one modern studio and one old period studio, all set in lovely gardens with his sculptures.

Castle above Palma de Mallorca

   Back at the ship again, I did four lengths of the long pool and then alternated between the high level jacuzzis in the hot sunshine. At 5:45 I went to the Tuscan Italian speciality restaurant. I had the Tuscan bean soup, the pasta carbonara and the jubilee cherries. I was sat with Robert the dairy farmer from Cheltenham, now living in Sydney and Rico & Wyn from Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. We talked about cruising and musical theatre, amongst other topics.

   At 7:30 I went to the Kaleidoscope production show, which was another high energy song & dance performance, this time with aerial acrobats as well. After the show, I sat out on the top deck as we sailed past the rocky south western tip of Mallorca. At 10 o'clock I went to the avant garde dancing of the Revelation troupe in (the Garden of) Eden. This had some singing and some ground acrobatics, but I slipped out before the end to go to the AbbaMania singalong in the (Night) Club. This started late and was enormous fun singing the lyrics on the big screen, so I didn't get to bed until 11:30!

Barcelona Day One - Sunday the 8th of June 2019

   I awoke at 7:20 ready for TWO eggs Benedict, eaten whilst watching the sail-in to Barcelona. Unfortunately we were in the penultimate berth (Terminal D), a long way from the city centre. I was second off the ship at 8:55, taking half an hour to walk the two miles into town. At the famous maritime museum (MMB) I noticed that they had free admission on Sundays after 3 o'clock, so I determined to come back later.

   At the first metro station near Christopher Columbus's statue (Monument a Cristobal Colom), I shelled out €15.20 for a two day public transport ticket. I caught the next underground train (L3) going north to Catalonia Place (Placa de Catalunya) to visit the main (underground) tourist information centre. They told me that the combined public transport ticket didn't cover the blue tram, the cable cars or the funiculars, except for the one going up from Paral-lel metro station, but that one was actually closed anyway! They did however give me a comprehensive list of the free museums and art galleries, several of which would be free after 3 o'clock each Sunday.

   I caught my second train (L3) going north again to Lesseps and then walked uphill to Antoni Gaudi's Parc Guell. This was heaving and the central, paid-for section was closed to those who hadn't got a prior booking. However most of the park is freely open anyway, so there was lots for me to see and photograph. Walking back down to Lesseps underground station, I discovered the fleet of outdoor escalators I should have come up on!

   I then headed north (L3) yet again to Mundet station for the much shorter walk uphill to the less famous labyrinth park. My old dancing buddy Manuel had originally taken me here back in 2008 when I had visited Barcelona on the Braemar. Back at Mundet station I caught the train (L3) south to Spain Place (Placa d'Espanya).

The labyrinth (maze) in Barcelona, Spain

   I then found another fleet of outdoor escalators to take me some of the way up the Jewish Mountain (Montjuic). Here I found the small, but perfectly formed Historic Botanic Garden, some way away from the much larger and less attractive Botanic Garden of Barcelona (Jardi Botanic de Barcelona - JBB). The latter had vast, concrete pathways completely out of keeping in a garden. Large areas were unmown areas of weeds of no interest whatsoever. There was a very small museum here, with all the exhibits behind huge plate glass windows. The bonsai collection, however, was superb.

   Climbing further up to the top of the hill, I went in the famous castle (Castell de Montjuic). There was a lot to explore and extensive views of both the city and the harbour. The cooling breeze was lovely too, after the sweaty climb up. The climb back down was so much easier to get to the maritime museum (MMB). Here the star exhibit is the enormous royal galley, but I was also bowled over by the architecture of the vast royal shipyard.

   I finally got back to the ship at 6:15, so after showering, I touched base with Sarah from Devon who had taken over from Bethany. I then headed up to the buffet. Outside the Magic Carpet cantilevered champagne bar, I bumped in to Robert who was also heading for the buffet. Since it was Spanish night, we both started out with large platefulls of tapas. I then had little bits of several of the main Spanish courses: chicken & chorizo paella, pork and one beef meatball. I finished with the crema catalana pudding.

   At 7:30 I went to hear Aussie Mike Votano's enthusiastic showtime. He sang mostly 60s songs by people like Elvis, Frankie Valli and the Beatles, but included two recent hits, but sung in a 60s manner. One of these was Uptown Funk, Celebrity Cruises favourite song! I went back to hear him for a second time at 9:30. He only played his saxophone once and the piano only for the final song: Great Balls of Fire!

   At 10:30 we had the flamenco folkloric show out on the open deck. It consisted of one male and two female dancers with one singer and one guitarist. However dancing on the outdoor deck wasn't as impressive as on an indoor wooden stage! Halfway through I had a sudden attack of heartburn, but a glass of soda water in my cabin soon calmed it down.

   At 11:15 the Color the Night White disco took over on the open deck, so I adjourned to the outdoor cinema where I watched the last half hour of "Mamma Mia: Here we go again" on the big screen. I had just one small slice of pepperoni pizza before going to sleep at midnight. I had done nearly 48,000 steps about 19 miles walking during the day, beating the day in Naples!

Barcelona Day Two - Monday the 9th of June 2019

   I awoke at 7:05 ready for TWO eggs royale in the top deck buffet overlooking Barcelona in the sunshine. I then updated this blog, before heading off back into town. It took me half an hour again to walk into town, where I caught the green line metro L3 to Maria Cristina. Here I transferred on to a tram (T2) for the run out to Llevant, which is actually on the west side, not the east side, of the city.

   I stayed on the tram for the return journey as far as the Royal Palace (Palau Reial), but this was all cordoned off for a pop concert, so I only got to see the surrounding park. I then walked one block to Gaudi's Guell Pavilions (Pavellons de la Finca Guell) to see the famous dragon gate. I carried on a couple of blocks to his famous Mirrors gateway (Porta Finca Miralles). Here there was a life size bronze of the man himself for me to pose beside!

   I then caught the metro (L3, L5 & L10) right across the city to get to Gorg on the east side. Here I took another tram (T5) to Glories and yet another (T4) to Ciutadella. This was near the beach, but it was over 90 degrees, so I caught my first public bus, without first checking where it was going! I transfered back on to one last tram (T6) at Fluvia for the short run back to Glories, where I took the metro (L1 & L3) back to the stop at the bottom of La Rambla to start the long walk (two miles) back.

   Back at the ship at three o'clock, I had a cheeseburger and fries without bread, before sleeping for an hour and a quarter. However, I woke up with heartburn which I put down to the cold onions and mushrooms I had had as a garnish on my burger. One glass of soda water soon sorted that out. I then went swimming, but both pools were quite crowded in the hot sun, so I spent fifteen minutes in one of the tall, free-standing jacuzzis.

   Back in my stateroom, I updated this blog and backupped my day's photography. At 7:30 I watched "A Hot Summer Night's Dream" a song and dance production show based on Shakespeare's play. At 8:30 I dined in the Normandie French speciality restaurant, sat with Howard and his wife from Lancing, Paul and his wife from Bath and a lovely couple from San Diego in California. I had the broccoli soup, the proper beef Wellington (boeuf en croute) and peanut butter ice cream. Dinner didn't finish until 10:35, when I retired to my stateroom. With all the joy riding, I only did just over 19,000 steps or under 8 miles of walking today.

Second Sea Day - Tuesday the 10th of June 2019

   I awoke at 6:45 and breakfasted soon after on TWO eggs royale. I then worked on my PowerPoint presentations. At 10:15 I enjoyed Eddy the Cruise Director's 50 minute amusing "Ten things you didn't know about ship life" talk. This was followed at 11:15 by the Captain's lecture on Ship Navigation, which he finally got on to after an hour's talking, at which point I slipped out. At 12:45 Soloman from South Africa rushed through the tours for the last three ports in 25 minutes flat. At 2 o'clock I gave my final 40 minute talk entitled "Volcano! The Story of Volcanology". I was again introduced by Ryan from Loughton near Harlow in Essex!

   At 3 o'clock I had a late lunch of one cheeseburger and fries with no bread, mushrooms or onions! I then slept for two hours, before doing half a dozen lengths of the smaller, inside pool as it was cloudy outside. I spent 15 minutes in the large indoor jacuzzi, before getting dressed for the evening. When Gavin came to turn down my bed, I did two and a half circuits (one kilometre) of the serpentine jogging track in nine minutes despite the squally conditions on the top deck.

   At 7:30 I went to hear the Whitney Houston tribute singer Ashlie-Amber Harris. She was an incredible belter and sang all the famous hits. At 8:30 I dined in the Cyprus restaurant on pea soup, Greek salad, Moroccan tagine lamb shank (for the third time) and Greek yoghurt with honey & nuts. I was sat opposite a pair of sisters from Arizona, one of whom was a plastic surgeon and one was a retired teacher. Unfortunately I was also sat between two Arabic couples, one pair from Casablanca in Morocco and one pair from Cairo in Egypt, so I couldn't understand what they were saying across me!

   At 10:15 I went to Gilly & the Girl's tribute to the Eagles, again with all the famous hits, ending with Hotel California: "You can check out any time, but you cannot leave" applying to Brexit with a vengeance! I didn't get to bed until 11:15.

Monaco - Wednesday the 11th of June 2019

   I awoke at 6 o'clock just before the banging began. It wasn't the anchor going down, as we were using dynamic positioning by the thrusters all day long. In fact it was the tenders being lowered AND the Magic Carpet cantilevered champagne bar / restaurant going down to act as a clever landing stage! I had the usual TWO eggs royale in the Oceanview Café overlooking Monte Carlo.

   I was on the first pax tender away at 7:15, getting ashore in ten minutes. I walked to the railway station and spent €1.20 on a ticket to go one stop out of Monaco and into France. I was in the lovely little town of Garlic Cape (Cap d'Ail) by eight o'clock. I walked passed the little local museum and photographed the central Chateau, before following the Mimosa Way (Chemin des Mimosas), the Eucalyptus Way (Chemin des Eucalyptus) and the Salt Way (Chemin des Salines) back to Monaco. The air was heavy with the scent of honeysuckle and pine, but not eucalyptus!

Martin P. Lee in Monaco

   I continued passed the Exotic Garden (Jardin Exotique), but didn't go in, until I came to the main tourist information office just above the famous casino. They told me that none of the museums and art galleries offered free admission, but they did point out that most of the gardens did, so I explored the lovely gardens around the casino and the delightful Japanese Garden (Jardin Japonais) down on the coast. I then headed back to the tender dock, getting back to the ship just after noon.

   I lunched on one chicken drumstick and two lamb meatballs, but made the mistake of eating their onions again. I then slept for nearly two hours. I caught the 3:15 tender back ashore, climbing up the Rock of Monaco (Rocher de Monegasque). I explored the gardens on the south side of the rock, before going in the Cathedral and wandering around the old town streets. I then caught the 5:15 tender back to the ship.

   At 5:45 I went to the Tuscan Italian speciality restaurant, where I had the Tuscan bean soup, the Italian salad, the New York sirloin steak (ordered medium rare but actually medium to well done) and the mixed ice cream. I was sat with John and Jo-Ann from Dallas. He had owned banks in both Cleveland, Ohio and Charlotte, North Carolina, before retiring to Texas. Jo-Ann had the same problem with her sirloin steak as I had had, but another, less well done one, was quickly brought out for her.

   At 7:30 I went to British magician Jamie Allan's showtime where he made clever use of aposite music to accompany his tricks, including a lovely song by Sting and part of the Four Seasons by Vivaldi. I then worked on this blog, but had trouble importing my day's photography. At 10 o'clock I went to see the Revelation show in (the Garden of) Eden, but it was the same avant garde song and dance show I had already seen and heard. The acrobats were worth watching again however.

   At 10:30 I went to see the Mirage show in the (Night) Club, but it too was the same acrobatics that I had seen before. However they were exceptionally good when spinning around hanging from the ceiling! I had one small slice of meat feast pizza before bed at 11:45.

Santa Margherita - Thursday the 11th of June 2019

   I awoke at 6 o'clock and couldn't get back to sleep, excited at visiting Santa Margherita for the first time. At 6:45 the breakfast buffet was already open, so I had my usual TWO eggs royale. I was on the first pax tender away at 7:45 and I immediately caught the local public bus to Portofino for €5 return. In the fine port of Portofino, I photographed all the sights, including climbing up to Brown Castle and walking out to the lighthouse.

   I caught the 10:45 bus back to Santa Margherita to photograph the important sights here too. It was awfully hot, so I was back on the ship at 1 o'clock ready for the roast lamb with green beans and no potatoes. I then slept for three hours, so the previous day's walking and the early starts must have caught up with me.

   I did half a dozen lengths of the indoor pool, as the outdoor pool was heaving in the hot sunshine. I then spent 15 minutes in one of the tall, free standing jacuzzis assuming that we would be sailing away from the Ligurian coast. This didn't actually happen until 5:30, as one tour was late back, by which time I had changed ready for the second and final "Evening Chic", semi-formal night.

   I went to the main Cosmopolitan restaurant where I was sat with Robert from Sydney again, Judy from Brisbane, Pam from New South Wales and Jeff & Rochelle from Las Vegas again. I began with the tomato soup, continued with the proscuittio salad, had the New York strip steak and finished with the baked Alaska. One of our waiters said that on one cruise ship the ceiling had caught fire during the baked Alaska parade, so that was why ships have stopped doing them.

   At 7:30 I went to Gilly & the Girl's singing show, which I had heard on a previous Celebrity cruise. I knew all the songs from the first two thirds, but not those from the last third. I sat in one of the two royal boxes for the first time with moveable seats and side tables. I usually sat at the back centre of the balcony for shows which were using the huge 120 degree illuminated theatre back drop to get the full effect. At 8:45 I went to the pop video half hour in the (Night) Club, which began inevitably with Celebrity's favourite current pop song, Uptown Funk. At 9:30 I returned to hear the first two thirds of Gilly & the Girl's second house. At 10:30 I went to the "Go Undercover" dance and acrobatics, but not singing, show in the (Night) Club. I had one small slice of pizza before bed at 11:20.

La Spezia - Friday the 12th of June 2019

   I awoke at 6:40 ready for my usual TWO eggs royale al fresco overlooking La Spezia. At 7:20 I caught one of the first shuttle buses to the cruise terminal, before walking along the prom and the main street to the railway station (Stazione Centrale). Here I caught the 8:15 train to the furthest of the five Cinque Terre villages, Monterosso.

   I started walking south along the coast path, but it was steep and very hot, so I turned back to take the train one stop south to Vernazza. This was the cutest of these little fishing villages. I got back on the train to go one more stop further south to Coniglia. Unfortunately the station was near sea level and the village was on a hilltop. Having marched all the way up, whizzed around the village and then marched back down again, I had had enough!

   I then caught the next train back to La Spezia. I went in the tourist information here and rode up the free funicular to the castle. I walked back to the cruise terminal via the new cathedral of Christ the King. The outside is rather brutal, but the interior, with a vaulted concrete ceiling and 12 columns representing the apostles, is stunning.

   Back at the ship, I had a late lunch of roast duck & jacket potato al fresco. I then slept for just three quarters of an hour, before heading back into town. Here I shelled out just €1.55 to go in the Naval Technology Museum (MTN). The display of ship's figure heads was very impressive, including both Christopher Columbus and Queen Victoria.

   Back at the ship again, I started packing, before dining at 5:45 in the Normandie French restaurant. I was sat with George & Sharon from Michigan and Ron & Diane from Florida. I slipped out at 7:30 to see the "Colors of Life" production show. I sat in the centre at the back of the balcony to take in the whole of the 120 degree animated backdrop. It began as a black and white Black Forest town to which colours were gradually added. I came back at 9:30 to see it all again, before having my first glass of skimmed milk, before an early bedtime.

Civitavecchia Seaport & Rome Airport - Saturday the 13th of June 2019

   I awoke at 6 o'clock ready for TWO eggs Benedict for a change. Back in my stateroom, I updated this blog as I watched my Volcano lecture on the television for a second time. At 8 o'clock I vacated the cabin and went up to the top deck to await my coach. At 9:30 my coach departed on the 65 minute run to the airport. I was able to check my suitcase in straightaway, so I could go walkabout.

   I had the ship's banana and chocolates for lunch and then had a lie down for half an hour. I then updated this blog and worked on my next cruise documentation. We pulled back ten minutes late, but arrived in LHR after only two hours. One of the hostesses lent me her personal copy of the Times to read.

   I was back at my B&B by 8 o'clock and home by 10 o'clock, after another super cruise. The highpoints being the two new ports (Naples & Santa Margherita) and the five new towns (Cap-d'Ail, Portofino, Monterosso, Vernazza & Coniglia).

Score card:

5 New towns visited:
  (Cap-d'Ail, Portofino, Monterosso, Vernazza & Coniglia)
5 Old Ports revisited:
  (Civitavecchia, Palma, Barcelona, Monaco & La Spezia)
4 USB Sockets in the stateroom
3 Jacuzzis (One inside and two outside)
3 Enrichment Lectures given:
  (Med., Barcelona & Volcano!)
3 Speciality Restaurants:
  (Cypriot, Italian & French)
3 Dinners in the French speciality restaurant (Normandie)
2 Dinners in the Cypriot speciality restaurant (Cyprus)
2 Dinners in the Italian speciality restaurant (Tuscan)
2 Dinners in the main restaurant (Cosmopolitan)
2 Pools (One inside and one outside)
2 New Ports visited:
  (Naples & Santa Margherita)
1 Dinner in the buffet (Oceanview)
1 Main Restaurant (Cosmopolitan)
1 New lecture given (Barcelona: Art Nouveau City)
1 Brand New Ship!

Good points were:

1. Outside double stateroom on deck 3 with picture window
2. Open seating any time dining in four restaurants
3. Freshly made egg royales in the breakfast buffet
4. Spiral balcony in (the Garden of) Eden
5. Efficient steward (Gavin from Jamaica)
6. Cherry flavoured soft drink
7. Free transfer to the airport
8. Serpentine jogging track
9. No automatic gratuities
10. Lecture introductions
11. Enrichment lecturing
12. Free soft ice creams
13. Hot pizza slices
14. Brand new ship
15. Dressing gown
16. Three jacuzzis
17. No headaches!
18. Free laundry
19. Free wi-fi
20. Fly cruise
21. Two pools

For the record ...

• Food: Excellent.
• Tours: None.
• Weather: Generally hot & sunny, one overcast day in Barcelona.
• New ports: Two - Naples & Santa Margherita
• Sailaways: Yes, but no dancing.
• Sail-ins: Yes.
• Tea dance: No.
• Masonics: No.
• Service clubs: No.
• Dinner host: Yes, hosting a different table every night.
• Line dancing: None.
• Olde Tyme Dancing: None.
• Sequence dancing: None.
• Ballroom dancing: Yes, two classes, but little in the evenings.
• Western night: No.
• Tropical night: No.
• British (Red, White & Blue) night: No.
• Singles party: Yes, but I didn't go.
• Singles lunch: No.
• Formal nights: Two 'Elegant Chic' evenings, but poorly observed.
• Cocktail parties: None.

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• Captain: Costas the Greek voice from above!
• Cruise Director: Eddy Jenkins from Wales.
• Cabin mate: None.
• Lecturer: Martin P. Lee (Enrichment)
• Song of the cruise: Uptown Funk.
• Cabin: 3176 Outside double stateroom.
• Dancing Ladies: Diana only.
• Other Pax: Lots of Americans, some Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians & Brits.

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Barcelona: Art Nouveau City
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