MSC DIVINA

The MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) Divina was inaugurated the end of May 2012, so needless to say, we enjoyed her Italian glamour on this brand new ship. I am an avid researcher and learned that as an American I would be putting myself into foreign territory by choosing a foreign line. I chose the Divina because she was new and I loved her itinerary in the Eastern Mediterranean. My only expectations were to relax while sailing in a beautiful and clean environment and experience the foreign adventure on board and at the various ports. That being said, I, along with my family, had a wonderful experience on the week long cruise. Americans tend to have different expectations for their cruising experience when compared to the Italian, French or British guests on board. Remember this if you choose to experience a foreign line.

On day one, we walked from our lovely Venice hotel and rode the people mover (1 euro per person) over to the port. We walked toward our ship and saw a tent with the MSC logo on the top and stopped there for the shuttle. Embarkation was pretty easy. There was a long and wide line outside by the drop off area that we stood in and it moved quickly at our 1:00 pm arrival. We gave them our names and they gave us our tickets, information and luggage tags. They took our luggage and we entered the terminal. We waited in line inside the terminal to check in and that took about 15 minutes. We confirmed everything at check-in because we had pre-purchased beverage packages. After confirmation of our cabin and amenities, we saw that we could board in group 12, and we would be next. MSC had representatives from the ship inside the terminal to sell and inform guests of onboard amenities. Once on the ship, we went to our room to check out our gorgeous and spacious cabin for the week.

We had a verandah on deck 11 with connecting rooms. We had our attendant open our balcony divider so we could expand our space and visit.

We then went to the buffet for lunch and spent the afternoon exploring the ship and watching our extremely large cruise ship snake through the narrow and beautiful canal of Venice.

The ship was stunning. The room was large, clean, comfortable and had a beautiful décor. Our room stewards were so nice and kept our room very clean. It seems that the Divina will retain her impeccable beauty as they had attendants cleaning every part of the ship all day long. Our itinerary put us at port almost every day. We had one day at sea, so most of the time we were quite busy. We had room service for breakfast and then got ready to disembark almost daily to explore each port. We would get back on the ship between 2:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon on most days and would visit the lunch buffet which always seemed to have food for us! We then headed to our cabin to unwind, shower and get ready for dinner. We pre-selected early seating for dinner and we enjoyed having the set time. The dining rooms were intimate and the décor felt like a modern version of the traditional Italian style.

Many tables were set up to accommodate small groups. We had a table of four aft next to the window, and I LOVED going to dinner. Our waiters were wonderful, and the service was impeccable. The food was delicious most meals. There were many choices, and I enjoy trying new things. I was never hungry on this cruise. My husband, who can be picky, always found something to eat. After dinner, we would stroll along the different decks people watching, shopping, and checking out the activities and music in the lounges on our way to the evening show. The shows were a blend of dancing, acrobatics, singing, and theatrics. I loved the shows but I did not enjoy the lip syncing when there were so many talented singers available! The shows were less than an hour and were an eclectic mix each night. After the show, we would head back to our room to wind down and get ready for another busy day on board and at port! The MSC Divina has a lot to offer the guests and, for us, we used this beautiful vessel as a wonderful transportation option to get to all the different ports. We didn’t spend any time at the pools or hot tubs. There were three pools and many hot tubs and it seemed that the European guests spent most of their time at the pool.

I compared their pool time to Americans enjoying the pool while taking a cruise to the Caribbean. Also, these pools were very crowded and if you wanted a lounge chair, you would have to go early or get lucky. We didn’t spend time in the lounges but there were many to enjoy. There was a sports bar with a bowling alley, lounges with live music, and a dance club.

There were specialty dining restaurants and cafes to get Gelato or specialty coffees. There were many shops that I enjoyed though! There was an amazing spa and fitness center.

Children could enjoy the 4D theatre, racecar simulator, arcade or many of the activities available to them on board.

There were a lot of children on board but it didn’t seem to bother us. I spoke to another couple that felt there were too many children on board. Getting off the boat at each port was seamless. We would head to reception to see what deck to disembark and we would meet our tour guide at the port. If you choose not to take a tour, there were plenty of taxis and sometimes MSC had a shuttle to take you to the center of town. I will write about the ports in my next blog. On the last day, we were not able to have room service so we left the room and headed to the buffet for breakfast with our carry-on bags. We received our account details under our door and looked them over during breakfast to ensure the charges were correct. After breakfast, we went to our designated location to wait for our turn to disembark. We were told to meet in the Casino and we would be called out around 9:30 am. Disembarkation was a breeze. We picked up our luggage and headed to the people mover to go back into Venice. It seemed that five cruise ships disembarked at the same time and thousands were in line for the people mover. That was the worst part of the whole week! We had a wonderful time on our cruise and we would take a cruise with MSC again. If you love beautifully decorated ships, enjoy traveling while you sleep and visiting different cities each day, and don’t mind the adventure of cruising with many international guests with varied expectations, than you will enjoy the MSC Divina.

Venice

Venice has its own personality when compared to Rome, Florence and Bologna. I can see how people have a love-affair with Venice. It is a romantic and family oriented city. Families run their businesses here. The restaurants we ate at were all run by family. The college age kids were the wait staff and the grandparents were cooking and the parents, aunts and uncles were collecting the food; mostly seafood as the city truly sits in the water. We left Bologna and took the train to Santa Lucia station. Make sure you don’t buy the Venice Mestre station fare as this is not on the island of Venice. There are plenty of hotels to choose from. Do your research because the rooms fill up quickly. It is also a bit more expensive here compared to the other cities we stayed at. The main form of transportation is water taxis called Vaporettos. They are numbered and include maps of the stops on the boat and at each station. Fares were 6.50 euros for a one way ride and you could also buy unlimited rides for a chosen period of time. There are different routes and many islands to explore and this is a great way to get oriented to the city and get dropped off in various locations to explore. Our first hotel was Rialto 1082. This was on the South side and walking distance to St. Mark’s Square. Remember to research how to get to your hotel because it is extremely difficult to find if you don’t have a variety of directions pre-planned to use. Luckily, I figured this out beforehand and had the exact details written down. Also, these buildings are old, tall and narrow and often do not have elevators so you will be dragging your luggage up many flights of stairs. Our hotel was located in a very narrow alley (road in Italy but NO car would have fit) and it was run by a family. The hotel is run by Damiano but his father was there for the weekend and he spoke NO English at all. We played charades and my dad speaks a little Italian so we got it all figured out. Luckily, the hotel had Wi-Fi and I could use my iTranslate app that I loaded on my phone and we could communicate that way too. The rooms were spacious and each had a large bathroom. There is a rooftop area to enjoy and a breakfast room with a specialty coffee machine. It was clean and cool and in a great location!

We explored the area and went to Doges Palace in St. Mark’s Square. If you are into visiting old palaces then you will enjoy this museum. Also, there are rooms of medieval weaponry that were intriguing to look at. The views from the top floors were breathtaking. Afterward, we sat by the water and had drinks and Italian pizza and seafood. We payed for the location as my iced coffee drink was 13 euros! Cruise ships were sailing out and it is unbelievable to see them wiggle their way through this snake-like narrow canal.

That evening we explored the city and went shopping. The next day after breakfast we explored some more and then took the vaporetto to the stop near the people mover to embark on our cruise. The best information to handle these details was found on the Imboden’s veniceforvisitors.com website. The people mover is a tram that relieves you from the long walk to the port and it costs 1 euro per person. When you get off, you must walk a bit to your ship or your ship’s shuttle area found by the name printed on a tent. I will soon write a review/blog of the cruise for more information. After our wonderful cruise, we walked from the ship back to the people mover and it was SO crowded. It seemed like four cruise ships disembarked at the same time and the line for the people mover was long and people from all over the world speaking many languages were trying to understand what was going on. I ended up helping many people as they were confused again. The language barrier was intense but I must have had that “I can help you face”! I didn’t mind at all. Once we were near the hotels again, we had to find our hotel. I did not research the exact location and only had the address. NO ONE knew how to find this! We stayed in one spot with our luggage and sent my husband on a wild goose chase. The island of Venice is divided into neighborhoods. We knew the neighborhood so that narrowed down the area but there are still hundreds of “streets” here. If you have been to a cornfield maze, then you can imagine the unique maze of Venice (water is the corn in this scenario). About 30 minutes later, he came back with a smile and I knew he found it. Two bridges later and we were at the hotel which looked like a regular building out front with no signs that it was a hotel. It was a big beautiful door on an old building. That’s all folks! I can’t believe he found it! The hotel is called Ca’ Dei Polo and it was one of my favorites. The décor was traditional Venetian style and this palace was large, extremely clean and had a sitting room, Wi-Fi, a breakfast room, a courtyard and fronted a canal. The staff was very nice. Both hotels we stayed at in Venice had 5-10 rooms and provided quality service. We enjoyed this location as it was on the north side of the island allowing us to explore different areas for the rest of the weekend. We had wonderful meals by the water run by families. We shopped for real Murano glass jewelry (make sure it is stamped so you know it isn’t a fake) and we bought masquerade masks, and wine stoppers. We went for long walks away from the tourist areas learning how the locals live. I love being near the water and felt safe wondering around this city.

Have a detailed map handy because it is easy to get lost. The hotels have maps. On our final day we walked to the Piazzale Roma, the bus station, which was near the people mover. We bought bus tickets at the small kiosk but you could also get them from the driver. We used ATVO because they have an express bus to the airport that is reliable and is 5 euro per person one way. There are maps with the times and it is also printed at the kiosk. It took about 30 minutes to get to the airport. I also downloaded “Italian To Go” which is a tiny booklet (that you put together) and it helped me out a little bit each day. It’s found on under free downloads and called Travelers Pocket Phrase Guides. www.livinglanguage.com/content/downloads/Italian_ToGo.pdf I (we) loved Venice and will go back. We could spend a week here, just like we could at the other cities we were able to visit.

Florence and Bologna

After leaving the big city of Rome, we arrived in Firenze (local spelling of Florence) before noon at Santa Lucia Station. I must mention that the nice man in Rome’s Termini station that offered to carry some luggage and show us to our seats was not an employee of the train station. Yes, he got us! But we learned our lesson. To purchases train tickets, register on the Trenatalia website and use roninrome.com to help you understand how to book a ticket. I found wonderful fares, perfect times, and reserved my seats before our Italy arrival. Firenze is a classy city. As we walked to our hotel, we noticed people in business attire heading out for lunch along the narrow stoned roads lined with stores that wanted me to enter and spend my euros! We could see the famed Duomo standing erect and made our way to this masterpiece to find our hotel. Norma, my contact for Palazzo Gamba had been in contact with me and was available to check us in. She is a hip and sweet young lady that showed us to our two bedroom apartment with a balcony that overlooked the gothic marble Duomo and the piazza.

The view was spectacular and I will never forget it. After enjoying our beautifully decorated apartment for a few moments, we headed out for quick bite on our way to the Academia to see David. Norma gave us a map, showed us the way and in ten minutes we arrived. Norma had made reservations for us ahead of time so we didn’t have to wait in the long line and went right in. The Academia is full of statues, paintings, music history, and, of course, the massive and beautiful David. No photos are allowed so as we left the Academia, we took a picture in front of a replica outside that is painted in wild colors.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying Florence for her Renaissance art, history, and architecture. This polished city creates an environment of education and plenty of self-enrichment opportunities. It also offers many interesting shops and restaurants to explore. After wondering, shopping and perusing a local grocery store, we went inside the Duomo. We were, again, impressed by the vastness of the building, the art work, and the calm feeling you have as you take it all in. I can’t help but think about what it took to build buildings like this given the period and technology. It is truly amazing as I consider the buildings in Italy the ART! As the evening approached, we spent time on our balcony watching the square change from sightseers to the youthful night owls looking for a good time. It was like watching a 4-D movie; we loved it! Of course, the backdrop was magnificent.

The next day we made coffee in our kitchen and had some pastries we had purchased from a bakery and then headed to the train station to meet our guide for a full day tour of Tuscany. We went with a company called Walkabout and our guide was a post-graduate student that gives tours of Tuscany in the summer and works at the universities in the fall and spring. She was knowledgeable and experienced. While leaving Firenze, our guide discussed the history of the city pointing out important locations and then showed us a short film about the area we were about to see. Within an hour, we arrived in the medieval walled town of Siena. This quiet town is explored on foot.

The Piazza del Campo is the sea-shelled piazza that has historic cafes and shops in the center of town. There are winding side streets lined with apartments, shops, restaurants and offices. There are some cars here and it is unbelievable to see them on these very narrow stone lined roads. We took a tour of the town and ended at the Duomo of Siena, which is a Gothic Cathedral noted as one of Italy’s firsts.

Like many Cathedrals across Italy, the Duomo houses art works by Donatello, Bernini and Michelangelo. One of the highlights here is the marble floor that took 200 years to complete. After the tour, we walked around the city and then met our guide for the bus ride to the Fattoria Poggia Alloro, an organic farm and Chianti vineyard and winery. This was a true highlight for us. We took a tour of the farm and vineyard, had a four course meal served outside on the hill overlooking the Tuscan hills, and we could see the walled city of Siena in the distance. Each course was served with a bottle of wine for us to taste and share. They produce their own Chianina beef (considered to be on the edge of extinction), wine, olive oil, saffron, honey, and flour for their homemade pasta. Four bottles of wine later for our table of six and we were ready to head out and explore more walled cities! This winery and farm is a must stop if you are in Tuscany!

Next, we explored another medieval town called San Gimignano. This is a small village with picturesque streets, shops and Tuscany views from every edge of the walls. Ceramics, leather, cheeses, and meats are widely available here, as they are in all parts of Italy we toured, as well as, the award winning gelato from Gelateria di Piazza.

There is another Duomo here located near the town hall filled with medieval frescos and towers to climb for stunning views. When our time here was up, we were off for a scenic drive through the hills and I noticed that our wine filled passengers were trying hard to keep their eyelids focused on the scenery.

After an hour, we arrived in the walled city of Pisa to explore the Duomo, Pisa University, and, of course, the Leaning Tower of Pisa! This is a small city and it is easy to explore. We had a wonderful day and we were exhausted when we arrived back to Florence. We walked toward the Duomo near our home and had dinner at a nearby restaurant wishing we had more time in this city to explore the churches, museums and parks but we know what we will do next time we return! The next morning after breakfast, we headed back to the train station for a quick ride to Bologna. Bologna was an important stop because this is where my father’s family is from.

There are Morandi museums to visit downtown and on the edge of town in the hills. Our hotel, Internazionale Hotel, was a larger hotel and the least expensive we stayed in so far. It was beautifully decorated, served a wonderfully large breakfast, and the location was perfect. Bologna has striking architecture, similar to Florence with its own flair. These beautiful old buildings are surrounded by the youthful energy of college students and fashionable stores. With so many high fashion shops, I started to imagine what it would be like to be in Milan! They even had Lush!

Bologna is a medium sized college town that is very easy and safe to explore. It was a youthful city, even in the summer. We had a sense that smart, educated people lived here. We love the ambiance of college towns and Bologna was no different. More importantly, the food in Bologna is worth the visit. My father’s family made tortellini on a regular basis and I grew up with this staple in my home. Needless to say, we had our share of tortellini dishes while we were here! Even though this city is youthful, there is something to do for all ages. This town is not as touristy as Rome or Florence and it was nice to see this side of Italy. We ended our night here with a popular after dinner drink called Grappa (I call it Grossa and will take Limoncello any day) and had to immediately replace the taste in my mouth with the always delicious gelato!

ROME

It has been a week or so since my return from Europe. I spent 17 days enjoying Italy on land and the Eastern Mediterranean by cruise ship. I love Italy and will be going back soon because the Trevi fountain told me so! (When I threw the coin in) I will be submitting my reviews in various blogs so they won’t seem so long. I started planning the trip in January and we traveled in early June. I guess you can say I worked on it for 6 months. First, we picked out the cities we wanted to visit and then the cruise itinerary and ship that would work with our dates. Next, I looked for hotels that were located near the train stations and between $150-$250 per night. Rome’s main station is called Termini. Through different websites and reviews, I found the Roman Residence on the main street of Via Cavour and we loved this hotel/B&B. We flew nonstop from Philadelphia and the hotel set us up with a driver that met us at baggage claim with our names on a sign. The driver, Guido, drove us to our hotel in Rome for 65 euro. Rome passed a law that certified taxis can charge no more than 40 euros for airport transfers to the city. We paid more because we had 4 people with luggage and had a specific company pick us up instead of queuing outside for a taxi. The Roman Residence is located in an old building (imaging finding an old building in Italy) and there were hotels and offices located on the various floors. We were on the 2nd floor (which is the 3rd floor because the 1st floor is always 0). There was a tiny elevator that would allow for two people or one person with luggage. Massimo is the owner and he was there to greet us. The hotel consists of a small hallway with five separate rooms. His office has a small kitchenette that is open to guests 24/7. He gave us an orientation of the hotel, gave us maps and discussed the city, transportation and restaurants, gave us our keys and we were on our way. He keeps a fridge in each room stocked with water, Coca-Cola, Prosecco and birra-aka beer. He has a supply room where we can refill the fridge as needed-no charge. The rooms were very clean and comfortable. They had a modern décor with large fresh flowers, a flat screen television and a large bathroom by European standards. They had a fancy Italian coffee maker and I loved the Marocchino. A continental breakfast was served in the hallway buffet area. We loved Roman Residence and would definitely stay there again! Massimo recommended la Gallina Bianca for lunch and this was around the corner from us on a side street. We loved their pizza and pasta and ended up eating there two more times because it was so good! On the first day we followed Rick Steve’s walking guide by taking a bus to Campo De Fiori and exploring the square and market. We walked down the street to the very large square called Piazza Navona. We loved the fountains, the artists, the people, and the ambiance. Next we walked by two Obelisks on quiet side streets arriving at the Pantheon. After we explored here, we walked to the Trevi Fountain and then to the Spanish Steps. These last two locations are very touristy and, thus, very crowded. We didn’t spend a lot of time at these places. Overall, we could easily manage this walk. The roads and pedestrian areas often consist of uneven stones with gaps between them so it make take longer for people that have injuries or poor balance to walk around Italy. We took the metro back from the Spanish Steps to Termini station and walked to our hotel and asked Massimo for a good local dinner spot. He gave us another suggestion and we walked a couple blocks away and sat outside and enjoyed the cool breeze and delicious Italian food while we talked and people watched! (I must add that we were in Italy from June 8-16th and I wouldn’t go any later because it was extremely hot and humid on the 16th and that’s how it was for the following week. Luckily we were on our cruise with a nice breeze but we talked to people at the airport and they were miserable in Italy during this hot spell.) On our second day we walked to the Colosseum.

We pre-arranged for a group tour participating in the special Dungeons and 3rd tier tour. It was worth every penny. The Colosseum is spectacular. Take as many tours as you can when visiting sites with ruins in Italy and beyond because it is easy to wonder around and just look at concrete remnants and have no idea what you are looking at. I saw a lot of people following their guidebooks or downloaded audio guides. After the Colosseum, we had lunch across the street at “Al Gladiatore”. For a touristy location, they sure offered up some amazing cuisine. All I am going to say is that lasagna, tortellini and pizza in Italy are superb! After a long lunch (when in Rome), we used our Colosseum ticket to enter the Roman Forum and Palatine grounds. These are ruins that are spread out and enclosed for you to explore. We did not have a guide and if we go back, we will have someone walk around the Forum with us! The large beautiful street out in front of the Forum was closed to traffic and we walked the beautiful large road toward a very large beautiful white building that had a large gate. It resembled the White House. There were soldiers by a burning fire out front memorializing the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This massive and awe inspiring building is the National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II- The first King of Italy. After our long day of exploring, we took a taxi back to our hotel and ate, again, at the la Galllina Bianca. On Monday, we took the metro to the Vatican area and entered the Vatican. With our group tour tickets in hand, we again by-passed the long line and got right in. Our tour guide was wonderful. She is one of 200 people that live in the Vatican walls because her husband works there. The Vatican has many, many rooms and hallways that you WILL get lost in! The walls, floor, ceilings and space in between are all a work of art. These hallways and rooms are the museums. Famous artists have their work on display throughout the rooms and hallways. You really cannot see all the art work in one day!

After two hours or so, our guide walked us to the Sistine Chapel. It is here that it is a bit dark and the very large rectangle cathedral showcases Michael Angelo’s famous ceiling and paintings on the walls. His story is so interesting, and I don’t have room to write it all here. There were two guards at the front of the chapel on a stage saying “no photos” and “shhhhh” and “quiet” repeatedly. No one seemed to listen to them. I did, but I felt like I was being scolded the whole time I was in there. The Vatican is a busy place for tourists and if you don’t have a guide, you may get lost, and you might as well have the added value of knowing the art, the stories, and the secrets! After the Sistine Chapel we went to Saint Peter’s Basilica. Our guide took us there by a short cut and spoke to us for about 30minutes and then we ended the group tour. The Basilica is free and there is a very long queue to enter. I’m glad we had our group leader. We stayed in the Basilica for another hour exploring. It is too big to explain and too beautiful to put into words. We found a hidden staircase, which is not really hidden, and it led to the catacombs beneath the Basilica where Popes and dignitaries are buried in marble and wooden tombs. At the center, and open to the decorated alter above, is the tomb of the Saint and Apostle Peter. Leaving the Basilica, we saw the Swiss Guard, and headed for the post office and gift shop. We purchased some jewelry, post cards, and stamps and then mailed the post cards from the Vatican! We walked into the square and looked around in awe. We realized that we were starving and I had written down a restaurant in a nearby neighborhood in Travestere where the locals hang out. We found a taxi, showed him the address and asked how much. He said 15 euros and drove us to some alley about five minutes away, pointed down the alley, collected his money and drove off. Needless to say, he ripped us off! After going on a wild goose chase for this restaurant, we stumbled upon an open restaurant in an alley/road/pedestrian walk way/eating area. So confusing. But, the food was delicious and the wine hit the spot!

After a couple hours here, we walked across the Tiber River into downtown Rome. We did a little shopping and got some gelato and then found a taxi to take us home. This 15 minute ride was 8 euros. We got cleaned up, packed and woke up the next morning for breakfast and walked to Termini to catch our train to Florence by 9:30 am. I love Rome. It was cleaner than expected. There is so much to see and do. I will be back to explore!! Here is a helpful website: roninrome.com