After a resounding night's sleep we both woke refreshed and headed down for breakfast to feast on a hearty helping of scrambled egg (or it could just be omelette gone wrong!!) and bacon!! It was possible to have breakfast on the terrace overlooking the Grand Canal for a premium of €10!! One or two people had ventured out only to be turned back by the Maitre’D.We were in no hurry to head for the ship. Check in would start about 12 noon but we had d...

Unlike our previous 3 trips the weather on the day of travel was 'not raining'. Things were looking up already and I’d only just closed the front door.The journey to Venice was, for once, uneventful. The train from Hough Green to Manchester International Airport was on time, there was no undue delay getting through security and our EasyJet flight to Marco Polo airport departed on schedule. Arriving In Venice 10 minutes ahead of ETA and walked straig...

Temperature: 16C 58F (RAIN!!)Distance travelled: 4538 nautical milesToday it is the final day at sea. From Heraklion we headed across the Ionian Sea and through the Strait of Messina. This is a narrow stretch of water between the Eastern tip of Sicily and the tip of the toe of Italy. The strait is only 3.1km (1.9 miles) at its narrowest so for this reason a pilot is required to guide the vessel safety through to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is then a straight run up th...

The title of this blog doesn't quite work unless you know how to pronounce Civitavecchia. (chiv-it-a-veck-ia) The temperature for the past few days has been in the high 70s and today was no exception. Most excursions from Civitavecchia visit Italy's capital, Rome. Rome is 1½ hours by motor coach and about the same by train should you wish to do your own thing. The trains are fairly regular but as we discovered later today, due to 3 cruise ships being i...