Haargh, me mates! What better way to see the world than from the deck of a ship?!
One of our goals in doing this trip is to try multiple modes of transportation. To date, we have traveled extensively by car, we have done a bit of travel by train, and a lot…and I mean A LOT of travel by foot! So, we thought it would be a great idea to try out some travel by ship!
Actually, Katina got the idea of taking a cruise from one of her Couchsurfing friends, Tiffany from Australia. Tiffany, David and their kids had just completed 12 months of travel themselves, and highly recommended using a cruise as a way to:
- Cover all of our food and lodging, within budget
- Travel between cities…and be able to sleep along the way
- Take a vacation within our travels 🙂
- Cruise off season…lower cost, fewer “tourists”
We booked with Norwegian Cruise Lines through our friend Jane Hart at Medallion Travel. The ship, the Norwegian Jade, holds about 2400 passengers, and when we checked the booked capacity it was listed as being 2200.
The port for Rome is actually not in Rome…it’s in Civitavecchia, about 45 minutes away. Having dropped off our Peugeot, I made my way back to the port by train and we prepared for our adventures on the high seas!
In Civitavecchia we booked a hotel/apartment for the 5 of us which turned out to be absolutely perfect. I used Hotels.com to find this particular hotel – Hotel Traiano, a small 3-star hotel just a stone’s throw from the port. The hotel included breakfast and a free shuttle right to the cruise terminal. The hotel staff were exceptional – honestly it’s been a very long time since I’ve had such great service…if you are planning a cruise out of Rome, then I would absolutely recommend this hotel.
One of the reasons we booked this particular cruise was because frankly we were running out of time in Europe and had yet to see Greece or Turkey. There was no way we would be able to drive to these destinations and get back to our car drop off in time. So, a cruise seemed to be the perfect option for us.
Our 10-day cruise will take us to:
- Olympia, – to visit the ancient Olympic stadium and grounds
- Athens, Greece
- Kusadasi, Turkey – to visit the ancient ruins at Ephesus as well as what is believed to be the home where the Virgin Mary lived out the remainder of her days after the crucifixion of Jesus.
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Naples – where we will visit the remains of the city of Pompei
Over the coming days our team of intrepid bloggers will share our adventures at each of the different ports we visit and will hopefully paint a picture for you of what we have seen and experienced.
Comments
4 responses to “A Pirate’s life for me!”
Have fun on your cruise….we did! Just nice not to have to re-pack and move on every couple of days! Enjoy someone cooking for you and getting a taste of some countries you may not have visited. The worst part is when you love a place and only have a few hours to explore. Oh Well! So begins the start of the next travel itinerary .
Tiffany, everything you’ve said here is exactly what we loved. For me, not having to pack and unpack every few days is fantastic. So you have a “base” that takes you to your destination…perfect! I also agree with your point on just getting a taste of a place and not being able to go deep. A small city, not as much of a problem, but someplace like Istanbul you can easily spend a week there.
Oliver
Dear Oliver & family,
I believe a Cruise is a great choice, more so, if you have not done earlier. Last year, my wife and I took a 6N/7D MSC Cruise from Genoa. We travelled to Marseilles, Barcelona, Tunisia, Palermo, Civetavecchia and back to Genoa. It was a marvellous. I would strongly recommend a Cruise to everyone who have not done it so far. It is a very different experience and very memorable.
When are you reaching India, more so, Delhi. You may recall my invitation to stay with us while in the capital of India.
With best wishes to the family
RAVI & ANJU
Hi Ravi,
Your cruise experience sounds very nice as well! I completely agree with your thoughts – this is a great way to travel and see a number of different places in a short period of time. From a long-term travel perspective, it’s great to be able to completely unpack your bags and have a base – even a floating one – for a while.
We are starting to plan out our India travels in a bit more detail and are really looking forward to meeting you and your family in Delhi!
All the best,
Oliver & Family