E304 - a Shiney perspective

[Silver_Shiney]

Looks like I should have been posting here rather than in my blog.

We've just tied up in Civvitevechia and the weather is glorious. Feel sorry for everyone back home.

Difficulties in getting signal and data connection.

Ship lovely, food great will have to update properly when back home

[JenniC]

I LOVE Rome

[Manoverboard]

I'm not mad keen on Civitevecchia though .... even if it is a little bit warm

[Kendhni]

I wish they would dock the ships in places I can pronounce

[Quizzical Bob]

Ken, try:

Chi
vit
a
veck
eea

[Silver_Shiney]

So far so good. The weather's been fine since entering the Med. Stayed on board while Claire and Welshie did the Gaudi tour in Barcelona. We all did "Easy Nice" yesterday which I didn't enjoy - after a coach drive into the town we were dropped off for a short time in a market that was closing. The "Taste of Tuscania" this morning was good with a visit to a market and a farm where we sampled various produce.

[Dancing Queen]

Glad you are enjoying SS, any weather has got to be better than we have, snowing heavily again here

[Romig1]

Glad to hear that things are going well. Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[oldbluefox]

Pleased to hear from you Shiney. Continue having a good time as it's perishing here.

[Silver_Shiney]

Thanks guys.

We had some unwelcome excitement last night - my mum fell down the last few steps in the atrium and fell heavily on her hip. The doc spent a long time checking her over and is fairly sure there's nothing broken. She seems ok this morning and is adamant she's going to Sorrento, where my dad fought in the war.

[Not so ancient mariner]

Enjoy the rest of your trip - and the weather. Don't worry about the reports of snow back here. There's not much coming down ..................most of it is going horizontally!!!

[Manoverboard]

... She seems ok this morning and is adamant she's going to Sorrento, where my dad fought in the war.

Best keep an eye on her there as it's very steep in places, tis a nice walk down to the fishing harbour though.

[Jan Rosser]

Sorry to hear about your mum's fall - it is quite hilly in Sorrento so take it easy - take care

[Silver_Shiney]

Bliss and joy...

Zone 3 has lost all power. Guess which zone our cabin is in. Lightsticks have been issued,although someone made off with a load so many are trying to get ready for Smart Dress in the dark. We can't leave Palma until it's sorted so no bar drinks unless you want to pay Spanish duty....

[oldbluefox]

Sounds like an eventful holiday Shiney. It could be interesting getting dressed in the dark. There could be one or two interesting outfits on display.

Hope your mum is fine now after her fall.

[Manoverboard]

It's probably a new take on the ' Black n White ' night

[Not so ancient mariner]

One thing I always do is take my little maglite torch with me. Even if not needed because of power failures, it's useful for checking under the beds etc before disembarking to make sure nothing gets left behind.
I hope normal service is resumed soon. (We were in L344 on E303, so I assume we would have been affected too)

[Not so ancient mariner]

I see from the webcam that Oceana has arrived at Cartagena, so hopefully the electrical problems have been resolved. Fingers crossed for the rest of your trip. Enjoy it while you can. It's brass monkeys back here!

[Dancing Queen]

Sorry to hear about your mum SS, hopefully she is ok now

[Silver_Shiney]

Thank you all for your good wishes. Mum is fine - badly bruised, but able to walk. We're fighting a losing battle to make her use lifts rather than stairs though!

[oldbluefox]

Meet her at the top Alan!!

So pleased to hear she is fine.

[Silver_Shiney]

Would I be being unduly judgmental to call the person who smeared excrement on the loo seat in the gents outside Footlights a disgusting little git?

[Not so ancient mariner]

only in the use of the word 'little' !!

[Silver_Shiney]

Well, back it is that we are, Yoda.

That must be one of the longest two weeks of my life - absolute bliss. Mind you, for some reason, neither of us slept at all well the whole fortnight. I was up to the loo 2-3 times a night, so hope that gets fixed once I'm back in my own bed at home.

So, what happened?

We had good table companions, so that was a blessing.

Normally, we have either a good table steward and a mediocre cabin steward, or the other way round. This time, however, we couldn't sing the praises of any of our stewards too highly.

Jeffery and Francis, our table stewards, were great fun, especially Jeffery, who has the same sense of humour as me. Jenny, our wine waitress, was lovely. Jolly, our cabin steward, was great and when she heard about my mum's fall, went off and got her own hot-water bottle for mum to borrow - she wasn't even mum's steward! Of special note must be Denis, the head waiter in CJ. After the fourth night of going up there at 2230 for two decaf coffees, a hot chocolate and a Horlicks, he would welcome us personally, show us to the same table and get the drinks organised without us saying a word. When mum had her fall, he looked over the balcony to see what the commotion was and, on recognising her, he rushed down from Deck 8 to Deck 5 to see if she was alright. A truly lovely man.

The captain, Simon Terry, was the most personable we've had, and was out on the prowl every day talking to all and sundry.

The weather was quite good considering the abnormalities the world in general seems to be experiencing. We had a Force 10 last night in the BoB, and several times it was too blowy for all but the most hardened cruisers (and those who simply had to go outside for a fag) to go out on the open deck, but the pool area on Deck 12 was quite sheltered.

[Silver_Shiney]

Claire and Zoe went off, as I think I said earlier, in Barcelona to do the Gaudi tour, which they thoroughly enjoyed..

We all went on the Easy Nice excursion, which I was not struck on. We were taken straight to a market, which was in the throes of closing for the day, given little information in regards to the town and left to kick our heels along the promenade until the bus came to take us back.

On arrival at Civvetevecchia (sic?), we all went on the Taste of Tuscania tour. This was very good, and the highlight for me, at least, was the visit to a farm where they produce their own olive oil, cheese and wine. These were all generously available for sampling and then purchase.

The Lady C and Welshie went to Pompei when we docked at Naples (trying to work out how to tell our vicar that they spent the morning in a brothel.... ), while I took mum off to Sorrento to see where my dad fought during the war. She managed to walk round quite well given the severity of her fall the previous night. Sorrento, for those who haven't been, is a lovely little town and I would recommend a visit.

Palma is another very nice town with lots to look at. We bought a ticket for the hop-on, hop-off bus (I'll say something about that on the Tips thread) and, as the tickets last 24 hours, had no qualms about passing them to others leaving the ship as we were going back on.

Cartagena looks very interesting, but on closer examination, very many buildings are mere facades or just derelict. There is an interesting Roman section though.

Gibraltar was, for us, just a shopping trip. Claire and mum wanted table linen, I settled for a bottle of Asbach Uralt brandy. The first duty-free shop we went to was selling it for pennies under £20. A few doors up, it was more reasonably priced at £13.45 a litre.

The food on board was, to our minds, great. You'd be hard-pressed to say there was absolutely nothing on the menu that didn't appeal.

We took the advice given on the forum not to have a Select meal in Cafe Jardin - not only are you contending with music from Tiffany's and Explorers, as mentioned by others, but also from the lap-dancing clu - sorry, Winners. Actually, in fairness, they've toned down the "decor" in Winners since our last cruise, so it doesn't look quite as tacky as I would imagine a lap-dancing club to look like!

Instead, Zoe treated us to dinner in the Horizon Grill - a superb steak in very nice surroundings inside the Plaza (you forget that it's also the self-service buffet!)

Headliners were great - one of the best troupes we've seen.

If ever you get the chance, go and see Manual Martinez, the Cuban magician. He is hilarious. He says he is Cuban but his accent kept slipping and his knowledge of all things British was a bit too detailed for a foreigner.

I'll try to post some pix in my gallery later of the changes to the ship.