Mediterranean Cruise

All photos and written works copyrighted sstaas. All rights reserved.

I think I'm finally over jet lag! It's only taken me six days. Lol. Well, there was a six hour time difference, so I guess six days should have me back on schedule.



This was just our third cruise, so I'm far from being an expert on cruising. The first two cruises lasted for seven days and we experienced calms seas. Little did I know what could happen if there's a storm! In addition, seven days was enough to be using the teeny tiny bathroom you get onboard, not to mention the teeny tiny cabin. Even with a balcony, there's just not much space. This latest cruise lasted 12 days, so, at times, I was dying to find a real toilet. (The toilets on cruise ships are like the ones you get on a plane.) A real bathtub would have been great too! Anyhow, what's worse still is that on the last day of the cruise as we were sailing from Corfu back to Barcelona there were fifty mile an hour winds that lasted for the whole day into the evening. Guess what? I got seasick! Now I'm not keen at all to go on another cruise. :(



However, the itinerary was really good. We visited places we had been before years ago, which worked out well for we didn't feel rushed into running all over the place. Other places we visited we had never been before which was delightful as it's always fun exploring and discovering new locations.




We didn't take any of the tours as it's more fun to explore on one's own. However, one word of caution: if you really want to see Florence and Rome, then bear in mind that the ports of call, Livorno and Civitavecchia, are around two hours away from both cities. In the end, it's probably less stressful just to take the cruiseline's tours, especially for Rome.



There are benefits to taking a cruise. You get transported quite comfortably from one location to the next. All your food is included. If you like to get dressed up, you can do that on formal nights. If you have a reunion, then cruises are a great venue for there's plenty of room for everyone.

However, there are also drawbacks. There tend to be lots of people, especially on the huge ships. I think this latest cruise ship we were on had two thousand passengers. You may want to spend longer at certain ports, but you can't, for you have to get back to the ship. Don't want to miss the boat! There are extra costs that you may not be aware of - gratuities, wine, excursions, etc. These extras can really add up.



One website that's worth checking out is www.cruisecritic.com You'll get a lot of information about all the different cruise lines.

What I'd like to try is a river cruise. Yep. No stormy seas! Anybody know anything about river cruises?