Mediterranean Cruise

Itinerary: Southampton - Gibraltar - Toulon - Livorno - Civitavecchia - Ajaccio - Cádiz - Lisbon - Vigo - Southampton

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This was my first cruise in well over 30 years. The Independence of the Seas is huge, currently the third largest liner in the world. There was always plenty to do on board. I read on a CruiseCritic board, that sea air shrinks your clothes, and it's true. I bought a pair of trousers for the cruise and they didn't fit after the first week! The cabin was bigger than I expected, overlooking the Royal Promenade, an internal shopping and entertainment atrium. There was plenty of seating in the cabin. Jan and Pete had arranged a surprise cheese, fruit and wine basket as a retirement present. It was huge. The food was always good and so much of it. I managed to drink in every bar, except two. The cigar club, I didn't bother with and the Wipeout bar never seemed to be open. I was on a table of six for dinner, but there were only three of us and one guy only turned up four times!

On the sailaway from Southampton we were all given little Union Flags to wave. I met up with the other people who were going on the Rome trip I'd organised and I celebrated with a glass of champagne. Most sailaways, they had a band playing by the pool. I tried my hand at the climbing wall, but I could only get half way up. I saw both the ice skating shows and a couple of the theatre shows. I also saw quite a few of the headliner shows. There was a really funny comedian called John Martin on one night. Bobby Crush on another. Cliff Lazarenko and Keith Deller were on board for the whole cruise giving darts demonstrations and the like. There was a really good group who sang Motown, my sort of show! I managed to miss the Captains Reception (I forgot it was on!). But I did see the two street parades and the street party. I only managed to make money once on the roulette tables, but my overall losses were only about $5, so not too bad. There are two adult only, cantilevered whirlpools which overhang the ship. they are 122 feet above the sea, and were really hot.

Our first port of call was Gibraltar, which is an odd little place. I walked into town, up Main Street to the cable car. On the way I met a couple of people, I sat next to in the progressive quiz, we joined up to see the sights. We took the cable car to the top of the rock and saw the Barbary apes. They were fearless and I didn't really feel too safe the whole time I was near them. After that we walked to the Moorish Castle and explored that. Then a gentle stroll back to the ship and sailaway.

The second stop was at Toulon. We actually moored at La Seyne Sur La Mer about 30 minutes from Toulon. I took a ships tour to Aix en Provence. It was quite good. the weather was warm and Aix is a pretty place. Lots of different fountains everywhere. We walked through Aix, passing various squares and different markets. The cathedral was the main place and there was an impressive organ inside. There's also an octagonal baptistry created in 500AD. When we got back to the ship, I strolled around La Seyne taking in the sights and having a beer at an outside cafe.

Livorno for Pisa and Florence was our next visit. I went on a trip organised by Charles Hyde on CruiseCritic. Pisa is only about ½ hour from Livorno and we went there first. It was sunny and we had about 45 minutes to stroll about. We parked right by the Field of Miracles, where the Leaning Tower is. Saw the Tower, the Duomo and the Baptistry. It really is an impressive place. After that we drove to Florence, where we saw the Santa Croce Basilica, where amongst others Michelangelo and Dante are buried. The Duomo, Ponte Vecchia, Europes first hospital, supposedly, lots of old piazzas were also seen. We had pasta and chianti for lunch and then we went to the Accademia and saw the famous statue of David by Michelangelo. On our way out of Florence we stopped for a really good and cheap gelato.

Our third consectutive port of call, and fourth overall was Civitavecchia for Rome. I'd organised a trip here and had three couples with me. We drove to Rome and I have to say it is the most impressive city. Much better than Paris. We saw so much it was hard to take it all in. We saw the Porta San Paolo, Pyramid of Cestius, the Colisseum, Palantine Hill, Constantine's Arch, the Circus Maximus, the Forum, Victor Emmanuel monument, the Trevi Fountain, and yes we did throw our coins in, and the Spanish Steps. All this before lunch! For lunch we stopped at a pizzeria by the Pantheon. I had sausage and chips pizza, a first for me!! After lunch, we went into the Pantheon and then we picked up our guide for the Vatican. We were booked for 14:00 but got in at 13:30 and spent almost an hour longer in there than we were supposed to. We saw some of the gardens, some of the art and sculptures. An enormous purple bath that belonged to Nero. Then we saw the Sistene Chapel, which was impressive, but so noisy and full of crowds, it didn't feel like a holy place at all. We then went to St. Peter's Basilica. It is a huge place and again it was busy, but spectacular. They had the body of Pope John XXIII covered in wax and on display in a glass case. Most macabre. The altar was a long way from the viewing area, and there were some candles on display that looked quite small, but were, apparently over 7 feet tall. Finally a quick glimpse at St Peters Square and back to the ship. A long, hot, tiring but totally fulfilling day.

Ajaccio next for a short visit. Ajaccio is famous for being Napolean's birthplace. I went on a ships walking tour and the guide was excellent. We saw the Citadel, main square, cathedral and Napoleans birth place. Finally we were taken to the museum and the guide explained the meanings of the paintings, we didn't have long enough in there as it opened late and the ship was leaving at two.

After a welcome sea day our next port was Cádiz. This was a port I was going to do on my own. As I was getting off the ship, I met the people I'd toured Gibraltar with, and we joined up to 'do Cádiz'. We went on a hop on hop off bus tour. We visited the Cathedral and went up the tower next door for a birds eye view of Cádiz. We walked to the lighthouse, which was closed and under renovation, when we got there! I then had lunch, tapas and wine, sat in front of the cathedral, before strolling back to the ship.

Next up was Lisbon. We sailed under the April 25th bridge and moored a couple of hundred metres away. I was on a ships tour to Cascais and Sintra by 4wd. Had a short time in Cascais, then we drove to Cabo de Roca, the westernmost point on the European mainland. We then went through the forest, passing a monument to 25 soldiers, who had died fighting forest fires in 1966. We saw the Pena Palace from a distance and then close up, before stopping in Sintra for a short while. Then it was back to the ship. We had to pass under the bridge again, and it really didn't look like we were going to make it. I saw the pilots boat arrive to pick him up and few minutes later, leave again with him on board.

Our final stop was Vigo. I went on a ships tour to Santiago Compostella to see the cathedral. The drive through Galicia was interesting and when we arrived in Santiago, the bus broke down After about 20 minutes the driver managed to get get it started again. I saw a church built by St Francis of Assisi and the cathedral. The cathedral is famous for the huge incense burner. It takes six men to swing control it, and it doesn't now get swung at every mass. If you want it swung for you, it will cost €300. On the day I visited, it was being swung. The cathedral was full and it was an impressive sight to see the burner swinging far into the roof of the cathedral. We were told that we would have a replacement bus, but we didn't. Although it didn't break down again, the driver wasn't taking any chances and we had a stately journey home. Even lorries laden with huge tree trunks overtook us!

The final day at sea, started cool, but the weather got better, and people did sit out. I didn't win the progressive quiz, but I did win a mug in another trivia quiz. I enjoyed the cruise. I booked a Baltic Cruise for June, whilst I was on board. As this was a trial run to see if I liked cruising prior to a world cruise, I decided the cruise was a success, and I've booked my world cruise for January 2013 on P & O's Aurora.

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Royal Promenade 65 kb	Fruit platter 46 kb	Cabin view 57 kb	Cabin 46 kb	Morgan 73 kb	Ship 55 kb

Wake 71 kb	My cabin 66 kb	Street party 68 kb	Gibraltar 58 kb	Convent Place 59 kb	Gibraltar 54 kb

Ape 27 kb	Apes 51 kb	Prince Edward's Gate 60 kb	Ship 61 kb	Runway 64 kb	Gibraltar 60 kb

Me 46 kb	Ship 50 kb	Cézanne statue 92 kb	Street 72 kb	Street signs 52 kb	Clocktower 72 kb

Town hall 76 kb	Cathedral 61 kb	Organ 50 kb	Baptistry 61 kb	Fountain 65 kb	Fountain 59 kb

Ship 50 kb	Toulon 52 kb	Towel 34 kb	Tower 47 kb	Baptistry & Duomo 51 kb	Tower 51 kb

Tower 38 kb	Field of Miracles 52 kb	Baptistry 48 kb	Door panel 55 kb	Florence 61 kb	Florence 71 kb

Me 61 kb	Michelangelo's tomb 62 kb	Dante's tomb 50 kb	Altar 66 kb	Hospital 42 kb	David 46 kb

Duomo & belltower 59 kb	Belltower 57 kb	Ponte Vecchio 49 kb	Palacio Vecchio 54 kb	Porta San Paolo 50 kb	Pyramid of Cestius 49 kb

Colisseum 58 kb	Constantine Arch 67 kb	Palantine Hill 58 kb	Colisseum 66 kb	Colisseum 72 kb	Circus Maximus 50 kb

Forum 64 kb	Forum 60 kb	Victor Emmanuel Monument 53 kb	Trevi Fountain 76 kb	Trevi Fountain 65 kb	Spanish Steps 75 kb

Oculus 35 kb	Pantheon 72 kb	St Peter's 59 kb	Statue 64 kb	Statue 49 kb	Nero's bath 50 kb

Ceiling 91 kb	Sistene Chapel 57 kb	Ceiling 62 kb	Pope John XXIII 58 kb	Altar 63 kb	St Peter's Square 51 kb

Swiss Guard 50 kb	Ajaccio 42 kb	Statue 53 kb	Cathedral 51 kb	Cathedral 45 kb	Birthplace 58 kb

Sculpture 46 kb	Street party 65 kb	Street party 74 kb	Street party 45 kb	Arriving Cádiz 37 kb	Lighthouse 40 kb

Building 55 kb	Cathedral 56 kb	Cathedral 41 kb	Cádiz 47 kb	Cádiz 61 kb	Wall 94 kb

Town Hall 59 kb	Monument 32 kb	cabo de Roca	Jeep 51 kb	Pena Palace 38 kb	Pena Palace 68 kb

Street 61 kb	Street 58 kb	Building 49 kb	Bridge 47 kb	Passing bridge 51 kb	Bridge 50 kb

Passing bridge 57 kb	Discoveries Monument 46 kb	Pilots boat 48 kb	Pilots boat 53 kb	Belém Tower 56 kb	Towel animal 45 kb

Church 63 kb	Building 61 kb	Cathedral 54 kb	Monastery 64 kb	Cathedral 53 kb	Incense burner 59 kb

Incense burner 49 kb	Centrum 59 kb	Golf 54 kb	Climbing wall 55 kb	Leaving Gibraltar 25 secs

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Page created 25^th September 2011