I haven’t done much more than local weekend getaways unworthy of a trip report, so I don’t think I’ve written one in at least a decade. Apologies in advance if this goes on far too long 😊.
This trip was for my 60th birthday and included my two adult daughters C&J, along with my 8 yr. old granddaughter L. When we started tossing the idea around more than a year ago, I wanted to do Portugal/Spain, J wanted to go back to Italy, C wanted to go to France. Solution: Mediterranean cruise. MSC Seaside had an itinerary that fit just right. Decided to fly out of Hartford, CT (Bradley) as it was equal distance for us vs. BOS. Booked Aer Lingus to Dublin and then fly to Rome (FCO). But wait, if we’re going through Dublin, why not stay a night or two after the cruise? Hotel rooms were scarce due to the Taylor Swift concerts the weekend would be in town, but we find an AirBNB near Croke Stadium that fits our schedule.
Friday, June 21st – Fly out of BDL at 5:55 p.m., arrive in Dublin Saturday (June 22) morning at 5:15 am; flight to Rome is at 10:25 am., arrive on schedule at 2:30 pm. Luggage takes quite a while, head out to find Uber stand which is located across the street from airport. Uber drivers are so busy, we have some difficulty connecting with one. Finally get a driver to take us to La Brezza Marina B&B in Fiumicino (Thanks TomB for the suggestion of staying in Fiumicino from your transatlantic trip report 😊). La Brezza Marina B&B is about a 2.5 block walk to the beach. Perfect accommodation for us for one night, 2 queen beds and a twin bed, fridge, coffee maker and a huge terrace. Restaurants are closed and won’t open for dinner until 7:00 but we are hungry! We walk to the beach then stop at the local market, Todi’s, and buy fixings for a cheeseboard, fruit, a few slices of pizza, wine and water. Perfect relaxing evening on the terrace after a very long day. Early to bed tonight, our Uber driver will be picking us up at 9:30 to take us to cruise terminal in Civitavecchia.
Sunday, June 23rd. J&I are up early and walk to a nearby bakery and bring back some espressos and pastries. Driver right on time and we drive the 50 minutes to the cruise port. We specifically told him the MSC terminal, but never having been here before, we didn’t realize he dropped us at the Royal Caribbean terminal until we turned around and he was gone! Terrific ☹Get on the cruise port shuttle and get to the right place. We had all done early check-in on the MSC app, so just had to show our passports and we were golden. C & I are rooming together and J&L together. Go up to rooms and your room card is hanging from the door. Rooms are exactly as I remember cruise ship rooms being. Leave our carry-ons in the rooms, meet our steward and head out to explore the ship. L has been waiting all day to get in the pool, C sits with her, J&I go to bar and bring back drinks. Meet Pedro, one of the waiters at the Deck 7 pool bar and he quickly becomes our go-to guy on that deck. We eat at the buffet tonight and turn in early, still tired from traveling.
Monday, June 24 – Palermo. Ship doesn’t arrive in port until 12:00, slept until 9:30 a.m. (loving the blackout curtains). By the time we’re dressed, breakfast buffet is over, but we still get coffee and fruit and had some leftover pastry from Fiumicino. Antonio (Again – BIG thank you to TomB for recommending Antonio!!) is meeting us at port at 12:30 to spend the day taking us to see several sights and has brought Claudio, an English-speaking guide who is an art historian. We visit the Cathedral in Palermo and walk through town to the Four Corners and the Piazza Pretorian and the Pretorian Fountain. He takes us to the I Segreti del Chiostro, a dessert shop hidden within the Santa Caterina Monastery. We sit in the courtyard for a bit enjoying freshly made cannoli and granita before walking to the Capo street market filled with vendors of fish, fresh vegetables and spices and then continue on to Teatro Massimo. Claudio is very thorough in his telling of the history of the buildings and the city. Antonio meets up with us and now we are heading to Monreale. Visit the Cathedral of Monreale and walk around the town. Antonio is back and we are now off to our last stop of the day – the Capuchin Catacombs. L is totally fascinated by them and not scared at all. She asks more questions than the rest of us! Get back to the ship at 6:00, go put on swimsuits so L can go in pool; 2 of us go up to buffet and make up several plates to share while she swims until they close the pool at 8 as we pull out of port. Tonight’s theme is White Nights, so everyone dresses in white; we lounge hop and walk around; espresso martinis in the Venchi chocolate bar while L has gelato; J&L go up to the room at 11:30; me and C walk around a little longer; sit at the bar in the Haven Lounge and watch the dancers do the fox-trot. We each have 2 glasses of wine and call it a night at 2:00 a.m.
Tuesday, June 25 – sea day. Slept until 11:30, so we missed breakfast. Have an early lunch and head out to try and find some chairs – good luck to us! There are several pools on different decks and we walk around trying to find at least 2 chairs as one of us typically stays with L poolside. Finally find a row of 4 chairs with no one around, but there are folded towels on the chairs. We ask nearby passengers (we have a bit of a language barrier, but no one has seen anyone using the chairs). We sit down on 2 of them, perfectly prepared to move if someone comes along; an hour later, still no one has shown. We are all taking turns going into pool with L; waiter has come by and delivered 2 rounds (and do you know how long that takes??), still no one shows. FOUR hours later a couple returns and want their chairs back, as they say they have only been gone an hour for lunch. Sorry, we’re not moving now, several nearby passengers agree with us and the waiter confirms that we have been in those chairs for several hours. They continue to argue and insult us which we ignore until they walk away. J&L go up to room to get cleaned up for dinner. C&I are getting ready to head up to room and find a family with 2 small children looking for chairs near the pool, motion them over and offer the chairs to them. They couldn’t thank us enough. Captain’s Dinner tonight, not really a “formal” night like I remember from previous cruises, but we do dress up and eat in the main dining room. Menu and wine list are accessible with QR codes now, no paper menus. Food was good, nothing remarkable. We walk around for a bit and then head back down to Deck 7 and find a table and chairs. Pedro sets us up with drinks and a Shirley temple for L while we play Yahtzee until 11 then turn in for the night.
June 26, Ibiza. We get into port at 11. J & L oversleep, so I go get coffee and make up a breakfast plate to bring them while they get ready. We purchased the shuttle passes to take us into the city center. We then grab a taxi and head over to Bossa Playa. Huge beach, not crowded at all. Water is surprisingly rough with large waves, but L not afraid and dives right in, body surfing over and over again. We walk the beach collecting shells. L is a little unsure about the topless women walking on the beach, something she obviously doesn’t see at the beaches in RI and CT. After a few hours of sun and surf, we are hungry and thirsty so pack up and head out. Stop at a shop and pick up some trinkets and more water. Decide on Moorea Restaurant and Bar for a late lunch. We order a pitcher of sangria and the chicken paella for J&L and the seafood paella for me & C. We had really hoped to be able to go to one of the “hippie markets” but the only one open on the Wednesday it was about a 45 minute cab ride away on the other side of the island, so we decide against it and head back to the shuttle stand to go back to the boat. Back on the boat in under an hour, swimsuits still on, so head to the pool again for a few hours. Go back to the room and get cleaned up. Still full from lunch so no dinner tonight. We walk around this ship a bit, sit for a while in the Haven Lounge for a glass of wine and listen to the music. Ready to head up to the room at 11, long day of sun and beach. Take a nightcap up to room and fast asleep in no time.
June 27, Valencia. Arrive in port at 9:00. This port is huge and walking into town is not an option. The shuttle bus can take longer than 45 minutes to the city center based on traffic. This is our shortest port day with all aboard being at 2:30, we’d have to get back to shuttle by 1:30, which would only leave us an hour, maybe 2, to walk around and explore. Just doesn’t feel like it would be enough time without us feeling rushed, so we decide to stay on ship and not be stressed about it. Put bathing suits on and are able to snag chairs poolside with no issues and settle in for the day. L perfectly content being in the pool all afternoon.
June 28, Marseille. Used the cruise shuttle service to drop us off in the city center along the waterfront. No particular agenda today, just want to walk around and explore the city. It is the hottest day we have experienced so far. We walk up and down the side streets of the Le Panier district, taking in the street art, cobblestone streets, architecture, fabulous old doors. Reminds me of old Montreal. We all buy soaps, local made honey, and some other unique items. We find a café, Nua, with tables in a shaded courtyard and sit for a bit and have a cocktail. 5 hours ashore and decide we’re all hot and sweaty and ready to go back. Walk back to shuttle stop and only wait about 10 minutes for the next shuttle. We all put swimsuits on and meet back on Deck 7. Again, 2 of us go up and make mixed plates from the buffet to share poolside. J&L go up to the room around 9 and we stay a bit longer people watching. C&I order nightcaps from Pedro to take back to the room and play a game of Scrabble before calling it a night.
June 29, Genoa. Today we agreed to take L to the aquarium, so we decided to do the open bus tour excursion through the cruise first with the aquarium afterwards. It was ok, took us by a lot of sights, but the pre-recorded descriptions were hard to hear and at times, it was difficult to tell exactly which building was being described. Bus dropped us off at the aquarium and we spend about 2.5 hours there before walking back to the ship, which took about 30 minutes. Last night on the ship, so we decide to make reservations at the specialty steakhouse, The Butcher’s Cut for 7:30. A nice bottle of Argentinian Malbec and steaks all around. Prices right in line with what you would pay at a steakhouse here in the Providence/Boston area. Head down to the Deck 7 pool bar for our last night and say goodbye and thank you to Pedro. We each take a nightcap up to the room to finish packing.
Sunday, June 30. We are doing early disembarkation, so don’t have to put luggage out before bed, but we’ve got to be out of our rooms by 8:00 am. On this itinerary, passengers embark/disembark at every port, so the number of people leaving was very small (unlike the ones from FL or San Juan where everyone embarks on the same day and disembarks the same day). We are able to grab an outdoor dining table next to the buffet and have coffee and something light before heading out. Able to get a taxi in less than 15 minutes and share a ride with another family to the airport. We can’t check our bags for 3 more hours, so we find a place to sit and wait. The customs line is over an hour long after dropping our bags with Aer Lingus. Finally, go through and browse the duty free shops for a bit before our flight to Dublin at 3:20 pm. Flight on time and we get into Dublin at 5:40 pm. Able to get a taxi within 10 minutes and off to the AirBNB. Takes about 20 minutes from the airport. 2 bedrooms and a pull out sofa meets our needs. Two of us walk to the nearby Spar market for wine, water, soda, snacks, etc. and the other two go across the street to the local take-away stand. We get fish & chips, cheeseburgers & chips and head back to the apartment. Rest of the night is spent relaxing with wine and popcorn.
Monday, July 1. Russell St. Bakery is located on the ground level of the ABNB, so we get coffees and fabulous French pastries for breakfast. Decide to walk into Dublin, which takes about 30 minutes. The weather reminds us of home – cloudy, damp & chilly. No real itinerary, just following where the streets lead us. Cross over the Samuel Beckett bridge, now we’re really in the heart of it all. We’re just walking and taking it all in, no map, just going up and down streets that look interesting. I see the National Gallery of Ireland ahead, so we stop there for a while. L recognizes a Picasso and takes a selfie with it. Back to walking and we visit Dublin Castle and the Dub Linn Gardens. We find The Old Stand and sit for some lunch. None of us are interested in going to the typical tourist spots, Guinness, Jameson, Book of Kells and waiting in more lines. We spend the rest of the day just wandering and browsing the shops before starting to walk back. We stop in the pub across the street for a few rounds before heading to the apartment. Our flight out tomorrow is at noon, so another early night.
Tuesday, July 2. J&I go down to the bakery and bring back coffees and pastries before we head out. Uber driver gets us to the airport in no time. Our flight is on time and gets us back to BDL at 5:00pm. We’re all home in an hour.
I know there are lots of opinions on cruises. All three of us have been on other cruises and we do agree that we prefer land-based vacations. But for this trip, it just made sense to do a cruise instead of coordinating transportation across countries, accommodations, packing- unpacking every few days. Having the pool for L to go in daily was huge, and she did go participate in some of the kid’s activities that were offered, arts & crafts, dance parties, magic shows to break up all the adult activities. This also gave us a chance to discover places we may not have considered previously for a trip. Palermo and Sicily have now moved to the top of our must go back list as well as Marseille and the surrounding area. C & J liked Dublin, but I could have easily left that off, even with my Irish heritage, I just wasn’t feeling it. It was just another big city but with Gaelic accents. Perhaps visiting other areas further outside of the city I would find more enjoyable, but we weren’t there long enough to be able to do that. Maybe another time.
Thanks for the report and the pictures. Agreed, if you want to see several places in a short trip, it is hard to beat a cruise. It's a great way to check out new places and determine where you might want to go back.
Chair hogs are the same everywhere. Glad you stood up to them!
Sounds like everyone had a great trip. I don’t like ocean cruises,but agree that they can be useful. You may want to consider a European river cruise as another way to explore. We did that a few years back and would do it again in a heartbeat. Loved your photos.
