Norwaylady

Ship was cleared 08.27 and the gangway opened. We left the ship asap. Guess what? No tender waiting….😝 So we went in line. 08.35 a motor sailer was trying to back up…. We 🤔🤔🤔 could this be the famous tender from local authorities? Oh, yes😳😜 This will be a fun day… (the senior officers crew didn’t look to happy) We were allowed on the first tender, it left 08.50. Hopefully our guide understands that we are arriving as fast as possible😇 We have a shared tour by someone from CC on the cruise. Fingers crossed for a great day😎

Good morning Malta! Oh, what do I spy from our balcony? It Reflection💙💙💙 She received the good parking spot today😌 We had breakfast in Blu💙 Nice window table, perfect for our docking operation. Gangway is not yet cleared, hopefully it’s ready soon. We have a shared tour 8.45 from the cruise terminal. But since we need to tender to the cruise terminal, this is taking longer time than a walk off.

Cruise compass Valletta, Malta

Tonight’s show is Star Factory The cast onboard are brand new. The tailors are onboard to fit the costumes to the new cast. (Shared a bench on the tender in VilleFranche by the main tailor🥰) Cast seems promising from their first show, Broken Strings👍🏻 Theatre was more filled tonight💙 Happy for the singers and dancers. Great performance from the acrobats and cast. Some gruff in some parts for vocals, but it will probably go away in the next few shows. It was a pop-up performance in grand foyer after the show. Shane from last night🥳 Now we are talking😁🍹🥂 The roof and vibe went 🔝 up🥳🥳 Dinner was very empty and relaxing in Blu. Service was good💙 We had the seafood ceviche, prosciutto and tuna. We had a surprise starter on our table…. The crab, but just clean, no crusting👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 My prayers was detected….. (I’m not a big fan of crusted seafood or other food. Can’t help it, it’s just not my cup of tea) It tasted excellent and really 📌 pins my taste and type of food I prefer💙😌 For dessert the Queen had apple pie and I had ice cream 🍨 As usual after dinner, it’s bedtime 🥱

The rest of the day was relaxing in the sun. Reading, sudoku, crossword and listen to the band. At 14.00 we took a quick walk to the buffet to collect some salad. At 16.00 we called it for the day outside. Captain’s Club welcome toast is at 17.15. So need a little time to get representative again after a day outside😂😂 We attended the captain’s club Party. Captain Kirk said some words. No presentation of senior officers, numbers of guests onboard or captain’s club members onboard. They served the captain’s club menu and canapés. Tonight’s plans are the production show and dinner.

Information received for Valletta, Malta. We are docking on the wrong side of the channel. So we must use local authorities tenders.

So today is the big day for invites & party😂🥳🥳 The galley tour was not my cup of tea today. So thank you for the invitation💙 maybe next time🙃 The Queen was occupied on the sun bed😎 She wanted to read a book and enjoy the sun. Temperature was perfect and a touch of breeze. I wanted a little break from the sun, so I went to the captain’s invitation 11.45. (Good opportunity to get a decent picture of the senior officers together) probably less crowded than the captain’s club event. The string duo was playing and they offered the usual drinks 🍹🥂🍸 Captain Kirk did welcome everyone at the door, together by the hotel manager, HR manager and cruise director Brittany. The 2 concierges was also present, greeting people welcome. Brittany started the show by a trivia giveaway. -2 bottles of bubbly and a red. -a signed ship model -dinner for two in Tuscan No line-up of senior officers, so no picture🙃

After a quick Clark Kent we were ready for breakfast in Blu💙 I didn’t expect the Queen to be ready at all😅 Greek yoghurt, some berries, grapefruit and some avocado 🥑 Very happy camper💙💙💙 Blu crew are 💙👍🏻⭐️ This is a sea day, so it’s a relaxing day😎 The Queen wanted some pool time, so off we went to a lounger. I have no big plans for today.

New cruise compass delivered during the night😝 Show is changed to a production show🙂 I was up and awake 06.30 so put on my shoes and went for a decent 1,5h walk out on deck. It was dolphins 🐬 they jumped up and showing off a bit. Chair hogs was arriving from 07.30….🫡 The only place to get water/drinks early before 09.00 is the buffet bar or Al Bacio. So stopped by Al Bacio after my walk to pick up some coffee and a water bottle. Needed those extra stairs up and down after my walk😂😂 I was surprised when I arrived upstairs😛 The Queen was awake and up!!! She was finished sleeping🤩

cruise compass for tomorrow, sea day

Today’s dinner was good❤️ the crew are very friendly and we are taken very good care off. We had salmon and 🦐 for starter and branzino for main course. My wish and prayers for after eight ice cream was 👂🏻. (It’s my favourite ice onboard and I asked if it will be on the menu….. look what’s on my plate for dessert😘😘😘😘🤩😊) The Queen had the no-sugar dessert.

Paperwork delivered this evening:

We went straight to Al Bacio after arriving back to the ship. The Queen needed a shot of coffee and a little snack… lemon 🍋 tart👍🏻 I went for my favourite on warmer days, the 🫚 ginger 🍐 pear ice tea🥰 Maria was greeting us back and delivered good service as she has done since we checked in on the ship. She has taken excellent care of the Queen when she has visited Al Bacio on her own. After re filing liquid substance it was time to take a tour upstairs. The Queen was in need for some downtime before dinner. So I decided to go to the show. Ohh, new name on the screen😅 Tonight’s show is Shane Hampshire together the orchestra. Big band👍🏻 My favourite🥳🥳🥳 The planning failed😂😂😂 the evening event performer was stuck in Rome due to Giro’d Itala🤣🤣🤣 So they needed to take tomorrow’s entertainment for tonight❤️ Mr Hampshire did a good show, he was literally thrown into it when he arrived on the ship today😅👍🏻 I meet Cruise Direction Brittany on the way out of the theatre. I asked what’s up for next cruise…. It will be a good blend for us👍🏻 So we have entertainment to look forward to🥳🥰

The guided tour started 14.00 in the museum. The guided tour are split into 2 locations. 1h at the museum in the city and 1h at the archaeological site of the tumbs. It’s a 10.minute drive from the museum. The guide was great and very good in explaining the history of the area and Etruscan times. She explained the most important things/ objects in the museum. And by the tumbs, she explained everything before we went down to have a look. This is a very good tour if you like history and archaeological sites. The time in the city’s was plenty for lunch and a walk. Would I do it again? or as an option to Rome if I have been there before/multiple times? Yes Price is 109€ pr person. We were dropped off by the ship 16.45. We had some fellow travellers on the tour that did not care for museums or archaeological sites… they were not too happy and didn’t attend the museum part. They waited at a bar next to the museum.

In Tarquinia we have a guidet tour in National Archaeological Museum of Tarquinia. It’s from 14.00 So we have 1.h50.min of free time before our guide is ready for us. We have walked around the town, just sat down for espresso and gelato😋 Since it’s Sunday, stores are closed.

We are very happy😎 The Queen are very satisfied. Infinity is an older ship, but I love M-class. So as of now, it doesn’t matter for me that she’s older and not been to dry dock. Wifi is really not reliable, that’s the biggest concern as of now.

Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore

Our guide picked us up at the port 08.15. Everyone was there, so we left before our departure time. We are 2 cars driving together today. Our car is 8 guests and the other 9 guests. We left for Tuscania first. It’s a 30-40.min drive depending on traffic. It took 30.min. We started in the archeological museum in Tuscania. It’s well preserved and has several tombstones. After the museum we drove inside Tuscania walled city. It was free 40.min free time to walk around the city. We left for the 2 churches on the visit. Chiesa di San Pietro Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore See next post for pictures After the church visits, we left for Tarquinia. It’s a 15-20.minute drive in direction of the ocean/port.

Rise & shine! We have docked in Civitavecchia. The Queen is up! Breakfast in Blu⭐️❤️ Service 👍🏻 Food👍🏻 Today’s tour is a shared tour by ItalyTours. It’s the BEST OF TARQUINIA & TUSCANIA --- full day tour from port Tour departs 08.30. Meeting time on the pier: 08.20. (No shuttle bus to the terminal gateway)

Cruise compass Rome

Tonight’s show is cello player Wendy Law. You know we are in Europe😂😂😂 The theatre is almost empty. (Feel very poor for the preforming artist and orchestra❤️) Everyone is toured out😝 Port intensiv Cruise⚓️😅 Yesterday, today and tomorrow are typically long days in port and a full schedule. So people are totally finished when they return to the ship. On the other side, I’m happy for plenty of space and my usual seating❤️💃🏻👍🏻⭐️ It’s not reserved🙈 but I have my favourite space🙃 Tonight’s show was great. My cup of tea🥰 classic music in modern twist. Mark Donoghue from last night did a pop-up show in the grand foyer after the main show. He played and song a few songs. We stretched our usual dinner time from 8 ish to 8.30 so we didn’t get a beeper. The crowd had arrived around 19 when everyone was returning from a shore excursion close to departure😅 So it was the right call to wait. We had crab and duck for dinner. The crab was excellent, the duck was yes/no. The Queens duck was pink and perfect, mine was a bit over cooked. The rice was 5.mins away from finished on both plates. The kale salad under the duck was good. For dessert we had ice cream🍨 After dinner we walked straight to bed. The Queen is a early riser tomorrow😂🙈 Our tour leaves from the port 8.30.

After returning to the ship, the Queen wanted to relax by the pools😎 I went for the rest of the movie outdoor on deck 12/The terrace. They were showing A man named Otto. (The English edition of the Swedish book and movie, En Mann med navn Ove🇸🇪) It’s fun, sad and sweet at the same time😂🥹 I like the outdoor movie area on M-class ships. This is lacking on S-class. Really happy to be able to sit back here on deck 12 and enjoy🥰

La Spezia calling⚓️ We docked this morning in the industrial port of La Spezia. Lots of tour buses ready on arrival and the ship was empty and cleared in a few minutes after 08.01😝 We took it slow, went to Blu for breakfast at 08.45, was almost empty and quiet. We had a great breakfast, super service and very accommodating for the Queens wishes and needs. After breakfast we walked up to get ready for the day. At 10.00 we left the ship and walked straight into to shuttle bringing us to the port entrance. Plan of the day is La Spezia city centre. In the port terminal it’s a few tours available for purchase. The Queen wanted a small city sightseeing. So we booked tickets on the petit train. It takes you on a city tour, 35.minutes to/from the port. The train left instantly when we boarded. It takes you around the city centre and to the top of the citadel. Beautiful view. It’s lots of hidden stairs from the city centre to walk up to this point. View is beautiful🤩 After returning to the port, we walked by the ocean in direction of the city centre/pedestrian area/shopping/cafés/gelato. You are passing the Yellow and Blue ferry to Cinque Terre. It’s 400-500m walk from the port building. Timetable until 31.5.23 and Barcode for tickets. We continued our walk into the pedestrian area. It’s shopping, chain stores, local shops and cafes. We are in Italy 🇮🇹, so we had to eat some Gelato 🍨😋😋😋 The Queen was on a shopping tour💸💸 She found a new silk scarf and a new matching purse 👜 How many Queens do I drag around on a walk?🤔🤔🤔 After a walk up and down in the pedestrian area, it was time for some coffee and a croissant on the way to the port.

Today’s cruise compass La Spezia

So after a little waiting, we were seated at Alex zone. Today’s menu is a good one. We had the Tuna, scallops and salmon for dinner and the apple crumble and tulip for dessert. All tasted good and all great.