"Live from" Queen Elizabeth to the Mediterannean! My First Cunard Experience

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Spa handout:

 

 

Newspaper:

 

 

 

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Day 12: Naples/Capri (Sorrento), Italy

 

Wednesday, November 20, 2013 : Informal

 

 

We woke up early and had an early breakfast in the Lido! But of course, first the Daily Programme!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This was the smoothie of the day:

 

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Mom and Dad shared their food:

 

 

 

 

This was Sis’s breakfast:

 

 

And this was mine!

 

 

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After breakfast, I went outside for a quick panoramic:

 

 

 

 

The morning sun really made everything come alive!

 

 

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After I was done, I headed back inside and made my way back to my room. On the way, I noticed this sign.

 

 

(Pay attention to that! Sometimes they only open one half of the buffet!)

 

I then grabbed all the things that I’d need at port (including our new HALLS mints :D)

 

 

And made our way to deck 2 midship (instead of deck A because the cruise terminal in Naples was higher):

 

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We got off the ship and made our way into the cruise terminal:

 

 

 

I headed to the exit:

 

 

 

We kind of looked around the area before going forward:

 

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This time, we tried to get lured by the vultures. (Here you can see them at work :0)

 

 

We got a taxi to take us to Pompeii & have a short tour of Napoli for 80€ total 4 people. That being said, here are our recommendations: Don't get a taxi, get a private tour, taxi people keep trying to rip you off and get more money from you than agreed upon after you get back to the cruise terminal. Private tours however, do agreed price. They even care about you. For instance, stopping at lots of side places and helping take pictures for you (That’s what Mom & Dad experienced the last time they were in Naples).The taxi people on the other hand, were just trying to get rid of you so that they could go make more money. As soon as you left the car, they were always going elsewhere. This guy didn't really stop for much of a tour either. The taxi driver we got was named Maximo, pronounced "Massimo". This guy was seriously frustrating. It was a good thing that Mom was really strict about it. Before we had got into taxi, she said “No, we agree on everything FIRST before we go. 80€ for Pompeii, AND Napoli tour. Right?” We used the other taxi drivers trying to steal us away to pressure him into agreeing (LOL). When we get in car, he keeps saying that Napoli tour is separate and costs more. Mom puts her foot down and says NO. She then says that she does not want to talk about it anymore. (Haha she used the strict mom method). She says that they've already agreed on this stuff beforehand and that the tour of Napoli was included. When he eventually sees that he can’t win, he then goes "ehhh, small, little tour".

 

He wasn't kidding.

 

He literally wound up just drove around the central Napoli, pointing at about 4 things out before stopping at an attraction and suggesting that we "shop" and then walk "5 minutes back to the ship". HE TRIED TO DITCH US. HE WAS TRYING TO DITCH US SO THAT HE COULD LOOK FOR MORE CLIENTS. HOW DARE HE. Obviously we said no. We told him that we will be taking some pictures and then he will be driving us back. End of discussion.

 

When we actually drove back to the pier, the distance was actually like triple the time he said it'd be. >_>

 

Anyhow, that was what happened; now let’s see it in action.

 

He first drove us about 20-30 minutes away to Pompeii. We passed by Mount Vesuvius!

 

 

(He was a really good/smooth driver by the way. Literally his only good point.)

 

We arrived shortly and got out of the car here:

 

 

My parents and Maximo then discussed the time we would meet and where.

 

 

While they did that, I took a few random pictures of my surroundings:

 

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Before we left, my dad told me to take a picture of his car/licence plate in case we couldn’t find him.

 

 

After everything was settled, we entered the ruins of Pompeii:

 

 

 

 

Apparently those >18 and 65< got free admission.

 

 

After we got our tickets, we asked them for a map, to which they responded “Sorry, we’re out”.

 

… =_= why do I feel lied to LOL. Anyhow, I had to take this picture and zoom in on my camera. THIS WAS OUR MAP:

 

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We then entered Pompeii.

 

 

 

 

We followed the path and went deeper into the ruins.

 

 

Near the entrance was the area filled with pillars. I thought they looked very pretty :D

 

 

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We followed the groups of people who were following different tour guides, and came upon this lovely circular staircase area:

 

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There was a group of people doing a tour in a language I didn’t understand. OH HEY LOOK IT’S MY SWISS FRIENDS!! :DDD See if you can find them. They’re 2 guys that look awesome with their matching bald heads and beards!

 

 

After we waved at each other, we were on our way. ONWARD HO!

 

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It was at this point that Sis’s inner energies were suddenly let out.

 

 

It was as though she had been locked in a cage all her life and suddenly THERE’S SO MUCH SPACE TO RUN AROUND!! :O

 

 

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Sis had a lot of fun running around and playing in the ruins. She would hop all over all the rocks and into all of the open, non-fenced ruins:

 

 

 

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Apparently the main tourist attractions were the solidified bodies that became rocks went Mount Vesuvius destroyed the city. We followed the map on my camera to the first one:

 

 

 

 

 

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*****DON’T LOOK IF IT GROSSES YOU OUT!!!*******

 

 

 

At the back of the building where 2 bodies were, there was this random little open space:

 

 

 

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Note: A little stray doggie followed us in. There were many, many stray dogs in Pompeii, they were all calm though.

 

 

After that, we headed back out and Sis started running all over the place again LOL.

 

 

 

 

 

We then came upon this lovely open area full of pillars and columns:

 

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It was a really popular place for tour guides, as there were several tour groups all over the place:

 

 

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We then came upon the next spot with more solidified bodies. There was even one of a child and a dog. :( It was actually really depressing to look at. Again,

 

*****DON’T LOOK IF IT GROSSES YOU OUT!!!*******

 

 

 

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They were behind this giant jail-looking thing, so nobody could touch them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that, we headed to our next destination: the bathroom. :P

 

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This dog was following us too!

 

 

 

 

It stopped dead on its tracks when the next step led to the building with a cafeteria and bathroom.

 

 

It was like it was sad an asking for food :(

 

 

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After our bathroom break, we were off!!

 

 

AUGHHH //heartbreaks THE DOG LOOKS SO SAD!! :,(

 

 

 

 

 

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We then basically just explored deeper and deeper into the ruins. (Get ready for a whole bunch of pictures of ruins LOL)

 

 

 

We kind of followed the tour groups to see if there was anything interesting in the areas they were being led to. If there wasn’t, we’d just leave LOL.

 

 

 

 

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We kind of wandered around aimlessly, looking for interesting looking things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We were slowly making our way back to the entrance area, as our few hours were slowly running out. At one point, the ground started getting really weird and lumpy. You’d trip and hurt yourself if you didn’t watch where you stepped!