Carnival Pride 10-day cruise to (Pompeii), (Mt. Etna), Mykonos, Santorini, Athens, Olympia, Turkey, plus train around Italy

[IntrepidFromDC]

This is a three-and-a-half week trip I had scheduled in 2020 but covid closed down cruises, Italy, etc.

 

The trip will include a 10-day cruise and 13 days training around Italy:

Rome - 2 days

Cruise - 10 days - Naples (I'll do Positano, Sorrento and Pompeii small group guided tour excursion), Sicily (Mt. Etna climb and Taormina excursion), Mykonos, Santorini, Athens, Olympia, plus a port in Turkey that Carnival has changed twice and who knows if they're done.

Pisa - 1 day

Cinque Terre - 3 days

Parma - 1 day

Bologna - 2 days

Venice - 3 days

 

Pre-covid negative tests are still required due to Greek restrictions.

 

I have been on 21 cruises, all Carnival (Caribbean and Alaska), and I have been to Europe nine times but never for this long. 

 

For this trip, I have done extensive research and so my days at each port are packed as are my days in Italy.  For example, I'll be eating at the TripAdvisor #1 and #2 restaurants in Rome, having secured reservations months ago.  I am a foodie and thank God the Pride has a Steakhouse restaurant because I can only stand so much MDR food and Lido is hit or miss too.  I am really looking forward to that orange habanero sauce at Blue Iguana, though. 

 

Speaking of Steakhouse, the one on the Pride is "David" and some time ago they placed a fig leaf over David's "monkey" and I'm wondering if it's been removed for the less conservative and more artsy Europeans.

 

As if the stress of covid tests combined with non-refundable trans-Atlantic airfare wasn't enough, this email I received an hour ago is an example why so many say never book your flight the same day as your cruise:

 

english | deutsch

Dear customer,   Your flight LH417 on 09.08.2022 from Washington, D.C. to Frankfurt is cancelled. Please accept our apologies. We are currently looking for alternatives for you and will be in touch shortly. You can check the actual status online at...

 

Tick tock, Lufthansa...

[IntrepidFromDC]

Cinque Terre ("five terraces") has been on my list of must-see places for over ten years.  Most of these five small fishing villages are relatively new to tourism and not accessible by road (only train and ferry) and many of the fishermen still go out to catch fish just to sell to the villagers daily.  Each village is small, when you see photos of them you're seeing a big part of the village.  They look like the same place at first glance, but each is unique.  Here are photos of Manarola and Vernazza:

 

 

While many people would probably be thinking about Santorini and Mykonos as the places highest on this itinerary, I am charmed by Cinque Terre (which I have not been to) similar to how I'm charmed by Venice (which I have been to five times).  There's just something about medieval/pre-medieval towns without cars...

[Guest BasicSailor]

Thanks for posting !

[kwokpot]

2 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

Speaking of Steakhouse, the one on the Pride is "David" and some time ago they placed a fig leaf over David's "monkey" and I'm wondering if it's been removed for the less conservative and more artsy Europeans.

NO it has not been removed.

[staceyglow]

Looking forward to your posts! We are doing the same trip in a few weeks (with a couple of additional days in Rome).

[IntrepidFromDC]

As of now, I'm still going...

 

english | deutsch



Dear customer,
 

We have rebooked you, as your flight cannot take place as scheduled. Please accept our apologies. We have rebooked you on the following alternative flight: Flight / date: UA510 / 09.09.2022

[kelkel2]

Oh are you doing a live review?? I’ll look forward to reading along! 

[kahcruising]

following and looking forward to your review.

[IntrepidFromDC]

55 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

Oh are you doing a live review?? I’ll look forward to reading along! 

Hi, kelkel2, I should have added "live" to the Topic but left it out.  Yes it'll be live.  I'll talk about the day and post some pics each day.  I'll also be happy to answer some questions.

 

Of all the destinations, Mykonos, Santorini, Athens, Turkey, Olympia, Parma, Pisa and Cinque Terre will be firsts for me.  I've been to Venice, Rome, Bologna, Taormina, Positano and Pompeii before and love all of them.  Also been to Capri and Sorrento and felt too rushed and like they were tourist traps.

[kelkel2]

I’m so jealous of your travels. Those destinations sound remarkable and are all places I’d love to visit one day. When does your cruise leave? 

[IntrepidFromDC]

33 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

I’m so jealous of your travels. Those destinations sound remarkable and are all places I’d love to visit one day. When does your cruise leave? 

September 11, from Rome (Civitavecchia), after half tomorrow, all Saturday, half Sunday in Rome.

[IntrepidFromDC]

I'm still waiting for covid test results...

 

In the meantime, in today's installment of "Things I Love About Italy", consider their counterpart to our big chain sub and sandwich shops like "Subway": Bono - Bottega Nostrana which has several stores near my hotel in Rome, plus more near Piazza Di Spagna and other famous Roman landmarks I'll be visiting my first two days of the trip.  I challenge you to scroll down the list and photos of sandwiches and panini this place offers and not salivate.  Actually I challenge you to scroll down the list of sandwiches all the way to the end!

 

Panini Menu — Bono - Bottega Nostrana

[alliecat1970]

cannot wait for your travels I cruiseon the 18th of oct asa a newbieto Europe. thank u. janet

[jimbo5544]

On 9/7/2022 at 6:23 PM, IntrepidFromDC said:

Cinque Terre ("five terraces") has been on my list of must-see places for over ten years.  Most of these five small fishing villages are relatively new to tourism and not accessible by road (only train and ferry) and many of the fishermen still go out to catch fish just to sell to the villagers daily.  Each village is small, when you see photos of them you're seeing a big part of the village.  They look like the same place at first glance, but each is unique.  Here are photos of Manarola and Vernazza:

 

 

While many people would probably be thinking about Santorini and Mykonos as the places highest on this itinerary, I am charmed by Cinque Terre (which I have not been to) similar to how I'm charmed by Venice (which I have been to five times).  There's just something about medieval/pre-medieval towns without cars...

Love Cinque Terre, nice start to your review.

[jimbo5544]

I would like to hear some details on pre cruise testing, where you got it, hpw long was response, etc. please.

[maryann2]

On 9/7/2022 at 3:23 PM, IntrepidFromDC said:

Cinque Terre ("five terraces") has been on my list of must-see places for over ten years.  Most of these five small fishing villages are relatively new to tourism and not accessible by road (only train and ferry) and many of the fishermen still go out to catch fish just to sell to the villagers daily.  Each village is small, when you see photos of them you're seeing a big part of the village.  They look like the same place at first glance, but each is unique.  Here are photos of Manarola and Vernazza:

 

 

While many people would probably be thinking about Santorini and Mykonos as the places highest on this itinerary, I am charmed by Cinque Terre (which I have not been to) similar to how I'm charmed by Venice (which I have been to five times).  There's just something about medieval/pre-medieval towns without cars...

I love the Cinque Terre. I spent a summer working in a hotel in Monterosso back in 1960s.

It was unspoiled back then but once discovered by Rick Steves the day trippers came. 

I'm glad to hear that you have 3 days there.

[IntrepidFromDC]

4 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

I would like to hear some details on pre cruise testing, where you got it, hpw long was response, etc. please.

The only reason I had to get tested is Greece and both Greece tourist page and Carnival didn't make me feel comfortable about Antigen vs. PCR, generally they just said it has to be a test type Greece approves without specifying.  So I got both.  I took the Lab PCR at local CVS on cruise-3-days (Thursday) and the rapid antigen this morning at another CVS.  I just got negative results from both tests in the past half hour.

[IntrepidFromDC]

My flight leaves in a few hours, layover in Newark for an hour and I'll probably drink a few more than usual so it knocks me out for the trans-Atlantic flight even if I have an active neighbor.  I originally had a window so I could sleep the whole trans-Atlantic flight and wake up refreshed when I touch down in Rome in the morning, but when the canceled my flight I could only get an aisle on the rebook.

 

Dinner first night in Rome... Menu - Laltra Cheek (laltraguancia.it)

[IntrepidFromDC]

Chicken shawarma and chickpeas at airport were good. Taking off!

[IntrepidFromDC]

Never flew from or to Newark Airport before.  It puts all 3 DC airports to shame, endless shopping, bars and restaurants,  both high end and fast food/ crap

[IntrepidFromDC]

It's huge and digital everything. I guess that's Newark out the window...

[IntrepidFromDC]

It's almost perfect...   almost.

[IntrepidFromDC]

Very smooth flight so far, no turbulence at all. I hope it stays this smooth after we liftoff.

[IntrepidFromDC]

Been on the run, walk, HOHO bus, train and transatlantic flight the past 30 hours or so with only 3 hours rough sleep in the aisle seat, but I'll catch up over the next day and a half...

Edited September 10, 2022 by IntrepidFromDC

[IntrepidFromDC]

In-flight meal was eh, train station was organized chaos. I don't check luggage,  so I walked directly from my gate at Rome Airport to the stazione in 10 minutes,  bought an express train ticket to downtown Rome for $14, boarded the waiting train, walked one block from the train station to my hotel (Hotel Mediterraneo, which I recommend despite the bidet having prime bathroom real estate while the toilet languishes, cramped behind the sink). Do bidets gross anyone else out? From deplaning to checkin was only 45 minutes due to the efficient plan of not checking luggage,  knowing where the train station was and how to buy tickets ahead of time,  plus choosing a hotel near Roma Termini Stazione.