- Captain Albert's Website and Blog -

Ocean Liner History and Stories from the Sea, Past and Present. With an In Depth focus on Holland America Line

Category: Mediterranean (page 1 of 4)

2026 Oct 11; Day 2 Naples, Italy.

October 13, 2026 / / 0 Comments

By 06.30 the good ship Seven Seas Voyager was approaching the pilot station of Naples and I recognised the regular Italian chaos of this port at once. While the ship sailed in, she was overtaken in the breakwater by several small ferries who could not wait to get to the dock. Deep sea Captains do not like it, ferry boat captains think it is normal. Naples has a large but very compact harbour and from pilot station to being docked at the Cruise terminal is about an hour, including swinging around and be ready with the gangway out. I once managed 45 minutes due to an urgent medivac. The pilot thought it was wonderful as I kept the speed up; the Captain of the port had different ideas. But I took him to lunch and then he also thought I was wonderful.

Dictator Mussolini will never be my friend but for the ocean liner and later cruise business he did some good things. He merged the Italian ocean liner companies. so there was less chaos in the routes and competition and that resulted in some very beautiful ships being built; such as the ss Rex and the ss Conte di Savoia. And to make that all work, he built a number of new ocean liner terminals which have made it through the 2nd world war and are still in use. They are all somewhat similar and the 2 biggest ones I have seen are the one in Genoa and the one here in Naples. When I came here for the first time in 2000 with my Noordam (III) the inside was still very much prewar, with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd class waiting rooms and pre war customs stations. With the expansion of the cruise industry the interior of the terminal was upgraded and now it is more of a shopping mall. And I did not see that anything had been retained from those days, except the outside.

The Naples cruise terminal a throw back to the stark building style of the 1930’s. (Photo from an unknown photographer on the internet, but thank you for letting me use it)

The terminal has 2 elevated platforms one either side which can handle each 2 medium sized ships or 1 large. In the morning they normally let the tours go off on the lower level where the coaches are but when coming back you have to go through the terminal on the upper level, no doubt to keep the shopkeepers happy. Our tour left at 08.15 from the Constellation show lounge. No stickers here; you hand in your tour ticket and you get a small plastified ticket with the number of your coach that you hand in when boarding the coach. So nobody has to walk around with a sticker on their shirt or jacket. Each big coach is filled up to about 30 guests and that gives plenty of room for everybody to spread out. In port with us the Evrima of Ritz Carlton  Cruises (149 suites) , one of the new cruise company’s that are establishing themselves in the 7 to 8 star market segment with ultimate destination cruises. Explora cruises is another one that has just started to pop up.  They charge about double the price of Regent, and I really do not know if they can offer so much more, than we already get here, to warrant that price. But maybe it is about exclusivity so that Beyonce and Tom Cruise feel comfortable to walk around without sunglasses. Who knows.

By 08.30 we were on the way to Sorrento. It takes about 20 minutes to get out of the port area and it was interesting to see that the Italians are still good at building ruins as most of the infrastructure was from times gone by and could have been greatly improved upon. Our tour guide tried to give a narration about what was there was to see but constantly let his microphone either slip away or he held it away from his mouth and those halfway down the coach missed most of the narration. Not the way it was supposed to be. And that lets me to my first observation. Regent, or at least this ship, has no Bla-bla boxes in the cabin. Those little boxes connected to small earphones, that connect to the main unit handled by the tour guide so you can always understands him or her, even when you trail behind the main group. All the top cruise companies have it, Silver Seas, Azamara, Scenic, Emerald, so I hope that Regent will soon follow. It will at least ensure that a tour is not marred by a tour guide who cannot handle his microphone.

(Late note:  when discussing this with the General Hotel Manager he advised that the bla-bla boxes  will be rolled out Fleet Wide in due course.)

It is a one hour drive to Sorrento from Naples with some very beautiful scenery along the way. This was a very simple tour. We drove to Sorrento, did a 20 minute visit to a woodmaker shop (*) and then had 90 minutes of free time to explore the place. This was Sunday morning and as most Italians are not up and about until noon time, the coach driver only had to content with narrow roads and not with narrow minded car drivers.

The store where they have made inlaid wood since 1865

(*) The stop at this wood shop was more interesting than expected as none of us on tour had ever seen how wood-laid-in tables, boxes and other furniture (including a Lazy Susan ) were made. I am not an expert but I could see that this was of a very high standard. One of the shop staff gave a small lecture on how they did it, the cutting of the wood, how to get it so thin and then how to make the pattern and display into the wood. You need a house where such furniture can be put into a location where it can be shown off to its best advantage, But still very beautiful to look at, even if you do not own a castle.

Finished tables and plates, ready for export. The drinks (?) table in the front of the picture costs in the region of 2500 euros. The “paintings” on the wall about 500 – 600 euros.

The problem with buying these things as always: how to get it home. So most shoppers focused on the small – inlaid- boxes, coasters or chess sets of which there were a lot of variations available.

Then it was time to explore Sorrento, which mainly meant, marching up and down the long pedestrianised main street. Diving into a church for some more culture was harder today as it being Sunday morning, Mass was in full swing. The Sorrento area is worldwide known for Lemons. So the shops were bursting with souvenirs based on: soup spoons with lemons, washing up towels with lemons, regular towels with lemons, aprons for cooking and all printed with lemon patterns. Even the porcelain vases featured lemons. Even the fridge magnets were mainly showcasing lemons. And of course the Lemoncello liquor.

We have at home a very large kitchen in our apartment, through which a metal beam runs that supports the roof. That metal beam is boxed in and on one side we have numerous Holland America mugs hanging and on the other side a long line of Soup spoons. So we invested for 6 euro.s in a soup spoon and got a tea towel thrown in for 2 euros extra. Apart from making a thrifty Dutchman very happy it also supported the local economy. So a win, win, for everybody. And then it was time for a drink while awaiting the regathering of our fellow excursionists.  Sorrento also has a local pancake and they are quite proud about it. Not as thick as a Dutch pancake and not as thin as a French Crepe. It comes folded into a triangle with or without a filling and for euro 8,– you have can a nice light lunch.

The main street of Sorrento. It has a nice mixture of shops, cafe’s and pubs and souvenir shops. There was even a Irish Pub with a full British Breakfast. Because some people cannot leave their home cuisine behind when on vacation.

By 14.00 hrs. we were back at the ship and time to make up our mind of what to do for the evening. I was planning to do a ship inspection, but as we had a dinner invite, having a nap took priority.

Gifts today. A champagne stopper and a cold sleeve and a small box of chocolates.

And there were a few gifts coming in. This cruise has a Champagne theme and thus we were given a few gifts that were much appreciated and indeed very use full.

The whole cruise is elegantly casual (although they seem to do some formal nights on a world cruise) so we had to get used to not having to dress up, something we like to do. But instead of two dinner jackets and two formal dresses, now an extra cocktail jacket sufficed. At  18.00 hrs. there was the introduction of the Senior Staff by the Captain and we did not want to miss that.  I think that about half the ship showed up and that made the lounge 3/4 full.  As seems to be more and more the norm, the officers introduced themselves, which is very nice, except if there is one, who can really not handle a microphone. But this group did it very well. The only person missing was the Staff Captain and there was a good reason for that as we were going through the small passage East of Capri.

Captains welcome introduction. Nearly everybody came from a different national background and this cruise the ship has 40 different nationalities on board all focused on providing the best service possible.

I was a bit amazed that the ship went “through the hole”, as in all my years sailing here, roughly between 1987 and 2019, I never could go through, as 3/4 of the passage was designated a Nature Reserve and the narrow space left was too small in case you had to change course to avoid a collision with the numerous fast ferries, sightseeing boats and fishermen. But tonight we went through, and that accounted maybe for the fact that not everybody was in the lounge.

The ship sailing past Capri. This is a screen shot from the ships TV navigation display. Until recently the whole area to the right, as far as the ships course was heading now, was a large nature reserve. I do not know why the Italians moved the borders back, but good for the cruise ships.

We had dinner with the Captain and the General Hotel Manager, as no doubt they wanted to find out what a cruise ship Captain (retired) was doing on a busmans holiday.  But we had a very good conversation and we could touch on topics that for people not in the industry might find hard to understand.  This was in the Chartreuse restaurant and more about that tomorrow, when we have a regular reservation there.  So we had a very pleasant evening, and if the Captain and/or GHM read this, thank you very much, we felt quite honoured to have been offered this privilege.

In the mean time the show was going on, a singer with a dancer, and no doubt they will return later in the cruise. so we did not feel that we missed anything.  Tomorrow night is the first performance of the Cast / Revue group as they came on board in Civitavecchia, and we will make sure not to miss that one, so we have an early dinner reservation. There is only one show each evening, at 21.30 hrs. but with the diverse interests on board by the guests, the show lounge is never full, so it works quite well.

Tomorrow we are in Messina, and we have a tour to Taormina. Another port / destination that I sailed by with the ship many a times. It is about as scenic as the Almalfi coast, but you cannot get as close under the coast as near Sorrento.  Weather for tomorrow: Chance of rain in the morning, followed by sunny weather until late afternoon. Then rain again. Temperatures 23oC or 74 o F.  Perfect sightseeing weather.

 

2026 Oct. 10 / 11 Oct. Civitavecchia, Italy.

October 12, 2026 / / 0 Comments

Picking up from yesterday, we continue after embarkation. So the ship is only for 700+ guests and that makes it very intimate. From from one lounge to the other takes less time than to walk through the Lido on a large ship.  Seven Seas Cruise lines is somewhere between being very modern (all elegantly casual, except on world cruises) and retaining some old  world routines, so there is still a daily program with all the details. One thing that hit me straight off, was the paper quality of the Daily program, called “Passages”. It  is so much better than with other company’s. As a lover of books, for me it is important  to feel something good in your hands when holding it and this daily paper feels GOOD.  If you have a company that makes you live your cruise on an APP on the cell phone / mobile phone that is fine, but nice quality paper JUST feels good. (Although Regent has an APP and that is for reading your daily news and also magazines)

The Master of the ms Seven Seas Voyager is Captain Stanislas Mercier de Lacombe, he is french, very french and a very gregarious person who sailed most of his life with Regent. During his first announcement he compared himself to Inspector Clouseau of the pink panther and he sounds somewhat like it. But I like a man who does not take himself to seriously. He lives in La Boule on the west coast of France, a place I remember well, as I was there for the new build of the Noordam (III) in 1983/84 at St. Nazaire. It is a holiday town and during the summer season it is invaded by Parisians for the summer holidays. But he has a boat there, so he has a way out.  His wife is from Croatia so he is really part of a very international seafaring community.

Captain Stanisas Mercier de Lacombe. Master of the ms Seven Seas Voyager.

Once on board we found out that this cruise is a “spotlight on sparkling wines” with throughout the cruise tastings and wine pairings. Those are not included in the package (on average $ 235,– for an event) and a special sommelier is on board for the proceedings. Apart from having a “champagne breakfast” which is part of the cruise, there are special events which are of high quality but not free of charge.  My taste buds are not attuned to champagne so I do not know the difference between Krug, Dom Perignon, or Roederer, or Chateau Plonk, so I will stay away from it.  When we came into the cabin there were already 2 bottles of champagne waiting so we do not not feel left out. One as the regular welcome on board and one together with a large box of Leonidas chocolates as a gift from the management. It seems that they  have already found out about me and the blog and if that results in extra alcohol and chocolates, then I am all for it.

A very nice gift, and they say that Leonidas chocolates are calorie free so we have nothing to worry about.

Once on board, we had to make the obligatory visit to our muster station; we had to report to the Steak Dining room, called Prime 7. A very nice dining venue, so even if the ship would sink we can await our final fate in style.

The cabin has a walk in wardrobe which is sufficient for about a 14 day cruise, maybe a bit longer if there is no formal night. Any longer, then you will have to rotate from the suitcase. On the other hand there is free laundry for everybody, except dry cleaning which is not free, so you can get by with not too much stuff. Then just around the corner there is a self service laundry for those who do not like to send things down to the laundry.

There was some sort of of welcome on board deck party , a bon voyage social, on the pool deck, with the ships band, so we went there to get a feeling with what sort of guest cruises sail with Regent. A lot of guests are doing a back-to-back so the bar was full of (very) happy people. Drinks aplenty and a bar stand with nibbles, including Jumbo shrimp. While listening to the music my eye fell on the large array of Star Link antenna’s above the Deck. Never seen so many antennas’s on a smaller ship, so I think we can be insured  that we will have a good internet signal.

I think I am right to say that this is a “forest of antennas. It turned out that the internet (free except for streaming) was indeed very fast.

Next thing was cocktail time, where to go. . Based on our experience with Silver Seas where we found out that there was hardly anybody in the lounges in the evening, so we opted for cocktails in the Observation Lounge on deck 11.  We arrived that at 18.30, only to find the place heaving.   It turned out that at 18.00 hrs. there had been a  “Spotlight on sparkling wine welcome”, with an introduction by the guest Sommelier, Kelly McAliffe. So by the time we walked in, everybody present was already quite happy. Luckily the call for dinner was there was well and most guests made their way to one of the 4 restaurants on board.

This is a view of the observation lounge. I have not yet been able yet to take photos myself from the public rooms, So this a stock photo from the internet from before the 2026 upgrade. It looks a bit lighter now than what you see in this photo.

For dinner there is the Compass Rose which is the main restaurant on board, the Pool Grill (very casual), the Sette Mari at La Veranda (Italian), the Chartreuse (very french) and the Prime 7 (very beef steak).The latter ones are included in our cruise package with two visits.  We went to the Compass Rose for the first evening and the first thing I saw was Versace plates on the table. And those are not cheap, even when it is not the top range. When I was captain on the Prinsendam, we had the Versace Medusa range for the Captains table and the complete set for 10 seats was in the area of $ 15,000. Each wine glass was $ 175,— or something. When I dined from them, there was a special steward hovering around to ensure that each piece of crockery and glass work was taken, on tiptoe, to a special section of the kitchen so the dish washing boys and regular stewards could not get their hands on them. And here the whole dining room was full with it. But our waitress did say that she was very careful with them. The Maitre d’hotel, Mr. Francesco (27 years with Regent) said that he more worried about the Versace plates than about the service.

I will post some menus during the cruise, but lets say, there are at least 10 entre’s available every day standard, and another 10 that change each day.  And that is without counting the desserts.  By being there just after 19.00 hrs. we could easily make it to the show, as even at a gentle pace with good conversation (and good standard wines included), the service only takes about 100 minutes.

Cruise Director Callie Smit

The Constellation Show Room, is a 2 deck happening near the bow, with excellent sight lines. No poles anywhere and the upper level railing is low enough not to be in the way. Each seat has a table so you can have  a drink, if you want to. I have not found out yet, if they also serve before dinner.

The show was a sort of throw back to the olden days as this first Welcome On Board  show was a sort of variety show where the Cruise Director introduced the ships routine and had a singer do a small performance. Normally  there would have been a cast performance as well but they had joined the ship today and so they still had to rehearse. If you have dealt with entertainers /cast on board then you will know that when they are starting up. it is a few days full of drama and controlled panic so they are kept behind closed Firescreen doors until they are ready. The Cruise Director  who was the compare for this whole show is from South Africa and his name is Callie Smit. You can google him on line and he has a very good track record.

He was the man who spoke this evening the immortal words: “Welcome to Regent Seven Seas, Welcome to the Upgrade”.

And he was right, if you want to grade from 5 star, then Regent might be a very good decision. We will find out in the coming days, if VERY good applies. After the show we decided to retire as tomorrow morning we are going on our first (included) tour. With the coach along the Amalfie coast to  Sorrento.  I have taken my ship several times in the past sailing close to the coast as the scenery is very beautiful but I have never been ashore and seen the land based side so it will be very interesting.

Now  how does first day feel…………….. Extremely positive , I could not find anything wrong on board so far and that does not happen very often.

Weather tomorrow: Partly Sunny with temperatures around 70oF / 21oC and very little wind. Great weather for cruising and exploring.

 

 

 

 

2026 Oct 09/ 10; Day 01 Civitavecchia, Seven Seas Voyager.

October 11, 2026 / / 8 Comments

Today we embarked on our next cruise adventure and we are trying out Regent Cruises. Lesley had found a very good deal and a week before we left we were offered an upgrade from a Verandah to a Penthouse for £ 60,– a night, so we took it. A Penthouse is the lowest catagory of the suites and the first level that comes with a butler so it will be interesting to see how this compares to Silver Seas, Azamara, Cunard, MSC Yachtclub and Scenic.

Regent does not have cruises leaving from  the UK until  2027 so we had to fly to Rome to join the ship. Flights and transfers are included in the cruise price and it looked like Regent had arranged everything well. We even got the  replacement luggage lables with the new cabin numbers on time. Regent had their own hiccup as they had booked all guests joining today in a brand new hotel but it turned out that this hotel was only to be completed next year, so we were moved to an old (but luxurious) hotel in downtown Rome, a five minute walk from the Trevi fountain. Very nice for guests who arrived early and still wanted to wander into downtown Rome.

09 Oct. travelling.

So we flew from Norwich via Amsterdam to Rome and arrived there just before lunch time. Regent had advised  in their paperwork that there would be a representative waiting for us on arrival at the Airport but when we came out of the baggage area, there was nobody. We saw reps for Costa, Celebrity, and MSC but nobody from the most poshest of these company’s to be present. The paper work had phone details for emergencies (English number) but nothing local  (apart from the terminals in Civitavecchia). But while we were on the phone to England to get something sorted, a sheepish looking driver showed up with a tablet with our name and of somebody else on it.  That worked but not as we had been advised.  He found another couple while roving around with his tablet, from Texas,  and so with 4 in the van we set off.  The Texas couple were longtime Regent cruisers but had also never experienced not having a representative at the airport. So we will inform Guest Relations on board to advise the office to get the discrepancy changed.

But is was a nice shuttle bus with a long ride through down town Rome as most of downtown is one way traffic, so the shuttle bus had to weave around the main tourist areas. And they were choc-a-block with tourists. I think a lot of tourists had decided to postpone their vacation to later in the year as this summer Rome was unbearably hot. Long waiting lines for getting into the Vatican Museum and it almost looked as if China or Japan had taken over Vatican City.

Once impressive now a bit of faded glory. (Photo courtesy Hotel website)

The hotel, Grand Hotel Plaza Rome, announced as a very luxurious happening, turned out to be an old Palace from the 18th. century turned into a hotel in the late 1860’s.  It had a very big waiting room, no doubt a grand ballroom  from the old days. If the glass ceiling and the ceiling fresco’s had had a good restoration and cleaned it would have been breath taking. Now it was just impressive in a sort of faded way. We were too early for check in, so we left the suitcases and went into the next side street for lunch. The hotel is surrounded by expensive shops and  also the restaurants mainly thrive on tourists. The pizza’s were good and the service typical Rome/Italian, friendly, abrupt and a bit chaotic. But then the whole city is chaotic with the tempo driven by all the motorists  with a total lack of respect for Rules of the Road, and the very creative car parking.——- If there is a gap, then we park———– sign or no sign.

In the hotel was a lady representing Regent,  and she offered 3 departures to the ship. 09.30, 10.30 and 11.30. We took the last one, as we wanted to sleep in. Leaving from Norwich airport at 06.00 in the morning makes one tired. The procedure is supposed to be that we are picked up with a small van from the front door, and then driven to the “end of the road” to join the coach for an 1 hour journey to Civitavecchia.

At 3 pm the hotel room was ready and the first impression of the room, was quite impressive. High ceilings, big bathroom lots of space. Much bigger than was indicated in the paperwork. However the promised bathrobes were nowhere in sight, and the shower had been replaced by a much too deep bath tub. But there was a bidet in case you wanted to wash your socks.  We called twice for the advised bathrobes (1600 and 1700 hrs) but apart from the front desk remark, “we will look into it”, we never heard anything back and never saw the bathrobes. Now we just have to make sure that they do not charge bathrobes to our account when they make up the room.

The room. The only outstanding thing was the 60 inch TV., with approx. 250 channels.

For the rest the hotel was not what you would expect for the guests of Regent and I wonder how the Americans managed. There was only one two pin socket for which most travellers would have an adaptor. So a challenge for most Americans who would want to charge their cell phone.  We could manage with one plug, but not what you would expect from a Grand Hotel, as they thought they were.  The next interesting thing was the mini bar. The minibar was not filled accordance to what was on the paper listing (no pringles) so we have to make sure that we do not get charged for that as well. As there was no ice bucket in the room either, I went to the bar to get two colas and 2 glasses of ice, and that set me back 24 euro’s.  This is the first hotel where we stayed where the mini bar is cheaper than the regular hotel bar. (8 euro for a cola in the minibar)

10 October.

Breakfast was included and was very good and served in yet another old room with fresco and gold rimmed ceiling. Nice to sit and look at. When we came back to the room, the room next door was open so we poked our nose inside. This was a much smaller room but it had a kettle. And that is an important thing for the English so it set Lesley of in tangent, as we did not have one in our room, and hence she had to forgo her early morning cup of tea. At the Front Desk she enquired why there were no bathrobes and no kettle in our room and the brilliant answer from the front desk was:

Those 2 things are not part of the Regent package under which you are staying.

As if Regent would go through the contract and negotiated a kettle and bathrobes out of the program. So we will pass it all on to Regent and maybe they can arrange that future guests have it better.

The Via Corso. In the far distance is the San Anglo castle just visible and in the street the shuttle buses for our transport.

Getting to the ship was an interesting experience, as the street, the Via Corso. is too small to allow normal coaches in, so we were first transported in groups of 6 with luggage to outside the walls of the City and there transferred to a coach for the 1 hour journey to Civitavecchia. The forecasted rain did not materialize and it was a pleasant ride. When coming down the hill, we saw that apart from the Regent Voyager there was in port, the Costa Toscana, the Mariella Explorer and the Norwegian Viva. The last one dwarfed the other ships and did not look much look like a cruise ship at all, more like an Electric Power Station, with all those slides and other amenities sticking out above and behind the funnel. They even have a water slide that goes down from about 14 decks from the top to where normally promenade deck is.  In the corner behind all these large ship was ours, the small Seven Seas Voyager.

Seven Seas cruises is a subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line together with Oceana Cruises which operates in the same luxury market segment but is not All Inclusive. We have high hopes for this cruise as Seven Seas has just been voted the best Small Cruise Line in the world, from a poll of over 800.000 cruise travellers.

The Seven Seas Voyager. The ship was built in 2003 but extensively refurbished in 2026, so inside she almost looks like new.  With 42000 tons and 206 meters she is for nowadays standards a very small ship. She can handle 706 – 777 guests and that gives the very high passenger ratio of 63. There are 443 crew listed so a ratio of just over 2 to 1 to the guests.

As we came by coach, with about 35 on the coach, check in was a breeze and the check in ladies were very cheerful. I think they were happy to deal with small groups instead of processing 4000  NCL cruisers. In the terminal the Executive Concierge was supervising it all and on the gangway the General Hotelmanager and the Assistant Cruise Director wer there to say hello with Champagne. I still have not figured out if I like that when stepping on board, as you only have two hands and those are full with hand luggage. But the champagne was good. As the ship is “small”, it is a breeze to find everything on board so we did not have to embark on an expedition to find everything.

Cabin or suite 764. It has a sitting area separated by a curtain from the bed area. Desk with fridge and a make up table with a Bose speaker. Then there is a bathroom with a very large shower and a coffee machine. (We had that one changed for a kettle for tea)

We have cabin 764 on Deck 7 near the aft staircase, which is a suite with butler service. (That was the result of paying for an upgrade. Deck 8  was another £400 dearer and the only perk is that the cabin was located a deck higher). The cruise comes with $500 on board spending, so in a way Seven Seas are paying for the upgrade. Lesley is planning to spend the On Board Credit in the Beauty Salon as for the rest everything is included, so no further expenses. Even a number of tours are included.

While waiting for the luggage, the butler showed up, Mr. Savananan from Madras, India. His real name is about 30 letters long as is normal for that area, hence the short first name being used. He had been with Seven Seas for over 10 years and before that 10 years with Oceana so the crew must like the company to work for as change over in the hotel industry can be very high, and with the still expanding cruise fleet there is ample opportunity. A butler is basically there to do everything you want, including escorting you to restaurants if you do not know the way. That was handy on MSC Virtuosa some time ago but here less of an issue. He was followed by Nicolai and his assistant who  will look after the cabin. He was from the Philipinnes and it took them less than 3 minutes to find out what was my background so the regular discussion followed, “have you been to my home country etc.”.

To avoid to make this first day blog very long, here is the cruise that we will make, and the rest will come tomorrow, when we visit Naples.

Our planned cruise. Going around Italy to Venice / Fusina (Diagram courtesy of Cruisemapper)

 

 

 

 

 

2026 Feb. 18, Day 07 Barcelona Day 1, Spain.

February 22, 2026 / / 1 Comment

This morning we docked in Barcelona and were assigned Berth B, while the Costa Tuscani was at Berth D. Between 2010 and 2020 Barcelona heavily invested in new and state of the art cruise terminals which  now run from A to H  and then there are still the 3 small (old) ones at the World Trade Center. Unfortunately the mood in Barcelona has turned against the very large influx of cruise visitors and now there is the plan to demolish 2 of them again.

Cruise terminals in Barcalona

How that will work with nbr. H, I do not know as that one seems to have been built with MSC investments so their very big ships can dock there.  I do somewhat understand the concern of the Barcelonan’s as with all 8 big terminals full: with on average 2000+ guests on board, there are at least 16000 extra people milling around in downtown (and most of them, marching, during some moment of the day up and down the  Las Ramblas If it is a change over port day, then the approaches to the airport are clogged up with tour busses.  So a definite challenge to for the City Fathers, City Mothers and City Persons, (I am very inclusive…. to find a good balance between the needed revenue a large chunk of money for the Gaudi Church (La Sagrade Familia) and other buildings comes from the cruise industry) and still protecting the locals way of life in down town.

Photo of the Atrium taken from deck 3 down to the grand piano (Steinway size B) This is were we will wait tomorrow for the coach to the airport.

We have been to Barcelona many a time, so we decided to stay on board. Also because we have to pack in the afternoon,  we had booked a speciality restaurant booking in the evening, and we have a  coach connection to the airport at 05.45 tomorrow morning. And we were far from the earliest casualties as some guests were leaving at 02.45 in the morning.

The stern of the Viking Saturn. On top the Norwegian flag, as Viking is the last cruise company to have Norwegian registration which must be costly. Under the flag, the “Infinity pool water catcher box” under the deck 7 pool. At the water line, the “duckfoot” an extension with a dual purpose, it improves stability as it increases the surface size of the ship and also it inproves fuel economy as it acts as a “spoiler”, which you often see at the back of sports cars. (Photo courtesy, somewhere on the internet)

But it gave me the chance to walk the ship from top to bottom and to have a very good look at the interior. The outside of the ship is not so much different from the current design of other cruises ships, with a dumpy funnel, a macrodome, balconies all around the superstructure and the public rooms on the lower and the top decks with the majority of the cabins in between. But the inside design of the ship (and those of the other 12 Viking ships as they are all similar) varies considerably from other cruise company’s.

What I think is very cool is the gangway button in the lifts. When you do not know where the gangway is, you just push the button (above deck 8) and it goes to the right deck. I wish all ships would have that.

If the theme of the mega liners of Carnival, RCC,NCL and Celebrity is noise and action, here the theme is Nordic Tranquility. That might not be enjoyed by everybody but the fact that Viking is able to keep churning out a new ship each year (and this year even 2 with LNG propulsion) means that there are more than enough people who do like it.

The deck display next to each lift. Good and easy to read. The  only irritating thing is, it rotates with the gangway deck indication. So you have to wait until it comes around again.

This success is due to 3 things: smaller ships (40 – 60.000 tons is small nowadays), very good and balanced service and an harmonious interior that is consistent through the whole ship.  The ships must have been designed by a team that was given a concise briefing, did their job, and then the results were checked, to see if the briefing was followed. The President, Mr. Torstein Hagen comes from a maritime background and does therefore understand that a ship has to remain a ship, and that the end result should still be a ship and not a coorporate and ego-tripping muddle of Sr.Vice Presidents. And I think that has worked very well on these ships.

This is Deck 2 portside Atrium with sitting areas and game tables, both analog and digital.

The centre of the ships is “The Atrium” but is also called “The Living Room”.  (Saga Cruises has a similar concept).  It is mainly a lounge to sit and relax, especially on level 3. There is no library but there are bookcases full  (with very high quality books) in every corner and on every level. As well as in other lounges like the Explorers Lounge (crowsnest) on deck 7& 8). Game corners  everywhere integrated as a part of the overall concept. And the game corners were very busy, especially with guests travelling together and who enjoyed time together before the afternoon tour or after the morning tour.

Portside Forward Atrium Corner, deck 2. “Viking Museum”.

Then there is a bit of Nordic history (up and until the early 19th. century Sweden and Norway were one country) on level 2. Here is also the Future Cruise Specialist, whose office is hiding behind a very nice Viking Saturn model. Look for the model and you know where it is. The most lively part of it all is on deck 1. Here is Guest services located, but it has no counter. No, there are 6 desks with attendants (number in use depending on expected traffic during the day) so a discussion can take place in a more intimate and professional setting, instead of being “processed” at a long counter with multiple  slots.

Two of the six front desks. These two are in use on very busy days,

Shore excursion has a small stand there, for meet & greet, but for more indepth issues they take you to one of the Guest Services desks.  Diagonally opposite is the Bar, a combination of a coffee and cake stand and a regular bar.  I think it is located in this corner to be next to the Gangway, so guests can pick up a coffee before going off the ship or have a drink when coming back after an exhausting tour.  Then late afternoon it changes more and more into a bar and there are always 20 – 30 guests present. By 18.00 hrs. the cocktail crowd starts gathering before dinner, for cocktails and to listen to the Resident Pianist or the Classical duo. (The latter alternate between the Livingroom and the Explorers lounge)

The bar in the Atrium. To the left are high chairs & tables for eating your cookies or a lunch time roll. Low chairs and tables are all around the Atirum.

To my amazement it all works here extremely well, there is no noise, just the buzz from polite conversion with a tinkling piano in the background. The fact that the space is 3 decks high has no impact at all on the atmosphere. Where you walk the deck is marble but were you sit it is all carpet and thus no scraping noises and also no echoing noise.

A corner of the “Chefs Table” speciality restaurant.

Behind the Livingroom is on Deck 1, portside is the “Chef’s Table” a speciality restaurant (see further down) with a rotating menu. On the starboard side is Manfredi’s the second speciality restaurant that focusses on Italian Cuisine.  (see write up from some days ago). On the port side there is also the “The Kitchen Table” were there is a separate chefs cooking area and also options to do cooking classes.

The starboard side of “The Restaurant”. As you can see there is art everywhere and the long blueish painting is called “twilight” by Kenneth Blom painted for the ship in 2023.

Then on deck 2, there is the main dining room called “The Restaurant”.. (I think the designers wanted to ensure that a guest would not get confused about its purpose……….) This is horseshoe shaped and runs all the way around the stern. With in the center aft, a table for 14 guests. Indeed the Captains table, although Captains tables are not a regular feature of the Viking program. Normally a Captains table is 10 seats or less, but 14 can work very well, if there are Captain & 3 officers in attendance, you have a host at “each corner” of the round table).  I used to do that in the grey mists of time when on the South Pacific cruises and I resurrected the Captains tables from the old World Cruise days. Officers loved it, much more than having their own table as they knew that the Captain would run the show, keep things under control and would ensure that conversation flowed. (as well as the booze)

The Parfume and gadget shop. There is also a boutique and a jewellery store.

Then going towards the bow, there are the shops, on deck 1 and deck 2 (in my opinion overpriced and with very limited choice) and on deck 2 also the Spa, gym, and beauty salon. This is all very nice but I did not see too many customers. But maybe that was because we did not have any seadays.  On Deck 1 is the show lounge and that is a very clever set up. At each side in the back there is a Cinema and in the evening they pull away the bulkhead with the movie screen and it becomes part of the Show lounge.

The “Star Theatre”. The cinema on the starboard side is open and now part of the Theatre. The port side is still closed as there was a movie in progress.

The sightlines are very good as there are no pillars. (Every show lounge on every ship, can be without pillars, but it depends on how much a company wants to pay. Because a “free view” lounge without deck supports” calls for a heavier steel deck construction and that costs money, but it can be done. The seating rows are benches  and then a row in front of chairs( see the brown pillows in the above photo) and there are small tables in between for drinks. Also that works, unless you have a very – very tall and big person in front of you.  Drinks are served before the show starts from a very nice and large bar in the staircase behind the show lounge. Directly behind the showlounge is the Night Club called Thorshavn.

The Torshavn night club as seen from the entrance. The light stand on the left is fabricated in the shape of trombones. Not original as Holland America has the same one on board on the ss Koningsdam since 2016.

Then you get Deck 7 and 8 (outside deck).  At the bow, is the Explorers Lounge with music in the evenings. The only thing that irritates is  that the constellation display on the wall behind the bar, reflects onto the front windows and thus it is hard to see outside after dusk. But you can solve that by going up one of the 2 glass staircases to Deck 8, where there is no reflection. The music can still be heard as there is a gap with below.

Deck 8, upper level Explorers Lounge. Mainly meant as a quiet study area with lots of books about exploration. Note all the books in the bookcase.They are all real and of high quality.

Deck 8 Explorers, is mainly meant as a quiet place to read or work on the computer. There are nice books and a lot of Nordic heritage on display, including old farm utensils. Above this lounge, on deck 9 outside are games (skittles, ping pong, mini golf) but insulation is very good as I could not hear anything below, although there was a very lively group at the poing pong table with very piercing voices.

The study table at the far right corner has a glass top and doubles up as a historic display case about life in (winterly) Norway.

On the starboard side, deck 7, is a small food outlet (I would call it a small catering hatch that looks after a very small restaurant called  “Mamsens”. This is a Nordic version of breakfast and lunch nibbles based on Nordic specialities. Apart from the waffles, it was a bit too far out of range for our taste interest.

Mamsen is located in the starboard aft part of the explorer’s on Deck 7 and is a very small restaurant.

It was also never very full and the Chinese guests on board where complaining to the chef about why there were no noodles. Somehow they did not grasp the concept, and the chef, a very cheerful lady from Zimbabwe, could not make them understand either.  I listened to  the conversation with great interest, especially when one of the group tried to get into the kitchen to verify if there were indeed no Noodles.  (Maybe “Mamsen” is also a word for noodles in Chinese or Korean ???).

One might expect a “Blond Helga” as cook in a pure Nordic restaurant but here we had a lovely lady from Zimbabwe.  And no, she did not serve noodles.

Behind deck 8 Explorers are cabins and behind on deck 7 Explorers is the winter garden  and then the covered pool. Main focus point of the Winter Garden is “High Tea” in the afternoon. (When the General Manager found out about our experience with “the trolley” from the beginning in the cruise, she was there every afternoon to make sure it did not happen again. On each side of this place are seats and loungers, that Viking calls “The Lanai concept”.

The Wintergarden, a bright and open space.

As a side note, I have never seen a Hotel manager / General Manager so omini-present as this Emma from England. I hope that Viking appreciates it as she was everywhere, where the regular supervisors could not be for a moment. It is always nice to see a hotel manager walking through the diningroom, but he/ she does not need to be there as it is full of supervisors and related. Better to keep an eye on the flow in other areas.  So very Good.

The “ceiling” of the Wintergarden. Nordic pine made to resemble a forest. I wonder if the birds would like it when the Dome is open.

The aft part of Deck 7 has the small “Hamburger Bar”. The product is extremely good but it is a bit limited. Hence guests switch for one lunch between the two venues as the Lido, called the “The World Cafe”, is just  behind it. Again very good food but I had expected a few more options to choose from. There is a very small asian outlet, which is extremely good (Asian Chef). Then there are the regular counters, topped off with a nice ice cream stand.

The World Cafe. This is the portside.

Behind it all, another bar, which is very busy as softdrinks, beer and wine are included at lunch time for everybody. (Same as Saga and Fred Olsen and also most 6 star company’s) Then there is an outside terrace, called the “Aquavit Terrace”,  which today was in use as it was chilly but sunny. The stern of the ship has a infinity pool with in the front a jacuzzi.  To stop the Infinitiy pool water from raining down on the balconies below, there is a sort of box hanging under it. This makes  the ship look a bit weird from the outside. The first time I saw it, I thought it was some sort of cherry picker basket for cleaning windows.

The Infinity pool at the stern of the ship on deck 7.

On deck 8 aft, carefully hidden away from the guests, is a black glass wall under the aft end of the funnel. Inside is a Officer / crew bar. A very clever setup and it would other wise have been a wasted space  and there is also a hidden corner for smokers. For guest smokers there is a smoking section on the sb. side midships but I never saw it very busy.

Guest smoking area on deck 8 sb. side. Still a very civilized way to slowly commit suicide.

That completed my tour of the ship. Then we had to pack. Luckily we had not bought very much, apart from a Soup Spoon in Pisa.  But we still had to go the shops on board as we had booked another cruise with Viking, on the Viking Polaris to the West side of Greenland and Baffin Bay. For that we received $200,– on board booking credit but it had to be spent this cruise on board. Unusual, as it normally goes on the credit for the next cruise that you have just booked. So the shops still made some money as all the “on board bookers” came marching in. Now I am the proud owner of yet another Power Bank, a set of suitcase locks (TSA approved) and some perfume for her ladyship. It made the day of the very friendly Turkish shop attendant who could just scrape in her commission before she left tomorrow to go on leave in Antalya. Her next ship is the Viking Star for another 6 month contract.

The “Kitchen table” on Deck 1, where under guidance of the chef you can take cooking classes and also eat your own cooked food.

We had booked the Chefs Table for 19.00 hrs. on this last day as most other days were filled up. The higher category cabins (all of them, apart from us sinners living on deck 3) could make their bookings from home but the standard Verandah cabins  had to wait until on board. It did not make much difference in the end, accept the early times being booked up. Tonight we could go at 19.00 hrs., after cocktails, and the place was nearly empty. I think the packing and leaving the next day had reduced the enthusiasm for a “last extravagant supper” somewhat. This restaurant runs in 3 set- menu cycles,  Italian, Asian, Californian, but the names might differ somewhat from ship to ship. If you take a future cruise, it might be different again, as Viking has 21 of these options floating around the fleet. 5 courses with wine  included in the cruise fare.

The most puzzling thing on board is this staircase that leads from the back of “The Restaurant” deck 2 to the back of Manfredis Italian and the Chefs Kitchen on deck 1. and it goes nowhere else. It looks like a very posh way for the Dining room manager to commute between his restaurants. The piece of art on the wall is called “paper and wood” by Johanne Ness and Hanne Overland.

With it comes a wine paring of 4 different wines. Also included. If you have bought the drinks package ($ 25,— a day, but going up) then you get slightly better wines. Price wise I think, as wine is very personal, a I preferred the “cheaper” Pinot Noir with the Asian lambchops much more than the Spanish Tempranillo offered. But as far as wines are concerned, I was already very happy that they stored our favourite white wine (Austrian Veltliner, in this case Bereich Wachau) as Veltliner is not always on board. (Azamara has it, but Cunard does not)  So we had a very good dinner and then it was time  to put the suitcases outside as at 05.45 we had to be ready for transfer to the airport.

The blank bulkheads in the forward and aft staircases are covered with scenes taken from the Bayeux tapestry depicting the Normans (Norseman or Northman or Vikings) coming from Normandy, France, led by William the Conqueror in 1066 and defeating the English/ Anglo Saxon King Harold at Hastings.

Weather for tommorrow for when going home:  Overcast with rain during the day and temperatures aruoud 13oc / or 55 oF.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.vikingcruises.co.uk/oceans/ships/viking-saturn.html

 

 

2026 Feb 17; Day 05, Sete, France.

February 18, 2026 / / 2 Comments

The last time I was in Sete, was in 2001 as captain of the ms Noordam (III). Then we docked in downtown Sete and we could walk directly into downtown. (50,000 inhabitants). Since then the port has been upgraded with a combined cruise and ferry pier. All very nice, but now you have to take a compulsory shuttle to the Gate, where the bow of my Noordam went 25 years ago. I am all for improvement but the compulsory shuttle service was setup in the French way and thus a bit more complicated than necessary.

Sete dock. A very nice new dock with ample room for the compulsory port shuttle bus and the Ferry docking at the other side. In the good old days we used to dock opposite of where the high apartment building is located and then just walk into town.

By 11.10 we were expected on the dockside and put in a nice sightseeing coach so I was quite happy. We left late as once again there were guests missing and then we drove out of the gate. I was now expecting that this sightseeing coach would drop us off somewhere in downtown for our walking tour. That was not the case, we lined up behind 4 other (shuttle) busses. Then we had to wait because the shuttle busses left every 10 minutes and it was not possible to speed that up, so we had another 20 minutes delay. Once our coach had made it to the official stop, we were allowed to disembark and the walking trip started from here. As the whole trip was supposed to last 2 hours, we had lost 30+ minutes as the tour guide kept the ending time the same. So 1hr.30 minutes instead.

Sete Jousting. This is the red team training boats, there is also a blue team.

Once lined up we marched into town and stopped at each bakery and patisserie for a look in the windows as cookies and pies are the big thing in Sete. Then on the canal there were the “jousting boats”. Once a year in August, there is a jousting duel on the water in rowing boats, a tradition that might even go back as far as Roman Times when Sete was already a port. The photo shows the bare training boats. During the jousting, a sort of bridge / platform is constructed at the stern of a heavier boat and the “jouster” stands on top of it with a pole, trying to push the opposite person into the water. The rowers have to manuver the boat in the best position possible and avoid being pushed into an impossible position so that the jouster cannot do the job.

This is the real happening with the boats that have the ramp with jousting platform.

Although Sete is small, it is a very nice place and it was very pleasant to walk around there; compact but interspersed with canals. Here the fishing fleet of the town is located and our Guide was very proud to announce that little Sete as 3 times as many Tuna fishing boats than Marseilles. There are several canals that go through the city and they are flanked on each side by restaurants serving the fresh catch of the day.

This canal connects the sea with an inland lake and is very popular with small time boaters and fishing enthousiasts. Mussles and fresh oysters even grow on the bridge pillars.

Then it was on to the covered market (Les Halles in french) to look at more cookies but now also at the Fish stands, cheese stands and other local specialtiy boutiques.  And that was the tour. Those who wanted could stay behind, those who wanted to go back to ship could follow the tour guide, although in Sete you cannot get lost.

 

The outside of the fish market. It was restored sometime ago and, an architect was let loose to create an inspring roof, and he came up with a………………………………… a fish net cover.

Then it was waiting again for the shuttle bus. The ID card checking and boarding of the shuttle bus was supervised by no less than 5 security guards. I have never felt so protected when stepping on a bus. We were back by 14.30 and time to take a nap as all that walking (and especially all that eating too much) does make you tired.

The inside of “Les Halles”. It is open every day from 07.00 to 13.00 hrs. and the place to go for “fresh” shopping by the locals.

We had cocktails in the regular atrium lounge , then on to the dinning room again; good food, good service but nothing special, and tonight we were early as we wanted to see the crew farewell and then the “Beatles show”.  Doors opening at 20.30 hrs.  The farewell show opened with a speech by the Cruise Director about how wonderful we were, as we sailed with Viking.

 

The crew farewell show with the -tall- captain in the middle.

Then a short speech by the thus far very elusive Captain. We have not heard a peep from him all week, no departure announcements, nor anything else, but it as it is compulsory to be part of the crew farewell, there he was. I have not been able to get anything out of anybody about what he is supposed to do as far as announcements go, but I do not get the impression that Deck and Engine are very much involved with the guest operation. So the Captain is more a “Chief Bus – driver” than anything else. It feels more  that the guest well-being is solely the job of the Hotel department. Headed by the Cruise Director and the General Manager.  Her name is Emma Smith and she is from England. We spoke several times with her as she is very visible in the ship and indeed “manages by walking around”. Also her office, on the side of the  Atrium with the door open, and directly approachable.

Then  we had a toast, with champagne handed out when coming into the show lounge followed by about 30% of the officers and crew marching onto the stage. Not much different from other company’s, only here with Viking, they pulled it off somehow with having all the crew lined up properly, instead the chaos you normally see. (and believe me it is not easy to do that, as it is not the same crew that is assigned each week, and they all want to stand”next to their friend” instead of being in the right position)

The “Beattles song show”.  I have a lively imagination but I had to stretch my Beattle’s imagination very far…………………. to figure out the connection of striped pajama’s with the Beattles. The Cast felt the same when I complemented them after the show. Why not have them wearing “Sergeant Pepper” costumes to make it a big more colorful ?

The show was about all the Beatles Songs and the singers were extremely good again. The same cannot be said about the person who designed the stage clothes as that was far from comprehensible. Especially after the costume change half way through when the men were dressed in a sort of prison uniforms.  But the show was very good and the Singers rightly received a standing ovation.

Then we decided to go for a nightcap and poked our nose into the Torshavn nightclub.  Quite intimate but again the sound level was a bit too much. So we went back to the Atrium Bar for a nice Brandy Alexander and a portwine.

The Thorshavn nightclub. On the stage the guitar player acting as a warming up act, for the very good, but very loud house band.

Tomorrow  we are in Barcelona for 2 days, with the second day being the dis & embarkation day. Tours will be going all over the city, Gaudi’s church and buildings of course and other city tours but also one to the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, which is a 6 hour tour, and one I had never seen before. Cost for that one was well over $ 300,– and for that price I prefer to watch U-tube.

Expected weather tomorrow : sunny but chilly with temperatures of 13oC or 55 Fahrenheit

 

 

2026 Feb 16; Day 04, Marseille, France.

February 18, 2026 / / 0 Comments

I have been keeping an eye on the weather in the Nord Med., an area which is called “The Gulf of Lions” or Gulfo de Lions. (Lions as in correct spelling) The chance of a strong Mistral wind (funnel wind from the Rhone valley is always present) but regular northerly winds can be a problem is well. Those were blowing during the early mornings and that resulted in the appearance of the MSC ship in Villefranche. But it looked like that by 07.00 hrs. the wind would have died down sufficiently for our ship to safely sail into the new harbour of Marseille.

The port of Marseille. The ships are coming in at the far northern end of the breakwater.  The south side (although much better for windy codiitions) is only used by small craft. (Photo Courtesy” Med-Mediteranee)

The port of Marseille lay out is its own worst enemy as the sail-in channel is perpidencular to the northerly winds, so when the Mistral blows you get a higher number of port cancellations, especially with the cruise ships as they catch so much wind. And it can play havoc with the ferry schedules.  For us the wind had died down and we had no problem sailing in, swinging around and docking. At the other side of the dock was the MSC Orchestra the 2nd cruise ship in port.

We had booked / included in the cruise package / another walking tour, this time of the downtown  Marseille.  To my utter amazement, the tour guide was Dutch, having lived in Marseilles for 20 years being married to a frenchman. To the amazement of some of the fellow guests on the coach, she spoke english by translating Dutch straight into English. I think in english, so my english sounds much more native, She did the same with French, but for English and German she went back again to thinking in Dutch and then giving the english translation, Dutch syntax and idiom included.

Marseille is the largest city in France after Paris with about 2 mln. inhabitants. It is overcrowded and not exactly clean, although the multitude of cultures (many from North Africa and old French colonies) make for fascinating glimpses of how  other cultures live and work. (especially the small markets, each dedicated to their own cultural background with local products and marketeers screaming in their own language).

Palais Longshamp. Great museum collection and great gardens. And the outside is not shabby either. (Photo courtesy: Packyourbags.com)

So we drove around the port, up and down the  streets, and got a good impression of how Marseilles functions. First with a photostop at Palace Longshamp. This is a very impressive building, built between 1831 – 1869 to celebrate the completion of a canal that brought fresh & safe water to the city. It took 30 years due to planning problems and construction costs but now houses several musea.  We stayed on the coach as it was raining, so we let the photo-op go.

The Porte d’Aix in Marseille. Commemorating all sorts of victories the french had in the 19th and 20th century.

A very peculiar thing is that Marseilles has an “Arc de Triomph” (official Porte d’Aix or Port Reial) same as in Paris, about the same size, but looking slightly different on the outside. Officially marking the entry point when coming from Aix-de-Provence, but several governments were involved in the building process and wanted to mark the Arch for several subsequent battle achievements. There was the end of the American war of independence in 1784,  then the French Spanish Expedition in 1824, and when it was completed in 1839, it was to honor “all sorts of victories” so a very multifunctional monument.

Most of the sightseeing tour was along the Corniche (bench in English) which runs along the whole coastline of Marseilles. The road is officially named after the American President John F. Kennedy. It is where the most expensive houses are located, included Gated-Communities, and the best fish restuarants, often in converted houses from the fisherman days. The weather was horrible while driving along the coast so we were quite happy to sit in the bus and let the -french- world roll by. Photostop at the Corniche was the monument for fallen french soldiers in the East Med. and Africa during the First World War. Although we mostly think about Flanders Fields during WWI,there were many more theatres of war. In Eastern Europe, in the Balkan and also in Africa.

The “MonumentAux Morts Des Orients. Erected in 1927.

I took this photo from the coach as you cannot miss the monument, it really dominates the local sky line.  Most people in front of it, were from our busses, as the French themselves waited for better weather to have a look at it.

I felt straight at home. What Macdonalds is for the Americans, is HEMA for the Dutch. So we had to visit.

Then the rest was by Coach, followed by an hour to walk around downtown. And there we found a HEMA. This is a dutch shop /chain that sells anything you need for your house. It is very very Dutch, so finding it in the deep south of France, is about the same as finding a Wal-Mart on top of the Swiss Alps. Even the packaging was in Dutch but it did not stop the French from buying up a storm.

The Atrium bar. To the left is a sitting area with regular tables and from there you can spread out over the 3 floors of the Atrium, which is officially called “The Living Room”

Back on board it was time for lunch and this time we tried the “nibble” selection at the Bar on deck 1 of the Living Room. This is the 3 deck atrium of which the corner on deck 1 also functions as cocktail place and related. It serves small sandwiches with shrimps, salmon and beef and is a great for those who are peckish but do not want to be tempted by being exposed to the Lido outlay (called the World Cafe on this ship)

Wendy the Future Travel Specialist in full swing. We were quite impressed with her as she was able to rattle off every port of each cruise listed in the brochure.

Viking has a repeater program, The Viking Explorer Society,  (On average they have a repeater rate of 60 to 90% on board) and that means that you might get a drinks package and gratitues included on you next cruise depending on the promotion going at the time.  There is no tiered program as with Cunard or Holland America. To recognize everybody there was  a party in the Atrium and although we were not “repeaters” yet, the Future Cruise Lady had invited us. And with free drinks…….. who can say no?  So we got a few wise words from Wendy the future cruise specialist, some more wise words from the Cruise Director and then a short show from the ships cast / singers.  There are no medals or other gifts but the biggest day holder (this cruise 160+ days) was recognized with a bunch of flowers.

As the whole ship decor is “Scandinavian bare” it does not look very impressive during the day time with the tables not being set. But is is very cosy in the evenings.

The evening show was the Cruise Director himself who is also an ccomplished singer. He performed a selection of songs from the last 40 years. We did not go as it conflicted with our dinner reservations in “Manfredi’s” the dedicated Italian Restaurant on board.  And when one has to choose between food and culture, guess what wins.  It is free of charge and the menu is standard Italian restaurant style, as people would expect it shoreside. With a decent range of entries and very pleasant service. It is evey night booked to capacity and with Viking higher cabin catagory’s  you can book  at home, while mere mortals like us, have to wait until on board, and then it depends on space still available. However it turned out not to be a problem and we have also booked the other speciality restaurant, “The Chefs table” for the last night. That one has a set menu.  Then you can book cooking classes for  $60,– a person and for that you also get an apron. They run the classes in the evening so you will eat your own cooked dinner at dinner time. We saw a group of very excited ladies marching out around 9 pm. followed by a group of spouses, drink in hand, who looked rather less excited.

Tomorrow we are in Sete, France. (It is  pronounced Sept, without the t) Weather is supposed to be dry and sunny but with a cold wind blowing from the North giving noon time temperatures of  12 – 14 oC /  54 – 57oF)

 

 

2026 Feb 15; Day 3 VilleFranche, France, for Monaco.

February 17, 2026 / / 2 Comments

To get to Monaco, you can anchor in front of Monte Carlo (Hercule or Fontveille) harbour, dock at the cruise ship pier, anchor at Villefranche or at Cape Ferrat in France. For reasons not entirely clear we went to Villefranche, while we found out later that the downtown Monte Carlo Cruise Pier was not in use that day. The reasons for that can by myriad, especially in France when dealing with a Sunday situation. The only nice thing for the afternoon tour was, that it included for each tour a 45 minute drive, as Monte Carlo was part of the excursion.

Villefranche bay. From anchorage nbr 1 it is only 5 minutes to a very nice tender dock, right in downtown.

My Lord and Master had decreed that she now has approved Viking  Cruises and had found out that there was an North West Passage cruise (partly, just in & out) in 2028. Under the well established rule, if we book now and early then we save money by speadning it ………………, so we had a meeting with the Travel Consultant. And we booked a 13 day in 2028 from Nook in Greenland, up and into Baffin Bay with the expedition ship Viking Polaris. So that takes away my pocket money for the next 3 years.

To recover from the shock I decided to forget my diet and invest in some comfort food by visiting the Pool Grill for a BBQ hamburger. That is all cooked a-la-carte and was very good. As mentioned before, the food is very good on board but somewhat limited in volume and variation, compared to the exuberiance of some other companies, like Holland America Line and Celebrity. But the quality is very good.

One of the 4 ships tenders. Well laid out and easy to operate with all the latest gadgets

For the tour we had to take our bla-bla boxes again to receive a lot of useful information while walking through Monaco. The ship has the best tenders we have encountered so far, it was just a pity that the tender drivers have not been trained very well in using the latest gadget called “the bow thruster”. That is a great gadget but you have to have a little bit of forward momentum for it to work optimaly. When going astern the pivot point of the tender goes back and that negates the positive force of the thruster somewhat. So both on arrival and depature from the Villefranche dock there was a lot of See-Sawing to get the tender alongside. With extra waiting while everybbody was seeing the show, but eventually we got there.

Monte Carlo / Monaco is very small, and downtown is even smaller. Our walking tour Started at number 19 and ended at nbr 22, and that is not more than a 15 minute walk.

The coach drive to Monte Carlo goes along some very narrow roads and a few times we were right on the edge of where we could look down an awful long way.  Because the tour is included in the cruise package, we were not expecting it to be very intensive and we were right. But it was a nice walk from the coach (parked in  a 5 story underground parking garage under the Oceanographic Museum) through the botanic gardens into the local Cathredral where the Grimaldi’s (The Princes of Monaco, who rule the Principality) are buried and then for a photo-op at the main palace.  Then 1 hour of free time and back to the ship with a promise that the coach would do a full lap around the Formula One circuit.

The late 19th. century Cathedral. Homebase for the Royal Family of Monaco.

The Catheral is from the mid 19th. century so not so old but is very interesting with many side chapels dedicated to various Saints.  The past rulers of Monaco are buried here, starting with the churches completion.

The grave of movie starr Grace Kelly, or Patricia Gratia as she was known in Monaco.

Only the direct Monarch and his spouse and those in directe line are buried there, the rest is buried somewhere else. One “mass grave” had the remains of those who ruled before the Church was completed. (So for modern times, Prince Rainier is there, so is Princess Grace and the next one will be the current ruler Prince Albert, wife and oldest child)

The main Monte Carlo harbour, called Hercule, is not the only one. Just to the West is “Fontveille” which a much smaller and quieter affair. This photo was taken from the lookout point in the Gardens just under the Cathedral.

Monaco is only 4 square kilometers in size, so if you do not break on time, you are out of Monaco and back in France. Hence Monaco has the euro and a lot of French rules & Social Security accepted. But is has local police, local taxes (only the Monegaskan Passport holders are tax exempt, who make up 20% of the population) and local driving rules.

We had to be back on time at the bus, except one couple who arrived / were found by the tour escort  30 minutes late, without much of an excuse, as it is nearly impossible to get lost in this area. “Walk down to the gardens and you cannot miss the entrance to the car park. But it brought us back 30 minutes late to the ship. But now comes the nasty part, the tour escort had talked up this full lap around the Formula One circuit. Then with great aplomb announced where the starting line was and then waffled off about underground traffic tunnels. We never did the full lap. And I was hoping for the full lap because when you go under the hotel, even a coach engine sounds like a roaring ferrari, due to the acoustics.

The F1 Grand Prix circuit of Monaco. We only saw the section V to A1. We have been here before but a pity for the guests for whom it was the first time.

Coming back to where the tender is the driver nearly ran into a leaving bus, could not handle the hand break while going uphill and then refused to make more room for the other busses coming out. Compliments to the lady bus driver of the other coach coming out, she managed to get around our coach with about 1 inch to spare. On arrival at the tender pier we had to wait 20 minutes for the next tender and then other five while the tender driver gave the “not how to dock show” by the wrong use of the bow thruster.

The main palace of Monaco. It is mainly a working palace with the direct family scattered around it in various villa’s.

We were supposed to be all by ourselves but in the aftrnoon the MSC Splendida came in. She had not been able to dock in Marseilles due to strong winds. Apart from the city being a port of call also a number of guests were supposed to disembark and embark, so after arrival a large shore tender came out to arrange that. We had fun and games with the small parking area’s with 900+ guests and 12 busses, so let alone what they will face with handling the approx. 2200 guests on board.

For cocktails we went back to the Explorers Lounge and then to dinner. The company had laid on a barbecue and dancing on the stars on Deck 7 under the Magro Dome. We went to have a look, but the barbecue was very limited so most people got extra from the buffet inside. It turned out that the dancing under the stars was not a continious party but more like a show where the various entetainers all did their own little thing.  As (with the dome closed) the music was deafening we decided to go for a regular dinner. This BBQ gig did not get much of attendance as there are not many high tables around the pool, so one would have to hold the plate on ones knees. We are now spoiled by the “White Night” with Azamara, so this was a bit of a let down in comparison.

So we went for a regular dinner in the diningroom. While waiting for the Maitre to figure out a table we met an American couple who we had talked to while waiting in the show lounge the night before, and decided the share a table. Good company, as they had also travelled the world, lived in Germany, and an enjoyable time was had by all.  Maybe due to the size of the ship, or the international travel experience  most guests enjoy the interaction with other guests they have never seen before. It splits the crowd in a sort of 3 groups. Those who march according to the daily program and do their town thing, the second group who already travel in a group for the duration of the cruise, and a 3rd group, who are by themselves but enjoy cocktails and interaction with other fellow travellers.  So one does not need to be exactly lonely on board.

Tomorrow we are in Marseilles. The weather is supposed to be windy during the night but the wind should die down on arrival, so if the captain is a luckily man he won’t have much programs in getting in. With us is the MSC Orchestra which came in early due to the expected wind during the night. Weather, overcast with rain, temperatures around 11 – 14oC /   49 – 58oF.

 

 

 

2026 Feb.14, Day 2, Livorno Italy.

February 16, 2026 / / 2 Comments

For the 2nd day of our stay in Livorno, the ship had its focus on tours to Pisa.  Yesterday most guests had gone on tours to Florence and Lucca and came back completely exhausted. Public rooms and restaurants were very quiet in the evenings. The tours are on average quite expensive and when reading through them I could not see if they did anything more detailed or different than tours with other company’s.  If no different than the regular ones, then I think they are somewaht over priced. We have several tours during the cruise that are included in the package and which are mainly panoramic bus tours or walking tours with free time. For that purpose each cabin has a “bla -bla-box” with ear piece for each person so you can hear the tour guide without having to be too close or the escort having to shout.  We have seen these “bla-bla boxes ” (as we call them in the UK) on the river cruises and it is very a nice feature. For those not on tour, there is a local shuttlebus service to downtown Livorno.

Air photo of Livorno port. The black line is the track that most cruise ships follow, hardly any other way to do it as the port is large but very compact. Photo courtesy: Capt Alberts blog 17 Oct. 2018.

We tried room service breakfast this morning and opted for the last moment of 09.45 to 10.00 as that is normally the least busy time. They made it just after 10 am. as at 10,00the Captain had decided that this was the most perfect moment to run an unannounced safety drill. (It is a requirement to do every so often a drill that is not announced / publicly scheduled) So room service had the challenge to get their orders ready while the cooks were already trying to run-away.  But it all worked out. The room service menu is nice but not much different then with other company’s. The tray is plonked on the table and that is it. Setting the table is for 6 star or higher.

Stock photo of a self service laundry; from Viking Sky, via Cruise Critic. As the ships are almost identical so are the laundries. Only thing the Viking Saturn had missing was the clothes rail above the ironing boards. When finished with ironing you can fold the boards back against the wall and give more space for the loading  of the machines.

What is nice with Viking is that they have self service laundries on board, one on each deck with 4 washing and 4 dryers and 2 iron boards, free of charge. We had to hunt around for a free iron board as we have groups on board who did a pre-stay in Rome and a large contingent of chinese who seem to have been much longer on the road and now seem to live inside the laundries. (There is also a TV and couch inside so you can watch a movie while doing the washing)  But I like self service laundries on board as I never get my shirts wrinkle free out of the suitcase.

Pisa ” central” from the air. The leaning tower to the top left, the chatedral (Duomo) left, the Baptism church (Baptistry)  to the right and the Cementry (Campo Santo Monumentale) left under. The whole area in green (and very soggy) grass) and is called Piazza del Miracoli. (Photo courtesy, somewhere of the internet)

We went on the afternoon tour to Pisa, which is a panoromic tour with a walk to the leaning tower. The weather felt like being at home, chilly and raining.  The company who provides the escorts is Italian, but they also cover Monaco and further west into France, so we will see them again. The are called Trumpy Tours but the apologetic escort advised that there were was no connection to you know who.

The bus trip lasts about 45 minutes and although it is mentioned that is was going over the motor way, it goes on the regular roads so it is quite interesting even if only for the bus drive. In Pisa they have moved the coach park to another area than before (much bigger) so it is a good 15 minute walk into town. To make things more agreeable they also moved most of the souvenirs shops to remain in line with the new “invasion route” of the coach – tourists so all was well in the world.  (Before you would enter through a Gate at the top right of the photo so the first thing you would see was the leaning tower, now you first see the Baptistry)

The afternoon tour left just one hour of free time and hence not much time to visit anything beyond the square. Luckily there were no long lines, as it is off-season, and the persistent rain kept a lot of people away as well.  If you buy a ticket for the Baptism church, the leaning tower, or the cementary, you get free access to the Cathedral.  The church is in principal free to visit but to reduce (selfie) traffic, they charge unless you have a ticket for one of the other ones, then it is free.

As you can see, with everybody pushing, you do get the Leaning tower of Pisa almost upright. Then the tourists go away for the night and the tower reverts to its original  tilt. And then the process starts again……………….).

Waking / climbing up to the top of the Leaning Tower costs 20 euro and is 296 steps. It is about 15 minutes to get to the top and 15 minutes down and the timed ticket lasts an hour. If you over stay, security will help you very efficiently to get downstairs much faster than you would have normally done. The very top of the tower is off-limits  nowadays. According to our tour lady, this was for maintenance purposes but she also hinted that too many people tried “to fly” from the very top at the “leaning over” side.

There have been a lot of repairs done to the tower to stop it from further tilting over due to the swampy underground and the last repairs have brought the tilt back from 4.8 to 3.8 (or something like that). Several hundred years ago, when the then incomplete tower started to lean, the finishing architects worked it in such a way that the “backside” of the tower got a banana curve which makes it look almost straight. But nobody is interested in that, everybody wants a picture with the leaning side.

Somebody posted this on Reddit and my appreciation to the dog owner as it is not easy at all to get the perspective right with a human being, let alone with a dog. But each gentle push helps the tower to stay upright, so well done doggy.

The latest craze seems to be to have a dog -picture while pushing back the tower. Today I thought I saw a Japanese lady trying it with a small “fiffi” dog, but it is not easy to get a small dog the right perspective with a large tower.

Deck 7. All the public areas are on Deck 1,2, and 7. The Explorers Lounge is near the bow and has a 2nd level (deck 8) at the forward part which can be reached by a glass staircase. You can still hear the entertainment from deck 7 level but is somewhat quieter.

Back on the ship it was time for cocktails and we went to the Explorers Lounge on Deck 7. On the first night there was no entertainment there until 9 pm. but this time there was cocktail music by means of a guitar player, who gave quite acceptable renderings of songs by Arlo Guthrie,  Billy Joel and Gordon Lightfoot.

The Explorers Lounge on the Viking Saturn. More to the left is a nice bar and a lot more seating area. (Photo courtesy Viking Cruises)

By 19.30 we were entering “The Restaurant” (yes a very original name)  and because it was Valentins day all the Ladies received a red rose. That felt me quite discriminated. The Ladies are now all equal to men in society , and that is the way it should be, but it should also work the other way around. If the Ladies get a rose, why don’t the Gents get a chocolate or something ?

The show started again at 21.00 hrs. The lounge is quite spacious with ample room between the rows (so a waiter can get in with drinks) and for the evening they also open the separation doors of the two cinemas’ on either side as well, creating a show lounge for about 400 guests. Tonight was Musical night: “Stage Door” featuring musical songs from the MGM music catalogue. There are no dancers on board and thus they had cheographed the show around the pianist on center stage. Never seen that before but it worked very well.

The Viking Saturn theatre called the “Star Lounge”. As you can see in the photo a lot of pillows have photos of old movie actors on them. We recognized, Valentino, Gloria Swanson and Ingrid Bergman but there were many others. 

Tomorrow we are in Villefranche at the anchorage for the Monaco call. We have an afternoon tour again with a walk-a-bout.  Weather: Overcast turning to sunny with temperatures around 59oF / 15oC.

2026 Feb 13; Day 1, Livorno Italy

February 14, 2026 / / 0 Comments

This morning we docked at Livorno and the docks are on the industrial side of the town as they do not really have a downtown cruise terminal here. Ferries, to Sardinia etc., are more important and so are the cargo and container ships. Livorno is the 3rd largest port in Italy and hence the focus is on facilitating as many ships as possible and not leaving any dock space unused.

Opposite us, is a small dry-dock and repair company for mult million dollar yachts and Livorno is also focussing on that, as part of the old fishing port has been turned into a special harbour for mega yachts. It is supposed to open in a few weeks and if I counted the mooring bouys for the bow anchoring of the yachts correctly they will be able to park at least 40 big ones in there, maybe even more. I assume that it will be extensively used for the charter market as Livorno is not exactly known as a playground for millionaires.  The owners use their yachts normally only a few weeks a year and most of them try to reduce the operating costs with chartering the yachts out for the rest of the year.

Our yacht the Viking Saturn will stay two days here, with long and short tours to Florence, Pisa and Lucca.  We will be taking the panoramic tour on the 2nd day, 4 hours in duration which was included in our package. We also had WIFI included with the booking and it is the best we have had so far of all the ships we have sailed on in the last 2 years.  It is not just a fast connection and includes streaming but there is also no limit to the devices that you can run at the same time. Most company’s, we have so far encountered, only allow one device so you have to log off one device before you can log on the other.  Not here, so Very Impressed.

The Spa hydro pool with a very nice lay-out. It is not very big, so best to go in port when there is no crowd.

We skipped breakfast and went to visit the Spa on board, which has a very nice pool and an even better lay-out.  With spacious dressing rooms (each with a cold plunge bath and a sauna) and extensive changing facilites, where you get slippers (crocs) a thin bath robe and towel all nicely waiting for you in a dedicated locker, All the lockers work with a cabin key card swipe to lock and it worked very well…. Maybe because it was a newer ship, maybe because they maintain them well.

Deck 3 portside there is a display of national costumes with extensive explanations. On the starboard side in the corner is a small museum with Viking artifacts includinOn g swords and helmets. Then in the staircases, more history is displayed by runes on stones hanging in the staircases. Then the back of each staircase has on each level a section of the Bayeux Tapestry, which makes sense as the Normans – north men – who invaded England in 1066 were Vikings who had settled down in Normandy, France.

Nordic art with runes on a slab of slate stone in the aft pax. staircase, This is copy of a real one found in Sweden. Again a very good explanation on the grey plaque next to it.

For lunch we ended up in the World Cafe again, which serves free soft drinks, wine or beer with lunch. The food is good butthe choices are  somewhat limited when compared to Holland America but much more extensive when compared to P&O.

The winter garden in the center of deck 7.

When going through the daily program  we found out that there was “High Tea” in the Winter Garden, which is a light and airy indoor space on deck 7 just in front of the Swimming pool. It is very nice when it is overcast but it might be a bit much on a very sunny day. We will find out. As most of the ship was on tour, we thought it would be ideal to go for tea now (we had not eating anything in the last 2 hours………….. so it was time) and within a nice relaxing atmosphere, the classical duo were playing,  a large number of tea’s were available and a large tower tray (etagere), with sandwiches, scones and small cakes came to the table.

Lesley and the high tea. Please note the trolley to the right above her shoulder. When fully loaded it came rattling through the whole lounge to get to an elevator. Really spoiling the atmosphere.

It all was very civilized and enjoyable…….., and then a waiter came rattling through with an empty trolley and started to load his trolley in full view  of the tea drinkers. Nobody of the assembled staff took any action, so I flagged a jr. Maitre d’hotel over. He agreed that is was less than convivial for the high tea ambiance and moved the trolley out of view. He then left. So it did not deter our trolley waiter from continuing to load his trolley behind the bar, and when full, came rattling through whole lounge on his way to a lift. Well, they could have planned that better. Imagine you are having a wedding and straight through the wedding there is a gardener with a wheelbarrow pushing through. So we thought that , that was it, but no, now the Deck department showed up, in coveralls, and started checking fire extinguishers. Not in the slightest bothered by the stylish tea gathering around them. Planning is not easy sometimes, even with (lower) management being present to take corrective action…………………………………………………….

But something that did impress me, were the teapots used. Look at the table above and you see that the tea is served as leaves in a sieve. That sieve fits in a teapot and then, once the tea has brewed, you lift it out and put it in a cup provided. Very nice for high tea and never seen before. Then in the regular restaurants you get a tea bag, but the tea bag can go on top of the lid once used instead having to put it on the side of your saucer or somewhere else. I like these sorts of small great details.

pot without bag

pot with tea bag

 

 

 

 

We found on Deck 1, the panel with all the photos of the high and mighty on board and our captain this cruise is Arild  Jernass. There has been no write up in the daily program yet (The Viking Daily) about him and also there has been no announcement from him yet as we sailed late from Civittavechia where he joined.  Although The Viking Saturn flies the Norwegian flag, the crew is very multi national and I have not seen any other Norwegian officers or crew around the ship.

Came on board yesterday in Civittavehcia.

Although we are in port everyday, there are still lectures everyday, around 18.30 to 21.00 hrs. which is when the show starts. For this there are 2 Resident lectures on board, one is an american Colonel who is doing world war II stuff and a lady who is into food and drink. Problem is that you have to decide where your priorities lie, early dinner, cocktails, making the show on time, or going to the lectures. Our focus is cocktails followed by a 19.00 dinner, so we make the show on time. In this case I feel that I do not miss that much as there are excellent movies and clips on U-tube that cover the same topics.

The Atrium bar, alhtough they call the area around here not the Atrium but The “Living Room”.

We went to deck 1 bar again in the atrium, and I found out that they have Norwegian beer (in cans) on board, so it was time to investigate that. $ 8,– for a 330 ml. can but we have a package and it is all included. Lesley is still lamenting the lack of pink Gin, and the waiters are commiserating with her, because it is a very frequent request.  There is a grand piano in the Atrium (a real top of the range Steinway) and between 18.00 and 18.45 there is first the “Munch moment” where the tunes are Norwegian while on top of the staircase the video wall shows Munch paintings. (most famous one known is “The Scream”, but Edvard Munch painted a lot of other good stuff as well, without being exactly locked into one particular sort of school). Then the piano player returns later in the evening, alternating with a classical duo.

The second place which is good for cocktails is the two level crowsnest on deck 7 & 8, called “The Explorers Lounge”.  When there is no live music there is background music (musac??) but it is nice, soft and laid back and creates a relaxing atmosphere everywhere  not only in the bars but in the whole the ship.

Dinner was good again, word is spreading of what my background is, and now we learn how far the Holland America family extends. Our waiter tonight wanted to sail with Holland America (his brother is there) but had to wait too long as HAL had sold 6 ships. He is now happy with Viking but was not so excited about the food in the crew mess.

David  Righeschi and Alessandara Tanzi. This photo was lifted from the Internet when they performed the Opera Tosca together in Firenze (?)

The show at 21.00 hrs. was performed by two local artists, opera singers, who come on board each Viking ship that docks in Liverrno. And they were VERY good, with a nice mixture of popoular opera and some more unknown pieces all backed up with a multi media video background..  David  Righeschi and Alessandara Tanzi received a well deserved standing ovation. If the rest of the week has the same high standard, then we are in for a treat. Tomorrow night we have the Cast Show with musical songs so we are hoping for the best.

Weather tomorrow: overcast with showers in the afternoon. Temperatures anywhere between 13 oC. (54oF) and 16oC (61 oF)

 

 

 

2026 Feb 12, Day 0, Civittavechia, joining the Viking Saturn.

February 13, 2026 / / 5 Comments

Today we started on our next cruise, 7 days from Civittacechia to Barcelona with the ms Viking Saturn. This is one of nearly identical series of  cruise ships that Viking cruises have been launching in the last 15 years and the process is still going on.  The Viking Saturn came in into service in 2023 and is thus a fairly new ship. We saw her last year when we were on board the Azamara Journey, being in the same port and now we are on board.

The MS Viking Saturn is a 47,842-ton, 983-guest ocean cruise ship delivered to Viking in 2023 by Fincantieri. The 228-meter-long vessel is designed for small-ship, It has a space ration of 49, which is very high for a middle class ship.Scandinavian-style luxury with 465 all-veranda staterooms. Elegantly casual and no childeren (Photo courtesy, internet google)

Going from England is always quite a journey as we have to fly from our local airport Norwich with the 6 am flight to Amsterdam to make the connecting flight to Rome. Thus we stay in a hotel outside this small airport the night before so we can walk over the next morning at 05.00 hrs. for check in. Flying KLM has at least the advantage that our luggage will make between flights even if the connection time is short. Hence we try to avoid Heathrow in London as much as possible.  Then there is for Lesley the additional check in challenge at Schiphol as the British are now outside the EU. Luckily it was quiet at immigration and the new check in machines (photo, finger prints, passport check) were not working yet.

Viking had booked our flights and on arrival Fumencino airport in Rome, there was a rep waiting. Then with  a few others we were walked through the whole airport to an obscure exit one where a few more guests were waiting. Apart from the Italians reps creating chaos where there wasn’t any (like being checked off 5 times in a row) we were speedily put on a large coach for the 1 hour journey to Civittavechia. Viking sends  a nice boarding pre package before leaving. Upscale leatherette address tags, seperate luggage tags (to put on after arrival at the Rome air port), then when gathered together & checked in (5 times), the luggage is taken away, loaded on the coach, and then you find your suitcases back in your cabin about 2 hours later. All very smooth. I think that Viking is sending a coach each hour from the airport so that nobody has to wait very long for the connecting transport. Fast check in, at the cruise terminal, with plenty check instaff and then via shore security on board. It always amazes me, how few people are ready for the security check and have to create an almighty fuss and bother and delay. All ahead of us were experienced  cruisers and still it looked as if they were re-venting the wheel when  going through.

Coming on board we had our first laugh as we were greeted by a nice philipinna Lady in a Norwegian traditional costume. Somehow it did not gell, same as it would look strange, if we would see a blond goddess in a philipine national costume.  Nice touch but it just did not look the part. Later on she was relieved by a man in traditional costume and as he was of italian / roumanian complexion, he looked more like a cossack then an axe throwing, maurading Viking.  But it is all good fun.

Our cabin portside aft, on deck 3, but all cabins are outside and all have a balcony

As we had no idea what Viking was going to be like, so we had booked the cheapest cabin with a balcony (3084) on Deck 3 aft.  As the ship was built in 2023 the cabin still looked brand new  and everything was in working order. Our suitcases were not there of course so we went for a bit to eat in the Lido, called here “The World Cafe” which is a U-shape place on deck 7 aft. They were closing at 15.00 hrs. but then the Pool Grill, more forward and aft of the swimming pool remains open unti 17.00 hrs. It has a slighly smaller buffet but also serves hamburgers. Interesting thing here is, that the World Cafe -kitchen, is an open space in the middle, so you can see the cooks cooking. Nice to see but for the cooks more of a challenge, as they are on permanent view and cannot leave anything “floating around” as it would make the place look messy.

Most public rooms are on deck 1,2, and 7 with cabins in between on deck 3,4,5,6, and a few on 7. This is deck 1.

As we are in a cabin of the lowest pecking order, we could not pre book our speciality restaurants, so we had to visit them  to make reservations. But it worked well. More about that in the coming days.  Then unpacking and we found that the cabin has sufficient storage space for a 7 day cruise but for a longer cruise, I think we would have to upgrade. But we have to check if the larger cabins do have more wardrobe space. But for 7 days this was more than ample. There are no formal nights  with Viking which saves hanging space. Everything is elegantly casual but we have to see what that exactly is, as a large number of guests still translated “elegantly” into jeans and a T shirt.

The Viking Atrium with the grand staircase, Scandinavian style. More about this in the coming days.

We had cocktails in the Atrium lounge which goes 3 decks high. Cocktails are served on deck 1 around the bar and level 2 and 3 are mainly for sitting during daytime. The bar output is somewhat limited as there is only 1 draft beer (carlsberg) and no Pink Gin or low calorie mixes, which so far on each 5 star ship  that we have sailed on, has had in ample quantities and variation.  Dinner in the main diningroom was good with friendly and un-rushed service.  We had  bought a drinks package ($ 27,– a person a day, with Cunard  charging about $ 75 or so) which turned out to be very good value) and then came across the peculiar situation that our favored glass of wine was included but a full bottle was not. So we solved the problem by having our class filled “by the glass” and when the bottle was empty, somebody else must like it, so the wine steward produced another one……………………

Shows and related are round 21.00 and later but we went to bed as having started at 0.400 hrs. it had been a long day. Tomorrow we are in Livorno, for a two day stop to visit Florence and Pisa.  If you want to go into Livorno itself (the small downtown area is quite cute) then you can take the port shuttle.We are going to stay on board the first day, to see the ship and enjoy its amenities and then take the tour on the 2nd day.

The layout of Deck 2 with the main restaurant, Atrium, the night club, shops, two cinema’s (which can be combined with the Theatre in the evening.

Weather for tomrrow, partly cloudy with a chance of showers in the late afternoon, temperature between 13 – 16oC (56 – 61oF) and little wind, so it should not feel that chilly.

 

Older posts

© 2026 – Captain Albert's Website and Blog –

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑