The Cruise

A cruise?  What might this mean? Will we like it? Where do we want to go? And for how long? We eventually chose a seven day P&O cruise leaving from Valletta in Malta, and going to Rome, Ajaccio (Corsica), Naples and Messina (Sicily) and back to Valletta with two sea days along the way.

First impressions were very good – embarkation at Valletta was a breeze, very well organised.  Then on getting to our cabin I really thought they had given us the wrong one! It was much more spacious and nicer than I had anticipated.  It was a stateroom with large outside window, no balcony (we didn’t want/need one) and an ensuite that was bigger than some hotels we have been in, esp in London!!

So….. onto some observations after 7 days on Oceana with approx. two thousand fellow passengers and 850 staff.  It is British owned with mainly Filipino and Indian hospitality staff, who are all very good at their jobs and quite delightful.

Temptation 100%  Resistance NIL  Waistline = EXPANDING

Temptation thine name is:- chocolate salami, tiramisu, swordfish, pizza, pancakes, pain un chocolat, wine, pasta, cheese, ice cream, sorbet, potted pulled pheasant, calves’ liver, salmon roulade, cheesecake, crab & leek pasty, sole, chocolate everything!!!.......................

Interventions tried:- deck quoits, promenade deck route march (approx. I mile each time around), always taking the stairs instead of the elevators ( miles of bloody steps and surely heaps of brownie points), swimming, thinking about going to the on board gym, saying “we’ll just have the fruit next time” yeah right!! Taking shore excursions that involved some walking. You will notice there is very little photographic evidence of physical activity!

The brains have been getting a bit of a workout however – navigating (excuse the nautical term) our way around the ship, attending quizzes, and doing the daily crosswords and sudokus, counting the number of times a fellow passenger ( 99% are British, and we all know the stereotypical Englishman doesn’t really like to travel, yet they do it in their thousands, and they particularly love cruises) say “Oh I don’t like that muck, why can’t they just give us good old cheddar”.  Lost count by the way.

From the “I Kid You Not’ list. Some of the onboard information sessions included ‘Tongue & Pulse Analysis”, “Walk in Comfort with Good Feet”, “Arthritis and Back Pain solutions”, “Puffy Eyes Seminar”, “Relieving Back Pain & Improving Posture”.  And although some of those might have been relatively interesting you wouldn’t have caught us dead at them!!

There have been many special moments both on board and during shore excursions.  Sailing away from Naples had its moments.  A few passengers were missing in action so we could not depart at the scheduled time.  Urgent calls were placed for them over the loudspeakers for them or members of their family to contact the ship immediately.  They all eventually strolled on to the clapping of those on board. The watersider responsible for releasing the mooring ropes got stuck in traffic, so another wait.  We stood on deck watching all this unfold.  Across from us was a ginormous cruise boat with a huge video screen on its top deck which we could see and hear quite clearly.  Imagine our amusement when, as the laconic watersider finally arrived and released our ropes we looked up at the screen to see discovery channel images of Mitre Peak, Rotorua, and the Shotover River – one is never really far from home.  A stunning sunset & Mt Vesuvius farewelled us nicely.

A shore excursion option in Naples - bet it was fun!

Isle of Carpi – loved, loved, loved this – mountainous, place of the rich & famous, chair lift ride up to Monte Solaro, stunning views.

Looking back down on Grande Marina, Capri from the open-top taxi

Brave Barbara heading up the hill

Faraglioni - three towering rock formations off the coast of Capri

A little limoncello after the chairlift ride

Selfie

A slow quiet descent, some of it travels over peoples' back gardens and houses!

Busy Grande Marina, Capri

 

Why have a pretty picture of Naples when we can show you what a busy working port it is

Sicily – Imagine I am gesticulating wildly as I write this, and if you can read it with cotton balls stuffed in your cheeks (as Marlon Brando did in The Godfather) all the better.  Messina is home to the song “Volare”.  It is one of the nine main cities on Sicily.  We took an excursion to Savoca and Forza d’Agro. Up another crazy couple of winding roads up a mountain – but oh Mama Mia! The views and vistas took my breath away.  Mix in a few locations spots for The Godfather movies, pizza and cannelloni for lunch with Mt Etna steaming way in the background and hopefully you get a little of the wonderful atmosphere.

View from the coach looking towards the zig zag road ahead

Mount Etna (Sicily) to right in distance, it steams most of the time

Houses and orchard terraces Savoca (Godfather country)

Francis Ford Coppola artwork dedicated to him

Barbara outside church at Forza d'Agro

Now, we are first time cruisers, so have nothing to compare P&O against., but we have found them efficient, hospitable, with a comprehensive service of fantastic food, excellent entertainment, and well organised shore excursions. The Oceana is due for a refit very shortly so she will be extra special after that I imagine.

Final night for the girls on the Oceana

Pam

Not a lot for me to add! A great week and we have seen some amazing sights. Vertigo on the steep narrow roads up mountains in 50 seater buses was not good, but managed the chair lift without any problems (we were never too far off the ground)!

We are in Malta again for the night before flying to London tomorrow and visited the inland town of Mdna today.

Mdna, known as the silent city, proved a quiet oasis after a hectic week at sea

Wall detail, Mdna

Part of the fortified citadel which has stood on this spot since 1000 BC

After a couple of days we will be off to Paris for three nights via Eurostar then back to London and ?? – probably York and environs, we will let you know!

Barbara