Should this wonderful trip actually come to fruition, this is a quick and dirty overview of where we will be. My endurance permitting, I will give more detailed information on a day-to-day basis. As most of you know, my keyboard has been known to take quite a beating from time to time. When I become boring or too long-winded, please do not hesitate to poke me in the ribs.
Day 1 – 4 – Fly to Barcelona, Spain and toodle around. There is Certainly no lack of engaging things to do, see, eat and drink. We have been before, but are certain we will be awestruck again.
Ship day 1 – Leave Barcelona and head out into the Mediterranean Sea.
Ship day 2 – Arrive Toulon, France 8 AM to 6 PM
Ship day 3 – First of two stops in Florence, Italy 7 AM to 7 PM
Ship day 4 and 5 – At sea
Ship day 6 – Kotor, Montenegro 7 AM to 6 PM
Ship day 7 – Dubrovnik, Croatia 7 AM to 6 PM
Ship day 8 – Corfu, Greece 8AM to 10 PM
Ship day 9 – At sea
Ship day 10 – Sicily (Messina) Italy 8 AM to 6 PM
Ship day 11 – Naples, Italy (for Capri and Pompeii) 7 AM to 7 PM
Ship day 12 – Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 5 AM to 7 PM
Ship day 13 – Second of two stops in Florence, Italy 7 AM to 7 PM
Ship day 14 – Genoa, Italy 7 AM to 7 PM
Ship day 15 – Corsica (Ajaccio), France 7 AM to 5 PM
Ship day 16 – At sea
Ship day 17 – Gibraltar 9 AM to 6 PM
Ship day 18 – At sea
Ship day 19 – Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Spain 8 AM to 5 PM
Ship day 20 – 26 At sea (or on a roller coaster, depending…)
Ship day 27 – Ft. Lauderdale, USA 6 AM
Fortunately the ship is big enough with a wide variety of things to do, so sea days will not be humdrum. The ability to simply sit and do…effectively nothing…is, in itself, a fabulous pastime. What to make for dinner? Not what to Make…what to HAVE as the Making and Cleaning Up After is Not our problem. Should I clean the room? No! It’s probably already done. Should I read a book? Sure…OR…go see live entertainment, go shopping, sit at the bar or poolside or in a lounge and talk with new friends. Go to an art auction (which I’m not allowed to do), or take a dance class. How you could possibly be hungry is beyond me, but IF you are, there is only about eleventy million things to snack on. Sea days can be as full or empty as you wish them to be.
Are we anxious? Yes…it’s only been 2 years of planning, getting shot down, more planning, more disappointment. But this time it does feel different. Time will tell (only 8 more months of anticipation).