Every cruise has had a different ‘flavor’ and this one was no exception. Probably most noticeable was the very few English speakers on board and even fewer Americans. There were maybe a few dozen of us. LOTS of Italians, Germans, Asians and a few from the UK. Every announcement and most printed materials were in five or six languages! We were happy they led with English 😃
The embarkation port, along with the price point usually defines the ‘cruiser’ demographic. Since Italy is so easily accessible to all of Europe, that explained the European dominance on this ship. The average age was also quite a bit younger, maybe 40’s (vs. Viking’s 70’s!), and there were quite a few children on board. All these factors combined made for a lively, fun loving group enjoying their holiday.
We have chosen, on every cruise, to have a room with a balcony. First, it makes the measly square footage appear larger, and second, it was lovely to have a place outside that you didn’t have to share with anyone! I would have coffee delivered first thing in the morning, retreat to the balcony, write this blog and enjoy the remnants of the sunrise (we are in the port side of the ship and so the sun rises off our balcony each morning).
We departed Venice at 5 p.m. and sailed south. We wouldn’t reach Bari until two in the afternoon the following day which gave us a leisurely morning on the ship.
We had breakfast outside on an upper deck, then donned our swimsuits to lay by the pool for awhile. I love The fact that every shape and size is in a bathing suit! So refreshing. The pool was cool and salt water, also refreshing.
We came back to the room to shower and prepare for the day’s excursion. Although the ship docked in Bari (in the Puglia region) we chose an excursion to Matera and ‘the Sassi’.
Matera, an hour by bus from Bari, is one of the of the three oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world (Petra, Jordan and Jerusalem being the others). The city of Matera is a thriving metropolis and home to the Sassi. The ‘Sassi’ (meaning rocks) is literally cave dwellings dating back to the Paleolithic era.
Once known as Italy’s Shame for its squalor, disease and infant mortality it was vacated in the 1950’s. In recent years it has been named a UNESCO heritage site for its history and importance. It is now in the process of being preserved and re-inhabited.
We returned to the ship about 7 p.m. We checked in with Ali and to see if Paige had arrived (first flight out of Chicago was canceled due to weather). Although not there yet she was due to arrive later in the evening.
We had a lovely, late dinner in one of the ship’s restaurants. Returned to our stateroom to read and sleep 😴
¡Ciao America! 