THE ADVENTURE BEGINS As anyone who's ever been on a cruise knows, once your address and email are in their hands, cruise lines send a steady stream of promotional material with special deals, glossy pictures of paradises and other carrots-on-a-stick. Since our first cruise in the fall of 2010 to Alaska, we were hooked on Celebrity and half-ass monitored the literature for inspiration (or simple bribery).
Being that Kristi picked Alaska, it was determined that I would be the one to pick the next destination. The flyers and catalog books that came in tempted me with photos of tiki huts, sugary-white beaches and azure skies. But our honeymoon in the US Virgin Islands cured us of any desires to see the Caribbean again and the South Pacific itineraries are...well...the market for healthy human kidneys isn't what it once was. Back in Alaska aboard the Millennium, we'd perused the propaganda and I kept coming back around to the Mediterranean. I'm a big geek when it comes to history, art and architecture, so this was a no-brainer in the end. We checked out the itineraries at the end of the season and we found a 10-night eastern Med cruise on the Equinox for half what it would be, normally. We booked a Sky Suite, which is substantially larger than a regular stateroom and -- on the Solstice-class ships -- is on the corner of the stern, so we'd have a view both to the rear and one side. Our AAA agent made our reservation and we were set.
GETTIN' GONE (Wednesday, 11/14 -- Thursday, 11/15 | IAH-IAD-FRA-FCO)
Enormous. Hot tub on the huge veranda. 2x 50" TV's. Large bath with additional water closet. Some noise from the deck chairs on Deck 12. Did not hear any music from the bands by the pool. Wonderful views in each port.