Background/Itinerary: The itinerary was intriguing and very rewarding. We sailed from Genoa, Italy, visiting many ruins of the ancient world from Egypt to Greek to Roman ruins. Malta was a wonderful stop but way too short to even sample what this island country has to offer. Other ports of call included Naples (for Pompeii); Syracuse (Sicily) with a charming old town and ancient Greek ruins; Alexandria, Egypt (for pyramids at Giza & Sakkara plus Memphis); Tobruk (for the 2006 Total Solar Eclipse which was fantastic); Tripoli, Libya, where we visited the fabulous Roman ruins at Leptis Magna; Valetta, Malta; Salerno for the well-preserved Doric temples of the ancient Greek/Roman city of Poseidiana/Paestum; and back to Genoa. Weather was cool in Genoa becoming more pleasant and warm as we ventured southward.
Travel to point of departure and hotel: We booked our air ourselves, flying Air France from San Francisco non-stop to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport (what a nightmare to negotiate). Then we flew to Genoa on an Air France small plane operated by regional carrier Brit Air. Unfortunately, one of our bags did not arrive for 2 days but was finally delivered to our stateroom the second evening of our cruise. Fortunately, my husband and I had divided our clothing so we had something to wear; some passengers were not so lucky. Up to 30 passengers experienced luggage delays from a variety of airlines and airports.
Stateroom: The cabin was well appointed with more than enough space for all we brought, including formal attire and a small telescope, tripod and camera gear for the eclipse, which was the reason we booked this cruise. Our cabin had two single beds which could be made into a king plus two bunks folded up on the walls. There was a minibar, television, make-up dresser and safe. A fruit bowl was filled on our arrival.