Review - Sea Princess Mediterranean Adventure 18 Aug - Sep 1 2007 My wife, Rosy, and my son, Luke aged 15, accompanied me on this cruise, our return to CP after a highly successful cruise in 2006. We opted for a different itinerary and cabin, but otherwise the trip was pretty much the same. Luckily we live only 50 miles from Southampton and our TA had arranged a taxi to and from the port. The outward journey was very stressful as the taxi driver hated getting stuck in the traffic, but the journey was soon over and we handed our bags to a porter, joined a short line at check-in (about 5 minutes) and boarded straight away (last year we waited in a lounge for about 30 minutes!), at about 12.30. As we knew our war around, we headed straight to the Purser's desk on deck 5, to get additional key cards, so that we had access to each other's cabins. We purchased 2 soda cards - $59 each including gratuity. Then we took the lift to deck 14 and Horizon Court, for an excellent buffet lunch. We sat inside as it was cold, wet and dreary outside, but our spirits weren't dampened. Next we unpacked our bags, then met the Maitre'd, to change our dining reservation from 1st to 2nd sitting, on a table for 10. We met out table companions the 2nd night, as Luke wanted to eat with us the first night, so we were advised to retain our first sitting table, that night. Having got all the admin out of the way, we set about relaxing and enjoying our Champagne that we had packed. We also took much bottled water, 6 cans of coke and 6 of lemonade (Sprite), plus a bottle each of rum and Pimms and 4 bottles of red wine. As the ship stocked our wine, we were able to share it with our friends, in the bar, without paying corkage. Nb whilst in Gibraltar we carried on further bottles of liquor, without question. Food I ate most meals in the dining room, as I like the peace and quiet, whereas, Rosy ate mostly in Horizon Court buffet. Luke ate separately and we hardly saw him! I ate several lunches outside in very pleasant weather. I also enjoyed the free ice-cream in Horizon Court, 3.30 to 4.30 each afternoon. This year the flavors hardly changed and it was served in paper cups, rather than plastic bowls. All the dinners in the dining room were excellent. Entertainment We thought the entertainment lacked variety and audience participation. We would have enjoyed a sing song. The Karaoke was good and some of the comedians. I feel that kids shouldn't be allowed in the late shows. Peter Roberts was again CD, and whilst he is lively, he is not a patch on someone like John Heald on Carnival. His staff all worked hard. The line dancing was very entertaining and I think it replaced the previous year's Sudoku! Cocktail Parties We attended 3 and at each one we felt that the drinks were heavily diluted, which is unnecessary and detracts from the occasion. We were only allowed what the waiters had on their trays. However, these were grandiose affairs, with most in their best bib and tucker. Whilst there were some ladies called Jean, none were wearing jeans. Children / teens Children's facilities were fine, but once again, because there were so many youngsters (nearly 400), there weren't very good facilities for teens, who were often left to wander. Weather The first few days we suffered some very strong winds and a heavy swell, which made sleep very difficult. Many people were badly seasick. The following are extracts from the ship's log. 18/8 left Southampton in showery weather 16° Celsius. SW wind force 4-5. 19/8 Bay of Biscay force 6-7 NW. Moderate sea. Long NW swell 18.5 Celsius. You get the picture! However, most of our week in the Mediterranean Sea was hot, dry and calm. There's a lot to be said for flying to and from the 'Med! Ports It is absolutely vital to do lots of research and have a fairly definitive plan, if taking diy tours. Get off the ship as soon as possible! Vigo, Spain This is an unusual port, as it isn't well known. However, we found, via the internet, an excellent excursion by Hydrofoil to the Cies islands. We went to a nature reserve, with marvellous white sandy beaches. This was clearly a popular place for the locals, as the Hydrofoil was jam-packed, with mostly day-trippers, although There was also a campsite. Stout shoes are to be recommended. The Hydrofoil leaves from an adjacent pier to where the ship docks and tickets must be purchased for timed sailings, from a nearby office. It's all fairly obvious. Lisbon We took a diy tram tour, taking advantage of two recommended routes. Route 15 is the prettiest, going to Belem and its wide open spaces. There are many tourist sites at Belem and this tram also runs by the ship. We purchased a single ticket to the centre for 1.4 Euros and then bought a day ticket for use on metros, busses and trams, for 3.35 Euros, excellent value. The 28 tram goes to the old town, but we found this rather dull and uncomfortable. Barcelona Again we purchased a daily ticket for public transport, costing about 7 Euros. Here it is advisable to take either the Princess shuttle or a local bus to the centre, which is otherwise a long, boring walk. We visited many sight, finishing with a cable car trip over the harbour, an extra cost of 9 Euros per person, with a long wait. Not worth it imo. We left Barcelona amid great hubbub from the P&O Oriana, whose CD took great delight in blasting out music, in an attempt at marketing his ship against the CP. Everyone seemed to love the mutual hugging and kissing from fellow Brits. Cannes This is a tender port (ship anchors and pax are taken ashore by lifeboats) and as such it takes longer to get ashore. We walked along the seafront, admiring all the yachts, then back through the old town, before returning to the ship for lunch on deck and a rest. Civitavecchia (Rome) The ship docked at 07.00 and we were among the first off. We thought we'd catch the 07.32 train to Rome, but we didn't account for the fact that the shuttle driver wouldn't leave until he had a fair number of 'guests'. The crew members on board were very frustrated as some had to be back by 14.00 for duty. Most early dis-embarkers were on tours, so we waited about 25 minutes on the bus. We missed the 07.32 but caught the 08.02 and got off at St Peter's station. We had purchased a 9 Euro B.I.R.G. ticket, as recommended on CC. We made sure to validate the ticket at the yellow machine, thus avoiding the risk of a fine. We caught the 64 bus from St Peters to Piazza Navona, but were disappointed to find so little there. We were too early, at about 10.00, so make sure you arrive later. From there we took the 5 tram and then the 3 bus around many sights, including the Coliseum. Luke, who had been up most of the night, kept falling asleep, so we put him on a train back to the ship. What a waste of his and our time! Then we took the metro to Flaminio, had lunch in a cafe on Piazza Del Popolo, expensive but a welcome rest. Then we hired a two-seater buggy / cycle and toured Villa Borghese, a panoramic park. Next we took several bus rides, an excellent way to see Rome, on our way back to the station. Our return train journey was held up by a police incident, but we got back to the ship in plenty of time. Five others only just made it! Naples We had followed the advice of CC readers, by hiring Marcello to drive us along the Amalfi coastline. We shared our trip with two other CC members, David and Julia from St Helens, England. We had a wonderful, if not tiring day, travelling many kilometers and experiencing the 'real' Italy. Marcello took us to a local rural restaurant, for lunch for 20 Euros per person. We enjoyed many different dishes, all food being grown or produced on the premises. We had several cheeses, meats, pasta dishes, sweets, much local red & white wine, followed by four liquors. We then dozed on our return to the ship! Ajaccio (Corsica) This is a French island, with Italian influence. We chose a ship's tour to the Prunelli Gorge. It was an arduous journey on a bus with poor A/c in sweltering conditions. I was extremely hot and I won't be taking another tour. This was another 'tender' port and as there was only a small landing stage, only one tender could moor at a time, causing significant delays. Do these ports really want our business? Gibraltar This was our final port, before two sea days on our return to Southampton. We had visited last summer so we knew what to expect. Once again the weather was hot and sunny. We paid £2 for a return taxi shuttle to the town, otherwise a 20 minute walk, and then walked to the cable car. We paid about £6.50 each for a single trip to see the apes, and then we walked back down. The alternative is a taxi tour, including various sites, for £20 per person, which we did the previous year. We did some shopping before returning to the ship for lunch. Rosy collected a P&O brochure, from the adjacent Oriana. From mid afternoon onwards the Oriana held a Pimms party to celebrate our departure, an hour before them. Their music 'drowned' out the sound system on MUTS, so Princess turned up the volume, resulting in complaints, as no-one could hear anyone else! The volume was reduced and our own party started with the CD and his staff promenading with huge Union Jack flags to compete with the Oriana staffs, who were handing out small plastic flags to their guests! We then sang lots of party songs. It was really quite funny. Disembarkation This was very easy. We had labelled our bags the night before. Our color was called at about 09.00. We were in our taxi by 09.30.