We flew to Rome (FCO) via Lufthansa from Houston (IAH) via Frankfort. I'm glad that we booked a longer layover since our originating flight was delayed 2 hours. We flew into Rome 4 days before our cruise and stayed in an apartment in the Vatican area with friends that we met on CC Roll Call for our ship. The apartment was close to the Metro and bus stops which made it convenient for sightseeing. Since we had previously been to Rome, we used this trip to see the Borghese Gardens and Capitoline Hill as well as visit the usual sights of the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navonna, and Campo di Fiori, We took a guided tour of the Vatican Gardens (arranged through the Vatican) and Museum which was so beautiful. We had previously seen the gardens after climbing the Duomo and was curious to get an up-close view. Well worth it! We enjoyed a pre-cruise dinner the night before we boarded at a local restaurant with some of our fellow cruisers that we met on CC.

We prearranged a van with Rome in Limousines for transport to the port which I'm glad we did since it had poured rain that morning, effectively shutting down the Metro for a little while. Some of us met at our apartment then we set out to pick up others on the other side of the Vatican. It was a pleasant drive to the port where we arrived around 12:30. Embarkation was smooth. We even got to keep the several bottles of wine that we had purchased in Rome. No one even asked for them although we were ready to declare them since we had no intention of drinking them onboard. I think we went to the Promenade Cafe for lunch to avoid the crowds in the Windjammer.

We have always booked inside cabins since I prefer to be on one of the lower decks and mid-ship to avoid some of the ship's motion but we decided to splurge on a Promenade cabin since it was more central than the inside cabins on this ship. The cabin was a bit larger than I expected but that might have been an illusion because of the window. The only time we heard noise from the Promenade was during the parades but it was a great vantage point from which to see them as well as to gauge when to go down to the sidewalk sales since we were right above the General Store. Since this was our first crossing I worried about getting seasick so I donned sea-bands and began taking ginger capsules twice a day. Despite several days of 15 foot swells, I never really got nauseous until our ship entered the Gulf of Mexico (I had forgotten to take a dose of ginger which also might have had something to do with the queasiness). Read more