Emerald Princess Embarkation

Once the luggage had been dropped off we entered a cavernous building where we would have our boarding documents and I.D. checked. There weren't more than 50 people at that time as we were early, which we always are. We expected to wait half an hour or so after doing the paperwork and having our carry-on bags checked through a security scanner. But no-we were allowed to go to the ship immediately (a first!). On the way out of the building we posed for a boarding photo against a backdrop of a huge photo of the ship. Then back out into the sun to walk along the dock to the gangway.

We'll be living right at the back of the ship, over 960 feet away

This is our room key card and also the card we use to pay for drinks, shopping and such while on board.

As we board we have to stop and have our photographs taken at a security checkpoint. This way, each time we leave or board the ship in port our photo appears to identify us. If you lose your card therefore no one can impersonate you to gain access to the ship. Stowaways-you are out of luck!


One of the great things about cruising with Princess is that unlike some other lines-Royal Caribbean and Celebrity to name just two- you can go to your cabin immediately upon boarding rather than have to haul your hand luggage around the ship for an hour or so until your room is ready.

So, once on board we made the long walk back to our cabin-an aft suite

Whirlpool bathtub

No shower curtains here!

The bathroom is split in two with a separate toilet and sink next door

Wet bar as we have a minibar with free drinks waiting

Most people go to the buffet for lunch but there is one restaurant open for lunch, noon to 1.30 pm so we went there to enjoy the waiter service. Pea soup was my first choice.
 

Followed by my Red Snapper with succotash, marinara sauce and roasted potatoes

Carol has a Cobb salad

You saw some ships out of the dining room window- we were not alone. Many others were sailing out today to ports far and wide.

Club Med II

Holland America's Ryndam

Behind her, MSC's Poesia

The vast dockland of Civitavecchia

The blue roofed building is the Embarkation hall where we checked in

 A closer look at MSC's Poesia, an Italian ship

 A high speed car ferry

All of these cars are waiting for export

After lunch our next event would be the Muster Drill before sailing. This is a safety briefing where we have to take our lifejackets from our cabin and meet in one of the public rooms. In our case, living in the back of the ship it meant the Crown Grill steakhouse three decks below. Announcements are made from the ship's Bridge regarding safety at sea and then we are instructed in how to put a lifejacket on in an emergency. We all put our life jackets on when instructed. We have done this on each cruise and know we could do it in a real emergency (something we hope to avoid!) This done, the ship is ready to sail.

We will be watching the sail away today from the comfort of our balcony, where our room steward has already brought some canapés and champagne.

Next-we go to sea!

There will now be an intermission as we are going to sea again. Today is our packing day for our next cruise. Tomorrow we will be in Vancouver, Canada and will join another Princess ship for a week sailing North to Alaska.

To the ship!

We are on our way to Civitavecchia, the closest port to Rome, 65 miles North West of the city. I took photos along the way as we left Rome.

Castel Sant Angelo

The Shipmate app on my phone is counting down the hours...

The city gives way to the countryside and we pick up speed on the highway

 We rode in a confortable, quiet Mercedes E Class sedan. We used a mix of Italian and English to talk to our driver.

The signs tell us to leave the highway

Now we have a view the Mediterranean Sea

We climb down from the hills to the port

It's a vast port but our driver Mario knows how to find our ship

And up ahead we see the Emerald Princess for the first time

Rome in Limo drops us off at the luggage reception hall and our driver returns to Rome. We will soon be on our ship! Cost was 160 E.

Days like this

It's usually only when on vacation that all of the things that happen on that day are filled with anticipation from waking to sleeping, many hours later, and when everything imagined goes smoothly and one pleasure follows another without a lapse. Today was such a day.

We woke after a great night's deep sleep in Rome, exactly where we wanted to be. We had a nice breakfast followed by great coffee at our favorite cafe in the whole world. Now, we could spend a few minutes in one of the world's most remarkable buildings-the Pantheon!

It opens at 9 a.m and that's a time when there aren't many visitors.

There's a circular grid on the floor to catch the rain when it pours through the Oculus above

Go early!

Back onto the square and into the morning sun again

There is always a Police car in the square, except at 5 a.m as you may have seen during my walk in the dark.

 The next event to look forward to will happen in less than an hour when Rome in Limo comes to pick us up for the drive to the port to join our ship. As we are all packed and have drank enough coffee I have time to wander the streets nearby to soak up the atmosphere of early morning Rome on a sunny Saturday in late September. No crowds! Here's a little mobile  tourist gift shop which hasn't opened for business yet.

 Minerva Square

and back in Pantheon Square where the restaurants are preparing to open for another busy day

Yesterday's trash is being collected

A payphone!

An ATM if you need money

Our hotel which we will soon say "arrividerci" to

Tiny cars for narrow streets

 The Romulus and Remus logo

 Just a few minutes before our 10 a.m pick-up

and our car is here, 15 minutes early. We say goodbye to Mauro on the front desk and our driver loads our luggage...

and off we go!