Cruise of excursions

What a cruise!! And a busy one at that..

We started off again in Villefranche, France. The day was fairly overcast and we were celebrating a few birthdays, so we skipped the beach and headed for some food and wine. We happened to stumble upon a pub with some beer on tap and a pool table and decided to hang out there for a while. We had a nice time!

The next day we headed to Livorno, Italy - port of Pisa and Florence. We had a show that evening and my throat was feeling a little bit scratchy, so I opted to take the day easy. I got off for a short while to just grab lunch (and some free internet) in Livorno. I also found a post office and was able to send some postcards home to my grandparents. The show went fine vocally. They both went well, actually! The European audiences love the British 60’s “Liverpool Knights” show. They definitely hoot and holler a lot more for this show when it’s our first.

In Civitavecchia, Italy (the port for Rome), a bunch of us signed up for a crew tour they offered to head into Rome! The tour was great! We all boarded a bus with a tour guide and a driver to head to Rome! We first drove by the Coliseum and headed to the church of St. Peter in Chains. The church was stunning. Inside they had Michelangelo’s monument that included his sculpture of Moses. Now - I’ve visited several churches before. But to visit one that had an actual relic on display (Peter’s chains) and a sculpture by Michelangelo was awe-inspiring. The history here is real. I can’t get over it. Next we visited the Coliseum. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to go inside, but we learned a lot about the actual building. It’s crazy how huge it is! Our guide also discussed several of the historic sites around the Coliseum before we boarded the bus again and headed to Vatican City! Vatican City was AMAZING!! Once in St. Peter’s Square we waited in a security line to get inside the Basilica. The whole time our guide was telling us all about the history of the site and the artwork/architecture visible from the square. Inside the Basilica is unreal. I really can’t describe it. It looks fake it’s so crazy. The sheer amount of art in that one giant room of the cathedral was awe-inspiring. Add in the infamous artists and works of art that I only thought I’d see in textbooks (like the famous Pieta), and you’ve got one heck of an experience. I really can’t even describe it. St. Peter’s Basilica is definitely a site not to be missed. Afterwards we boarded the bus to head back to the ship.

Next was a sea day and thus a show day.. We did Broadway second for this cruise (because our adage couple was still on leave and it’s the easiest show to do without them). It went really well! Mostly I was excited because every port after this one was going to be brand new!

In our next port, I volunteered to be a Tour Escort for one of the shore excursions in Dubrovnik, Croatia. They let us sign up for these to go for free. All I have to do is fill out a survey when it’s over and walk in the back of the group. Not too hard a task for a free guided tour, right? ha! I had so much fun. The group boarded a bus and first headed to the small seaside resort town of Cavtat (pronounced tsahv-tot, not kav-tot like I naively thought) - a 30 minute drive from port. This tiny little town was stunning! The guide spoke about the history of the Old Dubrovnik Republic the whole way there, and upon arriving in Cavtat we were given free time to wander around for an hour. Then we all reunited on board the bus and headed to the heart of Old Dubrovnik. On the way our guide told us all about the war that ravaged Croatia in 1992. It was weird to think about just how recent that was.. Old Dubrovnik was beautiful - completely surrounded by the world’s best preserved protective wall, beautiful marble streets, gorgeous architecture on small windy streets, etc. We followed our guide for a brief walking tour of the town and the Rector’s palace before an hour of free time. (Since it was father’s day I managed to find an internet cafe to call my Dad.)

After Dubrovnik we set sail for Venice, Italy for our first overnight!! First off, sail-in was beautiful. We passed right by St. Mark’s Square on our ship right before the Grand Canal. Here’s a picture of me on the front deck of the ship as we sailed in.

Once we docked, we just got off and wandered through Venice. The line for water shuttles directly to St. Mark’s Square was very long with guests, so we opted to walk into town. The walk was gorgeous and we found some great restaurants and shops along the way that were off the tourist path (and way less expensive). Venice was awesome! The canals were beautiful. I really couldn’t get over how the ship actually flooded during high tide! Granted, the locals said it was a higher tide than normal, but St. Mark’s Square actually flooded with water - several inches deep in some parts!! I mean - buildings were underwater, shops closed, people were walking around barefoot through the water in the streets. It was insane. Since we were there overnight, we found a place for a late-night dinner (something we haven’t had off the ship yet) and then took the last water shuttle back to the ship for the night. They threw the crew a Wine & Cheese Night, so that was fun. The next day I got off the ship again and wandered around. This time I went into town with Merrick and Marc who hadn’t gone into town the day before, so it was fun to experience the city with them since it was their first time. We had to board the ship again by 4 in order to sail out. Venice was beautiful.

The next day we were in Split, Croatia. The weather was cool and kind of overcast, so I wandered around town for a bit before settling in a cafe with free internet. Here’s a few pictures. The coolest part was under the old town there were all these old tunnels and they filled them with a market! The stalls were mostly touristy, but it was cool underground.

The next day (at sea) we had our show Dance Around the World. I also was a huge nerd during the middle of the day and attended the guest lecturer’s talk on Walt Disney’s first feature films. It was really interesting! I’m a nerd - but I liked it.

In Salerno, Italy next, I had the chance to do another excursion as an escort! This one was AMAZING! First we boarded a small boat and headed up the Amalfi coast to the small fishing town of Amalfi. Ha. The 30 minute ride was beautiful. Everywhere just sharp cliffs into the water, and where there was a nicer slope they were covered in lemon groves. Apparently 60% of Italy’s lemons come from the Amalfi coastline! Amalfi was pretty. Our guide took us to its cathedral and then we had free time. I wandered around and looked at the beautiful ceramic artwork. The tiles and plates and stuff were beautiful. I really wish I had a nice apartment to decorate with them. Ha! Next we took the boat back to the dock where our ship was to get onto a bus and head to Pompeii! Once there we had a delicious 4 course meal (with lots and lots of wine) all on Celebrity! Then we had a guided tour of the Pompeii excavation site. I couldn’t believe how HUGE the ruins site is! And everything is SO well preserved. It was a really interesting tour! After about an hour and a half we headed back to the ship.

We had the final sea day completely off. So I helped out with the backstage tour and then we had cast craft day! We all made name tags for our dressing room stations out of supplies from the kids Fun Factory.

And now, MY FAMILY IS HERE!!!!!! The whole fam (parents and sister) are here for a 12-night cruise! We’re going to have a blast. I can’t wait. I just got off extra early this morning to post an update before I meet them for breakfast. Stay tuned for Smith-family updates! Let the good times roll.