Blue and white VW bug taxis and the sweep of the beach are two standout vignettes of Copacabana. I had some vague memory that the city was the holiday home to the stars in the 1940s and 50s. And I knew about the daring cliff divers here, and not just from Elvis’ Fun in Acapulco. So I booked a tour that would give me cliff diving and some sort of city overview. The 7am start was a shock to me and probably for the cliff divers too, as they dive until 10pm each night.
The topic of single cabins is dear to my heart. Since becoming a senior and lecturing to many seniors groups about the joys of cruising, the question that keeps popping up is how difficult it is for many single seniors who want to travel alone to purchase a cabin without paying a “single supplement”.
Today we ran out of fresh milk and had to move to UHT. It’s a reminder of the joys of long cruises. However, this is one of the most entertaining sea days imaginable.
It’s lonely on Sydney Harbour now that the cruise season has officially ended, but thanks to Carnival Australia we still see ships regularly from P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises that are based here all year round.
Attempt No. 2 to catch the train from Sorrento to Pompeii worked – a 30-minute journey that takes you right to the gates of arguably the most famous archeological site in the world. Having had local guides at Valletta and Mt Etna, we knew we’d benefit from the services of an official guide here, and, after paying the entrance fee (11 euros), were lucky enough to find the wonderfully informative and entertaining guide Mario Visconti (10 euros).
Our plan was to take the train from Sorrento to Pompeii but when we arrived at the station we discovered that there was a rail strike – these occur at random with little or no warning. Plan B was to take the local bus along the Amalfi Coast to Positano – but of course that was everyone else’s Plan B as well, so the queue was horrendous.
Best of the Best was a memorable dinner, hosted by Captain Ikiadis, cruise director Eric De Gray (very funny guy), hotel director Scott Daniels and chief engineer Evangelos Miskedakis. It was served in the Drawing Room while we sailed through the Strait of Messina...
We had booked a day-long 4WD trip to the lava fields of the 10,800ft high volcano but as there were not enough takers it had been cancelled, so we set off for Taormina to see if we could find a local tour operator offering something similar.
She's the most specious ship yet from luxury line Oceania Cruises. James Sitters tells Rose Kelly and Peter Lynch what's on board the new class of ship, including restaurants, spas and suites.
