Livorno from the ship and end of the cruise :( - November 10-11, 2024
We had planned to walk around Livorno and had some sites bookmarked in google maps. I had been to Pisa before, and Travis was not super-excited to go. We did Florence pre-cruise so did not plan it during Livorno. However, when the Freestyle Daily/daily activity document arrived, which we got each day in paper format, saying that we had to pay 7 EUR each for a mandatory bus out of the port, we lost interest. We also just had 9 port days, so a good rest would be nice. We ended up eating too much on the ship. We also played several trivia games, walked the promenade, and Travis went to the gym. Also, for the worst time of the whole cruise, we had to pack...
For breakfast, I got my favorite smoked salmon on a cream cheese bagel from the MDR. This is a thinner bagel that allows you to bit through with salmon the top. Travis had the waffle and fruit salad, instead of his usual (boring/healthy) oatmeal. There was a lady in the MDR in the table next to us who was saying to the waiter that she is allergic to herbs and that she can see herbs. What? All herbs? How could you eat or get any flavor?
We had an interesting friend in port with us -- a Hapag-Lloyd cruise ship! I knew that they were a shipyard and built for other lines, but I had never hear of the Hapag-Lloyd cruise line. Is this where they test out design changes? We got a couple of shots of the city since we did not go to it.
For the last night, we had the MDR. I enjoyed both of my courses. We skipped dessert until later in the buffet. I had the fried mozzarella sticks, and Travis had the strawberry spinach salad. For mains, I had the chimichurri sirloin steak, and Travis had the seafood skewer.
In the disembarkation documentation, NCL did not say anything about self-disembark where you bring your own luggage or what time it may be. We normally see and take this option. However, they did announce allowing it at 7am. We used self-disembark. There was no passport control or customs in the terminal, so we went to look for a bus. There was supposed to be a free bus to get you out of the port. It did not look like we were allowed to walk out. We did not find a free bus, so paid 6 EURs each for a 6 minute ride to the train station and a 30 minute wait for the bus to be full to people standing shoulder to shoulder with luggage in the aisle. It was ridiculous for that cost that they did not run a second bus, made us pack the bus, and wait 30 minutes! Due to the wait, we missed the first train option; when we finally started moving, Travis started the booking for the train. All that was available at this station was Tren Italia that we had not taken yet. We did not know how the lines at the station would be for tickets or how many tickets would be left with a full bus and the large MSC Europa at another terminal. I guess a lot of seats because a tour group came right before the train arrival time to join us on the platform. Since we missed the earlier train, we had a wait; we visited the restroom, which was free. There were no seat assignments, so we grabbed an available two. There was no luggage space big enough available, so many on the train were trying to wrangle luggage. The lady across from me got up to let me put mine under the seat; Travis held his. We had a nice talk with them. They were a couple from Miami on the MSC Europa that was not starting or stopping in Civitavecchia, so they only had some time during the day to see Rome and no luggage. They were traveling with other family members who did not brave the long excursion from the ship. The view from the train was pretty; we saw coast still, at first, and then farm lands. I had trouble on this train when there were tunnels, closer to Rome; the tunnels were causing my ears to pop or need to be popped. I have not had this issue on other trips or even on the tunnels on the high speed train from Rome to Florence, so it was strange.
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