The Beaurs: Mediterranean Cruise - Day 2

We woke up early that morning so that we could do some sightseeing before leaving for the cruise port around noon. After getting close to twelve hours of sleep, we were feeling MUCH better than the previous day. We brought a good map with us and made our way by foot from our hotel to some of the major tourist sites in Rome center – Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon.

It was around 8am when we left the hotel so the heat was not too big of an issue yet. Getting to the sights early was a really great idea as there were barely any crowds anywhere we went. When we reached the Spanish Steps, I did not even realize we were already there since I was expecting to see masses of people gathered on the steps and when we arrived, the steps were actually empty! We had a similar experience at the Trevi Fountain… only some scattered people around and we were able to get right next to the fountain and walk all along it.

empty Spanish Steps

Spanish Steps

we're at the Trevi Fountain!

Trevi Fountain - larger and more beautiful in person than in photos

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Pantheon dome

obelisk in square outside of Pantheon

The sites are a little more difficult to find than we had expected (moreso than Florence and Venice from the year before), even with a good map. There are many twisty, windy roads and it is sometimes difficult to see street names as they are inscribed on the sides of light colored buildings at intersections.

Of the three places we visited that day, we both liked the Trevi fountain the most. It is a very impressive and very large fountain! We also enjoyed seeing the Pantheon but probably would have gotten more out of it had we listened to an audio guide to know what we were seeing. The Spanish Steps are just that… a series of steps... good photo op I suppose.

After spending a couple of hours sightseeing, we started to make our way back to the hotel. By that point, the sun was starting to get pretty strong and we were having a little difficulty with figuring out where we were on some of the smaller streets. We eventually figured it out and made it back to the hotel still on time to catch an 11am train to Civitavecchia, the cruise port.

Side note: We have officially discovered drivers more aggressive than NYC drivers – Rome drivers! Busy streets often have no lane markings and driving is one giant free-for-all. I have no idea how these cars, scooters, and bikes do not hit each other! Also, the concept “Yield to pedestrians” definitely does NOT apply in Rome… “Yield to driver” is definitely more accurate.

We were pretty fortunate that the train we took to the cruise port was not crowded at all. I was a little apprehensive since we both had luggage and bags… after our Italian train fiasco the year before, I have become wary of taking trains with luggage. We arrived in Civitavecchia roughly an hour later and I had a rough sense of how to walk to the cruise port but was not completely sure. I wanted to check a map but we soon realized there would be no need. As soon as we exited the train station, we witnessed a mass exodus of tourists with rolling luggage all heading in one direction – we decided just to follow figuring out that everyone was heading for the cruise port.

Celebrity embarkation was pretty simple and painless. Not too long after checking in at the port, we were able to board the ship. I had done a lot of research on the ship prior to the trip so I had a good idea what it looked like but it is still very exciting to get on the ship for the first time and see everything in person. One of the reasons I chose this particular sailing was because of the ship – the Equinox is by far the nicest of any of the cruise ships we have been on in the past. The décor is very modern and bright.

We were able to go directly to our room and were pleasantly surprised at the size of the room and bathroom. It was somewhere between the size of a standard US hotel room and a European hotel room which for cruise ship standards, is pretty large. The balcony, which Celebrity considers “obstructed” was also huge. My only concern is that I have now been spoiled and won’t be able to go back to a smaller room and non-balcony… uh oh :P

The rest of the day consisted of looking around the ship and eating… I had a smile on my face that couldn’t be wiped off. We both agreed it just felt so much easier to be on a cruise ship where we wouldn’t have to worry about searching for food, entertainment and worrying about packing and unpacking our bags. Some people think that takes the fun out of the trip but for us, this makes the trip that much better. I guess that’s why we like to cruise!

onboard Celebrity Equinox

first thing Ben does when we get to our cabin - no different than at home :)

Equinox Pool Deck

Most of the rooms on the Equinox are balconies - we stayed in an "obstructed" view balcony on the hump of the ship so even though we could see the lifeboats, we had a very large balcony which I think made up for the minor obstruction (10 cabins in from the left, bottom row)