Vineeta and I embarked on the Spectrum of the Seas on 18th April 2019. This was the maiden voyage of the ship, First leg from Barcelona to Dubai, second to Singapore via Mumbai and Cochin and finally to Shanghai. China is the permanent home for this ship, every sign in Chinese and English, most speciality restaurants are Chinese and majority of the crew too. A lot of Indian crew mainly from Mumbai and Goa. There are 4000+ passengers from over 60 countries and 1800+ crew from over 40 countries. Only 4 Indian passengers. A virtual tour of the ship in a couple of days, some neat and interesting activities
First stop was the Eternal City, City ofSeven Hills Roma. As some of u know the ship docks st Civitavechia an hour plus away. I have been to Rome a few times so this was more of a refresher tour , no visiting attractions from inside. I did a lot of walking and soaking it in as my daughter Mallika would say. Here are a few sights and memories.
The Vatican was buzzing with activity since Easter was the following day. Encircled by a two mile border area ofjust 100 acres has its own flag and police.
The Colosseum is the largest amphitheater in the world! This amazing building had 80 entrances and could seat approximately 50,000 spectators .The events were seriously brutal, sometimes 10,000 animals were killed in a single day. The first games ran for 100 days straight.
Capitoline Hill is symbolic of the city’s power and position.
One of my favourites the Vittorio Emanuel monument was built in honor of the first king of unified Italy. By Roman standards very new building , only 109 years old
And the ultimate Trevi fountain, where tourists throw coins across their shoulder. City collects almost 3000 euros daily.
Naples was a good one completely new places from last trip and a close to miracle experience. Read on and tell me what u make of it
Decided to venture out on my own since I wanted to do Herculaneum which suffered the same fate as Pompeii, was buried under Mount Vesuvius’s volcanic ashes and mud in 79 AD.
It was Easter day in a devout Catholic country, be prepared for everything to be closed or working quarter schedule. A bit nervous left the ship to get a metro to railway station. Suddenly see a man frantically waving in car signaling metro was not working, could not speak a word of English me no Italiano communicated with sign language dropped me to station , just like that !!!!!!!Took a real khadoos train to Ercolano Scavi And walked to Herculaneum . Alleluia 🙏
Herculaneum lesser known than Pompei was the wealthier town albeit smaller. It was destroyed by the volcanic eruption slightly differently and therefore better preserved. Check it out
Over 2100 years oldcolors mosaic and glass!! Unbelievable
Naples is also the place where pizza was invented. Had a place which I had researched from trip advisor to relish this local specialty. Lo andbehold it was closed. I had reached there from the station asking directions from tens of people. A Russian girl speaking no English offered to take me to another famous pizzeria, all this thru signs language and live emoticons. We start walking in the very narrow alleys of Naples.
Suddenly I see a decorative pole and stopped to look at it My Russian lady signals walking up the stairs and we r in the Naples Cathedral with a full fledged Easter Mass in progress . Later I was told that this is the cathedral of Saint Gennaro the most worshipped Saint in Naples.
The cathedral and my Russian friend
I was feeling hungry and we walked to a nearby pizzeria . After reaching the pizzeria I wanted to treat the Russian friend to lunch. She quickly made an excuse of somebody waiting for her and just disappeared in seconds. Who was she? Why would a total stranger lead you inside the city lanes and walk for 2-3 km. The attendance of a mass on Easter was not part of my plan and yet I was there!!!! Was my Russian friend a lady angel . I maybe over thinking but it surely seemed to be a bit supernatural a bit mystical a bit of a miracle some serendipity but it did give me goosebumps!!!!!
Thenn and now
Did see some great sights the oldest opera house in Europe
San Carlo opera house seated 3000+ , 184 boxes eachfittef with a mirror to add light.
Piazza del Plebiscito👇
Bye bye Naples from the top of the ship And thanks my Russian friend for an amazing experience
Biking in Athens
Athens named after Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war.She and the god of the ocean, Poseidon, had a rivalry over who would become the patron of this new city. Athena prevailed with her gift of the olive tree which provided food, oil and wood. Olive tree a symbol of Greece found on almost everything—— food housing footwear currency ….
I’d be to Athens before and wanted to do something different while googling. I saw this bicycling tour which intrigued me . Over 40 years ago I was a young enthusiastic teenager, bicycling every day to school and college, and then lost touch with bicycling completely After practicing biking in Mumbai to remain steady and balance myself for this adventure —— and return to the cruise ship in one piece I took the city tour on an electric bike spanning 12 km and 4 hours. Cycling through the narrow lanes and large streets with many many pedestrians young and old fellow bikers and scooterwalas was exciting!!!!all
Terrific option for second timers and a fantabulous experience for me
On Philopapou hill between two major landmarks . On the left Standing 277 meters above sea level, Lycabettus Hill is the highest point of Athens. On the right perched above trees is the Acropolis
The Acropolis, a rocky hill in the centre of Athens houses three temples: the Parthenon, the Erechtheum and the temple of Athena Nike. Originally the Parthenon was built for goddess Athena—the goddess of wisdom, arts and literature and war— over the years the Byzantine converted it to s church . The Ottomans to a mosque and finally restored in the 70s after it was looted for marble , beautiful stone and jewels over the centuries
Roman agora or market above
The Greek Presidential Guard or Evzones are a group of elite Greek soldiers who are trained to perform various ceremonial duties and guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Presidential Palace. Salary is 8 euros a month
The spectacular Panathenaic stadium is the only one in the world built entirely out of marble. Following several transformations over its long history, it eventually became the home of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896
Adrian’s arch was built in 130AD to honor the Roman emperor Adrian for his many benefactions to the city including the temple of the Olympian Zeus which originally with 104 columns was the largest now only 15
Suez Canal Passage
Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway that connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, thus avoiding the long route around Africa making the journey from Europe to Asia about 40% shorter. The canal is only 193 km / 102 miles long. It is mostly one way travelling in a convoy with 2-3 tug ships and 3-4 pilots .(experts at navigation in that area) Ships move at very slow speed to avoid creating waves and causing erosion , takes anywhere from 10-12 hours.
The entrance
Convoy of Spectrum and 3 tug boats
Welcome to Egypt sign
The AK-47 monument commemorates Egyptians that died at the Battle of Ismailia. This battle took place between the Egyptian Army and the Israeli Defense Forces during the last stages of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.
Badr Mosque and Port suez. Getting ready to bid adieu to Suez Canal And where the canal leads into the Gulf of Suez.
Aqba Jordan was our last port before disembarking in Dubai. While most of the ship was scurrying away to Petra or Wadi Rum had a very relaxing day having done both places earlier.
Aqba is a Jordanian port city on the Red Sea’s Gulf of Aqaba. Inhabited since 4000 B.C. Its beach resorts are popular for windsurfing and other water sports, and the area is a top destination for scuba divers. Some real nice hotels and resorts along the beach.
I had not tried parasailing before so this was my chance
Spectrum of the seas offers many activities for days of cruising when u r sailing . Vinita and I tried enjoyed and laughed a lot. Take a look
This is North Star. Attached to a crane-like arm on Ship, North Star elevates above the ocean more than 300 feet as the pod turns 360-degrees on each 15-minute journey. Amazing panoramic views
Bungee trampoline , tremendous workout
IFLY is a skydiving simulation experience in which participants don flight suits and goggles, and get to “fly” in a wind machine, aided by an experienced instructor.
Vinita and I going at each other. Stopped session midway when score was even.
Bumper cars lot of fun
Chickened out on trying Flowrider Surf Simulator. All in all ship was a riot !!!!
