Viva Roma! ...sorry this is a LONG one...

I made it to Rome this past week. Yes…Rome, Italy! The Norwegian Jade, the ship that I’ve been working on for the past year-and-a-half, has begun cruising the Mediterranean Sea. Actually, this is our first 12-day cruise…and I’m a part of it. How exciting! Well, other than the ports of call…this transition from the Pride of Hawaii to the Norwegian Jade has been a nightmare, but let’s not go into that story.



So my friends, Bob, otherwise known as DJ Red Light, (he’s from the Netherlands) and Montsi, another hostess, ventured from our port Civitcivecchia, Italy to Rome. We got off work around 10 a.m. and began our journey to the local train station in Civitcivecchia. Of course, we made it to the train station, but alongside what seemed like 100 passengers. And these passengers for one reason or another are the dumbest people! There was a kiosk to buy your ticket…all you had to do was follow the instructions…they were even in English. And these guys couldn’t figure it out, but I’m digressing…back to the story.

We took the Express train into Roma, which was about a 50-minute ride. As soon as we got to the station (or stazione), we immediately ran outside to soak in the sunny weather, the fresh Italian air and bustling city. We first walked to the Coliseum and boy was that a tourist trap. There are so many vendors and “tour guides” that are just waiting to rip off those dumb travelers. We waited in line for what seemed like hours (really only 30 minutes) and then we were inside experiencing the excitement that Romans did back centuries ago. As largely traveled as the Coliseum was that day, it was amazing how peaceful and quiet the inner walls were. The structure itself was absolutely incredible. What an accomplishment for the Romans at that time…and to think that it’s still standing today is crazy. After we finished our tour of the Coliseum, we walked outside to the courtyard area, we saw this local dressed up as a gladiator and started taking pictures. Little did we know…we were going to be paying for those pictures (on OUR own cameras). For 3 pictures, we had to pay 5 Euros (like $8-9). What a rip off!



After the Coliseum, we decided to wander the streets of Rome to find our own discoveries, but of course we had a map to guide us along the way. We found the Forum, which is a bunch of ruins from the Roman days. We stumbled upon a monument to a Roman emperor and it was guarded with the Roman military. We were there just in time to see the guards switch duties…I even captured it on camera!

We walked further to the Trevi Fountain, which is the infamous fountain where you look away from it and throw a coin into the fountain over your shoulder. They say you must throw it over your shoulder to ensure a visit back to Rome. This was another tourist trap area. People were swarming over each other. Before we ventured any further into the city of Rome, we stopped for some Italian pizza…and boy, was it delicious! We found a heladeria…and purchased some ice cream for dessert. The ice cream is so much better here…I’ve had so much it’s coming out of my pores.



After lunch, we continued on our journey to the Pantheon. Inside this Parthenon-looking building was a Basilica, or a church. In the roof, there was a hole in the middle, which allowed sunlight to come inside and fill the room with warmth. It was absolutely beautiful. Afterwards, we walked a ways to the Spanish steps…this was actually the only disappointment I had all day. I guess I was expecting something a little more grandiose than what I saw. We also were running late to catch the metro back to the train station (or tren stazione) so we didn’t have much time to soak in the atmosphere. We took a few quick pictures and we were off.



When we arrived at the Rome train station, we hadn’t checked to see what times the train was running back to the Civitcevecchia…and we became very lucky. We arrived at 5 p.m. and found a train departing in 15 minutes. We purchased our tickets and started walking towards the tracks…little did we know the tracks were at the whole other side of the station and we arrived at the tracks just as the train was pulling away. Immediately I panicked and went into crazy mode, because we’d been briskly walking/jogging and we missed it. The ship was scheduled to pull the gangway for departure at 7:30 p.m. that evening…I was just thinking “Oh my God” we’re going to miss the ship and get fired. Luckily, we looked at the board for more departures and found another train leaving in 20 minutes. It reassured me a bit because I recognized some passengers from the ship that were in the same situation as us, but I was still worried I was going to get fired…or in trouble for that matter.

We got on the 5:39 p.m. non-express train back to Civitcevecchia and we were off. The train was scheduled to arrive in the port at 7 p.m. perfect for us to meet the ship with sufficient time. As we got into the ride, the train got slower and slower and we were actually stopped for a time being. The train became delayed 15 minutes for arrival…and we were going to have all we could do to make it to the ship in time. As we arrived at Civitcevecchia, we ran (actually sprinted) alongside some other crew members to the ship. We hopped on the shuttle bus and arrived at the ship around 7:28 p.m. (whew!).

What a crazy experience! I’ve never come that close to miss the ship in my almost two-year career with the company. I guess I learned my lesson, but it was still all worth it because the day was packed with such history and splendor…and I have it all caught on film. The one thing we didn’t do was a visit to the Vatican, but that’s for another visit to Rome. Enjoy the pictures!