Today was the Cruise Critic meet and greet.  And when a lot of cruise critics get together, there are invariably comparisons between this cruise and others.  In terms of food, fun, and entertainment, Holland America seems to fall between Royal Caribbean and Carnival.  It’s not as fun as Carnival and the food and entertainment aren’t as good as Royal Caribbean.  In terms of the age range of passengers, Holland America passengers appear to skew old.  There are at least three children and two teenagers on board, and (as far as I’ve seen) they comprise the entire minor population of the ship.

Our cruise is technically a 7-day cruise immediately followed by a 14-day cruise, both departing out of Civitavecchia.  Today was the turnaround day between cruises.  With nothing else to do, we headed into Civitavecchia to do some shopping for wrapping paper the upcoming Cruise Critic meet and greet.  We found a grocery store, but couldn’t find any wrapping paper or gift wrap tape.  Luckily for us, Valerie came up with a brilliant plan to wrap the meet-and-greet gift in a tourist map of Civitavecchia and bind it using some staples.

Today’s stop is in Palermo, the capital of Sicily.  As soon as we disembarked from the ship, we were approached by several men offering tours and taxi rides for 40 Euro, then 30 Euro, then 20 Euro, and probably even cheaper rates that we couldn’t hear as we walked away.  As we walked to the Cathedral, our first stop, we were almost continuously approached by rickshaws and taxis that all really wanted to give us a ride.  Valerie started looking at the ground rather than at the sights to avoid accidentally making eye contact with a taxi driver who might then stop in traffic to ask if we needed a ride.  After the cathedral, we walked to the nearby palace, which had unfortunately closed half an hour earlier at 12:15.  We headed back to the ship and picked up some really terrible Sicilian pizza on the walk back.  We’re probably never going to come back to Palermo.

Due to recent threats against Americans in Tunisia, our stop in Tunis was replaced by a stop in Cagliari, Sardinia. We didn’t really know what to do in Cagliari, so we asked TripAdvisor. The #1 rated attraction is the Elephant Tower, which is a very old castle-like gate that used to be part of the city wall back when Cagliari was under the protection of Pisa. Presumably, the tower was given its name because of the statues of elephants that protrude from its facade. We walked up the hill to the tower, took some pictures, neglected to pay 4 Euro each to climb steps to the top, and then walked back down the hill. On the way back to the ship, we took a detour along a busy shopping street where we bought a cone topped with plentiful (but not particularly delicious) sorbetto. I don’t think either of us are planning a return trip to Sardinia.

Holland America is working hard to prevent its passengers from spreading communicable stomach viruses.  In every common area and when embarking the ship, there is a Purell hand sanitizer dispenser or a crew member to dispense hand sanitizer.  In addition, for the first 48 hours of the cruise, self-service at the buffet is suspended.  There is still food (thank goodness), but a member of the crew has to serve it to you.

In Barcelona, we started our day with a walk down Las Ramblas, a major pedestrian thoroughfare. This is the only port for which we have any guidance from Rick Steves, so we were prepared to see the sights. After a nice stroll up and down Las Ramblas, we took the metro to the Church of the Sacred Family, which has been under construction for over 100 years. After a tour through Europe, I thought I had seen every type of cathedral there was to see. I was wrong. The Sacred Family is amazing to look at with its detailed “cake in the rain” facades, spiraling columns, and gorgeous interior. Despite the high admission price, this church is definitely worth a visit for anyone in Barcelona.

After the church, we headed back to Las Ramblas to eat at a nice mini-sandwich place recommended by Rick Steves.  The sandwiches (1.95 Euro each) were small, but delicious.  I wish I could remember the name of the place so I could recommend it to others.

When I think of Monte Carlo, I think of James Bond playing Baccarat in the casino.  For today’s outing, we walked up the hill to the casino, but unfortunately, it wasn’t open to business yet  (but still charged tourists 10 Euro to enter).  We walked around some more, discovering a convenient elevator that takes passengers up the hill from the harbor to the casino (which we sadly only discovered for the downward journey).  The harbor seemed quite nice, so we walked around it admiring the fishing boats, yachts, and super yachts.  Eventually, we made our way outside of Monte Carlo’s famous aquarium.  Then it started raining, so we decided to head back to the boat.

The first stop on our cruise is Livorno, Italy. As far as we can tell, there is nothing interesting to do in Livorno, so we opted to take the train to nearby Pisa. Sadly, as we discovered, there’s also very little to do in Pisa. We walked to the leaning tower and nearby cathedral, looked at them for a while, and then headed back to the train station since it started raining.

In Pisa, we were (almost) swindled twice. At the train station, a pickpocket opened Valerie’s backpack, but quick action from Valerie prevented our jackets from being stolen. At the supermarket near Pisa’s main square, the cashier tried to pass a 50 Euro cent coin off as a 2 Euro coin. Sadly, due to my slow reaction time, he got away with it. For anyone headed to Pisa, be sure to watch your bags and check your change!

Today we boarded the ms Noordam, Holland America’s newest addition to their Vista-class fleet of ships. Our 21-day cruise is actually a concatenation of a 7-day Mediterranean cruise and a 14-day Transatlantic cruise (both departing from Civitavecchia). After boarding, we learned that the planned stop in Tunis has been cancelled due to a travel warning from the US State Department. Instead, we’ll be going to Sardinia. Alas, I will not be able to check off Africa from my list of visited continents.

In an effort to stave off weight gain due to the endless supply of food on the ship, we’ve decided to always take the stairs (rather than the elevator) when we are headed to a higher deck. In addition, we visited the gym and hopefully will use it during some of the sea days. However, I predict we’ll visit the buffet far more often than the gym on this voyage.