2026 - Week 35 Wrap Up

Final week on the Norwegian Sky! These days were filled with ups and downs, and I'm not just talking about the hills.

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Schedule

• Thursday, September 3: Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

• Friday, September 4: Salerno, Italy

• Saturday, September 5: At Sea

• Sunday, September 6: Santorini, Greece

• Monday, September 7: Mykonos, Greece

• Tuesday, September 8: Heraklion (Crete), Greece

• Wednesday, September 9: Athens, Greece

Thursday, September 3: Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

Today is one of those ports where it’s advertised as Rome, but really, downtown Rome is over an hour from the port. However, I was willing to ride the bus in order to attend my originally planned excursion, which was supposed to be a private concert plus lunch in a Basilica. Supposed to be… It was canceled due to lack of participation! I was shocked as I thought this one would be sold out! Apparently everyone else wanted to go see the ruins…

The thing is I’ll actually be coming back to Rome on the Train portion of my Fall Adventures and am already scheduled for tours of the key tourist sights. Therefore, I decided to choose another excursion with the ship where we got to visit Roman Castles & Catacombs.

I’m going to copy over the description verbatim and then tell you what we actually did…

From the program, “After a 90 minute transfer, you will meet your local guide and reach the site of the Catacombs of Santa Domitilla for an inside visit to one of the greatest examples of the origin of Christendom. After the visit you will be transferred to the beautiful area of the Roman Castles. The first stop will be near Genzano to the Agriturismo Monte 2 Torri to enjoy a typical homemade pasta and local products accompanied by the popular local wine. Tour will continue with the enchanted small village of Nemi, overlooking the lake. Finally you will be transferred to the village of Castel Gandolfo site of Pope summer residence and very attractive with the Papal Palace and the square with the fountain of Bernini, also overlooking Lake Albano. After some time to take pictures, you will be transferred back to the ship.”

Remember what I said last Wrap Up about ever in search of lunch?? This description makes it seem like lunch would be immediately after the Catacombs visit, right?!? Well, instead, we rode the bus, went to the Catacombs, went to the Castel Gandolfo, went to Nemi, and finally went to lunch after 2pm… Let’s just say that I should start eating breakfast. Before I stop complaining, I’ll also mention that I couldn’t quite understand our guide due to either her accent or the sound system, meaning I was constantly confused about what was coming up next on the agenda, while also hoping it was lunch

Ok, enough with being hangry, I’ll start at the beginning.

The first stop is the Catacombs of Santa Domitilla, which is the oldest and largest in Rome. Originally, it was home to only Pagan tombs, but during the persecution of Christianity, the landowner allowed Christians to bury their martyrs in an expansion to the underground Pagan vaults. After the country’s conversion to Christianity, the burial grounds expanded to over 10 miles of underground tunnels, with 4 distinct levels of graves. During the persecution and plague time, there were so many dying that often bodies were stacked up to 4 high in graves. It’s said to have smelled so badly that grave diggers could only spend about 30 minutes in there at a time, so they were very efficient at digging only the required space for the bodies, meaning many of the chambers are triangular shaped to allow the shoulders to be further in while the feet were barely past the wall edge. Keep in mind that instead of digging down and burying the dead by covering them with soil, they dug horizontally into the walls and closed the tombs with plaster, brick, and/or marble. Only the well-off had chambers to themselves or their families with proper sarcophagus burials. Unfortunately, they didn’t allow photos in this area, so hopefully you can get a good mental image based on that description. Otherwise, you’ll just have to visit for yourself on your next trip to Rome!

We were allowed to take photos in the chapel, which was also underground. This is not a regularly attended church, but groups are allowed to rent out the space for special events. When we first arrived, there was a group having mass and we were asked to move through quickly, noting that we’d have a chance to explore further at the end of the tour.

Next on the agenda - not lunch. Instead, we headed to Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of the Pope. I’ve never considered what the Pope does for vacation, but apparently, they spend time at this place. He was not in residence when we were there though, which was probably good for me since it was not crowded at all. We didn’t have a ton of free time here and were not encouraged to eat since lunch would be “soon.” Instead, I wandered around to take photos and bought a nice scarf. I’d been on the lookout for one to keep with me in case I found myself in a place where I’d need to cover my shoulders. (So far, it hasn’t been required, but I still have lots of Italy and Greece to cover.)

Once we regathered, it was to the village of Nemi. A place that’s known for Strawberries. It is now after 1pm as our guide walks us past restaurants and bakeries, filled with beautiful fruit tarts and strawberry desserts. She stops to explain the different types of strawberries available and mentions that we can try some of the strawberry liquor during our free time.  My stomach is audibly complaining at this point, so during the free time, I tried this cute little fruit pastry and ate whole container of strawberries. Which only meant one thing, it was finally time to go to lunch…

As we drove to the restaurant, the guide mentioned we’d have a nice panoramic view of the sea and the lakes from our table. With this, I’m picturing a beautiful warm breeze, under a shaded awning, with the sea expanding with every shade of blue in front of us. Instead, we were seated indoors, surrounded by about 50 school boys who are finishing up a pizza party after a soccer game. With that said, the food was phenomenal! I’ll admit that I make a pretty good lasagna, but it was nothing compared to the one they served us! It was perfectly flavored with a nice toasted cheese on top. Honestly, I can’t remember what else we ate because that dish was one of the best I’ve had yet on this trip.

With lunch complete, we headed back to the port. As I was grabbing the last few bits of cell service before we departed, the PA system announced the names of a few passengers to contact guest services. Typically, this means that they are not on board and it’s Security’s way of double checking that the system just didn’t check them in properly. So as I stood on the top deck where the WiFi signal was still best, I watched a taxi pull up to the gate just as the boat shifted away from the dock. They are not joking with the posted All-Aboard times as you will get left to figure out your own way to the next port. Luckily for this guy, the next port wasn’t too far away and still in the same country. I’m not sure if they kick you off the ship after that or assume that you’ve learned your lesson.

Friday, September 4: Salerno, Italy

On the agenda for today is free time in Sorrento followed by a guided tour in Pompeii. While Sorrento is only 35 miles from the Salerno port, with traffic, it took over 1.5 hours to get from point A to point B. Because I was most looking forward to the Pompeii visit, I didn’t do any real research on Sorrento. Turns out, that’s okay because there wasn’t much to learn other than it’s the place to get lemons, Limoncello, Limoncello candies, Limoncello gelato, Limoncello sorbet… You understand. Shop after shop in these small alleys. Naturally, I got the special which was Lemon, Limoncello, and Orange Sorbet piled on top of each other, served in a carved out lemon and topped with an orange slice. It was a perfect breakfast! (We were told to hold out for lunch until we got to Pompeii area since they are known for their pizza…)

After you get a bit lost in the alleyways, you end up at the cliffside overlooking the Gulf of Naples, where a busker is serenading the crowds with iconic Italian songs on his accordion.

Back at the bus, someone took my seat… While we don’t have assigned seats, typically, once you get on at the start, people don’t swap afterwards, but alas, a couple sat where I had before. As they aren’t assigned seats and they were older, I couldn’t ask them to move, and because I was one of the last on the bus, the only seat left was way in the back. Ugh… In addition, this is now day number 4 in a row of 40+ person, 8+ hour excursions and I already knew my patience was wearing thin. Sitting in my back row seat, I had to have a bit of a self pep talk, encouraging that the day was already half over; it was only a seat; you’re still on the bus headed to Pompeii where there is pizza waiting; etc.

When we got to the stop, there were restaurants and shops all about, advertising pizza and other specialties. Our guide kept us together, explaining that he couldn’t take us all into Pompeii together so he was going to show us where to meet the other guide before setting us free for lunch. Also, while lunch wasn’t included, he highly recommended to we go to this place with him because they have the best deal for food, including pizza. However, as we slowly marched our way along with him, I realized that regardless of where he was taking the group, I would not follow as I needed a quick break from being part of a herd. As soon as he told us where and when to meet, I darted away, finding pizza and a blue slushy and quiet shade. (Giant sigh of relief!)

When it was time to meet back up with the group, I was much happier and ready to be a sheep for another few hours as we learned about the ancient city.

As I mentioned with the Leaning Tower of Pisa, because we have seen tons of photos of Pompeii, I was a bit underwhelmed with the tour. I was expecting to see the shadows of people forever cast into the walls, but those didn’t exist (at least on the tour we were on) and the “people” frozen in shape are really just concrete casts of voids where humans once were. However, what the photos don’t show is the overall magnitude of the city itself! Similar to the catacomb tour, we only covered a small portion of the site, and it still took over 2 hours to explore. It is crazy to imagine what it was like when the volcano was erupting and covering the city with ash and poisonous gasses - pure pandemonium!

Back on the bus, I took someone’s seat. I know, not nice, but the couple who were in my original seat were different than before, so it seemed like a free-for-all.

On the boat, I got ready for dinner! Tonight was one of the specialty dining at Le Bistro, the French Restaurant. Yum! They still have the Goat Cheese Croquette salad, which is my favorite and a nice filet steak.

After dinner, I decided that I had had enough people for the day and went back to my cabin to watch a movie.

Saturday, September 5: At Sea

With my status on NCL, they include a Behind-the-Scenes tour, a wine tasting, and a cocktail party. Because there is only one sea day on this trip, all three of those were scheduled on the same day, starting at 8am. Given my mental capacity to be part of a guided tour was maxed out from the prior few days, I canceled the tour. Also, as I didn’t want to start drinking so early in the day, I canceled the wine tasting. And then, because I fell asleep, I missed the cocktail party. In the end, I had a very relaxing and quiet morning.

For the afternoon, it was time to rejoin the rest of the ship and went to play BINGO! I did not win, but it’s still fun to play along.

Then, against my normal rules, I went to the Casino! Within 30 minutes, I had turned $20 into $75! And shortly after that, I turned $75 into $0! And was reminded why I don’t go to the casino and should stick to the Video Arcade instead.

The evening show was one from the Production Cast called Women of Rock, featuring songs from a whole lot of women I didn’t recognize, but also some that I did! Not that I can currently recall any of their names, but I’m sure those of you reading this would have known all of the songs and artists… Instead, you’ll have to settle for a photo of the singers.

Oh! And the sun set behind the boat tonight, so I was able to get this photo!

Sunday, September 6: Santorini, Greece

The sun rose from behind the city this morning, highlighting the blue domes and white houses as it ascended. From the ship, we could see the famous Donkey steps and the Cable Car that most passengers use to shortcut the 300 step climb up.

It didn’t matter that today was another tendering port since I had another planned excursion. Today’s was only 4 hours long though and started with lunch (I learn sometimes…). One of the main reasons I opted for this tour was because other than lunch, the main purpose was to get us to Oia (the city with the famous blue dome photo) and back to the cable cars.

The lunch was served at a Winery. Turns out, it was only snacks, but doesn’t matter, already starting off on a very positive note! The wine itself was decent. Nothing I’d run out to find more of quickly. The view from the porch was everything I thought it would be at the Rome stop… Outdoors, gentle breeze, warm sea air, blue water for miles and miles… you get the picture. Or if not, here’s one to help:

The island of Santorini is fairly small, so the bus ride to Oia was not long at all. Once in the city, our guide showed us how to get to the “famous blue dome” spot and recommended a few other places to check out and then set us free to explore!

I headed to the famous blue dome spot, along with a few dozen other people.. so by the time I got there, the line was a bit of a wait. Given what you may have assumed about me reading about my lack of patience for large groups of people, you may guess that I only stood there for all of 2 minutes before deciding to grab a quick pic of what I could see and continue on exploring.

While I may not have gotten “the” famous photo, there were plenty other photo opportunities.

After a while, I found my way to get a fruit smoothie as a snack. Since I knew we would have a bit more free time before having to take the cable cars down to the ship, a real lunch was going to wait until I wasn’t rushed to be able to enjoy it.

They shuttled us over to the city where the cable cars were, explaining that we were on our own from here on out and to get to the cable cars before 8pm. So I wandered and wandered, further and further away from the crowds, which somehow meant also further and further downhill, until I realized that I was going to have to climb back up. My main mission was to get a Gyro with proper tzatziki sauce. Eventually, I gave up as the only place that seemed to have them was completely empty. I took that as a sign of the cuisine not being up to high standards and determined that the next two stops, also in Greece, would give me ample opportunity since I didn’t have any excursions planned.

Taking the cable car down, I was expecting a bit of a wait, but I managed to get there as they were loading and hopped right into an open car. At the bottom, there was a restaurant, with Lamb Gyros, served with tzatziki sauce and locally brewed beer. I took that as a good indication to sit on down and enjoy a proper meal.

It was delicious! The lamb basically dissolved in my mouth while the Pita bread dripping olive oil all over my hands. Taking my time to enjoy the dish, I also tried a few of the local beers, including the Blue Monkey, Red Donkey, and Lazy Ass. Fantastic naming schemes!

Monday, September 7: Mykonos, Greece

I caught a cold. I’ll be back in Mykonos on my next cruise in a few days, so took some medicine and stayed in bed.

However, I went to eat because I got hungry and tried the sushi restaurant onboard. It was quite tasty! Plus they served hot tea!

Tuesday, September 8: Heraklion (Crete), Greece

The cold has not improved. Fortunately, no excursion or anything planned. Unfortunately, I won’t be back here anytime soon, but decided not to spread my germs and stayed on the ship.

I ventured out to watch the balloon drop for the Norwegian Sky’s final farewell party as the ship will no longer be part of the NCL fleet after this cruise. It was interesting to me though that even though she is headed for the shipyard, the maintenance team still kept up with painting and varnishing.

I started reading the second book in the latest murder mystery series. This one is called “Assassins in Athens,” which happens to be where I’m headed next!

Wednesday, September 9: Athens, Greece

Wide awake at 3am, with my alarm not going for another few hours. Must have been all the napping the last few days. Eventually, I fell back asleep, only to be rudely awakened in the middle of a nightmare by my screeching phone. I blame the latest book series for the dreams, but will continue to read them…

My health had not improved overnight, but I was required to finish packing and vacate my room. This means I spent the next hour or so trying to avoid people since I know I sound and look unwell. Eventually, my tag color was called to be able to disembark and pick up my luggage. Thankfully, I had coordinated a ride with my hotel, so all I needed to do was go find my name and associated driver.

Thanks to many large cruise ships disembarking today, the traffic was a bit nuts and it took some time to get to my hotel. While in the back seat, I realized I left my water in my backpack which was in the trunk, meaning I spent 40 minutes popping cough drops and trying not to spew microscopic illness all over the car.

Finally at the hotel, my fingers were crossed that my room would be available, even though check in wasn’t officially until 3pm and it was not yet 10am. They informed me it would only be another hour, so I found a quiet corner to hide. While there, I had a chance to catch up on this Wrap Up and also order a Freddo Espresso, a common Greek coffee drink made by whipping a hot double shot of espresso with ice until it forms a creamy, velvety foam layer.

Once the hour was up, my room was ready and I headed up for a nap. Yes, I can drink espresso and sleep immediately afterwards. It’s one of my superpowers!

Eventually, I needed to eat lunch. Here, at least, lunch wasn’t an elusive meal dangled in front of us by a tour guide. Instead, I just headed upstairs to the hotel restaurant for what turned out to be a fancy grilled ham and cheese sandwich. I forgot to take a photo of it, but instead, I’ll show you my view!

Time for nap #2, 3, 4 and possibly 5 of the day. Not really sure, but as I finished reading Assassins in Athens, I dozed quite a bit. Not because of the book, but likely because of the cold medicine.

For quite a while, I debated about just calling it a night, but my stomach was reminding me that a few bites of sandwich for lunch was not enough for the day and instead of paying €5 for a small thing of Pringles from the mini bar, I should actually go get something better. Just down the street is an Italian restaurant. (Yes, I know I’m in Greece, but I did feel a bit disappointed from my pizza experience in Italy that it’s been on my mind to eat it again.) After brushing my hair and applying some foundation to my reddened Rudolf nose, I went to pretend I’m just a normal tourist.

The pizza was very good! I’ll have to have more when I’m back in Italy in a week or so to compare, but it hit the spot for tonight at least! Added benefit is that I can take leftovers back to the hotel since I have a fridge AND will be staying for a few nights. Added bonus is the hotel gave me a free bottle of wine for some reason, so will have a nice meal in the coming days!

Until then, I’m actually proud that I’m caught up on journaling, even if it’s because I’ve been in recovery mode for the past few days and therefore didn’t have much to write about, but hey, counting the blessings somewhere!

Now, off to figure out a plan for the next few days, assuming I can breathe and climb a flight of stairs without feeling like passing out tomorrow… fingers crossed!