Day 8 – June 2, 2007 – La Spezia, Italy

Well today was our worst day of the trip. We arrived into port around 7:00 am. The weather was partly sunny and the temperature must have been in the high 50’s to low 60’s. After breakfast in Parrots Cay we made our way to our shore excursion meeting location. The excursion is “Portofino & Santa Margherita”. This was the first port where we had to tender into port. I do not know if that was the problem but we waited 45 minutes before we made our way to Deck 1. We boarded the tender boat and we were on our way. The ride was about 15 minutes to the dock.

We meet our tour guide and boarded the motor coach. The ride to Santa Margarita was a little over and hour and was on the highway and not very scenic. The only view was when we got off the highway near Santa Margarita.

We got off the bus and boarded another boat and off for a 20 minute ride to Portofino. By now the clouds thicken and there was no sun. In Portofino we had a walking tour that was informative however whole we were up on the top of the hill it started raining and it did not stop until we were about an hour from leaving. Lunch was advertised as being pizza. The restaurant packed us in one room and the pizza must have been set out an hour before we arrived. The two bus loads of cruiser were not happy. There were many complaints back at the ship and I am sure Disney will make changes, but it is my advice to stay away from this excursion. There is not enough time in Portofino and if the weather is bad it ruins the excursion. To make matters worse when we arrived at the dock to get our tender boat we were told the weather was too bad for the boats and we had to wait on the bus. We waited less than 30 minuets and were able to board the tender boats and make our way to the ship. It was a tough day.

Tonight was the talent show. This is where the Disney Cast Members show of their talents. This has only been done on the Panama Canal crossing and was done on the 14 day crossing. Much to my surprise this was a good show and some of the talent was excellent. The young man for the Philippines was in my opinion the best. Joey and Kim of “Dancing with the Stars” were on the cruise and performed in the talent show.

Day 7 – June 1, 2007 - Day at Sea

After a long day in Rome everyone needed a day at sea to rest. No wakeup calls today. The plan was a pool day, workout and brunch. We had reservations for the Palo Brunch at 11:30 am so no need for breakfast. Went up to the pool before brunch and worked out to make room for the brunch. As usual the brunch was beautiful. We filled up on the buffet items and there was no room for the hot items. There was room for the deserts!



When we got out of Palo and went back to the pool. It became cool and windy and everyone was bundled in towels to keep warm. I made a motion to go to the movies, it was second and we were off to the show for the rest of the afternoon, but first we stopped to get a glass of wine for the movie. The movie was Invincible, the true story about the guy who tried out for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1977 and made the team where he played for three years. I enjoyed the movie.



After the movie we watched the art auction for a bit and then went back to our cabin relaxed and got changed for the show “Twice Charmed” and made our way to the theater for the show. The show is relatively new but I have seen it last year when it first came out. It is a musical twist on the original Cinderella Story.

It was a Semi-Formal Dinner and we were at Parrots Cay. This dinning room has not been our favorite and it is does not present itself well during formal and semi-formal. However; during this trip the place grew on us. One reason is the great table we had next to the window in the back corner. Carol got the Portabella Ravioli, and I got the leg of lamb. My lamb was tasty but dry. The sauce that came with it was very good but not enough to take away the dryness. I was able to finish Carols’ ravioli and they were excellent.