Review of the MSC Poesia

A friend of mine, Garry Thompson, reminded me at an NCL presentation this week that my blog was woefully out of date. He's right. Shame on me. I'm thinking I should blog first thing in the morning instead of waiting until the end of the day when inspiration is lacking.

There's no doubt that the MSC Poesia is a gorgeous ship and the public areas are beautifully decorated. If my visit had been a ship inspection only, I would have been wowed. Unfortunately, the food and service were disappointing.

If I had spent the entire week indulging in Italian cuisine such as pasta, risotto and gelato, I would have thought I had died and gone to heaven. The pasta dishes from the different Italian regions were delicious. However, the fish, poultry and beef dishes that I had were bland and dry. And if you like strong coffee, MSC Cruises comes out on top. I particularly like coffee that's robust and I've found that most of the cruise lines serve coffee that tastes like flavored water with a touch of cardboard. Come on now -- I want to wake up and smell the coffee! There's nothing like a great cup of java to get the day going.

And another thing I should mention -- alcoholic beverages are very reasonably priced. The same could not be said for salon services, however. I went up there for a nail polish change and decided against it after they quoted me $30. After finding some $3 nail polish remover in St. Maarten I was content to do it myself.

Being in the cruise business, I feel the need to keep in touch with my clients while I'm gone. Unfortunately, the Internet service on board the MSC Poesia was intermittent and slow compared to what I've experienced on other lines. My bill for wireless Internet service made me cringe. I don't expect the Internet service on board ship to be any where near as fast as my broadband connection at home but I don't expect it to be an experience akin to watching grass grow either. Of course, if you're not a workaholic and are cruising to get away from it all you won't care about the speed of the Internet connection.

Although we had a very attentive, friendly and humorous Italian waiter from Calabria in the dining room, he was the exception rather than the rule. I was rarely greeted with a smile or a "Good Morning" by any of the staff as I wandered around the ship. Most would not acknowledge me until I acknowledged them. I spoke about this with my colleagues on board and some of them thought this was perhaps a cultural thing as Europeans prefer staff to remain in the background. I realize that MSC is an Italian cruise line with mainly a European clientele, but over 90% of the passengers aboard the MSC Poesia on this Eastern Caribbean cruise were from North America and we generally like cheerful, outgoing staff.

The conference facility was small, which is fine for a cohesive group of around 20-30. However, it's important to bring transformers and/or adapters as the room had only one outlet for an American-style plug.

MSC Cruises also plays by a different set of rules than most American cruise lines. Most cruise lines don't allow women on board who are past their 24th week of pregnancy and infants under the age of six months. I saw infants who were obviously less than six months old and a woman on board actually gave birth in the casino one night which caused an unexpected stop in Freeport.

Pictures of the MSC Poesia

The MSC Poesia is a New Cruising Experience for Me

I've been on a lot of cruise ships but this Saturday, I will be boarding the MSC Poesia, one of MSC Cruises' newest ships, in Fort Lauderdale. This is the first time I will be cruising with MSC Cruises and I'm looking forward to finding out first hand if all the company hype about Italian charm is really true. When it comes right down to it, is Italian charm really different from Scandinavian charm, British charm or Greek charm? Given that my maiden name is Colombi, you would think I should already know the answer to this question!

I know you'll laugh when I tell you that this cruise is truly a working cruise for me as I will be involved in a series of seminars about organizing group cruises. Although I've planned, organized, and promoted many group cruises, it seems that you can never know enough as it's becoming increasing difficult to stay abreast of the cruise lines' ever-changing group policies. A few years ago, it was easy to sell a group cruise because group prices were lower than the prevailing cruise rates. However, it is a totally different animal when group prices are higher than the prevailing rates and the prevailing rates get even lower as the sailing date approaches. In this economic environment, it seems that the cruise lines are encouraging passengers to wait until the last minute to book. I suppose it works as long as you don't care where you are on the ship and you're not looking for a stateroom that accommodates more than two people.

Oh well. As a diva in the cruise business, I'm looking to stay afloat (no pun intended) no matter what the economy happens to be doing. If you're feeling flush, why not cruise to celebrate your success? If you're staring into the economic abyss, why not cruise to forget about it for a few days and perhaps get inspired at sea?

Getting back to the MSC Poesia and Italian charm --I'll report back while at sea in between seminars.

Rock 'n' Roll Celebration Cruise

As a Cruise Diva, I particularly enjoy planning and organizing cruises that offer something different and special. That's why I'm thrilled to be involved with the Rock 'n' Roll Celebration Cruise. If you happen to be running in the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon & 1/2 Marathon on June 26, then why not celebrate your success and join us on a 7-day cruise to Alaska on board the Sapphire Princess? Finish the race on June 26 and get on board at Pier 91 in Seattle on June 27!

The Rock 'n' Roll Celebration cruise features Frank Shorter, America's greatest distance runner and the last to win a gold medal in the Olympics which he did in Munich in 1972. Frank will be offering clinics on board that you don't want to miss.

You are welcome to join us even if you're not up to a marathon or 1/2 marathon. After all, when was the last time you had the chance to mingle with and get inspired by a Gold Medal Olympian?

My New Year's Resolution

Happy New Year! It's a great time to put my New Year's Resolution in writing.

This is the year that Cruise Holidays of Bellevue is going to evolve from a brick-and-mortal old world retail travel agency into a successful virtual cruise travel agency with the ability to serve our clients effectively whether we're tasting fine French wines on a river cruise on the Rhône or trying to dazzle the Québécois with our French on a pre-cruise tour in Montreal.

Booking cruises is a labor intensive business that can generate tons of paper including various iterations of cruise confirmations from the cruise lines and God knows how many renditions of printed invoices from the agency. Rather than filling up file drawers full of printed reservation details, I'm committed to establishing electronic files with the same information so that I can access it anywhere at any time. Mailing paper cruise documents isn't much of an issue anymore as most of the cruise lines have migrated to electronic cruise documents or eDocs.

What are you looking for when you book a cruise with a travel agent rather than booking it on-line? Aren't you looking for someone who has a passion for cruising, who knows a thing a two about cruise lines, cruise ships and the cruising experience and who just might be able to provide some advice on how to make the ports of call come alive for you?

If so, I can tell you that a travel agent doesn't gain that experience shuffling paper in the office.

So in 2010, I'm going to get organized so that I spend less time in the office and more time discovering the remarkable world we live in and sharing it with you.

The Wonders of Pompeii

I have to confess that visiting ruins has never been one of my favorite things to do. I just couldn't get excited about trying to figure out from a pile of rocks how a building must have looked thousands of years ago. Quite frankly, I was disappointed after visiting Olympia Greece, the site of the ancient Olympic games a couple of years ago and left with the feeling of "Is that all there is?"

Having said this, I can tell you that I was fascinated with Pompeii because so much of it is extremely well preserved. The frescoes in some of the homes of the well-to-do Romans were colorful and vivid which brought Pompeii to life for me. This is incredible when you consider that Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD and completely buried Pompeii. The two hours we spent there just flew by.

Our guide was particularly good at explaining how the Romans lived; she showed us a Pompeii fast food outlet, which looked more like a soup kitchen; the Pompeii equivalent of pedestrian crosswalks and speed bumps and the all-time Roman favorite -- the brothel. The frescoes in the brothel were also vibrant and quite explicit -- just pick your sex and position and have a good time. Our guide reminded us that there was no "flashing" allowed in the brothel - from the camera or otherwise.

It's hard to imagine the destructive force of Mt. Vesuvius as it rained tons of ashes upon Pompeii one fine August afternoon in 79 AD. One minute you're going about your business and the next minute you're history.

Look at the man in the photo to the left. He was found under the ashes frozen in time when Pompeii was excavated. I wonder what he was thinking before the lights went out. Whatever it was, it brings a whole new meaning to the expression, "hold the thought."

More photos of Pompeii

The Spectacular Amalfi Coast

During our port stop in Naples, we decided to spend half of our time in Amalfi and the other half in Pompeii. Being avid cruisers and accustomed to enjoying spectacular views from the sea, we opted for a boat ride along the Amalfi Coast from Salerno to Amalfi rather than taking a motorcoach. We were not disappointed.

Although it was a brisk, windy morning, I decided to brave the cold during the 40 minute trip on the water and was grateful that I had worn a heavy jacket and gloves. The Amalfi Coast is ruggedly beautiful and many of the homes that we saw perched on the cliffs looked like they would slide into the sea during the next heavy rain. I imagined what an adventure it would be to make my way along interesting circuitous routes to get to these estates, including the former residence of Gore Vidal.

Amalfi was the capital of the Maritime Republic of Amalfi, an important trading power in the Mediterranean between 839 and around 1200. It is now a charming town where we had only an 1 1/2 hours to look around. Although that gave us enough time to enjoy a couple of lattes at the coffee bar (it's more expensive if you sit down at a table), we didn't have time to eat at one of the cute little restaurants on the piazza.
The first shop that drew me in was selling limoncello, an Italian lemon liqueur produced mainly in Southern Italy. While I was there marveling at all of the yellow treats and merchandise, I saw a sign about a limoncello tasting room and the next thing I knew I was looking all over town for it. Having lived in the Napa Valley for eight years I wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to taste an alcoholic beverage. Since Amalfi isn't exactly a metropolis, I found the limoncello factory (Antichi Sapori d'Amalfi) within minutes. Even though I don't speak Italian, I guess I communicate well enough with my hands so I was soon sharing a cold one with the grandson of the owner. I bought a bottle and imagined myself enjoying its lemon zestiness after a summer afternoon breaking a sweat in the garden.

More photos of the Amalfi Coast

Rome on the Run

Although I thoroughly enjoyed Rome for the one day I was there, it wasn't nearly enough time. I felt like my life was on "fast forward" while I breathlessly ran around seeing sites that covered thousands of years of history.

Cruising is a wonderful and hassle-free way to travel but if you really want to combine a visit to Rome with a cruise, do yourself a favor and see it either before or after your cruise. During my cruise on the Celebrity Century, Rome was a port stop during the cruise so we were there for only one day.

First of all, it is important to know that cruise ships dock in Civitavecchia which is 50 miles and a two hour drive from Rome. Believe me, it took us every bit of two hours to get to the Piazza del Popolo, where we were dropped off, handed a little paper map and given less than two hours to find our own way to the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and the Pantheon. We weren't given much time because we had to get back in order to make our 1:00pm appointment at the Vatican Museums.

Although Steve and I walked quickly down the Via del Corso in search of the Trevi Fountain, I still couldn't help peeking in the windows of the shops and admiring the fashionable Italian clothing. Oh well -- too many shopping opportunities and not enough time. After admiring the Trevi Fountain for 15-20 minutes, which is a spectacular fantasy of mythical sea creatures amid cascades of splashing water, we decided to grab a quick bite al fresco at the Golden Bar and were very pleased with our prosciutto paninis.

From there we ran to the Spanish Steps where we had a precious few minutes to snap some photos. Although our stop for paninis cost us a visit to the Pantheon, everyone who knows me understands that I'm a real grouch when I get hungry.

It was important for us to be on time for our appointment at the Vatican Museums because if you don't make it, you could stand in line for hours waiting to get in. Although I was led to believe the Sistine Chapel would be the highlight of the visit, it was frankly too dark in there to clearly see its elaborate beauty. I was more captivated by the majestic statues of naked men with gorgeous physiques that we passed on our way to the Chapel.

While the Sistine Chapel was a disappointment, St. Peter's Basilica was more beautiful than I had ever imagined. Being the lapsed Catholic I am, I was initially a little hesitant to enter such hallowed grounds. I started thinking that I really ought to go to confession but after a few minutes I was too dazzled to worry about it. I was struck by the fact that all of the walls and altars were adorned with fabulous mosaics.

The church's history dates back to the year AD 319 when the emperor Constantine built a basilica over the site of the tomb of St. Peter. Since then, each pope has contributed to its magnificence. It was also interesting to hear that priests from anywhere can arrange to say mass at one of the altars which immediately made me think of organizing cruises with church groups. Is it sacrilegious to think about business within one of God's most glorious houses of worship?

More photos of Rome