Trial by Error!

     Before this cruise I had been on 2 and those were with a group of people.  I always thought that I needed to travel with a group or another person because it was just safer that way and what I didn’t have to learn someone would just lead the way.  Although good experiences, when my sister had to back out of this Europe cruise, I KNEW it was a sign that I needed to take this trip by myself.  I knew if I got through this trip on my own unscathed then I could do this and more again and again.  AND I did get though it by having no fear and accepting and working through minor errors.

     When booking the cruise, from the pictures provided on the website the ports looked beautiful, but what it does not show you is the distance you have to travel from the port to get that beautiful picture.  The ports in Italy are not like the ports I had been to when visiting the Caribbean.  You’re not stepping onto a beach or area that you can just walk into the city without walking a long distance.  When docking in Italy all of the ports are in what looks like industrial factory areas.  So, in order to get to the city, you either had to take a private car service, bus, shuttle, or any other form of transportation.  I had booked only 3 days of shore excursions of the 5 days that we were scheduled to make a stop.  

     Carnival Cruise provides an on ship channel that suggest the best shore excursions and city information.  In the broadcast the man explains that getting to the cities will be a great task, traffic was like none other, and suggest that you book an excursion.  I had visited the cruise website and saw pictures of the port, so I thought the guy was just trying to get people to pay for excursions.  Which was probably what he was doing but he wasn’t wrong about gaining access to the city and how mad crazy drivers and traffic could be.  But I didn’t realize this until we ported at our first destination, Cagliari (Sardinia), Italy.

Sardinia, Italy

April 16, 2018 at 6:25 am

Although a nice and well kept port with a beautiful view of the city, getting to that city I knew I needed to take a bus into the city.  Not having done my research on what to see, what to visit, and distances to these places I didn’t feel comfortable getting off the ship, exploring the city without a guide, by myself.  So I stayed on the ship and admired the views from my balcony. 

Realizing my mistake, knowing I’d be in Naples, Italy the next day there was no way I’d stay on the ship the next day, so I raced down to the excursion desk and purchased a ticket for the Easy Naples City Sightseeing Tour.