Back in Civitavecchia

It’s good to be back in Civitavecchia, our nautical doorstep to Rome and the first international port we ever visited. We came here back in 2013 at the beginning of our Mediterranean voyage with Princess Cruises. There have been some changes to the port since we were here last. It is larger, new piers have been added, and larger ships can dock here now. Of course, this port has been changing and growing ever since Roman times. Today marks the end of one voyage and the start of another. Passengers are disembarking to fly home, and new passengers are embarking for the next leg of the journey to Athens, Greece. This morning Glenda and I are doing our laundry, having a leisurely cup of coffee in the atrium, and completing our passenger response forms. We went down to the reservations desk earlier to book a river cruise in Portugal to begin in October of next year. We will do a little more work on our travel blogs before lunch, and afterwards we may take a short walk into the city. It contains the remnants of a harbor and shipyard built by the Roman emperor Trajan in the early second century. There is also a wonderful old fortress here designed by Michelangelo. Visitors cannot go inside now because it is still being used by the Italian military. Not bad to still be in operation after 400 years!

Perhaps this would be a good place to mention that I am now using my iPhone pro max 13 camera. This is the first cruise that I have made without my trusty old canon 5D Mark III. I must say that the camera in the cell phone is impressive. I am getting a higher percentage of successful shots, and I am particularly pleased with the way my new camera handles low light situations. While I miss my Canon, I must say that the performance of the iPhone pro max 13 is really impressive.Read more