Day 15

After a solid sleep (finally!), we had breakfast in the room, packed up our last few things, and made our way to Milano Centrale. We were early — no surprise there, it’s a flight attendant habit that dies hard. The station itself is enormous, with its soaring marble arches and cavernous halls that feel more like a cathedral than a train station. It was already buzzing with passengers, announcements, and the usual mild chaos of people trying to find the right platform.

We grabbed a coffee in the food court we’d scouted the other day and sat down in the waiting area for about an hour. While Ted ducked off to get something, an older Italian woman strolled up, moved his bag off the public bench, and sat down without saying a word — no questions, no hesitation. She clearly believed in the “first come, first sit” rule, bag or no bag.

Our train to Rome was the Frecciarossa — sleek, fast, and comfortable. The trip took around three hours, and although we were served a snack and water onboard, I wandered down to the dining car and grabbed a sandwich, coffee, and juice combo. Smooth ride, decent Wi-Fi, and plenty of legroom made it feel more like business class on rails.

Once we arrived at Roma Termini, we didn’t want to risk leaving the platform area and dealing with ticket re-entry, so we waited on the side until our connecting train to Civitavecchia. While we sat there, we watched a surly guy getting arrested (which involved some serious shouting), and then a woman came by handing out religious notes. No pitch or donation ask — just a handoff and quick blessing before moving on.

Our second train, the Frecciabianca, was noticeably older — dim lighting, tired upholstery, and definitely lacking the polish of the Frecciarossa. But the journey was short (just over an hour), so no complaints. Once we arrived in Civitavecchia, we paused for a moment to decide whether to take a taxi or walk to the cruise terminal. We chose wrong.

Even though the ship looked deceptively close, the walk took well over half an hour — dragging our bags under the warm sun, dodging traffic and fences, with very little signage to guide us. Eventually, we reached a checkpoint with a shuttle to the terminal, which we should’ve just taken from the start. Lesson learned.

Once on the shuttle, the driver had to dodge a constant stream of tourists walking in the road like it was a pedestrian mall. Still, we made it, and the cruise check-in was fast and easy. We received our Princess Medallions — no keycards or paper tickets, just a small wearable device that handles everything from room access to ordering drinks.

We finally reached our stateroom, which is a twin balcony room with an “obstructed view” thanks to a lifeboat mounted outside. Thankfully, we can still see over it, so it’s not a complete loss. The room is compact but well designed, and the best part? A laundry room is directly across the hallway. I was genuinely excited about this — the small joys of travel when you’re down to your last clean shirt.

After showering and changing, I threw on a load of laundry while we watched the safety video and visited our muster station. Then we headed to the daily LGBT meetup in the hopes of meeting a few other passengers. It paid off — we ended up chatting with a group of Americans (most of them also flight attendants!) and a retired couple from Sydney, Ken and Troy — also former flight attendants. Apparently, this cruise is turning into a reunion of the aviation industry.

We shared a few drinks with them before heading up to the buffet for a late dinner. While the food at the Princess buffet isn’t quite at the level of what we had on Celebrity Cruises, the staterooms are definitely better — more spacious and thoughtfully laid out. Plus, there’s something comforting about knowing we can now unpack fully and not have to repack or sprint for a train for at least ten days.

The ship itself has that classic Princess feel — understated, a bit old-world, with elegant finishes and soft lighting throughout the atrium and lounges. It feels less flashy than some cruise lines, but more relaxed. After racing across Europe, that’s exactly what we needed.

Tomorrow, we arrive in Naples — the first real stop of our Mediterranean cruise. And we can’t wait to explore.Læs mere