Costa Concordia Removal Plans

Removal Contract Awarded 
 Refloat & Tow Concordia

Costa Concordia Salvage Begins

Costa Crociere and the Costa Concordia Emergency Commissioner's Office announced that the tender for the removal of the ship from Giglio Island has been awarded to Titan Salvage in partnership with the Italian firm Micoperi. The work will begin in early May subject to final approval from the Italian authorities and is expected to take about 12 months.

Titan Salvage is an American-owned specialist marine salvage and wreck removal company, part of the Crowley Group, and is a world leader in its field. Micoperi is a well-known Italian marine contractor with a long history as a specialist in underwater construction and engineering.

Main Objectives:

• Minimal risk
• Minimal environmental impact, 
• Protection of Giglio's economy and tourism industry
• Maximum safety of the work

"We are very pleased to announce another important step toward salvaging the wreck from Giglio Island," said Costa Crociere S.p.A. Chairman & CEO Pier Luigi Foschi. "As was the case with the removal of the fuel, we have sought to identify the best solution to safeguard the island and its marine environment and to protect its tourism. We would like also to thank Smit Salvage and Tito Neri for succeeding in defueling and caretaking operations."

Salvage Crew Based in Civitavecchia 

The plan also includes measures to safeguard the island of Giglio's tourism and wider economy. Salvage workers' presence will not have any significant impact on the availability of hotel accommodation on the island during the summer season. The main operating base will be located on the mainland at nearby Civitavecchia, where equipment and materials will be stored, thereby avoiding any impact on Giglio's port activities.

Once floated, the wreck will be towed to an Italian port and dealt with in accordance with the requirements of the Italian authorities.

Costa Crociere, Carnival Corporation & plc, London Offshore Consultants, and the Standard P&I Club formulated the plans by reviewing  bids from six companies. The Titan Salvage/Micoperi proposal best fulfilled the main objectives stated above. Once the main work is complete, the sea bottom will be cleaned and marine flora replanted.

Overall updates of the Costa Concordia disaster are being made on the following blog post:   

Costa Concordia Listing after Deadly Accident

Another First for Norwegian Epic

My European Vacation on Norwegian Epic 

Begins in What Port?

It Depends on You

Next summer when Norwegian Epic begins her 7-Night Mediterranean Cruise schedule there will be Three Embarkation Ports instead of the traditional One. Passengers will for the first time be able to choose where they embark on their 7-Night Mediterranean cruise.

EPIC Now Sailing the Mediterranean from  

Barcelona |  Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) | Marseille

Norwegian Cruise Line, known for their "Freestyle Cruising" experience, has taken that to a new level with this announcement.  Now, you can not only decide when and where to dine, you can also decide where you will begin and end your 7-Night Mediterranean cruise.

As you might expect, this is a North-American cruise line first.  Italian cruise lines MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises already use the multiple embarkation port model in the Mediterranean. 

With the multiple embarkation port model, everyone still has a 7-Night cruise, but the "first" and "last" night concept no longer exists.   That might take a little getting used to for those that have cruised before.  For example, a cruise leaving Barcelona, Epic's summer homeport, on July 1 will embark some passengers in Barcelona, some on July 4 in Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) and yet more in Marseille on July 7. 

Benefits to Multiple Embarkation Ports 

2011 saw the highest airfares in recent times from the U.S. to Europe.  Those that follow our column on a regular basis know that we did a 12-Night Mediterranean and Greek Isles cruise this year.   Seeing the Mediterranean by cruise is the best way to go.   Your ship is your floating hotel with meals and entertainment included onboard, saving you from those expenses on land.  Fortunately, we had air miles which we were able to leverage, otherwise the relatively inexpensive cruise fare would have been dwarfed by the cost of air transportation.  The high airfare would have potentially put the whole trip in jeopardy.
 
2011 also saw record ship deployments in Europe, as the cruise lines responded to the increasing demand.  With the soaring air prices, the cruise lines had to find ways to entice passengers to cruise Europe.   Next year the cruise lines will maintain or exceed current capacity levels in Europe.   Unless there is a silver bullet in the airline industry, we don't see prices reducing to pre-2011 levels any time soon.

So, Norwegian's move couldn't be more timely.   It puts the passenger in the driver's seat on naming the cost of the air transportation.   They might be able to find cheaper airfare to Rome instead of Barcelona for example.   Perhaps they will be able to extend their cruise vacation with pre-cruise or post-cruise stays in the embarkation city.  We always suggest flying early to your embarkation port to avoid the hassles of same-day arrival and to help with jet lag.

The multiple embarkation ports of call should have a ripple effect benefit to the entire tourism industry in those embarkation cities.  The carriers involved in moving all those passengers to/from their destination should benefit also.  Instead of having several thousand passengers in port at the same time, from several ships, that load is disbursed to several different points in time and destinations.  Passenger satisfaction should increase, as less drain is put on the infrastructure making for a more pleasant embarkation / disembarkation process.

Norwegian Cruise Line began a re-branding campaign in Mid-October this year.   I'm sure you have seen the "Cruise Like a Norwegian" commercials and other advertisements. Assuming that this program is successful, we're thinking many people will want to "Cruise Like a Norwegian" to the Mediterranean.

The success of this program will be one thing to watch this coming year.   If it works out as Norwegian expects, I'd expect other cruise lines to jump on the band wagon after that.  

What do you think about this new program - do you like it?

Diary of Cruise with Chris to Greek Isles

 

Virtual Cruise with Chris

12-Night Mediterranean

& Greek Isles Cruise

Star Princess

May 30 - June 11, 2011

Our 12-Night Mediterranean & Greek Isles Cruise began in Rome, Italy with a two night pre-cruise stay.  We then took a train to Civitavecchia, Italy, where we boarded Princess Cruises' Star Princess for our cruise throughout the region.   The cruise concluded with an overnight stay in Venice, Italy.   The next morning we departed Venice for Rome via train for another day exploring the eternal city before heading home the next morning.   Click on the Blog Posts and FB Photo Albums to virtually journey with us on our trip.

	Port	Blog Posts	Photo Albums
1	Pre-Cruise Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy	Our Rome Adventure Begins Day 1 Pre-cruise in Rome Exploring Palatine Hill and Roman Forum When in Rome Relaxing at Trevi Fountain Visiting Vatican Museum St. Peter's Basilica - Vatican Special Vatican Exhibit Pope John Paul II Walking Tour of Rome from Vatican As Night Falls in Rome Rome to Civitavecchia by Train Sail Away From Civitavecchia	Rome - Colosseum Album Palatine Hill - Roman Forum Trevi Fountain Vatican Museum Line Vatican Museum Part 2 St. Peter's Vatican Pope John Paul II Exhibit Walking from Vatican Piazza Navona  Rome at Night
	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Cruising to Monte Carlo Monaco Monaco Grand Prix Track Excursion to Eze	Monte Carlo Off the Beaten Path - Eze
3	Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy	Off the Beaten Path Lucca Italy	Lucca - Walking Tour  Lucca - Church of San Michele in Foro  Lucca Duomo (Cathedral of St Martin )
4	Naples/Capri, Italy	Naples/Capri, Italy Amalfi Coastal Cruise Exploring A Lost City From Ancient Ruins to Shells in Napoli	Naples/Capri Arrival Drive to Salerno Amalfi Coastal Cruise Exploring Amalfi Drive to Pompeii / Lunch Exploring Pompeii Cameo Factory
5	At Sea	Star Princess Main Dining Room	Star Princess Food
6	Santorini, Greece	SantoWines Santorini Greece Village of Oia, Santorini Greece Continuing Santorini Exploration in Fira Sunset on Santorini	Santo Winery - Santorini Drive to Oia - Santorini Village of Oia Village of Fira Santorini Sunset
7	Mykonos, Greece	Images of Mykonos Kalafati Beach in Mykonos Panagia Tourliani Monastery Mykonos Windmills and Little Venice Mykonos Town Walking Tour Meet Petros - Mascot of Mykonos A Man and His Donkey	Kalafati Beach Panagia Tourliani Monastery Returning to Port of Mykonos Mykonos Countryside Mykonos Walking Tour
8	Athens (Piraeus), Greece	The Acropolis a Journey Into Antiquity Plaka The Neighborhood of the Gods Lunch at Metropolitan Hotel Athens Athens City of Contrasts Along The Attica Coast Temple of Poseidon Overlooks Aegean Sea	The Acropolis The Plaka Lunch Buffet - Athens Central Athens Scenic Attica Coast  Temple of Poseidon
9	Katakolon (Olympia), Greece	Step Back in Time to Ancient Olympia	Ancient Olympia Archeological Site
10	Corfu, Greece	Achilleion Palace Corfu	Achilleion Palace Corfu Town
11	Split, Croatia	Off the Beaten Path Krka National Park	KRKA National Park & Waterfalls Adriatic Coastal Drive to Krka
12	Venice, Italy	Concordia Disaster Rekindles Venice Restrictions Venice in Spring and Winter Sailing Into Venice by Cruise Ship Exploring Venice at Night	Arriving in Venice by Cruise Ship Venice Walking Tour Part 1 Venice Walking tour - Part 2 Venice - Evening 64 photos Venice at Dusk  38 photos Venice at Night  50 photos
13	Venice, Italy to Rome, Italy Post-Cruise	Venice Cruise Terminal to Pizzale Roma People Mover from Cruise Terminal Arriving Back in Rome  Back Home from Mediterranean Cruise	Venice to Rome by Train 39 photos

As you can see from the itinerary, this was a very port intensive cruise vacation.  As usual, when we travel "over the pond" to Europe, we like to arrive a couple days early so that we can extend our time there while getting accustomed to the time change.  In order to obtain round-trip airline tickets, it was necessary to return to Rome, Italy from Venice following the cruise.   This allowed us to spend another day in Rome and also made the trip a lot less stressful since we didn't have to worry about missing our flight home.

We hope that you enjoy your virtual journey with us to the Greek Isles.   As you can see, we haven't completed all the ports of call yet, so be sure to visit again for the updates.  Even better, "Like" us on Facebook so that you'll be notified as we post more pictures and stories.

Sail Away From Civitavecchia

Star Princess Prepares to 

Sail from Civitavechia, Italy

Having completed our two-night pre-cruise stay in Rome, Italy, and our train ride to the pier, we were anxious to get on board the Star Princess for the actual cruise portion of our vacation.   These next posts will describe our Mediterranean adventure in detail.  We hope you enjoy your virtual cruise of the Mediterranean and Greek Isles.

Monday, May 30th was a beautiful day in Civitavecchi, Italy, as the Star Princess prepared to depart on its 12-Night journey to the Mediterranean ports with a special emphasis on the Greek Isles.

Passengers were up on the outside decks, soaking in the sun's rays and watching as last minute activities took place getting ready for our departure.   


As it turned out, we were not on deck when the actual sail-away took place, because we had early seating dinner (6 PM).  The ship departed shortly after that.

There were still some people in the pool as Star Princess was concluding final preparations for our departure.  The sun would be out for several more hours yet, so if you didn't have to be at dinner, there was certainly no rush to leave.

We had already completed the mandatory safety drill, where we learned about a situation that occurred on the previous sailing, which would have an impact on us for the first few days.   There had been an increased report of gastrointestinal illness on the last cruise, attributed to people eating meals on shore.   Consequently, the ship had undergone an extensive sanitation process when it docked in Civitavecchia.   

In addition to the sanitation, special food handling procedures had been put in place.   We hadn't paid much attention to it when we first got onboard, but after we heard the announcement during the safety drill, things made sense.

In the buffet, as well as other food venues, the wait staff was serving food.   Passengers were not allowed to handle food on the serving line - this included even such things as rolls and condiments.   After two full days, the ban was lifted and life onboard returned to normal with no outbreaks during our cruise.   While it was inconvenient for the first days, taking longer to get through the food line for example, we commend Princess Cruises for proactively handling the situation to prevent any further problems on our cruise.

Welcome aboard ... the Mediterranean adventure begins in earnest now.  Be sure to visit both our blog and Facebook Fan page often for more stories and photos of our journey.

Additional Reading:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (advice about any health advisories here and abroad)
Traveler's Health (CDC Travel specific topics)
Facts About Noroviruses on Cruise Ships  -  gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses can be prevented

Wash hands often. Wash hands after using the bathroom or changing diapers and before eating or preparing food.  Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer along with hand washing.

Norovirus outbreaks, when they occur on a cruise ship, always make the news.  The truth is these outbreaks can occur anywhere there are groups of people in a small area such as nursing homes, restaurants, catered events, hotels, and cruise ships.

 Vessel Sanitation Program - prevention and control of spread of gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships

 

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




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Rome to Civitavecchia by Train

Roma Termini to Civitavecchia

After spending two nights in Rome, Italy before our 12-Night Mediterranean and Greek Isles Cruise, it was time to head to Civitavecchia.

Hotel Sonya is within walking distance, about two or three blocks,  to Rome's Termini Train Station.   Local trains between the two cities depart every 30-40 minutes and the travel time is just over an hour.  See schedule on Trenitalia's website.

We decided to have breakfast and then leave for the train station without actually reserving train tickets.   Our goal was to arrive in Civitavecchia between noon and 1 PM.   When we arrived at the train station in Rome, an agent assisted us with the purchase from one of the self-service kiosks.   The machines will take credit cards or cash - we used our American Express card.   The cost per person was 4,50 € .   The agent told us the train would leave from track 25, so we started the long walk to the platform.    He had wanted us to select an earlier train - we are glad we didn't attempt that - we would not have made it on time.

One of the key things you MUST do is validate your train ticket on the platform.   The yellow validation machine shown in the picture above is what you are looking for.   Failure to validate your ticket could be costly - up to  25 € per ticket, so you don't want to miss this important step. 

The agent gave us the wrong platform number, and when it was getting close to our departure time, we began to wonder why there wasn't a train yet.   One of us walked to some nearby tracks and saw that we were indeed in the wrong place.   A local man helped us with the bags and got us settled on the train car.    He piled our luggage in an open seat and waited for a tip.   It was worth it because without his help, we would have missed  the train completely.

We had second class accommodations which were just fine for the hour plus ride to Civitavecchia.  The train made several stops between the two cities, which is why the fare was so cheap.   We could have opted for a more expensive ride with fewer stops, but that really wasn't necessary.

The train ends in Civitavecchia, so there wasn't a need to watch for our stop.  When the train came to a complete stop, it was time to get off.

If you decide to transfer from Rome by train, be sure your luggage can endure the cobblestones which you'll need to navigate both in Rome, on the way to the train station, and also when you arrive at your final destination.

Walk to the end of the platform and into the station.  Once outside the station you have a decision to make - either walk to the pier or hire a taxi.  

We decided to walk.   It is several blocks from the train station to the shuttle bus near the pier which will take you the rest of the way to your ship.  You'll need to navigate some stairs, cobblestones, and curbs, but if you walked from your hotel to the Roma Termini, you can most likely make it to the pier without much difficulty.   It was quite warm, however, and we were certainly glad to see the shuttle bus at the end of the street.

We got our first glance at Star Princess from the shuttle bus.  Did I mention that we never would have made the walk from where the bus picked us up to the actual pier?

There were porters there to take our checked baggage and direct us to the check-in lines.   It didn't take long to embark and before we knew it we were onboard the ship and in our cabins.   From there is was off to the buffet for some lunch - let the feeding begin.   

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




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Where is Chris - Featured Destination #8

Where Is Chris - Featured Destination It's a gorgeous May morning where I am.  I've just arrived at my destination after an eight hour flight across the Atlantic. The excitement is building. Where Am I?  I’m not going to tell you right away. Close your eyes and imagine you are standing next to me while I paint a picture of what I saw today and we will see if you can figure it out. Arriving early in the embarkation port ... I decided to fly in a few days early before my cruise started to visit a city I had heard about but never visited. It is the starting point for many cruises and is a very beautiful place. There is plenty of entertainment, places to see and things to do. You will not be disappointed in exploring it. Exploring near the hotel ... We arrived at the hotel and registered, but our room would not be available until around 3 PM in the afternoon.   I am sitting in a sidewalk café enjoying the beautiful weather and a magnificent cup of coffee.   There are several attractions within walking distance of our hotel.  We decided to walk to our first site.  It takes us about 20 minutes to get there. A City of Sounds ... From the early morning when the streets fill with cars, taxis, and motor scooters, all blaring their horns and weaving in and out of traffic, the sidewalks are overrun with office workers rushing to their desks with the first coffee of the day.  By 10 am everyone from tourists to shop keepers are awake and making this place an explosion of sound. History Comes Alive ... This port is alive with history and if you don’t have a plan, you can miss out on seeing most of the most important sights. The bulk of the city lies on the east side of the Tiber River which meanders through the town. However, several very important landmarks are located on the other side. The city’s various quarters are linked by large boulevards that have been laid out since the late 19th century. St. Peter’s Basilica; the Vatican; the Castel Sant’Angelo and the colorful Trastevere neighborhoods are among the attractions located west of the Tiber River.   Where am I? ... By now you should have figured out that I am in the eternal city of Rome. It is not possible to see all this city has to offer in 1 day so it is best to schedule the visit for a few days. The list of attractions to see reads like a highlight reel of the ancients. The Coliseum; the Pantheon; St. Peter’s square; Trevi Fountain; Spanish Steps; Sistine Chapel are just a few sights that must be seen.   After you’ve visited the Coliseum, the Pantheon, made a wish at the Trevi fountain, find a café at twilight and watch everything turn from pink to gold and copper. This is the time when a truly different Rome comes alive. Night time in Rome is truly a different atmosphere to experience. Time for you to continue the exploration ... Let me help you plan a cruise vacation which starts or ends in Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy.  If you are interested, you can travel with me from Rome to Venice in Spring, 2011.   See Cruise With Chris to Greek Isles in 2011 for complete details. Search:  Cruises that Depart from Rome