Beyond the Sea: Day 8 - Civitavecchia (as seen through the porthole)

[Gill H]

<<<Day 7


OK, so we’ve had an embarkation day, a sea day, a port day – what’s next? Well, a port day that’s also a ship day! Today the Magic has docked at Civitavecchia, the closest port for Rome. For many of the passengers, particularly the American ones, this is their first ever chance to catch a glimpse of ‘the eternal city’ and so they are all booked on full-day excursions. However, we’ve decided to do things differently. We’ve never been to Rome, but we know for sure that a 90-minute coach trip followed by 6 hours in crowded places is not the best way to see it. We’ve priced up a few days in Rome off season (when it will be cooler and quieter), and frankly, we are more likely to be able to afford a trip to Rome in the next few years, than to afford another DCL cruise. So we’ve decided today is a day to take full advantage of being on this lovely ship.

Accordingly, the alarm doesn’t go off until 8am and we take our time getting ready. Instead of the hustle and bustle of Cabana’s, we have decided to have a relaxed breakfast in the main dining room, which this morning is Lumiere’s. However, the experience proves a little less relaxing than we’d hoped…

We are given a rapturous welcome as we enter Lumiere’s, and it’s soon clear why – there are only about 6 other people in there! We are shown to a table and given menus, and it’s then that the fun begins. Of course we don’t have our regular servers – hopefully Nikola and Amphie are having a well-earned rest at the moment. But we seem to have a flurry of servers who can’t wait to look after us. Imagine any of those big ‘waiter dance routines’ from classic films – Hello Dolly, Annie, even the Polar Express – and that’s just what it’s like. And to be honest, it’s a bit uncomfortable. All we want is someone to take our order, bring our food, check it’s OK and leave us alone to enjoy it. Instead we feel rather as if we’re in a goldfish bowl!

Still, with all these people looking after us, there should be no problems with our meal, right? Wrong. Yet again, the food looks lovely, but is not hot. Cue another flurry of activity as our server takes our food away, and multiple CMs come over periodically to apologise and reassure us that it will be ready soon.

When our food finally arrives, it’s hot (yay!) and very good. I go for the French toast pineapple stack which is delicious – the abundance of fruit means I can kid myself it’s a healthy option and forget about the French toast and maple glaze…!

Peter has gone for the eggs Benedict, which comes with bacon (Canadian bacon, so almost the real thing!) sausage and tomato.

For some reason we’ve also been given a bowl of assorted cubes of melon – I don’t remember asking for this, so perhaps it’s an apology for the wait.

Once we’ve finished our food and are relaxing over refills of coffee, the CM onslaught starts again. Is there anything else we would like? (Big Simba and Nala eyes) Pleeeeeease?

Peter says he would like a little taste of something sweet, and asks if he could have two pancakes with syrup. He’s expecting the small size pancakes we’ve seen elsewhere – but when it arrives, his plate has three huge pancakes and a mountain of syrup!

I’ve asked for a bagel with butter and jam, and that arrives as expected.

Eventually we have to tell our over-eager servers that we really have had enough to eat and we’re going to leave now. Let’s just say it’s a good job we are skipping lunch today – I don’t think I could go through that again!

[Gill H]

I love how the info screens in the Atrium tell you who your crew are! Don't know if this is just a DCL thing but it's nice.

We nip back to our stateroom to fetch the numerous plastic carrier bags full of goodies from our case. This morning we are going to finish off bagging up our fish extender gifts, and take them round to the families in our exchange. So we settle at a table in the Promenade Lounge, and surround ourselves with carrier bags, lists, gift tags and other paraphernalia.

Now, thinking back to the hours of fuss we devoted to this on the day before we left, you’d think it was all organised, no? Well, think again. It takes us well over an hour to ensure that all bags have enough stuff in, that families have gifts appropriate to their members, and that each bag is labelled with the family name and the stateroom number. At this point we begin to have serious doubts that we will ever do this again – or at least if we do, we will have them all bagged up and labelled before we get on the ship.

Eventually we have nine lots of gifts, in labelled bags, ready to give out. So we check our list (which I have handily arranged by deck number) and spend another hour or so putting our gifts into the relevant fish extenders. It’s fun to imagine people’s reactions as they open them.

Once we’re done, we head to Cove Cafe for a well-earned latte and a couple of little cakes. The CM who brings our order is surprised when we don’t even bother to open our biscotti, and we explain that they aren’t to our taste. Does anyone out there actually like huge slabs of salty cardboard to dip in their coffee, I wonder? I’ve had proper biscotti, and these are not worthy of the name.

By now it’s early afternoon and we’re ready for a rest. We go back to our stateroom where I get changed into my swimsuit, slather suncream on and put my sundress on top, and take a book up to Deck 9 where I plan to at last try the pool. Peter has decided he wants a little rest in the room first, before he joins me.

Up on Deck 9, I find a lounger in the shade. It’s not difficult – there are only about 4 people in this area at the moment! It’s the first day it has been warm and dry, so it just shows how empty the ship is today.

Leaving my book and dress on the lounger, I head into the adult pool, but soon get out again when I realise there is no shallow end. I’m virtually a non-swimmer and like to have my feet on the bottom! So instead I go over to one of the hot tubs, where a woman is relaxing, and ask if I can join her. We steam away happily, chatting about our experiences on the cruise. She’s a Brit too, and a more experienced cruiser than me. Her son, who is a wheelchair user, is sitting near enough to join the conversation occasionally, and he seems to be thoroughly enjoying the Magic. She is full of praise for the way the CMs cater for people with disabilities, and says it’s much better than other cruise lines she has experienced.

After about 20 minutes I decide I’ve had enough. It’s my first time in a hot tub with someone I don’t know, and it feels rather an odd place to be making conversation! So I bid her farewell and head for my lounger and my book. I’m reading “A Street Cat Named Bob” which Peter gave me for Christmas but which I’ve been saving for the cruise. It’s an interesting read, particularly since we are cat owners who take their cat for walks in the park on a lead! It’s also a bit of a reality check to be reminded that while I am lazing about on a cruise ship, others are struggling to provide themselves with the basics of life. Fortunately the book is an encouraging read rather than a guilt trip, and I am left grateful for the work which I and my church support with those who are most vulnerable.

My musings are interrupted by the thought that I’ve now finished my book, and Peter is still nowhere to be seen. I text him with the navigator app but don’t get a reply. So I grab a couple of coffees from the machine and head back down to the stateroom with them, to find he’s only just waking up. Not sure whether it was the pancake overload or the fish extender frenzy, but something knocked him out today!

[Gill H]

We relax and watch a bit of WALL-E over our coffees, before getting ready for tonight’s main activity – our dinner at Palo. We are wearing the same as we wore for formal night – my pink dress and Peter’s grey suit, but this time he wears a stripy shirt rather than his white one.

We take a stroll through the Atrium, where we encounter Daisy. If you have already read Day 6 of this report you may remember me saying that we met Daisy and she was impressed by my dress. Well, we do, and she is – but that happened today rather than on Day 6! This is the problem when you only bring one posh outfit. Fortunately Peter’s stripy shirt is a dead giveaway.

Anyway, after meeting Daisy we look upwards and see a small group of excited children, chaperoned in most cases by even more excited mums. This is because Thor is about to appear for a meet on Deck 10, and as we have a little time to spare, we join the queue.

We don’t wait long, but we’re glad we did as Thor is great fun, doing the deadpan style to perfection. He asks where we are from, and when we say London, he says he’s been there. I say “I know, Greenwich is still being rebuilt!” and he apologises profusely. I ask him whether his brother is anywhere about, but he says fortunately not (shame, I say – my motto is ‘no Loki, no likey’!)

By this time we notice that Daisy has left the Atrium and in her place is Minnie in her Italian costume. So we go back down for a quick meet – again, with virtually no queue. I think at this point most people are either in a show or at dinner, so the ship is very quiet.

Time for a few random pics of the lovely detail on board the Magic.

(OK, enough pics! But you get the idea. So much to discover on this beautiful ship.)

[Gill H]

We’re still a little early for our Palo reservation but we make our way up to Deck 9 in the lift, and then walk up to Deck 10 – to discover we’ve come up on the opposite end from Palo. Oops. Oh well, plenty of time to walk round. Although I’m glad I’ve brought a hairbrush with me as it’s pretty windy up on Deck 10 right now. By the time we reach Palo, I have to disappear into the ladies to rectify the damage the wind has wrought on my hairdo. Once I emerge looking presentable again, we head into the restaurant where we are greeted cordially and shown to our table.

And so begins the most amazing meal we have yet experienced on board the Magic. We order a bottle of Chianti to complement our meal (somehow ginger ale and coke don’t seem appropriate here) and peruse the extensive menu. Oh, and check out the view!

Our server is friendly and helpful without being over-eager - the service here is very definitely at the next level up from the main dining room. I forgot to write down our server’s name unfortunately, but she is superb!

To begin, we are presented with a delicious plate of antipasti and another of various breads, as well as our chianti and some iced water.

Then we move on to the appetisers (you mean those weren’t the appetisers?) I choose fritto di calamari e gamberi – deep fried prawns and calamari with lemon-garlic mayonnaise and marinara sauce. Absolutely beautiful, crisp and light and full of flavour.

Peter chooses the Tuscan white bean soup, which is a light broth with cannellini beans, pancetta and kale. Very tasty indeed.

Meanwhile the sun is beginning to set.

[Gill H]

Next comes the pasta course – as is traditional in fine Italian restaurants, the pasta course comes before the main course. We assume that this means it will be a very small helping of pasta. We couldn’t be more wrong!

I choose the pappardelle con aragosta – pasta ribbons in a lobster and tarragon sauce with leeks, white truffle oil and grilled lobster.

Peter has the caramelle di vitello – pasta stuffed with milk-braised veal, pancetta and porcini mushrooms.

Both are very rich dishes and quite substantial. To be honest we could probably have ended our meal here and still felt we’d dined well. But there is more to come.

We are next presented with a refreshing lemon sorbet to cleanse our palate before the entrée.

Actually, can we still call it an entrée if we’re dining Italian style rather than American? Palo’s menu simply calls the next few sections ‘Piatto Vegetariano / Il Pesce / La Carne’ (vegetarian / fish / meat dishes). We both go for meat.

My choice is the osso buco – slow roasted centre cut of veal shank with gremolata (a mix of finely chopped lemon, garlic and parsley) and Milanese risotto. I often choose something I can’t easily get at home, and when your hubby is a chef that becomes a little more difficult, but I’ve never had osso buco before and I’m keen to try it. The meat is meltingly tender and perfectly complemented by the risotto, but oh my word, the size of this thing! I try my best but I don’t even manage to eat half of it.

Peter decides that as he had veal for his pasta course, he will instead go for the roasted rosemary-rubbed rack of lamb (obviously the kitchen had a visit from the alliteration fairy there). It’s served with roasted carrots, caponata (a sauce of aubergine and capers), olive oil potatoes and a rosemary jus. A much more manageable portion than mine, but no less delicious.

[Gill H]

Once we have eaten all we wish of our main course, our server comes to ask us what we’d like for dessert. Despite an impressive menu, we know there is really only one Palo dessert everyone talks about – the chocolate soufflé, with two sauces, vanilla bean and chocolate. However, the menu also features an amaretto soufflé, which I’m strongly tempted by. Eventually I tell our server that although I do think the amaretto one sounds lovely, I have decided to be guided by the reputation of the chocolate one. Peter is in no doubt – it’s the chocolate soufflé for him. These need at least 15 minutes’ notice to prepare, which is frankly a good thing as I don’t think either of us could have looked them in the face any earlier!

Meanwhile, here's the last sunset pic.

When our souffles arrive, we get a bit of a shock – we’re brought a chocolate one each as ordered, but our server has also brought an amaretto one for us to share! Sadly I really can’t manage more than a few spoonfuls of either. They are superb, but it’s just too much food at once for me. What a shame not to have room for the amazing souffles!

Once we have done our best with the desserts, our server brings us coffee, together with an iced prosecco lemon frozen drink (which we hadn’t ordered but hey…) and the bill – and also a little birthday surprise, plates with our names on in chocolate!

Unfortunately this is just a step too far for my stomach, as I’m now uncomfortably full, and we leave without finishing them. Sorry Palo, but you have beaten us!

[Gill H]

Once we get back to our room, I decide there is no way I will be able to make tonight’s show. I really am uncomfortable after so much food, and I need to lie down for a while. Peter heads off to the Walt Disney Theatre to see ‘Kyle Knight and Mistie’ a Vegas-style magic act. As he’s a bit of an amateur magician himself, he’s keen to see this.

Unfortunately, unlike the Disney stage shows, it’s not available to watch on the in-room TV, so I flick through channels in between dozing off my food coma.

After the show, Peter comes to get me, and we go to our regular haunt, Fathoms, for the two shows there. First is ‘Intuitions’, a game show run as usual by the amazing Tisa. This time Peter is one of those picked to play, and finds himself up against our friend from the other evening, Canadian John. Now, Canadian John seems to be a pretty competitive guy, and since he won the quiz the other evening, he has a reputation to maintain. Unfortunately ‘Intuitions’ turns out to be completely the wrong sort of game for Peter as he has dyslexia. The idea is to name something in a particular category beginning with a certain letter – for instance, cartoon characters beginning with G. You take it in turns, and the first one to hesitate or give a wrong answer loses a point to the other player. It’s the kind of game that would be really easy on the internet, or taken at a leisurely pace, but when you are standing up there in front of everyone, being asked to think of answer after answer before the other guy, all the obvious answers suddenly go into hiding in remote parts of your brain! Canadian John wins the game and a good prize (I think it may have been a DCL backpack, if I remember correctly) and Peter’s consolation prize is a nice little flashlight with the DCL logo.

Once the game has finished, Tisa encourages us all to get ready for the next activity, Krazy Karaoke. And I have to admit, this is what I’m really here for tonight. I love to sing and will take any opportunity to belt out a favourite number. As we sort out drinks from the bar, we’re brought a copy of the songlist, and slips of paper to write down our names and what we want to sing. The songlist is quite extensive, running from standards through rock, pop and country to show songs – though surprisingly few Disney songs. Maybe that’s a favour to the CMs, who must get sick of hearing them! I make my choice (which you’ll have to wait to find out) and we sit back to enjoy the proceedings as Tisa gets things going. She encourages all of us to have a go, even those who only sing in the shower, and she cracks a few jokes about the size of the showers on board, saying “I wish someone loved to be as close to me as my shower curtain does!”

First up is a young guy who sings a very creditable version of Billy Joel’s ‘New York State of Mind’. He’s clearly done this before and sounds great. I love a bit of Billy so thoroughly enjoy this one. The next performers are a couple who have decided to tackle ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’ and experience that classic karaoke moment when you realise you don’t know the song as well as you thought you did! They manage to get through with much giggling, and encouraging applause from the audience.

Next is a guy we recognise from our FB group, whose name is Koen (he’s from Belgium). He has helpfully written a phonetic pronunciation of his name for Tisa to announce him. Unfortunately the pronunciation he’s given is ‘Coon’. Tisa (who is African-American) fortunately finds this hilarious, as he obviously doesn’t realise the implications of asking her to call someone Coon!

Koen sings a pretty good version of ‘That’s Amore’ which the audience loves. Then it’s my turn to take the stage. I’ve chosen ‘All That Jazz’ from Chicago, which I think I know fairly well. I’ve persuaded Peter to come up with me to add some classy dance moves to my vocal efforts. Just as well, because they are using the full show version of the song and there’s a very long introduction! To fill in time, I do a bit of banter with the audience – “Good evening everyone, say hi to a newbie cruiser! Yes, I’m such a newbie, I thought you had to tip your Personal Navigator!” (For the non-DCL cruisers amongst my readers, the Personal Navigator is not a person but a natty little daily newspaper listing all the ship’s activities, and very useful it is too.)

Eventually the vocals kick in and I launch into my best Velma Kelly. All goes well – the audience are clapping along, Peter is dancing up a storm and I’m having fun with the song. But then suddenly, about three quarters of the way through, the screen freezes! Fortunately I can remember the words and manage to get through to the end of the track without too much bother. But evidently something has gone wrong with the technology, because the next couple who are called up spend at least 10 minutes stood on the stage while a whole team of CMs try desperately to get the machine working. Meanwhile Tisa is frantically filling for time and cracking jokes with the poor couple on stage. After a few false starts, the machine is finally working again and the couple manage to get all the way through CeLo Green’s ‘Forget You’ (and yes, Tisa ensures they know they have to sing ‘forget’ rather than the naughtier lyric – this may be an adult only space but it’s still a Disney ship!)

The last performance of the evening is a couple of young girls who happily and tunelessly belt out Rhianna’s ‘Umbrella’ complete with props. They are miles away from the tune but their sheer enthusiasm wins them applause. Following this, Tisa gets all the performers up on stage and asks the audience to cheer the loudest for their winner. Wouldn’t you know it, the umbrella girls win! But the rest of us are all given DCL flashlights for taking part (there must be a job lot available tonight, we’ve got three now…)

It’s been a fun evening and we are full of admiration for Tisa who had to fill for 10 minutes while the machine was fixed! In fact we are so impressed that we drop by Guest Services to give a commendation for her. She’s a treasure, and whatever they pay her, it probably isn’t enough.

When we get back to our stateroom we have one last job to do. Tomorrow we have an early start for our DCL port adventure, and so we’ve decided to order room service breakfast to help speed things up in the morning. So we check out the room service menu and place an order for pastries, juice and coffee for 6.30 am. This done, we set our alarm and settle down for the night.

Don’t forget to join us tomorrow for a visit to Pisa!

>>>Day 9


INDEX

[Bats]

oh the dreaded food coma, I have been there many times myself!

The Amaretto soufflé is so much better than the chocolate one so I'm glad you managed to try a little of it.

The mushroom risotto is my go to food at Palo .. nom nom

[Taffy1959]

Fab day and the food looks so good.

We saw the Disney Magic in Liverpool 18 months ago so it's nice to see what the interior is like, it looks amazing

[Guest]

Yes, yes, YES to being left alone a bit in the restaurants. Poot would have happily eaten all our meals in the sit-down places - but I preferred room service/Cabanas at breakfast and lunch - for a break from the smothering. And the food was...hmm...we had a character breakfast in AP - and my pancakes arrived CRUNCHY. Why (on European sailings/the first few days of the Transatlantic) couldn't they offer some nice baguettes with cheese and charcuterie? And hehe...the ubiquitous Disney melon...


I LOVE Minnie's Italian costume. SO pretty! And your expression is a picture, I'd have bought that snap, too (though the cost of the photos on the ship really was extortionate - I'm a rule follower, for the most part - but I'd be tempted to organise a photo-share or SOMETHING).

Poot wouldn't queue for Thor - BUMMER. I am also rather jealous that you chaps (well...CRP) had a "proper" magic show...I LOVE old school (for that, read: avec glamorous assistant - and NOT David Blaine in a box) magicians.

Hmm...feel a bit queasy just LOOKING at all that Palo food - I am hardly what anyone would call a sylph, but STILL! - I wish that Disney would offer smaller portions, it's hard for me to think of all the waste.



And who woulda thunk it? A Welsh singer. I love to sing, too - my favourite part of Christmas is singing all the Christmas hymns at Mass (I have a rather...carrying...contralto - and it's so nice to be able to BELT IT OUT once - or twice - I do it at Easter, too - a year). We didn't do the karaoke on the ship - Poot doesn't know many pop songs. When he was tiny, I used to sing him a fair bit of Elvis Presley - I should work harder to introduce him to the classics. But he loves to listen to classical music with R.C. - I wouldn't want to take away from that.