This morning I woke before my Alarm at around 7:30 am. I had a shower & got ready for my trip ashore in Genoa where we had docked in port.
Genoa, Italy.
Deciding not to try the always-crammed breakfast buffet I went to the Beverly Hills bar where the people on excursions were to collect instructions for departing. I was early so I got a ginseng coffee & sat down to wait for my departure instructions. The girl reading instructions were very unclear, both in her instructions & her speech. Eventually one of the men read out the instructions perfectly & the different groups started to leave the ship for their excursions.
My original Segway tour had been cancelled so I booked a panoramic coach tour of Genoa. The guide saw me walking with some difficulty & made room for me on one of the reserved seats in the front seats of the coach. We were soon being driven through different areas of Genoa. Past the port, where we saw some fantastic architecture & a replica pirate ship, which was used in the original Pirates of the Caribbean film. We then drove through more affluent areas before stopping for a short time at a small fishing village.
The village & coast looked beautiful even on a cold overcast morning. I was glad I had brought my heated body warmer & had it on under my coat. After a short walk & time for some photos, we drove back to Genoa & went to a point above the City where we stopped again for photo opportunities & admired the great view of the city & the port below us where we could see the cruise ships docked.
Video, of Genoa from several scenic viewpoints.
When we left the viewpoint we were dropped off at the Raffaele De Ferrari Square in Genoa, where we were given an hour of free time to walk around. Our guide gave us simple instructions for us to follow to walk past the Cathedral & onto an old city gate. I took lots of photos as I walked a circuitous route past the cathedral, museum, & city gates & then turned to walk through some winding streets back to our meeting point.
I arrived with time to get a roll in a local cafe for my lunch. Sitting outside I noticed a monument & walked over to it to take photos before getting back on the coach for the journey back to the ship. When leaving I gave both the guide & driver €5 each for a tip. Im sorry to say I appeared to be the only one who did. Some ladies never stopped moaning the whole trip & when we got back to the ship they thought that pressing the lift buttons constantly would make it arrive quicker. When it did arrive they then pushed in front of a disabled lady in a wheelchair. It saddens me that people like this don't have the time or compassion for other people.
When I got back onboard I was too late for lunch in the dining room so I got a takeaway burger in one of the food bars near the pool & went to eat back inside where it is warmer. Whilst eating I had a beer & talked briefly with a nice Scottish lady called Helen that I met on board yesterday before I went back to my cabin to lay down & rest my legs.
At 6:30 pm I went to the dining room for dinner. As I walked towards the dining room, one of the Spanish ladies I had been sitting with for dinner on the previous evenings saw me & escorted me to the dining room. It is nice to know that when you are friendly & nice to others, they respond with friendship as well, no matter what language you speak or whether you understand each other completely.
For dinner I had tomato soup with mozzarella & basil, followed by grilled chimichurri ribeye steak with sauteed potato, green beans & peppers. The steak wasn´t a nice thick steak but sliced steak meat, it did however taste beautiful & I washed it down with a couple of glasses of red wine. The dessert was a small mixed fruit salad & I did glance at my Spanish companion's mango & pistachio ice creams & wish I had a half gallon of both more than once.
After dinner, I got myself a Long Island Iced Tea & headed to see tonight's entertainment in the theatre. When I got to the door I was told drinks weren't allowed in the theatre & I was forced to down my drink in one & leave the empty glass on the floor outside. Once inside I sat on the end of a row of seats where every other chair had an out-of-order notice on it. This did not stop lots of idiots from climbing over me, kicking me & my walking stick to get past, walking the entire row of chairs then moving further down anyway.
This seemed to continue for the first twenty minutes of the show. If you are going to see a show get there before it starts you rude ignorant inbred idiots. That said the show, called Access All Areas, was atrocious. The dancers were out of synch, none of the singers was any good & their interpretation of some wonderful rock anthems destroyed them. For the second show I have seen in the theatre I left halfway through because it was so bad.
I walked to one of the shows in a smaller bar & in an attempt to inject some excitement back into my evening I ordered a pint of beer with a Pina colada chaser. I began to relax & was enjoying my own company until the act for the evening arrived. Once again they couldn't sing a note & sounded terrible. I finished my cocktail & took my pint back to my cabin where we could be alone to enjoy each other's company.
I was in bed & asleep by 10:30 pm. Unfortunately, my cabin is next to a service corridor & just after midnight & no longer able to sleep because of the noise I got up & went to reception to ask to move to a new cabin that wouldn't be so noisy. I know the crew have to work long hours & it is not their fault that they create noise at night when passengers are asleep but at least soundproof cabins near the areas they work in. I was told they could move me tonight but only until the morning staff came on for their shift. I would then have to move back & let the morning manager find me a room. Not wanting to wake other passengers up by moving in the early hours of the morning I went back to my cabin. I eventually fell asleep around 3 am.