RSVP Cruise Day 9: Salerno

Since we had so much fun in Dubrovnik with Diane, Michael, Randy and James I decided I would take a shot at a group effort in Salerno. We all wanted to head to Capri, but getting 6 people to be at the same place and same time would be hard and Randy was late so the rest took off while Rich and I waited for Randy. After a short bus ride into town and walking about 1 mile to the port we somehow caught up to the rest of the guys even though we were about 40 minutes behind them. We dumped the Capri trip for a Positano trip because the boat already left and Capri is much further than Rich thought.

I fell asleep on the boat ride that first docked in at Almafi before it continued onto Positano. When we finally arrived we only had 2 ½ hours to putz around and have lunch…so that’s just what we did! After lunch and gelato we boarded the boat and I fell asleep again. We barely made the last bus back to the boat and then spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool. Since this was our last night basically the ship started shutting down. At 9pm, when normally there would be a ton of people floating around, I could not find one person anywhere. Eventually I just retired to my room and prepare for the arrival into Rome’s port the next morning.

RSVP Cruise Day 6: Venice

We pulled into Venice around noon so I was able to catch up on sleep and relax a bit since the past few days have been rush rush rush and fun fun fun. I have been to Venice 2 times before, so I was not as excited as when we pulled into Naples or Dubrovnik, but Venice is always nice to return to since it is such a unique city. First and foremost Rich and I had some work to do so we headed to an internet café, but before we could reach one I found a Ferragamo shop…..OOOOOHHHHH AAAAHHHH…Now, I’m not label whore, but Ferragamo has such nice masculine fashions. Of course, there was an item I just had to have so I went to go check my personal account and do work and then I returned to make my purchase!

After whizzing by San Marco Square rich insisted we eat at a local restaurant and not a touristy joint. We found a place, but the food was not as good as we both thought, but after we found a way to take a gondola for 50 Euro cents instead of the hefty 200 Euros usually expected. The secret is to take the cross canal public gondolas which are run my gondola drivers all dressed up and running authentic gondolas…a great photo op for just 50 Euro cents!

We made our way back to the ship and we both crashed! Walking all through Venice is a pretty rough work out and the air conditioning of my room really made me conk out! I woke up around 10pm to find another great party going on up on the deck. While in Venice Rich and I bought typical masks from Venice so we put them on and went upstairs with Roman Ragazzi to have some fun! Once again another great party with a lot of energy and DJ De Leon rockin’ the house!

RSVP Cruise Day 5: Dubrovnik, Croatia

Today was a day I did not want to waste since we docked into a city both Rich and I really wanted to see and come to for a long time: DUBROVNIK! But as I was not watching Rich closely the night before (I took a very long nap while he went to dinner with the RSVP people) and he made commitments for us both…AAAHHHHHH…well, that is what I thought initially. I was kinda pissy that Rich committed us to the RSVP photo shoot in Dubrovnik, but after the bunch of us got going I warmed up to the idea and eventually warmed up to each individual person by the end of the photo shoot. DJ Dan Leon and his partner Alex really impressed me as well as the photographer Michael and his wife Diane. Now, Diane is one of those people I would call “koo koo for cocoa puffs”…LOL…a bit out there and constantly talking and moving around. I pulled Rich aside and asked what her story was and he let me know she is an attorney and highly intelligent. Well, that makes sense! Most people I quip with my coo coo…etc, are highly intelligent people whose minds go 100 miles per hour. Needless to say, Diane is one person I became extremely fond of!

Now, back to Dubrovnik! Diane found us a nice restaurant to have seafood at the pretty port and then we all broke in separate groups and ours went on to take a boat to an island and go swimming…it was amazing! We all headed back to the ship where I took a long nap and then another night party on the back deck of the ship. So far, the cruise has been very nice and I met some great people!

Dubrovnik is a must see on any trip to Europe. It is a tiny well-preserved walled in port city that has a truly unique European flare with a beautiful setting right on the Adriatic coast. It is not overcrowded with tourists making it very romantic and a well kept secret!

RSVP Cruise Day 4: Corfu, Greece

Corfu! Rich learned his lesson about inviting people along on our excursions so we left the ship early to investigate the island of Corfu by ourselves. We tried to rent mopeds, but it seems they were either all sold out or the other agencies wanted an international driver’s license which neither Rich nor I have. We then moved onto rental cars and they were even sold out, so we just putzed our way into town. It was so hot and both Rich and I were lazy that we decided to get on this kiddie-like fake choo choo train that does a quick tour of the town! Rich and I are so anti-tour, but heat and laziness sometimes takes over and we were extremely happy to be sitting and in the shade. The 40 minute ride took us everywhere around the city we needed to see and then dropped us off at the main square. We quickly popped over to a nice coffee shop with bali-beds and laid down and sipped cold coffee drinks until we could muster enough energy to investigate the castle.

As beautiful as Corfu is, we also needed to do some work so we headed into town to find internet access. After 2 extremely hot ours of sitting in front of a computer we had to haul our asses quickly back to the ship. Later in the evening RSVP threw another great party on the back deck of the ship. Inspired by our recent Greek port of call, the party was a “god’s and goddesses’” party…woo hoo…and of course lot’s o’ fun!

RSVP Cruise Day 3: Messina, Sicily

The night before Rich invited a fellow passenger to come with us on our trip to Taormina by train. But, the best plans can be ruined by someone’s previous nights’ party schedule. By the time I gathered Rich and the fellow traveler and made it to the train station we missed the last train and I kinda blew a fit and marched off. I walked around the city of Messina for a bit checking out the hot Sicilian men, but then decided to go back to the ship and spend the rest of the day at the pool on the ship. Another nice outdoor party with DJ De Leon and then off to bed.

RSVP Cruis Day 2: Naples

Woke up early and headed into Naples. Rich and I walked through town, went to a suburb up high along the ridge above Naples. The views were amazing and so was the gelato! We found our way back to the ship and had a nice nap before continuing to party on the deck.

RSVP Cruise Day 1

Roman, Rich and I woke up early and headed 2 blocks over to the hotel where the RSVP shuttle to the hotel was waiting to take us to the port. Since we were with RSVP we were whisked onto the ship very quickly and were able to access our rooms, drink champagne, and much at the taco bar next to the mid-pool. People started to board the ship heavily about 2 hours later and some people came up to me to thank me for bringing them pleasure (that really makes me happy!) Later on, we had drinks by the back pool and mingled with the passengers and the RSVP personnel then had an early night.