We sailed into Civitavecchia at 11am on the day we were supposed to be in the port of Livorno for our tour of Pisa. As mentioned earlier, this itinerary change was due to bad weather in Livorno. We arrived with an open mind, albeit it wasn’t long before things took a downward turn. The smog was very thick and the air quality awful. We stayed on the ship to wait to see whether the prevailing winds would clear it out a bit and it did by mid-afternoon. Alas, with the gale-force winds came the rain. As we were departing the ship at 2:45p, we could barely walk into the cruise terminal. My umbrella went inside out and I’m sure anyone watching from the ship got a great show. It was not my finest look.

We took the shuttle into town, and then walked in the rain, though found very little open. They take their Easter Monday seriously here in Italy, it appeared. We found a lovely church open and stopped in to see it, then found our way to the restaurant where we had a reservation. The proprietor gave us a warm welcome, even though we were early, and showed us to our table. We enjoyed a nice charcuterie board, and then a hearty meal. As we were leaving, we asked her about a cab back to the cruise terminal. She told us there were no cabs working on Easter Monday, or Uber, so she personally walked us to the cruise port, which was very kind. Alas, this is where it got a bit dicey.

Prior to leaving the ship, at Terminal 25, we were told that the ship was going to reposition to Terminal Amerigo Vespucci, about two miles away, between 7 – 8pm. As it was now after 8pm, we headed towards Amerigo Vespucci. It was a hike, it was dark, and there were some sketchy folks about. We’re walking down the VERY long pier (like a mile long) and there is no ship. None. We’re a bit freaked out, wondering what to do. Mary is saying Hail Mary’s. I’m saying other things. And then miracously a cab appears and Marshall hails it. We tell the guy we’re hoping to go further out the pier to find the Island Princess, and he says NO, and points in the opposite direction of where we expected the ship to be. We try to explain to him that we were given instructions, and he was adamant that it was not here, but at a different location. Reluctantly we pile in and he drives in the direction he was pointing and sure enough, there’s the Island Princess at Terminal 25! It had not repositioned at all and Princess had not placed anyone at Amerigo Vespucci to redirect people. We were not happy, to say the least.

Civitavecchia, population 59K, is the closest port to Rome. So, on the second day, many people on the ship took tours to the city. As we’ve been to Rome before, we decided to take a tour to Porte Ercole, a seaside village. We got off the ship, took the shuttle into town, then walked about ½ mile to the tour bus. We had all boarded and were settling in when here comes a police car, with lights blazing, and he pulls in front of our bus, blocking our departure. Our driver gets arrested for something and is taken to the police station, leaving us stranded on the bus. Needless to say, the tour was cancelled so we just returned to the ship.

Our time in Civitavecchia was memorable.

Next stop, tomorrow: Naples, Italy