Buon Viaggio!

DAY 1 — MSC Sinfonia — Embarkation - Departure 

We almost wish we had spent at least a day in Bari. It seems like a very pretty and clean town. It also seems very much less touristy than of course, the biggest draws to Italy. But alas we will save it until next time.

After waking up and getting dressed after a decent night’s sleep, Jim and Kristi walked across the street to have an espresso. They also got some cappuccino to take back for Marlou and Cliff. The young barista was very nice. His English was still emerging, but he wanted to chat with us a little bit.

Once we were all ready, we went downstairs, called cab, and met our way to the cruise port. We arrived at the terminal at about 10 AM. There didn’t seem like there were a lot of people there which made embarkation one of the easiest and smoothest we’ve ever experienced. We were on board and seated at the pool deck by 10:30. Our rooms weren’t to be ready until 2 PM and lunch was scheduled to begin in the buffet at 11:30. So we just spent some time relaxing.

At 11:30 we walked up to the buffet and joined the throngs of Italians for our first cruise lunch. This is where we decided on our cruise motto. We had heard that Italians can be a little bit rambunctious and pushy on the ship, especially in the buffet. We read that on cruise critic. Well, it wasn’t too troublesome, but it definitely was true. Therefore our cruise motto was born … “Drive like you’re in Napoli!”  Lunch choices were heavy on pasta, but it really wasn’t all that different from any other cruise buffet food.

After lunch, we found another spot to relax and play some cards.

Just a few minutes after 2 o’clock they announced that rooms were ready so we made our way and got settled in. We watched our mandatory safety video and then rested for a while. At 5 o’clock we headed to our muster station to check in.

We then spent some time exploring the ship, trying to get our bearings, played more cards, had a snack, and got ready to go the show. But just before we went to get ready to go to the show, we all went up on deck at about 6:45 to watch as we shoved off from Bari. 

The ship’s entertainment troop put on a nice show of singing and dancing, which even included some acrobatics. After the show, Kristi was pretty spent so after a stop at the buffet, she decided to go to bed. Mary Lou, Cliff, and Jim headed to dinner.

After a nice dinner, Mary Lou, Cliff, and Jim sat in the karaoke bar and watched some talented and not so talented singers and then took another stroll around the ship. After that, it was time for a midnight snack… Then we went off to bed. 

The day seemed really long, but in a good way.