Mediterranean Cruise Day 4: Corsica, France

Thursday was an interesting day. We arrived at the island of Corsica, France to somewhat overcast skies, but it never rained. We had arranged for a half day tour called "Countryside Sampler" which sounded promising. Unfortunately it was a huge disappointment. The tour had three stops: a visit to a small Nougat factory, a visit to an essential oils facility, and finally a local winery. In my opinion, all three stops were worthless. Our tour guide rambled on endlessly (or should I say droned on). Views of the excursion tour that I do not recommend:

above: these are the views of the Corsican countryside we saw on the tour

above: more views from this worthless tour (but I'm not bitter)

above: I was really enjoying the visit to the essential oils facility.

above: a few interesting images from the winery

above: at the winery. These two dogs were the highlight of the entire day in Corsica.

All in all, I'm having a great time on the cruise. This is a smaller ship, with somewhere around 600 passengers, so it is a different experience from the larger ships we have cruised on with Princess. One nice advantage of a smaller ship is you get to know the passengers and crew better, which is nice. We were pleasantly surprised to see one of the crew from our Panama Canal cruise last year on this ship. Jose is one of the best bartenders we've met, and has a fun personality. He makes delicious martinis. In fact, it was Jose who took the first photo of me in what is now my "signature martini pose". I wasted no time in ordering a delicious Blue Raspberry Martini from Jose. Here I am enjoying a cold libation. A few of you asked for photos of the ship, so here goes:

Views inside the Pacific Princess:

above left: The ship's library is one of my favorite spots. above right: The main lobby area is nicely furnished.

above: You get the overall feel of the ship's decor from these photos. I feel very comfortable here, it's like being in your own home, or at the family estate.

above left: the hallways in the ship are elegant. above right: the card room is a great place for a few rounds of Gin. Well that's all for today. We next head to Naples, Pompei and Sorrento. Tonight is one of the formal events so I'm off to slip into my tux and enjoy some champagne. Thanks for stopping by today!

-Signore Ricardo Rockhill

Mediterranean Cruise Day 2: Portofino, Italy

Day two, we arrived in Portofino, Italy just before 7:00 AM and we were ready to explore this northern Italian city. Originally a major fishing village for the province of Genoa, it is a popular destination on the Italian Riviera. On Tuesday we arrived in Portofino, an absolutely charming seaside town along the coast of the Italian Riviera within the Liguria region. It is located in the rugged foothills of the Alpines. It is an area referred to as a promontory, with a profusion of cypress, olive and pine trees, with a few palms mixed in as well. This area, along with many other seaside communities were once a target of pirates, who looted the coastline for treasures while many of the men of the villages were off fishing. During the Middle Ages, this area was a major maritime center and one of the wealthiest cities along the Mediterranean. We tendered to Santa Margarita Ligure, and later took a private boat tour of the coast, where we also had the opportunity to visit Rapallo. Both towns were wonderful, with interesting influences from many points in history- starting with the Ancient Romans, the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Napolean just to name a few. Each of these left an influence or indelible mark on the area. Since pirates were once such an issue, these towns were designed to create a labyrinth or maze effect, so as to make it difficult for pirates to find their way through the city. Also, many of the exteriors of the buildings were designed to look quite plain, so as not to attract the attention of pirates or to reveal their treasures within. There is a series of stone fortresses and lookout towers along the coast where soldiers would be stationed to watch for incoming pirates. They would use smoke signals to warn others, who would raise black flags to communicate to the locals. It is a fascinating history indeed. I found Portofino to be utterly delightful, and wanted to stay a month in a private villa! I stopped at a local Focacceria to buy some pizza and focaccia, which was delicious. It was the kind of Italian food I enjoy the most. I may not have time to describe all these photos at the moment, so just enjoy these views...

above: Proscuitto hams (cured) hanging in the butcher shop window...mmmm!

above: Fresh made pasta for sale in shop windows!

Above: Our Ship, with the Italian flag flying
-Signore Ricardo Rockhill

Mediterranean Cruise Day 1: Departing Civitavecchia

Welcome to the Mediterranean Cruise Series! As long as the ship's satellite is operational, I intend to post daily throughout the next twelve days. After several fantastic days in Rome, yesterday we began our twelve day cruise throughout the Mediterranean. Our ship, the Pacific Princess departed Civitavecchia, Italy at 6:00 PM local time with a full schedule of ports: Portofino (Italy), Monte Carlo (Monaco), Corsica (France), Sorrento (Italy), Capri (Italy), Messina (Sicily), Valletta (Sicily), Corfu (Greece), Kotor (Montenegro), Split (Croatia), Ravenna (Italy) and Venice (Italy). See map below:

I'm excited about the cruise and hope you can join me and the family as we sail through the Mediterranean! Welcome Cruise Critic members. Finally, I know there are a number of visitors who are friends or relatives of our family, so a special WELCOME to you all!

-Rick Rockhill

The Amazing Cliff Divers of Mazatlan, Mexico

If you've been following along for the past week, you'll know that I've just returned from a fantastic cruise to the Mexican Riviera. During our port in Mazatlan, we hired a driver to take us on a private tour of the city. I highly recommend this option, as you can customize your visit and spend time on things you want to do. One of the stops we made was to see the cliff divers. The photo above left shows the rock "cliff" that the divers use. Groups of tourists watch in awe as the young Mexican divers prepare to dive, as their friends work the crowd to collect money. A dollar or two from every onlooker satisfies them, and they give the signal to the diver on top of the rocks.The photos below give you an idea, but I've also added a video for some live action!

Above left: the divers use these stairs to ascend the top. Above right: this diver stretches to prepare for his dive, while his friends collect tips from tourists. Click the button below to watch the video:

Above: I took this video in Mazatlan, Mexico. The cliff divers are young men who jump off these rocks in what seems like a rather dangerous stunt, but they work for tips. Enjoy!

-Rick Rockhill

Sunday Art Review: Onboard the Dawn Princess

Regular readers of this blog are familiar with my weekly Sunday Art Review posts each Sunday. Today is no exception, despite being away at sea. This week I decided to feature several works of art from the Dawn Princess cruise ship. Princess invests millions of dollars on permanent art exhibits for it's ships. On sea days particularly, I like to walk around the ship and enjoy the wide variety of art on display. I never take the time to write down the artist or the name of the work, but I hope you enjoy them just the same.

-Rick Rockhill

Mexican Riviera Cruise, Day 5: Puerto Vallarta

We arrived in Puerto Vallarta well rested and ready for the extra time we would be spending here. Puerto Vallarta is a huge city, but has a great deal of charm. It has fantastic beaches, rustic historic areas, lush jungle type foliage in places, wonderful restaurants and plenty of shopping. Our ship docked at Bahia de Banderas, which I learned was formed by an ancient volcano. This volcanic crater is now the second largest natural bay in North America and is the deepest bay in the world! I am really enjoying Puerto Vallarta, it is the best part of Mexico I have visited so far. (Yes, I am riding a donkey while holding a dog!)

above: beautiful beaches...

above left: This church was under renovations, but it was beautiful inside. The top of the tower has a crown supported by angels. above right: many of the shops displayed their merchandise from windows on the second floor.

above: There were plenty of great beachside restaurants

above: I like the "little gems" you can find just walking around, such as these arches by the beach, or the lamp posts with dolphins.

above: Puerto Vallarta has plenty of wonderful statues throughout the city.

The Private Villa...

Above: Relaxing at the private villa, nestled high into the hill.

above: the villa has beautiful grounds with lush tropical plants and a refreshing pool.

One of the verandas I enjoyed, with spectacular sweeping views of the beaches

Dr Wang at Sea
Day five: I was horrified to learn that there were Alaskan King Crab Legs on the dining room menu this evening. I thought these people were civilized on cruise ships. Don’t the chefs realize that it’s just not right to eat the underwater creatures? I mean, other than that miserable Jaws, what did any of us underwater creatures ever do to humans to deserve to be slaughtered and eaten?
-Dr Wang