10-Day Greek Isles Round-Trip Rome: Santorini, Athens & Florence

Getting thereDay 1Thursday, July 21, 2022

ORD → YUL → FCO

Chicago O'Hare (ORD) · United States
Montreal-Trudeau (YUL) · Canada

ORD → YUL · AC 8966 · 15:10 – 18:19

YUL → FCO · AC 892 · 19:25 – 09:25

Chicago O'Hare (ORD)

The Rennhacks are heading to Rome!

The Hangry Bag will make an appearance on this trip. I never know if my crew will like the food in port. The 10-hour flight is brutal as well. We are prepared!

It's time to get this adventure started!

Our ride has arrived. Looks like another beautiful day for flying.

Made it to Montreal. The tray table mount is the best investment for long airplane rides. It is mine. I don't think I will ever get to use it

On the plane waiting to push back from the gate. Next stop, Rome!

Settling in for the overnight flight to Rome

By Michael

We started the day at home in Coloma, with COVID test cards laid out for Kathy, me, Thomas and Lisa and a suitcase packed with snacks for the trip. We parked at O'Hare's Lot C around lunchtime and worked through security and the Air Canada counter.

AC 8966 left the gate for Montreal a little after three, tracking the Lake Michigan shoreline on the way. In Montreal, Kathy, Lisa, Thomas, Grandma and I found our gate for AC 892, the overnight flight to Rome, boarding around eight.

COVID test cards for the four of us before we left

Boarding at O'Hare for the flight to Montreal

Third time's the charm: 2020 and 2021 crossed out

Our plane waiting at the gate in Chicago

Out the window on the flight to Montreal

Kathy's tray table mount on the flight to Montreal

Our gate for AC 892, the overnight flight to Rome on Air Canada

Thomas asleep against the window early in the flight

Day 2Friday, July 22, 2022

Giardini Nicola Calipari

Rome Fiumicino (FCO) · Italy
Hotel Napoleon, Rome · Italy
Giardini Nicola Calipari, Rome · Italy

Hotel Napoleon, Rome

By Kathy

On the ground in Rome.

First order of business...lunch. Our last real meal was 19 hours ago. We were supposed to do a Hop On Hop Off bus tour but everyone is exhausted. I think a nice rest at the air-conditioned hotel is in order. Current temperature is 99 degrees.

Amazing pizza and foccaccia.

Grandma made it to Rome and the first gelato has been consumed. Making memories with my people.

Grandma and Lisa with gelato under the arcade

By Michael

We landed at Fiumicino a little after nine in the morning after the overnight flight from Montreal, then made our way into Rome and checked into the Napoleon Hotel a little before one.

Lunch was boxed pizza in the room, one topped with prosciutto, with cans of Coke and Sprite. Lisa napped through the afternoon, blanket pulled up and stuffed animals in tow.

The stone fountain in Giardini Nicola Calipari

Late in the afternoon we had a snack of prosciutto on bread. In the evening we walked down to Giardini Nicola Calipari, a park a few blocks away, past a fountain with a bronze statue and a long mosaic bench. Dog walkers had the place mostly to themselves. Grandma and Lisa had gelato under an arcade along the way.

We wandered back to the hotel as it got dark, past the arched front of the Napoleon under its lit sign, with the tour starting in the morning.

Our Air Canada plane parked at Fiumicino after the overnight flight

Boxed pizza in the room after the flight

Lisa's nap with Bob after the overnight flight

Prosciutto on bread, a snack before we went out

Thomas with his pizza at the Hotel Napoleon

Thomas with gelato on our first evening in Rome

Painted plants on the walk back to the Napoleon

Dog walkers had the park mostly to themselves

Day 3Saturday, July 23, 2022

Rome · Vatican City · St Peter's Basilica · Piazza Navona · Pantheon · Trevi Fountain · Roman Forum · Colosseum

Private Rome in a Day Tour with Colosseum & Vatican Museums — Eight-hour private tour with a local guide: Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, then the Colosseum and the Roman Forum

Rome, Italy

By Kathy

Waiting for our tour of the Vatican.

9 years later. Be still my heart.

Lunch break. So good. This afternoon we are off to explore Palatine Hill and the Colosseum in the 100-degree heat.

Lisa and her deaf tour guide Giulia. Love everything about this tour and our guides. Highly recommend The Roman Guy.

We earned this gelato!

There is a book store down the street from our hotel. The kids enjoyed browsing some of their favorite series in Italian.

Lisa and her guide were able to go inside the Pantheon. The rest of us would have needed reservations so we waited outside. She made sure to take pictures and share them with me. What a neat opportunity.

Such an incredible day. If your travels take you to Rome, I highly recommend The Roman Guy for your tour needs. We did a private Rome in a Day offering, saw so many sights and had the best guides. We were able to hit the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basillica, Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Palatine Hill and the Colosseum all in 7 hours. We even had an hour for lunch on our own. It was a fast-paced tour and the kids were very engaged.

Both guides posed with the five of us at the Colosseum

By Michael

We started early with a private eight-hour tour of Rome, two guides meeting us: our guide, and a second guide signing in ASL for Lisa the whole day. We spent the morning in the Vatican Museums, working through the statue galleries, the tapestries and the long gold ceiling of the map gallery, then the Sistine Chapel, before coming out into St. Peter's Square and into St. Peter's Basilica.

From there we walked to Piazza Navona and its fountains, then the Pantheon, where Lisa and Grandma had their picture taken by a yellow Fiat parked outside. We threw coins in the Trevi Fountain and sat on the edge of it for photos before stopping for lunch nearby.

In the afternoon the guides walked us through the Roman Forum and into the Colosseum. Grandma came along in her white sun hat, and both guides posed with the five of us for a group photo inside the arena. We climbed around the upper level looking down into the arena floor before heading back toward the hotel in the early evening.

We stopped in a few shops near the Hotel Napoleon on the way back, and picked up gelato. That night we went out for dinner at Enoteca Quartino, where a golden retriever came by the tables, and we were back at the hotel late.

Lisa and her guide Giulia talking at the Vatican

An obelisk on the walk from the Pantheon to Trevi

The column on the walk to the Trevi Fountain

Cured meats and bruschetta for lunch in Rome

Spaghetti and meatballs for lunch in Rome

Geronimo Stilton in Italian at the bookstore by our hotel

Fancy Water to go with my burger. Late night hunger pains due to the time change. I'm time traveling 6 hours into the future.

Arriving at the Vatican Museums, tour guides waiting

Lisa with the sphinx in the Vatican Museums

Lisa and Michael by the sphinx in the Vatican Museums

An inlaid marble floor in the Vatican Museums

The pinecone courtyard at the Vatican Museums

A ceiling painting in the Vatican Museums

Statues and ceiling paintings in the Vatican Museums

The statue gallery in the Vatican Museums

A painted ceiling in the Vatican Museums

A relief on a ceiling in the Vatican Museums

The long gold ceiling of the Map Gallery

Lisa at the Vatican Museums, then and now

Photo: St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, day 3

Lisa by the holy water font in St. Peter's

The gold glory behind the main altar in St. Peter's

Looking up inside the dome of St. Peter's

The dome and the canopy over the altar in St. Peter's

Lisa's selfie at the Piazza Navona fountain

Grandma and Lisa at a fountain in Piazza Navona

Lisa and Grandma by the yellow Fiat outside the Pantheon

Lisa and her interpreter inside the Pantheon

Lisa, Michael, Thomas and Grandma at the Trevi Fountain

Lunch near the Trevi Fountain before the Forum

All five of us inside the Colosseum arena

Day 4Sunday, July 24, 2022

Civitavecchia

Civitavecchia, Italy
Aboard the Norwegian Escape · Italy

Civitavecchia, Italy

By Kathy

On the way to Civitavecchia. Photo by Lisa.

Our home for the next 10 days. Nice verandah and huge (by cruise standards) bathroom.

Yep. This room will be great. Tons of storage and room to spread out. So glad we placed an upgrade bid and won.

The NCL Escape has some serious waterslides. The kids have already tried them out.

Boarding day in matching Norwegian Escape itinerary shirts

By Michael

We had breakfast at the hotel in Rome one more time, then loaded up for the drive to Civitavecchia. The highway ran past fields that had already been harvested, gold and cut close, with round hay bales out in the fields.

At the Rome Cruise Terminal we checked in, in matching Norwegian Escape shirts I designed for the trip, with a green map of the route on the front, showing a day at sea where an earlier version of the design had Corfu. Kathy, Lisa, Thomas, Grandma and I boarded the Norwegian Escape in Civitavecchia that afternoon. The Escape is a big ship: almost 165,000 tons and 1,069 feet long, with room for 4,266 guests and a crew of 1,733. We had tried to see these ports with Disney twice: our Mediterranean cruise on the Magic was lost to COVID in 2020, and the 2021 one never sailed either. Third time was the charm.

Breakfast before the drive to Civitavecchia

Hay bales in the fields along the road to Civitavecchia

The Norwegian Escape waiting at the pier

The shirt I designed for the cruise, Corfu swapped for a day at sea

An earlier version of the shirt, with Corfu still on the map

The whole family before boarding the Norwegian Escape

Giving a thumbs up from our stateroom bed

🎭 Aboard the Norwegian Escape

By Michael

Once aboard, Thomas and Lisa went off to find Splash Academy and the teen lounge before we found our cabin, room 11784, with bunk beds for the two of them. Lisa spent some time out on the balcony watching Civitavecchia before we made our way up to the pool deck to see the water slides.

We were up on deck as the ship worked its way out of the harbor in the evening light, and watched the sun go down over the water once Civitavecchia had dropped behind us. Thomas and Lisa got a photo together under the lit-up NCL sign before we turned in.

The four of us as we sailed out of Civitavecchia

Lisa watching Civitavecchia from our balcony

Sunset over the water after leaving Civitavecchia

Thomas and Lisa under the lit-up NCL sign

Made it to our room on the Norwegian Escape.

Our huge bathroom on the Norwegian Escape

Relaxing on the verandah with the port beyond

The sofa and beds in our room on the Escape

The waterslides above the pool deck on the Escape

Day 5Monday, July 25, 2022

Day at Sea

Day at Sea

By Michael

A day at sea aboard the Norwegian Escape, sailing from Civitavecchia toward Santorini. In the morning we came in close along the coast of Sicily and passed through the Strait of Messina, with a coast guard helicopter, patrol boats, and the towns on both shores close enough to make out their rooftops. Grandma and Lisa stood at the rail together to watch it go by.

The pool deck stayed busy between the water slides and a family balloon-twisting session, where Lisa came away with a yellow balloon dog. We had lunch at O'Sheehan's, nachos and mac and cheese. In the late afternoon Lisa strapped into a harness for the ropes course above the pool deck and worked her way across the rope bridges high over the ship while I took pictures from below.

We ended the day with drinks up on deck and watched the sun go down over the wake.

A hazy volcanic island from our day at sea

Grandma and Lisa watching the coast go by

Lisa and Michael unwinding after the ropes course

Lisa's balloon dog from family balloon twisting

Lisa working the ropes course high above the pool

Day 6Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Santorini · Perivolos Beach · Fira

Perivolos Beach Transfer — Tender to Athinios and a coach across Santorini to the black sand of Perivolos Beach, then free time in Fira and the cable car back down to the port

Santorini, Greece

By Kathy

On the way to the beach. Gorgeous island.

Daytime passage through the Straits of Messina yesterday.

Black sand beach at Perivolos.

Lunch on the beach with my people. The moussaka was AMAZING.

Someone is in heaven.

Waiting in line for the cable car and tender back to the ship. The line is LONG.

The port at Athinios on the way to the beach

Perivolos Beach, Santorini

By Michael

The Norwegian Escape anchored in the Santorini caldera around midday. Kathy, Lisa, Thomas, Grandma and I tendered ashore to Athinios and took a coach across the island to the black sand of Perivolos Beach, where we set up under a straw beach cabana. Kathy, Grandma and I swam out toward the yellow marker buoys while the kids waded and collected pebbles along the shoreline. Thomas worked the wet black sand over his whole body, packing it onto his face and shoulders. We had burgers and fries and a Greek salad for lunch at a beach taverna.

Michael, Kathy and Grandma swimming at Perivolos Beach

Thomas and Lisa having lunch at the beach taverna

Thomas covered head to toe in black sand

Pebbles from the shore at Perivolos Beach

Kathy and Thomas in the water at Perivolos Beach

Kathy swimming out toward the yellow buoys

Kathy and Grandma swimming at Perivolos Beach

Thatched umbrellas on the black sand at Perivolos

Fira, Santorini

By Michael

In the afternoon we rode a coach up into Fira, the town on the rim of the caldera, for free time to walk the shops and lanes. Thomas and Lisa got ice cream at Charbel Sweets Factory. More than once we stopped to look down at the Escape anchored far below with the whitewashed town spread around us. As the sun went down we queued for the cable car, still masked for the ride, and it carried us down the cliff face back to the tender pier for the ride back to the ship. By the time we were back aboard, the whole island was lit up along the cliffside as we sailed away.

Lisa and Thomas with ice cream from Charbel Sweets

Thomas and Michael masked in the cable car

The Escape anchored in the Santorini caldera

🎭 Aboard the Norwegian Escape

Santorini lit up along the cliffside at night

Day 7Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Piraeus · Athens · Taverna Mourouzis · Temple of Poseidon

Piraeus, Greece
Athens, Greece
Taverna Mourouzis, Kalyvia Thorikou · Greece
Temple of Poseidon, Sounion · Greece
Aboard the Norwegian Escape · Greece

Best of Athens & Its Scenic Coast — The Acropolis on foot, then Constitution Square, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Royal Palace, Hadrian's Gate and the marble Olympic stadium; after lunch the coast road to Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon

Piraeus, Greece

By Kathy

Good Morning from Piraeus. We are up early for our tour of Athens.

Standing on top of the world.

The only stadium in the world made entirely of marble. It is 2,588 years old.

Greek lunch. So much food and so good.

Beautiful Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon. It's been another great and very hot day. Greece has not disappointed.

Popsicles at the pier and my dinner date. I do not miss the main dining rooms on Disney Cruise Line nearly as much as I had feared, especially on this busy itinerary. The buffet has excellent food and I eat healthier. Do I love NCL? I really like them. Would I cruise with them again? Yep. I think I would.

By Michael

We docked at Piraeus early, and Kathy, Lisa, Thomas, Grandma and I took a coach into Athens for the Best of Athens tour. The tour went up the Acropolis on foot in the morning, and we worked around the scaffolding still up on the Parthenon, stopping again and again for photos among the columns. Lisa and Thomas each got a turn posing with me there, and we spent a long stretch by the Erechtheion and its stone maidens before starting down.

Back in the city we crossed Constitution Square and passed the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where a guard stood post in the traditional uniform, and the old Royal Palace, now Parliament. The tour also took in Hadrian's Gate before stopping at the marble Panathenaic Stadium, built for the first modern Olympics, where Thomas and Lisa posed together.

By the time we were back on the bus for lunch, Thomas was asleep in his seat. We ate at Taverna Mourouzis in Kalyvia, with a stray cat working the tables under us. From there the coast road ran south with the water turning turquoise below us, out to Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon above the sea.

We were back near the ship by early evening for popsicles before dinner, and watched the sun go down over the water as we sailed out of Piraeus.

Lisa on the verandah with the port of Piraeus behind

Riot police resting on a street in Athens

Thomas and Lisa at the Panathenaic Stadium

Kathy standing before a large columned temple under scaffolding

Our Athens tour guide told Lisa that she had beautiful eyes, and bought her an owl, the Greek symbol for the wisdom of Athena.

Grilled meat and red cabbage at Taverna Mourouzis

Photo: Temple of Poseidon, Sounion, day 7

Cape Sounion and the temple from the road

Selfie with the whole crew at Cape Sounion

The four of us at the Temple of Poseidon

Kathy and Lisa at the Temple of Poseidon

🎭 Aboard the Norwegian Escape

Lisa eating soup at a table in a ship restaurant

Day 8Thursday, July 28, 2022

Mykonos · Delos

Delos in 3D — Boat from Mykonos to the sacred island of Delos, walking the ruins with a tablet whose augmented reality redraws each structure as it once stood

Mykonos, Greece

By Kathy

Good morning from Mykonos! Today's adventure takes us to the island of Delos.

A great morning on the island of Delos, a working archeological excavation site.

Beautiful views from our verandah today in Mykonos. The NCL Club Balcony Suite was the way to go, especially on this longer cruise. Would I have paid $3,000 extra for it at the time of booking? Probably not. But $450 on an upgrade bid? All day long. That huge bathroom is everything. 20 cruises and this is the first one with adequate water pressure in the shower. All 4 of us are sleeping comfortably and have room to spread out. It's a winner. Compared to the same size room (with a smaller bathroom) on a similar Disney Greek Isles itinerary, it was $26,000 cheaper.

Mother-son lunch at O'Sheehan's Bar & Grill. Pretzel bites with beer cheese, a burger for Thomas and chicken salad sandwich for me. I love that there is a 24/7 restaurant on the ship.

Arts and crafts class. Today they are making bracelets. I've been very impressed at the quality of these classes. NCL gets the win here.

Taking full advantage of the pool while everyone is still out in Mykonos. All aboard is 10:00 pm. Love an empty ship. Tomorrow is a sea day. We will stay far away from the pools. The ship is sailing with 4,100 guests. Crazy crowded.

NCL has paper programs. This was the biggest disappointment of our cruise on the Disney Wish last week. No paper Navigators. NCL also gets a clear win with their onboard app that not only has a chat function, but also allows the sending of pictures as well as making voice calls to the cell phones of other members in your group. It's been super handy.

By Michael

The Norwegian Escape reached Mykonos early, the town's white buildings catching the first light as we came in. Kathy, Lisa, Thomas, Grandma and I took a boat over to Delos for the Delos in 3D tour, each of us carrying a rugged tablet whose augmented reality redrew the ruins as we walked through them.

We spent the morning working through the site, room after room of stacked stone walls, marble column stumps, and floors that still held their mosaic patterns. A lizard sat still long enough on a stone for a photo, and cats had the run of the ruins; Thomas stopped to make friends with one. Near the sacred lake we each took a turn by the old marble lions on the Terrace of the Lions.

The boat brought us back to Mykonos by late morning, and Thomas and Lisa walked the town past the little blue-domed church. Lisa and I found a table with a window over the harbor for lunch before the afternoon opened up. Back on the ship, Lisa and I spent time in the pool with the waterslide running behind us.

By evening the harbor lights came up along the hillside, boats lined up below our balcony as the night settled in.

Kathy and Michael on the Mykonos waterfront

Kathy and Michael by the blue-domed church in Mykonos

It wouldn't be a great vacation without a little sun.

Thomas and Lisa make friends with a Delos cat

Thomas, me, Kathy and Lisa on the boat back from Delos

A dry shrub growing out of a stone wall on Delos

A stone basin full of green water on Delos

The kids making friends with a cat on Delos

Fallen column pieces in the grass on Delos

🎭 Aboard the Norwegian Escape

Pretzel bites with Thomas at O'Sheehan's

Lisa making a bracelet in arts and crafts

Lisa and Michael at the pool on the Escape

Day 9Friday, July 29, 2022

Day at Sea

Day at Sea

By Michael

Today was our day at sea between Mykonos and Malta. The original itinerary had us stopping in Corfu, but it was dropped before we sailed and the day became open sea instead.

Lisa went up on the ropes course above the pool deck in the morning, working her way across the rigging in a harness. Lisa went back up for another turn in the afternoon. The pool deck filled in through the day, with a band playing on the stage above the pool and a chef carving a block of ice for the crowd.

I found the builder's plaque near the pool: the Escape was built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, delivered in 2015. We ended the day with a steak dinner.

Meyer Werft's builder's plaque by the pool

The pool deck on the sea day, morning and afternoon

Day 10Saturday, July 30, 2022

Valletta · Birgu · Marsaxlokk · Dingli Cliffs · Mdina · Mosta

Malta's Scenic Beauty — A drive round the island: Vittoriosa, the fishing village of Marsaxlokk, the Dingli Cliffs, Rabat and the walls of Mdina, and the dome at Mosta

Valletta, Malta

By Kathy

Greetings from Malta. Today we are taking a scenic bus tour of the island.

Traditional fishing village of Marsaxlok.

Fun photo stop. Where's Michael? Back on the ship resting up for Mt. Etna tomorrow.

Third largest unsupported dome in Europe.

Yesterday was a sea day. I have not been to the pools once. They are very crowded with 4,200 people onboard. I may try this afternoon as all aboard is 8:30 tonight.

Day #7 on the Norwegian Escape. Only 3 more ports left on this incredible journey. Mt. Etna tomorrow, Pompeii on Monday and Pisa on Tuesday. Then Rome and home on Wednesday.

One thing that has surprised me about Norwegian vs. Disney is the solicitation of recognition by the crew members for simply doing their jobs. Each night at dinner, the server asks us to fill out a Vacation Hero card for them. This is how they receive extra time off and recognition by the leadership team. Tonight, our server came back to the table 3 times during dessert to see if I had completed my nomination. I believe in recognition for going above and beyond. Begging a customer for recognition is awkward. Point goes to Disney for classy tactics.

Thomas, Lisa and Grandma at a painted door in Marsaxlokk

By Michael

We called at Valletta and were ashore earlier than planned, a little after eight thirty, well ahead of the old itinerary's 1:30 arrival. A drive took us around Malta: first to Birgu, across the water from Valletta, where Thomas and Lisa posed on the waterfront with Vittoriosa's old fortifications behind them. Then Marsaxlokk, the fishing village, with its brightly painted boats tied up at the quay and a market along the front. Thomas and Lisa stopped to pet a stray cat on the cobblestones, and Thomas, Lisa and Grandma, in her sun hat, stood for a photo at a painted door.

Lisa's selfie with Thomas, Kathy and Grandma at Dingli Cliffs

From there we went up to the Dingli Cliffs, where a white radar dome sits on the hilltop above the sea, then through Rabat and on to Mdina, the old walled city on its hill, and the dome at Mosta, before heading back to the ship.

In the afternoon we stayed aboard, looking down over the Grand Harbour from the ship's upper decks. At dinner there were decorated paper hearts on the table, one each for Dad, Mom and Grandma. Later we watched the evening light turn gold over the water, and Valletta lit up after dark before we sailed.

A paper boat adrift in the Grand Harbour

A domed church and the Maltese flag in Birgu

Forts along the Grand Harbour from the ship

Valletta rooftops and a church dome from the ship

The fishing boat Robbie in Marsaxlokk harbor

Lisa and Thomas petting a stray cat in Marsaxlokk

Festival banners over a street in Marsaxlokk

🎭 Aboard the Norwegian Escape

Day 11Sunday, July 31, 2022

Messina · Mount Etna

Etna 4X4 Adventure — Norwegian shore excursion from Messina, 8:45 am, 7 hours: Crateri Silvestri, cable car and 4x4 vans up to the last lava flow, lunch on the volcano

Messina, Italy

By Kathy

It's Etna Day! Hopefully the clouds pass and we can get some nice pictures from the top of the volcano.

Mount Etna was incredible.

It did not disappoint.

Today's lesson is, "This is why we ALWAYS take the cruiseline's shore excursions." When your bus has trouble, the driver meets a replacement bus, quickly transfers everyone on the side of the road and continues back to the port. This had to be the most flawless bus breakdown ever The tour was spectacular as well.

In addition to a larger stateroom and HUGE bathroom, one of the benefits of a Club Balcony Suite is the complimentary bag of laundry. Unlike Disney, Norwegian does not offer self-service laundrettes and the cost to send clothes out to be laundered is quite spendy. We gave the clothes to our stateroom attendant yesterday morning and they were on the bed when we returned to the ship this afternoon.

By Michael

The Norwegian Escape docked at Messina early, and from the ship I could see the gold statue that marks the harbor mouth and the town's cathedral bell tower. Kathy, Lisa, Thomas, Grandma and I went ashore for the Etna 4x4 Adventure and rode a bus up out of Messina, past the cathedral square and up through the hills, the countryside dropping away below the road.

Mount Etna, Sicily

Lisa, me, Thomas and Kathy on Etna's summit

By Michael

At the base of the mountain we picked up the Funivia dell'Etna cable car and rode it up over black lava slopes in red gondola cars. From the top station we climbed higher in a fleet of open 4x4 trucks, past the Crateri Silvestri craters and out onto the last lava flow, grey ash and broken rock as far as I could see. The clouds broke while we were up there. Lisa and I stood together with the peak behind us, and the whole group got a photo on the crater rim.

Walking the flow, Thomas found a ladybug working its way over the pumice, and lower down, where the ground turns green again, yellow wildflowers were growing straight out of the black rock with bees working them. We rode the cable car back down, had lunch, and then drove back to Messina past miles of old lava turned to scrub and pasture.

The cable car climbs Etna's black lava slopes

A bee working the wildflowers on the volcano

Lisa, Kathy and Thomas ride the cable car down

Lunch after coming down from the volcano

Plants growing on the lava slopes of Etna

Thomas picking his way across the lava field

Kathy and the kids in the fog on Mount Etna

Lava rock on the last flow on Mount Etna

Yellow wildflowers growing out of the lava on Etna

🎭 Aboard the Norwegian Escape

By Michael

We were back aboard by early evening. As we sailed out past the Madonna statue at the harbor mouth the light was already going gold, and past 8 pm I caught Stromboli's cone against an orange sky from the deck.

The harbor Madonna as we sailed out of Messina

Stromboli's silhouette at sunset from the deck

Day 12Monday, August 1, 2022

Naples · Pompeii

Pompeii Excavations — Into Pompeii through the Sea Gate and along the cobbled streets to the Agora, with Vesuvius above the ruined town

Naples, Italy

By Kathy

Got an early start this morning and helped the sun wake up over Naples. Today's adventure takes us to Pompeii for a walking tour of the archeological dig site. Michael, Lisa and I were here in 2013. It will be neat to see what has been unearthed over the past 9 years.

Overall a decent tour. Disappointed that we did not visit the Garden of the Fugitives. I will put it on my feedback form.

Farewell Naples. Next stop, Pisa for our grand finale on this two-week adventure.

I have really enjoyed the verandah on this cruise. I love the unobstructed view and the fact that our stateroom attendant cleans the glass every day. It's always sparkling clean. Many awesome photos have been snapped from this perch.

Now this is a vacation hero. Antonio from the ropes course gets Lisa's nomination complete with picture and hug.

By Michael

The Norwegian Escape called at Naples, and Kathy, Lisa, Thomas, Grandma and I went ashore to Pompeii. We came in through the Sea Gate and walked the cobbled streets, with Vesuvius standing over the whole ruined town.

Pompeii, Italy

The four of us in the Pompeii forum, Vesuvius behind us

By Michael

We spent the morning working through the site: the forum with its long line of columns, a small theater, and the baths with their vaulted ceilings and raised stepping stones set across the streets. Lisa photographed the mosaic warning of a dog at one doorway, and we found the plaster casts of some of the victims, still lying where they were found. Thomas stood with his arms stretched between two columns in one of the courtyards, and we walked through room after room of the painted houses, their red and yellow walls and garden courtyards still holding their color.

Lisa and me on a sunny street in Pompeii

One of the plaster casts of Pompeii's victims

A carved symbol in a Pompeii paving stone

🎭 Aboard the Norwegian Escape

By Michael

Back aboard, Kathy and Lisa had lunch together, and in the afternoon we sailed out past the pilot boats and the lighthouse at the harbor mouth. In the evening Lisa and I watched the sun go down over an island as the ship carried us on toward Livorno.

Day 13Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Livorno · Pisa

Pisa & Trolley Ride — Norwegian shore excursion from Livorno, 9:45 am, 4 hours: trolley to Miracle Square, walking tour, the Leaning Tower

Livorno, Italy

By Kathy

The sky was on fire this morning. Perfect beginning to our final full day onboard the Norwegian Escape.

If you cruise or vacation and don't have an Arca water bottle holder, do yourself a favor and get one. This thing is a beast in all the right ways. I'm currently carrying my Samsung S22 Ultra in a bulky Otterbox case, an external battery with USB cable, sunglasses, hand sanitizer, my credit card and ship card(there are slots for 7 cards), a 32 oz. double wall insulated water bottle and shore excursion tickets. In Malta I carried all of the above plus our passports. Goodbye big backpack!

Perfect way to end our European vacation. Beautiful Pisa.

Lunch!

The ropes course team and Karek, our stateroom attendant, won Lisa's heart over the past 10 days. I hope she never loses her passion for making everybody feel like somebody. The world needs more of that.

By Michael

We watched the sunrise from the pool deck as the Norwegian Escape sailed into Livorno, the sky turning red and gold over the water for almost half an hour. After breakfast Kathy, Lisa, Thomas, Grandma and I went ashore for the Pisa and Trolley Ride, which left Livorno at 9:45 am: a coach through farm fields to Pisa, then a walk through narrow streets past parked scooters toward the Field of Miracles.

Pisa, Italy

The four of us at the Leaning Tower of Pisa

By Michael

The Leaning Tower came into view above the rooftops as we reached the piazza. We walked around the Duomo and the round Baptistery, looking at the carved figures over the doors, before everyone took a turn with the tower: Thomas, Kathy, Lisa and I each posed pretending to hold it up, and Kathy and Lisa framed it with their hands in a heart. We stopped for a family photo in front of it.

Before lunch we browsed the souvenir stalls around the piazza, plates, mugs and a Pinocchio marionette, then ate at a restaurant nearby, bread rolls and a toasted sandwich with parmesan. In the afternoon a little trolley carried us away from the piazza for the ride back to the ship.

Michael trying to straighten the Leaning Tower

Thomas goofing around at the Leaning Tower

Lisa goofing around at the Leaning Tower

Thomas and Lisa making a heart around the tower

🎭 Aboard the Norwegian Escape

By Michael

That evening we watched Livorno from the ship as it got dark. Thomas and Lisa ate dinner together, and Lisa went to the Entourage teen awards night, the room lit up in blacklight.

Breakfast before going ashore in Livorno

The Entourage teen awards, glowing under blacklight

Sunrise from the deck on the way into Livorno

A Fun Ropes drawing for the ropes course team

Home againDay 14Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Civitavecchia

Aboard the Norwegian Escape · Italy
Civitavecchia, Italy
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) · Italy
Montreal-Trudeau (YUL) · Canada
Chicago O'Hare (ORD) · United States

FCO → YUL · AC 893 · 13:20 – 16:10

YUL → ORD · AC 8967 · 18:00 – 19:26

🎭 Aboard the Norwegian Escape

By Kathy

Back to where we started 10 days ago. We meet our driver in an hour and head to the airport in Rome. I should see my own bed in about 22 hours. My heart is full.

Lisa won the Smart Cookie award in the teen club. She made friends everywhere on the ship this cruise.

Next stop Montreal in 10 hours.

Entertainment...check. Provisions...check. Awesome family...double check. It's nap time!

My rule about postcards and magnets is that you need to leave the airport for the visit to count. We are making an exception for Canada. Thank goodness there are storms in Chicago and our flight was delayed. It took us an hour and a half to get through U.S. Customs in Montreal even with Global Entry. I am officially ready for a vacation from my vacation. Run, gun, fun, DONE.

On the flight. Should hit my own bed by 2:00.tomorrow morning. Long travel day.

Lisa with a CANADA post card in Montreal

By Michael

We left the Norwegian Escape at Civitavecchia early in the morning. Lisa had picked up a Teen Choice Award onboard, a 'Smart Cookie' certificate, and Lisa had drawn a card for Grandma as a thank-you. Drawing something for someone is how Lisa shows her love.

Kathy, Lisa, Thomas, Grandma and I made our way to Rome Fiumicino and boarded AC 893 for Montreal, then caught AC 8967 on to Chicago O'Hare. Lisa held up a CANADA sign at the gate in Montreal. The city lights were coming on under the wing as we came down into O'Hare.