Boarding MSC Seaview

2019 Western Mediterranean and Transatlantic Cruises on MSC

Boarding the MSC Seaview - Rome -- October 30, 2019

Please click here for video of our trip on this day.

It's time to board our first cruise, on the MSC Seaview, for the 8-day Western Mediterranean Cruise. After the past few days exploring Rome, all of us were ready to get on the ship and relax a little while enjoying the food and amenities on the Seaview. 

After cleaning up the apartment we took everything downstairs to wait for our ride that would take us from Rome to Civitavecchia. Emanuele and his associates will again come in two vehicles to take us all there. He was held up a little but we had no problem getting to port in time for an early check-in.

Waiting outside the apartment. Our rental unit is in the same building as the Hotel     , but not part of it. 

On the fifth floor.

The fruit stand right outside of the apartment.

Street view

After a long ride we arrived at the Port of Civitavecchia safely.

Emanuele in the middle and his associate.

Checking in was a breeze with no lines or crowds probably because not everybody was boarding here. MSC usually board and debark passengers at every port they stop at so the embarking and debarking procedures aren't that massive.

After boarding, we were taken to the lounge to sit and be lectured by some crew members who wanted to sell the drink and dinner packages. They really tried very hard to sell these even before sailing!

Like most cruises, we were then directed to the buffet restaurant for lunch while waiting to get inside our cabins. There are two buffet restaurants on Seaview and we generally went to the one on deck 8 since it was closer to our cabins. I must say that the food was surprisingly good, especially the pesto pizza and the roasted chicken and pork were all good. 

First plate of food including a piece of their fantastic pizzas. 

It wasn't that crowded at first but got filled up soon after.

Surprised to see fresh persimmons being served at the fruit bar.

Back in our room a bowl of fresh fruits was waiting as members of the Voyagers Club.

The Seaview took better care of the Voyagers Club members than the Divina, as we later experienced.

We were upgraded from an inside to a balcony cabin through the bidding procedure for $55 per person for the first two passengers. A good deal for $110 extra. It was still a little crowded for the four of us but we figured we would be in port everyday and only needed it for sleeping during the week. The balcony made a difference though.

Seaview is just a little over one-year old. As can be seen here, the tissue box was empty. When I asked the room steward, he said they only provide Kleenex to VIPs and Black card members now. He was kind enough to secretly slipped a box to me but I thought that was really strange.

Nice day in Civitavecchia.

We figured that since this is a port-intensive sailing, we probably won't have much time spent on board. This would be a good chance for us to check out the ship.

Adult pool in the aft of the ship.

Almost like an apartment building.

Geleto station

The famous MSC crystal staircase.

Atrium

This is a modern, stylish ship which has a lot of shining effects.

Port of Civitavecchia

Zip-lining

There are certainly a lot of fun activities on board the Seaview to keep passengers busy. It's a huge and beautiful ship.  

The mandatory drill took place at 5:00 and it was easy and painless. We did not find any life jackets in the cabin and we were told that they will distribute when necessary. After the assembly, they took us to the station in groups, then dismissed us in about two minutes. 

Dinner was assigned at a table for 10 in the Golden Sand Restaurant on deck 5. Food was quite good and tasty. Unlike our first MSC cruise in 2012, the menu is now more like any other main stream cruise lines instead of the Italian style of courses.

We were assigned to early dining at the main restaurant which fit us fine.

Seafood and Vegetable Potstickers Combo

Pork Loin in Tuna Salad

Potato Lentil Soup

Prime Rib

Lasagna

Opera Cake

Fresh Fruit plate

"For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."    --Romans 6:14

Last Full Day in Rome with Lots of Walking

2019 Western Mediterranean and Transatlantic Cruises on MSC

Pre-Cruise - Rome -- October 29, 2019

Please click here for video of our trip on this day.

This was our last full day in Rome before boarding the MSC Seaview. I am so glad that big brother Dan was on this trip with us and shared the responsibility of guiding the group. Son also did many of the leading especially when looking for food etc. so I was able to just relax once in a while without having to do much. Like today, I was totally lazy and was very happy to be a 'follower' for the day. I didn't even know where we were heading but I knew we were in good hands.

It turned out that we would be spending the day visiting the sites in the Municipio I area of Rome where many tourist spots are located not far from each other. Other than taking the bus from the apartment to Largo di Torre Argentina, our first destination for the day, we practically walked all day long. Daniel had a purpose during this trip in Rome, that was to see all the locations that was mentioned in one of his favorite opera. I think he had reached his goal even though I don't know what they all were. This morning, he brought us to this archaeological sight in the very busy part of town quite near the Campo di Fiori.

Largo de Torre Argentina

Visitors can only look at the site from above instead of actually explore on foot. There are remains of the four temples there. This is said to be the spot where Julius Caesar was killed which made this sight more important.

And of course, there are cats around since this is also a cat colony.

It would have been a very nice stop if we were able to actually get inside the ground and explore.

Drinking fountains that are all over in Rome.

Sant'Andrea della Valle

Then we walked a little and reached the Sant'Andrea della Valle Cathedral which we passed by the day before. Half of our group went there already but thought it was worthwhile for us to go there also. Indeed, this is a beautiful church, just like many of the other ones in Rome. One special feature is that they have mirrored tables so visitors can see the beautiful details of the church ceiling. Very clever and thoughtful!

Taking a photo of the ceiling on the mirror-table.

Gorgeous!

Piazza Navona

This is another important site that everybody visiting Rome would stop at. This elegant square dating from the 1st Century is usually frequented by visitors to see the classical fountain and street artists. Today, I preferred to just sit with Sis, enjoy the lovely sunshine, and people watched.

Pantheon

Our next stop was at the 'obligatory' site of Pantheon. It was surprisingly crowded with people standing and sitting at every corner of this square. Now that there are new rules in Rome regarding visiting famous sites, we had to be very careful in locating a suitable place to sit and rest. 

This iconic temple built around 120 A.D. with a dome houses tombs of famous people, including Raphael's.

Dome of the temple.

Look at all the people!

Stopped for an ice-cream break at Giolitti. Yum!

Accidentally saw some police in action around the corner.

Enjoying our trip to Rome.

On our way to the Trevi Fountain, we passed by the Marcus Aurelius Column at the Colonna Piazza.

This column with carved military scenes was to honor Marcus Aurelius' victories

Trevi Fountain

Needless to say, this was the busiest place of all! Trying to take a picture here seemed to be an impossible mission with people all gathered around the fountain. There were 'police' blowing whistles at those who were not following the new rules of no sitting and eating around the site. It was just kind of funny watching people breaking the rules and got caught.

The police missed these people sitting down for a photo.

Trevi Fountain and the Palazzo Poli

Right around the back is the hotel where we stayed in 2012.

Hotel Della Nazioni

Cheap Eats in Rome -- Pastificio

We made reservations for a fine seafood dinner at a restaurant we had been in 2012 and thought it would be a good place for a memorable meal before leaving Rome. So, we figured that we should just have a simple lunch to hold us through the day and save our appetites for dinner. Son lead us to an establishment called Pastificio near the Spanish Steps where we saw a long line already formed outside before their opening time at 1:00. 

When it opened at 1:00, the line actually moved quickly. The procedure is to pick the one pasta dish that you want out of the two being served each day. They'll put them in containers and you find a place to eat your pasta. They provide water and even a glass of wine if you are eating inside the store. No place to sit, just standing room only. Soon enough, we bought our boxes of pasta and found a place outside to sit and enjoyed the delicious and hot pasta. A quick and tasty meal for 4 E.

Long line outside Pastificio.

Via della Crose, 2, 00187 Roma RM, Italy

Customers getting their pasta inside.

4 E box of pasta

Delicious! This one had bacon bits in it.

Later, we sat at the square near the Spanish Steps and many people were having the same pasta lunch around us. Just make sure you are not sitting and eating at the steps itself though. 

Spanish Steps, cleared of tourists sitting around.

We had walked the whole morning and we were all tired so after some photos at the Spanish Steps area, we walked back to the apartment and rest for the afternoon. We also had to pack our bags since we will be picked up in the morning to go to port for our MSC cruise.

Sa Tanca Crostaceria -- Via della Croce, 2, 00187 Roma RM, Italy

We had a wonderful seafood dinner here at this restaurant in 2012, recommended to us by a friendly taxi driver. We enjoyed it so much that we thought it would be a good idea to take the group here for our final meal in Rome since it was not far from our apartment. It was a little on the expensive side but we all agreed that it was well-worth the price for the experience. We had the Taste Menu, which cost 45E per person. I have to say that it was one of the best seafood meal we had in a long time.

Some kind of complimentary starter

Raw Platter

Prawns Catalan

Octopus with Rocket Salad

Tuna Tartar

Starters Shrimps and Vegetables Tempura

Tagliolini with a ragu of tuna and eggplant

Second Course, our choice of Fish of the Day

Dessert

Pineapple ravioli with apple and almond mousse

A delightful end of our trip in Rome. Tomorrow we will embark on our adventure on the MSC Seaview in the western Med.