On Board Viking Neptune

Today, Tim and I concluded our pre-cruise extension and prepared to embark on our cruise. After our final breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and boarded our motorcoach for the drive to Civitavecchia, the closest port to Rome.

The drive took about three hours, and I napped most of the way. We said, “See You on the Ship,” to our new friends from the excursion and made our way to check in. Embarkation was easy, and Viking Neptune was waiting for us.

Check-In at the Port of Civitavecchia

Viking Neptune

After our safety demonstration, we ate lunch as we waited for our stateroom to be ready. The announcement came just as we were finishing dessert, so Tim made his way to our cabin, 3044, while I went to make an appointment with the travel consultant.

I forgot take photographs once I stepped into our cabin, but it is identical to the one we had last year. I’ll add a few new photos later. I met Ronny, our room steward, who is from Peru, and he was as helpful as all the crew have been.

My priority for today was booking a future cruise. Yes, I know most people are just happy to begin enjoying the current one, but I had an agenda. Promotions for the cruise we were looking at ended today, and I didn’t know if they’d be extended. So, at 6:00 pm, we met with Wes, the travel consultant, and booked our future cruise. I’ll write a separate post about where we’ll be going in late 2025.

Arriving in Florence

Tim and I finally arrived in Florence and took a taxi to our hotel. Italians may possibly be crazier drivers than the French. Traffic signals, lane markings, and stop signs. seem to be mere suggestions, not requirements. Nonetheless, Tim and I arrived at the hotel in one piece.

I had selected Il Tornabuoni for several reasons. First, and possibly most important, I was able to use Hyatt points to completely cover our five-night stay. The hotel also had wonderful reviews, and the location was convenient to every place we wanted to visit.

Il Tornabuoni is a small hotel in a thirteenth century palace. Located on Florence’s ritziest street, the hotel is lovely. All is not serious, however, as the round animal paintings on the walls throughout the hotel add a touch of whimsy. Butterflies, birds, and monkeys predominate.

We had a beautiful room with a huge, two-person shower. Perhaps ours should have been called the “beetle room,” as all eight of our paintings were of beetles. They were a bit creepy, but aren't they considered to be symbols of good fortune? 

A Lovely Hotel and a Lovely Room

Sarah and Tim Seem to Have Made Themselves at Home

Animal Paintings Are Found Throughout the Hotel, Including Beetles in Our Room

To make things simple since we were tired, we ate an early dinner at the hotel, and the service was impeccable. The Italians are masters of style and attention to detail. Plus, the food was delicious.

Florence had already started to decorate for Christmas, and there was a wonderful display outside our hotel. Not gaudy at all, just festive. I think we are going to be happy here!

Christmas Displays Outside Our Hotel

We’re on Our Way

Today was the day I had been waiting for, and Tim and I finally departed for our Mediterranean Explorer and Crossing cruise. We “flew” from Fort Collins to Denver, where we boarded a United Airlines flight to Frankfort. There, we changed planes to an Air Dolomiti flight to Florence.

Some People Get Freaked Out by Blue Mustang and Its Piercing Red Eyes at the Denver Airport

Tim and I had decided to “stand by” on an earlier Landline bus to Denver since it was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Our Lyft driver arrived on time, and we were able to get on the bus. 

The Denver airport did not seem that busy, and we were through the TSA Pre-Check line in minutes. We thought we’d try the new Capital One lounge, but it was closed because of a broken pipe that flooded the space. So, we went to the United lounge and took advantage of the delicious offerings while we waited for our flight. 

It goes without saying that we enjoyed our United Polaris business class seats. This time, instead of selecting two adjoining seats in the center of the plane, we chose window seats, one in front of the other. That turned out to be a good idea. No, we weren’t together, but the seats were more private, plus we each had a window. The flight left on time, and we enjoyed the dinner and all the amenities. Though I didn’t sleep as much as I had hoped, I was so grateful to have a lie-flat seat.

My View from Seat 5A on the Way from Denver to Frankfort

Dinner and Breakfast Were Quite Tasty - You Have to Love a Chocolate Sundae!

We landed in Frankfort the next morning and were surprised to park in a remote area, where we deplaned to ride a bus to the terminal. Immigration was a breeze, and it was a relatively short walk to our connecting gate. Frankfort was a much easier airport to navigate than I had been led to believe.

We had a bit of a wait before the departure of our Air Dolomiti flight to Florence, and again, we took a bus to our plane. Tim was in business class, but I was in economy, at the back of the plane. The horrors!!! No one sat next to me, which was nice, and I took a nap.

400 Days to Go!

Although our immediate focus is on our upcoming Mediterranean Explorer and Crossing cruise, I just happened to notice that we board our Viking World Voyage in 400 days. Very cool!

A Few Facts About Our Mediterranean Explorer and Crossing Cruise

It seems that Tim and I have been going non-stop since returning from our two-and-a-half-month volunteer stint at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Tim has been working as an Election Judge for Larimer County for the past week, just as he did last year. Today is election day and his final day on the job. We’ve also been busy scheduling doctor and dentist appointments, haircuts, and all those other things that must be done before we leave for Europe in two weeks.

We will fly to Florence via Frankfort on November 21, 2023, and will spend five nights there. It will be nice to be able to explore this incredible city at a relaxed pace while we recover from jet lag.

Next, we will join our pre-cruise extension, Ultimate Italy – Tuscany, and will spend three nights in an eighteenth-century villa. Our days will include tours of Tuscany, Florence, Sienna, and San Gimignano.

On November 27, we will board our ship in Civitavecchia, the closest port to Rome. We will follow the coasts of Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal with multiple ports of call before our mid-Atlantic crossing to Fort Lauderdale, where we will disembark. The cruise will last 24 days.

Mediterranean Explorer and Crossing

We will be sailing on the Viking Neptune, one of Viking’s newest ocean ships. As soon as we disembark in Fort Lauderdale, lucky guests will then embark for the 2023-2024 Viking World Cruise.

Like the Viking Venus that we sailed on last year, the Viking Neptune carries only 930 guests. That’s one of the things we love about these ships. Once again, we selected a Deluxe Veranda Stateroom on deck 3, also known as a DV6. 

Despite our growing proclivity to upgrade to higher levels of accommodation elsewhere, such as business class airline seats, we were quite pleased with our DV6 cabin last year. In fact, we found that we preferred its location to other more expensive cabins. We know we will enjoy our cabin again on this upcoming cruise.

Viking Neptune Deck Plan - Our Cabin Is Circled in Red

Our Deluxe Veranda Stateroom Layout