2022-07-23: Rome, Civitavecchia, and Odyssey of the Seas

We were able to sleep in a little this morning. We were boarding the cruise ship today. The check out time of our apartment was 10:00am but we didn’t have to catch the train to Civitavecchia until noon. Civitavecchia is where the cruise ships dock. We got ourselves up around 8:00am, ran through the shower, finished up our packing, and tidied up the apartment a bit. At 10:00 we left the apartment.

We headed down the block to a restaurant Amanda had looked up for some breakfast. We were able to store our suitcases beside our table in the restaurant while we ate. We ordered some pastries to start of course. Amanda and Darrell ordered a club sandwich and the kids ordered some pancakes for the main course. All the food was very tasty. The pancakes were different than we’d see at home. They were smaller and more dense, but the kids enjoyed them. It’s hard not to like them with chocolate hazelnut and maple syrups. By the time we were done breakfast it was a little after 11:00am.

We walked to the Roma Termini train station which was about a 10 minute walk. We hung out in the main hall until they announced the platform for out train. It was scheduled to depart at 11:57am. While we waited, the kids explored the Lego store that is inside the train station. Michael was also still hungry after breakfast so we found him another pastry at one of the restaurants. By the time we had done all that the platform for our train had been announced and the train was at the platform. We headed to the platform and boarded the train. The train was a Frecciabianca instead of the Frecciarossa we had used for our other trips. Frecciabiance isn’t quite as nice. The luggage situation was definitely more of a challenge. There weren’t as many luggage racks at the end of the cars so we had to put our suitcases in the overhead racks where they barely fit. We did get them to fit though. The train ride was only about 45 minutes to Civitavecchia. We had a nice view of the sea as we approached Civitavecchia.

Once the train arrived, we found our way to the exit of the station and there were a line of taxis waiting to take people to the cruise terminal. The terminal is about a 20 minute walk from the station, but it was another 35 degree day so we didn’t feel like walking. And you still have to take a bus once you get to the terminal. The taxis will take you right to the ship like the busses would. The taxis were charging 5 euros per person which is a bit outrageous for the 5 minute drive, but it was so much more convenient. Once at the terminal, we dropped off our suitcases and then we had to go through the standard security checks, health checks, and check-in with the cruise staff. Of course, the A/C was broken in the terminal building today so it was quite unpleasant inside the building. But before long, we were on board Odyssey of the Seas.

Once on board, we made our way to our stateroom to drop off our backpacks. We explored the room for a few minutes, then headed out to explore the ship. Odyssey of the Seas is Royal Caribbean’s latest Quantum-class ship. It’s maiden voyage was July 31st, 2021 so it’s just under a year old. It has some pretty cool features. There is the North Star which is a viewing platform suspended on an arm that they can raise above and rotate over the sides of ship. It also has a “Seaplex” which is a multi-use area that can be used for sports but they can also convert it into a bumper car arena. It also has a sports bar, arcade, and a virtual reality experience in that area. We stopped at the sports bar for some unhealthy pub food before continuing on. The ship has a Flowrider surf simulator, ripcord by iFly skydiving simulator, and Skypad which is a bungee/trampoline experience. Some of these things you have to pay for usually, but they were offering free trials since it was boarding day. The kids strapped up and gave the Skypad a try. They wanted to try ripcord as well, but it was already booked up for the day.

After getting an overview of the ship, we returned to our room to find our suitcases waiting for us and the room was turned down for bed time. We were a little dismayed to see that the boys had to share a bed. We thought the room had separate beds for the kids. Oh well, we’ll make it work. We unpacked and watched the ship pull out of port from our balcony. There were two other ships in port as well; Queen Mary 2 and Viking Sky. By the time the ship passed the sea wall protecting the port of Civitavecchia, it was time for dinner. We got changed for dinner and headed to the main dining room. We were shown to our table which is right by a window. Our waiters introduced themselves and we ordered our dinner. Michael had fruit salad, a burger, and apple pie with ice cream from the kid’s menu. Patrick ordered a steak and crème brûlée. He has been craving a “real” steak. He tried steak a couple of times in Italy but was very disappointed by what they call steak there. This one was a real steak so he was happy. Amanda ordered a crab cake, prime rib, and cheesecake while Darrell ordered a mushroom soup, prime rib, and warm chocolate hazelnut cake. The food was decent but not as good as we had hoped.

After dinner, we split up and went our separate ways. The kids went to their respective kids’ clubs and Darrell and Amanda explored the ship a little more. They made their way to a venue called Two70 where a show was about to begin. It was more of an introduction to the venue than a real show. Two70 is quite the venue. It’s called Two70 because it offers a 270 degree view off the back of the ship. During the day it offers a view of the outside world. In the evening, they lower screens over the windows and it becomes a theatre of sorts. They have 18 projectors that can display images and videos on the screens. They also have platforms in the floor and doors in the ceiling that open up to allow actors/artists to enter the venue. It also includes a platform with 6 robotic arms that were designed with the help of one of the men who worked on the Mars rovers. The robotic arms each hold a 100 inch LCD screen that they can move on six different axis. They said the venue cost them 37.5 million dollars to build. The six robotic arms were 7.5 million of that. They showed us four different vignettes to highlight what the room is capable of and we were impressed. Darrell expressed his desire to own a room like that, but Amanda told him he couldn’t have one…

Once the show was done, Darrell and Amanda returned to the room. While they waited for the kids to return from the kids’ clubs, the ship started to shudder more than normal. They went on the balcony to see what was going on and watched as the ship came to a stop. The kids returned to the room shortly afterwards. Patrick mentioned the captain announced there was a medical emergency on board. Somehow Darrell and Amanda didn’t hear that announcement. Someone was injured beyond the abilities of the ship’s facilities to handle so they were medically evacuating the passenger. The ship made a bit of a detour and stopped to rendezvous with another boat that would take the passenger to a more suitable facility on land. That’s a crappy way to start and end your cruise vacation.

Patrick wasn’t quite ready for bed so he and Darrell went for another walk around the ship. They played some foosball and ping pong in the Seaplex and walked on the exterior deck before returning to the room. Everyone called it a night at that point.