Dubrovnik

I knew I would need to take one day off from sight-seeing, and Dubrovnik seemed the sensible one as I’ve been there twice. It was just a pity that we visited here so early in the cruise. I arranged for the others to go off by themselves, along with the pages of information I had gleaned from the internet and instructions of where to look for an Internet Cafe.

It’s almost impossible to sleep in on an MSC ship. I had 2 cabin attendants knocking on my door shortly after 8am (luckily I was awake but not enough to call out or open the door), then opening the door and seeing my curtains were still drawn. They had a conversation in the doorway (while I pretended to be asleep) before closing the door! Shortly after 9 there were another couple of knocks. I shouted a reply each time but they did not come in. About 9:30 I finally felt awake enough to get up.

It was a good day to catch up slowly with a bit of washing, my diary, my recent photos, etc. I found that there was no queue for lunch at midday (perhaps because so many people were off the ship) and it was also a good chance to take photos of the area where the ship was docked.

In the afternoon I looked for a quiet place to sit and read and rest. Mission impossible! The ship has muzak playing in all the corridors and the public areas. Even the ‘library’ had muzak playing. I eventually asked at Reception and the girl suggested an outside area (not what I wanted) or the disco (should be quiet as it was closed). I made my way towards where I thought the disco was, and stopped one floor down in a food service area to check. The two crew men pointed me in the other direction. I traipsed all the way back the way I had come, only to find that I had been correct the first time and had to retrace my steps. Not amused. The disco would have been a quiet area except for the kids running in and out shouting, and the repair work going on just outside. It was back to my room to sit on the bed instead. I had a good rest and relaxing time.

An early night was the order of the day, as the clocks were to be put forward one hour overnight.