Sunday, 21 November 2021
Sailing Through the Straits of Gibraltar

Right now, at 11am, ms Riviera is sailing through the Straits of Gibraltar on a sea day from Cartagena to Las Palmas, Canary Islands. This is a result of a change in itinerary. I am still surprised that we will be touring Gran Canaria, given the explosive volcano action just a few weeks ago. But for now the blog returns to the trip from Dubai to Rome/Civitavecchia.

Tuesday, 16 November 2021
Dubai to Civitavecchia

It's a leisurely morning for a change as I await my Emirates Air limo to take me the 20-minute drive to the airport.  Although Dubai suffers terrible traffic jams during morning and evening rush hours, my 12:30pm trip goes very quickly.  I have all the right papers, including the EU passenger locater form, which had to be submitted on-line, so check-in is quick and easy. The airport is not busy in the middle of the day and I am speedily transported to the Emirates Air Lounge--which would have been a longer walk than from the Metro Station to Dubai Mall (see earlier blog).

This lounge, surprisingly, is smaller and less well-equipped than the one in LA.  But there is plenty to eat and drink and soon enough I am whisked to the gate for the 3:05pm flight to Rome. Although this Boeing is significantly smaller than the Airbus, Business Class seat-beds are pretty much the same--with so much entertainment on offer that it takes the whole 6-hour flight to decide what to watch. Take-off flight is delayed one hour because of an electrical problem--not on the plane, the Finnish captain assures us, but with the ground electronics. Of course, all the champagne and alcohol flows freely. The three twenty-somethings seated across the aisle have endless capacity, since their glasses are constantly refilled.  Fortunately, they are well-behaved.

After an uneventful flight we reach Rome, 30 minutes late. Although masks are required everywhere, including on flights, there are no tests or paperwork for arriving passengers. My final limo is waiting to take me the 45 miles to Civitavecchia, where I will spend the night prior to my cruise. The weather is cool--locals are dressed in winter coats and gloves--a not quite welcome change from the deserts of Dubai.

I am staying at small boutique hotel in a residential ares of Civi (what the locals call it), that is operated entirely digitally.  I was sent a code (by Snapchat) to enter the building, use the elevator, and open the main door of the hotel. There is no human being anywhere in sight. Fortunately, my (female) limo driver helps get my luggage upstairs, where I find a key-card to my room and instructions for everything from wifi to opening the metal window blinds. I guess this is the new age of travel.

My suite is very modern, equipped with everything I could want, and very comfortable. So I am ready to call it a night.

I planned to include photos, but wifi is not cooperating today. So I will try again in the next post.