Sunday – October 5 – Heathrow to Rome

An early start to a hectic day.  The alarm sounded at 5:00am and we were out of the hotel not much after 5:30.  By the time the car was turned in and the shuttle bus had taken us to Terminal 5, it was nearly 6:00.  Check-in went smoothly, they even moved us to the front of the line because our flight was only an hour away.  Even though Terminal 5 cost a billion pounds and it is brand new, our aircraft wasn’t at a gate and we had to be bused to one of the outlying hard stands.  Climbing up to a 767 carrying bags on  a drizzly morning is exciting on the slippery stairs.  The flight left on  time, they served a very nice hot breakfast and the arrival was actually a few minutes early.  After waiting for the bags, and waiting for the bags, and seeing everyone else get their bags and leave, I found the baggage service office who checked the bag tags.  She promptly informed me that our bags were still in London but not to worry, they would be on the next plane and British Airways would get them to the ship.  Did we believe them?  Not likely! 

So we went outside customs, found our shuttle service, and they agreed to allow us to wait for the next flight with our bags and put us on a later shuttle.  We sat outside in the arrivals area, purchased a sandwich from the snack bar and waited.  Sure enough, our two bags were among the first off and we were finally able to leave Rome airport.

It appeared that the shuttle driver might not have ever been to Civitavecchia before. He almost missed the turn off and at the port had to ask for directions.  The drive down was beautiful, with the sea on one side and nice hills on the other.  Once at the Grand Princess, the check in and boarding went very smoothly.  We found our room, went and had a bit of lunch and then it was time for the famous safety drill.  Everyone gets to take their life jackets and cluster in one of the show rooms.  It is the same every time.  In fact, I think they play the same tape every time.  Very nearly the scheduled departure time of 6:00pm we backed out of the harbor and headed south.  Tomorrow is Naples.