Leaving Rome and headed to Paris

 April 15, 2025

What an ordeal it was leaving the ship! Imagine trying to disembark a small city through ONE route.  Had it been an emergency most all of us would have perished.  The ship was prepared to start the process at 7 a.m. but was delayed by over an hour due to the Italian immigration officials being late.  As a result we missed our pre-arranged (and prepaid) bus to the airport and had the joy of paying again for a ride.  We were not happy and so many folks were angry.  We had booked our transfer through a third party which tends to be cheaper and is great if the timing all works out, but otherwise you’re better off booking through the cruise line as they do make an effort to take care of you.  Lesson learned.

We made it safely to Charles de Gaulle airport and took a taxi to our apartment in the 2ème arrondissement.  It was a 90 minute taxi ride in heavy traffic and our driver was NOT happy as the price from the airport to most of Paris is fixed by the government. (56 euros). He didn’t talk to us the entire trip but did play great jazz on his radio!

Our apartment is tiny but seems big compared to our stateroom on the ship.  We are on a tiny street : Rue Marie Stuart with lots of cafés, shops and plenty of nightlife.  Most folks around here seem to be in their 20’s and 30’s and we are definitely not.

That’s all for now bonne journée!