We had chosen to bypass the Rome crowds in favor of a short two-night stay in Civitavecchia. It was a good decision for what we wanted on this trip! We had just finished a very busy two weeks including volunteering at/riding in the MS 150 the weekend before we left, and we knew we’d have very little down time once we got on the ship.

Civitavecchia was much less crowded than Rome, and although Rome has more than its fair share of popular sights, we found plenty to see and do in Civitavecchia. We scheduled a History and Food tour of Civitavecchia with Pamela Marchetti/Window on Italy who had been recommended by friends.

Window on Italy

The ancient city of Civitavecchia (Centum Cellae) was founded by Emperor Trajan in 106 AD as a major port for Rome, although there is evidence of Etruscan habitation as far back as the 6th-7th Century BC.

Civitavecchia is a city of layers, with Medieval Structures built atop Roman ruins. The modern port follows the basic outline of the ancient Roman port, and there are still some structures standing from Roman times. Civitavecchia was heavily bombed during WWII and modern buildings were built around and on top of ancient ruins. The city is a mix of old and new, with occasional glimpses of ancient structures, city walls, and gates.

In addition to a big dose of history, we tasted some wonderful local food in the kinds of places that are hard for tourists to find.

My only criticism of the tour was that I was so tired by the end that I could barely put one foot in front of the other. The combination of jet lag, little sleep, good food and wine, and thousands of steps meant I was practically sleepwalking by the end of the tour.😴

Despite my tiredness, I didn’t get a great night’s sleep. I found the bed too hard to get comfortable, although I did finally doze off after I moved to a different bed (our room had four!). Other than the bed, I found the 7 Bell’s Guest House to be a great place to stay. The owner couldn’t do enough for us, our room was large and very clean, and a simple but adequate breakfast was included.

One thing that I found interesting was that our “hotel” was one of two guest houses in a building with several apartments and small businesses. I don’t think the residents appreciated us, especially when there were 8 of us moving cruise luggage down the elevator on Tuesday morning!

Our first afternoon and evening on the ship were pretty uneventful. It had gotten unbelievably windy by the time we sailed, so we went to the Sunset Bar for sailaway but didn’t last long.

Our first impression of the ship was that the Equinox was showing her age in places. For example, our cabin was in excellent condition, but our balcony looked almost as old as some of the ruins we saw in Civitavecchia. Other than our balcony, there was nothing that impacted our cruise, but we both thought the ship was overdue for a major renovation.

We went to Le Petit Chef for dinner the first night. What an entertaining meal with great food! This would probably be a good place to mention that I LOVE the way Celebrity handles their beverage packages. Once you show your card you’re done. There are no annoying slips to sign and keep track of. Just show your card and the bartenders/waiters/sommeliers will keep pouring!