Mediterranean Cruise Day 4: Excursion Day Palermo

The DAILY program today offers different sports and games plus stretching and aerobics plus a darts tournament. Even so, I have gotta go.

Arrival 08:15 Palermo.
All on board 17:30. Departure 18:00.

Palermo is the capital of the Province of Palermo and of Sicilia (Sicily) , the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, an autonomous region of Italy. Population around 650.000.

Sicily is not only the lair of you-know-who. It is an island full of fantastic flowers of all colours, citrus fruits en masse and cities rich with history, culture and architecture.

Popular picturesque places and well-ventilated vehicles.

Option 1: Buy cruise ship excursion: EUR 39.
Option 2: Step off the ship (moored at Palermo port), walk 800 meters and just walk around the city for free. Or get on a CitySightseeing Palermo Hop On Hop Off bus.
There is a red and blue line, get a ticket, EUR 20, for both and get acquainted with the city. Then step off and go for a walk to for a closer view (and exercise).

Plenty of horse power around Palermo; the original models. Popular mode of transport.

Colour ‘explosions’ inside (you would not have guessed from the outside).
From the Circuito dell’Eccellenza tour; a tourist route through some
“monuments of the core of cultural and articistic excellence in Palermo”.

Colour ‘explosions’ outside.
A lot of hustle and bustle in the streets and alleyways of Palermo.

So much to see; you need super wide angle lenses (eyes) to take all of this in.

Summary:
Ancient art, beautiful buildings, captivating city; well worth a full-day visit (at least).

Late afternoon: On board “the Captain invites you to a personal greeting” (and photo session … maybe not) at the theatre, then Gala Cocktails in five of the lounges and a lovely 5-course Gala dinner Italian style.

Unmistakably  Italian: From salat, to Tiramisu and waiter cummerbund and bow tie. Neat!

Dress code of the day: Gala.
On a cruise the dress code varies by evening: Every night or morning you are informed of the dress code for that evening: Gala, informal or casual.
Informal is somewhere between formal and casual, but ‘no jeans’.
Be prepared to dress up and down

At Gala nights formal dress is expected (suit/black tie and long/cocktail dress).
In respect of the crew, staff, and fellow passengers I would dress accordingly, ‘follow suit’.
If one wants to keep it casual, there is always the choice of eating at the buffet restaurant.
However, dress code is not strictly enforced and apparently only semi-practiced on this itinerary (it varies from cruise to cruise). 

Program of the evening: Mambo Dance lesson, Land of the Pharaohs variety show, Cha cha cha Dance Lesson, Grand Gala Dance with the Entertainment Team and Dance Music with Fabio at the Disco.

If you really, really wanna eat, you also really need to move those feet!
Take your pick from the dance menu.