As we have often said one of the best parts of our Revolutionary Journey is not only the places we have been so fortunate to visit, it’s the friends we have made along the way. Early on our 2025 World Cruise we met a super couple at the “Wheel House Bar” mid ship during a usual stop for a pre-dinner drink. Usually they have there either a guitar player, cellist, violinist, or one of the house bands playing from 5:30-7:00. We often stopped to relax here before heading off to dinner. In addition so many evenings we met people and then decided to head to the walk-in at the Dining room and share a table. Mark & Cicely from San Diego, CA were one of those couples. They are a lovely couple that we shared many cocktails with and also some dinners.
One night they were talking about Italy and their time living in that region for Marks work and we shared some of our time traveling there several years ago. They then mentioned they would like to visit the area called Cinque Terre, famous for its cliffside multi-color homes and small villages. Cinque Terre is a postcard picture of colorful cliffside villages… We said we would love to do that, as well. We collectively started planning how we could depart the ship, when we docked at Livorno, Italy, train to Cinque Terre, hike the walking trails between the villages, have a local dinner, stay in one of the picturesque cliffside properties over the ocean, and the following day train to Genoa, Italy where we could rejoin the World Cruise. An aggressive plan for sure, but we were all very jazzed to make this happen.
We believe our new friends Mark & Cicely would be a lot of fun to share this adventure with, since Mark does speak Italian. Usually Joanne and I do a lot of logistical planning for trips but Mark was happy to take on this adventure and he literally put all the pieces together including:
- Getting approval to leave the ship in Livorno and rejoin in Genoa from Princess Cruises.
- Get the paperwork and passport specifics taken care of.
- Plot out our trains.
- Make reservations for the Hotel
- Make reservations for Dinner
- Lead our village to village hikes…
- Confirm the Ferry tour to all villages the second day
- And finally get the train for our return to Genoa and the ship.
Mark did an incredible job getting everything organized and we are so appreciative for his efforts!!!!
Let me tell you a little about Cinque Terre, Italy. Cinque Terre is a stunning coastal area on the Italian Riviera featuring the five historic villages of Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, and Corniglia (along with Manarola and Riomaggiore). Known for its colorful houses carved into steep cliffs and crystal-clear blue waters, this UNESCO World Heritage Site offers an unforgettable Mediterranean escape. The Sentiero Azzurro cliffside hiking trail links the villages and offers sweeping sea vistas.
Monterosso al Mare: The largest village; features the area’s best resort feel and widest sandy beaches and this is where Mark made reservations at the spectacular cliff side property know as “Hotel Porto Roca” . Hotel Porto Roca is a 4-star luxury cliff-top hotel in Monterosso al Mare, Italy. It sits on a rocky promontory overlooking the Ligurian Sea, about 200 meters from the historic town center and right at the trailhead of the famous Cinque Terre Blue Trail to Vernazza.
We arrived by train to Monterosso and then hailed the Hotel’s driver to drive us up the cliff-side to the Hotel entrance. The vehicle was a micro-van which just barely fit on the road as it scaled the cliff. The road up was incredbly steep, very narrow, and has you literally hanging over the crashing waves below. Add in the torrential rain and we all had some trepidation about the drive up. Nonetheless the driver did an amazing job and pulled up in front of the entrance to the property known as Hotel Porto Roca!
Although the forecast wasn’t cooperating for this off-ship adventure, we all still decided to hike the cliffside trail to the next village Vernazza. It was steep, very wet, with dense foliage, rocky out-croppings, and periodic views of the sea below. Vernazza is famous for “Team Ella Vernazzana”, a traditional baked casserole made with layers of local anchovies, potatoes, tomatoes, white wine, olive oil, and herb. Since we have reservations for dinner that evening in Monterrosa we instead opted for just a snack of Fried dough and sauce… Some call it “Pan Fritto” some call it a type of Focaccia, but we all agreed it was just YUMMY!
We had a great 1st day in Monterosso even though the rain never really let up. The next day the rain was still coming down and we decided to take the ferry that stops at all of the villages of Cinque Terre. Seeing the multi colored cliffside villages from the water was excellent and made the entire day feel storybook in spite of the rain.
Exiting the ferry in Riomaggiore we hiked a newly opened section of the trail which is only one- way from Riomaggiore → Manarola. People often refer to this section as Via dell’Amore (Lover’s Lane), a spectacular cliffside walkway. The trail was closed for years because of landslides and major safety/structural work. It fully reopened in 2024 after extensive renovations, and then there was a small additional closure in early 2026 after a landslide affected the section near the Manarola entrance. That repaired section reopened April 3, 2026, so the entire route is currently walkable now. To pay for this new section they did implement a small toll but if you don’t walk through and just walk out and back they may not charge you . We talked to one of the ticket collectors for awhile and then all of a sudden she volunteered to take us with her as a mini tour. Such a bonus. She told us about the history, rebuilding of the trail, and also was our personal photographer. The trail is amazing and were were so fortunate to get a personal tour guide to help us. Another BONUS!
Cinque Terre, Italy is a magical place and we are so glad we took this mini adventure away from our 2025 World Cruise. We had such a great time with our new friends Mark & Cicely. Probably the only stain on the adventure was an unfortunate encounter we had on the train back to Genoa.
The 4 of us were seated on the train as 2 and 2 across from each couple to talk . Both couples had only each brought a small carry-on wheeled suitcase and a small backpack since our adventure wasn’t to be long. The train was very busy and we were passing the time reflecting on our 2 days when all of a sudden we pulled into a station where many people started to exit the train. (We still had a few more stops so we remained in our seats). As people gathered their belongs, from above, all of a sudden one of the backpacks stored above slightly grazed Mark, in the head, as a departing passenger grabbed it. Mark was fine just annoyed but for some reason I looked up and realized those 2 guys had stolen our bags. In that fraction of a second I ran off the train onto the platform, which was very crowded . Joanne and Mark & Cicely had no idea what was going on they just saw me dash off the train. There were literally hundreds of people on the platform though scanning quickly I saw the 2 men with Mark and our pack about 30 feet away. I have no idea how I got to them so quickly but as I grabbed the first guy by the shoulder with Mark’s bag. Incredibly as he was turning I couldn’t tell if he was swinging at me or had a weapon but I pushed him with all my might and he went tumbling over a bench dropping Mark’s bag. The second man just infront of us then turned with my bag and came at me. My response must have been instinctive when I yelled at the top of my lungs “Who the F…. do you thing you are!!!!” The bags were at my feet now and we all stood staring at each other. It might have been my tone, volume, intensity and demeanor which definitely over the top as we stood toe to toe. Time seemed to slow down for sure as we all accessed the moment. They must have realized I was a bit of a crazy American and willing to go at it with them for the bags. Mark then came to the trains entrance and could see what was transpiring and yelled for the Polizia. In that moment they decided to run away rather than take on this older, crazy American, or take the chance the polizia where not far away. No Polizia ever came and while Mark remained in the doorway of the train it hadn’t been able to depart. I gathered our bags and got on the train. Fortunately our gear, Mark’s passports, our Laptop and iPad were all safe with us again. Many Italians came by to make sure we were ok and it took a few stops for my adrenaline to dissipate. Not sure if it was the smartest maneuver for an 60+ year-old to take on 2 twenty year-olds but nonetheless we had gotten our bags back and no -one was injured. Definitely an experience we will never forget…
Arriving at the Genoa Train station we reported the event to the Polizia but their wasn’t much they could do and they said their are gangs that do this on this route. We were all fortunate to come through it all with our things and no issues.
Reflecting back on our 2025 World Cruise there are so many ports and countries that we wil never forget. Our adventure to Cinque Terre, Italy wasn’t on the schedule and was such an incredible memory and part of the entire cruise. Sometimes the impromptu connections, outside the box thinking, and willing to just take a risk can reward you with some of the most cherished and serendipitous memories and opportunities. The train experience also will not be something I will never forget…Never!
“Cinque Terre, Italy provided us the moment to “Carpe Diem” for sure…
