I finally got my husband to Europe … and what a way to go. The Crown Princess cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome enticed him to finally agree to the long airline flight from Rome back home.
Donna and her husband, Bill, brave the rain to visit Rome's Trevi Fountain.
The cruise had eight full days at sea in the beginning, so I thought it would be our marriage test. But with so much to do onboard, we never opened our books. (So I guess we passed our test!)
Our ports of call were fascinating — the Barbary Apes in Gibraltar were so interesting, and the hillside towns of Guadalest in Spain and Les Baux de Provence in France were beautiful. But the highlight of our trip came in Rome, with a surprise serenade not long after we arrived.
We expected to see the usual wonders of this amazing city – the Roman ruins of the Coliseum, and the Forum; the St. Peter’s Square and the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City; and landmarks such as the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.
This last place turned out to be the first we visited – and did we get a surprise! Naturally, our hotel room wasn’t ready, and to top it off it was raining cats and dogs. But, since my husband had never been to Rome, we weren’t going to waste any time — so I told him we were going out to walk around the area and, luckily the Spanish Steps were nearby.
The Roman Forum
We ducked under umbrellas and climbed to the top of the stairs. This is no small achievement even when it’s not raining, as the full staircase is more than 130 steps. Technically the stairs are called the “Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti” but they earned their more common nickname because they ascend from the Piazza di Spanga.
It stopped raining as we reached the top. So we started walking more slowly back down the steps and got as far as the first landing before we noticed that suddenly there were security guards all over the place. We saw that the landing was empty as people had moved to stand on the sides.
Suddenly, four people appeared on this “stage.” First a red-haired man stood out to me. I said to my husband, “Look, it’s the red-haired doctor from ‘ER,’ Scott Grimes.” Then I looked at the second man and said “Wait, there’s Russell Crowe!” The third person was very familiar looking, turns out it was Kevin Durand. We knew him from several episodes of “Lost.” The last person had a guitar and we later identified him as Alan Doyle.
Russell Crowe and his "Merry Men" sing for the crowd on the Spanish Steps
The four of them began to sing. They sang “Beautiful Girls”, “Man in the Mirror”, and a couple of other songs. We lucked out, our impromptu walk led us front row and center for the performance so we had an unobstructed view for the whole thing – a perfect vantage point as I juggled my camera in one hand and mini-camcorder in the other. After a 15 minute serenade, they said “thank you” and left.
As if on cue, just then it started pouring again so we headed back to our hotel. The front desk person told us that Russell Crowe is very popular in Rome because of the film “Gladiator” and that it was the 10th anniversary of the movie.
A little internet searching once we got back home revealed even more. It seems that we were in Rome for European opening weekend of Russell’s movie “Robin Hood” and that the rest of the singers were his “merry men” performing some unusual film publicity. We’ve also discovered we’re all over You Tube because we were captured on video by anyone filming from the right-hand side.
It was quite a way to start off our time in Rome. We did get to see many of the sights that have made Rome famous throughout the centuries, and it was a wonderful way to cap off our transatlantic cruise and my husband’s first trip to Europe. However, I had to tell him that you don’t always get serenaded by movie stars when you go to Rome.
The serenade on the Spanish Steps
FYI Alan Doyle, mentioned in the blog is the lead singer of a band called Great Big Sea, they are excellent, look them up on UTube! Donna great story!
Superb information thanks for posting about it. The truth is in all posts of this site there is things to educate yourself on.
We arrive in November 24, 2011 for the 19 day Renaissance Passage from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale that embarks Nov. 27th. Since this is our first time in Rome, can anyone suggest hotels in addition to the Parco Dei Principi mentioned above? Recommendations would be greatly appreciated. We don’t have much time before the cruise.
Hi Rod,
The hotel we use for passengers purchasing our Cruise Plus Hotel Package is Hotel Cicerone. For pricing and availability information, please contact your travel agent or call us at 1-800-Princess.
We look forward to welcoming you onboard! Have a great cruise!
Spending 3 days in rome with family after a 14 day cruise and we love to travel by car through countries. Have from 13th oct from Rome to return on 25th oct. Travelling florence, Venice, lakes, Cinque Terre back to Rome. Any tips on must go to places to visit or stay
that we should not miss. Any great ideas appreciated.
My husband and I have also been to Rome and visited all the usual suspects including the Spanish Steps. My good friend, Carol, and I were lucky enough to be serenaded by our husbands when we stayed in Venice. Needless to say, they were drunk but they were lucky not to have water poured down them as they were making quite a racket in the middle of the night. All I can say is, the Venetian people are so lovely and the city is one of my favourites! Thanks for sharing your story as it reminded me of our European cruise on the Emerald Princess back in 2007. We need to make plans to visit beautiful Europe again very soon.
Thanks a lot for posting this data, I really do not know about anyone else, but I can totally make use of it.
I am inlove with Rome , i have made my reservation already on Parco Dei Principi for first september , i don`t know to do to make the time pass faster .
Donna this made me smile! You’ve told me the story but reading about it and seeing the pictures really brought it to life…Thank you so much for sharing this exciting experience!
Looking forward to our September cruise on the Star Princess! Love the Spanish Steps and Rome anyway, but now I’ll be on the lookout for extra special surprises! Thanks for sharing. That’s one trip you’ll never forget, and hopefully the start of many more!
We’re going over in October for Ruby Princess, and the hotel we are at (Parco Dei Principi) is near the Spanish Steps. Hope we getvsome entertainment when we are there.
My husband and I are taking that same cruise on April 28th and can’t wait. Even if we don’t get a star studded serenade I think we’ll have the trip of a lifetime!
What a coincidence reading this today because I am from Newfoundland where Alan Doyle is from. He performed last night on George St., St. John’s, NL and today Russell Crowe arrived in St. John’s. Russell and Alan are good friends. My understanding is Russell will be performing this weekend as well.
I love the Spanish Steps.
We are off to Rome in September on the Grand Princess. I have been before but my other half hasn’t. Really looking forward to showing him the city
So glad you and Bill had fun on this trip….you do know how to travel and HELP those of us who would like to.
What a great vacation! Hope to see you guys soon. It’s been way too long!
WOW!!! Donna how great!! My outlook express wasn’t working all day “till I got home and called Cox. Will you talk to us peasants now?
Love, Edythe
Donna,
Thank you for sharing your special experience in Rome. Just goes to show, you never know what you might encounter when traveling!