June 9 - This morning, Crystal Symphony is docked in Livorno, Italy, a huge port city which generally serves as the jumping off point for shore excursions to Pisa and/or Florence. In fact, as I enjoy my coffee in The Bistro on Deck 6, I can see the motor coaches arriving that will take guests to these iconic tourist landmarks.

Since we have been to Pisa and Florence twice, we decided to forego a ship’s excursion and take the shuttle into Livorno after lunch. But, before lunch I was tempted by the obscenely delicious Portugese Custard Tart (shown below) at The Bistro. Crystal Symphony and Serenity are the only cruise ships that offer these specialty pastries, or at least the only ones I am aware of, and they are only available in The Bistro.

Pasteis de Nata (Portugese Custard Tart)

After lunch at The Marketplace buffet, we disembark Symphony. About 100 yards from the ship, we find a complimentary shuttle that takes guests from the pier to the city center of Livorno. The complimentary shuttles run every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour, so you never have to wait long for a transfer. On some cruise lines, guests would have to pay an extra fee for this service. In some cities, the city itself will actually provide the shuttle service to bring guests into town to spend money at the local shops and restaurants.

The shuttle into town only takes about 15 minutes and we are dropped off at a local “cruise terminal” building within easy walking distance of many shops and restaurants.

Livorno is not much of a tourist destination unlike Pisa or Florence. On the upside, it is not nearly as crowded with tourists. It is basically just a large Italian city. There are, however, a few souvenir shops within a couple of blocks of where the shuttle drops off guests. The City Hall building was the most impressive one we encountered on our short visit.

We are in search of a refrigerator magnet to add to our collection. As many times as we have sailed into Livorno, we have never visited the city and, therefore, have no Livorno magnet. It is a stupid hobby collecting these magnets, which are generally all made in China and shipped all over the world. But, we currently have 275 magnets in our collection from the various places we have visited, so we are too far down the rabbit hole to stop now!

The store below was right across the street from the shuttle bus stop and we were able to satisfy our magnet goal.

We walked a couple of blocks to find some of the canals here. Who knew Livorno had canals? In fact, Crystal even offers a canal tour of Livorno.

Rickee was able to do some clothes shopping at a Mango store for some White Night attire and then it was time to return to the ship. The City Cruise Terminal is where the shuttles drop off and pick up guests and is a nice, air conditioned space to relax while you wait for the next shuttle to arrive.

We are back on board Symphony in time for Afternoon Tea at Palm Court. Palm Court, located on Deck 11 forward, is one of the most beautiful venues on the ship. It is the perfect spot for an elegant Afternoon Tea service.

As you can see below, Palm Court offers 180 degrees of visibility making it the perfect place to enjoy views of the ocean or any port for sail away.

The atmosphere in Palm Court is very relaxed and sedate. This is one of the best public spaces on a Crystal ship for Afternoon Tea, or after dinner drinks and dancing.

This evening, we have been invited to join some other media influencers for dinner at Umi Uma, the Japanese restaurant and sushi bar created under the auspices of the famous chef, Nobu Matsuhisa.

Guests should have reservations for a table at Umi Uma and every guests is provided with one complimentary meal at Umi Uma included in their cruise fare. Additional meals at Umi Uma carry a $50 per person cover charge. Reservations are not required if guests wish to sit at the sushi bar (below) where you can watch the masterful chefs create amazing sushi dishes.

When we arrived at the table, there were bowls of salted Edamame already waiting for us. My meal began with a Spicy Tuna Roll, which was one of the best I have ever had. The Shrimp Tempura was perfectly deep fried and Rickee’s Miso Cod was perfectly cooked with a lightly sweet Miso glaze. However, she did find a few bones in her filet.

After our delicious meal at Umi Uma, we decide to skip tonight’s show and head to back to our suite to turn in for the evening.

Tomorrow, Crystal Symphony will still be docked in Livorno, Italy. With most of the guests off of the ship on tours, I plan to take all of my photos and video of the ship!

Day Six - Livorno, Italy

Day Seven - Livorno, Italy

Day Five - La Spezia, Italy