Porto Corsini

Ravenna has long been a port city – fishing, fuel, and cargo operations.  It became a cruise port when Venice decided to ban cruise ships from their lagoon due to the perceived damage large ships were doing.  Ravenna and Trieste became instant cruise ports… but a lot of the infrastructure wasn’t there. 

As we drove towards the port, we saw swans, cormorants, and (off in the distance) flamingos.  The driver pointed out a sand pile, saying Ravenna is shipping sand to Sicily to help with their erosion problem.  

shrimp "shack"

On both sides of the roadway, and along every slough were what could best be described as shrimp shacks.  On pilings, houses draped with huge shrimp nets, dotted the country side.  

Once the industrial area ends, the beach awaits.  And thousands of Italians flock to the flat sandy lido.

beaches, Italian style

Marina Ravenna, and beyond, more beaches

Ravenna is in the process of building a cruise terminal, but manages to handle passengers, baggage, customs, security in a series of un-air-conditioned tents on the pier.  Scott’s scooter got us head of the line privileges, and we were actually the first people to be allowed on the ship (an hour ahead of our assigned time).

tents (background and along side) = today
rails and building materials =
Ravenna's future port

Cagney’s Steakhouse is normally open only for dinner, but it becomes a private dining room for suite passengers for lunch.  (We have private dining in Moderno Restaurant for breakfast.)  We enjoyed.

After lunch we did our muster drill (reporting to a crew member at the assigned location, and by that time our cabin was ready.  One pm is the fastest time from pier to stateroom we had ever experienced.  We were so excited we took a siesta.

Scheduled underway was 5 pm, but I guess everyone was on board because the lines went slack at 4:28 and we started backing out of the berth two minutes later.  Arrivederci Italy!

clearing the jetty as traffic heads in