Norwegian Viva Mediterranean Cruise Blog – Day 7 – Messina

July 16, 2024 Randy Young

It was day seven of our 10-day Mediterranean cruise, and the Norwegian Viva was docked in Messina. Messina is a small city located on the Island of Sicily and was our first stop in Italy for this cruise. We were in port from 7 AM to 6 PM, so we had a good amount of time to explore, which is good because not much is near the port.

Norwegian Viva Mediterranean Cruise Day 7 Overview

Norwegian Viva Freestyle Daily – Day 7 – Messina
Taormina Lava River and Wine Tasting Excursion
Exploring Messina
Getting Back on Board Viva
Metropolitan Bar for Live Music and Cocktails
Dinner at Hudsons With Surprisingly Good Service
Struggling to Find Night Entertainment on the Viva

Norwegian Viva Freestyle Daily – Day 7 – Messina

Taormina Lava River and Wine Tasting Excursion

For this port, my whole group booked an excursion through Norwegian called “Taormina Lava River and Wine Tasting.” The cost was $189 per person, with $50 off the second guest in each cabin because of the Free at Sea promotion we booked under. The excursion would have us taste wines grown in Mount Etna’s acidic soils, visit a cooled lava river, and explore the city of Taormina. We booked the excursion before our cruise, and when we arrived, we had tickets in our cabin telling us the place and time to meet our group.

Meeting Our Excursion in the Viva Theater

On previous days, when we had an excursion with Norwegian, we met in the Commodore Room dining room. Today, since we weren’t tendering most likely, we met in the Viva Theater. This space was much better for gathering and waiting for our tours as it accommodated everyone. The theater was very full, but overall, it was very organized. All the excursions met in this space, so we just had to wait until they called our excursion number. Then they’d assign us a bus and walk us off the ship.

Tip: If you’re a group doing the same excursion, stand together when it’s time to leave the ship. The shore excursion staff will ask how many people are in your party and assign you all to the same bus. It doesn’t matter when you booked.

Our excursion was scheduled for 8:30, so we had to meet in the theater at 8:15. The staff was running it very well, our bus was loaded and left exactly at 8:30 on the dot. We had 35 people on our bus with us, but several other buses were also doing the same excursion.

Tenuta San Michele Vineyards

Our first stop was the wine tasting, which was 1 hour and 20 minutes away (there was an accident on our way there. Usually, it’s about an hour). We visited Tenuta San Michele Vineyards, Sicily’s largest and second-oldest vineyard. The bus let us off on the side of the road, and we had a 5-minute walk up a hill to the winery.

The staff welcomed us to the winery and explained that they grow their grapes in the soil from Mount Etna. This unique soil made up of volcanic ash is very rich in minerals like iron, copper, and magnesium. The grapes also grow at high altitudes. These two factors make the wines lighter and more vibrant than those from other wineries. Wines from this area are certified by the government as Etna DOC.

The tasting itself was very unstructured. The staff would open a bottle and come around and pour it for everyone to try. They were happy to answer questions or talk about the wine, but they weren’t expecting everyone to be a wine connoisseur. While we were sipping, they provided an assortment of snacks: bread, tapenade, olives, and olive oil.

It was odd to be drinking red wine at 10 AM, but when in Sicily, you must. The wine was quite good. I’m not a wine connoisseur by any means, but I enjoyed them. The reds, in particular, were refreshing and lighter than what I expected.

After we had our first glass, we headed out onto the patio to take in the views. I’ve seen wineries in Napa and Sonoma before, but seeing a winery with the massive Mount Etna in the background was surreal. It was pretty warm that day, but the humidity was low, so as long as we stayed in the shade, it was quite comfortable.

We continued to sample the wines for an hour. They were happy to refill our glasses as we relaxed and enjoyed the scenery. Towards the end, the staff took us down into the cellar to explain some things about winemaking. I’d been to plenty of winery tours before, but this was the first one where they explained how champagne and sparkling wine were made. In my mind, I always just assumed they added in carbon dioxide manually, like they do sodas and seltzers, but he explained how the CO2 is a byproduct of yeast and affects the carbonation of the resulting wine.

Mount Etna Lava Flow

We returned to the bus and took a 10-minute drive to visit a lava field from 1992. Back then, Mount Etna erupted, and lava flowed down the mountain. Now, it was a river of frozen lava. It didn’t look much like a river but more like an alien landscape covered in rough black rock. It looked more volcanic than the volcano hike we did on Santorini (read about that here), but it still paled in comparison to when I visited the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland just weeks after it erupted.

Our tour guide explained that some mornings, they have to shovel the ash from their sidewalks and driveways, just like we in the US would do with snow. It must be so odd to drive home with ash falling on your car. As the bus made its way through the small towns, I could see ash in gutters and on the roofs of houses.

We spent 15 minutes at the lava flow before heading to the next stop, Taormina.

Taormina

Taormina was a 50-minute drive from the vineyard. We arrived at a large parking garage around 12:30 and our guide set us off to explore the town on our own. We had to be back at 2:45.

Taormina is a cliff-side city that has become incredibly popular with tourists over the years. The town has been featured in the movie The Godfather and, more recently, in season 2 of White Lotus.

We entered Taormina through stone gates and entered into the town. The basalt-lined streets and narrow passageways give it an old-world feel. The main drag, Corso Umberto, was very crowded at first, but once you turned off the main strip, you basically had the place to yourself. Small shops and restaurants lined the quaint streets, and in many of the areas, we barely bumped into other people.

We didn’t have a lot of time in Taormina, so there wasn’t time to visit a museum or take a tour. Some of the group decided to find a nice place for an authentic Sicilian lunch while the rest of us set out to explore the town.

The first thing I did was stop to grab some food before exploring. We stopped at a little Italian pastry shop. I ordered an arancini, a fried risotto ball. In Messina and Taormina, they traditionally have a conical shape to resemble Mount Etna. The shop offered a few varieties but I went with the arancini bolognese. I’m from New Jersey, where we have a lot of Italian restaurants, and I’ve tried plenty of arancini before, but this was the best I ever had. The risotto was perfectly crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside, and the bolognese sauce inside was meaty and flavorful. It was also perfect to eat while on the move; I don’t know why these haven’t made their way to fast food places in the US.

Once we had some food, we walked to several sites in the town. Since we didn’t have much time, we just visited them briefly instead of going inside to do tours.

Duomo di Taormina

First, we saw Duomo di Taormina, a Roman-Gothic cathedral built in 1400.

Piazza IX Aprile

This checkerboard plaza is known for the fantastic views of the Ionian Sea and Mount Etna.

Tip: If you need a public restroom, one is located right off of the piazza. You have to go downstairs and there is a 1 euro cost to use it, cash only. When traveling in Europe, it’s always a good idea to have some euros on hand to access public restrooms.

Public Gardens

The Public Gardens were about a 5-minute walk away but were a beautiful stop. The olive trees provided plenty of shade, while the lush vegetation and flowers made the park feel completely isolated from the rest of the town.

Isola Bella

Isola Bella, Italian for “beautiful island,” is a small island right off the coast of Taormina. The beautiful rock beaches and turquoise waters are very popular with tourists. To get there from town, you either take a cable car or walk down steep steps, but we didn’t have time today.

San Domenico Palace, Taormina

This is the hotel where White Lotus Season 2 took place. You can’t see much more than the entrance unless you’re a guest. I did notice that it’s on a steep cliff, meaning any of the beach scenes (including when they find the dead body in the ocean), didn’t actually occur at the hotel itself (they were filmed in Cefalu).

Re di Bastoni Pub

Once we were done seeing all the sites, we looked for a bar to get a drink. They didn’t have a lot of dedicated bars; lots of time in Europe, if you want to just grab a drink, you get a table, it’s not like the US where you get attitude if you try to sit at a table and not order food. A lot of the places we passed were a bit to formal for us, but then we stumbled onto Re di Bastoni. It was a cute little jazz club / pub / bar that also served food. They had a surprisingly large selection of local craft beers. One line they featured had all the Greek and Roman gods which was totally appropriate for this trip, so we tried those.

Exploring Messina

We relaxed as the bus made its way back to Messina, arriving around 3:30 PM. Since we still had time, we decided to walk around the city to see the attractions there. Messina had a much more metropolitan feel than Taormina, resembling a bustling city rather than a charming village.

Neptune Fountain

About a 10-minute walk from the cruise terminal is an old fountain dedicated to Neptune. This massive fountain has intricately sculpted statues around it and was originally built in 1557. It was in the middle of two busy streets, and several homeless people were sleeping on benches nearby.

The Bell Tower of the Cathedral of Messina

Next, we headed to the Cathedral of Messina to see the 200-foot bell tower. Built in 1933, it’s said to be the world’s largest and most complex mechanical and astronomical clock. At noon, you can see a 12-minute show which moves some of the pieces using a system of counterweights and gears (you can see the show here). If you can’t make it for noon, every quarter-hour, two figures come to life, and the “carousel of ages” moves. You can visit the inside by doing a 5 euro tour, but we didn’t have time.

Getting Back on Board Norwegian Viva

With that, we finished up Messina and headed back on board the Viva. The port was easy to walk to and we were welcomed by Norwegian staff with cold towels and ice water before boarding the ship again. We had no lines at all and breezed right through security. We all went back to our rooms to relax and freshen up a bit before dinner.

When I’m on a cruise, I take lots of notes so I can write these detailed posts when I’m back home. For today, I saw a note “Not much food from 4 to 5 PM…hungry.” But then I looked at the Freestyle Daily and saw that while the buffet and Indulge Food Hall (my usual go-to’s) were closed, other food options were available. I could have gone to the Observation Lounge for “light snacks,” “The Local” for sit-down pub food,” or the Surfside Grill for “Afternoon Snacks.”

I point this out because I was ready to write how I couldn’t find food, but apparently, I didn’t look good enough. Sometimes, you must look outside your usuals and “go-to’s,” especially if looking for food or drinks during off times. If I had looked at my Freestyle Daily (which was in my cabin at that point), I would likely been able to grab a snack.

Tip: The “Surfside Grill” mentioned above, is an odd section of the buffet that’s almost hidden. If you walk all the way to the back of the Surfside Cafe, you’ll see glass doors. You go through those and find a small area with food (usually burgers, hot dogs, and fries at lunchtime). Apparently, this is where the “light snacks” were, so if you just walked into the buffet, it looked closed, but if you walked through, you’d find the food. (Rumor is this area was originally supposed to be exclusive for the Vibe Beach Club next door, but the general buffet was too small so they had to open the area to everyone).

Metropolitan Bar for Live Music and Cocktails

Since we started drinking wine at 10 AM and had a long day of walking in the sun, we all needed to rest and relax. We decided to meet up at the Metropolitan Bar at 7:30 to grab a drink before heading to Hudsons for dinner.

Stephanie and David, a married singing duo, were performing in the awkward space Norwegian allocated them. Guests were seated all around, catching up and relaxing while trying some of the unique drinks here. It was pretty busy, considering it was a long port day.

metropolitan bar performers on norwegian viva — Because Norwegian didn’t think to install a performance space, musicians stand in-between couches next to a hallway to perform.

Rather than get my favorite here, the Pineapple Surplus, I opted to try the Cucumber Cool. I’m a sucker for a cucumber-based drink. This cocktail is made with vodka, St. Elder elderflower liquor, lime juice, and cucumber pulp cordial. It was quite refreshing; it wasn’t something I would drink with a meal, but it was an excellent pre-dinner drink.

See the Metropolitan Bar Menu

Dinner at Hudsons With Surprisingly Good Service

We headed to dinner at 8 PM, walking from the Metropolitan Bar to Hudsons. Based on how busy the bar was, I was pleasantly surprised that we only had a 2-minute wait until they could seat our party of 5.

Our waiter was on the ball, checking in often and making sure everything was okay. The first appetizers hit the table within 15 minutes of sitting, and the whole meal only took an hour and 5 minutes. I’m not sure why service was so much better this evening, but it was a refreshing difference.

For dinner, I started with the bruschetta and tried the French Onion Soup again, hoping it’d be better. The bruschetta was fresh and well seasoned, while the French Onion Soup was, again, disappointing. It lacked any real depth of flavor, and the “cheese crouton” instead of melted cheese on top felt cheap; it’s odd they featured that soup every night on the menu when it wasn’t very good.

Tip: If you can’t decide on one appetizer, order a couple. Portions are small, so food isn’t likely to go to waste.

For my main entree, I got the Hungarian Beef Goulash, a type of stew served over noodles. It was quite good, and I loved the sweet paprika they used to flavor the dish (as opposed to smoked paprika, which I usually see back home). For dessert, I went with the strawberry shortcake. The strawberries were ripe and not too sweet, and the shortcake had a perfect crumbly texture.

Overall, dinner at Hudsons this evening was a total win. The food in Hudsons and the Commodore Room was good this whole sailing, but the service was lacking. Tonight was the first night while sailing on the Viva that I had the kind of food service I’ve come to expect on cruise ships. (Note: while the food service lacked most evenings, the bar service was phenomenal the whole time).

Struggling to Find Night Entertainment on the Viva

After we finished dinner, we searched for activities to do this evening. Beetlejuice The Musical was playing two shows in the main theater. Since we saw it the previous night (read about it here), that wasn’t an option for us. We looked for a comedian, but this evening, there was none.

In Syd Normans, they had “Latin Flavors with Duo Yalba” which wasn’t our speed (I saw several people walk into Syd Norman’s and ask where the usual band was, then leave).

An odd event that showed up in the schedule was “Pub Sit,” which took place in the Improve Comedy Lounge. We stopped by, and people were just sitting around the border of the room, and a big graphic on the video screen said “Pub Sit.” One guy called out as we looked around “Do you guys have any idea what Pub Sit is?” At that point, whatever the activity was should have started, but there was no entertainment staff in the venue. We didn’t know what it was and decided to leave before we found out.

Another odd event was “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody,” which was described as a “vintage meets modern electric swing party.” It happened after “Pub Sit” in the Improv Lounge. The event had a good crowd, and the entertainment staff was on hand to keep the energy going. The event didn’t seem to be swing dancing, just regular dancing in a circle. The space is odd for a dance party, though; the doors open right into the middle of the space they use for a dance floor, so you can’t enter without walking through the dance floor.

We ended up getting a board game my friends brought with them and setting up shop in the Belvedere Bar to play it. At that point, the bar was pretty empty, maybe fifteen or so people. It was nice because it meant no waits, but the lack of music made it feel more like a library than an after-hours bar.

See the Belvedere Bar Menu