Our next day on the anniversary cruise, we ported in Valletta, Malta. We were so excited about this port because 1, we are huge Game of Thrones fans, 2, I am a movie and tv buff, and 3, it is absolutely beautiful there.

Amazing breakfast...

The day started out lovely, with our breakfast in the Yacht Club Restaurant. Although it was only our second day/morning in the restaurant, our servers knew our orders! We didn’t even have to ask for ANYTHING. We received our coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice. Terry didn’t have to ask for the giant bottle of hot sauce for his omelet again. They had a smaller one ready. They just brought it all out to the table once we sat down. It was quite awesome.

Let’s get started...

After breakfast, we did not wait for our butler to walk us off the ship; we were way too excited! But, we had also made no plans or bought any excursions either. Terry had done some research and saw that there were some car rentals, bike rentals, and scooter rentals in the port. We considered this but walked right past it and decided on the Hop On-Hop Off Tour.

We went with this tour because one, it came highly recommended by other YouTubers that we follow, and two, it provided a good overview of the city/country so that we did not have to do much. And, we felt if we wanted to stop somewhere to explore more, we could literally “hop off” and explore.

There are two Hop On-Hop Off tours available. We used the “red bus” with CitySightSeeing.com. (Not Sponsored) We bought our tickets for the tour of the entire island.

We LOVE Malta...

What we discovered is that we absolutely LOVE Malta. This country is simply breathtakingly beautiful. We loved that we could see all the different cultural influences from other countries. We loved how proud the Maltese are of their tiny country.

We loved that they speak English (with adorable accents!) so we didn’t feel completely out of place. We loved that some parts of the country seemed to be still in the Middle Ages but some parts were completely modern.

The North Route...

A mistake has been made...

Thus began the COLDEST tour we have ever been on. It was a gradual cold. The kind that sneaks up on you when you think that you are nice and warm. NOPE.

At the end of the tour and we were back at our starting point near the cruise port. Although we were shivering and our teeth were chattering, we decided to do the South Route of the tour to explore more of Malta.

The sun became even more of liar on this tour. She was shining bright but the wind was so harsh that it didn’t matter. We did not learn our lesson however. We still sat at the top of the tour bus so that we could see everything. So much wind...so cold.

The South Route...

We hopped off the tour bus for a five minute potty break in the charming little village of Marsaxlokk (Marsh-sass-lox) and loved that it still looked like the movie, “Popeye”.

Meeting a local...

At the end of the South Route tour and back at the city center, we went to look for souvenirs. We stopped in a random shop on the way back to the cruise port and the cutest, little old lady won my heart. She asked if we were Americans and we said yes. She looked simply fascinated by us. It appeared that she had never seen Black Americans before. Maybe actual Africans, due to the closeness to Africa, but not Black Americans. We had a delightful conversation about the sun being a liar and she said that it was unusually cold that day.

She wished us a good journey for the rest of our cruise and wished us a happy anniversary. Then, like a good grandma told us to get back to the ship and drink some tea to warm up.

To the Spa, Batman...

Back on the ship, we decided to go straight to the spa. I could NOT stop shivering. This was a cold that I felt in my inner core. I was soooo COLD.

Because we were in Yacht Club, we got access to the Thermal Suite. The Thermal Suite on the MSC Meraviglia is positively remarkable. It is made up of a variety of steam rooms, bubbly pools and cool scented showers.

The Salt Room

One of my favorite rooms in the Thermal Suite is the Salt Room. It is supposed to have all these healing qualities from the Himalayan Sea Salt on the walls. But, most people just go in there to fall asleep. It is quiet and relaxing.

Bubbly Pools

There are two whirlpools in the Thermal Suite. One is a large regular type of whirlpool and the other is a thalassotherapy pool with minerals added. The thalassotherapy pool also has cool chairs that allow you to lay in the whirlpool and relax.

Next to the thalassotherapy pool are a few heated chairs. These are always occupied. No matter when we went to the spa, people were in them.

Quiet Rooms

In the back of the Thermal Suite are two additional quiet rooms. They aren't anything special; just rooms with loungers and it's quiet. I must admit, I have fallen asleep in here.

Snow Room

One of the coolest rooms, pun intended, is the Snow Room. This room is essentially so cold and atmospheric that it literally makes snow. It is really fun to go in there but not after a day of freezing in Malta. So we skipped it.

Cold Showers

Another awesome thing about the Thermal Suite that you see as soon as you enter, are the various cold showers. Terry is a fan of these; I am not. I braved the one that goes from hot to cold to warm to freezing (but not on this day!)

Hot Stuff

The best thing about the Thermal Suite are the various saunas and steam rooms. There are at least 3 saunas at different temperatures. And, there are two steam rooms. The cool thing about the saunas are the different aromatherapies that they have going on. And, the steam rooms use light therapy. There is one that is dark and one that is bright.

We went straight to the mid range sauna. I wanted to go into the hottest one but Terry advised against it. I went in there and laid down for what had to be 30 minutes! Terry left me after about the recommended 15 minutes. When I came out, I was still shivering!

So, I joined Terry in the dark steam room and that helped tremendously. Once my teeth were able to stop chattering, then I was able to enjoy the rest of the Thermal Suite.

Dinner Time

It was also at about this time that we realized that we had not eaten since breakfast! So, we left the spa and headed back to our room to change for dinner in the Yacht Club Restaurant.

This was probably the best dinner that we had in the Yacht Club in my opinion. It was so delicious.

Appetizer: For me, Steak Tartare. For Terry, some type of Ceviche.

Main Course: For me, Mussels! For Terry, Seafood Ravioli.

Dessert: For me, Rice Pudding. For Terry, Chocolate Melting Cake.

Wine paired with dinner: Fulvia Tombolini Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore

After dinner drinks

After dinner, we went to do what we do best. We went searching for cocktails. We made quick friends with the bartenders in the Edge Bar near the atrium but we were only there for a short time as this bar was shutting down for the night.

Party Time!

Upon leaving the bar, we discovered that the White Party was going on in the Promenade. So, of course, we had a little fun. We were not wearing white so we went to the back of the Promenade, so we wouldn't stand out so much. We discovered that Italians and Europeans really like to party. The DJ was pretty good.

Introduced to the best drink EVER

After leaving the White Party, we ventured to the what became our FAVORITE spot on the ship: the Sky Lounge. This is the lounge that has the mixology cocktails that use smoke or molecular gastronomy. Our minds were blown!

2019 Anniversary Cruise Day 4, the coldest day ever in Valletta, Malta