denisey

Thank you Melissa ! I believe that the full tour atop of the Dubrovnik's ancient walls i the best possible experience to really enjoy this wonderful city, the Venetian Ragusa.

I posted the picture of me and the sparkling Janet here , it's a really small world, isn't it ? :

http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc381/AMOILMARE1/DSCN3557_zps220ed877.jpg?t=1414131457

 

Alberto

Thanks for sharing Alberto! It is good to see my friend Janet, and meet a new friend Alberto! I love the smiles on your faces!

Denise

Hi Denise,

 

Thanks for the compliment and I thought was you I waived back at in Seattle! :rolleyes:

 

Should you enjoy your trip to the Mediterranean, and I believe that you will, please don't hesitate to leave a comment there too (shameless plug wink-wink)! :eek::D

Captain, my Captain,

I just read through all 26 wonderful pages of the Mediterranean...It was full of Romance, pizza, cats and great pictures! Thanks for all your hard work there....

For the rest of you, do yourself a favor and run over the the Med review. If you've been to Europe, you'll love the memories....if you are planning on going to Europe, you'll love the hints and preview....if you've heard of Europe, you'll just love the whole review!

I did post a link to your review to some great RCCL Med reviews, just to share the wealth with our RCCL brethern!

Just checking.....

If you need something to read while waiting for the next chapter, I found this amusing review. It is not the same ship (???) or cruise line (gasp!!!!) but some of the same ports and a lot of great pix...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1848309

Just checking.....

If you need something to read while waiting for the next chapter, I found this amusing review. It is not the same ship (???) or cruise line (gasp!!!!) but some of the same ports and a lot of great pix...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1848309

Phew! I just powered through all 26 pages! Of course, late to the party, but what a wonderful adventure!

Thanks so much for sharing...Happy 30th Anniversary, Happy 31st Anniversary, Happy Retirement, Happy weddings and grandbabies!

Can't wait for your next Fabulous Review! (after the Fabulous Alaska one, which I already read!)

I just stumbled on your review yesterday (VERY slow day at work!) And while I have no interest in an Alaska cruise at this point, I am enjoying your review very much. I did wave to the Miracle each Tuesday during the summer as she was docked at pier 91 in Seattle.

Thanks for the great review....heading to the Mediterranean now...or at least your review of your Med cruise.

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What I liked is that they have one regular knight being a lady nowadays. What bothered me is that I couldn’t find out, what they actually do… besides looking back on a long tradition… I believe they mainly uphold a courtly fashion and look pretty in their green mantles at coronations. If anybody knows of any chivalrous acts of this noble group…please post!

Well, it appears that they are made Knights (and Ladies) by the Queen for supporting her policies. They don't necessarily do anything after being knighted.

http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/Honours/OrderoftheThistle.aspx

But I couldn't find anything on the individual symbols in the the chapel.

Wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'.......

Hi Denisey,

 

Lol -- a dram of whisky was the first we thought of as a present...but then we found out in our research, that he didn't like to drink. Lol -- and the last thing we wanted was to make him even more upset:D.

 

:)Cool -- I convinced you after ONE port day:eek:? Wait for the next ones... there is so much more to tell.

 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

 

Stef

Oh thank goodness we have all of your research to stop us from making the faux pas of giving Sir George whisky!

I can't wait to hear about the other ports....especiall the dreaded Dublin stop!

Denise

So, as I have already disclosed in an earlier post I had paid just €2 each on Veneto Inside to skip the line at St Mark’s Cathedral some weeks before we left for the trip. How great does that sound, walking straight past the long line of tourists standing in the blistering sun and going straight in, the only prerequisite was that we needed to be there 10 minutes before our allocated slot. Fantastic. I was secretly very delighted with myself for finding this website. Just a shame we’ll never know how it would have worked out! Why I hear you ask, well of course because we decided that this would be a good morning to be extremely lazy and sleep until 8.30 a.m. I did momentarily have a meltdown about neither of us setting an alarm or arranging a room service breakfast but soon got over it. I guess that’s the price you have to pay for a pretty perfect night out in Venice. Our initial reaction was to panic – I jumped into the shower and Ger ran and got us 2 coffees and some fruit but by the time I was finished and he had returned it was heading for 9a.m so we agreed there was no way we would be in St Mark’s Square in just 50 minutes. So we halted the panic and prepared ourselves at a more leisurely pace. By the time we had gotten out of the terminal, walked to the people mover, got the people mover to Piazzale Roma, got our tickets and waited for the Vaporetto it was getting close to 10a.m anyway. I felt a little ridiculous but hey we were in Venice and surely nothing else could go wrong today!

Ooooooh Nooooo! Well, we decided to book the advance entry tickets for our trip in May anyway (and set an alarm!) I'll update you then on how it worked and I do appreciate the tip.

We also booked a nighttime photography tour of Venice. Love your evening pictures!

Just got home from a weekend away and ran to the computer right after putting the first load of laundry in.

I'm betting that is the only picture in existence of Tarik holding a doll! But it was for a good cause. I wonder if Sir George would like a dram of whisky to go with his book? I love the enthusiasm of your family!

You have me convinced I need to visit the Northern countries too.

Oh stef you have me stumped! I have no idea of an Irish myth about a wolf and a baby and i've just called on Ger's extensive literary knowledge and he has absolutely no recollection of ever hearing/ reading about this either! But don't panic just yet as we will both certainly ask around - hopefully someone will know about this baby stealing dog!!

 

I am loving your review so much. And I am beyond excited to read about what you did in all of the ports.

Keep up the very good work:D

It looks kind of Native American to me, with the animals having personalities and the TeePee on the stage....I don't know what is up with the star outfits or the acrobats (?)

Perhaps the Italians still think everyone outside the country are barbarians, and the Irish and the Indians are pretty much the same.

Wow! Now I am hungry! The dishes all sounded wonderful, I'm glad some of them tasted good too!

Have a great Holiday. I think it is a important day for all the Western world!

Denise

 

Melissa ,

 

thank you for your kind words ! I hope to meet you a day on a cruise : you REALLY enjoy the trips you take and few people have been gifted like you : you're able to transmit your enthusiasm !

 

See the difference from what you write and (too) many other reviews here in Cruisecritic : many people are so fortunate to cruise and see wonderful places that most people in the world will even not dream about and what they write when back ?

-OMG...! The food wasn't really gourmet !

-The cabin's colour palette didn't match with my eyes, so terrible .( not yet read...till now ...but I believe we're not that far )

-Internet connection was sooooooo slow (I cruised most of my life without internet and, incredible to say, I enjoyed 100% these voyages and I was always happy! And even now I use it as...you ! )

 

And..and...and...blablalbla. Nothing really interesting about their reviews. And what's about the places they have been ? Nothing to speak about.

 

Ah...about the way of drinking a coffee in Italy...haha...believe me, we have our espressos and cappuccinos in a much more relaxed way !

In the 90% of italian coffee houses ( here simply called BAR ) an espresso ( if not seated, where a supplement applies ) coffee costs between 1 to 1.40 euros and a cappuccino (very) rarely exceeds 1.30 to 1.60. And a croissant or danish costs between 1 to 1.50 euros ( Janet , if you're reading, take note for Civitavecchia : these are the prices to pay, no more )

Venice excluded of course !(I believe this is one of the most expensive cities in the world for tourists ) Seated in St.Marks square I paid for an espresso 7 euros and for an invisible bottle of coke ( much smaller than a can) 12 euros !!!

 

Melissa , again , thank you for sharing your travel emotions with us , and, should you come back to Italy , I'm at your disposal for any info or help you may need.

 

Alberto

 

Alberto, this is so true! We call those the "stained carpet" reviews...There was a stain on the carpet and it RUINED my whole trip!

 

Have a good trip and give my friend Moondawgie a big hug!

Sigh! What a great trip. Thank you for taking us along.

So, when is your next cruise?

Ah, I was wondering also. I wasn't expecting to see a ship at Pier 66 today.

Thanks!

Hi Everyone.

 

Firstly please accept my sincerest apologies for not being around much lately. Once I got over the dreaded sinus issues I then had a really hectic week. And i'm sorry to say I have some more bad news.... I'm going away early tomorrow morning for the week. I'm so sorry.

 

The idea of Grrr being thrown in St Marks jail tickled me very much - can I pretend that he is and you can all get a collection together for me to go visit. This weekend would be ideal as I heard there's a certain Mr Clooney getting married there this weekend. Maybe I could go and take some pictures to show you all - of course while i'm between prison visits :D

 

I'l try my very bestest to get one post up tonight.......

So long as you are okay, we'll give you another week!

Give George, um I mean Grrrr, our love!

My husband has figured out where Irish Cath is!

I was telling him about this review and how we are half way through Venice. I mentioned that I was excited to hear about the pre-paid timed tickets for St Marks and that Cath had some kind of issue.

He said "Aha! The Italian police finally caught up with her and she is now in St Mark's jail, all because of the tickets to St Marks!"

Irish Cath, let us know if we need to take up a collection for bail money!

:)

Ha, trust me, Stef - your review is much more enjoyable than the things I could be (and probably should be) reading on my commute !

 

This "Dublin incident" is really piquing my interest now...

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

I've been wondering about Dublin too....might have to do an internet search of the news media....At least we know none of our three heroes are now sitting in a Dublin jail!

Can't wait for more!

Denise

Me three! I am dying to find out how the "pre-paid" tickets to St Mark's worked, or didn't work!

I hope you are feeling better!

We were planning a repo cruise on the Serenade from New Orleans to Boston. So I starting reading all the wonderful Serenade reviews of Europe, including yours. I figured they would give me a feel for the ship.

What they did was give me a desire to go back to Italy! So now we are planning an Italy land trip.

NOW, I read your wonderful Boston post, and want to go on the cruise again.

Let's face it, I want to do both, but that isn't happening.

And if I don't go on the cruise, I can't write a fabulous, entertaining review and be invited on the Fabulous Reviewers cruise!

Sigh!

(Sorry to hijack and whine!)

I am still loving the reveiw! I am anxiously awaiting Day 11! Will Crazy Mom take off a shoe to get to 11 "fingers?" or does she just have some spares lying aroung?

Can't wait to find out!

PS You need to book another cruise when this review is finished, so we have another adventure to read!!!

I am enjoying your review so much! This is not a ship or itinerary I was looking at, but since I enjoyed your Europe cruise review, I knew I would love this one too!

Thanks!

Oh no, so sorry Stef! Those animals were very lucky to have you there during their time of need, regardless. :(

 

Think of it this way - today has got to get better, right? And you're halfway done with the day already! (We're just starting here!)

 

And - arschbombe is now my new favorite word.

So sorry Stef! Why do things always happen in groups!

As a child in Pennsylvania (which has very German roots) we did something called an assy - stand on the diving board, lift your feet so your bottom hits the board, and then fall forward in the water. It stung like anything! But I am enjoying arschbombe also!

Upon popular demand … a little break from all the sporty stuff…

Let’s talk coffee!

 

The only other cruiseline we tried before was RCI. They have their own coffee brand which is called “Seattle’s best”. If I were Seattle, I’d be a bit insulted by that. It’s drinkable (although some of our fellow cruisers at the time would disagree with me here), but certainly not an experience to remember. I loved the “American” taste to it out of nostalgic reasons however.

 

Seattle's Best is an actual coffee brand, and not just on RCI. They used to be competitors to Starbucks until Starbucks bought them! People are pretty passionate around here about one or the other!