paylady

Nice trip report!

 

I can sympathize with your boarding experience on Adventure.

 

I don't know what it is about the Sunday staff for check in, but I consistently experience better service when boarding the Jewel. I have never had a great check in experience with Adventure. I used to think it was US Customs. Maybe it's the RCL staff. :(

Wow! It amazes me that people will point out or single out the ethnicity of a group of people to describe them as "Well Behaved"! How are Puerto Ricans usually acting when not well behaved??????? And their kids?????? I know we Americans and our kids are the most well behaved people on a cruise........Why can't everybody behave like us?????? :rolleyes:

 

I am offended by your post. Was it necessary to get snarky? :confused:

 

You missed my message entirely. I posted our positive experiences since there were negative comments. I didn't feel the need to shame others, I merely wanted to share our experience. I didn't want the OP to be scared away by a few bad experiences.

 

BTW, Puerto Ricans are Americans too.

I have had to wait outside twice when boarding AD. Never have this problem with the JW that leaves on Saturday. For some reason the Sunday customs folks don't have their act together like the Saturday team. I still can't figure out why.

Our 4th cruise on AOS is coming up shortly. We have always travel on her in the January/February timeframe. While she attracts more Puerto Ricans than the Jewel, it's been my experience that the locals have been well-behaved and having a good time. We have never had issues sailing out of PR.

While the OS balcony is smaller, you will have plenty of room plus a separate shower stall and dining table. Congrats on the upgrade!

He was the Activities Director on one of our sailings many years ago. He was known as "Dan, Dan the Bingo Man" then. :). Very high energy and personable.

 

His wife worked on the ship too. That must be the ex-wife now if he recently married. :rolleyes:

I will do my best to add more at the end of the week. We were out of town over the weekend and just returned. Work will get in the way of finishing for a while. :)

We used recommendations from the Florida forum in the past for limo service and were pleased. It's been a few years so I don't recall the name but do check that forum as another poster suggested.

OP, I appreciate you and the question.

 

Respondents, thanks for answering and the history. This is truly confusing to a newcomer. I thought my booking agent didn't know how to pronounce the cruise line name! :D

Jane:

 

Thanks for putting all the time and effort into another great review! Now that I've started my own picture heavy review I know how much effort goes into the process.

 

I also want to thank you for a past review you wrote while you were still working and had to vacation on school breaks. If it wasn't for people like you and others I would have booked a Western Mediterranean cruise in July and melted from the heat. Thanks for saving me from Italy in July. :D

The menu is in fact more extensive than you mentioned.

 

Here's a photo of Carambola as you walk in.

 

Marla!

 

How are you and Brian? I hope you and Brian are doing well. I just stumbled on to your review. Your review brings back so many fond memories :). This cruise to the mediterranean was certainly one of the most memorable cruises Kelsey and I have been to. Taking the tour with Rome in Limo was one of the highlights of our trip!

 

We're taking the kids on Oasis this April - Easter Caribbean. I'm glad Dynamic Dining has been postoponed!

 

Take care and thanks for taking the time to write this wonderful review.

 

Cheryl and Kelsey

 

PS. I'm still kicking myself for not getting those leather gloves in Florence!!! lol.

 

Cheryl:

 

It was nice to hear from you! Wow, just the flight to FLL/MIA for Oasis will be a journey. That's a long flight for your family. I'm sure the kids will love the ship. :)

 

I have such fond memories of taking the kids on cruises. I didn't like struggling with my little guy over wearing a sport coat and tie, however. The little stinker was in a snit. We went to the Captain's Reception and he just sat there with a frown and his arms crossed. Of course the waiters fawned all over him, bringing him chocolates and rewarding his bad behavior. :D That was 20 years ago and I still remember!

A show in the Centrum that evening.

 

 

Jack in the Beanstalk, maybe night 6?, from one of the higher floors.

 

 

 

Next up, Dubrovnik. It may be a while.

Ravenna, again

 

We ate at Trattoria al Cerchio. The Tripadvisor reviews were spot on. I had mapped the restaurant on Googlemaps and printed the results before leaving home.

 

We had olive oil and bread along with a Sangiovese table wine and Pelligrino water to accompany our meals:

Tagliatelle al Ragu

 

 

Spaghetti Aglio Olio Peperoncino

 

 

Salsiccia alla Griglia

 

 

Vendura alla Griglia

 

 

Some type of marscapone dessert that was delish!

 

The port area was not picturesque, so I opted to exclude photos.

Ravenna

 

Had the weather been hot, I think we would have definitely opted for the beach that Kreuzfahrtneuling showed in her review. Alas, it wasn't the right time of year so we went into town for lunch. We took the ship shuttle to town and the plan was to stroll around. The bus dropped us in the central part of town and was convenient to the Byzantine churches with mosaic art as well as everything else around town. I had checked restaurants on Tripadvisor and knew where we would like to have lunch. We weren't disappointed.

 

I will post a few photos of our walk along the way. It was a pleasure to walk in Ravenna given that I could find my way around and wasn't walking up and down bridge stairs all day. :D This town is a bicycle town, to be sure. Forget about a Vespa or a Fiat, the bicycle is king and was the most common means of wheeled transportation for locals.

 

The blue banners say, "Ravenna 2019 Candidate City European Capital of Culture

 

 

A few more shots of our walk.

 

 

 

Hi Marla..Peggy (and Ernie) here! We met up with Steve and Donna yesterday in Orlando for lunch

after a cruise they were on (yes we had Man Sized Beers) and Steve mentioned you were doing a review( don't know how I miised it..I live on CC) anyway I found it and am enjoying reliving our cruise so much!!

Will we ever live down the beer story!! I was only looking out for Ernie and worrying about the bathroom shortage and drinking big beers!!

Anyway your review is awesome and brings back so many great memories can't wait to read more.

 

Hi Peggy!! Brian and I will be moving to Central Florida this year. As I recall, you're on the Gulf Coast. It would be great to meet up.

Enjoying your review and great pics! Brings back wonderful memories. :)

 

Thank you. I understand the wonderful memories part, that's why I love to read others' reviews. :)

Loving your report. So the DIY Venice part sounds complicated to me. If you had it to do all over, would you rather have had a guide? It all looks so beautiful.

 

Cheryl

 

The DIY part that was difficult occurred when I wanted to find a specific store or restaurant tucked away in the labyrinth of canals and streets. The major attractions are easy enough to get to with research. From what I've read, the guides would help with more in depth knowledge sharing of history and current culture.

[quote name='travelgoddess1']CASH.

Concierges cannot accept WOW cards, or so I was told by one.

They all seem to enjoy chocolate in general, M&M's specifically. :D In addition to CASH. :)[/QUOTE]

That's what I like about CC, I am constantly learning new things.

Venice, Part 10

 

Views as we rode the vaporetto

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Venice, Part 9

 

It was nice to stroll around moderate weather and we now had a bonus, sunshine!

 

 

Okay, I would have never expected to find one of these in Venice. Rome yes, an old city like Venice, no.

 

 

We fell upon this place for lunch, Amma Bella.

 

 

Very tiny with maybe six tables at most and some were two tops. The food and wine were good, which is all that mattered. Restaurant prices were higher here but that's what I had expected.

 

Cafe on the piazza

 

Venice, Part 8

 

We walked around for a little while around the piazza before strolling around in search of food and the little shops. I had read that prices were a bit higher in Venice and that was probably true.

 

My fascination with European street lamps continues.

 

 

 

 

Venice, Part 7

 

Other outdoor photos from the palace tour

 

 

 

Venice Part 6

 

The Doges Palace was opulent as you will see in the photos below. Aside from the wall and ceiling art, there were many artifacts that Brian enjoyed. As with most of the historic buildings there's no air conditioning so they actually had the windows open which made touring very comfortable.

 

Again the art work was amazing. Walls, ceilings, you name it.

 

 

 

An upstairs shot of the view over the sidewalk by waterfront --- taken from a window from a window

 

Day 8 Venice Part 5

 

I purchased our tickets for the Doges Palace in advance. Yes, I actually remembered to do this properly this time unlike the Accademia in Florence. :p I opted for independent viewing of the Palace and didn't take a tour. I still feel this was the right choice for us at the time but others may want to consider one of the tours offered. There was plenty to see on our self-guided walk. We spent a lot of time here and strolled around everywhere we were allowed to be.

 

Doges Palace, outside in the piazza. It's a shame the replica exterior in EPCOT looks so much better. ;)

 

Between the palace and St. Mark's

 

 

We walked up a staircase similar to this one to begin our self-tour.