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Live from the Whisper August 12-18


papa B me
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My wife and I embark on the Whisper in Venice on August 12. This will be a unique cruise for us as it is a fully Chartered trip. I have had Charters disrupt travel plans personally because I tend to book travel up to 2 years in advance so it feels strange being on a Charter.

 

We will sail round trip from Venice to Dubrovnik, Split and Kotor, with an overnight in Venice upon our return and disembark on the 18th. This is our first time on Silversea so will enjoy getting feedback from regulars as I post as to any differences between our Chartered trip and normal sailings.

 

We leave Knoxville TN tomorrow at 4:00 pm for Rome where we will spend 3 nights precruise before taking a train to Venice on the 12th. We have 3 private tours scheduled for Rome. We will be staying at Hotel Artemide on Via ****onale while in Rome. I will be sharing our pre cruise experiences for those who are interested and the actual cruise day to day will begin on August 12. I know not everyone enjoys hearing about pre cruise details but I always find it helpful when I read other's reviews while planning a trip.

 

A couple of warnings: I tend to be very detailed when I write day to day reviews so be prepared for long posts. Second, I'm not a photographer at all and so won't be posting any pictures.

 

One last day of work to get to and then let the fun begin. I look forward to sharing a new adventure with you all.

Brian

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We will sail round trip from Venice to Dubrovnik, Split and Kotor, with an overnight in Venice upon our return and disembark on the 18th. This is our first time on Silversea so will enjoy getting feedback from regulars as I post as to any differences between our Chartered trip and normal sailings. A couple of warnings: I tend to be very detailed when I write day to day reviews so be prepared for long posts. Second, I'm not a photographer at all and so won't be posting any pictures. Brian

 

Hi, Brian in Knoxville! Good luck for your upcoming "adventure". Wonderful options in Venice, Dubrovnik, Kotor, etc. Appreciate your being very detailed and sharing your experiences. Sorry you are not into photography, but we can figure out and visualize these excellent locations with such unique history and culture. Keep it coming!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Venice: Loving It & Why??!! Is one of your future desires or past favorites? See these many visual samples for its great history and architecture. This posting is now at 75,334 views.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

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Have a great trip, Brian! I too am looking forward to hearing about all of the details.

 

We leave 4 weeks from tomorrow for our SS cruise, and the wait is killing me! Reading your report will hopefully help me to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

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Thanks to all for following along. JP it's good to hear from you. I really look forward to following your next trip. I just wish you had already been on this itinerary as it makes it easier for me when I can mention your posts for pictures to go with my commentary(LOL).

 

Yesterday was our normal pre trip day. Pool pump went out, one of the AC units stopped cooling, pick up engine light came on, and went from no business appointments scheduled to 4 by end of day. This sounds like I'm complaining but the truth is this is what normally happens before we leave for a trip and our trips are always fantastic so it is a good sign this will be a great trip. By the way, was able to get all things repaired(I should say my wife got all things repaired) so good to go.

 

A little back ground about us: My wife and I are 54 years old and have been married 35 years. We started traveling a couple of times a year about 5 years ago when our youngest of 4 went off to college. We generally take an all inclusive type trip to an island somewhere in the winter and a big trip overseas in the summer. I own my own business so try to keep our trips less then 2 weeks.(real reason is my wife doesn't want to leave our 4 grandchildren any longer then that, and our baby-our poodle). Although after just completing in May our last of 4 kids college education(plus law school, masters, and dental hygiene) and paying for the last of 4 weddings in June, I'm thinking longer vacations are due.

 

We have fallen in love with river cruises but am excited to try small ocean cruises like the Whisper. We are flying American(not usually my first choice) to Charlotte and then direct to Rome. We are blessed to be flying buisness class so hope to get a few hours sleep tonight so we can hit the ground running tomorrow. Will update you on flights/airports/transfers tomorrow while hopefully sitting at the rooftop hotel lounge overlooking Rome with Proseco in hand. Until then....Brian

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Looking forward to your reports Brian

 

We got off the Whisper last Saturday after 15 wonderful, very hot, days.

 

 

The food, especially in La Terrazza, was first class, the crew, as always, were wonderful and the ship itself was in great condition

 

Have a great time and I certainly look forward to your reports and I just hope that it is not quite as hot as we experienced

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Early morning greetings not from the hotel rooftop in Rome with proseco in hand but from an Embassy Suites in Charlotte with coffee in hand. Due to severe storms in both Knoxville at time of take off and Charlotte at time of landing we found ourselves at the gate looking at the plane sitting at the gate but they had already closed the door so we get to try all of this all over again today on the same flight a day later(but at least no connecting flights today.

 

So instead of the Vatican today we are going to visit the Billy Graham Library. Guess its appropriate since we are Protestant and not Catholic.

 

We were able to move our Vatican Tour to Tomorrow afternoon so hopefully we are only going to miss the food tour we had scheduled for this evening.

 

I'm sure in time yesterdays events will be great to add to our travel lore but this morning it just feels like a bummer.

 

Hopefully better reports tomorrow.

Brian

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Oh no! Definitely not the update I'm sure you were hoping to be giving. Glad you are making the best of it, though, and that you were able to move some things around in Rome.

 

I actually do have pictures of almost all of the ports that you're stopping at, except Elba. They were all in my pre-blogging days so they are harder to find.

 

Best of luck with your travels today and have a nice time in Charlotte.

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Due to severe storms in both Knoxville at time of take off and Charlotte at time of landing we found ourselves at the gate looking at the plane sitting at the gate but they had already closed the door so we get to try all of this all over again today on the same flight a day later(but at least no connecting flights today).
Been there and done that. It sucks.
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According to Flight Tracker, the only nonstop from CLT to FCO took off 20 minutes ago, and is scheduled for an on-time arrival in Rome. Bon Voyage (this time for real), Papa and Mama B!

 

Next time we hear from them I am hoping for prosecco on the rooftop. :champagne-toast:

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Greetings from Rome( a day late)! We actually did have a complimentary welcome proseco from the roof top at lunch time yesterday.

 

Our flight a day late was uneventful and we arrived in Rome about 15 minute. We were through immigration in less then 15 minutes and walked to luggage pick up and our luggage was already moving around the carousel. With nothing to declare we walked right through customs without any contact with anyone. As easy as I've had arriving in another country. Just a hint: If you are blessed to be able to fly business class and are at the front of the plane, Don't stop for a restroom break as soon as you get off the plane. Keep moving so that you will be ahead of the rest of the plane in the immirgration line. There are restrooms in the luggage area.

 

We chose the Hotel Artemide on Via ****onale for our hotel(will discuss in next post). Through them we booked a private transfer to the hotel. When booking they sent a picture of where the driver would be waiting and sure enough he was there waiting with a sign with our name on it. He took one of our pieces of luggage and we were off walking to where he was parked. I think it was about a 30-40 minute drive to our hotel. As we walked to the car pulling our luggage it hit us in full force why so many say not to come to Rome in August. IT IS HOT!!

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Hotel Artemide:

 

We arrived approximately 10:30 am. Our room wasn't ready yet and wouldn't be until about 2:00. Our concern was that we had moved our Vatican tour from our original early morning tour to 2:00. I had shared this with the hotel when I emailed them the night before after missing our plane. They agreed not to charge us for the missed day but had rented the room for the night to keep from charging us. But as soon as we checked in they said we could use a private bath/shower in the spa to clean up before our tour since we had traveled all nights. They gave us two complimentary vouchers for Proseco and the restaurant on the roof top. So we went up to have a light lunch and sit for about an hour and a half just relaxing. We then made our way to the spa. Our luggage had been stored already but they went and got it for us so we could get clean clothes. They provide all the necessities to get cleaned up. After we were done they restored our luggage and it was about time to meet our guide.

 

The communication with the hotel pre trip was wonderful and the service just continued to be outstanding. This is a 4 star hotel but the amenities and service are of a 5 star. It is located on Via ****onale which is a major shopping street but a very convenient location to most of the major attractions. It isn't a very large hotel. I would describe it as a boutique hotel. More on the room and breakfast to come.

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Glad you have arrived in Rome and look forward to continuing to follow along with your "adventure". Keep up the great sharing and posting.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Super loved Dubrovnik!!! See more details and lots of great visual samples/examples at this link. Have had over 43,417 views on this posting and appreciate those who have tuned-in and dropped by.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1439227

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Tours:

For our tours I used a company called, "Walks Inside Rome". I booked a food tour for Thursday night which we had to cancel and an early morning Vatican tour for Friday morning which we had to move to a 2:00 afternoon tour. I chose to book private vs small group as we wanted to have as much flexibility as possible to make changes and avoid any potential slowdowns or conflict.

 

After getting cleaned up at the Hotel we had about 15 minutes sitting in the lobby and then our driver showed up. Most tours have you meet at the site(Vatican) at a designated place. But I asked the tour company if they could provide a hotel pick up so there would be no issues finding our guide. He was about 5 minutes early and we were off. I'm so glad I chose to do this as I can't imagine trying to find a guide in the chaos near the Vatican. Hard to describe the amount of people, vendors, etc... But our driver was on the phone with the guide and pulled right up to her.

 

It was well above 90 degrees and we explained our delay and how tired we were. She tailored the tour to our needs and would skip certain areas when we were feeling overwhelmed by the heat. We did see quite a few areas of the Vatican Museum, then were able to enter the Sisteen chapel through an entrance that only guided tours can use(a short cut) and then went to St Peters Basilica. It was a very nice and efficient tour. I can't say enjoyable due to the crowds, heat and the knowledge of how much better it would have been had we arrived on time and had a full nights sleep and went on the early morning Vatican tour that would have got us in before actual opening. Oh well, at least we can say we've been there.

 

My original plan was to walk about 30 minutes back to the hotel exploring as we went. But we were drained from the heat(In case you don't know the Vatican isn't airconditioned). So our guide pointed us to where a reliable taxi stand was. So we made it back in about 10 minutes. So bottom line, glad we did it but it really was a day of endurance. We were back about 5:30 to the hotel.

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Thanks, TTS.

 

Brian, I wondered if you'd have to pay for the missed hotel night. It could have been advantageous, though, if it had guaranteed you access to your room upon arrival. Looks like you did just fine regardless.

 

Glad that you are safely arrived and enjoying Rome so far. Hope embarkation is smooth and the cruise is awesome!

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

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Hotel Room/Amenities:

 

As I mentioned above, Hotel Artemide is a 4 star hotel but has a 5 star feel. We booked a junior suite which consists of a bedroom and separate living room. It is a very modern hotel and comfortable. The rooms have a very well stocked mini bar including beer, water(still and sparkling), proseco, sodas, juices, and a few bottles of liquor(gin, whiskey, rum, etc... In addition, there was a welcome bottle of Red wine and numerous different snacks. There is also a coffee/tea bar. All of this is included and restocked daily. So we haven't had to buy any drinks as we've taken them with us in our day pack.

 

HINT: Don't buy any water from the vendors on the street. There are fountains to fill water bottles all over the city. So just keep an empty water bottle or take something with you and you will never have to buy water. Also our guides have said that these gentleman are selling bottles that have been refilled and are not sealed. they place them in coolers and they appear to be be "new" bottles but aren't.

 

This morning I experiened the included buffet breakfast at the hotel, which was fantastic. My wife was moving a little slower so didn't come down for breakfast. So the host gave me a take out box to fill for her and bring back to the room.

 

I highly recommend this hotel if you are looking for a modern, well air conditioned, 5 star hotel and a 4 star price.

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JP, I thought about going ahead and paying for it for that reason. As it turned out I saved the money and had a good experience. What a difference it makes when traveling to have hotels, guides, etc... that go the extra mile to help their customers.

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Todays Tour:

 

Again we used Walks Inside Rome and chose their "Ancient and Christian" tour. It included a Catabomb, St Peters Church of Chains, Forum, and Colosseum. It really was a wonderful tour. At the Colosseum we were able to skip the lines and go in a private entrance onto the stage. Again, the heat was overwhelming but our driver had water for us between each stop. He also bought us a couple of souvenirs while we were in the site with our guide. At the end of the tour he asked whether we wanted him to drop us off at the hotel or elsewhere. I had him drop us near the Trevi Fountain and we walked there, Pantheon, Piazza Navone, another large Cathedral(can't remember the name but was near the Pantheon. We then walked back to our hotel. Was a great day despite the heat.

 

Dinner tonight back on the rooftop of the hotel. Tomorrow we will head to the train station and head to Venice to board the Whisper. Hope you have enjoyed our shortened pre cruise trip with us. Hopefully if all goes well I'll check back in tomorrow from the Whisper. Thanks for following along.

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