Serenade of the Seas May 17, 2012 Barcelona

[muccouple]

2 germans are looking for interesting guys on this cruise.

Anybody on that cruise as well?

[green2u]

2 germans are looking for interesting guys on this cruise.

Anybody on that cruise as well?

Yes! I just booked it today! I had the good fortune of visiting Germany for the first time TWICE in 2011 and love the people and the culture (Munich, Berlin, Potsdam, Leipzig). I hope we can connect while on the cruise. I am going solo. I will also be arriving in Barcelona the day before.

[muccouple]

Cool, I am travelling with an old friends, my partner doesn´t have time to take a leave.

We will arrive in BCN 2 days prior to the cruise and staying at the AXEL Hotel downtown.

Hope to connect latest at the first FOD meeting and btw my name is Wolfgang.

[green2u]

Cool, I am travelling with an old friends, my partner doesn´t have time to take a leave.

We will arrive in BCN 2 days prior to the cruise and staying at the AXEL Hotel downtown.

Hope to connect latest at the first FOD meeting and btw my name is Wolfgang.

 

Ah, I have stayed at the Hotel Axel Berlin! I will arrive in Barcelona the morning of May 16 and will stay overnight at Hotel Colon in the Gothic District.

 

Regarding meeting up onboard (and this is for all GLBTs!), how about meeting the first night of the cruise at 7PM in the Schooner Bar on Deck 6? Meeting at a specific bar the first night worked really well on a cruise I took in 2010 because the Friends of Dorothy meeting didn't happen until days into the cruise. And by that time, the bar where we met the first night was so popular that the FOD meetings fizzled!:D Charles

[muccouple]

Hey Charles,

that´s a good idea to meet at the Schooner bar. Looking forward to see you there.

We are now planning our excursions - don´t like the ones organized by the cruiseline - and it seems that there are a lot of options to do it by ourselves.

We will definitely go to Florenz from Livorno by train, from Cannes to Eze or Nice by train and from Civitavecchia to Rome. But there is still a lot of planning left.

[green2u]

Hey Charles,

that´s a good idea to meet at the Schooner bar. Looking forward to see you there.

We are now planning our excursions - don´t like the ones organized by the cruiseline - and it seems that there are a lot of options to do it by ourselves.

We will definitely go to Florenz from Livorno by train, from Cannes to Eze or Nice by train and from Civitavecchia to Rome. But there is still a lot of planning left.

 

Regarding our stop in Naples, I have started a group tour on RomeinLimo.com for a party of 8. THIS IS OPEN TO ALL, so I am looking for 7 more people. RomeinLimo has an excellent reputation and has been extremely responsive in their emails to me. Here's a description of the tour. If interested in joining, go to the tour calendar for May 21 and you will see Green Group. You can reserve seats there: http://www.romeinlimotoursharing.com/scheda_tour.php?url=/naples/pompeii-sorrento-positano.htm&pname=Port%20of%20Naples&it=20.

 

Wolfgang, I look forward to meeting you and your friend (and I hope everyone else on this roll call will join us at the Schooner Bar 7 PM May 17). I also look forward to hearing more about your train plans to Florenze and Eze as I have not made plans for our port stops in Cannes and Livorno. And if you take the train to Nice, I highly recommend a quick stop on the way at Villefranche. Our 2010 cruise tendered there and we took the train to Nice for the day. Villefranche is very picturesque.

[muccouple]

Charles, thanks for the infos on the group tour in Naples, we have not yet decided what to do, but at the moment we prefer to take a tour to Pompeji and the Vesuvio.

 

In Cannes we will definitely take the train to Eze, a pictoresque french village, on our own, of course you are free to join. Train ride is about 1 hour each direction. My partner has been there on a infotour to Monte Carlo and he loved it.

From Livorno we will take the train to Florence and I try to get tickets for the Academia to avoid queueing for hours. I found all the organized tours too expensive and not really matching to the docking hours.

Unfortunately we will be in Rome on a sunday, that means that the Vatican Museum and the S. Peters Basilica will be closed for visitors. BOth of us have been there last october for a couple of days. So we will take only the train to Rome and stroll around.

When reaching Split we will just walk around the town and go to Trigor, another pictoresque pöace in Europe.

For Venice we do not have any idea yet, maybe joining a walking tour in order to get not lost the first day.

Anyway feel free to join us whenever you want to, unfortunately it seems that there are no other guys on this roll call until now.

[Desmond61]

Cool, I am travelling with an old friends, my partner doesn´t have time to take a leave.

[green2u]

Charles, thanks for the infos on the group tour in Naples, we have not yet decided what to do, but at the moment we prefer to take a tour to Pompeji and the Vesuvio.

 

In Cannes we will definitely take the train to Eze, a pictoresque french village, on our own, of course you are free to join. Train ride is about 1 hour each direction. My partner has been there on a infotour to Monte Carlo and he loved it.

From Livorno we will take the train to Florence and I try to get tickets for the Academia to avoid queueing for hours. I found all the organized tours too expensive and not really matching to the docking hours.

Unfortunately we will be in Rome on a sunday, that means that the Vatican Museum and the S. Peters Basilica will be closed for visitors. BOth of us have been there last october for a couple of days. So we will take only the train to Rome and stroll around.

When reaching Split we will just walk around the town and go to Trigor, another pictoresque pöace in Europe.

For Venice we do not have any idea yet, maybe joining a walking tour in order to get not lost the first day.

Anyway feel free to join us whenever you want to, unfortunately it seems that there are no other guys on this roll call until now.

 

Yay, another gay on board!:p Welcome Desmond and I hope you will join us May 17 7P in the Schooner Bar.

 

Wolfgang, thank you for the offers! I will most likely take you up on them. Regarding train travel from the Livorno port to Florence, I found this Web link. I don't know how up-to-date it is, but it is very detailed: http://www.mediterranean-cruise-ports-easy.com/travel-to-florence.html

 

I will start doing my research this weekend. I look forward to comparing notes. Charles

[muccouple]

Welcome Desmond and hope to see you at 5 pm at the Schooner Bar the first day onboard

[green2u]

Hi Wolfgang and All:

 

I found this link on TripAdvisor to Local Walks: Florence in One Day http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187895-c148104/Florence:Italy:Local.Walks.Florence.In.One.Day.html which starts from the Florence train station. It does not mention the Academia Gallery (where the Statue of David is on display), but I assume it could be worked into this itinerary. Charles

[green2u]

This official Split, Croatia tourist Web site is supposed to have a walking guide on it, but I can't find it at the moment: http://www.visitsplit.com/index.php?lang=2

[muccouple]

Hi Charles,

meanwhile we have ordered our train tickets to Florence and to Rome (travel agent)as well as the vaporetto tickets for Venice http://www.veniceconnected.com to avoid queing for hours.

Still working on the trip from Cannes to Eze and the day in Florence where we probably will just walk around and enjoy the ancient city.

[green2u]

Thanks, Wolfgang. Did you order your train tickets for a particular time or are they valid for anytime? I plan to visit a travel agent tomorrow.

 

Also, I don't know how many people will be in the Schooner Bar at 7PM May 17 (and we don't know what each other looks like. I have attached a recent photo), so I wanted to give you my cabin number as I believe we can make free room-to-room phone calls or at least leave notes where to meet sometime before we disembark in Cannes May 18 at 9AM. It is Stateroom 3129, Deck 3. My name is Charles Green.

Hi Charles,

meanwhile we have ordered our train tickets to Florence and to Rome (travel agent)as well as the vaporetto tickets for Venice www.veniceconnected.com to avoid queing for hours.

Still working on the trip from Cannes to Eze and the day in Florence where we probably will just walk around and enjoy the ancient city.

[muccouple]

Hi Charles, I have just learned today that our veseel will not dock in Naples but in Salerno, about 50 km south of Naples.

[green2u]

Hi Wolfgang, yes I realized that when I organized the 8-person tour of Pompeii/Amalfi Coast. RomeinLimo will pick our party up in Salerno.

 

My travel agent is checking into train tickets from Rome, Florence and Bologna (I will ask about Eze). They appear to be timed tickets. Hopefully, we will be on the same train.

 

Hi Charles, I have just learned today that our veseel will not dock in Naples but in Salerno, about 50 km south of Naples.

[muccouple]

Hey Charles,

 

the train tickets in Italy are not timed tickets, Livorno is about 9 Euro one way and Civitavecchia is about 5 euro one way. Do not by return tickets, you are supposed to have a single ticket to validate for each leg.

The ticket for Cannes cannot be bought in advance and we will not dock in Bologna.

[green2u]

Thanks, Wolfgang; I will only buy one-way tickets in advance then purchase return tickets at the Florence and Rome train stations.

 

I had thought of taking the train from Ravenna to Bologna (an hour away), but after reading about Ravenna, I've decided to stay in Ravenna instead. I also found this excellent online guide: http://www.port.ravenna.it/work/doc/cruiseguide1.pdf

 

Hey Charles,

 

the train tickets in Italy are not timed tickets, Livorno is about 9 Euro one way and Civitavecchia is about 5 euro one way. Do not by return tickets, you are supposed to have a single ticket to validate for each leg.

The ticket for Cannes cannot be bought in advance and we will not dock in Bologna.

[muccouple]

Hi Charles,

I think Ravenna is worth to spend a day in town.

Already very exited to embark, need a cut-off from the office.

See you soon

[green2u]

Wolfgang:

 

I just found out that the travel agent I called last week forgot to place the order!:eek: I just went on RailEurope and they will only mail the tickets to me. Of course it is too late as I leave for BCN tonight. So hopefully I will be able to buy rail tickets at the Livorno and Civitavecchia stations.

 

My flight arrives in BCN at 830AM May 16. I am staying at the Hotel Colon in the Gothic District and I will have access to internet there in case you might want to get together in BCN. My email is cgreen6369@gmail.com and it is best to reach me there. Otherwise, I look forward to meeting you in the Schooner Bar at 7PM May 17.

 

Charles