Serenade 12 day Mediterranean Cruise semi-live

[ScubaNPcruiser]

I love the semi-live reviews and am going to attempt one myself. Hopefully with pictures if the Wifi SD card works with the camera and Ipad. Thanks for your patience. CC has been a huge resource to me and hopefully I can pay it forward. Anyone else on this cruise is welcome to add to the running commentary.

 

5/14/12: Very early morning. Up at 3 am and at the airport a little after 4. Sweet daughter volunteered to shuttle us to the airport, blurry eyed and all. First hitch in the trip, with all the itinerary changes the DH and I are now seated a couple rows away from each other. Bummer!! Very helpful Delta staff righted the situation and after one leg of the trip we are snuggled next to each other. Off to New York with an over night flight to Barcelona. It's hard to believe after all the planning the trip is finally here.

 

A little background. I did a lot of research about different itineraries. The first one that caught my fancy was a 10 day cruise out of Venice to parts of Italy, Greece, Croatia and Turkey. Unfortunately after booking our dream cruise and aft balcony room on Voyager of the Seas, the ship was repositioned to Asia. *Strike one! I was definitely glad we had booked through a TA as she was able to negotiate with RCCL and we booked a 12 day cruise out of Barcelona to France, Italy and Croatia on Serenade of the Seas for the same price as the 10 day cruise with OBC. So only a 1/2 a strike in the end. Still booked an aft balcony cabin. Ohhh, the anticipation! As I write we are flying over Illinois on our way to JFK. Hopefully I'll be able to write a few thoughts daily and give a helpful review.

 

I love the planning part of the cruise. *Ports, excursions, hotels, what to see and not, restaurants, etc. This cruise is a celebration of my 50th birthday, 30th wedding anniversary and my husband's birthday, which will be celebrated in Barcelona. Hope you enjoy reading. *Happy sailing! *

[KansCocoa]

Can't wait!

 

We'll be on the Serenade in June - so looking forward to your reports. :)

[sstepson]

I can't wait, either!

 

Sherri, I had a feeling you'd be all over this thread...! ;-)

[hotinphoenix]

We are doing the same itinerary on the Serenade in July. Really looking forward to your review. Have a great cruise!

[ollienbertsmum]

We are doing the same itinerary on the Serenade in July. Really looking forward to your review. Have a great cruise!

 

I have seen that itinerary, it really looks nice. Some great ports and just the right number of sea days.

 

I have my sunscreen on already.

[mjaruse]

Can't wait to hear about everything!! I am doing the same itinerary on July 28th for my honeymoon!! Let us know how the wear and tear is going (I'm nervous since the Serenade will be docking in the fall). Also - would love to know what shows are currently on board!

[newcruiser1573]

I'm excited for you. I will be on the Serenade in August.

[KansCocoa]

I can't wait, either!

 

Sherri, I had a feeling you'd be all over this thread...! ;-)

 

:p :p

[Rodie H]

Have fun! I'll be following too as I'm on the Serenade departing Barcelona on 6/10!!:D

[lorrdean]

Have fun! I'll be following too as I'm on the Serenade departing Barcelona on 6/10!!:D

 

Haha rodie I see your watching this thread too, it won't be long now til we are on our way :D

[Sinppu]

I hope you have many happy days for your many celebrations!

[ScubaNPcruiser]

We are here safe and sound. *Only hitch was the wrong seats. I paid for econmy comfort but did not get them but no big deal, at least my DH and I were sitting together from NYC to Barcelona. *BEAUTIFUL city! *Love it. The area we are staying in reminds me of Aix en Provence. *Narrow streets, pedestrian only areas, cathedrals. I'll attach some pictures as we go.

 

For those who haven't hear of the Wifi SD card for cameras I HIGHLY recommended it. Called Eye-Fi. I first heard about it on The Today Show as a must have and I wholeheartily agree. I won't take the time here to thoroughly explain. Basically it's a regular SD card that has the ability to download via WiFi. The pictures we've taken so far took about 5 min. to download on Ipad on hotel wireless network.

 

Staying at Hotel Colon in the Barri Gothic area. Very nice hotel right on a square across from a cathedral in the pedestrian area. Exactly what I was looking for, in that it is clean, very nicely furnished, centrally located and reasonably priced for Barcelona. We used Barcelona Day Tours for pick up at hotel and 4 hour tour of the city. Great overview! Evo (pronounced Ivo) was our tour guide. Spoke 5 languages, with English being very easily understood. He is a native and lives about 40 min. outside of Barcelona. He seemed like a friend from home. We felt very comfortable asking all the dumb touristy questions. He treated us to Cafe (coffee) and gelato. Half way through our tour, water was waiting for us in the car.

 

I have been trying to reserve a restaruant Cafe' de Academia, which I've read about online, for my DH's birthday tomorrow. I was not successful, so Evo walked us to the restaurant and we made reservations for tomorrow night. After touring we're back at the hotel for a much needed nap! DH is currently snoring up a storm as we have now been up about 22 hours. Yawn!

 

Tonight we're planning on getting a dinner of Tapas (from a recommended spot) and drinking some good Spanish wine then off to bed a little early. Tomorrow we'll wander the city and tour Gaudi's cathedral, which is gorgeous. The hotel staff is very helpful and speak excellent English. We were given instructions on how to catch the metro tomorrow to the cathedral. We'll buy a 9 euro ticket and share it. Looks like it's going to be a wonderful trip!

 

Shan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a few pictures. *More to come. Let me know if this is too slow loading on your computers. *Lovve ya, mom

[MAHA]

Enjoy your cruise. We are going to be on Serenade for the cruise right after you.

 

For those who are questioning the condition of Serenade since she is going into drydock this Fall, we sailed on her from San Juan last October for a B2B Southern Caribbean cruise and found the ship to be in great shape. We thoroughly enjoyed being on Serenade!

[shayna's mimi]

Thanks for the narrative. We will be on Serenade on October 3 and I look forward to reading your reviews along the way. I appreciate the info about the Eye-fi and am looking into in. I will be bringing my I-pad as well. Enjoy, relax (if possible) and have a great time!

[rascalious]

Our Sept. 2nd Roll Call is following this closely. We did the 12 night Med cruise in Sept 2010 aboard the Brilliance. This will be our first on the Serenade. Can't wait for more of the review!

[sanwin]

Looking forward to your on the spot reviews !......we are on Serenade next October !...but hopefully your review will keep me going till then .

Have a wonderful time in Barcelona and have a great cruise

 

Sandra x

[Rodie H]

Haha rodie I see your watching this thread too, it won't be long now til we are on our way :D

 

Yes, I'm following too!! So is Sherri from the 6/22 cruise. Getting all the info we can.

 

Wonder where the tapas dinner was. Maybe she'll post the info. Caught your post about packing--I start early 'cause I love to pack. But hey, there's a few on the 6/22 who have already started!

 

Gilda

[ScubaNPcruiser]

Sorry for the love ya mom; I also sent it to my kids : )

 

Today toured the cathedral by Hotel Colon. Tip, tour in am as after 12 pm they charge to see cloister and garden areas. In the afternoon we headed to Sangrada Familia cathedral, which is not a basilica, since the pope dedicated it. Get your tickets ahead of time online and save yourself the lines for tickets. The audio tour is a must. Total cost 18.30 euros with audio tour. Beautiful church that was designed by Gaudi in the 1800's. Building is still in process. They are working 6 days a week 12 hours a day and projected finish date is 2026. After the tour, we wandered toward the Arch de Triomf and stopped for lunch in a obscure cafe. It was a humorous lunch as the owner did not speak English and we did not speak Catalone. In the end we had a wonderful lunch which consisted of a mystery meat filled eggplant, cheese and ham sandwich, melon and Spanish ham, Paella and house wine. Then back to our hotel where we sat at an outside cafe watching the people in the cathedral square while sipping sangria. Tonight dinner at Cafe de Academia for my DH's birthday.

[ScubaNPcruiser]

[ScubaNPcruiser]

Every where there are Tapas places. Biggest recommendation is stay away from restaraunts directly on La Rambla as the prices tend to be high and the food is not authentic. This information is from our tour guide in Barcelona. The place we went to was Taller de Tapas in the Barri Gothic area. It is one of many.

 

Patience as I upload my photos. I read the boards instructions but am having difficulty. I'll talk with my computer guru nephew and see if he can help. In the interim I'll send the link to my Webshot album.

[ScubaNPcruiser]

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-JL8mkRf0kww/T7KGPr__heI/AAAAAAAAAdk/ebhM_H8BI3k/s1024/IMAGE_8A6886CB-F846-41D5-911A-2961917CF90E.JPG

 

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-677FzXOTzac/T7KGVuHcNRI/AAAAAAAAAd0/jQZq77jRe10/s1024/IMAGE_0DCD6226-0C05-44B8-8122-AF356AF66664.JPG

 

http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-dNpPaYwh2k4/T7KGwDJLKAI/AAAAAAAAAe0/JdjzYdFlNvY/s1024/IMAGE_A27EAF93-CE84-4E71-AF4C-F33E6A3903DB.JPG

 

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-MT2OaNmZntM/T7KG3j9sRzI/AAAAAAAAAfM/KS6lcppnm5Y/s1024/IMAGE_E3811B8C-BE7B-4340-8546-D8412B00A85F.JPG

 

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-WFngmzaAYHo/T7PTWoVeRvI/AAAAAAAAAiU/fnK1PuuvgY8/s1024/IMAGE_36ECC30B-CD7E-4BBB-8D31-557223D1DEE9.JPG

 

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hw8Sdu8cjMg/T7PTdbmWNeI/AAAAAAAAAic/fY2ha0mPfgQ/s1024/IMAGE_F5A963DF-F08D-4B49-A93E-6052AC1D4EFB.JPG

 

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-gFAJt92TOhw/T7PTmAK02jI/AAAAAAAAAik/BYllDcoNX2Y/s1024/IMAGE_5AC6E7B9-505F-47CB-AB0D-BF550ECE8821.JPG

 

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-YhXD4C2YVPM/T7PcTY_rpFI/AAAAAAAAAjw/TtUrIKqBSVU/s1024/IMAGE_E22CB460-24F1-4E1D-8618-F3AE6E882E9D.JPG

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-4aJtV0jLZns/T7PeUFdNvXI/AAAAAAAAAlw/0QRr_bKSJck/s1024/IMAGE_C29CA9A0-8B82-4AFD-A40D-24BB321B8059.JPG

 

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-LML84wCMQH0/T7PedZXXu_I/AAAAAAAAAmA/1Wf328GF8Co/s1024/IMAGE_7B9F16B8-87A0-4F3E-B0A2-DB1973F996B7.JPG

 

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-CWPGx0-eXbk/T7Peq36uOoI/AAAAAAAAAmg/CNWq_eS_6m0/s1024/IMAGE_7EE8C5B6-A217-45B2-823B-28A1434C64FF.JPG

 

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9Yc7vy6TOTs/T7PfbewOmtI/AAAAAAAAAng/0p7aDkcgJXk/s1024/IMAGE_EC0A0560-7030-41BA-BB6B-035DC8769EDF.JPG

 

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pAQcUUo9X3A/T7PflmOxsuI/AAAAAAAAAnw/J3gYrqjqia4/s1024/IMAGE_1D761FF7-68F4-43E4-8F2C-B9C950629E06.JPG

 

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2QpXNFPZidw/T7Pf1Z4SwuI/AAAAAAAAAoI/KB5kEkHJSKw/s1024/IMAGE_E5841A85-98E9-4921-8BA8-DBFEC5E1A975.JPG

 

 

Not the most optimal way but at least you can see some pictues.

[silentbob007]

I walked by the Hotel Colon today. Definitely a nice location. I had a booking, but decided to go with the Hotel Jazz. It has a nice room and is very convenient to the Place Univeritat drop off for the Aerobus.

 

I've been getting most of my food from the covered market on the Ramblas. I've also picked up a few things fom the supermarket/department store near the north end of the Ramblas.

 

I opted or the camera connection kit or my iPad instead of the wireless card. It is slightly less convenient if you have wifi access, but infinitely more if you do not.

[KansCocoa]

Every where there are Tapas places. Biggest recommendation is stay away from restaraunts directly on La Rambla as the prices tend to be high and the food is not authentic. This information is from our tour guide in Barcelona. The place we went to was Taller de Tapas in the Barri Gothic area. It is one of many.

 

Patience as I upload my photos. I read the boards instructions but am having difficulty. I'll talk with my computer guru nephew and see if he can help. In the interim I'll send the link to my Webshot album.

 

Loving this...

 

We are scheduling a dinner at Taller de Tapas the night before we sail, with about 27 of us so far signed up on Cruise Critic. Can't wait for more! :)

[Ebbwboy]

Have fun! I'll be following too as I'm on the Serenade departing Barcelona on 6/10!!:D

 

Us too! can't wait for more updates :D

[Princess & 4 Princes]

Loving this...

 

We are scheduling a dinner at Taller de Tapas the night before we sail, with about 27 of us so far signed up on Cruise Critic. Can't wait for more! :)

 

Hi Sherri-

I poked my head out of our June 22 sailing MB & saw this trip report! So glad she is posting her experiences on CC as she goes..THANK YOU ScubaNPcruiser! :) And how funny that Sherri and Steve found it as well! I am so excited for our cruise. Will our CC dinner at Taller de Tapas be at the same place--did she mean there were many "Taller de Tapas" restaurants or just many tapas restaurants in general?