Trip Report - Barcelona & SOS 6/10/12 Sailing

[CyberTag]

Cabin:

Our cabins were near the front of the ship but that was not a problem. The ship really isn’t that large and walking to the back for meals never was an issue. We were right near the elevators and staircase and never heard any noise from either one.

 

Meals:

As for meals, we had 3 formal nights: Day 2 (cruising), Day 7 (Ravenna) and Day 10 (Rome). The MDR was empty for the 3rd formal night as most people didn’t get back to the ship until late and were too tired to ‘dress’ for dinner. I think by the 3rd formal night, passengers were tired of getting dressed up. We opted to go to the MDR for all formal nights and only ate in the WJ for dinner once, on a casual night. Although we did walk through the WJ each evening to see what was being served, the food in there was quite impressive and often looked better than that served in the MDR. We weren’t impressed with the MDR food and felt it has gone downhill since our last cruise on Freedom 2 years ago. We do enjoy eating a ‘sit down’ meal for dinner as opposed to a buffet since we tend to eat less when being served and you can eat together instead of someone always getting up to get something else. The MDR is just a little more relaxing to us. We also chose a private table for the 5 of us as we knew we would be tired at the end of the day and didn’t want to have to worry about ‘making conversation with people we didn’t know.’

 

The desserts in the MDR really looked better than they tasted, although we sure didn't have a problem eating them!

 

 

We ate all of our breakfasts in the WJ so that we could disembark early. They had two omelet stations, eggs cooked to order, and the usual breakfast foods including smoked salmon, pancakes, French toast, bacon, sausage, donuts, cereal, oatmeal, etc.

 

This was a very nice sitting area inside/outside the WJ.

 

 

 

As for lunch, we ate two lunches in the MDR. The MDR has a WONDERFUL salad bar during lunch that is not to be missed! Definitely beats the salad bar in the WJ! We also visited the Sea View Café on several occasions where you can get cooked-to-order American comfort food like cheeseburgers (better than the warming tray WJ ones), hot dogs (Nathan's as opposed to generic sausages in other venues), fish strips and chicken fingers, salads, and an awesome Reuben sandwich! We never did try room service, although always say we are going to order from the menu!

 

This is the 4th floor MDR. On 2 of the nights, the waitstaff lined the staircase and sang for us.

 

 

 

The seating area outside the SeaView Cafe. It was rarely difficult to find a seat. They also had seating inside for those who wanted to stay out of the sun.

 

 

We did not eat in any of the specialty restaurants, but hope to try them one day. They always looked empty when we passed by. The Starbucks café had pastries which were different than those in the other venues. The apple crumb cake and blueberry loaf were both very good and I highly recommend giving them a try as they are complimentary, although there is a fee if you order the Starbucks specialty beverages.

 

On our last 2 ships, soft serve ice-cream/yogurt was readily available on either the pool deck or the promenade. On the Serenade, it is in the WJ in the back by the desserts. The boys were quick to locate the self-serve machine and it became a staple for them, much like coffee in the morning! We teased Josh that he was going to go through ice-cream withdrawals when he got home. His after lunch dessert each day was 2 chocolate chip cookies with vanilla frozen yogurt in the middle. It was not a dessert that was available, but something he made himself each day.

 

[CyberTag]

Shows:

We attended 2 of the shows: The Welcome Aboard Show and the Magician/Comedian. We were either too tired to attend any of the other shows or they didn’t interest us. The ones we did see were typical cruise shows, nothing to write home about and rather forgettable. On evenings that we didn’t attend the shows, we walked around the track on Deck 12, walking 2 miles each evening. The weather was always very pleasant during the evenings.

 

This is the main theatre where all of the shows were done.

 

 

 

The ship has an indoor movie theatre. They will be adding an outdoor screen when in drydock. Not sure if they will be getting rid of the indoor theatre.

 

 

 

A photo of the jogging track at night. Six laps around the track = 1 mile. It was empty at night. The weather was very pleasant and only on one or two occasions was it very windy.

 

 

Shops on Board:

As we had always sailed on larger ships, we were disappointed in the souvenirs in the gift shops. It was very surprising that they had absolutely no t-shirts for children. Also, they had quite a few items for Greece (which was the itinerary before and after ours). We never visited any Greece ports, but sadly they didn’t change out the ‘gear’ for the Italy ports. Sizes for the clothes on hand were very limited as well.

 

Days 1 and 2 – Sea Days

Our first two days were sea days, which gave us time to explore the ship, hang out by the pool, and finish any last minute unpacking. On Day 2 they had the men’s belly flop contest, which is always funny to watch. The Captain’s Welcome Aboard Reception was also this night, but we did not attend.

 

On a side note: Captain Karin is the first female Captain of a major cruise ship. She was seen throughout the ship several times during the cruise and is very personable. We did attend a special reception for Crown and Anchor members. Drinks were complimentary (and plentiful), and the appetizers were very good.

 

Captain Karin is in the middle. She did a Q & A on the final day (after Monaco).

 

 

 

 

The boys enjoyed the sports court and hung out there quite a bit during the cruise. Basketball, volleyball and soccer were their main forms of entertainment for the 12 days. They climbed the rock climbing wall, played miniature golf and ping pong on several occasions. They also really enjoyed the self-balancing pool table near the Safari Club … who would think a cruise ship would have a pool table?! On sea days I enjoyed working out in the fitness center. It was never too crowded and treadmills and elliptical were readily available.

 

 

There was always something going on on the Sports Court (volleyball, basketball, dodge ball or soccer). This was utilized by both kids and adults.

 

 

 

The rock climbing wall. There was never a very long line.

 

[CyberTag]

Day 3 – Spilt, Croatia (10 am – 6 pm)

Spilt was a tender port. Tender tickets were handed out to those not taking the ships excursion. We ate breakfast in the WJ and headed to the champagne bar around 10:00 am to get our tender ticket. Our tender ticket was in group 17, so we waited, and waited, and waited in the lounge for our number to be called. Around 11:30 am, we decided to head to get some lunch before departing the ship so we could spend our time in port exploring ... If we ever got off! The ship was using the lifeboat tenders which did not hold nearly the same number of passengers as the local tenders used in La Spezia.

 

 

 

After lunch, our number was finally called so into Split we went. We walked around town, explored the narrow passageways, did a little shopping, and of course ate some gelato! We were back on the ship in a couple of hours.

 

Photos from Split...

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was taken on the tender, on the way back to the ship.

 

 

[CyberTag]

Days 4 and 5 – Venice, Italy (overnight)

Our favorite port! The Serenade made its way into Venice around noon, and I must say coming into Venice was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! Around 10 am, people started lining the decks for a good position for sail-in. We were on the helipad, which got quite crowded but we were still able to find a spot on the rail as most passengers either did not seem to realize the helipad existed, that it was accessible or went for the higher deck. As we passed by St. Mark’s Square, we were in shock at how many people were there! It was packed!

 

 

 

You can see St. Mark's Square here and the masses of people!

 

 

 

Truly gorgeous with bridge after bridge!

 

[newcruiser1573]

Thank you for you review and beautiful pictures. I especially love the ones taken in the market. Where is this market located. We are taking the city tour with the cruise line and hope this is near one of our stops.

[CyberTag]

Venice ... Continued:

 

The ship docked down by the bus and parking terminal. We chose to explore Venice on our own and purchase a 36 hour Vaporetto ticket for 25 euros. Before leaving home, we downloaded Rick Steve’s free podcast of Venice while on the Vaporetto (line 1) which was a 45 minute guided tour of the buildings as we passed. It was amazing and he does a great job with his guided tour!

 

 

 

We walked to the People Mover and then paid the 1 Euro p/p to take us 1 stop. The People Mover is all automated. This is the view as we got off the People Mover.

 

 

 

 

View of the Grand Canal on one of the many bridges. You can see the Vaporetto at one of the station stops.

 

 

This is Doge's Palace.

 

 

 

One of the many places to get lost in Venice. Rick Steve's mentioned a good place to get gelato in Venice, and we actually found it! It was right next to the Hotel Bruno (to the right).

 

[CyberTag]

We visited St. Mark’s Square, St. Mark’s Cathedral, shopped in stores selling Moreno glass, ate Gelato, ate pizza, drank vino, and paid 1,50 euros p/p to use a Water Closet (aka toilet)!

 

 

Note: We paid 1 euro p/p and made a reservation online before leaving home to go inside St. Mark’s Cathedral and were able to bypass the very long line to enter. We also downloaded Rick Steve’s free podcast of the Cathedral so we knew what we were looking at (he gives a guided tour). Everything we read says you need to dress conservatively while inside the Cathedral (covered knees and shoulders). However, we saw quite a few visitors wearing shorts so obviously this isn’t enforced like it is at the Vatican. Josh and Kyle were not happy with me that we made them wear pants … can’t win them all.

 

We thought this was pretty cool ... a boat garage. The boat was suspended above the water.

 

 

 

The merchants were loading up a boat with crates that contained empty coke bottles. They had an assembly line going and were throwing them from one person to the other.

 

 

St. Marks Square is filled with many vendors selling hats, t-shirts and masks. We didn't buy a mask, but they were everywhere!

 

 

This is the view from inside St. Mark's Cathedral, looking out on St. Mark's Square.

 

 

 

There are a ton of gondolas everywhere. We noted the average price to ride a gondola was about 80 euros. We didn't ride one, but enjoyed watching those who did.

 

[CyberTag]

Venice Continued:

Venice is the only port where cruise passengers were required to take their passports ashore. Passports actually were checked by Venice port security before reaching the ship's security, so it was definitely necessary to bring them.

 

 

On Day 4, the ship offered passengers laundry service. Our Crown and Anchor book (we are Platinum members) had a coupon for $5 off (it was regularly $25) the laundry bag. They gave you a plastic laundry bag, and we STUFFED it! I found that rolling items got more inside. We had RCCL wash underwear, socks, and shirts, and stayed away from jeans or anything too heavy. We definitely got our $20 worth!!! Laundry was available two other days throughout the cruise, but this was the only time we took advantage of it.

 

 

Day 6 – Ravenna, Italy

Prior to leaving the states, we decided to explore Ravenna on our own. We had done some research and there really wasn’t much to see here that we were interested in. All of RCCL’s information lists that Ravenna has beautiful mosaics to visit. However, if you want to see them you need to either book a cruise sponsored excursion or buy a $15 p/p bus ticket from RCCL to get into town and then pay to enter the churches. We thought we would be able to walk around port, but there is NOTHING HERE! Literally!!! It is actually an oil refinery and one of the ugliest ports I have ever seen. Very disappointing that we stopped here. When we told some of our guides we were going to Ravenna, they said, “really, why?” Kyle and I chose to stay on the ship. Ken, Josh and Ken’s dad used the cruise ships $15 shuttle to go into town (which was about a 15-20 minute bus ride). There is a large beach resort next to the port if you want beach time, but it looked fairly crowded. Kyle and I were glad we stayed on the ship as it was a ghost town, and we were able to explore without the crowds! I went to the fitness center in the morning and for a while was the only one there! After about 20 minutes, one or two others joined me, but it was very quiet. It was nice to have the whole place to myself! The 3 who went into town said there really wasn’t much to see or do and the port should have been skipped altogether. When the 3 guys got back to the ship, they told us that the building right outside the ship has free Wi-Fi … so that got us off the ship pretty quickly as we were going through internet withdrawals! Unfortunately, there were so many people trying to connect that the server was overloaded. We finally gave up and went back to the ship.

 

This is a photo of the ship docked in Ravenna. There is nothing around!

 

 

Regarding Internet on the ship, we chose not to purchase a package. Since we are Platinum Crown and Anchor members, we were each given a $7.50 credit or 15% discount on a package in the coupon book which was in our stateroom the first day. We used the credit to do airport check in and email friends and family near the end of the cruise. The $7.50 credit gave us each about 10 minutes Internet time. A major tease as the internet was very slow and 10 minutes does not get you very much.

[CyberTag]

Day 7 – Sea Day

On Day 7 we had a poolside BBQ where the food was very good! The staff could not cook the BBQ ribs or BBQ chicken quick enough. The amount of food people were taking, you would think they hadn’t eaten all week! The piles of meat on passengers plates was too funny and in some cases rather gross. It sure smelled good while we waited in the rather lengthy line. We spent the day relaxing by the pool and resting up as we had some big port days coming up.

 

 

 

Towel animals were done every other night. The elephant below was our favorite one!

 

 

 

 

We had early dinner in the MDR, which was 6:30 seating. After dinner, our waiter told us to get on the top deck and check out the sunset. It was truly beautiful!

 

[CyberTag]

Continued:

 

Day 8 – Naples (Salerno), Italy

Originally we were supposed to dock in Naples, but we docked in Salerno instead (rumor has it that Salerno is cheaper for docking cruise ships). There really isn’t much to see in the port of Salerno except a bunch of sailboats.

 

This is what we saw from our balcony as we passed by to get to port.

 

 

 

 

The view was spectacular!

 

 

 

 

The schedule for today was to tour Pompeii and Sorrento and visit a local farmhouse to taste fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh vegetables, olives and lemons; the only ship sponsored tour we signed up for. After breakfast in the WJ, we were to meet up at 9:30 in the Safari Club lounge for our 9:45 departure for the ship’s bus. Our tour guide was Monica. She gave us all headphones to listen to her guided tour while in Pompeii.

 

 

 

It was nice that we didn’t have to push to be in the front of the group so we could hear Monica. She told us that we would first be going to Pompeii since there was a strike on the roads and it would hopefully be cleared after our visit to Pompeii. We were hoping to visit Sorrento first so we could eat lunch there since they are known for their pizza, but it worked out fine since Pompeii was EXTREMELY warm. I can’t imagine how hot it would have been had we waited until the end of the day to visit.

 

Pompeii – Pompeii was EXTREMELY hot and crowded. The terrain is cobblestone rocks so we were glad we wore comfortable shoes.

 

 

 

It was a very informative tour and lots to see. The only disappointment as that we did not get to see the brothel where all of the artwork is displayed (we did not realize this until after we returned to the ship). We had a quick pizza lunch here, which was mediocre. The cruise paperwork about the tour says “you will visit a cameo factory, time permitting, where you will have the opportunity to observe the local artisans at work.” Ironically, this was the first stop while in Pompeii and there definitely was time permitting. Leave it to RCCL to try and get you to spend money!

 

Some more sites inside Pompeii.

 

 

 

 

 

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Pompeii - Continued:

 

Here is another photo from Pompeii.

 

 

 

 

Farmhouse – The bus dropped us off at a lovely farmhouse where we watched and listened to a wonderful demonstration on how they make fresh mozzarella cheese. After the 15 minute presentation, we were directed to an outdoor seating area to taste the fresh mozzarella cheese, salami, bread, and home grown tomatoes. We were also treated to some of their homemade wine and a sampling of lemoncello. Everything was delicious and a highlight of this tour for us! The mozzarella cheese and salami were all given a thumbs up by the 5 of us! Wish we could have taken some back home with us.

 

The woman in this photo just made fresh mozzarella cheese. She doesn't like to mold it in the usual "ball" so braids them instead.

 

 

 

This is a sampling of what we got to eat.

 

 

 

The grounds of the farmhouse were beautiful.

 

 

 

Sorrento was beautiful! Of course, we had to try the gelato! We also visited many of the shops and bought some lemoncello. The crème lemoncello was delicious and the samples were a nice treat! My mother-in-law Linda, who passed away last June, would have loved all of the beautiful ceramic shops in this city. There were quite a few produce carts and some of the lemons were amazing in size! I'm talking volleyball size!

 

The sign that says, "Please do not touch!" is pointing to lemons!

 

 

[CyberTag]

Day 9 – Civitacchia (Rome), Italy

We were originally going to splurge and do the cruise line’s tour (Imperial Rome) which was $198 p/p. After doing a ton of research through Cruise Critic, we decided to book a private tour through Rome-in-Limo. I must have read 50 or more reviews about this company and honestly could not find one negative comment. Still, I was a bit skeptical… I emailed the company with a million questions. Jany was very responsive. I was quoted a price of 550 euros for an 8-person vehicle (this was discounted since we booked 2 tours with them). I joined our roll call to try and find other people on our trip who would like to participate in the tour with us. We found that a group of 8 gave us the best deal. We were lucky enough to find a very nice family of 3 (Terri, Paul, and Brandyn) to join us who had a son around the same age as our youngest. It was amazing how quiet the 3 boys were during the whole tour! I still don’t know whether they were just trying to take everything in or being shy! The tour ended up costing us 97,50 euros per person, for the driver as well as a Vatican Guide (which was 150 euros and well worth it).

 

Rome-in-Limo does not take credit cards (their only downfall as far as I'm concerned), so you will need to pay in Euros. We found ATMs while in Barcelona and put the money aside for each tour in separate envelopes. Check with your bank regarding fees (we used our credit union ATM as a backup and USAA as they don't have fees). We were also able to bring some Euros with us that we exchanged from Wells Fargo before leaving California. The ship does have an ATM on board, but we heard that their fees are high. You can also exchange dollars for euros at guest services, but the exchange rate is not very good. RCCL is in the business to make money after all...

 

We were to meet the other 3 people in our party (Terri, Paul and Brandyn) at the pier as well as our driver at 8:00 am (our ship was in port 7:00 am – 7:00 pm). We ate a quick breakfast in the WJ before heading out to the pier making sure we all had our Vatican tickets and the tickets to the Roman Coliseum. After making our reservation with Rome-in-Limo, Jany had emailed us telling us the best place to buy our tickets for the Vatican as well as what time the tickets should be for. Our driver was Mauro and spoke Italian English. At times it was a little difficult to understand him, so you really had to concentrate. He was full of Roman history on our drive into Rome (or as the Italian’s call it ‘Roma’). As we drove, Mauro explained everything we were seeing. It was almost information overload but there is so much history to see, and we had a short amount of time! I was astonished that he was able to talk as much as he did and drive as well as he did! Kyle is working on getting his driver’s license commented that he is glad he isn't learning to drive in Rome!

 

Our tickets for the Vatican were for 9:30 am, so that was our first stop. It was at this time that I realized the major benefits of touring with Rome-in-Limo. Not only did we have our own private driver to get us to and from everything but our driver also has VIP access for everything! We had booked a private tour guide to take us through the Vatican, which was 150 euros for our group of 8. I was very hesitant due to the price, but this money was well spent! Our guide was Cecelia and she was amazing and provided a wealth of information! Mauro took us to meet with her so we were never on our own wondering where to go. She took us right inside! The line at the Vatican was very long for people who had previously purchased a ticket! I can't even imagine how long the line was for people without one. Cecelia escorted us everywhere, answered questions for us, and explained things to us so that they were very interesting (even for those not interested in art!).

 

Before braving the crowds inside the first buidling, Cecelia showed us a book with different pictures and explained what we would be seeing. She also explained that she wouldn't be able to talk to us once inside the Sistine Chapel since talking inside was forbidden. Cecelia was very reserved and quiet so we really had to concentrate to hear what she was saying.

 

 

We were able to see the entire museum, the Sistine chapel and St. Peter's Basilica just as scheduled. The Vatican is very strict and does not allow anyone to wear shorts inside (knees can’t show nor shoulders). At one point, a guard did come up to Terri and told her she needed to cover her shoulders (her backpack had pushed up her sleeve and exposed one of her shoulders). They do take this rule very seriously! Photos are NOT allowed to be taken inside the Sistine Chapel and talking is not allowed either. They are VERY strict about this and all you hear is “shhhhhhh….. QUIET! No photos!” And lots of whispering.

 

The photos below are taken inside the Vatican museaum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was on top of the ceiling inside the museaum. It looks 3 dimensional but is actually a flat painting!

 

 

More from the Vatican museaum.

 

 

This is outside at the conclusion of our Vatican tour.

 

[CyberTag]

Our next stop after the Vatican was the Coliseum. Jany had given us a link on pre-purchasing tickets, so this saved time. Mauro dropped us off as close as cars could get, and then walked us right to the entrance, bypassing the very long line to get in!

 

You can see him in this photo with his paper in the air so we wouldn't lose him.

 

 

He told us where to meet him in 40 minutes, which was plenty of time to walk around. It was EXTREMELY hot and very crowded so we were ready to get back into the van after the 40 minutes.

 

 

Inside of the Coliseum.

 

 

By the time we stopped for lunch, we were all famished and dehydrated! Another benefit of doing this tour is that they take you to a local restaurant for lunch with authentic food.

 

 

 

Our driver had made a reservation for the 8 of us and told them to serve quickly as we only had 45 minutes (still a lot on the menu to see). There was a ton of stuff on the restaurant menu, but we all ended up ordering pizza, which was very good! One thing about being in Spain and Italy that took some getting used to is that there is a charge for water in the restaurants, and it is all brought to you in a bottle (not a pitcher). We got a giggle when we ordered water and the waiter asked “with gas or without.” Guess that’s what happens when you have boys.

[CyberTag]

Next we visited the Parthenon, the Trevi Fountain, and slowly drove by the Spanish Steps.

 

This is the outside of the Parthenon.

 

 

Inside the Parthenon there is a hole in the dome. Rumor has it that rain never comes inside.

 

 

Mauro taught us the proper way to throw our coins into the Trevi Fountain so hopefully it will bring us luck and someday we will return. The Trevi Fountain was not what I expected. I thought it would be in more of an open area and it seemed enclosed and small, maybe it was the crowds?

 

 

 

There was nowhere to stop the van and get out for the Spanish Steps, so we just drove near them and took photos.

 

 

After a very long day, Mauro drove us back to the ship. It was a very quiet drive. I think many of us dozed and took naps. We were back to the ship in plenty of time (before 6:00 pm) and exhausted. After looking at the MDR menu, we opted to eat dinner in the WJ that evening.

[CyberTag]

Day 10 – La Spezia (Florence/Pisa), Italy

Unfortunately, La Spezia was a tender port for us. We arrived in port at 7:00 am, but the staff had a difficult time getting everything set up so passengers could get off the ship. Passengers did not start unloading until close to 8:00 am. The tender ports is actually one major area of disappointment for us with RCCL since passengers with a cruise sponsored excursion are given priority in getting off the ship. We had booked our 2nd tour with Rome-in-Limo to take us to Pisa and Lucca. We were unable to find any other passengers to join us, so we booked a 6 person van for the 5 of us. The evening before arriving in La Spezia, the following was listed in the Cruise Compass:

 

“If you are not participating in a shore excursion and would like to go ashore before open tendering is called, you’ll need a complimentary numbered tender ticket. These tickets are available from 8:30 am – 10:30 am in the Centrum on Deck 6.“

 

After reading the above, we went to the shore excursion desk and spoke with the Assistant Shore Excursion Manager. He told us that those doing a “ship sponsored excursion would be given tender priority.” We explained to him that we have a private excursion planned and are scheduled to be picked up at 8:00 am. He said, “tender tickets are not being distributed until 8:30” and we would not be getting off the ship until after that time. We explained to him that that would not be acceptable since when we tendered in Split, Croatia, we received a tender ticket before the posted beginning time and received tender number 17. It took nearly 2 hours after the initial tender left before our number was called. We asked if there was any way to see if there would be room on an earlier tender with those with ship sponsored excursions and he said, “No. We would need to receive a tender ticket that they were handing out after 8:30 a.m. The only way we could get off the ship early was if we purchased a ship excursion.” We again informed him we already had a private excursion planned in this port, and he said then we would need to get a tender ticket and that distribution would be after 8:30. After speaking with a few other cruise passengers that had the same issue, we were told by another passenger to show up at deck 2 in the morning and talk to the activity directors (the ones running the tenders). When we arrived in the morning, the activity director staff was very accommodating and did work us into the tender rotation. Their professional handling of the matter is what we come to expect from RCCL. They listened to our concerns and found an appropriate solution, unlike the Shore Excursion staff. Those with private excursions booked, and who were waiting on deck 2, were fitted in on a space availability basis with the early tenders. We were off the ship by 8:30 and in the van with our driver “Clara” by 8:45 am. When we got off the tender, we were surprised at how many of the “independent drivers waiting for their guests” were women. We did not see any women drivers in Rome and were excited to get another perspective from a tour guide.

Clara was EXTREMELY friendly and very down to earth! Her English was very easy to understand and it was so easy to carry on a conversation with her. She really was a delight! She told us what she had planned for us for the day and asked us if there was anything not mentioned that we wanted to do. We had told her about our tour in Rome the previous day and were looking for something a little more laidback as it was a long and exhausting day. She said when she received the email to be our driver, she was so happy that we were going to Lucca and not Florence. She said Florence is lovely, but it’s a long drive and Lucca is often overlooked. It is a beautiful city as well and she wishes more people would visit it. She was absolutely right about Lucca!

 

Our first stop was Pisa, which was about 45 minutes from the port. Clara dropped us off and told us she frequents one of the cafes so if we have to use the ‘toilet’ before viewing the tower, she would take us inside. This was very nice since there is a charge for all of the water closets. We walked around Pisa for around 40 minutes, taking the usual photos holding up the tower and trying to push it down.

 

 

If you’re planning on stopping in Pisa, you can pre-purchase a ticket to go up to the top of the leaning tower. We heard it is very steep and hot inside (no a/c), so we chose not to climb the tower. After walking around the tower, we met back up with Clara who then walked us around the City of Pisa explaining many of the buildings, churches and sites.

 

 

This buidling was in Pisa and it was beautiful. The stone had beautiful carvings.

 

 

She showed us where the locals shop, and we stopped at a local ‘gelato’ place which was one of the best gelatos we had during this trip. It was actually one of the cheapest too! This was all within walking distance from the tower!

 

[CyberTag]

Pisa Continued:

 

After touring Pisa, we all headed back to the van and made our way to Lucca, which was about a 45 minute drive. On our way to Lucca, Clara mentioned renting bikes to ride around the wall and town. We told her we had researched it and were very interested. Lucca is much like Venice in that it is very difficult to drive there. Most people walk, are on bike, or a scooter. Clara drove us around the city of Lucca, pointing out different places and then parked the van near the bike shop. She gave us a map, and then took us to the bike shop to help us with the rental since the shop owner did not speak very much English. The bikes were 3 euros per hr, very affordable. She then sent us on our way...

 

 

 

 

 

Ken is the one who took the majority of the photos. Finally got a photo of him!

 

 

 

Riding the bikes was a highlight for us. The wall was not very crowded and it was a refreshing change from being around a ton of people and/or sitting in a bus or van. The entire ride around did not take very long and was about 2.5 miles. There are many paths to pull off and go into town, but we chose to make the ride around before heading into town.

 

Once we made our way around the wall, we were all hungry and decided to find some place to eat. We parked our bikes and found a restaurant in the town square.

 

 

We ended up ordering some local wine with our lunch, which was very good, 2 pizzas which were large enough to share, and Ken’s dad ordered a flatbread sandwich which was delicious.

 

This pizza was very good and enough for 2 to share.

 

[CyberTag]

Pisa/Lucca Continued:

 

After lunch we walked around Lucca, but unfortunately all of the shops were closed for “siesta.” We weren’t meeting Clara until 4:00 pm so had some time to kill walking around. It was hot and we were all getting tired, so we felt like we were walking in circles! We did find a gelato place that was open and of course had to give it a try!

 

I was so excited when I found this place. I was looking for one that sold white chocolate gelato to try and they actually had it! I had my translation list out so we were able to translate the flavors.

 

 

Clara somehow ended up finding us (I told you she was great!) so we were able to hop back in the van (and a/c!) early. We had mentioned that we wanted to try some local wine, and she said there was a shop very nearby that did tasting. Ken, the kids, and I went to check it out. Ken’s dad was hot and exhausted so chose to stay in the van.

The shop owner was the nicest lady and let us try several different wines as well as Lemoncello and olive oil! We asked her about a good Chianti, and she opened a bottle for us to try! Of course we had to buy some of her local wine to bring back home with us! It’s amazing how inexpensive their wine is; it’s actually cheaper to buy a glass of wine at a restaurant than a bottle of water! We found our way back to the van where Clara was waiting for us with ice cold bottles of water! We were all very grateful and guzzled it down!

 

Clara drove us back to the ship, and we arrived in plenty of time before the scheduled 7:00 pm departure. The ship did not end up leaving until close to 8:00 pm as they were waiting for one of the ship tours to return from Florence.

 

Here is a view of the ship as we took the tender back.

 

[CyberTag]

Day 11 – Monte Carlo, Monaco

We were in Monaco for the day and decided to explore on our own. We docked around 7:00 am and decided to eat breakfast in the Windjammer and then be off the ship by 9:00 am to explore. We walked to the casino so the boys could check out all the expensive cars, and expensive they were! Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Mercedes were everywhere! One of the waiters in the WJ had told us that they have brand new Mercedes as taxis, and he wasn’t joking! It was fun checking out the cars.

 

 

 

 

We did not even try to go inside the casino since (a) we were told there was a 10 euro per person charge and (b) you had to be ‘properly’ dressed.

This is the casino.

 

Before heading back to the ship, we headed up the hill to check out the souvenir shops. It probably was about an hour walk from the casino to the shops up a very steep hill, but the weather wasn’t too hot and the scenery was gorgeous. Plus, everything was sooo clean! On the way we found a local grocery store to explore and buy some last minute food souvenirs. The people in Monaco speak French, but many of them also speak English so we had very little problems communicating. The only incident we had here was while looking at t-shirts inside one of the shops. We picked up a “folded” shirt in a stack to look at the design, and the shop owner came right over and told us “if we need a size to let her know. All sample designs are outside.” This was something we weren’t use to nor did we know that’s how they do things there. Our ship was leaving port at 1:00 pm so we headed back since we had to pack for early debarkation the next day. At first we were disappointed that we had such a short visit in Monaco, but it really was long enough for us. We were back on the ship by 12:20 … just in time for our last lunch!

[CyberTag]

Monaco ... Continued:

 

We decided to eat our last lunch in the Sea View Café. I had been wanting to try the Reuben sandwich and order the onion rings again since they were so good when we tried them earlier in the cruise. Sadly, they were out of the onion rings. The Reuben sandwich was very good, and I was glad I finally got to try it.

 

Dinner in the MDR that night was the best from the whole trip! Sadly, if you want to order lobster the menu said it was $28 but not sure since I wasn’t about to pay for it. We were all used to getting it free in the MDR while on Caribbean cruises. Dinner for us that evening was giant shrimp in a scampi type sauce. It was very good and not overcooked Dessert was to die for … a hot lava type chocolate cake which went wonderful with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream!

 

 

After dinner, we packed up all of our belongings, and set out our large pieces of luggage by 11 pm.

 

Day 12 – Back to Barcelona and Home

All good things must come to an end… It was a wonderful 12 day cruise and unfortunately could not go on forever. They would have to roll us off the ship if it did! The Serenade of the Seas is a beautiful ship and full of glass everywhere, which makes it easy to look out at the ocean and scenery.

 

 

We had a 10:45 am flight home so had scheduled our driver with autosvilar to pick us up at 8:00 am. Our scheduled time to get off the ship was 7:30 and our number was actually called 15 minutes ahead of schedule! We were off the ship and waiting for the driver by 7:45. Debarkation was very quick, and we just had to pick up our luggage ... No paperwork to fill out. Custom and Immigration was all done at the airport. Paperwork for customs was given to us on our connecting flight back into the states.

 

And now the nightmare begins....

[cruising twosome]

Thank u for a wonderful review, brought back so many great memories of our trip on the Brillance 5 years ago and a trip to Italy 12 years ago. Good job!

[CyberTag]

Getting Home

On the flight from Barcelona to Newark, NJ we were given one custom form per family to complete. When we got off the plane, we had to go through customs, pick up our luggage in baggage claim, switch terminals, drop off our luggage for our remaining flights home to California, and clear security. We had a 2 hour connection and this was cutting it close! We got through it all with no problem and went to our gate for our flight to Chicago which was boarding.

 

And the fun continues,,, the gate attendant told us all overhead bins were full and all of our carry-ons would need to be checked. This was our first clue that from here on our things may not go smoothly. These carry-ons had extra clothes and other essentials in case we got stuck somewhere. Reluctantly, we each gate checked our bags and boarded the 2 hour flight to Chicago. The plane pulled away from the gate and we waited, and waited, and waited.... For 3 hours! the captain was wonderful about giving us updates, which we really appreciated. Apparently the delay was due to a thunderstorm and no flights were departing from La Guardia, Newark, or JFK. Thankfully we had a 4.5 hour layover in Chicago for our flight home to Sacramento. Or, we thought that would be long enough!

 

After being on the tarmac for 3 hours, the captain drove us back to the gate. We were told not to wander off too far. We bought some food, used the restroom, and we're back on the plane within the hour ... Waiting in line on the tarmac with all the other delayed flights to depart.

 

We landed in Chicago in less than 2 hours after take-off, still with 30 minutes to make our connection! However, because we were soooo late, there were no gates available for us so again we waited, and waited, and watched our flight to Sacramento drive right by us so we could take the gate it had pulled out from! Ugh.... We were not looking forward to what was ahead since we knew the airport would be a mess with all of the delayed flights! It was now 9:30 pm, and we were exhausted. Remember, we had just gotten off an 8 hr flight from Barcelona and were also dealing with a 7 hour time difference (so it was 4 am to us)!

 

Ken and I stood in the United Airlines very long customer service line for I don't know how long. When we neared the front, we were directed to a gate counter where the agent spent the next 90 minutes (no joke) trying to find available flights to get us home. She was able to book us on flights home, but we were all split up on different flights! There were no more flights out that evening so we were stuck at the airport. By the time she was done working with us, it was close to midnight! Exhaustion was beyond what we were. We planted ourselves at a gate and tried to sleep.

 

 

 

The boys got a few hours, and the rest of us dozed on and off. The cleaning crew are noisy! Not much else was going on in the middle of the night as flights aren't coming and going, and restaurants and shops are closed. One of the cleaning crew was soooo nice. She saw the passengers sleeping and cold, and brought each of us a United Airlines blanket. It was a wonderful gesture.

 

 

Ken wasn't able to sleep, so he wandered around the empty Chicago airport taking photos. Not very often you get to be inside an empty Chicago airport.

 

 

 

 

The next morning, josh and I saw there was a direct flight to Sacramento

at 9:30 am. The rest of our group had to be on their flight to San Francisco at that time and didn't want to chance losing their seats. We explained the situation to the gate agent and he must have taken pity on us. He bumped us to the head of the standby list and guaranteed we would be on that flight! YEA!!! When that plane landed in Sacramento, Josh and I were sooooo happy to be home. We felt bad for the other 3 who were just landing in San Francisco and still had to get home. It was 1:30 pm PST (10:30 pm Barcelona time, and I don't know how many hours we had been awake!). My mom was sweet enough to cancel her plans for the day and pick up the 3 guys from San Francisco. We were all home by 3:30! We were all just thankful this fiasco happened on the end of our trip and not the beginning. It was a wonderful vacation, despite the weather fiasco in Newark. It's definitely a trip we will all remember and so grateful we were able to experience it as a family!

[CyberTag]

Thank you CyberTag. Did you have safe?

 

I like that you did your own thing in Barcelona. We are planning on the HOHO bus. I have been told to pay a little more and take the line that cost most. Because of the cost, and there will not be any lines. With only two of us, the cost is affordable. Can't wait to read more of your review :).

 

Not sure if you are asking if we felt safe or had a safe in the apartment. Yes to both. There is a safe in the apartment. We never felt unsafe while walking around Barcelona. We made sure we were aware of our surroundings and avoided being in the middle of large crowds.

[CyberTag]

Thank u for a wonderful review, brought back so many great memories of our trip on the Brillance 5 years ago and a trip to Italy 12 years ago. Good job!

 

Thank you!

[baggal]

Great review!

[CyberTag]

Thank you for you review and beautiful pictures. I especially love the ones taken in the market. Where is this market located. We are taking the city tour with the cruise line and hope this is near one of our stops.

 

Are you referring to the market in Barcelona on Las Ramblas? It's right on Las Ramblas... you can't miss it!