Carnival Cruiser Sails Royal Caribbean ~ Navigator to Italy, France, Spain ~ 10/28/12

[Merion_Mom]

Those guys are one of the biggest scams in Rome, watch scam city & you will see. Most of it is tied to the mafia.

 

Actually, they have nothing to do with the mafia.

 

A scam is in the eye of the beholder, in this case. Sure, they want money, but this is what their job is. Would you expect them to dress up and stand out there in the open for NOTHING? Of course they want you do pay them.

[BillOh]

Actually, they have nothing to do with the mafia.

 

A scam is in the eye of the beholder, in this case. Sure, they want money, but this is what their job is. Would you expect them to dress up and stand out there in the open for NOTHING? Of course they want you do pay them.

 

Those were pretty cool pictures, I have no idea what the cost was in dollars. As long as they aren't pushy likes the ones in Cozumel lately.

[joand452]

Actually, they have nothing to do with the mafia.

 

A scam is in the eye of the beholder, in this case. Sure, they want money, but this is what their job is. Would you expect them to dress up and stand out there in the open for NOTHING? Of course they want you do pay them.

 

I love those photos, too! Was that 10 euros for each guy or 10 for each of you girls?

 

I generally try to steer clear of giving people money to take a picture, but after seeing these and Trainman-2's pictures with the sloth, I may change my mind!

[gapearl]

Those guys are one of the biggest scams in Rome, watch scam city & you will see. Most of it is tied to the mafia.

 

I doubt that. No way I would have known anyways.

 

Actually, they have nothing to do with the mafia.

 

A scam is in the eye of the beholder, in this case. Sure, they want money, but this is what their job is. Would you expect them to dress up and stand out there in the open for NOTHING? Of course they want you do pay them.

 

I agree. I've traveled all over, and you find guys (and some girls) dressed as characters everywhere, including right here in the US.

[gapearl]

Those were pretty cool pictures, I have no idea what the cost was in dollars. As long as they aren't pushy likes the ones in Cozumel lately.

 

Thanks. No, they weren't pushy at all. Actually they didn't have to ask anyone at all to take a picture. People were coming up to them after watching the previous people having fun and getting their pictures taken.

 

I love those photos, too! Was that 10 euros for each guy or 10 for each of you girls?

 

I generally try to steer clear of giving people money to take a picture, but after seeing these and Trainman-2's pictures with the sloth, I may change my mind!

 

We paid 10 euros each per girl. I normally don't pay to take a picture either, but I'm glad Jackie talked me in to this one. I love those pictures.

[gapearl]

So I left off last time leaving The Vatican.

 

After exiting through the secret door, thanks to the help of my new guard friend, we headed over to get our tickets to climb the stairs to the top of St. Peter's Basilica. If you want to climb all 500+ stairs, it's 5 euros. If you want a little assistance, for 7 euros, you can take an elevator and bypass the first 200 stairs. PAY THE 7 EUROS. :cool:

 

I don't care how good of shape you think you're in, that climb is a beast! You might want to bring a small bottle of water with you. Everyone is sweating by the time they make it all the way to the top.

 

After about 100 stairs, we got a bit of a break. We had to cut across this balcony area of the church to get to the next set of stairs, so we paused for a few pics.

 

 

 

Keep going Jackie!

 

 

The climb is mostly on a spiral staircase and it's very narrow. You might get dizzy and even a little claustrophobic. Hopefully you won't be behind someone not wearing deodorant like I was. :eek: But when you make it to the top, the view is all worth it!

 

Edited November 7, 2012 by gapearl

[gapearl]

More views from the top.

 

 

 

I'm "glistening" from the climb.

 

 

 

We stayed up here about 20 minutes and then headed back down.

 

See how narrow the stairs are?

 

 

Video of the journey down.

 

[jobell]

See how narrow the stairs are?

 

 

 

holy crap!!! it would probably take me all day to climb down for fear of falling and causing a domino effect with the people ahead of me. :o

[gapearl]

When we finally exited the building, it was 3:00 pm sharp. I had no idea that it was time for the changing of the Swiss guard, but I was glad our timing was so perfect.

 

Video.

 

 

And pictures.

 

 

 

I want to say this is where mass is held on Sundays by the Pope for visitors.

 

 

Wednesday mornings, the Pope offers a blessing to the crowd from one of these windows.

 

 

I wish I could have experienced one or both!

 

There's a post office as you exit St. Peter's where you can buy postcards and stamps and mail them home from right there. Jackie picked up a few.

 

After all that, we were famished. We found a restaurant and took advantage of the menu del dia, or menu of the day. For a set price, about 15 euros, you get bread, an appetizer, entree, dessert, and wine.

 

 

I had spaghetti, roast chicken with potatoes, and tiramisu.

 

I'm not much of a fan of tiramisu, but I was in Italy and had to have some.

 

 

We people watched and talked with a couple of locals next to us. After eating, we stopped in a few souvenir shops and then stated walking down the street to the Castel Sant'Angelo.

[tikif6]

Just caught up! Great review kimberly! Keep it going. The more pictures the better. I love long detailed reviews like trainman's & HostFaith.

 

I can't wait to see more pics and your views between RCL and Carnival. I've been on NCL and RCL and price wise I can find some great deals to go on Carnival but I'm always hesitant to. Maybe one day I will try.

[gapearl]

We used our Roma Pass to get entry into the Castel. This was an unexpected stop and we hadn't planned on using it here, but it was no big deal. Admission would have been around 9 euros. There's not much to see here. When you get to the top, you have some amazing views of the city for pictures, but that's about it.

 

 

There's a restaurant on premises where you can eat and have this view.

 

 

 

There's St. Peter's in the background. I still can't believe I made it all the way to the top.

 

 

Beautiful sunset!

 

 

Of course, I took a video.

 

[hollon]

Very much looking forward to your review. We'll be taking our first Royal cruise in October 2013 and have only cruised Carnival to date. Excited to read your thoughts, etc.

 

Welcome home! :)

The water is so clear/beautiful, can you tell me where you were?

[mrsfecura]

So glad I saw this! I'm not finished reading thru yet but I too love renting apartments rather than staying in a hotel whenever I can! And I'm doing a Med cruise next year so I'm SO onboard for getting into your review! Glad to have you over here on the RC boards!!!

[gapearl]

The Castel Sant'Angelo lit up at night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent about 45 minutes here and then headed out in search of a drink. I discovered this really good sweet red wine called brachetto. I must have loved it because I had 3 glasses. I love interacting with locals when I travel. We had conversation with this one guy about some of everything- Amanda Knox (the American girl who was jailed in Italy for allegedly killing her roommate; he said everyone in Italy thought she was guilty), how he eats McDonald's once a year, that Italians don't use microwaves, etc.

 

We got back to the apartment a little late this evening after a long, eventful, amazing day.

 

 

Coming up later: the rest of Rome so I can finally get on to the cruise!

[clochette]

What a great review, I cannot wait to read more. Thanks

[lisa414ny]

Fantastic so far! I'm very much looking forward to reading more :-)

[miepanda316]

I must say that I'm absolutely LURVING your review! :D I love how you've interacted with the locals. Europe/Med cruise is on my IhopeIwilldothisoneday list.

[jobell]

The water is so clear/beautiful, can you tell me where you were?

 

Hi!!!

 

This is in Half Moon Cay. It is my favorite port as of right now. lol. ;)

[gapearl]

holy crap!!! it would probably take me all day to climb down for fear of falling and causing a domino effect with the people ahead of me. :o

 

LOL it's so narrow and tight, believe me you wouldn't go too far.

 

Just caught up! Great review kimberly! Keep it going. The more pictures the better. I love long detailed reviews like trainman's & HostFaith.

 

I can't wait to see more pics and your views between RCL and Carnival. I've been on NCL and RCL and price wise I can find some great deals to go on Carnival but I'm always hesitant to. Maybe one day I will try.

 

Thanks for reading! I'd say give Carnival a try. I know people have said bad things about them on the RC boards, but I've also read bad things about RC on the Carnival boards. I once read a review from someone on one of my sailings and it was as if we were on two different cruises. He had a lot of negatives, and I had a lot of positives. I think a lot of people try Carnival after hearing bad things and start looking for something wrong. Take it all with a grain of salt and have an open mind to trying something new. You just might like it! Check out my review from my Valor cruise. If this doesn't convince you that you can have a good time on a Carnival cruise, nothing will! ;)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=30813274

[gapearl]

The water is so clear/beautiful, can you tell me where you were?

 

Hi!!!

 

This is in Half Moon Cay. It is my favorite port as of right now. lol. ;)

 

I also love Half Moon Cay! :)

[gapearl]

So glad I saw this! I'm not finished reading thru yet but I too love renting apartments rather than staying in a hotel whenever I can! And I'm doing a Med cruise next year so I'm SO onboard for getting into your review! Glad to have you over here on the RC boards!!!

 

Thanks for the welcome! Renting an apartment was new for me. I usually stay at bed & breakfasts, another good option. Where is your Mediterranean cruise going?

 

What a great review, I cannot wait to read more. Thanks

 

Thanks for reading! I'm working on the next installment now.

[gapearl]

Fantastic so far! I'm very much looking forward to reading more :-)

 

Thanks Lisa! Much more to come!

 

I must say that I'm absolutely LURVING your review! :D I love how you've interacted with the locals. Europe/Med cruise is on my IhopeIwilldothisoneday list.

 

Thanks for the nice words! I hope you get to do a Mediterranean cruise too one day. It's a beautiful area and you'd love it.

[jvalastro]

Hi! Thanks for the awesome review so far! Looking forward to more. We are going on a very similar itinerary next summer except we are on the Liberty of the Seas, and we are going to Naples instead of Genoa!

[alligeek]

Fantastic review! You both look like you're having a blast. :) Thanks for posting this--I can't wait for the rest.

[gapearl]

Hi! Thanks for the awesome review so far! Looking forward to more. We are going on a very similar itinerary next summer except we are on the Liberty of the Seas, and we are going to Naples instead of Genoa!

 

Glad you're enjoying! Naples sounds like a better choice than Genoa. There wasn't much to do there.

 

Fantastic review! You both look like you're having a blast. :) Thanks for posting this--I can't wait for the rest.

 

Thanks, we did have a blast! Much more to come!