My VERY late review of our Eastern Mediterranean cruise onboard the Navigator!

[Ireallyneedavacation]

Thanks for posting this. We've done 3 Caribbean cruises and are debating one in Europe... so I'm thankful for this late review that caught my interest.

 

 

Thank you for reading! You must do a cruise out of Europe! You won't regret it. It was the best trip of my life! I relive it almost every day and wish I could go back! I have been blessed to be able to travel, and hopefully, will be able to do another out of another European port next year! If you decide to do one, let me know!

[Ireallyneedavacation]

Okay, I must admit that I now know what I have done with posting my pictures. I wouldn't admit it, but I want others to know, so it doesn't happen to them. I am not a techy person. I know enough about things to be dangerous, and I have no problem trying things without knowing if it will work or not. I have never used Photobucket or posted pictures on Cruise Critic until now. So, after posting to CC out of my "library" in PB, I decided that I needed to organize my pictures, to make things easier. Don't do this!! It changes your link, removing your pictures! Yes, I deduced this on my on. I told you I was dangerous! Needless to say, I will be organizing before I post from now on! I hope this clears things up, and I will repost some of those picture that I really have deleted (accidentally)!

Joanna

[lah66]

Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I love that you can get lost, get wet, run into walls while biking, have your feet swell up like melons and still have a great time!

We want to cruise in Europe in Fall 2015 for our 25th anniversary. I think we will have to wait at least 6 months, if not longer, for those itineraries to come out, so in the meantime I have bought Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports book. How did you ever decide which cruise to take? My favorites so far are the current Carnival itineraries since they embark/disembark in Venice and Barcelona so you get an opportunity to extend your trip on both ends, plus there is an overnight in Venice. We are not tied to one certain cruiseline which makes the decision even more difficult!

Again, thank you for the great review...and you have not even boarded the ship yet! Lauri

[Ireallyneedavacation]

Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I love that you can get lost, get wet, run into walls while biking, have your feet swell up like melons and still have a great time!

We want to cruise in Europe in Fall 2015 for our 25th anniversary. I think we will have to wait at least 6 months, if not longer, for those itineraries to come out, so in the meantime I have bought Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports book. How did you ever decide which cruise to take? My favorites so far are the current Carnival itineraries since they embark/disembark in Venice and Barcelona so you get an opportunity to extend your trip on both ends, plus there is an overnight in Venice. We are not tied to one certain cruiseline which makes the decision even more difficult!

Again, thank you for the great review...and you have not even boarded the ship yet! Lauri

 

You are welcome! How did I decided? Well, I didn't think we were going to stay as long as we did, so I wanted a 7 day cruise. Carnival doens't offer 7 day cruises, so we narrowed it down to RCC. Also, to make it easier on my other co-workers (and they do the same for me), I try not to take off between the 6th and 13th working days. This narrowed it down more. I also wanted to see lots of different countries, so I chose this one. Not until we booked did I look at my calendar to see that we could fit a lot more in, based on my work schedule! I knew I wanted to go to Venice, and I had heard amazing things about Florence. I had watched Rick Steve's Amalfi Coast on TV, so I wanted to add that as well. I am not disappointed that we did any of it....well, except maybe the bike tours! You need to do it! As for the schedules, I know Norwegian has theirs out through April 2015. RCC and Carnival don't even have their 2014 schedules out yet. I am waiting on those to decide which one to take next year! My oldest sister (Corrie's mother) has never travelled outside the country. She always could come up with an excuse on why she couldn't go....usually because her high school son has some kind of practice or game. She is also a school teacher and is the senior sponsor, so that limited her time as well. Well, her son graduates in May of 2014, so I am planning June of 2014! I asked her again the other day if she was still planning to go, and she said she was! I have already gotten Katie on board as well. We are hoping to get our other sister and mother to join us too! Planning is half the fun, along with the anticipation! I don't blame you for buying Rick Steve's books. I have so many travel books, I could open my own travel library!

Edited February 24, 2013 by Ireallyneedavacation

[Ireallyneedavacation]

More scenic views along the way....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ireallyneedavacation]

Scenic view of Amalfi...

 

 

 

 

Amalfi....BEAUTIFUL!

 

 

 

[Ireallyneedavacation]

 

Amalfi Cathedral...After all of the steps we had taken the past week, we decided to forgo all of these.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ireallyneedavacation]

 

 

 

Amalfi is beautiful! As in Positano, we had about 45 minutes here. We just walked around, did a little shopping and took it all in!

[Ireallyneedavacation]

Our next stop was lunch on the way to Ravello. It was delicious. It was only us and one other couple in the entire restaurant. This was part of our view.....

 

 

 

 

Our one and only taste of Lemoncello.....we weren't fans!

 

 

Our final stop before making our way back to Naples to catch the train, Ravello....

 

 

 

[Ireallyneedavacation]

 

 

This is Katie.....Just kidding!

 

Well, that's it for our adventure down the Amalfi Coast. We had a wonderful day, in part due to Sorrento First Choice. If you want to explore the area for a few days or just have one day on a cruise stop, they will make it much easier for you! The vans were clean and both drivers gave us information on where we were going an what we were seeing! They were also very affordable.

On to Rome!

[JsBs81]

Keep up the great work, please! Can't believe how hooked I am and you are not even on the ship yet.

[Ireallyneedavacation]

Keep up the great work, please! Can't believe how hooked I am and you are not even on the ship yet.

 

Thank you! I am enjoying reliving it!

[Ireallyneedavacation]

We got to Rome very late and went straight to our hotel. We stayed at the Albergo Cesari. It is in a good central location. It was very nice and again, like all of our other hotels, very roomy for 3. I forgot to take pictures of the inside, but I do have this one of the outside.

 

 

After checking in and freshing up, our goal was to find something quick to eat. Even with the excitement of being in Rome, we were just very tire and very hungry. We had no idea where to find food, so we just chose a direction to walk. What did we find? Subway AND PEPSI LITE!! Apparently, Europe has not yet discovered Diet Pepsi, because this was the only time we found it! We bought sandwiches, took them back to the room, Skyped home and went to bed. We had a big day on Saturday, a full day walking tour of Rome with a couple from Cruise Critic and a night Segway tour. On a side note.....If you haven't ever used Skype, you need to learn. Before leaving home, I put $10 on my account. We called back to the states at least 5 times, talking for several minutes, and we did not use the entire $10. You do need WiFi, but all the hotels where we stayed had it. It was included in the cost of the room. We did have to ask for the passwords at a couple, so if they don't offer them, ask!

 

Saturday, May 26th

I had been communicating with Toni on Cruise Critic for several months pre cruise. She and her husband were from Canada and taking this cruise for their honeymoon. I had told her about the full day walking tour that we were taking with Private Tour of Rome, and they decided to join us. They met us at our hotel, and we all went together to meet our tour guide Tanguy at the metro station exit in front of the Colosseum. First up on our sites to visit...The Colosseum!

 

And our group grows!

 

 

 

 

[Ireallyneedavacation]

We then walked over to the Roman Forum...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I love that you can get lost, get wet, run into walls while biking, have your feet swell up like melons and still have a great time!

We want to cruise in Europe in Fall 2015 for our 25th anniversary. I think we will have to wait at least 6 months, if not longer, for those itineraries to come out, so in the meantime I have bought Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports book. How did you ever decide which cruise to take? My favorites so far are the current Carnival itineraries since they embark/disembark in Venice and Barcelona so you get an opportunity to extend your trip on both ends, plus there is an overnight in Venice. We are not tied to one certain cruiseline which makes the decision even more difficult!

Again, thank you for the great review...and you have not even boarded the ship yet! Lauri

 

Hey Laurie!

 

Just saw your post & thought it was too funny... I just downloaded the same Rick Steve's book to my iPad to start researching for our 2014 Mediterranean cruise for our best friends 30th anniversary. We're having the same dilemma choosing. East, west, back to back 7 nighters, 12 or 13 nights. There are too many choices and too many ports. But if we're spending the $ to fly that far it will be a minimum of a 14-16 day trip.

 

Cindy

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Ireallyneedavacation]

 

We then walked over to the Trevi Fountain...

 

 

 

Corrie tossing her coin....

 

Of course I tossed my coins....over the course of the day, 3 to be exact! I wanted to make it back to Rome. I wanted a new romance, and I wanted marriage. (Apparently, I tossed them wrongly!)

[Ireallyneedavacation]

We then made our way to the Pantheon....

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Melozone]

I'm so glad you are posting this review, great job. It is under 100 days until we fly to Rome. We are spending four days there and then sailing. We are taking our two granddaughters with us, 11 & 13.

 

Did you use a tour-guide in the colosseum and the Forum? Did you walk all the way thru the Forum? We are using Romeinlimo for our tour but they don't go inside with you. We also have limited walking ability with my husband. He will push as hard as he can but I don't want him to suffer.....he will never let you see him sweat.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your trip.....oh and the pictures are lovely!

[Ireallyneedavacation]

Then on to Capitaline Hill....

 

 

 

 

 

After Capitaline Hill, Tanguy took us to a wonderful little restaurant for lunch. If I had known I was going to do this review, I would have written down the name....and the name of many other restaurants. Sorry! Once lunch was done, he arranged two taxis to take us to the Vatican. There we were meeting our afternoon guide, Bruno. Now, we were somewhat disappointed that Tanguy was leaving us. In the Colosseum, he explained everything we saw, and brought it to life. In the Forum, he brought a book along that showed us how everything looked when the Forum was at its peak. At fountains, he explained who carved them and the stories behind them. We were disappointed....until Bruno started our tour of the Vatican!

 

Here we are with Tanguy at the Vatican right before Bruno came to continue our tour...

 

[Ireallyneedavacation]

Here we are with Tanguy right before Bruno showed to continue our tour....

[dln929]

Just wonderful, Joanna. You're bringing an amazing country to life with your narrative and photos. It's clear that you love Italy and she loves you back. I think your three tossed coins into the fountain will definitely bring you back!!

[Ireallyneedavacation]

I'm so glad you are posting this review, great job. It is under 100 days until we fly to Rome. We are spending four days there and then sailing. We are taking our two granddaughters with us, 11 & 13.

 

Did you use a tour-guide in the colosseum and the Forum? Did you walk all the way thru the Forum? We are using Romeinlimo for our tour but they don't go inside with you. We also have limited walking ability with my husband. He will push as hard as he can but I don't want him to suffer.....he will never let you see him sweat.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your trip.....oh and the pictures are lovely!

 

 

Yes, we did have guides through Private Tour of Rome. Bruno the guide that did our Vatican tour also has his own company, Bruno Tours. If I were you, I would not use Rome in Limo to drive from one destination to another. I would spend the money on the tour guides. Since your husband has limited walking ability, I would do the Colosseum and Forum one day and the Vatican the next. You will be standing a very long time in the Vatican. Each tour is a half day, we just combined the two and did one full day. The guide will go at your pace, since it will be just you and your group. Your husband can sit and rest if needed. If we did not walk through the entire Forum, I would have never known! I believe we did! The tour for the entire day for the 5 of us was 400 Euro. Plus, we prepurchased our tickets for the Vatican for 19 Euro each. I could not imagine just going through the Colosseum, Forum and the Vatican alone. It would be so overwhelming! I hope you and your family have fun!

 

Oh, and thank you!

Edited February 26, 2013 by Ireallyneedavacation

[Ireallyneedavacation]

Just wonderful, Joanna. You're bringing an amazing country to life with your narrative and photos. It's clear that you love Italy and she loves you back. I think your three tossed coins into the fountain will definitely bring you back!!

 

Thank you, Deirdre! I do love Italy and think everyone should visit. Everywhere you turn, there is something else amazing to see!Hopefully, I will be back next year!

I will continue with the Vatican tomorrow.

[jessicalorene]

I'm so glad you are posting this review, great job. It is under 100 days until we fly to Rome. We are spending four days there and then sailing. We are taking our two granddaughters with us, 11 & 13.

 

Did you use a tour-guide in the colosseum and the Forum? Did you walk all the way thru the Forum? We are using Romeinlimo for our tour but they don't go inside with you. We also have limited walking ability with my husband. He will push as hard as he can but I don't want him to suffer.....he will never let you see him sweat.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your trip.....oh and the pictures are lovely!

 

Yay you are the trip right after mine! We leave on the same cruise on the 2nd :) Have fun !

[redned09]

Loving all the pictures.....my excitement is growing;)