EPIC 7-Night Mediterranean Rome Roundtrip - Photo Review!

[millineumwoman]

Any dailies??

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[LittleMissMagic]

Sheesh, you guys are crazy about some dailies, and I understand why. With traditional cruising, you never really have to worry about missing a show because of dinner. But with Freestyle, you could book Cirque one night and then realize the night before that it was the same time as the Not So Newlywed show which you really wanted to see.

 

I'll try to post dailies tomorrow, but no promises - I've gone back to work and have been hardcore hitting the gym, so I haven't had a lot of free time lately.

[karoo]

You're doing a fantastic job! I've got time to be patient as I don't go until July 3rd, so I'm happy to wait. So far I've learnt Barcelona is Lobster night. The first (only sea day) is dress up or not night. You can embark from 11am when embarking in Rome. The Solo Traveller organiser is not overly competent. Disembark by approx 9.30 (10 at the latest.)

 

Understand you being busy-whenever I'm back from a holiday, it's straight back to work, making up for the time I've missed, extra exercise working off that buffet etc. I'm always amazed that people even find time to post reports post cruise!

 

Loving your reports!:)

[Winnigirl]

Your first day in Rome sound like a scene out of National Lampoon's European Vacation! Looking forward to more!

[canehdn]

Enjoying your review ... looking forward to more. You put some great humor into it. Thanks for sharing.

 

Cdn in KS

[jinxyoz]

I loved the looking for an ATM comment but came back with wine and beer instead ;) hilarious!! Only in Rome....

[LittleMissMagic]

Our second day in Rome was full of tours that my dad scheduled through the lady we rented the apartment through.

 

All day walking tours? Hear the groans from Rachel, Max, and Alec. Mostly a very verbal Rachel.

 

The first guide was the daughter of the lady who rented us the unit, Francesca. She was working on getting a tour guide license but was employed through a company that offered tours to cruise ships. We mentioned something about Disney, and she got all excited, saying that she did a lot of tours for Disney cruises last year and loved the Disney ships.

 

She was very knowledgeable and carried around a cool little book, but she was very soft-spoken and did not command the attention of the children. Her only audience, really, was my mother. That being said, my mother was very interested in learning and when she heard something cool, she would call us all over and make us listen.

 

It was a rainy day, and I was the only person who had an umbrella. Mom and Rachel were set with their rain jackets. The boys had nothing. So Dad bought street vendor umbrellas. He was going to get three, but Max said no - he would share with me. OH NO YOU ARE NOT SHARING WITH ME! Like I said before, sharing an umbrella with someone significantly taller than you is a way to ensure that you get soaked. I did not want to walk around wet all day because I came prepared with an umbrella that I intended to use for MYSELF and myself only. I told Max that if he wanted to walk with me, he would have to get on my level. "My back! My back is getting wet!" "I told you to get your own $!#$!# umbrella!!!" So he eventually gave up, and my dad bought him an umbrella.

 

What was funny about the situation is that Alec and Dad paid 5 Euros each for P.O.S. umbrellas, and Max's was only 3 Euros and it was spring loaded and actually a pretty good umbrella.

 

First stop was the Coliseum.

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

It stopped raining while we were in the Coliseum, thank goodness.

 

IMG_1825 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Ugh rainy days are always bad hair days.

 

IMG_1841 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

IMG_1871 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

I will give my dad props for this candid... I believe it was taken when Francesca called my mom the Teacher's Pet.

 

IMG_1872 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

I'm actually enjoying my father's photos here. They basically describe the day.

 

IMG_1881 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

After the Coliseum, we went to the Roman Forum. I was actually very disappointed in Francesca's tour of the forum. When we went as a class to Rome, we were given two hours to explore, and I still didn't see everything there. She just took us in, talked to us about a few things, and lead us out. I would've appreciated more time to explore and thought maybe it was best to see the forum without a guide.

 

I was also very disappointed in how unenthusiastic everyone was about the tour. Rachel kept saying, "I just want to see the cool stuff." This is cool!!!! This is an ancient city! How is this not cool??? Apparently what an architecture student thinks is cool isn't what everyone else thinks is cool. I was especially shocked/disappointed, though because Max and Rachel are civil engineering majors, and Rachel is a geology minor. How is this not cool??? Ugh, I'm nerdier than I thought.

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Here is Mom learning...

 

IMG_1882 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

And the rest of us goofing off...

 

IMG_1885 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

Probably the coolest thing Francesca taught us was how to use the Roman water fountains. It's a constant stream of water running to the ground, but you can create a spout by blocking that stream of water with your hand. Then the water comes out above and it's easier to drink.

 

IMG_1902 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

IMG_1903 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Don't let her smile fool you.... she's not having a good time.

 

IMG_1911 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Really, Dad is cracking me up with these photos.

 

IMG_1916 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

We were leaving the Forum, and we saw some people using the water fountain incorrectly. Alec and Max thought it was really funny to go up and use the water fountain the way Francesca taught us after watching people struggle. Well, Mom wanted water, so she went to use the fountain...

 

IMG_1917 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

And the trajectory of this fountain was insane because the water went up, up, and hit my Dad right in the head immediately after he took the photo above. Everyone died laughing. Especially our tour guide. She said she had no idea that would happen.

 

IMG_1918 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

IMG_1919 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

A driver picked us up and took us to the Vatican for our next tour.

 

The next tour guide, Maria, had Rachel missing Francesca. She was much more uptight and carried an scarf on a stick over her head for us to not lose her. I felt bad for her, not yet knowing of Rachel, Max, and Alec's complete lack of interest in history. So I decided to be good and pay attention this time, to hopefully make up for their rudeness.

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

The good thing about guides is that you have someone reliable to take your photo.

 

IMG_1941 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

IMG_1944 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

IMG_1997 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Look at those hoodlems.

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

You aren't supposed to take any photographs in the Sistine Chapel (which is why I spent at least 15 minutes sketching it the last time I was there). That was motivation enough for my dad and Alec to sneak cell phone photos. We also witnessed someone who snapped a photo with her camera be escorted out. They don't just say no photos - they're strict about it.

 

IMG_2026 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

IMG_2027 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

St. Mark's Basilica -

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

**Correction to the above. I just noticed that I referred to St. Peter's Basilica as St. Mark's. That is wrong - St. Mark's is in Venice. My bad!

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Upon leaving St. Peter's, our tour guide noticed that the guards were being friendly. She waved and asked if we could have a photo taken with them, and the guard nodded and waved us in.

 

IMG_2066 by vshingl, on Flickr

"This never happens!" Maria told us. We started something because then parents were shoving their little kids up there. Oops...

[LittleMissMagic]

IMG_2075 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

We set off on our own in search of the only thing which Rachel apparently cared to see in Rome - the Trevvi Fountain (thanks, Lizzie McGuire Movie for educating her about the history and architecture of Rome).

 

IMG_2079 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

But first, we had to eat. The boys saw a sign for McDonald's and really wanted to eat there. Because you know, when in Rome, eat at McDonald's. It was cool with me because all semester, if the name McDonald's was ever brought up, there were "ewwws" from all of the girls who think they're too good for American-owned fast food.

 

The signage for McDonald's was difficult to follow. They were like U-turn arrows. It was ridiculous. What we eventually figured out is that the reason we couldn't find the McDonald's is because they used green instead of red as the contrasting color for the golden arches. Oh.

 

IMG_2091 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

I'll say it loud and proud, folks. I am not too good for McDonald's. And I still open the toy in my Happy Meal first.

[LittleMissMagic]

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

We made it to the Trevvi Fountain! Max thought it was awesome. "This is definitely the coolest thing we've seen all day!" Well, I guess Rachel picked a good site.

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

And she finally got to make her wish...

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

I guess no one wished for a cab ride home because we walked the entire way.

 

May 7, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

We were exhausted, but still ready to party. We went to a pub that we passed on our way to the apartment. It was filled with locals rooting on their football team. We sat at the only empty table underneath the television and got to watch everyone cheer and swear fanatically. Unfortunately, their team lost. The pub cleared out quickly.

 

The party continued back at our apartment. Dad pulled out the Grappa we had purchased the night before. If you haven't heard of grappa, it's an after dinner drink in Italy. And it's usually deadly. If you're wondering the flavor, it tastes similar to that of the worst tequila you've ever had in your life. Well, dad was mixing grappa drinks and pouring grappa in little expresso shot cups, exclaiming, "Grappa-cino! Who wants a grappa-cino?" Rachel kept taking them and dumping them into this dream which became really strong. She then managed to take the bottle when he wasn't looking and pour it down the sink. Mom poured out the strong drink in the morning, smelled it, and goes, "EWWW - whose drink was THIS?" :D

[LittleMissMagic]

Despite our partying the night before, we were up and at em' in the morning. And we were ready to cruise!!!

 

The drive from Rome to Civitavecchia was about an hour. Rome embarkation was super easy. There were almost no lines. We split up by room to check in because that's usually the most efficient. Rachel and I had some trouble checking in because the lady didn't believe we were really adults. The boys checked in first, no problem. Rachel and I went next to the desk, and she asked if that was our parents behind us in line. "They can come over here, too." By this time, another desk was open and Mom and Dad had already headed over there. I told her we were in different rooms, so it was fine. "But we need to put you on their credit card." "Actually we're on my credit card." She was confused. "We're adults." She asked us our ages. She then took our passports over to another worker to verify that they were legitimate. WTH? I have never had anyone question the authenticity of my passport before. She came back over and finally agreed to check us in. But besides that, we ran into no problems boarding the ship.

 

We walked right on the ship, and we were told that we could go straight to our rooms. Hooray!

 

I was super excited because we had aft-facing balconies. We actually had a connecting room with our parents, but we chose storage over being able to walk room-to-room. If you don't unlock the door, there were shelves on our side that could be folded down and on our parents' side, they had a curtain which created a little closet storage area.

 

May 8, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Rachel wastes no time getting in bed.

 

May 8, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 8, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

May 8, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 8, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

Our view that afternoon:

 

May 8, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

The boys had a midship inside stateroom which was like a mile away from ours.

 

May 8, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 8, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 8, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

May 8, 2013 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

They actually had a significantly larger closet than us (which is good because most of their clothes are hanging) and perhaps better circulation. However, I never really noticed this before, but boys really do stink. And they really could've used a balcony to get some fresh air circulating throughout the room. They actually left a note for their room steward requesting air freshener one night (and it smelled much fresher afterwards... for that day, at least). They also took advantage of our balcony to leave their Sperrys (the stinkiest shoes ever) overnight. It was ridiculous.

[newtocruisingcdn]

We are doing the TA on the Epic in October. Because we are also in an aft balcony, I was wondering your cabin number? Sorry to go off topic. :rolleyes:

[mj]

Looking forward to the rest of this. Great review and pictures. This review has got me to think about hiring a private guide for either the Vatican or the Colosseum for my trip next year. So much history at these places.

 

Keep the pictures and the review coming.

[3DobermansDZS]

I love your reviews! I hopped over from the Royal boards to check on this! I was reliving my study abroad with your Barcelona pictures!

 

Do you like your Nikon 1? I'm thinking about downsizing from the bulky DSLR- its just a pain to carry around!

 

Enjoy your last year at Clemson! All of my family lives in the Anderson and Greenville area. My cousin is married to one of the daughters of weather man Dale Gilbert who announces the Clemson games!

[LittleMissMagic]

We are doing the TA on the Epic in October. Because we are also in an aft balcony, I was wondering your cabin number? Sorry to go off topic. :rolleyes:

 

We were in stateroom 13282 (sofa near door), and our parents were in 13284 (bed near door).

[LittleMissMagic]

I love your reviews! I hopped over from the Royal boards to check on this! I was reliving my study abroad with your Barcelona pictures!

 

Do you like your Nikon 1? I'm thinking about downsizing from the bulky DSLR- its just a pain to carry around!

 

Enjoy your last year at Clemson! All of my family lives in the Anderson and Greenville area. My cousin is married to one of the daughters of weather man Dale Gilbert who announces the Clemson games!

 

I do like my Nikon 1. I have the J1 and when I got it, I had a definite interest in photography, but didn't know that much about it (I've done everything backwards.... I started using Photoshop while designing Disney graphics for people on the DIS, then learned how to edit photos. I got a job as a digital retoucher for a professional photographer four years ago, and then I became increasingly interested in photography). Knowing what I know now, I wish I would've gone with the V1 instead because I'd appreciate the option of a viewfinder and add-on flash. One of the girls who studied abroad with me had the V2, and it's more like a DSLR in appearance but is still very compact in size. On the J1, the manual features aren't the easiest to use (so I've heard), but not having a DSLR that I was used to, it's not a big setback for me.

 

I'm really wanting to upgrade (well, keep my J1 and buy a DSLR) and have been steady eyeing the D7100 and trying to justify the cost.

 

I watch Dale Gilbert on WYFF News 4! And I go to all of the Clemson games. Actually, I'm quite the football fanatic and campout for games up to a week in advance.