Legend of the Seas - Rome to Venice 8/31 Review

[jrmint427]

Your port was Catania, not Messina? When I went we took a half day afternoon tour of Taormina so we were able to walk from the ship into the town of Messina with time to see the Clock at noon. Had a nice walking tour with time on our own in Taormina.

 

Yes, our port was Catania... I noticed that not many RCI ships seem to port there! I would have loved to have had an entire afternoon in Taormina.

[jrmint427]

Really enjoying your review. I'm giving to look for this itinerary on the RCL website for next summer. We've been to Rome but basically ran through the Vatican to get to the Sistine Chapel before it closed. Your breakfast tour sounded great. Have not been to the other ports and looking forward to reading about them all. :)

 

Thank you! The breakfast tour was one of our favorite experiences. I will continue with posts on all the ports and our excursions!

 

Thank you for your wonderful review and great photos!

I am enjoying all of it and look forward to the next installment!

 

Thank you!

[jrmint427]

We parked at a garage at the Catania gate. They had elevators to take us up to the 7th floor. There were stairs too, but we could not leave the group until everyone was upstairs anyway. We considered it, but they would not tell us where our meeting point was and what time until we were all at that meeting point together. There were bathrooms on every floor of the parking garage for those who are interested – I know there are always questions about the nearest public restrooms!

 

This was the top of the parking garage where we initially met our group:

 

 

From here, our tour guide walked us into town and our official meeting point was going to be near a fountain at the entrance. They had also given us tickets for a free water bottle at a store right near the fountain. At this point we had just under an hour until we were meeting, so we cashed in our tickets and took off on our own. We really wanted to see the Greek Theater in Taormina and I had read it was about a 15 minute walk, so we did not have much time.

 

We walked very quickly through the crowds on the main street, Corso Umberto, taking just a few pictures as we walked.

 

 

 

 

So you can see the crowds:

 

 

We took a right turn onto Via Teatro Greco, which led us straight to the Greek Theater.

 

 

We made it to the theater in about 10 minutes, arriving around 11:54am. We were supposed to meet our group back at the fountain at 12:30pm so we could be back on the bus to depart at 12:45pm. We debated paying the entrance fee to the Greek Theater because we were so short on time and there was a sign that said there was only partial visibility on this day. But, we had raced all this way just to see the Greek Theater, so we paid the 8 euro per person and had about 17 minutes by the time we finally entered. Greek Theater pictures are up next!

[jrmint427]

Although we only had 17 minutes, I was glad we got to see the Greek Theater. It would have been nice to spend more time there and really enjoy it, but we got what we came for: pictures.

 

 

I thought it would have been a little bit nicer without the modern day chairs, but maybe they hold events there?

 

 

We quickly made our way around and up the Greek Theater. You could not really see Mt. Etna in the background like you do in all the Google Images because of the partial visibility, but there were still some beautiful views.

 

 

 

 

While we were on the top level of the Greek Theater, it started to rain. It was almost 12:15pm anyway, and we knew we needed to make our way back to the meeting spot, so we said a quick good-bye to the theater and made our way back down.

[ContessaK]

Some of these places you've visited, I've just never heard of, and now i want to go! lol Must look up the itinerary for next year.

[cruise pup]

Some of these places you've visited, I've just never heard of, and now i want to go! lol Must look up the itinerary for next year.

That's why I have a love/hate relationship with Italy. I keep learning about more and more wonderful places there and it frustrates me!

[hazeleyez3]

The pictures are great. We actually skipped Taormina and had a private tour in Savoca and Castlemola

 

Some of these places you've visited, I've just never heard of, and now i want to go! lol Must look up the itinerary for next year.

 

Unfortunatley no ship has the itinerary in 2014. :mad:

 

It's actually because of that that we postponed our land trip to Italy. I couldn't pass up those ports.

Edited September 27, 2013 by hazeleyez3

[poncho1973]

Nice work. We did many of these places a few years ago. It's great to see your trip! Happy memories and wonderful times.

[pam_1024]

My favorite dessert on the ship was what I ordered the first night: blueberry & peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream.

 

 

I was so full I couldn’t eat it all, but it was amazing. My husband ate the Bailey’s Crème Brulee.

 

 

Dinner lasted about two hours. This was standard for each night. I enjoyed dinner and the conversation with our tablemates, but I was almost falling asleep at the table by dessert.

 

We decided to at least check out the entertainment in the theater after dinner. I think they called it a “variety” show, but what we saw was a man playing the piano and singing, and a light show with puppet shadows singing along to the music. We stood in the back for two songs. They were definitely talented, but it wasn’t enough to keep us up longer, so we left to go back to our room and to bed.

 

Love the blueberry and peach cobbler! It was one of my favorite desserts!

[GranysT]

Enjoying reading your very informative review. Please keep it coming.

[cruise pup]

Love the blueberry and peach cobbler! It was one of my favorite desserts!

 

Mine too. It's always been on the first night on my cruises. It's supposed to be low fat too but I think that goes out the window once the scoop of vanilla ice cream is added. They also used to serve a chocolate cake that was super dry and I was always recommend my fellow diners to avoid it and order the cobbler.

[jrmint427]

Some of these places you've visited, I've just never heard of, and now i want to go! lol Must look up the itinerary for next year.

 

Although they do not offer the exact itinerary next year, they offer a few in September on the Serenade that are similar. Unfortunately, they either go to Malta or Slovenia, not both, and those were two of my favorite ports. They also add Dubrovnik, which would be a nice addition, and port in Messina in Sicily instead of Catania.

[jrmint427]

The pictures are great. We actually skipped Taormina and had a private tour in Savoca and Castlemola.

 

How were Savoca and Castlemola? I hope you post a review, I would love to see what you did on this trip too! :)

[jrmint427]

Mine too. It's always been on the first night on my cruises. It's supposed to be low fat too but I think that goes out the window once the scoop of vanilla ice cream is added. They also used to serve a chocolate cake that was super dry and I was always recommend my fellow diners to avoid it and order the cobbler.

 

Sounds like the cobbler is popular! Good to know I can expect it if I go on another cruise :)

[jrmint427]

As we left the Greek Theater, it began to pour. We had our DSLR camera with us, so we stopped to buy an umbrella at a nearby stand. I asked how much, and the guy said 4 euro. My husband had the sense to ask him if we could test an umbrella before buying one, and it’s a good thing we did – the first one fell apart with the umbrella falling off its handle as soon as it was opened. We tested a second umbrella and it worked fine, so we went on our way.

 

As we were walking back to Corso Umberto, we ran into the couple we had shared a ride with from Rome to the port. This was our second of four random meetings. We just said a quick hello because of the rain.

 

It took us 15 minutes to get back to the fountain, probably because of the rain and all the other umbrellas we had to dodge. I really wanted to try a cannoli in Sicily, so I swung into a little ice cream shop to get a cannoli to go. It was an empty shell and they filled it in the back of the store while I waited.

 

 

We got back to the fountain a few minutes early and shared the cannoli under our umbrella.

 

 

Eventually we saw our tour guide and she told us we could all go back to the bus on our own to get out of the rain, so that is what we did. I said it before, but one hour was just not enough time to really appreciate Taormina. I’m sure the rain did not help with our experience, but I hope we get to go back to Sicily someday to really get to know the region better.

[jrmint427]

I fell asleep on the drive up Mount Etna. I tried to stay awake but could not keep my eyes open. It was very foggy so I would not have seen much anyway, but we did get a few pictures on our way up.

 

 

It was chilly at the top and I wished I had brought a jacket. We stopped at the Silvestri Crater and had about an hour to explore on our own. There was also a café/shop at the craters where we were given a ticket for our “taste” of Sicily: a cannoli. The tour guide told us that sometimes they offer wine too, but not always. We were lucky I suppose, and did have the option for a taste of wine.

 

We did not stay outside very long because of how cold it was. We took a few pictures together, and I walked down into the crater on my own.

 

 

 

I’m waving my arms from inside the crater:

 

 

View from inside the crater:

 

 

You could not see very far because of the fog, but it was a pretty area.

 

[jrmint427]

We went inside the shop/restaurant at the Silvestri Craters to pick up our “taste” of Sicily (the tour was called Taste of Sicily). It was a free cannoli that was actually very good, even better than the one we had in Taormina.

 

 

It came with a cup of wine.

 

 

The wine was not great in our opinion, but it was free. We had to have our free samples in a separate room, so after we ate the cannoli we went to sit in the café. There were restrooms and a lot of people from the tour group huddled inside. We ordered a cappuccino and chatted with a few other people.

 

 

At this point I made it my mission to taste a cappuccino in every city we visited. We hung out in the café until it was time to load the buses again. I fell asleep on the drive down from Mount Etna too and woke up as we got closer to Catania.

[cruise pup]

I really wanted to try a cannoli in Sicily, so I swung into a little ice cream shop to get a cannoli to go. It was an empty shell and they filled it in the back of the store while I waited.

They should always be served that way. That's the way I buy them from the Italian bakery I go to on Bleecker Street in Manhattan. If it is pre-filled the shell will get soggy.:(

[jrmint427]

They should always be served that way. That's the way I buy them from the Italian bakery I go to on Bleecker Street in Manhattan. If it is pre-filled the shell will get soggy.:(

 

That makes sense! We saw many that were pre-made, so it sounds like this store got it right.

[jrmint427]

I did not realize that our tour included a driving tour of Catania, but it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the tour. By the time we got back the rain had cleared up and the sun was out. Catania looked like a cute town. If we ever go back, I think it would be nice to spend some time just walking around the city.

 

 

 

 

We passed a preserved theater in the middle of town.

 

 

 

 

After a short driving tour, we were quickly back at the ship.

[cruise pup]

It's amazing what they find beneath the streets in Italy. Apparently the reason there is only a limited amount of subway lines in Rome is because of the concern for destroying ruins buried below. Last summer I visited an amazing Roman villa that was discovered below a Renaissance palace right near Trajan's column.

 

 

Not exactly Pompeii but still an amazing thing to see right in the basement.

Edited September 28, 2013 by cruise pup

[ContessaK]

The pictures are great. We actually skipped Taormina and had a private tour in Savoca and Castlemola

 

 

 

Unfortunatley no ship has the itinerary in 2014. :mad:

 

It's actually because of that that we postponed our land trip to Italy. I couldn't pass up those ports.

 

Yes. I noticed this when I went looking for the cruise. I guess I'll have to wait 2 years. Hope they bring it back!

[jrmint427]

It's amazing what they find beneath the streets in Italy. Apparently the reason there is only a limited amount of subway lines in Rome is because of the concern for destroying ruins buried below. Last summer I visited an amazing Roman villa that was discovered below a Renaissance palace right near Trajan's column.

 

Not exactly Pompeii but still an amazing thing to see right in the basement.

 

Very cool! They told us they've been working on a third subway line in Rome but it's taken forever to build because of all the ruins.

[jrmint427]

This was our first formal night of the trip. Based on the RCI website, for a 9 night cruise you would typically have two formal nights, but we ended up with three.

 

We ate with the same couples we had the night before. The food this night was some of my favorite of the whole cruise. The menu:

 

 

I started with the summer fruit medley which included some of my favorite fruits.

 

 

I also had the cream of mushroom soup. This was my favorite soup of the whole trip. I asked our server if they would have it any other night, and he said no, but I could get it at Chops Grille.

 

 

For my main course I ordered the Greek Vegetarian Moussaka. I loved this!

 

 

My husband ordered the cilantro-crusted cod loin.

 

[jrmint427]

It was a tough choice for dessert this evening:

 

 

I chose the cherries jubilee. There was a lot of syrup with the cherries, but they were great with the ice cream. I didn’t mind that it came out melted (the cherries were heated) because I prefer my ice cream like soup.