Pic heavy, detailed Vision OTS review/recount of our 12nighter out of Barcelona!

Hailzmick · July 22, 2015

Pompeii selfie

Check out all the pots

Hailzmick · July 22, 2015

OMG so much more Pompeii. I'm so sorry if people are getting bored of this post! I'm still loving it! Ha ha.

A body!

More antique pots. So amazing.

Hailzmick · July 22, 2015

This was a spa. Way cool to think they pampered themselves, even back then!

Just so amazing

A lovely spa

Hailzmick · July 22, 2015

This is a mosaic

A very rich person's courtyard.

Hailzmick · July 22, 2015

The living area and dining room of the house

The kitchen area, with the toilet just behind it.

One of the bedrooms. They kind of had their own wall paper and changed it regularly.

More take away food areas

Hailzmick · July 22, 2015

Some of the artefacts saved.

This is the imprint of a child who passed away

Wow!!!!

Hailzmick · July 22, 2015

After our tour, Franchesca took us to an area to use the bathroom, (for a price, of course) & buy some nic-nacs and bottled water.

We were interested in the limoncello they were making. Oh my god it looked so damn great!!!

Okay, so there's a whole lot of pics for you right now... Back soon with some more of our day! Let's just say, it gets even better!!! Xxx

snolleygoster · July 23, 2015

OUR FIRST SEA DAY
Weather, 73F/ 23C

Dinner dress suggestion: casual

I'm not going to post the Cruise compasses anymore as you can't read them anyway! So if you'd like me to email them, please reply with your email address and I'll do my very best to get pics and send them!

So this was our first full day at sea. It was so nice to wake up at any time we wanted and we didn't have to meet anyone for anything.

Our view at 10am after a super sleep in.

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We had a super yummy feed in the Windjammer. Mick always got a fresh omelette made and I got something different pretty much every day.

At 11am we had our official Cruise Critic Meet & Greet. It was held in the Viking Crown Lounge, on deck 11.

We got the lift to deck 11 & it seemed nearly everyone had a seat already. We were given a raffle ticket & a drink and went to find a seat.

D&J had snagged seats with LaMac & Mike already, so we found two seats with Cathy & another Mike... Also from the US.

We had chatted with Cathy & Mike at a bar for a short while, as well as a quick chat at our informal meet & greet, so I was thrilled that we were able to sit with them chatting for about 45 minutes.

Royal Caribbean put on drinks for us and they also had some AMAZING raffle prizes.

All up, I'd say there was 20 prizes to win. And they weren't RCI pens, they were all ripper prizes like dinner for two in Chops Grille, bottles of champagne and a bag of washing done by the laundry service. (Stay tuned for our story about THAT!)

We didn't win any prizes, but we were lucky enough to win some great new friendships... So I'm pretty sure we were all winners on the day. (Said in the true words of a loser who didn't win a bottle of champagne, lol).

After a few more drinks and a lot more talking, we decided to head back to the Windjammer for lunch.

On the way to the WJ, we saw they were doing World's Sexiest Legs competition. The man who won it was HILARIOUS!!! He was in his late 50s I'd guess and while he was showing us what he had, he did some frontal thrusts to one of the officers. Our Cruise Director, Mercedes, couldn't stop laughing and she was as shocked as we were. It was very funny.

As always, we found something nice to eat in the WJ. We then headed to just outside the Windjammer, on the smoker's side, where we found a few tables and set up a game of Skipbo. I looked out to sea and saw something... It looked like a volcano. I jokingly said that out loud and then RAN to get my camera and take some pics!

& as it turns out. It WAS a volcano. An active volcano called Mt Stromboli.

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I stayed out on the balcony for about 10 minutes and I saw a gorgeous island, I imagine it was an Island off Greece or Italy. There was a person in a little boat, hang on, there were LOTS of people in little boats. Weird but very cool.

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Hi there, we are really enjoying your review. We are doing this cruise in September. We would really appreciate it if you could forward us the compasses as well. Our email address is loretta.andy@pei.sympatico.ca Thanks so much! Loretta & Andy

Florida 1 · August 2, 2015

We are doing the 7 night version of your cruise - Barcelona to Venice with stops in Cannes, Rome, Salerno and Catania. Which do you recommend we can explore on our own, and which would you recommend we hire a tour guide for as you did?

shofer · August 3, 2015

We are doing the 7 night version of your cruise - Barcelona to Venice with stops in Cannes, Rome, Salerno and Catania. Which do you recommend we can explore on our own, and which would you recommend we hire a tour guide for as you did?

I was on this cruise w/Hailey and most of the tours too! If she doesn't mind if I hijack this question?

One of our CC group did several ports on her own w/her daughter, catching trains and walking quite a bit. I have to say that we saw and did more w/a tour and a guide than she did. At least the van gets you right up to the "action" and you walk from there.

For a short cruise like you are taking, you want to see as much as you can. I think the other way is great if you are staying in the area and have a lot of time to explore. With a group, the cost of the tours we did were quite reasonable.

If you want to DIY, get a good tour book and have it plotted out ahead of time. I had Rick Steve's book of Mediterranean Cruise Ports.

Sue

Florida 1 · August 3, 2015

Can you share the names of some of the tour groups you used, or do I need to get this via email? It seems that you got some good guides/companies to use.

travelplus · August 3, 2015

Ok, back to Barcelona, Spain.
We got the train from Valencia, Spain into Barcelona. Of course, Skipbo was played, but something weird happened. Mick won three games in a row. Noooooo. My good luck streak was vanishing!!!

It was about 2pm & at the station, we bumped into an English couple with cruise tags on their bags & I asked if they were getting on our ship in four days. Nope- they were leaving THAT DAY! Ahhhhh- are they kidding? I could NEVER get into a country that day, let alone, that afternoon. I'm way too A type personality to leave it to chance to possibly miss my cruise!

TIP NUMBER 5:

If you can, try & get into your destination city at least the night before you head out on a cruise. One flight delay or a build up in cars on the freeway & you might miss the boat... Pardon the pun. Ha ha.

We stayed three nights in Barcelona. We had an amazing One bedroom apartment only 100 metres away from the Sagrada Familia. It was the perfect position to be in the heart of everything for during the day, but it was quiet at night time, which is super great for us, as we had already done so much, being a night time party animal didn't seem like my idea of fun for this trip.

To tell you the truth, (now that we are friends of course, lol) Mick & I don't really know a lot about Europe or history, so this was the perfect trip for us. After checking in on Facebook & sending a text back home to say we were safe, (Yes, at 29 years of age I'm still seen as the baby!) we went for a walk to check out the neighbourhood. I was trying to describe what the Sagrada Familia was to Mick when he saw it in the flesh for himself! Words cannot express the shear beauty of it. WOW! But more about that later.

I am loving your review!!!!! My Cousins are from Australia(he was born in Sydney) I would love to do a trip over.

My Father and I love cruising and I plan the cruises and all the logistics. We have been in Barcelona twice so this time before our Barcelona-Dubai cruise we booked a hotel for the night before by the airport for $100 with breakfast and includes a free shuttle from the airport and a shuttle to the port for $15 per person. Not too bad. If we had to stay in the city we would have had to take two taxis.

I always plan to arrive at least the night before and stay over for time so as to not miss the flights. We found flights with British Airways from San Francisco for $1180 all in and a hotel in Dubai for $108 plus $55 for the Executive Lounge with meals included as well as transfer to the airport and in Barcelona a nice 4 star hotel. Plus the cruise on the Explore is $800 per persn with their Buy One Get One Half Off per person with our Future Cruise Credit etc for a Oceanview.

I am a value minded traveler who loves luxury for not the retail price. I look to Hotwire/Expedia and other sources to get the best deals for less. When I see a deal I'll book it.

shofer · August 6, 2015

Can you share the names of some of the tour groups you used, or do I need to get this via email? It seems that you got some good guides/companies to use.

Not a problem. I also wrote a review naming everyone we used and CC published it. In Cannes, Hailey booked Provence tours. For Italy, we used Rome Cabs for all 3 stops. I booked the tour for Greece through privategreecetours.com and ephesusdeluxe.com for Turkey.

All have websites where you can choose which activities best suits your needs and desires. They are all highly recommended on Trip Advisor. I have to say that I was thrilled when some of our group said that the tours of Greece and Turkey were the best they had ever experienced.

Our largest group was in Turkey (16) and that was still small compared to the ship's tours. In Italy, there was always 8 of us.

Sue

boylie4 · August 18, 2015

Hi we are about to board Vision of the seas in 2 weeks we are starting from Barcelona Venice Pompeii rome ect have you any tips for the trips to these places as we have found RC prices are a bit pricey.

IBookHePays · August 18, 2015

I would love the compasses, please and thank you! Enjoying your review very much!

susangriffin415@gmail.com

cgomps · August 18, 2015

Hi we are about to board Vision of the seas in 2 weeks we are starting from Barcelona Venice Pompeii rome ect have you any tips for the trips to these places as we have found RC prices are a bit pricey.

Hi I was on the same cruise in May with Hailey- My husband and I had wonderful tours in Rome and Almafi coast with Rome in a Limo! In Barcelona we used Barcelona Day Tours, Athens with PGT- Private Greek Tours and in Cannes we just walked off the ship and did our own thing- I read Rick Steve's Books too! Also worth paying for private guide in Vatican and Pompeii- they were through Rome in a Limo- the pricing is so much better than Royal Caribbean Tours plus a small more manageable group of 8! Have a fabulous time- I am still in Cruise withdrawal and it was in May!! It was amazing!!!

shofer · August 20, 2015

Hi we are about to board Vision of the seas in 2 weeks we are starting from Barcelona Venice Pompeii rome ect have you any tips for the trips to these places as we have found RC prices are a bit pricey.

Go on Trip Advisor or check the Port of Call Forum on this site. With 2 wks left, you are cutting it close.

Good Luck in finding something.

Sue

tidygirl · August 22, 2015

I'm waiting for your next review of the Splendor will be cruising Oct 2nd and would like your thoughts! Cruise compasses would be great if you have them?

Hailzmick · September 29, 2015

Wow! Ok, I'm back!

I'm so sorry that I've taken so long to get back to this review. When I got back from our huge trip, we arrived to news that my mum had been in intensive care and was gravely ill for nearly the entire time we had been away, so it's been crazy not only getting back in to the swing of things at work, plus I've recently started up my own super small company, but making sure that mum is ok, or at least comfortable and going to all of her medical appointments. I'm going wig shopping with her next week- that should be fun!!! Might even get myself a new look!!! Ha ha.

So back to our trip!

More pics from Pompeii & people making the limoncello and limoncream!

After some refreshments, we all got back in the mini van with our lovely Daniel.

Hailzmick · September 29, 2015

More sights along the way...

Lemon trees!!! When life hands you lemons... Make limoncello.

Hailzmick · September 29, 2015

We drove around and Daniel asked us if we would like to go and visit his friend who has an olive oil factory. Oh no Daniel, that sounds terrible... NOT!!!

So 15 minutes later, we were in a small factory that produces some of the most amazing olive oil we had ever tasted. They showed us the machines and how they press the olives, what colour they need to be, etc.

They said in the high season, they work 24 hours a day, which was super interesting & sounded like super hard work to us!

We got taken in to a big room around the corner, where we GOT TO SAMPLE SO MANY AMAZING OILS!!! I'm not kidding, we tried at least 15 different oils, including garlic olive oil, orange olive oil, white truffle olive oil and bruschetta olive oil to name a few.

Hailzmick · September 29, 2015

Trying the different oils

Hailzmick · September 29, 2015

Everyone moved off to have a look at the shelves and the different sizes and containers they could buy. (There was no hard sell- the oil sold itself!!!!)

Mick & I were still at the tasting table, when Daniel approached us and asked if we had tried any limoncello.

We must have looked confused... We were at an olive oil factory... Then BAM... There were more than 8 different flavours of limoncello to try. I'm talking the most amazing flavours you could think of. Yes, they had limoncello, but they had pistachio cream, orange, CHOCOLATE, strawberry and so many other awesome flavours. I was in my element. I quickly called LaMAc & Mike over to try some with us! Yummy!!! And a I was feeling rather unsober by the time we were through.

It was too expensive to ship everything to Australia, but LaMAc got lots sent to her hometown in Pittsburgh! We got about 10 small containers of oils & a few bottles of the creams to take back too. (When we got back onboard, they questioned us and we just told them it was all oils. They were fine with that!)

More of the amazing Amalfi Coast on the way to lunch!!!