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The Great Adventure! VISION OF THE SEAS 12-Night Med Cruise: A Full PICTORIAL Review!

Nicole721

By Nicole721,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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A new friend was waiting for us when we went back to the room to change out of our formalwear, with a fresh Compass detailing our arrival information for Florence and the evening’s activities.

 

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We headed out to the shops to check out the souvenirs they put out for Cannes and we just kind of wandered around for awhile. We ultimately decided to skip the headliner show and unpacked everything we hadn’t finished unpacking the day before and got our things ready for an early morning in Florence.

 

Into the Woods was playing on the big screen, so we headed up to Park Café to grab a snack (Late night nacho bar? On point) and then we relaxed with the movie, a perfect ending to a near perfect day.

 

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Hailzmick

Hailzmick

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Still completely addicted to reading your review! Even though we were on the same cruise, so far we have had very different experiences. Our dinner didn't finish until at least 11pm every night, (we had late sitting, plus AWESOME table mates, so we were always chatting so much!) so we missed the Captain's Welcome & a lot of the late night shows. (I actually NEVER saw Captain Lis, like ever!!!)

Also, we took private tours in every port & were always in the first group off the ship.

Can't wait to do more comparisons... (I hope you don't mind, I'm seriously LOVING this!!!) xxx

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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Oh how I love the Med!! I'm so enjoying your blog, and do tell...how on earth did you score a job that provides unlimited vacation time??? This cruising addict dreams of such things!

 

 

Kind of fell into it four and a half years ago and I'm still holding on tight :P

 

Still completely addicted to reading your review! Even though we were on the same cruise, so far we have had very different experiences. Our dinner didn't finish until at least 11pm every night, (we had late sitting, plus AWESOME table mates, so we were always chatting so much!) so we missed the Captain's Welcome & a lot of the late night shows. (I actually NEVER saw Captain Lis, like ever!!!)

Also, we took private tours in every port & were always in the first group off the ship.

Can't wait to do more comparisons... (I hope you don't mind, I'm seriously LOVING this!!!) xxx

 

 

By all means, compare away! It's interesting to see how different our experiences can be on the same trip! :)

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rcclfanbp

rcclfanbp

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AWESOME READ

You should be a travel writer/editor what a way with words - so talented and creative. And, your photo's are AMAZING!

 

THANK YOU for sharing your travels and experiences with us here on CC :D

 

Yes Nicole, you are quite good at writing, story-telling and photography. Very well done young lady!! Thank you for wonderfully sharing your experience.

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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Ahhh! Sorry for the disappearing act, guys! I got sent out to Seattle for work last week, and then I flew out to meet my Mom and sister in Miami for Labor Day! Crazy crazy crazy week (and, for the record, I do not recommend days that begin at 4:00 am with a four and a half hour West to Central flight and finish with a three hour Central to East flight that night).

 

I'm almost done with the next part (Florence!!!) and hopefully will have that posted tonight or tomorrow! I'll be back later to chat, but thank you all for hanging around and sticking in this with me! :)

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TxStacey

TxStacey

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OMG Nicole...I just found this review. I'm a big fan, having read most of your other Carnival reviews over the years. I'm super excited to see this one and cant wait to read it! I am sailing on the Harmony of the Seas next July on a 7 dayer..I wish it were 12..but maybe next time:) My cruise will make a lot of the same stops so I'm super excited to see what you guys did in each of them. We will be flying out of Dallas into Heathrow and then on to Barcelona. Your pictures are stunning as usual! Eeek! :D You have me so excited for my first trip to Europe! Please keep it coming!!

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Thetrail

Thetrail

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Ahhh! Sorry for the disappearing act, guys! I got sent out to Seattle for work last week, and then I flew out to meet my Mom and sister in Miami for Labor Day! Crazy crazy crazy week (and, for the record, I do not recommend days that begin at 4:00 am with a four and a half hour West to Central flight and finish with a three hour Central to East flight that night).

 

I'm almost done with the next part (Florence!!!) and hopefully will have that posted tonight or tomorrow! I'll be back later to chat, but thank you all for hanging around and sticking in this with me! :)

Wonderful review, fantastic photos, sooo glad the three of you had such a wonderful time....K.O.:)
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Nicole721

Nicole721

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Yes Nicole, you are quite good at writing, story-telling and photography. Very well done young lady!! Thank you for wonderfully sharing your experience.

 

Thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! :)

 

Just found your review and am all caught up. The Med was our first cruise in 2010 and we had the best time ever. I'm really enjoying your review and your pictures are beautiful. I'm looking forward to more.

 

What a way to experience your first cruise! Our Med cruise was our favorite one, too :)

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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I was enjoying this review so much.. please come back Nicole. :(

 

I'm back, I'm back! :D

 

She was on a business trip last week, and I think she had a personal trip this weekend. I'm sure she will be back soon. We all can't wait!

 

Thanks, Nancy!

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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OMG Nicole...I just found this review. I'm a big fan, having read most of your other Carnival reviews over the years. I'm super excited to see this one and cant wait to read it! I am sailing on the Harmony of the Seas next July on a 7 dayer..I wish it were 12..but maybe next time:) My cruise will make a lot of the same stops so I'm super excited to see what you guys did in each of them. We will be flying out of Dallas into Heathrow and then on to Barcelona. Your pictures are stunning as usual! Eeek! :D You have me so excited for my first trip to Europe! Please keep it coming!!

 

Stacey! How are you!? So glad you found me over here. I can't wait to hear all about YOUR Europe trip!

 

Wonderful review, fantastic photos, sooo glad the three of you had such a wonderful time....K.O.:)

 

Thank you!! :)

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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Everyone I know who has ever visited Florence is obsessed with Florence.

 

When I’d bring up visiting Italy, their eyes would light up and they’d wax poetic about the art and the history and shopping. And the food, oh the food. The best, they’d say.

 

There were lofty expectations in place for Florence long before we ever docked in La Spezia, and I was overwhelmed long before my foot ever touched Tuscan soil. Florence is the birthplace of the Renaissance. The Medici dynasty? The art of Michelangelo, da Vinci and Botticelli? The works of Machiavelli? Florence. Centuries old culturally rich origins that inundated the pages of my high school history books. How do you prepare to experience that? I couldn’t even figure out how to anticipate it.

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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Buongiorno, La Spezia

 

An early excursion meant an early wake up, but I woke up in the best way possible: to my sister shaking me awake, excitedly telling me to look out the window. “I think it’s Cinque Terre, Nicole!” I wasn’t sure if it was (or wasn’t), but as we sailed inland towards La Spezia, I was immediately captivated by the colors of the buildings lining the landscape.

 

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We grabbed a quick breakfast at the Windjammer, which was much busier than it had been the previous day in Cannes, but we still managed to find a table quickly. Many days when it was nice out, we’d opt to dine at the outdoor tables and look out as we docked.

 

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Before we headed out to meet our excursion in the theater, we headed upstairs to take in La Spezia. The port and surrounding area are pretty heavily industrial -- so much so that you can’t actually walk around the pier (if you aren’t on one of the ship’s excursions, you need to take a shuttle to the entrance of the port). There are three main areas to explore from La Spezia: Pisa (~1 hour by car), Cinque Terre (supposedly less than a half hour by train) and Florence (~2.5 hours by car).

 

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Stephanie and I had gone back and forth on excursions for this one. I wanted to get in some time at Pisa (because LEANING TOWER!!!), but Stephanie was adamant that it’d be a waste of time given all that Florence has offer and that we have a replica of the Leaning Tower in the suburbs of Chicago that I could really take a picture with if I wanted to. Basically, Stephanie’s argument was that Florence had to be our main focus and Pisa would only be a distraction. I couldn’t disagree with that (at least, not on our first visit), so we ultimately settled on the Taste of Florence excursion through Royal Caribbean.

 

Explore the birthplace of the Renaissance, as you embark on a guided walking tour of Florence before enjoying 3 hours to roam on your own. Stroll bustling city streets alongside your guide for 2.5 hours, passing Piazza del Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, and the 14-century Church of Santa Croce. Traverse the city at your own pace, eating pasta and paninis, visiting renowned galleries and museums, wandering the leather market, or atop Ponte Vecchio bridge.

 

What I liked about this excursion was that the guided tour was supplemented with heavy free time, so we had an expert walking us through the major sites and then enough free time to independently explore anything that intrigued us along the way. A perfect combination for a first time visit. And with Florence being so far away from the dock in La Spezia, we’d have the added assurance that if we were running late or the bus got stuck in traffic on the way back, the ship would be waiting for us.

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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A Taste of Florence

 

We met up with our tour group in the theater and were quickly led outside to another immaculately clean tour bus, where we met our guide for the day, Letizia (who insisted we all call her Leti).

 

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As we pulled out of the port, Leti began giving us a fascinating, comprehensive history of La Spezia as we made our way into the Tuscan countryside.

 

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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Once we were on the highway, narrow streets with tall condominium buildings made way to rolling green hills with colorful houses and tall steeples.

 

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We’d pass by white capped mountains and Leti would explain that it wasn’t snow, but rather, Italian granite. When Leti’s commentary would cease, Stephanie and I would plug in some headphones and listen to Andrea Bocelli’s Time to Say Goodbye on repeat. We do schmaltzy stuff like that, sometimes.

 

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Oh, and we passed a Gucci factory, too. Hello, lover.

 

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