**Trip of a Lifetime Review - Italy and Rhapsody of the Seas 9.16.2016**

[Bailtuck2]

Please excuse the large print of my cruise history. I don't know how to make it appear as small print in the signature line as many of you have done. Would someone tell me how to do that please, and thank you.

 

 

Upcoming:

9/6/17, 9d Alaskan Cruise-RC Indy.

Enjoyed:

9/9/16, 8d Eastern Caribbean, Carnival Valor, St Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan, Grand Turk.

11/16/15, 5d, 1st Solo Cruise, RC Indy of the Seas, Labadee HAITI, Falmouth Jamaica.

11/8/14, 5d, RC Liberty of the Seas; Belize City, Cozumel Mexico.

4/12/14, 7d, Carnival Breeze, La Romana, Dominica Republic; Curaçao, Aruba, Grand Turk.

10/21/12, 7d, Carnival Pride, Eastern Caribbean.

2011, Carnival Destiny, Eastern Caribbean.

7/3/95, Big Red Boat, Bahamas

[Bailtuck2]

Hi ckrobyn! We met on the Indy, Nov 16, 2015 cruise, that was my 1st solo cruise. You were key to starting and keeping that roll call going, I liked the count downs. Good hearing from you again.

 

 

Upcoming:

9/6/17, 9d Alaskan Cruise-RC Indy.

Enjoyed:

9/9/16, 8d Eastern Caribbean, Carnival Valor, St Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan, Grand Turk.

11/16/15, 5d, 1st Solo Cruise, RC Indy of the Seas, Labadee HAITI, Falmouth Jamaica.

11/8/14, 5d, RC Liberty of the Seas; Belize City, Cozumel Mexico.

4/12/14, 7d, Carnival Breeze, La Romana, Dominica Republic; Curaçao, Aruba, Grand Turk.

10/21/12, 7d, Carnival Pride, Eastern Caribbean.

2011, Carnival Destiny, Eastern Caribbean.

7/3/95, Big Red Boat, Bahamas

[Miryam1234]

 

Pics attached of Diamond lounge for miryam1234

 

Thanks Heatherb1959 for the photos of the Diamond lounge! I will be visiting it in a few weeks.

 

And thank you Deon for letting me interfere - please go on with your excellent review! You bring back many memories - I love seeing familiar sights through someone else's eyes! We seem to appreciate similar things, despite of the fact that we come from totally opposite sides of the world.

[EireCruisers]

What a fantastic review. I'm looking forward to the rest!

[sg1phileshipper]

Amazing! Thanks for sharing.

 

 

Cindy

[dancernl]

Incredible pictures!! I love seeing your passion and pure enjoyment reflected in your writing and reviews. Looking forward to more!

[ckrobyn]

Hi ckrobyn! We met on the Indy, Nov 16, 2015 cruise, that was my 1st solo cruise. You were key to starting and keeping that roll call going, I liked the count downs. Good hearing from you again.

 

Hey there! Great to hear from you too :)

We are on the countdown again for Girls cruise 2016 - we are leaving on November 12th :p:p

[Cruising_Christine]

Dear Deon,

I love love love your report. Do you have any other reports posted?

Thank you.

[SenatorsFan]

I'm really enjoying your review and pictures, Deon. :) I'm so happy that you had this "trip of a lifetime" as it's clear to us how much fun you had.

Heather

[Shar27]

Love, love, love your review!! The detail and pictures are just amazing!

 

This is a definitely a bucket-list trip. Can't wait to read more!!!:)

Edited October 5, 2016 by Shar27

[CRUSINGFAMILY]

Excellent review and pictures we are heading on Rhapsody next week.

 

Thanks for your hard work

[Virtopia]

Thanks again everyone! I will be back tomorrow with more [emoji2]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[TX Cruise Girl]

Great review! I came looking specifically for this thread. I knew there would be one. Can't wait to read the rest.

[heatherb1958]

Thanks again everyone! I will be back tomorrow with more [emoji2]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Deon, as a heads up please check your 'My cruises' account. The cruise is showing in my completed cruise history but my C&A points have not been updated, never ever had that happen before! Going to e.mail C&A now. We have a big milestone coming up on Harmony and those pesky points are needed!! Lol. :D

[jancru12]

This is one of the most amazing reviews I've ever read!!! :D

[glittergal1]

We are sailing on Rhapsody next July can I ask your thoughts on the beds? would you say the bed was firm/hard I cant sleep on a too hard bed and Ive been reading about the beds being uncomfortable and im now getting worried

[Virtopia]

Dear Deon,

I love love love your report. Do you have any other reports posted?

Thank you.

 

Thanks! I did a review for my Jewel sailing. If I find the thread again, I'l post it for you :)

[Virtopia]

Let's get right back to it!

 

 

 

 

 

I seriously couldn’t get enough of the views in front of me. We also couldn't thank our tour guide enough for bringing us to the Acropolis first as by the time we were leaving, there were a ton of people just coming in, which would have made going through uncomfortably crowded. We had about 25 minutes of free time here before moving onto the next site, which was the Temple of Zeus.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2016 by Virtopia

[Virtopia]

After spending some time there, we visited the following sights before heading to Sounion: The Panathenaic Staduim, where the first Olympic games were held and the Parliament which has the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Changing of the Guards, which was amazing to watch. I took a video of the change, which I'll try to post at the end of the review with my other videos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Virtopia]

After seeing these sights, we were off to Sounion, which was around a 90 minute drive from Athens. It had been decided among the group that we would eat lunch there since we’d have amazing views and probably less of a crowd so off we went. I’m sure I took a nap during the drive but the sights I caught were equally beautiful.

 

 

We stopped for lunch about 60 minutes into the drive. I opted to use this time to call home and enjoy the views instead. We were given about an hour for the lunch break and then off we went to the Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon. There was hardly any people here, which was great. We heard some history about the location and then had about 20 minutes of free time before before starting on the long drive back to Athens and the port. This tour was really good and took full use the of the day as we got back to the port about 30 minutes before all aboard time. One thing to keep in mind is that this tour doesn't include any entrance costs so that is extra money you'd have to bring with you on the tour.

 

 

 

 

 

[Virtopia]

The ship was supposed to leave at 6pm. At around 6:30pm, I found out that I had missed the announcement that the ship was going to be staying in port till around 8pm to finish the replacement of the glass in the Viking Crown Lounge. I went to go check out their handy work. All the panels have been replaced but it was a clear glass which didn’t match the other half, so if you looked from a distance, it didn’t appear that it was replaced at all. Regardless of this, the lounge was still closed for the duration of the cruise. The ship left promptly at 8pm. I had dinner in the dining room, which ended up being my last dinner there. This was also the night that they had the waiters entertain the guests with a nice dance number. After this, it was back to my favourite bar to chat to my favourite bartender and then I was off to bed for the night. Up next, Mykonos!

 

I wanted to blend in to the blues of Greece!

[Virtopia]

Today, we woke up to gorgeous weather and the lovely island of Mykonos. This is known as the party island of Greece and I can easily see why. As I was on the bus ride to the beach, we passed a multitude of clubs and lounges along the waterside. I wouldn't have been surprised if people left them shortly before the ship pulled in.

 

So, this was always meant to be a beach day for me. I booked the transfer service for Elia beach. Royal Caribbean offers 2 choices but in all honesty, you don't need it. At least 3 couples told me they just started walking, found a patch of sand with clear blue water and settled there for the day. This is so easy to do in Mykonos and something to keep in mind for next time I visit. The drive to Elia beach was about 20 minutes and we were the first to arrive. The view is beautiful from the beach and the set up looked great but honestly, the beach was a bit dirty to me. In my first 200 steps, I saw 3 dirty diapers in the sand and the attendants just kept walking past them, which was disappointing. We arrived around 9:20am and was advised that the bus would be back to pick us up at 12:30pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Virtopia]

 

 

Once again, a brief moment of happiness from me ... it didn't last *insert sarcasm here*

 

[Virtopia]

I walked around the beach for maybe 35 minutes taking pictures and then settled into the beach restaurant for breakfast and free wi fi for the duration of my stay. Breakfast was a Greek omelet with toast which was very tasty and affordable at 14.50 euros including 2 drinks. I got up around 11:45am, did another quick walk around the beach and then made my way back onto the bus first. I was ready to go back into town.

 

One of my favourite pictures from the entire trip ... just my feet but represents so much in terms of the direction I want to take my life in.

 

 

 

 

 

[Virtopia]

We waited an extra 5 minutes for a couple before we departed. We were given the option to be dropped into town or back to the ship. Those that opted to be dropped in town were advised that they would have to take the sea bus back for 2 euros, which was no problem with me. I’m pretty sure everyone came off the bus to go into town. Mykonos … beautiful! It was so nice to walk through the streets for a bit of time. My main intention was to get some souvenirs (needed my shot glass!) but I spent some extra time just enjoying the various views before I headed to the sea bus and back to the ship.