Live fron the Viking Sea, Venice -Barcelona 10/4-10/16

[Vineyard View]

Becki it sounds like a terrific cruise! Glad you are having such a great time. Thank you for taking the time.

 

it truly does sound like the excursions department has been doing a good job and that is great to hear. All the on ship recommendations bring back good memories of our trip - and as for Rome.....you will probably find a way to return sometime, see the Sistine Chapel, and enjoy more of that beautiful city.

[rjscott]

We love Afternoon Tea in the Wintergarden. Lovely little sandwiches, pastries, a long menu of teas, and scones with clotted cream and jam. Very hard to resist :)

 

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

 

Yes, it is Wintergarden and my auto-correct refuses to spell it that way! :D

 

Becki

[rjscott]

Neither will mine Haze! :)

 

Anyone, does Viking routinely hold a Cruise Critic meeting like Azamara does? Where do we register for it if needed?

 

Thanks Becki for your review...we are anxious to know all details about Viking Sea, having never cruised Viking before. Do you have any menu's or drinks package details you can post please?

 

Yes, forgot to mention the Meet & Greet. Viking does put on probably the nicest of the get-togethers of any line I have sailed on. There are drinks and appetizers passed, and several officers attend. To sign up, go to your roll call, and there should be a link to the CC party for your sail date.

 

Becki

[Peregrina651]

Yes, forgot to mention the Meet & Greet. Viking does put on probably the nicest of the get-togethers of any line I have sailed on. There are drinks and appetizers passed, and several officers attend. To sign up, go to your roll call, and there should be a link to the CC party for your sail date.

 

Becki

 

The only place I can ever find the link to the Meet & Mingle is on the top page of the Viking roll calls. I'm sure it is my browser's fault if it doesn't appear in any other places when it should because I block third party scripts and ads. Maybe there are others with the same problem.

[rjscott]

Rome, part II

 

After the Colosseum, we got back on the bus and went across town and we're dropped again. This time we were to see the Spanish steps and the Trevi fountain. Both were mobbed, but we managed to get some good views and photos and Marina again gave us good background. We had some free time at the Trevi fountain to get a snack and have a toilet break before finding our way to the Pantheon. This is an amazing basilica. Incredibly beautiful and really quite a work of engineering how it was built.

 

From there, we walked to piazza navrona where we had some free time for lunch and shopping. From there back to the bus and our long trip back to the ship. Although this was a long day, I do highly recommend this tour, but it is very demanding. You will be on your feet a great deal of the time and there is a lot of walking. However, this is the only Viking tour which goes into the Colosseum and you do see many other monuments as well.

 

Becki

[rjscott]

Day 8, Livorno, for Florence and Pisa

 

We chose the Florence and the Leaning Tower tour. We left the ship at 9am and traffic was still heavy, so it took us about 1 1/2 hrs to get to Florence. This tour did not go into any of the cathedrals or other notable buildings in Florence, but our guide, Lorena, gave us info on each as we walked and then tried to give us the best photo ops as we neared a significant structure, and then again as we were just outside it. The cathedrals in Florence, as Lorena noted, are generally more spectacular on the outside and rather plain on the inside. Well, they were certainly spectacular on the outside. :) We also walked across a bridge so as to get a view of the Ponte Vechhio bridge. We then had some free time for lunch and shopping before returning to the bus for our 1/2 HR trip to Pisa. Here we had time to walk to the area where the Leaning Tower, a cathedral and baptisry were, take some photos and return. For those wanting to climb the tower, this would not be enough time. But, as I don't do heights, it was fine for me. I think my husband would have done the climb if we'd had the time, tho'.

 

We arrived back at the ship late, having been informed by Lorena in advance that we would be overnighting in Livorno. Due to bad weather and sea conditions ahead, we would not be making our next port of Monaco. :) So, as we got into the terminal, there were shore excursion reps available to assist us in planning replacement excursions for our 2nd day in the area. We chose an included excursion at Lucca and went in for a late dinner.

 

Becki

[rjscott]

Oops, sorry. Should be Day 9 for Florence and Pisa. Lost track there. :D

The Leaning Tower is really a remarkable structure to see and even if we had a shoRte time there, I really am glad we got that time to see it and take some photos. Ah, taking photos. I realize I am just one of many who want to take photos of these marvelous sites. However, I also realize I am taller than many people and so I try to take my photos and get out of the way. I don't try to make every photo one for National Geographic. And, hey, get your selfie stick out of my face or you are in grave danger of finding you are wearing it internally. :p

Ok, I am done with my rant.

 

Hi, VV! Yes, I do hope to get back to Rome at some point, but I do think I made the right choice on our tour. Some who did have the Sistine Chapel tour with 'skip the line' tickets still had to wait outside for 1 1/2 hrs to get in. Not a good use of time in a day, eh?

 

Becki

[comcox]

Thanks Becki for giving us a vicarious cruise. My husband and I are on the Grand Med cruise in February so this is helpful.

 

I do have a question about dress at dinner time. Are folks dressing up in all the venues or just some? If some, which are the casual dress options.

 

I read on another thread that there is a good coffee place on a lower deck. Is this free or do they charge? Does this place have hot chocolate by any chance?

 

Thanks so much.

[Peregrina651]

Day 8, Livorno, for Florence and Pisa

 

 

 

We arrived back at the ship late, having been informed by Lorena in advance that we would be overnighting in Livorno. Due to bad weather and sea conditions ahead, we would not be making our next port of Monaco. :) So, as we got into the terminal, there were shore excursion reps available to assist us in planning replacement excursions for our 2nd day in the area. We chose an included excursion at Lucca and went in for a late dinner.

 

Becki

 

Wow, things must be really bad if they are skipping Monaco and staying in port. At least it is a day in port and not a day at sea--and Livorno, no less. Sweeet!

 

Any word on the shuttle buses for Rome and Florence? Did they really happen?

Save

[Vineyard View]

Hi Becki - sounds like you had a great day in Rome and made a really good choice in excursions! We waited something like 2 1/2 hrs to go into Sistine - but we had several days in Rome. If I only had one day, I would have been right there with you!

 

What a great journey you are taking! Continue enjoying every moment!

[rjscott]

Wow, things must be really bad if they are skipping Monaco and staying in port. At least it is a day in port and not a day at sea--and Livorno, no less. Sweeet!

 

Any word on the shuttle buses for Rome and Florence? Did they really happen?

Save

 

They do list in the dailies when there are shuttle buses and I checked the dailies for both Rome and Florence and no free shuttles there. I believe it is because of the distance. In Rome, they do offer a 'Rome on your Own' excursion, which is basically a shuttle with a guide along to give you some info along the way, and provide you with a time and pickup point for your return trip.

 

We did have a free shuttle to Livorno both yesterday and today. It ran on the half hour, which was very nice, as it was unpleasant outside, so we didn'the want to stay really long, but we did want to go in.

 

Becki

[Peregrina651]

They do list in the dailies when there are shuttle buses and I checked the dailies for both Rome and Florence and no free shuttles there. I believe it is because of the distance. In Rome, they do offer a 'Rome on your Own' excursion, which is basically a shuttle with a guide along to give you some info along the way, and provide you with a time and pickup point for your return trip.

 

We did have a free shuttle to Livorno both yesterday and today. It ran on the half hour, which was very nice, as it was unpleasant outside, so we didn'the want to stay really long, but we did want to go in.

 

Becki

 

Hmm. My contact at Viking said that there would be fee-for-service shuttles to both Rome and Florence. I will have to contact her again and get some clarification. Thanks for looking into it for me.

[rjscott]

Thanks Becki for giving us a vicarious cruise. My husband and I are on the Grand Med cruise in February so this is helpful.

 

I do have a question about dress at dinner time. Are folks dressing up in all the venues or just some? If some, which are the casual dress options.

 

I read on another thread that there is a good coffee place on a lower deck. Is this free or do they charge? Does this place have hot chocolate by any chance?

 

Thanks so much.

 

Some people still dress up a bit, others stay in the same clothes they wore to sightsee during the day. Personally, I prefer to change out of the clothes I have been sightseeing in. I usually put on a pair of dress slacks and a nice top or a knit dress and tights. People do seem to dress a bit nicer for dinner in Manfredi's and The Chef's Table (where we ate tonight).

 

I wil check on the coffee place on first floor. I am not a coffee drinker.

 

Becki

[TravelLynn]

Becki,

How much clothes did you bring? (how many tops vs. pants, etc.) Do you wish you had brought more or less than you did? Did you use the laundry facilities on the ship?

Thanks in advance!

[photopro2]

Thanks for the posts Becki we are thinking of taking this rome tour - what time did you leave the ship and when did you get back?

 

Sent from my GT-I9195I using Forums mobile app

[Peregrina651]

 

I wil check on the coffee place on first floor. I am not a coffee drinker.

 

Becki

 

I would stop here to grab a coffee to take into the Restaurant at breakfast because the coffee here was so much better than what they served in the Restaurant. They also do tea and hot chocolate as well. They have pastries for continental breakfast and switch over to sandwich as lunch time approaches. It is also a full bar. What I did not check out was how late in the day they continue to serve food or what that food might be.

Edited October 13, 2016 by Peregrina651

[rjscott]

Becki,

How much clothes did you bring? (how many tops vs. pants, etc.) Do you wish you had brought more or less than you did? Did you use the laundry facilities on the ship?

Thanks in advance!

 

Lynn,

 

I didn't bring anything I wouldn't wear twice and yet, as I was putting my clothes away, I wondered aloud why I had brought so many . :p I did do laundry once for mainly underthings and socks (gosh those take up so much room in the suitcase, I refused to pack 2 wks worth!), and I may do another load today as we will be spending 2 days/nts in Barcelona as well.

Becki

Edited October 14, 2016 by rjscott

[rjscott]

Thanks for the posts Becki we are thinking of taking this rome tour - what time did you leave the ship and when did you get back?

 

Sent from my GT-I9195I using Forums mobile app

 

We left the ship at 7:30 and got back about 5:30. It was a long day, but very memorable.

 

Becki

[rjscott]

Day 10, Day 2 in Livorno in place of Monaco

 

This could have been a ship day, as it was a yucky day outside, but we decided to make the most of it.

 

After breakfast, we took the free shuttle into Livorno and walked around there for about 1 1/2 hrs. That was all I could take in the cold, windy, rain. There were many lovely buildings to photo, and we did stop into one cafe for the absolute best hot chocolate I have ever had. It had about 2 inches of thick whipped cream on it and the hot chocolate itself was almost like pudding, it was so thick! It had to be melted chocolate. That energized me to walk around a bit more before catching the shuttle back to the ship.

 

We had lunch and then went on the bus for our included tour of 'Lucca on your own'. Lucca was about 45 min. To an hour from the ship. We had a guide with us to give us some history along the drive, but once we got to Lucca, she took us to a meeting point, designated a meeting time and we were on our own. Lucca was interesting, but again, the weather made it difficult to enjoy walking about. It was too bad, because we so much enjoy exploring these towns.

 

Soon it was time to meet our guide and we returned to the ship.

 

Tonight we dined at The Chef's Table. I really enjoyed it. It is a different experience, but we thought everything we had was delicious. It was an Asian-inspired menu but the spices were also more Pan-Asian.

 

Becki

[rjscott]

Day 11, Toulon

 

Last night was a lot of rockin' and rollin', which we expected as the captain made a couple of announcements in the early evening as we headed for Toulon. He said we could expect some rough seas and he would take the best route possible to make for a smooth journey. Nonetheless, we were rocking all night and most of the morning as we approached Toulon about an hour late. In fact, as I was getting a top out of the closet, we listed, and the closet doors slid back on me, pinning my arm.:eek:

 

That left us with another windy, rainy day. However, it was at least warmer here. So, at 11:30 we set off on our included tour of Toulon by foot and boat. We first walked along the harbor front to get to our boat, which gave us a tour of the bay and some of the vessels in theharbor, many of which were military ships. After the boat tour, we started our walking tour of the city, with several of our group dropping out along the way to return to the ship due to the ever-present rain. But we stuck it out and saw some interesting landmark buildings .

 

Wouldn't you know, as we were eating lunch in the World Cafe an hour later, looking out at the harbor, it was nice and sunny? :rolleyes:

 

On to Barcelona!

 

Becki

Edited October 14, 2016 by rjscott

[Ms SailAway]

Hi Becki,

Thanks very much for taking the time to post about your cruise and answer all the many questions. We are booked on the Sea in January and will be visiting some of the ports you are seeing now so it's fun to read about your experiences, both in port and on the ship. I'm sorry you are having such rainy weather though !

Cheryl

[rjscott]

Thanks Becki for giving us a vicarious cruise. My husband and I are on the Grand Med cruise in February so this is helpful.

 

I do have a question about dress at dinner time. Are folks dressing up in all the venues or just some? If some, which are the casual dress options.

 

I read on another thread that there is a good coffee place on a lower deck. Is this free or do they charge? Does this place have hot chocolate by any chance?

 

Thanks so much.

 

The coffee bar on 1st floor told my husband that all coffees and hot chocolate are no charge. Of course, if you want some of his liquor in them, well, you are on your own! :D

 

Becki

[rjscott]

Day 12, Barcelona

 

We dock in Barcelona and there are several huge ships in port; Celebrity Equinox, Harmony of the Seas, NCL'S Epic, a P & O ship and a German ship.

 

We chose the Gaudi architecture tour. I think there were 3 bus loads from Viking doing this tour. We were on bus #2 and I don't know about the others, but our guide was fantastic! She gave us so much detail, but not in a dry, boring way. She really made it all come alive.

 

First we went to Park Guell. We started at the top and worked our way down. It was amazing what Gaudi's concept here was, and what he managed to complete. So beautiful.

 

Next week went to Sagrada Familia. We had seen some TV programs about this structure, it's builder and it's history, so I was not unfamiliar with it. However, I have to say, this was one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. The vision Gaudi had! Our guide walked us around the inside and outside, explaining each part of the now cathedral.

 

From the Sagrada Familia, we drove past Casa Mila and Casa Ballon on our wayou to Montjuic and the Olympic Village. This was a nice drive, but it would have been even better with a stop for photos overlooking the city, but it was not to be..

 

We finished up our cruise with another dinner at Manfredi's. Yum-o!

 

We were off the ship by 8:30 the next morning and taxied to our hotel for our postcruise stay.

 

Becki

Edited October 16, 2016 by rjscott

[traveler2017]

Becki,

I am enjoying your daily updates. We are booked on the Sea for Venice to Barcelona in early April, 2017. Just now getting into learning about the tours, etc., so your input is most helpful. We are preceding the cruise with the three days in Tuscany if anyone has experience with that, would be interested in your impression an suggestions.

Thanks,

Vickey

[rjscott]

Post cruise in Barcelona:

 

We left the ship at approx 8:30 with friends we had made on the ship and who also were spending 2 days postcruise. Their bed & breakfast was only a couple of blocks from our hotel, so we hoped to share a taxi despite having between us 4 large su it cases and 4 carryon bags.

 

We walked off the ship and a Viking employee pointed us in the direction of the taxis. The taxis have tho back called by a port employee as they are not allowed into the port without a fare. I explained to the very nice ports employee that we would like a minivan taxi and could the driver please make 2 stops? Oh, yes, that would be possible. :) We all had our addresses written down for our driver and away we went. We were dropped off first, and we made sure he knew where he was taking our friends. We arranged with them to meet for dinner and said goodbye at the taxi.

 

Our lodging was the Hotel Murmuri and we were very happy with our choice. I had looked at so many hotels in Barcelona and I was having a hard time staying under my target of 200 euros a night. I was willing to go up to 250 per night, but even at that, my choices were limited or the ratings were not so great. Then I found the Hotel Murmuri which offered a great rate for using a Visa Signature card, plus included breakfast, a bottle of Cava, and a credit in the bar, which they let us use in the restaurant. The hotel staff was wonderful; so friendly and helpful. They offered restaurant recommendations and also offered to make reservations for us. Our room, although small, was nicely outfitted. The bed was very comfortable and although the hotel was located on Las Ramblas, it was very quiet, as our room faced a side street. The bathroom was large and nicely appointed, with a large shower and plush towels. The hotel was so well-located to sightseeing, restaurants and shops, we walked our feet off every day. Breakfast each morning was a lovely buffet with many choices of fruit, meats, breads, cheeses, pastries. The servers would also have eggs prepared for you to order if desired. Needless to say, I would highly recommend the Hotel MurMuri.

 

Our first day after leaving the ship, we walked to the Barcelona Cathedral. We wanted to see the cathderal, but also the sandana dance that is performed in front of the church each Sunday. We were surprised to find that this Sunday was a special event, and there was an orchestra set up to play music and the dance started at 11:15 rather than noon. Many of the people who danced were rather advanced in age, and I was amazed at their endurance as each dance last 5-6 min. and the steps for each were very specific and the day was quite warm. I was very happy we got to be part of this celebration.

 

From the cathedral we decided to head back up Las Ramblas and get some lunch. We found a pizza place that looked good and it was. From there, we went back to the hotel to grab a bit of a nap before our evening plans. We joined our friends for a tapas dinner before a flamenco show at the Palau Musica.

 

The Palau de la Musica is an amazing building and they do tours of the building daily, but it was wonderful to be able to see the building as part of a show. The flamenco show was terrific and very engaging.

 

The next day we decided to utilize the HOHO bus as a way to see more of the city in the time we had left and save our feet as well. :) We made our first stop the market at Las Ramblas. Such a neat experience. I bought some olive oil to bring home. Organic and produced in Catalunya, so that was it for me. The lady I bought from wrapped it nicely in bubble wrap. I loved the fresh fish counters too. We decided to eat lunch outside the market and found a very good Mediterranean restaurant nearby.

 

That evening we shared our bottle of Cava with our newfound friends from our cruise then had a farewell dinner before parting ways.

 

The next morning the hotel arranged a taxi for us to the airport. Our driver was a very nice young man and we chatted with him during the drive. He loves his city and was very interested in hearing our impressions.

 

Thank you to all who expressed appreciation for my posting. I am happy if it helped you. If you have further questions, please ask.

 

Becki