Live - Independence Italian Med (7/13-7/27) - European Vacation

[h20skibum]

There were even apes with their babies. 

 

 

 

and ones that just liked liked to pose for you

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

They had a great overlook at the top of the rock.  You could see the airport, which has a road through the airstrip.  Traffic needs to stop as planes take off and land. 

 

 

 

 

Some photos of the downtown area. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

We also stopped in to see them blowing glass in a little shop, on the way back to the ship

 

 

 

[lovetravel1114]

I am much enjoying following your post. I am on next sailing departing 27th. Can't wait! 

Just found you had taxi tour in Gibraltar,

Was it easy to find one and how much did you pay?

We are 7 of us, including 2 small children. 

 

Edited July 17, 2019 by lovetravel1114
found informaiton I previously missed

[vettegal99]

Following.  66 days to go we are on Explorer of the Seas out of Southampton 14 day Med cruise - a few different  ports than the one you are on.  Can't wait.

[little britain]

1 hour ago, lovetravel1114 said:

I am much enjoying following your post. I am on next sailing departing 27th. Can't wait! 

Just found you had taxi tour in Gibraltar,

Was it easy to find one and how much did you pay?

We are 7 of us, including 2 small children. 

 

The mini vans are lined up at the port looking for customers. I think each van takes 8, and they charged £20pp or £25pp when I was last there for a 3hr tour.

I’m sure you would be able to negotiate for a whole van. 

[h20skibum]

7 hours ago, lovetravel1114 said:

I am much enjoying following your post. I am on next sailing departing 27th. Can't wait! 

Just found you had taxi tour in Gibraltar,

Was it easy to find one and how much did you pay?

We are 7 of us, including 2 small children. 

 

 

For the taxi we had, with the 8 of us in it, it was £30 or €35.   The taxis are right outside the terminal. 

[Micnvic]

We are sailing on this ship, our first cruise on the 27th July. I am really enjoying your posts. I do have one question/concern that maybe you or someone else could help with.

 

i have read a couple of comments about how it can be tricky to get a drink. I have heard that the bar attendants are few and far between, and so the wait at the bar can be lengthy. Is it really that bad?? 

Edited July 18, 2019 by Micnvic

[loveheart]

24 minutes ago, Micnvic said:

We are sailing on this ship, our first cruise on the 27th July. I am really enjoying your posts. I do have one question/concern that maybe you or someone else could help with.

 

i have read a couple of comments about how it can be tricky to get a drink. I have heard that the bar attendants are few and far between, and so the wait at the bar can be lengthy. Is it really that bad?? 

Just off of Indy and we never had a problem getting a drink in the bars. The Sports Bar was generally quiet early evening.

[Micnvic]

5 minutes ago, loveheart said:

Just off of Indy and we never had a problem getting a drink in the bars. The Sports Bar was generally quiet early evening.

Thanks so much. I am a very typical Brit, and am

more than happy to queue. But I had images of standing at a bar for 30 minutes gasping for a drink 😂.

 

hope you had a fab time

[parkyy2k]

53 minutes ago, loveheart said:

Just off of Indy and we never had a problem getting a drink in the bars. The Sports Bar was generally quiet early evening.

Good to hear! I’d read things about having to wait ages for drinks, phew!

[h20skibum]

1 hour ago, Micnvic said:

I have read a couple of comments about how it can be tricky to get a drink. I have heard that the bar attendants are few and far between, and so the wait at the bar can be lengthy. Is it really that bad??

 

When we first ordered drinks at the pub, early in the cruise, there was a little bit of a wait, but only 5-10 minutes. 

 

We have had no problems at the schooner bar, but maybe that is because the bartender is getting to know me, because I tip cash for each drink. 

 

At Diamond Club, we usually have the same server, and he has been fantastic. He has another drink brought to us before we finish our drinks.

[loveheart]

57 minutes ago, Micnvic said:

Thanks so much. I am a very typical Brit, and am

more than happy to queue. But I had images of standing at a bar for 30 minutes gasping for a drink 😂.

 

hope you had a fab time

We had a fabulous time thanks x 

[loveheart]

1 minute ago, h20skibum said:

 

When we first ordered drinks at the pub, early in the cruise, there was a little bit of a wait, but only 5-10 minutes. 

 

We have had no problems at the schooner bar, but maybe that is because the bartender is getting to know me, because I tip cash for each drink. 

 

At Diamond Club, we usually have the same server, and he has been fantastic. He has another drink brought to us before we finish our drinks.

We went up to the bar in the Diamond Club and were served quickly by Nico every night.

[Norwich Cruiser]

A few weeks ago we had no issues with getting a drink from any bar any time of the day.

About a two or three minutes maximum wait at peak time.

[h20skibum]

I am seriously behind on this, and I may have a hard time catching up now, with so many port days. 

 

Anyway, finishing up our Gibraltar day, we didn’t have much scheduled for the evening. For dinner, it was the prawns for me, and a Chops filet for Susan. 

 

 

 

 

 

I wasn’t impressed with the prawns, and wished I had ordered the filet. 

 

 

[h20skibum]

The top tier party was held in Studio B at 7:30.  There were not nearly s many D, D+, and Pins onboard as in the last few cruises. The top cruiser this cruise had around 1100 nights. 

 

They had a little ice show for us

 

 

 

Our late night, we spent at karaoke, and this turned out to be the bad singers night.  It was rather amusing.

[h20skibum]

The next day was a sea day, so not much to catch up.  

 

We spent our day relaxing at the pool, and enjoying the slides and flow rider. 

 

Around 1:00, we were off the coast from Palma, and the sea was really calm. 

 

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

The internet was really poor for streaming, most of the day, but I did manage one video of the sports deck.

 

https://www.pscp.tv/w/cAFOuDEzNzU1Mzc5fDF5TkdhdlFlRUFkSmqdvoO_vsu4bVzgWJ4c1nae8IKrKUWlzxWywo8V5jkLHA==?t=1s

 

 

[h20skibum]

Dinner menu had prime rib as an option, and that is one thing we really love.  

 

 

And I had to have the cream brûlée.

 

 

It took a little time to get use to Allan Stewart, who was the evening entertainment. Maybe that’s because we were not familiar with some of the people he referenced in his show, but for us, the show got better as it went along.

 

 

[h20skibum]

Port of Villefranche-sur-Mer 

 

Sailing into port to get ready to tender to shore.

 

 

 

 

 

Tendering ashore, I came across a nice Plan B

 

 

 

[bobmacliberty]

Wonder what Plan A was?

[h20skibum]

We had a long day planned here. We booked the Nice, Eze, & Monaco excursion with the ship. We left the ship around 7:30, and didn’t return until 5:15 

 

So now, just enjoy some photos from this beautiful stop

 

We were supposed to go in Nice, Eze, then Monaco, but they took us to Eze first.  Maybe there was an advantage to being there early, and at the head of our group. No people!!

 

 

 

 

 

It cost €6 each to enter the exotic gardens, but the views were spectacular from there. They could not make change from a 20 euro, so we had to use our credit card 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2019 by h20skibum

[h20skibum]

A few more photos from Eze

 

The Devil’s bridge 

 

 

View from the top

 

 

Cacti in the garden

 

 

A couple locals are out by the shops

 

 

 

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

We traveled from Eze to Nice, and visited the Cathedral Sainte Reparate.  Most of Old Nice, we were exploring on our own, and enjoying local cuisine.