Live and Solo: Dustin's European Adventure (Explorer May 8)

[DandDM]

10 hours ago, 4Nathan said:

Do not worry about not leaving any of Dee Dee’s ashes at the Olive farm because she was there with you! Those we love are forever a part of us, always near us and only a heartbeat away. Sit on your balcony, close your eyes and know she is close.  Feel her love in the warmth of the sun and the gentle breeze touching your face.  The best way we can honour our precious loved ones that have passed is to live life every day to the fullest.  And you are doing that for Dee Dee on this cruise.  She is with you and so very proud of you.  Thank you for sharing ALL of this journey with us.

Thanks for this; appreciate it a lot!

[DandDM]

Tried to keep busy last night. Dinner in Giovanni's. Started with the Minestrone soup; very tasty!

 

Next up a small order (?) or the Tagliatelle Carbonara. This was recommended by the waiter and was good, but not as good as the mushroom Risotto!

 

Main course was Seared Filet Mignon. Had a little plan here - had read folks comparing the filet from Chops and Giovanni so wanted to do the same. My verdict is that the flavor of the Giovanni's filet was better. One could still argue that with the sides and sauces, the total steak experience might be better at Chops, the Giovanni won on this dish IMO.

 

 

Dessert: Chocolate Hazlenut Cake.

 

While walking around, saw a this line forming in front of Windjammer at 6:15 (I think it opened at 6:30).  While on the topic, I walked through Windjammer while waiting for my reservation the other day; it was formal night. Only one side had food and even that was sparce. However, there were also only about 50 people in there eating! I could see someone going in being disappointed with the selection. Of note, I saw two couples dressed to the nines (one guy in a tux) eating at the Jammer. Curious if they wanted more food after MDR, or maybe gave up with the lines that have been reported.

 

 

 

 

 

[DandDM]

After dinner went to the production show "Invitation to Dance". I know I've seen a show with this name before, but it was a new performance.  Maybe Royal gives this name to many of their general shows?

 

 

Then was the Quest. First time I've been since the covid shutdown and enjoyed it! It was well attended by I think everyone on the ship between 20 and 30, plus a few older folks like me!  As reported, seemed like some teams were gamming the system a bit as they had some items too quickly to be a coincidence (like a business card, or AmEx card), but it was still crazy fun. No photos.

 

The weather is looking better this morning, about to head out on a private tour with the same general group from the roll call.

Cheers,

[DandDM]

Back on the ship; another great day! The port today is Split, Croatia, the second largest city in the country with 200,000 inhabitants. 

 

This was a 'private' tour organized by someone on our roll call. We had 16 in the group and were very surprised to have a full size tour bus waiting for us!

 

First stop was an old town on a small island called Trogir. We started at an old Church in the central square, and our very competent tour guide explained the history of the tour and surrounding buildings. Four euro got us access to the Church and the bell tower. I climbed that with 200 steep steps and felt it in my thighs!  Great views.  Some photos to follow of Trogir.

[DandDM]

Next up was Salona; a settlement dating back to the 2nd century BC. Per the guide, it is a big site, but only lightly explored. We visited the ruins of an old Church and the home of the archeologist who spent his life on the site - and built the house out of the stones he found on the site. Fun fact, our tour guide got married on the site a couple years ago!

 

The last photo is where the wedding was!

 

 

[DandDM]

Want to mention that the weather continued to get better all day and other than a few short showers, turned out very pleasant! Hopefully the rain is done, but the forecast I saw doesn't look very good.

 

Last stop was Diocletian's Palace in Split. Diocletian was a roman emperor who build a huge summer palace and place for his retirement away from Rome in 305, apparently a time when Rome was not doing so great. The Palace was huge - over 10,000 square meters. After Diocletian's death, the palace was largely forgotten (the folks of the time did not like Diocletian because he was persecuting Christians). The second story was later inhabited in the middle ages, however they used the lower floor to dump their garbage and other waste. Over time the second story was mostly torn down, rebuilt and otherwise developed, and the lower area forgotten. Only when it was bombed during WWII did the old building get uncovered and rediscovered. It had since been excavated. We toured this space, then had a short walking tour of old town split. Learned (was told) that the neck tie was invented here.

 

 

 

 

[DandDM]

Very pretty town.  The harbor is full of yachts; apparently they are used as mini cruise ships (less than 40 guests). Our tour guide's husband works part time on one.

 

During our tour, the guide shared her view of the time Croatia was part of Yugoslavia, under communist rule. She did not have kind things to say about that, and lamented parts of the culture that still reflect that period. I would not be surprised if that is a common sentiment among younger Croatians, they do not yearn for the past!

 

A couple of the below photos are the view from my cabin.

 

Up tonight is Chops; have not yet looked at schedule for shows or other events, so don't have a plan. Haven't been back in the casino since the second night, so might see if I can win my loses back!

 

Cheers,

[DandDM]

Trying to keep up; tomorrow will probably go fast, then I'll be off the ship!

 

Dinner at chops. Some wine (Trumpeter Malbec), the bread and the view of some of Croatia's 1200+ islands from my table..

 

Appetizer - Jumbo Lump Crab Cake. Very good and spicy

 

 

Also had the wedge salad. This was something new for me, not just for Chops. Have always chose another salad when I've seen on a menu, but hear it mentioned a lot. So tried it...and it was fine, but not my first salad choice, just kind of basic, IMO.

 

 

For main course, had the Rack of lamb with spinach and baked potato sides. The pork was very good, I loved the searing and flavor. baked potato was good (I'm a huge potato fan), Creamed spinach was the only disappointment (and the first thing I've had that I actually didn't like in a specialty restaurant this trip). The spinach reminded me of the frozen spinach that comes in a block that I used to have as a kid. Now that I'm an adult, I like fresh leaf spinach, and this didn't cut it.

 

finally, for desert had cheese cake.  Very good dinner; I had to leave a bit of each as it was just so much food!

 

 

[az4ship]

Loving your posts.  Remember the ones we love and miss are always with us.  

[fishiecrackers]

On 5/7/2023 at 12:01 AM, DandDM said:

I found the end of the line. Not exaggerating to say it is over a km long. Race for the cure is also happening today, very busy around here!

@DandDM so since everyone has to get tickets online, this huge line was for people who had tickets and were waiting to get in? How would you ever time that correctly for your time window?!

[F19810]

If you get a chance, can you find out if there is a shuttle from Ravenna port to city center or train station?  I'm doing a B2B and was planning on spending some time in Ravanna on turn around day but I read that there is no shuttle this year.  Trying to figure out if this is true.

Thanks

Judy

[DandDM]

9 hours ago, az4ship said:

Loving your posts.  Remember the ones we love and miss are always with us.  

Thanks for that! I know it is not what you mean, but I do bring a photo of Dee Dee on these trips...

 

6 hours ago, fishiecrackers said:

@DandDM so since everyone has to get tickets online, this huge line was for people who had tickets and were waiting to get in? How would you ever time that correctly for your time window?!

Found out later that the first Sunday of each month is FREE entry! So no tickets involved, just a free for all. 

 

5 hours ago, F19810 said:

If you get a chance, can you find out if there is a shuttle from Ravenna port to city center or train station?  I'm doing a B2B and was planning on spending some time in Ravanna on turn around day but I read that there is no shuttle this year.  Trying to figure out if this is true.

Thanks

Judy

Here you go.

 

 

[DandDM]

Looks like we don't port until 9AM and then gangway open at 9:30. So have a little more time this morning!  Temperature is 57 degrees and there is a light rain. Per weather report, rain until noon then it is supposed to clear up. Got lucky yesterday, maybe two days in a row?

 

Getting the bug for my next trip. Have a B2B scheduled on the Oasis next February, but thinking of this fall, and decided that I want to do something with my boys. We had a short coastal cruise scheduled with the oldest but it was cancelled due to Covid, and haven't been able to rebook. The youngest just turned 21; both cruised as kids and have expressed interest in doing another as an adult (as in, drinking age). Looking at a short cruise on the Navigator out of LA. 

 

Below is today's tour:

 

 

I some photos of us coming into port. It's really not as dark as these photos are showing, but also not sunny!

 

 

 

 

[DandDM]

A rest area/gas station store in Slavonia 

 

 

[DandDM]

Lake bled cream cake; authentic on the lake 

 

 

[DandDM]

Forgot to mention…you might see two coffee cups on the top of the photo. I tried to order a double espresso and ended up with TWO double espresso’s. Energy level should be high for a while!

 

 

[DandDM]

Oh boy. A lot to unpack from today...and I still need to pack! So I may be a bit quick on these posts. Great tour today; good group, great locations, and decent weather. 

 

Small group, six total. We met our guide at the gate (easy port) and piled into a van. Our guide, Mike, loved to talk. He was telling us about the history of Slavonia, however once the bus pulled onto the highway, there was no way to hear him over the road noise. We asked him to speak up a few times, but it was no use. One lady on the tour kept complaining (not in a disrespectful way) and it eventually paid off, as the tour operator met our bus and gave the driver a microphone and speaker. I bring this up as I was initially a little uncomfortable about the complaining, but it paid off and resulted in a better trip for everyone (especially the tour guide who was getting a bit flustered). 

 

Anyway, two hour drive to Lake Bled. This spot is gorgeous, even in the poor weather.  I previously posted photos from the rest area we visited and the local cake we ate. A view of the lake below.

 

We took a traditional wood boat across to a small island with an old Church; the boats were manually rowed with a unique style...on the trip over I was in the back and was in constant fear that I would be struck by one of the oars. But the guy was a pro.

 

 

Got closer to the island, then stairs going up.

 

 

 

At the top of the island on the hill was the old church, a tower, and a building with a museum and store. A shot of the inside of the Church and view from the tower.  Very hard to get good photos from the tower as you could not get very close to the small windows, and they were covered with grates and netting, but the views were good.  Note that the boat ride cost 18 euro and the ticket to enter the Church was 12 euro, so a 30 euro side trip. 

 

 

There are a bunch of old estates in the area which are now mostly hotels. Our tour guide was nostalgic about the old days of socialism as he used to go on vacation here, for free, under that regime. He admitted that there was a lot of good things about the current situation, but he also liked to talk about the old days.  Very different from the view of the young tour guide from the other day!

 

A couple of the large estates on the lake.

 

 

 

 

 

[DandDM]

Hmmm...posted a photo twice above. Don't know how to remove so will keep going. 

 

Second stop was the capital city of Ljubjana, population just under 300,000.  The city was interesting - a mix of old and new. We spent most of our time in the old town which had very old buildings and art, mixed with brutalist government buildings and odd art, and then modern amenities mixed in.

 

This piece held me attention. Apparently, it is of Tito's number two, his 'enforcer'. It made me uncomfortable and turned my stomach even before I learned what it was and about the subject.

 

 

Another piece of art that caught my eye - this is the door to a large cathedral

 

Some more photos below. The town was actually quite charming, but this art is what I'll remember.

 

 

 

 

[DandDM]

Very late in the day we finally stopped for food. The guide told us that the local beer was very good, so tried it out, and was not disappointed. He also said that the local specialties were based on sausage and potatoes - but he took us to a pizza and pasta place (maybe that is easier with a group).  Had a mushroom and chicken risotto which was very good. One member of the tour had pizza that was served with an egg...

 

 

 

 

[DandDM]

We left the restaurant around 4:30 and got back to the ship at 6 (all aboard was 6:30). At this point I made what may be an unforgivable sin of live reporting - I cancelled my specialty restaurant reservation at Izumi. Was still pretty full from the late meal and knew that even if I told myself I wouldn't eat much, I would still eat too much.

 

At about 9PM I visited the Windjammer and had a snack. Only one side was open, food choices were a bit limited, but the place was packed! I think a lot of folks were in the situation I was. Had a burger; the bun was a bit dry and the flavor was so-so, exactly what I expect from a windjammer burger. This reminds me as I don't think I posted about this - wandered by the International Cafe one evening and had pizza. Like the burger, it was what I remembered...not great, but did the job.

 

After my snack went to the Farwell show. That was fun - it was a variety show with two ballroom dancers (had seen them in the "invitation to dance" show), a "hand balancer" (is what the description says, maybe a contortionist?) and then a "foot dancer" (again, what they called it) with a hoop twirler. I'm stealing this from the written description, really doesn't do it justice, all were entertaining. I don't know if I missed shows by the other two performers or if they only do the one performance?  Maybe here early for next week? 

[DandDM]

Something that others that will be on this cruise might want to take note of - getting ready for departure.

 

On around day 3, I was asked to fill out my departure preferences. I had selected a late departure and transport to Venice city center. When I got back to the room after the tour today, had nothing waiting for me. Checked again after my snack and still nothing - the night turn down had occurred by then.  Checked the app and had this message:

 

Hmmm.  Maybe they are just running late I thought, and since the line at Guest Services was pretty long, decided to keep waiting. Went to the show and still no update. Finally, got into the long line. When it got to be my turn, explained that I was waiting for confirmation on transport.  The guy made a phone call and after a while, reported that I had a spot on a 7:15 bus. This made me a bit upset as 1) I had requested a later bus and 2) how was I supposed to know about this or what to do? Regarding the first issue, he eventually got me on a 8:45 bus (apparently) and didn't have an answer to the second. He gave me a luggage tag (25) and said that that tag would identify me to the bus driver. 

 

I'm still not completely convinced that this is correct...nor the specifics on getting on the bus. I'll plan to be off the ship before 8:30 and asking around; worst case is that I still have the afternoon train ticket.

 

Guess my advice to folks doing this on later cruises is to double check with GS early on your departure plans!  

 

Still got to pack and it is almost midnight - plan to sleep on the bus tomorrow, if possible!

 

 

 

[perfect match]

6 hours ago, DandDM said:

Something that others that will be on this cruise might want to take note of - getting ready for departure.

 

On around day 3, I was asked to fill out my departure preferences. I had selected a late departure and transport to Venice city center. When I got back to the room after the tour today, had nothing waiting for me. Checked again after my snack and still nothing - the night turn down had occurred by then.  Checked the app and had this message:

 

Hmmm.  Maybe they are just running late I thought, and since the line at Guest Services was pretty long, decided to keep waiting. Went to the show and still no update. Finally, got into the long line. When it got to be my turn, explained that I was waiting for confirmation on transport.  The guy made a phone call and after a while, reported that I had a spot on a 7:15 bus. This made me a bit upset as 1) I had requested a later bus and 2) how was I supposed to know about this or what to do? Regarding the first issue, he eventually got me on a 8:45 bus (apparently) and didn't have an answer to the second. He gave me a luggage tag (25) and said that that tag would identify me to the bus driver. 

 

I'm still not completely convinced that this is correct...nor the specifics on getting on the bus. I'll plan to be off the ship before 8:30 and asking around; worst case is that I still have the afternoon train ticket.

 

Guess my advice to folks doing this on later cruises is to double check with GS early on your departure plans!  

 

Still got to pack and it is almost midnight - plan to sleep on the bus tomorrow, if possible!

 

 

 

Interesting, we had a similar situation with out departure plans on our recent Odyssey cruise. I had requested a late departure, and got a reply that I had been given pretty much the earliest departure time available. I was able to go to go to Guest Services and get our departure time changed to what I had originally requested, but it gave me the feeling that nobody even bothered to look at the desired departure time I had requested. 
 

I have been thoroughly enjoying your review. As others have already mentioned, I’m sure your beautiful DeeDee has been right there with you the whole way, and may have even been the unseen inspiration for you to scatter the last of her ashes exactly when and where you did. She’s exactly where she is supposed to be, and where she would have wanted. I also want to thank you for sharing that part of your journey with us. I know from my own personal experience that sharing my grief over my own loss was a very important part of my own journey through grief and ultimately healing, and that was through others sharing their own journeys through that process that allowed me to proceed through my own when I had no idea what to do with all the emotions I was going through at the time. You’re not walking alone on your journey. We’re walking right there beside you.

[DandDM]

2 hours ago, perfect match said:

Interesting, we had a similar situation with out departure plans on our recent Odyssey cruise. I had requested a late departure, and got a reply that I had been given pretty much the earliest departure time available. I was able to go to go to Guest Services and get our departure time changed to what I had originally requested, but it gave me the feeling that nobody even bothered to look at the desired departure time I had requested. 
 

I have been thoroughly enjoying your review. As others have already mentioned, I’m sure your beautiful DeeDee has been right there with you the whole way, and may have even been the unseen inspiration for you to scatter the last of her ashes exactly when and where you did. She’s exactly where she is supposed to be, and where she would have wanted. I also want to thank you for sharing that part of your journey with us. I know from my own personal experience that sharing my grief over my own loss was a very important part of my own journey through grief and ultimately healing, and that was through others sharing their own journeys through that process that allowed me to proceed through my own when I had no idea what to do with all the emotions I was going through at the time. You’re not walking alone on your journey. We’re walking right there beside you.

Thank you so much for this!  Patiently waiting for my number to be called, they are running about 30 minutes behind schedule. 

[DandDM]

Well, that was easy!  Even though numbers were being called late, they called 25 right at 8:45. No issues nor customs (all in the EU) and was in the bus by 8:55 and it pulled out at 9 am. Announced 3 by drive time. 
 

When watching the port from the ship, saw a line all morning. Turns out it is the bus to the train station line. When we drove by, at least 100 people waiting. The surreal photo below is my attempt to photograph them.
 

rainy day, very glad I’m not hanging out in town! Hope to bet some sleep on the bus, it was a short night. 
 

Second photo is the port area from my balcony, will also attach photo of departure info. 

[DandDM]

Made it to Venice!  Took two hours fifteen minutes with no bathroom stops…. Luckily a 1 euro toilet by the drop off. 
 

Trip from the terminal to hotel was an adventure. Hotel wasn’t far so tried to walk, but after failed attempts, couldn’t figure out how to get out of the bus area!   Ended up paying 1.5 euros for the ‘people mover’. Once off that, just a couple blocks, but up and down over canals. For folks carrying their luggage, a lot of stairs. 
 

was raining pretty solid and sidewalks had standing water - got my shoes soaked and slipped a few times (but didn’t fall!). Hotel is very nice and my room was ready. will post photos later. 
 

Took 45 minutes to get there, should have taken 10 if I knew what I was doing!