PurpleTraveller Posted July 27 Author #101 Share Posted July 27 3 minutes ago, cbfb said: Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us. Your descriptions and photos were wonderful. It looked like an amazing trip. Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed the review. It was a wonderful trip that we thoroughly enjoyed. 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 27 Author #102 Share Posted July 27 Friday July 5 - Disembarkation Day Constellation arrived in Ravenna at 5.30am. The first announcement that the ship had been cleared was at 6.55am. We had breakfast for the last time at the Oceanview Cafe which was not as busy as we had expected. We were able to look out over the Ravenna Port area. At 8.30am we met up with our friends at the Martini Bar to make our farewells. They had booked the Celebrity "Stay Behind and Transfer to Venice Airport" to fly out later that evening. We were Group 50 which was the 9.15am Celebrity Transfer to Ravenna Train Station. We left the ship at 9.00am and walked to the shuttle where our luggage was loaded on to the bus. The shuttle left at 9.15am and arrived at the parking lot behind Ravenna Train Station at 9.35am. While collecting our luggage from the bus I met a lady who did not have luggage because someone had taken her suitcase from the Group 37 luggage section in the terminal at the Ravenna dock. Another very similar suitcase had been left behind and she assumed that the passenger had taken her suitcase in error. Her husband had raced to the train station in the hope of finding the person with her suitcase but as they had booked the Ravenna Train Station Transfer for 8.35am and had spent the intervening time dealing with Celebrity Lost Luggage, they didn't have much hope. Celebrity had been ringing the phone number on the tag on the suitcase left behind but unfortunately the passenger wasn't answering. She was very upset as they still had another two weeks travelling in Europe and now she didn't have her suitcase. Please everyone check the tags on any suitcase you take from the disembarkation terminal to confirm that it is your suitcase to prevent this type of situation. I really hope that she was reunited with her suitcase! When we walked through the station we checked the times of the trains to Bologna and confirmed with a staff member that the times of the trains were the same for the following day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 27 Author #103 Share Posted July 27 (edited) Friday July 5 - Ravenna We walked 20 minutes from the train station to Hotel Bisanzio where we were staying for the night. We were too early to check in so we left our luggage and went to see some mosaics. I had pre purchased our tickets to see the five sites of the Ravenna Mosaics. The tickets cost €10.50 each and there is an extra €2.00 charge to see the Mausoleum of Galla Placida and the Battistero Neoniano. These two sites are small and have restricted numbers that can visit at any one time so you have to book a time to see them. You can visit the other three sites at any time during the opening hours of the day you have your ticket. We headed off and on the way we stopped to see Dante's Tomb. Dante was an Italian poet who was born in Florence in 1265 and died in Ravenna in 1321. Next door is the Church of San Francesco which was built between the 9th and 10th centuries on the site of a 5th century religious building. Dante's funeral was held here. Our first stop to see mosaics was the Basilica Sant'Apollinare Nuovo. To say we were awe struck when we entered would be an understatement! Next we went to the Mausoleum of Galla Placida for our 12.00pm booking time. It is tiny and we were fortunate to enter just after a tour group left so it wasn't crowded. Galla Placida was the daughter of the Roman Emperor Theodosius 1 and she died in 450. She was the patron of this tiny chapel which was built between 425 and 450. There are three sarcophagi in the chapel but she is not thought to be buried in any of them. The mosaics are stunning. Edited July 27 by PurpleTraveller 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 27 Author #104 Share Posted July 27 Friday July 5 - Ravenna Continued Next door is the Basilica of San Vitale. Construction of the Basilica started in 526. This was our favourite site for mosaics. The Basilica is lovely and the mosaics are magnificent. It was time for lunch so we grabbed some sandwiches from a shop and returned to our hotel to check in to our room. After eating and settling into our room we headed out for some more mosaics. Our next stop was the Archiepiscopal Museum where we went to see the Chapel of Saint Andrew. We also looked at the museum exhibits. There is an exquisite ivory chair made by Byzantines in the 6th century and the Paschal Calender. The Paschal Calender is on a slab of marble and was used to determine the date of Easter between 532 and 626. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 27 Author #105 Share Posted July 27 (edited) Friday July 5 - Ravenna Continued We then walked past the Cathedral while we waited for our 2.00pm time slot to see the Battistero Neoniano. As the Cathedral was closed we sat for a while in the park opposite the Cathedral. The Battistero Neoniano is an octagonal brick building built at the end of the 4th century or beginning of the 5th century. The mosaics were added at the end of the 5th century and has the oldest mosaic showing Christ's baptism in a monument. We liked that chairs were provided to lean back in to view the beautiful dome. We walked back to our hotel through the Piazza del Popolo. It is a lovely Piazza and we had dinner there that evening at Mr Dante Ristorante. All the restaurants in the Piazza had TV's set up for their patrons to watch the Euro 2024 match. There was a great atmosphere in the Piazza and after dinner we visited the local artisan market where I bought a Ravenna mosaic Christmas decoration. After stopping for some gelato we returned to our hotel for the night. Edited July 27 by PurpleTraveller 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 27 Author #106 Share Posted July 27 (edited) Saturday July 6 - Bologna After a good included breakfast we walked to the train station to get a train to Bologna. As we knew where we were going it only took 10 minutes. When we got to the station we were surprised to see that the station was chaotic. Unlike the previous day when we had walked through the station at 9.40am and it was very quiet, there were people everywhere. Obviously there was another cruise ship in and many of the passengers were at the train station. We bought our tickets at the ticket office for €8.00 each and made our way to our platform. In the underpass to the platforms it was pandemonium. The line of cruise ship passengers with their luggage waiting for the lift to the main train station totally blocked the underpass and they refused to move so that train passengers could get through to get to their platforms. After a lot of pushing and shoving and pleading with them to leave a gap so train passengers could get through we finally managed to get to our platform. The platform was absolutely packed with cruise ship passengers. We struggled to walk past the hoards with their luggage to the front of the platform. We hoped that because all the other people were crowding the centre of the platform that the front carriage or two wouldn't be as crowded. The 9.41am train arrived and to my surprise the front door of the first carriage stopped directly in front of me. We quickly boarded the train and found seats upstairs where we were able to out our bags in front of us. There were a number of empty seats upstairs in the carriage so our plan had proven to be successful. We had a pleasant and comfortable trip to Bologna but I hate to think how crowded the middle carriages were. We arrived in Bologna at 10.55am and it was interesting trying to get off the train. Locals were trying to force their way onto the train before the passengers wanting to get off the train were able to get off. After some jostling we were pleased to be safely on the platform. We walked 15 minutes from the train station to our hotel. We were able to check into our room which was great. We then set out to explore Bologna. What we didn't know before arriving in Bologna is that the roads in the city centre in Zone T which covers Via dell'Independza, Via Rizzoli and Via Ugo Bassi, are closed to traffic on the weekends. This meant that we could walk on the road without worrying about being run over and not being crowded on the footpath. It is a wonderful idea and it made for a relaxed and enjoyable walk whenever we went for a walk during the weekend. We saw a tower from the road so turned off to explore the back streets. This is the Torre Prendiparte. And this is the Torre Azzoguidi. The buildings are old and lovely. We emerged from the backstreets to go to see the Torre Garisenda and Torre Asinelli. The Torre Garisenda is 48 metres tall and is leaning by 3.2 metres. It was originally 60 metres tall but the height was reduced in the 14th century when it started to lean. There are concerns that it may collapse and the city of Bologna closed off the area around the tower in October 2023. There is a barrier to try and contain the debris in case the tower does collapse and work is being undertaken to try to prevent it collapsing. The Torre Asinelli is the tallest tower in Bologna at 97 metres tall. The towers were built between 1109 and 1119 and they are the symbol of Bologna. We walked along the lovely streets of Bologna and did some shopping. We then visited the Basilica of San Petronio which started to be built in 1390. The world's longest meridian line is on the floor of the Basilica. It measures 66.8 metres long and was created in 1655. There is a 27.07mm hole which is 27.07 metres high in the wall of the Basilica to allow the sunlight to fall on the meridian line at midday each day. It was using this meridian line that astronomers discovered anomalies in the Julian calender and led to the creation of the leap year. Edited July 27 by PurpleTraveller 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 27 Author #107 Share Posted July 27 Saturday July 6 - Bologna Continued We then walked through Piazza Maggiore and saw the Neptune Fountain. We walked through the Palazzo della Podesta and had some fun playing with the whispering wall. Two people stand at diagonal corners of the arched vault and whisper so that each can hear the other. As we walked back to our hotel for a break we saw more towers. We had delicious pizza for dinner at Incrocio Montegrappa before having an evening stroll then returning to our hotel. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 27 Author #108 Share Posted July 27 (edited) Sunday July 7 - Bologna This was a very Church/Basilica day. After a good included breakfast we ventured out to walk to our first point of interest. Along the way we passed the Palazzo Grassi. We made our way to Oratorio di Santa Cecilia. It is a small hall in a religious building which has amazing frescos painted between 1505:and 1506. Unfortunately no photos are allowed but they are vibrantly coloured and beautiful. At the other end of the complex is the Basilica of San Giacomo Maggiore which was completed in 1315. It also has frescos in the Bentivoglio Chapel but once again no photos were allowed. Our next stop was the lovely Basilica di Santo Stefano which is a complex of four mediaeval religious buildings. The construction of the original buildings started in the 4th century and building continued for many hundreds of years. There were originally seven buildings but only four survive. As we walked to our last stop before lunch we walked through the Piazza Maggiore where we spotted this statue overlooking the Piazza. Edited July 27 by PurpleTraveller 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 27 Author #109 Share Posted July 27 Sunday July 7 - Bologna Continued Our last stop before lunch was the Basilica di San Francesco. We arrived just before the Sunday mass had finished so we waited until it was finished then made a quick visit before the Basilica closed for the afternoon. The Basilica was completed in 1263 and has a beautiful 14th century marble altarpiece. Pope Alexander V is also buried there. Outside are sarcophagi on stands. We then had a break from Basilicas and had lunch then returned to our hotel. Later in the afternoon we went for a walk. One thing we really liked about Bologna is the many covered arcades throughout the city. It was so nice to be able to walk in the shade on a very warm day. These ones had some of the loveliest ceilings that we saw. Not far away was the Basilica di San Domenico which was built in 1235. In the Cappella di San Domenico is an angel on the right side of the altar which was sculpted by Michaelangelo when he was only 19. Mozart spent a month in Bologna's music academy and sometimes played the Basilica's organ. We walked past the Torre Garisenda and Torre Asinelli again then stopped for gelato with a view of the towers. After a short break at our hotel we went out for dinner. Much to our surprise just half a block from our hotel we discovered Bologna's Little Venice. In one street you open a small window in a blank wall to look over the canal. We managed to track the canal that is hidden behind buildings for a few blocks. Who knew that Bologna has a canal? We had a lovely dinner at the Bounty Pub (doesn't sound very Italian does it?) before returning to our hotel. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 27 Author #110 Share Posted July 27 Monday July 8 to Thursday July 11 - Milan The next morning after a leisurely breakfast we checked out from our hotel and walked to the Bologna Central Train Station. I had pre purchased our train tickets to Milan on the Trenitalia website when they were first released to get the best price. Bologna Central is a big station with a number of platforms. We made our way to platform 21 which is among the furthest from the main concourse and was underground. Our train was delayed ten minutes and a few minutes before it arrived the platform changed but fortunately it was just to the other side of the same platform. We had reserved seats and our tickets showed the carriage number as well as the seat numbers. The electronic signs on the platform showed where each carriage would be and when the train arrived there were electronic signs on the carriages showing which end of the carriage were the seat numbers. Our train was the 10.56am to Milan (though we left at 11.06am) and was a Frecciarossa intercity train. Once we found our seats and stowed our luggage in the large overhead luggage rack we sat back to enjoy the journey. The train goes very fast and we noticed that it was travelling at 300km per hour. We arrived in Milan at 12.08pm and walked five minutes to our hotel. We wanted to stay near the station as we had to get a train at 6.25am to go to the airport a few days later. In hindsight we wouldn't stay there again as it was a business area with very few restaurants or places to eat though it was a nice and comfortable hotel. Over the next two and a half days we visited a number of sites. We used the metro to get around which was inexpensive and easy to use. The main reason I wanted to visit Milan was to see Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. Tickets to visit The Last Supper are released every three months for a three month period. The tickets sell out very quickly as the number of visitors for each 15 minute viewing is restricted to 35 visitors. I pre purchased my ticket as soon as the tickets were released for the dates we would be in Milan. The tickets cost €15.00 per person and I paid an extra €9.00 to include an English tour. The Last Supper was painted by Leonardo da Vinci between 1495 and 1498. It measures 880cm wide and 440cm tall and is on a wall in the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria della Grazie. On the southern wall of the refectory facing the Last Supper is the Crucifixion by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano. We were shown photos of the damage done to the Church, Cloister and Refectory from a bomb in 1943 during WWII. The complex was almost destroyed and amazingly the eastern wall and roof of the Refectory were demolished during the bombing. Luckily The Last Super which is on the northern wall was protected by sand bags, wood scaffolding and metal reinforcement and survived with minor damage. We also visited the Church of Santa Maria della Grazie which was completed in 1482 and the attached Cloister. Both the Church and Cloister are open to the public for free but the tour guide gave us a lot of information about the complex. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 27 Author #111 Share Posted July 27 (edited) Monday July 8 to Thursday July 11 - Milan Continued I also wanted to visit the Milan Cathedral which is magnificent. I pre purchased our timed tickets to save us having to line up to buy tickets. We were able to enter the Cathedral at our allotted time directly into the Cathedral without a line. The tickets cost €8.00 each. During our stay in Milan we also visited Castello Sforzesco though we didn't go into any of the museums in the castle. There is the lovely Parco Sempione behind the castle. At the far end of the park is the Arco della Pace. We also visited the Galleria Vittoria Emmanuelle II a beautiful and very expensive shopping arcade. Milan was very busy with crowds of people in the central area around the Cathedral. There were sales on in the shops and the shopping area was jam packed with shoppers. We found that the mornings were much quieter than the afternoons to go out and about. Edited July 27 by PurpleTraveller 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Scottishclover Posted July 27 #112 Share Posted July 27 I am really enjoying this tour of Northern Italy. You have put Ravenna firmly on my wish list - the mosaics are absolutely stunning! It’s a shame most cruisers rush to Venice without ever seeing them. Thank you for doing a post-cruise review. We always like to combine a bit of a land trip with a cruise so I appreciate the inspiration. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordylad Posted July 27 #113 Share Posted July 27 smashing review.....so what was the name of the Bologna hotel and would you recommend it? What was you overall thoughts on Bologna v Ravenna for a place to stay for a night or two? tx 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare vickykay Posted July 27 #114 Share Posted July 27 Beautiful photos! Thanks for posting them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texallens Posted July 27 #115 Share Posted July 27 I’ve been thinking of taking this itinerary. I loved reading about your trip and seeing all of your pictures. You did a wonderful job. Thank you thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travelexpert35 Posted July 27 #116 Share Posted July 27 Thanks so much for your great review. I really enjoyed following along. Safe travels back home. Sydney is one of our favourite cities we have visited. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunset329 Posted July 27 #117 Share Posted July 27 Thanks for your review. It was timely for us. In April we will be in Rome, staying at Hotel Smeraldo. In October of 2025, we will take a similar itinerary on the Constellation, combined with the transatlantic cruise. After reading your review, we have many places we now want to visit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 28 Author #118 Share Posted July 28 19 hours ago, Scottishclover said: I am really enjoying this tour of Northern Italy. You have put Ravenna firmly on my wish list - the mosaics are absolutely stunning! It’s a shame most cruisers rush to Venice without ever seeing them. Thank you for doing a post-cruise review. We always like to combine a bit of a land trip with a cruise so I appreciate the inspiration. Thanks. We always like to combine cruises with land travel. Ravenna was a delightful surprise and as for the mosaics... absolutely magnificent! I have never seen anything like them and to think that they are approximately 1500 years old, that they have survived and the colours are still so vibrant is remarkable. Anyone passing through Ravenna on the way to or from a cruise should definitely stop to see the mosaics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 28 Author #119 Share Posted July 28 16 hours ago, gordylad said: smashing review.....so what was the name of the Bologna hotel and would you recommend it? What was you overall thoughts on Bologna v Ravenna for a place to stay for a night or two? tx Thank you. We stayed at the Hotel Centrale in Bologna. It is in a great location being walking distance to the train station and sites, had a lovely included breakfast and very friendly and helpful staff. However, the room was very tiny and fairly basic. We would stay there again but it wouldn't be for everyone. Bologna v Ravenna is a hard one. We were delightfully surprised with Ravenna. It is a small, quiet town which is easy to get around. There are nice shops, restaurants and cafes. The mosaics are absolutely beautiful and well worth seeing. We loved Bologna! There is lots to see and do and the town is easy to navigate though it may be different on weekdays when the main roads are open to traffic. We really enjoyed just walking as the town itself is lovely. There are lots of shops, cafes and restaurants. If I only had one night before or after a cruise I would spend it in Ravenna as you could see everything you would want to see in a day or less and you are close to the dock. If I had two nights I would spend one night in Bologna to see the main sites and then the other night in Ravenna. If pressed you could see most if not all of the major sites in Bologna in one day. Not everyone likes going to as many churches as I do. 😄 Of course this all depends on the timings of flights, where you are flying in or out of and your interests. We found both towns to be lovely and we really enjoyed our time in both. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 28 Author #120 Share Posted July 28 14 hours ago, vickykay said: Beautiful photos! Thanks for posting them. Thanks! I hope you are enjoying the review. 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 28 Author #121 Share Posted July 28 12 hours ago, Texallens said: I’ve been thinking of taking this itinerary. I loved reading about your trip and seeing all of your pictures. You did a wonderful job. Thank you thank you. Thank you! It is a fabulous itinerary and we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. We really liked all of the ports even the ones we had been to before. There are so many options of what to do and see in each port you are spoiled for choice. Good luck with choosing a cruise. 🛳️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 28 Author #122 Share Posted July 28 11 hours ago, Travelexpert35 said: Thanks so much for your great review. I really enjoyed following along. Safe travels back home. Sydney is one of our favourite cities we have visited. Thanks, I'm so pleased that you enjoyed the review! We are now home and dreaming about the warm weather, lovely places we visited and wonderful time we had on our cruises. It is very chilly here! 😊 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 28 Author #123 Share Posted July 28 11 hours ago, Sunset329 said: Thanks for your review. It was timely for us. In April we will be in Rome, staying at Hotel Smeraldo. In October of 2025, we will take a similar itinerary on the Constellation, combined with the transatlantic cruise. After reading your review, we have many places we now want to visit. Thank you! I'm very happy that the review has been of some inspiration for you. We really enjoyed our stay at Hotel Smeraldo. It is a lovely little hotel in a great location. 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrmint427 Posted July 28 #124 Share Posted July 28 Thank you for posting about your cruise! I enjoyed following along. We'll also be staying at the Hotel Smeraldo before our cruise next year and going to some of the same ports. Your post on Ravenna is convincing me we should spend some time touring there at the end of our cruise. Were you aware of any place to possibly store suitcases during the day if cruisers were planning to travel to another city in the afternoon? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 28 Author #125 Share Posted July 28 3 minutes ago, jrmint427 said: Thank you for posting about your cruise! I enjoyed following along. We'll also be staying at the Hotel Smeraldo before our cruise next year and going to some of the same ports. Your post on Ravenna is convincing me we should spend some time touring there at the end of our cruise. Were you aware of any place to possibly store suitcases during the day if cruisers were planning to travel to another city in the afternoon? Thank you and thanks for reading! Ravenna is well worth spending half a day in to see the mosaics and enjoy the lovely town. I didn't see anywhere to store luggage but then again I wasn't looking. You could check to see if the train station has luggage storage. We really enjoyed our stay at Hotel Smeraldo and hope you do too. Also hope you have a wonderful cruise! 🛳️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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