NCL Viva: The Good, The Bad, the DISSAPOINTING: Italy, Turkey, Croatia, and Greece (with hints, tips, and help)

[Travel R]

Finally downloaded a few photos. As mentioned, these are raw - unedited, uncolored, uncropped.

 

Random photos from the streets of Roma . . .

 

 

Edited September 15 by Travel R

[Travel R]

The Colosseum and Underground . . . . .

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 15 by Travel R

[Travel R]

Amalfi Coast & Positano . . . .

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 15 by Travel R

[cruiseny4life]

16 hours ago, Panhandle Couple said:

One question about the Viva, and maybe you didn't notice with a port intensive cruise.

 

Do they provide the paddles and balls for pickleball?

We have an upcoming TA, with lots of sea days, and would like to play pickleball, but don't want to waste the space and weight bring our own gear.

 

TIA.

Pr1ma supplied the paddles and balls when we sailed her back in November of last year. I'd expect V!va would do the same. I did notice a huge difference between what was supplied vs. what the uhhhh....very serious players brought onboard to use. 

[Beachiekeen]

This is absolutely fascinating and I am loving every minute. Would you mind at the end listing the tours you took and how you booked them? I have never been to Europe and I have now created a document where I am copying and pasting all your tips and would love to add the tours also. Thank you so much for the incredible detail and commentary! 

[Travel R]

21 hours ago, Beachiekeen said:

This is absolutely fascinating and I am loving every minute. Would you mind at the end listing the tours you took and how you booked them? I have never been to Europe and I have now created a document where I am copying and pasting all your tips and would love to add the tours also. Thank you so much for the incredible detail and commentary! 

 

Thank you.

 

I will try to provide a list of the excursions and how / who I booked them through by the end of my review.

[Travel R]

21 hours ago, Beachiekeen said:

This is absolutely fascinating and I am loving every minute. Would you mind at the end listing the tours you took and how you booked them? I have never been to Europe and I have now created a document where I am copying and pasting all your tips and would love to add the tours also. Thank you so much for the incredible detail and commentary! 

 

Thank you.

 

I will try to provide a list of the excursions and how / who I booked them through by the end of my review.

[Travel R]

Walking Tour of Rome

 

Been offline for the past few days, but I had tried to upload my Walking Tour to another page. After uploading my post I was sent a message that the post needed to be reviewed by an administrator for possible copyright violation.  Today I logged in and received another notice that I was in violation.

 

I looked over what I had uploaded and everything was not copyrighted info. The directions and descriptions were written by yours truly and all of the photos were my own.

 

While I get this figured out, I will include a link to the page where the Walking Tour will be uploaded, understanding that the information will be added at a later time.

[Travel R]

2. Walking Tour of Rome Begins: Piazza Novana, Pantheon, Largo di Argentina, and the Jewish Ghetto

 

2a. Do It Yourself Walking Tour

 

I should be far enough ahead with my updates so that I can spend time updating the Walking Tour of Rome so that I can publish it prior to this post. The Walking Tour begins at the Vatican. Chosen because it not only works well, since it fits into our itinerary, but also because the Vatican lies to the North and originally outside of the original ancient city of Rome.  The tour will take you south along the western part of the city to the area of the Roman Forum, then north again in the center and eastern end of the city to the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and end at the area around Piazza Bernini for now (which will eventually be extended to Termini Station, but will also include an alternate path at the top of the Spanish steps towards Villa Borghese and Piazza Popolo. The Walking Tour will not only include the major sites it will also include the lesser churches, monuments, fountains, etc. that you will see along the way.  This version will only include brief descriptions of each place, which will give you basic information you want to know.  However if I ever publish this as a booklet, I will provide more detailed information – although most people don’t really want to know that much detail.

 

The Walking Tour can be found here . . . . . https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3028315-self-guided-diy-walking-tour-of-rome/#comment-67914159

Note that the Walking Tour may currently be incomplete while I correct some technical issues.

[Travel R]

2b. Pantheon

 

We hastily left the Vatican city and quickly crossed the border back into Italy.  By this point we had awakened early, we were tired, hungry, and hot. Although I began to speak and point out various places of interest along the way, I had quickly become so parched and dry-mouthed that I could not speak without first taking a gulp of water.

 

Between the Vatican and the Pantheon there are several places I pointed out, such as Castel Sant’Angello, it’s bridge, and various palazzo’s (palaces) and churches along the way.  Rome was built rebuilt, and rebuilt again with its streets being haphazardly strewn across the city. There are many twists and turns, and the names of the streets not always appearing (above, not on poles on the corners) does not make Rome an easy place to navigate.

 

Our first “stop” was at Piazza Novana.  In better times, it would have been full of people marveling at three spectacular fountains.  However, in preparation for the Jubilee they were all boarded up; yes, another disappointment.  Although myself and DW had experienced them before in their splendid glory, it was a shame that our friends could not have been bedazzled. I still gave a brief overview of the square, some of the buildings, and the fountains and we went on our way.   Although there were viewing windows to see the fountains, it was just not the same (especially since the water was not flowing).

 

TIP: If you want to see Piazza Novana from a completely different perspective, the piazza was previously a circus, and there is a tour that leads underground to where some of the remaining architecture from that long-lost time still exists.

 

When we arrived at the Pantheon we were told that the tickets we had were not really tickets, and we had to walk another few blocks away to pick up the actual tickets (they were purchased online through the official website).  Yes, very annoying, but we found the place, exchanged our vouchers for tickets and walked back to the site.  There was no line for the ticket holders, and we walked right in. We also purchased the headset audio tour, and quickly picked them up from the desk (note: one person needs to leave them with a form of ID, I left them my driver’s license).

 

The audio tape was very well done, but included mostly basic information. After taking a few photos, I was hot, tired, my body was aching, so I just sat down (there are pews on one side) and tried to rest.  The rest of my party did the same, and continued to listen to the tape (I shut mine off).  Once we had rested and everyone finished (or mostly finished) listening, we took another quick walk around this ancient structure and began our walk to our next destination.

[Travel R]

Tips for visiting the Pantheon:

·       Purchasing the tickets online was quick and easy. The only issues is that they are timed tickets, so you may need to cut other activities short to make it there. [However, I doub that they were strictly enforcing the time.]

·       There are two other lines to purchase tickets, one for credit cards and the other for cash only. The cash only line seemed to move very quickly (from what I saw).

·       If you do not know much about the Pantheon, the audio tapes are well produced (as well as very clear to understand).

·       Note that it is a church, so beware that it can be closed for services (especially on a Sunday).

·       They do not have a dress code, but it could be possible for them to enforce one when there are services.

·       It is not a very large space and could be seen in the time it takes to listen to the audio tape (about a half hour).

·       The obelisk outside is currently (Aug 2024) boarded up (yes, another disappointment), although I read not for Jubilee renovation, but for some other reasons, so not sure how long it will be covered.

[CruisnHallelujahs]

14 minutes ago, Travel R said:

Tips for visiting the Pantheon:

·       Purchasing the tickets online was quick and easy. The only issues is that they are timed tickets, so you may need to cut other activities short to make it there. [However, I doub that they were strictly enforcing the time.]

·       There are two other lines to purchase tickets, one for credit cards and the other for cash only. The cash only line seemed to move very quickly (from what I saw).

·       If you do not know much about the Pantheon, the audio tapes are well produced (as well as very clear to understand).

·       Note that it is a church, so beware that it can be closed for services (especially on a Sunday).

·       They do not have a dress code, but it could be possible for them to enforce one when there are services.

·       It is not a very large space and could be seen in the time it takes to listen to the audio tape (about a half hour).

·       The obelisk outside is currently (Aug 2024) boarded up (yes, another disappointment), although I read not for Jubilee renovation, but for some other reasons, so not sure how long it will be covered.

Sad that they are now charging for the pantheon.  Wonder how much it has cut back on visitors.  We like to stay in that area and would just stroll through every day.  Appreciate this information for future visits, thanks. 

[Travel R]

28 minutes ago, Travel R said:

Walking Tour of Rome

 

Been offline for the past few days, but I had tried to upload my Walking Tour to another page. After uploading my post I was sent a message that the post needed to be reviewed by an administrator for possible copyright violation.  Today I logged in and received another notice that I was in violation.

 

I looked over what I had uploaded and everything was not copyrighted info. The directions and descriptions were written by yours truly and all of the photos were my own.

 

While I get this figured out, I will include a link to the page where the Walking Tour will be uploaded, understanding that the information will be added at a later time.

 

Update: I tried to upload the post again. I re-read through the content and there is nothing that is copyrightable on the page (except to me, since I am the creator).  It once again states that the content needs to be approved by an administrator.  So, we shall see if it is approved or not. Its a pain for me to type and format the Walking Tour for Cruise Critic. If they deny the post again, I guess it will save me a lot of time since I am not going to post it here. For those of you on the FB page, I'll try to post it over there.

 

 

[Travel R]

4 minutes ago, CruisnHallelujahs said:

Sad that they are now charging for the pantheon.  Wonder how much it has cut back on visitors.  We like to stay in that area and would just stroll through every day.  Appreciate this information for future visits, thanks. 

 

Tourists are a major source of income to the city of Rome. I can understand that for places like the Pantheon, Colosseum, Vatican Museums, etc. However, by charging for an open air fountain like the Trevi Fountain next year they are taking it to the next level.  Will Piazza Novana be next?

[CruisnHallelujahs]

1 hour ago, Travel R said:

 

Tourists are a major source of income to the city of Rome. I can understand that for places like the Pantheon, Colosseum, Vatican Museums, etc. However, by charging for an open air fountain like the Trevi Fountain next year they are taking it to the next level.  Will Piazza Novana be next?

Our last visit was two years ago…no pantheon entrance fee…don’t remember paying for the Vatican museums but maybe we did.  Amazing it went so long without charging to view the sights…quite the money maker.  Trevi Fountain was always a zoo except early morning (heavenly) before the tourist arrive…which you’ll never experience if it’s locked up till opening. 

[PATRLR]

On 9/4/2024 at 9:06 AM, Travel R said:

One thought, however, relates to the time these venues are open.  I had read several complaints, and created a chart for the times these venues were open to counter-act their comments. 

Thank you for putting that spreadsheet together.  I agree and I think I've commented in the past that the venue hours on Viva were not good, especially that late afternoon returning-from-excursions timeframe and your spreadsheet makes it clear.   One thing I notice is that you show Indulge as not open during the lunch hour, I don't remember that being the case in December when we were on her.  

If I get motivated, I might steal what you've done and overlay the hours of some of the other cruise lines we've been on recently.   I think the difference will be significant.

[PATRLR]

<removed>

Edited September 19 by PATRLR

[Travel R]

16 hours ago, PATRLR said:

Thank you for putting that spreadsheet together.  I agree and I think I've commented in the past that the venue hours on Viva were not good, especially that late afternoon returning-from-excursions timeframe and your spreadsheet makes it clear.   One thing I notice is that you show Indulge as not open during the lunch hour, I don't remember that being the case in December when we were on her.  

If I get motivated, I might steal what you've done and overlay the hours of some of the other cruise lines we've been on recently.   I think the difference will be significant.

 

Thanks, I did not notice that. Yes, Indulge was open for lunch every day of our cruise a few weeks ago.  Note that it has the same menu every day, breakfast and lunch provide different items. Breakfast is (obviously) a different menu, and very basic. However, unlike the other two meals. patrons do no order via the monitor, they need to physically get up, walk to each of the stations, and take what they want (and bring it back to the table).

 

It would be interesting to see a comparison of dining times between each of the cruise lines.  I am also wondering if it is as much of an issue on the Viva's Caribbean itinerary, which is not as port-extensive (or does not remain in port for such long time periods).

[Travel R]

Pictures of the Pantheon . . .

 

 

Edited September 20 by Travel R

[Travel R]

2c. Area Sacra di Largo Argentina and the Jewish Ghetto

 

Since Rome is in effect, an open air museum, there were things to point out everywhere we walked, but due to the heat, I probably only mentioned half of them (or left out all the details).  One place we did stop was at Sacra di Largo Argentina to point out the ruins of some ancient temples as well as the place where Caesar was assassinated. With whatever strength I had, I did discuss the assassination and its myths which were perpetuated by William Shakespeare. [The area is also a cat sanctuary, but due to the heat none were to be found scurrying about.]

 

Suggestion: You may want to do some research on the Largo Argentina area to at least identify the ruins and what they were used for. In addition, some research on the Assassination of Caesar would also be helpful.  This was the end of the Republic, the start of a Civil War, and the catalyst that brought about the Roman Empire.

 

We then made it to the Jewish Ghetto and to Nona Betta, where we had lunch reservations.  The place was mostly empty, so we probably did not need reservations.  As an appetizer we tried a mixed platter, which included Carciofi alla guida (Jewish Artichokes), which the restaurant is known for.  To tell you the truth, they were very good. Fried and fattening, but very good. The other appetizers on the plate were also fairly good.  I had a fish dish (cod) for my main entrée, and it was not great, but I was hungry and finished it off, but was not happy with my meal. Neither were my companions.  If I eat in this area again, I will try another place next time.

 

Before going to our next stop, the Jewish Museum of Rome, we took a quick detour down the road to the fourth oldest bridge in the world (Ponte Fabrico), then walked back to the museum where we went through security (everything went through a scanner and we walked through metal detectors). There was also armed police outside the entryway.

 

The museum is not very large, but it was interesting.  All of the exhibits included explanatory plaques in both Italian and English. You can easily go through the entire museum in 30 to 45 minutes, although there is a tour that can take you to the old Synagogue (we did not go), which I believe is an extra charge.  Note that the museum is air conditioned and there is a restroom in the back (and vending machines for soda and water).  There are also a few chairs and benches scattered around, and my tired body made use of them.

[Travel R]

Pictures of The Jewish Museum in the Jewish Ghetto . . .

 

 

 

 

Edited September 20 by Travel R

[Travel R]

2d.  Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and Back to the Hotel

 

Our walk to the Trevi Fountain brought us to many sites, such as Trajan’s Column (and Forum), Victor Emanuel Monument, Caesar’s Forum, and many other places. Although parched and tired, I did try to point out a few places as we passed them by.

 

We did stop by a place near Trajan’s column that sold cold smoothies and gelato. They had sugar free / gluten free pistachio gelato. Although it may not seem appealing, it was amazing!  The smoothies were also nice and cool (and they also had a rest room). We took our cold goodies, sat on a ledge outside and relaxed for a bit watching the world and the people walk on by . . . then we got up and walked again.

 

The Trevi Fountain was incredibly busy, but it did not take long to make our way to bottom to take the obligatory photos and throw a coin into the Fountain so we can return again (it worked once, so why not a second time). We also walked to the second floor of the Benetton to take some unobstructed photo of the fountain – and the store was air conditioned!

 

We then made it to our final stop, the Spanish Steps. After providing a brief explanation of how the steps got their name and a few tidbits about the Bernini (his father) fountain as well as Keats, we walked around shortly and then walked the 135 steps to the top.  Our hotel was only a few minutes’ walk and we returned to relax for a little bit and take showers. [Tip: If you vacation in Europe (or most places, for that matter) in the heat of the summer, when you decide on how many pair of undergarments to bring, double them to account for all of the showers you will take.]  However, before chilling and cooling down, we spoke to the front desk and they directed us to a place around the corner where we could pick up new luggage and also a wire for our phone charger, which also disappointingly busted.

[Travel R]

Pictures from our walk . . . 

 

Church of Sant'Angelo Pescheria (within Portico Octavia)

Theater of Marcello

Mural (unidentified for now)

Victor Emmanuel II Monument

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 20 by Travel R

[Travel R]

Pictures of Trevi Fountain

Picture of the Fontana della Barcaccia (at base of Spanish Steps)

Picture of "Monster House" (Palazzo Zuccari) close to the top of the Spanish Steps

 

 

 

 

Edited September 20 by Travel R

[Travel R]

3. Dinner (Our Last in Rome)

 

We went to another Italian restaurant for dinner that we found nearby (the place we wanted to go to was mobbed and did not take reservations, so we chose a place that did not look touristy (nor did it have waiters pulling in customers, and pictures for menus and there were a few people eating outside; we opted to sit inside in the Air Conditioning).  As has been the case, most dishes had cheese, and not wanting fish again, I ordered steak and potatoes.  The steak was fatty, and very thin and the potatoes were overcooked, but I was famished (as well as hot and exhausted), so it hit the spot.  Everyone else’s food was “okay,” but once again, nothing to write home (or to CC) about.

 

We stopped off for gelato on the way home, and I quickly fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed.

 

Next up . . . . The Roman Forum and the Long Ride to Venice