***LIVE*** From the Carnival Freedom

[kicia]

Hi all!

 

Since we just got back late Wednesday we're a little behind everyone else in getting caught up so we really don't have PCD yet. Since we've already got cruises booked for 12/1/07 and the Splendor inaugural next July that should hold us.

 

Tania - glad to see you made it home OK. We even survived with the trains and all our luggage. In fact we'd do it all again. You mentioned a trip in a motorhome next year. Have you ever used one before? If you have any questions about it feel free to ask. We've been living full time in ours for almost 4 years now so we should know the answers but I know the ones in Europe are smaller and maybe the ones in New Zealand are too.

 

Janet - I'm glad you talked your daughter into going on the cruise with you next year. That should be fun. Also good luck in Alaska. That is a beautiful place.

 

Thanks to everyone else on our 6/6 cruise. All the CC people helped make it very special and different from any of our other trips. It was nice to run into people you knew on the ship and in the ports.

 

We were in a Paris department store and heard a lady talking about a Mediterranean cruise and I asked which one. She was on the Freedom on 6/30 just as we were getting off. She is also a CC member. We talked a long time and tried to talk her into the Splendor and she said she was thinking about it. It's amazing who you met when you least expect it.

 

Thanks again everyone and keep in touch.

 

George and Linda (kicia)

glmattie@hotmail.com

[kaperino]

Hi y'all! You are going to love the Freedom. Just like Jane said, we wished for more sea days. we could not do enough on the ship. Had to miss a lot of john's shows due to exhaustion. It was hard to keep up the excursions, dinner club and sari aways! Our balcony was our refuge. Just loved the views and the days we got to spend with Janet, Phil, Jim and Peg, Tania, Andrew, Jane and Jim, Barb and Ed, Mark and Diane, Nanette and Eugene, Linda, and George, Linda ( Darthtater) and Kathy and Shirley.....Ron the piano man....all the folks from our CC roll call! Just can not put all the experiences in to words. Have not completed the review I had hoped to. we used ROMASHUTTLE.COM . really liked them. Nanette has tour guides and shuttle people she loved.... Kathie

[Quince]

To those of you who've done the cruise...

Does Carnival charge for the port shuttles? I know the one in Citi. is free, because it's managed by the port company. How about the ones in Naples and Livorno?

 

Just trying to figure if it's better for 4-6 of us to try and hire a taxi in those ports to get to the train station.

 

13 days and counting!

[JanfrWA]

To those of you who've done the cruise...

Does Carnival charge for the port shuttles? I know the one in Citi. is free, because it's managed by the port company. How about the ones in Naples and Livorno?

 

Just trying to figure if it's better for 4-6 of us to try and hire a taxi in those ports to get to the train station.

 

13 days and counting!

 

hi there. I don't remember a shuttle in Naples or Livorno, however thoswe were the two ports we had a private driver. The ones in Dubrovnik and Barcelona were both about 10 euro pp each I think. We took a taxi in Dubrovnik to the wall and it was 10 euro per taxi each way - so a great deal if you have 4 per taxi. We did use the shuttle in Barcelona. Then we did the HOHO bus which was about 19 euro each. Others with more people in their group/family just took taxis and it worked out better for them pricewise I think. Some people ran into long lines for the HOHO bus ~ the only one we had was at the Gaudi church and it went pretty quickly.

 

Maybe someone else used a shuttle in the other places?

 

Have a great time! Pack light! Seriously;).

 

Janet

[sunshine002]

To those of you who've done the cruise...

Does Carnival charge for the port shuttles? I know the one in Citi. is free, because it's managed by the port company. How about the ones in Naples and Livorno?

 

Just trying to figure if it's better for 4-6 of us to try and hire a taxi in those ports to get to the train station.

 

13 days and counting!

 

Hi,

 

Just got back yesterday, had a great time. You don;t need a shuttle in Naples you are right in the city and near the ferries. In Naples it was a 5 minute walk then we took the ferry to Ishia. (sorry about the spelling)

In Livorno there was a 1 euro charge roundtrip for the shuttle.

Hope this helps

[aussiecruzer]

Hi Maylee

Greetings from a fellow Aussie! I really enjoyed reading your son's journal. He writes amazingly well for a 12 year old. Please congratulate him. We live in Gosford, just north of Sydney and are planning our first cruise and first family holiday to Europe in Sept 07. We will be on the 29th Sept Voyager of the Seas cruise, which visits many of the same ports - Starts in Barcelona, then Villefranche, Livorno, Civitaveccia, Naples, Palermo and back to Barcelona. I will be travelling with my husband and our 2 daughters aged 11 and 14 , so I was particularly interested in hearing your son's views.

Thank you so much:) :) . Susmita.

[okteach_61]

I haven't seen anything on here in a while from recent or current cruisers.

[Cruising Retired Army SGM]

I haven't seen anything on here in a while from recent or current cruisers.

 

Not sure just what your are looking for but since last Sunday I have been posting three times a day all of my tips and hints from my June Carnival Freedom cruise. Just look for my name on the 9/22/07 Carnival Freedom message board and you should pick up a lot of new information if you have never cruises or have flown to Europe.

[wrk2cruz]

I haven't seen anything on here in a while from recent or current cruisers.

 

We just returned from the July 12th cruise...The ports were awsome!!!!:D :D :D

The ship....just ok. Will post a review as soon as I finish unpacking!

[RoanokeHoo]

We just returned from the July 12 sailing. I have posted on that thread, but I will be glad to answer any questions for anyone. We loved every port and when we tried to decide which locale we liked the least, we couldn't come up with an answer. We did everything through Carnival and it worked without a flaw.

[maylee]

Hi Susmito, Thank you for your comments re my sons journal, he put so much work into and I'm so glad it has been able to help others.

[aussiecruzer]

Thanks Maylee

Can I please ask you one question. I have pretty much decided what we will be doing at each port, and I am trying not to try to cram too much into each day. The only port I am undecided about is Livorno. My girls really want to climb the leaning tower of Pisa which we think would be a great experience too. We can either take the train ourselves (cheaper option) or do the ship's 4 hour tour for $99 per person including the climb. Either way, I think we will not be able to see Florence as well. Did your son enjoy Pisa more or Florence?, and what about you? Or do you think we should skip climbing the tower and have time to see Florence too. Thanks for your opinion:) :) Susmita.

[wrk2cruz]

Thanks Maylee

Can I please ask you one question. I have pretty much decided what we will be doing at each port, and I am trying not to try to cram too much into each day. The only port I am undecided about is Livorno. My girls really want to climb the leaning tower of Pisa which we think would be a great experience too. We can either take the train ourselves (cheaper option) or do the ship's 4 hour tour for $99 per person including the climb. Either way, I think we will not be able to see Florence as well. Did your son enjoy Pisa more or Florence?, and what about you? Or do you think we should skip climbing the tower and have time to see Florence too. Thanks for your opinion:) :) Susmita.

 

We just returned from the july 12th Cruise. If you can arrange a share both Pisa and Florence are absolutely do-able

We used Tuscany by Taxi, they picked us up at 7:30 AM. Our group did not want to do Pisa so we went directly to Florence. We would have had plenty of time to do both!!! The price we were charged was 400E's for 8 of us. Florence I think is great for adults ( museums and shopping!) Kids will probably like Pisa....

Be careful of the train...they were on strike the day we were there (7/22)

[maylee]

Hi Susmita, I just asked the boys and they both agreed that Florence itself was not their favorite part of the cruise. They enjoyed Pisa and said it would have been cool to climb if we had had time, but they thought seeing David was important. I tend to agree with them, I wouldn't miss seeing David for anything, despite the fact that I was incredibly sick that day and should have stayed in bed, I think I sat in front of the David statue for about 1/2 hour. It really is a masterpiece.

 

If I could do the day again, I would probably use the suggestion of Tuscany by Taxi, go to Pisa and climb the tower and then zip into Florence to see David and maybe the overview of Florence from Piazzale Michaelangelo, where you can see the walls of Florence and the Ponte Vecchio Bridge.

 

Hope that helps :)

[DavidandPaula]

Hi Susmita, I just asked the boys and they both agreed that Florence itself was not their favorite part of the cruise. They enjoyed Pisa and said it would have been cool to climb if we had had time, but they thought seeing David was important. I tend to agree with them, I wouldn't miss seeing David for anything, despite the fact that I was incredibly sick that day and should have stayed in bed, I think I sat in front of the David statue for about 1/2 hour. It really is a masterpiece.

 

If I could do the day again, I would probably use the suggestion of Tuscany by Taxi, go to Pisa and climb the tower and then zip into Florence to see David and maybe the overview of Florence from Piazzale Michaelangelo, where you can see the walls of Florence and the Ponte Vecchio Bridge.

 

Hope that helps :)

 

Just got back and about to start unpacking.

 

All of our plans were disrupted by the train strike so we joined with a Canadian family to get a taxi to Florence. We stayed there until after our prebooked tickets into Accademia.

 

Brian and his wife had been there before so we also picked up an expert tour guide and saw a number of museums etc before going to see David.

 

I fully agree with your feelings about David. We sat there for 40 minutes and the experience brought me to tears. It is such a magnificient statue and displayed perfectly. (the first 15 minutes I sat over a cool air inlet staring at his right buttock as the heat had really gotten to me)

 

I had started to hate the ship organised tours but whatever you do, do not risk your plans being disrupted in Tuscany. The taxi driver had a set of prices for both Pisa and Florence. We paid 360 euros for the six of us and once we got to Florence he waited for us to return to the taxi at 3pm and then drove us right to the ship.

 

If we go back sometime in the future it will be for a land based visit to Italy, no cruise ships next time.

 

David

[DavidandPaula]

Well we have arrived home, little bit longer as we had 3 days in Rome after cruise.

 

Bit to tired to do full report and must admit to feeling a bit jaded about Carnival so would probably not do the cruise justice.

 

I will get my gripes out now and then forget them. Feel free to skip to the good things lower down.

 

I did get a bit angry about John Heald making fun of peoples names at the first show. That continued throughout the cruise until the farewell show when the people next to us were commenting loudly that on their last cruise the improvised drama had a lady sleeping in the audience, whose name was Mary, who knocked John off his feet etc. But it was funny at the time except for the unneccesary commentary.

 

The cruise was our first and until the last few days more than met my expectations. Once we had filled in the report card and the staff had been paid their bonuses the whole mood seemed to change and I was glad to get off the ship finally.

 

Tuscany Day - It was a pity the agent did not contact the ship about the train strike if it was possible. We got the shuttle into Livorno and then were trapped until we joined up with another family to get a taxi to Florence. If I had believed the taxi drivers at the port I would have grabbed a taxi there and not waited an hour in Livorno at the bus stop.

Other noticeable change on this day was the service levels in the Open sitting brekfast started the downward spiral but maybe the missing dishes were just a subtle way of making me start a diet)

 

Rome Port day - got the shuttle to the gate and then waked to Hertz to pick up our pre booked hire car. Had a great day. When we got back to the ship Paula had a shower and then went to put on the robe until we dressed for our late tea. Surprise 1 - robes had been removed. I was so hot that I finally sucumbed to temptation to use mini bar. Surprise 2 - mini bar now locked. At least late sitting tea up to usual standards but a $10 corkage fee on a 2 euro bottle of wine was a bit of a hit.

Would have then had an early night except I had to return the extension lead I had hired. In order to get the $25 fee refunded I had to wait in the line to the pursers desk for over an hour. Aside from the off duty staff who walked by and laughed as they wished us a good trip home the maximum number of pursers that there were computers available for were struggling to cope with the rush to fix bills and exchange luggage tickets. The though did occur to me that as there were several computers not being used at the excursions desk which was closed surely they could have organised a quick queue for returns and payments over at that desk (sorry, as an IT worker I am always told to propose solutions to problems not just gripe about the problem).

 

Disembark day - at Open Sitting breakfast the service level decline continued with outright rudeness and incompetence from the waiting staff to several people on our table. We waited in our cabin, and on the Lido deck, and in the foyer on an announcement for our luggage. We were Red 15, people who made their own arrangements (even though they had been entered in the funpass screen back in December) and when we finally walked off the ship at 9am without being called we found our luggage in and end tent at the opposite end to the shuttle buses. I would be interested to hear from anyone who was a Red 15 to see what time the number was eventually called. This was our last contact with Carnival on this cruise and possibly for ever.

 

Another problem I had was the shortage of self serve laundries. Later in the cruise it became an issue with just getting a machine. To the lady who accused me of being late to unload my machine all I can say is sorry. Set machine going and set my stop watch to get back to unload it. I left the cabin when the machine should have stopped but by the time I walked to the laundry it must have finished already. Most sorry I may have hogged the machine for less than a minute.

 

And lastly why is there no access from the bow of the ship on the dining decks to the Posh dining room without going up or down to other decks. The outside deck runs through but there is no door. It is the same on all this class of ships I am told so why has it not been fixed in later built ships. Got Paula many times but I just adopted a habit of goint to the lifts at the stern and then walking forward. I also found that I can hold my breath long enough to get through the Habana lounge as long as nobody gets in my way.

 

Well now that the gripes are put to rest I will build up my strength for the report.

 

Good things from here on.

 

Cabin - we had the lowliest cabin on the ship, lowest floor and inside. While we did hear the engines all the time as a muted sound in the background we never felt any motion in any direction. We had stayed in London just before the trip so it was plenty big enough and the bathroom was better than the hotel we had stayed at. We heard som many complaints from people about their better cabins that we just smiled and accepted our good luck. Our table companions had a cabin that was unbearable whenever the ship was manouvering, everything rattled when we approached the dock. The only problem was the need for an extension lead to connect my CPAP pump but that was my own fault as I had read on this board that somebody had that problem on an earlier cruise.

 

Our first ship excursion was Capri, Sorrento and Pompei. What can one say, Capri is beautiful but a little crowded with tourists on excursions. Lunch at Sorrento was fantastic, the drive through the backstreets scary. By the time we got to Pompei the temperature had climbed and it became a bit of a struggle but was well worth the effort. Really was glad that it was a short walk from bus to ship when we returned and we had plenty of time to refsh ourselves before a late sitting tea in Posh. We changed from a simple trip to Pompei to this full excursion after the first show about the excursions and the extra cost was well worth it. Our original idea was a morning at Pompei before walking around Naples but even the bus trip back into Naples convinced me not to make this cruise a trip through the untidy towns of the Med.

 

Day at sea was relaxing, should have explored the ship more as even on the second last night we were still finding new places to hang out and relax. Gym was good but so crowded most of the time.

 

Next port day was Rhodes - we walked up through the old town and then along the South wall until we finished up at a beach. Spent some time there swimming and struggling to walk on the pebble beach. Then walked back along the waterfront and had a relaxing late lunch overlooking the harbour. Arrived back at the ship in plenty of time to shower and dress for dinner with a visit to the casino and bar on the way. Went to the show in the Victoriana.

 

Must away to do the next load of washing before Paula accuses me of machine hogging. Weather here in Melbourne is the best they have had since we went on the cruise, temperature is in the high 11s.

 

David

[aussiecruzer]

Thank you Maylee, and also wrk2cruz and David for your comments,

I have a feeling that like your boys, our girls would also enjoy Pisa more than Florence. I will look into your idea of Tuscany by Taxi, but unfortunately our port day in Livorno is a Monday so the museums would be closed and we would not be able to see David anyway. Thanks again for your help , and please thank your boys. I will get my girls to read your son's review- interesting to see it from a kid's point of view. Our cruise starts 2 months from today- I can't wait!! :) :) Susmita.

[JanfrWA]

David & Paula,

 

It was interesting to read your review of the Carnival Freedom cruise from a first time cruiser's perspective. I am going to address several of your pros/cons: 1) in hopes that you will try cruising again and 2) to provide a few suggestions to other first time cruisers. You are certainly entitled to your opinions and since I was not with you on your cruise, I absolutely can't say that your experiences were not accurate. I must add tho that we have cruised many times and are looking at possibly 3 more in the next year, we are very pro-cruise as one of the most affordable ways to travel and see the world. We are new to this CC site, using it this past cruise for the first time, and found a wealth of information and friends here.

 

Also, you really picked a long, port intensive, challenging cruise for your first cruise. I truly hope you will give the Carribean, Mexico or Alaska a try before you hang it up forever.

 

Disclaimer out of the way, on the the comments;).

 

John Heald - and other CD's: do not feel bad regarding the name issue. At the risk of spoiling it for someone else, there are two pawns at the first show who have agreed ahead of time to assume a "name". These people have been approached by the entertainment staff prior to the show, and altho John has not met them, he is directed to chose them from the audience. It is all done in good fun and even tho some of us know it is a setup, it is quite funny. The sleeping lady at the Bedtime Story is the same thing. All willing participants. John does have a great sense of humor. Read his blog at http://johnheald.wordpress.com.

 

Staff "bonuses" - while designated as tips/gratuities, these amounts are an important part of the staff's wages. Even when language has gotten in the way, our waitstaff and room stewards have always done an amazing job. Our only disappointments have been on NCL and the freestyle dining which we have stated before that we do not like. We want the same wait staff every night who knows what we like to eat and drink without asking. Not always, but when we have exceptional service, we hand out an additional cash tip (to the daily gratuities) the last night. We did on the Freedom cruise ~ even to Ken the maitre di.

 

Strikes - unfortunately, the ship has no control over strikes and it would be my guess that cruise ships and tourists are last on the list of the country hosting the strike. I have seen John write in his blog that he has announced potential strikes when he has knowledge about them. More so in foreign countries, strikes seem to happen frequently and without alot of notice. Always have a plan B.

 

We have rarely used the ship's tours as they are so much more expensive that arranging something on your own. However, if we think there is a chance of missing the ship, then we will take the ship's tour. On this particular cruise, we did not use the ship for a single tour. We have also had good luck with taxis and arranging transportation/tours on the pier. I do think Europe ports are much different from most other cruise ports with the sites being quite far from where the ship docks, not within walking distance and many must be arranged ahead of time.

 

Disembarking - We also had arranged transportation on our own and were one of the last groups off the ship. I believe everyone is off the ship no later than 930am. I'm not sure what you meant by the info being on your fun ship pass ahead of time?? We were glad to have the relaxing morning on the ship to have breakfast and chat with our friends prior to leaving. We had problems with the shuttle we had arranged ~ but that's another story:o.

 

Robes/Mini Bar - the ship does have to inventory items so they can start closing out the charge accounts. All ships do this usually the last night. They also usually have a cut off time and all purchases after that point, have to be paid in cash.

 

Corkage fee - we also bought several bottles of wine and were thrilled that we were allowed to bring them to our cabins. Most ships confiscate the wine/alcohol when coming on board and return it to you at the end of the cruise. "Next time", open the bottle in your cabin and pour the glass before you wander the ship. Corkage fees are normal thru out the industry.

 

Extension cord - having sailed before, we knew there was only one outlet in the cabin, so always bring an extension cord/outlet strip. Unfortunately, those who have things to return do wait until the last minute (I would too) and therefore the lines. A couple of notes: great idea about using the excursion computers, I hope you turned that in as a suggestion. Also, John recently interviewed the Chief Purser and without looking back, I believe there are around 24 or so desk staff, which is probably 3 shifts of 8 in order to staff around the clock.

 

Laundry - some ships only have a couple of laundry facilities on the entire ship, the Freedom had one on every floor. We were lucky to hit the room at non-peak hours and washed three times during the 12 days. We have also been on ships that did not offer any self serve laundry rooms and you had to pay big bucks to have anything cleaned. I always check the ship ahead of time as we like to pack light and I bring woolite just in case.

 

Dining room access - I would agree that it gets frustrating and confusing to get from one deck to another, etc etc. I understand that they have to design the ship to work as efficiently as possible, especially for the meal service - a huge part of the operating systems, however there were times that we could not get from here to there, no matter how hard we tried. Might also have been the lemoncello. Moral of the story - carry the little ship maps and refer to the guides at the elevators and elsewhere. This is the same for all ships, not just Carnival.

 

Cruising isn't for everyone, altho those of us who love it and are addicted, don't understand that concept:). I hope this encourages you to try cruising again. Try a smaller ship with an easier itinerary. Read the packing list suggestions and other cruise tips that are out there in the internet world.

 

We learn something new every time we cruise or find a new favorite thing to pack. It truly is an educational experience. Seriously, and that's how I justify it. haha

 

Feel free to email me directly if you want to chat more privately.

 

Janet

[DavidandPaula]

Thanks JanfrWA.

 

I had been doing research since last November and this CC Board has been a great help. We had realised it was a big cruise for a first one but it had to fit between a family wedding and Paula getting her braces on later this week. She does not want to leave the house for the next 2 years until they come of so this was the BIG holiday. (its amazing how vain a 50+ person can be).

 

I have nothing but praise for our regular staff in the dining room. The bad experiences were all when we used the Open Dining Breakfast or Lunch. The tick sheet does not seem to give you the chance to distinguish between the two lots of staff.

 

As to returning the lead I got caught in a bind. Had to pack the CPAP pump and put it out before 11pm which meant I had to sleep without it on the last night. If cruising again I will remember to pack my own lead but I was amazed that at one stage there were 4 people in the line all carrying extension leads. All got to the desk, handed the leads over then signed the sail and sign slip and then left the desk after spending less than a minute at the desk. Seemed to be a common problem.

 

We used a mixture of Carnival excursions and self tours depending on the port. For Istanbul we took an excursion as the main thing for us was the lunch at the Topkapi Palace. In Athens we just caught the train into Monastrika and walked up to the Acropolis via the Tower of the Four Seasons. By the end of the holiday which covered London, Rome and the cruise the only thing we missed was the Leaning Tower so Pisa has now moved to the top of the list for next time.

 

I am trying to put down our experiences for each port and will continue tonight after work.

 

David

[DavidandPaula]

So on to Izmir. We took the Carnival tour to Ephesus and Sirince Village under the excellent guidance of Elef. It was good fun pushing the bus to get it started. This was advertised as a family tour so it was a smaller group than usual.

Ephesus is well worth seeing although on the day time caught up with us and we only had a fleeting glimpse of the theatre at the bottom. Paula bought packets of Turkish Delight before getting back on the bus and then we travelled on to Sirince Village.

At Sirince we had ample time to wander through the shops and bought some Turkish "Evil Eye" lucky charms. You can barter here but you will not get any major price reductions as the margins seem to be pretty small. Better to wait for Istanbul. Lunch was on a covered patio area with a good view over the terraces on the hill opposite. We also had a visit from the election bus as Turkey had a general election several days later.

Back to the ship from Sirince.

 

Next day was Istanbul. We had set as our priority having lunch at the Topkapi Palace and the only way to get into the palace was on a Carnival tour on the day we were there. The bus took us to

Hippodrome - some interesting artifacts here but the guide was a bit brief on some of them but my Istanbul guide book filled in the details nicely. It was one of the DK series of books.

Blue Mosque - clothing rules are basically no knees or shoulders for either gender. At the door you take your shoes of, plastic carry bags provided as you exit through a different door, but try to fit in with the custom of taking your shoes off before you step onto the blue floor covering at the doorway. No restrictions on photography that we could find. On the day there was a father and son combination running some sort of a scam within the precinct of the mosque and this upset most of the other locals as the got stuck in and beat up the pair of them. The sheer size of the mosque is amazing. This mosque has 6 minarets and caused quite a stir when it was built as the number of minarets indicates where the money came from to build the mosque. One indicates a small local mosque built with local funds, 2 indicate funds donated from a local ruler etc. 4 indicated a mosque funded by the royalty and originally the mosque at Mecca had 4 minarets. When the Blue Mosque was built with 6 minarets it was seen to be a challenge to the one at Mecca and that the sultan was trying to set himself up as a god. The mosque at Mecca now has 8 minarets to indicate its status as the supreme mosque.

Sophia Haga - what can I say but wow. This really reflects the Christian/Muslim history of this building and the city and has an amazing mix of both worlds. As it is no longer a functioning religous building it does not have the same level of dress code but as you are already dressed for the Blue Mosque then all will be well. To one side there is the teaching area from when it was a mosque and this is the only area where restrictions are in place for flash photography.

Topkapi Palace - this is the ultimate site of indulgance that I have ever seen. Separate pavillions for Circumcision, Turbans, Throne etc etc.

The display of valuables leaves you breathless and includes the Topkapi Dagger, the Spoonmaker Diamond but for our visit some of the exhibits were on loan to an exhibition in Tokyo. It is well worth reading up on the contents so you can understand what you are seeing and setting your priorities as a tour cannot give you enough time to inspect everything.

Lunch was on the terrace overlooking the Bosphorus and the food was a fantastic as out Turkish friends had indicated.

The harem as also closed when we were there so we got back on the bus and went to the Grand Bazaar via a carpet making demonstartion and sales pitch. We came so close to buying a rug for our family room until Paula decided that if we got one then we would have to remodel the kitchen and get new furniture so the credit card escaped intact. Intact until we got to the bazaar that is. We had a mixture of success here but it was good fun. The guide suggests not to compare prices when you get back to the bus as somebody will be dissappointed. Paula got a short coat which fitted her figure perfectly so the fact that others got coats cheaper did not worry us all that much. Getting something that fitted her was a plus anyway.

Then back on the bus and back to the ship.

 

The trip to Athens via the Dardanelles provides another day at sea and in the morning after breakfast you will be sailing through the narrows and see the forts that they needed to destroy to open the Dardanelles in Workd War 1. It is a bit sobering that you are sailing over a number of battleships that were sunk there before the infantry landings. It was of interest for us as Australians but you do not actually see any aspect of the Aussie part of the Galipoli campaign. At the end of the penninsula you can see the 2 Turkish memorials (the 2 with Turkish flags) and between them you can pick out the British memorial inland which is a big white obelisk. This commemeorates the british and Indian troops who came ashore at the cape. The French landings were on the asian side and cannot be seen from the ship.

 

The next day at seas provided a welcome rest from the heat of two days of excursions.

 

Need to do some work so will continue later with Greece.

 

David

[DavidandPaula]

To continue.

 

Athens - I think we may have been the second couple of the ship after it docked at Pireaus. No shuttle and no taxis available so we set out to walk to the station. In the heat it was quite a hike but eventually we made it and caught the train to Monastiraki. from here we wandered through to the Tower of the Four Seasons and then continued up to the Acropolis. The DK guide book came into play and we wandered about there for about 2 hours until it had become to busy.

The Acropolis is a must see in Athens but it gets extremely busy very quickly and after a while the shrill whistles from the attendats gets on your nerves. I could not work out what could not be walked on or touched or whatever upset them, it seemed to be an abitrary thing and I did not see any signs. Maybe if we had been on a tour we might have been told. Paula had a fall here when she slipped on a rock or marble outcrop and I would think that this whole area would become a bit of a slippery slide if it rained. Make sure you have good non slip soles on your shoes.

We left and walked along the south side until we reached the shops in the Plaka area. Bought a nice Greek evil eye lucky charm for Paula.

From there we went and looked at Hadrians Gate and then walked along to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and watched the Evzone going through their drill.

From there we wandered down and found a nice cool cafe to have lunch and use the toilets.

Caught the train back to Pireaus and then a taxi back to the ship for a swim and snack.

 

Katakolon - took the Olympia and Folklorico tour here. Olympia was fascinating but I had the DK guide so could fill in the gaps in the guided tour. Our group also mislaid a family with young children while we were here. The pressure seemed to be on to get through and back to Katakolon for lunch. The lunch was okay, if just a little small and the music and dancing was okay. In Melbourne Australia we have a very large Greek population so much of what we saw we had seen many times before at home.

After lunch we strolled along the street and then stopped at a quayside cafe for a cold drink and sat looking at the sea and the ship for a while. Then back to the ship for a swim and snack.

 

The next day was at sea with a major interest being the stop to view Stromboli briefly.

 

Next stop was Livorno. Here we were going to do our own thing and I had booked tickets for Accademia at 2pm. Our intention was to go to Pisa first but the train strike put an end to that. We shared a cab tour to Florence with a Canadian family of four and that cost us 60 euros each. The driver agreed to stay in Florence until 3pm so we could use our tickets. Our Canadian friend Brian had been to Florence before and had planned the visit so we tagged along and saw some of the sights of Florence not always on the tour circuit. The Medici Palace was the first stop and it was spectacular. Eventually we stopped for lunch in one of the piazzas and at just after 2pm entered the gallerie to see David. I am not all that much of an artistic or cultural type but I can say that the statue of David is one of the most moving experiences of my life. Its size, quality and location combine so well. We then had to hurry back to the cab and were driven back to the ship in plenty of time.

 

Overnight to Civitavecchia for the last day. As we spent a day before the cruise, the port day and two and a half days after the cruise in Rome I would like to cover Rome in a later post.

 

Disembarkation day came and we eventually got of the ship just on 9am. We kept waiting for the call for the Red 5 group (the odds and sods) but eventually left and found our luggage then proceeded to Rome. Our transfer had fallen through so eventually we picked up a "taxi" through to our B&B in Parioli.

 

This was our first cruise and as has been said, it was an ambitious one with so many port days. In general it met our expectations with some fantastic experiences but occasionally some not so good experiences. I am sure we will go on future cruises but at this stage we may try other cruise lines so we have some comparison. As Paula is about to have the dreaded braces applied I do not think we will be going to far for at least another 2 years at which stage I am determined to do a canal boat cruise in Yorkshire UK followed by a walking tour in France or Switzerland.

I also want to return to Rome for a longer stay and am starting to plan for a major anniversary in 4 (or 9 or 14) years that covers all the places we fell in love with in Rome and will report on next time.

 

David

[JRT1]

I have read so many reviews and it amazes me me how people are so petty... Geez You are on vacation anything is better then being at home. So if the water is cold enough or the line is to long at the buffet WHO CARES!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think you are still better off then being at home.... More Importantly, I have never read anything about the CASINO..... can anyone tell me if they heard of or possibly themselves be a big winner. I would love to know... if no winners that is a good thing so that means the machines are saving up for me to get there on the 8/5/07 voyage....

Thank You I look forward to a response... and lighten up if you are one of those miserable people that hate everything from carpet dust to ceiling lights and eveything in between

 

I always say "a day on a cruise is better than any day at work"

[JRT1]

fendere, I'm still here.Thanks for the reply. I guess I'll be obsessing about these boards until 2008 when I go on my trip!!:)

 

Don't feel bad. I stayed on this board day and night for months before our trip the first of May. I have been home now for 2 1/2 months and still can't stay off this board. I am SOOOOOO jealous of all of the cruisers who are either on this cruise or about to sail. :o

[JRT1]

Thanks Maylee

Can I please ask you one question. I have pretty much decided what we will be doing at each port, and I am trying not to try to cram too much into each day. The only port I am undecided about is Livorno. My girls really want to climb the leaning tower of Pisa which we think would be a great experience too. We can either take the train ourselves (cheaper option) or do the ship's 4 hour tour for $99 per person including the climb. Either way, I think we will not be able to see Florence as well. Did your son enjoy Pisa more or Florence?, and what about you? Or do you think we should skip climbing the tower and have time to see Florence too. Thanks for your opinion:) :) Susmita.

 

We joined with two other couples and used Papillion Tours. Our guide was Sabrina and she was great. It cost us about 100 euro's per person (if memory serves) and she picked us up right at the gangplank. She showed us Florence, had tickets to The David, the Gold Bridge and then to the Tower of Pisa. She showed us to a nice little local restaurant in Florence and at the end, gave each couple a bottle of wine. This was a great day and we were able to see both The David and The Tower. We could not find a Carnival excursion that would allow us to do both.

:o

[bp traveler]

My opinon of the casino is that is was much "tighter" than any other I had been in!!! We play Black Jack and it is a streaky game! With that said, we played most of the days and could never get any sort of rhythm going other than losing streaks!!

 

I did see the SAME lady with twice on the slot machines, once she one $1100 and the other time $1000 - I guess lady luck was with her that trip!

 

Our friends who are bigger bettors than we are said the same think of the BJ tables - hard to get any sort of winning going.

 

The dealers are all really nice - say hi to Alex - his girlfriend is Agne in the dining room - cute couple!