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Serenade of the Seas - Venice Itinerary Review (Aug 11, 2013)


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Hello all, we just got back from the Serenade - Venice itinerary, and it was fabulous! With Kreuzfahrtneuling's kind encouragement, I am starting my first picture review. (In the meantime, please go read her very entertaining review on this very same itinerary, 2 cruises before ours. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1890431.)

 

Some background

 

I cruise with my parents. They are senior folks, still active in daily life but prefer a more leisurely pace when traveling. This review will point out specific items about the cruise and ports that might be of interest to those who are of similar mind. While we may not have been the first off the ship and last onboard, we still found something to do in every port that was interesting, not too physically intensive, and gave ample time for rest between ports. We've also been fortunate enough to cruise the Mediterranean twice already, so in the repeat ports, we were able to explore some of less popular regions.

 

So why do the Mediterranean again? We had originally booked a Norwegian fjords cruise for late August, but while the itinerary was amazing, it was only 7 days. Flying to Europe for just a week seemed like a drag.

 

Then, like a sign from the cruising gods, Middle Aged Drama Queen's review of her Serenade cruise from last year popped up on the CC boards. I had somehow missed it when she first posted it, and her enthusiasm and joie de vivre were infectious. A Mediterranean cruise hadn't even occurred to me - we'd just been there 2 years ago - but why not? Looking at her pictures of sunny, warm climes and historical sites piqued my interest, and when I saw the Serenade's Venice itinerary, it sounded like a perfect idea.

 

We finalized the cruise booking in May, which left little time to plan but still a lot of time for excitement. Most of my focus was on finding excursions that would be suitable for 2 seniors.

 

This review will take a while to finish, as I'll be posting in bits and pieces while trying to adjust back to everyday life (ick). Definitely feel free to ask questions, though. I'll be back later tonight for our first installment.

 

All aboard!

Edited by windjamming
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Hi Windjamming,

 

:DJippieeee, you started it! Another review of our cruise itinerary! I'm so stoked! Thanks for the nice words in the beginning---I'm flattered:p. I'm glad if I could help getting you hyped to do this review! And what a great start... I can't wait for the next posts! I'm definitely following this one:)!

 

Stef

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So happy you let Stef talk you into... err, encouraged.... you to write this review :p

 

I read Middle Aged Drama Queen's review from last year and I am an avid follow of Stef's review... and now, I am following yours. Can't wait to see what sort of adventures you encountered along the way :D

 

Melissa

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can't wait! I hate to be patient! Pleeaasse more!

 

Sorry! I conked out last night right after getting home from work. Stupid jet lag! I then woke up at 1:30am but managed to toss and turn until about 4:30am so I guess we should claim that as a partial victory. (But why am I so hungry at 5am?!)

 

Finishing up my first installment now - then need to remember how to post photos and should have something up in a half hour.

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Thank you and looking forward to your report. We are taking our 80 year old plus parents in October and wondering even though they are quite active for their age if it will be too much for them.

 

I think it will be great! A lot will depend on how you plan your days. For us, I made sure we had plenty of down time and didn't pack our days too tightly. For many of the excursions there is very little walking, and RCI does a good job of making sure there are opportunities for everyone on these cruises.

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Thanks all for your kind words and encouragement!

 

Because we built in a good amount of downtime during the cruise, rather than posting a day by day recap, I'll be reviewing the ports and then the ship's dining, activities, and services.

 

PREP

 

As mentioned earlier, we only finalized our cruise booking in May, so we did not have a lot of time to prepare. In addition to reading up on CC reviews, I bought Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports book, which was tremendously helpful in reading about highlights that can be achieved in a day, bathroom locations, and port services. Amazon has it for about $18. Tip: It is a big tome, but you can cut the book apart so that you don't have to bring all of Greece's pages with you while touring Italy. He even recommends it in the book!

 

Prior to the trip we purchased travel insurance from TravelGuard. Fortunately, we did not need to use their policy, but that also contributed to peace of mind while traveling.

 

PORTS

 

In the last 2 Mediterranean cruises, we were determined to see as many highlights as possible and did full day tours, sometimes leaving as early as 7 and then going to 6 or 7. Although very enjoyable - and worth it - it was very exhausting and, truth be told, we were at times grumpy. Grumpy family members = not fun times.

 

This time, I was determined to avoid "mal de too much". For each of the ports, we'd do a half-day excursion, and then have free time in the morning or afternoon to do whatever - explore the city or just chill out on the ship. I planned for afternoon excursions for our first 2 ports so we could sleep in due to jet lag, but we'll see later that even the best laid plans sometimes don't go as expected - but it all still works out!

 

We bought all of our excursions through the ship. While pricier than DIY or outside private excursions, for me, it was about peace of mind while traveling with my parents. I also liked that RCI had recommendations on the level of difficulty (mild, moderate, strenuous) and number of meters/steps required. This allowed me to plan out the days better. Note: I found that they tended to be very conservative in their estimates.

 

Pre-Boarding

 

Because of work, we flew in on the red-eye on the day of the cruise and booked the ship's transfers. In the name of comfort, we splurged and upgraded our seats, which made a huge difference! We all got a solid few hours of sleep, and we started the day feeling decently rested and fed. On our last Mediterranean cruise, we flew the red eye into Rome in coach, and we were zombies that whole day! On that cruise, we also decided to do the city tour combined with transfer, which turned into a nap on the bus. While we would have loved a Barcelona city tour, we thought about our Rome experience and nixed it. (In hindsight, though, we probably could have done it given that we'd had some good sleep). So, for older travelers, my recommendation is that if you splurge on something, do it on an upgraded flight. It really makes a difference.

 

Our direct flight from Newark landed early, and we had gone through immigration and picked up our luggage by 9am. Upon exiting customs, we were greeted by a small, friendly army of Royal Caribbean reps who took our luggage and told us that the transfer would leave at 10am.

 

The Barcelona arrivals area is clean and very busy! There would be 4 ships departing that day - the Liberty of the Seas, Norwegian Epic, Crystal Symphony, and us - so perhaps that was the reason. In the arrivals area there is even signage for cruisers (see upper left corner thing hanging off the ceiling):

 

9607027824_e5fd063866.jpg

 

The transfer was somewhat uneventful. They left, as planned, at 10am, and we were checked in and on the ship by 11 or 11:30. We were docked in the berth furthest from the port gate, and it was a sight to drive past 3 ships to get to ours!

 

Nothing really else to report for pre-boarding, but I'll leave a teaser for what we awoke to the next morning:

 

9603772793_12e3f3f439.jpg

 

And I promise the next posts will have more pictures. ;)

Edited by windjamming
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Hi Windjamming,

 

I am doing this itinerary with my elderly parents next week - I can't wait at this stage.

 

We have our flights and transfers booked through RC and will be arriving in BCN on the morning of the cruise.

 

I have heard that RC do the 'check in' and seapass card etc at the airport. I'm wondering if this was the case for you and your family?

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Hi Windjamming,

 

I am doing this itinerary with my elderly parents next week - I can't wait at this stage.

 

We have our flights and transfers booked through RC and will be arriving in BCN on the morning of the cruise.

 

I have heard that RC do the 'check in' and seapass card etc at the airport. I'm wondering if this was the case for you and your family?

 

Hi oregand, you are in for a treat!

 

I didn't know about airport checkin for the cruise, and the RCI reps in the arrivals area never mentioned anything either. I'd definitely be interested to know if this was possible!

 

Have a great time!!!

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Monte Carlo

 

After a night of tossing and turning and not really falling asleep until 4, I opened my eyes at 9:30, and we were in Monte Carlo!! Life is GOOD.

 

Monte Carlo was our only tender port, but, oh my, it was THE tender port. We were in the same harbor as gazillion dollar yachts, neighbors with Monaco royalty, and faced a picture perfect view of the French Riviera. Life is really GOOD.

 

Hello, Monégasques!

 

9612477830_a6e97cbfc4.jpg

 

After a leisurely brunch, we made our way onshore. Today's excursion was "Scenic French Riviera", due to leave at 1:15pm and last 4 hours. It was categorized as "Mild" difficulty, and the description specifically noted that it was recommended for guests with walking difficulties. (This was the only tour where we met onshore, instead of somewhere on the ship.)

 

Before the excursion, we had a little bit of time to walk around, so we walked past the Monaco Yacht Club and found some neat statues.

 

9609243947_8a066366f3.jpg

 

This is the parking lot near the tender port. There is a unisex bathroom (not 5 star but will do the job) and a very small gift shop. There is a covered area (not pictured) with some benches where you can wait for the excursion. From here there are also steps and a path up to Monaco-ville, or the Old Town, where the Prince's Palace and Cathedral are:

 

9609244179_311d0ce542.jpg

 

The coach tour stopped at various picture taking points in Monaco and the French Riviera. We saw this:

 

9612475882_778d9bdb1d.jpg

 

And this:

 

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Dear readers, of course, I show this for review completeness purposes only. (Don't worry, I also have a picture of a pretty lady cop later on in Tarquinia. For review completeness only, of course.)

 

We then made our way to Èze (pronounced "Ez"), where we had about an hour to wander around. I don't seem to have taken out my camera, but imagine a picturesque village with some cafes, cute shops, and hilly paths. If steps aren't your thing, you can totally stay on level ground. We went up one of the paths and bought some gifts at the Fragonard shop for friends at home. Beautiful soaps starting at 4 or 5 EUR, and they smell great!

 

I think it was also in Èze (or perhaps at one of our picture taking stops before Èze) that they gave us a bathroom stop. Cost was 0.50 EUR.

 

On our way back, we drove through Nice, where we saw this guy just strolling home with his art:

 

9612475524_e1dd5d18f8.jpg

 

We got back to the ship at around 5:30 and promptly went up to the Park Cafe for some well needed snacks!

 

I will rate each port using a 3-part system:

 

Port: Is the port itself easy to get around?

Content: Did the port and/or excursion go to interesting places and have things to see?

Comfort: Adequate facilities?

Difficulty: A lot of walking?

Presentation - Was the tour good. Did it make us like the port more or less? Was it as promised.

 

Ratings will be:

 

Excellent - Much more than expected

Fair - Not bad, not good

Poor - Will never want to see/do this again

 

Excursion: Scenic French Riviera

Port: Excellent

Content: Excellent

Presentation: Excellent

 

Next port, we begin our visit to Italy, take 3 different modes of transportation, and get a surprise freebie!

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Hi oregand, you are in for a treat!

 

I didn't know about airport checkin for the cruise, and the RCI reps in the arrivals area never mentioned anything either. I'd definitely be interested to know if this was possible!

 

Have a great time!!!

 

I will let you know.

 

Enjoying the review, thanks for taking the time.

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I will rate each port using a 3-part system:

 

Port: Is the port itself easy to get around?

Content: Did the port and/or excursion go to interesting places and have things to see?

Comfort: Adequate facilities?

Difficulty: A lot of walking?

Presentation - Was the tour good. Did it make us like the port more or less? Was it as promised.

 

Ratings will be:

 

Excellent - Much more than expected

Fair - Not bad, not good

Poor - Will never want to see/do this again

 

Excursion: Scenic French Riviera

Port: Excellent

Content: Excellent

Presentation: Excellent

 

Oops, re-reading this, a rating system doesn't really make sense for the ports and excursions on this itinerary. I'd borrowed it from our Jewel Tampa to San Juan repositioning cruise, which had ports which were more homogenous. Each of the ports in this cruise were much more unique and difficult to compare vs one another.

 

Instead, I'll just do a quick summary of the excursion and add on any bits and pieces about the port that might be of interest.

 

Summary

 

Port: Monte Carlo

 

Excursion: Scenic French Riviera

 

- As promised, not much walking at all. Outside of some (optional) stops off the bus for photos, there is an hour free time in Èze. Plenty of cafes and places to stay on level ground there, but there are also hilly paths to explore.

 

- More active cruisers will find this tour boring, but it's perfect for anyone who may be a little jet lagged and looking for something more comfortable to start the cruise. People of all ages were on the tour.

 

- One bathroom break - be sure to bring some EUR change. Cost 0.50 EUR.

 

- If your cruise tenders in from Monte Carlo, there is not much to do around the port itself unless you want to walk a ways. I don't recall any shuttle service from the ship.

 

- One of the most breathtakingly beautiful ports!!!

Edited by windjamming
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Hi how do you subscribe? I am doing this cruise next year cant wait!

 

Hi

 

Scroll up to the top of the page and click on Thread Tools. You can subscribe from there and then choose how often you want to get notified of new posts.

 

Hope this helps

 

Carol

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Welcome aboard, Tink78!! I think the planning part may be almost as fun as the cruise itself!!!

 

Thanks Wriggler and clarea! Whew, for a moment I thought I was alone on this thread and that I'd written the world's most boring review!

 

More to come tonight. I'm almost done with Pisa.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

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Livorno

 

We'd last left glitzy, glamorous Monte Carlo, and when we woke up, we were in Livorno, the gateway to Tuscany. Today we would be in the birthplace of the Renaissance, amongst gorgeous fields of sunflowers, and be surrounded by that shade of yellow that's uniquely Tuscan. Life continues to be really GOOD.

 

Because we'd done the Exclusive Pisa and Florence tour (which, by the way, was awesome) the last time we docked in Livorno, we decided to skip Florence this time. We chose the Panoramic Pisa tour, which allowed us to explore Pisa a little more in depth, which we hadn't been able to do last time as our Pisa stop was very brief.

 

There are 2 similar excursions that focused exclusively on Pisa. One, just named "Pisa", took a coach to the Piazza dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles) and parked in a lot about a 10-15 mins walk from the entrance. From what I read (and vaguely remember), the walk wasn't difficult but passed sometimes aggressive vendors.

 

The second excursion - Panoramic Pisa - "was designed for guests who prefer little walking and want to visit the highlights of Pisa", per its description. We chose this one.

 

We had originally selected the afternoon excursion, because we thought the Leaning Tower would be better photographable with an afternoon sun, and we could sleep in if we were still jet lagged. When we got on the ship, though, they rang us and said that they were moving us to the morning excursion. I think there weren't enough people in the afternoon one.

 

Side note: when chatting with our stateroom attendant, he said that they could go on ships excursions in the afternoons, but often they were cancelled because of low signups. They were not allowed on morning excursions because of their working hours.

 

The morning excursion actually turned out to be perfect! I don't know if it was the rocking ship or the extra food or the walking up the foothills in Èze, but we all slept beautifully the second night and woke up in Livorno, feeling refreshed and ready to start the day. The sunlight at Pisa was also perfect for photographing. Sometimes thinking too much can't beat decisions being made on our behalf!

 

We met on the ship for this excursion (I think the Safari Club) and boarded a bus to scenic San Rossore National Reserve and then a motorboat, which took us along the Arno River, and finally a trolley to the Piazza dei Miracoli. In my stories to friends at home I might add a donkey or a rope bridge to the transportation means, but between us, it was just these three. All very easy, and no problems getting in and out of the motorboat.

 

And while on our mini-cruise, we even got a FREE ice cream! There are no better 3 words in the English language than FREE ICE CREAM. Who doesn't like FREE ICE CREAM? My mom and I each had a vanilla ice cream bar with chocolate coating. My dad had an ice cream sandwich but with vanilla cookie. Ice cream = good times.

 

This is a shot of the Arno River and surrounding sights from the motorboat. See that Tuscan yellow?

 

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Remember how Middle Aged Drama Queen's kids took pictures of pigeons? I'm kind of like that, but with dogs.

 

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This is where we exited the motorboat. The design in the middle of the concrete barrier is the symbol of Pisa. Pisa was once one of 4 Repubbliche Marinares (maritime republics) in now Italy: Pisa, Genoa, Amalfi, and Venice. In a few places, they will sell souvenirs that had the symbols of all 4.

 

9616429757_6c160c19aa_c.jpg

 

Once we got off the motorboat, we got onto a trolley, which took us through the streets of Pisa. This is what the trolley looked like. Easy to get in an out of, but it can be tight quarters if that is an issue. I'd say 4 average sized adults could fit in a row.

 

9615069414_c079d3556c_c.jpg

 

We were dropped off right in front of a restaurant outside of the Piazza dei Miracoli. In the restaurant we had a PRIVATE area to sit down at tables for 4, and they gave us a FREE drink (soda, coffee, or beer) in addition to a FREE bottle of water. I think my parents had soda (?), and I had a lovely creamy foamy cappuccino. For some reason, I'd skipped coffee 2 days in a row, so that shot of beautiful caffeine was soooo gooooood!

 

There were FREE bathrooms in the restaurant to use. This reminds me of a funny line in Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruises book. He talks about where bathrooms are - in particular, free and/or nice ones - and if you come across one, he advises, "As Mom used to say, 'just try'". This was one of the bathrooms where, even if you don't need to go, "just try".

 

We had about an hour of free time. The restaurant was literally steps away from the Piazza dei Miracoli, so we headed there immediately. There were a few vendors along the entrance but nobody too aggressive.

 

And there was the Tower!!

 

9611832083_1c6e6d9817_c.jpg

 

The lighting was super! When we came the last time, we came in through the parking lot entrance and thus the sun was coming up behind the Tower, making the pictures too bright. (I am not a "technical" photographer. "Too bright" and "too dark" are about my most descriptive phrases.) We only had a very brief stop back then, so we didn't get to walk all the way around and get a better angle.

 

This time, we came in from the opposite direction, and so the sun was shining at the Tower, which made the photos gorgeously lit. Yay for going with the flow!

 

Our guide David had told us that tickets to the Duomo (Cathedral) were FREE, but we needed to get tickets. We went to the ticket office, stood in a short line, got our FREE tickets and headed to the Duomo.

 

Construction on the Duomo began in 1064, and amongst its parishioners was none other than Pisa native Galileo Galalei. It is an impressive structure that is definitely worth viewing. My pictures are blurry, but you get the idea:

 

9615068840_8fc48e04ea_c.jpg

 

They had blue paper shawls at the entrance for those who needed to cover up, and it seemed everyone adhered to the guidelines. I didn't see anyone turned away, at least. There was one other cruise ship tour there (Disney), but crowds were managed very well, and I never felt rushed while in the Cathedral and wandered freely. It was only when Mass was about to start that we left.

 

This tour does not give enough time to visit the Tower. When we went to get our tickets for the Cathedral between 10 and 11), they were selling tickets to the Tower for 2:30. Even if you pre-book your Tower ticket, the time on the ticket may not coincide with your time at the Piazza dei Miracoli. If you are set on climbing the Tower, I'd probably go with a more independent excursion.

 

At the agreed upon time, we headed back to the restaurant, where the trolley was waiting for us and took us back to the bus and back to the Livorno port. We made it back in time for a late lunch on the ship.

 

Summary

 

Port: Livorno

 

Excursion: Panoramic Pisa

 

- Great overview of Pisa. Very easy excursion. Many families and older folks. Little walking.

 

- As with most "Panoramic" tours, this would be boring for more active people. Our guide David was really wonderful and very experienced. Before we left the bus, he all made us learn how to pronounce Civitavecchia, our next port.

 

- Lots of FREEBIES. The Cathedral is a must go.

 

- Morning tour is absolutely fine. Not too crowded and not too hot. Try to get onto the trolley early, as families will get split up and you'll end up squished if not careful. There is a bathroom on the motorboat (I was told by another woman that it wasn't great) but a pretty nice one in the restaurant near Piazza dei Miracoli.

 

- There is a shuttle from Livorno port to town. Mom and I thought about heading into town after lunch, but we decided to instead chill out and enjoy the almost empty ship while everyone was still on land.

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