Ciao Italia! My birthday cruise adventure on Brilliance of the Seas 7/1/2016

I've returned from my birthday present to me trip and cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas 7/1/2016 Mediterranean/Venice itinerary and wanted to do a review of my experiences!

I'm hoping to get a new computer in the next couple of weeks, so I'll be able to post a link to a photo album and/or add some pictures onto the end of the thread at that point as my current computer is a little slow, and pictures just add to that slowness.

I figure the easiest will basically be to transcribe my travel journal entries with each day being a post in this thread. :) But first, some basics...

Who: Me - Beth. Special education teacher in NYC. My 45th birthday is in a few days, and I wanted to do something big to celebrate. After debating between this Mediterranean/Venice itinerary and the itinerary that included Greece and Turkey but no Venice that left yesterday and would actually be over my birthday (as well as a few options for cruises on other lines), I decided on the Mediterranean/Venice itinerary - with a couple of days in Barcelona beforehand. I invited my sister - who shares my birthday, but is younger - to come along, but she decided not to (and her contract on Disney was extended anyway), so it was just me. I like traveling alone though, so it was all good.

Cruising Background: This was my 7th cruise. I previously have cruised on the SS Emerald Seas as an 11-year-old, and then more recently I've been on 3 Disney cruises (2 on the Dream, one on the Fantasy - all Bahamas/Caribbean), Holland America's Westerdam to Alaska, and RCCL's Radiance of the Seas to Alaska. I'm not into casinos, magicians, comedians, and the like - but I do love a good production show. I also don't need things like Flow Riders, "parks" and so forth - a ship that looks and feels like a ship is perfect for me, and Radiance Class on RCCL fits that (it's also roughly the same size as Disney's Dream and Fantasy, which I love), so that works. Living in New York City, I can be very picky about my entertainment - it's just how I'm wired. :)

Thanks for coming along for the ride! :) Off we go!

June 28 we got out of school, and I left for JFK airport to fly to Barcelona! I'd booked my own airfare and had splurged on Business Class when the rate was right. I was on Delta, and the flight was on an Airbus 330, so it had the lie-flat seats in Business Class, which was great! Of course, I now realize that I am spoiled to Business Class for international flights from now on...but it was worth it!

We landed in Barcelona around noon, and I cleared passport control (super easy, he didn't even ask me anything, just stamped my passport and off I went), gathered my luggage, and went to the arrivals hall to find my driver. I'd arranged car service to my hotel as well as to the port through the tour company I was using in Barcelona - Rainbow Barcelona (more on them later - they are AMAZING!) so that it was pre-paid and so that I'd have the same driver for both. She was waiting as promised, and we quickly got to my hotel.

I stayed at the Acta Atrium Palace, which was very close to Placa de Catalunya and not far off the Passeig de Gracia. I was walking distance to Las Ramblas and many of the attractions - even Sagrada Familia, though it was a bit of a walk. The hotel was lovely, and the room was clean and inviting. The room was available when I arrived, so I was able to go ahead and get into it - it's always nice to take a shower after a long night of travel!

I headed out to do some basic touring knowing I had my two walking tours planned for the next day. I opted to do one of the HoHo busses and was able to buy my ticket right at the hotel's front desk. I opted for the line that took me up around the Olympic Stadium and the football "camp" since I knew I'd be hitting some of the sites of the other line the next day. It was a good introduction to the city - though I do wish I'd had time to do both lines.

That night I'd booked dinner and a show at Tablao Cordobes Flamenco. The food was nothing spectacular - though happily I was able to find enough to eat given that I was diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity three weeks before my trip AND that I don't eat fish. Plus, it's hard to fault a place where if you order wine they bring the bottle to your table and leave it! The show was fantastic! I have no idea how they move their feet that fast. The more featured dancer while I was there is a girl who is barely 20, and she was absolutely amazing!

Then it was back to the hotel for sleep and preparing for the next day!

Beth, what a great start! I look forward to reading the rest. I might mention the gift of a cruise is a perfect gift. I should give myself one ever year. :D

I'm coming along for the ride...... I enjoyed meeting you Beth and our many chats!

We are waiting in Barcelona to board our flight home - it will be 23 hours for us.

~ Vicki ~

Looking forward to rest of review, we sail on her in September to celebrate our 25th anniversary that just pasted. ( also flying business)

Following...thanks for doing this review!

Thanks all for following! :)

Vicki, it was great to meet and chat with you too! I hope y'all have safe travels back to Sydney!! (I have to know...is there a Wallaby Way there? If so, I bet the person who lives at 42 gets tired of people taking pictures of his house! :D )

I'll work on getting more up now!

I'll just start with this... Today was AMAZING!

I knew I was going to have limited time in Barcelona before the cruise, so I wanted to do something that would give me a good overview. I'd looked into Barcelona Day Tours and such, but being solo that was a pretty expensive option. Then, when perusing the ports of call boards, I learned of Rainbow Barcelona and looked them up. They are an LGBTQ owned and operated private tour company. They offer a variety of walking tours - all private (either individual or with a small group), and their individual prices are not ridiculous like other tour companies are for solo travelers.

I had opted for their Modernism and Gaudi tour which would walk around and look at examples of Modernist architecture - both by Gaudi as well as others. It ended with looking at the exterior of Sagrada Familia and optionally you could have them purchase an admission and tower ticket for you which would be added onto the final amount. (I opted to do that.) For the evening, I'd opted for a walking tour that would include a lesbian-owned bookstore (and publishing house) as well as hitting up some tapas places. One nice thing is that I was able to pay my balance in advance so that everything was paid for prior to my trip.

First up... Modernism and Gaudi. I went down to my hotel lobby to meet my guide for the morning, Ernesto. We then embarked on a walking tour, which as I said, looked at different examples of Modernism. We stopped at a chocolate shop where they have been making chocolate for generations - he bought me a chocolate bar and we had some coffee and chatted. Later in the tour we stopped for some soda, and he went to a place that had gluten-free cookies, so he bought me some of those as well! We ended at Sagrada Familia, and looked at both the Passion Facade and the Nativity Facade. My church geekiness came out in my knowledge of the stories and symbolism that is depicted - such as the pelican feeding her young with her own flesh. Then it was time for me to go inside! My tower ticket was for the Nativity tower, which was cool as that is the one Gaudi worked on. You go up in an elevator, but down is by taking a pretty tight spiral down and down and down. It didn't bother me, but if someone is claustrophobic, it could be an issue. The church is amazing already - I can only imagine what it will be like when it is ultimately finished and construction isn't going on. They are aiming for it to be completed in 10 years so it can be done in time to commemorate Gaudi's death, but looking at a diagram of the total plans with what is completed in one color and what is yet to be completed in another, I think the 10 year goal is ambitious.

The evening was the Tapas tour. Again, I met Clara in my hotel lobby and we headed out. The bookstore was super cool, and it was nice to talk with one of the owners for a little while. I did throw Clara a challenge with my newly acquired gluten-free status as well as not eating fish, but we had chatted via messaging beforehand, so she'd been able to do some research. We started in a place called Mirilla which is sort of "new wave tapas" as Clara said - they had a lot of gluten-free options clearly marked, so finding things was pretty easy. Then we walked around a little as Clara pointed out some things and went to the Jamon Experience - which is all about jamon, which is a restaurant that is all about jamon (a smoked, salted ham that reminds me of country ham) - they usually have gluten-free bread available for sandwiches, but it's only in limited quantities and they were out. However, downstairs facing Las Ramblas, they have a "jamon cone" take away window, so we bought a cone of sort of chipped jamon which was yummy! We ended the evening at Granja Viader (in Raval, near the market) where I was able to get if not chocolate and churros at least chocolate and gluten-free lady fingers! I also got to meet Eloi, who had been my primary contact at Rainbow Barcelona and who was awesome!

Then, at the end of a full day, it was time to go back to the hotel where I took a bath and packed up all but what I would need for the night and in the morning. Then I tucked in for my last sleep on land for 12 nights! :)

I woke up this morning and went to Starbucks (I'd decided to get a "Spain" mug to go with my "Bercelona" mug) and wander around. I ended up walking down Las Ramblas - which is very quiet and peaceful in the morning - and walked all the way down to the waterfront where I caught a glimpse of the ship's funnel!! I walked back and got everything packed up, then I chacked out and waited for my car to arrive.

We drove to the port, and after a porter took my checked bags I headed in to check-in and went straight from the desk to boarding and ver quickly I was stepping onto the Brilliance of the Seas!

I headed to the dining room on deck 5 to check in with the maitre'd and he verified that gluten-free was on my record and that as long as I kept my reserved time for MTD I would be seated at the same table with the same servers. Yay! Then it was up to the Windjammer where I was walked around to see where the usual location of the "gluten free corner" was (more on the reason for saying "usual" later), plus learned that I could ask for a gluten free bagel at breakfast (I assume I could have at lunch if I'd wanted for a burger, but I just went protein style if I got a burger, so I don't know) and could ask for a pizza if I wanted it. The hamburgers and hot dogs are gluten free as are the fries - though better to ask as they might have shared a fryer if it's a super huge deal (as in for Celiac). They also always had a gluten free dessert, though it became clear that in the Windjammer it was almost always going to be a pudding or mousse which did get old by the end of the cruise.

Staterooms were ready at 1, and I headed up to the front of the ship to cabin 7500 - an ocean view that overlooks the helipad/bow. Definitely a very cool perspective - but not for those who "can't sleep backwards", which isn't an issue with me. I dropped off my carry-on stuff and changed my top, then headed out to see if I could go back down to the duty free shop and grab some wine. No issues at all. :)

I met a few people from the roll call, and then headed up to the spa for the spa raffle - which was held at sail away. But missing the start of that was worth it as I won the big prize of $150 towards any spe treatment on a port day!! I ended up booking the lime and ginger salt glow for the morning of Kotor day (ended up changing it to Ravenna day afternoon). Then I headed out to enjoy a little of the sail away.

I had decided to cancel one excursion, but the shore excursions desk needed the ticket. They said it should be in my stateroom - but it was not. I got the ticket for the excursion I booked on boarding, but no others. Because the one I was cancelling was for Day 2, I wanted to cancel it as soon as possible - they were refunding Day 2 excursions on Day 1 as there was no way to cancel 24 hours ahead, but they needed the ticket. I spoke with another shore excursions agent, and she cancelled it for me as long as I promised to destroy the ticket when it showed up - I said I'd bring it back down when it showed up.

Dinner was good - my server was Mohit and my assistant server was Mikhail; I have no clue who my head waiter was as s/he never showed her/his face, even on the last night when you can almost always expect a smile and outstretched hand! My choices were a little limited that night, but from then on I selected my menu for the next night before leaving the dining room.

My stateroom host, Yara, was super nice and bubbly. I could tell I'd like her right from the start. I'd ordered the Bright Decorations deluxe package for myself since I was celebrating my birthday as well as long stemmed pink roses, and they were all super cute!

After 11 months of planning, it was so exciting to be on the cruise finally!! I settled in for my first night at sea in almost a year!!

Loving your review!

I'm enjoying your report so far. It's interesting reading about what happened after we disembarked!

Hi Beth! Going through post cruise withdrawl, so I'll follow along :)

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

I woke up early this morning and walked 2 miles on the walking/running track then went into the gym and did some strength work as well as my TaeKwonDo forms. Ran back to my cabin to shower and get dressed for the day, and while moving hangers around in the closet bumped the laundry bag on the shelf and knocked it down. Along with my Welcome Back letter with my Gold benefits AND my envelope of excursion tickets. On my way to breakfast, I stopped by Shore Excursions and gave them the ticket for my now cancelled Nice and St Paul-de-Vence excursion as well as taking another ticket to cancel an excursion for later in the cruise. (I did a lot of back-and-forthing on some excursions on this cruise.) I went to the Windjammer for breakfast and then waited in line for tender tickets.

This was the first "Huh?" moment of the cruise as the Cruise Compass said we needed them, but on the Morning Show Jerome and Jeremie were all "I don't see it. I guess we're not doing them." Still, many of us read in the Compass and lined up, and starting about 8:30 we could see officers on various floors of the Centrum looking at the line, then getting on their phones. Finally about 8:50 or so Jeremie came over and said that we wouldn't need them that day. So I headed back to my cabin to get ready for the day.

My sister (who works for Disney Cruise Line) talked about how on her first contract (possibly others, but I'm not sure) she always knew when they were firing the ropes for docking or using the bow thrusters as her cabin was in the bow area of the ship. I learned exactly what she meant as I knew exactly when they dropped anchor! If anyone on my hall, I don't think they were after that! One other thing to be aware of with the cabins that overlook the bow - at least on the Radiance class ships - is that there is a crew area just below and the door sometimes slams as they go in or out. I never really heard any other noise, and the door noise wasn't any moreso than that of the doors along the hall as people went in or out.

I'd spoken with Yara in the hallway before going to my cabin about possibly adding a little more padding on the beds or at least trying to secure the mattresses together a little more. It was better than my person-eating mattresses on the Radiance last summer, but they would still move apart a little with my sleep movements at night. (This is one area where for me Disney wins hands-down with flat-out queen-sized beds in the room. Holland America actually comes in second here as they use a strap around the mattresses to secure them when the beds are put together.) She said she would double check that the frames were securely put together and tighten up things as much as she could. A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on my door, and I discovered the Deck Boss (or whatever his title is) at my door checking on a report that there was no hot water in my shower. But that wasn't me - I had plenty of hot water! I'm not sure if he ever found out what cabin had actually reported it.

Anyway, I had booked a free walking tour of Nice but cancelled it based on multiple people saying that based on the scheduled times it would be tough to make it in time. Well, I was off the ship and on a tender in no time - apparently there were some issues after I left, but I'm pretty sure I was on one of the earliest with no wait. I headed to the bus and caught the 100 and was in Nice before 11am! (The walking tour had been a meeting time of 11:25.) But I think we did end up anchoring and starting the tender process early, so it's probably best I had cancelled the walking tour.

I walked towards the Old Town area and discovered that for 10 euro there was a "train tour" which was similar in type to the Conch Train Tour in Key West, and there was one about to leave when I got there, so I hopped on and did that. It was a fun way to see the town, and there were great views from the castle site where we had a 10 minute or so stop (maybe 20...I can't remember).

After the tour, I walked into the market area and ended up buying three bags of lavender soap and sachets - one for my mom, one for my sister, and one for me as I knew when I smelled the bag later I'd be sorry if I didn't get any for myself. I walked back towards the bus stop, pausing at Fenocchio (spelling may be off there) for some vanilla and lavender gelato. Hopped the bus back to Villefranche (it was 1.50 euro each way) and wandered along the waterfront before heading back to the ship.

I went to chill in the Solarium pool and hot tub for a little while before dinner. I took one of my bottles of wine to dinner with me, and they stored the bottle for me to use another night as I didn't finish the bottle.

My experience with RCCL production shows was NOT good on the Radiance last year - I still refer to the one I had to sit through because I was trapped in a row as "City of Nightmares" (it was technically called "City of Dreams" - but you should know you're in trouble when the cruise director introduces it with the disclaimer of "The storyline might make sense if you've been drinking a lot tonight.") - but I wanted to give them a chance on the Brilliance. Tonight's show was a Broadway review, and I found the singers and dancers much better than those last year on Radiance. My one quibble with the show was that everything was styled after the Broadway show that the music came from - which is how it was advertised - EXCEPT the music from Mamma Mia, which they inexplicably staged as an Abba tribute in spite of Mamma Mia being mentioned in the description. It seemed especially confusing since I'm pretty sure they do have staging rights to Mamma Mia (I could be mixing them up with someone else though). But still, the show was passable and didn't turn me off of going to other production shows.

All in all it was a wonderful day of travel and new experiences!

This morning, I woke up just before my alarm went off - a good thing I'd planned to be up then considering the bow thrusters came on shortly thereafter! :) I kept waiting for the bow rope shot, but I never heard that, perhaps it was on the other side this time.

I didn't have to meet for my excursion until 1, so I wandered around the ship for a little while before doing some math and deciding to see if there was any availability for a manicure. There was - right then! I gave the girl my statroom number and she said "Stacy or Elizabeth?" which freaked me out as I was the only one in the cabin!! She said perhaps it was someone from a past cruise that didn't get purged from the spa system. Craziness!!

After my manicure I wandered a little more before getting lunch in the Windjammer and then went to get my bag and head to the Pacifica Theater to meet for my excursion.

I'd spent almost a week in Florence a few years ago and while I loved it, I decided to do something different this trip. I opted for the wine tasting in Tuscany.

The bus ride there was a little on the warm side - plus a bit awkward as the last two people to get on the bus were a couple. They didn't make a big deal about it, so they say separately going to the winery. I swapped places with the guy on the way back so they could sit together. But a hint - if going on an excursion together and sitting together is important, don't be the last two on the bus! ;)

Once we got out of the uber industrial port, the scenery around Livorno was pretty. The sunflowers were in full bloom, and driving past those fields was beautiful!

The winery we visited is also a small B&B and they have space for hosting events like weddings. It's called Fattoria Dianella. The main building used to be a hunting lodge of the Medici family!

We learned a little about how they make the wine and the wines they make as well as the olive oil they make. Then we headed to the large event room for our tasting. We learned how to taste the wine - fascinating, even if I can't really tell all the notes yet. I suspect it's a lot like coffee - when I first started working at Starbucks (previous job) I couldn't detect things in coffee, but after a while I developed the skill. We also got some meats like salami and prosciutto and cheese! Yum!! There was also bread with olive oil drizzled on it, but I couldn't have that. Afterwards we had the chance to shop, but I didn't want to deal with packing alcohol, so I opted not to get anything.

We returned to the ship, and I got ready for dinner, which was also good. My gluten free bread was AMAZING!! (Well, except for one night when I got some of my regular stuff and something that looked like it was potato-based and wasn't good at all. I took one bite of one slice of that and left the rest. My other bread was back the next night and for the rest of the cruise.)

I did go to the magician show that night, and while cheesy was not horrible.

That night we did a little rocking and rolling on the way to Civitavecchia - I love the motion and wouldn't have even been bothered except I heard some knocking and went exploring. Turns out that at some point the panel next to the fridge in the mini-bar cabinet had been broken and just set back in there. I put it on the floor and reported it to Guest Services - along with the disclaimer that I had not even opened the cabinet before - first thing the next day, and it was fixed by the time I returned from Rome! But I love the motion of the ocean - I usually sleep my best at sea!

Relatively early start this morning - a quick breakfast in the Windjammer and then it was off to the Pacifica to get my sticker for my "Transfer to Rome".

Side note - I love how they continually remind you not to look like a tourist, yet they have you put stickers on, and some excursions even strap a headset around your neck!

The Transfer to Rome was an escorted bus ride in. Andrea, our bus escort (a guy - pronounced like the singer) gave us some information and maps to use. We disembarked in a bus garage near the Vatican which was built for the last Jubilee year to help handle all the busses and pilgrims.

I had gone onto google maps and printed out walking directions to the places I wanted to hit. Mostly those worked - but I did get turned around a few times, even knowing that most of the street "signs" were actually up on the sides of buildings.

First stop, the Spanish Steps. Yes, I knew that they are undergoing restoration (a la the Trevi Fountain last year), but I wanted to see them anyway. Took my obligatory pictures (again, those will be uploaded soon I hope!!), and headed towards the Trevi Fountain.

I found my way there and... NO WATER!!! They were cleaning it!!! Boo!! I was about to ask when it would be back on, but overheard someone else ask and be told "probably around 6" which was too late for me. So I, like others, found a place where there was some water sitting and threw my obligatory coins into it! I did NOT hit the workers cleaning (mainly sweeping up the coins) as they were on the other side - I did hear from some people who were there later that the workers were dodging coins being tossed as they moved over.

I then headed over to the Pantheon - which is now a Christian church as opposed to a temple for "all the gods". I did get very turned around heading there, but eventually rounded a corner and saw it at the end of a little alleyway. I walked around inside for a while and then headed out to the piazza where I was to meet up with a Twitter friend. (We "met" online through a mutual friend and had discussed meeting up when I was in Italy. She is awesome, so I was pretty comfortable with it.) Vincenza had a former student with her which was fine - he was able to practice his "baby" English and I was able to practice my "baby" Italian!

We went to a restaurant I'd found online - Voglia di Pizza - which has their entire menu available as gluten free (as opposed to the section of a few things that most places seem to have). I had a yummy pizza with prosciutto and bufala mozzarella. One note: the pizza does not come sliced! You get to slice it yourself. And unlike New York where you get looked at funny for using silverware on pizza, you're pretty much expected to eat most of it using a knife and fork in Rome.

After lunch, we walked up to Piazza Navona and wandered around taking the obligatory pictures, then Leonardo took us to a coffee place - Sant'Eustacio Il Caffe - which was awesome!! I got a granita con panna - whipped cream, shaved frozen espresso, and more whipped cream - which was so yummy!

We walked back to the bridges that would lead me back to the Vatican - our meeting point was over there and said arrivederci, promising to meet again!

As I headed back towards St. Peter's Square, I looked at my watch and realized I had a couple of hours. Not being Roman Catholic, I had already decided that for this trip, the basilica would be on an "if I've got time" basis. The lines didn't look that bad (it's security checks only with the lines), so I got in one and headed in.

I will admit it is an amazing place! The Pieta is nice, but for me it was not as awe-inspiring as David. Perhaps because it is behind bullet-proof glass now after someone shot at it several years ago? Anyway, there were other sculptures I was much more impressed with. One just made me giggle as it reminded me of "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" from The Sound of Music (where the ultimate irony is the nuns criticize her for singing in the abbey WHILE singing in the abbey!). :)

After I finished in St. Peter's I headed over to the shop area where we were meeting and bought something else for my dad since I'd gotten second gifts for my mom and sister in Nice (after getting everyone something in Barcelona).

Getting out of the bus garage was an adventure. You had to go up a hill and into a roundabout. I'm not sure if we just kept hitting it when traffic was coming so we had to stop or if the bus should just be relegated to flat tours from now on, but we all thought we were going to have to get out and push. Finally a couple of buses passed us and blocked the roundabout so our driver was able to gun it and get us out of there. Andrea joked that we had "obviously all had a good lunch". Haha! The rest of the drive back was uneventful.

The evening on the ship consisted of dinner and an early bedtime (skipping "The Velvet Vocals of Justin Everett" in the theater) knowing that my excursion meeting time for the next day was 6:45am.

As a note, they did make a big deal about it being the 4th of July, which surprised me a bit given a) how international the population of the cruise was and b) there was no mention made of Canada Day on embarkation day save for a little sign and some tiny red and white balloons up at the Shore Excursions desk because a few of those agents were Canadian. I'm prone to saying I was absent when they handed out the patriotic gene (I'm fine with America - I just don't get all "Rah, Rah it's the best"), so I glanced at what all was going on and headed to my stateroom. I couldn't have had cake anyway.

I'll just say upfront this was a day I'd gone back and forth with decisions about what to do. Having gone to an extensive exhibit about Pompeii in Toronto, I was not really excited about spending what promised to be a hot, unshaded afternoon going to Pompeii, so that eliminated a lot of the offered excursions. At one point I'd had a totally private tour going to Ravello, Amalfi, and Positano reserved - a super expensive option for someone traveling solo. Then I'd cancelled that and booked the very small group offering from RCCL which did visit Positano even if it also included Pompeii just because the thought of going so far on a road where anything could happen NOT on a shore excursion with RCCL scared me. (I was on the Radiance southbound cruise last year that didn't leave Seward until 3:15am because an accident shut down the one road between Anchorage and Seward and there were something like 800 guests on RCCL shuttles who could not get there - so I know from firsthand experience about the cruiseline's commitment to wait or get you there.) But ultimately I decided to do the Capri on Your Own excursion.

We had a call time of 6:45am. Initially there were 4 groups that all piled onto a jet launch boat to head to Capri. Two of the groups - mine and a Capri tour without lunch - were remaining on the island while the other two (which may have been one excursion just divided into two sections) were only on Capri for a short time before going on to other places.

I will say up front that Capri is CROWDED. Not only are there some resorts on the island, people come over from the Naples area as well as other places along the Amalfi coast, plus there was a Costa ship (the Classica) anchored off shore. So there were lines and it was madness all over the island. It's beautiful, but be prepared for crowds and their version of lines (which are more like clumps with no organization).

After doing research online, I'd bought a boat tour of the island with Motoscafisti Capri which potentially included a stop to tour the Blue Grotto. Of course, once we got to the island, our escort offered it at the same price (I do wish that with the "On Your Own" options RCCL would admit that there would be tours of some type offered as Rome also offered these things.) In retrospect, I wish I'd just eaten the cost I'd already paid and gone with our escort having the tour charged to my SetSail pass - but when he saw my printed sheet from the internet he got really snotty - even directly saying "Why did you do THAT?" - so I opted not to and just go with what I had.

I had read some reports about the company on Trip Advisor that indicated that it was kind of a cluster when it came time to get on the boats, but I didn't fully believe them. I should have. We were all just piled onto a dock with nothing resembling lines. When the next boats for the "Yellow Tour" (the around the island tour) pulled up and were announced, it was pretty much a free-for-all to jump into them. The guys working were of no help - only declaring "You're on holiday. Relax!" I was able to make it onto one, but found myself squeezed in next to two snowflakes wielding selfish sticks - I had to ask them more than once to please lower the stick so I could get a clear picture as they were just holding them out even when not posing with the V symbol and duck faces. Luckily some people climbed onto the bow and I was able to move up into places vacated on the bench, so I didn't have to deal with the selfish sticks the whole tour.

Going around the island was definitely beautiful - cannot wait to see my pictures on something other than the view square on my camera! BUT. It was super sunny, and only the boat driver/guide had a shaded area. So definitely slather on the sunscreen big time! When we got around to the Blue Grotto, the wait was at least an hour and a half! While I had time to wait (and pretty much do nothing else), and while I've heard how beautiful it is and seen pictures, I knew that it was not worth risking getting a blistering burn just to see it. So I was one who hopped over to another boat when we did a passenger swap between those who wanted to wait and those who wanted to return.

Once on the island again, I bought return tickets for the funicular up to Capri Town deciding not to mess with the bus to Anacapri with the crazy crowds. But again, the "line" to get on the funicular was a giant cluster with more people pushing their way in all the time. At that point, I remembered that I'd read you could walk up to Capri Town, so I decided to eat the 1.80 euro for one of the tickets and just walk up.

And up.

And up.

I was completely over Capri by the time I finally made it to the actual town (it seems like you're there long before you actually are. Luckily the view from the top was worth it.

I wandered around up in Capri Town for a few minutes, mainly to cool off and let some of the water I was drinking absorb into my body. I discovered NO line for the funicular down, so I bolted over there and was rushed onto it by some workers.

Once I got down, I opted to visit one of the little restaurants facing the marina where I got a frozen daquiri and a caprese salad, and I felt much better - and my mood improved - after that.

After lunch, I wandered a little and then just went back to our meeting point.

The ride back along the Amalfi Coast was just as pretty as going over to Capri. But ultimately I wish I had stuck with one of my initial choices for what to do that day.

Back on board, I had a nice dinner in the dining room. Only one person was called over the loudspeaker today - we might have left a couple in Rome. I know on Rome day they initially called two groups a few times, and then they called one of them again with the words "Contact Guest Services IMMEDIATELY" and very shortly thereafter we pulled away. I only heard the "IMMEDIATELY" that one time though.

The production show tonight was Tango Buenos Aires, and it was ok but not my favorite. Still leaps and bounds better than the Radiance show last year! After the show, I headed to bed as I was pretty tired after my climb and the day in the sun!

Finally after 4 long port intensive days, we had a sea day!

All in all it was pretty chill. I still woke up relatively early and the day was largely workout or walk around, eat, read, repeat.

There were a LOT of ghosts out sunning themselves around the pool around 7:30 or 8:00. Some of them stayed out for a while based on observations while going back and forth to get water or make iced coffee. Who knew ghosts liked the sun so much??

We had out meet and mingle that day, and it was nice to put some faces and names together. Jeremie - the Activities Manager - was the officer who met with us. He mentioned he had been on the Radiance for part of last summer, so I asked him when. While I didn't remember him (the Great Alaskan Running Cruise group was pretty insular and we had our own things going on), he WAS on the sailing I was. We discussed the late leaving a bit, and he shared that there had been a big round table pow wow about what to do with a Plan A (for if the road opened by a certain time) and a Plan B (for if it didn't) as well as deciding if there would be two muster drills (which we had) or just one where we would all have to get up when the final bus got there and its passengers were on board.

The suggested dress was "Formal" on this night - some people were truly formal, others were just dressed up, others dressed as any other night. I'm not one who gets all bothered by what people choose to wear though (and to be honest I don't really do FORMAL, but I did wear one of my nicer dresses that evening), so it didn't bother me in the least.

The show that night was "The Comedy and Singing Impressions of Johnathan Clark" - again, I skipped it in favor of reading and going to bed. (Clearly I'm a big party animal - not! :) )

Enjoying the review.:)

Today started as a sea day since we weren't scheduled to dock in Venice until around 3pm.

However, by around 11:30 as we were getting closer and we were told we should be starting our entrance to the lagoon around noon one thing was clear. Venice sail in is like glacier day in Alaska only warmer. :) As in people staked out their spots along the rail early and held onto them. Unlike Alaska where people would be out for a bit and then go in to warm up, people stayed put for this.

When I was debating between this itinerary and the one sailing now (that includes Greece and Turkey), the biggest selling point of this one was the sail in for Venice. And I have to say it did NOT disappoint!

It was a beautiful thing to pass the Lido - the beach island that separates the lagoon from the sea - and watch the city come into view.

Piazza San Marco is beautiful - and crazy crowded, especially as the day goes on. And it's clear that the imagineers who worked on the Italy pavillion at EPCOT got the Doges Palace right. (I even snapped a selfie - sans stick, so figure, it IS pssible - in front of it and posted it with the quip "So am I really in Venice? Or just at EPCOT??" Haha!!) Very beautiful.

And winged lions everywhere! I would spend much of my time searching stores for a plush winged lion, but to no avail! Lions, yes. But none with wings. :(

I was glad that we were fully in port before the meeting time for my excursion. Murano Glass and Burano Lace.

We filed out (this may have been the day we went down the I-95...or maybe that was Salerno day...I know one of them we exited via the I-95 and had to walk single file down the middle of the hallway to avoid the doors that all opened outwards) and got onto a double decker boat that first went to Murano.

We went to a glass making factory and watched a brief demonstration where he first made a blown vase and then a sculpted horse. As expected, we were then funneled into the showroom - the one where the super pricey stuff is. Eventually they admitted that there was less expensive stuff in a room downstairs, so we headed down there. I'd pretty much decided that some kind of Murano glass would be my special treasure for the trip, so I looked around to see if anything caught my eye. I had found a couple of things I'd be happy with, and then I turned around and saw it.

A deep purple unicorn!

I knew it was meant to be mine, and quickly it had been retrieved by one of the workers and was being wrapped in layers and layers of tissue, then bubble wrap, then more tissue, and finally the tissue and bubble wrap burrito holding my unicorn was slipped into a box for safety in traveling home. He was only 35 euro, so I felt good about it. We had the opportunity to wander a little, but pretty much everything was closed or was closing.

Back on the boat for the trip over to Burano. Once there, we divided into two smaller groups (there were 2 numbers on this tour) to go into 2 places for the lace making demo. We did go through a little museum where we saw various examples including an all-lace wedding dress from 1858 which took TWO YEARS to make! There is a definite artistry there, but it just wasn't my thing.

However, wandering around the island and seeing all the different colored houses - it's beautiful. The legend is that the houses are all different colors so that the fishermen would stop stumbling into the wrong houses after a day of work and a night of drinking. True or not, the island is a beautiful rainbow.

We reboarded the boat and headed back to Venice. We did stop near Piazza San Marco (and the monument - seriously, no name...it's a guy on a horse) where the RCCL paid shuttle would pick you up and drop you off so that those who wanted to get off could. You received one free transfer back to the ship if you opted to stay in Venice following an excursion. (They offered a shuttle for $25/day charged to your SeaPass if you wanted that. I know there are cheaper options, but I had OBC to burn, so I did buy that for Day 2.) There were a couple of groups that after much loud and/or obnoxious debate opted to leave the boat and stay in Venice which elicited some gold claps of relief from those of us subjected to their prattle and debate during the ride back from Burano. But there will always be some I suppose! (I think there were a few like me who had kind of decided if they DIDN'T get off we would and just catch the very next shuttle just to escape them!)

I went back to the ship and headed to the Windjammer for nibbles as it was too late for my system for me to eat a full meal. The entertainment that evening had been two showings of the latest Star Wars movie, so I (being one of just a handful of people on earth who doesn't get the whole Star Wars obsession thing) was not at all sad that I missed that. :D Drank some water, had some nibbles, and got ready for bed.

Thanks to all who are following along! I'm just typing things as I can. I figure better to get it down than drag it out - especially when as a teacher I have the luxury of not having to go right back to work after this vacation! :)

So. Venice Day 2!!

This morning, I got up early to be sure and be on the first shuttle leaving at 8. As I said, there are definitely cheaper options, but having some OBC to burn I just went ahead and bought the ship shuttle. Easier that way for me. Others' mileage may vary widely.

It was nice leaving that early as I was able to get some nice pictures of a fairly empty Piazza San Marco (again, these will come soon!!). I wandered all over figuring I'd get some coffee for waiting in line to enter the basilica. I went into one place that actually had a menu, but the guy was so rude when I asked - IN ITALIAN as I do speak the language a bit and definitely enough for ordering food/beverage) I left. I ended up getting a cappuccino from a place on the piazza - I got it take away, and it was still a little more expensive, but the staff was also super nice.

I joined the already forming line for the church. When I got to the signs, I discovered that they have stopped allowing photos inside since the fairly recent guide book I have was written (it is explicit when it says photos are not allowed and did not mention that at all for the church, so that is why I say it must be new). Given that, it only took me 15 minutes tops to walk around once inside, so I'm thinking it could be a crowd control measure.

Also, please note they ARE serious about clothing restrictions such as no bare shoulders or uncovered knees. I saw several groups turned away because of attire. And yes, the bare knees also applies to guys - at least one of the groups everyone had covered shoulders and the only one with bare knees was a guy.

After that, I wandered around trying to figure out how to get to the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, which is kind of near the Academia. Part of the charm of Venice is in getting "lost" wandering the little streets and alleys. But it is a challenge and can be frustrating at times.

I finally made it over and visited that basilica, then began the process of figuring out how to get back towards the Rialto Bridge. At one point I'd managed to get myself into a location where two ways were dead ends and one way was back the way I'd come, so I figured the other way was the way to go. Problem was, there was a guy just kind of leaning against the wall towards the end of that alley just before another alley crossed it. While he might have been harmless, my gut was saying "don't go there - at least not alone". I pondered (out of his sight) for a moment when a small group came along and headed the way I needed to go, so I just "joined" them. Better safe than sorry!

I finally managed to find the Rialto Bridge and felt that it was not really worth the effort it took to get over there. It's undergoing restoration - they're doing half at a time. They have a screen covering it that is a painting of what the bridge looks like - which to me just makes it look cheesier. Plus it was super crazy crowded.

So I wandered back towards Piazza San Marco which while crowded at least wasn't as closed in as the bridge. I was about ready to call it a day. One more thing happened that I will include at the end of this entry because males can skip it. (You're welcome!)

I headed back to the guy on the horse monument and caught the shuttle back to the ship for some reading and nibbles followed by hot tub time and a shower (just as a note - this is my second cruise on RCCL and I have yet to encounter a "clinging" shower curtain... perhaps having a small shower in my apartment I'm just used to avoiding them?) - basically a chill late afternoon.

We started puling out while I was finishing dinner, but I made it out in time to take yet more pictures of Piazza San Marco. :) The lighting was different!!

Overall, I loved Venice and it is definitely on my list as a "return to explore more" place.

Now...

PLEASE NOTE: I am including this next part in order to help other female travelers!! Guys, you can skip this. :)

While in Venice I needed to find a store with some feminine hygiene product (not how I'd ideally spend my money earmarked for souvenirs, but I figured it would be less than on the ship - plus I hadn't seen any even in the store with asprin and such on the ship). Yes, I'd packed some, but my body decided to be a pain in the butt this month and I needed more. I followed a sign to a store that looked like it might have what I needed, and I was right. They were behind the counter, so I had to ask for them. I paid, and was collecting my stuff when the guy behind me asked for two packs of cigarettes. His total was LESS than 3 euro more than what I paid for my NECESSARY supplies - so I looked up, and sure enough, one pack of OPTIONAL cigarettes was less than one box of NECESSARY supplies!! And I thought the debate over the "tampon tax" in New York state was bad!! So LADIES!!! While the general rule of thumb for cruise packing is put clothes out, then put half of them back (I still need to learn this lesson), especially if you're going to Venice, take TWICE as many feminine hygiene products as you think you might need!!

Beth - I'm enjoying your review!!! I also did a Mediterranean cruise solo for my 45th. Best decision I ever made - and it was my first trip to Europe.

I will continue to read - just wanted to say thank you for sharing your review and Happy 45th - hope this is an excellent year for you!

Beth - I'm enjoying your review!!! I also did a Mediterranean cruise solo for my 45th. Best decision I ever made - and it was my first trip to Europe.

 

I will continue to read - just wanted to say thank you for sharing your review and Happy 45th - hope this is an excellent year for you!

Aww, thank you!! :):)

One more entry for tonight, then I think jetlag is catching up with me! :)

I didn't know much about Ravenna before starting the planning for this trip - and I still didn't other than "mosaics" - so it would be a new adventure for me.

I decided to try breakfast in the MDR for a change and discovered that they could make me gluten free pancakes (or French toast) there!! Happiness ensued!!

We had a guy who helped out on our roll call with information though he decided to do the same itinerary two cruises before us (the Brilliance is pretty much alternating this itinerary and a Greece/Turkey itinerary), and he reported (and I saw it stated elsewhere) that contrary to years past, there was NOT a charge for the shuttle into Ravenna - the thought process with those posting about it who had been before was that there really is no other way into town from the port. I'd pretty much banked on that fact.

So big surprise to see in the Cruise Compass that shuttle tickets would be available for $22/person! Along with a statement that "the service is beyond the control of Royal Caribbean". I could have theoretically been one of "those people" and gone and raised a fuss, but decided I would just forego what I had planned to do with that remaining OBC and suck it up. (I have, however, included that as a concern in a mostly positive email to Michael Bayley - done "oreo style" with praise on either side and concerns in the middle.) Given the existence of the internet and forums such as this, they had to know that word would get out that there was no charge earlier - I think it would have been a good faith move on RCCL's part to either negotiate or essentially suck it up and cover the shuttle charge for the remaining cruises this season and then if they must pull the "beyond our control" for NEXT season.

As I was solo, it was a minor thing - but for larger groups or families that shuttle cost would have been HUGE! And I'm willing to bet that had a big impact on the decision of many families I saw walking to the beach next to the cruise port. I contemplated that myself, but I had gotten a little burned in Capri and since this was a Saturday I (correctly) predicted that there would probably be a LOT of people from the area hitting the beach. Also being solo there is the issue of what to do with my stuff if I decided to go and play in the water.

So I sucked it up and paid the shuttle cost. We were given maps, but to me they seemed completely opposite to where anything actually was. I did manage to find a couple of churches and Dante's tomb. At the Basilica of Saint Apollonare Nuovo I bought a ticket that covered several places, but between the heat, the confusing maps, and getting a pretty bad headache (had I not been so well hydrated I would have thought dehydration, but I think it was just a combination of everything headache), I opted to go back to the ship after a couple of hours.

Some Aleve, made-by-me iced coffee, rest, and food later the headache went away. I found a place to curl up and read for a little while before my spa appointment.

As I said earlier, I had won the spa raffle and gotten $150 towards one of the signature treatments on a port day. I'd pondered the Lime and Ginger Salt Glow even before boarding, and the 50 minute version was only going to end up costing me $5 - plus of course the 18% autogratuity which was on the total cost. So it was a win-win all around. It was nice - a half-body massage and then a full body exfoliation with the salt scrub. I felt all shiny and smooth and new after showering it off! :)

I read some more and then went to dinner - last minute change to the "always available" steak as they took the duck a l'orange off the menu and I didn't feel like any of the remaining gluten free options.

I wandered out into the Centrum as "Soul Inspirations" was finishing - thankfully...I was NOT impressed with them as the female in particular seemed sort of like a glorified karaoke performer as she had the words to ALL of their songs on an iPad and rarely looked up at the audience so it seemed she really didn't know any of them - and saw a couple of people from the roll call so we were chatting. Jeremie introduced someone - I missed the whole introduction but asked him later and found out that the guy - Javier - is one of the entertainment TECH people and during the cruise before ours asked if he could maybe sing something some time.

He is AMAZING!!!!! Honestly he was better than the singers on Radiance last year!!

Jeremie told me he's encouraging Javier to audition for the performance side of entertainment, and I really hope he does!! I love that Jeremie (and I guess in theory Jerome) gave him the opportunity to perform. He definitely got some of the loudest ovations I heard anyone in the Centrum get!

After that I headed to the Pacifica to see Rob Lewis who is a Phil Collins impersonator/tribute artist. I guess from the clip we saw introducing him he won some kind of contest in the UK that seemed to be all kinds of different celebrity impersonators/tribute artists. Vocally he was good. Some of his antics though... Granted, I've never seen Phil Collins perform, but he doesn't strike me as one who would do some of the physical stunts this guy did. I could be wrong though. It was still an an enjoyable show.

I wandered up to the Latin Nights White Party to see what it was about. The group Latin Vibes was decidedly more Latin that night (some of their performances it was like the early days of the Miami Sound Machine in reverse - MSM was always told they were "too Latin" early on pre-"Conga"...Latin Vibes early in the cruise didn't seem very Latin at all, but that changed as the cruise went on. After a little while, I headed to my cabin.

I think I might have gotten regular coffee by mistake that night with my dessert as it took a while for me to fall asleep. But finally I did get some sleep so I could be somewhat rested for the next day!

Great review Beth.

We enjoyed the Jonathan Clark show but that was about it. I found the overall entertainment was quite poor and amateurish. There was even some miming of songs.

There was often nice music in the Centrum but there is very limited room to sit or even stand near there to listen.

~ Vicki ~

Great review Beth.

 

We enjoyed the Jonathan Clark show but that was about it. I found the overall entertainment was quite poor and amateurish. There was even some miming of songs.

 

There was often nice music in the Centrum but there is very limited room to sit or even stand near there to listen.

 

 

 

~ Vicki ~

Thanks Vicki!

I still have a little to go along with my overall impressions. :)

The entertainment still wasn't Broadway-level, but it was MILES above the junk they were putting on on Radiance last summer. I tried to avoid the Centrum whenever Soul Inspirations was playing - the girl in particular was horrid and clearly didn't know ANY songs without her iPad. One night I was bored so I sat there for a little while and she barely raised her eyes from the iPad.

Javier - the tech who sang on Ravenna night - on the other hand was fantastic!

Hope you had a good flight home!