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Cool Girl & Crazy Mom do the Med-Venice: A (very delayed) review of a Serenade voyage


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OK caught up.

 

OMG, that whiteboard is HILARIOUS. That guy and his hair!

 

Mount Vesuvius - this is again one of the times when I truly appreciate your review. This excursion would have been difficult for my parents, but I love that I get to experience it vicariously! That incline must have been a great workout. AND lol nice on leaving your mom in the care of those 2 guys. They did seem nice, to be fair.

 

This review is so much fun!!

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I have a story about Naples too....but not a good one. Is that allowed? I was cruising with my 79 year old Mum and was taking her to Pompeii by train. I'd heard about the pickpockets so was on my guard at the station. There was a gypsy woman accompanied by a young girl and a baby . She was watching the crowds, and when the train approached, she started to follow an Italian matron along the platform. I guessed her intention and just had time to say to Mum "Follow me" It was like something out of a cartoon.....Italian lady followed by Gypsy, girl with baby, me, then Mum rushing along the platform in a line. As they all got onto the train, the gypsy's hand went into the Italian lady's bag. Yes!! I'd been right. I was so mad I yelled at the top of my voice and pulled her hand out of the bag. I dont know who was more shocked -the Italian lady, the gypsies or my Mum! I never did find out what happened as the train doors closed and away it went. A local man said I was lucky she hadn't pulled a knife. Outrage had overtaken commonsense, but I'm sure I'd do the same again in the same situation

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This is a great review. Love your writing style and pictures and cannot wait to hear the rest.

 

Also thanks for your tips on C-town as I am fearful of missing the train and this was helpful. We want to do the Vatican when we go.

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Oooh, I have a story!

 

During our first Mediterranean cruise, we did Pompeii in the morning, and Mom and I went into Naples in the afternoon. We stayed within a few blocks of the port, which is what our stateroom attendant advised. (Because who doesn't get tourist tips from their cabin steward.)

 

Our goal was the famous Neapolitan pizza. Coming from New Jersey, we take our pizza seriously. Like, I knew people in high school whose families would disown them if they dated someone whose family frequented a different pizza joint. Okay, I'm exaggerating (only slightly), but we do have very exact standards. (We're also serious about Springsteen, but that's another story for another review.)

 

Anyway, we walked and walked looking for a place that wasn't sit down. We just wanted a slice from a pizza parlor. We finally found a place that sold small pizza pies. Good enough. We got a margherita pie to go.

 

By then, it was getting close to boarding time, so we headed back to the ship, thinking we could enjoy our Neapolitan pizza as a pre-dinner snack with Dad.

 

Alas, it turns out you're not allowed to bring hot food onboard. Who knew? (Hint: not me. I know all of you knew.) So what to do? I wasn't going to give up a pizza. The state of New Jersey probably let me back if I'd done that. I got comfortable in one of the promenade lounge chairs before security, and ate most of the pizza. Fortunately it was probably at most 10", and Mom did help. I also offered some to the mean security guy who wouldn't break maritime laws, but he politely refused.

 

In any case, it was delicious. So, there. A good Naples story. :)

 

PS: Now..back to catching up on this abundance of amazing reviews!

 

Great story Windjamming. We're also extremely serious about decent Pizza and Springsteen in our house, maybe we'l start some kind of international Bruce/Pizza fan club.

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I'm suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms....has your week improved somehow? Hope so. Sending good vibes your way so that you may recover from the stress and produce a new installment ASAP:D.

 

Stef

 

I think the intense craziness of the week is finally subsiding (now that it's the weekend). I have my Word doc open, I have reviewed my journal notes, went through photos of the next day and I'm getting ready to start typing up the next installment as we speak... err, type :p

 

Stay tuned!

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I wanted to post a quick thanks to Denise, Julia and Windjamming for posting that they found at least "some" positive things about Naples. I suppose like any city, if you look hard enough you can find both the good and the bad.

 

I also want to say a huge "You Go Girl" to Suekay for scaring the bejesus out of that gypsy lady and keeping her from pickpocketing at least one person that day. Good job!!!! :D

 

Ayasha - Hide and seek in Pompeii.... that would be fabulous, wouldn't it!!!

 

Stef - After all this talk of the whiteboard, and realizing I can never use that one again (since there is no way I'm erasing my awesome artwork) I bought a new one for my next cruise from the dollar store the other day. Never too early to start planning for Sept 2015 :eek::cool:

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This is a great review. Love your writing style and pictures and cannot wait to hear the rest.

 

Also thanks for your tips on C-town as I am fearful of missing the train and this was helpful. We want to do the Vatican when we go.

 

Thanks for the kind words, MJ! I got so many helpful tips from reading other reviews, that I wanted to pass it forward and share some tips of my own.

 

If I recall correctly, I think the train has a stop right near St. Peter's so you wouldn't even have to switch to the Metro like we did. I believe the station name is S Pietro (go figure).. it's before the stop my mom and I got off (Ostencia). From there (the S Pietro stop), it's about a 15 minute leisurely walk to the Vatican. Very doable. I would highly recommend a tour of some type though.... not so much because of the "tour" itself, but because it will get you through the entry line sooooo much faster and get you into the actual Vatican Museum and Basilica without having to waste an hour or more in line.

 

Stayed tuned to the review.... we will eventually find ourselves back in Rome for 4 days post-cruise and I will go into detail about our visit(s) to Vatican City (we found ourselves there on 3 different days for different reasons).

 

Melissa

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kirian, I have a funny story about Rome and my own little munchkin. My first visit, all my mother wanted for a souvenier was holy water from the Vatican. So, as I was standing in line, I emptied a regular water bottle I bought at a store nearby. I had to return to St. Peter's a 2nd time in order to get to the Sanctuary to get someone to fill my holy water bottle. I brought it all the way back to the USA and gave it to my mother. She is 1/2 Sicilian and 1/2 Napolitan (Naples) and 4'11". Well somehow the bottle wound up in the refrigerator and she drank it!:eek: Hopefully, it did some good - she is 87 now (16 years later).:)

 

So, I am enjoying your munchkin stories although my mother could not walk well enough for a trip like that.:(

 

Thanks for many smiles.:D

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Thanks for the kind words, MJ! I got so many helpful tips from reading other reviews, that I wanted to pass it forward and share some tips of my own.

 

 

 

If I recall correctly, I think the train has a stop right near St. Peter's so you wouldn't even have to switch to the Metro like we did. I believe the station name is S Pietro (go figure).. it's before the stop my mom and I got off (Ostencia). From there (the S Pietro stop), it's about a 15 minute leisurely walk to the Vatican. Very doable. I would highly recommend a tour of some type though.... not so much because of the "tour" itself, but because it will get you through the entry line sooooo much faster and get you into the actual Vatican Museum and Basilica without having to waste an hour or more in line.

 

 

 

Stayed tuned to the review.... we will eventually find ourselves back in Rome for 4 days post-cruise and I will go into detail about our visit(s) to Vatican City (we found ourselves there on 3 different days for different reasons).

 

 

 

Melissa

 

 

S. Pietro is the stop we mostly use, my first port stop in C- town (I was in Rome previously but not hubby) we caught the train and got off there and then walked Rome looking at all the sites and back to that station, now each trip back we plan a day and tour a site.

MJ I'm sure I have (will have to track it down) the walking tour I used if you want a copy email me julia . winik0116 at gmail dot com

I did this for our group mother/daughter trip last year to and it's a great overview of Rome.

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SAM_1115_zpsa302cca1.jpg

 

TGISD!!!! Thank Goodness it’s a Sea Day – Finally!!!!

 

Cool Girl and Crazy Mom had been going non-stop for the past 6 days (5 days on the ship and 1 day pre-cruise in Barcelona). We were exhausted and were so grateful to have a day to just chill-out before our arrival in Venice.

 

Now, don’t be confused…. By “chill-out,” I don’t mean this was a lazy day where we just lounged at the pool (which would make for a very boring post, I must say). Nooooooo… we still had lots of wacky fun today, but it just didn’t include clocking 8-10 miles on the pedometer (although sometimes, with all the steps, it does feel like you walk that much on the ship… I can’t imagine how much walking is involved on a sea day aboard the Oasis or Allure).

 

Today, we started with a leisurely breakfast at the Windjammer in our favorite spot outside Shhhhhh, don’t tell anyone outside of Cruise Critic that there is fabulous outdoor seating at the Windjammer on certain (all?) classes of ship. We can almost always find a seat out there, usually right along the rail, and I want to keep it that way. So, if people don’t already know about this “secret” spot, let’s make a pact not to tell them, ok?

 

 

SAM_1110_zpsc4db1dd0.jpg

 

 

Bellies full of breakfast, we made our way to the Vortex Lounge because it was time for…..drum roll….. the official Meet & Mingle (scheduled for 11a). When we arrived, we found trays of fruit and cheese, along with lemonade and punch. We were each given one of those little RCL notepad/pencil combos that has a cord (to be hung around your neck). This also served as our name tags.

 

I would say that we had about 50 people show up (give or take). After mingling for a few minutes, we all took a seat. There was an open Q&A session for a few minutes and then they gave out door prizes. CM and I both won… our names were called one after the other. And what amazingly, fabulous prize did we win? You’re going to be jealous, but don’t blame us… we were just the super-duper lucky ones to win these….

 

 

SAM_1120_zps802dc446.jpg

BTW - that is not our cabin in this photo. This was taken in the grand suite while on our cabin crawl

 

 

This is EXACTLY what I have always dreamed of owning. My very own, XXL RCL Bingo tee shirt. How awesome that I could now save my money and not have to worry about buying anything second rate in Venice the next day. Bonus!

 

Disclaimer #20: I haven’t worn that shirt again since I took it off after the picture was taken. It might actually be in my bag to go to the Goodwill. Maybe I will make someone’s day and they can have the opportunity to purchase their very own, worn-for-only-90sec, RCL Bingo shirt for the cost of $1.00 or less (heck, Goodwill might put it in the free bin and then someone could really score). Although, it did make for an awesome way to wrap a rather delicate item I bought while in Rome to help protect it on the journey home, so it had its merits.

 

After the door prizes were all given out (and I got over feeling very bad for the 2 people whose names got called for the terrible prize of a bottle of champagne, bless their hearts) we all gathered for a group photo.

 

Shortly before our cruise, two of the people on our roll call, Patti & Jim (Cruisenfever on CC), had to cancel due to a medical emergency. We were all so sad as Patti & Jim were really looking forward to the trip, especially Venice. One of the gals on our roll call, Elaine (Cabinlovers on CC) had made a sign for us all to hold up during our group photo that showed Patti & Jim we were thinking about them. Here is a photo that I took from a post by Elaine on our Roll Call (thanks Elaine!)

 

 

caa93afa-1bfc-4ac7-8183-12a0d42718fa_zps01df91da.jpg

 

 

We finished the Meet & Mingle with our hometown gift exchange that had been coordinated on our Roll Call, by Sarah (thanks Sarah!). There were about 12-15 couples/families that had opted to participate. CM & I chose the number that ended up being Haley’s (NHDisneylover on CC) family’s bag, and funny enough, they got our bag’s number. OMG – they had stuffed their bag with yummy German chocolate (since they live in Germany) and some funny German books (in English, thankfully, since my 5 years of German language classes happened way too long ago for me to actually still recall much). The goody bag we gave them contained an assortment of things from the 2 little coastal towns where CM & I live (starfish, mini ceramic coasters (the kind that go in car cup holders), a shot glass, post cards, some coffee from a local roaster and a bag of grits (with recipes… just in case whoever won our bag had no idea what a grit was, let along what you do with an entire bag of them)))

 

After the official Meet &Mingle was over and gifts had been exchanged, it was time for the Cabin Crawl that Karl (RelaxKarl) had coordinated. This was my first ever crawl and I was excited. In my 6 cruises, I have only ever stayed in inside rooms and the most I have seen of others is when I pass the open door while the stewards are cleaning and take a quick peak. So, I wanted to see the other cabin styles up close and personal.

 

Karl did a great job of coordinating our route so that we weren’t backtracking. We started low and worked our way up the ship. CM & I had volunteered to show off our fabulous inside cabin since we were sure the people who always booked balconies and suites would be green with envy when they saw our dungeon cave.

 

We had a fantastic variety of cabins styles on our crawl. Everything from a sole/single cabin up to a grand suite. NHDisneylover even had a little basket of that fabulous German candy you could take a piece of as we exited their room. We just had a blast traipsing through the ship with 20 of us in a row. What fun!!!

 

BTW – in case you are like us and have never seen a grand suite, here you go (try not to drool):

 

 

SAM_1122_zps73c37108.jpg

There must be at least 15 of us in the cabin all at once. If CM and I had that many people in our cabin at once, it would look like a clown car!!!

 

b28591ac-6b36-4bd5-9a06-4ad331b68a37_zps175f25d6.jpg

My favorite section of the GS!!! You could have fit almost our entire cabin in there!!!

 

 

Up next, the 2nd half of our day (Peggy, you & Ernie don’t want to miss the next post!)

 

Cool Girl

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Thanks for the kind words, MJ! I got so many helpful tips from reading other reviews, that I wanted to pass it forward and share some tips of my own.

 

If I recall correctly, I think the train has a stop right near St. Peter's so you wouldn't even have to switch to the Metro like we did. I believe the station name is S Pietro (go figure).. it's before the stop my mom and I got off (Ostencia). From there (the S Pietro stop), it's about a 15 minute leisurely walk to the Vatican. Very doable. I would highly recommend a tour of some type though.... not so much because of the "tour" itself, but because it will get you through the entry line sooooo much faster and get you into the actual Vatican Museum and Basilica without having to waste an hour or more in line.

 

Stayed tuned to the review.... we will eventually find ourselves back in Rome for 4 days post-cruise and I will go into detail about our visit(s) to Vatican City (we found ourselves there on 3 different days for different reasons).

 

Melissa

 

Thanks for the info. I will look forward to hearing your review on Rome as well.

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:Dphew, thank god, she's back:D!

 

lol -- 5 years of German, he? Gotta keep that in mind ;).

 

Still absolutely loving every word of your review! ...and it slowly dawns on me that I won't get to read all of it before we leave:eek:...AAArrrggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

 

Stef

 

My German is terrible at this point, but it is on my bucket list that at some point in my life, I will have time to become truly fluent.

 

Just think though, when you get off the ship at the end of your cruise, and you're sad, you can suddenly remember that you have more of my review to look forward to and that will cheer you right up :p Plus, at the rate I add sections, you probably won't have too much to catch up on....lol :D

 

Melissa

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Melissa have just started looking at your review and it's already wonderful! Will be doing a B2B on Serenade in Feb. 2015 and this will hold me over until then, thank you....K.O...:)

 

Thank you so much for your kind words - I'm so glad you will be following along! When I was planning for my Serenade trip, it was Stef's review of her trip that helped tide me over while I waited for my cruise to hurry up and get here :D

 

Thanks for the info. I will look forward to hearing your review on Rome as well.

 

I hope you will find some good tips on Rome when we get to that part. CM and I walked 30 miles in 3 days (I didn't wear my pedometer on day 1), so believe me, we saw a lot of the city....lol!

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I have a story about Naples too....but not a good one. Is that allowed? I was cruising with my 79 year old Mum and was taking her to Pompeii by train. I'd heard about the pickpockets so was on my guard at the station. There was a gypsy woman accompanied by a young girl and a baby . She was watching the crowds, and when the train approached, she started to follow an Italian matron along the platform. I guessed her intention and just had time to say to Mum "Follow me" It was like something out of a cartoon.....Italian lady followed by Gypsy, girl with baby, me, then Mum rushing along the platform in a line. As they all got onto the train, the gypsy's hand went into the Italian lady's bag. Yes!! I'd been right. I was so mad I yelled at the top of my voice and pulled her hand out of the bag. I dont know who was more shocked -the Italian lady, the gypsies or my Mum! I never did find out what happened as the train doors closed and away it went. A local man said I was lucky she hadn't pulled a knife. Outrage had overtaken commonsense, but I'm sure I'd do the same again in the same situation

 

Good for you Suekay! I would have done the same. Guess it is my New York genes. :)

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Oooooh we were on the same tour - we loved it and thought the guide was so funny. Couldn't spot any of us in the photos of that day though :-( but there we are in the meet and mingle group shot :-). Happy memories!

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Oooooh we were on the same tour - we loved it and thought the guide was so funny. Couldn't spot any of us in the photos of that day though :-( but there we are in the meet and mingle group shot :-). Happy memories!

 

Hi Nettee!!!! Thanks for stopping by :) Do I remember correctly that you and your family had that really cool Family Oceanview room in the bow of the ship (with the window ledges the little ones liked to sit in)?

 

Melissa

Edited by kirian
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kirian, I have a funny story about Rome and my own little munchkin. My first visit, all my mother wanted for a souvenier was holy water from the Vatican. So, as I was standing in line, I emptied a regular water bottle I bought at a store nearby. I had to return to St. Peter's a 2nd time in order to get to the Sanctuary to get someone to fill my holy water bottle. I brought it all the way back to the USA and gave it to my mother. She is 1/2 Sicilian and 1/2 Napolitan (Naples) and 4'11". Well somehow the bottle wound up in the refrigerator and she drank it!:eek: Hopefully, it did some good - she is 87 now (16 years later).:)

 

So, I am enjoying your munchkin stories although my mother could not walk well enough for a trip like that.:(

 

Thanks for many smiles.:D

 

Oh my! I guess there was something "extra holy" in that water. Maybe I should drink the bottle I have on my shelf from Medjugorje in Bosnia for good luck :eek::D

 

Melissa

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Hi Nettee!!!! Thanks for stopping by :) Do I remember correctly that you and your family had that really cool Family Oceanview room in the bow of the ship (with the window ledges the little ones liked to sit in)?

 

Melissa

 

 

Yes that was me - we loved our room...... really enjoying your review, thank you for taking the time :)

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