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

[quote name='kirian']Hi Stef! I'm so sorry to worry you :( (and I'm sorry for keeping the rest of you wonderful thread followers in suspense these past two weeks). My laptop has been giving me all sorts of trouble (think blue screen of death-type trouble :eek:). I'm waiting for a new one to arrive, but I am going to try to add a new post tomorrow (we have to get off the ship eventually!)... oh wait! Maybe that's why this review is taking so long... my sub-conscious mind doesn't want to get off the ship :p

Melissa[/QUOTE]



slackin....


;)

Melissa,

Very good answer. :):)

[quote name='Theredofshaw']slackin....


;)[/QUOTE]


Secretly, I think part of me has to agree with you on that description, Theredofshaw :D

[quote name='Folk Singer']Melissa,

Very good answer. :):)[/QUOTE]

Thanks, Don :)

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[COLOR="Purple"]Anyone notice anything different about this counting photo from all the previous ones??????[/COLOR]

This is it… time to leave the beautiful Serenade of the Seas. Normally, the last day of a cruise would be horrible, but in this case, not so much since we were headed to Rome for four nights!

We started, as usual, with breakfast at the Windjammer. This time, it was at the ungodly hour of 6:15a (I hate mornings)… but at least we got to watch a beautiful sunrise. By 7a, we were at the Tropical Theater (which was the meeting time and place for Group #7). No sooner had we walked through the door, then they called our number. So, we made a u-turn and headed out.

We were off the ship and had our luggage by 7:20a. We waited about 2 minutes for a taxi to become available that would hold our group and our luggage (we had previously decided to share a cab with our fellow roll callers, Lynn and Karl). So, from breakfast to taxi was about 1 hour. Talk about an insanely easy and fast disembarkation process!!!!

Our taxi driver spoke little English, but he handed us a printed card and asked each of us to point to which airline we were on so he would know which terminal to drop us off at. Based on the card, Lynn and Karl had to go to terminal 2 and CM and I needed to be a terminal 1. Since our flight was later than theirs, we decided we would just get off at terminal 2 with them and make our way to terminal 1. It was a fairly simple process…. Ok, it would have been a simple process if we didn’t have so much luggage to lug onto the bus….lol! The cost for the 4 of us with 6 large suitcases plus our carry-ons from the port to the airport was just under 44 Euros.

The Munchkin and I figure out how to get to our terminal. As soon as we boarded the shuttle, who do we see getting on behind us? Lynn and Karl. The taxi driver’s card was wrong and they actually needed to be at Terminal 1 as well. So….

[B][COLOR="Purple"]TIP[/COLOR][/B] - Know ahead of time which terminal your airline uses and don’t go by the taxi driver’s card.

We made it to the Alitalia counter by 8:10a…. and here is where things got really weird. Now, I don’t fly internationally often, so maybe this is the norm, but what follows has to be one of the most bizarre encounters I have ever had at an airport ticket counter….

One female employee was standing behind the counter. We were the only ones in line… directly in front of her… and she wasn’t even acknowledging our presence. A few moments later, an older lady joined us in line. Still, no response from the lady at the ticket counter. Another agent arrived and yep, she ignored us as well while she put hand lotion on and chatted to her co-worker. After 10 minutes of this (yes, I am that patient), I walked up to the counter and asked if we were in the right place. Oh, yes, we were in the correct place and the counter would open at 8:30a. A few more minutes passed and now 6 more employees and their manager arrived. They had a little conference, then each proceeded to their station behind the counter… where they sat until it was 8:30a on the dot. It was actually hysterical watching each of them watching the others, then looking at their computer screen clocks and back and forth until it was 8:30a. But the fun isn’t over just yet….

We get to the counter and were partially checked in, but then I was told I had to first go to another counter across the way to pay for my extra bag. What?! Why don’t they just do that at the same counter and how on earth would I have ever know this (there were no signs or anything). Then I was told to bring the receipt back over and she would finish the process. I politely asked if I could just come straight back to her rather than go to the back of the line which was now quite long. She said yes… thankfully.

Really, the only word for the whole thing is “bizarre.” First, the idea that the counter doesn’t open until 8:30a, yet you are told to arrive 2-3 hours before an international flight was odd. They, their hysterical watching the clock count-down thing while looking right through everyone in line added to the craziness. Then the final thing with the luggage…. Weird!

But the fun of the Barcelona airport wasn’t over yet!!!!

Security was a breeze. We didn’t even have to take our shows off (bonus!). However, once through, we noticed that our boarding passes didn’t have a gate listed, just a terminal (in this case “C”). By now, it was about 8:45a and our flight to Rome was scheduled for 11:25a. So, we didn’t really know where to park ourselves, so we did what we do best… shopped. They have a great selection of stores to browse through, so it was no big deal.

We also swung into McDonald’s where they had these super cool self-ordering kiosks. I wish we had those here!

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Things seemed to go so much faster by using the kiosk (you even paid at the kiosk). Our cappuccino and coke came to 2.20 Euros which we both thought was a great price…. Thank goodness we didn’t want a Big Mac though because they were 6.20 Euros….yikes!

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We kept checking the monitors and finally noticed we had been assigned a gate. Boarding the plane here was even crazier than in the U.S. Everyone just jammed right up to the line and you could barely hear the lady making the announcements for which group was boarding next. But, eventually, we made it on to the plane and got ourselves situated for the flight to Rome.

We had an awesome female pilot (girls rock!) who got us to Rome 25 minutes early. Our luggage arrived very quickly. There was no customs to go through (which seemed odd, but I’m not complaining). Our driver was waiting for us as soon as we went outside (I had pre-booked this service for 55E one way). He had us to our hotel in about 30 minutes.

We stayed in a very lovely hotel which I would highly recommend!!! It is called Hotel Grifo and is about a quarter of a mile from the Coliseum and very close to where the President lives. The staff here were wonderful…. Especially Rosa! We were in a huge room on the 4th floor (#38).

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[COLOR="purple"]In the first room photo, I was standing in the hallway/foyer area you notice above that separates the bathroom from the main part of the room. The doors to the left lead out onto the balcony. The door to our room is directly across from the balcony doors.[/COLOR]

The room was great and had direct access to a large public wrap-around balcony with tables and chairs (3 separate sets total I think). Basically, it may as well have been our own private balcony because I don’t think we ever saw anyone else out there.

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Rosa suggested a great little take-out restaurant around the corner where we grabbed some amazing pizza to fuel us up for the walking we had ahead of us. We had our little map Rosa had given us (which she also marked up with notes on the best place for gelato, cappucino, etc). We wandered across the changing of the guard at the President’s palace (or whatever the building is officially called). It was interesting and there was a good sized crown there to watch. We eventually made our way to the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon (which we would get back to again on another day).

Finally, we decided we had done enough for this first day and it was time for a nice dinner and our beds. A short walk from the hotel, we came across Taverna Di Monti. What an excellent choice! We shared ½ liter of wine, some very good ravioli and some of the best lasagna I have ever had. After this, we strolled back over to the take-out place, bought a bottle of wine (which they kindly opened for us and even asked if we needed plastic cups), and a tiramisu which we took back and shared out on our wonderful balcony.

All in all, it was an amazing start to our Roman holiday!

BTW – I thought I would share this note that I wrote in my journal on this day…. “All roads lead to Rome, but once here, all roads lead in a circle.” Oh, how that would prove to be true over the next 3 days…..lol!

Coming up…. more pics from our first day in Rome!

CG

Yaaaaaaah! Rome!

I had forgotten about all the luggage! LOL! I'm glad it worked out and was only a bizarre experience (rather than a BAD one!)

Love the new finger position!

Looking forward to hearing about your adventures in Rome. I just got back from Rome two weeks ago and had a blast.

Great Rome review so far. When I was there someone said, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Screw it up." :rolleyes: hahaha.

Love your balcony.:)

Yay, Rome!!!!

The process at the Barcelona airport was quite weird. We had the same exact experience, except we didn't have any bags to check but had to go across to get our tickets stamped, awkward.

I still here checking in for your updates. ;)

Finally made it back here to see your review is still goooooiiinnnnggggggg...

Enjoying it and looking forward to the rest of your Rome escapades.

looking forward as well.

:)Hope you had a wonderful christmas!

:oand now ....

:Dmore please!!!!


Stef

Happy New Year!

Thanks for hanging in there with me everyone - I promise I WILL finish this review before the year is out :p;)

Melissa :cool:

[quote name='kirian']Happy New Year!

Thanks for hanging in there with me everyone - I promise I WILL finish this review before the year is out :p;)

Melissa :cool:[/QUOTE]

Yah! Happy new year!

[quote name='kirian']Happy New Year!

Thanks for hanging in there with me everyone - I promise I WILL finish this review before the year is out :p;)

Melissa :cool:[/QUOTE]



I'm here to encourage you to get back into it, I think i'm qualified to say I know how scary and difficult it is to start it back up. Also myself and Ger are bringing my mum to Rome in Feb ( her Christmas present) so although i've been 4 times already I still want to see what you two got up to 'cos I just know you will give me some great ideas.

Happy New Year to you ad the munchkin :D

[quote name='kirian']Happy New Year!

Thanks for hanging in there with me everyone - I promise I WILL finish this review before the year is out :p;)

Melissa :cool:[/QUOTE]
Ok, we'll hold you to that promise. Another 365 days to finish....

Melissa,

You inspired me. I started a review of this cruise a week ago. It certainly is labor-intensive! I'm up to when we reached Venice.

Keep it coming! Edited January 2, 2015 by paylady

Sigh .. I think this falls under "cruel and unusual punishment" through information depravation:(:(:(

bohoooo ... we miss you and your Rome adventures! Please end our suffering!


Stef

Melissa...where are you..anxiously awaiting to hear your experiences in Rome!!

Peggy

Come back Melissa!

[quote name='Theredofshaw']Come back Melissa![/QUOTE]

Don't worry... I'm still here and haven't forgotten about y'all or that we need to finish Rome. I actually just posted something on my roll call about needing to get this thing done... by the end of the year :p

I am just 9 weeks away from taking my longest cruise to date (15nt TA), so as you can imagine, I am slammed with final planning (all ports are brand new to me.... we even overnight in Iceland!!!!). We have lots and lots of sea days and I might use some of that time to write up the final three days of this Med adventure, so that it will be ready to post soon after I return.

Just think, then I can start another review that takes 18 months to finish :eek::cool:

Melissa

PS - I miss everyone!!!!!

Yah! Another review in the works! I mean another CRUISE in the works!

 

Have a blast and take notes for us land-locked folks!

 

Denise

Don't worry... I'm still here and haven't forgotten about y'all or that we need to finish Rome. I actually just posted something on my roll call about needing to get this thing done... by the end of the year :p

 

I am just 9 weeks away from taking my longest cruise to date (15nt TA), so as you can imagine, I am slammed with final planning (all ports are brand new to me.... we even overnight in Iceland!!!!). We have lots and lots of sea days and I might use some of that time to write up the final three days of this Med adventure, so that it will be ready to post soon after I return.

 

Just think, then I can start another review that takes 18 months to finish :eek::cool:

 

Melissa

 

PS - I miss everyone!!!!!

 

Iceland you say....That sounds fun. We are doing the same as you and taking the lazy way out in Naples and doing the Vesuvius hike/Pompeii tour. 4 days until our travel to Barcelona begins!

Lol, this popped up on my thread any you still haven't finished Rome :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

Don't worry... I'm still here and haven't forgotten about y'all or that we need to finish Rome. I actually just posted something on my roll call about needing to get this thing done... by the end of the year :p

 

 

 

I am just 9 weeks away from taking my longest cruise to date (15nt TA), so as you can imagine, I am slammed with final planning (all ports are brand new to me.... we even overnight in Iceland!!!!). We have lots and lots of sea days and I might use some of that time to write up the final three days of this Med adventure, so that it will be ready to post soon after I return.

 

 

 

Just think, then I can start another review that takes 18 months to finish :eek::cool:

 

 

 

Melissa

 

 

 

PS - I miss everyone!!!!!

 

 

We are also doing a TA next month with 3 stops in Iceland, not an overnight so it can't be the same line.

We are doing a. 7 night Norway cruise first so looking forward to all new stops too, lots of them.

 

You know you are not going to be writing 3 days in Rome onboard lol

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

Iceland you say....That sounds fun. We are doing the same as you and taking the lazy way out in Naples and doing the Vesuvius hike/Pompeii tour. 4 days until our travel to Barcelona begins!

 

I'm not so sure a hike up Vesuvius could be called "lazy!"

 

:)