**Trip of a Lifetime Review - Italy and Rhapsody of the Seas 9.16.2016**

What do you do when you meticulously plan a bucket list trip and can't stop talking about it?

You write the greatest review ever!! (Well, maybe not the greatest, but go with me folks)

Last May, I decided it was time to see my top 2 bucket list destinations … Italy and Greece, specifically Santorini. I was first booked on a 7 night cruise onboard Vision of the Seas. But, as always, I was still searching to see if any other sailings peaked my interest. I came across this 10 night itinerary and it was less than $100 to switch for 3 extra days …. So, I made the no brainer decision and switched cruises within 24 hours.

So, now the cruise is booked … how would I make it into the complete trip, you ask? Well, let me tell you!

I've always been fascinated by Italy and I can't tell you when or how it started but it's been numero uno on my bucket list for many years. No particular city or sight, just Italy in general. The cruise would be close looped from Venice (lucky me!) So, I looked on a map and within a few weeks, I put together this brilliant trip.

Day 1 - arrive in Rome

Day 2 – Rome

Day 3 – Rome to Venice with a dip in Florence

Day 4 – Venice

Day 5 – embarkation on Rhapsody of the Seas

Day 6 – sea day

Day 7 – Corfu, Greece

Day 8 – sea day

Day 9 – Santorini, Greece

Day 10 – Athens, Greece

Day 11 – Mykonos, Greece

Day 12 – sea day

Day 13 – Kotor, Montenegro

Day 14 – Zadar, Croatia

Day 15 – disembarkation and train to Milan

Day 16 – Milan

Day 17 – flight home (boo hoo!)

Amazing trip, right? I know! I simply could not stop talking about this trip, especially after final payment was made. I’m sure people were annoyed hearing me talk about it so much, but I didn’t care. I had a list for everything … outfits, estimated euros I’d need, restaurant suggestions. Anything to get me closer to the big day. The planning was intense, I won't lie. I had to book hotels for Rome, Venice and Milan. I had to book tours for each destination and the ports. I had to convert my money into euros. This was nothing like preparing for a 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise, but I think I did a pretty good job. This would be my 5th solo cruise and now that the trip is all done, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I'm so glad I decided to go alone as I don't think I would've enjoyed myself as much if I had company.

Oh wait! Let me properly introduce myself!

I’m Deon from Toronto and cruising, preferably alone, is my absolute favourite way to vacation. I started cruising in 2009 and this would be my 10th cruise and 1st time sailing as Diamond … I swear I heard Rihanna singing to me when I collected my sea pass the first time ... “Shine bright like a diamond …”

Ready to get this bucket list trip party started?? I took over 2,800 pictures between my iPhone 6 and Canon camera … yes, you read that number right. I was clicking like nobody’s business, so please bare with me. I’m still uploading pictures and hope to have this review done in a timely manner.

The Author :D

I look forward to hearing about your trip. I dream of going to Italy and Greece one day.

I spent the evening of Sept 10th at my good friend's house and barely slept. Like really, who can sleep the night before the biggest trip of their life starts?? Yea, not me. In the morning, I caught an Uber to Union station and the UP Express. The UP Express service is a train that runs from downtown Toronto to Pearson airport. It runs every 15 minutes and it takes 25 minutes. It was a nice and smooth train ride and relatively quiet.

UP Express train

Once I got to the airport, it took about 50 minutes to check in, deposit my bag, go through customs and the security check. So I was fully checked in with 2 hours to go before my flight to JFK left ... Yay Deon, good job! I found some food to eat while the time passed. With quick succession, my flight started to board and then we were up and back down ... the flight was super quick, I'd say less than 90 minutes. I had a longer layover in New York since the flight that I originally booked for a 5:05pm departure eventually left at 6:50pm. I went to SoHo Bistro right near the gate and had a nice lunch.

OMG that's my flight! (before it got further delayed of course)

Now, the flight from New York to Rome is the longest flight I've taken to date at 8 hours and 30 minutes. I had a nice window seat but the next time I fly to Europe, I will splurge for a upgraded seat. I have short legs but I was cramped the entire time and the longest I probably slept was 3 hours. I switched between watching a movie on my iPad to playing sudoku and then reading while listening to music. Other times, I was just staring into the dark skies. We got dinner shortly after we took off - it did its job I guess, I wasn't expecting a gourmet meal. Chicken with rice, salad, dinner roll and crackers with cheese. I also helped myself to a couple glasses of white wine. Oh, one other thing about my flight. Now, I love kids, but the few that were on this flight were pretty vocal during most of it. There were some particular times where it was extremely tough.

So, the flight landed about 8:50am. At this point, I was hot and desperately wanted a nice cool shower. I went through the standard procedure of going through customs and picking up my luggage, still not able to be truly excited about this whole amazing trip. I had used viator to book my transportation, in which they said someone would be holding a sign with my name. After 2 phone calls, an unclear customer service agent and 45 minutes, I found my ride. They said because they accommodate so many people, they don't hold up everyone's name. Oh how nice, since that's what you told me to look for. Anyways moving on, myself and 2 other couples were ushered to a mini van and off we went .... Finally, I'm in my number one bucket list country .... Yayyyyyyyy!!!!

Very exciting!!! Can't wait to read more! Glad you had a wonderful time and thanks for sharing!!!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The ride to the hotel was extremely quiet. I'm assuming the couples were experiencing what I was. Excitement dampened a bit by feeling tired and dirty after a long overnight flight. I liked the quiet ride as I could view the sites around me and the crazy drivers on their bikes and scooters. I'm honestly surprised I didn't see any accidents - the driving was that insane. I was the first hotel stop at about 10:30am and was so glad to drop off my suitcase and go about my day (yes, I committed the cardinal sin of overpacking even though I'd be advised not to by a friend who recently visited Italy ... I really wish I had listened to her!) I booked hotel Amalfi after seeing several great reviews and offering single rooms with private showers. I'd seen something about asking for room 420, so I had put that in my reservation. The lovely front desk agent had informed me that that room wasn't ready as of yet but if I didn't mind, he could immediately check me into another room so I could freshen up. I said yes before he even finished his sentence, so I scored with room 208 which happened to be a double bed ... score for me!! If I had waited for 420, it would've been just a single bed and I don't know how comfortable it would've been.

I gave myself an hour to freshen up and get settled before I headed out the door ... I could finally get excited - I was in Rome, Italy!!! :D

I'm in Rome and even at this point, I couldn't believe it. I had bought myself a 48 hour all inclusive pass with City Sightseeing Hop On Hop Off tours. Besides having access to the bus, I also got skip the line access to the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, the Vatican museum and Sistine chapel (spoiler alert ... I didn't make it into one of these sites. More later!)

Can I first start with the absolute vision that was right outside my hotel? Immediately I was in awe ...

Santa Maria Maggiore

One of the bus stops was a quick 2 minute walk from my hotel and I waited maybe 5 minutes before the big red double decker bus pulled up. I quickly exchanged my voucher and found a nice seat to take in some sights.

The next stop on the bus was the Colosseum. The way that it sneaks up on you is amazing. These pictures don't do its size justice.

I got off the bus to take pictures and thought about doing the tour then but decided against it (bad idea!). I walked around for about 30 minutes before I headed back to the bus stop and the next sight that I was excited about ... the Trevi Fountain! I have been looking at this sculpture on live webcams for weeks and now I was a few minutes away from it ...

In person just put me in awe. It's absolutely breathtaking. When I turned the corner and saw it, I had to pause for a moment. I took several pictures in many different angles. There is a thing that if you throw a coin from your right hand over your left shoulder into the fountain, you will return to Rome ...

October 2018, here I come!!

Great start. Looking forward to your review.

Beautiful pictures

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Great start, looking forward to the rest!

What do you do when you meticulously plan a bucket list trip and can't stop talking about it?

 

You write the greatest review ever!! (Well, maybe not the greatest, but go with me folks)

 

Last May, I decided it was time to see my top 2 bucket list destinations … Italy and Greece, specifically Santorini. I was first booked on a 7 night cruise onboard Vision of the Seas. But, as always, I was still searching to see if any other sailings peaked my interest. I came across this 10 night itinerary and it was less than $100 to switch for 3 extra days …. So, I made the no brainer decision and switched cruises within 24 hours.

 

So, now the cruise is booked … how would I make it into the complete trip, you ask? Well, let me tell you!

 

I've always been fascinated by Italy and I can't tell you when or how it started but it's been numero uno on my bucket list for many years. No particular city or sight, just Italy in general. The cruise would be close looped from Venice (lucky me!) So, I looked on a map and within a few weeks, I put together this brilliant trip.

 

Day 1 - arrive in Rome

Day 2 – Rome

Day 3 – Rome to Venice with a dip in Florence

Day 4 – Venice

Day 5 – embarkation on Rhapsody of the Seas

Day 6 – sea day

Day 7 – Corfu, Greece

Day 8 – sea day

Day 9 – Santorini, Greece

Day 10 – Athens, Greece

Day 11 – Mykonos, Greece

Day 12 – sea day

Day 13 – Kotor, Montenegro

Day 14 – Zadar, Croatia

Day 15 – disembarkation and train to Milan

Day 16 – Milan

Day 17 – flight home (boo hoo!)

 

Amazing trip, right? I know! I simply could not stop talking about this trip, especially after final payment was made. I’m sure people were annoyed hearing me talk about it so much, but I didn’t care. I had a list for everything … outfits, estimated euros I’d need, restaurant suggestions. Anything to get me closer to the big day. The planning was intense, I won't lie. I had to book hotels for Rome, Venice and Milan. I had to book tours for each destination and the ports. I had to convert my money into euros. This was nothing like preparing for a 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise, but I think I did a pretty good job. This would be my 5th solo cruise and now that the trip is all done, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I'm so glad I decided to go alone as I don't think I would've enjoyed myself as much if I had company.

 

Oh wait! Let me properly introduce myself!

 

I’m Deon from Toronto and cruising, preferably alone, is my absolute favourite way to vacation. I started cruising in 2009 and this would be my 10th cruise and 1st time sailing as Diamond … I swear I heard Rihanna singing to me when I collected my sea pass the first time ... “Shine bright like a diamond …”

 

Ready to get this bucket list trip party started?? I took over 2,800 pictures between my iPhone 6 and Canon camera … yes, you read that number right. I was clicking like nobody’s business, so please bare with me. I’m still uploading pictures and hope to have this review done in a timely manner.

 

The Author :D

Wow that is a great trip.

Very nice start. Nice photos too. Following your review.

Deon I love your review! :)

Perfect itinerary on my favorite ship. Your pictures take me back to Rome.

Love your review, we always mean to visit Rome but haven't managed yet.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Thank you for sharing. I'm really enjoying your review and photos.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Great start, Deon. You got my complete attention. Can't wait to read more. And I understand about the many pictures. I also got 3500 between my iphone and Nikon. How am I going to handle that? Thanks for sharing, can't wait to read the rest :)

Cindy

Your excitement is infectious. Thanks for sharing your trip. Great photos too.

Deon great review; wishing you an outstanding adventure and cruise. Rome is full with so much history and wonderful architecture. The people are so friendly to Canadian.

Great review. Looking forward to the rest!

Can't wait to read and see more Deon...this is on my bucket list also!!! Stay safe and have a great time :):):)

Fantastic review. I'm happy you went on a dream trip. So exciting.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thanks for the kind words everyone, I appreciate it!

To align with the days in the first post, I'm technically still on day 1 as this was the day I arrived in Rome, so sorry for the slight mixup!

Ok, so where were we? Oh yes, I was drooling at the Trevi fountain.

After I finished there, I hopped on the bus again and went around for the full ride which takes about 70 minutes. I enjoyed the journey, especially since I was tired from my overnight flight. I got back to my hotel around 6:30pm and took my time getting ready for dinner. I discovered a website called The Fork, which appears to be similar to Open Table. The one key difference I noticed though is that when booking a restaurant, you have access to some special discounts with your booking. With a 20% discount, I booked Terrazza Dei Papi, which is a rooftop restaurant walking distance from my hotel. I got there right at 8pm and was immediately happy with my decision. I choose to sit inside but had a great view of the outside deck and the view of Santa Maria Maggaorie.

I treated myself to a glass of Pinot Grigio with a shrimp risotto and a supreme of chicken entree. Everything was fresh and flavourful. My coupon definitely came in handy as I saved about $10 off my meal.

First official dinner of vacation ... of course, I was happy!

Perfect setting, no?

Shrimp Risotto

Chicken Supreme

As stuffed as I was, I found a pastry shop on my short walk back to the hotel ... help!!

I had to indulge!

I made my way back to the hotel and finished watching my movie from the flight before heading to bed. Day 1 and I've already seen so much, who knew what the next 16 days would entail.

So, I had plans to get up at 8am. This would give me time to have breakfast and then fit the Vatican museum, Sistine chapel and the Colosseum into the 8 hour time frame.

Sigh, this girl woke up at 10:30am. Yes, I did that. I was so upset with myself but I quickly jumped up and was out of the hotel by 11:15am. I made it to the Colosseum by 12:30 to exchange my voucher for an actual ticket but was told I couldn't go inside until after 2:30pm and before 5pm. Ok, I still thought I had a chance to make it work. I took about 45 minutes to go through the Roman Forums, which was amazing and definitely not enough time. So much history is in that area.

More Roman Forums ...