Solstice Med 5/14 - Just back!

[Jobeth66]

Celebrity Solstice 5/14-5/26/11

 

We just returned from the 5/14/11 Celebrity Solstice 12-night Mediterranean cruise, from Barcelona-Barcelona.

 

First - overall we had a wonderful time!

 

Details:

 

Ship Transfer - we chose to use Celebrity's transfer service from BCN to the port. Very easy, when you exit customs, go right and the Celebrity staff are there to check you in. They'll take your luggage and when they have enough people, you board the bus for the port, drive-time is about 20 minutes. Luggage was delivered to our staterooms by 3pm.

 

Embarkation - Once we got to the port, check-in was about 5 minutes. No lines to speak of, and very well organized. We had already done our express pass & entered our credit card information online. She handed us our Seapass cards and we went on.

 

We got to the ship about 11:15, and boarding did not begin until 11:30. However, in the terminal they had tables set up for specialty dining, drink packages, and shore excursions. We signed up for the 3 restaurant plan and booked our times for formal nights. They give you you a card with the dates/times, but you also get a reminder at your stateroom the morning of your reservation. We had pre-paid the drink packages, so that was printed on our card (it says PALL). The woman we were traveling with bought hers at the terminal, and they put a sticker on hers.

 

Once the ship was open, we boarded (maybe 10 minutes), and they were offering champagne or mimosas as you entered. There were boarding photo opportunities if you wanted, but very easy to walk past if you did not. We headed immediately to Bistro on 5 and had some lunch. I would HIGHLY recommend this, as the folks I spoke with who went to the buffet advised it was crowded and hard to find a seat. The food at Bistro was wonderful, we were the first people there, and the service was superb.

 

Stateroom

Staterooms were open at 1:15pm. We were in room 1601 (Aquaclass, port side, hump cabin with large balcony) and the room was also very nice. Plenty of storage if you are

organized, and lots of room under the bed for luggage. Our stateroom attendant was Cyril, and he was always pleasant and helpful - he also got us priority tender tickets for our tender ports, we just had to ask. The balcony was fantastic and we loved hanging out there for sailaways and docking. LOVED the shower with body sprays, and access to the Persian Gardens was a huge bonus. Because our cruise was so port-intensive, and tours involved a LOT of walking, being able to lay on the stone beds and relax muscles was welcome.

 

Muster drill was easy - we went to the dining room and watched a video, no lugging vests, no standing outside.

 

The Celebrity/Cruise Critic party was at 8:30pm on the first day - no way we were going to make that, we were at dinner. We did have a group get-together at the Sunset Bar that was set up through our meet & greet, and that was fun.

 

Dining

Blu - Everyone says Blu is 'love it or hate it'. For us? We loved it. The food was wonderful, presentation was beautiful, and they were extremely accommodating. My husband has some severe food allergies, and is a bit picky, but we never heard the word 'no'. There was little he could eat or liked on the appetizer menu, but every night they got him a Caeser salad. Same for desserts - too many things with nuts. But after the first night they always had chocolate chip cookies for him. Unfortunately, I did not get

menu copies, and I'm sorry for that. Standouts for me were a summer roll appetizer we had one night and the filet mignon. I can't remember our waiter's name, but the assistant was Jorielee from the Phillipines, and the team was wonderful. The bottle of sparkling wine left in our room at embarkation was worth $28 against another bottle in Blu.

 

Bistro on 5 - We ate here several times, and enjoyed it every time. Breakfast crepes were delicious!

 

Buffet - Hit or miss. Some things were good, some were ok. Some vegetable dishes were bland and under-seasoned, which was a shame. But it's the buffet, and for what it was, it served. Lots of choices for ice creams and desserts. Seating, especially at breakfast and on sea days, was horrible. The big complaint here was the plates. They were always burning hot when you picked them up - no trays to help carry them.

 

Gelato/Cafe Al Bacio - We were here pretty much every day. Traveling buddy loved the coffees, and I loved the teas (Vienna Cinnamon was my favorite). Great spot to hang out. The Gelato stand there has an upcharge, but the girl running it (Roberta) was without a doubt one of the highlights of our cruise. Always pleasant, very happy to help. She does push the Rum Raisin gelato pretty hard, though. It's her favorite. :)

 

Mast Grill - Excellent burgers & hot dogs, good fries, and fantastic onion rings. You have to push for onion rings, though - every time we went, they wanted to limit you to a very small portion (like 5 or 6) unless you asked for more. Someone on a review I read complained of unmelted cheese, but asking them to melt it was absolutely no problem.

 

Murano - This was our least favorite of the spcialties. The service was just ok, but the atmosphere was stuffy, which isn't us. Saving grace for me was the venison, which was perfect, and perfectly cooked. We wouldn't go again.

 

Silk Harvest - Better atmosphere, food was very good - the ribs were great, I enjoyed the Pad Thai after I put lots of chili paste in it, it needed heat. I don't eat sushi, but the person we were with said it was very good (she had eel, spicy tuna, and something else I don't remember.) I didn't care for the wok beef, which tasted like it had been curried. Chicken fried rice was ok, but nothing special.

 

Tuscan Grill - By far the best of the restaurants, and we would go again without question. The steaks were very good, as was everything else on the menu. The atmosphere was fun and the staff was very accommodating. Not a bad thing on the menu!

 

Breads throughout the ship were uniformly delicious. Desserts were almost as uniformly disappointing and forgettable. We had a few good ones in Blu (I liked the Grand Marnier and chocolate dessert they had one night) but it was the exception.

 

Shore Excursions/Leaving the ship

We did one Celebrity excursion, in Cannes. We went to Grasse (a perfume factory) and St-Paul-De-Vence, a medieval village. I had wanted to get away from Cannes due to it being the opening weekend of the film festival, and things were very crowded. The excursion staff was very nice, the Grasse factory was a big sales pitch. St-Paul-de-Vence was beautiful, and we spent a lot of time walking around the city.

 

In Italy, we did all our tours with Rome In Limo, and I would HIGHLY recommend them.

 

Getting on & off the ship, whether tendering or walk-off, was a breeze. Announcements of where to go and when to meet were clear, staff was on hand to make things go smoothly, and we never had any issues. Reboarding after being ashore was quick, there was always water, fruit punch, and cold towels available as you were waiting to get back in, as well as a small sitting area if needed, and a canopy if someone had to get out of the sun. I was very impressed with Celebrity in this area (and in almost all service areas).

 

Bars/Lounges/etc.

Celler Masters was wonderful, and the sommolier we saw most often (Stevan) was spot on for recommendations. We stopped there just about every night before dinner to pick up a glass to take with us.

 

Martini Bar - We liked this area, and the Almond Joy martinis were often substituted for dessert. The waiters here got to know us, and knew what we wanted as soon as we sat down.

 

Molecular Bar - Pretentious bartender made this area a dud, in our opinion. He was so full of himself (no idea what his name was - I believe he was from Australia or New Zealand), but he clearly thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. I overheard him at one point explaining to a group of passengers that HIS bar was like Bobby Flay's burgers - unique and wonderful - while every other bar on the ship was McDonald's. We were unimpressed with him and the drinks he was making.

 

The biggest complaint I have about the cruise was trying to get a drink. Unless you walked up to the bar, finding a waiter circulating anywhere was a challenge - whether it was the buffet area, the pool area, or in a lounge area. They just didn't seem interested or motivated - and it didn't matter whether you were on a package or buying individually. I never once saw a waiter in the Solarium.

 

Entertainment

We did not do any shows, but we did watch the Hot Glass show one night. Very interesting and impressive to watch! We did a wine tasting on the lawn that was supposed to be at Sailaway in Venice, but we got held up and so just had to drink wine with no sailaway. It was horrible. :) The bands on deck were ok, but VERY loud. The captain's daily announcement was ALSO very loud, almost painfully so. We would be playing a game in the card room or trying to read in the library, and the band 9 decks down in the Atrium was so loud it was sometimes impossible to hear yourself think.

 

Someone on our sailing decided to 'borrow' the 2 Scrabble sets for the entirety of the cruise, which I found incredibly rude. Someone else left a note in the card room one day asking them to please call so it could be shared, but my guess is that never happened. People, do NOT remove games from the game room - if you feel you need a certain game all to yourself for the length of your vacation, buy a travel version and bring it with you.

 

Debarkation - Almost as easy as embarkation. Luggage tags & instructions were left in your room the 2nd to the last day, and on the last night, luggage had to be out in the hallway by 11pm. They were collecting constantly, and I know that our luggage was gone within 10 minutes of our putting it out. Before debarkation, we met in the dining room at 7:10am, and waited for them to call our number. We were in Group 11, and we were off the ship by 7:20.

 

Again, no lines, no cattle call, very organized and calm. Our luggage was on the carousel in the terminal, and we were on a taxi to our hotel by 7:35am.

 

There were 3 formal nights on our sailing. The first was on Night 2 - Cannes, the 2nd was on the first at-sea day, Night 6, and the 3rd was on the 2nd at-sea day, Night 11. There were plenty of dark suits & sport jackets, some tuxes, and cocktail dresses to gowns for the ladies.

 

We did decide that 12 days is too long for us on a cruise, we were well ready to come home by the end. We also decided that if we ever want to cruise again, Celebrity is going to be the line of choice.

[GoreeGal]

Thanks so much for your wonderful review. I have been anxious to hear how this ship this year has been. We leave on the 13th of July sailing.

 

I have a couple of questions if you do not mind.....

 

1. Did you book tours by yourself or with a group or on the celebrity site itself? Which was the best??? If not with Celebrity how long did it take you to depart the ship and since you were A Class did not see any difference in embarkation?

 

2. Were you able to see the city as you arrived .Is that port side?

 

3. Any things you would have done differently if you could change now after being on board??

 

4. How was the airport in Barcelona on arrival and departure??

 

5. How was the spa?

 

Ok more than a couple of questions but kept adding

 

Thanks so much and anxiously awaiting your response. First time for us on Celebrity and first time to Europe.

 

Bev

[Jobeth66]

 

1. Did you book tours by yourself or with a group or on the celebrity site itself? Which was the best??? If not with Celebrity how long did it take you to depart the ship and since you were A Class did not see any difference in embarkation?

 

The tour in Cannes we did through the Celebrity web site. The rest with Rome In Limo we joined in with people on our Roll Call - I can't stress what a great resource participation in the Roll Call for our sailing proved to be. The ones we booked as private groups were definitely the best. For example, in Rome, half our group wanted to do the Vatican tour - we did not. When the tour guide dropped them off with their Vatican guide, he then took us around to some other areas of the city. Just fantastic.

 

2. Were you able to see the city as you arrived .Is that port side?

 

We were on the port side, and the views weren't the best. We seemed to lose out on views, but it appears to be luck of the draw as to where the ship berths.

 

3. Any things you would have done differently if you could change now after being on board??

 

Not really. I had done a lot of research prior to the cruise, so knew what to expect. Being prepared definitely makes a difference!

 

4. How was the airport in Barcelona on arrival and departure??

 

Arrival - no problem. They didn't even have anyone in customs to take our forms. We went through Passport Control and just walked right to the Celebrity reps. Departure - getting to the gate was no problem, security was very easy (I love traveling in Europe where I don't have to take my shoes off!) but there are VERY few seats at the departure gates (like 25 or so), I'd recommend getting to the gate early. They did not use the loudspeakers to call boarding zones/numbers, so everyone was lined up waiting for any idea of what to do. Very odd. We have status with USAir, so we were among the first to board - I can't tell you what they did for the Zones.

 

5. How was the spa?

 

Not a spa girl, at all, so I can't answer that. Persian Gardens was the closest I got to the spa. :)

[Gitte]

Thanks for the review.

We thought the music was also too loud around the swimming pool and ocean bar. Hard to understand each other by breakfast. :)

Is the Cruise Critics party at 8.30 pm on formal night? :confused:

 

Gitte

[Jobeth66]

Thanks for the review.

We thought the music was also too loud around the swimming pool and ocean bar. Hard to understand each other by breakfast. :)

Is the Cruise Critics party at 8.30 pm on formal night? :confused:

 

Gitte

 

Ours was 8:30 at night on embarkation day. Just not feasible for us at all. I think usually they're on the first sea day, but our first sea day wasn't until day 6 of our cruise, so I guess they changed it up.

[hylasgirl]

Question on the 3 restaurant plan... Can you go to Tuscan Grille twice and Silk Harvest once. Or do you have to go to all restaurants?

[hylasgirl]

Ours was 8:30 at night on embarkation day. Just not feasible for us at all. I think usually they're on the first sea day, but our first sea day wasn't until day 6 of our cruise, so I guess they changed it up.

 

 

How are you supposed to do this when your dining time is 8:45? That's just crazy!

[GoreeGal]

Thank you Jobeth. I appreciate all my questions answered. Now I have research to do on tours. Much appreciated response.

 

Bev

[John73]

Celebrity Solstice 5/14-5/26/11

Martini Bar - We liked this area, and the Almond Joy martinis were often substituted for dessert. The waiters here got to know us, and knew what we wanted as soon as we sat down.

 

Was Adrian one of the bartenders? I found him the most engaging and entertaining of the Solstice Martini bar staff. I'm hoping he'll still be onboard for my July cruise.

[John73]

Molecular Bar - Pretentious bartender made this area a dud, in our opinion. He was so full of himself (no idea what his name was - I believe he was from Australia or New Zealand), but he clearly thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. I overheard him at one point explaining to a group of passengers that HIS bar was like Bobby Flay's burgers - unique and wonderful - while every other bar on the ship was McDonald's. We were unimpressed with him and the drinks he was making.

 

Interesting. That was the same though now (now) ex-girlfriend & I had of the Molecular bartender on my Solstice cruise in Oct '10. She thought he was very full of himself. I didn't pay attention to his name as we didn't spend any time there past 1 set of drinks. And, on my later Solstice cruise, I just stuck to the Martini bar. I did like the drinks at the Molecular bar but the service attitude was a bit off-putting. I much preferred Adrian at the Martini bar to whoever the bartender was at the molecular bar on that cruise.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for taking the time to write and post this review.

 

Keith

[nooosey]

Many thanks for your informative review,

I am booked for this cruise in July, I hope that they can change the Cruise Critic meeting time.I also hope that they will turn the music volume down, did you mention this on your comment card? I have been on Eclipse previously and I cannot remember the pool band being too loud.

Thanks for the tip on picking up a glass of wine at Celler Masters to take into dinner, what a good idea.

[Jobeth66]

Question on the 3 restaurant plan... Can you go to Tuscan Grille twice and Silk Harvest once. Or do you have to go to all restaurants?

 

No - you have to do all 3 restaurants. Because of this, we wouldn't choose the 3-restaurant plan again, even though it got us a discount.

[Jobeth66]

How are you supposed to do this when your dining time is 8:45? That's just crazy!

 

I agree. I'm not sure why they didn't have it another evening, even if they didn't want to wait for the first sea day. I don't know how many people from CC attended the party.

[Jobeth66]

Was Adrian one of the bartenders? I found him the most engaging and entertaining of the Solstice Martini bar staff. I'm hoping he'll still be onboard for my July cruise.

 

Unfortunately, I don't remember! I'm terrible for names, and impressed with myself that I managed to remember 3. :)

[Jobeth66]

Many thanks for your informative review,

I am booked for this cruise in July, I hope that they can change the Cruise Critic meeting time.I also hope that they will turn the music volume down, did you mention this on your comment card? I have been on Eclipse previously and I cannot remember the pool band being too loud.

Thanks for the tip on picking up a glass of wine at Celler Masters to take into dinner, what a good idea.

 

I absolutely mentioned both the volume issues and the lack of circulating waiters on the comment card, as did our traveling buddy.

[TLCOhio]

THANKS for your review and cruise details! We are getting ready for our June 7-19 adventure on the Solstice doing the same port stops as you enjoyed. We have a couple of private tour set with Romeinlino, plus some cruise trips and certain things on our own. After three other cruises in Europe, this will be our first with Celebrity and on a larger ship. Here are my follow-up questions:

 

1. What did they have in the way of speakers and programs on the ship for sea days? I know you didn't do many of the shows, but maybe you remember from the daily offerings what they had on the ship.

 

2. How was the overall crew, mood, spirits, chemistry with the passengers? Sorry things were slow at the bars, getting drinks.

 

3. What did you like best or any insider tips to offer for a first-timer the Solstice, about what others talked about from your cruise?

 

Appreciate the good work. Keep it coming. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our last July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. This posting is now at 42,035 views. Appreciate those who have “tuned in”.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[merprincess]

Hi Everyone - We returned on May 27th and I have pretty much re-adjusted to the time change.

The cruise was fabulous, everything we expected and more. Once we got on the ship we had an ahh moment with champagne in hand. The ship was beautiful and well maintained. The staff was excellent and very responsive to any of our requests. The food was very good in the main dining room. We ate twice in the Tuscan Grille and once in Bistro on Five, both were excellent and you get more food than you can possibly eat. We had the premium beverage package, which made things very easy. I liked getting whatever I wanted as far as specialty waters, tea, coffee, etc. I found the wines available were adequate - not huge choices, but the sommelier would make suggestions which were very good. I don't think we found the bartenders unfriendly, or less available to serve us. There were times we had to look for someone to take an order, but it wasn't a great inconvenience. I thought it was more of a staffing issue than anything having to do with attitiude.

The last night of the trip (we had select dining which worked out very well for us with the port intensive cruise and we never waited for a table), the staff seemed extremely busy and somewhat stressed. The sommelier did not come to our table, we had to ask for him. Everything was a little out of synch, don't know why, but that was the only evening things seemed rushed.

I will give you a day by day rundown - this may be lengthy and I will post this on the cruise review site as well.

 

Barcelona is a beautiful city undergoing some strife right now which did somewhat effect us so I want anyone who will be leaving from and going back to Barcelona to keep that in mind. The city, like others in Europe has a severe unemployment problem and that, combined with government cuts has made people angry. There is a "protest camp" set up in the main square by Las Ramblas ,Placa de Cataluyna, which is like a tent city where protestors organize. They then take to the streets to domonstrate. This occurred on Sat., May 14th when we were set to leave from our hotel and get to the port. All of a sudden the police were closing the streets and protestors were crowding the streets. Traffic could not get in or out. So, we could not get a taxi. The bellboy from our hotel loaded our luggage on a luggage rack and with us accompanying him we walked a good 8 blocks, pushing through the crowd until we reached a place where he could flag down a cab for us. (We gave him a big tip). Once in the cab, our driver had a difficult time finding a route to the port. We finally did make it (another big tip) and that was why once we were on the ship we had the ahh moment with champagne in hand. There was another protest that happened on May 27, the day we left. It did not affect us, but it apparently turned violent, with police injuring 100 people.

 

We were in Cannes during the film festival which made the city congested with people and traffic. We used Sylvie de Cristo, a private guide who picked us up at the port, gave us a quick look at Cannes and then took us into small towns which we never would have seen in a bus. She was wonderful, and I highly recommend her. She operates her own business and we booked her last August to ensure we had her in May.

 

For Florence, Rome and Naples, we used Rome In Limo, and they were extremely reliable and professional. Again, we saw many things that we would not have with a bus tour. Florence and Rome are overrun with tourists and everything was very crowded. We used a private guide for the Vatican (arranged by RIL) and bought our tickets ahead of time. We still experienced a very crowded tour (the Sistine Chapel especially) which was disappointing, but unavoidable.

 

We did Venice on our own. The sail-in is beautiful and best seen on a high deck. Be advised that even though Venice is not a port remote from the city itself like Florence and Rome, it is not that easily accessible. It is a very long and hot walk from the ship to the area where you either take the ship's shuttle into Venice, or do as we did: take the people mover to the vaporhetto dock and then the vaporhetto (which is a public transport water bus) to the various sites. We purchased a 24 hour pass which enables you to hop on and off the bus as you need. We intended on going back to Venice the next day, but changed our minds because we found this outing exhausting. We stayed late into the night in Venice, and took the vaporhetto back to the people mover. The people mover was not operating anymore that night, so we found ourselves walking back to the ship at 11:30 at night. We could see the Solstice, but in the dark, late at night, we could not see what route to walk to get back to her. We finally made it after midnight and were so glad to get back, that we decided not to attempt it again the following day. In retrospect, the ship's shuttle may have worked better.

Venice is a beautiful, crowded city. We walked into the back streets and got out of the crowd. Got to St. Mark's (buy a ticket online for a euro to bypass the lines), took a gondola ride at night (100 euros for 4 people), and did some great shopping.

We also did Kotor and Dubrovnik on our own. Kotor is considered "little Dubrovnik", it is very picturesque. We walked into the old town, toured St. Tryphon's Church and had lunch in a cafe on the town square.

We walked the wall in Dubrovnik which took about an hour - it is not to be missed. But, be aware that there are a lot of steps to climb, so for anyone with mobility issues it would be a challenge to do.

When we returned to Barcelona, we took the hop on/hop off bus to La Sagrada Familia which was truly phenomonal.

I am ending this now - I could go on in much more detail.

I will be happy to answer any questions anyone might have.

Mary

[dmp223]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jobeth66

Molecular Bar - Pretentious bartender made this area a dud, in our opinion. He was so full of himself (no idea what his name was - I believe he was from Australia or New Zealand), but he clearly thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. I overheard him at one point explaining to a group of passengers that HIS bar was like Bobby Flay's burgers - unique and wonderful - while every other bar on the ship was McDonald's. We were unimpressed with him and the drinks he was making.

 

Interesting. That was the same though now (now) ex-girlfriend & I had of the Molecular bartender on my Solstice cruise in Oct '10. She thought he was very full of himself. I didn't pay attention to his name as we didn't spend any time there past 1 set of drinks. And, on my later Solstice cruise, I just stuck to the Martini bar. I did like the drinks at the Molecular bar but the service attitude was a bit off-putting. I much preferred Adrian at the Martini bar to whoever the bartender was at the molecular bar on that cruise.

 

Does the name Kelby ring a bell? I have read conflicting reports on this particular Molecular bar liquid chef, some love him, some share the same opinions reported in the OP's review.

 

My sister recently sailed on Solstice (4/17) and Kelby was the bartender, she was not impressed either. We sailed on Solstice 2/27 of this year as well, Ricardo was our bartender and we have nothing but wonderful things to say about him. When she ordered some of the same drinks on the later sailing, she found them to be nothing like what she had on the February sailing (in a bad way) and found Kelby to be a tad arrogant.

 

Hopefully Ricardo will be back at Molecular for our TA!

[StormyWeatherAtSea]

We also did Kotor and Dubrovnik on our own. Kotor is considered "little Dubrovnik", it is very picturesque. We walked into the old town, toured St. Tryphon's Church and had lunch in a cafe on the town square.

We walked the wall in Dubrovnik which took about an hour - it is not to be missed. But, be aware that there are a lot of steps to climb, so for anyone with mobility issues it would be a challenge to do.

 

Did you have to take shuttle from port to town, if so how much?

 

 

Thanks Mary great review

[hylasgirl]

Thanks Mary for your added review.

 

This is exactly why we ended up doing the ship's shuttles in Venice last time we were there. I am a big "do it yourself'er" and I love to walk... but people forget how hard it is to navigate in some of these areas and especially at night. Venice is extremely easy for walking... but these port areas are not.

 

Do you happen to know how long the ship's shuttles were running? It would be nice to know how late we could stay and get the ship shuttle.

[hylasgirl]

No - you have to do all 3 restaurants. Because of this, we wouldn't choose the 3-restaurant plan again, even though it got us a discount.

 

 

Good to know. I am not interested in Murano so this is good to know that what I have done so far is fine. I really enjoy the steak in Tuscan Grille more, so...

[HelloMoo]

Once we got on the ship we had an ahh moment with champagne in hand.

 

Having sailed NCL and RCI, I have to ask... is the champagne free or do they ask you to sign the receipt after you've accepted a glass?

 

We stayed late into the night in Venice, and took the vaporhetto back to the people mover. The people mover was not operating anymore that night, so we found ourselves walking back to the ship at 11:30 at night. We could see the Solstice, but in the dark, late at night, we could not see what route to walk to get back to her. We finally made it after midnight and were so glad to get back, that we decided not to attempt it again the following day. In retrospect, the ship's shuttle may have worked better.

 

Could you stay out as long as you liked, or was there a curfew? At which time did it get dark? I'm going to be in Venice in late July, it should be just about the same time as mid-May... Here up north it hardly gets dark at all at the moment, but I know that's a northern thing.

 

One last question: what did the ship shuttle cost compared to the vaporetto 24h card?

 

Great review!

[Jobeth66]

I honestly don't remember the bartender's name at Molecular. I honestly hope there IS a non-pretentious bartender, because it seems like it could be a fun area.

 

We didn't have Merprincess' issues with the last night - we were in Blu, and our team was just as wonderful on the last night as they were every other evening.

 

I don't remember the speakers during the week, but once I'm done unpacking everything I'll pull my dailies - I DID keep those.

 

I was very impressed with how conscious the staff was with regard to cleanliness. They were always scrubbing or cleaning something (in fact, we went to get on an elevator one morning, and had to wait for the next one because a crew member was scrubbing the metal at the entrance - with a toothbrush. We didn't hear about anyone with noro, but they did have some informational segments on the TV about it. Hand sanitizer gel stands were ubiquitous, and a crew member offered it every time you entered the buffet area, and when you returned from an excursion.

 

With regard to Kotor - you could walk to the city from the dock, it took about 5 minutes. Dubrovnik required a shuttle or cab (shuttle was $12PP, cab was 10 Euro, so if you had 3 or 4 people going, cab was cheaper and faster). Note with Dubrovnik you MUST have your passport or photo id with you to leave the port area - they DO check when leaving an when entering.

 

We took a cab to the city in Dubrovnik, but walked back to the ship. It took a while to walk back (about an hour & a half) but the views were fantastic.

 

No curfew on the overnight in Venice, the gangway was open 24 hours.

 

We didn't have any problems with the protesters in Barcelona (we stayed until the morning of the 28th), and we walked through the Placa Catalunya on Friday evening with no issues. We did hear later that the police had removed everyone forcibly later on Friday - because they were setting up the big screen for the Barcelona/Manchester United World Cup game. We had originally planned to stay on the Placa at one of the hotels there - but one of my husband's co-workers recommended the Grand Hotel Central (about 2 blocks from the Placa) and it was beautiful.

 

Oh - and the embarkation champagne/mimosas are complimentary. :)

[TLCOhio]

THANKS for super and great added info! Very helpful.

 

Since you've done so well, here are a few more:

 

1. Was there any jazz music offered on the ship? Where?

 

2. Do they have any good or decent or maybe better snack mixes, nuts, chips offered/provided in the bar areas? Complimentary or an added cost?

 

Appreciate the great efforts. Keep it flowing.

 

Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our last July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. This posting is now at 42,140 views. Appreciate those who have “tuned in”.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923