Review - Solstice 12Night Med Venice Cruise - Sept 20 2012 - Photos, Fun and More!

[HardHeadedWoman]

LDR - They were doing back-to-back same itinerary? I'm so jealous! We did meet a few couples during our trip but I don't recall anyone saying they were doing a back-to-back. Wow, I'd love to do one! I bet it's awesome seeing everyone disembark while knowing you still have two whole weeks to go!

 

Bessinfla - Thank you so much, that's so sweet of you to say! I spent MONTHS editing these photos (cropping, brightening, etc.) and I loved doing it because it allowed me to re-live my trip. Venice is incredible and it would be a fantastic place to spend a few days pre or post cruise on. There are a couple of cruises out there that start and end in Venice!

 

Lissette

[RTcruzer]

Thank you so much for your review--congrats on the wedding! Your pics are great and you are so darling!!

 

I am reliving my Med cruise from June last yr on Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas--alot of the same ports as yours but we did stop in Greece (Santorini-loved it! and Athens) also stopped in Turkey, Ephesus. We have another coming up in 5 weeks to Adriatic--maybe one day I will try my hand at posting a review!!!

 

Cheryl

[RTcruzer]

OMG--how could I forget Hobart!!! BIG Sweetie!!:p We have 2 mini Schnauzers we HATE to leave on vacations--so I get how you feel!!:confused:

[HardHeadedWoman]

Thank you, RTCruzer! Mini Schnauzers are so sweet! Hobart has a buddy in our building who's a Mini Schnauzer. Yeah, leaving him behind is the only downside to a vacation. We are thinking of doing Royal Caribbean next and was actually looking at that ship! How did you like the Serenade of the Seas?

 

I have not forgotten about this review, I'm just trying to finish up a bunch of entries at once so I don't go days without posting. :)

 

Lissette

[maxwebr]

Thanks for the great review so far. Looking forward to the rest of it! My partner and I of 14 years will be taking this same cruise on the Equinox in just 3 months..cannot wait. Making me think that I need to book a lot more excursions for this time.

[HardHeadedWoman]

Thank you, Maxwebr! You and your partner are going to LOVE IT! I really want to take it again. :D We booked excursions for Rome, Florence, Monaco and Capri and the rest we did ourselves. It was worth putting money into expensive excursions (like the one in Rome) where we saw and did (and ate) a lot in a short period of time. Places like Venice are worth doing on your own.

 

Have a great trip!

Lissette

[dln929]

Just wanted to pop in and say I have not forgotten this review and will post more tonight! Work has been crazy this week!

 

jkt1220 - We had three formal nights - One the second night (after Monaco), and the other two were on Sea Days, I believe! One in the middle and one toward the end. I don't remember the exact dates.

 

Lissette

 

It's really very kind of you to write such an entertaining, wonderful review for us in the first place, so don't worry! We're happy to read it as you write it. :)

[Gig103]

I can't wait to hear what you think of Florence. It's my favorite Italian city so far (out of the measly 6 I've been to so far).

 

And while I'm 3/3 sailing in balconies, your OV looks very spacious and bright.

 

You have made me think that maybe it isn't too late to write a review from my Alaska cruise last August!

[RTcruzer]

Thank you, RTCruzer! Mini Schnauzers are so sweet! Hobart has a buddy in our building who's a Mini Schnauzer. Yeah, leaving him behind is the only downside to a vacation. We are thinking of doing Royal Caribbean next and was actually looking at that ship! How did you like the Serenade of the Seas?

 

I have not forgotten about this review, I'm just trying to finish up a bunch of entries at once so I don't go days without posting. :)

 

Lissette

 

Lissette--Well, honestly the Serenade when we were on was in need of upgrades/repairs and the food was just ok...that said--the ship went in for overhaul last November and I've heard they did a nice job--adding restaurants, etc. The ports were AMAZING!!!!! If you do go on that cruise and you have any questions about ports (Florence, Cannes, Rome, Santorini, Athens, Kusadasi Turkey, Salerno Italy) I would be happy to give you port suggestions.

 

Our Celbrity Silhouette cruise next month leaves out of Venice (2nts)...do you have any suggestions other than a gondola ride?? Did you enjoy Venice?? (dumb question??lol)

[2littlegirls]

Great Review, thanks for writting it.:)

[PGV]

Great review! Looking forward to next installment!:)

[cruisemuse13]

I have been enjoying your review and beautiful photos. Are you coming back to continue the journey?:confused: Please.

[HardHeadedWoman]

FLORENCE

 

I'm back! I'm so sorry for the delay, work has been (thankfully) busy this month and I've been back home in Miami for the last week or so visiting family. I was hoping this would be a nice escape to warm weather and sunshine but we haven't been getting much of the latter at all! I managed to squeeze in a trip to Miami Beach on Saturday and a dip in the pool on Sunday but other than that, rain, rain, rain! Yuck!

 

Beautiful Tuscany

 

Anyhow, we last left our happy honeymooners in Monaco and now we're off to Florence! This was probably the cloudiest and chilliest day of our trip but I think it complemented my preconceived notions of romantic Tuscany nicely. In fact, the drive to and from Florence was one of my favorite things about this tour! So much beauty all around! DH chose to nap but I was snapping away, deciding which country manor I wanted to buy. Again, we did a ship excursion and chose the Florence with Accademia Galleria tour that included a wonderful four-course lunch in a trattoria. Our group was relatively small and our guide was very knowledgable - he mentioned he taught part-time at a local university in Florence and we even ran into a group of his students while we were walking! I also teach part-time at a college in NYC and it would be my DREAM to do tours such as this... but I digress.

 

 

 

So, our tour started off at the Piazzale Michelango which offered us amazing, picturesque postcard-views of Florence. Once we walked up, I was like, "OK, I'm set! I could stay here all day!" We spent about 15 or so minutes there snapping pictures and taking in all the scenery. We then climbed back into our tour bus and headed closer to the Accademia Gallery where we were to see the statue of David, in the flesh ...er, stone!

 

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to snap pictures here but David was really an impressive sight to see in person! I didn't know it would be so grand and the detail was incredible. I also really enjoyed the plaster cast collection in the back room - I felt as if I was in an actual Renaissance artist's studio!

 

Duomo and Brunneleschi's Dome

 

Next up, we headed towards the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, aka The Duomo and Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise (or a replica of them, anyways). It was at this point that I kind of wished that I had booked a different tour that included an inside walk-through of the Duomo. For some reason, I thought this one did include it but, considering I booked this the day before my wedding (don't ask me why, I have no idea), I must've skimmed through some of the highlights. In retrospect, I'm glad I got to see David in person but deep down inside I'm an architecture buff and walking past it without stepping inside broke my heart! OK, I'm exaggerating but I do wish we could've seen the interior - next time, I hope! The outside, however, was breathtaking. The sharp contrast between the white and dark stone along with the pink and green marble as well as the scale of the building left us in awe. I could only imagine how super it must've been on the inside!

 

 

Sculpture at the Piazza della Signoria

 

After a short while at the Piazza della Signoria to marvel at the statues, came my favorite part of the day - lunchtime! Since I am in Miami and not at my apartment, I don't have the little matchbook I saved from the restaurant and I can't recall the name, unfortunately! We took so many twists and turns that I wouldn't know what area it was in either. However, I will say it was delicious, for what it's worth! We sat with three other couples (two from Florida, one from NYC!) and had a lovely time as we dined on wine, cheeses, ziti, grilled porkchops with lemon, tiramisu and I can't even remember the rest, it was all so good! A food coma definitely commenced. Once again, I wish I had taken pictures!

 

TO BE CONTINUED...

Edited June 5, 2013 by HardHeadedWoman

[HardHeadedWoman]

FLORENCE - Continued

 

 

After lunch, we waddled over to the Ponte Vecchio and were given some free time to shop around the markets - I bought a leather purse. I bought a lot of leather purses in this trip, actually! I almost thought I had some sort of problem until I saw a woman who was buying, I'm not kidding, 20 purses! I noticed a little cruise tour sticker on her shirt, too, so I wonder how she got it all back on the bus! Either way, I was jealous. After the little shopping spree, it was off to the Piazza di Santa Croce for, yes, more shopping and a tour of the Basilica di Santa Croce. For a second, I thought we would be cheated out of the interior but we enjoyed a lengthy stay at the cathedral to see Giotto's frescos, the Pazzi Dome, and the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli among others. It was rather empty on the day we visited so we were able to enjoy some time in the courtyard and relax.

 

 

 

 

 

This was our last stop on the tour so we headed back into our bus for a very scenic ride back to Livorno. This might sound silly but the Tuscan countryside looked exactly how I would picture a "Tuscan countryside" to look like. I was compelled to buy a dilapidated house, renovate it, and write a book about it... because that wouldn't be a cliche at all!

 

 

Back on the Solstice, it was our first night in the Main Dining Room and I was excited! We chose the Select Dining Plan and ate at around 7 pm almost every night and were quickly seated each time. We also dressed up almost every single night which was a lot of fun as DH and I love to put on our best. We either go all out or not at all - evening gown and suit or flip flops in the buffet! I think we only did a buffet dinner one night, though, and that was because we were so exhausted (and completely stuffed) from touring and eating in Venice.

 

TO BE CONTINUED...

Edited June 5, 2013 by HardHeadedWoman

[HardHeadedWoman]

FLORENCE - Continued

 

More photos from our wonderful day in Florence!

 

 

 

The Gates of Paradise

 

 

 

This beautiful sweetie belonged to one of the vendors outside Santa Croce! Be on the lookout for him next time you're in Florence and make sure to say hello!

 

That's all for Florence - next up... ROMA!

[HardHeadedWoman]

Thanks again, everyone! Cruisemuse13, I am back in full force... just extremely slow. This review took me about two hours to put together and it wasn't even my finest! LOL

 

Lissette

[Eddie's Girl]

Lissette, your pictures are fabulous! I love the latest ones of Florence. After my first trip there I couldn't stay away. I've been back 4 times. Must have been all the Art History I took in college. Can't wait for the next installment.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[librarylady19]

Beautiful photos - and so timely. I am engrossed in Dan Brown's new novel Inferno right now (which is largely set in Florence) and already planning a visit there - incredible! I highly recommend this book if you haven't read it yet!

Edited June 5, 2013 by librarylady19

[shoelover536]

Loving your review! We are doing the same itinerary in October on Equinox!

 

Your pictures are fantastic!

 

I feel I will probably be buying my fair share of purses this trip also, lol.:D

[HardHeadedWoman]

Shoelover536 - Thank you! I'd really love to do this itinerary again! Florence and Venice were the best places for leather purses. Some were nicer than others but overall, a good selection! Beware of buying fake designer purses though (not that you would LOL), some ladies were really upset when Celebrity confiscated their bags upon entering the ship!

 

Librarylady19 -Thank you! I've been hearing great things about that book so I think I'll give it a shot! Im always on the hunt for a good book set anywhere in Italy or Spain.

 

Eddies Girl - Thanks! yes, seeing all these masterpieces in person was incredible and I loved that our tour kind of felt like a field trip.

[cruisemuse13]

Thanks again, everyone! Cruisemuse13, I am back in full force... just extremely slow. This review took me about two hours to put together and it wasn't even my finest! LOL

 

Lissette

 

Thank you for the taking the time to post your review. I enjoy your photos and value your insight on your port experiences since we will be visiting many of the same locations later this year. There is so much to see in Florence that I keep changing my mind on how I want to spend my time there.:)

[h20cruzer]

This has been such a lovely review, I have enjoyed every minute so far. I am glad you had such a good experience on your first cruise.

Norma

[RVfromAZ]

Lissette,

Awesome review! We did a 12 night Med cruise on Century in 2010, out of Barcelona, many of the same ports, was an amazing cruise...trip of a lifetime! We are sailing on Solstice this August, so excited, will be our 1st Solstice ship!

Love Hobart!!! We too have a Boston Terrier, and yes it is very hard to leave them!:)

[tiffnco]

Hi there,

 

Your review is so fun to read...and I'm glad you had such a great time. We're headed out on an Eastern Med cruise on Reflection in August and can't wait. I'm a meeting planner by trade, so I completely relate to your planning obsession. I'm the same way...and it drives my hubby crazy - but he always gets a great vacation in the end because of it!

 

Anyway, I just have to say, from one photo buff to another...I am LOVING your pictures. You've got a great eye!

 

Looking forward to more!

 

Tiffany

[buzzybuzzbuzz]

Lissette so glad you have had time to continue our journey. I can't wait for Roma, Ciao.