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

[kirian]

Howdy Folks - I know you were thinking I had forgotten about you, but nope! That would NEVER happen :p It was just that silly thing called work got in the way the past couple of days. Anyway, I am finishing up the first two posts on Rome and should have them up before the end of the night. So stay tuned!!! :eek:

 

Melissa

[crvng4mr]

Yay!!!! Looking forward to it!

[kirian]

He is doing much better thank you. I too hope to see you on a future roll call. Would love to meet both you and your lovely mom.

 

I am so happy to hear that Jim is doing better! I always enjoy reading your posts on other threads... they always have so much helpful advice!

 

Your review is so much fun! And I love the laundry photos! So European!!!

 

Thanks Realtor! I don't know what started my obsession with laundry photos, but I guess everyone has something strange they have to photograph (for CM, it's door knockers.... for me, laundry). Go figure!!!!

[kirian]

Omg! 60 Seconds is the funniest game ever! I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. The vaelinr and cotton balls was the funniest ever! Thanks for the memories.

 

LOL - happy to bring back the fun memories :D It is definitely something I will be sure to highlight on my Compass whenever I see it in the future.

 

I am very interested in visiting the Cinque Terre but, as someone with dodgy knees, wondered what the practicalities of that would be, as regards trains/buses, eg, are the stations far from the centre of the towns/villages? And are the roads all very steep?!

 

Hi Nellydean, I think it could be done without as much up/down as we covered. The walk to the train station from the Port (La Spezia) is basically flat (there is one small hill right as you get to the station). Once you get to the towns (at least the two I mentioned) you can easily walk through the main areas of the towns (where the shops and restaurants are) without going up a million stairs or lots of steep roads. We encountered most of the steep stairs when we wandered outside of the main part of the two towns we visited. In Manarola and Vernazza, the stations were extremely close to the heart of each town.... I would say maybe 100-200 yards at most and neither required many steps or much steepness to get from the stations to the towns. Hope that helps, but if you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask :)

[kirian]

Melissa you make this day sound wonderful. Including the 60 minute challenge. I don't remember seeing that, but then again there is so much to do on the compass. We did do Pisa and Florence. Florence was beautiful. Pisa was just ok. There was nothing there other than the church and the tower and we did not have enough time to go into either one. I would recommend skipping Pisa. There were gypsies in Pisa and they are pretty brazen. We were warned by our guide to watch out for them and not to trust anyone who got too close or offered to do you a favour. Do not allow anyone outside of your group to take a picture of your party. They'll just take off with your camera. Someone, approached us and luckily we were forewarned. The gypsies tried to pick pocket two people from our tour. A mother held up a sign in front of a man's face while her children tried to pick his pocket.

 

Thanks for the warning. I had no idea. Sad world we live in. :(

 

Sarah, you're right. People really do need to be on their guard in certain cities, in particular (I know I read lots of warnings about Barcelona). Although we didn't encounter many gypsies/theives/pickpockets this time around, I dealt with them daily when I lived in Bosnia one summer. They are very "good" at what they do.... I'll give them that. They can pickpocket you before you know what hit you.... especially the kids.

 

Celebrity - yes, it is sad. What I find even worse is the fact that parents are teaching their kids this "skill" instead of something that might actually help them better their situation.

[kirian]

Oh Yay! Another great Serenade review, just started and I can't wait to see what happens!

 

Hi Denise - so glad you found us!!!! I hope you'll stick around for the full 17 night journey (which, at the rate I'm going, should be finished by Christmas :eek::p)

[Julia’s Journey’s]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Realtor! I don't know what started my obsession with laundry photos, but I guess everyone has something strange they have to photograph (for CM, it's door knockers.... for me, laundry). Go figure!!!!

 

 

Lol, we did the door knocker thing in 2011 and Rome had a LOT of cool ones ;)

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - Oy, excuse the auto correct ;)

[kirian]

Welcome to Rome!!!!

 

 

 

 

How does one even START a review of the great city of Rome? Home to Romulus and Remus. Land of the Caesars. The place where all roads lead (or lead from, depending on how you look at it). Well, let’s just start at the beginning…. 5:30a when the alarm goes off.

 

Some people are morning people. Some people are night people. Cool Girl… well, she’s a mid-afternoon person. So, with that in mind, you can imagine I was none to pleased when the pesky alarm woke me. Well, that was until a split nano-second passed and I remembered that today, I would find myself surrounded by the ancient grandness of Rome!

 

The earliest we could schedule delivery of our room service coffee (based on the little check boxes for time they offer on the card) was 6:30a-7a. Needless to say, CM was NOT handling being up for so long sans coffee. To say she was antsy is an understatement. So, at 6:55a, not able to stand it one minute longer, I headed to the Park Café and brought back 2 cups of coffee, 2 egg sandwiches and a yogurt parfait. I enter the room after balancing all of this down the elevator and what do I find? Room Service had finally arrived with our coffee, juice and pastries. Oh well, at least CM would have plenty of coffee to get her through the morning.

 

Note: On my way too/from the Park Café, I noticed that other people already had empty room service trays outside of their doors…. As if they had received there order prior to 6:30a (again, which was the earliest available time you check on the card you hang on your door the night before). I made a mental note to try writing in an earlier time (6-6:30a) for tomorrow’s card in the hopes that it would arrive sooner.

 

Now that we were full of caffeine and carbs, we headed off the ship. We exited at 7:20a. In the port of Civitavecchia (seriously, could they make that any harder to pronounce???) you need to take a shuttle to get to the port entrance. There were shuttles waiting and we boarded one for the short journey. By 7:30a we were at the front of the port and on our way to the train.

 

I had gone back and forth for months (literally) on whether we should risk getting into Rome on our own or take the ship’s transfer. At least I had quickly decided what we would do that day…. it was just the transportation aspect that caused me so much consternation. Rome is about 60 miles from Civitavecchia. I had read all the horror stories of buses breaking down, trains not running, workers going on strike…etc. UGH!!!! Should we risk it (and save a ton of money) or should we pay out the wazoo and use the ship’s excursion? Back and forth, back and forth my mind went in the days leading up to the cruise. Finally, my “I Am Woman Hear Me Roar” side (which is the same side as where my bargain-hunter side resides) won out. We would do it ourselves (plus, I was greatly encouraged by the positive review Kreuzfahrtnueling had written about doing it herself and since Stef is my Cruise Critic hero, I wanted to be just like her… so much so that we actually did the tour she and her family went on in Rome…. But I’ll get to that shortly... first, let’s get to the train).

 

When you get to the port entrance, you want to turn right, walk about 3 “long” blocks (keeping the sea on your right) until you see a large orange building on your left…. This is the train station (took us about 10 minutes of

walking to get here).

 

Disclaimer #14 – if they paint the building a different color and you get lost, it’s not my fault.

 

Go into this building and buy a BIRG ticket at the window (the line was short and we paid with a credit card with no problem). Make sure you validate the ticket before getting on the train (we found the machine on the 1st platform… it was a newer looking gray box). The benefit of the BIRG ticket is that we would be able to use it for both the train and Metro all day (so hang onto it!). There are also clean restrooms at the train station (and these had “real” toilets… not big holes in the floor… I was so happy about this!).

 

 

Only 12E - a serious bargain compared to what the ship was charging to get you to and from Rome.

 

 

We caught the 8:02a train. The train we were on was nice. Not too crowded (it was a double decker) so we were able to find seats for the 45-60 minute ride. We were headed to the Coliseum. In order to get there from the port, you need to take the train to the Ostencia station (which is one stop after S.Pietro and before the Termini station…. If you get to Termini, you went a bit too far).

 

Upon exiting the train, we followed the signs marked with the big red “M” using people movers to get to the Metro, We took the line heading towards Rebbebia for two stops to the Coliseum station (the Metro runs very frequently and the ride was less than 5 minutes). After two stops, you exit the Metro, walk up the stairs, and BAM! The Coliseum is right in front of you in all its glory (and scaffolding).

 

 

Notice how it doesn't look too crowded? That's only because it was still early... don't be fooled, it's gets crowded here later in the day.

 

By now, it was approximately 9a (not bad considering we exited the ship at 7:20, were at the port entrance at 7:30, walked to the train station and caught the 8:02a, switched to the metro for 2 stops and arrived at our destination… all within about 90 minutes)

 

…….

Next up - The Forum

[kirian]

After reading Kreuzfahrtnueling’s review (BTW – Stef, it’s almost as hard to spell your screen name as it is Civitavecchia….:p) we decided to do the 3rd Ring tour of the Coliseum while we were in Rome that day. You see, after the cruise, we would be spending an additional 4 nights in Rome, so we would have plenty of time to see other things then. I chose to do the Coliseum today since it was in a different section of Rome than the other things we planned to see post-cruise.

 

The 3rd Ring tour would allow us access, with a guide, to areas of the Coliseum that the “regular” ticket wouldn’t. This included the 3rd ring (obviously) which is the top most level, the platform that juts out over the sub-level and the subterranean level (where they housed the animals and gladiators before they were to “perform”). Plus, it enables you to experience this awesome structure without so many people crowding you (since the tours are limited in size).

 

Our tour wasn’t scheduled until 1p, so we had plenty of time to explore around the area. First things first though, we wanted to exchange the voucher I had printed for the “real” tickets. The other great thing about buying your tickets ahead of time, is that you get to by-pass the crazy, insane line full of people who don’t plan so well and get in a super short line for people with reservations.

 

 

Don't waste an hour or more of your time standing in this line to buy a ticket!!!

 

 

TIP – if you accidently lose your mind and forget to buy your ticket ahead of time, do NOT buy it at the Coliseum. Instead, go across the street and buy it at the entrance to the Forum or Palentine Hill…. The lines at either of these places are CONSIDERABLY shorter.

 

We handed the voucher to the person at the window in exchange for the tickets (which had a magnetic strip) and a sticker to wear on our shirts to identify us as part of a tour. We were then instructed to meet our tour at the designated time at the section labeled #3. Here’s what the sign looked like:

 

 

If you're part of a tour, you will go to a sign that looks like this (make sure you ask the person at the window what your number is or check the sticker you were given... see below that it says m.p.3? That's for Meeting Place 3). Notice how it's a lot more crowded now? This photo was taken about 3 hours later than the previous one... it's about 12:45p in this photo.

 

 

 

 

Now that we had figured out exactly where we needed to be at 1p, we headed off to find a restroom (remember, there was double coffee that morning). There are no facilities in the Coliseum, so we headed across the street and up some stairs to a coffee shop. We were soooooo confused here as to the process. We kept doing it wrong to the point that I was laughing at us (although the lady behind the counter did not look amused). Let me just tell you the “correct” way to purchase and drink a coffee in Rome. Go directly to the cashier upon entering, tell him/her what you will be having and pay for it. You will get a receipt. Take the receipt to the counter where everyone is crowded around like they have never had coffee in their life. Do not go to a section of the counter that looks a good deal quieter…. That won’t be the area where you order coffee… that section might be for sandwiches or something. Next, push your way (politely) to the counter and give the person behind it your receipt. They will put your espresso or cappuccino in front of you. You will then proceed to drink it in less than 10 seconds. If you are going to take longer than 10 seconds to consume this scalding hot beverage, then you should plan on getting a table and paying more. Do not dilly-dally at the counter or you will get looks from all the people trying to make their way to the front to exchange their receipt for their shot of java. For those of you that have watched Seinfeld, think of the Soup **** and you will understand. For a people that love to linger for hours over lunch or a glass of wine, they sure aren’t interested in actually tasting their coffee. Nope. Just suck it down as quickly as possible and be on your merry way.

 

Disclaimer #15: OK, not alllll of the places we got coffee from in Rome were quite as extreme as this one, but this particular place definitely afforded us quite the unique coffee buying/drinking experience.

 

For 6E we got 2 cappuccinos (which I think were good, but since I wasn’t allowed to spend much time actually tasting them, I can’t be 100% sure). More importantly though, our 6E also allowed us to use the ladies’ room before we went to the Forum since I had no clue if there would facilities there.

 

NOTE – If you can’t tell, CM and I NEVER pass up an opportunity to make use of a restroom if we are unsure when we will find one again. You would be wise to do the same…. Just saying. Oh, and it turns out, there are clean restrooms within the Forum (and yes, they have “real” toilets…. I think I am still traumatized by the experience at the Cinque Terra train station!)

Now, when you get a ticket for the Coliseum (whether it’s a “special” ticket like we had, or just the “regular” ticket), you will also be able to use it to get into the Forum and Palentine Hill. Keep in mind, although the ticket is good for the entire day, it doesn’t allow for in/out privileges. In other words, if you start at the Coliseum, then go to the Forum, you can’t later decide to re-enter the Coliseum.

 

By now, it was about 10a, so we had 3 hours before our tour would start. We had decided to check out the Forum which is right across the street from to Coliseum. Now, I had spent 2 days in Rome in 1996 and had seen a few things, but I had never been to the Forum and didn’t really know what to expect. We figured we would just wander around to pass the time… we really weren’t expecting to be awed. Oh, how wrong we were!!!!

 

The Forum was fabulous!!! Truth be told, I enjoyed it more than the Coliseum. There was so much to see and so many interesting facts to learn. Not knowing anything about the Forum, I had decided to use Rick Steves’ free audio-tour as our guide. Now remember, I didn’t get an international plan on my phone, so I had to make sure I downloaded this prior to leaving home so we could listen to it (you download the app first and then download the specific guides or topics you want). It was my first experience using one of his audio-guides and I have to say, it was fabulous! Not only does it explain what you are seeing, but it even comes with a map so you know where you are and where you will be walking to next. It was super user-friendly and I can’t recommend his free audio-guides (as well as his actual guidebooks) strongly enough.

 

The Forum is simply magnificent. It was the heart of the city in the days of Julius Caesar and the Senate (yes, the same Senate whose members would later assassinate poor Julius…. Et tu Brute!!!!!). Basically, it was where all the “important” action took place. When it was all said and done, we ended up spending 2.5 hours there and I easily could have spent even more time. The best way to really give you a feel of the Forum is just to show you some pics, so here you go….

 

This is the main entrance... just head towards the Arch of Titus

 

If you need to fill up your water bottom, there are numerous fountains all over Rome that provide VERY good water that is perfectly safe to drink. This one is right by the Arch of Titus

[kirian]

This relief on the inside of the Arch of Titus depicts the plundering of the Temple is Jewish history... notice the Menorah?

 

%20cruise%20day/SAM_0667_zps39c3058a.jpg.html

On the other side, is this relief of horses. The detail was amazing! Look at how there was actually a space carved out between the horse on the far right and the one next to him

 

The large structure in the back (with the three arches) is the Basilica of Constantine... or I should say, just one side of the original basilica. It must have been huge in its day!

 

Check out the original paved "roads"... it's really easy to walk around the Forum

 

I'm pretty sure this is a sewer grate... how cool that they had a sewer system way back then!

 

Simply beautiful!!!

[kirian]

This is the remnants of the Temple of Vesta. The story behind it is fascinating. Women were chosen to be the "Vestal Virgins." They were charged with keeping a lamp burning in the temple non-stop. As a reward, they lived in an amazing, almost palace like house next door. However, as their name implies, the needed to remain celibate for the 30 years that they performed this role. If they did, they were awarded with a generous income for life. However, if they were found to have given up their virginity, the were entombed alive in an underground chamber with an oil lamp and a single load of bread...YIKES!

 

It is believed that Julius Caesar was buried on this spot.... people still leave flowers

 

The Graveyard of Columns.... ok, I made that up....haha!

 

I believe this is the Temple of Antonius Pius & Faustina... but I could be wrong

 

This "sort of" shows you the entire Forum... but the greenery is in the way a bit. To give you a perspective, I would say the whole area if about 2 football (American football) fields long and one field wide

 

This is a distant relative of the creepy guy from the Park Cafe on board the Serenade

 

Clearly, I could go on and on.... I simply LOVED The Forum!!!!!!!!!!!

[kirian]

Lol, we did the door knocker thing in 2011 and Rome had a LOT of cool ones ;)

 

 

 

It definitely does! We found some great ones in Venice as well. CM was probably freaking people out by stopping to take a photo of their door....lol!

[WillWorkForCruise121]

Hi Melissa,

 

So excited to see your review. It's been a while but it's nice to relive the trip. Lol I keep looking to see if Jessica and I are in the background of any photos since we did many of the same things on land you and your mom did.

 

I hope all is well in your part of the world. Thanks for taking the time to do this review!

 

-Brandon

 

Sent from my SM-T320 using Forums mobile app

[Irish Cath]

Now that we had figured out exactly where we needed to be at 1p, we headed off to find a restroom (remember, there was double coffee that morning). There are no facilities in the Coliseum, so we headed across the street and up some stairs to a coffee shop. We were soooooo confused here as to the process. We kept doing it wrong to the point that I was laughing at us (although the lady behind the counter did not look amused). Let me just tell you the “correct” way to purchase and drink a coffee in Rome. Go directly to the cashier upon entering, tell him/her what you will be having and pay for it. You will get a receipt. Take the receipt to the counter where everyone is crowded around like they have never had coffee in their life. Do not go to a section of the counter that looks a good deal quieter…. That won’t be the area where you order coffee… that section might be for sandwiches or something. Next, push your way (politely) to the counter and give the person behind it your receipt. They will put your espresso or cappuccino in front of you. You will then proceed to drink it in less than 10 seconds. If you are going to take longer than 10 seconds to consume this scalding hot beverage, then you should plan on getting a table and paying more. Do not dilly-dally at the counter or you will get looks from all the people trying to make their way to the front to exchange their receipt for their shot of java. For those of you that have watched Seinfeld, think of the Soup **** and you will understand. For a people that love to linger for hours over lunch or a glass of wine, they sure aren’t interested in actually tasting their coffee. Nope. Just suck it down as quickly as possible and be on your merry way.

 

Single handedly the best account of coffee drinking in Rome I have ever seen written. I've managed to spray my mid morning beverage over the laptop screen :D You sure are a funny writer. Thank you.

[kirian]

 

So excited to see your review. It's been a while but it's nice to relive the trip. Lol I keep looking to see if Jessica and I are in the background of any photos since we did many of the same things on land you and your mom did.

 

I hope all is well in your part of the world. Thanks for taking the time to do this review!

 

-Brandon

 

 

Hi Brandon! So happy to see you found the review and chimed in!!! I hope you are Jessica are doing great!

 

It was such an amazing cruise, wasn't?! And all of the folk on our roll call were simply the best! Keep scanning the photos for you two... it's very likely you will find yourselves in some from the Sea Days or some of the events (like the Meet & Mingle) :D

 

Also, please, by all means feel free to add your thoughts or suggestions to the review as we go along.

 

Have a great day in the 'Burgh!!!! :cool:

 

Melissa

[kirian]

Single handedly the best account of coffee drinking in Rome I have ever seen written. I've managed to spray my mid morning beverage over the laptop screen :D You sure are a funny writer. Thank you.

 

"Destruction of keyboards by uncontrolled laughter while consuming liquids" is one of my goals... so happy to hear I succeeded :p:D

[grab007]

"Destruction of keyboards by uncontrolled laughter while consuming liquids" is one of my goals... so happy to hear I succeeded :p:D

 

Maybe it should be your next disclaimer: Not responsible for inadvertent spillage.:eek:

[kirian]

Maybe it should be your next disclaimer: Not responsible for inadvertent spillage.:eek:

 

Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!! VERY good one, grab007... I love it!

:D:D:D

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

(BTW – Stef, it’s almost as hard to spell your screen name as it is Civitavecchia….:p

 

Lol -- sorry about that Melissa! When we met for our meet and greet on embarkation day they wanted me to pronounce it for them....and after I did I guess nobody really felt the urge to repeat it:D. But it grew dear to me, so I guess I'll keep it anyway:).

 

:poh and will you please stop making me BLUSH so often:p? Proud of you that you took the train...now scared something went wrong on the way back and it would have been all my fault:eek:...

 

Stef

[denisey]

Hi Denise - so glad you found us!!!! I hope you'll stick around for the full 17 night journey (which, at the rate I'm going, should be finished by Christmas :eek::p)

 

I met up with this group on Stef's review. I was so glad to see you review and the same "cast of characters!" So I am planning on being here to the very end...even if it is Christmas! Bless all of our hearts!

[denisey]

Melissa you make this day sound wonderful. Including the 60 minute challenge. I don't remember seeing that, but then again there is so much to do on the compass. We did do Pisa and Florence. Florence was beautiful. Pisa was just ok. There was nothing there other than the church and the tower and we did not have enough time to go into either one. I would recommend skipping Pisa. There were gypsies in Pisa and they are pretty brazen. We were warned by our guide to watch out for them and not to trust anyone who got too close or offered to do you a favour. Do not allow anyone outside of your group to take a picture of your party. They'll just take off with your camera. Someone, approached us and luckily we were forewarned. The gypsies tried to pick pocket two people from our tour. A mother held up a sign in front of a man's face while her children tried to pick his pocket.

 

I'm going to offer a different opinion. I had a couple of people try to talk me out of going to Pisa and I thought it was AMAZING! So much so, that is one of the few places we went back to on our second trip. If you get the chance go into the Bapistry when the guard is singing.

 

Pickpockets and theives are a fact of life in the touristy areas of Europe. I saw more in Florence then I did in Pisa.

[windjamming]

I met up with this group on Stef's review. I was so glad to see you review and the same "cast of characters!" So I am planning on being here to the very end...even if it is Christmas! Bless all of our hearts!

 

This thread definitely has the feel of a cool afterparty!! (Stef's review, of course, was the cool party.)

 

Back from being away for a week and have lots of reading to catch up!

 

Melissa, you are HILARIOUS. I'm really loving all the little helpful hints and trivia in this thread ... and I already went on this cruise! Looking forward to reading about La Spezia and Rome (not even attempting to spell that port on my phone...with the tiny keyboard and auto spellcheck it would come out as "civilians halts" or something. There's a reason iPhones weren't invited in Roman times. Or else all the towns would be named asdf.)

 

Anyway, thanks for the after party!!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[denisey]

This thread definitely has the feel of a cool afterparty!! (Stef's review, of course, was the cool party.)

 

Back from being away for a week and have lots of reading to catch up!

 

Melissa, you are HILARIOUS. I'm really loving all the little helpful hints and trivia in this thread ... and I already went on this cruise! Looking forward to reading about La Spezia and Rome (not even attempting to spell that port on my phone...with the tiny keyboard and auto spellcheck it would come out as "civilians halts" or something. There's a reason iPhones weren't invited in Roman times. Or else all the towns would be named asdf.)

 

Anyway, thanks for the after party!!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Where's the LIKE button!?!?!?!

 

Like! Like! Like!

[kirian]

I met up with this group on Stef's review. I was so glad to see you review and the same "cast of characters!" So I am planning on being here to the very end...even if it is Christmas! Bless all of our hearts!

 

"Cast of Characters"... I LOVE IT!!!!:D:D

 

I'm going to offer a different opinion. I had a couple of people try to talk me out of going to Pisa and I thought it was AMAZING! So much so, that is one of the few places we went back to on our second trip. If you get the chance go into the Bapistry when the guard is singing.

 

Pickpockets and theives are a fact of life in the touristy areas of Europe. I saw more in Florence then I did in Pisa.

 

See, this is one of the things I love about Cruise Critic. You get to share different opinions about the same places so people get a different view. For example, my mom and I spent 4 days on Rome after this cruise.... we LOVED Rome. Two of my best friends just did a land tour of Italy where they spent about 2.5 days in Rome and they HATED it. Said they had no desire to go back. I love that people can feel ok about sharing differing opinions about the same city!!!!

[kirian]

This thread definitely has the feel of a cool afterparty!! (Stef's review, of course, was the cool party.)

 

 

My review is the cool after party... you make me blush :o

 

This thread definitely has the feel of a cool afterparty!! (Stef's review, of course, was the cool party.)

 

Melissa, you are HILARIOUS. I'm really loving all the little helpful hints and trivia in this thread ... and I already went on this cruise! Looking forward to reading about La Spezia and Rome (not even attempting to spell that port on my phone...with the tiny keyboard and auto spellcheck it would come out as "civilians halts" or something. There's a reason iPhones weren't invited in Roman times. Or else all the towns would be named asdf.)

 

Anyway, thanks for the after party!!

 

 

OMG - that needed a "spillage disclaimer"... my keyboard almost had a death by iced tea drowning :eek::D