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L-I-V-E from the Vision! 12 Days Sailing the Mediterranean!

Nicole721
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Nicole721

Nicole721

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Thanks for your live thread! We are on the same itinerary leaving July 3.

 

 

 

Could you let us know the nights for formal nights please?

 

 

 

Thanks!!

 

 

will do! First one was last night (Day 2, Cannes).

 

And for those keeping track of the menus, tonight was Coconut. Not sure if I've seen this one before so I took a pic!

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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Good evening from...somewhere in between La Spezia and Rome! We had quite the busy day today! We took an excursion (Taste of Florence), which took us to all of the major landmarks in Florence and left us with three hours to explore on our own. We had lunch, cappuccinos, gelato a, shopped and took a ton of pictures! Florence was gorgeous and sunny but extremely contested today. Traffic coming back to La Spezia was awful and we pulled up just as back onboard approached. This isn't our first close call due to traffic and its part of the reason why we usually book our excursions through the ship -- for the peace of mind of not being left due to circumstances beyond control.

 

We saw our first production show tonight (Broadway Rhythm and Rhyme) and it left me a little cold. The show is incredibly outdated in just about every aspect yet still holds up better compared to Carnival's post-2.0 shows.

 

We have another early morning tomorrow when we dock in Rome. Apparently, worker strikes may prevent us from entering the Collesseum and Stephanie found some kind of article about an ISIS threat on Rome, so we're hoping for an uninterrupted and uneventful visit!

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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They say all roads lead to Rome, but all roads from Rome led us straight to our beds last night -- we were exhausted!

 

The weather on this trip has been gorgeous so far -- low 70s to 80s across all ports and lots of sun! End of May seems to be a good time to cruise the Med!

 

We were booked on the Exclusive Best of Rome excursion through the ship and though it was expensive, it was worth every single penny. We had a large motorcoach with great AC and leather seats for our group of ~25 and a great tour guide. We hit the Trevi Fountain before the crowds hit, we skipped the line and went straight into the Colosseum when it opened (the strike kept it closed until 11:30), we had an *amazing* lunch at a gorgeous hotel on Via Veneto (I think that's where it was, at least!) with free flowing wine and the best pasta I've ever had, and then we spent the entire afternoon in Vatican City exploring the museums, the cathedral and, of course, the Sistine Chapel (which is an experience that words just cannot capture). It was a busy day but we saw just about everything we wanted to and we had a wonderful guide!

 

Even though we have My Time Dining, we've been lucky enough to have the same servers each time we've gone to the Aquarius for dinner and they are, bar none, some of the best dining staff we've ever had. Our head server surprises us with different dishes each night to try and we've gotten to try some dishes we didn't know we'd like! The menu last night was Portobello and I snapped some pics in case it's not posted anywhere.

 

We really wanted to hit the late night toga party but we conked out not long after watching When in Rome on the big screen.

 

Today and tomorrow are days at sea. We're currently hanging poolside enjoying the sun and watching people fight over saved chairs -- oy!

 

I'm posting some Rome pics on Instagram and I'll be back later to chat and answer any Rome questions!

 

Ciao ciao :D

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abo

abo

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HI. Thanks for your review so far, it's been really useful and interesting as we're on this exact cruise in July.

 

One question if you don't mind - how formal was the first formal night on this cruise? I normally take my tux and the whole family get dressed up for formal nights, we like the occassion of it, but I was wondering if there were many others formally dressed on this specific cruise? If not I might just leave the tux behind this time!

 

Many thanks.

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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Another fantastic day here onboard the Vision! Today was our first day at sea and the weather was almost like being in the Caribbean -- hot hot hot!

 

There were plenty of activities going on onboard but we spent most of the day outside, spending the morning at the pool and the afternoon on the promenade deck as we sailed past a volcano (Mount Stromboli) and later on, through the Strait of Messina. There was no announcement made on either so if you aren't outside or looking for these moments, they're easily missed, but both were quite scenic and lovely.

 

Tonight was also the past guest party. It seemed it was split into many smaller parties, which kept crowding under control (a big issue on Carnival that, in part, led to them restricting the party to Platinum and Diamond only). Ours was at 7:45 pm in the Some Enchanted Evening lounge, which was a perfect prelude to our late dinner at Izumi.

 

Our server at Izumi let us know that there were a few menu changes -- they didn't have shrimp wontons so they were replacing them with chicken ones tonight and they were having trouble sourcing mochi in Europe, so that was off the menu for our sailing, as well.

 

Tonight's menu in the MDR was Italian, so I imagine it was Pomodoro or Basil, but I'll double check that later.

 

We're losing an hour of sleep tonight as the clocks move ahead on our passage towards Greece, so I'll be back tomorrow to report on day at sea and formal night #2!

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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So glad you're having a great time, and many thanks for your awesome report!

 

 

 

Ciao!

 

 

Thanks for following along!

 

HI. Thanks for your review so far, it's been really useful and interesting as we're on this exact cruise in July.

 

 

 

One question if you don't mind - how formal was the first formal night on this cruise? I normally take my tux and the whole family get dressed up for formal nights, we like the occassion of it, but I was wondering if there were many others formally dressed on this specific cruise? If not I might just leave the tux behind this time!

 

 

 

Many thanks.

 

 

We saw some tuxes and formal gowns and we saw some suits and cocktail dresses, and some even took it less formal than that. Our second formal night is tomorrow, so I'll keep an eye out.

 

Thanks for the info, Nicole. Loving your pics on Instagram!

 

 

Glad to hear it!

 

Great review!! We are on the Vision in June- I was wondering if you would be able to post the dinner menus- thanks so much! Enjoy your trip!

 

 

I'll post what I can! :)

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Sammy Sailor

Sammy Sailor

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We will be sailing the Western Med on the Allure in September. Is it necessary to pre-book tours? Or is it similar to the Caribbean where there are options of tours you can jump on when you disembark? I'd especially like to know when you're at Civitavecchia Port. Any info would be so beneficial - don't know what to expect, but excited!:)

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nguyener

nguyener

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Hey all, I've booked a Rome Highlights tour through Rome in Limo for my group. We are 5 people (23 YO, 25 YO, 26 YO, and 2 older adults) and are open to 1 additional person for the 6 passenger van or 2-3 additional people for the 8 passenger van. 6 passenger van is 550 euros or 8 passenger van is 600 euros. We are also planning on getting a Vatican tour guide but I'm not exactly sure the cost of that (says 150 euros but I'm not sure if that's for 5 people only, it was 180 euros for the 8 passenger van). Tour is set to begin at 8am.

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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We will be sailing the Western Med on the Allure in September. Is it necessary to pre-book tours? Or is it similar to the Caribbean where there are options of tours you can jump on when you disembark? I'd especially like to know when you're at Civitavecchia Port. Any info would be so beneficial - don't know what to expect, but excited!:)

 

 

You need to pre-book -- we haven't seen any tour operators or taxis lined up at any of the ports we've been to so far (Cannes, La Spezia, Rome). With La Spezia and Civitavecchia in particular, there's nothing within the immediate area of the pier, as they are industrial areas that are also used as seaports. In La Spezia, you aren't even allowed to walk the pier -- you have to take a shuttle. In Civitavecchia, they offer a shuttle because it's a long walk on a smelly pier that's covered in a thick layer of bird droppings.

 

If you book through the ship, your tour will pick you up and drop you off right in front of the ship. If you book a private tour, I imagine you would take the shuttles and meet them outside of the pier area at the drop off point.

 

Hope that helps!

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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Another tidbit we found out this morning: there are NO self-service laundry facilities onboard the Vision. If you're planning on doing laundry during the cruise to keep the packing light, your option is a $30 fill-a-bag laundry promotion.

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powelweb

powelweb

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Another tidbit we found out this morning: there are NO self-service laundry facilities onboard the Vision. If you're planning on doing laundry during the cruise to keep the packing light, your option is a $30 fill-a-bag laundry promotion.

 

Nicole- what day do they offer this?

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1st_timervsr58

1st_timervsr58

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Nicole - Are you using a WIFI service through your cell? For instance Verizon has an international cruise package. We are sailing on the 9th and it's our first cruise, so confused about so much, still :confused:. Not sure if we should look into this option or using the WIFI service on board the ship is the best option. Thanks!!

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Nicole721

Nicole721

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Nicole- what day do they offer this?

 

 

The bag was left in our room on Rome evening (day four).

 

Nicole - Are you using a WIFI service through your cell? For instance Verizon has an international cruise package. We are sailing on the 9th and it's our first cruise, so confused about so much, still :confused:. Not sure if we should look into this option or using the WIFI service on board the ship is the best option. Thanks!!

 

 

We have an international package though AT&T but that's mostly for in-port use (ie we get lost or separated while on a tour or during our post-cruise in Paris). We're using the wi-fi through the ship. $200something for unlimited wi-fi on two devices. We had some OBC to burn so it worked out well for us :) It's a little slow but it works.

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