Splendour of the Seas Via Barcelone

[mikalikahigh]

I have never cruised and want to get feedback about the 7 day cruise from Spain through France and Italy....Anyone?

 

Food? Rooms? Boat? Port excursions etc. Any advise is HUGE!!!

[critterchick]

We did this cruise in 2003 and loved it. The ship was very well run, service was excellent. The food was only so-so, but we never went hungry. There was a large Spanish contingent on board, so late seating was very late by US standards – 9:30. We switched to early seating at 6:30. It was a little rushed getting back from port some nights, and in Villefranche Sur Mer we missed it altogether (didn't sail until 11:00).

We had a corner aft Junior Suite on deck 8, and it was great. Huge balcony with loungers (didn't use them much except on the sea days) and really nice neighbors we could chat with across the divider. No noise from the spa above, either.

 

Ports:

 

VSM: tendered in, collected some flyers at the tender stop & decided to visit Monaco. We walked 15 minutes (at a leisurely pace) to the train station. They only had automated ticket sales on Sunday, so carry Euro coins with you to be sure you can buy a ticket. The train ride was about 7 mintues. We walked to the top of the hill to visit the Jardins Exotique, a wonderful collection of native plants and a boffo view of the palace and the yachts. We took a bus down the hill to the Casino, wandered into the yacht harbor for lunch. We then took the train to Nice (10-15 minutes), wandered about a bit, then back to VSM. We found a wine bar with a great view of the ship & toasted her until about 8:30 when we re-boarded.

 

Livorno (Florence): We had already been to Florence on a land trip earlier, so we took a wine tour. Full bus with very happy people, especially on the way back. We went through the Tuscan countryside (driver detoured so we could see the Leaning Tower on the way back), had a tour & wine tasting, bought some wine & then went back to the ship. We were able to bring the wine onboard with us. We had made friends with the bartenders in the Champagne Bar, so we brought them a bottle. Florence is about 90 minutes from the port, just for planning purposes.

 

Civitavecchia (Rome): another 90-minute trip into the city. We did a Walk Through Renaissance Rome. Only had about 20-25 people instead of a full busload. Made one pit stop on the way into the city. Saw the Trevi fountain (go to the gelato shop to the left, have a pineapple gelato & use the facilities), several ancient buildings (I'm forgetting), had a nice lunch in a local restaurant (nice except for the canned peas – yuck), then on to the Vatican. Good tour, too much time out for shopping, but we would just wander around & meet back at the stores.

 

Naples: took the ship's Pompeii tour. Don't do it! We had to stop at a cameo factory, and had too much shopping time. Pompeii is an easy train ride from Naples. We were going to take the train from Pompeii to Sorrento, but it was pouring rain & we were cranky, so we went back to the ship. Do that one on your own.

 

Malta (not sure that's on your itinerary anymore): another wine tour with a drive around the island. That was a fun one – the same bus full of happy people, a Californian in charge of the winery so the tour was that much better.

[mikalikahigh]

Critter chick for the info. I see sunny Ca on your info. I am from Lagaun beach now living in Boston.

 

Again, thank you

[critterchick]

You're welcome! I hope you can come home soon! I grew up in Connecticut & bounced between coasts (including 4 yrs in Beantown) for a few decades. I think I'm here to stay.

[bamadawg]

We did this cruise last Sept. (2004) with two other couples and had a wonderful time. We did no ship's excursions - planned everything on our own.

Barcelona - great town and with a great vibe! Stayed at Hotel Silver - recommend.

Marseille - not the best port at all! Took a motorized "train" to Notre Dame de la Gard - great view, but not the best you'll see all week.

Villefranche - OMG, it's gorgeous!! We took a train to Monaco then a public bus to the castle. Toured the castle - not a "must do". Took train back to Eze then took a bus up to Eze. Very scenic! Then took train to Nice - not a "must do again" for me. Saw the Orthodox church and walked the beach front area then went back to the ship - long day!

Livorno - hired a private taxi driver at the port. Recommend this. Took us to Florence where we walked around then we went to Pisa which was cool. Toured the church there - nice.

Rome: Hired a private driver pre-cruise named Allen. A wonderful way to see Rome. Took us to the ruins first then Vatican around 2 - no lines.

Naples - my favorite! Took ferry to Sorrento. Took bus to Positano - unbelievable. Ferry back - again unbelievable scenery!

My number one piece of advice is to borrow/buy Rick Steves' books on the cities you'll visit. His "Italy" book gave me the itinerary for our day in Naples (Sorrento and Positano) and his advice was spot-on. We also used his books in Florence to tell us the history and to recommend a great lunch spot. His Rome info was perfect for telling us some history there.

Final day at sea was horrible - captain warned of rough seas for next 24 hours and we got em! Not the usual final day at sea. Crew was green!

Had an amazing trip- highly recommend it and mostly, read up on everything in Rick Steves' books or his site http://www.ricksteves.com.

Enjoy!

[kernow]

Critterchick

 

Do you by any chance have any photos of your aft corner junior suite? We have booked cabin 8082(aft, next door to corner) for our Eastern Med cruise in Oct 2006. It will be our first time in an Aft and we're really excited!

 

Is the balcony completely covered or can it be overlooked from above? Any info at all would be great.

 

We'll be in 'sunny southern California' in three weeks time and hoping for some nice weather!

 

Thanks, Julie

[critterchick]

Julie, I'll check. That trip was in our pre-digital-camera days, so I don't think I will, but we may have develped the photos on CD. You will love your deck, though - it's nice and big, has some loungers on it (at least it did when we were sailing) and has a wonderful view. The only possible drawback was that the crew had its party area on deck 6 so if they were up late you might hear them laughing. Nothing really crazy, and we enjoyed seeing them, would usually wave & toast them with whatever we were enjoying. The spa relaxation room is above you, and it wasn't busy (and is closed at night), so you won't have a lot of looky-lous over your head.