Vision of the Seas Mediterranean Review Aug 10-22, 2019

[Luckynana]

8 hours ago, erby2283 said:

Thank you. I think you're probably the one one still reading this review at this point. 🤣 

 

And I'm enjoying every bit of it!!!  Thank you!

[ckmedsec]

Nope, we are still here!  enjoying your review and amazing photos.  Thank you again.

[Trixie21]

We have been to many of these places and i am loving your review - bringing back lots of memories . We are from the UK so Europe is on our doorstep. Our very first cruise was a 7 day western med and we did a similar tour to Pompeii , Sorrento and Positano. We loved the area so much we have been back to Sorrento 4 times since to stay and have had lots of time to explore Positano , Ravello and the surrounding towns and area. It is our favourite place in the world . This year we were supposed to be in New York with a 10 day caribbean cruise but it was not to be.

Keep up the good work - I am living a cruise through your review!

[TRUEBLUE66]

Still following along!

                                     We just love Venice and have got lost plenty of times! Last there on the Vision overnight in 2018 but next time likely to be on a different line, with R.C. no longer sailing from the port 🙁

Loving the photos!

 

[Luckynana]

erby, did your gondolier sing to you??  😁  Your camera/phone? takes such beautiful, quality pictures!  I can't wait to visit Venice.....

[Ginlyn]

Still reading your review and enjoying!!!  We did this cruise on the Vision in 2015 so your review is bringing back lots of great memories.  I want to go again now!!!

[Chiliburn]

I’m following,we were going to the med next year,but not now 
 

On 9/5/2020 at 12:35 AM, erby2283 said:

 

Edited September 6, 2020 by Chiliburn

[erby2283]

On 9/4/2020 at 8:54 PM, ckmedsec said:

Nope, we are still here!  enjoying your review and amazing photos.  Thank you again.

 
You’re very welcome. 

On 9/5/2020 at 9:26 AM, TRUEBLUE66 said:

Still following along!

                                     We just love Venice and have got lost plenty of times! Last there on the Vision overnight in 2018 but next time likely to be on a different line, with R.C. no longer sailing from the port 🙁

Loving the photos!

 

I read about that. But I’ve been trying to ascertain if the new non-porting in Venice rule applies to ships to embark/disembark, ships that have an overnight, or ships just coming in for the day? I also read - which as you know means nothing lol - that it may only apply to ships over a 80k tons - which I believe the Vision is under so that would mean it could still dock there. Who knows at this point. But I swear I saw itineraries next year with overnights in Venice. 

On 9/5/2020 at 9:15 PM, Ginlyn said:

Still reading your review and enjoying!!!  We did this cruise on the Vision in 2015 so your review is bringing back lots of great memories.  I want to go again now!!!

That’s what I keep saying! Like pronto! 

20 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

I’m following,we were going to the med next year,but not now 
 

Yeah, I was thinking more like 2022 myself. 
 

 

Oh wow! Okay - I’m so glad y’all are still with me. It takes so much time sorting all the pictfrom each day (like hundreds from each day) and then typing everything so I’m glad people are still following along and enjoying the review! 

[erby2283]

On 9/5/2020 at 2:50 AM, Trixie21 said:

We have been to many of these places and i am loving your review - bringing back lots of memories . We are from the UK so Europe is on our doorstep. Our very first cruise was a 7 day western med and we did a similar tour to Pompeii , Sorrento and Positano. We loved the area so much we have been back to Sorrento 4 times since to stay and have had lots of time to explore Positano , Ravello and the surrounding towns and area. It is our favourite place in the world . This year we were supposed to be in New York with a 10 day caribbean cruise but it was not to be.

Keep up the good work - I am living a cruise through your review!

What did you think about Ravello? I’ve heard that is a wonderful place to visit as well? Where you going to sail on the Anthem our of Cape Liberty or on another line? 

 

 

 

On 9/5/2020 at 8:18 PM, Luckynana said:

erby, did your gondolier sing to you??  😁  Your camera/phone? takes such beautiful, quality pictures!  I can't wait to visit Venice.....

No, he didn’t. Now I have to go back. ☺️ Yes, my

iphone takes the majority of the picture and then the ones with the date stamp were taken with my hand help point and shoot camera. 

 

[Chiliburn]

Don’t worry we are all following,even from Australia.    LOL

[Roger88]

On 9/5/2020 at 4:26 PM, TRUEBLUE66 said:

Still following along!

                                     We just love Venice and have got lost plenty of times! Last there on the Vision overnight in 2018 but next time likely to be on a different line, with R.C. no longer sailing from the port 🙁

Loving the photos!

 

I wonder if Venice will take on tourists and guests. I mean, I visited Venice during all of four seasons and I want to say that in Summer this place is crowded like hell. I doubt they will risk it right now having so many people there at once. In any case, Venice is a wonderful place to visit.. especially for the first time 

[Dotney]

On 9/7/2020 at 2:10 AM, erby2283 said:

 
You’re very welcome. 

I read about that. But I’ve been trying to ascertain if the new non-porting in Venice rule applies to ships to embark/disembark, ships that have an overnight, or ships just coming in for the day? I also read - which as you know means nothing lol - that it may only apply to ships over a 80k tons - which I believe the Vision is under so that would mean it could still dock there. Who knows at this point. But I swear I saw itineraries next year with overnights in Venice. 

That’s what I keep saying! Like pronto! 

Yeah, I was thinking more like 2022 myself. 
 

 

Oh wow! Okay - I’m so glad y’all are still with me. It takes so much time sorting all the pictfrom each day (like hundreds from each day) and then typing everything so I’m glad people are still following along and enjoying the review! 

 

[Dotney]

We just booked this Med Cruise on VOTS for July 2021 and it shows the overnight in Venice so I’m hoping that’s still the case! 😍

[Fall2010]

I’m still following!

[aichambaye]

This is GREAT!!

 

Thank you!! 

[John&LaLa]

Applauding your perseverance on finishing this.

[erby2283]

On 9/20/2020 at 10:46 PM, John&LaLa said:

Applauding your perseverance on finishing this.

 🤣 It's coming it's coming. Actually came back today.....Sorry, been having some personal and work issues going on.

[erby2283]

Day 10 of the trip, Day 8 of the cruise - Venice Day 2  8-17-2019

 

For our second day in Venice, we decided to just hop on the vaporetto and explore the city again with no plans. As we were on the vaporetto (again taking the long way around through the Guidecca Canal), we decided to check out the island of Guidecca and walk along the sidewalk parallel to the canal before working out way over to St. Mark's Square.  

 

 

It was a nice, less populated walk, albeit less to offer as well - at least, right there on that main drag by the canal.  We did not venture back any so there may have been plenty more to see had we done so.  We continued to walk thinking we'd be able to walk all the way down to San Giorgio Maggiore (church) but ran into a brick wall (literally).  The brick wall was actually Guardia di Finanza "Command of the Venice Naval Station."   So we had to back track a little bit back to the last vaporetto stop and get to the church this way. I am just constantly amazed by how beautiful all these churches are in Europe. I made my donation and lit a candle and said a prayer for my mom and then we hopped back on the next vaporetto and got off near St. Marks.

 

 

The lines for tours at St. Marks were already incredible long so if you're thinking about taking a tour, please make your plans accordingly in advance.

 

 

From St. Mark's Square we just meandered through Venice looking for a place to get some lunch. We ended up over in the San Polo area and found a little place called Antico Panificio. The Bell Tower at Chiesa di Sant Aponal began to ring right at noon and I had a clear view as we sat waiting for lunch. I took out my phone and recorded it as it was very quiet around us and I thought it would be nice to record this moment for posterity. 

 

According to the pictures on my phone, these pictures were taken near Rio Del Tolentini. These buildings just look like they don't belong together. Almost like an optical illusion.

 

 

 

Along the way we stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe to pick up some souvenirs for friends who collect their pins. And even though we weren't hungry, at some point we walked past a window and saw big, fat, pasta being made and put into a bowl and heck, we were in Venice and couldn't resist.  I grabbed this picture from their website - it's called Bigoi - Dursoduro, Venice. You can pick from several types of  sauce.  To me, it tasted like a big bowl of chef-boyardee beefaroni. lol. But, I like that sort of thing so.....

 

We somehow (either by walking or vaporetto, I don't remember) ended up back over by St. Mark's but we decided to head across the canal and over to Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute. A lot of people were just hanging out over here on the steps, congregating. They didn't seem to be doing much. We just went in long enough to take some pictures.

 

 

 

 

Of course no trip to Venice is complete without making it to Rialto Bridge.

 

 

 

 

After an amazing 1.5 days in Venice, we started pulling out of Venice around 9:30 pm. My bf was exhausted and fell asleep while I sat on our balcony and enjoyed the amazing view with a gorgeous moon as we slowly sailed out of Venice. It truly was an amazing time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[erby2283]

Day 11 of the trip, Day 9 of the cruise - Split, Croatia  8-18-2019 10AM-7PM

 

Next stop....Split, Croatia! This was the only port that I actually booked a Royal Caribbean tour....and that was because Split is a filming location for Game of Thrones! As usual, all tours meet in the theatre and they give you a sticker so you know which tour group to stay with. There were actually two groups and two separate buses and tour guides for this tour. It took quite a while to get everyone together for some reason and we were in fact the last tour to leave the ship.

 

Our first stop was Klis Fortress, better known as the city of Meereen, first seen in Season 4 when Daenary's and her army conquer the city of Meereen. It's about a 20-25 minute drive from the port and our guide told us a little bit about Split on the way...as well as taking a vote on the final season of GOT ....NO ONE liked it. lol.

 

As we approached the fortress, it really looks quite spectacular and blends in amazingly well with the landscape. You can see why it made such an amazing fortress in its time bc you were unable to attack it from any direction.

 

 

 

In the picture above, you can see a building to the right. That's where they drop you off and then it's a little hike up to the fort. 

 

 

 

Once you got to the top of the hill, but the bottom of the fortress, we stopped for a breather and took in the view of the port.

 

If you're a Game of Thrones fan you'll probably recognize the following pictures. If not, just enjoy the scenery. LOL  Our guide would hold up laminated pictures of scenes from the show and stop at the spots where they were filmed.  Our guide seemed to be a really big fan or the show as well.  She also told us they filmed in the heat of the summer and it took months for production to cart and carry everything up to the fort for filming.

 

In the GOT show, buildings were superimposed behind this view (and the highway removed of course).

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below shows us the second excursion group.  We had someone tell us while we were there that they overheard both tour guides and said that we definitely had the better of the two guides; that she was more detailed.

 

Another view of the port from the top of Klis Fortress

 

You can see the highway in the middle of the picture.

 

 

I took this one with the point and shoot (versus the iphone)

 

Next we head to Diocletians Palace closer to port, and another filming location for GOT.

 

[erby2283]

Day 11 of the trip, Day 9 of the cruise - Split, Croatia  8-18-2019 10AM-7PM continued...

 

Again, if you're not a Game of Thrones fan, you'll probably find none of this interesting...lol.

 

After our brief return trip back to port, we simply had to cross a few streets to get to Diocletian's Palace. The Roman Emporer, Dicoletian built the palace in 3 AD - but back then, it was literally built so that ships could sail into the palace. But now, the water has receded so much, it's hard to imagine what it was like back then.

 

While many people tour the palace, it's also a market place so it was a little difficult not only to hear the guide here, but also to try and stay together and work around the tour groups and shoppers. One of the first places we visited is probably one of the most recognized from Season 4. It is the Throne Room where Daenery's locks up her prisoners - as well as her two dragons.  I didn't recognize it at first bc the stairs were not there - which they later said was added by production.

 

First picture is a stock photo from an article.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before heading to the location of where the next scene was filmed, our tour guide made sure to point out a specific vendor we were passing who sold the "ring" Dany dropped when she was surrounded by the Dothraki (the "bread crumb" she left behind so she could be found). While you can certainly find imitations of this ring everywhere, the stone found within the ring, is Croatian Limestone, and can only be found  in the region. In fact, she said the producers bought the ring from a vendor like the one in the market.

 

 

A picture of my ring (don't look at how much my nails had grown...this is day 11 of the trip....lol)

 

This scene where Ser Barristan Selmy and Grey Worm get into a sword fight with the Sons of the Harpy was shot in this hallway.

 

 

I can't remember which scene this was (I'll have to go back and look now that I have been here), but our guide is holding up a picture of the scene and then the second picture is from the tour. You can see in the picture that she is holding up how production had to cover up the large, rounded stones on the left - mostly using banners.

 

 

 

 

 

Papalićeva Street in Split became one of the streets seen in Slave Rebellion Scene. The street is more of an alley way within the buildings surrounding the palace. Our guide said production had to get creative to cover up the signs, and wires, etc. that hung overhead.

 

 

 

 

There were one or two more scenes filmed here but it was so crowded in those areas, I didn't take pictures. After the tour, we just walked around the port area and visited a few vendors. My boyfriend bought a few t-shirts for friends back home. We grabbed a bite to eat from another vendor on the walk back to the ship - we always like to try and sample the local food - even if it's just a bite.

 

I'll post a couple more random pictures from the palace area.

 

 

 

 

 

[Luckynana]

 

erby, you don't have to be a Game of Thrones fan (I've never seen it) to appreciate the stunning scenery and buildings that you've captured while visiting there.  When you shared that Diocletia's Palace was built so ships could sail into it, it brought me right back to being on a bus on one of our tours, way high up, and being told that the sea had once been where the land that we were seeing below us once was.  I think it was in Turkey, but it could have been Greece....it's been quite a few years since that cruise!🤔

[erby2283]

18 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

 

erby, you don't have to be a Game of Thrones fan (I've never seen it) to appreciate the stunning scenery and buildings that you've captured while visiting there.  When you shared that Diocletia's Palace was built so ships could sail into it, it brought me right back to being on a bus on one of our tours, way high up, and being told that the sea had once been where the land that we were seeing below us once was.  I think it was in Turkey, but it could have been Greece....it's been quite a few years since that cruise!🤔

Thanks Luckynana.  It is amazing to see such receding over the years, right?  While I loved this tour, I feel like I missed seeing out on so much more of Split bc we just toured these two areas. I guess i need to go back....if we ever get to travel again....🤬

[xpcdoojk]

18 hours ago, erby2283 said:

Thanks Luckynana.  It is amazing to see such receding over the years, right?  While I loved this tour, I feel like I missed seeing out on so much more of Split bc we just toured these two areas. I guess i need to go back....if we ever get to travel again....🤬

Your thread makes me want to go somewhere!

 

jc

[erby2283]

51 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

Your thread makes me want to go somewhere!

 

jc

Writing it makes me thankful I listened to my inner voice and booked the trip when I did and didn't wait! I feel so badly for the first timers who had their bucket list trips planned ruined by this horrible year.

[goldfish65]

Just wondering how was the ship?