Live: Oct 22 2022 Constellation Mediterranean Passage Transatlantic

[mahdnc]

On 12/7/2022 at 4:44 PM, Arzeena said:

What a lovely trip report! I enjoyed it. Thank you for posting.

 

Thank you.  I still have a few more posts to make when I can get around to it.

[Lastdance]

On 11/8/2022 at 5:42 AM, cluso said:

No talk about Covid at all and did not hear anything about any Covid issues.  I think there were some standard "cruise coughs" due to the long cruise and all the a/c.

 

Embarkation.  Arrived at 1330, no lines at all.  No welcome drinks.

 

Disembarking.  Had luggage tickets #1 to get off ship.  It ran about 20-25 minutes late due to Tampa personnel getting their act together.  Kind of a goat rope in the luggage area.  Too small, with roped off areas confusing people.  Once out, we headed to the taxi line.  One taxi being loaded, none in sight, we were next.  We waited about 10 minutes. The walk-offs had probably depleted the first taxi's and it was a Sunday morning before 8.  Didn't want to take the $10 per person shuttle being hawked.  It was slow to be filled, along with a towed luggage trailer.  Taxi to the rental car pick up center (outside of airport) was $30.  Six-hour drive home to Niceville, Florida (Destin area) was smooth sailing (with a stop at Trader Joe's in Tallahassee).

 

We will be back on the Connie in March. 

 

So glad for our cruise timing.  Looks like "Nicole" is going to be a weather issue for many cruises this week.  Safe travels.

Covid is present; coughing is a huge part, but people do not test themselves, so it is spread around.  It was present on our TA, along with the "cruise cough" that may or may not be Covid...if it is not tested for there is no way to tell.  People do not want to test themselves, nor do they want to spend time in their cabin/suite.  A huge issue is taking Plaxlovid and then getting rebound Covid/covid Pneumonia with being vaxed and boosted.  I am one who has had it(Covid), but no symptoms at all, yet I did test and alert medical.  My DH had symptoms and tested himself, so I was pretty sure I had it too.  Celebrity did give us 5 days of our daily rate back as a refund, but we also had to wear masks for 5 additional days.  You just do not hear about it due to less tresting and more immunity.  My father never even had a cold or flu in his 89 years, but he did abuse his body.  I guess I got some of his genes.  My poor DH got rebound Covid, ending up in the hospital for five days; he is rarely sick.  In fact, our doctor could not believe that his blood pressure went so low and his temp so high and his body needed electrolytes, lots of them.  Of course now he has the best immunity...we have another TA in the spring on Beyond, so if this happens again, I guess crusing will not be a viable vacay for us.  Quite a few of us have had Covid, but just didn't know it!  I think testing is rare unless you really feel ill!

 

Thanks for sharing your review!  Daisy is such a sweetheart; i would be wanting to see her sweet face too!

Edited December 8, 2022 by Lastdance

[mahdnc]

On 12/8/2022 at 5:51 PM, Lastdance said:

Thanks for sharing your review!  Daisy is such a sweetheart; i would be wanting to see her sweet face too!

 

You are welcome.  Our son and his girlfriend are driving up to Lake Tahoe tonight to ski on all that snow....

[Lastdance]

12 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

You are welcome.  Our son and his girlfriend are driving up to Lake Tahoe tonight to ski on all that snow....

Well, so much is coming in that it is going to be quite a snow event in the Sierra!  The Euro model is really projecting crazy levels of snow!

[Ipeeinthepools]

I looked through the first third of this thread but I couldn't find your final assessment of the hotel.  Any final thoughts?  Would you stay there again?  It looked like you booked a Superior Double or better room to get that view of the Pantheon.    I'm only planning on being in Rome for 3 nights and that doesn't meet the requirements for the rooms on the higher levels.  Would you stay there in a standard room on a lower floor?

 

Thanks

[mahdnc]

Sorry. I have some notes that I still need to pull together that I intend to post about the Albergo del Senato. I will give you my assessment now. 

 

Yes, if we go back to Rome, I would book AdS again most definitely. 

 

We did book a Superior Double. The "Superior" designation means it has a Pantheon view. The view is fantastic and was one of the highlights of the trip.

 

However I would book the hotel even if I couldn't get the view of the Pantheon. The roof top bar is an excellent alternative that offers a nice elevated view of the Pantheon. 

 

The hotel is very well run, with excellent service, and is in great condition. The location is excellent within easy walking distance of many of the attractions. You feel like you are in the middle of the action. 

 

Rooms are on the small side which is the norm for Rome. I measured our room to be just under 200 sq ft. So it's like a cruise ship cabin. However it is furnished very well--like a cruise ship cabin although there are limited options for storing your luggage in your room (so not as good as a cruise ship cabin). 

 

The only thing missing is a full service restaurant (there is a nice breakfast buffet served). However there are plenty of nice restaurants nearby such as the Armando al Pantheon. 

 

Edited December 24, 2022 by mahdnc

[Ipeeinthepools]

23 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Sorry. I have some notes that I still need to pull together that I intend to post about the Albergo del Senato. I will give you my assessment now. 

 

Yes, if we go back to Rome, I would book AdS again most definitely. 

 

We did book a Superior Double. The "Superior" designation means it has a Pantheon view. The view is fantastic and was one of the highlights of the trip.

 

However I would book the hotel even if I couldn't get the view of the Pantheon. The roof top bar is an excellent alternative that offers a nice elevated view of the Pantheon. 

 

The hotel is very well run, with excellent service, and is in great condition. The location is excellent within easy walking distance of many of the attractions. You feel like you are in the middle of the action. 

 

Rooms are on the small side which is the norm for Rome. I measured our room to be just under 200 sq ft. So it's like a cruise ship cabin. However it is furnished very well--like a cruise ship cabin although there are limited options for storing your luggage in your room (so not as good as a cruise ship cabin). 

 

The only thing missing is a full service restaurant (there is a nice breakfast buffet served). However there are plenty of nice restaurants nearby such as the Armando al Pantheon. 

 

 

Thanks for the review.  I'll be in Rome prior to the Edge redeployment cruise in October and I think I'll stay there.  It looks like a good hotel in a great location.

[hrhdhd]

I had an inferior room (not what the hotel calls them 😉), and it was fine. Here's the view from the roof:

[Ipeeinthepools]

14 minutes ago, hrhdhd said:

I had an inferior room (not what the hotel calls them 😉), and it was fine. Here's the view from the roof:

 

Thanks for your thoughts

[NCteacherlovescruising]

On 10/20/2022 at 6:58 PM, mahdnc said:

Today was our day at the Vatican Museum.  We did not book our tour through the Vatican, but rather 3rd party tour provider.  It was a small party group tour of 6 people plus a guide.  The tour started at 7:30 am and it concluded by around 10:45 am.  The tour was designed so that we would enter the Sistine Chapel before the general admission ticket holders were allowed to enter.  It did allow you to see the Sistine Chapel in a relaxing way with no rush and no crowds.  I wanted to climb the basilica dome, but Marcia's feet an for the entrance for the Scavi Tour that we would take tomorrowd ankle were too sore for that so we skipped it.  

 

Before we left, we looked for and found the entrance for the Scavi Tour that we would take tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

Was this tour with Marisa?  If not, who did you use?

[mahdnc]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Was this tour with Marisa?  If not, who did you use?

We used Marisa for the Roman Forum tour and our day trip to Ostia Antica. Those tours were excellent. 

 

I booked our Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel tour through Livitaly. I booked that tour as a semi-private small group tour. My wife and I were part of a group of 6-8 people. The tour got us into the Sistine Chapel early. That worked out well as it was not crowded at all. However if I had to do it all over again, I would spend the extra money and booked it as fully private to have more control on what to see.

 

David

[mahdnc]

Today I came across this article in the New York Times: A Culinary Roman Empire's Next Conquest? Manhattan.

 

It's an article about a restaurant in Rome named Salumeria Con Cucina Roscioli. It's a delicatessen that is also is a full service restaurant. Apparently they are opening up a restaurant in New York City's Soho area.

During our pre-cruise time in Rome last October, my wife and I had a very late lunch there. I looked back through this thread and it looks like I didn't post anything about this place, so I'll do it now for the one person that may find this of interest. Here are some photos and a couple of comments. 

 

 

We ate there on Oct 19th and our reservations were for 2:45 pm. I made the online reservation 26 days in advance and all the decent dining times for lunch and dinner were already gone. 

 

 

Salumeria means delicatessen in Italian. And it definitely had its delicatessen roots on full display when you first walk in. 

 

 

There is makeshift seating at the deli area and there is a more proper dining room elsewhere. Our reservations were for the proper dining area, but when we showed up at our appointed time, our reservation was not in their system. So they seated us in the deli area near the front door. 

 

 

The above photo was our appetizers. 

 

 

The above photo was the carbonara which I had. 

 

 

There was a woman seated behind us that we had a brief conversation with. She was leaving Rome to go back to the USA and she wanted to eat her last meal here. It was her favorite restaurant and she ate there often during her annual trip to Rome. 

 

 

Here is their menu. The evening before, we had our dinner at Da Enzo al 29, their bread came from Roscioli which I found interesting. 

Edited July 2, 2023 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

On 10/20/2022 at 8:04 PM, prmssk said:

Thanks for sharing!  That is the wide angle lens that I carry around (but with a crop sensor D500).  It is a nice lens and I agree to get the shots you are getting take a lot of patience and a fair amount of skill.

I didn't notice this until now, but I wanted to compliment you on your D500. It is a lights out, excellent APC camera. One of the best. It pairs very well with telephoto lenses for wildlife shots. 

[prmssk]

3 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

I didn't notice this until now, but I wanted to compliment you on your D500. It is a lights out, excellent APC camera. One of the best. It pairs very well with telephoto lenses for wildlife shots. 

Thanks!  I've been very happy with the purchase.  I bought it a couple years ago to replace a D90.  Wildlife (especially birds) is my focus which is one of the reasons I chose this model.  I currently use it with a Nikon 80-400mm lens and can't wait to see the photos I get in the Galapagos in November (we will be on the Xpedition the week before you). We also have an Ecuador birding excursion booked from Quito the day after Galapagos cruise.

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, prmssk said:

Thanks!  I've been very happy with the purchase.  I bought it a couple years ago to replace a D90.  Wildlife (especially birds) is my focus which is one of the reasons I chose this model.  I currently use it with a Nikon 80-400mm lens and can't wait to see the photos I get in the Galapagos in November (we will be on the Xpedition the week before you). We also have an Ecuador birding excursion booked from Quito the day after Galapagos cruise.

I'm sure you will have some very nice shots. I am bringing the same zoom telephoto for the occasion.