Just back from Splendour & AC Diplomatic

[suntanzi]

Hi

 

Please send any questions you may have, I will come back with details later but figured I would try to give some quick news for those folks sailing on 10/30.

 

The two things I should have brought but didn't: binoculars and granola bars (lots of times I was hungry but off the ship on a tour or in Barcelona during siesta and it would have been good to have a quick snack)

 

The two things I would have done differently: stayed in Barcelona first instead of last, an anticlimax after the incomparable sites seen on the cruise; found a different airline than Iberia to get me to Spain, they are just awful (British Airways is wonderful, though)

 

Best thing I did: booked private tours in each port and shared them with the wonderful people I met on this board, we had a great time

 

Favorite sites: Cassis (Marseille), Villefranche, Rome, Pisa.

 

Best tour guides: Remo of driverinrome.com and Frederic of dream-tours.com

 

Best meal of my life: at restaurant provided by Marcello of seesorrento.com

 

Most disappointing (overrated on this board) tour guide: Max of Papillon

 

AC Diplomatic: I would stay somewhere with breakfast and a better room service selection next time. Great location, though.

[mert461]

Suntanzi, thanks for your quick news. Looking forward to your detailed report.

 

BOS 10/15/05

[flmatraveller]

Thanks for the good information.

I'll be on the Splendour on this Saturday and will remember to bring binoculars (even in the ports?) and snacks for the kids and us big kids too!

I'll keep my fingers crossed for my Iberia flights from Madrid to Barcelona and back again.

 

How was the weather?

 

I'm packing for cool weather (50's and 60's --which is cool to me in Florida) and the possibility of rain.

[joyus]

What did you not like about your Iberia flights? How did you enjoy the ship?

[suntanzi]

Thanks for the good information.

I'll be on the Splendour on this Saturday and will remember to bring binoculars (even in the ports?) and snacks for the kids and us big kids too!

I'll keep my fingers crossed for my Iberia flights from Madrid to Barcelona and back again. How was the weather? I'm packing for cool weather (50's and 60's --which is cool to me in Florida) and the possibility of rain.

Definitely bring binoculars in the ports, there are many places where you can see a panorama and may want to check out a palace on a hill or the detail work at the top of a cathedral.

 

We lucked out on the weather and got mostly mid 60s-70s weather and several warm, clear days. There was a storm brewing when we left, though. CNN.com has pretty good forecast. I wore layers everywhere and often started the morning with pants, tshirt, button down, and light sweater, by midday was down to a tshirt

[suntanzi]

What did you not like about your Iberia flights? How did you enjoy the ship?

Iberia is very sloooooow. They don't set up their lines in a serpentine queue, it's more like being at the grocery store and so if you are in a bad line, you may check in much later than someone who got there after you did. Not a big deal with groceries but more of a problem when you are trying to check in on time for a flight. Line hopping doesn't help either as you can't tell when someone in front of you will inexplicably take 15 min to check in instead of 2. Then our bags got tags put on them through to BWI, our destination, but didn't get put on the plane on our London layover because they were tagged but not checked through in the computer. BA & Iberia are supposed to be in an alliance but apparently things aren't very cohesive. Then on the Iberia operated flights you pay for everything, even a cup of water. It annoys me to get nickel & dimed when I have spent $800 per ticket. The clerks at the counters were all quite frazzled and curt, not friendly at all. The one lady actually snapped at us and said we were checking in too late to get our flight. Mind you we got into her line at 750AM and arrived at her counter at 855AM with a 930 flight. So we actually had 5 minutes left. And then she said we were going to miss boarding as it was already completed. We RAN to the gate, got there at 910AM, and they hadn't even begun to board yet. Didn't actually begin boarding til 925AM and took off late.

 

The ship was great, we weren't on it much though. Very clean and well maintained. The chairs on the balcony aren't very comfortable so I let go of my fantasy of sitting on the balcony as we left port every day! We left each day by 830AM and got back between 5 & 7P. We were in bed early each night too due to being tired from our excursions. I heard the shows were pretty good. The food was fine, not spectacular but rarely bad. The staff was incredibly friendly and very efficient. Took no time at all to get on and off the ship, muster was quick, tenders were quick. I don't think I ever had to wait in line for anything. The only thing I would change is the dinner times. They offered 630, 7, 9, 930. The 7 was full so if you haven't requested first seating already and want to try to get 7, request now. By the time dessert was served, all of us who were taking excursions were pretty wiped out every night and didn't tend to make the 11PM show. The day at sea worked well because they moved the show for 2nd seating before dinner and the show for 1st seating after dinner--so I actually got to see a show. They didn't publicize it well though so not everyone knew about it.

[vivian02]

We did Splendor in late May and the wife says it was the best cruise we have ever done. We had early seating with a very enjoyable staff. Made it to all of the shows and found it to be very enjoyable. In Hawaii last year I was in bed at 9:00 P.M. I have a friend that flew to Spain last year and had a leg of her flight on Liberia Air. She claims they were lacking customer service. In the past I have flown of BA and had a pretty good experience. Don't feel bad about getting wrong airport information on flight times. We experience a customer service rep at LAX (Terminal 7) that claimed inorder to make our flight we would have to take our luggage "back" to terminal 1. We ignored the information and rechecked in our luggage at terminal 7 and made our flight out by nine minutes. (Long story but it worked out).

Glad to hear the vacation was Great. Tim and Cathy.

[suntanzi]

She claims they were lacking customer service. In the past I have flown of BA and had a pretty good experience. .

BA was wonderful except for allowing their baggage delivery service to arrive with our bags 30 hours later at 1:15 in the MORNING! Woke me up, none too happy about that as they also woke my baby. Iberia wasn't real friendly but I would have been ok with that if they were quick.

[suefrankw]

Hi Tanzi,

 

we are on the splendour next October. your info is very helpful to our planning. Long wait but... can you tell us a bit about what areas your private tours covered at the ports?

 

thanks

 

Sue in FL

[CruisingCatherine]

Sue;

When are you going in October next year? We are going on the 8th.

[suefrankw]

We are on the October 22 nd sailing- i wish it was next week but.... lots of time to plan & research ports etc.

Sue in FL

[suntanzi]

Hi Tanzi,

 

we are on the splendour next October. your info is very helpful to our planning. Long wait but... can you tell us a bit about what areas your private tours covered at the ports?

 

thanks

 

Sue in FL

 

I would do this cruise again in a heartbeat.

 

 

The drivers will take you wherever you want to go, so if you really want to go somewhere in particular, tell them. Be sure to have them reserve your tickets at Uffizi & Accademia if you want to go in. I enjoyed seeing David but would skip Uffizi next time unless you really love museums.

 

Marseille--we went to Aix en provence and Cassis, then briefly to Marseille. We didn't want to go to Les Baux and Avignon but those are also good choices. Not my favorite stop but I think it was more to do with my jet lag and the fact that it was Sunday and most places were closed.

 

Villefranche--we saw Eze, Monaco, Monte Carlo, St Paul de Vence, and Nice. Cannes is really a long drive so we skipped it. If you want to go into the casino in Monte Carlo, tell the driver first thing as it doesn't open til after 2PM. Great souvenirs: lavender sachets, flavored honeys and olive oils, jams. In St Paul de Vence you must stop at the one chocolate shop in there and get a chocolate covered caramel, simply the best I have ever eaten (I have eaten plenty!) Dream-tours.com was just wonderful, I never felt rushed and although our tour went 9A-7P it didn't seem too long. (Time to nap from Nice to St Paul de Vence.)

 

Livorno--we went to Pisa first, then Florence. Our driver wanted to go to Pisa last but the tour company had instructed me to get tickets for Pisa first thing in the morning. I think you can do it either way but maybe traffic is better going the other way. I do not recommend Papillon tours, which is who I used in Livorno. I recommend driverinrome.com instead.

 

Civitavecchia--a whirlwind tour of the major sights of Rome. Personally I would have skipped the church called St Peter in Chains where Michelangelo's Moses is (San Pietro en vincoli, I think) since I saw David in Florence. Also would have skipped St Peter's Basilica and saved that for another trip because it's just too big to see in a hurry and the Pieta is so far away that I couldn't see much. The Sistine Chapel is SO crowded that it's almost unpleasant to be in there and it was off season. Skipping those two would have given us a few more hours to look at Roman ruins and to wander the piazzas which I find more fascinating. But I was on a large group tour and didn't want to impose my desires on the whole group. You need at least a week for Rome anyway, so just plan to come back someday if you enjoy visiting. I can't recommend driverinrome.com highly enough.

 

Naples--We drove the entire Amalfi coast and spent a couple hours in Pompeii. I found Pompeii fascinating, do hire a guide there or you just won't know what you are looking at and I think it wouldn't be as nice. Ravello, Amalfi, and Positano are mostly shopping districts. This is the one port where I LIKED the souvenirs--lemons painted on pottery, limoncello, olive oil, etc... but I used Marcello who really prefers that you don't shop so that he has time to do his tour. I am not a souvenir buyer and didn't think I would care, didn't buy things in other ports. But of course here I wanted to. So it goes! I'll be back!

 

Barcelona--2 days here is plenty. If you like to shop for women's clothes, you will want to check out Zara, a local chain that is reasonably priced and very cute. I didn't need new clothes or would have shopped for sure. Next time I would go with not enough clothes and plan to buy some there before the cruise. :) Use the Bus Turistic here to see La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, etc.. Long lines for Casa Mila so get there early if you want to see that. The Cathedral is completely covered by construction so that is a disappointment but I enjoyed seeing the locals dancing outside from12P-2P or so on Sunday. Another port that is not as fun on Sunday/Monday. If I did it over, I would fly in to Barcelona first on Wednesday, spend Thurs/Fri sightseeing, get on the ship Sat. I heard people got on as early as 9AM that day although we didn't arrive til about 2P.

 

If you have specific questions, just ask or email ckwehe@aol.com :)

[Selly]

suntanzi: Thank you for providing such detailed information. Could you please also tell us how you organized your trip to Aix and Cassis. Did you take the ship's tour or use an independent tour company. If so, would you mind sharing information on what company you used, how many in your group and the price you paid.

 

suefrankw: We are also booked for October 22, 2005. It is still a long time ... but hope to see you on board. :-)

[suntanzi]

suntanzi: Thank you for providing such detailed information. Could you please also tell us how you organized your trip to Aix and Cassis. Did you take the ship's tour or use an independent tour company. If so, would you mind sharing information on what company you used, how many in your group and the price you paid.

 

suefrankw: We are also booked for October 22, 2005. It is still a long time ... but hope to see you on board. :-)

I used www.provence-travel.com to plan the tour. Catherine was our driver and she really did everything. I used a website to look up tgoogle to research the sites she mentioned as well as all the sites described in the RC Shore Excursion booklet and from there decided what we might enjoy the most. She is very knowledgeable about art history which is a bonus in Aix and I would imagine at Avignon. She gave us several detailed trip options when I contacted her and allowed us to choose what we wanted to do. She is happy to take you touring or hiking or whatever you want to do. In Cassis I really appreciated having her as it is a more local spot and the waiters really did not speak much english and my french doesn't extend to menu items (something I plan to rectify before the next trip!) Her vehicle is not a van, it's a Renault station wagon so I would personally only put 4 people in there. The other 2 seats are in the very back and I believe they would have to face each other or face out the back window. It wasn't set up so that I could say for sure but it would be a squeeze for adults. It is a more expensive trip, I want to say 400 EU for 4 people--don't have the exact number now because I am on my laptop (main PC died and is in the repair shop hopefully being recovered). I know if you email her she will give you all the price information, though. I found her on this board. You may try frenchlinks.com, too. They may be willing to meet the ship and they look good on the site, probably could provide references for you.

 

We can't decide if we should cruise again, go just to Rome, or cruise on Jewel of the Seas in the northern area. Decisions!

 

Other tour companies:

dream-tours.com A+

driverinrome.com A+ (they need to change the name, they drive everywhere, not just in Rome)

papillonservice.com B-

seesorrento.com B+

[suefrankw]

Thanks for the detail. It really help us that are planning. I also have already booked Catherine for touring the Provence area (room for more if anyone is interested - Oct 22 RCL, Splendour Cruise)- also other ports booked with private tours if anyone is interested

Email me at:

suefrankw@aol.com

[MVPinBoynton]

Tanzi,

It has been a year and a half since we had lunch with Marcello. Everytime we go to an Italian restaurant, we reminisce how wonderful it was.

 

You mentioned going to Casa Mila early in the morning. I would also recommend going later in the afternoon, since there was never a line to get in then.

[CASkippr]

Thanks for the tip on binoculars. I would not have even thought of binoculars if not for this post!

 

Iberia is not one our favorite airlines either! I can't say enough good things about BA though. They have some of the best crews on BA. They even taught me how to make a Pimm's. :D

 

I'm glad to hear Splendour is still in good shape. :) We sailed her back in 1997 and are looking forward to our Med cruise in 2005.

[LEtue]

suefrankw and Selly ~

 

A group of my friends and their families will be aboard the Splendour with you. I'm having a problem with the link for the provence-travel. It says the domain has expired. Do you have another link that is working?

 

See you on board!

 

Linda