computerworks

I spoke with a rep this week and was told it had to be reserved via phone.

Thanks....

Although the Splendida is docked all day, for those passengers embarking in Abu Dhabi, check-in time is 8:00 pm.

Has anyone checked in earlier than that in Abu Dhabi?

Do we know when check-in actually opens?

Thanks

There is a bus that goes between SM and Portofino.. very easy and 3 €.. maybe 20 min ride

There is no Thermal Suite or Spa pass on the Sky.

The Spa area has a small steam and sauna that is open to any guest without a fee.

Question - do you speak French, Spanish, or Italian? Is it necessary to have a working knowledge of any of these languages for the ports? I've been to spain and paris and gotten by with my college Spanish and horrible French but have never been to Italy.

Hi Katie... glad to provide some insight for you. Yes, the more homework you do, the more satisfying the visits will be.

I speak "clumsy" Italian, and can understand more than I can speak... and a mere rookie in Spanish...but..

No worry... most everyone you will encounter as a visitor in the cities will be better in English than I am with their native language. Only in the very small villages will you encounter a language barrier.

If you discover this... always seek out a younger person for directions or guidance in English... :cool:

Let me get some info and I'll try and help with your port questions.

Butcher's Cut was the best, as Pete said.

Sushi was fair and Eataly Ristorante was dreadful.

When you get the check, they will ask if this is your "Black" dinner, once they see your card.

Note that you do have to order off of the Special Limited Menu... or pay extra for off package menu items

Summary

Let me try and wrap up this report with some random observations and a bit of a critique.

Clearly, there are still bugs and hiccups with the overall IT systems...not so surprising knowing how the corporate website functions. We had discovered that, after the first day, all our drinks were being billed to our account...the system had ignored our drink plan. A visit to guest services got an apology and that it would be fixed that evening... never happened.

Next day, we realized all Voyager Club perks were missing as well.

Another visit to guest services...apologies and promises...this time, they came thru and by Day 3, our account and perks were all in order.

The workload is quite severe for Guest Services...they really are good people that are swamped...since every night had hundreds of people disembarking the following morning..... all lined up until the wee hours..either disputing charges or there to settle their account with cash

I went down at 1 am one night, thinking I'd have no wait for a question...

That was typical every night

They should have a separate line for generic issues, and separate the accounting problems from general questions and requests for help.

The biggest slam against this ship has been the quality of the food.

Other than the big disappointment with Eataly Ristorante, overall we did not find the food bad...just lacking and not up to par with other mass market cruise lines.

Service was never a problem; food was prompt and hot. It just was mediocre.

I truly think their recipes are too ambitious for the volume need to feed 5000 guests.

The entertainment was fantastic... Theater shows were formulaic, but done quite well. I never criticize live shows.

The troupe numbered over 20 and were well produced. I abhor Cirque shows, so they were not tested

The CD and staff are among the hardest working bunch onboard.

Our cabin was fine, although lacking in innovative design. Our Cabin Steward was friendly and efficient, but lacked details...left used glasses at times and had to keep requesting breakfast room service hangers. He did keep the cabin spotless with twice a day visits. We did our own drain and refills on the deck hot tub.

For an Aurea Suite, Bathroom was simply a dreadful design. Cheap fittings, tiny shower and literally no storage or countertop.

The ship is beautiful. My only complaint was not enough time on this cruise to really enjoy all the attributes

With a full day in each port...then, dinner, a show and a party... not much time to explore

Perhaps one less port (one more sea day) would give more time to enjoy the ship.

As mentioned when I started.. I did so want to love this ship, but it did not reach that level of attraction.

Ships talk to me... in this case, I could not find the "soul." Cruise veterans will understand what I mean.

This felt like you are not on a voyage with the rest of the passengers, but rather on the bus for a few stops.

Less of an impact with a large ship like this, unlike smaller vessels where you get to know the others onboard.

Don't get me wrong... We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves on this trip and would consider another voyage on her, perhaps when she comes to the USA in 2019. All that was promised was delivered, just not in a great way.

We currently have the Seaside booked for April 2018. I will admit I am currently debating whether to keep that reservation.

Meraviglia - Day 8 - Disembark Genoa

Suitcases were collected by 1 a.m. and disembarkation was a breeze.

Claimed our luggage easily and walked right outside to waiting cabs for the airport.

We left out friends at the Genoa airport, and I went and rented a car.

We headed back down to Cinque Terre for another adventure. ;p

The week just flew by... wish we had more time to enjoy the ship.

On the way back, we took a detour into Old Marseille... for nostalgia's sake.

On a past visit, we actually walked to the top of that hill, before we found out there was a tourist train to take you there.

Back to the ship...and onboard by 1630... with the help of Delphine, we made our day and had the best of times in this port

We had our dinner in Panorama (we do like first and last dinners in the MDR). It was Mediterranean Night.

As we had experienced all thru the cruise in Panorama... the service was crisp and pleasant... and the meal was not so bad.

A nice bottle of wine and good talk with our friends made it a pleasant final dinner.

Tonite, the horrible ritual act of suitcases in the hall, and...tomorrow...we return to Genoa.

After about an hour boat trip, we headed back to port

We still had some "safe" time before heading back to Marseille, so we ventured a drive up the mountain range east of Cassis, for a spectacular overlook of the region.

It is a breathtakingly beautiful region of France.

The formations of the cliffs were amazing...making one think of the eons needed to create these forms.

At the inner apex of some of the Calanques were little secluded beaches, reachable only by hiking the trails in the mountain area. The whole region is a National Park; our guide explained that it is possible to actually hike the full distance from Cassis to Marseille thru the hills

My special mission was a boat tour of the Calanques... the "fjords" of Southern France. Most are so out of the way that they can only be reached by hours of hiking... or a boat.

There are many small boats in the Cassis harbor that offer tours of varying length... We chose the shorter one, touring the closest three Calanaques.

A small boat..on very smooth waters... we slowly sailed out of the harbor

After a short rest in his garden...we headed back to the car for the ride South to the shore...and our visit to Cassis

A beautiful seaside village with dramatic cliffs surrounding it.

We found a table at a beachfront cafe and enjoyed a very local lunch

The artist's personal effects are all in place. It was very cool to see how the various windows were arranged for daylight at different times of the day

 

We strolled the streets and alleys of Aix..

Second floor of this building was the hat shoppe, owned by Cezanne's father

A fitting discovery...since our next stop was the Cezanne Studio

A cute little museum about 10 minutes out of town... with the Cezanne studio open for visiting.

She wouldn't sell me a single fig... insisted I buy a basket of them.

I smiled, made the "shush" sigh, took a fig and left a Euro coin in its place... she smiled...and was cool about it.

One plaza was dedicated to "starving artists"

Meraviglia - Day 7 - Marseille

Marseille... our last port of the cruise.

We had been to Marseille before... In past visits, we already have climbed the dreadful hill to the Catherdral, ate bouillabaisse in the Harbor and visited unfriendly cafes while being accosted by gypsy panhandlers... just like home in NYC.

This time, I planned an ambitious getaway... to Aix en Provence and Cassis.

Saturday is Market Day in Aix and we wanted to see that...as well as the Cezanne Studio.

Further...I wanted to visit Cassis and take a boat tour to the Calanques.

Quite a full day, but at first pass, it looked doable.

As I got into the nitty-gritty of planning, it became clear that this would be trouble.

First .. our port time is rather short...0900 - 1700

Next... it was Saturday... the car rental places near the port are all closed. ...yikes.

Closest rental was at the main train station.

Next.. we dock at the new port.. the ship's berth is over a MILE from the port entrance... then I would need a cab to the station.

Looking at this... and the logistics of remote car parks in the towns and the potential for traffic on the return to the port...

...this became clear, if we wanted to do all that we planned, it would not be a do-it-yourself day.

I contacted Transferts Service and booked a car and driver with Delphine. We discussed my itinerary and she agreed it was surely doable with her at the wheel.

Best plan ever... it worked out fantastically. No stress, we checked all the boxes with ease and had a marvelous day.

Picked up at the ship, we headed out to Aix-en-Provence for the Market Day.

Every main street had vendors...of all types... food, produce, clothes, home furnishings. We did quite a bit of shopping.

Cut-and-paste typo...and too late to edit...

Last panel post said: "Meraviglia - Day 5 - Sea Day" ..and should have said: "Meraviglia - Day 6 - Barcelona"

We topped off the night with another rave in the Promenade... the Flower Power Party

 

A busy day is planned for tomorrow...as we visit Marseilles and I have a great plan to get out of town...

Down to Deck 6 for dinner in Eataly Ristorante

This was a bitter disappointment... my only real complaint about this cruise.

Trust me...I know good food. This was not.

The menu was laughable... actually, it was insulting. We tried hard to make it a good meal...but it was impossible.

How about... tomato soup (more like tomato juice) with a whole soft boiled egg in it? If they are trying to be 'hip,' ...they missed the mark.

There are no pictures of my entree...since I sent it back after one bite... it was simply inedible.

I did find a way to eat a dessert...unimaginative as it was

We arrived anticipating a fine Italian meal...and were let down in so many ways.

(Not their fault...but) ...Even the servers were rookies that returned blank stares when asked about individual dishes on the menu.

Overall, a colossal fail.

Thank heavens for late night pizza in the buffet.

Freshen up and get ready for dinner...we planned a nice meal at Eataly Ristorante... the last of the three Specialties we would visit.

Before dinner, I had arranged a tour of the Yacht Club on the Meraviglia...

The One Pool...

Yacht Club Bar and Outdoor Buffet

The Yacht Club private restaurant... simply beautiful.

As the old saying goes: "...I know a great little place..."

Just a 2 block walk from Sagrida is a great little cafe we went to for a tapas lunch

Authentic local food and great owners...

Nice to sit and relax after the tour...

We made sure they kept the Jamon close to us for seconds and thirds....

After lunch... we caught a cab back to the ship. from where we were, that was the easiest way.

The life of Christ is depicted throughout...with amazing art depicting scenes from the New Testament.

...a clever magic square worked into the fascade

(... http://mysteriouswritings.com/the-sagrada-familia-magic-square-designed-by-josep-subirachs/ )

A visit to Barcelona is not complete unless you view this amazing place.

It is impossible to capture the scope and detail of Sagrida Familia in just a few pictures.

If you are unfamiliar with the history of this church, it is worth a Google.

You can spend an hour just going over the sculptures on a single fascia... the symbolism and the story telling is amazing.

We ... (well...me) wanted some insight... more than just walking around with a guidebook.

So, we booked a guided tour with English-speaking guide. This was done in advance directly on the church's website

Very reasonable price and well worth it. We showed up at the appointed place at the right time.,..was met by our guide and off we went.

As I said...you can spend hours just going from sculpture to sculpture... but the inside is astounding...