Solstice Live/First-Timer Reports/Pix’s: Italy/Croatian June 7-19

[jpalbny]

Terry

 

Thanks for answering, and a bigger thank you for your "live" blog

 

I had read that the ferry terminal was close, and took your advice and did a search and found this

 

Sorrento & Capri on your own

 

which indicates it's not too far from the Cruise Terminal

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise

 

Cheers

 

Mike

 

We have done the Naples-Capri ferry on our own on two separate occasions from cruise stops. Both times the ferry dock was a 5 minute walk from the ship (and it's visible from the ship before you disembark). It was no problem at all.

 

Terry - great pictures (at least the ones I could see)! Have to get home on a faster internet connection so that the others will download. Looks so familiar, I want to go back.

[merprincess]

Your photos are wonderful andf help me to relive our recent cruise. I look forward to the rest of your pics and info.

Mary

[trumpet56]

:cool:

An excellent insight into your cruise ,and something to look forward to

first July........ when we sail.

Many Thanks

Happy Days

 

Trumpet

:cool:

[hillsprint]

Terry

 

Another question !!

 

Have you noticed any shore trips being offered on-board that weren't on the Celebrity website before you sailed?

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[miXterOB]

Thanks so much Terry!

This is one totally perfect thread on every level.

Celebrity and Italian Tourism Board need to compensate you for the wonderful sales job you are doing...I'm ready to book now and I've never wanted to visit the Med until your thread.

 

Can't wait to see more.

 

As for the lukewarm breakfast...try Blu

Ours were perfect in December but yes, those room service eggs were pitifully cold.

[cruising to paradise]

We are so looking forward to our first cruise to the mediterrenean and our first time on the Solstice in Sept. Your pictures are wonderful and I can't wait to see the rest of your cruise. thanks for all of your information and pictures. Nancy

[CruiserTK]

Your commentary and photos are superb. I so look forward to your next instalment.

[Keith1010]

Hi Terry, I am glad that you got to see Herculaneum.

 

Keep up the great posts with the wonderful narrative and the amazing pictures.

 

May you get a hot breakfast sooner rather than later.

 

Keith

Edited June 14, 2011 by Keith1010

[birthdaygal]

Pictures are stunning and since we have been there before it is like reliving and going again in September so cannot wait.....We are booked with romeinlimo too on one tour so glad you are reporting great things...Is the Glass show still back by the lawn? Won a beautiful piece to bring home last time.

Thanks so much and hoping you get those hot eggs soon.....

[Sherrie74]

OMG ... we are looking at Sept 29th and now after looking at these pictures and comments need to get down to business and book soon.

 

Thanks so much for doing this live and keeping us informed. Curious if you are doing this in the iLounge ... I had so many problems there wont do it again.

[amusea]

Great photos. Any chance you can remember the name of the tapas restaurant in Barcelona. It looks great. Also wondering if it only offers late dining like many places. Thanks.

[TLCOhio]

elena7seas: Wonderful' date=' wonderful pictures and terrific commentary. I feel as if I am sailing along with you. If you see Hylasgirl (Stephanie) and her mom, please say "hi" from Eileen in Vancouver. Can you give me any more details about the "candlelight picnic on the lawn". That sounds so lovely. We will be on the Solstice on July 13th and I can hardly wait![/quote']

 

Espirit: Enjoying all of your comments and photos! glad you are having such a wonderful time! Have you had a chance to take a glance at the excursion page and let us know if the ship tour of Herculaneum is only offered at 1:30 pm' date=' or is there a morning tour?

[/quote']

 

torybruno: TLC~After your first formal night' date=' please report what type of dress you are seeing. One of my sons is planning on bringing a tux, I'm hoping he will see others on board next week. Ladies in short cocktail dresses?? Also wondering what my 16 year old can get away with on the casual nights in the MDR. If you see any young folk, I would appreciate any help! He does have a new suit for formal nights. Thanks so much! [/quote']

 

Appreciate the nice comments by Mary, Chris, J.P., U2Cruiser, Karyn, Sue, Eileen, etc. Will say “HI!” to Stephanie, if I see her. Larger ship are wonderful in offering so many options, but, unless by chance and luck, you do not see others you have met earlier as much as you might expect. Things are busy, lots of things to see and do, people going in many different directions! Will answer some of the later questions in the next couple of days.

 

This morning is time for getting ready to arrive in Venice. The scenic sail-in will be through the main, historic area of Venice, past San March Square, the Tower, etc., and it will happen around 1 pm. We are schedule to dock about 2 pm. Then we are overnight here until we sail away at 2 pm Wednesday, June 15. It’s so nice having that evening and early morning time here in Venice when the tour groups are not over-running this great city.

 

QUESTIONS: On formal nights, people do look nice. My rough guess is that about 35-40% of the men had a tux or formal jacket. Most of the others had dark suits. A few, to my disappointment, had on sport coats or light-colored suits that were not as classy. A few didn’t have ties. The choices by the ladies were very wide-ranging. Short, long, medium, etc. You saw it ALL!!! Might not get a chance to check on the Herculaneum ship tour timings until the final two ship days. Things have been busy, busy!!

 

For those interested in Venice, I had done an earlier summary on this great city from early CC board postings. You can check these many pictures and notes at this location. Venice is one of THE key stop and you might look at this earlier posting for the many options and visual potentials shown for this city that is so great for "walking around".

See: Venice: Loving It & Why??!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226&highlight=venice

 

Here are some added notes on this charming place:

VENICE (pop. 299,000), best options/priorities of St. Mark’s Basilica (Sun. 2-5:30, M-S 9:45-5:30) be sure to take stairs/steps and go up to the higher second level for both great inside and outside views for this wonderful 1000-year old church; Doge’s Palace (9-6 daily), see the jail area, great outdoor pictures from the balcony off of the grand ballroom-reception area on the second level; do sunrise walks, enjoy the “battling bands” at night on San Marco Square; the two-mile, s-shaped Grand Canal boat ride on public vaporetto (motorboat) what is called the “most romantic waterway in the world” to be surrounded by great Gothic and Renaissance buildings; Rialto Bridge and its area is wonderful; Gallerie dell’Accademia (9-10, Sun 9-6) has many great items by Leonardo da Vinci and others; wonderful shopping options, including silk and glass; just walking around Venice is the total joy, no cars, truck or motor scooters, just lots of interesting people in a great, historic settings! You’ll walk where Marco Polo walked after being in China! It's hard to get lost in Venice. The signs will always point you back to San Marco Square or the Rialto Bridge.

 

Venice is about water . . . of the river, sea and lagoon. Each one of its settlements during the centuries have had to deal with these natural elements. We learned from one of the speakers yesterday that they settled here to escape the invading Huns, etc. Venice is unique for many reasons, including its construction, requiring intelligence and great architectural ability. Venice has: 411 bridges, 118 small islands, 150 channels, forming the basis of this town miracle. Its artistic, historical and cultural treasures are due to an incredible, intricate and harmonious communication system based on water and on stones. Walk across the canal on the wooden Accademia Bridge or on the shop-laden Rialto Bridge.

 

We had super great weather in Kotor yesterday. A little rain as we were sailing out, but otherwise it was totally perfect and wonderful. Mid 70’s, nice breeze, lots of sun. We did the Montenegro Highlights with Cuisine tour through the ship, KV33, 7 hours, $76.75. It was a busy, full day. We departed from Kotor, after a short tender ride to the dock, on a scenic drive (approximately 70 minutes) towards the mountain village of Njegusi. We had a spectacular panoramic view of the Bay of Kotor, rated by many as the pearl of the Adriatic. There was a short coffee-drink-bathroom break in a local restaurant with handy local crafts before driving through the Montenegrin karsts formations of the Lovcen Mountain en route to the Old Royal Capital of Cetinje. This was once the smallest capital in Europe and one-time center of Montenegrin rule.* Those rulers had many interesting connections to the Russian Czars. It is now a museum town and we visited the museum of the King Nikola Palace that had many interesting items. These it was to a lunch with national foods (very good!!) at a location just outside of the town. We had another great photo stop route to Budva, with spectacular views of the Adriatic Sea. Budva is the oldest settlement on the coast, 2500 years old. The old town is surrounded by ramparts from the XV century including a medieval fortification system with city gates, defense walls and towers. Inside the walls, the town is a combination of narrow streets and squares with interesting churches, etc. Today, Budva and nearby are booming and growing tourism destinations with theatre, festivals and celebrations options. We then headed back to Kotor for a walk-through of the UNESCO protected Old town of Kotor before returning to the ship. Free time and shopping potentials were limited. That’s fine in my book. I took about 400 plus pictures and you will see later how wonderful were the great views. The drive to the village of Njegusi is along a road with twenty-five hairpin turns.* Glad I wan’t doing the driving here. During this day, the Music Director for the ship was along. It was interesting talking with him during our day. He’s been with Celebrity for seventeen years, leads the orchestra, plays the piano and supervises 38 musicians on the ship. The music is great on the ship and we found out that the trombone plays with the orchestra played with Doc and the Johnny Carson band for some of the Tonight Show years.

 

More pictures . . . soon!! Lots of great ones ready to be uploaded.

 

THANKS for tuning in! Now at 3,287 views. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Esprit]

Hi Terry

 

Looking forward to reading your thoughts and seeing your pictures of Venice. If you haven't planned to do it already you must go to the top of St Mark's tower (6 euros for the lift). The view of Venice is spectacular.

 

Peter

PS Valentina has been been doing gangway duties and is always standing at the entrance to the theatre for the evening shows with the CD. So you may see her there.

[Mercury]

Hi Terry

 

I LOVE your post! Thank-you for your amazing photos and commentary. We are on the Silhoutte next July doing many of the same ports and I am super excited after seeing your posts!

 

Thanks again :)

[Loreto1028]

Wow, what fantastic photos. We are on the Solstice Sept 5th and can't wait. So glad the formal nights are actually formal, nothing better than men in tuxes! Can't wait for your Venice photos! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this, we are really enjoying following you. Have a greet day in Venice!

[richsea]

Thanks for the report & the great photos!! Keep them coming!

Just one question; what kind of camera/lens are you using?

[WAGER4me]

yes - fantastic thread. We are booked on the September 29 cruise and your photos and dialogue are just great. Can hardly wait!

[startrek77]

Terry,

 

You are AMAZING!:)

[Bozo Bear]

Excellent photos and information! many thanks - will follow your cruise with interest. W

[Jobeth66]

We also had Carmine as our guide in Naples, and he was /fantastic/!! I would highly recommend that anyone booking a trip with RomeInLimo in Naples request Carmine (and in Florence/Tuscan, Gian). Carmine absolutely made our day - it was clear he loves his city and his region, and he wants to show you the best of everything.

 

 

 

And the lemons are ridiculous!

[Shayna20]

We are going on the same cruise Sept. 5th. We love reading al your blog and enjoy the photos. Makes us feel like we just can hardly wait!! Please tell us some more about the Solstice. How is the entertainment, if you've had the energy to stay up and see it? I hope you've had a warm breakfast by now. I've read that Bistro on Five has wonderful breakfast crepes etc. How is your cabin? We've heard the ship is gorgeous. Hope you are having a fabulous time. By the way, your photos of Venice were stunning! Thank you for taking time to do this...but don't spend your time on the computer, go enjoy!!!!

[cruise kitty]

Terry,

 

I (like many others) am enjoying your posts so much! This is helping with our planning of our upcoming trip...allthough after seeing your pics, I'm agonizing over our decision of Capri over Amalfi coast:) it's not to late for me to revise, so I may have questions for you when you return.

 

Thank you for your generosity with your time, photos & internet minutes!

[TLCOhio]

Espirit: Looking forward to reading your thoughts and seeing your pictures of Venice. If you haven't planned to do it already you must go to the top of St Mark's tower (6 euros for the lift). The view of Venice is spectacular.

 

richsea: Thanks for the report & the great photos!! Keep them coming! Just one question; what kind of camera/lens are you using?

 

Jobeth66: We also had Carmine as our guide in Naples' date=' and he was fantastic!! I would highly recommend that anyone booking a trip with RomeInLimo in Naples request Carmine (and in Florence/Tuscan, Gian). Carmine absolutely made our day - it was clear he loves his city and his region, and he wants to show you the best of everything.[/quote']

 

Shayna20: We are going on the same cruise Sept. 5th. We love reading al your blog and enjoy the photos. Makes us feel like we just can hardly wait!! Please tell us some more about the Solstice. How is the entertainment' date=' if you've had the energy to stay up and see it? I hope you've had a warm breakfast by now. I've read that Bistro on Five has wonderful breakfast crepes etc. How is your cabin? We've heard the ship is gorgeous. Hope you are having a fabulous time. By the way, your photos of Venice were stunning! Thank you for taking time to do this...but don't spend your time on the computer, go enjoy!!!! [/quote']

 

cruise kitty: This is helping with our planning of our upcoming trip...allthough after seeing your pics' date=' I'm agonizing over our decision of Capri over Amalfi coast. It's not to late for me to revise, so I may have questions for you when you return. Thank you for your generosity with your time, photos & internet minutes![/quote']

 

Just did our 2 pm, Wednesday, June 15, sail-out from super historic and scenic Venice. We had perfect weather here. Mid to higher 70’s, great sun and nice breezes. Yesterday’s 2 pm sail-in was so wonderful. Great pictures from those higher angles, seeing so many interesting buildings, towers, canal bridges, small boats, etc. WOW!!! Also have loved Venice, but now I know and have enjoyed it even more.

 

The afternoon, evening and morning cruise timing was a wonderful combination and way to see this city that is the trip highlight for many in doing this cruise. Now it is on to Dubrovnik, one of our expected highlights and reasons for picking this specific cruise.

 

Below are two groups of pictures from the Kotor area. I tried to upload 24 different pictures, but the ship’s IT system is still marginal and I only have eleven now to post.

 

To answer some of the above questions, here are some reactions, comments:

 

1. Yes, I did take the elevator up for the roughly 300’ high tower in the center of San Marco Square. The cost, today, however, was eight euro. Things are rising in the price department. Nice views from way up there.

 

2. My camera is a new Nikon D3100. It does high definition, 1080p video, plus its still pictures are done at a much pixel level and the viewing screen is much larger and sharper. Plus, this camera has many other improvements, etc., over my previously Nikon D50. Below you can check some of my tips, secrets and suggestions for getting better pictures. It's titled: Baltics/Picture Secrets! Key Tips, Ideas, etc. Check this summary out and let me know your feed-back, questions and comments.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=977864

Lots of people have cameras at and near that quality or comparable. These days, the digital technology has improved so, so much that nearly everyone can take good to great pictures. Since I have an "SLR" or single lens reflex camera, that bring up the question of lens. SLR's allow more that you can with your pictures and the quality. Maybe needed. Maybe not. I have a 10-20 mm lens that gives a wider angle view than average. That really helped create some picture "drama" without being too wide and distorted as can happen with a fish-eye lens. This wide-angle lens does especially well for the interiors of great churches and historic buildings. There are cases where my longer lens (have a Nikkor 55-300 mm zoom) can really help. In many cases, my basic Nikkor 18-55 mm zoom covers the middle range very well and is used the most. It's nice to have only one lens that covers all needs, but then you lose some in the desired picture quality. On recent trips, I download my pictures most days to the MacBook Pro laptop that I bring along for such trip. Today's technology makes it easier to straighten pictures, adjust the cropping, improve the exposure, fix color balance, etc. By taking the laptop along, downloading and checking the pictures as I travel, it helps to know what I'm getting and improve my "focus" as I travel in such great, scenic places. Playing with the pictures on the flight back while I listen to the "tunes" on my computer also helps pass the time quicker. Many laptops also have great programs to put these pictures into nice “slide shows” with various great visuals tools to add titles, do dissolves, etc. I found taking cruise and travel pictures is fun, plus much, much cheaper than shopping for souvenirs. It also keeps these memories "fresh" as you can re-live your experiences, share them with friends, post on the web, etc. Sorry for the long answer to your question.

 

3. Glad you also had a wonderful “love affair” with Carmine from RomeInLimo. As I noted earlier, we found him to be so charming, fun and interesting. Plus, he generally kept the “bad weather demons” away and brought great sunshine for Positano.

 

4. We like the Solstice lots and the entertainment, speakers, programs have been nice. YES, we’ve had the energy to stay up and sample those options. YES, had a warm brunch yesterday in the main dining room where they had the whole central area set-up with lots and lots of breakfast and lunch items, about ten different ice sculptures, etc. Great and interesting, plus a very nice and warm omelet, custom-prepared.

 

5. For Kitty, Capri versus the Amalfi Coast is a tough challenge. We’ve done both and love each area. The major plus with the Amalfi Coast is you can better tie-in another option, such as Pompeii, with that trip. Capri takes time getting there and it might be only a one-stop place for the day, plus all of your logistics.

 

THANKS to all who have been watching and following along! We are now approaching 4,500 views. Lots of great pictures from the ship and Venice to be posted. BUT, won’t get it all done today. Sorry. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

For Kotor, I got up at 5 am for the sail-in through their wonderfully scenic fjords, etc. Below is one picture from the front of the ship on that early path through these narrow areas to reach Kotor as the sun is rising. We tendered at 7 am in their harbor. It was a short, easy tender to arrive on land for our bus tour.:

 

 

 

Here’s our bus driver going to up, back and forth, through twenty-five serpentine twists and turns to rise up the 4000’ high mountain above Kotor. :

 

 

 

Here is one view in the Old Royal Capital of Cetinje with its various buildings connected to when it was the smallest capital of a Europe nation.:

 

 

 

We toured the various rooms in the old residence for the King of Montenegro and there were many interesting items, including connections with the Russian Czars.:

 

 

 

We then when to Budva, a 2,500 year-old-fortress that is now in the heart of a resort area. This is the overview of walled coastal town and how it projects out into the sea. Lots of fancy private ships docked here in their harbor. :

 

 

 

This is one of the stone towers in Budva built when Venice controlled this area with their seal showing on this part of the fortress.:

 

Edited June 15, 2011 by TLCOhio

[TLCOhio]

Here is more from our trip high above Kotor, seeing Budva and then back to see inside Kotor’s walled historic areas.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

In Budva, here are some of the church design details and art. :

 

 

 

This shows Kotor’s wall fortifications and the mountain areas above the town.:

 

 

 

This is the walled gate as we entered Kotor to see in various historic buildings, many churches and shops. YES, they have lots of shops, whether needed or not!!:

 

 

 

In Kotor, this is a stone balcony for an older building with the flowers hanging over.:

 

 

 

From high above Kotor, this is the view of the fjord bay with the Solstice in prime position to soak up the spectacular sun on our visiting day there.:

 

Edited June 15, 2011 by TLCOhio

[mari10]

Terry,

Thank you for the great photos and commentary.

We're on the same itinerary as yours in September.

Even though I have previously visited these ports, seeing them now makes me want to leave tomorrow!

Hope you are enjoying Solstice and the Celebrity experience.

 

Mari:)