Middle Aged Drama Queen's Eastern Med Review: Serenade, Pics, Surprises & Fun!

[travelplus]

 

We last left our hungry travelers getting picked up in the square of Sorrento, a charming little village along the Amalfi Coast.

 

After picking us up in Piazza Tasso, Tony drives us a very short distance to a local restaurant, Il Leone Rosso (The Red Lion). This little restaurant is located just a bit off the square, at Via Marziale 25, up a little hill by the train station.

 

 

Following Tony into the restaurant...

 

 

Tony gets us settled, and we eagerly peruse the extensive menu. There are several pages of different pizzas, and we ultimately decide to each choose a different one, so that we can “mix and match.”

 

Look at how reasonably priced the pizzas are! And - they're translated in English, which helped tremendously while ordering....

 

 

 

We started with the local specialty, the Caprese salad, based on Tony’s recommendation. A Caprese salad (which means, “salad in the syle of Capri”), is a simple salad that began in this region of Italy, consisting of fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, seasoned with salt and olive oil.

 

Almost too pretty to eat...almost.

Our verdict? This was as good as it was pretty - definitely one of the best Caprese salads I've ever had. Tony was right to recommend this.

 

 

Our pizzas soon arrive – hot and fresh. Some of the highlights included:

 

An "eruption" of flavors and colors on the plate...this dish lived up to it's name....

This, the Vesuvius, was a delicious calzone-type pizza that Brainy Brad declared a hit.

 

 

 

 

 

The Parma pizza, that I ordered, was a delicious blend of cheese and Parma ham. I’m not a pizza person by any means, but this was extremely tasty.

 

 

 

And the winner is....

 

The Margherita pizza, so named as it was made for Queen Margherita of Italy back in 1889, is a beautiful pizza reflecting the colors of the Italian flag…with the red tomato, the white mozzarella, and the green basil. Taylor chose this, and the consensus among the family was that THIS pizza was the best. Another 10.0 of pizzas - for sure!

 

 

We annihilated our pizzas. There wasn’t a crumb left when we were done…and we sat there, in the bustling restaurant, filled with both tourists and locals, in a food coma. We had very happy tummies, and we were already thinking that there would be NO WAY we'd be hungry by dinnertime...but there was a surprise waiting for us....

 

 

This is such a great review. My Father and I took our first cruise ever on the Serenade from San Juan-Barcelona(although I had no time to experience Barcelona). This year I'm going with my Father from New Orleans-Rome on the Navigator.

 

BTW did you run into Sajo or Sanjo(from India)(Head waiter) and Celia(assistant waitress as well as worked in the Windjammer as a waitress as well) Captain Karin on the Serenade? Such a wonderful team.

[RockeyBullwinkle]

awesome review.. we are doing the same cruise Nov 3, 2013 if anyone is taking the same cruise head over to the roll call not my action there yet.

[knittinggirl]

So…here’s a tip for fellow travelers: save EVERY single e-mail that comes your way, whether it be from tour companies, attraction sights, etc. Set up a mail folder in your inbox – I had mine sorted by day/port – and electronically file EVERY single email. It didn’t take too long to sign onto the (very expensive, mind you - use your C&A coupon) ship’s internet service and pull up the email I had received from the Vatican, that had our ticket vouchers attached. The Business Services area onboard (Deck 6) has a nice printer where you can print documents – for free! Whew. Crisis averted.

Enjoying your review!

Didn't know about the business services area. Is this every ship, and every C&A level? I've always been charged 50-cents to $1 (don't remember exactly) per page for my boarding passes in the RCI online.

 

Also, use the saving emails method. We have each cruise/trip labeled. So, much easier!

 

The second blip occurred shortly after the Vatican ticket snafu…when I noticed our message light blinking on the stateroom phone. Uh oh. Messages received on the ship are usually never good – it’s not like your family’s going to call from the United States, paying $7.95 per minute, to say, “Hey – I’m bored. Call me.” Or, it’s not like Guest Services is calling to say, “Hey - we’re bored. Would love to chat with you just to shoot the breeze. Call us.” Nope. Usually there’s a reason for a call – and it’s usually not good. With dread and trepidation, I picked up the message…and my fears were well-grounded. It was a message from my dad, calling to let me know that my most-favorite-uncle was in the hospital back in Philadelphia, and things weren’t looking good. Dad said that he & Mom were on the road, driving from KC to Philly, and to call them later that night.

 

I hate those too. We had a similar call on our Bermuda cruise, and the Assisted Living left the message on our cell phone (we told them we were out of range on the ship), and we got it days later. I guess they didn't want to spend the $7.95 per minute.

Edited March 30, 2013 by knittinggirl

[StarSong2001]

Thank you! Actually, my daughter is the same way...it was the threat of death and/or severe punishment that forced her into the dresses. If she would wear dresses during port days for our tours, then I gave her free reign to wear her usual shorts/t-shirts when not in port. She grumbled, moaned and pitched a fit, but because I HAVE THE POWER (since I pay the cell phone bill that she owns), she capitulated. ;)

 

Just curious/nosy... why did you insist she wear a dress on tours?

[Cruisin Oma]

.

 

 

My impressions of Taller de Tapas? A GREAT place to host a get-together in Barcelona. The private room was spacious and accommodating; the service was great; the food was plentiful and tasty. Definitely an "A" experience. !

 

 

Couldn't agree more about Taller de Tapas. We did the same thing before our Cruise in 2007. Non Cruise Critic friends who were travelling with us are still amazed that we show up at a City half way around the world, and here we are at a party for 30-40 people! Taller de Tapas made it easy!!! Thanks for the great memories.

 

I have to share, we have another definition for Klingons. It's related to my four legged babies. I had to chuckle when I saw you call your kids Klingons.

 

Thanks for such an entertaining review.

[dolfans0704]

Hi Sherri

I must applaud you for such a stellar review! What effort you placed in getting every detail to point and I must say that you truly have a great gift for writing. Your words inspired me to book your same cruise/itinerary in June/2014 on the Serenade. It must have have been meant to be because right when I finished reading the ending of your review, I picked up the phone, called RCI and snagged the infamous aft cabin 9256! I can't say it is the Royal Suite but it may as well be since we have been trying to get this cabin for years! We are so excited and grateful to you for sharing your very special journey. :)

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

[Cruisin Oma]

Well, shoot...the Agora had so many neat things, that I can't just stop with what few paltry photos I posted...I feel COMPELLED to post just a few more photos. I really, really want to convey how cool this place was...not only historical, but also...pretty.

 

 

Not sure what this is...but it's pretty...note the Acropolis in the background....

 

 

The statue of Emperor Hadrian...looking at his breastplate, you'll see Athena standing over the She-Wolf, who's feeding Romulus and Remus...it signified that Rome supported Greece, but Geek culture dominated Rome....

 

 

I guess what I wanted to convey was that the Agora is beautiful...what with the ancient ruins mixed in with the green shrubbery and flowering plants...it was peaceful and serene, as well, as we were THE ONLY BARBARIANS on site. Yeah. Soak that in for a minute. We were the ONLY ONES there. No crowds. No armies. No swarms to fight your way through....it was bliss.

 

Just a note - Rick Steve's has a great tour available for this as well.

[swwake]

Sherri, I wanted to come back and thank you again for this review. We will be doing a sailing flotilla in Greece this summer, with a night in Athens each before and after. I knew exactly where to come to get the scoop on the must-sees and must-dos in Athens. Fortunately, our hotels are both in the Plaka, and we will get to see much of what you saw. Unfortunately, both of our "free days" are Mondays, and the Acropolis museum is closed on Monday :(

 

Just a note - Rick Steve's has a great tour available for this as well.

Ahhhh great tip! I need to make sure I download that one! Thanks!

[Poorplaya]

WOW, amazing review, fantastic pictures and some really great humor too. thank you so much for putting all this time and effort into allowing us to view your vacation, cannot wait to read another one of your cruise reviews, i'll certainly be keeping my eyes out for it.

[KansCocoa]

Just curious/nosy... why did you insist she wear a dress on tours?

 

Good question! My daughter likes to wear...short...shorts...as in "Daisy Duke" shorts....I felt that this would have her stand out as a "tourist" - something I didn't want. I told her that to respect the cultures that we'd be visiting and learning about, it would be respectful to "dress" up a bit...as we'd never know when we'd be popping into a church or a nice museum. We got her some cute little dresses and she looked chic...(of course, I'm a biased mom!).

 

 

Couldn't agree more about Taller de Tapas. We did the same thing before our Cruise in 2007. Non Cruise Critic friends who were travelling with us are still amazed that we show up at a City half way around the world, and here we are at a party for 30-40 people! Taller de Tapas made it easy!!! Thanks for the great memories.

 

I have to share, we have another definition for Klingons. It's related to my four legged babies. I had to chuckle when I saw you call your kids Klingons.

 

Thanks for such an entertaining review.

 

I had to chuckle when I saw your CC name - "Oma" is what I called my grandmother! Thanks for sharing the story of your own Klingons...furry or not, we love them, right?!

[KansCocoa]

Hi Sherri

I must applaud you for such a stellar review! What effort you placed in getting every detail to point and I must say that you truly have a great gift for writing. Your words inspired me to book your same cruise/itinerary in June/2014 on the Serenade. It must have have been meant to be because right when I finished reading the ending of your review, I picked up the phone, called RCI and snagged the infamous aft cabin 9256! I can't say it is the Royal Suite but it may as well be since we have been trying to get this cabin for years! We are so excited and grateful to you for sharing your very special journey. :)

 

 

That is AWESOME!!! Hey - you snagged the cabin of your dreams, and with the amazing itinerary you're going to be sailing, it will be truly the trip of a lifetime! Please come back and share how it goes...and let me know if you have any questions!

 

Dolfans from Miami

 

Sherri, I wanted to come back and thank you again for this review. We will be doing a sailing flotilla in Greece this summer, with a night in Athens each before and after. I knew exactly where to come to get the scoop on the must-sees and must-dos in Athens. Fortunately, our hotels are both in the Plaka, and we will get to see much of what you saw. Unfortunately, both of our "free days" are Mondays, and the Acropolis museum is closed on Monday :(

 

Ahhhh great tip! I need to make sure I download that one! Thanks!

 

You're welcome! We enjoyed Athens...the little restaurant for lunch in the Plaka was delicious! I SO wish you could somehow, some way get to the Acropolis museum - it was really cool...but it helped tremendously to have our guide, as I wouldn't have understood half of it! Enjoy your sailing flotilla -I've never heard of one, but it sounds fun and intriguing!

[KansCocoa]

WOW, amazing review, fantastic pictures and some really great humor too. thank you so much for putting all this time and effort into allowing us to view your vacation, cannot wait to read another one of your cruise reviews, i'll certainly be keeping my eyes out for it.

 

Thank you! :)

 

I have two other reviews...both linked in my signature below...and a new review to be coming in the next month, as I sail next week on a chartered "Top Chef" cruise...which should be interesting, to say the least! ;)

[Cruisin Oma]

Good question! My daughter likes to wear...short...shorts...as in "Daisy Duke" shorts....I felt that this would have her stand out as a "tourist" - something I didn't want. I told her that to respect the cultures that we'd be visiting and learning about, it would be respectful to "dress" up a bit...as we'd never know when we'd be popping into a church or a nice museum. We got her some cute little dresses and she looked chic...(of course, I'm a biased mom!).

 

 

 

 

I had to chuckle when I saw your CC name - "Oma" is what I called my grandmother! Thanks for sharing the story of your own Klingons...furry or not, we love them, right?!

 

Oma-that's me!!! It's German for grandmother, so when my first grand baby was born, I changed my CC name and avatar to celebrate the event (I actually changed my cc name because my old one included enough of a hint where I live in Surprise, AZ that if a troll where on these boards, they could figure out where I lived and when I was gone on vacation - yikes!). Figured it was time to change, and she was just born, so I celebrated her birth and my new status in one. (That was 4.5 years ago!)

[Jsim2011]

Hi Sherri,

 

I have barely been able to drag myself away from computer for the past two days since I came across your review of FOS Eastern Caribbean.

 

I read all of that review and then just had to read this one.

 

Thank you for sharing your adventures, exploits and experiences in one of the most entertaining reviews I have read.

 

I would love to be on the same cruise as you one of these days!

[Balcony beauty]

I enjoyed your review. Thank you !!! We are leaving in three weeks!

[Big Chik]

 

Some of the group opts to skip the ruins of the Agora, while others (including us) decide to go with Athanasia for the visit to the Agora. ...

 

We spent quite a bit of time here, not only learning a lot about this particular Temple, but exploring the numerous other ruins over the site. I’m glad we chose to spend that extra time here, as I felt it was well worth a visit.

 

Really enjoying this review which I found after reading your FOS one (we are on IOS in May (2013) and thought the FOS experience might be similar, even though you were in the Caribbean and we will be in Norway!). Really enjoying the review although we have already done most of the ports.

 

The point of this reply is to corroborate the comments about the Agora. It tends to get overlooked by the tours but we thought it was great. And if you are doing Athens independently as we did (a very easy and cheap train ride from Pireus) the Agora is included on the Acropolis ticket.

 

We especially liked the display of statuary in the long verandah-like museum building.

 

BTW we used the Rough Guide to Athens book as our guide to all things on Athens (we've been twice).

 

Looking forward to the next instalments.

 

PS. As a fellow engineer I totally understand your Hubby's fascinations... But it drives my DW mad as I stop to study the workings of some 2000 year old door hinge! :D

[dolfans0704]

Hi again Sherri

Once again, thanks for doing this review. It has been so helpful in the planning of my Med cruise. If you don't mind, I would like to ask you a few questions. I know you weren't crazy about the tour company you used in Santorini and would like to know if you had any other tour companies that you corresponded with during your research. Or do you think this port is one that can be easily done on your own? Also, I read that some cruise lines will let those passengers on ship tours disembark first in this port. Do you know if this was the case on the Serenade? Greatly appreciate your assistance and loved the review! :)

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

[deladane]

One other tip: If you have kids, and are planning on taking them to the Vatican museums - perhaps specifically to the Sistine Chapel - I highly recommend an old movie, "The Agony and the Ecstasy" - a 1965 movie starring Rex Harrison and Charlton Heston, which does a great job in recreating the story behind the ceiling. My kids loved this movie; they insisted on watching it several times before we left on our trip.

 

Thanks for your wonderful review! After reading the review of your solo cruise on the Allure (which I loved, BTW!), so saw the link in your signature to this review and couldn't resist, since I'll be taking a Mediterranean cruise this September :) I also have several tours booked with Rome in Limo, so thank you for posting your detailed review and photos from those days! I just did a quick search on Netflix, and I am excited to say that they have "The Agony and the Ecstasy" available for instant streaming! I will definitely plan to watch it sometime before my cruise :) Thanks for the suggestion!

[cruiserdudebobby8]

Great pics, Sounds like you had a great time!

[yolovacations]

ENTERTAINMENT AND ACTIVITIES

Our Cruise Director was Ricky Matthews. I tried to like him. I really did. But…I thought he was the worst CD we’ve ever had. BUT – other people liked him, so don’t be discouraged if you’re reading this and you think your cruise will be ruined now because I didn’t like the CD. I just thought his humor (what little of it there was) was negatively geared towards the passengers…and your passengers are your paying customers. In other words, if I’m hosting a party – I’m not going to make fun of my guests. I hope that makes sense. I also thought the activities offered were few and far between.

 

 

We had Ricky Matthews as our CD in 2011 on the Serenade - didn't notice anything good or bad about him as we were on our first cruise. Interestingly, there was an article about him in the Washington Post Magazine while you were on this cruise! http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-06-29/lifestyle/35459484_1_cruise-ship-seas-cruise-director/2 I wonder if he's still on the SOS?

 

Thanks so much for the great review! My DH and I are taking our 16 yr. old daughter (she's been told no bootie shorts in Europe!) and 14 yr. old son (your sons remind me of him!) on the same cruise this July 2013. We're really looking forward to it!

 

Diane

[battchief1]

Thanks for the review, great

[Mamacane71]

Sherri! I would like to have you as a friend. As we are within 1 1/2 hours of each other when you are in Fort Myers...Well maybe that can be arranged! :) Thanks so much for the wonderful tour of Europe. A dream of ours...Maybe someday.

 

So my curiosity is aroused...How did someone from the Midwest end up having a vacation home on the BEAUTIFUL West Coast of Florida? As I was born and raised right here ( Manatee County, just south of Tampa/St Pete) I am a little partial!

[AngelFAM]

Hi Sherri,

First I would like to thank you profusely for the awesome review. This is our first cruise and your information is invaluable.

I was just wondering if Rome In Limo had any issues with you scheduling the Vatican visit for 9:30 am? Their website recommends 2:00 pm. I agree with you that earlier time might be better because of the heat....

Any information you could provide on your tour timing logistics and the tour company would be gratefully accepted.

Thank you!

[cruiserdudebobby8]

love your review!

[KansCocoa]

Sherri! I would like to have you as a friend. As we are within 1 1/2 hours of each other when you are in Fort Myers...Well maybe that can be arranged! :) Thanks so much for the wonderful tour of Europe. A dream of ours...Maybe someday.

 

So my curiosity is aroused...How did someone from the Midwest end up having a vacation home on the BEAUTIFUL West Coast of Florida? As I was born and raised right here ( Manatee County, just south of Tampa/St Pete) I am a little partial!

 

Hey - I NEED friends in Fort Myers! I found that out while recuperating from my recent surgery - I had NO friends! I was pretty isolated, for sure - gah! We actually discovered beautiful Fort Myers when my Hubby's boss bought a house on the beach - and he kept telling Hubby that we had to come down and see for ourselves how nice it was. So, in May 2010, we went down - and the rest is history. By the end of that week, we'd purchased our own little piece of paradise!

 

Hi Sherri,

First I would like to thank you profusely for the awesome review. This is our first cruise and your information is invaluable.

 

I was just wondering if Rome In Limo had any issues with you scheduling the Vatican visit for 9:30 am? Their website recommends 2:00 pm. I agree with you that earlier time might be better because of the heat....

 

Any information you could provide on your tour timing logistics and the tour company would be gratefully accepted.

Thank you!

 

After I booked the tour, Janey from Rome in Limo (as well as Duman) was in constant communication with the logistics of timing, etc. Although their website suggested 2:00 pm, it was in an email from Janey that said to change that to 9:30 am. So - don't book the Vatican, Tower of Pisa, Accademia, etc - until AFTER you've booked with Rome In Limo. Then - and only then - go back and book your tickets after you've firmed up the times with them. RIL provided excellent service...and don't be shy about communicating what it is YOU want to do. They customize the tours for you - to meet YOUR needs. If you want to visit the Vatican in the morning - due to heat issues - mention that in your email to them, so they are aware.

 

Good luck! And tell Duman/Janey that I said hello! :)