Carnival Breeze - 8/14/12 Trip Report with Photos!

[whendoweleave?]

Love a good picture review, especially of newer ships! Thanks for taking the time!

[chuds]

Loving this review and pictures. We are on the Breeze on 19 sept and are alson in an ocean suite. Which stateroom whet you in ? It possible to have breakfast on the balcony and did the walk in wardrobe have a vanity table ?

[vivavegas]

Really enjoying your review and photos too! Looking forward to reading more!:)

[sailawaybellaluna]

Looking forward to reading more! We are leaving for Barcelona in 2 weeks, and board the 19th of September! Can't wait!

[crewsweeper]

Nice start! No need to apologize for the tips and extra information. Can always be helpful to someone. Glad the Emirates panic wasn't serious! In the queue for the rest.

[joytravels]

Waiting along with the others for the "Next Chapter". Going on the Breeze on October 1, so reading every word and gleaning lots of great help and excitement!!

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this...wanted you to know I am joining the Appreciation Line!

 

Joyce

joytravels

[Alan M]

Day One – Embarkation (contd.)

 

Thanks to everyone for the kind remarks. Wish I could go faster with this but work gets in the way.

Now that were happily ensconced on board there was plenty of time to take a look around the ship and familiarise ourselves with what was going on before attending the Safety Briefing. Our only other cruise ship experience was on the Imagination so straight away the differences in size and interior décor style were apparent. The Breeze is aptly-named as we found the interior style to be bright and refreshing compared to the Imagination. Here’s one more shot of the room plus a couple of the ship’s interior close by.

 

OS 7259 (Starboard side)

Deck 7 Elevators

Stairwell between 6 & 7

We had a quick look round the Promenade deck and found the Theatre, Casino, Lanai, Coffee Bar, Sushi Bar, Piano Bar, Nightclub and Red Frog Pub. All appeared to be closed (they were certainly deserted). There was a DJ playing music in the Lobby but he didn’t have much of an audience so we headed for the Lido Deck expecting that to be where the action was.

Tip

:

There are many sources of information on the ship and at some point everyone is going to need to use them. The trouble is good information tends to be mixed in with sales pitches for various events and services and this puts a lot of people off. Try to filter out the sales talk and get the most out of the Fun Times daily newsletter delivered to your room each night, the Cruise Director’s channel on TV, the CD’s audio channel, the morning show on TV and on the mega-screen at the lido as well as the tannoy announcements.

 

Lobby DJ

 

 

Atrium Interior

We were prepared for crowds and long lines because many of the reviews we had read complained of just that. Wrong! Plenty of people around but no lines at any of the bars or outlets. I heard that the ship was pretty much full but could not get this confirmed or denied. What I do know is that throughout the cruise and with very few exceptions we never had to queue for anything for more than a couple of minutes. Maybe we were just lucky but for me score another one for Carnival there, no lines to speak of on the Breeze.

 

The mandatory Safety Briefing was scheduled for 4:30pm so we duly rocked up at 4:25 and found a quarter-full theatre. Despite being told all afternoon that the SB was mandatory and would take place at 4:30 some people thought that the rules did not apply to them and they had to be herded into their various briefing locations. Even threats like “the ship will not leave until we do this” failed to get everyone ready for the briefing until 5:10pm. I think Carnival should impress on people when they check-in the importance of the SB, preferably in their own language. I got the sense that many of the non-English speaking guests did not understand what the briefing was for and why they had to attend on time. Part of the SB was conducted in Russian. John Heald’s blog had been posting demographics for the last few sailings but nothing for ours as JH was away on medical leave and our replacement CD, Butch Begovich (very good by the way) was not posting to the blog. If I had to guess I would say that on this trip it was roughly 50% British/Australian, 25% North American, 10% Russian and 15% the rest. Could be way off but I was surprised at the number if English accents I heard.

 

Once we had seen the lifejacket demo, heard the sirens and figured out where our muster stations were, the ship sailed at roughly about 6pm. We missed the sailaway party because we did not get our luggage until after we got back from the SB. My dearest wife imposes a military regime on packing and unpacking when we travel and we spent half an hour hanging stuff in wardrobes, putting stuff in drawers and generally making the place tidy and liveable. You know it makes sense but its still not fun.

 

A nice long shower next, hot and plenty of pressure. The hairdryer supplied in the room was adequate to the task, not salon-grade by any means but good enough. The Robes supplied were pretty big, too big for my DW who got a bit lost in hers to begin with. They were good quality, warm and comfortable. A change of clothes next then off to the Casino Bar for a cocktail and on to the Blush Main Dining Room for dinner.

Tip

:

The Casino is bang in the middle of the ship and difficult to avoid if you are trying to get from one end of the Promenade deck to the other. If you prefer to stay away from the smoke or gambling you can avoid it all by going outside onto the actual “promenade” which encircles the ship. The promenade is also a good jogging/walking alternative to the (much shorter) track on the Sports Deck.

The Blush MDR was a little late in opening for the 8:15 sitting (we chose late dining as we expected to a ashore a lot) and consequently a line formed. We never saw another after this one time. We were seated near the Aft windows (sunsets!!). Our lead waiter Hendrick and our regular waiter Ronny were very attentive, friendly and only once got an order slightly wrong during the whole trip. They were kept very busy and always seemed to be in a rush but that didn’t stop them from stopping for a chat when they could. More about them later.

Tip

:

There is a “standard” menu with the same dishes on offer all the time like flat-iron steak, southern fried chicken and other American “comfort” food every day plus a slightly more upscale menu that changes daily. All menus are posted in advance outside the Blush entrance (I assume it is the same for the Sapphire dining room) so you can see what is on offer each night beforehand.

Blush Dining Room

 

As you can probably tell from my report so far, we were really happy with The Breeze and overall we had a great cruise but everything can’t be perfect and I’m afraid for us it was the food in MDR that caused the only real disappointment. We ate in the MDR five times I think (six if you count the one time we went there for breakfast) and with very few exceptions we thought the food was below standard. The service was quick, no complaints there and the menu choices looked varied and balanced.

 

The food itself was presented reasonably well and lets face it, it’s hard to create a visual masterpiece when you are churning out thousands of the same dish. The quality of the ingredients seemed to be OK too but the crimes inflicted on those ingredients by the cooks are surely arrestable offences. Vegetables hopelessly undercooked and I’m not talking al dente here, I mean almost raw. Meat was the opposite, overcooked and dry. Clearly it had been kept warm for a long time and the effect was clear. I can’t say that absolutely everything was bad because it certainly was not but the lasting impression we took away from the cruise was of poor fare in the MDR. To be honest and complete the picture, Desserts were good! I even tried the famous warm chocolate melting cake once and quite enjoyed it.

 

During the cruise, we ate at several of the outlets on the Lido deck as well as a couple of the specialty restaurants. Dined much better there and more about them later.

 

Next ….. Monaco

[lifeisgoodPat]

Loving your review! Can't wait for more. We will be on the Breeze on the Oct. 1st sailing. At first, it was just my sister and I, but because of this great board, we are now friends with a great bunch of people. It is going to be fantastic. Can't wait to meet our new friends!

[LizaMM]

Thank you so much for your review!

 

the Photos are great as well!!

 

:D:D

[jules815]

Love your review and pictures. Breeze is a beautiful ship!

[lola61]

Love Love the review, waiting for more:p

[Alan M]

Loving this review and pictures. We are on the Breeze on 19 sept and are alson in an ocean suite. Which stateroom whet you in ? It possible to have breakfast on the balcony and did the walk in wardrobe have a vanity table ?

@chuds

 

I guess you could have breakfast on the balcony at a push but it would not be very comfortable as the table is too low and small to eat from. There is no vanity table in the walk-in wardrobe.

[Alan M]

Day Two – Monaco

 

Woke early just as the ship approached the harbour and was treated to a fabulous view of Monaco on a beautiful sunny morning on calm waters. Wow!

 

 

A little more about us. We come from Scotland but live in Dubai and we have visited most European countries, some many times over but never Italy. Our son has studied Roman history at school and has recently taken an interest in Renaissance Italy as part of his studies. My wife and I love the whole Italian food/style thing and have long wanted to visit Tuscany and the Naples area so this cruise really ticked so many check marks for us.

 

We have been to the South of France before so decided to limit our shore time to a walk around Monaco. Some of the people we talked to who went further afield on tours of Nice and Provence said they really enjoyed it. We had a late breakfast at the Blue Iguana Cantina – breakfast burrito, mmm – looked around the ship some more then set off after lunch from Guy Fieri’s burger joint for a stroll around Monte Carlo. Guy’s burgers were OK but nothing special, the rest of the family didn’t try them.

Tip:

On this itinerary all of the ports of call bar one (Dubrovnik) are in countries covered by the EU’s

Schengen Visa

. This allows travel between member countries on a single visa which makes for really easy shore trips for non-EU passport holders. The CD kept telling people to bring “government-issued Photo ID” with them when they went ashore. I don’t know why he couldn’t

just

say “passport” because I know that in the Caribbean a US Driver’s License is often an acceptable form of ID. That said, I would never dream of setting foot in a foreign country without my passport. Its too much hassle to be found without proper documentation if something unexpected happens. Just saying.

The Breeze in Monaco’s Hercule Harbour.

 

 

There are shuttle buses from the Tourist Office at the end of the pier but its only a short, pleasant walk to the bus stop on the main road where taxis are also available. We saw little electric cars for hire and thought that would be a pretty cool way to get around but I had left my driver's license on board so that was out (took the passport but not the DL, duh). We decide to walk up the hill to see the Casino, Hotel de Paris and catch a glimpse of some of the wealth washing around Monte Carlo.

 

Its an easy walk round the harbour along Rue Stephanie past the public swimming pool and cafes then up the hill on Rue Albert to the Casino area. Everything is well signposted so there is little chance of getting lost. Buses seemed to pass every few minutes. We saw a Henry Moore sculpture on the way: “Three Part Object”, couldn’t make head nor tail of it.

 

 

The Casino and Opera House are impressive buildings that just ooze opulence as do the Hotel de Paris and the Hotel Hermitage. The streets in the area are lined with designer shops and jewellers and the main square has a fantastic mirror/fountain arrangement which faces the Casino.

 

 

 

Tip

: Entry to the foyer and slot machine area of the casino is free provided you are reasonably dressed, no sleeveless shirts or flip-flops allowed and you have to take your hat off! Under-18s are not permitted to enter and this is strictly enforced. Photography is also not allowed inside. If you want to play at the tables there is a 10 euro entry fee and the dress code is a little stricter. Entry to the “real” gaming salons is a whole different ball game and requires a serious bank balance along with a tuxedo.

Did our first people-watching at the Café de Paris where a small beer and a bottle of still water cost 15.50 euro. Welcome to Monte Carlo! It was great just sitting there just watching all the flash cars go by and the occasional beautiful people. The waiter was the opposite of what we expected. He was friendly, charming and most appreciative of his tip.

 

 

We wandered past all the designer boutiques and slowly made our way back to the ship. I know this was only a small bite-sized piece of what Monaco has to offer but after a busy first day we were not ready to go full-on sightseeing and it was nice to just relax.

Tip

: We bought Rick Steve’s Mediterranean Cruise Ports guide book on Amazon several weeks before we left and brought it with us on our iPads. The book is great, lots of excellent information and all right up–to-date but if I were to do it again I would take the printed book. Trying to handle and read iPads while on the move in bright sunshine is not easy. The section on Monaco contains a full-day self-guided tour which sounds very interesting. It also had sections on all of the other mainland ports we visited but nothing on Sardinia or Sicily. It’s an easy read and contains lots of maps and ideas for do-it-yourself excursions

In the evening we had sandwiches from room service instead of going to dinner, they were very good. Grilled cheese for DS, Turkey for DW and BLT for me all promptly served along with a pot of hot coffee and some fresh fruit and cheesecake. It was good to have a more laid-back meal and watch the sailaway from Monaco. We found room service on the Breeze to be much quicker, friendlier and more accurate than on the Imagination. Score high marks again for room service!

Tip

: Room Service on all Carnival ships is free but it is customary (and appreciated) to extend a small gratuity on delivery. We took some dollar bills and kept a pile of euro coins as well for this purpose.

Next ..... At Sea

[Alan M]

Day Three – At Sea

 

Although it is not all that far from Monaco to Livorno, the itinerary called for a Sea-Day and the captain set a course which tracked the coastline at a leisurely pace (only about 7 knots). We got up early and hit the track around the Sports Deck. It was warm but still pleasant before the sun really took hold and we enjoyed it. Had to swerve a couple of times as some folks thought it was OK to take kiddie strollers on to the jogging track and go the opposite way round! Had a look at some of the Outdoor gym equipment but only tried the punchbag.

 

 

 

 

 

The indoor gym was a good size and had plenty of cardio machines all of which were empty when we looked in. We heard that at certain times it got quite busy, just like any gym.

Tip

:

If you like to jog or walk you really need to get up early on sea days as the decks can get quite busy later on. You need to do 7 laps of the SkyTrack to cover one mile which can get pretty boring quite quickly. The Promenade deck is a lot longer but has some obstacles.

Our son was due to turn 15 two weeks after the cruise finished and unfortunately this put him in the 12-14 “Circle C” age bracket when it came to attending teen clubs. We asked in advance if he could go in the older 15-17 “Club O2” group and were told no – fair enough, rules are rules. He took one look at Circle C and refused to go near it again saying that he was by far the oldest there and had nothing in common with 12-year old kids. I think we were too quick to blindly accept the group he was made to join, I also think he might have tried a little harder to integrate but in any event, he stayed away from the organised teen groups for the rest of the cruise which I thought was a shame. He did meet some other kids and they hung out together now and again. I can’t really offer any more information on how good the teen program was. They seemed to be out hunting in packs in the evening and there are always a few who get a little boisterous but generally the teenagers we came across were well-behaved and seemed to be having fun.

 

We had continental breakfast from Ocean Plaza and ate outside on the Lanai which was very pleasant and uncrowded. Took a walk around the shops on 5 and the Art Gallery on 4 but didn’t see anything we wanted to buy on that day. Noted that Fat Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ would be open later and resolved to try it. (It was very good, especially the sausage!)

 

Fat Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ

Tip

:

There is always something “On Sale” in the shops but we found on both our Carnival cruises that the best deals appear closer to the end of the cruise. This should not be thought of as a guarantee or any strong basis for a purchase decision, its just what we observed. We bought T-shirts, some jewellery and other souvenirs as well as some liquor on our last sea day and just about everything was discounted.

Predictably, sunbeds filled up quickly especially around the pools but on decks 5 and 11 it was not quite so hectic and you could find a place without too much trouble throughout the day. Carnival’s No-Reservation policy was in operation and enforced. Signs were posted, the CD announced it many, many times and it appeared in fliers as well as in the Fun Times yet STILL some people tried to ignore the rules and reserve chairs leaving them unoccupied for hours at a time. Ignorance is one thing but selfishness is another. We heard a few stories about heated arguments, security being called and so on but the most we saw was an English lady bickering with a Texan lady over what the time limit should be. After a while some of the other guests got fed up listening to them and asked them to stop.

 

Carnival Sun Lounger Policy

 

We met some very nice people on our cruise and hope they enjoyed it as much as we did. We also observed some not-so-nice behaviour from some people who seemed to think that because they had paid their fare they had bought exclusive use of the ship and all its crew. No point in going into further detail but the degree of selfishness displayed by a sizeable minority of guests was both sad and astonishing to see.

Tip

:

The pools are chlorinated salt water which comes with its own unique taste and smell. If you want to cool off with fresh water, head for one of the many showers located strategically around the pools and hot tubs or else subject yourself to the Power Drencher at Waterworks.

Power Drencher

 

We lazed in the sun all afternoon on Deck 5, well away from the raucous main pool. Had a few cocktails courtesy of the Bar Service that came round frequently and generally took it easy before getting ready for our first “Cruise Elegant” night.

 

In the run-up to dinner there was live music entertainment at Ocean Plaza where the captain and his officers lined up to meet and pose for photographs with the guests. I must admit I admired their patience and forbearance. The live band was very good in my humble opinion, more about them later. Lots of people dressed for dinner, a few in tuxedos but most in suits or sports coats and cocktail dresses for the ladies. My son put on a suit and tie and my wife and I were quite proud of how smart he looked. We duly met the captain and officers then headed to the casino bar for a Martini mixed by the formidable Radoslav.

 

We ate dinner in the Blush MDR and I’m sorry to say once again the food was a disappointment. Lobster was tepid, tough .... oh I won’t bore you any more with complaints about the MDR food. We ate well elsewhere and that’s all to come.

 

Saw "The Brits" show at the theatre after dinner, dancers singing to a recorded backing track. They were very good and both the light show and the CGI effects were excellent.

 

DS went off to bed so DW and I had a nightcap of coffee and a cognac at the casino bar, Rado and his colleague Kristian were top-notch barmen who looked after us very well. Rounded off the night by losing 80 dollars at blackjack.

 

Next – Livorno for Pisa & Florence

[Alan M]

Day Four – Livorno for Pisa & Florence

 

Now we were really getting into our cruising stride and eagerly anticipating our first visit to Italy. I have to say we were not disappointed and enjoyed the day on so many levels. We had to make an early start and so ordered room service breakfast for 07:00am (it came at 06:50, brilliant!). Juice, cereal, fruit, yoghurt, coffee and croissants. All fresh and croissants were nicely warmed.

 

We had booked a shore excursion with romeinlimo.com and met our fellow group members along with our driver, Sabrina, right outside the ship. We had booked with RIL several weeks in advance as part of a shared group tour for 8 people. We had corresponded with the other family that made up our group and it was really great to meet them in person. We all got on really well and that made the day even more special. We learned about RIL on Cruise Critic and were very pleased with their services.

Tip:

Rome In Limo

is an Italian tour company that specialises in private vehicle tours. You can hire anything from a 3-person sedan to a minibus seating 15 or more. They also provide a medium to put small groups together who can charter a vehicle and lower the per-person cost by sharing it with others. You go to their

tour sharing

website, create a group for a particular tour then wait for others to join. When someone expresses an interest, RIL puts them in touch with you by email and you take it from there. We saved hundreds of dollars and met some great people too!

The RIL tour of Pisa & Florence cost 550 euro for 8 people. That’s just under 70 euro each in a new, professionally-chauffeured Mercedes minivan compared to up to $182 each for a similar excursion on a bus booked through Carnival. I make no judgement as to how good or bad Carnival’s excursions are because we never tried any. All I know is they seemed very expensive compared to some of the alternatives available.

 

Pisa

 

Our lovely driver Sabrina had us on the road to Pisa in no time at all and we arrived at the Campo dei Miracoli at about 08:45 which was perfect as the crowds started to arrive at about 09:10. We spent about 45 minutes in Pisa, not enough time to climb the tower or see the inside of the Basilica but we wanted to keep as much time as possible for Florence and so agreed to make Pisa a whistle-stop only. Sabrina was not licensed to act as a tour guide so could not accompany us inside any of the sights however whilst in the van she was a font of knowledge and kept us very well informed about where we were and what we were seeing.

 

The Leaning Tower

 

We headed down the autostrada towards Florence all the time listening to an interesting commentary from Sabrina. About three-quarters of the way there we left the autostrada and hit the country roads to see a little of the beautiful Tuscan countryside. We stopped at a vineyard that was open to visitors but decided against the wine and oil tasting as none of the kids fancied it much. We did try a few grapes from the vine though!

 

Tuscan Grapes

 

Eventually Sabrina drove us down several winding roads into the outskirts of Florence before stopping at Piazzale Michelangelo for some stunning views over Florence. After pointing out the old Roman walls around the city and the Medici gardens, Sabrina explained about all the landmarks we could see including the Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, the Bargello and the Badia Fiorentina. Bring your video camera and your best still camera for this stop!

 

Florence

 

We carried on into Florence and along the banks of the River Arno until we came to the Ponte Vecchio where we had a half hour stop for photos and a look around.

 

We had booked tickets online through Firenze Musei for the Uffizi Gallery at 11:00 so after some instructions about where to meet later we headed towards the gallery. The first line we saw was just to buy tickets, it looked to be about a one-hour wait. The people in line looked very hot and uncomfortable. By booking online previously we were able to jump the queue and get our tickets straight away from the prepaid ticket desk.

Tip

:

Many of the major museums, galleries and sights in Italy can be pre-booked online for a small fee (about 4 euro). Once you have your confirmation you can skip the ticket line and go straight to the ticket office to collect your tickets. Most children under 18 with EU passports are granted free or heavily-discounted entry but when you reserve their tickets online you still have to pay the booking fee. It’s worth it!

 

Tip

:

To try and see all the Uffizi has to offer in a couple of hours would be a futile and unsatisfying undertaking. We limited ourselves to trying to see as many Boticelli, Da Vinci and other Italian Renaissance artists as we could without rushing too much. Even so, we found ourselves skipping things. There was a short line at the entrance as everyone had to submit to a security scan. Backpacks were not allowed inside and had to be deposited at a cloakroom. The cloakroom service was quick and free.

Once inside the Uffizi it is quite overwhelming and without a guide it we were worried about what we might miss or fail to understand. Rick Steves came to the rescue to some extent and some of the rooms had narrative plaques which helped. Audio headsets were available for rent at the entrance and guidebooks were also available. A licensed guide would have been ideal but we truly did not have time for that. Photography was banned in the gallery but I sneaked a quick snap with my iPhone of the Birth of Venus (flash disabled of course) which earned me a stern ticking off from one of the curators. Serves me right.

 

We had no plans to visit the Accademia Di Belli Arti so had to make do with the copy of Michelangelo’s David which stands in the Piazza Della Signoria near the Uffizi (the original is now housed indoors at the Accademia). There are several other magnificent statues in the square, many of them depicting violent scenes from mythology. There are also several gelaterias and cafes selling ice cream and fruit cocktails which were most welcome after the heat of the museum and the square.

 

Fruit

 

We met up with Sabrina again and she took us to lunch at the Trattoria Marione on the Via de Belle Donne. Quick, tasty and authentic Italian, we were the only tourists in the place, the rest were clearly locals. After lunch we moved across town to see the Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore) and its Campanile, imposing and impressive.

 

Duomo & Campanile

 

We were all starting to get very tired after a lot of walking in the sun so after a short rest in the shade at the Pizza Di San Giovanni we boarded the van again for the return journey to Livorno arriving back at the ship around 5:00pm. I can’t say enough about how good Sabrina was, she really made the day very special for us and our new friends from London and she is a great ambassador for her company and country.

 

Very tired that evening, skipped dinner and just had a quick bite at the Tandoor. DW and I both enjoyed it, DS went for pizza. We left Livorno about 7pm for the short crossing to Olbia In Sardinia.

 

Next .... More pictures from Florence

[Alan M]

Day Four - More Pictures from Tuscany

 

Pisa

 

Ponte Vecchio

 

Boticelli's Birth of Venus

 

Michelangelo's David (copy)

 

Il Campanile

 

Tuscan countryside

 

Next ..... Food in Florence

[Alan M]

Day Four - Food in Florence

 

Florence had all sorts of tempting goodies on offer, here is just a small selection. Apologies for the poor quality of photos but hopefully you will get the idea.

 

Insalata

 

Gelati

 

Fruitta di Mare

 

Salciccia

 

Dolci

 

Next ..... Olbia (Sardinia)

[mississauga]

Alan M, thank you for this review. Appreciate you sharing your wonderful photos with us.:D

[BettyPC]

Great report so far! Thanks for taking all the time it takes to do this. I have got to get to Europe!

[Alan M]

Day Five – Olbia

 

Had a little bit of a lie-in after an exhausting day in Tuscany and went to the Lido for a late breakfast. Visited the omelette station and had two eggs, over-easy perfectly cooked with some bacon and French toast. Seriously good start to the day! DW liked her cheese omelette but DS doesn’t “do” eggs so it was cereal and croissants for him as usual.

 

Olbia is a bright modern port but there’s not much to see or do in town, you really need to take an excursion to the beach, vineyards or one of the larger towns to fill the day. We thought about playing golf as there are some superb courses in Sardinia but gave up on the idea due to the heat.

 

Olbia

 

The city of Olbia is trying hard to develop its cruise traffic and provides a free shuttle into town every 10 minutes during the day. We thought this was excellent marketing on their part as it at least got people to the shops, cafes and restaurants who might otherwise have remained on board.

 

Olbia Shuttle

 

Where the shuttle dropped us there was a fake tourist office and across the street what appeared to be the main tourist thoroughfare which wound gently uphill from the port. In the end, all we did in Olbia was what the Grand Old Duke of York would have done: we marched right up to the top of the hill and we marched right down again. OK, we stopped for coffee and looked at a few shops on the way.

 

Traditional Craft Shop

 

About a quarter of the way up the hill we came across a collection of Alfa Romeo roadsters containing a brand new 8C Competizione (I think) as well as some classic Spiders. Gorgeous cars, could have happily taken one home with me.

 

Alfa Romeo 8C

 

Olbia has its fair share of quaint little backstreets and interesting-looking shops but the view back down the street to the ship caught us unawares. A flea market back near the shuttle stop provided a few more minutes diversion but we were happy enough to head back to the ship by lunchtime to catch a few rays in the afternoon. Pizza for lunch and kicked back until sundown.

 

Olbia's View of the Breeze

 

In the evening it was time for us to try the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse. We had heard many good things about it and were looking forward to eating there. DS went off to see a movie with his tub of popcorn and permission to spend a few bucks at the Arcade later so it was just DW and I who started with Martinis at the Casino Bar before heading to the steakhouse for our 8pm reservation. It was, by a long way, the best meal we had during the whole vacation. In fact, for the steak, I would put it in my top 5 ever, anywhere. The service was absolutely superb and the food prepared to perfection. Easily worth the surcharge.

 

An Amuse Bouche was provided to start with after the meats on offer were presented on a block for inspection. For appetiser DW had New England Crab Cake while I had Lobster Bisque with Cognac. Tomato and Mozzarella Salad for DW, Iceberg Lettuce for me then on to the main event: Chilean Sea Bass for DW and a 9oz Filet Mignon medium rare for me. I am not exaggerating when I say it was so tender and beautifully cooked that my knife went through it as easily as through butter. Cleverly-presented fruit cocktail for DW to finish, chocolate sampler (5 little choc dishes, I could only eat 3) for me all washed down with a bottle of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc between us and an extra glass of Frei Brothers Merlot for me with my steak.

 

Fahrenheit 555

 

I so, so wish I had taken pictures of more than just the door on the way in but I think it might have felt a bit cheesy to do so. To round it all off we had coffee and liqueurs which along with the wine and tip pushed the bill up to almost $200. Well worth it though, a memorable meal.

 

Felt really lucky after eating so well and managed to lose $100 at the blackjack table but DW was the one with the luck as she won $225 to put us slightly ahead for the week.

 

Next .... Rome

[Yankeegirl]

Loving your trip report! Thank you for taking the time to post it. Great pictures!:)

[pcvtmom]

Your comments and suggestions are so helpful! We've booked a med cruise (on the Sunshine) for next June...and I know very little about the ports. I have ordered the Rick Steves book, and I'm savoring your review! Keep it coming!

[Sugaraynh]

Excellent review so far!! A couple questions:

 

1) can you tell me about the camera you used for the photos!? They are very sharp and clear!

 

2) Are you including the cost of the meal itself in the $200 at Fahrenheit 555? Just want to make sure we are prepared.

 

Thanks and very much looking forward to more!

[092306]

Really enjoying your review and also would like to know the camera you used. Wonderful pictures!

[Silent Penguin]

Subscribing. Fantastic report and pictures. Can't wait for more!