Aug 22- Sept 8: Ruby Princess GRAND MEDITERRANEAN--Just got back

[remydiva]

I have checked our roll call and see that a few people have indicated they would write a review when they had time. Well, I had the time so here is MY review. I will break it up into smaller segments.

 

We were on the Grand Mediterranean on the Ruby Princess Aug 22- Sept 3, 2012 and this is my review based on our experiences only. I normally write a journal to make note of facts and interesting tidbits of information I gather as well as a base for a diary. However, this is such a busy port intensive cruise that I had no time. Instead, I kept a copy of the emails I sent home to friends and family and those emails are the basis for my review.

 

I apologize for any inaccuracy as there is so much history, culture, languages, distance travelled in these 13 days that quite frankly, I couldn’t remember all the facts. We are talking some historic ruins that are THOUSANDS of years old so if I say A.D and it was B.C, I apologize. Suffice to say, things were old and magnificent.

 

Also, we booked ALL our shore excursions online through Princess including ship transfers from the Venice Airport as well as a debark tour which included a transfer to the Barcelona airport. We were 99% pleased with all our tours and happy with the choices we made. There is enough to see and do that if you did this itinerary 10 times, you would never have to do the same thing twice.

 

Day One and Two

Venice

We arrived safely in Venice at 5:10 pm Wed Aug 22 after 19 hrs total flying and 2 transfers...one in Amsterdam and one in Paris. We cleared

customs in Amsterdam and had a long long walk to change planes in Paris so the 2 hr wait between flights was needed and went by quickly.

 

Had to take a bus from the lounge to the plane in Paris which was unusual and we ended up leaving 30 mins late and yet somehow managed to land on time in Venice. Our bags arrived quickly and both bottles of wine packed inside survived!

 

A quick 30 min bus shuttle pre arranged through Princess and we were on board and in our cabins before 6:30. Went for a late dinner, quick walk about the deck and in bed by 930pm. We were too tired to even attempt to go out on a tour or explore Venice...the ship is accessible to the main core via shuttle bus, long walk and water taxi...none of which appealed to us. Princess had left two all day coupons to use the water shuttle and since we didn’t use them, we were able to just sign the back of the voucher and return to Passenger Services for a refund of $17 pp.

 

Slept in until room service knocking on door at 7:15pm...thank heavens we had put out a card the nite before or we still might be sleeping. Muster drill at 8:15 am and then we sailed out of Venice around 8:30....BEAUTIFUL.

 

We sailed by St. Mark's, Rialto bridge (and many more) while sitting out on the promenade deck, in the shade as it was HOT in the

sun...34C...and they played Andre Bottcelli and Celine Dion and other music that made it very very special. Also cruised by the 10th largest private yacht in the world the “Carinitha VII” .Our minisuite is great except we are on the side that gets the sun as we head south sailing through the Adriatic Sea...and while the balcony is larger so we have 4 chairs and a table it is uncovered so it is too hot to sit in it...once we head east we should be ok. On the plus side, our clothes I washed dried in about 30 mins!

 

Today we went to a port talk about the history and tips for seeing Athens and Mykonos. The speaker a Dr. Richard ? is excellent. Key is going to be to keep cool and hydrated. Back packs not allowed in most places so water will have to stay on board the bus I guess. And the religious places you have to have shoulders and knees covered so shorts are out. DH has zip on/off pants so can have shorts or pants and I will wear a long skirt. Today spent going through shore excursion notes and good thing I did as they didn't have record of our Barcelona tour and transfer to airport so will have time to correct that.

 

Tomorrow another sea day so hopefully we will be all caught up on sleep before we hit all these ports.

 

Day Three

At Sea

We enjoyed our sea day yesterday and are now 10 hrs ahead of home. We basically tried to catch up on our sleep, walked the deck...it is very warm around 34C, read on deck and went to a fish and chip pub lunch at one of the ship bars which was very good. Then attended another port talk about the history and dos and don'ts of our upcoming visit to Istanbul and Kusadasi (for Ephasus). We will actually sail through some narrows called the Dardenelles to reach Istanbul which is almost at the Black Sea. These waters are unique in that they have two currents...one on top flowing to the west and another undercurrent flowing to the east and Black Sea...makes for some interesting challenges for ships to navigate. Istanbul is the worlds' 5th largest city and the only city to actually bridge two continents...Europe and Asia. We will dock on the Europe side and will not be going onto the Asian side on our tour.

 

Last nite was the first of two formal nites.

 

Day Four

Athens

Today we woke up as we were docking in Piraeus which is the dock for Athens...about 30 mins away. We are awaiting the start of our trip at noon into Athens where we will see the Acropolis and visit the Parthenon and other ruins from 2000 BC give or take a few centuries. It is 35C in the shade and we have climb 80 uneven 'stairs' to get to the top. Backpacks not allowed for security reasons so we will leave on the bus but take our water bottles with us with refills in the back pack. It is a very busy harbour with lots of very large ferries going to all the many islands. I think they told us 70 ferries a day which makes it the busiest harbour in the world ferry wise...I think.

 

Just back from Athens tour: thank goodness we only booked a half day tour...it was 38C when we left and no breeze. The Acropolis is high up on the hill so even hotter. We did as told in the brochures and left our back pack on the bus and took 750 ml bottle of water with us. I ended up at the end of the tour with I think hot exhaustion or sugar low. DH got me cold water and wet his hanky to put on the back of my neck. Another couple from England we had met walked back with us to the bus where I downed another half bottle of water and ate a granola bar and felt much better. Lesson learned for the rest of the trip to stay better hydrated and nourished and take a cloth to make a cold pack for my neck (hint: this worked well as I would moisten it any time I could in cold water and just tie around my neck..instant cooling relief).

 

In any case, the Parthenon is unbelievable. Pictures will not do it justice. They have been doing, and will do for another 12 yrs, restoration work on it as they use today's marble to patch up marble that is 6000 yrs old. The 360 degree view of Athens and other temples from the top is breathtaking. Chatted with a fellow from Italy named Stefano who was an architect student in his last year. He just returned from a year exchange with a company in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He caught our eye as he was sketching one of the temples and was very good. Seeing the Parthenon was something on my bucket list so was happy to check it off. And in fact, there was no security checking for back packs or water bottles…maybe because it was a Saturday or maybe due to the extreme heat.

 

We spent about 2hrs up there then a drive through the city and the important buildings. Saw the parliament buildings with the two guards out front (like the guards at Buckingham palace) except these ones wear pleated skirts...skirts with 400 pleats to signify the 400 yrs Greece was under Turkish 'oppression'.

 

Tomorrow we land in Turkey with a much earlier start thank heavens...7 am so we will be back before the heat of the day....a heat wave 'from Africa' they say.

 

I will post more in another installment.

[srpilo]

Great start !!

 

 

 

 

It'll be a pleasure to read the rest :)

Srpilo

[remydiva]

The cruise continues:

 

Day Five

Kusadasi, Turkey

Just left our first stop in Turkey...the port is called Kusadasi and it is a resort town. Very clean, beaches, lots of yachts and sailboats in the harbour and our ship looked like a giant on the pier. Many hi rise hotels and condos and given that it is on a fault line, a tad unsafe? We drove 15 mins or so to a high hilltop location where, supposedly according to the Bible, 'Mother Mary' or Virgin Mary lived out her senior days and died. The Bible says that she, her sister Elizabeth with her son John and Mary Magdalene took 2 yrs to make their way to Turkey. In any case, it was all rumor until in 1811 some nun somewhere 'saw' a vision of this place. 1846 they started to dig when a shepherd gave instructions to the archaeology group asking around and lo and behold, they found this house so they believe the story to be true. There are holy water springs in taps as well as a huge hole for baptisms. Another wall is called The Wishing Wall. You are supposed to write out a wish and tie it to one of the zillions of 'strings' (looked more like toilet paper to me) and WHEN your wish comes true, you are supposed to travel back and take out your piece of paper so others can have a turn. The site is a sacred place for both Christians and Muslims as Muslims believe in ‘Mother Mary” and Jesus too. It is the one place in the whole world where the two religions agree.

 

Then another 10 min ride to Ephasus. I didn't know what to expect and it was a wonderful surprise and experience. A city that has been built and destroyed 5 times over the ages...the last time about 2000 yrs ago I think. They are restoring and reclaiming the city which had 300,000 living there at its hay day. 80% still lies buried beneath. The restoration is on going and is funded 30% by the govt, 10% by grants and 60% by the tourists that come. What has been restored is unbelievable...Ephasus was the first city to have running water and indoor plumbing. They used terra cotta tile pipes to have the water move by gravity and the tiles look in perfect condition now after all those years...way better than our present day drain tiles. It was a wealthy city with streets full of luxury shops. The chariots used to drive up the street so the smooth paving stones were pot marked so the horses and chariots wouldn't slip if it rained. A stone archway blocked their passage into the residences area. The site is huge...several acres and we were there for 1.5 hrs and could've stayed longer. The sky was perfectly clear azure blue which made for some pretty neat backdrop. The site is home to hundreds if not thousands of feral skinny little sphinx looking cats. One little girl went to pet it and got scratched...can't imagine that is a good thing.

 

Tour started at 7:15 am and we were back at ship by 11:30 before the heat of the day...only 35C today. Oh, and the captain came on last nite to say that yesterday actually reached 106F which I think is 40C+. Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler. Down to 89F or 29C and partly cloudy which will be a welcome relief.

 

We are sailing towards the Black Sea now thru the Sea of Marmara to Istanbul. Tomorrow we will tour the famous and beautiful Blue Mosque and St. Sophia's. Blue Mosque was originally built with 4 minarets (tall skinny spires at the corners) which was only supposed to be for sultans so they added another 2 for a total of 6 at the Blue Mosque but the only other one with 6 was in Mecca. We walk to St Sophia's which is supposed to be the best example of Byzantine architecture in the world After that, we see a Turkish carpet weaving demo then have an hour at the Grand Bazaar to 'shop' but hopefully will not get lost as it is the largest 'mall' in the world with 4000 stalls.

 

Our first impressions of Turkey are very positive. Very clean, handsome people and no graffiti (unlike Greece which was horrible...EVERYTHING had been tagged) Very aggressive 'salesmen' everywhere. You are supposed to barter..they expect it but I heard one girl say that if, after you barter and don't buy it, they are not pleased...she got sworn at.

 

Things we didn't know before was that most if not all Mercedes vehicles...including all the brand new buses we were on...are built in Turkey. Many other luxury vehicles are now being built in Turkey. It appeared to be very prosperous..

 

By comparison, other facts about Greece I forgot to mention was that they have a 22% unemployment rate now but worse than that, of those 18-25 yrs old there is a 50% unemployment rate. No wonder Greece has economic problems and riots. Both Greece and Turkey boast free education for all including university and books. Medical care is also free in Turkey 'if you work for the government, or are self employed' as they have 'insurance'.

 

Turkey is 98% Muslim, 1% Christians and less than 1% Jews (from Spain). In the mid 1940s, their govt changed and religion and state 'were separated' so it is consider 'secular'. So while France is fighting to have Muslim women be able to/not be able to wear their burkas to work as 'it is their right', in Turkey, it is a non issue as it is NOT ALLOWED... if you work for the government or are a teacher...religion is not tolerated 'in the state'. Very ironic.

 

Day Six

Istanbul

Back from our Istanbul tour. Pics don't capture the sheer size and volume of the two mosques where there are no pillars holding up the center done. thus the rooms are huge and hold 'many'. We had to take our shoes off to enter the Blue mosque and knees and shoulders covered. St Sophia is now a museum so no such rule. Round plaques inside written in Arabic the names of important 'people’ and over the head alter which is slightly off center so it faces east and Mecca, Plaques with “ Allah” and “Mohammed”(?) names to signify that Christians and Muslims are welcome there...I think...a lot of history and a lot of info so I’m going on the fly. Blue Mosque built in 1600s and St Sophia built about 500 but was burned down by the people when they were unhappy with their ruler who raised taxes. Emperor Justinian replaced it and had it built in only 5 years

 

After, we went to a shopping area and to a carpet co-op to have Turkish beverages and watch a carpet weaving demo. All double knotted and they used silk or wool and even some in cotton. all natural dyes. The co-op owner goes to the country to find young unemployed women, pays for their education with no obligation he says, and 80% come to work for him. The other 20% go to college which he pays for as well...the government helps out with grants, etc so it is not really out of his pocket. It is a dying art as the modern women in Turkey don’t want to be carpet weavers. He speculates that in 10 yrs time, it might well be a dead craft. DH had a Turkish coffee 'with sugar' and said it was VERY sweet. They offered ouzo and apple tea as well as our guide 'Tuba' explained this was how business was done in Turkey...you ate, drank, asked questions all with no obligation. They showed off about 24 different carpets as a sample and the prices were for one that was not top of the line $2600 but 'for Princess Passengers 30% off and 8% tax rebate' and it included 'free shipping and all import/duty taxes' delivered to your door. We'll never know if any of this is true since we didn't even think about buying a carpet. .

 

After we walked to the Grand Bazaar about a 2 block walk down a pedestrian mall with fancy stores on either side....and a Starbucks. We went through the arch into the Grand Bazaar and walked up the main aisle for maybe less than 10 mins and after seeing nothing but jewellery, leather, pottery and carpet stores with salesmen hanging out by the door in, some smoking cigarettes, we turned around and headed back. Stopped at Starbucks where we got a tall mocha frappacino (called the same thing here) for 10 TL (Turkish lira) or about 4E so around $5.80...I think that is about the same back home? Tasted good on another hot day...around 30C today so technically cooler than other days.

 

Princess shore excursion information says that US Dollars is the currency of choice in Turkey. It is accepted but in our experience, not the currency of choice. Turkey’s currency is the Turkish Lira but they use Euros too. If you pay for something in Euros, you get your change back in TL so make sure you have small bills or else you will be left holding a lot of coinage you can’t use. We gave our left over TL to our guide in addition to Euros for her tip.

 

Yesterday our departure was delayed by 45 mins as 4 women were late... very late...getting back to the ship from shopping in Kusadasi. The English captain Capt. Tony Yeoman came on the speaker, after they had announced 3 times for the 'following passengers to check in IMMEDIATELY'...why we were late leaving and added that 'it could've been a VERY expensive shopping trip' for the ladies as they would've been left behind in a country with no passports or a ship.. (the ship collected our passports on Day 2 and still have them as Turkish authorities need to ?see them, see the info? or something and we don't get them back for another 2 days. we think they are in a safe on the ship or so we've been told) We carry photocopies of our passports with us. when this happens. The captain went on to say how now the pilot would be getting off later and that we had to hurry as the tricky Dardanelles currents that I mentioned earlier meant for a long difficult journey....he sounded annoyed....in a very British way. Maybe they should consider charging the ladies so many $/minute they were late? (NOTE: Capt mentioned this incident a couple more times ‘in good humor’ over the rest of the cruise eg. ‘we are ready to push off as we have no more ladies late coming back from shopping” so I think it was a cause of great aggravation to the ship)

 

We leave Istanbul at 6pm tonite and head back through the Sea of Marmara and back towards Greece where we will land in the Greek isle of Mykonos around noon tomorrow. we have a quiet day there with a city walking tour and some free time.

 

We have a sea day after Mykonos with a captain's reception for Platinum and Elite travellers with free appies and booze Doing laundry every other day and it dries hanging on the balcony in about an hour as it is so hot.

 

Day Seven

Mykonos, Greece

 

Another wonderful, very different day. Today we landed in the Greek isle of Mykonos aka The Windy Island...no, not 'windy' like in twisting roads but 'windy' as in where gale force winds blow. Home to odd looking windmills with skinny vanes and thatched pointy roofs. And a million little white stucco houses with round corners...so that they are better protected from the winds (probably the sharp corners BLEW off!) but supposedly it makes it quieter inside when the wind is howling.

 

Number One source of revenue is us, the tourists. Lots of homes where the rich from Athens come to escape the intense heat in Athens in the summer which we can attest to (it was 106F when we were in Athens). Also home to a zillion young firm bodies of men and women in scantily clad bathing suits. Lots of bars and travernas. Princess used local boats to tender us in rather than drop their own tenders aka lifeboats. Two other cruise ships in town, a Celebrity and a Costa but we got to drop anchors the closest to the pier thank god as it was rough. Only about a 10 min ride.

 

Our tour guide was awful this time. She had no personality, walked slow as a turtle and it is the first time we have never tipped a guide. I think she even missed out showing us the one church I did want to see. In any case, on the good side, I think Demetrius the fast bus driver, took us to see 88 of the 89 sq miles that makes up Mykonos. Because it is so windy, there is not a drop of what we would call topsoil. All the cars are covered in dust as water is scarce. The only thing we saw being grown was one small field of hay. The other 'vegetation' was scruffy weeds.

 

However, it is still a pretty island in that all the houses are brilliant white with mostly blue shutters and doors...some are light purple. There are over 1000 churches and many are actually private ones for the owners of the land. Most people are Greek Orthodox with a few Catholics mixed in. Land is divided up by hand made stone walls that are stacked rocks with no mortar to hold them together. Reason being so that the wind can blow through the rocks and keep the air moving and 'cooler'. Houses are built like in Mexico out of bricks first then covered in white stucco.

 

We went inside a monastery where there used to up to 60 monks living but now only 2 left...I think the last one living will get to turn out the lights. Very ornate inside with brass chandeliers and very busy with hanging things from the ceiling, walls covered in religious icons and the dome was a huge painting of Jesus. But after seeing the mosques in Istanbul just the day before, we were hard pressed not to compare and say to ourselves 'you call THIS a church? Now the Blue Mosque...THAT's a church!'

 

We wandered back to town on the sea wall past crowds of mostly young people dragging wheeled suitcases waiting for the next ferry back to the Greek mainland or perhaps another Greek island.

 

Day 8

At Sea

Today, we have a nice relaxing 'day at sea' where I did some laundry and air drying on balcony. Tonite is formal nite and meet the captain .

 

Then we hit the ground running with the Big Three in Italy--Naples, Rome and Florence

...tomorrow Naples where we are going to see the ruins of Pompeii--the wealthy city of 2000 that all died in 79 AD or 2000 yrs ago where Mt Vesuvius blew its top. From what we've read, the archaeologists noticed vacant 'spots' in the hardened lava and figured out that the spots used to be people and animals. So they have injected plaster into the holes and have casts of who or what was there before being vaporized in the 700F heat. Supposed to be very moving...one of a dog, one of a man crouched covering his face with a hanky and one of a mother protecting her child. Then onto cheerier things with 2.5 hrs free time exploring the hill top village of Sorrento, home of Limon cello for any drinkers out there. Think we'll find a café, pull up a chair and people watch over a glass of wine and a meal maybe.

 

After that Rome, Florence, Monaco and end up in Barcelona so lots more to come.

[remydiva]

I continue...

 

Day 9

Naples

This will be short as we have spent two full days in Italy and unexpectedly, for me anyways, we LOVE it. Yesterday we were in Napoli or Naples for us Westerners. We drove to Sorrento south of Naples, an oceanside resort town, and spent 3 hrs on our own, eating the BEST gelato ever, having a wonderful leisurely lunch of Neapolitan pizza and vio and berro then drove to Pompeii where we explored the ruins of the town destroyed by Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD. It was all so interesting...we had the time to pause and enjoy and love it all.

 

Day 10

Rome

Today, we arrived in Roma and had a full day...9.5 hrs tour as the port of Civatecchio is 1.5 hrs or so from Rome. We arrived early and then it was a walking tour which was so cool as we got to 'see the real Rome' on foot. We saw first of all the Spanish Steps on Pinchian Hill (one of the 7 hills of Rome) then walked to Trevi Fountain where we each tossed in a coin to 'guarantee' our return visit (two coins tossed in to wish for marriage and three coins in to ensure a divorce). We enjoyed another gelato there then walked to the Pantheon which was unbelievable. Again, the pictures don't do it justice. A dome that is so huge and unsupported by any columns...the center is open to the skies so yes, it does rain into the Pantheon but there are drain holes to drain the rain water back to the river Tiber. After we got back on our bus then drove to the right bank of Rome near the Vatican for lunch at a restaurant that was 'ok'. Back to the Vatican and Piazza Nova (?) and a fantastic free time spent in St Peter's Basilica. We didn't get into the Vatican but this was next best thing...the gold, statues, alters, marble floors...impossible to put into words. We are not religious but were very very impressed with the building. Our guide Francesca was amazing. The walking tour was exactly what we wanted. It was the best way to see and feel and experience the city. In front of the Pantheon, all of a sudden she yelled out over the headsets ‘WATCH those girls at the back…they are NOT girls’ and she quickly went to the group of three gypsies…two women and a child. As it was early in the morning, there were not many people in the square. She locked eyes with the gypsies and pointed to them in so much as to say ‘stay there’ and then went to the men at the back of our group and said ‘Check your back pockets. Check your wallets. Everything ok?’ When they said it was, she walked over and spoke in a firm, assertive voice in Italian, telling them we assume to leave us alone. The gypsies sat on a bench watching us but never left nor did they follow us. Warning: Naples and Rome are particularly bad for pick pockets. In fact, the ship warned us in writing, on the PA system and at the end of the show at the Princess Theatre when the Cruise Director said ‘ladies, leave all your rings, jewellery in the safe on the ship. Do not wear earrings, watches, necklaces, rings. Do not carry hand bags, Do not wear anything that will make you stand out’. We took the warnings seriously and left all our rings in the safe, and kept our watches in our money belts and shirt pockets. My small camera I had on a leather strap over my neck and hidden by my European style scarf and the camera fit inside my pocket out of view. We did hear of a woman who had her camera strap cut and she lost her camera in Venice at the start of the cruise. Be extremely cautious and don’t be showy or oblivious to your surroundings and you will be fine. Not all heeded the advice and we were surprised to see some women heading out for the day on shore dressed and bejewelled like they were going out to a fancy party.

 

Returned to ship at 530 pm exhausted but thoroughly happy.

Tomorrow, we go to Florence but we are heading to the coast for something completely different in seeing Cinque Terre, a UNESCO site...5 villages perched on the hillside.

 

Day 11

Florence

 

Back from a 10 hr tour and all we can say is UNBELIEVABLE! We landed in Livorno at 7 am which is the port for Florence and Pisa. Our tour guide was so pleased with us for having chosen Cinque Terre (pronounced CHINK- WAH TERRA) instead of Pisa. She said there was great rivalry between Pisa and Florence residents. In her words ‘why should Pisa be famous when all they did was to build a tower on soft wet swamp land and because of that mistake, THEY get to be famous? Gave us a chuckle.

 

We were off the boat by 7:15 and on a bus heading north towards the World Heritage Park since 1999 called Cinque Terra which is 5 little towns perched on the side of the hill. They grow grapes for wine on a grade that must be 75% steep. They have to lie down in some areas to pick the grapes as they can't stand ...it is too steep. The houses are 3 or 4 stories tall and everyone hangs their laundry out the window to dry. Towns full of little restaurants and shops.

 

The area was hit with a massive flash mud slide Oct 2011 and their tourist season is April to Oct so they worked hard and had the towns 'open' again by late Feb. The mud covered the town up to the second story as it just came sliding down the main street. They have pictures of the event all over town to show 'before and after'. Several people were killed in the slide. Today it looked charming.

 

We climbed stairs and walked for a few kms along a cliff known as Via de l'amour perched precariously over cliffs that plummet to the ocean below. Tradition has lovers place locks on the fences then throw away the key to ensure their everlasting love. Needless to say there are thousands of locks along the path. A bench for lovers is there and there was a very talented musician playing Italian music to add to the ambiance.

 

We were to have taken a boat trip to get from town to town but the seas were too rough so we got to go on Italian trains. The first one arrived on time...the next two...not so prompt. However they were short rides and something to add to the excitement. At the last and biggest town, Monterossa, we had 3 hrs to wander and have lunch. We found a restaurant right on the water and had pasta and local wine. Sat elbow to elbow to another couple so we chatted with them and they were from Amsterdam and travelling for 2 wks by RV.

 

Tomorrow we land in Monte Carlo and Monaco and we are taking a trip to Nice in the south of France for the morning. Then we set sail in the afternoon for Barcelona.

[Matcodixon]

Interesting review.. As you probably know, we were also on that cruise. I will also be writing a review soon, but will try to cover the things that you do not. It was an amazing cruise indeed with so much to see and do. I look forward to your next installment.

[remydiva]

I forgot to post a picture of Cinque Terre so it is the first pic of this installment...absolutely beautiful scenery on the Italian Riviera.

 

My review continues:

 

Day 12

Monaco

It is Sunday afternoon and we are cruising in Cote d’Azur past Monaco, Nice and $$$$$ yachts. This morning in fact, we were late docking as a super yacht/sailboat named Nero didn't leave on schedule due to high winds last nite. Our very British captain 'had words' with them and got them to 'toddle along'. He is quite a scream to listen to. When it is expected to get rough, he'll say 'hang on to your soup'.

 

In any case, we did finally dock and then onto a bus to Nice, 45 mins away. Breath taking vistas and green/blue water of the Mediterranean. Being a Sunday, no people or traffic...other than a bicycle race that we had to avoid. Walked along Promenade d'Anglaise then into the daily flower market out in the open under tents. Beautiful flower arrangements, fresh fruit, lavender, fish, paintings, ceramics. We bought local strawberries for 3E a basket, mini strawberries, that were so unbelievably sweet..we will never be able to eat those huge woody things they call strawberries back home ever again! After a train trolley ride around town and to the top of a hill for a vista, then back to town. We had a clear view of the medieval city of Eze on the drive back.This was only a half day trek as we were only here till 1:30.

 

Checked in our airline flight on line, printed up our boarding passes and now pretty much packed and relaxing. Tomorrow will be a long day with a 6 hr tour of Barcelona highlights then getting dropped off at airport for our 6:30 pm flight to Paris.

 

Day 13

Barcelona

We had booked a debark tour to see the Barri Gothic and Barcelona sights including Sagrada Familia and Las Rambla. I purposely booked our flight later in the day so we could do this tour (flights had to be later than 430pm) and was glad we did. The tour ended up at the airport. We put our bags out in the hall the night before as usual and after meeting our group at 730 am in the Wheelhouse Bar, we went to the terminal as a group and found our bags. There were no formal proceedings and plenty of Princess staff pointing the way out. We found our bus, dragged our bags to the bus and they were loaded underneath the bus. Then we headed out as if we were doing any regular shore excursion. The tour was over 6 hrs long and in that time we saw a lot of Barcelona. Stopped at the Barcelona Cathedral and had time inside and in the cloister to hear about its history including seeing the 13 white geese that live there in remembrance to the 13 yr young girl saint the church was dedicated to. Then onto Las Rambla the pedestrian mall where we had 45 mins to wander in the huge market. We bought a pastry and walked around enjoying the very colourful and artistic way the vendors have of displaying their food…fruits, fresh juices, meats, flowers. Very beautiful. Back on the bus to drive around Barcelona where we saw two of Antoni Gaudi’s famously designed buildings (Casa Battlo and Casa Misa both build in 1905 in his famous curvy modernism style). Then onto to the piece de resistance ‘Sagrada Familia’ started in 1882 and due to finish, hopefully, in 2026 to mark the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death. As grotesque and unusual the outside is, the interior is bright, light and quite clean and very intriguing. The columns are modelled after trees including the branches, roots and leaves. There is nothing quite like it in the world.

 

After we went to the old bull fighting arena now turned into a mall but they saved the outer façade. We had an hour to stop for lunch and/or shop. Last two stops were the sight of the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics which was very impressive and then a vista view point that overlooked the harbour (and the Ruby Princess as well as the Queen Elizabeth berthed next to us). We were dropped off at the Barcelona airport promptly at 230 pm where we checked in our baggage and waited for our flight. Note: Barcelona airport does NOT make any PA announcements and they do NOT tell you your departing gate until about 10 mins before you board. However, the display screens at least tell you what wing you will be leaving from ie. A, B or C so you then have to keep on checking the board for the gate number. Once the number appears, you walk quickly to the gate and pretty much line up to get on the plane. Again, they do NOT announce ‘Flight 123 to Paris is ready to board at Gate B 52’ which is how most airports do it.

 

This was probably the BEST cruise itinerary I’ve taken in my 17 cruises. Yes it is VERY port intensive with only two sea days to rest. The extreme heat (all days were 30-40C or high 90s- 106F in Athens) took it’s toll and keeping cool and hydrated was sometimes difficult as you had restrictions to clothes (men couldn’t wear shorts and ladies couldn’t have knees or shoulders showing in the religious spots) and what you could carry with you. Best tip for was the zip off/on cargo pants my hubby bought at Costco. Pants for the churches, unzipped and stowed the legs in one of the big cargo pockets and he was good to go. I found an ankle length flowing skirt to be cool and practical.

 

We delayed our trip home and back to reality by flying to Paris for several more days and take advantage of the ridiculously high airfare we had to pay to get to the cruise. We just got home and looking back on my pictures, I can’t believe all we saw and did. It truly was a GRAND Mediterranean cruise.

[remydiva]

Interesting review.. As you probably know, we were also on that cruise. I will also be writing a review soon, but will try to cover the things that you do not. It was an amazing cruise indeed with so much to see and do. I look forward to your next installment.

 

sorry we never got a chance to meet you Dixon...we were so tired that we totally missed the M&G but heard from others that it was great. I'm done my review so I will look forward to hearing what you all did...so I'll know for my NEXT Grand Med..this was the trip of a lifetime I think.

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

Great review.....:):):)

 

Bob

[rdsqrl]

Your review was awesome -- really fun and engaging to read. You're just like me: if there's a Starbucks, I'm totally there! I've made note of that location for when I get to Istanbul myself. And what beautiful photos! It does sound like a Grand trip, indeed. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

[homeinboca]

Great review, thanks for sharing with us. We are doing this cruise in the reverse next year starting in Barcelona on the new Royal Princess, and your review just ramped up the excitement!