A Grand time on the Royal Princess Grand Mediterranean Cruise – Aug 10 – 22, 2013

[DoulaAnn]

You have to understand that one part is history and the other shopping. Choose what is important to you. You cannot get in and out of either market quickly.

 

Pia, I see your point. I have had someone suggest that we omit the Topkapi Palace and put in a Bosphorus cruise, based on the fact that the lines at the Palace are long (and this was the tour guide suggesting this). Am really wondering if the cruise would be worth bumping the Topkapi Palace (with or without Harems).

 

And is the Hippodrome worth keeping in the tour if I have to eliminate something? And, yes, I realize this is just preference, so am just trying to see if the preferences lean one way or the other.

 

Ann

[Pia1913]

Pia, I see your point. I have had someone suggest that we omit the Topkapi Palace and put in a Bosphorus cruise, based on the fact that the lines at the Palace are long (and this was the tour guide suggesting this). Am really wondering if the cruise would be worth bumping the Topkapi Palace (with or without Harems).

 

And is the Hippodrome worth keeping in the tour if I have to eliminate something? And, yes, I realize this is just preference, so am just trying to see if the preferences lean one way or the other.

 

Ann

 

 

You really should see Haggia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Topkapi. You don't need the harems. Extra $$$ and long lines. Unless you really need unusual spices, I would forego the Spice Market too. You can get everything at the Bazaar. And once you get in there, it's hard to get out. Wandering down the alleyways is fun in itself, whether or not you buy anything. It's an experience. We've been so many times that we don't bother going any more. But if we go to Kusadasi, we still walk over to that "Bazaar", which is not even remotely the same.

[homeinboca]

Thanks, Ron! I really enjoy reading your detailed reviews which help me re-live the amazing experience we had on Royal and in the ports as we were also on Aug 10-22 Royal Princess Grand Mediterranean Cruise.

 

I submitted a review which is now published on CC:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=226481

 

I've never written any travel review before, but this time I felt compelled because of all the helpful info I received from CC before the trip and some negative reviews posted. Everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion, so is mine :)

 

Charlene

 

Great review Charlene, thanks for taking the time to share your experience. I'm glad you had an amazing trip as we did.

 

Ron

[homeinboca]

If you had to omit one of these sites, which one would it have been (other than the Grand Bazaar or Spice Market)? We are trying to create a tour that perhaps doesn't have quite the fast pace yours did.

 

Thanks so much for posting your travels. It helps those of us who have never been to any part of Europe.

 

Ann

 

Hi Ann, it's hard to say, but having now been, you can easily see the Blue Mosque from the outside. I found the Hagia Sophia more interesting simply because of the history there.

 

Ron

[DoulaAnn]

Thanks, Ron. We continue to try to figure out what to do. Guided vs on our own. Which sites we want to see (in priority order). I think your experience with demonstrators makes me lean toward guided, but keep thinking that was a unique situation. Guess I better make up my mind soon. :)

 

Ann

[homeinboca]

Thanks so much for spending the time to write about your trip! Do you remember the name of that gelato shop? My DW & I love finding new places to try gelato and your place sounds like a keeper.

 

As you are facing the fountain, there are two places on your left. One is very busy! That is the one we enjoy! Can't recall the name, but you will see the crowd, I'm sure! Enjoy!!

[JanaJohn]

As you are facing the fountain, there are two places on your left. One is very busy! That is the one we enjoy! Can't recall the name, but you will see the crowd, I'm sure! Enjoy!!

 

As I face the fountain I have the shops behind me. At least that's how I picture things. Are you talking about the places on the same side of the Piazza as the Sant' Agnese in Angone church? Looking at the church I remember 2 (or more?) restaurants to the right that had outdoor seating. We had a wonderful Margherita pizza at one of them. Or are you talking about somewhere on the opposite side?

[homeinboca]

As I face the fountain I have the shops behind me. At least that's how I picture things. Are you talking about the places on the same side of the Piazza as the Sant' Agnese in Angone church? Looking at the church I remember 2 (or more?) restaurants to the right that had outdoor seating. We had a wonderful Margherita pizza at one of them. Or are you talking about somewhere on the opposite side?

 

Yes, the shops are behind you and the shop I am referring to is on the opposite side of the church, next to alleyway that leads to Via Del Corso. This is the best picture I have of the building, its to the far right of the picture. Hope this helps!

 

Ron

 

 

 

Ron

[JanaJohn]

Yes, the shops are behind you and the shop I am referring to is on the opposite side of the church, next to alleyway that leads to Via Del Corso. This is the best picture I have of the building, its to the far right of the picture. Hope this helps!

 

Thanks for the quick reply! Now I know where to look for the gelato shop.

[homeinboca]

Cruise Day 9 – Kusadasi, Turkey – for Ephesus

 

We were glad to have a nice relaxing morning, as we were expected to get in to Kusadasi around noon today. The ship was very quiet in the morning as I expected many others to need some time to recover from their long day in Istanbul as we did. We had a nice breakfast in the Horizon Bistro and spend some time on the Sun deck relaxing and going over our amazing day in Istanbul. We also ran into some friends who we met on board and shared our experiences of that memorable day.

 

Today, we were going to have the same group of 8 we had for Istanbul, and were going with Ephesus Deluxe. We planned to all met up in the Piazza and headed out to meet our guide. Stepping off the ship, Eric in our group commented that this was his first steps on the continent of Asia. Wow, come to think of it – this was my first steps on the continent of Asia as well!!

 

We met Mehmet our guide, and he told us to call him Matt. He was a nice and informative guide as we made our way to the ruins of Ephesus, which contain the largest collection of Roman ruins in the eastern Mediterranean. I never realized what an important center this was. The ruins are very impressive and given that only 15% of this place has been excavated, one can only imagine the splendor of this town when it was at its height of power with over 250,000 people living here and it was one of the largest cities on the Mediterranean.

 

We made our way down the main thoroughfare walking downhill from the top. It was a very hot and sunny day and Matt scouted out some shaded areas where he could speak to us about all the amazing ruins laid out before us – The Odeon – a small theatre holding 1500 people, the Temple of Hadrian, the main theatre holding over 24,000 people, the baths, and the main site – the Library of Celsus. We also made our way into the Terrace Houses, to see how the wealthy lived in the day. The excavations are ongoing here and the tiles, mosaics and frescoes are remarkably preserved and very worthwhile to visit. There are lots of stairs here, but also plenty of places to stop and rest. It is also covered from the hot sun.

 

After leaving Ephesus, we stopped for a moment at the Temple of Artemis. It doesn’t look too impressive today, but this was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and also known as the Temple of Diana. It was hard to imagine that this was once a place with an impressive monument as only fragments and a lone column remain. One interesting point made by our guide was when looking at this site; you can see buildings from five major periods of history in one place – Greek, Roman, Latin, Ottoman, and from modern Turkey.

 

We did some shopping at the port of Kusadasi on the way back to the ship, and that evening enjoyed the comedy of Gary Delena in the Vista lounge. DW was doing very well in the casino this trip so of course; we spent some time there as well. She was winning money the entire time and played on the house for the entire trip. The casino is not too large, but has a nice assortment of new modern machines and lots of tables for cards and craps. We never really found smoking here to be an issue. We closed out the evening in the Piazza as usual, with some music and dancing by the very good Orphea Band.

 

 

Cruise Day 10 – Athens Greece – and where were you when the lights went out???

 

We were looking forward to going to back to Athens, a wonderful city with so much history. The sunrise over the Greek islands this morning was the most beautiful one of the entire cruise. We were scheduled to arrive in port later this morning around 9:00 AM, but with all the ferry traffic, we were delayed slightly. Also as we going into port, I saw a very large ferry cross right across the bow of the Royal; it seemed to be a very close call.

 

Today our private tour was organized by friends we met from the wonderful state of Tennessee. We enjoyed their company immensely, they were very friendly, and spent some time on board with them as well. We were also going with our friends from Sydney Australia who have been on several private tours with us as well as a newlywed couple from Florida and another couple from Vancouver. All 12 of us had a private guide and driver with Private Greek Tours by Nikos, a highly rated tour company. We had a great day with this tour company and would not hesitate to recommend them.

 

It took some time before we received clearance from the Greek authorities and our departure was delayed for about an hour. This was the first time this happened all cruise and I wonder what the problem was with Greek bureaucracy. The captain was apologetic and announced he would delay our departure that evening so we could spend a full day in Athens. We all thought that was great!

 

After meeting up with our group, off we went to explore the ancient city of Athens. Our tour guide was a nice young man, who was also struggling with the economic troubles of his country and lamented he would probably have to leave to find work once he finished school. It’s very sad, but the Greek economy is still struggling after 5 years of recession, but they are very appreciative of the tourists who visit, like us!

 

Heading out into the city, we passed the various Olympic venues that were used for the 2004 Olympics, which were hosted here. Our first stop was the site of the stadium of the first modern games in 1894, called the Panathenaic Stadium, meaning beautifully marbled. This stadium was built over the remains of an ancient stadium first built in 566 BC, and is the only stadium in the world built entirely of white marble.

 

After our short stop here, we made our way to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, a colossal ruined temple in the center of the city. Construction of this massive temple began in the 6th century BC and lasted for over 600 years! Standing near this temple, you can only imagine the scope of this place when it was completed. The columns are huge, how could they build these things so many years ago? Today only 15 of the original 144 columns are still standing and a 16th lies on the ground where it fell during a storm in 1852.

 

We also purchased our tickets here for the Acropolis as well as there was no line up and saved lots of time when we got to the Acropolis and that is where we headed to next. Our guide did not accompany us to any of the sites, he told us about the history on the bus and then we were free to explore on our own. We took our time climbing our way to the top. DW was handling the stairs and uphill climbs very well this trip. I was so proud of her. It was a beautiful day on top of the Acropolis. It wasn’t too hot and the winds were blowing.

 

It also wasn’t as crowded once we made it to the top and set out to explore the various buildings and sites that make up the Acropolis including the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nike, the Propylaia, and the Erechtheion with its impressive columns known as Caryatids. The ones on display here are replicas; the originals are in the Acropolis Museum. Only 5 of the 6 are in the museum, the sixth was taken by Lord Elgin and now resides in the British Museum. The Greeks have left one pedestal empty in the museum for her hopeful return one day.

 

We made our way down the steps and back to the bus where we made our way to Syntagma Square in time for the changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. We had one last stop before making our way to the Plaka for some lunch and shopping and that was Mount Lycabettus. This is the highest point in the city and the views from here are spectacular. You can see the entire city from here and straight out to the Aegean Sea. We took some great photos and have a great shot of our tour group for some great memories of our day together.

 

Finally, it was time to head to the Plaka, for some delicious Greek food and shopping. We stopped a nice restaurant and enjoyed a nice Greek salad, some calamari, and a nice cold beer and had great conversation with our new friends. From there it was time for some shopping! We were on a mission; we needed Olive Oil soap for our friends back home! It was nice to wander around the Plaka, and before we knew, it was time to head back to the ship with more memories of a great day in Athens.

 

That evening, we had planned to meet up with some friends for drinks and dinner. We made our way to our usual spot in Crooners. This is one of our favorite spots for a pre-dinner drink, although throughout the entire cruise, the piano was not in use during this time, only later. Our regular waitress was there waiting for us with her friendly smile. She already knew our drink choice and could shake a mean martini.

 

During dinner, all of a sudden the lights went out! This was quite a surprise and you could feel the air getting warmer and the ship stop moving. Everything went silent for a while, and the emergency lights went on. This was a little disconcerting, but I wasn’t too worried. We just poured another glass of wine! The Captain came on and said we have a minor incident, but we have 4 generators on board and systems that are priority like propulsion are fine, and everything should be rectified quickly.

 

The staff was wonderful and just kept going like nothing was happening. We had already had several courses, but they came out and told us they were shutting down the galley. We were free to go to the buffet if we wished, but we just sat for a while and enjoyed our wine. Afterwards we went out to the Piazza and the music was playing and people were dancing like nothing happened. That night was the International Music event, and it's not to be missed. We had a blast! At the International Café however, you would have thought that some people thought they would never get fed again because the galley was closed due to the power issue. They were taking 10 – 20 sandwiches; piling food on the table like there was no tomorrow! I could not believe it!

 

We just sat and had a drink and enjoyed the music. They were playing “those were the days my friend” which made us laugh like maybe there was going to be no tomorrow for us!! After a while you could feel the air conditioning come on and the ship getting back to normal. Our friends had booked the tour of the bridge for the next day and they told us the captain showed them how the Royal is the most advanced ship at sea with redundant systems that would never allow the ship to be stranded. There are new regulations that require that ships must be able to power themselves to the nearest port of call to ensure we don’t have a repeat of what happened to the Carnival ships last winter in the Gulf of Mexico when it was stranded.

 

So the next day, everyone was saying – so where were you when the lights went out?

[sunsetbeachgal]

LOL...that is unbelievable about people piling sandwiches up. Just when you thought you've seen everything!

 

Loving your review...we also used Ephesus Deluxe and were very pleased! And the piazza was a favorite place of ours as well. It felt like "home" to us!

[Pia1913]

So the next day, everyone was saying – so where were you when the lights went out?

 

Seem to me I've heard that phrase before, and 9 months later there was a huge crop of newborn babies.

 

But wait.............this is Princess. Demographics be what they are, perhaps that honeymoon couple you mentioned might qualify. :D

[DoulaAnn]

Ron, I know this is a bit backward thinking, but I have realized that the ship docks in La Seyne-sur-Mer for Toulon. What, if any, options did Princess provide for getting to Toulon from there if one weren't on an excursion? I don't remember seeing this in your wonderful descriptions.

 

Thanks so much for the wonderful blog you've done for this. It has truly been beneficial for me as I've planned.

 

Ann

[IECalCruiser]

Ron, I know this is a bit backward thinking, but I have realized that the ship docks in La Seyne-sur-Mer for Toulon. What, if any, options did Princess provide for getting to Toulon from there if one weren't on an excursion? I don't remember seeing this in your wonderful descriptions.

 

Thanks so much for the wonderful blog you've done for this. It has truly been beneficial for me as I've planned.

 

Ann

Not Ron, but according to Patters posted on another thread there is a Water Shuttle with a $15 day pass to get to Toulon. Edited September 4, 2013 by IECalCruiser

[xni001]

We were on the same ship as Ron. We used Princess's water shuttle boat to get to Toulon which costed us $15 per person.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Ron, I know this is a bit backward thinking, but I have realized that the ship docks in La Seyne-sur-Mer for Toulon. What, if any, options did Princess provide for getting to Toulon from there if one weren't on an excursion? I don't remember seeing this in your wonderful descriptions.

 

Thanks so much for the wonderful blog you've done for this. It has truly been beneficial for me as I've planned.

 

Ann

 

There is a shuttle boat from La Seyne sur Mer to Toulon...I think it was $15 per person charged to your shipboard account.

[homeinboca]

So the next day, everyone was saying – so where were you when the lights went out?

 

Seem to me I've heard that phrase before, and 9 months later there was a huge crop of newborn babies.

 

But wait.............this is Princess. Demographics be what they are, perhaps that honeymoon couple you mentioned might qualify. :D

 

LOL Pia, this was a pretty mixed crowd and met lots of honeymoon couples so you never know. Maybe lots of babies named Katherine soon!

[caseykat]

Cruise Day 9 – Kusadasi, Turkey – for Ephesus

 

We were glad to have a nice relaxing morning, as we were expected to get in to Kusadasi around noon today. The ship was very quiet in the morning as I expected many others to need some time to recover from their long day in Istanbul as we did. We had a nice breakfast in the Horizon Bistro and spend some time on the Sun deck relaxing and going over our amazing day in Istanbul. We also ran into some friends who we met on board and shared our experiences of that memorable day.

 

Today, we were going to have the same group of 8 we had for Istanbul, and were going with Ephesus Deluxe. We planned to all met up in the Piazza and headed out to meet our guide. Stepping off the ship, Eric in our group commented that this was his first steps on the continent of Asia. Wow, come to think of it – this was my first steps on the continent of Asia as well!!

 

We met Mehmet our guide, and he told us to call him Matt. He was a nice and informative guide as we made our way to the ruins of Ephesus, which contain the largest collection of Roman ruins in the eastern Mediterranean. I never realized what an important center this was. The ruins are very impressive and given that only 15% of this place has been excavated, one can only imagine the splendor of this town when it was at its height of power with over 250,000 people living here and it was one of the largest cities on the Mediterranean.

 

We made our way down the main thoroughfare walking downhill from the top. It was a very hot and sunny day and Matt scouted out some shaded areas where he could speak to us about all the amazing ruins laid out before us – The Odeon – a small theatre holding 1500 people, the Temple of Hadrian, the main theatre holding over 24,000 people, the baths, and the main site – the Library of Celsus. We also made our way into the Terrace Houses, to see how the wealthy lived in the day. The excavations are ongoing here and the tiles, mosaics and frescoes are remarkably preserved and very worthwhile to visit. There are lots of stairs here, but also plenty of places to stop and rest. It is also covered from the hot sun.

 

After leaving Ephesus, we stopped for a moment at the Temple of Artemis. It doesn’t look too impressive today, but this was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and also known as the Temple of Diana. It was hard to imagine that this was once a place with an impressive monument as only fragments and a lone column remain. One interesting point made by our guide was when looking at this site; you can see buildings from five major periods of history in one place – Greek, Roman, Latin, Ottoman, and from modern Turkey.

 

We did some shopping at the port of Kusadasi on the way back to the ship, and that evening enjoyed the comedy of Gary Delena in the Vista lounge. DW was doing very well in the casino this trip so of course; we spent some time there as well. She was winning money the entire time and played on the house for the entire trip. The casino is not too large, but has a nice assortment of new modern machines and lots of tables for cards and craps. We never really found smoking here to be an issue. We closed out the evening in the Piazza as usual, with some music and dancing by the very good Orphea Band.

 

 

Cruise Day 10 – Athens Greece – and where were you when the lights went out???

 

We were looking forward to going to back to Athens, a wonderful city with so much history. The sunrise over the Greek islands this morning was the most beautiful one of the entire cruise. We were scheduled to arrive in port later this morning around 9:00 AM, but with all the ferry traffic, we were delayed slightly. Also as we going into port, I saw a very large ferry cross right across the bow of the Royal; it seemed to be a very close call.

 

Today our private tour was organized by friends we met from the wonderful state of Tennessee. We enjoyed their company immensely, they were very friendly, and spent some time on board with them as well. We were also going with our friends from Sydney Australia who have been on several private tours with us as well as a newlywed couple from Florida and another couple from Vancouver. All 12 of us had a private guide and driver with Private Greek Tours by Nikos, a highly rated tour company. We had a great day with this tour company and would not hesitate to recommend them.

 

It took some time before we received clearance from the Greek authorities and our departure was delayed for about an hour. This was the first time this happened all cruise and I wonder what the problem was with Greek bureaucracy. The captain was apologetic and announced he would delay our departure that evening so we could spend a full day in Athens. We all thought that was great!

 

After meeting up with our group, off we went to explore the ancient city of Athens. Our tour guide was a nice young man, who was also struggling with the economic troubles of his country and lamented he would probably have to leave to find work once he finished school. It’s very sad, but the Greek economy is still struggling after 5 years of recession, but they are very appreciative of the tourists who visit, like us!

 

Heading out into the city, we passed the various Olympic venues that were used for the 2004 Olympics, which were hosted here. Our first stop was the site of the stadium of the first modern games in 1894, called the Panathenaic Stadium, meaning beautifully marbled. This stadium was built over the remains of an ancient stadium first built in 566 BC, and is the only stadium in the world built entirely of white marble.

 

After our short stop here, we made our way to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, a colossal ruined temple in the center of the city. Construction of this massive temple began in the 6th century BC and lasted for over 600 years! Standing near this temple, you can only imagine the scope of this place when it was completed. The columns are huge, how could they build these things so many years ago? Today only 15 of the original 144 columns are still standing and a 16th lies on the ground where it fell during a storm in 1852.

 

We also purchased our tickets here for the Acropolis as well as there was no line up and saved lots of time when we got to the Acropolis and that is where we headed to next. Our guide did not accompany us to any of the sites, he told us about the history on the bus and then we were free to explore on our own. We took our time climbing our way to the top. DW was handling the stairs and uphill climbs very well this trip. I was so proud of her. It was a beautiful day on top of the Acropolis. It wasn’t too hot and the winds were blowing.

 

It also wasn’t as crowded once we made it to the top and set out to explore the various buildings and sites that make up the Acropolis including the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nike, the Propylaia, and the Erechtheion with its impressive columns known as Caryatids. The ones on display here are replicas; the originals are in the Acropolis Museum. Only 5 of the 6 are in the museum, the sixth was taken by Lord Elgin and now resides in the British Museum. The Greeks have left one pedestal empty in the museum for her hopeful return one day.

 

We made our way down the steps and back to the bus where we made our way to Syntagma Square in time for the changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. We had one last stop before making our way to the Plaka for some lunch and shopping and that was Mount Lycabettus. This is the highest point in the city and the views from here are spectacular. You can see the entire city from here and straight out to the Aegean Sea. We took some great photos and have a great shot of our tour group for some great memories of our day together.

 

Finally, it was time to head to the Plaka, for some delicious Greek food and shopping. We stopped a nice restaurant and enjoyed a nice Greek salad, some calamari, and a nice cold beer and had great conversation with our new friends. From there it was time for some shopping! We were on a mission; we needed Olive Oil soap for our friends back home! It was nice to wander around the Plaka, and before we knew, it was time to head back to the ship with more memories of a great day in Athens.

 

That evening, we had planned to meet up with some friends for drinks and dinner. We made our way to our usual spot in Crooners. This is one of our favorite spots for a pre-dinner drink, although throughout the entire cruise, the piano was not in use during this time, only later. Our regular waitress was there waiting for us with her friendly smile. She already knew our drink choice and could shake a mean martini.

 

During dinner, all of a sudden the lights went out! This was quite a surprise and you could feel the air getting warmer and the ship stop moving. Everything went silent for a while, and the emergency lights went on. This was a little disconcerting, but I wasn’t too worried. We just poured another glass of wine! The Captain came on and said we have a minor incident, but we have 4 generators on board and systems that are priority like propulsion are fine, and everything should be rectified quickly.

 

The staff was wonderful and just kept going like nothing was happening. We had already had several courses, but they came out and told us they were shutting down the galley. We were free to go to the buffet if we wished, but we just sat for a while and enjoyed our wine. Afterwards we went out to the Piazza and the music was playing and people were dancing like nothing happened. That night was the International Music event, and it's not to be missed. We had a blast! At the International Café however, you would have thought that some people thought they would never get fed again because the galley was closed due to the power issue. They were taking 10 – 20 sandwiches; piling food on the table like there was no tomorrow! I could not believe it!

 

We just sat and had a drink and enjoyed the music. They were playing “those were the days my friend” which made us laugh like maybe there was going to be no tomorrow for us!! After a while you could feel the air conditioning come on and the ship getting back to normal. Our friends had booked the tour of the bridge for the next day and they told us the captain showed them how the Royal is the most advanced ship at sea with redundant systems that would never allow the ship to be stranded. There are new regulations that require that ships must be able to power themselves to the nearest port of call to ensure we don’t have a repeat of what happened to the Carnival ships last winter in the Gulf of Mexico when it was stranded.

 

So the next day, everyone was saying – so where were you when the lights went out?

 

Is there a review for the last couple of days??? I just loved reading all your reviews!!

[CruiseCrazyGiGi]

We used USD in Turkey for the Kosagan tour guide and purchases in shops.

 

Did you need Turkish Lira on you tour or did USD or EUR work?

[IECalCruiser]

We used USD in Turkey for the Kosagan tour guide and purchases in shops.

Thanks

[homeinboca]

Is there a review for the last couple of days??? I just loved reading all your reviews!!

 

Sorry, been away and now working on it. Thanks for the positive feedback, I'm glad you are enjoying. Stay tuned!

[homeinboca]

Cruise Day 11 – At Sea!

 

After all the excitement of the previous evening with the power issues, everything seemed to be normal the next day, although we noticed a lot of activity by the engineering crew going in and out of mechanical areas. I’m sure it was all hands on deck to ensure there wasn’t a repeat of last nights power generator and power issues. I must say that the staff on this cruise have been more than excellent, everyone from our cabin steward, to the wait staff and bar staff were very friendly and always said hello with a smile.

 

Whenever we ate in the dining room, Godfrey, one of the head waiters always came over to my DW to show her the menu for tomorrow evening as he knew she was always interested what was on it, and if she wanted something made for her low sodium requirements. She asked once and thats all she had to do - he was always there to help every time. Very nice!

 

It was nice to have a sea day before heading to Venice our last stop on this amazing journey. Last time we disembarked in Venice we headed straight to the airport and home, and for us that was a mistake. We didn’t get a chance to really relax and enjoy Venice the way it should be - just wandering around the alleys and getting lost. This time we booked to stay for 2 days post cruise.

 

As usual for us, we were up early and enjoying the quietness of the ship. The weather was beautiful throughout the trip and today was no exception - a beautiful sunny day as we headed up the Adriatic Sea towards Venice. After breakfast in the Horizon Court, we found a nice spot on the sundeck and today I was going to finally get a chance to finish my book I’ve been reading.

 

Many of the conversations with people we had were around the power failure last night and we met a couple that were actually on one of the Carnival ships that was stranded at sea for 2 days. They told us they hoped they weren’t cursed by being on another ship that had issues. I secretly hoped we didn’t see them on our next cruise! We just had a nice relaxing day doing nothing much at all - I think we needed that after almost 3 weeks on the go! We were starting to think this amazing cruise is going to end in a couple of days and we are looking forward to the day when we’ll be able to book B2B cruises.

 

Being a sea day, it was also formal night, and since we didn’t bring any formal wear, we booked Sabatini’s for dinner. This is DW favorite spot to eat. The food, overall on this cruise has been amazing, but we always enjoy eating at the Crown Grill and Sabatini’s as well. I had the Burrata alla Panna, and it literally melted in your mouth, it was so fresh. DW had the Lobster 3 ways and it never disappoints. For the first time, I had the Bistecca Toscana, and I can honestly say it was one of the best steaks I have ever eaten, and I’ve been to some of the top steak houses all over. It was very quiet in the restaurant that evening and we enjoyed our last formal dinner on the ship as we figured we were going to eat in Venice the following evening.

 

After dinner we headed over to the Casino for a little while as you had to cash out before getting to Venice. DW did very well in the Casino this trip - me, not so well. From there we headed to the Princess Theatre for the production show - Spectacular, the finale from the Princess singers and dancers, who we enjoyed immensely the entire trip - there wasn’t a bad show at all. We closed out the evening, as usual in our favorite spot - the Piazza. Ron Goodman was hosting the Farewell Ball with the party band, and the place was hopping! We danced the night away, and a good time was had by all. Tomorrow; one of lifes great pleasures - a sail into Venice!

 

 

Cruise Day 12 – Sailing into Venice

 

Waking up today also meant the dreaded “taking out the suitcases and starting to pack” ritual. Since we were not going to arrive until 1:00 PM in Venice, we had some time to get things organized and also spend some time up on deck. This morning, most of the deck chairs were not put out as they always expect a large crowd to watch the sail into Venice. Our cabin was on the starboard side, so we could watch from our balcony and not have to worry about getting a good spot for the viewing. People were gathering quite early to ensure their spot. Around noon we headed back to our cabin and sat on our balcony with a glass of wine. I put on my iPhone speakers and played Pavarotti and Andre Bocelli singing “Conte Partiro” the perfect song to listen to as you make your way into Venice.

 

Saiing into Venice is the only way to arrive, watching the Campanile slowly come into sight and the busy waterways with boats going in all directions is one of life's great experiences. As you pass St Marks Square, you can see the thousands of people crowded in there. It was a glorious sunny day, blue sky and blue water, against the red brick rooftops of the buildings in Venice. Even though we are going very slowly, it all seemed to pass by too quickly. What a magical place!

 

Since we are going to spend a few days and really get to enjoy the city without rushing from place to place, we didn’t need to rush off the ship once we got to port. We figured we would let the crowd rush off and we could take our time. We had the Water Shuttle ticket ($15 PP) in hand and decided to head out later in the afternoon. Last time we did this, you could walk off the ship and the shuttle was right there. That was not the case this time - it was quite a long walk to get to the Water Shuttle. There was supposed to be a shuttle bus, but we never saw one running. Also, once we got to where the shuttle was leaving there was a huge long line in front of us! People were complaining that they were standing in line for a very long time waiting for the shuttle to arrive and some decided to just head back to the ship. This wasn’t run very well in my opinion.

 

We stayed and waited about 20 minutes before we could get on board. I can only imagine what it was like earlier in the day when most of the people were getting off the ship. Maybe they had more boats running then. We made our way over to St Marks Square to join the thousands of our fellow tourists crammed into the place. Venice is such a popular destination - over 20 million tourists visit every year. I think many of them were there today! We didn’t have any plans, just to wander around and enjoy one of the worlds great cities. The entire city is listed as a world heritage site! The history here is amazing as it was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. By the 13th century, Venice was the most powerful city in Europe. Last time we were here, we toured the Doges Palace and really enjoyed learning about the power of the Doge’s of Venice.

 

We thought we would head over to Cafe Florian, which has been serving coffee on St Marks Square since 1720 and just sit, have a latte, and listen to the music. Well at 30 Euros for two people for a coffee, I hope its very good coffee! It’s a nice experience, but I think we’ll just listen from a distance! Even the waiter agreed! We then wandered the back alleys looking for nice Murano pieces which are now gracing our home and for gifts for our friends and family. Part of the fun here is getting lost, but remember you are on an island, so you can’t get too lost! We were going to keep our sightseeing for the next few days once we get off the ship. We also found a nice spot to have a quiet drink and just soak up the ambiance. Things got a little quieter later in the day as people started heading back to their hotels on the mainland or to the cruiseship.

 

We decided it was time to head back to the ship and enjoy our last evening on board. We had a quiet night on board and just wandered around the ship enjoying the beauty of the Royal Princess one last time. We hope to book her again one day - she is coming to Caribbean for the winter to do a 7 day Eastern itinerary, then back to Europe next spring for the Baltic cruise out of Copenhagen. The following winter, she’ll be doing the 10 day Eastern Caribbean itinerary which we did on the Emerald.

 

Our overall observations of the ship was that she is a great improvement in many areas over the previous Princess ships, including design, color, size of the Piazza, layout of the Horizon Court, etc. We loved Princess Live!, Crooners, Wheelhouse Bar, etc. We saw very limited use of Vines, Bellini's and the Seafood Bar. We didn’t use them either.

 

Our mini-suite cabin was perfect in every way, we had no issues there at all. One area I wasn’t fond of was the elevators. The buttons are on only one side so people need to shove their way over to press for their floor and the elevators themselves are like steam baths sometimes. I think it would have been simple to place a small AC unit on the roof of each of these without any problem. I can only imagine what this will be like in the Caribbean cruises.

 

The pool decks were fine, lots of chairs everywhere, we only used the Sanctuary pool, and left the kids to the crowded pools in the middle. It’s not like we spend a lot of time in the pools anyways. The fountains in the middle were nice, but nothing special. The kids enjoyed playing in them when they were turned on. We never did make it to see one of the water shows, but our friends told us, they only lasted 5 minutes and were nothing special. The Seawalk was fun - once.

 

All in all, the important things like the intangibles of the great crew and the amazing itinerary of special places we visited, helped make this vacation one of the best we have ever experienced. Tomorrow we will disembark with memories that will last a lifetime. But our vacation isn’t over yet, we have a few days to enjoy Venezia! Stay tuned for my final entry in my travel blog and thank you to everyone for your positive comments…..

[sunsetbeachgal]

I just re-lived the last day of our Royal cruise with this post! We were also on the starboard side! Sorry about the shuttle boat...we also did not hurry off, thinking as you did as we also stayed two more nights, and we got on the first boat that came. And yes, a fairly Long and hot walk!

 

Venice is a magical place, but the secret is out!!!

Edited September 7, 2013 by sunsetbeachgal

[pmcue]

We leave on the 27th and your review has been awesome. Can you tell me what time you started to see venice uoon arrival? Also we are port side balcony, can you see from there or do you have to be starboard?

 

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[homeinboca]

We leave on the 27th and your review has been awesome. Can you tell me what time you started to see venice uoon arrival? Also we are port side balcony, can you see from there or do you have to be starboard?

 

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Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed my review. As you are sailing into Venice, St Marks is on the Starboard side. I would make sure to be up on the sun deck early to get the best views. We left the ship around 3:00 PM on the day we sailed in, but you could get off around 1:00 PM if you want to. Have a great cruise! You'll be with Pia!!