Legend of the Seas - Rome to Venice 8/31 Review

[jrmint427]

Here is the cruise compass for Day 3:

 

 

 

After dinner we went to the Schooner Bar with another couple to have a drink and listen to Tony B play piano. I thought the music requested by other guests was great – Sweet Home Alabama, Brown Eyed Girl, even some Coldplay.

 

We decided to play some mini golf. Those of us in heels wanted to change first, so we swung by our room so I could switch to flip flops before meeting on the top deck. When we stopped by, we saw this guy hanging out on our bed.

 

 

The top deck at night:

 

 

Mini golf was a lot of fun! They had balls and golf clubs (putters?) so you could pick them up to play any time. There were nine holes. I did not see any paper to keep score, so we had to keep track on our own as we played. We played guys vs. girls, and we tied! I don’t have great pictures of the golf course at night, but here are a few during the day:

 

 

 

It was so fun to realize that we were playing mini golf on top of a huge ship while cruising the Mediterranean.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Here is the cruise compass for Day 3:

 

 

 

After dinner we went to the Schooner Bar with another couple to have a drink and listen to Tony B play piano. I thought the music requested by other guests was great – Sweet Home Alabama, Brown Eyed Girl, even some Coldplay.

 

We decided to play some mini golf. Those of us in heels wanted to change first, so we swung by our room so I could switch to flip flops before meeting on the top deck. When we stopped by, we saw this guy hanging out on our bed.

 

 

Mini golf was a lot of fun! They had balls and golf clubs (putters?) so you could pick them up to play any time. There were nine holes. I did not see any paper to keep score, so we had to keep track on our own as we played.

It was so fun to realize that we were playing mini golf on top of a huge ship while cruising the Mediterranean.

 

Did the motion of the waves throw your putting off?

 

I am sure that if it is too rough it would be bad. But, I was not sure if it wouldn't be hard to putt any time that the ship is moving. :p That will be more story and I am sticking to it.:D

[cruise pup]

My husband ordered the cilantro-crusted cod loin.

Whoever knew fish have loins?!!!:D

[jrmint427]

Did the motion of the waves throw your putting off?

 

I am sure that if it is too rough it would be bad. But, I was not sure if it wouldn't be hard to putt any time that the ship is moving. :p That will be more story and I am sticking to it.:D

 

It really wasn't bad! If anything, I was more concerned with the wind than the rocking ship. Our ride was pretty smooth, but it did get pretty windy on the top deck at times. There were a few times I would wait a moment to putt, but I don't think it had too much impact on our game. I wish I could blame our later loss on that ;-)

[jrmint427]

Whoever knew fish have loins?!!!:D

 

Haha! I never thought about that :) But sure enough, that's what was listed on the menu!

[jrmint427]

The sail into Valletta, Malta was beautiful. It was my favorite sail-in of the trip. The city is mostly made from limestone, which gives it an ancient and unique look. I was so excited to catch the sail-in from our room as I was getting ready that morning. I wished I had gotten ready quicker to have been on the top deck for these views, already enjoying some coffee.

 

There is a bit of glare from our window, but these were some of the views we enjoyed that morning:

 

 

 

 

[jrmint427]

After our previous experiences with room service breakfast (too cold) and the MDR (too slow), we found the perfect breakfast fit at the Windjammer. We were sold after our morning in Malta and ate breakfast here every day for the rest of our trip.

 

I ate almost the exact same thing every day: scrambled eggs, hashbrowns and some form of bread or pastry.

 

 

The scrambled eggs were cooked perfectly and reminded me of my mother-in-law’s scrambled eggs, which are some of the best. The hashbrowns tasted a lot like McDonald’s hashbrowns, thin and crispy, the only way I will eat them. The pastries were all good and the coffee was good on some days. It was interesting that the coffee was not consistent.

 

On our first morning we saw another couple we knew and sat with them. While I was eating my scrambled eggs, I spotted what looked like a small worm. I was very concerned about bugs in my food until our breakfast friends asked me if I might have accidentally gotten the seafood scrambled eggs. Why yes, I did accidentally do that. My worm was actually part of an octopus.

 

Vegetarians, beware: Most days, the Windjammer offered two versions of scrambled eggs. One was plain and one had other food mixed in it, usually meat or seafood. Make sure you read the label above the eggs.

 

We sat outside with a nice view every morning. I really got used to that by the end of the week, which made it that much harder to go back to reality – eating breakfast (oatmeal) at my desk at work!

[jrmint427]

We had booked a private tour in Malta with 12 people. This was the only tour I organized myself. I worked with Chris from Touring Malta to build our itinerary for the day. He was excellent to work with. He always responded quickly to my emails and put up with the millions of questions I sent him. He was also patient as I changed our tour group from 6 people to 10 people to 8 people to 12 people. I would definitely recommend Touring Malta. Our itinerary for the day included the Blue Grotto with time for a boat ride, the Dingli Cliffs, Mdina, Marsaxlokk and a tour of Valletta.

 

We were in port from 8am to 8pm this day. We planned to tour from 8:45 – 4:45, and then give everyone the option of staying in Valletta longer or getting a ride back to the port with our van.

 

We met our tour group just outside the dock. Everyone was on time, and we quickly met up with our tour guide, Flora and the driver. Flora was a great tour guide. She shared interesting information and followed our itinerary exactly.

 

Our first stop was the Blue Grotto. We had planned to take the boats into the Blue Grotto and thought that by getting there early, we might beat the crowds from the ship tours. It was a windy morning and Flora warned that the boats might not be operating, but we wanted to check it out either way.

 

Once we arrived, Flora confirmed it was too windy for the boats to operate. We still got off the van to take some pictures and walk around. We discussed our options for the day. Flora suggested we could spend less time there (we had planned 45 minutes) and more time somewhere else like Mdina. We agreed. I was disappointed about the boats, but not everything can go exactly as planned (can’t believe I’m saying that!), and it was still a pretty photo stop.

 

 

We could see an oil rig not too far from the coast.

 

 

We were probably there for 10-15 minutes for pictures before we headed back to our van. The next stop was Dingli Cliffs. The drive there was very pretty. There were quarries where the Maltese were still mining for limestone. Flora told us that when they finish mining a quarry, they fill it up with trash and build a field over it. This results in many fields in boxes with fences made from rocks, and you can see that the fields are not all at even levels. It was a very unique place.

 

 

[jrmint427]

The Dingli Cliffs were a decent photo stop. Go to Google Images and look up Dingli Cliffs. This is what I was expecting to see. I suppose we were standing over the cliff, so it was not exactly the photo stop I had in mind, but it was still a beautiful view and made for nice pictures.

 

 

There was a cute little church at the top too. Fun Malta fact: there are 365 churches in Malta. As our tour guide put it, one for every day of the year!

 

 

We did not stay more than 10 minutes or so at the cliffs. We saw a little more of the country as we drove to Mdina, our next stop. One of my favorite sights along the way was this wall of pumpkins:

 

 

It was a very scenic drive!

 

[hazeleyez3]

How were Savoca and Castlemola? I hope you post a review, I would love to see what you did on this trip too! :)

 

We loved Sicily. Would love to go back.

 

Here is the link to my review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1914998

[cruise pup]

Here's how they fill a limestone quarry in Victoria, BC:

 

[cruise pup]

we found the perfect breakfast fit at the Windjammer.

Did you happen to notice if they had hard boiled eggs at the Windjammer for breakfast? I could use them for extra protein if I can keep a few on hand in my mini-fridge.

[jrmint427]

Here's how they fill a limestone quarry in Victoria, BC

 

Wow, much better than what we saw!

 

Did you happen to notice if they had hard boiled eggs at the Windjammer for breakfast? I could use them for extra protein if I can keep a few on hand in my mini-fridge.

 

I did not notice... this doesn't mean they didn't have them, but I don't remember seeing hard boiled eggs.

[diligaf51]

hey jrmint....great review and pics. I'd be willing to give you a days pay if you would call in sick and post the rest of your review. I find myself checking the thread every few hours to see if you have posted more. thanks again.

[yknot13]

Thanks for the time you have given to post this review. It is so comprehensive and very informative.

[jrmint427]

hey jrmint....great review and pics. I'd be willing to give you a days pay if you would call in sick and post the rest of your review. I find myself checking the thread every few hours to see if you have posted more. thanks again.

 

That is sweet, I really wish I could take you up on that offer! I apologize in advance, I most likely will not be able to post pictures for a few days. I will do my best to make it up to you this weekend with extra posts!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[jrmint427]

Thanks for the time you have given to post this review. It is so comprehensive and very informative.

 

Thank you! I know I'm moving slowly but will get through the whole trip before too long :)

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[DragonOfTheSeas]

It really wasn't bad! If anything, I was more concerned with the wind than the rocking ship. Our ride was pretty smooth, but it did get pretty windy on the top deck at times. There were a few times I would wait a moment to putt, but I don't think it had too much impact on our game. I wish I could blame our later loss on that ;-)

 

 

That is good to hear. We have 8 sea days on our TA --so, I thought this might be something DH would enjoy doing.

 

Thank you! I know I'm moving slowly but will get through the whole trip before too long :)

 

Thank you for all the work you are doing.:)

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[LBumb]

excellent job

awesome photos

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Can't wait for pictures of Mdina. I just love it there! Go Malta!

 

Still very much enjoying this! Thank you!

 

Stef

[jrmint427]

Mdina is also known as the Silent City. We were told this is because it is actually very quiet, even the cars – you won’t hear them coming up behind you. It’s interesting, but it really was a pretty quiet place.

 

Since we had left the Blue Grotto early, we had about an hour and a half here. I thought this was the perfect amount of time. Flora gave us about a 30 minute tour of the city and then we had free time on our own.

 

The entrance to Mdina:

 

 

We saw a lot of glass shops. I was really tempted to buy something, but it was kind of expensive and I was worried about the hassle of getting it home. I had my eye on these clocks:

 

 

We saw the outside of a beautiful church, which I was told was used in the movie The Count of Monte Cristo.

 

 

Apparently part of Game of Thrones was filmed in Mdina too. I have not watched the show yet (I know, it’s the best show ever right?), but this gave me one more reason to want to watch. I loved wandering through the narrow streets.

 

 

It was a beautiful city.

 

 

Flora’s 30 minute tour took us to the opposite side of Mdina. Where we had a beautiful view of the country.

 

[volunteer cruiser]

lovely photos, enjoying your review

[jrmint427]

Before she left us on our own, Flora recommended the Fontanella Tea Garden for its cakes. It was just around the corner from where we had ended, and I had read about it on Trip Advisor, so we decided to see what the famous cakes were all about.

 

 

We sat with another couple. We each ordered a different cake and shared bites. My favorite was the cake I ordered, the Baci Cake. It was a hazelnut and chocolate torte with a layer of dark chocolate topping. I suppose I am lucky I cannot go down the street to the store and pick this up every day.

 

 

Just to get your mouths watering, here’s the other 3 cakes I tasted.

 

 

 

 

I also enjoyed my cappuccino of the day.

 

 

Fontanella had indoor seating downstairs, but there were a lot of bees. They had outdoor seating upstairs with no roof and the beautiful view I shared before. We considered this, but it was a really windy day. We ended up upstairs, but in a closed in room, to enjoy the outdoors without the wind.

 

After we enjoyed our cakes, we walked back to the entrance of Mdina to meet up with the rest of our group. There was a public restroom nearby with an attendant sitting outside. I asked her how much it cost and she said, “You choose.” There was a woman in front of me who I think did not understand English, because she started to walk away when the woman said this, but the bathroom attendant motioned her back to tell her it was fine to go in without paying. After witnessing this, I gave her 50 cents (euro) from the change in my pocket. Apparently it was enough to allow me to use the restroom!

 

Up next: Marsaxlokk!

[jrmint427]

I should mention that Malta is a very small country. All of our drives were just 20-30 minutes as we drove from place to place. This is why we were able to fit so much into one day here.

 

Marsaxlokk (I think it’s pronounced Mar-sah-shlock) is a fishing town.

 

 

The boats in Marsaxlokk all have eyes painted on them.

 

 

They had a little market set up. Many of the shops were selling lace.

 

 

We quickly went in search of lunch. Being a fishing town, Marsaxlokk is known for its seafood (the restaurants get fresh fish from the finishing boats each morning), and Flora told us where she would be eating. We were quick learners by this point. If your tour guide eats somewhere, go there. Based on her recommendation, we ate at Ron’s. There were pictures on the wall of Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard eating at Ron’s. If it’s good enough for the rich and famous…

 

The ambiance here was wonderful. We ate upstairs in the air-conditioning, and with great views of the finishing boats.

 

 

I ordered the only vegetarian dish on the menu, the Napolitano with risotto.

 

 

Their specialty is fish, not pasta, but it was fine. Those who ordered fish thought their food was pretty good. I think what we loved most about this place was the ambiance. They had an elevator that brought the food and drinks upstairs to serve us, and the restaurant staff was friendly.

 

 

As we were leaving, someone in our group asked Ron (the owner) how much a tall beer was. He replied 3 euro. Our friend thought about it and said thanks anyway. Before we could leave, Ron offered the beer for free. We had fun hanging around and chatting with him for a bit and he invited the guys in our group behind the bar to get a picture with him. Ron was great!

[jrmint427]

Our final stop was the port town of Valletta. We had a walking tour planned with Flora. On our list were the Upper Barrakka Gardens, Republic and Merchant Streets and St. John’s Co-Cathedral.

 

Our first stop was the Upper Barrakka Gardens. Actually, our first stop in Valletta was a public bathroom for many people on our tour. Again, there was someone sitting outside the bathroom collecting money, but there was no set price. I paid another 50 cents (euro) for me and one other person, and that seemed to be acceptable. Although I’m sure they would have accepted more if it was offered!

 

The view from the Upper Barrakka Gardens was beautiful, but it was a bit windy.

 

 

 

Next we walked down Merchant or Republic street (I get the two confused), and Flora continued the guided tour. This is not one of the main streets, but I really liked this one!

 

 

Our final sight for the day was St. John’s Co-Cathedral. I was getting tired by this point, but still very excited to see the co-cathedral after reading about how ornate it was. On the outside, it did not look much different from other churches we had seen:

 

 

The inside was like no other church I have seen before. There was so much gold everywhere. The floor was entirely covered in decorated tombs. There were 8 countries represented in the order of the knights, and each country had its own room.

 

 

We also went into a room to see Carvaggio paintings, but they did not allow pictures in that room. And I follow the rules.

 

We finished our tour around 5pm. Although we had the option to stay in Valletta longer, all of us except for one couple chose to take the ride back to the ship. It was a long day with 5 stops. I felt like we had really gotten to know Malta as well as we could have in 8 hours. It was a beautiful country, and I was so glad it was included in the itinerary.