Our Serenade Story - Review Oct 10 - 22 Med Cruise

[inmanfamily]

Seth found his snow globe in the souvenir shops just outside the gates, and I found a small bottle of wine at a concession stand near the souvenir stand. We each grabbed a snacky type of item and pressed on with our tour. Try not to judge me for buying the wine before noon. Numerous studies have been conducted on men who have been subjected to large crowds in malls at Christmas time, and they concluded that the stress they feel is somewhat akin to that experienced by a fighter pilot in a dogfight. Check it out!

 

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The Roman Forum from the Colosseum

 

 

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Another family shot...

 

 

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Will and his bottle of vino...

 

 

From there, we went to the Forum, where the remains of the senate stood tall and proud. The Forum was located just across the hillside from the Colosseum, and you can see one from the other. It was a great place for us to get out of the van and walk around for a few minutes.

 

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I suspect this is why he was sick the next day...

 

 

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The column you see there is a mile marker on the Appian Way (Roman Road) these columns were found all up and down these roads.

 

From there we drove past the site where Julius Caesar was murdered and I was proud of my kids for knowing that Brutus killed Julius. At least according to Shakespeare. My kids love to say, "Et tu, Brute?" and someone usually responds with, "No, we ain't et yet." I guess it's funnier if you grew up in the South. But this reminded us that we had not yet had our lunch, and the Colosseum had taken it out of us. We were all starving, and asked Octavio to take us to eat. He nodded and explained that we were on our way, but there were a few places to stop first. Okay, but make it quick. We were hungry, and getting cranky.

[inmanfamily]

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Mussolini's Balcony

 

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Vittorio Emanuele Monument (Wedding Cake Monument)

 

We next stopped at the Pantheon, which is practically indescribable, and free to enter. But, Octavio stopped the van in a square with a statue of an elephant and pointed down across the rather large square. "That is the Pantheon. Please try to be back in about 30 minutes." We looked and looked, but couldn't see it. We asked him again, but he pointed across the square. "That building right there." We looked at it, but it in no way resembled the Pantheon, which is a stately structure with massive columns and large doors. We could only see an old brick building. But, we trusted our guide and set out across the square and followed the street as he instructed us. Half a block later we emerged in a larger square and suddenly realized that we had been walking along the edge of the Pantheon the entire time, but we had approached it from the back side, which looks nothing like the front.

 

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I don't see any Pantheon

 

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Still didn't realize we were walking around the Pantheon

 

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AHA! Thar she blows!

[inmanfamily]

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This place was impressive!

 

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The Oculus

 

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Raphael's Tomb

 

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A panoramic of the interior...yes it was crowded!

 

Again we were befuddled by the shear mass of barbarians. They were everywhere. By the thousands. But, we pressed our way into the impressive doors and entered what proved to be one of the most spectacular ancient sites in Rome. The enormity of the building was inspiring, and I have no idea how the ancient people were able to build such an elaborate structure. The temple was circular with a dome, and had an open roof, which allowed rain to fall into it, but today we only had sunshine. This is still the world's largest unsupported dome, which is 147 feet from floor to ceiling. We spent several minutes wandering around with the rest of the barbarians who were crammed into the building. We found Rafael's crypt and by that time the crowd was so massive that we decided to return to the van. Don't miss the Pantheon. What a marvelous structure. And it is very old, having been built 2,000 years ago. It is also unique in that is has been in continual use since Hadrian had it rebuilt.

Edited November 22, 2013 by inmanfamily

[boaterette]

Glad you feel better. Thank you for posting more. I am so loving your review.

[inmanfamily]

We were most assuredly ready for our lunch by this point, and we asked Octavio about it again as we loaded up, and he assured us he was headed that way now. Only we had to stop at Trevi Fountain before we could eat. The Fountain was only a few blocks away, and we didn't want to miss that. So, according to legend, if you toss a coin into the fountain over your shoulder, you are guaranteed to return to Rome some day. But when we arrived at the fountain, the sea of Barbarians just about overwhelmed me. Whoever was not at the Colosseum or the Pantheon was at the fountain. An exceedingly large mass of barbarians were pressed in so close that we almost never found a way to get down to the water's edge. But we did. And we tossed our coins. Great, now I have to go back. But I want it to be on a slower traffic day! Oh my goodness! I was so frustrated with the number of people that I was growing very crabby. And we wanted to eat. To make matters worse, we walked right past two glorious looking restaurants as we walked the street to the fountain. I will stop complaining long enough to say that Trevi Fountain is a really cool place to visit. It is simply wonderful, and I would dearly love to see it again…someday.

 

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Column of Aurelius

 

 

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Amazing Detail on the Column

 

 

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Trevi Fountain

 

 

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We all tossed in a coin, even Will (I insisted), so we will all return to Rome one day...

 

 

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Apparently all of these people want to come back to Rome too! I just hope it's not on the same day as me...

[inmanfamily]

From there, Octavio promised that we were now on our way to eat. But, did anyone want to drive past the Spanish Steps? It would only delay us by five minutes. FINE! (How do you say no to the Spanish Steps? Right? I mean, were already there, and all we have to do is delay our meal by five minutes.) So, we headed that way. The steps are so named because that is where the Spanish Embassy is, and if you climb the steps you can see an awesome sunset. But as we approached the steps, there was no way on Earth we were going to get out of the van and fight that crowd.

 

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The Spanish Steps

 

 

So, we scooted past and made our way to the restaurant. Octavio promised that it would be an easy place for Mike to get in and out with his wheelchair/scooter. And he was right.

 

 

 

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We chose to eat inside because it was easier to navigate with dad's scooter. Octavio made sure we had our food as quickly as possible!

 

 

 

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The kids shared a Margherita Pizza

 

 

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Will had a pizza with spicy salami, I had pasta but failed to get a picture and we had a bottle of the house red wine (it was fantastic!)

 

 

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This was the lady who ran the place, she and Octavio got into some heated Italian discussions about how quickly our food would get there, but in the end all was good and she kissed us on the cheeks as we left.

[inmanfamily]

The restaurant was a lovely place. And it was a busy place. Many locals were eating there, along with several other tour groups from Rome in Limo tours. We had pizza again, and it was wonderful. The salami pizza I ordered was absolutely amazing, and it went great with our bottle of wine. Seth and Caitie shared Margherita pizza. Sarah had lasagna, and it was jaw dropping amazing as well. Getting some food into our bellies made us all feel better, and we were now ready to continue facing the mob of barbarians who were awaiting our arrival at Vatican City.

 

Much can be said about the Vatican. One thing that stood out to me was the sea of humanity. Thousands upon thousands of barbarians meandered about the grounds, and we jumped right in with them. St. Peter's Basilica was open, but the line to get into it was four hours long, and we simply didn't have that much time. We desperately wanted to visit the Sistine Chapel, but as it was a Sunday, it was closed to visitations, so we were out of luck. We simply didn't have enough time to do anything other than casually explore. So, we wondered around for a little while until we decided that we really needed some gelato. We found a small gelato stand just beyond the barrier for the Vatican and tried their wares. The kids smiled when they saw the gelato came with wafer, which was stamped with a likeness of the Pope. I have to say, that gelato was the most unimpressive of all that we had tried. So far, Italy was falling short in the search for incredible gelato.

 

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The Swiss Guard, whose uniform was designed by Michelangelo (this piece of trivia will win you an extra raffle ticket at the art auction)

 

 

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That fence is what separates Italy from The Vatican

 

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St Peter's Basilica, just stunning, I would have loved to visit inside.

 

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St Peter's Square

 

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It was now time to head back to the ship, but I wanted to visit the restroom before climbing aboard the van. I found a gift shop very close to the gelato stand and saw that there was a public restroom. I was expecting there to be a very long line for the restrooms, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that only a few people stood in line ahead of me. Within a minute I was walking into an open stall and noticed that one old woman was fussing at me with a vengeance. I figured that she must be desperate, so I stepped aside and allowed her to pass. When I did, another woman rushed up and began fussing. Well, I needed to go, but she looked like she was in a bad way, so I granted her passage as well. But, my own needs were pressing me to hurry, so I dashed into the next open stall. When I emerged, a man commented something to me in German, but I have no idea what he said. And then I turned the corner and saw the line for the restroom. It stretched down the hall and out the door, and onto the street. I had cut in line, and everyone knew it but me. You would think that the people at the Vatican would be more forgiving, but those folk were a bit testy, and they were looking me over. I could see no good reason to hang out, so I found the van and advised Octavio that now is a great time to start driving. I certainly didn't want to wait around for the next Inquisition.

[inmanfamily]

Thus concluded our day in Rome. We really enjoyed seeing the sites and touring the culture of the ancient city. What we were not expecting was the volume of barbarians who were in the city with us. We mentioned it to Octavio, but he shrugged. "It's a Sunday," he explained. "It's usually much busier." Holy smoke! How could it have been busier? Well, regardless, we had a great time and enjoyed a great meal. We would go back to Rome, but next time, we won't be on such a tight schedule. This will allow us to not feel so rushed. We were all exhausted from the day, but we had two sea days ahead of us, and we desperately needed some down time.

 

We decided that we needed to attack Rome with a vengeance and see as much as possible in the few hours allotted us. Who knew when we would ever get back to Rome? Now that we've seen the highlights, we know what to do when we return. And even though the crowds were insane, it was well worth it. Rome was incredible!

 

Some closing thoughts on Rome...this was a difficult port. You have to travel about an hour and a half just to get to Rome and then to see all of the major attractions is quite a feat! I can understand why Octavio was pushing us to see certain things in a certain order. I can imagine that these tour guides have a system down to make sure you see everything and still make it back to the ship. If you start to mess with the order of things your probably going to miss something. Anyway, in the end Rome conquered us. This was the first night since our very first cruise back in 2004 that we did not eat in the dining room :eek:! The kids ordered pizza from room service. Will and I hit the Schooner Bar for some happy hour martinis. We eventually made it up to the Windjammer for some food. But spent most of the evening sitting on our balcony.

 

If we haven't mentioned yet, let me mention it now. The weather on this cruise was unbelievable! It was so beautiful. Warm and sunny. The sea was like glass a lot of the time.

 

I think Caitie went out to the show with Micah and Chris. It was a comedian that they said was very good. Then they caught some karaoke. We went to bed and dreamt of the two sea day we had ahead of us.

 

Compasses for Day 4 (Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy)

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[inmanfamily]

Wow, I was really enjoying this review! Has it continued in a different location on the board and I missed it?

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

 

I'm still here! Just had to take a few days away from the computer! Rome is up...going to work on the narrative for sea days tomorrow with the hubby. He didn't make as good of notes on the sea days as he did the port days so I'll have to help him remember what we did :rolleyes:. Maybe I can get the sea days up tomorrow then on to Kusadasi which was fabulous!

[inmanfamily]

I'm very much enjoying your review! Our family seems similar to yours - group of 4 planning/saving since 2011 for 2014 Med Cruise. I even have a binder too! Great job!

 

Thanks for checking out the review. This trip is so worth the time and the effort of saving and planning. You will make memories that will last a lifetime!

[inmanfamily]

Each post gets me more excited!!!!!

 

Sorry I've been away for a few days but thanks for stopping by and checking out the review. It's a fun way to relive the trip!

[inmanfamily]

A great review thus far Sarah! My GF is itching for a trip to Europe one day. Hopefully, we can do something similar to your trip.

 

BTW, I'll let the "Middle Age Drama Queen" know you referenced her review. She's a friend on that social media site that shall not be named! :D

 

I'm quite certain she will be flattered!

 

Hey, thanks for letting Sherri know we tagged her review! It was an invaluable planning tool for me and also provided the family with many laughs along the way. Our trip was better for reading it! Europe was a fun place to visit...I didn't think I would have the reaction to it that I did. I can't wait to go back.

[inmanfamily]

Glad you feel better. Thank you for posting more. I am so loving your review.

 

Thanks! I couldn't turn my head for about 3 days which makes life a little challenging...but better now. Thanks for sticking with me!

[ScoutLeoOz]

Ah - the Pantheon - love it!! At least you were looking at it even tho you couldn't see it. Here is my story: Rome in 1992 with a map and four children between the ages of 4 & 10. I don't know how many twists & turns we took walking down narrow streets thinking "how hard could it be to find this huge building?". And then we turned a corner and there it was - Wow!! As an aside my sons (6 & 8) had and epiphany here (where better than in Rome): "What, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are named after famous Renaissance artists?? A sad day for their mother with the Art History degree!!

[dolfans0704]

YAY! You're back! I am so happy to hear you are feeling better and thanks again for sharing your journey with us! :)

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

[mrsfecura]

 

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This is an amazing photo! It's so interesting to read about how your RIL drivers organized things compared to ours! Aren't they the absolute best?

[Twinman]

Before I take you into Eze, let me pay homage to a particularly enjoyable and informative review of Serenade and the Med. In preparation for our trip, we read the review posted by a woman who calls herself the Middle Aged Drama Queen, and her review is awesome (check it out here). You should check it out. Well, she refers to the other tourists as barbarians. It's funny, and she includes herself and her family as part of the barbarian hoard that invades Europe. It's all in fun. And now, back to our story...

 

 

OMG - that's MEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

 

Thank you for the shootout - and for the compliments. You didn't have to do that. (I'll send you the check later.)

 

Seriously, though, LOVING your review. It's taking me back to our own trip, which seems so far, far away now.

 

Okay. Carry on. :)

Sheri, (Will here)

Thanks for being a good sport and letting me use your barbarian theme in my review. We continually referenced the barbarians while touring, and we laughed each time.

 

Your review made our trip so much better!

 

Carry on!

[Twinman]

Oh Annabelle! She is a fixture in our family! A funny story about her...My husband and I had joked with our daughter from the time she could understand speech that there was a kid who lived in the house named Annabelle. Anything unexplainable that happened was always blamed on Annabelle and eventually my daughter caught on to the joke and started playing along with it. Then my son was born. Annabelle was already a fixture and we talked about her as such. Just a few years ago (he was probably 9 at the time), we were having a conversation about Annabelle and suddenly he slammed his hands down on the table and said "Can somebody please tell me who the heck this Annabelle is?" Apparently, he had NOT caught on to the joke...He is now fully informed :p

 

Annabelle is still part of the family though...

Hello, (Will here)

We did bring a treat home for Annabel. She scored some amazing Turkish delight, which I will talk about very soon. Thanks for following along with our story. You will have your own very soon. Let us know when you post your review and we will check it out.

 

It's always great to hear feedback from other cruisers, and I look forward to everyone's comments, except for the negative comments!

[inmanfamily]

Back again, I've been super busy but I'm going to try and get the sea days and Turkey posted. Then it may be a few days until I get to Athens and Santorini due to the Holiday!

 

I apologize ahead of time about the lack of sea day pictures. If I had been planning on this review I would have taken more pictures around the ship. Next time I'll know:D

 

I also want to say ahead of time that on one of the sea days Will was feeling puny. I am a nurse and felt pretty confident that he was not contagious, otherwise I would not have let him wonder the ship! He has other medical issues that sometime bring on these symptoms. So that's my disclaimer...on with the story!

[inmanfamily]

Up until now, Will's Day numbering has been off. He started numbering on our first port day :confused: So we will correct that now with the sea days!

 

DAYS Five and Six

SEA DAYS

 

I won't spend too much time on the sea days. This review is mostly about the ports. But, I know some of you will be disappointed in this otherwise perfectly written review, if I don't at least mention the sea days.

 

We were all so tired from those previous three days that we wanted to sleep late and have a casual morning. We were really looking forward to an easy day. In fact, it was very similar to a day off, if you will. It was Monday, and we were ahead of the States by several hours, so I was able to catch a couple of the late Sunday football games that morning when I got up, which was a blessing for me. For I woke up feeling sick—and not sea sick. I felt like I caught a stomach bug, which disappointed my wife greatly. She had plans for us. But, I lay in bed for most of the morning and watched football. Why is it the Cowboys only win when I am out of the country? But I digress…

 

When I woke up sick, well, it changed how our day would play out. I did go to breakfast with Sarah and Caitie; Seth was staying with his grandparents. But we caught up to him pretty quickly thereafter and took him to the rock wall, only to discover that it was closed because the crew was washing the deck. So, he jetted off to Adventure Ocean. Man, it's nice to have kids who are old enough to check themselves in and out at their own discretion! Around 10:30 the wall was dry so Seth made his attempt at climbing. He didn't make it all the way, but he came close!

 

 

 

I was still feeling puny, so I went and executed my best horizontal meditation methods while Sarah and Caitie occupied themselves walking the shops on the ship and generally exploring the ship. At 11:00 we had the Cruise Critic party in the Viking Lounge, so I drug myself out of bed and attended that party. While enjoying those festivities, we noticed that Stromboli Island was just off the starboard bow, so we ran and grabbed Seth, who anxiously wanted to see a live volcano in action. Stromboli Island is an active volcano, and occasionally you can see lava pouring out of it. On this day it was quiet, but Seth still enjoyed seeing it. While we were watching the island float past, Caitie tried her hand at the rock wall. She's part mountain goat and climbed it in only a few seconds.

 

 

[inmanfamily]

By this time the kids were hungry and I was nauseous, so Sarah took them to eat lunch and I returned to the room and retired to my bed. I was very aggravated by this sickness. The seas were glass, and every activity imaginable was happening. But I was not happening. The entire day I never actually got sick, I just felt like I was…

 

Anyway… sometime around 1:00 that afternoon the Captain announced that we were about to pass through the Strait of Messina, which is the very narrow passage between mainland Italy and the island of Sicily. I drug myself out of bed and joined my group in the Viking Lounge to watch Sicily float past (and in case you were wondering, I do understand that we were the ones floating, not the island). We were close enough to see individual cars and homes. We watched Sicily for about an hour, and then I returned to bed, Seth left for Adventure Ocean, and the girls went to watch the activities on deck four at the Centrum. There was a group practicing the Thriller dance, which was apparently entertaining to watch.

 

Entering the Strait of Messina

 

 

Today was also a formal night, and we had the Crown and Anchor Reception in the Safari Lounge at 5:15, so Sarah returned to the cabin and gussied up. I was almost feeling better, so I got dressed (like I had an option!) and we went to the party. They were serving rum punch, blue margaritas, and champagne. I grabbed a flute and sipped on my champagne, and it actually helped me feel better, so I grabbed another one. Or two… But that isn't important to the story. Sarah wanted me to mention that on our cruise they had a ship's officer scavenger hunt and most of the ship's officers were at the party. This is your windfall, if you want to take advantage of it, all of the officers were very happy to sign the form for you!

 

At the Crown and Anchor Reception with Chris and Micah

 

The kids all dressed up!

 

After our formal meal, we attended one of the aerial shows in the Centrum that was worth watching. I was still feeling a little off, and I ended up at the Centrum on deck Seven and leaned against the railing until the show started. It was a clever show about Jack and the Beanstalk, and it was performed by the acrobats. They swung from as high as deck ten and descended and climbed from the floor to the ceiling several times. It was only 10 minutes long.

 

This aerial show was fun!

 

 

By this time the evening show was starting, and it featured a hypnotist. If you've never seen a hypnotist show, you must work one into your schedule. And don't worry; you won't be called up to the stage and bark like a chicken or cluck like a dog. At least I don't think I did those things… But I do have these unexplainable urges to rub every bald head that I see... That show was fantastic, and I highly recommend it.

 

Let me get out my soapbox for a moment if you will… Ahem…

 

I must mention how disappointed we were with the shows on the ship, overall. Most ships have shows that are really good, and a few that are okay. Serenade had most shows that were okay, and a few that were good. We loved the hypnotist. That was fun, and the Beatles tribute was fun, and the best show was the pianist Brooks Aehron. He was a fantastic entertainer, and he was a very gifted musician. The others were not very exciting, and I found them to be a little annoying. Take, for example, the Flaming Gauchos (or whatever their name was). They had a fun skill, swinging their bolos around and creating their own style of Stomp, but it got old after 10 minutes or so. We once took a cruise that had a gaucho show that was absolutely fantastic. Those guys had a fun routine and they used whips in their presentation, and they made us laugh when they kept hitting themselves (all part of the show). But, these people lacked presence. Okay, enough whining, right? One does not go on a Mediterranean cruise for the shows.

 

Once the show was over, Sarah and I went to the Safari Lounge for a night cap and the kids went to their grandparent's room, so we had the evening to ourselves. Too bad I was still a slight shade of pale, or we could have gone dancing or try a stab at karaoke, but we went to the room and called it a night. This was the night the ship set her clocks forward one hour to match Turkey and Greece, so we lost an extra hour of sleep.

[inmanfamily]

One quick comment about changing the clock. Because they put the compasses for Day 5 in the room the night of Day 4 many people read them before going to bed. There was a bit of confusion with people setting their clocks ahead the night of Day 4 because they were reading the compass for Day 5 :) This happened to some in our family...Micah called me at 10:00am wondering why I wasn't in the Vortex Lounge for the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet, she said no one was there and she didn't want to be the only one! I quickly set her straight that it was only 10 and the M&G didn't start til 11. I had heard some other passengers that morning questioning a bartender about what time something started because they had set their clocks forward a day early as well.

 

Compasses for Day 5 Sea Day

 

 

 

 

[inmanfamily]

The next sea day I was feeling much better. I was able to spend time with Sarah doing various things. In truth, most of what I did was sit with her in the Viking Lounge and work on writing this review while it was still fresh on my mind. To me, writing is fun, so I had a peaceful day with my keyboard. Seth spent a lot of time in Adventure Ocean, and Caitie spent her day drawing and playing her electronic games, and had a go at the arcade. The teen club was nonexistent, as only about 10 teens were on board, and none of them hung out there. This is the one major drawback to cruising off season…the kids activities are limited. And then we went to bed.

 

But, my wife doesn't want me to rush through the sea days, so I will back up and give it to you blow by blow. Since I woke with a new spring in my step, we went to breakfast and slowly eased into our morning. We didn't involve ourselves with too many activities before lunch, and we chilled out in the Viking by doing nothing important until lunch time.

 

I'll take this time to tell you that I really don't like eating at the Windjammer, which is the buffet that is open all day long, well, almost all day. I have paid good money for a good cruise, and I want my wife to be waited on and spoiled for a few days. So, we eat every possible meal in the dining room.

 

As a matter of chance, we arrived at lunch at the same time as most of our other family members, and we shared a table and enjoyed spending time with the Bluto half of our troop.

 

 

After we ate, I wanted to attend the champagne art auction, which is something I do on every cruise. Sarah and I both attended, and I bought two art pieces. It's okay, I didn't spend much, and I had Sarah's approval before I did it! I really love art, and the free champagne was a nice bonus. The art auction only lasted an hour. While Sarah and I attended the art auction, Caitie went to the international belly flop competition with the Bluto part of our gang. Reports were that it was great fun!

 

 

 

 

While we were otherwise occupied, Seth continued to lavish in the wonderful world of Adventure Ocean. After the activities were over the kids wanted a snack so Sarah took them to the Windjammer. I wish I was young enough to still enjoy Caitie's idea of a snack!

 

 

 

The only event we had planned as a group was to meet at the cinema and watch, The Impossible, which is an incredible movie. The room was packed, and I mean standing room only. We were fortunate enough to get there early enough to grab our seats (we sat in the back with Mike since he was on his scooter, they have a few chairs up there for family of those with mobility issues). If you haven't seen The Impossible, I highly recommend it. The story is about an tourist family who are vacationing in Thailand when the tsunami hit, effectively washing them away from the beach and deep into the jungle. The family was split up and had no idea if any family members survived. It's a great movie about facing the insurmountable and choosing to survive. And it's a true story, to boot! But, this isn't a movie review, so let's get back to our business at hand. After the show we had just enough time to change into our business casual clothes for dinner. We went to dinner, swung our napkins around as the staff paraded around the dining room, a great time was had by all.

 

 

 

We had to get up early the next morning so we skipped the show and went to bed. Both the kids stayed with the grandparents again and met up with us the next morning before our tour. Speaking of the next morning, let's move on to Turkey.

[inmanfamily]

Compasses for Day 6 (Sea Day)

 

 

 

 

[inmanfamily]

:( I am so sorry for being away from this review for so long! Thanksgiving holidays took over at our house. But I'm ready to get back to it! Hope there's still someone out there wanting to read it :D