Kat goes on holiday - MSC Preziosa Eastern Med (5th July 2014)

[Katgoesonholiday]

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

By the time we had got halfway round the walls and to the other side of the Old City, we were ready for a break. It was hot and we were a bit tired. So we decided to descend into the city and search out somewhere to eat. This was NOT going to be a problem! The problem was decided where, out of the huge range of choices, we would eat. After walking aimlessly past a number of places that failed to inspire us, we found a wonderful place right down on the harbour - complete with live band and singer!

 

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

The restaurant we chose was in one of the buildings on the waterfront and it offered wonderful food, clean toilets, a marvellous view and free wifi!!! We took the opportunity to send messages to our kids and to text my sister who was looking after them. She sounded quite frazzled and I felt a little guilty to be sitting sipping wine by the water in Dubrovnik! I got over it really quickly though!

 

 

When they bought out the menus, they also bought out some wonderful bread with a whipped herbed butter. Nom! Nom! Nom!

 

 

 

I ordered the lamb and it was seriously the best, most tender, most delicious lamb I have ever tasted!

 

 

My husband ordered the carbonara and this was also excellent!

 

 

My mouth is watering just remembering how good this food was! I can seriously recommend this restaurant to anyone wanting to have a delicious meal in Dubrovnik! We spent a really pleasant hour sitting in the shade people watching and relaxing. It was bliss!

[sheba2008]

What a great blog, we did the same ports with the Mariner of the Seas a few years ago, I loved it.

Looking out for some more photo's and text.

Thanks for sharing.

 

Linda :)

[Elmartellama]

Glad you're back. I missed something of good quality around here recently (aside from Divina perma-whining!)

 

Dubrovnik in your pictures looks rather empty, compared to what we found!

[papcx]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Kat.

 

Loved this bar on the outside of the walls. A bit pricey for a beer, but WOW, what a view.

 

Loving your review, hope you and kiddie get well soon.

[AmoMondo]

Sorry to hear you and your son haven't been well. Great to have you back and with those lovely photos of Dubrovnik.

[Katgoesonholiday]

Thank you! You guys are too kind!

 

Fortunately Mr6 is improving, as am I, though it looks like Mr12 is coming down with it now. Its winter - these things happen!

 

Anyway, on with the rambling recount of our holiday!

 

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After our lovely lunch we decided to take a wander. Neither of us felt like doing the second half of the walls or the cable car so we headed in to the main strada to see what we could see. It was fascinating! There is this improbable blend of beautiful old architecture and modern shops - with a healthy lashing of tourists thrown in. The main strada was open and wide, though again it was cobbled and by this point the soles of my feet were permanently sore. And off the main strada were tiny little passages - some of which seemed to head straight up. I loved it! It was all so beautiful and so different from anything we have at home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

Oh! I found one of MrKat and I at lunch which shows the lovely view we were able to enjoy.

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

 

 

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

 

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

We wandered and wandered, going down narrow side streets and popping out again somewhere else. It was really interesting! There was a wealth of eateries and restaurants and plenty of fascinating shops aimed to attract the tourists. We didn't feel like shopping and it was very hot so after a while of wandering we decided to wander right out of there.

 

 

 

We went back towards the main entrance and then were directed away to another exit through a narrow tunnel. This lead us out to a children's playground in a wide open area that seemed to have been part of the 'moat'.

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

From here we went under the main bridge and through a very pretty garden to the shoreline. Fans of Game of Thrones will recognise this as the harbour from which Myrcella left Kings Landing.

 

 

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

The view of the city walls from the exterior was both imposing and very beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

I just loved the juxtaposition of the saint and the cannon. It really felt like the residents of the Old City were hedging their bets and making sure they covered all bases!

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

Once outside the city wall, we considered checking out the many shops as it was still some time before we had to hop back on the bus. But the prices weren't compelling and we were hot and a bit tired. So after poking through one shop and taking a photo of a fountain we found ourselves very efficiently shepherded into the queue for the transfer bus. This moved so fast that within two minutes of noticing the queue and the MSC crew member with her clicker, we were onboard and on our way back to the ship. It was a little bit like being caught up in a benign whirlwind.

 

 

The trip back to the port went very quickly and we were soon at the pier to find that the locals had set up an extensive market selling scarves, souvenirs and random kitsch. We took a poke through then headed back to the ship. Many people comment about how clean and smart looking the MSC ships are and I was impressed to see the maintenance continuing outside the ship.

 

 

 

Number one priority at this point was to ride the waterside whilst it wasn't busy! There was no way our kids would forgive us if we didn't! So we headed straight up to our cabin and got changed then walked across the decks to the waterside. My goodness they were hot!!! My poor abused feet - after being pounded on uneven cobblestones were now baked! I really regretted not bringing a pair of jandals or slip-ons.

 

When we got to the ride there was no one there except a slightly bored looking crew member checking their phone. So we hopped right on and off we went! Wooooooooo! It was quite a rush and at the point where the tube becomes transparent and goes out over the side I made the mistake of looking down and screamed! We were so high above the water!!! If my boys had been there we wouldn't have been able to get them off. But once was enough for me! Time to head back to the One Pool for a relax in the jacuzzi with a mojito!

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

The sail away was fabulous. The scenery was beautiful but it was also a bit sad knowing that this was the end. It really didn't help that the sail away music this afternoon was Bocelli and Brightman singing 'Time to say goodbye' - sniff sniff!

 

 

 

I can't really remember what we did this evening. I know that some final packing was part of it. We didn't bother going to the show but we enjoyed dinner in La Palmeraie again.

 

 

 

The risotto was nice but not spectacular. I felt that the taste of the peppers overwhelmed the dish. Nothing could top the wonderful truffled risotto we had the first night!

 

 

I opted for the lamb again and it was very pleasant. Not as spectacular as the one in Dubrovnik but certainly very tasty and beautifully cooked. The addition of cherries was interesting and delicious.

 

[moomoocow]

The view of the city walls from the exterior was both imposing and very beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

And this is where Cersei watched The Mountain train before his duel with The Viper :)

[Katgoesonholiday]

And this is where Cersei watched The Mountain train before his duel with The Viper :)

 

It was a huge amount of fun playing 'spot the GoT scenes' in Dubrovnik! Of course there is the scene where Joffrey almost causes a riot here:

 

[Elmartellama]

It surely is!

 

I was so excited when we were there that my partner got all interested in Game of Thrones. He's watching at least an episode every day now o_O ! and we occasionally spot some of the places we saw.

 

What I did not see, maybe because it was not recorded in Dubrovnik, is that beautiful terrace by the sea where Jammie Lanister is trained after coming back to King's Landing (having just one arm). Also I was interested in seeing some of the lovely gardens with sea views, but again maybe they are recorded at some other nearby location.

[moomoocow]

It surely is!

 

I was so excited when we were there that my partner got all interested in Game of Thrones. He's watching at least an episode every day now o_O ! and we occasionally spot some of the places we saw.

 

What I did not see, maybe because it was not recorded in Dubrovnik, is that beautiful terrace by the sea where Jammie Lanister is trained after coming back to King's Landing (having just one arm). Also I was interested in seeing some of the lovely gardens with sea views, but again maybe they are recorded at some other nearby location.

 

 

It was filmed there but the terrace was created with CGI. In reality it's just a flat part of the coast. The actors were filmed underneath the walls, near where the outside bar is.

 

I may even have a picture of what it looks like in real life. I too got massively geeky in Dubrovnik and Split (and Valetta) as they've all been locations for GoT.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Thyme60]

I have really enjoyed this, well done and thank you Katgoesonholiday for a very inspirational refreshing review of your holiday.

I was interested in your behind the scenes tour and may well try this on our next trip, thanks to your photos. :-)

[Katgoesonholiday]

I have really enjoyed this, well done and thank you Katgoesonholiday for a very inspirational refreshing review of your holiday.

I was interested in your behind the scenes tour and may well try this on our next trip, thanks to your photos. :-)

 

Its a pleasure! I am enjoying reliving it and I certainly enjoyed travelling with others virtually as they recounted their experiences so its nice to give it back a little. :)

[Katgoesonholiday]

Now comes the worst part of the whole cruise - disembarking!!!

 

I set my alarm for 5am, which was when we had to have our bags out in front of our doors. I just didn't feel comfortable having them out all night. That worked fine and I got another hour or so of sleep after I did this little chore.

 

Sadly, we lost all the photos from our main camera for this day - which is really disappointing as we had some amazing ones. And now I am going to have to rely mostly on my memory which by the end of the day was seriously impaired by alcohol!

 

We had breakfast in the TopSail Lounge and got ready to disembark. The ship arrived in Venice at 8am and we had to schlep our bags to our next hotel, check in and then make it to the entrance of Round Church in Campo della Maddalena by 11:30am. I was very worried the timing was going to be too tight. But as it happened we were off the ship by 9am and well on our way.

 

For the last time we followed Suresh, our butler, off the ship. I wished we could take him with us. He was funny and kind and thoughtful and he helped make our holiday super relaxing and enjoyable.

 

 

As we disembarked we could see heaps of trolleys of suitcases being unloaded. Fortunately ours were already waiting for us and it was only a minute or two before we were exiting the port and leaving the cruise to become a wonderful memory.

 

 

Here is my final thoughts about the MSC Preziosa and the Yacht Club and the itinerary we chose...

 

We had an amazing time! It was such a new and exciting experience for us that was super enhanced by what is definitely a beautiful and clean ship.

 

We were very glad that we chose to upgrade to the Yacht Club. We are neither of us highly social people and we enjoy peace and quiet - which goes without saying considering we have six boys and constant noise at home. The Preziosa is a

big ship but there were occasional times that the public decks felt very crowded - particularly when exiting the shows and also getting on or off for excursions. We spent most of our time in the Yacht Club venues and enjoyed that immensely. However when we did wander round the ship - with the exception of the busy times noted above - it didn't feel too crowded or chaotic.

 

We also found that there are some simple ways of avoiding some of the crushes. We hated getting the elevator and instead took the stairs most of the time. These were NEVER crowded! It became a point of pride to take the stairs from the 4th deck up to the 16th after our excursions. This may be why neither of us gained any weight on the cruise!

 

We found the food to be delicious. We didn't eat in the buffet or the main dining rooms so can't comment on those. But what we had in the Yacht Club was almost uniformly very tasty.

 

Our cabin was very clean and comfortable and the bed was great. We loved having a balcony and thought that the position of our cabin was perfect. We were 16029 which meant that below us was the TopSail Lounge and Conciergerie, and above us was the pool and bar. Our room was only a few metres from the steps up to the pool deck and there was very little foot traffic. It as super convenient.

 

The crew were great! We loved the butlers in the Yacht Club - they were friendly, welcoming, interested and had a wicked sense of humour. I forget the name of the gentleman who was the concierge but when my husband asked how he could get a book from the glassed shelves in the library he looked him in the eye and said "You just break the glass". The wait staff were also very droll and enjoyed joking around both with us and with each other. They remembered us and remembered what we liked and tried to anticipate our desires. This had a huge effect in contributing to our enjoyment of the cruise.

 

We were also really pleased with our choice of itinerary. Leaving from Venice was magical and we enjoyed having the opportunity to spend a few extra days there. Olympia and Ephesus were very special to me due to my bachelors degree in Classical Studies. And we simply loved Istanbul and Dubrovnik.

 

If I were to do it again, I would like to be able to allow a few more days to recover from the travel before boarding. The jet lag was the single biggest thing that impacted on my ability to enjoy the cruise. Unfortunately that wasn't an option this time due to our time constraints with being away from our kids. I am, however, very much looking forward to our cruise in December as we have a week on land before we cruise and I'm actually going to be able to stay awake this time!!!

[Katgoesonholiday]

Once we left the ship we had the one kilometre walk to the people mover station. This was very busy and we had to join quite a long queue to get into the station. Even so, we ended up at our hotel (Hotel Papadopoli Venezia) with plenty of time to spare. Since we were ahead of check in time we left our bags there and continued on to the next exciting thing on the itinerary!

 

We had been trip planning one Sunday afternoon when we came across mention of food tours. This got my husband very excited so I found and booked us a 'Cicchetti of Venice' food tour with Venice Urban Adventures. - http://www.veniceurbanadventures.com

 

This cost us 65 Euros each and was FABULOUS!!! It was a huge highlight of our trip! Our guide was Claire, a native of Venice, who talked non-stop the whole way explaining everything we saw and tasted. I can't remember how many places we stopped at but we wouldn't have gone into any of them if we had been by ourselves and even if we had, we wouldn't have had a clue what to order. Taking this tour gave us a taste of a side of Venice we would never have experienced otherwise and it was really amazing!

 

At each stop we had a small portion of something that was traditionally Venetian together with a small glass of either red or white wine. One stop was deep fried fish of some kind and what we would class as a toasted sandwich; another was bread topped with creamed cod; another was polenta topped with pickled fish; another was a range of breads with various toppings - I chose the truffled one! The food was amazing and so was the wine. Claire also showed us a fascinating shop where you can buy wine in demo-johns and can take in your own bottles and get them filled 'on tap' with white or red wine.