Sensational Serenade 12 night Med with Venice overnight and Montenegro Review.

[Irish Cath]

Happy New Year one and all. I wish you all good health and happy travels in 2015.

[Irish Cath]

Hi Cath hope you have had a lovely Christmas and of course a Happy New Year.This review is fantastic.

We are cruising on the Splendour Out of Venice in May we should get to the ship by 12pm at all aboard will be 4pm.Do you think this gives us time to go to St Marks Square and back this is our first cruise so a bit nervous about making it back to the ship.

 

Hmmm, i'm not sure.... I suppose if you get there at noon maybe you could drop your bags with the porters and head immediately then. I guess you could 'check in' when you get back. I assume you are flying in that morning ? I would be a shame to get to Venice and not see some back alleys, and bridges and stand in St Marks, but then again it would be a bigger shame to get to Venice and miss the boat :eek: Can you trust yourself to go straight there and not get side tracked ?I want to tell you to go for it, especially if you think this is your one chance to see St Marks. Just don't blame me if anything goes wrong :D

[Irish Cath]

Cath:

 

I'm enjoying your review and I'm going to refer back to it when I make plans for the Cinque Terre.

 

I'm in the middle of my own review, my first one with pictures, and it's like a second job! So, thanks for taking the time to share with us.

 

Happy you found my review and hope it is of some help with your Cinque Terre planning. I look forward to checking out your review, I hear ya on the second job - pity we don't get paid :D

[Irish Cath]

Our destination today would be Ravenna in the Emilia – Romagna region of Italy. Famed for its beautiful mosaics and the tomb of Dante Alighieri the town boasts no less than eight UNESCO heritage sites.

Royal Caribbean provided a shuttle bus service from the port into town ( Viale Farini close to the train station) which cost $20 return per person. There are local buses numbers 60 and 70 which bring you into town for just €2.10 each way. To reach these buses you need to take a ferry (costing €1) from just outside the cruise terminal across the river. I believe it is straight forward to do this but today we weren’t interested in going very far!

At breakfast in the Windjammer we could practically see the two sunbeds that we intended to spend the day relaxing on. I have to give kudos here to Ms cruise reviewer herself Kreuzfahrtneuling for making us aware of the delightful beach right beside the cruise terminal. It took us less than 5 minutes to leave the ship, walk through the tiniest cruise terminal in the world (where people were sitting on the floor to use the free wifi) and cross a carpark and some rocky wasteland to reach our destination for the day. By 10a.m the sun was already high in the sky and we were more than delighted that we choose this activity instead of another hot day of site seeing. Two loungers and an umbrella cost €15 for the day which is average for such a set up in Europe. The novelty of sitting there looking at the ship was very very cool.

 

 

See I told you we were close!

 

 

The life guard had a cool raft to stop us going out to far.

 

 

 

Spot my naughty husband going out too far ! Also note the fishing gear in the distance.

 

 

We considered walking back to the ship for lunch but because I only eat pizza when in Italy I knew I might not get a chance to savor one again for a long time. We walked the 50 metres or so to the Waikiki beach restaurant directly behind us. Now, a little quiz, who can guess what pizza I had ???

[xrayvin]

 

At breakfast in the Windjammer we could practically see the two sunbeds that we intended to spend the day relaxing on. I have to give kudos here to Ms cruise reviewer herself Kreuzfahrtneuling for making us aware of the delightful beach right beside the cruise terminal. It took us less than 5 minutes to leave the ship, walk through the tiniest cruise terminal in the world (where people were sitting on the floor to use the free wifi) and cross a carpark and some rocky wasteland to reach our destination for the day. By 10a.m the sun was already high in the sky and we were more than delighted that we choose this activity instead of another hot day of site seeing. Two loungers and an umbrella cost €15 for the day which is average for such a set up in Europe. The novelty of sitting there looking at the ship was very cool. ?

 

 

This is FANTASTIC!! I never even thought about a beach day. I wonder if it will be warm enough in Early May? How was the water? How was the pizza? Hehehe....

Edited January 1, 2015 by xrayvin

[denisey]

Ooh! Beach day! We are going to be in Ravenna in May, and now you have me thinking!

 

To bess128, I agree it is worth the effort to see some of Venice while there. Keep an eye on time and give yourself plenty of time. You can also take the vaporetto to and/or from St Marks. Rick Steves has a free audio guide that narrates the Grand Canal.

[Irish Cath]

This is FANTASTIC!! I never even thought about a beach day. I wonder if it will be warm enough in Early May? How was the water? How was the pizza? Hehehe....

 

Ooh! Beach day! We are going to be in Ravenna in May, and now you have me thinking!

 

To bess128, I agree it is worth the effort to see some of Venice while there. Keep an eye on time and give yourself plenty of time. You can also take the vaporetto to and/or from St Marks. Rick Steves has a free audio guide that narrates the Grand Canal.

 

hmm i'm not sure about the temp in May, although maybe , this was mid June and it was scorching and the sea was like a bath it was so warm so it may not be out of the question in early May. I think it's worth considering if you are looking for an easy relaxing day.

[crvng4mr]

So loving this day of your trip!!!!

[Hailzmick]

So I've joined on towards the end of your amazing review.

I can't wait to see all these things myself in May!

 

I'll probably be so overwhelmed with excitement that I'll embarrass myself tremendously somehow ! Lol.

 

Ps. Keep going pa-lease!!!!!!!!

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

:oCath, I'm really happy for you about the upcoming new cruise .... but could you PLEASE finish this one? I know it's hard ... I only have 39 days:eek: left till our next cruise and I'm not done finishing my review either ... but I'm working on it ... what happened to ..."and if it kills me"? Hope you don't have a sinus infection again or anything more seroius for that matter....sending good vibes your way!

 

We miss you!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Stef

[Irish Cath]

No ? No one ? No one want to hazard a guess at my choice of Pizza? Well I guess one month is long enough to give you the chance to reply so here goes, drum roll please…… Margherita it was. Ger indulged in a calzone and we shared a jug of local white. Our lunch came to around €20 and was perfect. Hot out of the oven pizza – what more do you want in Italy.

 

 

Our afternoon was spent relaxing, snoozing, reading, people watching and occasionally cooling off in the Adriatic. This was the warmest Sea I have ever been in and was it like taking a warm bath, just gorgeous. I think I remember reading somewhere that the Sea temp in June was about 24C or 75F

I must warn those of a sensitive nature that there was a small slick of oil on the water in some parts, it didn’t bother me at all and because there was an abundance of small fish swimming around my legs I don’t think it bothered the marine life either.

 

This is as close to a shot of me in a bikini you are ever going to get :eek:

 

All aboard was 5p.m so we begrudgingly left our loungers about 4.30 for the gruelling 5 minute walk back to the ship! The cruise compass recommended that all passengers should join the upper decks to enjoy the beautiful sail out. While it was pretty and pleasant to watch it certainly wasn’t on a par with some of the places we had sailed away from in the previous 9 days so I’m a little confused as to why they were shouting about today's but hey ho!.

 

 

 

After dinner we went to see tonight’s headliner show at 8.45p.m. An Australian crooner called Mario D’Andrea, who sang some international classics and played guitar, we tapped our feet and clapped along but he wasn’t really our cup of tea. Next we made our way to the Crown & Castle pub to watch the world cup football (well ok for Ger to watch and me to entertain myself by eating the complimentary chips and salsa). Some of the crew members who were off duty were in here shouting for their homeland ( I think it was Brazil and Croatia playing) and it really made for a jovial atmosphere. Not only was DH delighted to see the football he also was delighted by RCI’s beer promotion – 5 bottles in a bucket for $20 – not a bad deal at all and definitely not a bad evening at Sea after a tremendously relaxing day!

 

Call the cops there's an intruder in our cabin!

Edited February 1, 2015 by Irish Cath

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

I must warn those of a sensitive nature that there was a small slick of oil on the water in some parts, it didn’t bother me at all and because there was an abundance of small fish swimming around my legs I don’t think it bothered the marine life either.

 

This is as close to a shot of me in a bikini you are ever going to get

 

 

:)I think that's a perfect holiday picture in a bikini ....

bathing in a tub-warm sunny ocean with the cruise ship in the background...just perfect! Thanks for sharing... hey, in Tanja's bathing picture you can only see her feet:rolleyes:... you definitely show more than that! Oh and we've seen pictures of you in tight formal dresses ... :)you can definitely show off the bikini without having to be intimidated:cool:!

 

lol ... and one add on to the marine life. Tanja and I tried to snorkel here... there are -- besides the many small fish you mentioned ... a gazillion little crabs roaming the sandy ground. Tanja screamed like crazy, when she stepped on one...no, she didn't get pinched... it just creeped her out:D.

 

Stef

[Irish Cath]

Today would be our final port of call and we would be in Kotor, Montenegro. When we choose this itinerary, initially we pretty much ignored this stop. We were swept away by all of the Italian stops and really gave this one little taught.

Then, I started to do a little research.

This little town was first mentioned in 168BC was settled during Ancient Roman times. Since then it sure has had a chequered history. They’ve been ruled by many foreigners including the Byzantines, Slovenians, Serbians, Venetians, Austrians, Russians, the French and Austrians again, phew. In the beginning of the 20th century they became part of Yugoslavia and then Serbia, but they finally became independent in 2006. The population of Kotor is multiethnic: less than half are Montenegrins, less than a third are Serbians, and a tenth are Croatians.

 

Next, I googled a couple of images, it was one of those moments when your jaw hits the laptop keys.

 

Kotor is situated in a most secluded tip of Boka Kotorska bay, in the northern part of the Montenegro coast on the Adriatic Sea. Kotor has developed around Stari Grad (local language for "old town"). Kotor Bay is the deepest natural fjord-like bay in the Mediterranean Sea, and the scenery around it including the steep mountains which come almost straight down to the water’s edge is beyond spectacular. We were due to arrive at 1.30p.m and would be tendered to shore. We ventured up on deck about 11.30 (according to the times on my pics) and were surprised that we had land at either side; in fact we had Montenegro to the left and Croatia to the right. We soon made our way to the helipad where we spent the next two hours with only a handful of other people. I am now going to bombard you with some of the pictures I took on our way up the Bay. I won’t be saying much as there really are no words to describe the outstanding natural beauty of this area. My photos won’t do it justice of course but I just want to try share with you all one of the most wondrous places I’ve been blessed to encounter.

 

Montenegro to the left

 

Croatia to the right

 

After a little while the 'black mountains' that gave 'Montenegro' its name came into view.

 

On our way to the Helipad.

 

 

[Irish Cath]

A very empty helipad. Actually most of the people out there were crew. This was the first time the Serenade had visited Kotor this year ( possibly ever?) and the crew knew not to miss this sail in. We had some great conversations out here with some of them.

 

 

Little towns clung to the coast.

 

After a while we finally got an understanding of where our destination today would be.

 

 

We could easily see the traffic on the coastal road.

[Irish Cath]

Approaching another 'bend' or meander maybe as our destination got closer.

 

Then we passed the two islets - Our Lady of the Rocks and Sveti Dorde. Our lady of the Rocks is actually an artificial island built by rocks. The main building on the island is Church of Our Lady of the Rocks. There is also a museum. According to legend, the islet was made over the centuries by local seamen who kept an ancient oath after finding the icon of Madonna and Child on the rock in the sea. Upon returning from each successful voyage, they laid a rock in the Bay. Over time, the islet gradually emerged from the sea. The custom of throwing rocks into the sea is alive even nowadays. Every year on the sunset of July 22 there is an event called fašinada in the local dialect, when local residents take their boats and throw rocks into the sea, widening the surface of the island.

 

 

A zoomed in shot of the above village, look how beautiful it is!

 

 

[Irish Cath]

Another cruise ship in the distance, docked.

 

 

 

The captain was visable for much of the sail in.

 

The people on this boat were ecstatic when the captain blew the horn in response to their pathetic sounding little thing! The horn did actually echo in the bay. So fabulous.

 

On our final approach we went so slowly it was almost eerie. Not a ripple was present in the water. We were like a giant cruising ghost ship!

 

Finally, our captain, very precisely turned us 180 degrees so that we would be ready for sail away later. This was our first proper view of Kotor. You can see the zig zag path up the mountains of the serpentine road which leads to St Johns fortress at the top.

[mj]

Thanks for sharing the pictures of Kotor. At first, was not looking forward to going to either Ravenna or Kotor. But, I was wrong. Looks like each port has something to offer.

 

Looking forward to the rest.

[Irish Cath]

There was a nightmare with the tendering process and we did not get off the ship until about 3.30 p.m. Even at this time the ques to get a tender were long and badly disorganized. Maybe it was something to do with this being a new port of call.

 

But we finally made it ashore. WOW i'm actually in Montenegro!

 

 

First thing we did when we left the port are was speak to one of the many taxi drivers trying to get our business. We had decided that we would hire one for 30 minutes to take us up to a height so we could view the bay from that angle. This trip cost us just €20 and boy was it worth it.

 

The taxi driver spoke good english and was very proud of his country. He was a walking book of knowledge and himself and Ger talked about history for most of the trip. I'm not sure who was more impressed with the other! He was particularly proud of the roads build by the Austro - Hungarian navy during World War 1 ( at least i'm sure it was 1 and not 2). I'm sure your not that interested in this but its one of the few things I remember so i'm sorry but I have to tell you!

 

Our first vantage point.

 

And the next where both ships were visable.

 

And then boom, look at this. I wanted to stay here for the afternoon. Although by now it was about 40 C.

 

We traveled higher up the mountain and our driver told us to watch out for the snakes. Seemingly their bite is highly poisonous. He did not know their name in English and I'm glad to say we didn't see any to enable me to report what they were.

 

Before we made our ascent he pointed out that Serbia is way over there behind those distant mountains.

[Irish Cath]

Thanks for sharing the pictures of Kotor. At first, was not looking forward to going to either Ravenna or Kotor. But, I was wrong. Looks like each port has something to offer.

 

Looking forward to the rest.

 

You really should be looking forward to these ports, both are great stops, for different reasons. I dream of going back to Kotor, so much so that for a long while we were seriously considering doing this cruise again this year. We were only swayed away from it because we have to travel in July this year and I know that because of illness I would not be able for the extreme heat.

Although i'm looking forward to our own cruise, I really envy you.

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

:eek: speechless....

 

 

boy that wait was worth it....

 

you rock!

 

Kotor is breathtaking ... who would have known? I sure didn't! I wanna cruise there now!

 

Thank you ,thank you, thank you for those "knock you off your feet" pictures!

 

WOW!!!

 

Stef

[Irish Cath]

:eek: speechless....

 

 

boy that wait was worth it....

 

you rock!

 

Kotor is breathtaking ... who would have known? I sure didn't! I wanna cruise there now!

 

Thank you ,thank you, thank you for those "knock you off your feet" pictures!

 

WOW!!!

 

Stef

 

Ahh wow Stef, such high praise from you, you're very very welcome. But to be honest, don't thank me, thank Montenegro :D

 

It was one of those times that reaffirmed to us why cruising is so brilliant, how else could you get a view like that!

 

Pictures of the old town coming soon and they're not bad either :eek:

[crvng4mr]

Absolutely stunning pictures!!!! I miss reading your writing. It is so engaging. I want to go NOW to Kotor!

[xrayvin]

What amazing pictures. The sail in seems so tranquil. The few reviews I have found of Kotor, have an early morning sail in. I was disappointed to see we would not be arriving till the afternoon. Your review has reassured my that no matter what time you sail into Kotor it will be amazing! What time did you leave? I am getting SO excited to visit Kotor (just 3 months away).

 

I read that you just got off the ship and found a taxi to take you up for some views. I was wondering if you remember seeing taxis that would be able to hold 7 people? Did you have any problems with motion going up into the mountains? was 30 min enough time? I love the idea of not having an official tour set up but if we decide to explore a little, we have that option!

 

Thank you for taking the time to do a review, I have really enjoyed it! Have a great time on your next adventure.

[Irish Cath]

Absolutely stunning pictures!!!! I miss reading your writing. It is so engaging. I want to go NOW to Kotor!

 

Thanks crvng4mr, its lovely to see you still hanging around here reading this very delayed review, thanks for the lovely comments. Hope you are not snowed in over there !

[Irish Cath]

What amazing pictures. The sail in seems so tranquil. The few reviews I have found of Kotor, have an early morning sail in. I was disappointed to see we would not be arriving till the afternoon. Your review has reassured my that no matter what time you sail into Kotor it will be amazing! What time did you leave? I am getting SO excited to visit Kotor (just 3 months away).

 

I read that you just got off the ship and found a taxi to take you up for some views. I was wondering if you remember seeing taxis that would be able to hold 7 people? Did you have any problems with motion going up into the mountains? was 30 min enough time? I love the idea of not having an official tour set up but if we decide to explore a little, we have that option!

 

Thank you for taking the time to do a review, I have really enjoyed it! Have a great time on your next adventure.

Hi xrayvin.

 

Yes it really was so tranquil and i'm going to put this out there - even more amazing than a Venetian sail in :eek:

 

The tendering process for us that day was a mess and we didn't get off until at least 3.30. All aboard was 8.30 p.m. We had enough time to take our taxi ride and get lost in the old town afterwards. Absolutely no problem with motion we actually didn't have to go that far up the mountain for those stunning views. We did consider going further but I don't know how much longer you could travel and still have Kotor views, I think to travel for longer you would be going to other towns. Considering the time it was when we finally disembarked there was an abundance of taxi's waiting by the port entrance. They all seemed to have an agreed rate ( €20 half hour, but cheaper to travel for longer). They also had a map to show you where you could go and how long it would take. I'm sorry I can't remember seeing a 7 seater but its absolutely possible that there was one and so keen to please were these people that I would not be surprised if they called in someone with a bigger vehicle to accommodate you all.

 

Don't worry about the late arrival, it really will be a fantastic morning out on deck. You're in for an amazing trip.