drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 #1 Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) Ok, I admit it....I really should've done this review shortly after this cruise and not left it this long, but at the time Hoopster95 did such a good job in his review of the same cruise that I thought another review might not be well received. However, a bit of time has passed (2 and a half years!!...lol) and, as this was our honeymoon cruise, I thought it would be nice to reminisce and put together this "retrospective" photo review....which I hope some of you, at least, will enjoy! This isn't the first review I've done. Here is the review of the cruise I actually proposed to my wife on....It was on Independence Of The Seas. Our first ever cruise and Indy's first cruise to the Norwegian Fjords http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1859146 By the way, my wife actually filmed our whole Honeymoon cruise on her GoPro, so if you have an hour to spare (yep, it's that long!) please have a look...she worked really hard editing it and putting it together This was the Itinerary: Day 1. Civitavecchia, Italy - Embarkation Day 2. Salerno, Italy Day 3. Messina, Italy Day 4. Valletta, Malta Day 5. At Sea Day 6. Corfu, Greece Day 7. Kotor, Montenegro Day 8. Venice, Italy Day 9. Venice, Italy Day 10. Split, Croatia Day 11. Dubrovnik, Croatia Day 12. At Sea Day 13. Civitacecchia, Italy - Disembarkation So, let's get on with my review.....I'd like to take you back to 17th September 2014. Jennifer and I had got married the week before and were now arriving at the Italian port of Civitavecchia to board the Serenade of the Seas. Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Upon boarding, the first thing that struck us was how elegant the ship felt, with a beautiful Centrum - we'd previously sailed on Indy and Liberty, so this was our first experience of Radiance class. We continued to explore... Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Edited April 5, 2016 by drummerdavebmth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #2 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted April 5, 2016 #3 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Beautiful photos, looking forward to this.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #4 Share Posted April 5, 2016 After eating in the MDR that first evening, we had a relatively early night that night as were tired after travelling. The next morning we woke up in the port of Salerno. There is nothing like the feeling of waking up on your first morning of a cruise and seeing a new view from your balcony room!! We were excited because we had a boat trip along the Almalfi coast planned to the actual town of Almalfi :) Good morning Salerno!! Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1673/25976789810_363d00e36d_b.jpg' alt='25976789810_363d00e36d_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #5 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Beautiful photos, looking forward to this.:) Thanks! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #6 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Lot's of attractive towns dotted the coastline...most of them had medieval look out towers that were positioned to spot any invading Turks during the Ottoman Empire. Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Once we arrived in the town of Almalfi, the sun had come out and it really warmed up. What a very beautiful town... Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #7 Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) The St Andrew chapel in Amalfi Cathedral Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Back outside for some ice cream - Yum! :D Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Finally it was time for us to get back to our boat. Now the sun was out Almalfi really did look picturesque https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1626/25644783334_8cc6c252bf_b.jpg' alt='25644783334_8cc6c252bf_b.jpg'>Almafi by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Edited April 5, 2016 by drummerdavebmth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #8 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Back to our ship we go....along the beautiful Almalfi coastline.... Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1701/26223826726_34b0747169_b.jpg' alt='26223826726_34b0747169_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #9 Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) That evening, the management team were introduced in the Centrum by our Cruise Director Mercedes Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Edited April 5, 2016 by drummerdavebmth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI66774 Posted April 5, 2016 #10 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Beautiful photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #11 Share Posted April 5, 2016 So the next morning, we woke up still at sea, but making our way into the port of Messina. I can never get enough of this view... Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Feeling hungry, it was time to make our way to the Windjammer for breakfast. We loved the outside seating on Serenade and (like Hoopster95 said in his review) we were surprised that it was never too busy. We always got a seat. Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] And the view sat at the back is amazing!! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1453/26157337022_afe5a38fe8_b.jpg' alt='26157337022_afe5a38fe8_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #12 Share Posted April 5, 2016 After breakfast, we went back to our room to get ready for the day ahead. We were arriving!! Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1586/26249797255_bde056f69b_b.jpg' alt='26249797255_bde056f69b_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #13 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Beautiful photos! Thank you! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hancogran Posted April 5, 2016 #14 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Can't wait to read the rest of your review! The pictures are great. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #15 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Can't wait to read the rest of your review! The pictures are great. :) Glad you're enjoying them! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #16 Share Posted April 5, 2016 We had booked a tour through 'Rome In Limo' (with some other people on our Roll Call) to Mount Etna and then to onto the town of Taormina. The drive took us up long twisting roads....We stopped off to take some photo's, looking up towards where we were heading. Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] The photo's that follows shows the climb and the views from the top. Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] It's like being on another planet!! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1593/25647153773_77685cc33a_b.jpg' alt='25647153773_77685cc33a_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #17 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #18 Share Posted April 5, 2016 After our getting back to the mini-bus, our driver took us back down the twisted roads and to the town of Taormina. The day had become overcast, but also very warm and humid. Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 5, 2016 Author #19 Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) After our free time exploring Taormina, we all met up at the mini-bus and drove along coastal roads to our ship waiting for us at Messina. Back in our room, we showered and got ready for the evening...meanwhile, we were slowly departing Messina. Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] A pre-dinner drink was in order in the Schooner bar, followed by another lovely dinner in the MDR. Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] The next day we were in Valletta, Malta.....After our action packed day climbing Mount Etna etc, we slept like babies!! Edited April 5, 2016 by drummerdavebmth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_nyc Posted April 5, 2016 #20 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Great so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingbajan Posted April 6, 2016 #21 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Enjoying the review and photos. We sail her in just over a year and are really looking forward to it. Keep it coming.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virtopia Posted April 6, 2016 #22 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Enjoying this review. I'll be going on an Adriatic cruise in September and this will help the time pass by! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 6, 2016 Author #23 Share Posted April 6, 2016 (edited) Thanks for the kind comments guys :) So, day 4 saw us waking up to views of Valletta (Malta) as we slowly made our approach into port. We had an action packed morning on a Segway tour, so we were up early and had room service breakfast on order. Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Edited April 6, 2016 by drummerdavebmth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 6, 2016 Author #24 Share Posted April 6, 2016 (edited) Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1447/26224056096_aa365b66c9_b.jpg' alt='26224056096_aa365b66c9_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Edited April 6, 2016 by drummerdavebmth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerdavebmth Posted April 6, 2016 Author #25 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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