Serenade...Med/Adriatic 'Honeymoon' cruise (a retrospective photo review!!)

[drummerdavebmth]

We had a brief visit to St Mark's Basilica - I say brief because it was so crowded, and we were kinda herded along, so we decided to get out. A shame as I would've liked to have looked around at my leisure. Maybe next time (....oh, there will be a next time!)

 

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It was now time for a coffee and a cake.....and we found a nice little cafe to sit and give our feet a rest...

 

 

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[drummerdavebmth]

And we're off!!

 

 

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[drummerdavebmth]

"Cheers Venice".........We will definitely come back to this magical city one day!!

 

 

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Quick story: A few years previously, my parents visited Venice and did a 5 night cruise around the city and surrounding areas on this river boat (the 'Michelangelo'). I couldn't believe it when I spotted it, so I took this photo to show them.

 

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That sail-away was another one of those experiences that will last with me a lifetime......Amazing!

 

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[drummerdavebmth]

In the evening, a Venetian 'Masked Ball' was taking place at the 'Safari Club' at the aft of the ship. It gave us the chance to wear the Venetian masks we had bought the day before. It was to be the busiest we ever saw the 'Safari Club', which is a shame because I, personally, thought it was a very under-utilised area of the ship.

 

 

 

We are ready!!!

 

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The next day was to be another tender day and we were going to be in Split, Croatia. I had never been to Croatia before, so was looking forward to it.....Stay tuned!!!

Edited April 8, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[drummerdavebmth]

Ok.....so let's talk about Split, Croatia.

 

Today was meant to have been a day in Split. However, as we got close to where we were going to tender, our Captain made the decision to abort. The wind was rolling down the hills/mountains into the bay making the water too choppy for the tender boats (apparently there had been cases in the past where they had started the tender process, only for it to get too choppy to continue leaving passengers in Split not being able to get back to the ship!).

 

With that in mind, I'd say the Captain made a good decision and he made his decision with the passengers safety and well-being in mind. As usual you had people making complaints, which meant the Captain had to repeatedly make announcements further explaining his decision.

 

But, of course, passengers - who are not privy to the wealth of information the Captain has - know best (tsk!)

 

 

 

So, we had an un-expected extra sea day. Leaving Split behind....

 

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Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1444/25702147403_f3f8d37d70_b.jpg' alt='25702147403_f3f8d37d70_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

Edited April 8, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[drummerdavebmth]

The last sea day we had, when we were sailing between Malta and Corfu (God...that seams so long ago now), we had gone to the cinema. We decided to do the same thing today.....they were showing Men In Black 3.

 

 

I still love the fact they have a dedicated Cinema on this ship (and so did Jen!)

 

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Edited April 8, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[drummerdavebmth]

It wasn't too long after that when the Captain made another announcement. He had arranged it so we could dock in Dubrovnik this evening. Dubrovnik was meant to have been our port of call tomorrow......so we were effectively having an overnight stay in Dubrovnik!! I thought that was pretty cool of him to do that (although no doubt some people probably still had something to moan about!).

 

 

We already had a table booked at Giovanni's Table, which I was looking forward to - but secretly I was kicking myself that we were missing the opportunity to go ashore and eat out in Dubrovnik. Oh well, it was nice looking out of the restaurant's windows into the Dubrovnik evening skyline..

 

Here's some photo's of us approaching Dubrovnik....

 

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We've arrived!!!

 

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Edited April 8, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[drummerdavebmth]

I couldn't decide which desert I wanted, so I had three!!

 

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Edited April 8, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[drummerdavebmth]

Breakfast sat in the outside area of the Windjammer was (again) a real treat...

 

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P&O's Oriana was docked behind us - I always like being nosey and looking at other cruise ships. I liked the look of their aft pool...

 

 

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Edited April 8, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[Bound4Bermuda]

Loving your photos! I'm going to some of these same ports (12-night Mediterranean Venice on Brilliance) in October, so this sneak preview is fabulous! Did you do any of RCI's excursions? It appears that you're exploring on your own. Was it difficult to get back to the ship from Venice? That's the one stop we'll have a free afternoon after the tour and would need to figure our how to get back on our own.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[drummerdavebmth]

Loving your photos! I'm going to some of these same ports (12-night Mediterranean Venice on Brilliance) in October, so this sneak preview is fabulous! Did you do any of RCI's excursions? It appears that you're exploring on your own. Was it difficult to get back to the ship from Venice? That's the one stop we'll have a free afternoon after the tour and would need to figure our how to get back on our own.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Hi there...I'm glad you're enjoying the photo's and you'll love cruising around the Med!!

 

The only RCI excursion we did was the boat trip to Amalfi and back from the port of Salerno. RCI also laid on coaches in Corfu (which we had to pay for). This took you from the dock to outside the fort in old Corfu town. We used a private company called 'Rome In Limo for our day on Sicily (which took us to Mount Etna & Taormina).

 

With regards to Venice (if your tour finishes in the city centre) you could get the Vaporetto (boat bus) to 'Piazza Del Orma'. From there get the sky train that takes you to the dock and then walk to your ship.

 

Hope that helps? :)

[librarylady19]

Fantastic photos and narrative Dave. We are actually taking 2 Med cruises this year and going to many of your ports so this was lovely to see a sneak preview.

[dln929]

OOOOOh these photos are whetting my appetite for next month when we board another Radiance class ship, the beautiful Jewel. Great review!!!

[drummerdavebmth]

Thanks for the kind words guys....glad you're enjoying it! I will carry on with the review and (photo onslaught) when I get back from work later this afternoon.

 

Still to come.....Our day in Dubrovnik (a must see, especially if you're a 'Game of Thrones' fan!) and our last day at sea, where we get a fantastic view of Stromboli - right from our balcony! :eek:

 

Stay tuned.... :cool:

[bobmacliberty]

Fantastic job reviewing Venice, complete with awesome pictures! A visit to Venice is on my "to do" list and you have definitely whetted my appetite.

[drummerdavebmth]

Fantastic job reviewing Venice, complete with awesome pictures! A visit to Venice is on my "to do" list and you have definitely whetted my appetite.

 

Thank you! Jen and I both loved Venice and will definitely go back there again some day... :)

[drummerdavebmth]

OK, the first thing we noticed about Dubrovnik (at least in the old, walled town) was how crowded this was. Apparently this isn't so typical though. There was a total of 5 cruise ships visiting this small town today.....our taxi driver told us this was most unusual.

 

It certainly didn't stop us marvelling at the beauty and culture of this historic place though. The weather couldn't be more perfect either!!

 

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I love this photo....You can see a cruise ship (looks to me like a Costa line) tendered. A MSC ship joined her later, bringing more people!

 

 

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Edited April 9, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[drummerdavebmth]

 

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Edited April 9, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[drummerdavebmth]

Our original plan was to go on the cable car in Dubrovnik which took you up to some spectacular views over the old town (see Hoopster95's review!). However, when we got there around mid morning...the queues were so long (and did not appear to be moving) that it looked like we'd be waiting for 2 hours +

 

We decided we didn't want to waste 2 hours of the day stood in a queue. We thought (at the time) if they were this bad at 11:30am, God knows how bad they would be in the afternoon....so we didn't bother coming back. We kicked ourselves later because, by all accounts, the queues died down to almost nothing by the afternoon (Doh!!).

 

Oh well...you live and learn (and all the more reason to come back!).

 

So, after making the decision not to queue for the cable cars, we decided now was a good time to walk around the ancient wall surrounding the old town.

 

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Notice the MSC ship now tendered behind the Costa ship....

 

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[drummerdavebmth]

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Jen getting some good GoPro footage for our video >

 

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Edited April 9, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[drummerdavebmth]

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Now that looks like fun!

 

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AND.....for all you 'Game Of Thrones' fans, we spotted some props!!! Suffice to say, we were pretty excited! Cool, huh?!

 

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[Bound4Bermuda]

Hi there...I'm glad you're enjoying the photo's and you'll love cruising around the Med!!

 

 

 

The only RCI excursion we did was the boat trip to Amalfi and back from the port of Salerno. RCI also laid on coaches in Corfu (which we had to pay for). This took you from the dock to outside the fort in old Corfu town. We used a private company called 'Rome In Limo for our day on Sicily (which took us to Mount Etna & Taormina).

 

 

 

With regards to Venice (if your tour finishes in the city centre) you could get the Vaporetto (boat bus) to 'Piazza Del Orma'. From there get the sky train that takes you to the dock and then walk to your ship.

 

 

 

Hope that helps? :)

 

 

Thank you! Yes, very helpful!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[drummerdavebmth]

Thank you! Yes, very helpful!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

 

No worries.......and by the way it was meant to have been 'Piazza Del Roma' (not "Orma"...lol, sorry! :D )

[drummerdavebmth]

We spotted the infamous "hidden bar", but didn't figure out how to get down there. Oh well - another good reason to come back some day!

 

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[drummerdavebmth]

Our ship had started moving now, slowly leaving Dubrovnik behind. I took this photo of the Croatian flag, shortly before it was taken down as we left port. It was a sad moment, because I knew it was a last port of call on our cruise...

 

 

 

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Edited April 9, 2016 by drummerdavebmth