The Inaugural Vista's Official Trippingpara Mayhem in the Mediterranean Review

[trippingpara]

Not a chance! Thanks for the pics and updates, looking forward to seeing the rest.

 

 

Hey! At least someone is sticking with me through the end! Thank you for toughing it out with me, this has become a marathon of a review!

[addicted2travel]

Hey! At least someone is sticking with me through the end! Thank you for toughing it out with me, this has become a marathon of a review!

 

 

It's been a great review with lots of laughs, beautiful photos, and valuable info! When you get to the end, can you just start making up new material? Lol!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[trippingpara]

It's been a great review with lots of laughs, beautiful photos, and valuable info! When you get to the end, can you just start making up new material? Lol!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

LOL, I'll see what I can do. Maybe I'll start posting about our Hawaii land vacations too. Not sure how well that would go over though!

[pghsteelerfan]

This review has gotten so long, I'm afraid that I'll lose everyone.

 

Are you kidding? I'm still following along (and enjoying it and your pictures), and will be till you finish. :D

[SenatorsFan]

I'm planning on sticking around until the end of this awesomeness, too! :D

Heather

[Shih-tzu]

Me too (although I'm feeling a bit sheepish over the goat comment).....

[addicted2travel]

Me too (although I'm feeling a bit sheepish over the goat comment).....

 

 

Ha! That's punny! [emoji12]

 

 

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[trippingpara]

Thanks to everyone for gutting this one out. Its been a doozy but we're getting close to the finish line! Now where was I?

[trippingpara]

Our first stop of the day was in the sleepy town of Arles. Otherwise known as the home of Van Gogh. Aside from Van Gogh it is also known for its Roman history and the well preserved ruins of the Roman Amphitheatre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was early morning when we arrived so the streets were fairly empty which just enhanced the peacefulness of the town. The only ones around was a bus of school children and a couple tourists waltzing around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited August 2, 2016 by trippingpara

[trippingpara]

We spent some time strolling along the quaint streets of this sleepy town as she slowly rose awake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[trippingpara]

Arles was a very quaint town. I really can't think of a better description than that. We were there fairly early in the day so it took some time for the town to come awake. The residents didn't seem overly friendly or talkative yet they certainly weren't rude or dismissive either. More like complacency. They were content with their lives and just went about their business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was also struck by the stark difference in the cathedrals in France from those in Italy and Malta. Although they were beautiful, they just seem dark and rather ominous, forbidding almost.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[dulcimergirl]

Test again...

 

 

Can you see this one?

 

P.S. Thank you all for being my test subjects!

 

OMG thats beautiful! Yes, this is the first one I can see. Thanks.

[trippingpara]

Our next stop was one of the ones that I was most excited about. It was the commune of Les Baux-de-Provence. It has a spectacular position in the Alpilles mountains, set atop a rocky outcrop that is crowned with a ruined castle overlooking the plains to the south. For all you useless information junkies out there, the name "bauxite" (aluminum ore) got its name from this village after it was found there in 1821. Hey! Now you have something to dazzle all your friends and family with! It also happens to be ranked as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Okay, so that little tidbit is a bit more interesting than having bauxite named after it! Any ways, that is where we stopped at next. I'll let the photos doing the talking from here...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[addicted2travel]

 

Our next stop was one of the ones that I was most excited about. It was the commune of Les Baux-de-Provence. It has a spectacular position in the Alpilles mountains, set atop a rocky outcrop that is crowned with a ruined castle overlooking the plains to the south. For all you useless information junkies out there, the name "bauxite" (aluminum ore) got its name from this village after it was found there in 1821. Hey! Now you have something to dazzle all your friends and family with! It also happens to be ranked as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Okay, so that little tidbit is a bit more interesting than having bauxite named after it! Any ways, that is where we stopped at next. I'll let the photos doing the talking from here...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Beautiful photos! Especially Mrs. Trip! [emoji6] Was there a lot of uphill walking on this tour?

 

 

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[Supermercado]

Just wanted to stop in and say that I've been enjoying your review. Some beautiful pictures. I'm especially interested in cabin 2293, if there's anything else you think might be interesting about that specific cabin. My wife and I are sailing on the NYC-Miami repositioning cruise in November and are staying in 2293, as well.

[trippingpara]

Beautiful photos! Especially Mrs. Trip! [emoji6] Was there a lot of uphill walking on this tour?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Mrs. Trip thanks you very much! There were some hills on this tour mainly here in Les Baux-de-Provence. However, many of those hills could be avoided simply by walking down a different corridor (we were on our own here so we were free to go where ever our little hearts - or feet - desired). There was a member of our group that had some mobility issues. Nothing too bad but limiting nonetheless. She did not have any problems on this tour. She did rest more often than others but there was a lot of walking on this tour too. For the most part, we were pretty free to move about as we wanted for the majority of these tour. The guide would always take us to the main area than say "you have some much time to explore, meet back here at such and such time." He was always available to answer any questions but we were tied to him or to any strict schedule or path. Which we really liked.

[trippingpara]

Just wanted to stop in and say that I've been enjoying your review. Some beautiful pictures. I'm especially interested in cabin 2293, if there's anything else you think might be interesting about that specific cabin. My wife and I are sailing on the NYC-Miami repositioning cruise in November and are staying in 2293, as well.

 

Hmm...what can I say? We really like our cabin (2293). It was quiet, easy to get to and we really like being that close to the water. There were only 2 issues (and they were minor ones at that). (1) they would sometimes block off the stairs on the starboard side when we arrived at the port in order to allow egress for the people on the Carnival tours. Which required you to walk to the midships hallway cross over to the port side and then walk forward again in order to walk down to Deck 0 to exit the ship. They only did this on the first couple days. (2) as I mentioned in my review, the elevators annoyed the living crap out of me. Why did they separate the elevators like they did. Again, nothing major, just annoying.

 

Family Harbor is just down the hall (okay waaaay down the hall) but I did sneak in a couple times to grab some ice cream! Much easier than battling the elevators up to the Lido Deck.

 

Sorry if I already posted these but here are some shots of cabin 2293:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If there is anything in particular that you would like to know, please do not hesitate to ask. That's why I do these reviews; to try and give back some information that I got from others.

 

 

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[Supermercado]

Hmm...what can I say? We really like our cabin (2293). It was quiet, easy to get to and we really like being that close to the water. There were only 2 issues (and they were minor ones at that). (1) they would sometimes block off the stairs on the starboard side when we arrived at the port in order to allow egress for the people on the Carnival tours. Which required you to walk to the midships hallway cross over to the port side and then walk forward again in order to walk down to Deck 0 to exit the ship. They only did this on the first couple days. (2) as I mentioned in my review, the elevators annoyed the living crap out of me. Why did they separate the elevators like they did. Again, nothing major, just annoying.

 

Family Harbor is just down the hall (okay waaaay down the hall) but I did sneak in a couple times to grab some ice cream! Much easier than battling the elevators up to the Lido Deck.

 

Sorry if I already posted these but here are some shots of cabin 2293:

 

 

If there is anything in particular that you would like to know, please do not hesitate to ask. That's why I do these reviews; to try and give back some information that I got from others.

.

 

 

Very glad to hear that it's a good cabin in a good, quiet location. We were in a roughly similar area a couple of years ago on Glory in an ocean view and there was some sort of awful valve or something that opened and closed constantly. It was pretty terrible. Nothing like that, I assume. And it looks like it's pretty much directly under Guest Services.

 

I think I remember you saying that it was your first time in a cove balcony? This will be our first as well and we're really looking forward to being close to the water. I think my only specific question - that I can think of right now, I'm famous for coming up with "just one more" after the fact - is how much the lifeboat just forward of the balcony hangs over the balcony? From your pictures and from others that I've seen of the side of the ship, it looks like most or all of the balcony has lifeboat above it? We're not the direct sun sunbathing types so we're fine with it, mostly just a curiosity.

 

I find it very fascinating to see pictures of literally the cabin that we'll be in in a few months. Yours was of course one of the first Vista reviews online and we were just thrilled to see that the featured cabin was ours.

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it!

[addicted2travel]

Mrs. Trip thanks you very much! There were some hills on this tour mainly here in Les Baux-de-Provence. However, many of those hills could be avoided simply by walking down a different corridor (we were on our own here so we were free to go where ever our little hearts - or feet - desired). There was a member of our group that had some mobility issues. Nothing too bad but limiting nonetheless. She did not have any problems on this tour. She did rest more often than others but there was a lot of walking on this tour too. For the most part, we were pretty free to move about as we wanted for the majority of these tour. The guide would always take us to the main area than say "you have some much time to explore, meet back here at such and such time." He was always available to answer any questions but we were tied to him or to any strict schedule or path. Which we really liked.

 

 

Perfect!! Thank you so much for the detailed info!! My mom and I are taking this tour, and she has a heart condition. She's still very mobile but with a slower pace than before, especially with inclines. This will alleviate her concerns. [emoji4]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited August 4, 2016 by addicted2travel

[trippingpara]

Very glad to hear that it's a good cabin in a good, quiet location. We were in a roughly similar area a couple of years ago on Glory in an ocean view and there was some sort of awful valve or something that opened and closed constantly. It was pretty terrible. Nothing like that, I assume. And it looks like it's pretty much directly under Guest Services.

 

I think I remember you saying that it was your first time in a cove balcony? This will be our first as well and we're really looking forward to being close to the water. I think my only specific question - that I can think of right now, I'm famous for coming up with "just one more" after the fact - is how much the lifeboat just forward of the balcony hangs over the balcony? From your pictures and from others that I've seen of the side of the ship, it looks like most or all of the balcony has lifeboat above it? We're not the direct sun sunbathing types so we're fine with it, mostly just a curiosity.

 

I find it very fascinating to see pictures of literally the cabin that we'll be in in a few months. Yours was of course one of the first Vista reviews online and we were just thrilled to see that the featured cabin was ours.

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it!

 

Cabin 2293 is the last forward cabin with lifeboat above it. The next two cabins aft do not have one above them and then the cabins aft of them have them again. You can see this in several of my photos taken from the balcony. The lifeboat did block the sun from raining down on us but it was well enough above us that we never felt claustrophobic from it. It did annoy me with getting in the way of some of my photos but I was able to shoot around them some of the times. Watch it when the captain puts the pedal to the medal. You will get soaked with the spray from the bow. It was fun to go out there and watch it but you will get soaked if you look out over the railing. I predict that you will love the cabin!!

[trippingpara]

Perfect!! Thank you so much for the detailed info!! My mom and I are taking this tour, and she has a heart condition. She's still very mobile but with a slower pace than before, especially with inclines. This will alleviate her concerns. [emoji4]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

You are very welcome! We loved this tour and you can go as fast or as slow as you want just as long as you are back at the appointed meeting spot on time. We had a great guide too. Very friendly and very knowledgeable.

[Supermercado]

Cabin 2293 is the last forward cabin with lifeboat above it. The next two cabins aft do not have one above them and then the cabins aft of them have them again. You can see this in several of my photos taken from the balcony. The lifeboat did block the sun from raining down on us but it was well enough above us that we never felt claustrophobic from it. It did annoy me with getting in the way of some of my photos but I was able to shoot around them some of the times. Watch it when the captain puts the pedal to the medal. You will get soaked with the spray from the bow. It was fun to go out there and watch it but you will get soaked if you look out over the railing. I predict that you will love the cabin!!

 

 

I'll go back and look through all your photos and try to see! I'd kind of seen from the cabin-specific photos and was pretty sure it was as you described. Haha! We will definitely have to watch out when the captain is full throttle! I have no desire to get soaked so I will keep my arms and legs - and head! - fully within the confines of the vehicle!

 

Thanks again for humoring me with my cabin-specific questions!

[trippingpara]

Les Baux-de-Provence...this place was truly beautiful. It was very eclectic and special. We were very lucky as there were very few other people around so it almost felt like you had the town to yourselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even Prince Rainier had a place here

 

 

 

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[trippingpara]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The views looking out from the village were just as impressive as the views from within the village!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[trippingpara]

Our time here at Les Baux-de-Provence quickly drew to a close. Far too quickly if you ask me! Many of the peeps on our tour were smart and grabbed a bite to eat while touring Les Baux. We were too busy running around snapping photos and sticking our noses in every little crevice there was. Okay, I was sticking my nose in every crevice. Lady Trip was just tolerating me! Well, we met up with our lovely guide at the appointed time who then quickly took us down from the top to the base of the Alpille Mountains to another small town nestled into the base of the mountains about 12 miles south of Avignon. It was the town that Vincent Van Gogh fell in love with and where he spent a year in the psychiatric center at Monastery Saint-Paul de Mausole. It was also the birth place of Nostradamus. Yes, I'm talking about the lovely town of Saint Remy-de-Provence!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up until now, the overcast skies kept us cool and comfortable. But as we pulled up to the Hospital Saint-Paul, the clouds finally started to release what they had held on to for so long. The rain had finally started.

 

 

 

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