25th Anniversery Extravaganza Cruise! Live from the Royal- Southern Med. 6/25/16

[CruisingObsessed]

Thanks for taking us along, safe travels!

[treesah]

Tracie, so glad you appreciated the unpretentious Genoa. It has many hidden and obvious treasures. You must come back for at least 3 4 days.

 

You're a "fun" lady for sure. Happy anniversary and many, many more.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Happy Anniversary Traci!!! Glad to hear you are having so much fun.

[TracieABD]

June 31, 2016

(Ha! See who is paying attention!)

 

Livorno/ Pisa, Italy

 

Hi Friends-

 

Travel alert! Travel alert! Travel alert!

I will give three important travel alerts in this entry!

 

We made a big decision to skip Florence- as it is getting very hot. So we settled on Pisa to see the tower that leans. We grabbed a cab as soon as soon as we disembarked, and the far was about 30 euro. The ship also informed us that there was a private shuttle to the port gates that was 12 euro per person. Once at the train station- we purchased 2 round trip tickets to Pisa for a little over 10 euro. The train took about 20 minutes to reach Pisa- from there, we exited the train station and walked straight to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. OK, folks, if you have not seen it, here is the deal- It is a really big and impressive tower. It really does lean. And it is sort of amazing that it doesn't fall over. We purchased tickets to climb up in the tower (18 euro per person). You have to go at your designated time.

 

Travel Alert #1- due to heightened security- they really wand people down. They actually found a tiny coin that I had in a pocket that I had forgotten about. My husband's new hip was a whole different story. Eventually, we got through security to hear the spiel on the tower. It is a functioning bell tower- and if you are fit enough- you would learn this on your own.

 

Travel Alert #2- Dress appropriately. That means the correct footwear. Once again, I am so grateful for my electric blue Nikes- otherwise, there would have been no way... There are 252 stairs. The wind around in a circle, so your right knee bears the brunt of the stress. They are all at different heights, so it can be a difficult to establish a cadence. And due to the fact that they were carved from marble, which is a reasonably soft stone, there is a groove worn into the center of each step. Bradley and I actually stepped up (see what I did there) our walking game before coming to Europe, knowing that we would have lots of walking to do. I will talk about that in a later entry. So, back to the stairs. If you can hoof it up a lot of stairs without stopping, you may want to try to get at the front of the pack... Otherwise, you may find yourself behind a portly middle-ager (oh. wait. that's me!) who stops every 10 stairs or so. Bradley and I were first, and we made it up- fast- and without stopping. It took some people 10-15 minutes to climb them. We also were able to go up another level to the bells. It was well worth the time and expense.

 

After the bell tower, we grabbed a cappuccino and croissant at one of the tourist sidewalk cafes. Then, we walked around the shopping streets of Pisa. Around noon, we headed back to the train station. We validated our return tickets and rode the train back to Livorno.

 

And here is where the drill begins...

 

Travel Alert #3- Our plan was to grab a cab at the Livorno train station to the port. Good plan, right? Wrong. No cabs. None. So we thought we will take the No. 1 bus to the port side and walk through the port. Another good plan, right??? Wrong. We caught the No. 1 bus- but could not figure out to buy a ticket- so we interloped the fare. We tried to give money to the driver, but he would not take it. The bus was super crowded- and we managed to get off port side. We could see the Royal off in the distance and started walking towards it. Then we started seeing tourists and crew walking in a certain direction, and we sort of tagged along. We came to an area- about a 1/4 mile- as a crow flies, from the ship. There were busses for the different ships in port (HAL Eurodam, MSC ship, Cunard Queen Victoria, Thomson Majesty, and the Royal). We asked if we had to take a bus/ shuttle or could we walk back. No walking back. So we got on the shuttle which had to go around its elbow to get to its arse. Seriously- that 1/4 mile ended up being about 3 or 4 miles of winding through the port. Once again, we had not purchased a ticket, but were not denied passage. We did see some people trying to walk to the ship. They were caught in quite the situation: they could not walk through the port gates; the bus was not allowed to stop and pick them up; there were no taxis. I am not sure what happened to them. You all probably knew this, but even in all of my reading, I did not. Just thought it was worth a mention.

 

We got back on ship and headed straight to Alfredo's I have the veal pasta and Bradley had a pizza with stinky anchovies. It was good and fast and just what we needed. I also drank an entire large bottle of San Pellegrino.

 

When we returned to the room- we found that our cabin had been severely vandalized! By. Our. Cabin. Steward!!!! There it was- the dreaded "Luggage Mat of Disembarkation". (Which loosely translates to "Pack your stuff, loser. You're outta here!) Boo. But I followed the visual cue and began packing- while Bradley stretched out on the couch and offered encouragement. Truth be told- I don't really let him pack anymore. I just become one of those heavy sighing, beleaguered wives... and he stays out of my way.

 

We had our final meal at the Crown. We were so happy to have Eric as our waiter again- he is such a sunshiny person! The meal was delicious- and the steak was one of the best I have had. They surprised us with a cake for our anniversary- then sent us on our way.

 

We finalized the packing- schlepped the luggage out to the hall- and called it a day. And a cruise. Double boo.

 

I will write more about disembarkation and Rome in some following posts.

 

The last day is the worst day...

More later-

Tracie-Lynn :) :)

[sunsetbeachgal]

I've enjoyed traveling with you very much, safe rest of trip and flight home!

[happythoughts]

Enjoyed reading your review. Hope you enjoy Rome! Quick question...do you remember the cost of the taxiin Maraeille?

[Colo Cruiser]

A great day in Pisa!

Livorno is very deceiving, have been there many times.

Seems like you drive forever to get to the pier or the entrance.

Princess usually docks in that furthest pier from the entrance too. :eek:

[TracieABD]

July 2, 2016

Disembarkation Day

Rome, Italy.

 

Dear Friends-

 

As many of you frequent travelers know, traveling will teach you problem-solving skills. And this cruise has been fraught with lots of first world problems. Honestly, we have been lucky- most of the problems that we have encountered can be solved if you throw a little money at it.

 

We got up-took our final shower in our lovely stateroom- and headed off to disembark. Lucky me- Bradley went up to Deck 14 to grab me a latte as a "morning motivator". Once we disembarked, we found our luggage easily- it was right where they said it would be. We grabbed it and went out to wait for our privately booked car. We waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, we called the company. Fortunately, the dispatcher spoke English. She looked up our reservation and discovered that that I had booked the car for July 4, not July 2. And this is where we put on our grumpy faces. I was feeling stupid. Really really stupid. Truth be told, I was not looking forward to schlepping that luggage on a train to Rome- well, really on a shuttle to the gate, on a bus to the train station, on a train to Rome, and on the subway to the hotel. I am reasonably fit, but just not thrilled about all that movement with two heavy bags.

 

We ended up on the shuttle- which was a long 10 minutes to the bus stop. When we got to the bus stop, the line was quite lengthy. I stood in the line with all the luggage- and Bradley disappeared. In a couple of minutes, Bradley returned with a rather jovial Italian man. The grabbed up all the luggage and loaded it and me on a tourist van. Bradley had negotiated a ride to our hotel in Rome. The other six riders were all on a tour, but for a 100 euro- we had a ride to the door of our hotel!!!! Bradley is my hero! I would like to say that this is one of the hallmarks of our marriage- when one person hits a snag, the other person just jumps in and takes over. The ride to Rome was just over an hour. The driver dropped the others at the Vatican- and took us to the Hotel Artemide on the Via ****onale.

 

This is where the whole day turned around. I booked the hotel about six months ago. It is a boutique hotel in the middle of the shopping district. It is about a mile form the Pantheon. It is considered a 4 star, but I have stayed in 5 stars that are not nearly this nice. When I confirmed the reservation, I mentioned that we were celebrating our 25th anniversary. It was a very casual mention- and I never thought another thing about it...

 

When we checked in, the hotel desk staff all came out to wish us a happy anniversary- and then let us know they were upgrading us to the Honeymoon Suite, it was only 9:30 in the morning, and the room was not ready so we left the bags with bell service- and went off to explore the city. We found the Pantheon. We found some delicious pizza. We found about 90 million tourists.

 

We returned two or three hours later- and the room was ready. It is actually 2 rooms. A bed room and a sitting room. The best part is the private roof-top terrace with a wonderful Jacuzzi. The terrace is really pretty large, and is very quiet. In the middle of a large and crowded city- we found a little oasis.

 

After resting for a bit- we ventured back out to find dinner. One thing we have learned is that we will not starve in Rome. Wow! There are a lot of restaurants and eateries and bars. It is pretty hard to choose. We finally settled on a nice sidewalk cafe- next to a theater. I had some bresaola with arugala, and penne alla' arribiatta. Bradley had the carbonara.

 

We finished the meal by having a little scoop of gelato. Yum. He had a black cherry and I had ovito- which mimicked the flavors of Kinder Eggs. I was raised in Germany- so this was a spin off of a childhood favorite.

 

Back to the hotel, to shower and sleep! We had a wonderful first day in Rome- even with it's bumpy start!

 

Anyone want to scare up seconds of gelato?

 

More later!

Tracie-Lynn :) :)

[Astro Flyer]

Glad that Bradley was able to make your shuttle's lemons into lemonade...or was it limoncello! :D

Edited July 3, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[Woobstr112G]

Tracie;

 

Thanks for allowing us to cruise with you.....:):):)

 

Bob

[plan09]

Glad it worked out.

[Woobstr112G]

Glad that Bradley was able to make your shuttle's lemons into lemonade...or was it limoncello! :D

 

Frank;

 

Hopefully it was the second one.....:):D:)

 

Bob

Edited July 3, 2016 by Woobstr112G

[Astro Flyer]

Frank;

 

Hopefully it was the second one.....:):D:)

 

Bob

 

It would be the 2nd one for me! :D

[greenie082756]

But I followed the visual cue and began packing- while Bradley stretched out on the couch and offered encouragement. Truth be told- I don't really let him pack anymore. I just become one of those heavy sighing, beleaguered wives... and he stays out of my way.

 

Yep! I know that very well. However my DH has the job of going behind me and checking every nook and cranny to see if I missed anything. Teamwork!!:D

 

It sounds like you had a wonderful anniversary cruise and I love to hear about your sights and sounds experienced.

 

Thanks for sharing and your an enjoyable read. :) Looking forward to more!

[Lucky TGO]

Happy 25th Anniversary !!!

Tony

[TracieABD]

July 3, 2016

Rome

 

... and we hit the wall...

 

You know, that moment when you just run out of gas. Both Bradley and I are totally stalwart- and neither ever wants to admit when we hit the wall. If we are lucky, we hit it at the same time on the same day.

 

This is how the day goes.

We decide to get up at 5:30 am to see the sites before the tourists get there (like we're not tourists- ha!) and before it gets too hot. Only we sleep until 7:30- jump out of bed, put on stretchy clothes and set off on our way. We decide to go to the Colosseum first to avoid the crowds. The travel gods are laughing hysterically right about now. By the time we reach the Colosseum, the line for tickets is probably a quarter mile long and beginning to hook back on itself. Lesson learned. When they say, "buy your tickets in advance"- BUY YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE! By the way, the line for those who bought their tickets in advance had about 25 people in it. We decided that we will see the Colosseum the next time we are in Rome (and yes, there will be a next time). So we walked around the market place and headed back to the hotel for breakfast. On the walk back- Bradley uttered the magic words- "Hey, honey, let's take it easy today!" Hooray! A day with less than 10 miles logged.

 

The hotel breakfast was good- a cappuccino, bowl of cereal, and some sausage later- we headed to the room to relax. Our terrace had a private Jacuzzi, so I wrote a blog entry as it filled. I thought Bradley was in the room sleeping- but just as the giant tube was almost filled- he poked his head around the corner! We parked it in the Jacuzzi for a very long time. Then we slept on the comfy loungers- this was exactly what the doctor ordered. A little rest. A little relaxation.

 

Slightly rejuvenated, we headed out to forage for food. Once again, one will never starve in Rome. The hardest part is selecting a restaurant. We decided that we wanted to eat charcuterie for lunch- and Bradley found two places. The first was so crowded, we could not even get close to the door. We decided to take a stab at the second place- a meat and wine shop in the same piazza as the Pantheon, called Antica Salumeria. The restaurant is in the very back of the store, and we were banking on the fact that not many people made it back far enough to know it was there.

 

Guess what! We were right. There were two open tables- and given the crowds at the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon- the fact that we could walk in and sit down was nothing shy of a Christmas miracle. So we did just that. Walked in, sat down, and ordered a charcuterie for one and some prosciutto and melon for one. What we got was the world's largest charcuterie for two and no melon. But we were not mad. Our favorite restaurant in Charlotte refuses to let us order from a menu- they just bring us whatever they want- and we are good with that. And we were good with our huge-mongous meat and cheese platter for 12. We had parma, porchetta, prosciutto, parmesan cheese, burrata, mortadella, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. We ate. And ate. And ate. Finally, we surrendered and had them box up the remainder.

 

We walked back to the hotel in the blistering heat- shopping and strolling. I forget to mention that our hotel also has a thermal spa- which we were given a discount to use. The spa area has a dry sauna, a wet steam room, a cold room, a big bucket of snow, a four-stage shower, and the big thalassotherapy tub that has five different jet areas. Yep. We did that. It was great, and after the a very port intensive cruise- exactly what we needed.

 

We returned to our room, after an hour and a half- and that is when I crashed and burned. I began to really feel the effects of the travel, the smog, the food, well, everything. I laid down and gently let Bradley know that I probably would not get back up. He ran off to book a car to the airport (for the morning) and to buy some last minute souvies. When he returned- I crawled into the shower- and got my act together.

 

I was able to get dressed and we headed off to the Pantheon area- with the promise that I could bail at any minute and we would take a cab back to the hotel. We passed a fruit stand and Bradley nudged me and said, "get a banana". Holy Chiquita, Batman- that was EXACTLY what I needed. I ate the banana- perked right up and felt like I could eat.

 

We found a lovely little restaurant for some more arribbiatta and penne with pecorino cheese and pepper- and just a little jar of panna cotta. Everything settled well and I rallied. We walked around- until we made it back to the hotel- then packed (again-boo)- and headed to bed.

 

Tomorrow would be the day that our vacation officially ends.

 

Anyone have a spare Kleenex?

More later-

Tracie-Lynn

[Steelers0854]

Tracie-

 

How did you guys navigate Rome? Were you walking everywhere or did you take cabs or buses etc?

 

Loving the review. Glad you all are having fun!

[Gettingwarmer]

Walk down to the Palatine Hill. The queue is much shorter and the one ticket gets entry into that, the Forum and the Colosseum. No need to enter the Palatine Hill just walk back to the Colosseum and bypass the queue.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Astro Flyer]

Walk down to the Palatine Hill. The queue is much shorter and the one ticket gets entry into that, the Forum and the Colosseum. No need to enter the Palatine Hill just walk back to the Colosseum and bypass the queue.

That's the way Rick Steves recommends & another option is the Roma Pass (€28) with fast pass entrance to the Colosseum which also includes the Forum & Palatine Hill plus public transportation for 48 hours. That's more than the Colosseum's €12 admission but we were happy to avoid long lines & used the subway when in a hurry to go somewhere.

 

"At the Colosseum and Castel Sant’Angelo Roma Pass holders have direct access to the security check point, without waiting in the ticket window line".

Edited July 4, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[CRLess]

July 3, 2016

What we got was the world's largest charcuterie for two and no melon. But we were not mad.

 

I saw the picture over on FB....that thing was huge! Looked quite yummy!

[Colo Cruiser]

Tracie-

 

How did you guys navigate Rome? Were you walking everywhere or did you take cabs or buses etc?

 

Loving the review. Glad you all are having fun!

 

We were there for a week in Nov. We walked and took the train 2 or 3 times.

Never stepped foot on a car except from the airport to the hotel and then hotel to the pier. Its a great city for walking. The train is very easy to use.

[Steelers0854]

We were there for a week in Nov. We walked and took the train 2 or 3 times.

 

Never stepped foot on a car except from the airport to the hotel and then hotel to the pier. Its a great city for walking. The train is very easy to use.

 

 

 

This is good to hear. I was in Rome over 15 years ago and knew traffic was a nightmare so it's good to know the train system works well to move around.

[TracieABD]

July 4, 2016

Rome, Italy

Charlotte, NC

 

Hi Friends-

 

Happy Independence Day!

 

I am writing this from the plane as we fly home from our fabulous 25th Anniversary Extravaganza.

 

We had our final wake up in Italy- showered and went down to breakfast at the lovely Hotel Artemide. I cannot say enough about this hotel- they really work hard to cover all of the details. Each room has a complementary mini-bar with beer and water and juice that is restocked daily. There are also snacks- like crackers and cookies and nuts- also complementary. One very brief word of warning about the suites on Level 5. You will take the elevator to 4 and then walk up a winding flight of stairs to your floor- it was 26 stairs- so it was pretty manageable for us. However, these two rooms are not accessible- and because I traveled for years with a person with mobility needs- I always feel a need to report on that. The hotel has a rooftop restaurant- but we did not have time to eat there. The staff were so stinkin' pleasant and helpful. The bed was super comfy- with one word of warning. As typical in many European hotels, we actually had two twins that were anchored together to create a large queen- and that was fine. It is the same way on cruise ships. Oh- and the pillows! they actually had a pillow selection- and one of the choices was memory foam. Bonus!!!! It was quite possibly one of the best hotels we have ever stayed at- not cheap, but certainly worth every cent. After all, it is the height of the vacation/ tourist season in Rome- we did not expect to pay less. I just feel super grateful that we can travel differently than when we first started out... I am certain that there are a few others who can relate. :)

 

Honestly, we seriously considered the Hotel Senate right at the Pantheon- that is where lots of CCers tend to gravitate- like Norris and Carol (of Bimmer fame)- so we definitely looked there first- the turn-off for us was the sheer volume of people who are right in front of your hotel at all hours of the day and night- there have been quite a few complaints regarding the noise issue on Trip Advisor. But I will say- the location was very attractive- lots to do with very little walking.

 

We finalized the packing and brought all stuff to the lobby to check out. The concierge offered us "to go" cappuccinos for the ride to the airport, which we politely refused- being an over-caffeinated traveler is no bueno. Our driver loaded all of our stuff into the Mercedes van and we were off. He was a really knowledgable guy- and was able to get us to the airport as quickly as humanly possible- which was a very good thing- as Check In was a drill.

 

Once we were off-loaded at Terminal 5 (for American Airlines), we joined the first of many queues. This first stop- on our check-in journey- was an opportunity to chat with one of the airport employees (maybe TSA???). We were asked very specific questions about our vocations and our travel. My husband is an engineer, which inspired a lot of questions. Then, we were asked where we had traveled- especially in Italy. I let her know that we had been to Pisa, Genoa, and Rome, and that we really loved Genoa- she asked us to describe Genoa- which sort of caught us off-guard. It dawned on me that these are trained "human lie-detectors"- and are looking for inconsistencies or nervousness. I guess we got all of our questions correct- because we were given clear plastic bags for our electronics and an US Customs form. The next stop was to get our boarding passes and drop our luggage. More lines. And once we got our boarding passes from the machine- we ended up in the baggage drop line behind a school group and the gate agent had a trainee. Joy.

 

We got a bit of a break going through Security, though. Because we have a Known Traveler Number (Global Entry), we got to go to the Fast Pass lane. That took less than 2 minutes- while the other line was long.

 

... And then came the bus to Terminal G. A very crowded, hot, sweaty bus. More joy. So much joy...

 

Finally, we reached our gate- and guess what??? No seats. I love the people that think their luggage is entitled to its own seat. I don't care if you are carrying Hartman or Louis- Luggage goes on the floor. We finally found one seat in a bank of four- with a couple in two of their seats and their bag on one seat- when I asked if that seat was taken- the woman sighed heavily- almost comically and told me no. And then nothing--- so I asked if I could sit there and she very slowly and reluctantly moved the paper shopping bag that was occupying the seat. Wow. Just wow. As an aside, her husband looked embarrassed for her.

 

It was finally time to board. And as the flight was already delayed by 25 minutes- they got people on fast and had that gate door closed in record time. Impressive. It was actually a really pleasant flight home- in spite of a completely full flight. People were quiet and respectful- and there were movies to watch! I watched 4.

 

When we reached Charlotte, we were through Immigration in a nano-second- and then we waited for bags for about 45 minutes. We were home, but I started to feel really sorry for the people with connecting flights. CLT really needs to get its act together in the Baggage department.

 

We cleared Customs- grabbed an Uber and are finally home!

 

I will answer questions and make snarky replies to your posts in the next day or two-- right now I really need to get it together to go to work tomorrow!

 

Happy Fourth and thanks for sailing along!

Tracie-Lynn

[Mom33]

Thanks for another great review!:)

[Colo Cruiser]

Glad you guys had a great cruise and a made it home safely.