LIVE from Constellation - May 2nd - Italy & Spain 10nt cruise

[cocker2]

Congratulations on your wins in the Casino last night, you are setting out to have a 'lucky' trip! Enjoying your review so far.

 

 

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[tfg]

Hi

Loving your posts we are boarding on the 26th after the refit and I have purchased a package for my husband at the grand prix for his 50th but not sure where we are tendering in Monaco .any chance if you get a mo you could try and find out where we will be tendering on the 27th

Thanks in advance and looming forward to more posts

Terry

 

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[Presto2]

Just brilliant - thanks so much for taking the time to do all of this.

Brilliant photos.

 

PS We know an amazing hotel in Rome 5 / 10 mins from the Coliseum (Duca Dalba) which is right by a fantastic traditional family restaurant that we just loved --- if anyone is wanting to plan a great stay ;-) We tried these as they were recommended by CC members and we just loved every second of our 5 night stay. If you want authentic Italy then this is it --- the locals queued up for an hour just to get in!

 

http://www.hotelducadalba.com/en/default.html

 

(https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1747055-Reviews-Vecchia_Roma-Rome_Lazio.html

[britestar]

My goodness. Your pictures make me feel like I am there. You get the Cruise Critic Award for best photos of the Year.

 

I agree! I'm loving every picture, every moment, more please!

[vmontell26]

I agree with everyone that has commented on how lovely your photos are! Really beautiful! Pardon my repetitiveness, if you replied to someone's earlier question, but could you share what kind of camera you use? Thanks!

[Beanb41]

Hi

Loving your posts we are boarding on the 26th after the refit and I have purchased a package for my husband at the grand prix for his 50th but not sure where we are tendering in Monaco .any chance if you get a mo you could try and find out where we will be tendering on the 27th

Thanks in advance and looming forward to more posts

Terry

 

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We will be tendering to the front of the Harbourmasters office in Fontevieille

[WonderMan3]

I agree with everyone that has commented on how lovely your photos are! Really beautiful! Pardon my repetitiveness, if you replied to someone's earlier question, but could you share what kind of camera you use? Thanks!

 

 

Thank you! I use an IPhone 6S Plus.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

Here is the Daily from today.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

Today we were in Naples, Italy, our first port of call for this cruise. Mike and I had to be early risers at 5:30am as the ship arrived at 7 and we had a private tour pick-up at 7:30. We had a quick breakfast at Oceanview around 6:45. It wasn't very crowded at that hour which meant no waiting for food. We exited the ship around 7:20 and walked out to the front of the terminal building to meet our driver. We booked through Rome In Limo for a private car with driver guide to take us to the Amalfi Coast for the day. It cost us 500 Euro for the day in a comfortable mini-van. Our driver Alessandro was very friendly and full of information about the local culture and history. The tour included at its core visits to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello but the order of visitation and how long you spend at each place is up to you. The driver will also make suggested stops for photos during drives between towns and you can also request him to stop anywhere you'd like as long as it's safe to pull off the road.

 

Since I knew that Ravello was all about the spectacular views overlooking the coast I asked that we start in Positano and end in Ravello since it was overcast when we started out for the day. This proved to be wise as sun and blue skies did come out as the day progressed. Our first stop in Positano was lovely. To get there you will travel along the spectacular winding road that parallels the coast. This is one of the most amazing drives you will ever experience with the views getting better and better around each bend. Alessandro dropped us off a few streets above where the pedestrian area began. We wandered the little streets down to the beach popping into some of the cute boutiques and artisan shops along the way. We even picked up a lovely painting for our home that we are having shipped back to the States. After a stroll along the stony beach we made the climb back up pausing for a snack break at a pastry shop.

 

The town of Amalfi was our next stop where Alessandro recommended a nice place for lunch where we had an amazing seat right on the water and enjoyed some fresh tomatoes and mozzarella and a tasty local fish in lemon sauce. Afterward we took a stroll into the town center noted for its spectacular cathedral which looms over the central square. We did some quick shopping for limoncello and cookies before getting back in the van to head on up to Ravello. Here we spent nearly all our time visiting Villa Rufolo and it's beautiful gardens overlooking the coast. We headed back to the ship at 3, arriving by 4:30. Alessandro had offered for us to have more time in Amalfi and Ravello to get us back before 6pm (ship sailed at 6:30) but Mike and I unwisely forgot to check the sailaway time before we left the ship so while we thought it was at 6, we wanted to get back by 4:30 in case ship was leaving by 5. We were tired after finishing our visit to Ravello anyway so the timing worked perfectly. We had such an amazing day. If you have never visited the Amalfi Coast when stopping in Naples you must do it on your next visit. Doing a private car like this is expensive but we felt it was totally worth it to have the flexibility of designing our own day and not dealing with a lot of other strangers on a big bus. I highly recommend Rome In Limo for this.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

 

 

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[Deb922]

Your pictures are spectacular. Thanks

[WonderMan3]

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

 

 

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[BunnyLebowski]

Wow gorgeous photos!

[Cruise Junky]

Ah, memories. We had 3 nights in Positano last year before our Connie cruise. Fantastic.

[koopmae]

Beautiful pictures! And having done the tour on a big bus, I recommend not doing. Not because of the strangers, but because of the stress and adrenaline levels get way to high with a bus and the roads. We spent more time stuck on the edge of a cliff than actually in any of the places, and we had a very, very relieved driver when we got to port with 5 mins to spare (was a celebrity tour).

I wish we were heading back to that area now, after seeing those pictures!

[WonderMan3]

After we returned from our Amalfi Coast excursion we relaxed in our cabin for a few hours and hung out on the balcony watching people arriving back to the ship and enjoying treats from the day. The ship staff had set up speakers somewhere on the pier and were blasting some fun 70's disco music to welcome people back to the ship. Sailaway was nice as we cruised past Mount Vesuvius and were accompanied by some friendly seagulls. At 6:45 we headed down to the Martini Bar to grab a couple cocktails to take with us for dinner at Luminae. We both had the Braised Beef Gnocchi, Moroccan Chicken and Hazelnut Cake (forgot to snap a photo of that) All were good and service was friendly. The maitre'd Petar even came over and sat to chat with us for a bit. One thing I have noticed though after three meals here is that the food quality and presentation is a little inferior to what we had on Eclipse in January. I assume it has to do with the chef on each ship and how they execute the recipes. After dinner we finished off the evening at the casino but no jackpots tonight. We did set up a reservation at Ocean Liners for Thursday night though through the casino host as one of our 2 free meals through our Blue Chip Sapphire level. We had found out that Ocean Liners would be closing on May 6th for good so wanted to get in there before they were gone.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

Breakfast this morning in Luminae was a bit disappointing. Quality definitely not as good as Eclipse and honestly today's breakfast was no better than my breakfast at Oceanview yesterday.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

Here is today's Daily

 

 

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[cruisecatmama]

Thanks for taking us on your cruise! Your review and photos make me feel as if I am on board, too!

[DiPi]

Your cruise looks wonderful. We will be on the Connie in November after she gets out of dry dock. I'm curious on the specialty restaurants. It looks like Tuscan Grille, Sushi on Five and my beloved Ocean Liner are all there. I think Ocean Liner may be morphing into Qsine after the dry dock, which IMHO will be a real shame. Please post if you hear anything about the specialty restaurants. Enjoy the cruise.

[WonderMan3]

Ocean Liners closes as of May 6th. It is being replaced by Tuscan Grille and some cabins. The space where Tuscan currently is will become Qsine.

 

 

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[wongri]

We also will be on Constellation in November.

May I ask if you know who is the restaurant manager onboard.

Thank you.

[WonderMan3]

Today we were in Catania, Sicily. I wanted to do an excursion to the top of Mt. Etna but the ship only offered excursions that went part way up. I investigated other companies offering tours and found one a few months ago called Etna Finder that had a half day tour to the top with minimal hiking as we are not avid hikers. We were told to wear sturdy shoes but that a jacket would be provided to protect from the cold and wind at the top of the volcano. The ship arrived in Catania at 10 so I arranged pick-up to be at 10:30. There was some miscommunication between the guide and his office though so he wasn't inside the terminal where all the other tours were picking up their passengers. It took about 15 minutes with back and forth calls to the office and us scouting the terminal parking lot for the office to realize that the guide was all the way outside the gates of the port. It was only a 5 minute walk out there but not a great way to start a tour off. Luckily our guide Marco was very friendly and informative giving us a lot of geological details about Etna and its history as well insights into Sicilian life and culture.

 

It was about an hour drive from the port to Etna. We parked at the tram station area which is at 2000 meters (6000 feet). Here we boarded the aerial tram to go even higher. The maximum height allowed currently is 2750 meters (8250 feet) due to the current eruption activity and frequent strong, cold winds. At the top of the tram ride we had to rent jackets for 7 Euro pp (even though the tour operator had emailed saying he would provide jackets) as it was very windy today and chilly. We exited the station and boarded large all-terrain type vehicles that drove us up to the maximum height point. Then we got out and had a short hike across some lava fields only a few weeks old. You are literally in the clouds at this height. Walking across the lava required some careful maneuvering as there are many small to medium sized rocks that are very unstable. We spent about 45 minutes or so going out to a viewing point and back to the vehicle. Note that you will not be able to see where the volcano is currently erupting or any live hot lava fields as it requires going higher on the volcano or closer to the lava which is very dangerous. It was still a very unique experience and I would highly recommend it unless you have height or mobility issues and there were warnings that people with heart conditions or asthma could not go up. After taking the tram back down we grabbed some lunch at a restaurant there and then it was a little longer than an hour returning due to traffic. We were back on the ship before 4:30. Overall a great day!

 

 

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