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

[WonderMan3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

For Monday's dinner we were back in Luminae. Mike and I both got the same things; Potato Soup followed by a small portion of the Pastrami Short Rib Ravioli and then the Roast Chicken entree. For dessert Mike had the Dark Chocolate Soufflé while I had the Macaroon (not good - and this is a dessert that was one of my faves on Eclipse). I had to sneak out during dinner to snap a photo of the beautiful sunset that evening.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

Here is Daily and Destination Guide from Tuesday (sorry for the condition, they got crushed in my bag)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[FlorenceItaly]

Thanks again for taking us along! We board the Infinity next Wednesday for the 11 night Pacific Coastal cruise.

[WonderMan3]

Consider this LIVE on tape delay as we just got off Constellation this morning but I will continue to finish off my updates. (Wifi the last 3 or 4 days was just horrible)

 

On Tuesday we were in Valencia. I had reserved a small group tour of the city that started at 10:30am. One of the key things I have always wanted to see in Valencia is the City of Arts and Sciences. This is a complex of buildings housing a collection of artistic and scientific outlets like an aquarium, science museum, botanical garden, theaters, etc. The whole complex is notable for its futuristic architecture. We grabbed a cab just outside the ship to take us to the complex to explore it before we began our tour. It cost about 12 Euro to get there and was about a 15 minute ride from the port. It is some distance from the historical sites in the center so you do need to cab between them. We wandered around taking photos for about an hour and 15 minutes. The exhibits don't open until 10am and we had arrived at 8:30 so we were just viewing exteriors. When ready to go we walked about 5 minutes to a nearby El Corte Ingles department store to catch another cab to take us to the town center which cost about 8 Euro.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Jim_Iain]

Really enjoyed your thread. The pictures are wonderful.

 

Jim

[WonderMan3]

We met our guide Miguel for our Valencia tour outside the cathedral. His company is called Valencia Explorers. You can take one of his free walking tours of the historic center with a large group or pay 25 Euro pp for a small group (I think he maxes it out at 15 people). Pay the 25 as it is totally worth it. There were only 6 of us in his group so he was able to give us a lot of individual attention. He was one of the best guides we had on this trip so I highly recommend. Tour lasted about 4 hrs 15 min. Normally it's no more than 3.5 hrs but I think he liked our group so took more time with us. We started with an in-depth visit to the cathedral, home of the supposed Holy Grail. That took about 90 minutes. Then we made a brief stop to see some Roman ruins in a museum. Next was the Basilica of the Virgin of the Desamparados. We went on to the Corpus Christi museum. Then on to view one of the remaining city gates. We visited the Church of San Nicolas. Then onto the Central Market for a tasting of horchata and Iberian ham. Then we finished off at La Llonja. The guide then walked us to a restaurant he recommended for a great Paella. It was called El Forcat, and it was indeed a great paella. Service was friendly and though they didn't speak much English we were able to communicate. After that we took a cab back to the ship for about 14 Euro and it took about 20 minutes. As I mentioned, the tour cost was 25 Euro pp but it included entrances to the places which had entry fees, so it was a really great deal for an awesome tour. Overall this was one of our best days of the trip. Valencia is a wonderful city. It's large but doesn't feel crowded like other cities like Barcelona or Rome and it has a very relaxed vibe. It's also very clean, including some of the nicest cabs I've seen in any city, and the people are super friendly. Definitely a must visit.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

Really enjoyed your thread. The pictures are wonderful.

 

 

 

Jim

 

 

Thank you! I enjoyed following your 30 day odyssey too.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

After we returned from our day in Valencia we relaxed in our cabin and enjoyed the sailaway. We were tired from a busy day and decided to just go casual and do Oceanview for dinner. Sunset was wonderful again.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

Wednesday was our second day at sea. We had scheduled massages for 9am the day we got on board. But the afternoon before this sea day we decided to cancel them as we wanted to sleep in later. We had lunch at Luminae (forgot to snap a photo of the menu). Mike had the butternut squash soup and the club sandwich. I had the mushroom risotto and the burger. All were good. We spent the afternoon playing in the casino.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

Here is the Daily from Wednesday

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WonderMan3]

For dinner on Wednesday we were back at Luminae. This was probably our least favorite meal of the cruise. While appetizers were okay (we both had the Brown Butter Gnocchi), the main entrees were pretty poor. Mike had the Lobster which he found rubbery and I had the Roasted Cornish Hen which was small with very little meat. This was the most obvious example of Luminae quality being much less versus our trip on Eclipse in January which I think I referred to in a previous post. For dessert Mike had the Baked Alaska which he said was okay. I skipped the Luminae dessert and actually stepped out to grab something from the Gelateria. When I got there a sign had been placed advising that Cafe Al Bacio staff were to assist after 6pm. A worker came over from that side. I wanted to order the Spaghetti Carbonara sundae which was listed on a sign on top of the gelato case. The employee gave me a blank look and I showed him on the sign. He seemed annoyed that he would have to make it but began preparing it. Then he noticed some ship's officer in line behind me. He tried to get rid of me by saying he'd bring it to my table at the cafe. I told him I didn't have a table. He said it would take awhile so I should have a seat. I told him I was actually eating in a dining room and needed to take it away as soon as possible. Again he seemed annoyed but continued. When the final product was presented to me it was this mess of gelato jammed into a tiny one scoop cup with some cheap chocolate syrup dripped over it quickly. I have ordered this sundae multiple times before and it is a grande affair and this came nowhere near it. I told him it didn't look right and asked him if he knew how to make it. He shook his head and said no. I appreciated him trying but I wish he had just said he didn't know how to make it as this was a big waste of time. I kindly told him I was not going to pay $7 for what he put together. He understood and just said to take the gelato at no charge. I took it as I had spent so much time that Mike was already working on his dessert and I wanted to have some sort of sweet. This is not the first time I've run into issues on Celebrity ships with staff manning the gelato station not knowing how to properly make the items. They really need to make sure any staff who are going to work it are properly trained and if they have no one who knows how then don't offer those more complex items.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Consider this LIVE on tape delay as we just got off Constellation this morning but I will continue to finish off my updates. (Wifi the last 3 or 4 days was just horrible)

 

On Tuesday we were in Valencia. I had reserved a small group tour of the city that started at 10:30am. One of the key things I have always wanted to see in Valencia is the City of Arts and Sciences. This is a complex of buildings housing a collection of artistic and scientific outlets like an aquarium, science museum, botanical garden, theaters, etc. The whole complex is notable for its futuristic architecture. We grabbed a cab just outside the ship to take us to the complex to explore it before we began our tour. It cost about 12 Euro to get there and was about a 15 minute ride from the port. It is some distance from the historical sites in the center so you do need to cab between them. We wandered around taking photos for about an hour and 15 minutes. The exhibits don't open until 10am and we had arrived at 8:30 so we were just viewing exteriors. When ready to go we walked about 5 minutes to a nearby El Corte Ingles department store to catch another cab to take us to the town center which cost about 8 Euro.

 

Loved all that Santiago Calatrava architecture! And the market. Valencia was one of my favorite ports.

Edited May 13, 2017 by Happy Cruiser 6143

[WonderMan3]

Here is Thursday's Daily and Destination Guide.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[tfg]

Hi

Do you know if they offered the sailaway experience on your cruise thank you

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Forums mobile app