Jewel of the Seas May 24th 2017

[Reva_Dearchi]

Hello All -

 

I'll make this as brief as possible but will try to give you pertinent details. If you want more, please e-mail RevaDearchi@aol.com.

 

Family of 8, Most are seasoned CCL cruisers, My second time on RCI and will definitely go back to CCL next year.

 

Arrived in Rome on Monday morning and visited the Coliseum later in the afternoon for a few hours. I would actually not recommend the guides standing outside of the venue but I would purchase the entry tickets in advance. Our guide was terrible. We paid for him right outside of the venue and he basically gave us a history lesson outside of the Coliseum and stayed on the perimeter as we walked through. At the end, he was trying to sell the book he used throughout the tour! We could have just walked around by ourselves, and googled the history. We also did the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain on this day.

 

Tuesday May 23, 2017 - Please buy your Vatican tour tickets in advance to skip the line. The line was 2 hours long and we just walked past everyone with our pre-purchased tickets. The Vatican and St. Peters Basilica were amazing!!! We actually went back to the Trevi Fountain area as it was a fun and exciting atmosphere.

Embarkation took about 20 minutes tops at the Port of Civitavecchia. It was a very smooth operation and we arrived at about noon. Had a decent lunch in the Windjammer and were able to go to our cabins at around 1:30 as announced.

 

Day 2 - Messina Sicily:

G7 Summit caused our tour to be cancelled but it was to our advantage. We got off the ship and there were local companies willing to take us on basically the same tour we we're paying 70Euros each for, for $25Euros each. We did the "Godfather Tour" without Taormina and it was a lot of fun. We went to the Bar Vitelli Houses and the quaint little villages in the area. Views were beautiful! I recommend gettng the tour once you get off the ship to save yourself a lot of money.

 

Day 4 0- Mykonos, Greece

We had a DIY day and hung out in the port area. It rained earlier in the day but cleared up to be a beautiful day. We explored the cobblestone streets, visited the shops and just enjoyed the local culture.

 

Day 5 Rhodes Greece;

We were going to hang out at the Sheraton Resort for the day but the weather was cool so we decided to wander the streets of the local town here as well. It was all very calming and relaxing and it prepared us for the upcoming walking tours to come.

 

Day 6 Santorini Greece

Booked a private tour for 12 people and had a fabulous time. The highlights were the panoramic views that everyone talks about and time at a winery where we did wine tasting but paid a hefty price for cheese and meat platters :)

 

Day 7 Athens, Greece:

Took an arranged tour for 30 people and again had a great time. Highlight was the Acropolis and Parthenon. The site was incredible based on how very old it was but the $20 entry fee was a rip off and the walk to the top wasn't really condusive to those who are not willing or able to take on such a hike.

 

Day 9 Naples, Italy

Canceled our arranged tour as by this time we'd had our fill of long drives and quaint towns with local arts but... got off the ship and got a local tour for 1/2 the price. All we wanted to do was go to Pompei and hang out in the town. Mission accomplished. Pompei was awe inspiring and we took soooo many pics there. It's worth getting a guide and it was fascinating to walk through the old city.

In My opinion, most of the entertainment was below average and the casino was nearly empty every night. There was never anyone in the clubs. We went to the Tides dining room only twice as the food was again just mediocre and the Windjammer in my opinion was mediocre at best. I note also that I am not even a foodie. The best surprise was on one night for dinner in the Windjammer, they had lobster tails. I think my family and I were the first to see them and I had like 4 of them. I made up for all the dinners that I didn't have. :)

 

Overall I loved this trip. It was so good to have this experience with my family and I would recommend it to all.

 

Oh ...flight home got cancelled but the airline put us all up in a hotel and we flew out the next morning without incident.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

How did you get from Rome to Civitavecchia?

 

 

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[davekathy]

Reva_Dearchi...thanks for taking us along on your cruise.

[easyboy]

Did you go to Sistine Chapel

 

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[krisko]

Did you go to Sistine Chapel

 

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The Vatican tour ends in Sistine...easily most impressive part of Vatican (second place nod goes to the mausoleum in the basement where past popes are interred).

 

Thanks for the review, we're going in two weeks.

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Thanks for the review!!! Glad you had a good time!

 

 

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[Reva_Dearchi]

How did you get from Rome to Civitavecchia?

 

 

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Used Romeairporter for all our transfers...airport to hotel, hotel to port, port back to airport. They were great! On time, nice vehicles and great pricing.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Used Romeairporter for all our transfers...airport to hotel, hotel to port, port back to airport. They were great! On time, nice vehicles and great pricing.

 

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

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