JEWEL b2b (Greece/W Med) semi-live Aug24 - Sept14 REVIEW w/lots of photos

[Hoopster95]

Few more pics today....

Castel Sant'Angelo

 

One of the many views from Gianicolo Terrace

 

Absolutely beautiful Santa Maria in Trastevere... The gold in the famous apse ceiling mosaic!

 

We were told about this "must do" restaurant.... Outrageous Carbonara. Best meal of the trip. So good... WOW! I'll

Post the restaurant in my review.

 

The markets at Campo Di Fiori

 

 

Gf taking a nap before we head out for the evening... A couple last things to do/see then the "last supper"

 

 

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[Hoopster95]

Whoops... No edit function using Forums app but I'm sure you all can figure the last post out [emoji4]

 

 

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[Hoopster95]

The final night of this bucket list vacation. I may not get to this thread for a couple of days. I hope you all enjoyed following along. Tomorrow's a super long day of travel, leaving Rome at 2pm and arriving in Vancouver at 9:30.

 

Here's some final pictures from Rome

 

Pantheon at about 4:30pm. Wanted to see how the sunlight hit the walls... Creepy "face" image

 

Galleria Doria Pamphili

 

St Peters lit up at night

 

Love this shot of Castel Sant'Angelo... Note the reflection in the Tiber River

 

Tonight's late dinner... Pizza for both of us!

 

 

 

It's been fun everyone. Thx for following and stay tuned

 

 

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[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Thank you for sharing!! Have a safe trip home!

 

 

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[Jennywren113]

Loved following along, thanks for taking the time out to do it "live" . Looking forward to the full review. Safe travels home X

[little britain]

Thanks for doing the review! Safe travels home and here's to the next one!!!!

LBx

[geomancer]

We're considering doing something similar with a B2B in the Med.

 

Did you get much use out of the balcony? Was their much to see, or was it mostly just sea and a hazy blob of land in the distance?

[CAT GIRL]

So weird that we were on the same cruise, going to the same places and never ran into

each other. I really enjoyed your review. We feel the same way as you do

about Deigo and Royal is going to have a huge loss when he leaves. I wish I could get

one more cruise is before he leaves.

We disembarked around 7:45 and was picked up by our shuttle at 8:00. It was a white

knuckle ride to FCO. At first our 11:25 am flight was on time but as the morning progressed

it was delayed. We had a connection in Copenhagen and we were still in Rome when we

were supposed to be on the second flight. We were delayed 4 hours in FCO. By the time

we landed in Copenhagen the airline (SAS) had rebooked our flight for the following day,

paid for a hotel, gave us taxi vouchers to get to and from the hotel and food vouchers for

dinner and breakfast at the hotel. Other than waiting to get all of this presented to us we

really couldn't complain. Had to contact work that we wouldn't be there but what can you do?

I just couldn't believe how hard it rained and for so long. I kept watching the radar on my

cell phone and the storm just stayed right on top of us.

Oh well, we are safe and sound and it was a great cruise. We are going to miss Diego!!!!

(and Ravi) lol.

[Beachcruzer]

I hope you were able to find your Lemoncello at the airport. I'm definitely going to look next time I travel over that way. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful pictures! Hope you made it home safely! :)

[Hoopster95]

We're considering doing something similar with a B2B in the Med.

 

Did you get much use out of the balcony? Was their much to see, or was it mostly just sea and a hazy blob of land in the distance?

 

I did, but I'm not dead set on balconies for every itinerary. Unless you are introverted and love the use of that private space to read, relax, etc... rather than the many awesome spots all over the ship, then the balcony may not be for you. I'm an extrovert so my balcony time is usually limited. The only time I extensively used my balcony is when I had the wrap-around aft on Vision. Also on port intensive cruises balcony time is limited for me. As far as views are concerned, more often than not the view of the port and sites were opposite to our starboard side cabins... and then you have industrial ports which make the balcony not as important imho.

 

This is just my humble opinion. I am 100% positive if you ask 10 other cruisers you will get 10 different preferences. 3 yrs ago I did the Med on Serenade in a 3rd deck ocean view and it was excellent, didn't miss the balcony whatsoever.

[Hoopster95]

So weird that we were on the same cruise, going to the same places and never ran into

each other.

 

We probably did! Diego/Ravi are the best 1 2 punch I've had the pleasure to meet in any DL/CL. They were great. Really glad to hear you got out of FCO safely.

 

 

[Hoopster95]

I hope you were able to find your Lemoncello at the airport. I'm definitely going to look next time I travel over that way. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful pictures! Hope you made it home safely! :)

 

Loooooong day of travel yesterday, home safe and sound last night. Jet lag and all, full day of work today... this working thing really gets in the way ;). Review to come but may be shortened else I'd never finish it! ....

Oh yes, no prob re the Lemoncello, many brands at FCO duty free :D

[Hoopster95]

Whoops... for whatever reason Ravi's picture disappeared from previous post (Photobucket acting up)

 

[Hoopster95]

Well folks.... here's the start of my full(er) review compared to the semi-live portion. I will likely shorten up the ports of call as this review will just simply be way to long. I don't mind email if you have a specific question, and have been emailed often from previous reviews. My email is in my signature below (click). Work is in the way and I still have a ton of photos to load to photobucket, so bare with me

 

I will start by saying my original prediction at the beginning of my live review was correct... this did become one of my favorite sailings ever for so many reasons, and then add the incredible itinerary which made it even better. It is now becoming even more crystal clear to me that itinerary, life experiences, and unforgettable lifetime memories absolutely trumps saving a buck or doing yet another megaship to Nassau for the 10th time. Out of almost 40 cruise vacations, 4 of top 5 have been the Med. Out of my top 10 cruise vacations, only Quantum breaks in as the only megaship (Oasis and Harmony don't make the top 10 and were not as memorable). This truly surprises me as I always looked at Radiance Class as my least favorite class in the RCL fleet, but in the last couple of years it has steadily rose the ranks, so much so that I totally loved this sailing much more than my most recent trips on Harmony, Adventure and Explorer.

 

I'll now also point to my previous Med sailing review on Serenade as I have a bunch of Rome info there, as well as many other ports that cruisers may be interested in. That review was really comprehensive for those of you wanting more info.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2108833

 

We flew Air Canada with one connection in Montreal overnight to Rome. Excellent air crafts, great service, no issues at all. I haven't flown Air Canada for a few years (ie. AA, United or Delta to FLL) and Air Canada was having issues many years ago (as a bad airline). They were recently voted the best North American Airline by the public in 2017 and I can see why. Believe me or not... great food as well. Yes, great airplane food... I was surprised too! I will fly with them again for sure and try to look for their itineraries first from now on vs AA/United/etc.

 

Arriving in Rome was a breeze this time compared to 3 years ago. Flight arrived on time, and the wait to get through immigration was not long at all as the line wound it's way through (about 15-20min). FCO is a huge airport, so it takes a while to get through the terminal to baggage claim. We grabbed our luggage and headed for transport into Rome.

 

Like 3 years ago, I had booked the same hotel (Hotel Morgana) close to Termini Train Station. FCO has a direct fast train from the airport terminal to Termini, cheap, easy, lots of room for luggage, etc. Trains leave every 20 minutes back and forth. 40 minutes or so and you're in the heart of Rome. Finding the train through FCO is super easy. The signage is excellent.

 

 

Ticketing ios also super easy as there are many kiosks along the way, including right in front of the trains themselves. The kiosks are in many languages (you choose) so super easy to understand... as easy as a subway ticket in your hometown.

 

 

I wish to make this next point clear... the "Leonardo Express" is NOT the same train that go to the cruise port in Civitavecchia! These cars are specific to this FCO-to-Termini leg for travellers with luggage. There's a ton of standing room as well as luggage racks everywhere. Also the cars are made lower so you can basically roll your luggage into the train car. Trains going to Civitavecchia, especially the Regional trains (vs. the "Frecca" fast trains) are notoriously cramped with zero room for luggage and you also have to worry about elevating 3 steps up onto the train with your luggage let alone figuring out how to lift 50 lbs into a luggage rack above your head.

 

The cost is 12e per person. I believe the flat rate for taxi is 48e.

 

 

 

I mentioned the Hotel Morgana in my Serenade review, and I will do so again here. Superb convenience to Termini, excellent rooms and great breakfast. What you give up is "neighborhood" as it's not as exclusive or clean as other Rome neighborhoods. However, for a superb price if you can walk 25min to the Colosseum (or 1 block to Termini for the Metro) it's totally worth it. We had a JS for to days in their "annex" building with a balcony about a block away from any noise of restaurants and right across the street from a park.

 

 

I've read that many travellers think this area is seedy and gross. We opted to grab our room right away and have a snooze. I took these pics right after waking... look seedy and gross to you?

 

 

 

 

Work calls... gotta go! At least I started this review finally lol. Stay tuned

[DavyJoneses]

Enjoyed the photos.

[Hoopster95]

On this trip we planned 2 days pre-cruise and 4 more days post cruise in Rome... and it still wasn't enough to see everything. The plan was for our first two days in Rome is to visit and site see things in and around Termini... on our 4 days post cruise we'll be staying at Piazza Navona and thus close to the Vatican and other sites.

 

Day 1 plan - Colosseum, Roman Forum, Il Vittoriano, dinner in the area with some night time pictures before early bed-time

 

So after our little nap, we walked down to the Colosseum at around 2:30pm. Lines were very long at the ticket counter.... note that the very best way to get into the Colosseum is by buying tickets online at the official site

http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

 

There are 3 lines at the entrance to the Colosseum: one for tours groups, another for those without tickets, and then a 3rd for those with tickets. Those with tickets bypass the ticket booth and head directly to the security line. Depending on the time of day, that could save you 1/2 hour, one hour.... maybe more. The key is to choose "print ticket at home" option on the website. If you do not have your printed tickets in hand, you still have to go to the regular line and make your way to the ticket window where your ticket reservation will then be printed by the clerk!! You really don't want that.

 

Everyone has seen iconic pictures of the Colosseum... they do not do justice whatsoever to actually standing there and breathing in the history

 

 

 

 

Last time I was there I did the underground and 3rd level tour with DarkRome. I really recommend that if you wish an experience in areas where most everyone else has never seen. However, on these tours they whisk you through in a rushed fashion and I noted that I missed a very large section in the concourse dedicated to a museum of artifacts and remnants of the original dig. Also on the tours you don;t get much time to just simply stand there and soak in the vibe of just being there. We opted for the no tour, and purchased the audio guide. For the record, it was awful... spoken in a british accent, the hand held was difficult to use, the sound quality was very poor and in the end it sat around my neck unused.... waste of 5e. Oh well

 

 

Again I repeat.... pictures do not do justice of actually standing there!

 

 

Note in the picture above the "deck" people are standing on... that is one of the areas for the private tours that bring you right overtop of the underground area so that you can imagine what it'd be like on gournd level. Below this "deck" is the underground area for these private tours as well. To see a revoew and pictures of these areas, refer to my Serenade review.

 

 

A panoramic view of the Roman Forum from one of the Colosseum porticos

 

[Hoopster95]

With no tour group to follow, we had time to sit around and enjoy this experience in our own way, at our own time. We also got to hide from the sun/heat by visiting the artifact displays in the concourse. It is worth a visit and actually reading some of the descriptions of what you are looking at as you go through. Everything is well labelled

 

I really loved this original photo below which is displayed.... 1865! Prior to damage/erosion/war/etc of the wooden floors, and prior to all the walkways, etc for tourism. Amazing compared to what it looks like today

 

 

Lots of interesting things to look at if you research before visiting, such as some of the inscriptions that still exist today around the edges of the Royal boxes. Note the top edge of this block for example which is roped off from the public in one of the Royal box areas.

 

Also roped off is this original travertine floor leading to one of the royal box areas. All other floors leading to these areas no longer exist.

 

Where is the area as described above? The emperor took up a very prominent position which was located on the podium at the centre of the arena. There is now a cross to remember the Christians that died in the arena. The Roman Emperors sat where the cross is now placed.

[Hoopster95]

Having spent enough quality time within the Colosseum, we made our way over to the Roman Forum... same ticket into the Colosseum allows you entry to the Forum, and includes the next day as well. We did not read every single description nor did we go through the Palentine Hill area as we were quite tired from the day of travel... The Forum/Palentine Hill can easily be explored for almost a whole day if you wished. Here's a panoramic shot looking down from the Coloseum's 2nd level, and then within the Forum itself... a must see area even if it's only for a 1-1.5 hour walk through

 

 

 

Just in behind the Forum, The "Il Vittorio" (also known as Monument to Vitorrio Emanuelle Building) prominently stands in Rome. It's my favorite building and can be seen from so many places in and around Rome. I was looking forward to getting up to the rooftop for the incredible views.

 

Make your way up the front stairs and into the building.... follow the signs to the back of the building and you'll find the elevator, I believe 7e per person

 

Superb views in front of Piazza Venezia and beyond (Pantheon, Castel Sant'Angelo, St.Peters) and of course back at where we had just come from (Roman Forum, Palentine Hill, Colosseum)

 

[Hoopster95]

With the full travel day behind us, as well as several busy hours of site-seeing in 85+ degree weather, we planned to stay in the area for dinner in order to sit and get some rest. Knowing that most often restaurants very close to tourist attractions are not as good as local joints off the beaten path, we had targeted a couple of restaurants with great reviews in behind the Colosseum a few blocks. We made the long'ish walk from Il Vittoirio back past the Forum and around the Colosseum... turned out that area seemed way worse to me than the Termini location of our hotel. We found the restaurant, but the area was not desirable to us at all. Although by this point we were hangry, we decided to walk away and back towards the Colosseum to a restaurant we had passed on the main drag that seemed busier than the others. We ate at Ristorio Della Salute right across the Colosseum with a great view as the sun went down and lights turned on within the Colosseum. The food was not the very best, but it was not bad at all and our hunger was definitely satisfied... and now getting tired, we went on our way to take some evenings shots

 

 

 

 

 

Too tired to walk the 25min back to the hotel, we opted for the metro right across the street from the Colosseum. Like the train system from FCO, the Metro is super easy to understand. We were on in less than 5 minutes... Termini only 2 stops away, up the stairs and out onto the street, another 2 block walk to the hotel.... we were back at the hotel in maybe 20 minutes from the Colosseum. Surprisingly quiet Friday night out there. Early alarm set for the next morning, both our heads hit the pillow and it was lights out!

 

 

[Hoopster95]

Day 2 - Borghese Gallery & Gardens, Piazza Del Popolo, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, leisurely exploring

 

Today popped up one of the best surprises of the entire trip. Gf is a former fashion designer and now a space planner/home designer... aka artistic. One of her #1 things to do/see was the Borghese Gallery. Me?.... meh. I'm not that into art although I can appreciate something beautifully designed (house, car, etc). I must say, as mentioned from yesterdays installment, actually standing in front of these original one-of-kind-pieces and knowing the importance of their history is really mind blowing. Just seeing pictures or reading about them on the internet is not even close to experience being there live. I am so glad I was "dragged" to this museum... more inspiring than the Vatican Museum, less people, some of the top artists of the world's history original works displayed.... a great morning visit.

 

We booked an early morning tour with DarkRome (City Wonders). We both still have spoken of our tour guide that day, Monica. She was brilliant in her descriptions and narrative as we went from room to room. Rather than walk about 30-35min, after a great sleep we took the cab from our Termini Hotel... 11euro + tip in 10 minutes. A short walk from the street into the gardens we were standing in front of the Museum building

 

 

Note that there is a limit to how many people they allow in at any given time. By the time 9am came along, there were 2 groups and about 30 people ready to go... Monica said for some reason this was a very slow start for the day. By the time we were leaving the museum we could see rooms were getting packed.

NOTE: closed Mondays

 

I have some amazing pictures of many of the most important pieces in artwork today by Caravaggio, Bernini, etc, however I'll keep this brief. Each room and wall is stacked with great works, this museum holding many of carvaggio's originals

 

 

Many of the rooms/walls were also adorned by great artists. Here's just one example... great sculpture work with amazing detail looks like they're hanging from the ceiling art with incredible detail of the blue ribbon and the legs of the figures hanging down over the crown molding.....

 

 

WAIT A SECOND!!!.... Those aren't 3D sculptures, it's painted right on the curvature of the ceiling wall to make it look like it's three dimensional. Absolutley brilliant work! Look at the blue ribbon with the shadow for example. Unreal. I had to stare at this for a couple of minutes to simply understand if I was being duped, so difficult to tell where the actual crown molding really was compared to what was just painted. I finally had to lok at the lighting and some other things to really make this out after several double takes. Every room has this kind of eye candy with incredible work everywhere.

[Hoopster95]

I again repeat that I can post about 100 photos of some of the most important art the world has to offer, but I'll keep it short... Bernini has several of his works prominently displayed, including what I believe was his very best "The Rape of Proserpina" (Persephone)It depicts the abduction of Proserpina by the god Pluto (Hades) into the underworld. The legend goes that she comes out of the underworld every spring, bringing to life all the new plants.

This sculpture, done when Bernini was in his early twenties, is magnificent -- the bodies twist and turn, Pluto's fingers sink into Proserpina's thigh, and she flings her arms out in anguish trying to escape him. Note the close up detail... this was carved out of one piece of marble. Just incredible detail of the hand sinking into the thigh.

Again, carved out of one piece of marble, note the detail of the robe

Overwhelming, going from one room, to another, to another.... each one with 2 or 3 major masterpieces. The architecture of the rooms themselves were also incredible. Note the artwork of the marble floors, let alone the intricate doors

One more example of the ceilings in each room.

Other paintings of note include works by Raphael, Rubens and Federico Barocci.... google if your interested

[Hoopster95]

Most of this tour was dedicated to the Gallery, but the last 45min-hour included a walk through the Villa Borghese Gardens, starting at the Gallery and walking through to the South most point looking over Piazza Del Popolo. Note that the Gardens are about 200 acres! This isn't your typical back yard folks

 

 

Borghese had some interesting things within the park... why not.... he was disgustingly rich! This included a full large aviary (still standing but not in use), various replica pieces of art/sculptures all over the park, etc. In my humble opinion, I was underwhelmed with the park as a whole. I found Central Park in NY for example much more enjoyable with more things to see. I also admit at that time Italy hadn't had any rain since May, so the grounds were very brown (Pics above were directly behind the museum buildings and thus maintained compared to the rest of the park).

 

Very large walkways everywhere big enough for vehicles, however no car traffic anywhere within the park.

 

We had actually planned to come back on our final day in Rome post cruise to just meander around the large gardens and have a picnic... there's a couple of very neat bike rentals.... they are 4 seater canopy covered bicycles that can seat 4 adults or a family with kids... very cool way to get around the large park.

 

There are maps everywhere around the park, so no way to get lost really.

 

And finally it was the end of our tour, ending at the Terrazza Del Pincio looking out over Piazza Del Popolo and St peter's off in the distance

[Hoopster95]

Making our way down the steep steps and pathways (no elevators here) we headed down to the Piazza Del Popolo below to visit Basilica Santa Maria Del Popolo where more works of art are displayed. You'll soon learn that many of the churches/basilicas in Rome hold at least one (more likely several) important works

 

 

 

Each chapel (altar area at the sides of the church) usually have a description of what you are viewing. The photo below is not clear, but this section has works by both Rafaello and Bernini, making this chapel the star attraction of the basilica

 

 

 

After a short visit, we headed out to the piazza for a short rest to get out of the sun, people watch, and simply just soak in the the surroundings.

 

 

But stomachs were rumbling, so soon we were leaving the piazza in search for lunch off the beaten track and not close to the square.

[Hoopster95]

I had posted in the live portion of the review that we found a great little restaurant a couple of blocks away from the Spanish steps for lunch. great story... we sat beside and spoke to a couple of Italian guys with limited English. Had a great lunch!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=53896816&highlight=Sergio#post53896816

 

 

Ah yes, homemade house red, fresh prosciutto and melone, risotto a verdura (vegetable risotto) and ravioli con spinache e ricotta... excellent lunch and fun experience chatting with the locals and ramping up my Italian for the first time on this trip.

 

 

Lunch done, we made our only visit to the Spanish Steps

 

 

Reaching the top, there's not much up there unless you're looking for entry to the Borghese Gardens or Villa Medici, and the church up at the top (Trinita Del Monte) pales to almost everything else you see in Rome... peeked in and headed right back down the steps.

 

Cool thing about Rome is that there is potable water available in many places as you walk around some of the older parts of town, including right here at the fountain at the base of the Spanish steps. There was a small line-up of people taking turns filling water bottles, so I took my turn as well.

[Hoopster95]

We witnessed a military presence everywhere... a common theme even in Greece and Spain during the cruise. Anywhere close to a government building was guarded. I learned later that especially Italy is in guarded mode with regard to terrorism. Interesting to note. I quickly snapped a shot here... the guard was not too happy and let me know about it right away: "NO PHOTO" as he wagged his finger at me. "Yes sir!!!.... now please point that Uzi n the other direction.... pretty please!"

 

Another example of water available right on the street

 

Next stop was the famous Trevi Fountain

 

There's several excellent gelato places nearby here. We went to the one I had already visited on my last trip as I remembered it being really good... it's right across the street from the fountain and was pointed out to us by our tour guide at the time.

TIP: I learned from Beachcruzer that evening that you should look for gelato places that have the word "Artisano" (Artisan) for the best gelato. Later this evening we went to one that said this and it was over the top delicious, so from this point forward I only looked for Artisano.

 

This area is crazy busy morning, noon and night. If you do not like crowds you will have a problem here. 3 years ago they had scaffolding and walkaways all over the fountain for a major refurbishment,

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=44291645&highlight=Trevi#post44291645

and now it looks shiny and new. In fact there are guards everywhere blowing whistles every 2 seconds it seems yelling people to get off the stone walls of the fountain and other areas. We witnessed one of the guard taking down a tourist to the ground after some backtalk and not complying... interesting when friends came running to assist as well as other guards.

 

I guess I'll be back someday