My 2 November Royal Caribbean Cruises

I got back late Saturday night from my 2 Royal Caribbean cruises out of Venice, Italy on their Splendour of the Seas. While there were some disappointments, overall, I had a great time and, I'll be counting the days till I go on my next 2 cruises in early Spring of this coming year.

During my cruises, I got to visit the following places:

Alberobello, Italy
Bari, Italy
Paleokastritsa, Corfu
Acheilleon Palace, Corfu
Island of Delos
Kusadasi, Turkey
Cavtat, Croatia
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Fera, Santorini, Greece
Oia, Santorini, Greece
Ephesus, Turkey
Olympia, Greece
Katakolon, Greece

What were some of the highlights? Exploring the ruins on Delos. The was the sight of the 2nd most sacred place in Ancient Greece. It was claimed the sun god Apollo was born here with his twin sister Artemis. Over 30,000 people lived on the island at one time. Another highlight was wandering the walled city of Dubrovnik. At 1 time, it was a trading power that challenged Venice. Another was visiting the incomparable Ephesus. You can see the 24,000 seat amphitheater where Saint Paul preached and was challenged by those selling souvenirs of the temple dedicated to Artemis. Also, I did the All Access tour on the ship. This tour allows guests on the ship to visit where the crew eat and party, where trash is disposed, the engine room that powers the ship, the ship's theater (the only time I'll be on the stage vice sitting before it), the ship's galley and the bridge of the ship (awesome views). The tour was awesome!!!!!! Lastly, it was great to get to visit Venice again. The place still shines in my book.

I did have some learning experiences. I found out about the bus parking lot on Venice and, I used their People Mover (1 Euro each way) twice so, I could go to and from the bus parking lot and walk on to P. Le Roma where I caught at waterbus to the Rialto Bridge and back from the Piazza San Marco. I found out where the waterbus and Alilaguna stops were at Marco Polo International Airport were as well as the cost of 24 hour tickets on both (20 and 30 Euros as I remember respectively). Also, I did have a bit of a time finding the Best Western Hotel Sant Elena. The hotel was deserving on its reputation of a fine hotel. I'd gladly recommend it.

Lastly, the crew on the Splendor of the Seas were outstanding. I had a great head waiter from India named Alick. There was a fantastic bartender named Zoltan from Hungary and a nice cabin steward named Patricia (forget what country she was from). Customer Service were solid with a great rep named Nikolay. I got to make my first ever cruise reservations at ship's Crown & Anchor desks with Johanna. Many thanks for that. And lastly, many thanks to the unsung awesome cooks on board the ship who every day fixed such fantastic food. I had to show considerable willpower to keep myself to 1 plate per meal. I didn't want to leave as cargo at the end of the 2 cruises.

If you like cruising or are interested in cruising, you should give Royal Caribbean a look. They do a consistently fine job. I've done 7 cruises with them and, I've been pleased with them every time. Also, the have an excellent frequent cruiser program (Crown & Anchor) making it very worth whiled to do a lot of cruises with them. Happy travels all!!!!!!!

Arrived in Italy

Yesterday, I arrived at Marco Polo International Airport from New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport. The flight was uneventful barring the flight being delayed 3 times which meant we got in an hour later.

It's been years since I was last in Venice. This time is unique in a number of ways. First, I took the water shuttle (Alilaguna) from the airport to Lido Island and later took it to the cruise ship terminal so, I could scout it out in advance. I wanted to know where exactly I had to go this Saturday.

Second, I've stayed overnight in Venice. Best Western has a very nice hotel called the Sant' Elena which is off the path of the tourist crowds but within 5 minutes by waterbus from St. Mark's Square. The hotel is in a converted convent and has nice rooms, free WiFi and a fine breakfast buffet which I tried this morning.

Third, this will be the first time I've ever sailed out of Venice or done an European cruise. Yesterday, Oceania and MSC cruise lines had ships in port at the cruise ship terminal. It looks like a very nice facility and millions of people have done cruises out of Venice thanks to it. It was something to see the MSC Armonia sail down the Guidecca Canal on its way out to sea last night all lit up. Royal Caribbean's Splendour of the Seas is supposed to sail at 4:30 p.m. (the ship I'll be on) and should have some awesome views of Venice as we sail out. Stay tuned for some pics on that.

Fourth, I'll get to sail on a different class of ship for the first time. It's Royal Caribbean's Vision Class ship. It's the 2nd smallest class ship they have. I'm looking forward to exploring it and finding out what it offers. Royal Caribbean has another Vision Class ship called Grandeur of the Seas which will sail out of Baltimore beginning in May 2013 and, I'd really like to do a cruise on that ship. So, it'll be handy to know the layout of the ship as each of the ships of a particular class are pretty much the same.

That's all to tell for now. I'll leave you with a picture I took of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice yesterday while exploring. Happy travels all!