THE ALCOHOL AND SICKNESS RIP-OFF. - Western Mediterranean "Ports" Review by anthony lowton

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Home > Member Reviews > anthony lowton's Port Reviews of Lisbon, Palma de Mallorca, Rome (Civitavecchia), Naples, Sardinia, Gibraltar

anthony lowton's Port Reviews of Lisbon, Palma de Mallorca, Rome (Civitavecchia), Naples, Sardinia, Gibraltar
Independence of the Seas cruise in January 2011

Member Name:	anthony lowton
Cruise Date:	January 2011
Embarkation:	London (Southampton)
Destination:	Western Mediterranean
Member Review:	anthony lowton's Independence of the Seas Review

	Lisbon Port Rating: Expensive for what we actually did, but we were rushed from pillar to post by our tour guide because there 'wasn't time'. I thought that more emphasis should have been made to historical facts and longer explanations made for the unusual aspects of the tour.
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	Palma de Mallorca Port Rating: Probably the worst of the tours. The tour guide was not the best of English speakers,stumbling through her facts with difficulty, pausing after every other word with 'etcetera' which became so 'wearing' that she lost the interest of most of her listeners who then carried out conversations with each other making it impossible to hear the guide. She led us all to a garden and then went through a very biassed tirade of why she was interested in the garden layout. It was pouring with rain at the time. She then led us to the rear door of the cathedral and told us that we would not be going inside. My Wife and I then jumped ship and we went through the entrance, paid our 4Euro entrance fee, and admired the very beautiful interior and relics on view to the public. We then rejoined the bus at the rendezvous point. We were then driven to a pearl 'factory',where expensive items of pearl jewellery were on sale. We were then invited to look around a run-down bullfighting arena, where vegetation was growing from the guttering,paint peeling from the walls and woodwork and where it was obvious that b ullfighting hadn't taken place for a very long time. This tour was a waste of money and time, apart from the interior of the cathedral, which wasn't a scheduled visit.
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	Rome (Civitavecchia) Port Rating: A tour made really interesting by a very knowledgeable guide. A pity that the stop of 45 minutes in St Peter's Square didn't allow enough time to visit the Basilica because of the security queue, but the rest of the tour was seen from the bus. Not really worth the expense,and three hours of the tour were spent driving to and from the city through not interesting scenery.
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	Naples Port Rating: A very well researched tour, although the visit to the cameo factory was spoiled by a very noisy Japanese coachload of visitors such that nobody could hear what the centre manager was telling us. Herculeum was very,very interesting and will be even more so when it has been fully restored. The city of Naples was fortunately not on the schedule. Those who had gone there were disappointed.
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	Sardinia Port Rating: Please recommend hiring a taxi and asking for an English speaking driver. Ours was brilliant. We visited the interesting tourist spots and churches of the city. It cost the four of us 40 Euros,(plus a well-earned tip). Total of three hours was enough time.
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	Gibraltar Port Rating: Spoiled by the tour coach which was very rickety on the poor roads. My wife was left sitting on a seat above the wheel arch such that her knees were forced under her chin. The visit to an hotel for tea and 'stickies' was a nice break, and the driver/guide was interesting. As for Gibraltar itself, the Brits should give it back to the Spanish!
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	Barcelona Port Rating: The tour started at 3.00pm. The tour guide was spellbinding in his knowledge of the history and architecture of the Basilia Familia. We then headed for the Spanish Village, by which time it was dark and cold, which made it a waste of time. Start this tour two hours earlier!
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