Balcony

Inside

Outside

Suite

Royal Caribbean International

Family Cruises

Gay & Lesbian Cruises

Romantic Cruises

Singles Cruises

Cruises for the Disabled

Senior Cruises

Fitness Cruises

Venice

Barcelona

Athens (Piraeus)

Miami

Europe - All

Mediterranean

Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

Europe - Western Mediterranean

Excellent

Very Good

Terrible

Average

Rhapsody of the Seas

Vision of the Seas

Voyager of the Seas

Grandeur of the Seas

Brilliance of the Seas

Explorer of the Seas

Enchantment of the Seas

Serenade of the Seas

Rostock (Warnemunde)

EMBARKATION: Finally got to the port and were frustrated by the confusion and inefficiency: though several RCL folks held up signs that pointed us in the terminal direction, they were too busy chatting with one another to advise us that the luggage had to be left off at a totally different building (which we had passed by already), so up the escalator, down the escalator, stand in some more lines . . .then come to find out we could have gone to the front of that line b/c we had already affixed our RCL baggage tags all over our luggage, but none of the helpful RCL folks that had seen us on the way mentioned this either.
Finally checked in at the terminal and got our cabin keycards; they punched two holes into the kids' cards (to prevent their buying any alcohol on board) but then, when I asked for a hole to be punched in my card to allow me to put it on a lanyard, they said it might prevent ME from buying alcohol!!? Why not have another shape punch for the kids? Don't many folks put their cards on lanyards?
SHIP INFO: The Voyager is a very nice ship with lots of space, but a few areas are not used to their full advantage. For example, there is a lounge/bar on Deck 14, which on other ships is prime real estate, as the views are tremendous and nearly 360, but this space was to my knowledge NEVER mentioned in the daily Cruise Compass (the daily flyer re happenings onboard). We did visit there one evening and there was a live low-key band, so that was a pleasant surprise. The lounge near the guest reception desk had live music, but I felt sorry for the performers b/c it was used more as a space to pass through rather than to linger. The Aquarium Bar had what looked like fish tanks lining the walls, (and my husband thought they had perhaps recently been drained for cleaning due to a persistent odd smell in that area) but there were no glass walls, just fake coral and such, so I doubt that they were real aquaria. As stated, the smell lingered all week and we didn't care to frequent it. The Schooner Bar with live piano music and singing was VERY popular every evening. The two-tiered disco named the Vault was decorated in retro fashion and suffered only due to the DJ (DJ Amir) who tended to play what he seemed to like more than to cater to his audience. For example, one evening there was a 70s theme and he was to play 70s music from 10:45-11:45p, but he stopped 10 minutes early (with a full dance floor no less) and started playing songs that I'd never heard of (and I have teenagers at home!). The dance floor pretty much cleared out and I'm relatively sure the bar lost money and customers. We doggedly stayed, though, hoping for a reversal of fortune; finally "Low" by FloRidA came on (and we were rocking it) and MIDSONG he cut to an unknown song. We turned our faces up to his booth and gave 4 thumbs down and left the Vault; no surprise, the Schooners Bar was hopping, with people dancing in the very limited carpeted space between the piano and seats (there is NO dancefloor in Schooners) and not to live music, but to the running track from the piano player's laptop!! We later told him he was a better DJ than the paid DJ.
ACTIVITIES: Activities-wise there was plenty to do, especially given the limited time we had on board due to the port-heavy itinerary. We were glad that bingo and horse-racing were NOT pushed and assume that is due to the more international crowd on European cruises, and regret there wasn't more nighttime karaoke as the evening at the start of the cruise was a lot of fun (with Amy from Wales). My kids didn't join the kids' clubs, largely b/c of limited time and b/c we always have them with us in the evenings for dinner and shows. My 13yo son loved the rock-climbing (I even tried it!) and ice-skating, and mini-golf and ping-pong and shuffleboard are always enjoyable. The "destination talks" were disappointing in that they were geared primarily to tell you where to shop, and didn't really give much helpful info as to sights in port. The main pool deck was always crowded and lively, but it seemed one of the pools was always covered with netting (never found out the reason) but had it been open, the crowding in the other pool would have eased. Hot tubs were routinely full. There is an adult-only pool, which is great to have, but quite a small area for swimming and the minimum age for an "adult" was never really clarified (or enforced).
I found it a bit strange to walk into the fitness area and find the largest hot-tub on the ship be there, but it grew on me. Plenty of exercise equipment, free weights, machines, etc, though it's disappointing that the days of FREE group classes seem to be over (spinning, Pilates, etc are all for-fee now). We didn't purchase any spa packages, so can't speak to that. Had only one day at sea, so didn't honestly use the fitness area much, but the bathroom was well-stocked with showers and towels and would have been a nice place to freshen up outside the tiny cabin space.
SERVICE: Our dining room attendants were great, attentive, friendly, addressing us by name after the first night, and a pleasure to interact with. OUr stateroom attendant (Celso) was wonderful as well: quiet and nearly invisible, never getting underfoot but always available (though I must say that we're pretty undemanding). My 16yo asked, "When does he sleep??" He tried to get our fridge fixed, the fact that it still didn't work after replacement wasn't his fault. We never asked for an ice-bucket in the room but could have, and he kindly sprayed my daughter'sstinky backpack that she'd thrown up on with some Febreeze stuff at my request and at least tried to make it better. Only interacted with one casino dealer (Lutecia from Uruguay) who was very nice.
ENTERTAINMENT: The entertainment on board varied from great to so-so. The absolute highlights for us were the ice show (went twice); the Beatle-Maniacs; the Russian gymnasts the first night; the Argentinian Gauchos las Pampas on the last night were really funny; and Mario DeAndrea, the guitarist who was a consummate entertainer especially for a somewhat older crowd, but my kids enjoyed the entire evening too. The band that played in the Cleopatra Lounge was OK, but the ship lacked one band that could really do some rock and get everyone on the dance floor. The RCL singers and dancers were hot-and-cold, and the lead black woman was their strongest singer. It was a bit unusual in our experience to have the female dancers so outnumber the male dancers (by 2:1). As previously stated, the Schooner Bar pianist was very entertaining and never failed to get the crowd going, and Ian Miller, the guitarist in the Pig & Whistle Pub was a stalwart regular. The best price on beer was here too--only $4 for a Kronenburg, a veritable steal compared to other drink prices!
KOPER: Previously, I had never heard of this port, and it seems the fact that cruise ships stop here is still a novelty and seems appreciated by the general populace (unlike at another port I'll mention later). The ship docked amazing close to the old city area, just a short steep walk up some steps and we were in the old city, which is pedestrian only. A live band was playing in Tito Square and local women graciously offered us pieces of what looked like coconut cake (free!). The general air was festive and welcoming, and even though it was a Sunday, most of the shops seemed to be open (certainly only b/c of the cruise ship in town). We walked the streets/alleys and were enchanted by the sights and sounds of a small town: the clinking of glassware and smells of cooking, wash hanging on clotheslines outside buildings. The old town is small and easily seen in short shrift, even after visiting the church and museum in the square and viewing a short informative film there, so we headed to see about a local bus to Piran. PIRAN was mentioned in several of our references as even more quaint than Koper, so we awaited the bus, which would have taken us 45minutes and cost 3.70Euro pp, but a taxi van stopped and the driver offered a fare of 4Euro pp and the ride was only 20minutes! The drive along the coast was quite enchanting and we drove through Isola and one other town b4 getting to Piran. Piran, once the trafficked outskirt along the harbor is negotiated, is also primarily a walker's town, with narrow alleys and steep streets. The "lighthouse" at the end of the promontory was anticlimactic, but rounding the bend from the protected harbor, our breath was literally taken away by the change: wind whipped our hair and clothes, waves crashed over the concrete walkway along the edge, an entirely different feel on the ocean side of the town. We saw a young girl tourist sitting on a rock holding a freshly caught sea sponge the size of a football. Trekked up to the church and bell tower and had a look down the cliffs and then climbed further to the city walls, which afforded a breathtaking view (and time to regain our breath from the strenuous climb). Everywhere there were fig trees, which my son tried to harvest. Looking down at the town, it reminded me of Portofino, but with less cliff and more walkable area. So glad we made the detour outside of Koper to see more of the short Slovenian coast, but then headed back with the same taxi driver at a predetermined time to get back on board. Were astounded to see, as we pulled out during dinner,that the entire seaboard was lined with Koper inhabitants and they were waving at us as we departed! My cynical thought was whether they were getting paid to do so, but it certainly seems that the town, at least for now, appreciates the influx of cruise tourists and their $. RAVENNA: Was amazed that the Italian town of Ravenna, the mosaic capital of Europe, was not on the port list as yet. Decided to head out on our own, despite dire warnings of a 15km distance to town, and soon saw a local bus (#90) that took us to center city for 2Euros each (rather than the 15Euros pp cruise transfer). Were glad we didn't hoof it, since it was quite a long ride through malodorous industrial areas. When we got to Ravenna, walked along pretty much following everyone else until we reached the pedestrian-only section of this city and got oriented. The mosaics are amazing in their detail, luminescence of color, and overall condition and at our first stop we paid the all-inclusive price (15-19Euros pp) to see most of the recommended ones. Dante's Tomb is free, but we saw about 3 different places where he supposedly lay, so he must have moved around a lot! True, there are downsides to not taking an organized tour, but we prefer our independence (and the savings) to being minimally educated on a tour. In fact, we had taken many copied references with us, particularly from Rick Steves, but rarely took the time to read all the details, as the entire atmosphere too evocative.

Cruising the Adriatic on RCL's Voyager of the Seas

We were just on the Voyager of the Seas' seven night Adriatic Cruise. Ports were Venice, Koper, Ravenna, Bari, and Dubrovnik. 

STATEROOM: Grand Suite, worth every penny! The room was very spacious with plenty of closet space. The bathroom had two double sinks and the tub had two retractable wash lines for hanging up laundry. (We traveled with carry-on luggage only so yes, I did have to do a little bit of washing in the sink!) #1324 was on the hump so our balcony was wider than most. We had one lounge sun chair and a table and chair set-up,which we used every morning as we had breakfast on our balcony. 

ENTERTAINMENT: very enjoyable shows each evening. The singers were particularly talented. The Elton John tribute was excellent. We also saw the ice show--don't miss this; it's spectacular. Lounge music was good throughout the ship also though I wish the volume wasn't quite as loud. It's hard to carry on a conversation over the music. 

DINING: For the all the complaints about food that I've read, I set my expectations on the low side and was pleasantly surprised at how delicious all our meals were. We ate at the Main Dining Room. The wait staff was very attentive and really added to the whole dining experience. We had two formal nights and enjoyed seeing everyone in their finery. We ate at Windjammers only once for lunch and there was a good selection. We had such big breakfasts and dinners that we tended to forgo lunch entirely! 

PORTS: In Koper we walked off the ship and signed up for an excursion to the Slocjan Caves. I think it was the town of Koper who sponsored this. At 40 euros per person, which included transportation and entrance into the caves, this was an excellent value. The caves are jaw-dropping. If you go, however, you must be fit as there's plenty of walking, some of it up steep stairs. 

In Ravenna we bought the 9 euro pass which included about 5 churches. Amazing mosaics! The town itself was pleasant and it was a nice afternoon out. 

In Bari we took the local train to Polignano a Mare, a small cliff side village. There's a nice little beach where I collected a fair bit of colorful beach glass, and of course the cliffs are a sight to see. We didn't have enough time to explore Bari properly as we spent the bulk of the day in Polignano. 

Dubrovnik! Beautiful city in a beautiful country. We want to go back. 

Venice...same opinion as above. Sailing into and out of Venice is wonderful, too. It's extremely easy to get into the city by foot, which we appreciated. You can use the People Mover for 1 euro but you really don't have to if you don't mind walking ten minutes or so.

Fabulous introduction to the world of cruising!

Thoroughly enjoyed this cruise after the total nightmare of booking onto the ship. The Royal Caribbean Rep. at Venice airport didn't know her left from her right and sent us to the wrong area at first but we eventually found our transfer coach amongst total chaos. When we arrived at the Port the experience was no better, it was again total chaos which didn't improve until we actually got to the check-in desk. There seemed to be a total lack of communication.  Once on the ship though things improved and we were shown to our cabin which was a D2 and very nice. However, when I looked into the bathroom the toilet looked as though it hadn't been cleaned so I immediately rang Housekeeping and they replaced the toilet seat within half an hour!! We then got phone calls for the next 3 days asking us if the toilet seat had been replaced, I answered each time but the message did not seem to get through. Eventually, on the 4th day we received free shuttle boat tickets to Venice with an apology and a hope that the inconvenience hadn't spoilt our cruise!
We found the ship to be bigger than any we had cruised on before as we have done one Princess Cruise but the rest have been Thompson"s.  I was impressed with the shows and the Theatres, there was never a problem getting a seat and the Ice show was particularly good, with the girl who did the hula hoops (can't remember her name),stealing the show.  The food was excellent.we never had a bad meal, we didn't try the Speciality Restaurants as we were quite satisfied with the Magic Flute restaurant. We had My Time Dining but we ate at the same time each night as this suited us. The only complaint was on the first night when they offered us bottled water only and we paid about 8 dollars for a bottle, we asked for tap water after that.
The port of Koper was within walking distance of the ship and it was a very nice little town to walk around. There was a sort of Market there also.
Ravenna was not within walking distance so we got the shuttle bus and walked around the town. Not a lot to see apart from a few churches and some shops but we found a nice little bar and had wine and pizza.
Bari was within walking distance but the ship were charging 14 dollars for the Shuttle Bus! We decided to go on the Land Train which cost 15euros and wasn't such a good idea as we spent hardly any time on the Land Train and most of the time following the guide. We would have preferred to stay in the Old Town and walk around ourselves, but never mind, you live and learn.
Dubrovnik is a lovely city, we have been there before, so we decided to go on the chairlift which is quite new. It was a bit of a walk up quite a few steps and the chairlift was a little crowded but the views when we reached the top were amazing. The ship was charging 42 dollars for this trip and it cost just 11.5 euros so this gives you some idea of how expensive the trips are.
The weather in Venice was awful, which was a shame as the weather had been gorgeous for the rest of the week. We managed to get there after lunch when the rain had stopped but it was still very windy.
The evening entertainment on the ship was really enjoyable and always made us smile. All in all we had a brilliant time but probably would not book with RC again in a hurry due to all the extras and the price of the drinks which is made worse by the 15% service charge on each one. My husband was happy though as they did 500ml cans of Fosters lager and they always gave me good measures of Absolute vodka

Adriatic Cruise to Remember

We were cruising to celebrate my wife's 50th anniversary. We visited Venice in 1999 and have wanted to return, and were on the Voyager in 2005, so this sailing, which included my wife's birthday, was exactly what we were looking for. Our dinner companions were lovely (from Houston and from Wales), the staff was extremely polished, pleasant and always helpful. As Americans, we were in an extreme minority on the ship- which made the trip that much more fun and interesting- breaking bread and sharing excursions with people from Germany, Ireland, France. London, Italy, Spain, etc. etc. if you travel from outside the Euro zone, it is a very good idea to have Euros with you- sometimes it may be a little difficult or expensive to change over dollars.



The ports: Koper, Slovenia.....Ravenna, Italy.....Bari, Italy.....Dubrovnik, Croatia.... and, of course, in and out of Venice (including an overnight stay at the end of the cruise) were amazing. 



All shuttles were available all day with virtually no waiting on either end. We purchased shuttles, not excursions- as the ports were easy to work our way through. In Bari, the ancient city was so close that we walked in and did not purchase a shuttle. TAKE LOTS OF WATER !! We brough small backpacks and about a liter of water each. 

RCI Adriatic cruise- Voyager of the Seas

The cabin we had on voyager of the seas was nice but strangely the bed was head to the window where there was no headboard so the pillow would just fall down the back as there was a gap , I turned the bed around which meant the lights were in the wrong place but we could at least sit up in bed and look out the window , and not lose our pillows at night.



Fridge didn't work , but to be fair we didn't complain as we didn't use it.



Food - excellent



Formal nights - I think that RCI should enforce the formal attire in the main dining room on formal nights as most people made the effort but some real scruffs turned up in jeans and t shirts etc which spoiled it somewhat - they could have eaten in the windjammer , portofino , cafe promenade , or johnny rockets if they didn't want to dress up



entertainment - poor , same acts doing the same songs nearly every night - they were good acts but after a couple of nights you didn't want to keep hearing exactly the same thing



dancing - very poor - dance lessons were good but for actual dancing it was nearly all latin and then nothing you could rumba , cha cha , or samba to , a small amount of ballroom dancing but it was only an hour or so on 2 nights , whereas it was 3 and a half hours of the latin in one bar most nights and latin in other bars at the same time.



also there was entertainment for other nationalities that were not mentioned in the english listings so we only found them out by chance 

Good but drinks expensive and entertainment poor

Just returned from the Adriatic Sea cruise and thought I would pass along some information which may be of use. In my opinion this was a much more enjoyable cruise than I was expecting, and great value for the money spent.



Voyager of the Seas - I didn't think I would like a large ship such as this but I found it had the feel of a much smaller ship. The balcony cabin seem a bit smaller to me than others, and the bathroom shower certainly was much smaller. The ship was very clean and easy to get around, lots of activities and it had a shopping "street" on one level.

Overall the food was quite good in the main dining room. The only complaint we had was with the Specialty Dining restaurant Portofino's. The menu wasn't that appealing and definitely sub standard compared to other cruise lines. The cost was $20 extra, I wouldn't do it again.

The entertainment highlight was definitely the Ice Show, not to be missed. Some pretty good entertainers ranging from the standard Broadway tunes to a 3 tenor group, and Elton John tribute singer. 

The prices onboard were quite expensive, drinks were in the range of $5.50 beer and $10 wine + the 15%. That being said the cruise itself was very cheap at least on our dates, so it didn't really hurt. The tours were outrageous, but this is one cruise you can do pretty much on your own, if you like to walk, and can use a map. 

The ports were as follows. 

Koper- Ship docked right in town. Not much here, I'm afraid, there is a small "old town", and you can do it in 45min. 

We did a ship tour to the see the Lipizzaner Stallions which I would recommend, or there was a Cave Tour also that looked pretty interesting. Our cost was around $80 each, incl the bus and entrance fee, and really not bad value.



Ravenna - To me this was a gem. I would strongly recommend you go into town and take the self guided tour of the churches adorned with the mosaics. There were I recall 6 churches that were included in the ticket price which was around $9 euros. Very interesting and well worth the time, if you can do the walking, which would take a good 3-4 hours. Generally a very pretty area. The ship had some offerings if you aren't interested in this option. Note: DO NOT try to walk into town by any means. Bite the bullet and pay the $14 ship transfer fee. It had to be a good 10 miles away thru a highly industrial unmarked area, and there didn't seem to be any taxis in the area, so be warned.



Bari - We took the ship's transport into town $14, and walked around they're Old Town area. Some interesting sites, just a nice place to stop have a drink in one of the squares. You might be able to walk into town, but it would be a good hike, taxis were around so it might be cheaper that way, definitely if there are more than 2 persons in the group. 



Dubrovnik- Beautiful old town area, completely surrounded by a wall, which you could and should walk, if you are able. There is no cost to enter the city, but the wall walk costs $10 Euros and has to be paid by credit card, or you can use the local$if you want to change your money. We took the ships transport $10, but I think I would recommend a taxi. The posted charge was $10, and there was quite a line waiting to get back on the buses for the ship.



Venice- What can I say, there is nothing remotely like it in the world. We did the sites on our own. I won't go over the sights, maybe just some tips. If you are doing a self-guided tour, it is very easy to get around. When you get off the ship you walk to a people mover ($1E) that takes you to the Piazzale Roma which has the vaporetto and the bus stop. Determine if you want to buy a pass or single ticket. We had a late flight on Sat, so we bought a 36hr pass if I recall was $23 Euros. The single ticket is $6.5E and good for an hour only. So 4 trips makes it a good buy. You only need to use the Number 2 vaporetto to avoid confusion. This takes you right along the Grand Canal to the Rialto bridge and to San Marco, what an introduction, simply magnificent. We used a Rick Steeve's tourbook, guided walk from San Marco over to the Rialto area, very well laid out and we would have missed a lot without it. We bought a detailed map at the airport but good luck. A lot of the streets weren't listed, but that was the fun of it. The gondola rides cost $70-80 per boat, up to 6 people, it lasts around 35min and it's a once in a lifetime treat in my opinion. Hire one away from San Marco and you will go in the backstreet canals as opposed to the busy Grand Canal. Lots of food options about from cheap sandwiches etc, to more expensive restaurants, we had a lovely pizza dinner/wine at an outdoor restaurant near the Rialto for around $45E. Expect to pay that as a min for a sit down meal. If you want to sit in San Marco square to have a drink and hear the bands, it will cost around $40E incl some wine and cover charge. Quite a setting.

This cruise had an overnight in Venice, so if you have time you can go into the city the next day. I wouldn't do it unless you have a flight leaving at least in the very late afternoon. If you decide to go in, you have to check your luggage at a bag drop location. There is one directly left of the people mover exit, down about 20 yards or so. Now for a reality check. There were 5 ships at dock, and the place probably holds a couple of hundred bags if that. We waited an hour to get within sniffing distance of the door only to be told there was no room. The only option is to go to the train station, either walk, over a bridge 200 yards or take vaporetto (1 stop) and drop them off there. Expect another hour lineup; they have a large area so room isn't an issue $4E per bag. So after 2 hours we were on our way. Lesson learned. Get off the ship ASAP, check out the lineup at the people mover dropoff, and if the line is big go directly to the train station. For your return to the airport,you can catch a bus in the same area, Pizzale Roma and it is about a 30 minute ride, I think $5E each, although you need to carry your luggage on the bus, no need to use the ship transfer which was around $33 each. Taxis were around $40E.

All in all an excellent cruise in my opinion. 

Eastern Mediterranean - Voyager of the Seas

After reconnecting with family for a few days while visiting Vienna and Budapest, we all took the nighttime train to Venice to begin our Adriatic Sea cruise. In all, we had 4 adults and 5 teens. The train ride turned out to be a wonderful adventure and we arrived rested and eager to see Venice. We left Santa Lucia train station and carried our luggage over the bridge, which was not easy by the way. For 5E per bag we stored our luggage at the luggage storage at Piaza Roma. After that, we took the #1 Vaporetta on the Grand Canal to Lido and back. This turned out to be a great way to take in some of the sights and to get a feel for Venice. We picked up our luggage and took the people mover next door and within an hour we had boarded the Voyager of the Seas. 



The Voyager is a grand ship but I did not find it to have the wow factor that it had when we cruised on her in 2004. Much of the granite has been covered with carpet and many or the fine works of art have been replaced with carpet wall hangings. To DH and myself it was more than just the wear and tear that we expected. It seemed to us that the ships interior had been downgraded on top of the expected wear and tear. We are an active family and enjoyed the many offerings that this ship has. Rock Climbing and both inline and ice skating along with dance classes were our favorite activities on board. These activities along with all of the walking that we did on the port days kept most of us our of the gym on this cruise. We found the ship to be filled with live music in the evening which we found very enjoyable. Most of our evenings ended with a nightcap in High Notes bar listening to the Latin band on board. Although our girls did not find the teen club to be to their liking, they did however, meet several other teens on board and enjoyed spending their evenings with their new friends. We found Mercedes, the Cruise Director, to be informative and witty without being corny and over-the-top. The shows that we attended in the La Scala theater were enjoyable. We especially liked the shows by the Los Gouchos and the Beatle Maniacs. The iceskating show was a favorite of ours as well. 



We had dinner at Carman's dining room at the 6:30 early seating and we were seated by a window. This was great as on most of our port days we were treated with watching sail-away from our table. We found the food to be rather salty and on many days more than one of us didn't enjoy their dinner. Our wait staff were pleasant and efficient but we did not enjoy mealtime as much as we had when we were on other cruise lines. We found that the food on board in general had room for improvement except for the Cafe Promenade where the sandwiches, pastries and desserts were always very good. We did enjoy our meal at Protofino's but our DD's thought that Johnny Rockets was just o.k.. 



We chose an inside cabin on deck 6 Aft for this cruise and our DD's had the room next door with our relatives beside them. The rooms were well equipped and our room steward was very unobtrusive and efficient. We had a port extensive cruise and our room choice and location worked out perfectly for us.



We took advantage of the late departure program and stayed on board until 3:30. This worked out well for us and we would choose this option again if we had another late flight. Arriving at the airport relaxed and refreshed for our 9 hour flight back home made our travel day much more enjoyable.



With the help of CC members, Europe 101 went well and we are all looking forward to Europe 202. 



(Koper, Slovenia, Rating 5) Our first port of call was Koper, Slovenia. We walked to the main square which was small but interesting. There we saw a castle and several other historic building. We walked to the bus stop from there as we had planned on taking a bus to the nearby city of Piran. While we were at the bus stop we were approached by a taxi driver who offered to take us to and from Piran for 2E more pp than the bus. We took him up on his offer and for 8E pp we had a wonderful tour along with breathtaking views and picture taking opportunities that the bus would not have provided us with. Thirty-five minutes later we were in Piran. It is a lovely town and the views of the town and sea from the old wall were beautiful. After spending over two hours exploring Piran our driver returned for us and provided us with a memorable return trip stopping at a couple of his favorite places for pictures. Later in the afternoon we walked by the sea in Koper and enjoyed the time we spent at a cafe eating the local pastry called a Burrak. We purchased some local crafts and olive oil and returned to the ship. (Revenna,Italy, Rating 4) Revenna is famous for the mosaics in the churches and landmarks of this Italian city. We took a taxi from the port and purchased passes to see these buildings. The Basilica San Vitalle was our favorite of the four that we toured. Seeing these masterpieces was definitely worth the visit to Ravenna. It is difficult to explain the awe that I felt while visiting the Basilica. The streets of Revenna where we walked are only for pedestrians and cyclists. I was surprised that we didn't witness more near miss collisions during our visit. It was a cute town but the churches are definitely the must see here and if you are not interested in seeing them then I would skip Revenna and choose another option.

Europe 101

Just completed a 7 day Adriatic Cruise on Voyager of the Seas. Having cruised several times on multiple cruise lines throughout Europe we picked this cruise since it visited ports on the Adriatic Sea. If you are cruising in Europe for the first time this is probably not the cruise you should take. This was the first cruise where US residents were the minority. Nothing wrong with that just the first time it has noticed on 5 European cruises. As one might suspect majority were Italian. 

Ship: This was the largest ship we have cruised on out of the 27 cruises over the past 20 years. My wife and I were a little concerned that we would feel crowded as we usually enjoy smaller ships. We were both pleasantly surprised that other than around the pool during the one sea day we did not feel like there were 3000 passengers on board. The public spaces were large enough and the entertainment venues spread out enough to disperse the guests. 

Our stateroom was a typical D1 balcony and was clean and in good working order. Our friends were in the cabin next door and their toilet was an issue the entire cruise. Maintenance fixed the problem every time it was reported but it was very frustrating to them to have to constantly report the issue.

Food: I was actually surprised on how much they had improved the main dining room food. Both quality and selection was drastically better than our previous Royal Caribbean cruises. We usually cruise Celebrity because the food is better but I think this cruise had better food than our last Celebrity cruise. We usually eat a couple of times in the specialty restaurants seeking better food and service but we did not eat at the specialty restaurants this trip. 

Ports: Enjoyed the variety of ports. Venice and Dubrovnik were the highlights but Ravenna, Bari, and Koper were a nice as well. We did all ports on our own. 

Koper is a nice small town but most things are closed because the cruise visits on a Sunday. We took a cab to a small resort town about 15 minutes away (Piran) and enjoyed touring the town and had a great lunch overlooking the water. Some shops were open as this is a local beach destination.

Ravenna is known for their mosaics and all are within easy walking distance from each other. We found a local meat/cheese market and bought some local cheese, famous prosciutto ham, and olives. We took a cab to the city as it is not within walking distance. Since there were four of us it was as cheap and provided greater flexibility to hire a cab versus pay for the ship's shuttle. 

Bari: Again took a cab to the city. Could have walked it in about 20 minutes but it was extremely hot so we decided to save our energy and take a cab. The downtown area is nice and the sites are easy to walk around. Found a local restaurant and had a very memorable lunch. At the end of the cruise all four of us thought this experience was one of the highlights of the trip. Very friendly service, great house wine, and multiple course meal in a charming back alley was extremely special. 

Dubrovnik: Road the local bus from the pier (bus station right outside the port) and is extremely cheap and easy to negotiate. Walked the wall, shopped, and enjoyed a house wine at a local cafe.

Venice: Took the water taxi from the pier. Purchased a 24 hour pass but the last boat departed at 7pm so no really worth paying for 24 hour pass as you disembark from the ship the following morning. We had visited Venice before so we went through the museums and toured the major sites with our friends since it was their first visit.



Overall: A great cruise but as much as we enjoyed the cruise I would have been disappointed if we had not already visited the British Isles, Baltic, Norwegian, and Western Mediterranean ports. 

Voyaging on the Adriatic

I have to say first of all that this was our best holiday ever. I love wooden speedboats and using one for all my Venice trips and then to the ship was an expensive but wonderful start. The weather was hot and the sky an uninterupted blue for the whole holiday. Last year we went on the Ocean Princess which was wonderful but now we feel that much can be equaled and the level of entertainment from a ship this size, hard to beat.



Some people have commented on the ship needing refurbishment and I could agree if you looked at the carpet but they were redoing it as we left and maybe our room chair could be recovered but all is well with no rust, timber problems or anything else. When the carpet is done , you'd have to be a very demanding person to be unhappy about this ship. We were on deck 9 to be inbetween the main activities but on reflection, maybe decks five to seven might even be better.Most things are on 4-5. We worried about the number of people and how it might cause delays and line ups but didn't at all, except maybe at busy times the lifts were a little slow and seats around the pool. The ship, in very smooth seas was of course , rock solid. 



A wonderful ship, in what I could call modern art deco with only The Promenade and shops looking srangely a bit out of place. But what a great place to meet people and also have occasional entertainment. We never got to the ice rink and saw a 'new' band on the last night.



If you cross off the formal ships and the others for one reason or another, I have a feeling you are left with Princess large ships and these large RC ships.

I left the best till last. The Broadway quality entertainment, piano and support musicians were fantastic and the food very good . You can't believe you're there !! Piano at dinner !!

I can't think of anything that I didn't like. Ok I don't drink much and the drinks are expensive (US $) and 15% Gratuity. All this at a price that was below the cost of my last cruise and cheaper than MSC and Costa , I think.

How do you beat an affordable, upper middle class art deco ship thats well run with top entertainment? 

How do you better this?

Being our 25th Wedding Anniversary this year, my wife and I decided to book an Adriatic cruise on Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas in August this year. We had already been on 3 previous cruises, but I can safely say that Royal Caribbean proved to be the best of them all. Their level of organisation stands out. The quality of the food on board was excellent; in the Windjammer buffet restaurant, a wide variety of food ensured that everyone's tastes were satisfied; dinner in the beautiful 3-levelled dining room was of superb quality, and service was impeccable. The level of the animation was superb...far better than that we experienced with other lines. The animation team was young and kept everybody's spirits high. The best thing about this cruise was that even throughout the beautiful excursions, we kept looking forward to the evening entertainment on board! Our cabin was reasonably sized, and the level of service was outstanding. The Beatles show, and especially, the Ice Skating show, were absolutely professional and fantastic! During our last night, which was in Venice, a masquerade party was held on the Promenade Deck. The music was great, almost everyone was wearing a Venetian mask, and the atmosphere was amazing. For all these things, I would certainly use Royal Caribbean again.

I really couldn't complain; however, some small points which, in our opinion, would enhance the experience are worth mentioning. First and foremost, the drinks on board are really very expensive. The cheapest bottle of wine was USD 26, very high for a simple bottle of Sicilian wine which I normally buy off the supermarket shelf for Euro 2.99c. Drinks at the bar were exhorbitant. Another rather poor show was the disco....The Vault. My wife and I are in our late 40s', which means we prefer 80s' disco music. Each time we went down to the Vault, the disco was practically empty, with the latest tekno music, to which we coudn't dance, blaring on non stop. It seems nobody liked this music, as the disco was empty almost every day....so couldn't the dj try some real disco music....80s' style? On the last day during the Masquerade party, some real music was played on Deck 5. Amazingly, hundreds upon hundreds of people filled the Royal Promenade and danced on...goes to show that not everyone appreciates the new tekno music!

Also, excursions were far too expensive, although to be fair, they were well organised, and the guides used were very professional. 

All in all, it was a superb experience, and we hope to cruise with Royal Caribbean again in the future! 

Best cruise ever!!!

Filters

1-10 of 27