Mediterranean Cruise Part 2

The Husband and I really enjoyed our 15-year anniversary trip in the Mediterranean.  If you're going to go on a cruise, Royal Caribbean is a great line to use.  We have always received excellent service as well as enjoying every moment.  The food is always delicious, which is important because half the reason you take a cruise is so you can gain weight, right?

We had departed from Venice and made several stops among the Greek islands, and one in Turkey. But for today, I'd like to just talk about the actual cruise.  We were on Splendour of the Seas, and it was indeed splendid.  Everything was top-notch, and decorated so beautifully.

The Husband is a school teacher, so we are on a very tight budget, which means we usually get cabins that are on the lower end of the price range.  You expect cabins to be small, and that's OK.  There is so much to do and explore on the ship, we hardly spent any time in our cabin anyway.

That being said, while we were on the elevator, another couple invited us to come see their cabin, which was at the top of the ship.  A bit of a difference, to say the least! I'm pretty sure their "cabin" was bigger than our first apartment.  Such luxury, and seeing it first hand inspired us to dream of the day we could stay in a cabin like that.  It had its own kitchen, a living room, a separate bedroom, and of course a balcony.  The couple showed us pictures of their grandchildren, congratulated us on our anniversary, and after wishing each other well, we never saw them again.  But what a treat!

Like most cruise ships, food was available virtually any time you could possibly desire it.  One expects that when producing such large amounts of meals, the quality would suffer, but I enjoyed every morsel that passed my lips.  Thank goodness we walked so much on the land tours, or I surely would have doubled my weight by the end of the week!

We shared our evening dining table with another couple also celebrating an anniversary, and we ended up hitting it off quite well with them.  This is one of the things I really enjoy about cruising- how social they can be.  We'd frequently go to the evening stage production with them (and I never cease to be amazed at dancers in choppy water), and sometimes even went to later night activities together.  The Husband did a moving rendition of "Beautiful Day" by U2 one night at a karaoke bar.  I opted not to sing. ;)  There was always plenty to do no matter what the time.

In the halls, and on the deck, everything was kept clean, which is very important!! Another appreciated detail- a separate pool and hot tub for adults.  We don't mind kids, but it was still nice to know we could retreat there if we needed to.  A sizable gym was also available, and I was able to go and practice dancing without any trouble.

Ah, the dancing.  That was my one complaint about this particular cruise.  Each stop we made, there was some sort of reference to the culture there, yet here we were in the Mediterranean, even stopping in Turkey, with no mention anywhere in any show or silly shimmy contest of belly dance.  As a belly dancer, this was a bit of a disappointment. 

I really appreciate the attention to detail that Royal Caribbean does.  Also, it is definitely geared toward adults and/or families.  Other cruise lines we've tried seem to be catering to young people who want to party and meet other singles, which is fine.  But it's not us!  I'd recommend this cruise or one similar in a heartbeat.



Mediterranean Cruise

In July of 2006, the Husband and I went on a Mediterranean cruise.  It was a trip of a lifetime!!  We went to celebrate our 15 year wedding anniversary, and what better way to do that than head to Venice?

Something that I did not know- ALL OF EUROPE goes to Venice at the end of July and beginning of August apparently, so it was rather crowded much of the time.  No, not much of the time.  The entire time.  But we were so excited to be there!  Here are some of our adventures:

The whole notion that Americans are rude?  Well, I can't deny it, but nowhere near as rude as many of the Europeans we encountered.  While we were on the cruise, we were seated at a table for breakfast with some Italians who were rather put out that the Romanian waiter could only speak Spanish for a romance language and treated him horribly.  Thing is, I don't speak Italian, and my Spanish is very limited, yet I could clearly understand the unkind things they were saying about him.  Another time, we were going to cross a bridge, but noticed a happy German family taking a picture, so we paused to let them take the picture.  While they were preparing for the dad to snap the shot, a colorful Spanish women literally stood in front of them while her companion took a picture of her.  I'm not saying every single person in Europe is ill-behaved; I'm saying that I think they are the pots calling the kettle black.

Enough of that.  Our travel agent clearly had no idea what she was doing, because she booked our pre-cruise hotel "right next to the port."  Yeah...not so much.  Because the Husband is, shall we say, VERY FRUGAL, we got a car taxi from the airport and then walked over (with our luggage for two weeks) every single stinkin' bridge ever built in Venice.  OK, maybe not every one, but after a really long travel time, it sure seemed like it.  I will give her this- it was next to a place where boats came and went.  But it was the ferry station.  Had we stayed at a hotel near the land taxi drop-off, we would also have been right next to the port where the ships dock, and more, importantly, I would not have developed a blister walking to the other side of the city.

This is very complainy so far, but it really was exciting.  We mastered the public transportation pretty quickly, and really enjoyed exploring this beautiful city.

When you grow up in America, you get a skewed idea of what is "old" or "ancient."  The Husband grew up in Gold Country, and it's really neat to go and see the culture of the nineteenth century, and know people who live in homes built then.  When one goes to the East Coast, it's easy to be in awe of colonial buildings and settlements.  Yet, when you're standing in a church that was built a millennium and a half ago, it is very humbling. 

Being the geeks we are, we really enjoyed checking out the various architectural and artistic time capsules.  While in St. Mark's, we admired the Byzantine-style mosaics, and noted the way the art changed as the church expanded.  There were people in the church worshiping, and I wondered if anyone would ever tour my little stained-glassless box-shaped church and admire the bulletin board in the hallway.  Learning about the early church was very interesting as well.  We were both raised Baptist, and so had not been exposed first hand to many Catholic traditions and practices.  It was really fascinating and more than a little creepy to this Protestant the reverence for saintly corpses and body parts.  I will say this, though.  Catholics know how to decorate.  I suspect it stems from an interpretation of proper monetary stewardship, but many Protestant churches just don't have the amazing art that every single church we visited in Venice displayed, and I think this might be too bad.

Something that both disappointed and amused me?  The myth that a couple can take a romantic gondola ride.  Unless your idea of a romance is trusting your gondolier to never slam into any of the other romantic couples who have packed the canal.  I admit to being impressed that there weren't a string of Three's Company-esque mishaps!  Not one person fell into the canal while we were there (though we did see a very unhappy and soggy cat once)!



If you make it to Venice, visit the glass-blowing factory.  It was really fascinating to see the skill performed to make beautiful objects.  Of course, you should visit St. Mark's, and be sure Google the story behind it.  The Doge's palace was stunning, and the prison made me pleased to never have been an outlaw in medieval Europe.  Don't go to Burger King no matter how much you think you want a familiar American meal, because it's not.  Oh, take a water taxi to and from the airport.  It's expensive, but SO worth it.  Once there, get a three-day pass for the water bus, which is their public transportation.  It was very easy to use, plus every time you went anywhere, it was almost like getting a tour built in.  Don't believe the maps.  And most important?  Eat the gellato.

Here it is...

I get...ideas.  You know, things I think about, and sometimes they need an outlet.  This will be that outlet.