Category: Shore Excursions

Cruising, Gardens, International, Shopping, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

RC, That’s More Like It

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: THE BETTER SHORE EXCURSIONS

Having Fun in Spite of the Challenges

After the Shore Excursion FAIL in Tulum, we didn’t have much in the way of expectations when it came to Roatan, but it turned into a pretty wonderful day. The same with Costa Maya. We’d had the awful Jaguar Paw Debacle, but our bike ride and kayaking in Costa Maya, though not wonderful, was fine. Come along and enjoy these days with us.

Happy in Honduras

From the moment our ship pulled into port at Roatan, it looked as if we might be having a better day than we did in Tulum. The area around the port was very inviting and fresh, as if they’d had their gala grand opening the day before. Not at all the gloomy ferry docks of Cozumel.

We hurried through the inviting port area and found our shore excursion bus. A very short, scenic, tropical drive took us to Carambola Gardens and we were greeted by festively dressed employees who heartily welcomed us. They led us to a covered pavilion where in the shade of towering trees we participated in a very informative demonstration. Cacao beans were turned into chocolate the old fashioned way and we even got to try it out ourselves and make some dessert.

As the chocolate hardened, we were taken on a tour of the gardens. It was surprising to me, because there were no flowers. That’s what I think of when someone tells me we’re going to take a garden tour. Instead we were introduced to a wide variety of tropical trees and plants. A very sweet guide told us the fruit produced by each plant or tree and how the fruit and other various parts were used. I wished for some flowers, but was pleased by what was presented.

We returned to the collection of buildings and pavilions for a delicious lunch, topped off by the chocolate we had made ourselves. On the way out there was a shopping opportunity and I found this really cute bag I couldn’t live without!

Back in the port area, we had even more shopping opportunities and if we’d wanted to, we could have spent the afternoon hanging out at their pool. It was really a very nice place. Were I to go back today, I’d plan to spend my day there perhaps and not even take a shore excursion – it was that good.

Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico

When it comes to shore excursions, I try to mix it up. We’d done a historical/archeological tour to Tulum, chocolate making in Roatan and cave floating in Belize. A nice coastal bike ride and kayaking sounded like a great way to round out our activities – especially since for some reason Royal Caribbean thought anyone over 65 was too old for four wheeling. I hold that against them, too. I’m sure I’m more fit and able to drive an ATV that some of the 20 and 30 something passengers who were cruising with us. Not to worry though, I will not ever cruise Royal Caribbean again – even if it were free!

Though it was not as awful as the Jaguar Paw Experience, our Bike & Clear Kayak Adventure didn’t turn out exactly as I had imagined. We found our shore excursion group in the meeting area and followed our guide to our bikes. They’d seen better days, but they worked, so we jumped on and rode away in a line behind the guide.

I’d imagined biking through gorgeous tropical and/or beach scenes. For the first half of the ride we rode through what looked like one abandoned construction site after another. It was disheartening and disappointing. Eventually, we did come to a sort of beach boardwalk, but there were no boards, only bricks. It was early enough in the morning that vendors were setting up their wares and few people were enjoying the beach. Our guide led us to a fenced-in cafe where we were told to park our bikes and go to the patio.

We were given bottles of water and told to get ready for kayaking. We put on our water shoes eagerly, claimed our craft and headed out into the water. These were clear bottomed kayaks, but there was nothing to see except water, sand and some grasses growing in the water. It was great to be out on the water, but I’d hoped to see something exciting as I paddled along. Entirely too soon, they were rounding us up for the ride back to the port.

While I’d hoped for more, they’d delivered everything they promised. So, while it will not go down as my favorite shore excursion ever, it was a grand event compared to some of the other excursions I’d suffered through on this cruise.

The next day was a day at sea and talk about suffering, we were SO tired of the disappointing routine on Vision of the Seas. The food is perhaps the thing that discouraged us the most. On most cruises, the food is an important part of the entertainment, but there was nothing entertaining about this cruises’ food.

We loved our dinner mates and our server really did try to show us a good time, but the food was subpar. In fact, no matter which dining venue we went to for a meal, Bill ended up at the snack bar getting another piece of pizza or a sandwich. I would have joined him were it not for my gluten free issues. At least there WAS a snack bar, but that’s a sad way to nourish yourself for a week!

On Day 8 we disembarked, flew back to Dallas and were never so happy to be home. I’d been toying with the idea of using a vacation club deal to go to Florida, but this experience was so bad I decided if I want to go on vacation, by golly, I was just going to pay for it! Of course, that didn’t keep us from accepting a $1200 voucher for getting bumped from a flight. And we did decide to go to Florida, but not to the vacation club. Come back next week and travel with us to Pensacola and Navarre Beach.

Architecture, ART, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

Shore Excursion Hell

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: MAKING THE BEST OF BAD SITUATIONS

On this cruise we took four shore excursions and two of them featured the worst tour guides we ever had, one was pleasant and the fourth was merely disappointing. But look at those happy faces we have. We truly made the best of it wherever we were.

I Don’t CARE About Modern Day Mayans, What is this Building?

Our first shore excursion was to Tulum, a place I’d longed to see for a long, long time. The day started on a ferry ride so rough, I got seasick for one of the few times in my life. I didn’t need the barf bag, but almost.

We meet up with a chubby, jovial fellow who took us on a quick trot through Playa del Carmen. I usually enjoy walking, but the day was miserably hot and I was still a little woozy from the churning sea.

We climbed onto a bus for the hour long drive to Tulum. The tour guide almost immediately jumped into a lecture about Modern Day Mayans, of which he was one, and that remained his subject for the rest of the day. I was having deja vu all over again. I thought I was on St. Martin with Josay.

At Tulum, he guided us through a marketplace, warning us only to shop at his recommended shops and then drug us at top speed through the Archeological Park. If you hesitated to take a photo, good luck catching up to him. His commentary still focused on Modern Day Mayas and if you dared to ask him a question about the ruins, then he’d just be quiet while you asked and then go on talking about Modern Day Mayans. Then he abandoned us to find our way back to the bus at the given hour.

Tulum is beautiful. Bill and I strolled around taking photos, but without a guide, we were a little lost, especially since there were no signs bearing any explanation in any language. We had no idea what we were looking at and we gave up guessing. We strolled back to the bar our guide had recommended for cheap margaritas.

Eventually the guide showed up and allowed us back on the bus. He was blissfully silent for the return trip. In Playa del Carmen he dumped us in shopping district and disappeared again. We fought off aggressive vendors and found the beach, but mostly we just hung around until we could catch the ferry back to the boat. That’s how sad the tour was. We preferred being on the boat. This guide got to hold the title of worst guide ever for two whole days and then we had a worse one.

Un-Belize-Able

I’ll skip right to the worst guide EVER!! I’d heard from many people that Belize is heaven on earth. For us it was hell. The whole day was so bad, I didn’t take a single photo. You tell me! Doesn’t Jaguar Paw Cave Tubing & Jungle Trek with Lunch sound amazing? NOT!! It was like Eternal Ride on a Bad Bus with the Worst Guide EVER!

The tour began in a jewelry store and we were there forever. At least it was air conditioned. I think they kept us there until someone finally broke down and bought something. As we climbed on the bus, we realized it wasn’t exactly state of the art. If we’d realized how far away Jaguar Paw Cave was, I might have balked.

Trying to warm up his patrons, within the first mile the guide made a joke. He pointed out some site and said, “Can you Belize it? Un-Belize-Able! You better Belize it!” That was just the first time he made the quip, which was repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and…well I think you get the picture.

The road to the interior was a yawn. Nothing to see on the dusty backroads than what I see on the dusty backroads of Texas. I was so done with buses by the time we arrived at Jaguar Paw. Once we pulled into their entrance we were given our orders: pay for a locker, put your stuff there, wait to be called, go into the jungle.

I get they need to make money, but $12 for a tiny locker which you only need during the very brief cave tour. Now that was Un-Belize-Able, but we were a captive audience with no other options.

When our number was called we were excited to be going on a jungle trek. NOT! The “trek” was about as long as half a city block with a well worn trail. Entering the cave and climbing aboard the innertube was the most excitement we experienced that day. The water was chilly but not miserable.

As I climbed aboard I looked around and wondered where this float was going to go. I could see the end of the cave just ahead. We floated pleasantly for a few minutes and then were instructed to get out and walk about on the shore. Not sure why. Nothing to see.

Back in the tube and back to the entrance. There was a deeper section near the entrance and we were invited to swim, but it was such a short distance you could have almost hopped from your tube to the exit area, so everyone just enjoyed the last few moments of the float.

Then we were sent back on the “jungle trek” and our free meal. I’ll say this. It was better than what they were feeding us on the cruise, but not by much. We killed time until everyone had their float and feed, then climbed back on the awful bus. Thankfully the guide didn’t have much to say, which was good, one more UN-Belize-Able and I would have been contemplating murder.

As we neared the port, the guide did hit us with a few more repetitions of his signature line, but I was numb by then, so his life was never actually in danger. We filed off the bus and through the shopping opportunity, anxious for some reason to get back on the boat.

One thing that made this cruise tolerable was marvelous dinner companions. We were lucky enough to be a part of the cool kids table and they made our evenings very pleasant. From there we’d always head to the auditorium for whatever was being offered for entertainment that evening – always a disappointment. Used to be cruise ship entertainers were among the best of the best, but something has happened since used to be. They’re tired, the costumes are cheap and the scenery is minimal. Yawn.

This was the worst of it. Our other two shore excursions weren’t bad. In fact one of them was downright pleasant. Come back next week for a better time!

Architecture, ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, International, Restaurants & Bars, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

The Last Day of Cruising

Jane Sadek
Palma de Mallorca, Tapas Walking Tour, Beewi Tapas Bar
Spanish tortilla mushrooms in a sauce patatas bravas and a typical Mallorca sweet cake at Beewi in Palma de Mallorca

TRAVEL THERE: TAPAS TASTING IN PALMA DE MALLORCA

Confession, this is where my travel journal ended.  For some reason I happily journaled all through the trip and just quit after our day on the French Rivera. Another confession, while I blogged about most of this trip in the weeks right after the cruise, life got busy and I took a break that lasted longer than I anticipated.  So eleven months after the cruise, here I am finishing up the last few posts of this trip.  Glad you are still with me. 

Large Storm in a Small Teacup

While traveling is fun, it is also tiring and while traveling with your friends has a lot of benefits, after the trial by vacation we’d been on, it was time to go home.  Everyone needed some personal down time, but it was still a few days away.

One of the things that got my visit to Monaco off on the wrong foot was a scheduled meeting with the photographer.  Bill hadn’t wanted to have a photographer at the vow renewal ceremony in the first place, because he thinks the onboard photography thing is a racket – one that charges entirely too much.  However, the photographer was non-negotiable.  Since he didn’t want the photographer there, he really wasn’t interested in a meeting with them to look at the photos and when it conflicted with his desire to go visit Monaco, well, Monaco won.  I’m so ruled by the things that I am supposed to do, that I wasn’t able to blow off the appointment with as much aplomb as he was, especially since there was no way to contact her and let her know what was going on.  We just stood her up.  I felt bad for the photographer.  She was just trying to do her job.  

Eventually, she got in contact with us and I was able to apologize.  The appointment was reset for this day.  If we had gone in Monaco, then we would have gone on our own and quite possibly would have said thanks, but no thanks, except for perhaps a few as gifts to our friends.  As it was, we ended up with the whole crew of us in the very small space of the photo office and not everyone was on the same page.  It was also the very last moment.  If we didn’t make a decision right then, there would be no photos for anyone.

The photos were beautiful.  The price was astronomical.  Some folks thought that I should have every single one.  Bill was paralyzed with sticker shock.  I just wanted it to be over.  We arrived at a compromise that wasn’t quite what anyone wanted, but we moved on.

The Shore Excursion

Everyone went their separate ways after the photo storm.  We knew we’d be seeing each other at 2:15 for the Tapas Walking Tour.  The meeting place instructions changed and even after we started gathering on the pier, there seemed to be some sort of question about where we were supposed to be.  I think our crew was almost as ready for us to go home as we were.

The good news was our guide was somewhat better on this day.  She loaded us on a bus and delivered us to  Bellver Castle.  It was really just a photo op with a great view of the harbor.  From there, they parked the bus and we set out on foot.

Our first tapas stop was El Pesquero, a sea-side patio restaurant.  The food was delicious and the patio was amazing.  I personally could have just stayed there and been perfectly happy.

El Pesquero was in the shadow of the old cathedral, so our walking tour began there.  We passed lovely plazas and canals along the way and then we arrived at Beewi.  Beewi was just a small cafe with nothing much to recommend it, besides the food and what they served was delicious.  Deb and I agreed the view in the cafe was also quite nice, if you like to look at handsome Spanish men.

Next up was Es Rebost where we were able to order whatever we wanted.  I went for something with beef, since we hadn’t had any of that yet.  Then it was time to head back to the boat, where an absolute delight waited for us.  Come back next week and see what I mean.

Attractions, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Shopping, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

It’s Nice in Nice!

Jane Sadek

Travel There: Lunch and Shopping in Nice

Life on a cruise:  another bus ride, another meeting point and another meal.  That about sums it up, but come on with me and enjoy Nice.  While I’d still take Cap d’Antibes over Nice, there nothing not to enjoy about the city.

An Dining Opportunity

One thing I can easily say about this trip is that we bought more food onshore than we usually do on cruises.  Some of that may have been because our shore excursions were such marathons and not all of them included a meal.  However, I think it also had a lot to do with Jim and Melanie.  One of their primary interests at every stop was where to eat and drink, while Bill and me on our own tend to find other things to do.  I’m not complaining though.  It was fun.

Though it seemed as if we’d just left the sidewalk cafe in Cap d’Antibes, the first order of business in Nice was to find another sidewalk cafe.  This time it was Le Gande Balcon and we were getting more than a snack. 

Bill and I both had prawns and oh my goodness, I have rarely seen such big ones.  Mine came with pasta and Bill’s came with risotto.   Glasses of wines and adult beverages were enjoyed by all.

A Shopping Opportunity

Le Grande Balcon was in the middle of a shopping area.  Nearby shops filled the sidewalks with their wares and a little further down was an open air market.  We’d all been so busy being tourists, very little shopping had been happening, in spite of all the shopping opportunities the guides had forced on us.  Those opportunities usually came with a pretty heft price tag.  Though there was one more day of touring left, no one wanted to get home without the requisite souvenirs, so after our wonderful meal, we hit the shops.

The shop closest to the restaurant had laminated place-mats and for some reason Bill was all over them.  He picked out four odd place-mats – two with roosters and two with cartoon cats.  They were the absolute last thing I would have chosen as a souvenir of this trip, but hey, Bill rarely shows any interest in any souvenirs.  So, if he wanted plastic place-mats, by golly, I thought he should get plastic place-mats.

Further down I found a shop of linen goods.  They had a darling dress I knew my sweet next door neighbor would love, so I had to get that.  Continuing down the street we wandered into the open air market.  I found a delightful vendor offering gifts of lavender sachets in the printed cotton which Provence is known for.  That’s where I bought my souvenirs.

Visiting the Beach

There wasn’t much time left, but we wanted to get a few pictures of the gorgeous beach.  We headed back to the meeting point, which had been across from the beach.  We wished for a few more hours to explore the area, but we had minutes, not hours.  Another reason for us to head back to the French Rivera someday.

After having time for just a few photos, it was time to get on the bus and ride back to the ship. We had a quiet afternoon in our cabin.  Bill napped.  I caught up on my journal and did some reading.

That evening the rest of the gang had decided to fork out big bucks to eat at Eden.  They say it was fabulous and for the first time in his life, Bill actually admitted that he wished he’d had any idea it would have been so good.  He actually wished that he had spent the money.

Instead, we had dinner at the Cosmopolitan, which was actually the third time we ate there.  I was surprised Bill didn’t want to go back to the Italian or French restaurant, but I think it may have had more to do with proximity than anything else.  We enjoyed the downtime.

After dinner we took in a show called Gilly and Girl in the Theater.  It fit the easy-going mood of the day – just a couple doing love songs and ballads.  We strolled the shopping area where various events were supposed to be happening, but it was all just a come on to get passengers shopping.

Even the shopkeepers didn’t want to participate, so we just went back to our cabin.  Guess what!  We’d both left our keycards in the room and had to go back to guest services.  We giggled all the way there and all the way back to the room.  We’ve traveled entirely too much to have both made that mistake on the same evening – but that’s just what we’d done!

One day of touring left.  Come back next week for Palma de Mallorca.

 

 

Attractions, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

Welcome to the French Rivera

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: CANNES, CAP D’ANTIBES AND NICE

The French Rivera surprised me.  I thought my favorite day would be Florence, but it turned out to be this day.  Travel always brings surprises.  Come enjoy this day with us.

Relaxing and Fun

Don’t faint.  We didn’t have a single museum or historical site to visit today.  I’d done some research and hadn’t been able to find much to get excited about it.  In fact, I had lobbied for a bus tour to some Provence Villages or a tour of the Provence perfume industry.  I was voted down and I am so very glad.

It was another early morning gathering in the Theater and then a ride to shore on a tender.  From there, we boarded a bus.  The tour guide was in a dead heat for last place with the lady in Florence.  In fact, this one didn’t even rate as a tour guide.  She was more like a room mother on a field trip.  Nice, but not much else.

Cap d’Antibes, the “S” is Silent

We got off our bus in Cap ‘d Antibes.  Our guide trotted down the street a bit with us, pointed us toward a cobblestone path and then told us when to come back.  

The picture above shows us wandering along the water’s edge unchaperoned and not quite sure what we were looking at.  If the view had not been so fantastic we might actually have minded, but we didn’t.  We could have gone to the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, but we didn’t.  We could have gone to a Pablo Picasso Museum, but we didn’t.

Instead, we decided to find a sidewalk cafe and just enjoy ourselves.  It turned into a bit of a trudge, but the weather was ideal, the scenery was amazing.  I particularly fell in love with the house with the blue shutters.  I am quite certain I could spend several weeks there, reading great books on the patio and enjoying the view.

Eventually, we found a sidewalk cafe and to our delight, there was a sort of street market going on.  Since we didn’t have a guide, I can’t tell you whether it was the usual thing or just something happening on the Thursday we were there.

We communicated our dining needs to our waitress and were glad they had a restroom we could use.  We had our coffee and/or sodas and then headed back the way we came.  There had been a sort of Farmers Market going on and we decided we wanted to mingle a little with the locals.  Except for a pickpocket thinking Viktoriya’s bag was a potential target, we enjoyed the time we lingered there.

Too soon, it was time to meet our non-guide.  I would have happily continued to wander Cap d’Antibes.  At the meeting point, by a marina, local kids were having a go at something that resembled a boccie ball game.  People wandered back in a leisurely manner, but I had none of the hurry-up attitude I usually possess.  You know, let’s hurry up and see this so we can see the next thing.  I could have sat there for an hour watching the kids and their game.

Eventually, we sauntered back to the bus and headed to Nice.  I couldn’t imagine that Nice would be any better in any way than Cap d’Antibes, but I was also too lazy to begin some sort of campaign to stay, which would involve figuring out how to get back to the boat.

Nice was nice, but, as I had anticipated, it didn’t beat Cap d’Antibes for me.  In fact, of all the places we went on this cruise, Cap d’Antibes is the one I would be the quickest to return to.  Yes, I need to go back to Rome and see all the sites I missed.  I’d like more time in Florence.  I think Capri has the potential to be wonderful.  but Cap d’Antibes?  I just want to go be there.

However, I didn’t get to, at least not yet, so come back next week and let’s take a look at Nice.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Cruising, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, International, Music, Performing Arts, Restaurants & Bars, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

Visiting Monte Carlo’s Prince’s Palace

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: THE GRIMALDI’S PRINCE’S PALACE

Black SUV’s whisked us from the Yacht Club to the Palace.  That’s probably the last time I’ll be able to say something like that about my own travels, so perhaps it was worth the splurge.  Since we weren’t actually VIP’s, they parked about a block away, near the Cathedral and we strolled over to the palace.

Visiting the Palace

Virtually anyone can make day visits the palace during the summer and fall, as long as it’s not Grand Prix weekend.  However, the tourists are shuffled off at closing time.  We had after-hours access, which means we went to the same places, just at a different time.

The Grimaldi’s were gracious hosts to us cruisers.  We didn’t see any of them, but they gave us the run of the state apartments and provided some very nice young ladies to act as guides.  The run of the state apartments did not include taking any pictures, so to see what we saw, you’d have to go to the website.  My general impressions were the apartments showed a great amount of good taste, a good bit more than some of the gaudy displays of some state apartments.  However, they were at the same time smaller than most I’ve seen before.

For Americans, this palace is almost a must-see, because evidence of our own American fairy tale, Princess Grace of Monaco, is in plain sight.  Having just watched a Hallmarkish commoner-meets-and-marries-a-prince movie last night, I know we are still very much in love with the story of this lovely lady.

Photo Opportunities

Before and after the tour we were welcome to take photos of the outside the palace.  The red carpets and kneelers are not part of the every day look.  They were setting up for some kind of religious ceremony and around the corner at the cathedral there was a lot of activity, so no telling what that was about.

All that was left was to get back into our SUV’s and travel back to the ship.  Our day in Monte Carlo was over.

Grabbing a Show and Dinner and a Show

Back on the boat, Deb, Bill and I went to Hype with Marcus Terrell at the Theater.  We weren’t much impressed.  His greatest asset was volume, but he was surrounded with lots of energetic gyrating dancers.  Nothing as fascinating as Hot Summer’s Night we’d seen a day or so ago.

After the show, it was time for dinner and all of us met for dinner in the Cosmopolitan.  It was the same menu they had offered for their embarkation lunch.  This is the weakness of their dining plan.  Sure you have a variety of dining rooms, but once you’ve eaten in one, there’s no reason to go back.  That’s probably because they are trying to encourage you to drop a few bucks in their specialty dining rooms, but with all we’d spent already, that wasn’t happening.

Our companions were ready for bed when the meal was over, but Bill and I wandered into the Club and saw an acrobatic show called Mirage.  It had some good parts, but their tricks all began to look the same after awhile.

Still not ready to call it a night, I pulled the daily newsletter out of my purse and unfolded it.  They had something called the Color the Night White Party happening on the Resort Deck, so we decided to check it out.

I don’t know about you, but I am just about done with the whole White Party thing.  Isn’t it time to let that one die a natural death?  The Edge was trying to jazz it up some, with a variety of colorful lights, but as you can see, it’s a pretty dead scene.  I must not be the only one tired of White Parties.

I think if there had been anything else to do, we might have continued to wander, but it seemed the ship was rolling in its sidewalks – unless you wanted to sit in some bar and rack up some beverage billing, so off we went to bed.

The next day our stop was Cannes.  Come back next week and I’ll share my favorite shore excursion with you.

Attractions, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

Celebrity Cruises’ CEO is a Nice Lady

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: RUBBING ELBOWS WITH A BIG WIG

Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, CEO of Celebrity Cruises, is not the reason I went on the Wine Tasting/Prince’s Palace Shore Excursion, but she certainly made it a special event for us, because she is a very, very nice lady.  She’s also a great hostess.

Hostess with the Mostest

This picture may not look like much of anything to you, but in it we are getting the star treatment.  We’re up on the mezzanine and the waiters are bringing us refills and snacks.  That’s not happening on the main floor.  You see we’re on the mezzanine with the Lutoff-Perlo family!

As we entered the Wine Palace, a very nice blonde lady, who matched the picture we’d seen on a brochure, was greeting everyone, but we sort of dodged the receiving line.  As I said, we weren’t there to rub elbows with the CEO.  We were there for the yacht club and the palace.

Before long however, the nice blonde lady made her way over to us.  She wanted to meet the couple who had the vow renewal!  How did she know we were the couple who had the vow renewal?  Well, come to find out, she had been in the salon herself, while us girls were in there having such a good time.  The salon was a fairly small space, so she would have had a hard time missing us.

She was, as the CEO, very interested in how our ceremony went, if we’d liked the salon services and such.  I raved about the team in Florida, the folks in the salon and Eddie, the cruise director. I did not mention my meltdown on the first night, because I didn’t know whether the problem had been caused at the Florida end or the Edge end and I didn’t want to be one of those passengers who is best known for their complaints!

The Egypt Connection

But the lovely Ms. Lutoff-Perlo, who asked us to call her Lisa, was interested in more than our opinions of the crew.  She wanted to hear a little more about our marriage journey and that’s when she found out Bill is Egyptian.  Come to find out, her husband, Andre, was also born in Cairo.  Lisa immediately went to find him and brought him over.

Bill and Andre hit it off immediately.  They started comparing notes about where they lived, went to school and the like.  It was sad to discover Andre left Egypt decades ago and never returned, because he is a Jew.  That’s a sad legacy for Egypt.  I have been to what was the Jewish quarter and the beautiful synagogue, that is now a museum, because there is no longer a congregation of Jews to support it. Andre understood, better than most people can, what Bill’s family suffers, as members of the Christian minority.

About that time Lisa said, “Why don’t you guys go upstairs to the mezzanine, to meet the rest of the family?  That’s where they are hanging out.” So, that’s what we did.  We wanted to see what the rest of the Wine Palace was like and Lisa had been so gracious, we certainly wanted to reciprocate her hospitality.

We went up the stairs en masse, went through the introductions and had a nice chat with her wonderful family.  What we didn’t realize was we’d just entered an entirely different level of service than we’d had below.  Downstairs, there was a table set up to serve tastes of wine and on it was a platter of snacks.  Upstairs, we were brought our own bottles of wine and plates of assorted snacks were delivered. Yep, the star treatment!

Next up, we climbed back into our black celebrity-style SUV’s and headed for the Palace.  Come back next week and go with us.

ART, Attractions, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

Monte Carlo Redux

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: DOING MONACO RIGHT

While I may never get a chance to undo my unglamorous daytime visit to Monte Carlo, I did get to have some time in the city without regrets.  In fact, I traveled to the Prince’s Palace in a caravan of black SUV’s with the CEO of Celebrity Cruises.  I thought that was pretty cool.  Join me for this very fun shore excursion.

Opportunity Knocks

Our originally booked shore excursion in Monte Carlo never really had the Museum Girl Stamp of Approval.  Then one day, not long before the cruise, I got an email informing me of new events aboard our cruise ship.  The CEO of Celebrity was going to be on board and there were going to be special events just for her.  I’ll confess, I’m not a very good groupie, even of people like Samantha Brown that I adore.  I’ve seen her in person, but I wasn’t willing to stand in line to meet her personally.  I don’t go to concerts.  I don’t collect autographs.  I don’t buy sneakers based on a celebrity spokesperson.  So, the idea that I had the opportunity to meet a corporate big wig meant virtually nothing to me.

However, when said corporate big wig can provide me with access to something I would like to do, that I’d have no access to otherwise, well then, said big wig has my attention.  So, when Celebrity invited me to a wine tasting at the Monaco Yacht Club and a private showing of the Prince’s Palace, well OK, I’m in.  The price was a bit of an ouch, $304 per person, but I was still holding on to $151.20 of on board credit, so with Bill’s permission I booked it – as did the rest of my crew.

Meet Me at The Club

The Club on Celebrity Edge wears many hats.  At night, it’s an uber-cool disco that plays host to various entertainment, including acrobats.  During the day, it serves as a meeting place for shore excursions.  For this very special event, The Club was our gathering spot.

I could tell right away this was not going to be your run-of-the-mill shore excursion.  No brightly colored stickers, guides with signs or earpieces for this shore excursion.  Instead, we were given attractive metal badges in the shape of the Celebrity “X” logo.  Ours were orange.  I don’t know about everyone else.

From The Club, we made our way down to the tender-loading area and on to the port. No wandering around lost this afternoon.  Instead, we were shown to our celebrity-worthy, luxury black SUV.  

The Monaco Yacht Club Wine Palace

So, they had me at Yacht Club and sealed the deal with Wine Palace.  The Celebrity website said, ” Revel in the late-afternoon sunlight as it illuminates the terrace of the Wine Palace of the Monaco Yacht Club.”  I want to tell you it really was a lovely event, but I also have to tell you that whoever wrote that sentence had never been to the Monaco Yacht Club Wine Palace.

I imagined a lovely open air terrace, in the harbor of Monte Carlo, with the salt-flavored breeze lifting my hair from my shoulders.  Waiters would wander among us offering tasty tid-bits while a sommelier offered sips of wine.   What I got was a small two-story wine boutique with not so much as a balcony.  It was a nice wine boutique, but I have no idea what it has to do with the Yacht Club.  It is, however in the same building, so what do I know.

After I let go of the picture they had drawn for my imagination, I was able to have a very special time, but I do wish I hadn’t had to do the mental exercise.  Things got better from this point and I want to tell you about it, so come back next week.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Cruising, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, International, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

Tourist Tales of Monaco

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: SCENERY TO DIE FOR AND A CASINO

There’s a reason Monte Carlo is a playground for the rich and famous.  Everything is pristine, beautiful and very, very expensive.  I rode along in the tourist train, eyes wide open, taking pictures as fast as I could with my phone.

Gawking at the Other Half

All the boats are yachts and all the cars dreams on wheels.  Beautiful people stroll along the streets with tiny little well-groomed dogs and chat with one another in shady cafes.  It is not crowded.  Normal people can’t afford to be there.

The train left their parking area across from the Jacques Cousteau Aquarium and first wandered down a hill past the harbor where all the yachts were docked.

The streets wound around the harbor offering spectacular views, like this shot Bill got of our ship.  I rode along, primarily people watching and not paying too much attention to where we were, because Bill had informed me we’d be staying on the train and hurrying back to the ship.  That was fine with me.

Quick, Get Off the Train

Suddenly, Bill was impatient with me, because I was not getting off the train.  I thought all that had been decided.  I knew our friends were getting off to go to the casino, but I failed to see what that had to do with me, since I was under the impression we were going to stay on board.

Things had changed and I hadn’t gotten the memo.  Soon the whole crowd was standing on a sidewalk deciding what to do.  Without map or guidebook I didn’t have a clue.  I was just there.

The crowd trotted off and we followed.  Come to find out, we were headed to the Casino.  I hadn’t wanted to be in Monte Carlo in my lounging pajamas in the first place, but I really had no desire to go hang out in the Casino during the day with all the tourists.

I had hoped we’d get all dressed up and visit the Casino in the evening.  I understood there was only a slim chance of this, but it’s what I wanted.  I’m still allowed to dream.

The Casino

We went up the stairs, had our bags checked and entered through a bunch of fancy glass doors.  The lobby is all about giving tourists someplace to hang out so they can say they have been to the Casino in Monte Carlo. It is also the only place the tourists can go.

Here it is.  This is what it looks like.  The building is absolutely gorgeous, but you can’t see it for all the tourists and the giant gambling display.  I couldn’t help but wonder whether the beautiful people glide past this in the evening or they just have the display up during the day.  I guess I’ll never know for sure.

The Rest of the Tour

After wandering around the lobby, snapping a photo I shouldn’t have and taking a potty break, we went back outside, waited for the tourist train and rode back to our starting point.  Finding our way back to the infamous escalator was easier than finding it in the first place.

At the dock, the tender loading station was set up with beautiful flowers, cold washrags and lots of fruited water.  In spite of my chagrin at being on a tourist train, looking my worst and my disappointment at being a tourist at the casino instead of a patron, I still have to admit, it was a gorgeous place.  Enjoy these photos and come back next week for a different sort of look at Monte Carlo.

Attractions, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

The Monte Carlo Tourist Train and Me

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: NOT THE MONTE CARLO I ENVISIONED

Since travel is my very expensive hobby, rather than something I’ve figured out how to get paid for doing, I spend a whole lot more time dreaming of what I might do, were I to visit a destination, rather than actually visiting said destination.  That’s OK, because I’ve found, contrary to all the hype, doing what you love as a job, does not free you.  It just turns your passion into a chore.  That being said, this tourist train was not the visit to Monte Carlo I’d had in my head.

We Found the Escalator and This Train

In spite of our seemingly endless wanderings, we did find the escalator to Monte Carlo and it dumped us right at the Jacques Cousteau Museum and Aquarium.  Had Museum Girl been in charge, you know what would have happened.  Instead, right across the street was this very obvious tourist train.

I’ll confess, I’ve been on many of these tourist trains in my life.  My mom had a nose for them.  I just haven’t been on any in the last few decades.

In fact, a few years ago, on this very blog, I made fun of the people who rode around Linz, Austria, on a rather uglier tourist train.  I had spent the day visiting the wonderful little town of Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic and I felt quite superior.

Funny how the fates will pay you back.  Seeing Monte Carlo, from the seats of this very red and white train, was much more “not me,” than being on one in a backwater town like Linz.  I hadn’t spent a lifetime dreaming about Linz.  Monte Carlo was a different story.

Trolleys vs. Tourist Trains

While I have avoided tourist trains, I have been on a lot of free (or at least cheap) trolleys, which are painted just as gaudily as this train.  The difference is, with the free trolley, I’m sitting there feeling very clever for finding free/cheap transportation.

I feel somewhat in control, because I have done my homework and know exactly where the train will be going and where I will get off.  In addition, I am wearing some fashionable ensemble I’ve chosen, rather than running around in my lounging pajamas and a pair of flip flops, that I’d just thrown on for breakfast.  I’m protected from the sun by one of my signature sun hats.  I also have on make-up and am carrying a handbag with all my necessities, including a tour book with a map.

In Monte Carlo, one of the most glamorous cities in the world, I was stripped of all these trappings.  I was about as unglamorous as I can remembering being (outside of my own home), maybe in my life, and I felt it very strongly.  Sure hubby and I weren’t exactly havingone of our best days, but it was nothing compared to my internal struggle.

Laugh All You Want

You, my faithful reader, may be laughing at me right now.  “Who cares?” you might ask, “Get with the program,” you’d advise, “and make the best of it.”

That would have been the reasonable thing to do, but who says humans are reasonable.  I manage to be reasonable most of the time, but this was Monte Carlo.  Who saw me at less than my best mattered not at all.  What did matter to me was that a dream had been shattered and the chance that I’d get a do-over are slim to none.

Sitting with my friends, in an open air restaurant in Sorrento, eating an authentic Neapolitan pizza and drinking an authentic Italian beer – that’s what I live for.  Making our way around Vienna, on our own, and seeing all the things I had on my list – that’s travel to me.  Finding the amazing White River Falls in Oregon, which most people have never even heard of, is one of the favorite moments of my life.

Being stuck on a tourist train in Monte Carlo, looking more like a scatter-brained soccer mom than myself?  Well, that’s travel, too, but I hate it.  The dream I had of Monte Carlo was replaced with the reality I made that day.  It’s true – I went back to Monte Carlo, later in the day, appropriately dressed, accompanied by the CEO of Celebrity Cruises and had experiences your average cruiser never gets, but even so, the red and white tourist train felt like a mistake.  It still does.

To make matters worse, I was at odds with my very wonderful husband who had made all this possible.  One or the other of these conundrums I might have been able to pull off with aplomb, but the two together made my visit to Monte Carlo a low point on my vacation. 

Why It Matters

You may wonder why I am taking the time to tell you all this, especially in my usually upbeat travel blog.  Well, I’m thinking there may be a whole lot of you out there who have a Monte Carlo Tourist Train moment in your memory.  Things were so bad on your very expensive vacation you decide you’d just stay home in the future.  Please don’t do that!

For every amazing, wonderful high point in my travels, there is at least one pretty awful experience that could have turned me off travel forever. In between those two points are many, many mediocre, inconvenient or downright boring experiences.  In other words, if I counted the number of stellar experiences and compared it to the non-stellar, I’d be staying at home the rest of my life.

But travel is in no way like the latest political poll.  It is not the number of good experiences in relations to bad experiences that you have to count.  It is the value of those splendid travel moments you must hold on to.

  • Will I ever forget standing in a bakery, in a small Bavarian town, with some of our dearest friends, watching hail completely fill the streets; when moments before we’d been sitting in the sun enjoying a street cafe?  The answer is no.  The next day we visited Neuschwanstein, and while I enjoyed it, I remember the smells in the bakery better.
  • Or the day in St. Thomas with my bestie, slightly buzzed from banana daiquiris, singing some reggae song about the days of the week, at the top of my voice.  Truly a favorite moment in my life.
  • The list goes on and on and on.

My Monte Carlo Morning was not one of my best travel moments, but it cannot ever negate all the wonders I’ve enjoyed, even if it were multiplied geometrically! Come back next week and I will tell you about my train ride.