Back from the Millenium - summary.
 

Greetings fellow fodorites! My Mom and I returned from our cruise vacation on the Millenium. We had a great time and really enjoyed the cruise.

We got to Barcelona 2 days prior to our cruise, which left on Sunday the 11th. Our first full day was at sea, which was great to be able to relax, explore the ship, and enjoy the sun. We had perfect weather every day, which we were very lucky.

Our first stop was Villefranche, a beautiful port town with colorful buildings and villas. We visited Ese and Monaco on our own (bus and taxi). Monaco was beautiful and one could see money everywhere with the villas, yahts, clothing, cars, etc. The palace wasn't open to the public (not till June), but we got to see it from the outside. Had a great lunch nearby.

Florence was our next port and 8 of us hired a guide (with van) (50E per person). We visited San Gimignano, Florence, and Pisa. We all were very disappointed in Pisa, not the buildings, but the trashy souviner kiosks. What a dump!

Mom and I took the train into Rome the next day and visited the Spanish steps, had coffee at an outdoor cafe, visited the colosseum and forum. Window shopped along the way too. Excellent pizza for lunch.

Another tour with 8 to the Amalfi coast with our guide Adriano ($95 per person). We visited Sorrento, Positano (lunch there), Amalfi, and Ravello. I had asked Adriano not to drive too fast around the coast and felt comfortable with all those hair pin curves.

A day at sea to enjoy the sun and listen to Dick Morse lecture. Very intersting and quite entertaining!

Our next port was Santorini. I was there 2 years ago and enjoyed returning there. Visited and shopped in Fira and walked around and had lunch in Ia. Loved Ia as it wasn't touristy like Fira. No crowds at all. Mom and I enjoyed wine and fried calamari at Zafora's at sunset. The temperature really dropped, so I went into a nearby shop and purchased a sweatshirt.

Athens was our next port. Took the metro in to town. Since this was my third visit to Athens, I don't plan to return there for a very looong time. If I return there on a cruise, I'll just stay on board or take a tour to another area.

Another day at sea. Relaxing.

Dubrovnik, Croatia. What a spectacular port town. Absolutely beautiful and very small to get around. We walked the town walls, visited the memorial to those men who died in the war in the early 90's, had a fabulous fish platter lunch. Everyone there was very friendly.

Venice was our last port and we spent 5 more nights there. Got to see a couple of museums; visit the town of Padua; and island hopped to Burano and Torcello (fabulous church - don't miss it).

I plan to work on my journal next week and will post it along with photos, hotels, and restaurant information at http://www.luvtotravel.homestead.com/home.html

Ciao!

Monica

Thank you for the review-I will go there soon!

A nice review. I like the itinerary. I've been to all the places you visited except Dubrovnik when I lived in Europe. Sounds like the ship really hit some good spots for a cruise experience in the Med and Aegean. I did a Greek Island cruise when I lived there and visited the other spots on seperate touring through Italy and the French Riviera and Monaco.

If you ever get the chance to go to Dubrovnik, go! We loved it and would like to explore Croatia more.

Monica, what hotel did you use in Barcelona? Were you pleased with it? Did you have a special restaurant that you would recommend?
Carol

Thanks for the great report. Would you mind describing your cabin and any others you saw? I've never been on a cruise and wonder if the cabin would accomodate 3 people.

For my hotel in Barcelona, my mom and I stayed at Hostal Levante, a VERY basic and very inexpensive hotel. We paid about $71USD per night. The room had twin beds, a small armoire, and a large bathroom with a large shower (all tile in the bathroom) and the sink had room for my cosmetics. Again, very basic, but excellent location in the heart of the Gothic quarter.

As for restaurants, we had fabulous Tapas at a nearby place called Mikel Etxea on C. Ferran #15. This is located just 1 (or maybe 2) blocks off Las Ramblas on Ferran. There were lots of Tapas to choose from (variety of prices depending on the food), house wine was very inexpensive, 1.6Euros per glass. The octopus was delicious as well as the other Tapas. We paid $42 for a variety of tapas and several glasses of wine. We came back to this place the next night for a couple of Tapas before heading to dinner.

For lunch, we dined at Garduna, which is located at the back side of the Mercardo. We had a mixed salad (pretty big, but didn?t care for the tomatoes) along with sausage with white beans in a garlic and parsley sauce. Excellent! We paid $28 for lunch, which also included bottled water and bread (the bread is lousy in Spain).

Restaurant El Port Vell ? typical touristy restaurant at the port. Food was okay, but nothing special. $41 for a bottle of house wine and dinner (steaks with Roquefort dressing, potatoes). My steak was a little tough on one portion and tender on another portion. Stick to the typical Spanish dishes.

Kitny, our cabin was lovely with mirrors on one wall, light wood paneling, queen bed, a small couch (for your 3rd person), small desk, chair, a nice size port window (room #2131 ? center and low on the ship, but good location for us); small but decent bathroom. There is also a mini bar, which was pricey. And there is a t.v., which showed the various ships tours and entertainment on board. ALL cabins were the same (of course except for the larger ones).

I plan to get my journal on line, but been too busy at work these days. Maybe in a few weeks I'll have more information at http://www.luvtotravel.homestead.com/home.html I do have my Venice restaurants listed as someone needed the information pretty quickly.

I hope this helps!

Monica

Finally! I have posted my cruise journal. I warn everyone that it is long as we had a 3-week vacation. It was a great trip and we loved the cruise on the Millennium.

http://luvtotravel.homestead.com/Cruise03.html

I hope to get my photos on line soon!

Monica

Reading your link to your trip makes me feel as I am already there. I really enjoyed it, it was wonderful to read and see your pictures. Hopefully I will be able to take that cruise (my dream cruise) one day.