Crystal Cruise

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• Location: Italy
• Holiday Types: Cruises, Sporting

• by: Maybach
• on: Wed 23 May 2012

5 like 328 views

After spending a couple of days researching several of the hotels  in the south of France, we caught sight of our home-to-be for the next few nights docked at Monte Carlo harbor – she was gleaming in the October sunshine – Crystal Serenity.  This was my first cruise and wasn’t sure what to expect, but from the moment we checked in at the dockside the service was impeccable and super efficient.
 
Our bags were taken away to be delivered to our deluxe state room and we were ushered on board to a warm welcome by the crew. Champagne flowed freely as we mingled with other passengers, a variety of ages and nationalities from around the world. Within an hour our stateroom was ready for us and we made our way to Deck 10, where we were met by our housekeeper, Patricia.  Unpacking was easy as there is plenty of wardrobe space and drawers in the room as well as in the bathroom, which also had double basins and shower over the bath. We were pleased to find our room also had a balcony large enough to take a small table and two chairs for outside dining – romantic!!

The next night and day was spent in Monte Carlo, giving everyone time to explore the ship and the city.  We set sail at midnight and on waking found ourselves docked in the harbor at Portofino.  After a hearty breakfast – the choice was amazing and the staff remembered our names from the day before and even our drink preference! – we boarded the tender for the short trip to the picturesque town of Portofino, which was very busy with other cruise ship visitors.  However, we managed to escape the hubbub and made our way up to the magnificent Hotel Splendido, to enjoy a delicious lunch on the terrace overlooking Portofino Bay – how lucky are we?! Dinner that night was spent in one of the two speciality restaurants – ‘Prego’ - for fabulous Italian cuisine.
 
After spending the next day at sea, checking out the on-board activities like dancing lessons, French classes, water colour painting - all part of the Crystal University at Sea experience - we enjoyed the Nobu restaurant (Silk Road) for amazing sushi and Japanese specialties.
 
Our next port of call was Florence – well it was an hour drive to Florence.  This ‘boutique’ city – home to many famous Italian designers – is a must see for anyone who loves galleries and museums, not to mention shopping.  Home to the Uffizi gallery, the Duomo and the historic Ponte Vecchio, all within easy walking distance from the city centre.  We spent our day travelling between the hotels that we feature in around this amazing city, before returning to the ship.
 
Our last night on board was spent dining in the main restaurant on ‘Serenity’ – the main Crystal dining room, where the food and service was again exemplary – true five-star plus. We took in a show in the theatre, Songs from the Musicals, which was as good as any ‘West End’ performance I have seen, followed by a quick flutter on the gaming tables in the casino (almost worth it just for the free drinks they provide when gambling).

Rome, the Eternal City, was our last stop as we disembarked here, whilst our fellow cruisers carried on to Sorrento. It took approx 1 hour to get from Civitavecchia to the centre of Rome.
 
Our accommodation for the evening was the Hotel Eden. After checking in at the hotel we explored the immediate area of Rome on foot, we found the Spanish Steps and the designer shops of course. We chose to have dinner at Hotel Du Russie and on our return to the Hotel Eden we enjoyed the fabulous views of the city from the rooftop bar.
 
The following day we took advantage of visiting St. Regis Grand Hotel and our driver and guide then took us on a two hour driving tour of Rome. Driving around, we experienced how busy Rome was. After our tour we returned to St. Regis Grand Hotel for a fabulous lunch before making our way to the airport for our flight home.      
 
 

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