OUR TRIP TO SHANGHAI AND EUROPE INCLUDING A 24 DAY BACK TO BACK CRUISE ON THE CARNIVAL FREEDOM. APRIL 12TH -MAY 16TH 2007
It was our first visit to Shanghai – an amazing place with so much to see and do there! We used Frommer’s Shanghai walking tours to give us some idea of where to go and what to do.
We stayed in the Puxi side of the river which is the oldest part of Shanghai. The other side of the river is the more modern business area of Pudong and has two towers which are worth visiting, the Orient Pearl TV Tower and the Jin Mao Tower.
On our arrival we took a taxi from the airport to our hotel. It was a fast and rather scary ride as our driver sped through the traffic constantly changing lanes and tooting the horn! He wanted to charge us 400 yuan but we got it down to 150 yuan in no time at all!
(At the time of writing A$1 = 6.4 yuan and US$1 = 7.5 yuan)
The first evening we explored the neon splendour of Nanjing road shopping area where our hotel was situated and ate in the Mosaic dining room of our hotel. We upgraded to a Sofitel Club room( a special treat for an extra 500 yuan per night!) We had a beautiful room with a view and enjoyed ‘Happy Hour’ drinks and hors d’ ouevres from 6.00 to 8.00pm on the Club Floor every evening.
The next day we ventured to the Old Chinese town by taxi for only 15 yuan and enjoyed walking around Old St.Market. We then visited the lovely Yu Gardens which is also open in the evenings. We had some kind of sweet pancakes for lunch which were very cheap – only 2 yuan each! We stood in the queue at a little kiosk and watched them being made.
We walked quite a distance from the Old City along the length of the Bund to look at the river and the mixture of European and Asian architecture. We wanted to see inside the old Peace Hotel but it was closed for renovations. My feet were very tired from the day’s walking so I had an hour long foot massage at a place near the hotel for only US$7! It was wonderful and a real bargain!
The following day we took a taxi to the Luwan or French Concession area where there are lots of European styled residences as well as some good restaurants and boutiques. We stopped in the park to take photos of youngsters dressed in army camouflage suits engaging in a very serious three-legged race!
After lunch at Keven Cafe opposite the Hengshan Hotel we travelled over to the Pudong area by taxi and went up the Jin Mao Tower. We returned to Puxi through the Bund tourist sightseeing tunnel which has tram cars and a light show at a cost of 35 yuan each.
We walked along the Bund in the evening to see all the lights and it was quite spectacular!
The city is very clean and our hotel was great. We enjoyed our stay and if we go back we’ll definitely stay at the Sofitel Hyland again. We rode the high- speed Maglev train back to the airport just for a buzz!
Helsinki is an interesting place with some beautiful buildings in the city centre. We used our Frommer’s walking guide and I can recommend it as we saw a lot in a short time as well as getting plenty of exercise! We started out in Senate Square and wandered through the side streets down to the harbour and then back through the oldest section of the city ending up at Market Square and the Esplanadi. In the afternoon we took the ferry to the fortress island of Suomenlinna. If you go there remember to wear flat shoes as it’s hard walking on the cobblestones! It was my birthday while we were there so we celebrated with a lovely meal in the restaurant of the Radisson Royal hotel where we were staying. I can recommend the hotel and the restaurant with it’s friendly service and helpful reception.
Rome was beautiful and we had great accommodation near the Pantheon so we walked a lot around the centre. We had been there before so this time we visited Trastevere and the Villa Borghese as well as re-visiting Trevi and the Spanish Steps in the evening. We enjoyed eating out in the piazzas and finding our favourite gelato shops from last time we were there. Piazza Navona is a lovely place to eat with its many fine restaurants but if you’re on a budget then the restaurants in Campo dei Fiore ( field of flowers) offer some bargain-priced meals inclusive of wine.
There is something magical about the evenings in Rome – we were so happy to be there!
The two back to back cruises on the new Carnival Freedom were most enjoyable. We had a wonderful time and the weather was perfect for most days.
The first one stopped in Naples,Rhodes, Izmir,Istanbul, Athens, Katakolon and Livorno. The second in Naples, Venice, Dubrovnik, Messina, Barcelona,Cannes and Livorno.
We did the Amalfi Coast on a private tour with a wonderful guide, Roberto from Drive Amalfi. On the second cruise we went to Capri by hydrofoil on our own.
In Livorno we went on a private tour to Siena and San Gimignano on the first cruise and then to Florence on our own on the second. We loved the walled towns and would love to spend more time in Tuscany.
Istanbul was a favourite as was Rhodes and Dubrovnik.
There are some interesting and informative reviews of these two Carnival Freedom cruises if you go to http:www.cruisecritic.comand click on the members Ship Reviews.
We loved the ship and the cabin as well as the great service from the staff. We shared a table with some of our CC friends on both cruises which we really enjoyed. The food was nice – not as good as Celebrity but still very good. We had the most wonderful Maitre d’ – the best we’ve ever had. Ken is Irish and a great singer so he sang to us most nights. He spent a lot of time at our table talking and joking with us and especially with my husband who comes from Scotland. The shows were excellent especially the New Orleans Big Easy show and the Ticket to Ride Beatles show. One night we had a singer who had played the lead in Phantom of the Opera in London and she was outstanding!
We had such fun with our tablemates from the first cruise that we have all booked a Baltic cruise together for August 2008 on the new Carnival Splendor!
To top off a great holiday we spent a couple of days in the Cinque Terre in Monterosso before catching the plane home. That was a memorable experience! It was such a beautiful place so we are glad we took the four hour train journey from Civitavecchia to La Spezia and then on to Monterosso. We took the boat that goes between the little villages and also did the Via Dell Amore cliff walk between Riomaggiore and Manarola.
I can recommend the Cinque Terre as a ‘must see’ place to visit if ever you are in Italy.
Here are some websites and e-mail addresses that you might find useful for booking accommodation and guides
http://www.superbreak.com for Radisson Royal Hotel Helsinki. Well recommended.
http://www.venere.com for the wonderful Best B&B Pantheon Rome. Lovely modern room in the historic centre of Rome.
http://www.accor.com for Sofitel Hyland, Shanghai. A great hotel and convenient position in Nanjing Rd. Upgrade to executive room if you can.
A lovely hotel in the main street of Monterosso. Carmen is a gem and will do everything to make your stay enjoyable. Modern rooms and nice breakfast.
albergomargherita@virgilio.it
On the Amalfi Coast Roberto was a charming and knowledgeable guide.
info@driveamalfi.com
A great cab driver in Rome is the popular Stefano.
romecabs@yahoo.com
Kagan Kosagan was a fantastic guide in Istanbul and Izmir.
kosagan@yahoo.com
In Katakolon we had the delightful Gemma as our guide for Olympia.
geconom@otenet.gr
In Helsinki we used Frommers walking tour. http://www.frommers.com/destinations/helsinki/0053010008.html
Trip Advisor http://www.tripadvisor.com is a great website where you can read reviews of hotels and plan activities and transport. I always use it to check on any hotels before I book them.www.tripadvisor.com
I get lots of tips and share information with others on the same cruise on http://www.cruisecritic.com
We have made some good friends on board through meeting them online on Cruise Critic so I would recommend it to anyone wishing to enhance their cruise experience.
Some of our photos from this trip will be posted on this website very soon.
Our next cruise will be in September on the Celebrity Constellation out of Cape Liberty New York to New England and Canada and a two week road trip in the US and Canada.
More to come later!
