WEINGAKA

We ended up picking a tour to both Aix and Cassis based on suggestions. Thanks so much everyone for the advice and suggestions [emoji5]

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Awesome - thanks so much for the tips! I really appreciate it [emoji5]

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Thank you for the advice - That is a beautiful photo!

Based on feedback we're now looking at either a half day tour in Cassis only or a half day tour in both Aix and Cassis. Do you think it's worth seeing both in the short time we have, or just one of the two?

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Hi Hank,

Thanks so much for the reply. I meant to say we're in port 9-4 but we have to be back by 3. Still not a lot of time at all, and that's a bummer to me. Not too sure why Norwegian made the determination to cut our France port so short. The other ports are 8-6, 8-7. With so many gorgeous villages and towns in France, I definitely wish we'd had more time.

Lea Baux would be nothing else, just that, and I think after the drive from Marseille, it's only 2 hours to explore.

I found a tour that goes to just Cassis and another tour that goes to Aix and Cassis. The tour to Cassis seemed to offer a lot, so I was inclined to try just that tour. Do you think Aix is not to be missed?

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We've done this cruise twice, both times we checked in, carried on our luggage since, just like you, none of them had to be checked, and went to cabin and dropped them off. One time, it was before cabins were "ready" but they were happy to let us drop off our stuff. We just threw it all in the closet so it wouldnt be in the room stewards way. We then went on our excursion.

I definitely would not wait until you get back at 8:30 PM to check in. I would try to get there around noon and check in. Your plan to check in and get lunch sound fine. Also, my recollection is that Spirit had a "bag holding area" on the ship where you could leave your bags if rooms werent ready, and come get them later, but I dont know if they still do that. If you take your bags off the ship with you, I imagine they will all be subject to a re-security check coming back in....

 

Terry

Hi Terry,

Thanks so much for the detailed comment! I'm glad to hear you've experienced similar on the Spirit and was able to drop off your bags, even with the room not being available.

It'd definitely be nice once we're done with the excursion to quickly get through security without the hassle of the bags, and if we have the ability to ask to have our things at least tucked away in the room, that'd be great.

When your room wasn't ready, who did you talk to/where did you go to ask if you could deposit some bags?

I'll also make sure we check out the show Elements since it looks like it has good reviews [emoji5]

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Hello,

We are docked in Marseille as part of our European cruise that starts next week.

Unfortunately, we're only docked in Marseille from 9-3, not giving us a full day to explore the villages in Provence.

We have the option to do a tour that either takes us to Les Baux de Provence and back to the ship, or Aix en Provence and Cassis before returning to the ship.

I was wondering what cities of the 3 other cruisers have been to, and what you thought of them? If you had recommendations?

So much to see, so little time :)

Thanks!

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Rooms are usually available by 1pm or 1:30pm.

 

 

 

I've never experienced a cabin steward putting bags in cabin.

 

 

 

What time is your muster drill?

 

 

 

Elements is usually the last night and not to be missed imo.

I'm not sure when our muster drill is. Is there somewhere I can find that information out?

Based on my understanding of checking in, and from everyone's advice, would this be an accurate expectation for embarkation day: drop off carry ons with a porter, go through security with whatever bags we keep, check in with the cruise and get our ship card, embark on the ship for a quick lunch before our excursion, and then on our return from the excursion, go through security again with our bags, then simply go to the ship since we've checked in?

It seems like a fairly straightforward process but I want to make sure I didn't miss anything. I'm a huge planner so this being entirely new makes me overthink this :)

I appreciate everyone's input

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Thank you for the advice, I appreciate it so much!

So you're saying if we choose to leave our bags with the porters, our steward will move it into our room for us at some point after it becomes available? I didn't realize the steward would do that, but it would be incredibly reassuring if they did.

Thanks again to both of you! I think we may leave the carry ons with the clothes with the porters and then take the backpacks on the excursion. Ideally, our room would be available to put it all away ourselves before the excursion but I'm not sure we can guarantee it :)

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Hello,

First time cruiser here, and our cruise on the Norwegian spirit starts next Sunday. We're super excited but very new to this.

What time are staterooms generally available? Embarkation is at 12pm, but we don't have to be on the ship for disembarkation until 9pm (our cruise sails out at 11pm on the first day).

We are only bringing carry ons and backpacks, no suitcases. I did it for 3 weeks in Japan so I'm confident I can do it for 2 weeks in Europe :)

Because we get so much free time, we have set up an excursion for 2pm-8:30pm. My understanding is if we drop our luggage off with a porter, they will deliver our bags to our stateroom, but they'll be outside the door. My family members have cruised and assured me our luggage would be safe sitting outside the door, and I'm sure they're right, but since we'll be gone quite a bit of time before being back in our room, I'm still wondering if this is the most reasonable thing.

I've read some boards where people say they were in their stateroom immediately on embarking, no wait. I called Norwegian last night who said it'll be closer to 2-3pm before we're in. I'm curious what other cruisers have experienced.

Our excursion is private and we can always ask if they'll lock up our luggage in the car while we're in the countryside at the winery, but I'm not quite sure if this is a better option :) so any advice would be appreciated as far as leaving luggage with the porter, or taking a gamble and holding on to our carry ons in the hopes the room is open, worst case seeing if it can be locked up in the car on the excursion if the room still isn't available.

Also, has anyone seen the show elements or world beat? And if so, do you recommend seeing it while on board?

I appreciate any advice. I'm sure I'm overthinking this but I'm grateful for any tips and recommendations cruisers have. Thank you!

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Thank you so much everyone for all of the helpful information! The Rick Steves link is very informative for ATMs. I think I'm overthinking and over-worrying since we need so much cash this round, but we'll withdraw every few days and it seems to be the safest and smartest way to grab currency [emoji5]

I'm super happy we're doing mostly private excursions on our cruise. I did a lot of reading and had fears of "being left" but I've lost those worries as I've found tour guides and read reviews. It seems like not only does private save money when you split with others, it's more personalized and in the end, faster since there's less to load up and get off. The negative has been they all want cash after the tours! So then the ATM and tipping comes into play [emoji5]

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Hi,

Thank you so much for such great advice!

Do you know if Venice's airport has ATMs that are tied to banks? Is there a way to determine its for a bank and it a local change bureau? I'm debating on pulling some money in the airport to cover us for a few days, but am not sure if Venice's airport has the good conversion rates.

I will keep in mind that when I pull, it pulls in Euros so my withdrawal might have to be adjusted. I heard not to use the dynamic currency to show it in US dollars, so I'll have to keep in mind Euros when withdrawing.

I think my concerns of having my money taken once I pull it has been what's stopped me from going with that game plan, but speaking on this board, it appears to be the smartest way to get money. I've been to Europe, but fortunately then, someone else was in charge. This time, it's my turn, so I'm reading all I can on best practices to get cash, etc :)

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Thank you so much for the tips everyone! I really do appreciate it so much [emoji5]

We'll make sure to look at our bills to see if the service charge is included. I did not realize they'd charge for the bread but now I know to look for those minor charges to determine [emoji4]

We are in Barcelona overnight (and Venice) so that's good to know about the cc. I hate that we need so much cash for the private tours in between but we'll plan ahead at the ATMs and trust our cards

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Hi JB,

Thank you for the advice as well!

I'm going to do my best to have a European mentality to not tip, but I appreciate your advice and kerryincork's should we find we can't shake our US mentality[emoji5]the guidelines both of you have suggested are super helpful and I'm very grateful.

My understanding of the 550 Euros excursion is its transportation from the harbor to the 2 wineries and back (a little over an hour one way), as well as reservations to taste wine and tour the vineyards with some snacks (cheese, salami). We asked they give us a recommendation for dinner but that's not included in the price, so we'd be spending more for dinner. The price was 600 Euros and I negotiated it down by pointing out others offered similar for 500 (i just leaned towards this group, hence the negotiating). I'm very inexperienced but I feel like 550 Euros covers all they offer and then tip, so I don't know if I should feel the need to give more. It seems high as it is?

The problem with the 2k Euros is we're on about 7 excursions that ask for cash at the end, so totaling them up if came to about that. I think you've hit the nail on the head - I need to trust my card and the ATM. I did read that's the best way to go, so I need to let go of my fears of someone robbing me while I pull cash, the logistics of hiding money once I pull, etc, and just do it and trust the process. Because you're absolutely right, if I have it all out and we get robbed, that's a huge hit to take.

It's a shame the ship has horrendous rates, as that'd be the most convenient way for me to pull my money out, especially if it's fine to leave money in the safe!

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This is absolutely wonderful. Thank you for such great advice! I'm going to refer to it when we're at restaurants, as this is very useful.

I have a friend that's European, and he said he never understood the US culture of tipping [emoji5]he said to go on our excursions with the mentality of a European and to not tip, especially when the tours are priced what they are. I'm going to do my best to remember this, but coming from a culture where tipping is the norm, it's hard to shake the mentality! So I appreciate the advice of 5 Euros pp in case I feel guilty [emoji5]

Thank you so much for all of your tips and advice. It's greatly appreciated. We're so excited to go and are looking forward to it!

Hello,

My husband and I will be in Europe for an 11-day cruise. This will be our first time cruising and I was curious how people approach private tours and tipping. I'm reading mixed reviews online about tipping or not tipping.

One excursion we're doing just the two of us is 550 Euros for a one hour drive to 2 wineries for wine tasting. To me personally, I find 550 Euros sufficient to cover the cost of time, driving and reserving the wineries, but coming from a culture of tipping, I feel guilty if I didn't tip on top of the 550 Euros. How would you approach this? And if you did tip, how much?

For another excursion, were joining 6 other people. We have a driver taking us to Pompeii, Sorrento and the Amalfi coast, along with a guide for Pompeii. The total is 700 Euros split between 8 of us. I read if you choose to tip you should tip the driver and guide. Would you tip and if so, how much to both?

Also, I've added up our private excursions and we're looking at needing at least 2k in Euros, plus money for tips and restaurants (excursions are paid in cash after the tour). I'm also curious what recommendations people have on this amount of money. We have the money belts and anti theft purse. We've read all the tips on avoiding pickpockets. I hear the cruise's exchange rate is bad, but I don't know if I feel comfortable in NYC for two days and Venice for 2 more days with so much money, and I'm also concerned about withdrawing that amount at an ATM in Venice.

Thank you for any and all advice. We're new to all of this and we want to be respectful and appreciative as far as tipping or not needing to. We keep hearing mixed reviews on that. As far as carrying so much cash, I'm concerned about safety with so much.