Lucinarei

I'm a vegetarian, have cruised twice with NCL, and there were always plenty of vegetarian options. Sadly, I also have a bunch of allergies and intolerances that make it difficult for me to find some that I can eat, but most vegetarians should have zero problems. :)

I'll try to tackle some of them... ;) I was on the Gem last week (and loved it!).

Smoking..where is smoking allowed? Is smoking allowed by any of the pools?

There are quite a few smoking areas around the outside areas of the ship- mostly deck 7 and 12. The pool bar (Bali Hai) allows smoking.

Does Norwegian have a serenity area or adult pool, if so what is the age my kids will be 18 and 20?

I don't know about a serenity area, but there are quite a few "quiet zones"- mostly on deck 13 forward and aft. There are two pools- one is a "family pool" and the other is an "adult pool." The adult pool is 18+ so your kids should be fine there.

Do they have a BBQ,midnight buffet?

There was a BBQ on the pool deck each sea day- we left the ship on the port days, so I can't speak to it on those days. They had a different theme each day and included items like paella, steak, and grilled veggies.

I LOVE dressing up, will I look stupid if I wear a gown for formal night..is there even a formal night :D ? lol

On the "Dress Up or Not" night, there were several people dressed to the nines. It was fun to see them all dressed up. :)

Just off the Gem's cruise to Florida and the Bahamas out of NY. We had the UBP (and booked before they changed it to add the 18% gratuity charge).

NY/Florida: The drinks we got while still in port in NY had tax, which we had to sign for. Whenever we were out of port, we didn't sign for drinks- that's how we knew there was no tax. It was something like $0.58 per drink (based on the price, of course). Same thing while docked in Florida.

Bahamas: When we got to our cabana at GSC, the person who led us to the cabana told us that there would be tax added to all drinks ordered in the Bahamas, but we never signed for a drink while there. When we were at Guest Services about an unrelated issue, we asked about the tax and were told that there was no tax for drinks at GSC if you had the UBP. We didn't get any drinks while docked in Nassau, but we did as we were sailing away and there was no tax charged on those drinks.

Overall, I think we paid less than $5 in taxes all told... but we didn't drink much while docked in port, so that may affect people differently if they choose to remain on the ship, etc.

We were just able to upgrade to a balcony for no cost and keep all of our perks (including the double points for booking more than 9 months in advance). We did it about three weeks prior to sailing. It was something about being an upgrade and not a resell because we were past final payment... or something like that.

If that doesn't work out for you, I'd keep the UBP and not go with the balcony. It's just so nice to not have to worry about your drinks. And, although I really loved the balcony (this was the first time we ever had one!), it wasn't worth giving up the UBP, imo. Of course, it depends on your priorities. :) Have fun, whatever you decide!

I've been trying to find out just where this x80 bus stops but can't really find any solid information. I know it's seasonal but were going mid summer and really just need to get back to port from the plaka area. I've got it figured out by using the metro but was curious where one might catch the x80 bus.

To get into Athens, there is a bus stop just a short walk away from the terminal (here are the step-by-step directions that I took with me). It drops you off at a couple of places- we took it to the Acropolis stop and then picked it back up in Syntagma Square to head back to Piraeus. I was a little worried that it would be difficult to find, but the directions made plenty of sense (and the pictures helped!). :) There's also a step-by-step with pictures on this thread. Here is a map with all of the stops marked. I hope that helps!

We did that cruise last year and loved it!! You will have so much fun!! We did half and half between tours and DIY and were very happy with our choices. Ultimately, it comes down to what you want to see/do and how comfortable you are getting around each city to see and do what you want.

I would recommend taking a look at Tom's Port Guides- very helpful! Also, make sure you join your Roll Call. We shared some tours with our cruisemates and it was great!

Our cruise was a little bit different than yours, but I'll write down what we did in each port, to give you an idea of what we did and how we did it. :)

Pre-cruise: We did three days in Rome and then took the high speed train up to Venice.

Venice: DIY- very, very easy to do on your own! Give yourself plenty of time, so that you can walk around and get lost! :)

Kusadasi: (Do you still stop here?) Private tour through Ephesus Shuttle Great tour and lots of time to see everything!

Istanbul: I don't think you stop here anymore, which is probably a good thing with so much going on in Turkey, but it's a shame, as it was a beautiful city to see. We did this as a DIY port and loved it.

Mykonos: We shared a tour through Mykonos Kayak with people from our roll call and it was amazing. Very easy port to DIY, though. :)

Athens: We did this DIY as well. Took the x80 bus (VERY easy!) into town and saw the sights. Easy to get back on and back to port. Make sure you stop at the Keg & Crew pub (across from the bus stop). This was a great place to grab a drink! And you can see where we signed the wall (over by the bathroom!). :)

Naples: We shared a tour of Sorrento, Positano, and Pompeii with some Roll Call people from CC. We used Joe Banana and were very happy.

Civitavecchia: Since we had already done Rome, we did a ship excursion to the Hilltop Towns and loved it.

Livorno: We shared a tour through Rome in Limo and did Pisa and Florence. Not enough time- Florence was so beautiful that we had to go back this past April to do it justice. Loved this stop!

Toulon: This was a very easy DIY town, if you don't want to go into Provence. We went to the beach and walked around town. Delightful! :)

Barcelona: We stayed here three days after the cruise ended, so we did a lot. We started off with a tour through Barcelona Day Tours and shared it with some people from our Roll Call. This was a great way to get our bearings before we explored it on our own for the next few days.

It's not quite the same trip as the current one, but several stops are the same. Loved this cruise so much- and I know you will enjoy it! :D

We just got off the Gem this morning- we docked about 8am and were cleared between 8:30-8:45am. By the time our color was called, it took about 1.5 hours to disembark and get through Border/Customs. I hope people had enough time to make flights and such.

There was a note in our room (can't remember if it was in the Freestyle Daily or in a separate note) on the first night that weather conditions would push our arrival time into NYC back to 8:30am. I remember being surprised that they already knew a week before that our arrival would be late, but it was accurate. It was a great week and we had a blast! ;)

You can rent a car for the day for about $30 total.

Thank you so much for this post! I had booked a car in Cape Canaveral for $140 and did a double take when I saw your post. I did some more research and was able to book one for $40 (with the fees). Posts like this are why this board rocks! Thanks again! ;)

But in the OP's case, I'm not sure it matters, because upgrades after final payment are not generally handled as rebookings. So you don't lose the perks associated with your originally booked category, and you don't receive the perks that come with the new category.

This seems to be the case here, as we didn't lose any of the promotions we had received when we initially booked, and we didn't gain any new promos either.

What type of OV cabin did you have to begin with? Was it an OX, which is an OV GTY or did you have one of the more expensive cabins that came with one of the promotions?

We originally had an OA booked, with the free beverage package promo. I've never booked a GTY before, which is why I was curious about how it worked. Seems like the room we have been assigned will be the room we get- which is great! :) The couple we are traveling with also booked an OA cabin (they were originally next to us in a connecting room), but they booked a few months after we did- don't know if that made a difference. Either way, I'm happy. I've never been in a balcony cabin before, so this is exciting! :)

Once they give you the actual cabin # it's pretty much final. I was able to get one changed once because we were traveling with my dad who had his own cabin & I wanted to make sure we were all at the same muster station.

Thanks! :)

Curiously, what number did you call?

Just the standard booking number: 1-866-234-7350. :)

I am sailing on the Gem next month and originally booked an Oceanview. I called a few days ago just to see how much it would be to upgrade to a balcony room and was given a complimentary upgrade to a Balcony GTY. I've never done a GTY before, but was super excited for a balcony room (never had one before!).

I was on NCL.com tonight and noticed that our cabin had been assigned. I don't know anything about it (8042), but I'm so excited for a balcony! :D Does anyone know if this is a final room assignment, or if may change? It doesn't matter either way- I just want to know if I should print out my luggage tags or if I should wait until closer to the sailing date.

Incidentally, the other couple we're traveling with called to see about an upgrade and ended up with a complimentary balcony upgrade as well (:D)- but instead of a GTY, they were immediately assigned a cabin. Anyone have any idea why we would get a GTY and they got an immediate cabin assignment? Just curious... :confused: :D

Thanks in advance for any answers! ;) Can't wait to relax near the pool!

Hi.

My husband and I will be on on the Spirit Mediterranean cruise June 24-July 6th. Does anyone have suggestions/advice for touring Florence on our own?

 

Any other suggestions for things to see or avoid in the ports?

 

What about restaurant recommendations?

 

This is only our second cruise so any other advice is appreciated.

 

We aren't much for shows so we will probably spend much of the time on the ship reading on our balcony.

 

Thanks,

A. Lacy

Have a great time! We were on this cruise last summer and loved it! We loved Florence so much (and spent so little time there!) that we just came back from a week there, which was one of my all-time favorite vacations! Florence has become one of my favorite places!

Anyway- to maximize your time in Florence, know exactly what you want to see. Florence is a very walkable city, but you can easily get lost, so know what and where. We did a tour, which was good because it go us to Pisa, Florence, and back to Livorno with plenty of time, but it also whisked us too quickly through Florence. We only had time for a view from Piazzale Michelangelo, a stop at the Duomo, and a brisk walk through the Accademia. If you know what you want to see, and where it is from the train station (assuming you are arriving by train), that will give you more time to explore. Florence is beautiful and you will fall in love! :)

A couple of restaurants to recommend- i'Cche c'e c'e was phenomenal! It's around the corner from the Palazzo Vecchio. Trattoria Anita was another great place for lunch- that's also close to the Palazzo Vecchio. One of our favorites for dinner (not sure if they are open for lunch, but worth looking into) was Trattoria Fratelli Briganti. This is definitely off the beaten path and out of the city center, but so good! :)

Have a great time on the cruise! It was definitely a trip of a lifetime for us! :)

Just returned home last night from 12 night cruise. Stayed an extra night at Arlecchino...could see it from Piazelle Roma....very comforting! It was a perfect location for taking the bus the next morning. Has AC and wifi and breakfast in the morning. Room is small, but we had a great view of a canal. Cute little seating area outside hotel...wifi works here, too!

Thanks for reporting back and confirming! I'm glad you had a great time! We're so excited for our cruise… single digit dance! ;)

There's a vote on Sunday in Greece so I will be watching what that brings. I hope they don't cancel the Greece ports as we'd like to still go

Crossing our fingers too… NCL moved around our Greek port stops to put them back to back- my guess is that they are getting ready to cancel them in case the vote goes badly and there are problems. Hopefully it's just a precaution and everything works out.

Of course, I'm complaining about my vacation while the Greek people are facing real problems… :o I hope it all works out for them as well!

Well, after all of the news in Greece, I guess NCL has decided to be proactive and sent an email changing the itinerary for our Grand Med cruise in a few weeks. We were originally scheduled for Athens --> Kusadasi --> Istanbul --> Mykonos and they've now moved the two Greek ports together (Kusadasi --> Istanbul --> Mykonos --> Athens). DH is convinced that they are hedging their bets and making it easier to potentially cut both of the Greek ports if there is need. I wonder if they will replace them with other ports, should the need arise.

Whatever happens with our cruise, it is certainly far less important that what is happening in Greece- and I wish nothing but the best for the Greek people.

According to Tripadvisor, they have A/C and wifi. We're staying there pre-cruise in July and I'm hoping they will have A/C! ;) Lots of good reviews here and on Tripadvisor! :)

Official Description (provided by the hotel)

The position of arlecchino hotel make it easy access via car/aeroplane/train or even cruise ship.hotel arlecchino is unique for the fact that it is extremely close to piazzale roma, the entrance of venice, making any transport of luggage,trouble free, also easy car parking,pre -arranged , if necessary by the management.piazzale roma is also the shuttle stop for cruiseship and venice airports.the bedrooms are all decorated in a typical venetian style with er,air conditioninig private bath, hairdryer telephone , satellite tv...THE Breakfast room has windows facing into one of the typical canal.

From Tripadvisor...

You can ignore it, it's for Turkish citizens only.

 

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Thank you so much for all of your help! I purchased my tickets with no problems. :D

The website seems to be functioning now- so much easier to navigate and use! Quick question- it's asking for my citizenship number… what is that?

Thank you!! :D

Are there any updates for this site? Has anyone gotten it to work?

Yes, I do get carsick regularly, which is why I do all the driving at home. I took Bonine twice a day, once in the AM and once in the PM, every single day of this trip (except the first day, until I figured out why I was so nauseous). It helped tremendously, but I still felt queasy a few times, with this tour being the worst. I also felt it a little in Naples and in Athens, but it was manageable. I took ginger ale with me everywhere and closed my eyes when to roads were particularly bad.

Thanks for the heads up! I also get very carsick and plan to take Bonine morning and night during our trip. This is good to know so that I can start taking it immediately, instead of waiting to feel sick. :)

Great review so far! So thoroughly enjoying it! :D

Excited for the review! Doing the reverse of your cruise in July and I can't wait!! :D

We're doing a cruise that leaves from Venice and ends in Barcelona. We decided that just a port day in Rome wasn't enough, so we are flying into Rome and spending a few days there before taking the train up to Venice for the cruise.

The NCL land/sea tour mentioned by luv2gonow sounds like it might also be a good option for you. There are a few of those available and they do mostly Italy by land and then a few French and Spanish ports on the cruise.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck and have fun! ;)

Thanks for posting! We leave in a few months on the reverse of your cruise and it was fun to look at the dailies! Getting very excited! ;)

Double check me on the 20 day booking window!!

Yes, you are correct. The window is 20 days. :)

We actually give credit to Rome in Limo for spending only 1 hour in Pisa. While we enjoy walking around the Field or Miracles on a nice day, there are some who would say that 1 hour is too long. If you want to climb the tower it probably would be wise to e-mail your tour provider and seek their advice. I believe that pre purchased tickets have times...which may or may not work with your tour.

We just booked with RIL for Pisa/Florence and they specifically told us to book a certain time for the Pisa tower climb. Limited amount of tickets available and they only go on sale 20 days ahead of time from what I can see.

Yes, in the confirm email for the tour, they indicated the time to purchase climbing tickets for the tower, which was very helpful. Now that I know it only takes half an hour, I know I'll have plenty of time to climb and check out the Baptistry and Cathedral. :) I have my calendar marked for 20 days before we're in Pisa so that I can buy tickets as soon as they're available. :)