Back from Splendida! review coming... any questions?

[AmoMondo]

i really enjoyed le Petit Train in marseilles. You get it from the old port area at the waterfront (near the fishmarket0. It only cost 6 euros last year and was a beautiful ride up the very steep incline to Notre Dame de la garde. Breathtaking views from up there and the cathedral itself was amazing too. Not for those with mobility issues though because of all the steps.

 

Alternatively you could try catching a train to Aix en provence.

[camillu]

Thank you AmoMondo for your reply.

[camillu]

AMOMONDO or anybody

 

How long does the train take to get to the places you mentioned in Marseilles?

 

 

Any advice for places to see in Messina?

 

 

Thanks

[AmoMondo]

AMOMONDO or anybody

 

How long does the train take to get to the places you mentioned in Marseilles?

 

 

Any advice for places to see in Messina?

 

 

Thanks

 

Sorry haven't been to messina yet.

 

We only had about 15 minutes to wait until we got on the train. How long the entire journey takes depends on whether you take up the option to get off at Notre Dame de la Garde Also depends on the crowds. we were there in late April so it wasn't that busy - although we missed a couple of trains because we tried to queue to get back on, whilst the Italians just rushed to the train when it arrived. we learnt to do the same by the time the third one came around!.

 

here is the link for the officail site for le petit train which will give you a bit more info

 

http://www.petit-train-marseille.com/.

 

Also if you go to Google and type le petit train + marseille - you'll get loads of other sites and even a video on Utube

[Capricruiser]

Camillu: The best excursion to take in Messina is the one that goes to Taormina and its ancient Greek theatre. It's a lovely town with spectacular views over the straits to the Calabrian coast.

[buggins0402]

Hi

 

In two days time my wife an I will be taking a cruise from Malta visiting Messina, Rome,Genoa, Marseilles, Barcalona and Tunis.

 

I have not yet booked may excursions as ours was a very late booking (last week) and I am not sure as to whether to take an organised excursion from the boat or just going on our own.

 

Have you got any suggestions?

 

Messina - we are only stayingh a few hours. Taormina is a great place . We have been twice and it is apparently about an hour and a half away so its three hours travelling which probably does not make it worth the hassle

 

So we are still unsure what to do.

 

Rome: MSC offer (at a cost) to drop you off somewhere in Rome and then pick you up later so probably we will do this. We have just been to Rome 2 months ago and we know our way around (at least thats what we think!) .

 

Genoa: Portfino seems nice . One of my colleagues told me that she walked to the Aquarium which was only 30 mins away and then took the ferry to Portfonino.

 

 

Mareilles: still not decided

 

 

Barcallona: Probablky we will gop on our own as teh city cente (I think) is probably only 30-mins away.

 

 

Tunes: Probably will not go down except for a quick tour in the port if its nice. Probably just enjoy the boat whilst most of the passnegers are away!

 

 

If you have any suggestions/tips let me knwo.

 

Thanks.

 

 

Mark

 

We came to the same conclusion as you did for Taormina - the time was so short, given the distance to get there and also considering the cost we decided to skip it. Would have loved to see it but the cost/benefit just wasn't there. Actually we had a nice time just walking to the clock tower and cathedral on the hill in Messina, which allowed us to get back to the ship early and visit the fitness center before the crowds came back from excursions.

 

Barcelona is an easy DIY. Take a cab to La Sagrada, then taxi back to La Ramblas and sight see the gothic quarter. Fits nicely into the time frame. If you are good with metros you could google for the Barcelona metro guide and combo metro with taxi to get around. If there are more than two in your party - I would just stick with taxi's, they are pretty cheap in Barcelona.

 

For Marseille we had intended to go to Cassis to see the callanques. But, November wasn't a great time for that, so we just hung around vieux port and did the le -petit train up to the catherdral. Another option would be to check out the callanque boat tours leaving from vieux port (or in combo with the train). In this port it is most economical to use the ships bus transfer into the city, rather than cab - unless you have at least 4 people. It's about breakeven cost wise with four people.

[camillu]

Thank you all for your replies.

 

waiting for my sister in law to pick us to go to the port.

[annabcurisin]

going on splendidia in sept. we are a group of 6 and looking for a way to contact a private tour operator. thanks for any help.

[annabcurisin]

we had same guide Catharina had. Mario

thank you so much stravelp and catharina...have re read catharina reveiw so many times i think i know it by heart. catharina should be a travel writer instead of a TA. cannot fin "catharinas" on the net so it you could be of any further help would so much apprciate it. thanks again...

[diblasi21]

Catherina,

Thank you for all your great trips. I am also a travel agent specializing in Carribean cruises and wishing to expand into the European cruising market.

 

To Catherina and anyone else on here willing to help...

I am going on the Spendida on 7/25 departing from Marseille and have a few questions:

 

Are you allowed to bring a bottle of wine with you? On American ships they allow it you just have to pay a fee for corkage

 

Is there WIFI in the rooms? How much is it a day?

Being from the U.S. I have been told using my cellphone is a big no no so I am planning on Skypeing with my husband and son

 

Tunisia

Is it safe to just find a driver when I get there? My interest are the town with the blue roofs I think its Sidi boud Said, the Medina, and if there is any left over time to go to the beach or a mosque. A camel ride would be great as well..

Do I need to get tunisian money or do Euros work?

 

Malta

I would love to go to the Blue Grotto and Medina (souk) Can anyone give me advise on the Blue Grotto. Does it take long to get a boat to go out there? Do you get to swim? Is there snorkeling in the area?

I am only there for a short time

Do I need to get Malta money or do Euros work?

 

Rome

I booked through the cruiseline to do the Vatican but reading on here a lot people went with a private tour operator. I'm a little scared of not making it back intime...

I would like to do a tour that takes me to the Vatican but that I also get a quick stop at the colloseum, Trevi fountain, etc

 

Barcelona

I want to do Las Ramblas and the sagrada Familia and suggestions on the best way to do this? Also, is it easy to find the Boqueria?

 

Messina and Genoa

Is this a good place to go the beach?

 

Marseille

When we leave the cruise is there a way of touring Marseille? We will have our luggage and plan to take the train to Paris

Does anyone know how close the train station is to the port?

 

Any additional suggestions are greatly appeciated!

 

Sonny

Miami,Fl

[engadineb]

Hi - glad you had such a great cruise with your family - can you answer some questions about shore excursions - did you do the organized tour in Marseille, La Valletta and Messina? Not sure if it is possible to do your own thing there. We were going to book the Barcelona city tour through MSC but now I am looking for private tours. I noted that you used a private tour guide in Messina - can you give me his email address - any more advice re excursions would be appreciated.

regards

[hat776]

So Catherina now that a few months have passed since your cruise I am sure you have many happy memories.

Your review will give enjoyment to many who have still to sail and bring back memories to those who have sailed on her.

We had been to Marsailles many years ago and it was very drab so we were pleasantly surprised last year. The outskirts of the town are rather scruffy and parts of it look like slums but the area round the Vieux Port was very pleasant. The ship's shuttle drops you near the port. There were bars, fishermen and a fort. The Petit Train was fun and the views were lovely. There are a number of stairs you have to climb to get to the church of Our Lady of the Guard but well worth it.

 

Our friends went on a tour. Apart from the old port they went to the gardens of a mansion and were very impressed.

 

Last year there was a very long thread by Beauseant with good descriptions of Malta. I'll try and find it (or maybe Beauseant will read this) and post the link.

 

You can also have a look at www.europeportreviews.com

Also google europeportreview

For some useful tips about Malta go to http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g190311-Malta.html - the Malta Forum which has Top Questions on the right two of which regard cruises

Mdina is not like the arabic Medina. It is a medieval town and was the former capital of Malta. It is on a hill surrounded by bastions and worth seeing.

Back to Splendida - it's a beautiful ship. There seems to be something to see at every corner and , as the Americans say, it has the Wow factor.

On our cruise the Captain stopped the ship near Stromboli for some 10 minutes and it was an experience for everyone. The residents on the island waved to us and it was amazing with the ship playing moving music as well.

Our waiter was very kind to one of our friends who had a dietary problem and would get all the info she needed from the kitchen but wasn't that friendly.

[hat776]

It's good that the Captain allowed Catharina's father to visit the bridge. As someone said in this day and age of strict security at least the human factor still exists.

I want to remind everyone to be careful of pickpockets everywhere but especially in Barcelona.

There was an English man who had his passport stolen in Barcelona and when he informed the ship (NCL) they wouldn't let him board as the law says that all passengers must have the original passport with them on the ship. So they did help him by contacting their Port agentsto help him but he had to make his own way (and pay the cost of course ) to the next Port Monaco/France.

The ship had already scanned his passport for security so I think it was rather hard to insist on obeying the letter of the law and not letting him board and then sort out things at the next Port.

[buggins0402]

Re: Question on Barcelona from DiBlasi21

 

Sorry I would have quoted it - but working on a new laptop and haven't gotten the hang of the pad mouse!

 

Barcelona is an easy port. Taxi's are cheap! If more than 2 people take a taxi from the port. If only two people it isn't much more then the MSC bus and you are more flexible. Our thought had been to start at Boqueria. It wasn't the best - market really hadn't gotten rolling that early. I would start at the old Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter. Take another cab to La Sagrada. Take a cab back to the top of Las Ramblas and walk down. La Boqueria will be right on Las Ramblas mid-way on the other side from the Gothic Quarter. You'll then have plenty of time to check out the Quarter and perhaps get some tapas (we started at Boqueria and still had time to go back when it was really fully open and then do all the above and go down and finish in the the old port area).

[Capricruiser]

I too enjoyed Catharina's review but unfortunately she never posted it to the CC ship/cruise reviews, only here in the forum. Also, she apparently has dropped off the forum and hasn't posted anything since April.

Regarding Marseilles, there are two very fine excursions you can take at this port. One to Aix en Provence (which I did in March on the Costa Marina), and the other to Avignon. Both require less than an hour by bus to reach and then considerable walking through the towns with the ship's guide.

[hat776]

The only didappointment was that we were in Marseille on a Sunday so all the shops in Aix en Provence were closed

[annabcurisin]

Thank you for your response..trying to find your messina mario ..can you post his e mail would so appreciate it

[pablomontoya]

Thank you for your response..trying to find your messina mario ..can you post his e mail would so appreciate it

if the same mario it shoul be marioastoneattiscali.it

[tullemor]

Great rewiew!! Answered all of my questions:) Thank you!!

[sealegs 20]

Thankyou so much for your informative post! it has answered most of my questions .We have only been on one cruise and that was with P & O. I did enjoy dressing up and I think possibly only one or two people did not conform!!! However good to know you can feel comfortable in bowtie and long dress!:)

I have heard that you can pre- purchase a drinks package ? We like to have a drink in the cabin - can you buy duty free when ashore and take it on board ?

:mad:I am dreading the rude Italians - I follow people around the supermarket glaring at them if they park in mother and toddler spaces without any children - my partner lives in fear now of me punching an Italian for pushing in front of me to get in the lift ! ha ha ha. I thought your mother was treated terribley!!!!

Thans again :cool:

[Capricruiser]

If you dread rude Italians don't visit Italy and don't cruise on an Italian ship. Stick with P&O.

[macmaggie01]

Catharina,

What wonderful information. My DW and I, along with another couple, will be taking the same cruise in another five (5) weeks. Of course, the most pressing question from my DW is whether the cabins are equipped with Hair Blowers.

Thanks again for the information.

[AmoMondo]

Catharina,

What wonderful information. My DW and I, along with another couple, will be taking the same cruise in another five (5) weeks. Of course, the most pressing question from my DW is whether the cabins are equipped with Hair Blowers.

Thanks again for the information.

yes they are and fortunately the newer ships in the fleet (like Slendida) have proper hairdryers rather than those dreaded wall mounted things with a hose. They are usually in the dressing table drawer.

[tfoggo]

Hi Catherina,

Thank you for your time to write all about the Spendida. We can't wait until our turn in July. We have a question:

In your cabin, does it have 110/220V outlet so you can charge your camera etc. MSC website mentioned only the older ships are came with 110/220V outlet but nothing on the Splendida.

 

 

 

Thanks.

 

We are also on the Splendida this July the 24th ex Genoa are you on this same cruise if so join the roll call I have set up.

If not do have a great cruise.

Rgds

Tommy

[Capricruiser]

We are also on the Splendida this July the 24th ex Genoa are you on this same cruise if so join the roll call I have set up.

If not do have a great cruise.

Rgds

Tommy

 

This is a year-old thread that Tullemor reopened for some reason. PC168 sailed on the Splendida in July 2010 and most all the info on the thread is ancient.:o