Carnival Mediterranean Questions

[skidawg71]

Afternoon Carnival cruisers. I have a few questions for those that have experienced a Carnival Mediterranean Cruise.

 

Over the years we have sailed with Carnival and have had some good experiences. This last cruise, we chose to try Holland America and had a really relaxing and restful experience. Gone were the hairy chest contests, aggressive photographers and hooting and dancing each night in the dining room. Also, there were far less children on Holland. I'm not bashing people with kids, it's just a personal preference not to have a ship geared and tailored for so many kids/families. Also they had music that was a bit more adult in nature such a jazz trio and singers, instead of rap, karaoke, and metal drums. I know for a lot of people HAL is boring and full of old people. For us it was just quieter.

 

That being said, we found a great rate on the new Carnival Magic for a 9 day out of Barcelona on Sep 16th in a spa balcony. If there is anyone that has been on a Carnival Med cruise, can you tell me what it was like and if it was a different feel from the "fun" ship experience?? I'm assuming since it is 9days at the end of September there should be less young children, and being so port intensive, if a Europe cruise is less of sun lounging and party atmosphere. Thanks for any help. Did you find the entertainment/music different? eg, less karaoke and more actual talent?

 

We also have never been on a ship as massive as the Magic and worried about hoards of people and lines for everything.

 

Thanks for any comments/suggestions and information.

[Crusin6]

you will have a more sophisticated..history loving..europe loving...type of pax on a Med cruise with CCL...especially in Sept...where I would think that parents with kids would not yet be choosing to take their kids out of school for a Med cruise...although it would be highly educational if they did.

fortunately, the service will be better as the crew knows this a more well healed population that knows to tip and wouldn't balk at the service charge and the movies on deck will be Europe/mature pax appropriate..Under the Tuscan Sun, Gladiator, Barry Manilow concerts, Bee Gees

 

unfortunately, the waiters still dance...but believe me...the cruising population on this ship will be several steps up from what you may think it will be

 

I cruised the Med in July 2008 on the Freedom and was pleasantly surprised that is was so high end regarding pax....you could see they were professionals taking their kids to see history...not to zip line in the jungle:D

 

we had such a wonderful experience that we will be back in the Med in 2012...not on CCL though...as their itins are really geared toward a newbie Med cruiser.....other lines do a better job with itin....

[Sargent_Schultz]

Lots of pictures and more from a Carnival Dream Med cruise (12 day)

 

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/CarnivalDream/GrandMed/index.htm

[skidawg71]

you will have a more sophisticated..history loving..europe loving...type of pax on a Med cruise with CCL...especially in Sept...where I would think that parents with kids would not yet be choosing to take their kids out of school for a Med cruise...although it would be highly educational if they did.

fortunately, the service will be better as the crew knows this a more well healed population that knows to tip and wouldn't balk at the service charge and the movies on deck will be Europe/mature pax appropriate..Under the Tuscan Sun, Gladiator, Barry Manilow concerts, Bee Gees

 

unfortunately, the waiters still dance...but believe me...the cruising population on this ship will be several steps up from what you may think it will be

 

I cruised the Med in July 2008 on the Freedom and was pleasantly surprised that is was so high end regarding pax....you could see they were professionals taking their kids to see history...not to zip line in the jungle:D

 

we had such a wonderful experience that we will be back in the Med in 2012...not on CCL though...as their itins are really geared toward a newbie Med cruiser.....other lines do a better job with itin....

 

Thank you so much for your info. I understand your moving to another line on your next Med cruise. Personally, this itinerary isn't the most ideal, but the price was kind of spectacular and hard to pass up. As you said, a good "beginner Med Cruise". Again, thanks for your comments and perspective.

 

Lastly, Will Carnival let you bring a bottle of wine on board from our day in Tuscany. If they don't, that's pretty draconian. It'd be like taking a kid to an ice cream parlor and not letting them get anything!:mad:

[skidawg71]

Lots of pictures and more from a Carnival Dream Med cruise (12 day)

 

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/CarnivalDream/GrandMed/index.htm

 

Wow, what a great web page. Thank you!:)

[Sargent_Schultz]

Thank you so much for your info. I understand your moving to another line on your next Med cruise. Personally, this itinerary isn't the most ideal, but the price was kind of spectacular and hard to pass up. As you said, a good "beginner Med Cruise". Again, thanks for your comments and perspective.

 

Lastly, Will Carnival let you bring a bottle of wine on board from our day in Tuscany. If they don't, that's pretty draconian. It'd be like taking a kid to an ice cream parlor and not letting them get anything!:mad:

 

We brought wine on in a couple of ports. No problem.

 

 

 

 

Wow, what a great web page. Thank you!:)

 

you're welcome. we will also be on the may 1 and may 10 sailings of Carnival Magic, so stay tuned! :)

[Crusin6]

Thank you so much for your info. I understand your moving to another line on your next Med cruise. Personally, this itinerary isn't the most ideal, but the price was kind of spectacular and hard to pass up. As you said, a good "beginner Med Cruise". Again, thanks for your comments and perspective.

 

Lastly, Will Carnival let you bring a bottle of wine on board from our day in Tuscany. If they don't, that's pretty draconian. It'd be like taking a kid to an ice cream parlor and not letting them get anything!:mad:

we didn't bring any wine back to the ship..but the other poster said it seems to be OK...however, CCL was very careful about what sort of souveniers were brought back on......there was a parent that bought their son a real looking toy gun in Venice.....and let me tell you...there was hell to pay when they tried to bring it on the ship......it looked real:D

 

 

I have been visiting Europe since college some 30 years ago and have done several Med cruises, so I am happy to answer any questions you may have. I also have a mind for details so any little question you have, I may be able to answer.:)

[skidawg71]

We brought wine on in a couple of ports. No problem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

you're welcome. we will also be on the may 1 and may 10 sailings of Carnival Magic, so stay tuned! :)

 

Very nice. Did they have you check it in and get it at then end of the cruise, or were you able to enjoy it while on board?

[jpg1747]

We brought wine on in a couple of ports. No problem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

you're welcome. we will also be on the may 1 and may 10 sailings of Carnival Magic, so stay tuned! :)

 

I'm so glad you're doing this cruise before me. I can't wait to read your cruise page afterwards.

[Crusin6]

Very nice. Did they have you check it in and get it at then end of the cruise, or were you able to enjoy it while on board?

My friend just returned from Barcelona with Spanish olives in her checked luggage...the olives were bought at the duy free shop in the Barc. airport...at JFK they made her throw them out and she almost got a $300 fine...

 

Don't know if it being from Spainversus Italy would make a difference.

 

Heck, I have been bringing jarred food back home since 1979...

[Sargent_Schultz]

Very nice. Did they have you check it in and get it at then end of the cruise, or were you able to enjoy it while on board?

 

There was no place to check it even if you *wanted* to. That is how it has always been on Carnival in the Med. Of course, this may be the year that they change it.

[Sargent_Schultz]

My friend just returned from Barcelona with Spanish olives in her checked luggage...the olives were bought at the duy free shop in the Barc. airport...at JFK they made her throw them out and she almost got a $300 fine...

 

Don't know if it being from Spainversus Italy would make a difference.

 

Heck, I have been bringing jarred food back home since 1979...

 

Dunno. The olives didn't survive the cruise - we ate them. Customs doesn't like seeds, so if the olives weren't pitted (these weren't) I can see where that could be a problem.

[realtrip]

Hi,

I have another question.

 

What time can you board the ship in Barcelona? It leaves at 5. Are the lines very long to board?

 

Thanks! I can't wait!!!! We will be on the Magic, June 12th.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Hi,

I have another question.

 

What time can you board the ship in Barcelona? It leaves at 5. Are the lines very long to board?

 

Thanks! I can't wait!!!! We will be on the Magic, June 12th.

 

Dunno. We board in Venice and I plan on being at the dock by 11am. For a b2b within the EU, we won't have to leave the ship at all in Barcelona, but I may.

 

The first time boarding in Barcelona will probably be mass confusion since Carnival has never started a cruise from there. Hopefully it will quickly get better.

[hubofhockey]

I don't think it is just Carnival that is different in the Med.

 

We went on consecutive Princess cruises. The first was on the Crown Princess to the Caribbean. The second was on the sister ship, Ruby Princess on their 12-day Grand Med. The ships are almost identical. But everything seemed different and people were much more relaxed after long port days. We bought wine at many ports. I am hoping to do the same on the Magic.

 

As far as passengers go, the Princess Med crowd had more kids than any of my Carnival or Princess cruises. That probably is because it was a summer cruise and we usually cruise in late April.

 

I agree that the prices Carnival has for Med cruises are incredible. Our rate for the four of us (kids 13 & 11) for the 8/5 cruise in a Spa Balcony Cabin is only $4,950 for a 9-day cruise. They really aren't charging more for Spa Balcony cabins than regular cabins. On deck 11, the spa balcony cabin is the same price as the non-spa balcony cabin.

[hubofhockey]

Hi,

I have another question.

 

What time can you board the ship in Barcelona? It leaves at 5. Are the lines very long to board?

 

Thanks! I can't wait!!!! We will be on the Magic, June 12th.

 

We will be in no rush to board early. The city of Barcelona is close to the docks and as much as we look forward to getting on the ship, Barcelona is a blast. We may even use that last morning to go to the beach.

[realtrip]

Ljberkow: I love the beach idea! What a great way to feel the Med right before boarding!

Do you know if there is a public beach with easy access? Our hotel is on the Ramblas.

Our plan for Barcelona is one day on HOHO bus and one day on gocars (check out the company on Trip advisor, great reviews and sounds like a great way to see Barcelona). The beach would round things out very nicely!

[hubofhockey]

Ljberkow: I love the beach idea! What a great way to feel the Med right before boarding!

Do you know if there is a public beach with easy access? Our hotel is on the Ramblas.

Our plan for Barcelona is one day on HOHO bus and one day on gocars (check out the company on Trip advisor, great reviews and sounds like a great way to see Barcelona). The beach would round things out very nicely!

 

It is a long walk to the beach from Las Ramblas. There are buses. We'll spring for a cab. Cabs are cheap in Barcelona. It's probably not more than 5 euros each way. My last advice on Barcelona is to be on guard for pickpockets at all times. The city is the worst for that and the pickpocket thread on the ports of call board for Spain is the longest thread going, for good reason. When you go to the beach or anywhere, only bring cash or one card that you plan to use and leave the rest in your hotel safe.

 

Last summer, we mainly walked all over Barcelona with a couple we became friends with on our roll call. We only took two cabs (r/t). One was to the Magic Fountain (great show at night) and the other was to Parc Guell (another "do not miss site"). We had two solid days there and saw Casa Batllo (great Gaudi house), Palace of Catalan Music (show at night, they offer tours during the day), Ramblas, Gothic Quarter, Parc Guell, Arc Triomfe, Sagrada Familia (just from outside), and the Magic Fountain. We could have used another day.

 

We did not get to the beach. The public beaches there get mixed reviews. But our kids will be with us and will need to cool down. We also plan to use Mallorca for a beach day at Palma Nova beach as well as go to Capri from Naples (we saw Pompeii and Amalfi Coast last summer - great). I think using one day for the beach on these tough Med cruises is important. Looking forward to this cruise. :cool:

[tkere]

I think there may be more kids in the summer on the Med cruise, but I went at the end of September. It was a great time of year. A much older crowd. I was 50 and felt pretty young. The week before our cruise there were alot more young people, so you never know.

 

Because of the older crowd, they didn't do any of the fun games at the pool. The bars were pretty empty too.

 

We were so busy sight seeing at the ports we didn't mind the quite ship. We had no trouble bringing wine on the ship at the ports and was not charge a corkage fee either.

 

We loved it and I hope you go and have a great time!

[skidawg71]

Thanks to everyone that's replied to my original post. Sargent and crusin6, your information has been fantastic. Hope you have a great time in May, Sargent!

[Eileen G]

Ljberkow: I love the beach idea! What a great way to feel the Med right before boarding!

Do you know if there is a public beach with easy access? Our hotel is on the Ramblas.

Our plan for Barcelona is one day on HOHO bus and one day on gocars (check out the company on Trip advisor, great reviews and sounds like a great way to see Barcelona). The beach would round things out very nicely!

 

Here are a couple of pictures of the beach in Barcelona.

 

 

 

These pictures were taken at the end of May so the summer will be more crowded.

[kicia]

Bill - take good care of the Magic since we're getting on when you get off. We've been on at least one other Med/Baltic cruise with you but not this time. If you post from the ship we'll get to read it before we get on. We'll be in Spain for 12 days before our cruise.

 

Linda

[realtrip]

Beautiful pictures!

[Sargent_Schultz]

Thanks to everyone that's replied to my original post. Sargent and crusin6, your information has been fantastic. Hope you have a great time in May, Sargent!

 

You're welcome and thank you. :)

 

Bill - take good care of the Magic since we're getting on when you get off. We've been on at least one other Med/Baltic cruise with you but not this time. If you post from the ship we'll get to read it before we get on. We'll be in Spain for 12 days before our cruise.

 

Linda

 

I'm stealing everything that isn't nailed down. :p (j/k)

[lucyintheskywithdiamonds]

Lots of pictures and more from a Carnival Dream Med cruise (12 day)

 

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/CarnivalDream/GrandMed/index.htm

thanks for the lovely photos!