Mediterranean cruise

[sellwingri]

We're booked on Brilliance of the Seas for 6/29. We've been on Caribbean cruises but never a European. Any advice?

 

2 months and 17 days to go, not that we're counting!

[Dadofsara]

We did the 7 night Splendour last summer. Very different from Caribbean because most excursions have you off the ship for 10-12 hours. It was terrific though. Any specific questions? We were in Barcelona, Marseille, Nice, Florence, Rome and Naples.

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

We were in Barcelona, Marseille, Nice, Florence, Rome and Naples.

 

That's the same itinerary DH and I are doing in November. :)

 

We're planning on doing our own thing in port since I'm pretty familiar with both France and Italy, and I'm fluent in both languages, but I'd love to hear any tips from someone who's 'been there done that.' I'm familiar with most of those cities, but not the ports themselves. Anything unusual we should be prepared for? Merci beaucoup/grazie tanto! :D

[Dadofsara]

The ports themselves are quite far from most of the cities. It was almost a 2 hour bus ride to Rome and I think 1 1/2 hours to Florence. We did excursions each day that included the bus ride to the cities and a wonderful lunch. I had heard that it will almost cost you the price of the excursion just to arrange your own transportation to the cities. You might want to check into that. Naples was nothing to be impressed with. We only stayed off the boat for about an hour and couldn't wait to get back on. We did however do a gre4at excursion to Pompeii earlier in the day.

[island lady]

It will be very warm that time of year and into full tourist mode, but you will LOVE it. We were there the first week of June twice in the last 3 years. I adore the port towns of both countries. Very romantic!! :)

 

I am most envious of you being fluent in both lanquages. I only know a few words to get us by on, but was it was no real problem. Most of the ports you visit gain their euros from the tourists which include many english speaking visitors.

 

I am still dreaming of mule e frite (my bad french) with a chilled bottle of dry rose' for lunch in one of the cafe's....sigh. Heaven. :D

 

Cheers!

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

I had heard that it will almost cost you the price of the excursion just to arrange your own transportation to the cities. You might want to check into that.

 

Really?? Wow. I only looked at some ballpark figures that might have been outdated -- I will certainly do some more research on that. Thanks for the tip! And I agree about Naples . . . not Italy's finest gem. :p

 

Island Lady, I know what you mean about the Mediterranean cuisine! Makes my mouth water just thinking of it. :) Just curious, though . . . did you have the Belgian-style moule et frites with the mussels served in the shell in a big black kettle, or were they cooked Provencal style?

[navel1ring]

We did the Splendour Med last October. It was fabulous. Somewhere on the Europe Board I have done a review of all the ports of call. I think it was titles Splendour of the Seas October 23, if you are interested. I'll also be happy to answer any questions.

 

Wendy

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

Thanks for the tip, Wendy! I'll go check it out. :)

[island lady]

Really?? Wow. I only looked at some ballpark figures that might have been outdated -- I will certainly do some more research on that. Thanks for the tip! And I agree about Naples . . . not Italy's finest gem. :p

 

Island Lady' date=' I know what you mean about the Mediterranean cuisine! Makes my mouth water just thinking of it. :) Just curious, though . . . did you have the Belgian-style moule et frites with the mussels served in the shell in a big black kettle, or were they cooked Provencal style?

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Ahh..Merci!! I knew I was spelling that wrong!!

 

My moule et frites were the Belgian style, as I am assuming it was, since they were indeed with shell on in a huge black kettle with the white wine. It made it's own creamy sauce. Soooo delicious!! And not expensive at all!

 

We also did a wonderful dinner of one of those fantastic "boats" with all the steamed and fresh seafood piled up in it. WOW!! Was that ever fantatastic! Also paired up with a bottle of chilled dry rose' as we watched the sunset over the harbor. I felt completely spoiled!! :D

That was the day of my birthday celebration, and the best one ever!

 

Cheers!

[WeBeCruisin']

We'll be taking our fifth cruise in Europe in July and have learned that, if at all possible, arriving a day early makes all the difference in the world. That way, you don't have the stress of making all your airport connections on time, and you have a chance to sleep off your jet lag so that you can board the ship nice and early and enjoy the departure day instead of being exhausted and/or sleeping away most of the day in your cabin. Also, an extra day at the end of your cruise allows you to enjoy the port city while you're still nice and relaxed and it helps to transition from cruise life to airport hassles.

 

Allen

[Cruiser Forever]

You are going to love it!! We've done the Mediterranean cruise three times and will do it again without a doubt. The Mediterranean is absolutely beautiful. We cruised with RCI all three times {1999, 2001, 2004} Go and enjoy!!!!!!! :D

[island lady]

We'll be taking our fifth cruise in Europe in July and have learned that' date=' if at all possible, arriving a day early makes all the difference in the world. That way, you don't have the stress of making all your airport connections on time, and you have a chance to sleep off your jet lag so that you can board the ship nice and early and enjoy the departure day instead of being exhausted and/or sleeping away most of the day in your cabin. Also, an extra day at the end of your cruise allows you to enjoy the port city while you're still nice and relaxed and it helps to transition from cruise life to airport hassles.

 

Allen[/quote']

 

That is exactly what we do for the same reason. This last time we not only went a day early for the refreshment session, but stayed post cruise for 3 days in La Grande Motte, South of Montpellier. What a great place!

 

Cheers!

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

This last time we not only went a day early for the refreshment session, but stayed post cruise for 3 days in La Grande Motte, South of Montpellier. What a great place!

 

Ooh, how cool! That's an area of France that I'm not familiar with but have always wanted to explore. And Belgian style mussels . . . YUM!!! I worked in Brussels one summer and I think I ate my own weight in them. :p

 

AAAAAH this is getting me so excited for our cruise!! It's not until November, in fact I'm taking at least six other trips before then . . . but MAN am I looking forward to this one. We even got an aft Junior Suite, so we get to watch the Mediterranean glide past us on both sides . . . heaven. :D

[island lady]

Ooh' date=' how cool! That's an area of France that I'm not familiar with but have always wanted to explore. And Belgian style mussels . . . YUM!!! I worked in Brussels one summer and I think I ate my own weight in them. :p

 

AAAAAH this is getting me so excited for our cruise!! It's not until November, in fact I'm taking at least six other trips before then . . . but MAN am I looking forward to this one. We even got an aft Junior Suite, so we get to watch the Mediterranean glide past us on both sides . . . heaven. :D

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Oh...my...gosh!!! Now I am sooooo envious!! :D

 

My soul is still calling out to return to the South of France....sigh...

If you get a chance to visit La Grande Motte, you will love it. Though I am not sure I have ever met a med port I did not like!! :D

Cheers!

[wwinfl91]

We left for our first Med cruise in 2003 from Barcelona on the Golden Princess. We did several of the same ports you are doing, Livorno, Naples, Athens and Kusadasi. We did Monte Carlo instead of Nice but you can see some of the same things from both ports.

 

Almost all European cruises are very port intensive and will keep you busy. We did private tours with 3 other couples we met on the cruise boards in Monte Carlo, Livorno and Naples. We did ship tours in Athens and Kusadasi. The ship tours were alright but the private tours were a lot better. With fewer people it is easier to go and do what you want to do. You don't spend large amounts of time waiting for people to board the bus or to get back to the bus. If you can find others to go with the costs for private tours can often end up about the same as ship tours that go similar places but you will see more and get to spend more time in the places you want to see with the private tours.

 

Expect to be shocked with the prices in Europe. It has gotten worse since we were there in July of 2003 with the euro to dollar exchange rate. The extra cost may be one of the biggest differences between the Caribbean cruises you have taken before and a European cruise. Everything that you get cheaper than in the US in the Caribbean will probably be higher in the Med. The only place that took dollars when we were there was Turkey. I don't know if that is still the case now as Turkey is trying to get into the European Union and the tour guides and shops may be wanting euros more than dollars. When we were there they took dollars or euros as equals even though the exchange rate was $1.23 or so dollars to 1 euro.

 

There is so much to see in the Med and in the ports you are going to be visiting that you will do really well to see a few highlights in each port and figure if you want to see more plan on going back.

 

Check out the Europe port of calls board in Cruise critic for a lot more specific information about the places you are going to be visiting.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[island lady]

One of our favorite things to do was to just walk around the small towns and cities of the ports right off the cruise ship. It is amazing what you will find if you get off the so called "beaten" path.

Even just doing the favorite "locals" thing, having an espresso or a glass of wine while people watching from a small cafe' is total relaxation and a joy.

Perhaps the phrase "stop and smell the flowers" was coined in that area?

They most definately have the flowers to show for it!

Cheers!