Disloyal to Carnival? Newbie to RC with questions.

[SailingGrace]

I've sailed Carnival- and love them. But I've been there and done that and last cruise I found myself bored and wishing I was home.

 

And I have two more cruises with them in '12. Another Imagination in January and Elation in April (new one for me).

 

So I've just booked the Mariner of the Seas, 12 day Holy Land cruise in May.

 

But 12 days.... 3-4 days on Carnival and I'm bored. I'm traveling with a 17 year old so it's as if I'm traveling alone. How is the teen program?

 

Any tips or advice for a newbie aboard RC for the first time? Or Rome for that matter? We'd like to fly to Europe a week or so in advance and see Paris and London before we head to the ship.

 

Anyone ever done this?

 

Thanks!

[CedarburgCruiser]

Teen programs are good (at least in the Caribbean) with RCCL. Have a daughter who is 13 and a step son 19 that both enjoyed the teen programs.

 

Going early to Europe is always a good idea if for nothing else getting over the jet lag.

 

Have not done Europe personally myself but am looking forward to doing it once the kids are moved out.

[jebuell]

Elation and Paradise are the same ship, different colors.

 

To not get bored I'd load your laptop up with movies and your Kindle up with books. Then plan to get off at every port to mix things up a bit.

[Paulxyz2004]

I´m not sure how to answer your question, as I can´t imagine being bored or wishing myself back home. :o

Having said that, I´m a person who loves to be on Transatlantic cruises with many seadays in a row and not participating in any of the ships activities.

 

In my experience Med cruises are always very port intensive, so you might have chosen a good itinerary for you, as you don´t have to spend much time on the ship.

 

I don´t know anything about carnival, but I would expect about similar onboard activities.

 

If you are really bored after 3-4 days and wish yourself home, I´d say and please this is not meant as a flame, it might really be the time to change things up a bit, by either change cruiselines, or maybe just skip the cruise part entirely for a trip or two. Cruising is not the only way to travel and sometimes changing things up a bit gives you a new perspective on things again.

[baggal]

I can't imagine being bored on a Med. cruise - exhausted, yes - but never bored. Start researching the ports and what you'd like to see and do on excursions. If that doesn't get you excited, then maybe you really don't want to cruise!

[Paulxyz2004]

Getting over a week early is certainly a good idea, but I would not try to get three pre-stops into a week, as you have to take into account the time you will need to get from London to Paris and Paris to Rome.

 

Now each of these stops are worth visiting, though my personal opinion would be to skip Paris for the above mentioned matter.

 

Out of the three my personal highlight would be Rome. It´s a city where you can spend quite some time easily. The sights within the city center including the Vatican are easily walkable and you can get around on your own quite well. Of course there are many tours offered in the city as well.

 

The ship will be docked in Civitaveccia, a small city about an hour north of Rome. To get there you can take the train, which would not be an option for me with luggage, but others have done it. Or you can google some limo companies and get a car reserved to pick you up from Hotel and get you to the ship.

[SailingGrace]

Thanks everyone for your replies so far.

I totally understand that a cruise is what you make of it. That's why I've opted to venture to the Europe/Holy Lands.... I think I've done the Caribbean enough, for now.

 

We plan on arriving 2 weeks before the cruise to tour the other parts of Europe....we'll work our way down to Rome for the cruise and then fly out afterwards.

 

I'll start searching... it feels overwhelming. It's just me and my teen daughter and I don't know where to start... I guess just one step at a time. First, where do we fly TO? Then take it one city at a time, right?

 

Thanks everyone!

 

But please, keep the advice coming.

[cb at sea]

I think you'll find that the older the teen, the less they will use the "teen activities"....at 17, teens tend to do their own thing more often than not.

[Bakincakes]

I'm not sure if a longer cruise is for you if you get bored after 3-4 days.

 

Was it just that you were on Carnival and felt that it was the same old same old?

[kassimer1]

DS 16 loved royals teen club. He said it was much better than carnivals. so your DD should have a good time.

[hollon]

You and your daughter will love the "Mariner", I have four kids and they took their first cruise in 2009 and still to this day they talk about their trip, so we have another one planned in May. My sister went on carnival and wish she was home and hated the ship (was an older ship) I knew she was going to hate it before she left, I told her to go on Royal Caribbean. I think doing the 12 day is exciting, going somewhere besides the caribbean and has so much history is so different and yes get off every port and enjoy something that the us doesn't have. Enjoy, relax, meet people and go to all the events, contest, shows that are available and maybe you won't be bored, hope this helps some :)

[pcur]

Thanks everyone for your replies so far.

I totally understand that a cruise is what you make of it. That's why I've opted to venture to the Europe/Holy Lands.... I think I've done the Caribbean enough, for now.

 

We plan on arriving 2 weeks before the cruise to tour the other parts of Europe....we'll work our way down to Rome for the cruise and then fly out afterwards.

 

I'll start searching... it feels overwhelming. It's just me and my teen daughter and I don't know where to start... I guess just one step at a time. First, where do we fly TO? Then take it one city at a time, right?

 

Thanks everyone!

 

But please, keep the advice coming.

 

We have cruised several times in Europe, and each time added sightseeing before or after the cruise. Next one for us is next April, and we will be in the UK for a week after.

 

I always book us to fly into London Heathrow. It's very easy to get into London, and I just found a shuttle service a few days ago that goes from Heathrow to hundreds of hotels. Ours was 17GBP per person door-to-door.

 

To see a lot of London, and get outside of London easily without a car, I would suggest staying near London Victoria. If you are economizing in any way, then you can easily take the National Express bus from Heathrow directly into the coach station about a block from the London Victoria tube station.

 

You can go just about anywhere in London on the underground railway, the Tube. Also, across the street is the bus station that goes to Windsor. There are several tours available, some including Stonehenge.

 

To go to Paris, I'd suggest you take the Chunnel train (Eurostar), and then stay in Paris.

 

To fly to other parts of Europe we use Easyjet. It's like the Southwest of Europe.

 

However, I've noticed lately that British Airways is starting to compete on the short hop flights, and they don't charge extra for luggage, check-in, etc. I'm looking at them for our Barcelona-London flight after our cruise next April. So, you could fly out of any of the London airports, Luton, Stansted, Gatwick, and go to just about anywhere in Europe. There are trains and buses that connect London to these aiports.

 

Here are some links to get you started:

 

London Tube - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/

 

National Express bus (very effecient and easy to use) - http://www.nationalexpress.com/home/hp.cfm

 

Chunnel train to Paris: http://www.chunneltrainlondonparis.com/

 

All kinds of tours everywhere, including Windsor: http://www.viator.com/

 

Eurorail: http://www.eurail.com/home

[DiamondSuiteCruiser]

The Mariner is a great ship, with specialty dinning (Chops, Portafino, & Johnny Rockets), Ice skating shows, and the 17 yr old will be able to go ice skating, play miniture golf, basketball, Rock Climing wall, & they have great parades.There will be lots to do. We never get bored, even on the longer cruises. I think you will love your cruise. I loved Europe. We lived in Germany for three years and England for two, we did a lot of sight seeing. You will make/have memories of a life time! ENJOY!

[skandls]

You are planning a very busy trip. A few warning words - many of the European airlines (eg Paris to Rome) have very strict baggage regulations. (Extra bag and over weights charges are very expensive). You need to plan your transit between cities very carefully. If you take trains you will probably have to handle your luggage yourselves. We like to take local transit - so when we got to Paris we took the train and metro to our left bank hotel. Big mistake - lots and lots of stairs (DH had to carry our 'big' suitcases up several flights). We should have taken a taxi.

 

You should have a great trip - just lots of planning needed.

[old sole]

We have cruised several times in Europe, and each time added sightseeing before or after the cruise. Next one for us is next April, and we will be in the UK for a week after.

 

I always book us to fly into London Heathrow. It's very easy to get into London, and I just found a shuttle service a few days ago that goes from Heathrow to hundreds of hotels. Ours was 17GBP per person door-to-door.

 

To see a lot of London, and get outside of London easily without a car, I would suggest staying near London Victoria. If you are economizing in any way, then you can easily take the National Express bus from Heathrow directly into the coach station about a block from the London Victoria tube station.

 

You can go just about anywhere in London on the underground railway, the Tube. Also, across the street is the bus station that goes to Windsor. There are several tours available, some including Stonehenge.

 

To go to Paris, I'd suggest you take the Chunnel train (Eurostar), and then stay in Paris.

 

To fly to other parts of Europe we use Easyjet. It's like the Southwest of Europe.

 

However, I've noticed lately that British Airways is starting to compete on the short hop flights, and they don't charge extra for luggage, check-in, etc. I'm looking at them for our Barcelona-London flight after our cruise next April. So, you could fly out of any of the London airports, Luton, Stansted, Gatwick, and go to just about anywhere in Europe. There are trains and buses that connect London to these aiports.

 

+1 on this post. Excellent suggestions.

 

I would add that we stayed for a week at a terrific & affordable hotel just 1/2 block from the National Express Bus Station mentioned above. Its the Lime Tree Hotel http://www.limetreehotel.co.uk/, family run by some very nice people who are experts on points of interest in London and exactly the best way to get there, whether by tube, bus, or taxi (or walk). See if room #12 is available, its the only ground floor room and has a semi-private interior courtyard & garden (also accessible from the dining room but we never had anyone else out there but us.)

 

From there, you are an easy walk to a number of restaurants and Victoria Station for trains or the tube (and a shopping mall).

[Marysunshine]

Thanks everyone for your replies so far.

I totally understand that a cruise is what you make of it. That's why I've opted to venture to the Europe/Holy Lands.... I think I've done the Caribbean enough, for now.

 

We plan on arriving 2 weeks before the cruise to tour the other parts of Europe....we'll work our way down to Rome for the cruise and then fly out afterwards.

 

I'll start searching... it feels overwhelming. It's just me and my teen daughter and I don't know where to start... I guess just one step at a time. First, where do we fly TO? Then take it one city at a time, right?

 

Thanks everyone!

 

But please, keep the advice coming.

 

 

Well I'll be traveling with my granddaughter on the Navigator and I don't expect we'll have time to be bored. Too much to see in Rome, and I've already made our plans for the other ports. Planning is half the fun.

[SAS21]

I took the same cruise in may. We spent 4 days in Rome pre-cruise and hired a private van to get us to the port in Cvitecchia, which is about an hour drive. This is a very port intensive cruise with only 4 sea days and we used those days to relax. The excursions take most of the day because you travel inland, most of the major sites to see are at least 45 minutes to an hour inland, especially in Israel.

[lovevacadays]

I don't think you are disloyal. I can't imagine being bored by the 3rd or 4th day of a cruise but if you are experiencing that it's time to make a change and try something new. I haven't sailed RCI in quite some time but my understanding is that it would be very difficult to get bored on their ships.