Mediterranean Cruise Review With LOTS of Pictures!!!

[stacycakes1]

I just recently posted my review of our cruise on the Carnival page but thought it might be helpful to some of you here in the Italian Ports area. It is heavily focused on the ports and not the ship.

 

Here is the link to the review if you would like to check it out....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1597451&highlight=magic

 

Hope this helps some of you with your planning or at least gets you pumped for your upcoming vacations!!!

[Scottygirl1]

Wow Stacey - I am up to page 5 but will look at the rest later. Great so far. You convey the fun of travel which is what is important!! We have been to most of these places but are off again soon so thanks for that great post.

[bobalink]

Great photos and FUN.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[cruise kitty]

Great pictures! It looks like you had so much fun, thanks for posting!

[Pushka]

Its a fantastic report and amazing photos. I'm confused with the wait times you mentioned though, as many people here have confirmed that pre purchased tickets does avoid the lengthy queue so I'm just :confused:

[samavarcruiser]

Thank you so very much for sharing this with us, loved your pictures and congratulations again :)

[stacycakes1]

Its a fantastic report and amazing photos. I'm confused with the wait times you mentioned though, as many people here have confirmed that pre purchased tickets does avoid the lengthy queue so I'm just :confused:

 

 

We were confused at first too after reading the threads on here! Our drivers told us the week we were there was so far the busiest week they had yet that summer and there were so many people who had also pre purchased their tickets it backed up the ticket holder lines as well. The Vatican was so bad the day we went that just walking through the museum was like a huge slow moving line. If you hadn't pre-purchased a ticket you didn't even stand a chance to get in and the line for people with tickets was outragous. The same went for the David. The other places weren't as bad but some did have a little bit of a wait even if you already had a ticket. Just be prepared that it may be something you have to deal with. It may not happen often but because many people are prepurchasing tickets now it could end up being a large line unfortunately.

 

Not the best news but I hope it helps with your plans!

[stacycakes1]

Thank you all and glad you are enjoying it and I hope it is helpful! I gained so much from others who posted there reviews before we went and wanted to give back:)

[hylasgirl]

Great review! Thanks for posting!

[huntwc]

Stacey congratulations on your marriage, you are a beautiful couple! Thank you so much for doing this, we are going to Italy and Spain in July with our 2 teens and are using RIL for 3 tours! You have gotten me so excited about it!!!! I too plan to wear sundresses, I figure it will be hot and they will be so comfortable...what did you wear on your feet?

 

Again, you are so kind to share your wonderful honeymoon with us!!

[stacycakes1]

Stacey congratulations on your marriage, you are a beautiful couple! Thank you so much for doing this, we are going to Italy and Spain in July with our 2 teens and are using RIL for 3 tours! You have gotten me so excited about it!!!! I too plan to wear sundresses, I figure it will be hot and they will be so comfortable...what did you wear on your feet?

 

Again, you are so kind to share your wonderful honeymoon with us!!

 

 

Great question! I was SO concerned about my feet when preparing for the trip. So many people have said to get special shoes that are supportive and can handle the rough cobblestone streets. So, I went out and bought a couple different types of sandals that were supportive from places like Naturalizer.

 

The funny thing is I ended up wearing my flip flops most of the time! People were correct, the streets are a bit more "cobbly" but I didn't find them as hard to manouver as what was expressed (that is just my opinion though. Keep in mind I am from the city where I walk all day, everyday and hardly ever drive anywhere so I am use to it).

 

I would plan on packing whatever you find to be the most comfortable for you when you have to be on your feet that much.

 

Hope that is helpful:)

[samavarcruiser]

We were confused at first too after reading the threads on here! Our drivers told us the week we were there was so far the busiest week they had yet that summer and there were so many people who had also pre purchased their tickets it backed up the ticket holder lines as well. The Vatican was so bad the day we went that just walking through the museum was like a huge slow moving line. If you hadn't pre-purchased a ticket you didn't even stand a chance to get in and the line for people with tickets was outragous. The same went for the David. The other places weren't as bad but some did have a little bit of a wait even if you already had a ticket. Just be prepared that it may be something you have to deal with. It may not happen often but because many people are prepurchasing tickets now it could end up being a large line unfortunately.

 

Not the best news but I hope it helps with your plans!

 

I can't immagine how busy Rome can get in July

[hylasgirl]

I just recently posted my review of our cruise on the Carnival page but thought it might be helpful to some of you here in the Italian Ports area. It is heavily focused on the ports and not the ship.

 

Here is the link to the review if you would like to check it out....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1597451&highlight=magic

 

Hope this helps some of you with your planning or at least gets you pumped for your upcoming vacations!!!

 

 

LOVE LOVE LOVE all the photos of Paris. It's my most favorite city in the world also!

[t60]

snip.... I too plan to wear sundresses, I figure it will be hot and they will be so comfortable...what did you wear on your feet?snip...

 

Spain and Italy in July can and probably will be scorching. Make sure you slap on lots of factor 50 sunscreen, take along some water, wet wipes or a damp flannel in a ziplock and a fan (they will be readily available in Spain for just a few Euros). Perhaps a small foot refresher spray and some plasters (just in case) If you´re planning to visit churches in Italy you´ll need something to put round your shoulders.

 

Sandy in Spain

[chelles24]

Awesome pictures and great review!

 

Which Marriott did you stay at in Barcelona?

[puablo]

Stacy, that was an excellent review, with fantastic pictures. I had only one question on your RIL tours - for your Pisa/Florence day, how long did you have in Florence? I'm going in a couple months and was just planning to take our cruise's bus to Florence (5 hours in town), but after seeing your day I'm considering joining my roll call's RIL tour to Pisa/Florence. Did you have a lot of time in town?

[samavarcruiser]

Stacy, that was an excellent review, with fantastic pictures. I had only one question on your RIL tours - for your Pisa/Florence day, how long did you have in Florence? I'm going in a couple months and was just planning to take our cruise's bus to Florence (5 hours in town), but after seeing your day I'm considering joining my roll call's RIL tour to Pisa/Florence. Did you have a lot of time in town?

 

I guess it depends how long you will be in Pisa, traffic etc ....

[shareen3]

Your review was fantastic!

 

I leave on Friday for my short Med Cruise from Barcelona & I actually booked a tour with R.I.L due to your review.

 

A few questions - they might have been asked/answered on your actually review but it is so long now I figured to just ask on here:

 

-What kind of footwear did you wear in Rome? Everyone says "comfortable" but I'm comfortable in sandals & just want to make sure I will make it the whole tour without my feet hating me.

-Did you feel rushed at all during the Tour? My main concerns are seeing Vatican City, Trevi Fountain & the Colosseum.

-For the Vatican, you used the R.I.L provided Guide - I am thinking about doing the same. Did you feel it was worth the extra cost?

[stacycakes1]

Stacy, that was an excellent review, with fantastic pictures. I had only one question on your RIL tours - for your Pisa/Florence day, how long did you have in Florence? I'm going in a couple months and was just planning to take our cruise's bus to Florence (5 hours in town), but after seeing your day I'm considering joining my roll call's RIL tour to Pisa/Florence. Did you have a lot of time in town?

 

We had a TON of time in Florence. The majority of the day was spent there actually, even more then 5 hours, and we still had time for Pisa and the vinyard tour. The great thing about RIL is if Florence is what you want to see that day and where you want to spend most of your time you just tell the driver and he will make the schedule based on your wants and needs.

We wanted to do a few different things when we were there and had a good idea of what we wanted to see and our driver said "sure, we can do all of that" and even added the suggestion of stoppiing at the vinyard which we took. If we had said we want to spend the whole day in Florence though he would have said sure and we would have done that instead.

They are super flexible and think of themselve more as drivers for the day that take you where you want to go and not tour guides on a set schedule. They do have suggestions and we usually took them, who knows better than the guys you do the tours daily.

We only spent 1/2 hour in Pisa by the way, there is not much more time needed there because all you can do is take some pictures. More time there woudl have been very boring and a waste.

I think you wwould be very happy if you chose to go with RIL!

[stacycakes1]

Your review was fantastic!

 

I leave on Friday for my short Med Cruise from Barcelona & I actually booked a tour with R.I.L due to your review.

 

A few questions - they might have been asked/answered on your actually review but it is so long now I figured to just ask on here:

 

-What kind of footwear did you wear in Rome? Everyone says "comfortable" but I'm comfortable in sandals & just want to make sure I will make it the whole tour without my feet hating me.

-Did you feel rushed at all during the Tour? My main concerns are seeing Vatican City, Trevi Fountain & the Colosseum.

-For the Vatican, you used the R.I.L provided Guide - I am thinking about doing the same. Did you feel it was worth the extra cost?

 

Hello! Here are the answers to your questions:)

 

-What kind of footwear did you wear in Rome? Everyone says "comfortable" but I'm comfortable in sandals & just want to make sure I will make it the whole tour without my feet hating me.

When you here "comfortable" it is exactly correct. I was SO concerned about my feet when preparing for the trip. So many people have said to get special shoes that are supportive and can handle the rough cobblestone streets. So, I went out and bought a couple different types of sandals that were supportive from places like Naturalizer.

The funny thing is I ended up wearing my flip flops most of the time! People were correct, the streets are a bit more "cobbly" but I didn't find them as hard to manouver as what was expressed (that is just my opinion though. Keep in mind I am from the city where I walk all day, everyday and hardly ever drive anywhere so I am use to being on my feet).

I would plan on packing whatever you find to be the most comfortable for you when you have to be on your feet that much and if that is sandals then go for sandals. It is no different then spending a day at a place like Disney or other adventure park, lots of walking and standing in lines. I probably would have been the most comfortable in running shoes to be honest but didn't want to give in %100 for fashion reasons:)

 

-Did you feel rushed at all during the Tour? My main concerns are seeing Vatican City, Trevi Fountain & the Colosseum.

No, we never felt rushed. The driver would get to a destination and say "the typical time here is 30 minutes. Let's try to meet back at the van at this time." Then he would give us a cell phone to call him if we decided we wanted to stay longer somewhere like the collisseum.

We never needed to call because his time limits were always right. They really have it down to a science and we never felt rushed and always stuck to the time frames. It was always exactly enough time to get a good feel of what we were looking at andthen feel comfortable moving on.

The only placed that was difficult to manuver was the Vatican. (This will actually answer your next question as well). The guide was %100 worth it here because she knew what there was to see and pushed through the crowds to be sure we had enough time to get to the end and see the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. I think on a less crowded day this would have been easier to acheive but the inside of the Vatican was SO packed she had to make sure we kept moving. She was great though and I would not have enjoyed my timeas much there without her. She explained SO much and gave such detail it made the experience something I will never forget. DEFINITELY worth every penny!

[shareen3]

Thank you SO much :D You have been beyond helpful and now I'm really looking forward to my tour with them.

[Missiris21]

Thank you for sharing your post, I can't wait to read through the whole thing. I'm stuck trying to understand what RIL stands for? Is this a tourist company used outside of the cruise ship? I don't really care for the tours offered by Carnival for our Med. Cruise I'd like to see Pisa and spend more time doiong wine tasting in Tuscany Vineyards. Any sugguestions?

 

Thank you!

[puablo]

Thank you for sharing your post, I can't wait to read through the whole thing. I'm stuck trying to understand what RIL stands for? Is this a tourist company used outside of the cruise ship? I don't really care for the tours offered by Carnival for our Med. Cruise I'd like to see Pisa and spend more time doiong wine tasting in Tuscany Vineyards. Any sugguestions?

 

Thank you!

 

You probably found this by now in her (incredible!) review, but it stands for Rome In Limo. Cruise Critic is kinda picky about posting website links, but it's pretty easy to find. I actually just cancelled my ship's Florence on your own bus transportation in lieu of joining a Rome In Limo trip after reading this review and realizing I can still see Pisa without sacrificing too much time in Florence. Crossing my fingers that we'll have time for a Tuscan winery...

[hylasgirl]

Thank you for sharing your post, I can't wait to read through the whole thing. I'm stuck trying to understand what RIL stands for? Is this a tourist company used outside of the cruise ship? I don't really care for the tours offered by Carnival for our Med. Cruise I'd like to see Pisa and spend more time doiong wine tasting in Tuscany Vineyards. Any sugguestions?

 

Thank you!

 

 

Haha... I think most people get tired of typing out Romeinlimo, so they just put RIL on a lot of postings :)

 

I had THEEEE best day wine tasting outside of Lucca on our last Med cruise from the Livorno stop. We stopped by Pisa first thing in the morning since the vineyards weren't open yet. Then we traveled into Lucca and had coffee on the square there... wandered a bit and then headed onto the Montecarlo wine road that is nearby. It's a fabulous day that doesn't all take place in the car/van, which I love. My favorite of the 3 vineyards was Fattoria di Fubbiano. It was just gorgeous. It was truly one of the best tours we've taken with Romeinlimo. I highly suggest it.

[Missiris21]

Okay thank you so much! I'm going to look into RIL (Romeinalimo) :) I really want to go wine tasting but I don't want to say I didn't see Pisa when I was in Italy :)