Mediterranean Cruise Review With LOTS of Pictures!!!

[hylasgirl]

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?

 

 

You know... if you are comfortable in sandals, wear sandals. I can wear flip flops all day and be at my best (at times) and my husband would be crippled if he were to do that. Wear what is best for many hours on your feet. What's comfortable for one person won't be comfortable for you.

 

We loved our Romeinlimo guides for the Vatican. I think it's worth every penny. Especially if you haven't been. There is SOOOO much to see (and when you do you'll understand) that it's nice to have someone tell you a little about what you are seeing... otherwise you sort of get overwhelmed by it all.

 

Enjoy! You are going to love the cruise and Romeinlimo. You truly will have such a great time.

 

I'm leaving TODAY!!!! WOohOooo! I have Romeinlimo for 3 tours again and cannot wait! :D

[hylasgirl]

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...

 

 

You won't be sacrificing much time at all. It's a really nice stop and it's pretty much on the way. Yes, if you haven't seen Florence, it's definitely the place you should go. I adore Florence! I did the wine trip last year because I had just done an extensive land trip. I do think with another day trip that I will have to show my husband the Montecarlo wine road. I think he truly missed out not going last year with me. This year we don't cruise north of Rome, so no Livorno stop for me. Enjoy!

[stacycakes1]

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!

 

 

RIL stands for Rome in Limo. It is a private touring company that is amazing and is located in many Italian ports. The great thing about them is you can pair up with other cruisers to lower prices of your tours. If you can find the magic number of 8 people you will only pay an average of 70 Euros per person per tour (including tip). You can match up with other cruisers on your roll call or RIL has a site that pairs you up with other people also.

[stacycakes1]

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...

 

SO glad you are changing tours! You will actually get more time wiht RIL then you realize. The tour that says 5 hours on the cruise lines includes travel time so you probably would have only gotten 3 hours there in reality if you had went with them. With RIL you will get so much more time especially becasue they have VIP access to a lot of things and have the day timed to a tee so you don't miss things. You will not regret it. Have a great time and come back and tell us how it went:)

[mary k]

I loved your entire trip report...amazing. The pictures were lovely....the journey looked great.

 

Can I ask a few question for your stop in Naples.... We too want to do the Amalfi Coast on our stop in Naples.... Were you rushed having stopped in so many places and stopped for lunch? also you mentioned there lots of shopping in each place...is there a specific location you found to have more shopping over the others.... Do you bargain? or were they set prices? Also I know you booked thru RIL...how many were on your excursion, do you mind me asking what it cost approx.? thanks! we are leaving in 16 days for our Eastern Med cruise...can't wait

[DrmnOfMaui]

Thanks for posting on this board!! I love cruise reviews, and especially ones with lots of photos. I write a food blog, and you did a fabulous job on the food pics!! My favorite is that picnic under the Eiffel Tower! That grass was so green. Congratulations to you both! May this just be the beginning of your travels.:)

[Waihekean]

Excellent idea Tracey! to post your review here on the Ports of Call forum.

 

Have read your whole review for my day dreaming today. Like you, I also love reviews with photo's. Especially the ones that go to most of the places I am going.:)

 

Have a cruise this year with my mother and DH said if he ever will do a cruise it has to be to the Med. So, a couple a weeks ago we booked his one for next year. It happens to be the same itinerary, but I don't care, will be having double the excitement.:D

[kickballpro]

Stacy, you're beautiful by the way, if you were to do it all over again, which ports would have DIY and which ports are MUST HAVE excursions?

 

Also, which ports are there buy at the dock tours?

 

Thanks

[stacycakes1]

I loved your entire trip report...amazing. The pictures were lovely....the journey looked great.

 

Can I ask a few question for your stop in Naples.... We too want to do the Amalfi Coast on our stop in Naples.... Were you rushed having stopped in so many places and stopped for lunch? also you mentioned there lots of shopping in each place...is there a specific location you found to have more shopping over the others.... Do you bargain? or were they set prices? Also I know you booked thru RIL...how many were on your excursion, do you mind me asking what it cost approx.? thanks! we are leaving in 16 days for our Eastern Med cruise...can't wait

 

Here are the answers to your questions, happy sailing!

 

Were you rushed having stopped in so many places and stopped for lunch?

 

We didn't feel rushed but we did know what to expect because we were the ones who chose our schedule. We didn't have a TON of time in each place but did get ample time to explore, shop and get a feel for each place. RIL does cater to your needs so if you say you want to do more shopping then hitting each sccheduled place they will gladly rearrange things for you.

 

Is there a specific location you found to have more shopping over the others.... Do you bargain? or were they set prices?

 

It depends on what kind of shopping you are talking about. We were looking for more souvenior type stuff and specialty foods and wines and the best stop for that stuff was Sorrento. Palermo had some of that stuff also but had more of the expensive Italian clothing, jewelery, etc... We had the least amount of time in Ravella and didn't even go up into the villiage and decided to hang out at the beach there so I can't really say about that stop. We aren't always bargaining kind of people so I am not sure how shop keepers handle that. We did noticed that all over Italy the prices were pretty consistant for similuar items if that makes a difference.

 

Also I know you booked thru RIL...how many were on your excursion, do you mind me asking what it cost approx.?

 

There were 8 of us and it cost about 75 euro a person (this is including our drivers tip).

[stacycakes1]

Stacy, you're beautiful by the way, if you were to do it all over again, which ports would have DIY and which ports are MUST HAVE excursions?

 

Also, which ports are there buy at the dock tours?

 

Thanks

 

I think we chose perfectly on our cruise and would stick with Monacco and Sicily as DIYs and tours in Florence, Rome and Amalfi Coast.

[scrappydoo]

Hi stacycakes1,

Great review and pics! I only got through about half the pages so far!

 

I'm cruising on Ruby Princess in about a month, and was thinking about going through Rome in Limo. How did you get them to purchase all your tickets before hand? On their website, it says we have to pre-book our tickets on our own and price does not include admission to the sites.

 

It's my first time to Europe and I usually plan WAY in advanced. Having booked just a few days ago, I'm totally overwhelmed and paralyzed with all the places I want to see and who to book tours with.

 

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Deb

[mary k]

thank you.....we will be there in 2 weeks on our med cruise.....cant wait. your info was helpful...

[Cornishpastyman1]

It's my first time to Europe and I usually plan WAY in advanced. Having booked just a few days ago, I'm totally overwhelmed and paralyzed with all the places I want to see and who to book tours with.

 

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Deb

Hi Deb

I'm not Stacy but if it's any help here are a few videos from a couple of Med cruises http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1633637

All the best, Tony

[stacycakes1]

Hi stacycakes1,

Great review and pics! I only got through about half the pages so far!

 

I'm cruising on Ruby Princess in about a month, and was thinking about going through Rome in Limo. How did you get them to purchase all your tickets before hand? On their website, it says we have to pre-book our tickets on our own and price does not include admission to the sites.

 

It's my first time to Europe and I usually plan WAY in advanced. Having booked just a few days ago, I'm totally overwhelmed and paralyzed with all the places I want to see and who to book tours with.

 

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Deb

 

We actually had to purchase tickets ourselves also online ahead of time. The only tickets RIL helped us with was getting the reservation for the Accademia in Florence, but that was just the reservation, we still had to purchase the tickets.

 

Here are the sites we went to to purchase tickets (don't forget to check on there website for the times RIL suggests to by the tickets for):

 

Florence

Uffizi or Accademia are the two places you may want to buy tickets for but you can only make a reservation. RIL does not make these reservations anymore but you can make them for yourself by calling them directly at 011 39 055 294883. I think they suggest booking the reservation after 11:00am

 

Rome

You can book your vatican tickets at http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/index.html

 

You can book your colleseum tickets at http://www.ticketclic.it/Gb/HTML/musei/colosseo.cfm

 

Besides these two ports, we didn't need tickets for anywhere else. The only other place I got tickets for was Paris and all of those can be purchased online as well.

 

Hope this helps a bit!

[scrappydoo]

Hi Tony and Stacycakes,

 

Thank you so much for sharing and taking time out to make those awesome videos Tony (I can't imagine being there, I would think I would feel a bit overwhelmed...it's almost a dream) and to write your wonderful review Stacycakes. I appreciate all your help!

 

Deb

[scrappydoo]

Hi Stacy,

 

I have three tours set up with RIL since reading your review! I am super excited to be leaving for Europe in three weeks. :D

 

Because this is my first time in Europe, and I'm trying to plan out how much cash (Euros) to bring for my RIL tours... I have no clue what the tipping practices are in the Mediterranean. I have read so many differing opinions, I'm so confused.

 

Can I ask you, how much did you tip the drivers/tour guides on your RIL tours?? I am with RIL for Livorno, Rome, and Naples... thanks so much for any guidance you can give me!

 

Thanks!

Deb

[stacycakes1]

Hi Stacy,

 

I have three tours set up with RIL since reading your review! I am super excited to be leaving for Europe in three weeks. :D

 

Because this is my first time in Europe, and I'm trying to plan out how much cash (Euros) to bring for my RIL tours... I have no clue what the tipping practices are in the Mediterranean. I have read so many differing opinions, I'm so confused.

 

Can I ask you, how much did you tip the drivers/tour guides on your RIL tours?? I am with RIL for Livorno, Rome, and Naples... thanks so much for any guidance you can give me!

 

Thanks!

Deb

 

 

Deb,

 

Here is a chart I had created last year that may help you. It is based on 8 ppl and the discounted price for taking three tours with RIL. You can see that we paid 5 euros per person per tour for tips. Hope it help you at some!!!!

Rome in Limo Tour Information (1).pdf

[Loonbeam]

I'm organizing almost the exact same itinerary - would you have a copy of that in Word avail? I'm lazy :)

 

Deb,

 

Here is a chart I had created last year that may help you. It is based on 8 ppl and the discounted price for taking three tours with RIL. You can see that we paid 5 euros per person per tour for tips. Hope it help you at some!!!!

[stacycakes1]

I'm organizing almost the exact same itinerary - would you have a copy of that in Word avail? I'm lazy :)

 

Sure! What is your email address and I can send it to you. They won't let you post word docs on here:(

[scrappydoo]

Deb,

 

Here is a chart I had created last year that may help you. It is based on 8 ppl and the discounted price for taking three tours with RIL. You can see that we paid 5 euros per person per tour for tips. Hope it help you at some!!!!

 

 

Wow! Thanks so much, Stacy. That was awesome... :D

 

Debs

[samavarcruiser]

Love your review Stacy and I would recommend you to use roll calls if you are trying to set-up some groups for your parents. Have a good day Samavarcruiser

[stacycakes1]

Thanks Samavarcruiser. I did go ahead and help my parents get set-up in their roll call. Looks like there group is almost full now:)

[bendeben]

Stacy, your review was tremendous! I enjoyed it so much that I booked RIL for our upcoming Med cruise in Aug. I was also very impressed with the chart you did. Do you have that in Word or Excel? I would love to get a copy from you if you don't mind. You can email me at bendeben@sbcglobal.net. Thank you for the review and the chart.

[stacycakes1]

Stacy, your review was tremendous! I enjoyed it so much that I booked RIL for our upcoming Med cruise in Aug. I was also very impressed with the chart you did. Do you have that in Word or Excel? I would love to get a copy from you if you don't mind. You can email me at bendeben@sbcglobal.net. Thank you for the review and the chart.

 

 

Glad to help! I just sent the word version to you also. Hope you are having a lovely day!