Cruising in Europe vs Caribbean

[hcviana]

We have only taken cruises an all RCL ship clases (except Oasis) in the Caribbean. This summer, we are taking a Western Med cruise on the Legend.....first time going to Europe (just the two of us, no kids). We did not mind sailing a smaller/older ship this time, since we figured the bulk of our time and energy would be spent on land. After all, regardless of what size/class of ship we went on in the past, our experience was always great and the product RCL offered was very much consistent.

 

I am just curious to know how (if in any way) the cruising experience in Europe differs from that in the Caribbean. For example, will the food be the same??? Does the entertainment change in any way?? How about the dress code?? I understand the Legend spent most of its time in Asia and even saw a very recent photo post-dry dock with banners in what appeared to be Chinese........is that ship significantly different from, say, Grandeur??

[Scubadoobie2]

After having cruised the Caribbean a few times my wife and I finally did an Eastern Med cruise in May, 2012. It was on board the Navigator of the Seas. I really didn't notice any significant differences on board except that there were a LOT of people who spoke a language other than English. No surprise there.

 

I can't speak to any differences in the Legend or the Grandeur. Haven't been on either...yet.

 

As you can tell, we're doing that same cruise again this May. Wanted our two (semi) adult kids, 20 & 24, to see Athens and the amazing Roman ruins at Ephesus, Turkey. Here is a link to photos from our prior cruise on the Eastern Med: http://s1132.beta.photobucket.com/user/EddienFamily/library/#/user/EddienFamily/library/Eastern%20Mediterranean%20Cruise%202012?&_suid=136038487067108853735977159143

 

Well, I hope you two have a wonderful cruise and a safe trip.

[Ashland]

We also have cruised the caribbean many times..recently on the LOS eastern caribbean and then a few months later LOS to the western med...other than itinerary..the ship felt the same ;)

[Zou Bisou Bisou]

Most noticeable difference in the Med vs the Caribbean was the drink prices. Same ship in Europe the drink prices are higher than the same ship in the Caribbean. But that is for Americans. Meaning a Michelob light that costs me $4.75 in a U.S. Based ship, the same ship in Europe will charge $7.

 

But that is the difference between a dollar and a Euro. So when the Europeans come to the US based ships they make out like bandits. When the Americans sail in Europe we pay more.

[trojan3000]

Biggest differance is you can get real bacon and sausages for breakfast. Not the stuff that shatters.

[ollienbertsmum]

I have never sailed from the Caribbean so I cannot compare, but for ships sailing from Spain there is an extra tax added to the drink prices. :mad:

[purescottish]

Differences we noticed were, drinks were dearer as they add a spanish tax on as well (correct me if I'm wrong ) !

 

also formal night was not so formal in the med, we saw lots of long sundresses with a necklace and sandals to jazz it up.

 

we never saw any pool games (even though they were listed in the compass) when we asked the staff about this, the reply was.... they don't push it so much as the med is very port intensive and everyone was tired !

aslo noticed there was no quest (I'm wondering if they never had enough staff to run these events )

sail away was very understated compared to Caribbean

 

but apart from that the ship is the same and they still had the white party and 70's night

 

wendy

x

[hcviana]

Thanks for the replies. Now I have a better idea of what to expect.

[postmeome]

Thanks for the replies. Now I have a better idea of what to expect.

beer prices are same in us and europe all in dollars, spanish tax only applies when you are in port:) also if you sail from the uk, no 15% on bar prices:D.

[baggal]

IMO, a European cruise is completely different than a Caribbean cruise. First, the passenger mix on a Med. cruise is completely international. Its a wonderful opportunity to meet people from literally all over the world (probably all the continents except Antarctica). English is still the primary language, but more than likely announcements will also be made in Spanish and/or another language as well, depending on the passenger mix.

 

Next, if this is your first trip to Europe, you will probably spend most of your port days out sightseeing, shopping, dining. Evenings are slightly more low key, because most of the passengers are tired. The menus are the same RCI menus, so try to sample the local cuisine when you're out sightseeing. If you have any sea days, you'll mostly want to relax.

 

As far as the dress code, IMO, European, South American and Middle Eastern women dress more stylishly and fashionably than Americans and Canadians. So even though they might not wear a "sparkly" top and pants for formal night, they will be impeccably dressed and accessorized in the latest fashion - which now does happen to be long dresses and big, bold jewelry.

 

On both my Med. cruises (Voyager 2010 and Brilliance 2011) they held Quest - most people, regardless of where they are from - speak and understand enough English to participate.

 

A European cruise (Med and Baltic) is my favorite vacation. IMO a Caribbean cruise is good, but a European cruise is stupendous!

[TravelerThom]

Anywhere where the passengers are predominately from North America [most Caribbean cruises] Early Dining usual fills before Late Dining. In the Med it is likely that Late Dining will fill first.

 

Thom

[lakelorain]

Keep in mind that tours in Europe are usually full day. Some are up to 10.5 hours. You get back to the ship exhausted. Get used to long walks before you sail. Also make sure you have very comfortable shoes. Don't forget covered shoulders and knees for some of the churches.

[baggal]

Anywhere where the passengers are predominately from North America [most Caribbean cruises] Early Dining usual fills before Late Dining. In the Med it is likely that Late Dining will fill first.

 

Thom

 

I already forgot about that. Early dining is around 6:30 p.m. but late dining is very late by American standards to accommodate European customs: 9 and 9:30 p.m.

[swoonx]

IMO, a European cruise is completely different than a Caribbean cruise. First, the passenger mix on a Med. cruise is completely international. Its a wonderful opportunity to meet people from literally all over the world (probably all the continents except Antarctica). English is still the primary language, but more than likely announcements will also be made in Spanish and/or another language as well, depending on the passenger mix.

 

Next, if this is your first trip to Europe, you will probably spend most of your port days out sightseeing, shopping, dining. Evenings are slightly more low key, because most of the passengers are tired. The menus are the same RCI menus, so try to sample the local cuisine when you're out sightseeing. If you have any sea days, you'll mostly want to relax.

 

As far as the dress code, IMO, European, South American and Middle Eastern women dress more stylishly and fashionably than Americans and Canadians. So even though they might not wear a "sparkly" top and pants for formal night, they will be impeccably dressed and accessorized in the latest fashion - which now does happen to be long dresses and big, bold jewelry.

 

On both my Med. cruises (Voyager 2010 and Brilliance 2011) they held Quest - most people, regardless of where they are from - speak and understand enough English to participate.

 

A European cruise (Med and Baltic) is my favorite vacation. IMO a Caribbean cruise is good, but a European cruise is stupendous!

 

I agree in all points. But even if all this is right, the total experience is not too different. I'm from Europe and I love cruising in the Caribbean and was skeptical about Europe cruises, but got surprised in a positive way.

 

And yes, some prices are a little bit higher, there is no lobster on Europe cruises and so on.

 

But for me the main difference is the way I spend the day. In the Caribbean it's less sightseeing, more hanging out on beaches. I love the small islands, but there's not a lot to see. In Europe you can find places of interest everywhere. On most destinations you don't have the time to see everything. And even if there are also some very nice beaches, you can't compare them to Caribbean beaches.

[hcviana]

Great. Thanks for the info.

 

Being originally from South America, I've had a little trouble adapting to the "early" dinner time, even after all these years.

 

I already e-mailed my TA to change our dinner to my formerly "normal" dinner time. Is it really that late (9 or 9:30 PM)??. I must admit that's even a bit late for my standards. I would still go for it, since in case of emergency, I can always grab a bite late afternoon and get that fourth meal in....LOL.

 

The airlines are not yet charging for the weight gained on a cruise on the return leg of one's trip, or are they???

[Serial Tequila]

Other points worth noting, I found the ages of passengers on the ships slightly old when sailing from the Med based ports than US ports, (although this seems to be changing) also I have found Med ports tend to be alot more industrial than Caribbean, ports, meaning that in alot of cases it is not easy to just wonder off the ships and find shops and cafes etc within an easy walk, this is not the case in every port but it is worth doing your homework before hand

[travelplus]

beer prices are same in us and europe all in dollars, spanish tax only applies when you are in port:) also if you sail from the uk, no 15% on bar prices:D.

 

This is why when I'm in port I go to a local bar or restaurant and get a good bottle of wine for around 10-15 Euros:D

[travelplus]

I love cruising on a trans atlantic to Europe. I have found that the ports are easy enough to navigate without a tour. For instance in Gibraltar last year I went to the botanical gardens which were free to access by the way since I have already visited the rock on a previous trip.

 

While you could join a cruise tour the port cities are interesting in my opinion without going on a tour. I love going to a quaint square and have a good lunch at a local restaurant, walk the back streets of the city etc.

 

An all day tour to Florence from Livorno while that sounds good on paper it really is stressful because you have to get up early and be back on the ship later at night. I would much rather take the Eurostar high speed train from Rome and see Florence on my own schedule and take the second to last train back after dinner.

 

I would love to tour Livorno and find non-touristic sights. As soon as you join a cruise tour you are unfortunately seen as a tourist especially when they take you to the most expensive stores and restaurants. I would much rather visit an out of the way city where most people don't even think of visiting and enjoy a leisurely day around the port city.

 

If you get tired the cruise ship is about a 15-30 minute walk from the main part of town or you can cab it back and be on board . If your on an all day 12 hour tour your at the mercy of the cruise tour.

 

I think the cruise tours are great for people who wouldn't return to Europe or are not confident with planning their own tour and are afraid with missing the ship.

 

I always check the ship's time and set my watch to it. Then usually if I leave the ship around 9 or 10 by 2 I'm ready to head back to the ship for a quick snack and swim if the weather is nice.

 

This is what I like about cruising there are so many options available.

[hazeleyez3]

As far as dress code goes,

 

Make sure you have sometime to cover your shoulders and legs. Many places, especially churches, require them to be covered.

 

In the evening, we are a couple who usually has dinner in a specialty restaurant or MDR and not wear jeans (we don't care if people do, just not our thing). This time was completely different. Most nights we were so tired after we came back from port that we had no desire to get ready for dinner in the MDR. I think 5 of the dinners were in the Windjammer (embarkation night was at Chops, the next day was a sea day and we ate in the MDR). Aside from formal night, I didn't see a huge difference in our outfits from others.

[hcviana]

Lots of useful tips, thank you.

 

Spoke to my TA today to have the dinner seating changed, since I was assigned 6PM, which I thought was too early after looking at ship departure times.

 

She said that while cruising in Europe the dinner times are every hour (6 PM, 7 PM, 8PM and 9 PM).

 

Can anyone please confirm?

[cruiselvr04]

Unless they have changed things there are 2 seatings and then my time seating. As stated before late is late. We usually ate and went to bed as our 12 night cruise was port intensive with long days.

You will find more things similar then different. We packed a huge amount into our cruise because we do not know if we will ever get back. Awesome time but exhausted and we were fit. We did walk a lot before to get in shape and broke in our shoes. The last shore day some in our group were just too tired to enjoy the day but we were fine.

Still can not believe we actually were at all the places in our pics. We want to go back for more!

[swoonx]

Yes, you can choose between my time dining and traditional dining. But that's the same on all Royal Caribbean cruises.

 

With the my time dining you can choose a different time every day. But the

seats for this option are limited and you have to wait to get assigned to a table. And of course you don't have the same table with the same people every night.

 

I would prefer traditional timing. For me it's the highlight of the day to come together with the same people on the same table, having the same waiters and so on.

 

On many Europe cruises the ships stay in port a long time and leave late - depending on the route. So you can spend more time outside the ship and come back late for the late dinner session.

[Markanddonna]

I would be a bit nervous about any TA that told me there were seating times every hour on the ship. I never heard of that, although I am not a 30+ cruiser like some (working on it though..) I would question what other things she/he may have told you that just aren't true.

 

One thing to consider is that a few sailings on RCL in Europe stop and "pick up" passengers at different ports. A few have criticized this practice and feel that RCL was doing this to attract locals on very cheap sailings promoted to only Europeans and that this sort of messed up the flow of the regular travelers.

[hazeleyez3]

If you do Traditional dining, you only have 2 times to choose from. I think its 6:30 or 9.

 

If you do My Time Dining, you can go anytime you wish.

[Moonlitherial]

We're booked on a Med cruise in May and I'm pretty sure there were just 2 traditional seatings plus Mytime dining available. I'd confirm but the login page on the RC website is down.

 

I'll be trying later as a part of my daily "Can I book specialty restaurants yet" check.