Cruise the Med..how to choose?

[Goldwolf]

I agree about booking the flights early, but also watch out for Sales (in January for example). We'd been keeping an eye on the 4 flights from London to Barcelona for this August and they were a fairly solid £800 in total, then in January British Airways had a sale and they dropped to £550. We booked them straight away! :)

 

No such thing as a price reduction guarantees with flights, I would have been annoyed if I'd have booked them earlier for £800!

[luvtheships]

just an fyi re: luggage weight on intra European flights...even if you are changing planes in a european city on the way to your final destination..as in nyc..dublin..rome...and have a few hour layover and then get on a smaller plane....you are still considered a long haul pax and the longhaul weight restrictions still apply to you....but will not apply to the pax that is just flying from dublin to rome.

 

saw this happen in person...so remember point a to point b is what matters..start to finish..regardless of layover or plane change..if you start out as a long haul pax you remain a long haul pax...with the extra weight limits that it provides.

 

of course if you fly nyc to dublin..spend 3 days touring there and then fly on to rome...that second leg is short haul..and you will have to abide by the weight limits.

 

i never take anything more than a 21 inch roll on and a tote anyway...dont even check my luggage anymore...florida..europe..anywhere.

 

also, in europe it is better to stay with te same airline if possible..

e.g. alitalia..nyc..milan..venice or aerlingus..nyc..dublin..rome versus changing over to Ryanair..which will always consider you shorthaul and is very restrictive with luggage. not always possible..but worth trying to do.

[WeBeCruisin']

To be honest, cruising is not the best way to see Berlin and Moscow, but I guess sometimes you don't have any choice.

 

I agree. Even on the Baltics cruises, they're expensive and time-consuming to reach.

[Lovetwocruz2009]

If you just want tips... here are my tips...

 

*Get travel insurance ASAP!

 

*Get a 26 or 27 inch suitcase - don't go for the 29 inch that could easily cost you overweight fees. Also, if you are flying between European countries, sometimes the weight allowance is not 50 pounds per suitcase but 44 pounds... like on Aer Lingus. It's 9 Euro for each pound we are over, I believe.

 

*Make your transfers to/from places - when you have luggage - EASY on you. Pay the extra for the easiest mode of transport.. it will be worth it!! (We made a big mistake taking the train from the airport to the termini and then walked to our hotel in Rome... with luggage in tow....NEVER AGAIN).

 

*Rolling luggage doesn't roll well in Rome - cobblestone streets.

 

*Purchase your flights at least 6 months in advance. We are on a May cruise this year. Flights were really good in November, gradually increased in December, and are a full $700 more expensive now...and have been that way since January.

 

*With flights being so outrageous, plan to do a 12-day cruise...get your money's worth.

 

*Budget to spend $2K more than you planned. At least.

 

*Smart Cruise Tours offers some amazing deals in comparison to Rome in Limo. We are booked with both companies this trip and I plan to do a review on both. So far, I've heard good things about both but RIL is about double the price for us... and they would not match Smart Cruise Tours prices.

 

*If you are a foodie, plan to spend some money off the ship on tasting strange/different delights in these amazing countries.... Cannoli in Sicily, Pizza in Naples, fried sardines in Croatia, Pasta in Rome, etc... it's all part of the experience.

 

*Don't budget so restrictively that you don't have the money to do amazing things you see that you want to do - there will be sooo many unexpected little and big expenses - a gelato station at every corner, an apron you MUST have, that unexpected winery tasting on a tour and you need to buy a bottle (of course), at least one "nicer" dinner, etc.

 

*Again, with the budget... there may come a point where you are tired and you don't want to take that public bus back to your hotel or wait for the train... have the funds to hire a taxi and make your trip enjoyable. Sometimes, it's completely worth it!!

 

*Money is a touchy subject on this thread so I'll just tell you what we are doing this trip... We purchased a rather significant amount of Euros at a great rate here in the US... and we plan to get more from the Carnival ATM. John Heald has announced Carnival will again have an ATM onboard dispensing Euros. Last year the fee was $6 and the rate was written by two reviewers as "decent" and "comparable" to other ATMS. For me, it's the safest ATM we can use so this is my strategy this year.

 

*The ships (RCCL and CCL) will almost always have a shuttle to/fro the main port areas. Mediterranean ports are not necessarily pretty and the main town is usually a bit of a distance away from where you port. Don't prepay for anything (I agree with another poster).. wait and see what the ship offers. RCCL put a flyer in our room every evening with DETAILED information about the port we would be visiting the next day... like.. in Villefranche they let us know there was a bus about 5/10 minutes away that we could take for 1 Euro into Nice. We walked the beautiful walk, took the clean/cheap bus, and had an AMAZING day... while passing people with little dots on them everywhere...they were on ship tours following people holding a flag with a number on them... we were walking around at our leisure having an amazing time. I would not recommend ship tours overseas, but that's just my opinion.

 

*I could write for hours. If you have any questions, ask away...

 

Thank you for the tips. I have lots a questions, but I won't burden you.

 

I would like to start or end our cruise in Rome. I want to tour all the sights (Vatican, Colloseum, Trevi fountain, Pantheon). I dont think I can see all of these in one port day. Do you agree? Or can I hire a private tour and see most of the above without being totally rushed.

 

-Can you recommend a hotel in Rome? We prefer to stay in 4 star places (by US standards).

 

-We are foodies. You can tell from my pic I am not a little girl ;) Do you know of a restaurant guide for Italy, France, etc?

 

- I planned to budget extra money for tours, items, food etc. I am willing to pay extra for convenience and those little or big extras that make a trip memorable. :D

 

Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Lovetwocruz2009]

we were on her in July 2012...awesome doesn't begin to describe that cruise!!! 5 nites pre in Rome...2 nights in Venice and 2 nights post in Barca were still not enough....

 

should have gone to Paris after!!!

 

$26000 for 21 days for my family of 6...we did well due to the Euro exchange and getting great prices on Aerlingus plus a last minute cruise reduction of $1500 on 2 cabins...

 

but $30,000 was the budget!

 

May I aske what cruise line did you use? Where did you stay in Rome? Did you take any private tours while in Rome?

 

Thank you.

[Jasonmom]

sorry but Capital One is indeed now charging the 3%..as of August 2012. But does 3% really matter? It is all of $3 on a $100 dinner.

 

Where did you get this information. I just got a Capital One card about 2 months ago because of the no foreign transaction.

[CupKayke]

Thank you for the tips. I have lots a questions, but I won't burden you. It's okay. We are at a 32-day countdown to our next Med cruise so I'm hyped lately. ;)

 

I would like to start or end our cruise in Rome. I want to tour all the sights (Vatican, Colloseum, Trevi fountain, Pantheon). I dont think I can see all of these in one port day. Do you agree? Or can I hire a private tour and see most of the above without being totally rushed. I think you can see these four items in one day... if you limit yourself to 2 hours at the Colosseum and 3 hours at The Vatican Museum - which is pushing it but you can't see everything there, obviously. You could always do a Ho-Ho bus... they are everywhere and run all day... and will take you to places you never thought of going. You could get on a Ho-Ho and get off at the Colosseum... do this at 10am... then have a leisurely lunch at a sidewalk café somewhere...get back on the Ho-Ho and go to the Vatican around 2pm. Apparently 10am and 2pm are the less-busy times at these places. You should DEFINITELY get skip-the-line tickets to both places about two months prior to your trip -- so you can SKIP the 30-minute (or more) lines!! I would also recommend (oddly enough) to visit the Trevi Fountain in the evening ~ it's kinda magical at that time. We went near the end of September, later in the evening (7pm/8pm??) and it was still super crowded but it was awesome - people walking around with individual (small) bottles of wine, eating gelato, taking in the atmosphere!! It is my best vacation memory of all time from our first evening in Rome.

 

-Can you recommend a hotel in Rome? We prefer to stay in 4 star places (by US standards). Our 2009 cruise started & ended in Rome (Civitavecchia). We stayed at a hotel near the Termini - that I would never recommend. I would recommend you find a hotel near the Vatican - there are more restaurants, stores, people, activity, etc in this area. I can't help you but Trip Advisor or several people on the Europe thread here on CC will be much more informed than myself.

 

-We are foodies. You can tell from my pic I am not a little girl ;) Do you know of a restaurant guide for Italy, France, etc? No. :o I do know we walked outside of our hotel (which was on a side street, rather far from the action) and had an outdoor meal our first evening in Rome... and we LOVED it!! Wonderful cheeses, bread, and huge pizzas. Our best meals were usually at out-of-the-way places and completely unplanned. Just two tips.. when they come to your table and say "Gas??" And you looked confused so they say again... "No Gas or Gas??" They are asking if you want carbonated water with your meal (for a fee) or just regular water (free). LOL Also, don't forget to order your spaghetti NO al dente... if you liked it cooked thoroughly, that is... otherwise, it will be a bit hard...or undercooked, in my book... that is how they automatically serve it unless you ask otherwise.

 

 

Here is the cheese portion of our meal....

 

 

 

- I planned to budget extra money for tours, items, food etc. I am willing to pay extra for convenience and those little or big extras that make a trip memorable. :D

 

Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. If you fly into Rome...do not take the train to Rome... pay for a taxi directly to your hotel or hire one onsite at the airport... you will be SO glad you did after a long flight!!

 

Hope that answers your questions. Others on this thread are probably more informed... lots of good info on here!

[Lovetwocruz2009]

Hope that answers your questions. Others on this thread are probably more informed... lots of good info on here!

 

Thank you sooo much. I will go to the port boards and trip advisor for hotels. Please provide a trip report when you return. I will be most grateful. Have a wonderful and safe trip.

[CupKayke]

Thank you sooo much. I will go to the port boards and trip advisor for hotels. Please provide a trip report when you return. I will be most grateful. Have a wonderful and safe trip.

 

You are welcome!! I am definitely planning to do a review when we return... a full review from day one to day nineteen... I LOVE reading others reviews and doing a review is super fun for me, too!! :)

[lidopuppy]

We did our first Mediterranean cruise October 2012 on RCCL. It was a 6 day cruise starting in Rome where we spent 2 additional days, ending in Barcelona where we spent 4 additional days.

 

We are planners so we did most of our transportation and tours with private groups via Cruise Critic connections. Because we got enough people on each tour, the cost was far cheaper than booking through the cruise line and the tours were small and personalized. Romeinlimo was wonderful (we used them in Florence and Pisa). We were able to see Provence and Cinque Terre as well. Unfortunately, due to weather we missed Nice, but our private tour cancelled without charges.We used Barcelona Day Tours for a great trip to Montserrat and our tour was free because we got 10 others to join us...great incentive.

 

We stayed at the BEAUTIFUL Hotel Monte Carlo in Barcelona, right on Las Ramblas. It was PERFECT. We also splurged on Bright Side Sidecar Tours in Barcelona, a truly incredible experience.

 

That said, we spent under $7000 for the two of us, air from O'Hare. I do think that we benefited from the cruise tragedy earlier in the year and expect that we will spend more on our return visit. For Europe, the ports are key so spending extra money on a nice room is only for those that have money to spare. We choose to save ours for tours and more cruises. Can't wait to book our next one. Maybe we will see some of you there!!!

John and Peggy

Wisconsin

[Quilting_Cruiser]

You are welcome!! I am definitely planning to do a review when we return... a full review from day one to day nineteen... I LOVE reading others reviews and doing a review is super fun for me, too!! :)

 

 

Can't wait! :D