Epic Western Med Review 5/26 -6/2

[BaseballMomof4]

Palma de Mallorca. Our first warm, not too windy day - yay! And bonus, we got to sleep in a bit. The boys were happy about that!

 

We again had no definitive plans for this port. Having cave tubed in Belize, the boys were not terribly interested in the cave trips and they were kind of done with cathedrals by this time, so we decided just to get off the ship and explore.

 

When we got off, there were dozens of cabbies hawking cab tours. They have books showing you the sights they can take you to and for how much, so don't fret if you don't have a plan, there are plenty there to choose from.

 

We decided just to walk around and take a left. We passed this restaurant which we found kind of comical.

 

[BaseballMomof4]

A little further down we found a mall and did a little shopping. One kind of funny observation, everywhere we went on this trip we found merchandise in the malls that was "American". Either it was an American store like Claires or it was the actual merchandise (t-shirts that said Daytona Beach or South Beach). We are Floridians, we didn't come to Europe to buy a t-shirt that says South Beach - hahahahah!

 

Done shopping at the mall we went back towards port. The two older boys decided this would be a good day to lie on the pool deck, my friend decided she had enough walking and her knee hurt so she would like to get back on the ship as well, so it was just my youngest and I.

 

We decided to take a taxi tour to the cathedral and to the castle. Our guide was really fun and we enjoyed it. It did however cost us 80 euro.

[BaseballMomof4]

FYI, if you get off the ship and turn RIGHT towards the marina area, about 2-3 miles down is the Cathedral. This is a huge tourist friendly area with shops and restaurants surrounding it.

 

[BaseballMomof4]

The area surround the Cathedral is lovely. Our taxi dropped us off and arranged to meet us back at the parking lot at a designated time.

 

 

[BaseballMomof4]

View of the Cathedral from the ship.

 

[BaseballMomof4]

He took us down some streets so narrow he could barely fit his car on them!

 

He took us to the bull fighting arena.

 

[BaseballMomof4]

And he took us to Bellver Castle (which is very inexpensive to tour) I think adults were 6 euro and my son was only 2 euro.

 

 

[BaseballMomof4]

And from the top of the castle, we were again treated to some lovely views.

 

 

[BaseballMomof4]

After the castle, we were ready to go back to the ship and begin packing and to enjoy our last night on the ship.

 

Since this was our last day and our only truly warm one, I managed to get up to the pool deck just in time for one turn on the water slides! It was a good one! It was a shame we had such poor weather for most of this trip and couldn't enjoy the outdoor areas of the ship.

 

We got all of our stuff packed up for an early self-disembark as we had a 10:00 am flight out of Barcelona to Lisbon. We decided (correctly as it turned out) that we should really be off the ship and in a cab no later than 7:15 am.)

 

With that said, we had our last dinner aboard (in Taste again) and then headed out to deal with our disembarking "chores". First stop, the photos - I always by those port photos as sort of running history of our trips. I like that they have all of our faces, the port name and the date. That way years down the line when someone says "when were we in...." I just point to the photo. ;)

 

I was pretty impressed with the whole online facial recognition thing throughout the cruise and figured since they were so high tech with this getting my photos would be a breeze. Well, not exactly. I went down before dinner, which means it was between 6-7 pm, and when I got to the photo area and I chose our photos on the machine I then asked one of the employees where and when I could retrieve the photos he said they would be ready for me at 11:30 pm. What?? Uh, I won't be awake at 11:30 pm. Well, I essentially got the "too bad" attitude on that. Fortunately, when I went through my folder most of the photos I wanted were printed out and in there so I bought what I could. NCL - you lost money on that one.

[BaseballMomof4]

Next up was going up to the shops to get the documents necessary to get a refund of my VAT tax. I had spent more than the required amount in the gift shops and figured I might as well get back what I can.

 

I was again told to come back - this time at midnight. I said look, there are a lot of folks who have to be off the ship super early to catch early flights - you can't possibly expect everyone to stay up half the night to retrieve paperwork!

 

More runaround about that and finally, they gave me the necessary paperwork. It took them less than 5 minutes to prepare so I don't understand the whole wait till midnight thing.

 

When I handed the staff my receipt from the photo area I was told sorry, you have to go down to them for that refund paperwork. We are different departments. So while I spent slightly over $100 on photos, I would get not refund of the tax on those because the required amount was, not sure about this, either $120 or $130 - RIDICULOUS! Needless to say this went on my "things I don't like about this ship" list. I don't recall being told anywhere that the minimum amount must be spent in ONE department on the ship. So in other words, spend $110 in the shops and $100 on photos and you are SOL folks, even though your total spent onboard is well above the required minimum.

 

Turns out this wouldn't even matter as the line at the customs office in the airport at Barcelona was totally not worth the $16 refund and I chose to just consider it my contribution to economy of Spain.

Edited June 16, 2013 by BaseballMomof4

[NauticalMom]

Thanks for the review! I enjoyed getting some tour ideas from your experiences!

[BaseballMomof4]

Thanks for the review! I enjoyed getting some tour ideas from your experiences!

 

We really prefer to avoid ship tours. They are usually crowded and expensive. It was a little intimidating at first considering "do it yourself" tours in Europe, but the reality was it was really simple.

 

Barcelona is an amazing city with so many attractions so easy to get to. Rome in Limo is amazing and I would never hesitate to use them again. The fast train in Rome was so easy and we felt secure with the guaranteed seats and also enjoyed a little more sleep. The old port in Marseille was a simple cab ride from the port and the sales offices for the ferry to Chateau d'If and for Le Petit Train are easy to locate, and Palma de Mallorca has a lot to offer a pleasant walk or a short cab ride away.

 

If there is anything I can tell you in more detail, please let me know! I appreciate everything I learned on the boards and am happy to pass on my experiences.

[NauticalMom]

We really prefer to avoid ship tours. They are usually crowded and expensive. It was a little intimidating at first considering "do it yourself" tours in Europe, but the reality was it was really simple.

 

Barcelona is an amazing city with so many attractions so easy to get to. Rome in Limo is amazing and I would never hesitate to use them again. The fast train in Rome was so easy and we felt secure with the guaranteed seats and also enjoyed a little more sleep. The old port in Marseille was a simple cab ride from the port and the sales offices for the ferry to Chateau d'If and for Le Petit Train are easy to locate, and Palma de Mallorca has a lot to offer a pleasant walk or a short cab ride away.

 

If there is anything I can tell you in more detail, please let me know! I appreciate everything I learned on the boards and am happy to pass on my experiences.

 

I'm sure I'll be asking!:D We're embarking in Rome, getting in on Sunday and plan to take a fast train to Venice and stay overnight there before the cruise leaves on Wed. I like your Marseille plans, so we may do that . . we may do Segway on Palma de Mallorca . .. or cab it like you did:) You're giving me courage to make some of these decisions! Making packing lists trying to keep it down so that our pre and post cruise experiences will be more pleasant!

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review, thanks for taking the time to write and post it.

[karoo]

Great review-yes I prefer private tours, although I have booked Cinque Terre through the ship as I can't see any other way of doing it and the private groups on my sailing are full. Thanks for your info on the ports as I'm going to DIY (myself) for all the other ports.

Interesting about the food. Food is such a subjective taste. I really like the food on the ship-although I'm not keen on any of the specialties except for Le Bistro-love the duck dish. I'm from Australia though and over here, many of us aren't used to eating US food. (Except for Maccas and KFC -LOL). I find it all so sweet (even the bread tastes sweet), creamy or fatty and Southern food is definitely an acquired taste. Serving sizes are huge too! I've tried it all, but never really found anything I can eat or really like. Barbecue, I don't like mushy meat or any of the sauces-too vinegary. Although I do like the US icecream and a New York steak. It must be so hard to please everyone on board with all the different cultures and tastes people are used to eating. I'm happy with the buffet for breakfast as I usually only have fruit, yoghurt or maybe an egg on toast. I can't do those huge breakfasts/fry ups or eat those sweet pastries. Lunch- I love the grainy rolls with hot meat or the cheese bratwursts, plus salad, fruit etc and dinner I'm happy with the mushroom quesadillas,(without sour cream) the steak and the New York cheesecake with icecream if I can't find something on the side that changes each night. I also like the cheese platter. love the freestyle concept too. Thanks for all your valuable information. I've loved reading your review and looking at all your photos. You've certainly given me some great ideas for my days in the Ports.

[Riggy84]

Stop talking about food, you're making me hungry!! And i've just eaten!! lol

[NauticalMom]

Great review-yes I prefer private tours, although I have booked Cinque Terre through the ship as I can't see any other way of doing it and the private groups on my sailing are full. Thanks for your info on the ports as I'm going to DIY (myself) for all the other ports.

Interesting about the food. Food is such a subjective taste. I really like the food on the ship-although I'm not keen on any of the specialties except for Le Bistro-love the duck dish. I'm from Australia though and over here, many of us aren't used to eating US food. (Except for Maccas and KFC -LOL). I find it all so sweet (even the bread tastes sweet), creamy or fatty and Southern food is definitely an acquired taste. Serving sizes are huge too! I've tried it all, but never really found anything I can eat or really like. Barbecue, I don't like mushy meat or any of the sauces-too vinegary. Although I do like the US icecream and a New York steak. It must be so hard to please everyone on board with all the different cultures and tastes people are used to eating. I'm happy with the buffet for breakfast as I usually only have fruit, yoghurt or maybe an egg on toast. I can't do those huge breakfasts/fry ups or eat those sweet pastries. Lunch- I love the grainy rolls with hot meat or the cheese bratwursts, plus salad, fruit etc and dinner I'm happy with the mushroom quesadillas,(without sour cream) the steak and the New York cheesecake with icecream if I can't find something on the side that changes each night. I also like the cheese platter. love the freestyle concept too. Thanks for all your valuable information. I've loved reading your review and looking at all your photos. You've certainly given me some great ideas for my days in the Ports.

 

I thought that about the food too! (subjective)- (sorry Riggy 84! :p)

I had to google Maccas! How strange to see the golden arches with that name! LittleMissMagic said the background is green rather than red behind the golden arches in Rome! Having only been on the Pride of America before I cannot say what I think about NCL's food. Our first cruise was on Carnival, and I read somewhere that your first cruise tends to be your "favorite". So I can understand the comparison. I'm going to go with an open mind. I like the freestyle concept, but you DO have to pay more attention to the shows for that reason. I'm glad for all the reviews, dailies, and comments. Makes me more excited about my upcoming cruise!

[karoo]

Maccas-Must be our Aussie slang! We shorten everything-Golden Arches has too many words/syllables in it! I must check out the Golden Arches in Italy. I must admit last time I was in Rome I did sample some at Roma Termini. I ate like a Roman for three days-then decided I needed a change. There's only so much pasta and pizza one can eat, although I never did tire of the gelato. Weird thing is I never eat Maccas when I'm home, but I do eat it when I travel overseas-convenient, easy and I know what it's going to taste like. Although I always order a burger with no mayo, pickles, mustard or any other sauce other than tomato ketchup. At least it's always cooked fresh. Sometimes it's hard to negotiate as English is the only language I speak. And fries are fries! I think I've got off track from the OP-apologies!

[heidispidi]

I've loved this trip report, we're doing the same itinerary but not until Oct 1 2014! I'll add your shore excursion details to my growing spreadsheet of information! But first, I must head to Maccas for a McOz burger LOL (yes I'm another Aussie). Thanks for your info re the dining options too.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[BaseballMomof4]

Great review-yes I prefer private tours, although I have booked Cinque Terre through the ship as I can't see any other way of doing it and the private groups on my sailing are full. Thanks for your info on the ports as I'm going to DIY (myself) for all the other ports.

Interesting about the food. Food is such a subjective taste. I really like the food on the ship-although I'm not keen on any of the specialties except for Le Bistro-love the duck dish. I'm from Australia though and over here, many of us aren't used to eating US food. (Except for Maccas and KFC -LOL). I find it all so sweet (even the bread tastes sweet), creamy or fatty and Southern food is definitely an acquired taste. Serving sizes are huge too! I've tried it all, but never really found anything I can eat or really like. Barbecue, I don't like mushy meat or any of the sauces-too vinegary. Although I do like the US icecream and a New York steak. It must be so hard to please everyone on board with all the different cultures and tastes people are used to eating. I'm happy with the buffet for breakfast as I usually only have fruit, yoghurt or maybe an egg on toast. I can't do those huge breakfasts/fry ups or eat those sweet pastries. Lunch- I love the grainy rolls with hot meat or the cheese bratwursts, plus salad, fruit etc and dinner I'm happy with the mushroom quesadillas,(without sour cream) the steak and the New York cheesecake with icecream if I can't find something on the side that changes each night. I also like the cheese platter. love the freestyle concept too. Thanks for all your valuable information. I've loved reading your review and looking at all your photos. You've certainly given me some great ideas for my days in the Ports.

 

Foodwise, I actually agree with you quite a bit. As a NY born Italian, I don't really do too much "Southern" (although I do make a mean Collard Green Soup) and good Lord please do not just American food by KFC! :eek: I am not much of a breakfast eater and really lean more toward a croissant and coffee than to anything sweet or heavy. Love cheese, love fruit, love light seafood dishes, not big on red meat. And I absolutely love salads and salad bars. I am speaking more to lack of variety than anything else in the inclusive restaurants. For example, I don't want to have to pay extra if I want Chinese - and I don't on CCL. I just feel that as variety goes, Carnival gets the edge and as far as a menu that isn't repetitive, Carnival gets the edge. I cruise for the inclusivity, not to pay extra to dine.

[BaseballMomof4]

I've loved this trip report, we're doing the same itinerary but not until Oct 1 2014! I'll add your shore excursion details to my growing spreadsheet of information! But first, I must head to Maccas for a McOz burger LOL (yes I'm another Aussie). Thanks for your info re the dining options too.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

It was definitely interesting seeing all the different menu variations! Enjoy!

[BaseballMomof4]

Our morning of disembarkation I had ordered room service so we could have something to eat before we headed to the airport. I simply hung our order on the door with a time for delivery and the food arrived on time. Although they did forget to include milk for the cereal, we at least had something on our stomachs before getting off the ship very early.

 

Disembarking was a breeze. We opted to carry off our own luggage and had no problems (other than getting an elevator) and were off the ship without a hitch. Cabs were plentiful and we were off to the airport sadly leaving Barcelona behind. To a man everyone of us said Barcelona would be the city we would absolutely re-visit.

 

I think I have already said that the line at the airport to reclaim the VAT tax was simply not worth the wait.

 

Our trip was not quite over upon leaving Barcelona. I had booked our flights on TAP Portugal and the return trip was a short flight from Barcelona to Lisbon and then our flight from Lisbon to Miami. When I was booking the flights this return included a 7 hour layover in Lisbon and I could not find a way to avoid it. Since this really didn't appeal to me I altered my search to "multiple city" to see if I could postpone our flight from Lisbon to Miami to the following morning without additional fees. I figured if I have to spend 7 hours in Lisbon, I might as well spend the night, see a little bit of Lisbon, and catch our long flight to Miami the following day. This worked PERFECTLY! So we arrived in Lisbon a bit before noon and had the entire afternoon to explore another city!

 

Since this is my add on and not part of this cruise, I won't be adding the Lisbon information unless someone is interested in doing this as well. It really was worth the extra half day and I got a fabulous hotel room for free by using my credit card travel points!

 

So, as I said, if someone wants me to I will post photos and info about our time in Lisbon, otherwise I will leave it to the cruise that most are taking.

[BaseballMomof4]

I'm sure I'll be asking!:D We're embarking in Rome, getting in on Sunday and plan to take a fast train to Venice and stay overnight there before the cruise leaves on Wed. I like your Marseille plans, so we may do that . . we may do Segway on Palma de Mallorca . .. or cab it like you did:) You're giving me courage to make some of these decisions! Making packing lists trying to keep it down so that our pre and post cruise experiences will be more pleasant!

 

We saw groups using segways and it looked like fun, I just wondered what to do with them when inside someplace...

 

Leave the heels at home and bring lots of comfy walking shoes!!

[BaseballMomof4]

Great review-yes I prefer private tours, although I have booked Cinque Terre through the ship as I can't see any other way of doing it and the private groups on my sailing are full. Thanks for your info on the ports as I'm going to DIY (myself) for all the other ports.

Interesting about the food. Food is such a subjective taste. I really like the food on the ship-although I'm not keen on any of the specialties except for Le Bistro-love the duck dish. I'm from Australia though and over here, many of us aren't used to eating US food. (Except for Maccas and KFC -LOL). I find it all so sweet (even the bread tastes sweet), creamy or fatty and Southern food is definitely an acquired taste. Serving sizes are huge too! I've tried it all, but never really found anything I can eat or really like. Barbecue, I don't like mushy meat or any of the sauces-too vinegary. Although I do like the US icecream and a New York steak. It must be so hard to please everyone on board with all the different cultures and tastes people are used to eating. I'm happy with the buffet for breakfast as I usually only have fruit, yoghurt or maybe an egg on toast. I can't do those huge breakfasts/fry ups or eat those sweet pastries. Lunch- I love the grainy rolls with hot meat or the cheese bratwursts, plus salad, fruit etc and dinner I'm happy with the mushroom quesadillas,(without sour cream) the steak and the New York cheesecake with icecream if I can't find something on the side that changes each night. I also like the cheese platter. love the freestyle concept too. Thanks for all your valuable information. I've loved reading your review and looking at all your photos. You've certainly given me some great ideas for my days in the Ports.

 

You can start your own Rome in Limo tour on their website. You can choose how many people you want to go with and start the tour and then it appears on the romeinlimotoursharing website. You would be surprised how quickly that tour will fill in with others. And a LOT of folks wait until the very last minute to book their tours or join the roll calls.

[BaseballMomof4]

Enjoying your review, thanks for taking the time to write and post it.

 

Thank you so much! It's my pleasure, as I have said, I have learned so much from these boards and have so enjoyed reading other's threads and seeing their pictures that I am more than happy to share!