NCL Epic September 9

Mrs. Dubose · August 22, 2015

I am hoping that I am in the right spot! If not, someone give me proper directions... We are from Ohio and just spent two weeks in August in Japan!My husband and I have not cruised since 1984. We chose the NCL land/cruise of Rome and the Mediterranean. I have made reservations for dinner on the ship and now am spending too much time obsessing over excursions. I have been lurking in the forums and am intrigued by I found that a group had formed for a Naples/Pompeii tour and joined that group. I guess I am "too chicken" to start a group...The two other excursions that I feel are necessary are the Florence/Pisa one and Barcelona. I am hoping some of you, my veteran travelers, can lead me in the right direction. My husband and I are in good health ( in other words we can walk 2-3 miles comfortably)and try to get the most bang for our buck.

Kathy B

SuiteTraveler · August 22, 2015

What I would suggest is that you find your cruise's roll call and talk to others about what private excursions they are doing and see if you can join them or arrange your own excursion and invite those on your roll call to join you. Here's what you need to know: The ships excursions are usually a whole busload of people and they move at the pace of the slowest person in the group - often someone on a walker. You will get to see 2 to 4 times as much on a small group private tour and there is little risk involved because these private tour companies take your reservation but usually don't take any payment until the end of the tour. I would generally set up any tour I did in that manner. Another advantage of a small group tour is you can ask your guide to show you exactly what you want to see and avoid extra stuff you don't care about. You can also ask your guide to schedule lunch for your tour in a restaurant frequented by locals instead of some tourist spot. I have had some of the most amazing experiences of my life doing tours in this manner.

You will find your Epic roll call here listed by date:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=576

IMO, Leaning Tower of Pisa is OK, but frankly overrated. The parking lot is several blocks from the Square and you have to wend you way around illegal Nigerian Fake purse sellers who are aggressive. Then you walk into the square and there's the tower. Yes it leans. Just like in the pictures. Go in the cathedral there. Climb the tower... So what? Florence is interesting but not enough time on the combination tour to really make much out of it. It would be better to go stay in Florence and visit the sights there at a later date because so much is inside. Instead I strongly suggest a private tour to the Tuscan Hill towns such as San Gimignano, Sienna, Volterra and Monteriggioni. This provides an absolutely spectacular day of sightseeing, food, wine and gelato and incredible photographic opportunities.

Florence is more about going into the Galleria-ufuzi and going into the cathedral or shopping or going to the Ponte Vecchio to buy gold jewelry or on Porto Rosa to buy gold jewelry. Eh...not so great when you want to get the flavor of Italy and only have one day. This is why I believe the Tuscan Hill town tour is so much better. Generally try to stay out of the cathedrals - they all want to show you these on your tours but the Basilica St. Catheriniana San Domenico in Siena is very interesting for the relics of St. Catherine and the odd story behind them. I won't spoil it for you, but you should definitely look up this story on the internet. It's quite entertaining.

For Naples I would suggest instead of Pompeii and Naples, Pompeii and Positano and Sorrento by private guide where you go to Pompeii very early in the morning before it is too hot and beat all the cruise ship passengers,then drive the Amalfi coast highway which is really amazing. I know some people go to Naples to the Archeological museum but again, then you are inside and not really experiencing the true Italy, just a museum. We used to live in Naples, and it is not the greatest place for touring - lots of purse snatchers - kind of crazy stuff going on and not the cleanest. So I would get outside of Naples to the more upscale resort areas right across the bay in Positano and Sorrento where you will be able to take the most beautiful photos ever, buy gorgeous Italian pottery ($$$$ and worth it), eat seafood overlooking the Bay of Naples, buy lemon cello and have an amazing day. Or combine Pompeii with Capri.

For Cannes, I think you would really enjoy something like Monaco, Monte Carlo and Eze - which all 3 you can see in one day. You can usually tour the palace in Monaco and make a quick stop inside the cathedral to see where Princess Grace and Ranier are entombed - it's quite small so you can do this in a matter of minutes - in fact most of Monaco you can see in 2 hours at most. Monte Carlo is interesting seeing the site of the race and the casino but Eze is the best - it is a French Medieval hilltop town with lots of shops as you wend your way up the hill to the very top:

http://www.cruisingexcursions.com/search-port.php?port=52&gclid=Cj0KEQjwu-CuBRCQ2byQtMep7e0BEiQABQKlkZi0ohp0lUhL6p9R7NmckSkwgea5v-VLUtjQxSpZlwUaAqDF8P8HAQ

For Palma, either go to the caves of Drach and pearl factory or try a boat tour.

http://www.viator.com/tours/Mallorca/Private-Tour-Mallorca-Caves-of-Drach-and-Majorica-Pearl-Factory/d955-5420CAVES

http://www.viator.com/tours/Mallorca/Mallorca-Palma-Bay-Boat-Trip-with-Lunch/d955-5420PALMACRUISE

SuiteTraveler · August 22, 2015

Btw, there are a couple of ways to think of touring in Italy. Until the mid 1800's Italy was actually 20 different regions. Each region has its own cuisine. There really is no such thing as Italian cooking. Instead, the food is divided by regions - read here:

http://www.rusticocooking.com/regions.htm

So part of touring in Italy is knowing what food to order where. I always keep this in mind when planning trips in Italy. I wouldn't order, for example, Pizza in Rome nor Chicken Parmigiana as they are both Neopolitan specialties. Food is the heart of Italy and defines each region and who the people who live there are. This is as true today as it was a thousand years ago. So be very certain not to miss trying the authentic cuisines of the regions you visit.

Anyway, another way to think about italy is the long history. So on some trips I theme the entire part of touring Italy to specific periods such as Ancient Rome, Rennaisance, etc. and we spend the tour immersed in these things. For example out of Rome, for the Rennaisance tour, we did Garden di Monstri at Bomarzo, Villa Lante (the most complete classical Rennaisance Garden in Italy) and Villa Farnesi - the famous Heaven staircase and the building on which the US Pentagon is based which strangely, most Americans are completely unaware of these treasures or the spectacular drive past the Roman aqueducts along the route. On that particular trip, we did go into Florence to because this is where the changes of the Rennaisance started.

In planning for your cruise you need to think about what you really want to see and do. Is it mostly the inside of museums or cathedrals and the expected tourist spots such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa so you can take the expected tourist photo holding it up? Or do you want to see the country and get a sense of life in Italy both in the past and today? I've seen lots of people on cruises who spent the entire Med cruise going to museum after museum and cathedral after cathedral and they never eat a single meal on land. They never go to a market to buy local foods and olive oil or to a winery. I've seen people who seem to mainly have come to Italy to shop for clothes and leather goods and gold Florentine jewelry. It's important to research each port to understand what it is you want to get out of your trip. Otherwise, you will get dragged along to things which may be of little to no interest to you if you had only researched and wind up with a wasted opportunity and disappointing trip.

Edited August 22, 2015 by SuiteTraveler

southerngirl8 · August 26, 2015

I am hoping that I am in the right spot! If not, someone give me proper directions... We are from Ohio and just spent two weeks in August in Japan!My husband and I have not cruised since 1984. We chose the NCL land/cruise of Rome and the Mediterranean. I have made reservations for dinner on the ship and now am spending too much time obsessing over excursions. I have been lurking in the forums and am intrigued by I found that a group had formed for a Naples/Pompeii tour and joined that group. I guess I am "too chicken" to start a group...The two other excursions that I feel are necessary are the Florence/Pisa one and Barcelona. I am hoping some of you, my veteran travelers, can lead me in the right direction. My husband and I are in good health ( in other words we can walk 2-3 miles comfortably)and try to get the most bang for our buck.

Kathy B

I was on the Epic in May 2013 out of Barcelona. It was amazing. In Naples, I would recommend getting into a small tour with Rome in Limo. If someone on your roll call has room, grab it. You can go to the RIL website and join their tour. A group of 8 is the perfect size. You can do Pompeii, Positano, and Sorrento. You will have plenty of time to walk and shop and see the city without the crowd of the cruise tour.

No tour required in Barcelona. Get a book and map. Very easy to cab from the port to the Catherdral Plaza area and use that as your starting point and walk the city.

We did Marseille on our cruise and very easy to walk. Cab to the Old Port and wonder the streets. Take the train to the La Petite Notre Dome.

In Palma de Majorca, very easy to walk off the boat. Go to the "right" down to the old port area.

Wonder the streets of Rome too.

Be mindful of your surroundings and you will be fine. Avoid 'backpacks" as pick pockets love them. Barcelona is huge for pick pockets. Having said that, I was comfortable in the city alone at night.

The French restaurant on the ship is AMAZING!!!!