Norwegian Epic next week

[Tiggertastic]

A taxi is 39 euros form airport to port, we've done it 3 times this year and have done it previous years. You'll be amazed how many people in Rome speak English

[KeithJenner]

A taxi is 39 euros form airport to port, we've done it 3 times this year and have done it previous years. You'll be amazed how many people in Rome speak English

 

 

They are sailing from Barcelona

[Tudorcruisers]

We used a Company called Resorthoppa as we went from airport to hotel and they were really good.

 

Enjoyed epic last year. Had an amazing holiday, hope you have a great time x

[technium]

Thanks everyone

 

Not long to go now so starting to get excited about going :)

[technium]

Ive looked into a few freewalkingtours and they sound like some we might consider has anyone done these, do they rush around or just normal walking pace. Also it says theyre free but you pay by tips which is fine but what is the going rate to tip for a free walking tour? I want to make sure we tip the correct amount.

 

Also like the idea of the hop on hope off type buses so may do something like that.

 

thanks

[bnorris10]

Ive looked into a few freewalkingtours and they sound like some we might consider has anyone done these, do they rush around or just normal walking pace. Also it says theyre free but you pay by tips which is fine but what is the going rate to tip for a free walking tour? I want to make sure we tip the correct amount.

 

Also like the idea of the hop on hope off type buses so may do something like that.

 

thanks

 

Tip what ever you feel it was worth

If they walked me around for a hour I make sure I give them at least $10 for the hour - The more pleasant they make the tour the more money they will get

[technium]

That sounds fair so I will work on $10 per hour which certainly seems fair and definately cheaper than the ships tours.

[bnorris10]

That sounds fair so I will work on $10 per hour which certainly seems fair and definately cheaper than the ships tours.

I believe it is also and for some countries $10 per hour is WAYYYY more than the normal hourly wage so it works out good for both parties

[eichmat]

We were on the same voyage (we were in transit to Barcelona the day of your post--we choose to fly in two days early).

 

So: what did you and your family think? That first night was a bit rough: I'm not one for getting seasick, but that first night gave me headache while we unpacked.

 

And that night out of Cannes was the first time I've been aboard a ship experiencing gale force winds... I actually slept fine, except when one of the doors in our cabin slammed open...

 

Hope you had as good a time we did.

[technium]

Hi All

 

First day back at work today so thought id better update this post.

 

Flights with Easyjet were so much better than I was expecting and was really impressed with them and their service.

 

Both Luton Airport and Barcelona Airport were really quiet and we literally went straigth through at either end which was super quick.

 

When we got through the airport at Barcelone there was a queue of taxis waiting, I told the guy we wanted a taxi of 4 and was pointed straight away to one and I said to the guy we wanted "The Port" and "Norwegian Epic" and "Moll Adossat" and he was on his way. Told us it was a fixed price and total once we arrived at our ship was 39 Euro.

 

When we got out someone took our luggage so dad panicked but I told him you guys here said our luggage goes on board without us so that eased his mind abit. We were near the front of the queue for checking in so that went quickly and all we did was hand over credit card details and our booking and was then handed our door card / currency card.

 

We had to sit for about an hour until we were allowed to board and once onboard it was good to see the staff were very hot on hand cleaning "washy washy" so that was reassuring aswell.

 

We went to our room but our steward told us we could only look in and then leave as they werent ready for us which was ok as that gave us abit of time to wonder around the ship.

 

The Room was nice, loved the balcony area and the ship was ok. I didnt like the fact you could smoke on the casino floor but other than that I thought it was pretty good, although not sure id ever want to do another cruise.

 

Didnt like Naples, I thought it was dirty and run down but we did a hop on bus tour on that day which was quite informative.

 

Loved Rome, so much history, so many wonderful sites to see but was a hard day with lots of walking but glad we did the proper tour. We used "cant be missed tours" and would definately recommend them.

 

Livorno we didnt go ashore as wasnt feeling too great to spent the day on the ship relaxing.

 

Had a nice day in Cannes and also caught the train to Monaco so spent a few hours around there. Very easy to plan the trip yourself instead of a ships tour so most of saved a fortune doing our own thing and we all enjoyed it.

 

Palma - another lovely place, spotless and so well maintained, another nice day out.

 

We finished with 2 days in Barcelona so did the two day hop on bus tour pass thing which was good as it enabled us to get around and we managed to visit quite a few sites aswell as the Nou Camp and Olympic Village. Our hotel wasnt far from the Sagrada Familia building so we walked to that each day to get our bus and breakfast etc. I must say I didnt get the fascination with that building I thought it was horrible to look at and not very impressive at all, still each to their own.

 

Sea was rough once or twice and noticed it in bed mostly but other than that it was easy to forget you were on a ship. I did have to take anti sickness tablets though as I felt abit rough, not sick just not 100% right and I also noticed whenever I got off at the different stops I would find myself feeling dizzy as though I was still moving even when on land so that was another reason for taking the tablets.

 

We opted to pay the tips as mentioned and it was nice to be able to check both on the tv and my iphone app our account so I could keep an eye on it.

 

I can say I enjoyed the cruise and the trips to the different places but its probably not something I would think about doing again but never say never.

 

Thanks for all your help as it did make a difference to our holiday with the info you all supplied.

 

Any questions then ask away.

 

thanks

 

Colin

[Sauer-kraut]

Welcome back and I'm glad things went well for you!! Cruising is not for everyone, although as you said, never say never. Perhaps cruising a less intensive itinerary would be something to consider. Also you seemed to like Palma and its a lovely place to spend a week on a land holiday. We rented a car and explored!! Something to consider there as well.

 

All in all it sounds like you had a nice week, and that dipping your toe into the cruising pool wasn't too bad. :D

[hlsess]

Ive looked into a few freewalkingtours and they sound like some we might consider has anyone done these, do they rush around or just normal walking pace. Also it says theyre free but you pay by tips which is fine but what is the going rate to tip for a free walking tour? I want to make sure we tip the correct amount.

 

Also like the idea of the hop on hope off type buses so may do something like that.

 

thanks

 

Just booked runner bean tour in BCN

[eichmat]

...Barcelona Airport were really quiet and we literally went straigth through at either end which was super quick.

 

When we got through the airport at Barcelone there was a queue of taxis

We arrived at 7am two days before the trip, but had the same quick experience in the airport. Our daughter's walking pace made us last through passport control, with no line... Taxis were a plenty once we got our luggage and were at our hotel quickly (in the Gothic quarter).

 

I didnt like the fact you could smoke on the casino floor but other than that I thought it was pretty good, although not sure id ever want to do another cruise.

Agreed--especially given the need to go through the casino to get to certain things...

 

Our hotel wasnt far from the Sagrada Familia

Did you happen to go inside? Inside is a complete juxtaposition from the exterior. I wasn't prepared for how beautiful, bright, and colorful the interior was... the light pouring through the stained glass windows was spectacular. I expected a garish, interior that mimicked the spiky exterior... A perfect example of not judging a book by the cover.

 

I can say I enjoyed the cruise and the trips to the different places but its probably not something I would think about doing again but never say never.

It was quite the full itinerary. We only decided on it after having taken several domestic cruises with our daughter--ones that were less about the sights, and more about relaxation. Once she proved she could cruise, we did this trip with lots of historic sights (granted, we did do the relaxation thing our day in Palma--just to have a break before getting back to the real world...).

 

I'm glad you and your family had a good time--I hope you decide to give cruising another chance!

[raining cats and dogs]

Hi,

Can some-one please tell me what is an acceptable average tip in either Euro or Dollar. I am not referring to the 13$/day inclusive on board tip, but rather an extra tip for say the cabin steward. Why I am asking is that we are coming from South Africa and with our exchange rate at R16-R18 for a Dollar or Euro we don't want to insult the cabin steward by giving something almost worthless in Dollar/Euro terms.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[LrgPizza]

Hi,

Can some-one please tell me what is an acceptable average tip in either Euro or Dollar. I am not referring to the 13$/day inclusive on board tip, but rather an extra tip for say the cabin steward. Why I am asking is that we are coming from South Africa and with our exchange rate at R16-R18 for a Dollar or Euro we don't want to insult the cabin steward by giving something almost worthless in Dollar/Euro terms.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

 

No further tip is necessary, and so giving nothing extra would not be considered an insult. For that reason, anything extra you give would likely be appreciated.

[BirdTravels]

Hi,

Can some-one please tell me what is an acceptable average tip in either Euro or Dollar. I am not referring to the 13$/day inclusive on board tip, but rather an extra tip for say the cabin steward. Why I am asking is that we are coming from South Africa and with our exchange rate at R16-R18 for a Dollar or Euro we don't want to insult the cabin steward by giving something almost worthless in Dollar/Euro terms.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

Your cabin steward is included in the $13/day/person daily service charge an no additional tips are necessary,,, But we normally give an additional $20-$30 or €20-€30 for a standard cabin and $50-$75 or €50-€75 for a suite for a 7-day cruise. We like to help those crew members who make our holiday time enjoyable and memorable.

[eichmat]

Hi,

Can some-one please tell me what is an acceptable average tip in either Euro or Dollar.

Depending on the service you receive--if you feel they went above and beyond, $20-$30. We gave our cabin steward and extra 30€ (~$33, ~R500) on our last cruise.

 

As for which to use, either form of currency is quite fine: I suspect they have on-board accounts into which they deposit cash instead of having to stash it somewhere in their multi-person cabins... Now, when we were aboard the Epic a few weeks ago, we provided a cash tip for our Cabin Steward in Euros--our assumption was that, since the ship is remaining in Europe for a while, it would be easier for him to use on his own shore days. Plus it was a good way to use up some of the Euros we had gotten before the trip that we hadn't spent on shore...

 

For the Butler and Concierge, we went to Guest Services to have their tips charged against our account (to use up some non-refundable OBC): those tips were paid to them in USD.

 

So, again--they'll be grateful with either form of currency and whatever extra you give them above what they get from the daily gratuity fee.

Edited December 14, 2015 by eichmat

[raining cats and dogs]

Your cabin steward is included in the $13/day/person daily service charge an no additional tips are necessary,,, But we normally give an additional $20-$30 or €20-€30 for a standard cabin and $50-$75 or €50-€75 for a suite for a 7-day cruise. We like to help those crew members who make our holiday time enjoyable and memorable.

 

 

Thanks to everyone for your help re tipping. Much appreciated