YOUR EXPERIENCE: Cruising the MED vs Cruising Caribbean: Different "feel" to Ship???

[forgotmyCCname]

We are a family of 5 and have cruised a lot in the Caribbean and Mexico. This summer we are boarding Epic for the port-intensive Western Med leaving from Rome.

 

My first thoughts are that the ship will have a different atmosphere as we have only one sea day and so many potentially long days of exploring on excursions. Our usual cruise is 3-4 stops and a healthy sprinkling of sea days with late nights" howling at the moon ." I know many from the states cruise so frequently that they no longer get off the ship at all the ports when cruising the islands.

 

Is it the same with a European cruise; that is; are a majority of the guests from the EU and stopping in Barcelona no big deal as it is practically "local" for them , allowing for a big party atmosphere; or is it more subdued with masses of exhausted families attempting to smash as much Europe into a week as they can?

 

With this cruise, there are two points of embarkation which in itself must be kind of cool.

 

Any comments /insights are appreciated. It has been many, many years since we boarded a ship in Europe it will be a first for our teens ( 17,19,19)

 

Thanks and have a great evening

[mugtech]

Our first day at sea out of Venice on the Spirit we had a German band and German food for lunch. Never had that in the Caribbean.

[coldinerie]

We travel Europe frequently by ship, NCL and Carnival. I agree the ports are frequent and lengthily, so you are right, if you are there to see Europe, you are off the ship a great deal of the time. That's what's great about Europe, you get to discover all the new and different things this part of the globe has to offer.

 

Truthfully, the Caribbean is mostly, for my family, sunshine, get a way from crappy winter weather and hit as many beaches as we can.

 

So, yes, I think the two trips are very different. Vibe on ship is different. I never has witnessed folks in Europe 'partying' excessively, frankly the opposite, the Caribbean seems to bring out the booze more than Europe. Folks have always been respectful. Its interesting to see folks from all over the world on these ships.

 

Now, with all of this said, we typically sail in May to early June of any given year to Europe. This is not prime vacation time for Europeans.

 

One last thought, you might be the group 'howling at the moon' due to the time change. You got at least 5-6 hours on the Europeans, so take advantage :)

[pe4all]

We did this cruise last summer, but out of Barcelona. It seemed 1/2 the cruisers got on at Barcelona, and the other 1/2 at Rome. Yes, it is very port intensive, but we still went to Howl, and some of the other entertainment options offered. (Priscilla - Queen of the Desert show, Escape the Big Top, Cirque, etc.) We found there to be less kids onboard compared to an island cruise, even though it was summer. It seemed a bit more "early to bed, early to rise" population, as the cruise is filled with long port days. Ship definitely emptied out during port days. That being said, there was still plenty to do onboard if you desired to do so. We enjoyed it so much that we are doing the Baltic cruise this summer.

[forgotmyCCname]

Now, with all of this said, we typically sail in May to early June of any given year to Europe. This is not prime vacation time for Europeans.

 

One last thought, you might be the group 'howling at the moon' due to the time change. You got at least 5-6 hours on the Europeans, so take advantage :)

 

 

Thanks for the input- we are sailing the first week in June. Can't wait!

[forgotmyCCname]

We did this cruise last summer, but out of Barcelona. It seemed 1/2 the cruisers got on at Barcelona, and the other 1/2 at Rome. Yes, it is very port intensive, but we still went to Howl, and some of the other entertainment options offered. (Priscilla - Queen of the Desert show, Escape the Big Top, Cirque, etc.) We found there to be less kids onboard compared to an island cruise, even though it was summer. It seemed a bit more "early to bed, early to rise" population, as the cruise is filled with long port days. Ship definitely emptied out during port days. That being said, there was still plenty to do onboard if you desired to do so. We enjoyed it so much that we are doing the Baltic cruise this summer.

 

 

Thanks! We have booked some shows and are looking forward to 9 I hope!) a more subdued ship than we usually encounter.

[wizdiz]

I took the Epic out of Rome last year. There were definitely more Europeans on the ship vs Americans. I found it to be the friendliest passengers I have ever been around. Yes, many of the Europeans didn't care to get off the ship. They had been there done that. I also found that it seemed the Americans had all their ports planned out prior where the Europeans didn't seem to plan just go with the flow. Seriously the friendliest bunch!

[BostonGal35]

we havent done Med (that's in Ocotber!) but weve done Baltics and that was a very different feel. No one was out late at night, port days were early and intensive. it was great. but yeah, not the party vibe. there were also very minimal children on board (great for us) but it was during the school year.

 

Alaska has been the same experience for us as well.

[alysonofagun]

Vibe on ship is different. I never has witnessed folks in Europe 'partying' excessively, frankly the opposite, the Caribbean seems to bring out the booze more than Europe. :)

 

You definitely weren't on my Epic Med cruise then - I never partied so hard in my life... and I'm European! :champagne-toast:

[Budget Queen]

You have an older, international demographic mix with Europe sailings. Every cruise is different, and who knows (or cares) what others are on board or what they are doing??? :):)

I sail Europe multiple times every year- and no, I don't "sit" on the ship. I am out every day, enjoying the excellent ports, and likely the norm. Key is to have good plans in place. I go on my own, and use cheap public transportation, always have done this. it isn't difficult, but not doable for some people.

 

Especially if not going to be a regular repeat- make the most of your time, especially, consider adding multiple days on each end/ and add another sailing/longer sailing. :)

[littlelulu01]

Early June you may have more Americans onboard but they’ll still be likely less than half. A lot of UK passengers and a smattering of German, Italian... not too many younger kids. This passenger mix makes for a civilized and orderly cueing process.

 

Your kids will likely find the others their age range pretty fast if they participate in the onboard activities.

 

I think many families plan cruises at the end of their kids study abroad terms. It’s an simple way to collect them and then have an easy vacation without lugging their bags around.

 

Definitely noticed Americans had planned out their days well in advance and other passengers were comfortable figuring it out when they stepped off the ship.

 

There’s still a party atmosphere but not much overconsumption. My college kids had fun till the early morning hours but I was ready to crash after long port days. Made pulling them out of bed early a bit difficult.

[seemoreroyals]

Looking forward to following this thread as we leave on the Epic in about 3 weeks. I was wondering about how festive it would be on board and what part of the world most of our shipmates would be coming from. I think it will be interesting that half of the ship will be European. And I can see where as port intensive this cruise will be, most people will run out of gas and go to bed early so they will not be worn out for the next day.

 

BQ, in regards to the public transportation, do any of them take credit cards? I was wondering about cabs, buses, and trains. Additionally on our stop in Naples we are planning on taking the high speed ferry to Sorrento then on to Capri then back to Naples. Wonder if they take credit cards? We are bringing some euros but are trying to decide how many euros to bring.

[Carnac767]

I'm an American with an English wife, lived in Europe as a child and again when I was in the military, and I've cruised the Baltic, Med, and Caribbean with NCL. In the Caribbean we're older than most of the cruisers while in the Med and Baltic we're among the younger. But trust me, Brits, Germans, Norwegians, Italians, etc. sure as hell know how to party. The most active partying we ever did on a cruise was on Escape's maiden voyage from Hamburg to Southampton. That was an awesome party. For Americans visiting Europe, especially first timers, there is so much to see, learn about, and absorb. The Caribbean is fun and a great break from winter, but a beach is a beach is a beach. You can pretty much do the same thing at each one of them. But Rome, Athens, Cairo, Tallinn, St Petersburg, etc. each have distinct cultures, architecture, cuisine, history, and so on. Cruising anywhere is GREAT and the best approach, if you're able, is what you're doing. Hit as many different places in the world as you can. We haven't done the Pacific yet, though I did plenty of that in the Navy. It's not to missed, either.

[xitappers2bx]

My daughter and I did this last summer... here are my thoughts:

 

We are a family of 5 and have cruised a lot in the Caribbean and Mexico. This summer we are boarding Epic for the port-intensive Western Med leaving from Rome.

We loved the Epic, and we got on the ship in Rome, not realizing that the vast majority of the cruisers get on the ship in Barcelona. We spent the month in Paris before getting to Rome, and I wish I had known and maybe would have changed from Rome to Barcelona.

 

My first thoughts are that the ship will have a different atmosphere as we have only one sea day and so many potentially long days of exploring on excursions. Our usual cruise is 3-4 stops and a healthy sprinkling of sea days with late nights" howling at the moon ." I know many from the states cruise so frequently that they no longer get off the ship at all the ports when cruising the islands.

The atmosphere is different, but in a weird way. When we boarded in Rome something felt different (the port wasn't crazy like it is in the US) and then when we boarded I realized that we had quite literally entered our vacation in the middle of everyone else's vacation. This resulted in a very different feel. There was not that same level of "newness" or excitedness (now I'm making up words) that you feel on the first day of a cruise because many of the people had already been on the ship for a few days. I 100% loved the process of getting on, it was super easy, we hired a private car to take us from the hotel to the port and there was very little waiting, but that was where the atmosphere was different. After we had figured out some of the nuances (the Med. Epic was our first NCL cruise so I'm sure there was a bigger learning curve for us) of the ship and how things go it was great. Had the same feel as a carib. cruise, maybe the nights were not as late or crazy, but there was no shortage of things to do. I do have to say, we did not get off the ship in any port other than Naples. This was really a relaxation trip for my daughter and I (it's crazy I know, I'm young 30s, she had just turned 13 but we really just wanted to do nothing and have a nice, hot lazy week which is exactly what we did). The bonus to this was the ship was basically empty, leaving us all of the deck chairs, all the comfy chairs that were usually packed, and letting us find good spots in the shade.

 

Is it the same with a European cruise; that is; are a majority of the guests from the EU and stopping in Barcelona no big deal as it is practically "local" for them , allowing for a big party atmosphere; or is it more subdued with masses of exhausted families attempting to smash as much Europe into a week as they can?

The vast majority of the guests were American. There was a healthy number of Spaniards and a handful of Italians, but for the most part, it was exhausted Americans trying to smash as much as possible into a single week. We had spent a good deal of time on the continent prior to getting to the boat, but it seemed like most were arriving from the airport, and then departing directly to the airport for flights back home.

 

With this cruise, there are two points of embarkation which in itself must be kind of cool.

It was really disorienting, you are quite literally walking into someone else's vacation. Having never been on a NCL cruise before it really was not until we were back in Barcelona when all that first day stuff was gone over, and some of the things we knew nothing about were much more clear. I do have to say, I loved the muster drill and the way that we got to meet ALL of the "exec" level employees. We got their names, their backgrounds, a few comments about their country of origin, and as we left the theater they shook EVERYONE'S hand. I don't know if this is an NCL thing, but we loved it (we've cruised CCL, RCCL, HAL, Princess).

 

Any comments /insights are appreciated. It has been many, many years since we boarded a ship in Europe it will be a first for our teens ( 17,19,19)

My daughter is a bit younger, but is more like 13 going on 21 instead of 13 going on 14. If your youngest teen is into entourage it can be a little awkward coming on in Rome, had I better prepared my daughter she would have done better, but she went the "first" night in Barcelona, and she went on to have a blast there. We have a really great "one thing a day" policy, so we only book one excursion or tour a day and then we actively try and get lost so we can experience some more authenticity. Even though we only got off in Naples, in Naples we found an amazing pizza place about 8 minutes off the boat, and then we did a tour to Pompeii, and I was 10000000% suggest that. It was really an amazing tour, and I wish we could have spent more time there. Boarding in Rome was really easy. A fun fact... I'm not a big drinker, but had brought along a bottle of whiskey bought in Paris for a friend back home. It was in my carry on (not hiding, I was fully prepared to give it up to them to hold until we got off) and my bag went through the scanner twice and they did not mention it at all.

 

Thanks and have a great evening

 

Having done many, many, many carib cruises I was not sure what to really expect in the Med., but it ended up being one of the most fun cruises. I LOVED the Epic, and I know people seem to hate it, but the ship is really well-designed, the crew were outstanding, and other than it being a little weird to only have to elevator banks, this seems to be a NCL thing and it wasn't that annoying. We did the Cirque dinner show and I would highly recommend it, my daughter is super bummed that it isn't on the Escape (which we are doing in a few weeks to Bermuda). The shows were great, we had a blast winning bingo, and when half of our deck of cards blew over the edge, one of the crew brought us a new deck, which was so unexpected and kind, I was totally blown away. If you have any questions about the ship/things to do on board/daily schedule I can dig out all that stuff.

[xitappers2bx]

Looking forward to following this thread as we leave on the Epic in about 3 weeks. I was wondering about how festive it would be on board and what part of the world most of our shipmates would be coming from. I think it will be interesting that half of the ship will be European. And I can see where as port intensive this cruise will be, most people will run out of gas and go to bed early so they will not be worn out for the next day.

On our week on the ship, the vast majority were American, but there was a decent number of Spaniards.

 

BQ, in regards to the public transportation, do any of them take credit cards? I was wondering about cabs, buses, and trains. Additionally on our stop in Naples we are planning on taking the high speed ferry to Sorrento then on to Capri then back to Naples. Wonder if they take credit cards? We are bringing some euros but are trying to decide how many euros to bring.

So long as you have a chip in your card, the vast majority of public transport will take credit cards. The only person I *had* to pay in euros was our driver from Rome to the port. It is good to have paper currency though if you're planning on buying things from vendors. For the ferry, you should be able to pay for your tickets ahead of time, which would help to secure your spot. In Naples there was a MASSIVE amount of traffic of people getting to the ferries, there was a ferry in each dock it seemed, and the volume of cars on the narrow streets was crazy. It's cheaper to get euros from your bank before you leave, but I found during our month in Paris I could withdraw up to my daily limit in euros and the fee was pretty low, I think of 400 euros it was less than 10 euros. There are always ways to spend those last few euros too (tips at the airport, tips at the ports, tips for cabs, tips for ship workers, etc).

[BirdTravels]

With this cruise, there are two points of embarkation which in itself must be kind of cool.

Rome is a secondary embarkation port. A large percentage of passengers will disembark in Barcelona. They use to embark in France too.