European Cruising on Carnival

[slimbyspring]

We are debating expanding our cruising to Europe - curious on good and bad of it in general?  Do you feel like you get a good "taste" of the country by spending a couple port days (i.e. Spain, etc)?  I have traveled to a few European countries but only one of the family who has been across the pond.  I understand the flight is more expensive obviously.  Just more curious on ports/excursions.  Specifically, this one on the Pride:

 

Carnival Pride

ONE WAYStart: London (Dover) > La Coruña > Leixões (Porto) > Lisbon > Seville (Cadiz) > Málaga > Cartagena (Murcia) > End: Rome (Civitavecchia)

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, slimbyspring said:

We are debating expanding our cruising to Europe - curious on good and bad of it in general?  Do you feel like you get a good "taste" of the country by spending a couple port days (i.e. Spain, etc)?  I have traveled to a few European countries but only one of the family who has been across the pond.  I understand the flight is more expensive obviously.  Just more curious on ports/excursions.  Specifically, this one on the Pride:

 

Carnival Pride

ONE WAYStart: London (Dover) > La Coruña > Leixões (Porto) > Lisbon > Seville (Cadiz) > Málaga > Cartagena (Murcia) > End: Rome (Civitavecchia)

It's a great way to get an appetizer taste of different European Countries and cities. Since it's an open jaw itinerary it would behoove you to spend a minimum 2 nights,3 nights even better before and after the cruise. 

I was on the Pride this May/June for 3 cruises totaling 32 days. One of the itineraries was similar to the one you're considering.

My biggest advice would be that you have to do your homework and figure out what's there to see in each city and what's of interest to you. The other thing is deciding how you want to sightsee. If you're physically able to do lots of walking around many of the cities can be done on your own,and it's a lot more enjoyable than with a big tour group. Of course if that's not how you enjoy sightseeing and rather leave it to others to take you around that's fine too. But you still have to do the homework to figure out what's interesting to you. 

Edited December 1, 2022 by kwokpot

[Joanne G.]

To the OP, I will be on that cruise from Dover to Civitavecchia next September.   I will be doing the research that Kwokpot recommended in order to determine which ports I can explore on my own, and for which ports an excursion may be my best choice.   Before I booked it, I paid attention to how much time is scheduled in each port and how far the port is from the places I might want to visit; that's really important information for any cruise.  

 

I originally booked a similar cruise for 2021.   I wanted to travel to Europe, and I expected to be traveling solo.  A cruise seemed like a good way to travel solo, due to the inherently social nature of cruising and the relative ease of making plans, like always knowing where to eat dinner LOL.   

 

Carnival ultimately canceled that 2021 cruise, and I postponed it to this year.  Then, when I didn't feel ready to cruise this year, I postponed it again to 2023.  Now I fully expect to be on it next year! 

 

Certainly a cruise is a different from a land vacation.  Neither better nor worse, in my mind.   On a cruise you get to see different places without having to repack and unpack multiple times, and the travel time between places happens while you are enjoying time on the ship and sleeping.  But obviously, you have only a limited amount of time in each place.   

 

Instead of the cruise this year, I took land vacations to London and to Dublin and Galway.   I thoroughly enjoyed having multiple days in those great cities and having long days of sightseeing without the constraints of a sailing time.   Next spring, I am taking a land vacation in Paris, another great city that, for me, calls for a multi-day land vacation.   

 

While I am sure many people have great vacations in Spain and Portugal, my interest in those places will be satisfied with the individual port days on the cruised.  It may be no more than a taste of the countries, but that works for me.   

 

One thing I missed on my land vacations was the evening activities on a cruise.   I was solo in unfamiliar cities, and for the most part, I didn't feel comfortable going out alone after dark.   I also missed what I call the forced relaxation of a cruise; you typically have some sea days plus the evenings when you can relax and take a break from active sightseeing, all while enjoying the facilities on a ship.  

 

Have fun doing your research.   Maybe I will see you on that cruise.

 

[kwokpot]

Here's an amazing bookstore in Porto you should try to see! 

[Joanne G.]

Thanks!  For sure I will look for that. 

[ontheweb]

Another thing I would do is check your roll call to see if there are any others who might intend to book private excursions and are looking for others to join them. Private excursions tend to be less expensive, less crowded, and more able to be amended to add or subtract things so as to be more in line with what all of you want to do.

[nybumpkin]

23 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Another thing I would do is check your roll call to see if there are any others who might intend to book private excursions and are looking for others to join them. Private excursions tend to be less expensive, less crowded, and more able to be amended to add or subtract things so as to be more in line with what all of you want to do.

Completely agree. We've done two European cruises with Carnival (Baltic and Mediterranean) and our third is booked for 2023 (Norway). On both our earlier cruises we booked some excursions through private tours with other folks we met on our roll call and they were less expensive/better than what Carnival had to offer. (Although we also had some great tours we booked through Carnival.) On our Baltic sailing, we had a two-day tour in St. Petersburg (yeah, no one's going there now) where one of the ship's tour buses could not go to the Church of Spilled Blood - a top tour stop - because the bus had no place to park. We were in a 13-passenger van and visited with no problem.

 

With European tours like this, you're going to get an overview of the places you visit - usually not much in depth. It gives you an idea of where you'd like to return to explore more. As others have said, do your research and make a plan of what you want to see.

 

And @kwokpot - thanks for the suggestion in Porto! We're going to do a Douro River cruise in 2024 and this looks like a place to visit!

 

[MedCruise_2022]

My husband and I  recently did our first Mediterranean Cruise from Rome-Civitavecchia Port to Lisbon on Carnival Pride from October 21-30, 2022. I must say it was a truly wonderful and lovely vacation. Our ports of call were: Naples, Sicily, Malta, Malaga, Gibraltar, and Portimao/Algarve. We booked our flights with Carnival's Fly-to-Fun bundle, and also took their Travel Protection Package. It was a very port intensive cruise- with only two sea days, and we pre-booked all our shore excursions (except Portimao)  with Carnival too. We also bought Internet coverage (Value Plus), and pre-ordered bottled water to our cabin. We enjoyed our cabin balcony especially as we arrive/leave the ports--watching the sunrise/or sunset.

We flew to Rome 4 days before the cruise and stayed in Lisbon 2 days post-cruise. In Rome, we did  self-tour of Rome's historic center (Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Piazza del Popolo, and nearby basilicas/churches); ancient Rome (Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Santa Maria Maggiore, St Peter's in Chains-with the "Moses" by Michelangelo; and Vatican/Trasvetere). In Lisbon, we did Viator tours to Lisbon City Center and the Belem District (first day), and to our Lady of Fatima Sanctuary Shrine, Batalha Monastery (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and to the medieval town of Obidos (second day)..

To me, Carnival's Fly-to-Fun has several advantages: I have flexibility on the airlines (and seats) I want, the number of days we could stay before and after the cruise, and a the plane rate was  lower than what I am getting from the various airlines. Of course, booking your own flight is best.

True booking with private tours/shore excursions could be more substantive, less expensive and maybe in smaller groups, but with Carnival shore excursions, in most cases, the buses were waiting right at the ports, and we were assured that the ship would not depart without us!! There are some tours too that need to be booked early since some documentation are required as in "Granada-Alhambra tour".

As most have suggested, getting on the roll call is a great idea-- to meet new friends, and share costs in transfers and in shore excursions (the price of private taxi from Rome to Civitavecchia Port is a bit on the high side).

We have booked a 2024 cruise from Haifa, Israel to Rome with ports in Cyprus, Turkey, Greece (with another cruise line), but also waiting what Carnival has to offer for Europe in 2024.

All the best on your cruise planning! It is lot of work but fun.



 

[maluhia87]

On 12/1/2022 at 2:19 PM, slimbyspring said:

We are debating expanding our cruising to Europe - curious on good and bad of it in general?  Do you feel like you get a good "taste" of the country by spending a couple port days (i.e. Spain, etc)?  I have traveled to a few European countries but only one of the family who has been across the pond.  I understand the flight is more expensive obviously.  Just more curious on ports/excursions.  Specifically, this one on the Pride:

 

Carnival Pride

ONE WAYStart: London (Dover) > La Coruña > Leixões (Porto) > Lisbon > Seville (Cadiz) > Málaga > Cartagena (Murcia) > End: Rome (Civitavecchia)

We just did the Pride Med cruise with my parents.  For the most part, their only other international experience was our Baltic cruise on NCL in 2019.  Make sure your family is aware of their surroundings (my dad was pickpocketed in the Rome airport this year), and it is not like the states. 

I haven't been to most places you would visit except Seville and Rome.  If you plan to visit Real Alcazar in Seville, arrange this in advance and confirm your tickets.  Also, pay attention to catholic holidays that you may not usually think of.  We happened to be there during Corpus Christi and ended up witnessing a fascinating catholic parade, but our plans the next day were interrupted due to business being closed. 

 

Carnival excursions can be good/bad depending on the size and the need to ensure that the ship would wait if it is a long tour.  We used a number of the Carnival tours this time but had the OBC to justify those costs.  

[Joanne G.]

On 12/1/2022 at 2:19 PM, slimbyspring said:

 . . . .   Just more curious on ports/excursions.  . . 

 

 

On 12/4/2022 at 7:12 PM, maluhia87 said:

Carnival excursions can be good/bad depending on the size and the need to ensure that the ship would wait if it is a long tour.  We used a number of the Carnival tours this time but had the OBC to justify those costs.  

 

A cruise can be a good value in Europe compared to a hotel and 3 restaurant meals a day in the expensive major cities.   But the cost comparison for activities isn't so straight forward.   

 

I am looking at excursions for my upcoming European cruises, and I am seeing prices from maybe $50 for transportation only to a nearby town, to $90 for a half-day tours, to $150 or more for long excursions.  That can really add up for a family and/or on a long cruise with many ports.   

 

I don't mean to start a debate about ship excursions versus going out on your own, as personal preferences and comfort level with independent travel are individual factors.  I only mean to point out that if you lean towards ship excursions, they can add considerable cost to your vacation - and you can't see those actual costs in the research stage, only after booking.  

 

[80sGal]

We took our first trip across the pond this past August, having done most ports in the Caribbean at least once and some several times.  We did the 12 day Pride from Dover which included three of your stops.  I can't say enough good things about the trip!  For a Euro- Newbie, it was an awesome way to experience the best that each city had to offer without needing to do anything more than pick excursions.   Could we have found other options?  Sure, but why stress about it?  Carnival had plenty of great options in each port, and the amazing sites and some with included food options were perfectly fine.  On our 12 day itinerary with 8 ports, our excursions ran an average of 200 per day total.   Worth Every Penny!   We also stayed 3 extra nights in London to do our own tours.  If a trip to Europe is in your budget, then GO!!  See a city, enjoy the evening on the ship, sleep, repeat!  No driving, no trains, no hotel hopping.   Just be prepared for intensive excursions.  The ship at night is more low key than a Caribbean cruise.   People are Tired!  

[deelightfull]

We cruised the Baltic with NCL this summer.  It was a good fit for us because I dislike moving hotels and hubby likes to cram as many cities as possible into his vacations. A port heavy cruise fits the bill for us. On our particular cruise there were no at sea days.  We don't ever get excursions though the ship, that's just or style. Hubby just researches the heck out out of it. 🤷‍♀️

 

We've also been to Europe one other time, in January of 2020, (when we had no idea what was in store for us later that year!).  One big difference I noticed between our cruise and our land vacation was the food.  It was really tempting to minimize the food we bought in port, because there was so much "free" food on the ship. (And European food costs are as high, and usually higher, than comparable food costs at home.) But eating local foods is a big part of the vacation for me. So after a couple ports of minimizing food purchases off the ship we started to indulge a little bit more. It cost a bit more, but added so much enjoyment, it was well worth it.

 

Absolutely add as many days before and after as you can. 😁. Once you make those long expensive flights you may as well maximize your enjoyment!pan widget

Edited December 9, 2022 by deelightfull
Stupid auto correct

[kwokpot]

8 hours ago, deelightfull said:

And European food costs are as high, and usually higher, than comparable food costs at home.

Spain would be an exception. Eating out in Spain is actually less expensive than a similar meal in the US. 

[deelightfull]

Yes, when we visited Spain in January of 2020 the food costs weren't bad.  Casual meals were similar in cost to eating out at a casual place at home.  We went to one fancy restaurant and I didn't pay attention to the prices there.  Of course, overall, food was more because we were on vacation and eating out as opposed to eating at home in our "civilian" life. 😁 That was not our experience in Northern Europe, there almost all the food prices were higher than we were used to, but that's okay, just something to factor in. 

 

Many places we travel in Mexico we eat in restaurants for cheaper than we can buy groceries at home. (Not true in any resort areas or cruise ship ports, of course, but inland eating can be EXTREMELY cheap.)

[Bulldogsoc]

I whole heartedly endorse a US based cruise line for a European Cruise.  I enjoyed our Carnival Pride 9 day Norwegian Fjords cruise this passed July with my 16 year old son way better than a cruise we took on MSC in the Yacht Club to Northern Europe a few years ago (and by a long shot).  I love being able to explore the local scene by day and come back to a North American hotel, food and beverage service at night.  I love trying the foods in port but I prefer a North American hotel experience.  

 

Below are some pictures of Jack and myself on our unforgettable 9 days on the Carnival Price this summer.  I have to add that this cruise was only $490 pp plus taxes and gratuities for an extended balcony cabin.  Unreal deal from the post covid sales.

 

We flew from Toronto overnight to London the day before and took the high speed train from Kings Cross the next morning to Dover.  We walked from the station to the pier which took about 45 min.  We only took carry on backpacks.

 

 

Enjoy….

[Bulldogsoc]

There was plenty to do on the ship.  There is shuffleboard in the Red Frog.  Blue Iguana was always good and we played endless rounds of golf.  He golfs, I do not (or at least not well) so when old Dad can win a few, it was fun.

[Bulldogsoc]

That time of year, it does not take long to get the the land of the midnight sun.  The photos of the other cruise ship were taken at midnight if I am not mistaken.  They have a lovely Alchemy bar on the Pride.  Our first stop was Bergen.  We did not take the Funicular up the mountain as it was all fogged in.  We walked around the town. Our only day of rain and it was intermittent.

[Bulldogsoc]

Our second port was Alesund.  You can walk from the ship up the mountain that overlooks the town.  It is about 400 steps I think.  Go early to beat the crowds.  You can also take a tram if that is just too much for you or your group.  Great view of the Pride in the harbour.  Wonderful morning.  

[Bulldogsoc]

The port was Molde and we built on our hike in Alesund and in Molde we hiked the Varden which can be reached on foot right from the ship with like the all the ports in Norway, your ship is docked directly into the town/village/city.  This was a vigorous hike but the views were well worth it.  By the time we got back to the ship it was fogged in for a couple of hours until we were leaving when I took the photo below.  We watched the Deal or No Deal but unfortunately the young lad playing the game picked off all of the suitcases with the decent money in them (and I mean all) in his first picks to it was not exactly dramatic.  LOL. Still fun.  Like bingo, they sell lots of cards for this and it is a big money maker for the pride.  I don’t gamble but it was fund to watch other passengers really get into it.

[Bulldogsoc]

Our nest stop was Olden.  This tiny village has a Co-Op grocery store, some outdoor stores, some souvenir shops, a few restaurants and that is about it.  We had planned to go on our one and only purchased excursion to kayak the fjords but it was cancelled.  We rented bikes from the bar that was to your right when you get off the ship.  Just go upstairs from the excursion place downstairs and ask the bar person to rent a bike.  They were something like $10 each for the day.  Not the best bikes but did the trick and made it easy to explore for a few KM.  It is about a 15-20 min walk from the pier to the town stores.  I think the ships are not allowed to play music in the fjords but when we left this and other ports, the locals BLASTED music for us.  If you look closely at the red cottage picture below you will see a person waving a big foam hand at us as we left and they were blasting music for us.  Wonder wonderful day.  Good idea to bring some GoreTex outerwear to protect you from the wet and wind.  Just beautifully.  Did I mention this was $490 pp ++ for this 9 day cruise… yes.  Yes I did!  Amazing.

[Bulldogsoc]

We enjoyed the good sushi that was very reasonably priced.  Cool art/posters throughout the ship.  We saw lots of other cruise ships.  The scenery was amazing.

[Bulldogsoc]

Our next port was Skjolden (I think that is how it is spelled).  We waited took long to book Ebikes but we were able to get two brand new hybrids that were very well maintained unlike in Olden.  We cycled down the sourthern side of the fjord through some tunnels that we had passed.  If we had pre-booked and gotten the ebikes we would have gone further than we did and gone to the next town.  Make sure you get a light on the bike for the unlit tunnels.  We took beer and water for from the ship and left them in one of the many streams on the way out to enjoyed ice cold on the way back.  Great day. Not much in this little hamlet, just like Olden. In the picture where you see the Pride (tiny) in the background, there is a trail head there that we did not know beforehand that we would have hike up if we had known and brought bike locks.  Great day.

[Bulldogsoc]

Our last port was Stavanger and the one thing we wanted to do on this trip was to hike the the Preikestolen (the Pulpit Rock) which is a flat rock that juts out 604 Meters above the fjord below.  It is about a 40 min drive from Stavanger and there is no tour that will take you for a hike.  You can take a boat from the port to the base of the rock but we wanted to hike it.  It was certainly out of my comfort zone to go that far and remote from the ship without being on a ship tour.  But I rented an EV and we were the second people off the ship shortly after 8am and ran to the car rental and then we were off.  We did not realize it at the time but you go through the DEEPEST car tunnel in the world to get there.  We parked at the trail head and joined the 1500-2500 people that hike this daily.  It was a two hour hike out at a good pace and less coming back as it is mostly down hill.  This is not a hike for anyone not in shape in my opinion.  It is very rocky (all rock) and you need to watch you step.  Amazing bucket list item.  One and done as they say.  I packed in a Parched Pig!  We were back in plenty of time to do some shopping but we were ready for a hot tub, hot food and relaxation.  What an amazing day.

[Bulldogsoc]

Bring some Al foil to back a pic nic snack if you are doing some hikes as there are no food outlets in many of these place.  Norway has spent billions on a coastal highway system. We went under many a bridge.  We enjoyed London.  As a lawyer I posed for selfie outside the Supreme Court House.  We managed to be in town for the changing of the guard which was fun.

 

What an amazing trip.  Don’t even give Europe a second thought on a Carnival ship such as the Pride as your base.  We had ZERO complaints about the food, staff, service, drinks, anything.  Two thumbs up.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

[jsglow]

Absolutely stunning. Thanks for sharing. We loved Pride in the Mediterranean and look forward to Iceland next year. Perhaps we'll be on her Twin Sis Legend in '24 for Norway.