Itinerary/Port Advice

[Jacaluke]

We are doing our first mediteranean cruise in May next year on NCL Pearl and I would like some advice on the following itinerary and the ports:

 

London

Le Harve

Opporto

Lisbon

Seville

Malaga

Majorca

Barcelona

Cannes

Livorno

Naples

Rome

 

It is very port intensive and we will be exhausted at the end of the cruise.  Looking at doing 2 nights in Rome - should we extend to 3?

I understand some of the ports are a long way from the attractions, eg, Le Harve and Livorno - are there any other ports on this itinerary where a lot of travel is involved to get to the see things?

 

Any feedback you can provide would be great, thank-you.  I have posted this in France and Spain forums as well.

[edinburgher]

15 minutes ago, Jacaluke said:

are there any other ports on this itinerary where a lot of travel is involved to get to the see things?

London will  most likely be shown as either Dover or Southampton, probably the latter.

 

Seville will probably be shown as Cadiz.

 

Personally I would not stress about distance to the cruiseline marketing big names, as there are plenty of "see things" sights to see which are more local to the port city/town where you will dock  without the need to spend half your port day in transit to/from a distant town/city with minimal time at the "big name", only to repeat the pattern over and over again at each port. and the longer you spend in transit the less time you will have.  And in a number of the cities you would only be able to scratch the surface with minimal time as they would merit stays of a few days, not 2 or 3 hours.

 

Whether you stay 2 or 3 days in Rome depends on the overall  time you have available, your budget,  the number of sights you plan to visit in the time you have alloted, and your flights.

 

It is actually a very nice itinerary.

Edited 1 hour ago by edinburgher

[Jacaluke]

Yes London is Southhampton and Seville is Cadiz.

 

Thank-you for your reassurance - I have been advised to choose an itinerary where the ports are in the town vs travelling long distances.  I will do some more research on these ports to see what's available close by.

 

In Livorno we were wanting to do Lucca as well as Florence - not sure we would have time for both.  Should we just concentrate on Lucca instead?

 

[edinburgher]

Just now, Jacaluke said:

In Livorno we were wanting to do Lucca as well as Florence - not sure we would have time for both.

You would not, but Lucca is an easy DIY and a gem of a place o visit.

[PurpleTraveller]

38 minutes ago, Jacaluke said:

In Livorno we were wanting to do Lucca as well as Florence - not sure we would have time for both.  Should we just concentrate on Lucca instead?

 

 

I personally would not spend half my port day going to and from Florence only to have a few hours there unless there is something you especially want to see.

 

In June we had a wonderful day going to Lucca and Pisa from Livorno. Lucca is a lovely town and we had a fabulous time wandering the charming streets, walking along the wall, visiting churches, shopping, having a great pizza lunch and topped off by delicious gelato. At Pisa we did the obligatory photos at the Tower which was a bit of fun and enjoyed viewing the beautiful buildings.

 

There is lots to see and do in Barcelona so you will need to research to see what interests you most. You can easily DIY in Barcelona depending on what you want to do.

 

There is also lots to see and do, in and from Naples. Popular choices are Pompeii, Herculaneum, Capri and the Amalfi Coast. You can also stay in Naples where there is plenty to do. Once again do your research to choose what interests you most as you can't do it all. Some you can DIY and others you may want a tour.

 

Come back with more defined questions once you have worked out what you want to do in a port for advice and help in how to do it.

 

Have fun planning! 😊

 

Edited 1 hour ago by PurpleTraveller