Just back Star Princess Med part 3 barcelona to Naples

[ijkh]

Onwards toward our trip the ports and tours Barcelona, Monaco and Naples:

I loved this itinerary. We think this was an unbeatable combination of sea days and touring. The best port of the trip is debatable. We loved each of the ports but also loved the sea days for rest and comfort of the ship.

 

After boarding in Barcelona we unpacked and were so comfortable and tired from precruise touring we didn’t want move. We had really enough of Barcelona and all the Gaudis(even though we loved them) for the two days prior to the cruise. It was hot and the hustle bustle of La Rambalas and the sort of unsavory element to Barcelona made it our least favorite port. It was a great place to leave from in our opinion. We were very satisfied on our comfortable balcony for a private cocktail hour. Very romantic and restful for the two of us. The next day we roamed the ship getting lost over and over again. I made an appointment for a nail polish change after travel had made my nails look like a wreak a real deal at only 15 dollars. Ask for Simone from Jamaica she is so nice. We checked out the pools and the gym. We read our princess patter and settled in for our journey. We did venture out to pick up some last minute things in Barcelona. We took the cruisers bus from the ship to the Columbus monument at the base of the Ramblas for a few euros. It was ok but didn’t run as frequently as advertised. From the cruisers bus you can easily reach the hop and off tourist bus to see more of Barcelona. We thought about picking up a bouquet of flowers from the flower market on the Ramblas which are really a bunch of stalls on the street. We thought the flowers were over priced but maybe spoiled from the cheap and good flowers we get at home here in Oregon. I was glad the ship spent the first night in harbor. It let me get used to being on a ship. I am very sensitive to motion and only had one evening where I felt the need for a half a Bonine tablet. I think getting used to the motion in harbor was excellent.

 

On Wednesday we pulled out of the harbor at 1:25 pm and watched ourselves slip away to sea from our balcony. We were on D dolfin level in the 600 series minisuites. We though our cabin and location on the ship was perfect. The day the ship left Barcelona after the first overnight in port we slept in, lazy day. The ship left port midday. I found my favorite spot on the ship at the very back by the pool in the shade watching the wake behind. I have a picture of that spot that I will keep at work for a memory.

 

Monaco:

We awoke to pull back the drapes and there it is Monaco, the lovely setting of Monte Carlo. We were looking out at the fancy hotels and condos that cost as much for one night as we spent for the entire cruise for the same view and bet our shower and air-conditioning worked better. We had no specific agenda here. We have previously had 10 days in the Provence region in France and felt no need to rush off to any of the hill villages. We had been warned that this Grand Med itinerary could cause burn out due to long days of travel. So we decided to start slow. My advice is to go easy and start out with just a slow day in Monte Carlo. We chose two things we really wanted to do. We had a late breakfast in Portifino and then headed out. I used the Fodor’s or Frommers I can’t remember which to help decide what to do in this port. We knew we would see lots of ancient ruins and such so we selected the Jacques Costeau Oceanographic Museum for our time in Monte Carlo. It can be reached through an elevator inside the cliff that the museum sits upon. The elevator was reached by walking through the “car park” where the buses were parked. Just ask the staff as you leave the boat they will point you in the right direction. The museum did not disappoint. You want to see exotic fish they’ve got them. Want to see a 25 ft long stuffed giant squid they’ve got it. Ancient submarines and strange but wonderful marine art works all there. We were entertained but we like natural history museums.

 

We finished there and right outside the museum was just what we wanted…a little tourist train (tram) to take us all around the hilly city of Monte Carlo. We were very satisfied with our 6-euro tram ride and felt we saw more of the town than those who walked and some who paid for tours. We finished with a walk down through the gardens to the ship. It was very relaxing and satisfying. We bought nothing. We didn’t need to see everything and felt very happy with our choices and experience.

 

Next day was in the port of Livorno. As we had already done both Pisa and a comprehensive visit to Florence so we selected the tour to the little town of Lucca. I had researched Lucca through Rick Steve’s book and found THE THING I want to do in Lucca…ride bicycles around the ancient ramparts of the city. So we signed on for the ship’s half-day tour. We stuck through most of the tour but at the third and final church we found out where to meet the buses and when and ditched the tour. We high tailed it to the bike rental identified by the Steve’s book and were quickly issued our bikes by the bilingual friendly bike staff. They were great bikes. We took a moderately paced bike pedal around on top of the walls of the city. It took about thirty minutes for the complete circuit cost was one euro each for bike rental. We were back to the ship by about one o’clock in time for another lovely formal lunch in the Portofino. Pretty idyllic compared to those slaving in the heat all day seeing Florence.

 

Next stop was Naples because it was Sunday and Princess was very thoughtful and did not bring us into Rome on a Sunday. Instead they double backed after Naples BRAVO.

 

In Naples we “did it ourselves”. In retrospect we would buy the ship's tours not because we are lazy but because it is so hot and the trains are slow. We walked briskly over to the Circumvessuvia train. I had bought one of the plastic coated city maps for Naples (also for Barcelona, Rome and Venice), which gave us great confidence in which way to go. I highly recommend having good maps for each port particularly if you plan to do it yourself. I buy them at bookstores before we go. We rode the train no problem but saw the pickpockets. We rented an audio guide for Pompeii, we bought a "Then and Now" book but still…the time we spent getting there could have been better used. We had a picnic lunch in Pompeii, which was fun. We bought drinks from the little lunch stand in the middle of the ruins and ate in the little arbor in the back. It was quite pleasant. Then we took the train back stopping at Herculaneum. It was there we saw the princess cruise tour groups and actually were a little jealous… of their guide who seemed more interesting than our audio guides, their air-conditioned bus back to the ship and most of all the time they had there when we had to briskly walk back up the hill to the train and sweat it out if we would make it back to the ship in time. Italian trains are notorious for strikes where they simply stop for awhile. This happened to use on a previous trip and it made me a little wary. We made it with 30 minutes to spare but I do not recommend this method. Drop the cash and buy the tour in my opinion. Yes you can do it yourself but why?

 

Next installment Rome, Athens and Kusadasi.

[vivienne-j]

Marvellous post yet again!! Keep them coming!!

 

I've been trying to find the maps you mention (I'd heard about them elsewhere), but can't find them here in the UK. Who publishes them? Perhaps I can ask our local bookshop to order them in for us.

 

I agree with you about taking the ship's tours if there's the slightest risk of not getting back in time - we've toured various parts of Europe before, and are reasonably confident with the languages and used to the different cultures, but in Rome, Naples and Kusadasi we're sticking with the Princess tours - "just in case"!

 

Vivienne

[ijkh]

Viv-

 

Here are the web sites listed on a couple of the brands of city maps we purchased:

 

http://www.streetwisemaps.com

 

http://www.halwag.com

 

http://www.mapeasy.com

 

Good luck finding your maps. We bought some from the auto club and some at bookstores.

[BJS]

Was this just on La Rambalas or did you find this all over Barcelona?

 

We are enjoying your reviews! Thanks again for taking the time to share.

[bon voyage!]

Thank you so much for your review!

 

I am on a similar Star cruise in September and wondering where the Star docked? Half of my cruise papers say Cannes, and the other half say Villefranche.

 

We were hoping to do Monaco on our own, but are not sure how to get there, especially if you don't know which port you are arriving at! It seems like it would be a long trip from Cannes. We had hoped to take the train from Villefranche, what did you do, and was it easy? Thanks in advance!

[ijkh]

Our cruise tendered into Monte Carlo from anchor off shore. We were literally in the bay of Monte Carlo. It was magnificant.