Wind Surf Rome to Barcelona

[Sirat]

Has anyone taken this cruise?

 

Has anyone tried the cruise line's excursions for the Rome to Barcelona trip? Alternatively, has anyone toured these areas independently during a Wind Star cruise?

 

We're in our 40's and are taking the Wind Surf Rome to Barcelona cruise 7/1- 7/8.

 

Can anyone recommend moderate priced hotels in Rome and Barcelona conveniently located near major sites? :)

[luvnorway]

We've cruised Western Med itineraries on Wind Surf 10x total in 2005 and 2006 and have taken ship's shorexes occasionally, but always explore the ports on our own, if possible, by walking and/or using public transit . If you have any specific questions re particular ports, I'd be glad to provide answers if I can.

BTW we never hire guides or drivers, so I can't be of any assistance in that regard.

[Sirat]

Thanks. We'd appreciate any info you remember about sites especially worth visiting during short visits and ways to get around at the following ports: Rome, Amalfi, Sorrento, Capri, Mahon, Palma de Mallorca, Tarragona, Barcelona.

[luvnorway]

If you go to the Ports of Call message board and select 'Europe' and then 'Mediterranean - East and West' you'll find so much information on all of these ports that you'll be overwhelmed! Also, on the Med board, save yourself some time by using the 'Search this board' feature - it will save you hours since most of the info on ports you're asking about will be in posts in response to people asking about these ports last year.

 

Suggest you use this forum to ask questions about the ports that are Windstar specific - and I'll be glad to try to help with these

eg. re shorexes offered by the cruise line or where Windstar ships usually dock since this is often different (and more convenient) than the piers used by larger ships

 

Also, are you aware that, if you go to the Windstar Cruise Line website and look at the specific itinerary for your cruise, and then select a port and click on "Port Tips" for that particular port, it will show you the port info distributed on the ship for that location (or a version of it).

[Starfire2]

We are going on the same cruise--two couples in our 40's. We have taken Windstar cruises the past two summers and absolutely love them! Depending on the ports, we have found it easier to hire private tour guides or just walk around on our own.

[Sirat]

Thanks for your response. We were disappointed with several of the ports on our 2005 Wind Star cruise but plan to do our own exploring this time. Since it was our very first cruise, we had taken the ship excursions. For example, Greek "caves" were more like barely noticeable alcoves in waterside cliffs. A "winery" was an unimpressive cafe where we received a plastic shot glass of ouzo.

 

Last year, on a Regent cruise with another couple, we had a great experience doing our own exploring. This same couple is meeting us to go on this Citivecchia to Barcelona cruise.

 

We hope the Wind Surf cruise will have better ports than on the Wind Star Athens to Venice cruise (with the exception of Venice, which we toured on our own and found fascinating).

 

We can see if we can share cabs: eight people might get a better rate than two or four people.

 

Where do you guys live? We live in New York.

:)

[Starfire2]

We live in Maryland. I was looking into the different ports and from what I can tell, you can really do a lot of exploring on your own. Last year, we went from Athens to Istanbul with Windstar. In a couple of ports, you really did need to go on a tour. We chose to do private tours. Again, we went with another couple and it was not too bad sharing the cost.

[Tiger bear78]

We are also going on the WindSurf on July 1 from Rome to Barcellona. I have booked Marcello with See Sorento tours and we have room for 3 or more in our van. We are meeting up with him in Almalfi - going down the coast and then to Pompeii and back to the ship in Sorrento. If you are interested - happy to e-mail deatils. We are 3 women from South Carolina. 2 of us are in our late 40's and my mother is early 70's - and she is probably in better shape than we are! I am an attorney and we are all wine drinkers ! Hope to meet you all on the ship!

[Sirat]

Thanks for thinking of us, but we will be four people: two married couples. Hope you can find three to accompany you. See you all onboard.