Recent Mediterranean Cruisers

[brentp]

Just booked 12 nights on the Brilliance on July 16th - can't wait. Have a few questions for those that have recently come back from a European cruise.

 

First things first - money.

 

On board expenses in US dollar or in Euro (including the last night tipping - cash and/or charged)?

 

Do you recall if your bank charged any "foreign transaction fees" for your settlement? Guess I am really asking if RCI somehow routes the charges back to the US and then submits - or if they use an overseas clearing house. Will make a difference on how I settle up.

 

And for Bank of America customers - do you recall if you paid a transaction fee with ATM Global Alliance members (eg: Deutsche bank, Barclay's) in Spain? In Italy? Reading many boards and getting very conflicting data.

 

Next the Ports:

 

Suggestions for the must see/do in: Rome, Naples, Florence/Pisa, Nice, Venice, & Dubrovnik.

 

Given the current exchange rate - almost looks like we might be best served with pre-purchasing some of the cruise's shore excursions vs going independent as we like to do. That said - what was your experience? Any tours operators that stood out for you. Assume the tour operator/driver expects tips - true?

 

Any Venice experience with gondola rides - might be able to book one in advance, but want to hear your experiences.

 

Noticed some of the tours recommend conservative attire (pants, covered shoulders, etc.). True? It will be very hot in July and don't want to over-cook - nor be disrespectful in any way.

 

More formal nights on a European cruise?

 

Any other words of wisdom to pass along or things you look back at and wish you knew before you left?

 

That should be a good start - thanks in advance.

[GMoney]

Suggestions for the must see/do in: Rome, Naples, Florence/Pisa, Nice, Venice, & Dubrovnik.

 

I'll see if I can dig out my review and post it.

 

Any Venice experience with gondola rides - might be able to book one in advance, but want to hear your experiences.

 

I can't help with this directly. Gondola rides are very pricey. You can book directly thru RCI or independently when you arrive. Try the vaporetto (water bus). It's not as romantic, but its very cheap, a great time and a great way to get around.

 

Noticed some of the tours recommend conservative attire (pants, covered shoulders, etc.). True? It will be very hot in July and don't want to over-cook - nor be disrespectful in any way.

 

This is true in churches for sure. I wore shorts and tshirts everywhere else with no problem. Pants that unzip to convert to shorts are awesome. :)

 

More formal nights on a European cruise?

 

IMO, no...

[GMoney]

First things first - money.

 

On board expenses in US dollar or in Euro (including the last night tipping - cash and/or charged)?

 

USD

 

Do you recall if your bank charged any "foreign transaction fees" for your settlement? Guess I am really asking if RCI somehow routes the charges back to the US and then submits - or if they use an overseas clearing house. Will make a difference on how I settle up.

 

I paid my Sea Pass with my RCI credit card and was not charged any fees.

[GMoney]

Here's my review. Hope it helps.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=584444&highlight=Patrick

 

It's an incredible cruise. Have a great time.

[Cruise Cat]

Brent - I have found the following links from a couple of CC members very helpful in planning a Med Cruise:

 

http://web.mac.com/thecruiseguys/The_Cruise_Guys/Brilliance_of_the_Seas_Information.html

 

http://web.mac.com/thecruiseguys/The_Cruise_Guys/Podcasts/Podcasts.html

[DALSAL]

I went two years ago this July. It was hot, but we are use to hot living in Houston. My husband took pants that zipped off into shorts. I took a lacy sweater top that was enough to just cover my shoulders. No, shorts, knees or exposed shoulders in the churches.

 

The only ports we did that you are doing is Venice and Dubrovnik. You do NOT need to book any excursions thru the ship as both places are very doable on your own. Especially Dubrovnik. We spent extra days in Venice, so I guess it depends on how much time you will have there as to whether or not you want to do an excursion...but, I would guess no.

 

We did not do the Gondolas..but I did notice that it was cheaper on your own than what RCI wanted.

 

I use BOA, and I got money before I left. I got Euros, and money for Turkey. I had to order the money and then go pick it up when it came in. Most places would take USD..I recall Dubrovnik had very FEW places that would NOT take USD. Just make sure you have a lot of smaller bills as you will get change back in their money..just like in Mexico. The ship will convert your USDs also. I didnt ever use an ATM, but I know when I was researching, a lot of ppl did. I didnt want to waste my time by looking for ATMS..but if you do, make sure you have numbers for your pin not letters.

 

I only had a 7 day cruise and, we spent as much time in port as we could, that we didnt even care about eating on the ship. So, we never went to dinner in the dinning room, not even once.

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise, Im sure you will. I cant wait to go back! I plan to, but was hoping the dollar would improve some...its very expensive!

 

One thing...if your a coffee drinker..the coffee in Venice was in a tiny tiny container..smaller than a shot glass! But, very strong...hubby loves coffee (I dont), so I found it very amusing when they handed him his coffee! :)

 

Enjoy! Dot

[cruisersnorkler]

I carefully planned out this cruise. We used an independent guide for most places. It is the only way to go. We saw a ton more things than people who tried to go on their own or through the cruise ship. We bought a guide/suvoneer book at everywhere we stopped. That was not for use there but to look at when we got home. We did the cruise you are going on. I brought my Euros from home. I used a money belt that I purchased from Rick Stevens? The money belt was invaluabe--it went under my clothes. I kept a little money in a SAC fanney belt--much better than the typical fanny belts. My husband carried no money. I saw a man walk right up to my husband as he was walking in Barcelona--and bent down looking at his back pocket. Another lady pushed into my husband attempting to pick pocket him--but nothing was there. I can tell you all the details but it would take too much typing here.

[brentp]

Good details, good links, . . . please keep them coming. :)

[Magicat]

In Rome we hired Claudio, he was very very good. http://www.limoinrome.com/home.htm

 

In Venice do the water bus, it is cheap 15 Euro for a 24 hour hop on hop off pass. You get a great tour of the Grand Canal. Avoid having beverages in St. Marks square unless you want to say you did. FIL decided to buy us 2 beers, 2 coffees and a water and it ended up costing him 65 Euro!

[cruisersnorkler]

we used claudio for Naples, Florence, Rome. He got us a private guide for the Vatican. That was probably a mistake. We should of seen that on our own. One room leads to the other--just follow the maze. We would of been able to look at things more as we wanted--she basically rushed as through. In Pompa-spelled wrong-claudio arranged a guide there. This is a good idea to have a guide there. Ask to see it in the morning so you can complete the drive along the coast. Also, we added about an hour at a museum down town that had artifacts from Pompa--well worth it to get the whole picture. We asked to stop at cameo factory and I bought some beautiful cameo's not available here.In France we used another guide-from different company which was a must.Skip the purfume factory--we saw it in about 10 minutes--the guide gets a free car wash by taking us there. It was 10-15 minutes of wasted time--when time is precious. In Florence be sure to ask Claudio to get tickets at both museums-the one where david is and the Utizi--spelled wrong. The guide got us right in to both with no wait--they were amazing. Saw everything Claudio advertized on web site. we asked the guide to take us somewhere we could buy gold bracelet, in Florence--he did it was near a church he took us to. We did not eat lunch though at any place--we rathered see it all. We had italian ice cream which held us over--we had big brkft through room service on ship and wasn't hungry anyway. We did have pizza across from Pompa in Naples area. In Venice this is what we did and I would highly recomend--we did 2 ship excursions--1st day--do the excursion including St Marks, Dodges Palace, and glass showroom. After St Marks--the glass showroon was next and last. Leave the tour at that point--don't see glass showroom. Ask at st Marks when mass is. It was at 6:45pm that evening. You go in at side enterance on left facing church. Before mass-- We then had time to shop--buying our masks in the shops and we had pizza at a little place nearby. We then went back for mass--and it was amazing. There was a huge chior from another country. Their voices went through the church. even though it was in Italian-we knew what was going on and the priest prayed for the Americons present today--us. The next day we did the ship excursion that included going to the island where the glass factory is-- plus seeing another church--I've seen pictures of it in movies--and doing a gondela ride. This gondala ride was much cheeper doing it with this tour than booking on our own or booking the excursion just on its own. We asked our gondala driver if he could do the music. he said yes and turned on music and sang with it. It was a very nice ride--at least 30 minutes. When at the glass factory--as soon as the lecture is over ask--we had to ask how to get out of the show room--it was like they had you locked in there--how to get out of there. Find out what time to meet back at the taxie. Then quickly head down the street looking at the small shops. The glass is 100's times cheeper than in that showroom. I bought a beautiful glass heart for 20$ that was 150$ in the showroom for the same thing. We also got glass bead necklace for 5$ and a glass blown horse for 10$. Sorry for misspelled words--any questions?

[cruisersnorkler]

Just a note--when we were in Venice--we would not of been able to see Doges palace and st Marks and the other church if we had not done the excusions--the line was tremendous--however they let the tour groups right in without waiting. These are not to be missed as they are Venice. in Duborick--we also did the ship excursion walking the wall--however we could of easily done that on our own but didn't know--so didn't want to take any chances. We were able to see pharmacy.We could of seen monestary on own there but didn;t want to spend the money.The maratine museum at the wall isn't worth it--so if you do on own don't pay extra money to go inside. Make sure you bring bottle water on all excursions.My husband got a camo water pack that is used by the boy scouts. This became invaluable as the 3 of us shared it. If Claudio had not reserved our museum tickets for florence --the same was true. No reserved tickets--no see. Are you staying 2 days in barcelona. We had a wonderful time there.

[schoolman]

Hi,

We are going on the Brilliance on Oct. 20 and will be visiting Venice. Arrive at 1 PM and leave the following day at5 PM. I enjoyed reading your account of your day in Venice. I am boggled by all the excursions that are offered. I wondered about the evening gondola ride but perhaps the tour you went on which included the gondola ride would be better. What do you think? Is it possible to go into Venice from the ship on your own? On the Doges Palace tour- was there a lot of walking? My 85 year old mother is accompanying me and she is very mobile but doesn't want to walk, on a fast pace, for long distances. Any thoughts on my queries would be appreciated.

Barb

[AF-1]

Hi, here is my feedback on your questions.

1. Money, all money on the ship will be USD, your seapass is used so no actual money changes hands, You can pre pay your tips for the waiter, room attendant, etc on your seapass.

2. Money exchange, My wife and I did a med cruise last year and we changed money at atm machines in Venice, Croatia, and Greece, I was charged $3.50 total for charges from my bank. That's not bad. The atm machines on the ship and in the ports are safe.

3. What to wear, if you go into a church or some holy site you can wear conservative shorts and t-shirt. You have to remember that some of the countries you visit, like Croatia; they exist for the cruise ships, that's wear they make all their money, they are not going to risk losing cruise passengers because someone doesn't dress exactly proper. Normally there will be 3,000-10,000 passengers in port everyday, depending on how many ships are in town.

 

4. Gondoa rides: my wife and I spent three days in venice prior to our cruise last year. gondola rides cost about 80-100 dollars for two. The Euro was 131 last year. It's much worse this year. If you decide to take a gondola ride don't rent one on the main canal, find one that's a little off the beaten track and negotiate the price. The gondolier's make a living giving rides. Most have gotten their boats from their father, who was a gondolier

5. As far as the other ports, rome is the normal tour to cover everything you can in the alloted time. Remember that the bus ride from the ship to downtown rome will take 1-2 hours depending on traffic.

6. Formal nights; normally there are two for a 12 day trip.

[DALSAL]

Venice includes a lot of walking. And, its on very uneven stones, and lots of little bridges to cross. Ofcourse once inside the buildings, its not bad, although some still had stairs..but such a wonderful place!! Enjoy!

[cruisersnorkler]

I would recomend exactly what we did in Venice especially with your mother. With the tour there was no standing around waiting as many many people were. Some could not get in to the church as St Marks closed early to prepare for Mass. The gondola ride was fine--there was 3 of us so we got our own gondala--as they put 2 couples together. Even the stores were right around the corner from the church to the right. There were other stores lining the square also but we only glanced at them. The lovely masks we bought were to the right down a block or so. 2 of the stores came down on their price for the masks. We bought 3 full sized masks that matched each other and hang on my dinning room wall today.There are "walkers" that have an attached seat that she can push with wheels and sit down when needed. Since this overall trip involves a lot of walking--that would be my suggestion for your mother--great for churches and museums. There are places it would be difficult to use it like Pompa--there she could use a cane to lean on--it would also help walking the uneven walks. Europe is not handicap accessable. We saw 2 elevators on the whole trip--I think I used the elevator at the Doges Palace. In Venice--as we split with the group after St Marks we had to find our own way back. We could not find the Brillance pick up point along the water--however there was a second pick up point near St Marks for another RCCL ship. They let us take this transfer as the ships are parked near each other and we just walked over to the Brillance. There was no charge for the transfer. As you are going into Venice--find your observation point early at the front of the ship- heliport on the right front side. That is definately part of the experience. Barcelona went perfect also. Many people were dissappointed at the different ports--we were not as we saw as much as possible and had every day well planned out. If we had not had our private guides we would of also been crying at dinner as some were.

[lulutoo]

We just got back from Splendour on 5/9. All things aboard ship are charged in dollars and the ATM and casino work in dollars as well. We had arranged for automatic charge toour credit card before boarding- which I think almost everyone does- and the final bill was charged to our credit card in dollars with no surcharges. We used the on shore atm's to get euros for shore excursions- the exchange rate aboard ship was horrid ( $1.66 vs $1.54). be careful not to exchange for many kunas in Croatia- they can not be turned back into dollars or euros and most, except government buildings like museums , gladly took dollars , euros or credit cards- and young men tried to excahnge their kunas for dollars at inflated rates at street corners- we declined worrying about counterfeit bills.

 

I can't remember the otherr questions - but therewere two formal nights - the "at sea night" and one two nights before thecruise ended. There were more tux's in evidence the first night than I had expected, but I felt it might have been easier for some guys to rent them than to tote suits. We travel light and chose to eat in the Windjammer with khakis and polos - a friend went to both in jacket and open shirt and did not feel uncomfortable- they were at a table with no dining companions. We still saw tuxes on formal night two - but less and even just shirts and slacks .

 

Can't recall your other questions - I don't think we went to the same ports - but would be happy to answer any other questions if I can- we went venice- Athens- Mykonos, katakalon, Corfu- Split- Venice- and we had a really wonderful time.

 

Food was not as good as we hoped- no lobster, little shrimp and tough dry beef- but the antipastos and desserts were memorable- RCI should cherish the pastry staff - deseerts and breakfast pastries were outstanding! Bon Voyage!

[cougfan]

Hi Brentp,

 

About using Bank of America Global Alliance ATMs. While in Arusha, Tanzania, Africa we used a Barclays Bank ATM and were never charged the $5 fee. I had been told that you had to use the bank in the country it was from in order to not have the fee but that was not the case for our withdrawal in Tanzania. So possibly there won't be a fee in Spain or Italy. I wouldn't be counting on not having the fee and than be pleasantly surprised if you aren't charged a fee.

 

We are going on the Brilliance in Oct. 2008 and plan on buying most of our excursions through the cruiseline, that way they are paid in US$ and are locked in.

 

In Oct. 2004 on our Brilliance Med cruise we only had 2 formal nights, both on sea days.

 

Julie

[brentp]

Thanks Julie. Your experience in Tanzania is interesting. It is confirming what I've been finding from various forums, . . . people are not getting hit with the BoA transaction fee in some "non-home" countries, but are in others. Specifically, some are saying that Deustche Bank/Barclays in Spain are coming out fee free . . . but they are getting charged in Italy at those same 2 banks. BofA will only say that the fees are waived only in the bank's home contries, . . . but obviously it varies a lot.

 

So, . . . we think we will be in Barcelona for a few days prior to boarding (do not have our air booked yet), and will try to pick up our Euros there and take our chances. From all the posts - with everything on board being in USD and apparently routed through the home RCI office in the states, . . . combined with pre-booking/pre-paying some off-cruise items in advance and use of fee favorable credit cards for on-shore needs, . . . hopefully we can reduced our need for Euros to incidentals on-shore and not need to be a walking bank.

 

Again, thanks everyone for the posts - lots of good details here. :)

[DALSAL]

I know I checked with my BOA before going to Venice, and was told they charged, thats why I got Euros before going. If you have to take out, take out enough so that you dont get charged the fee more than once. ..

[cruisersnorkler]

I am sooo glad we got our Euros before we left. We did not have to look for machines to change money. I consider touring time valuable and not to be wasted. The money belt was a life saver and I could not of done it without it. Not only was the money under my clothes but I also pinned the strap to my underware as a double protection. Really it was light as a feather so it was not uncomfortable to wear. There was a limit exchange on board. My mistake was there was a hefty charge on board to change the euros to US at the end of the trip. I should of just waited and did it at my own bank. i took out what we needed for the morning, then put it in my SAC belt I wore outside my clothes--until we got on the ship--then we put the money in the safe. We got out what we needed for the day--splitting it in half--half outside my clothes-half in the money belt. Twice-my husband was a victum of unsuccessful pick pocketing--that we know of. Two people whom we talked to was picked pocketed and a lady had her purse stollen in Barcellona which she said it was right next to her. It had most of her vacation money in it. I would recomend putting only small amounts of money in articles outside your clothes, I would not put any cards in purse--just keep in money belt under your clothes where it will be safe.

[r&e]

brentP

 

When we checked with RCI last weekend we were told there would be 3 formal nights, with the first formal night on the second night of the cruise (July 17th) and the remaining 2 formal nights would be announced on board.

[brentp]

brentP

 

When we checked with RCI last weekend we were told there would be 3 formal nights, with the first formal night on the second night of the cruise (July 17th) and the remaining 2 formal nights would be announced on board.

 

Thanks - was looking at the itinerary and was wondering if they would do the first sea day (first full day). See ya on board!