Just returned -12nt med cruise-any questions??

[jlijny]

We just returned from a Celebrity 12nt Med Cruise. All the suggestions that cc members had, made our trip FABULOUS. Our stops included Barcelona, Villefrance, Florence, Rome, Naples, Santorini, Athens, Dubrovnik and Venice. We had 2 days post cruise in Barcelona and 2 days post cruise in Venice. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them. Hopefully, I will be able to help others, the way everyone helped me.

[Keith1010]

Glad to hear that you had a fabulous time on the cruise. Which of the Celebrity ships did you sail on?

 

Keith

[jlijny]

We were on the Summit......and it was great. The trip was amazing....starting in Barcelona and ending in Venice. We enjoyed the ship and all of the ports. I highly recommend it.

[andy7753]

We will be on a similar cruise on Royal in October. We will also be staying 2 nights in Barcelona pre-cruise. Where did you stay - we'll be at the Majestic. Just curious how you worked your sightseeing - did you do it on your own, take tours, doubledecker bus or the metro? We're trying to map out how we want to do it, especially the morning we get in.

 

What did you do in the other ports - private tours, ship excursions?

 

Any details would be great.

 

Glad you had a great time.

[quanmama]

We will be on a similar cruise on Royal in October. We will also be staying 2 nights in Barcelona pre-cruise. Where did you stay - we'll be at the Majestic. Just curious how you worked your sightseeing - did you do it on your own, take tours, doubledecker bus or the metro? We're trying to map out how we want to do it, especially the morning we get in.

 

What did you do in the other ports - private tours, ship excursions?

 

Any details would be great.

 

Glad you had a great time.

 

I would like to know the same things too. Are you plannign to write a review?

[jlijny]

We will be on a similar cruise on Royal in October. We will also be staying 2 nights in Barcelona pre-cruise. Where did you stay - we'll be at the Majestic. Just curious how you worked your sightseeing - did you do it on your own, take tours, doubledecker bus or the metro? We're trying to map out how we want to do it, especially the morning we get in.

 

What did you do in the other ports - private tours, ship excursions?

 

Any details would be great.

 

Glad you had a great time.

 

We stayed 2 nights pre-cruise at the Majestic, too. Since there were three of us (my son is 15), we needed a Suite. The room was a very nice size, and very clean. My only disappointment was that we had reserved a Suite with a balcony, and when we arrived, they said that a Suite with a balcony was not available. They would move us the next day if we wanted. We chose to stay in the original Suite, I hate moving around for one day. In hindsight, it didn't matter anyway......we never had time to sit on a balcony anyway. We didn't get back to the room until after midnight, and wanted to go straight to bed. I am not sure if you have breakfast included with your room rate. We didn't, and it cost us 80euro for the three of us to have breakfast each morning. I am not cheap, but I thought that was ridiculous. We did like the hotel very much. The location is fabulous. You can walk out the front door, turn right and walk 3 blocks, and you are in front of Casa Mila (La Pedrera). If you walk out and turn left and walk a few blocks, you are on La Rambla.

 

All the sightseeing we did in Barcelona was on are own. The first day, after checking in and showering, we headed straight to La Rambla and walked the entire length of the street.....right down to the water. We ended by having dinner at Agua (restaurant that is right on the beach). The atmosphere was fantastic, the food was good....not great! The next morning we did all the touristy things (walked most of it, cabbed it once or twice)......Casa Mila (La Pedrera), La Sagrada Familia, gothic section, churches/museums, etc. etc. At 4:00, we went on a 4hr Fat Tire Bike Tour. If anyone in your family likes biking, I highly recommend it. The tour was great! 90% of the riding was on flat land, with only slight inclines in the balance. The tour ends up on the beach, for a snack, sangria, etc. We didn't actually finish the tour until after 8:30. At this point, it was time to wash up and go to dinner.

 

On the day of embarkment, we did have a private tour scheduled. Jose, from Pepito Tours, and his driver, met us at the hotel for a 5hr tour of Montserrat. We loaded our luggage in the back of his van, and off we went. We mentioned to Jose that we had missed the Boqueria Market (because it was closed when we were there) and Parc Guell. He said that they were "must sees" and he would bring us there before our ride to Montserrat. I am glad we had a chance to see both. When we were finished in Montserrat, he drove us directly to the ship, and we boarded immediately (approx. 3:30)

 

We had private tours in the following ports:

Villefrance.....used Revelations (Michel)......Fantastic!!!!!

Florence/Pisa....used Romeinlimo (Gian)......Fantastic!!!!!

Rome.....used Romeinlimo (driver/guide and a licensed tour guide, Julia)

AMAZING!!!!One of my favorite days

Athens.....used Paul's Taxi....we had his son, Jim, as our driver/guide

WONDERFUL!!!!

 

We went on one ship's tour:

Naples........all day tour of Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii.....We had a good time, and the tour guide was very good, but we were spoiled with all the private tours.

 

In addition to Barcelona, we did the following on our own: Santorini, Dubrovnik, and Venice. All of those ports are very easy to do on your own. In Santorini, we found someone in town that charge 12euro per person for a 2 hr drive. This worked well for us....he drove us to Oia, and waited.....then went on a panoramic drive, before bringing us back to Fira. In Dubrovnik, we used the ship's shuttle bus and went into town, spent the day walking the walls, and seeing all the sights of the old town. In Venice, we were actually there three days...one on the ship, and two at the hotel. It's very easy to do Venice on your own.

 

Have a good time on your trip!!!!

[jlijny]

I would like to know the same things too. Are you plannign to write a review?

I just wrote some info...see above. If you have any additional questions, just ask away.

 

If I were to write a review, where would I post it? Now that the Europe board has been broken up into different countries, I am not sure where to post.

[martinchem]

Was it rainy?

[quanmama]

I just wrote some info...see above. If you have any additional questions, just ask away.

 

If I were to write a review, where would I post it? Now that the Europe board has been broken up into different countries, I am not sure where to post.

 

If you do want to write a review, you could go to the members review section and write one.

It will be posted under members review for that particular ship.

 

Was it difficult to find breakfast around Majestic that you had to eat at the hotel? Many people have commented that if your hotel is at a good location, it should not be difficult to find a pastry/coffee shop for breakfast, but of course it depends on what you like to eat. We are usually ok with just a pastry, juice and coffee, may be some fruits if it is available.

 

I am thinking about hiring Jose from Pepito tour for the same tour although I thought his rate is a bit high. We are still thinking about it. Do you think it was well worth it?

 

We will have Michel from Revelation tour too and are so looking forward to it!

[jlijny]

Was it rainy?

It didn't rain one day......and we were gone for 18 days in total. It was very hot, though.

[jlijny]

If you do want to write a review, you could go to the members review section and write one.

It will be posted under members review for that particular ship.

 

Was it difficult to find breakfast around Majestic that you had to eat at the hotel? Many people have commented that if your hotel is at a good location, it should not be difficult to find a pastry/coffee shop for breakfast, but of course it depends on what you like to eat. We are usually ok with just a pastry, juice and coffee, may be some fruits if it is available.

 

I am thinking about hiring Jose from Pepito tour for the same tour although I thought his rate is a bit high. We are still thinking about it. Do you think it was well worth it?

 

We will have Michel from Revelation tour too and are so looking forward to it!

 

Our problem with breakfast was that my son has a fatal allergy to peanuts and tree nuts. We were concerned in the local coffee shops that something might have come in contact with nuts. In a restaurant for lunch or dinner, we were fine.

 

The tour with Jose was definitely worth it. Remember, that his van holds 6 people (in addition to Jose and his driver), so if you have people to share it with, the price is much more palettable.

 

You will be amazed with Michel from Revelation. I have never met anyone who knows as much about a particular area. He is friendly and helpful, too.

[wandererof the world]

Michel is providing a tour for my group of seven on 9/4--

I will pass along all the kudos he receives on this board!

[jlijny]

Michel is providing a tour for my group of seven on 9/4--

I will pass along all the kudos he receives on this board!

Please tell him that the Bregmans say "hello". I am not sure if he remembers us, or not, but he was wonderful. Tell him we had the July 23rd tour.

 

Enjoy your trip!!!!

[Enjoy Cruising]

Glad to hear you had a great trip. We leave in Oct. on RCCL doing Italy with the only additional port being Dubrovnik. We have a few questions. First, is there a water taxi stop at the cruise terminal in Venice? Did you stop at Portofino or Genoa and if so any tips? Also, we plan on doing Dubrovnik on our own, any tips? Thanks,

[Cheesi]

.

We had private tours in the following ports:

Villefrance.....used Revelations (Michel)......Fantastic!!!!!

Florence/Pisa....used Romeinlimo (Gian)......Fantastic!!!!!

Rome.....used Romeinlimo (driver/guide and a licensed tour guide, Julia)

 

Have a good time on your trip!!!!

 

Could you give me an idea of what you did on the above private tours? How long were they?

 

Thanks!