NCL Epic Western Mediterranean Cruise from Rome

In planning for our recent vacation to Italy and Epic cruise I used these boards to research everything from the cabin, the entertainment, the dining and the excursions! Thank you to all who helped us plan the perfect trip!

Now I hope to pay it forward with a trip review from our recent trip to Italy and Norwegian Epic vacation!

I am also blogging about it on our brand new travel blog... check that out too , especially for pictures!

Our Itinerary

June 26... travel day to Venice

June 27-29... Venice, Italy

June 29... Train to Rome

Jun 29-July 2...Rome

July 2-July 9... NCL Epic Western Mediterranean Cruise from Rome

July 9... travel day home

The Cast

Myself, DH, ShaSha age 8 and Po age 5

Additional Info

We love to travel!

Our last 5 cruises were on DCL

This was our first trip to Europe!

We traveled carry on ONLY!

Feel free to ask questions... I'll answer what I can!

In planning for our recent vacation to Italy and Epic cruise I used these boards to research everything from the cabin, the entertainment, the dining and the excursions! Thank you to all who helped us plan the perfect trip!

 

Now I hope to pay it forward with a trip review from our recent trip to Italy and Norwegian Epic vacation!

 

I am also blogging about it on our brand new travel blog... check that out too , especially for pictures!

 

Our Itinerary

June 26... travel day to Venice

June 27-29... Venice, Italy

June 29... Train to Rome

Jun 29-July 2...Rome

July 2-July 9... NCL Epic Western Mediterranean Cruise from Rome

July 9... travel day home

 

The Cast

Myself, DH, ShaSha age 8 and Po age 5

 

Additional Info

We love to travel!

Our last 5 cruises were on DCL

This was our first trip to Europe!

We traveled carry on ONLY!

 

Feel free to ask questions... I'll answer what I can!

Ooh exciting.

I'll check it out! Thanks.

I'm travelling on Epic West Med in a few weeks. Actually, with a toddler in a balcony cabin which am a bit concerned about as I'm not sure where the crib will go (just started another thread about this).

I have a couple of questions please...

1. Is Cannes the only tender port? How long did the tender process take? Was it easy?

2. How did you find the travel from Ship to Livorno train station? (If indeed you did travel to the train station)

3. Was the up charge on alcohol 15% grats + 15% VAT (we travel disembark from BCN so guess we are subject to Spanish tax).

4. Is the Palma port convenient for visiting the city?

5. Was there entertainment every night in Manhatten room? What time typically please?

Thank you in advance! :)

Off to check out your blog now!

Oh... I remember being so excited to plan this whole trip just a few short weeks ago! Although I started about a year and half in advance!!! You will love it!

We actually had an inside stateroom for all four of us! It was like living in a small box for a week... but we book inside cabins most of the time because we spend virtually no time in the room! We would rather spend the extra money booking private or shared tours! We have cruised in balcony rooms with our little ones before (on DCL and NCL) in the past. We were just always sure to be sure the chairs and little tables are back as far away from the railing as possible! The best part about the balcony was that while the kids were napping we had our own area!

You will just love the cruise... we did!

Ooh exciting.

I'll check it out! Thanks.

 

I'm travelling on Epic West Med in a few weeks. Actually, with a toddler in a balcony cabin which am a bit concerned about as I'm not sure where the crib will go (just started another thread about this).

 

I have a couple of questions please...

 

1. Is Cannes the only tender port? How long did the tender process take? Was it easy?Yes. We only had to tender in Cannes. The water was choppy and we ran about 20 minutes later than our tender ticket. We had a tour with Riviera Premium Tours at 9:30 am and we booked an 8:20 am tender ticket. We waited about 20 minutes extra to be called and then the process took about 15-20 minutes to walk downstairs, load, travel and unload. We had just enough time to use the bathrooms and free wifi at the port before meeting our tour guide.

2. How did you find the travel from Ship to Livorno train station? (If indeed you did travel to the train station) We didn't. We had a private tour pick us up in every port except Mallorca. However, according to the Freestyle Daily... there is a shuttle for $12 pp that drops off at the Livorno train station. Last shuttle back to the ship is 5:30 pm. Bookings are available on the pier for most of the day.

3. Was the up charge on alcohol 15% grats + 15% VAT (we travel disembark from BCN so guess we are subject to Spanish tax).I believ that the VAT on alcohol was 10% plus the gratuity

4. Is the Palma port convenient for visiting the city?We booked the hop on hop off bus in Palma and it picked up directly from the port! That was convenient for us!

5. Was there entertainment every night in Manhatten room? What time typically please?We didn't attend but looks like the answer according to the Freestyle Daily is YES. Typically between 6 and 7:30 pm

 

Thank you in advance! :)

 

Off to check out your blog now!

Hello,

Could you tell me what time the disembark started for passengers ending in Rome?

We flew out of JFK on Delta at 8:41 pm. It was actually a good flight and the kids occupied themselves for quite awhile watching movies. We flew economy so leg room was not a luxury and I am terrible at sleeping on the plane but we all managed to get a few hours of sleep and we were more than ready to get off the plane after we landed and be on our way to the Venice! As our plane approached the runway we could see the city below and it was beautiful! We were on the ground just ahead of schedule at 11 am.

We packed carry on only using the Osprey Porter 46 for DH, myself and ShaSha. Po carried a DCL backpack. Packing carry on luggage only for this trip was the best tip I followed! We grabbed our backpacks and breezed off of the plane and through customs in no time flat! We were very quickly on our way to Venice via our pre-arranged shared transfer. At first we couldn't find where to meet for the transfer but after being pointed in the right direction we found the desk easily and checked in. We waited about 20 minutes before we were finally told to meet our driver at the pier. We were excited and certainly didn't want to just wait around the airport. We walked down the easy to follow path to pier #8. After another 10 minute wait our boat pulled in and we boarded along with 2 other couples. Wow... What an amazing way to enter this beautiful city of water! The kids loved it as much as we did! Po couldn't stop gazing out the window and wormed his way right out front with the driver! We all stood out back with our heads (and cameras) turning from side to side taking in the sights! One of the couples was staying near the Rialto Bridge so we popped out onto the Grand Canal just before the bridge. oooo's and aahhhhh's all around! We followed the canal to our stop and made our way easily to our hotel, The Palazzo Priuli. We took our time walking over the bridges and stopped for a drink at the public fountain and then before we knew it the Palazzo Priuli was there in front of us! We checked in easily and our room was ready. Great news. We knew we couldn't rest for too long or we would take a nap and we wanted to get out and explore Venice! Ok... well maybe just a little rest would be OK. And that is just what we did ... but only an hour!

Hello' date='

Could you tell me what time the disembark started for passengers ending in Rome?[/quote']

 

Sorry, I honestly don't know what time it started. We were off the ship and on our way via our transfer to the airport by 8:00 am. We honestly just walked right off!

Look forward to hearing all about it, interesting note about the cruise transfers in Livorno.

I will check out the freestyle to see if they do a similar thing in Naples to the station there. (Although we may walk it)

Looking forward to your review

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Norwegian Epic Med Cruise Sep 2014

Look forward to hearing all about it, interesting note about the cruise transfers in Livorno.

 

I will check out the freestyle to see if they do a similar thing in Naples to the station there. (Although we may walk it)

 

Looking forward to your review

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Norwegian Epic Med Cruise Sep 2014

I have the Freestyle for Naples in front of me and do not see anything about a shuttle.

There is also a shuttle listed in the Freestyle Daily for Palma. $12 pp for roundtrip service is available from 1-6:45 pm. (Service is very busy from 1-2 pm.)

i want to know the secret to how did you pack everything in just a backpack???!!!?

We will be in europe for 14 days (12 day cruise) and I'm debating what type of luggage to use.

Thank you, thank you!

This is all such valuable info, much appreciated :)

i want to know the secret to how did you pack everything in just a backpack???!!!?

 

We will be in europe for 14 days (12 day cruise) and I'm debating what type of luggage to use.

We decided to go carry on only via a backpack because we were walking to our hotel in Venice as well as taking the train from Venice to Rome. It was fabulous and so easy to get from one place to another! Norwegian's Freestyle cruising just made it easier... we never ate in any of the dining rooms so mostly casual clothes filled those bags. I researched many kinds of backpack carry on pieces and DH and I decided on the Osprey Porter 46. It is a great pack and well worth the investment! We bought three of them on Amazon @ $99 each. (we actually got the money for Christmas from my parents since that is what I asked for as a gift)We flew Delta and the bags were the largest carry on size allowable. They have a harder shell so it keeps the shape of the case nicely, straps to cinch it tight, a carry handle on one side and of course backpack straps that ware very padded and comfy. Personally, I packed 3 pairs of shorts (one pair was a dressy black pair of bermuda shorts) and 3 pairs of capris (one pair was a longer and dressier black pair). I also wore a pair of black capris (Yoga style) on the plane. I packed silky and dressy tanks to pair with a short sleeve black knit sweater and a camel colored sweater for churches and to dress up a bit for shows on the ship. (see picture below while we were at the Vatican in Rome)I packed 15 shirts in all and just rolled everything tightly to pack in my packing cubes. Oh... and a pashmina and a scarf added some variation with my tanks and t's along the way. I wore Birkenstock sandals and packed an additional pair plus a pair of flip flops for the pool deck. And yes, I was able to pack my swimsuit and a thin cover up, too. I did take a small packet of Tide and the day before we left Rome I washed a "load" of undergarments. Just take light materials and they dry in no time. I do wish that I had taken one of those travel wash lines but I I just hung the stuff on our balcony at the hotel. The neighbors probably thought we were whacked!

I am a packing cube fan... my husband is not (he did not use the cubes, but I used them for myself and two kids). I just like to keep my things separated. I took 2 large cubes. One had my dressier items and accessories in it. The other my more casual clothing. We planned on never eating in a dining room ahead of time or else I could have easily taken my black travel skirt and black travel pants (the ones that roll up and don't ever wrinkle!) That is exactly what I am going to do for our DCL Magic Cruise next summer!

Honestly, it is easy. It just takes a bit of planning. Keep your bottoms color neutral like black, khaki, navy and gray and then add color with the shirts and accessories! I read somewhere that if you didn't intend to wear something at least twice... it wasn't worth packing! I followed that rule with my accessories, shoes and bottoms... but packed a shirt for each day plus one! DH took a pair of khaki travel pants that zip off into shorts. They were great! He wore them to the churches and to the Cirque Dreams show on board. For next year's cruise I will get him an additional pair in gray or black to wear in the dining rooms.

Myself, DH and my 8 year old all carried the Porter 46. My son who is 5 carried a regular school sized backpack ( i just put his clothes in packing cubes so they were easy to get to. He wears a size 4 so I had 2 outfits a day for him... he just wore shorts twice. We also carried the Osprey Porter Daylight as a personal item. On the plane we carried all of our travel documents and electronics chargers in it. We used the daylight to carry around when touring on the trip. We also had the water bladder (empty on the plane of course) in it so the kids could easily get a drink when we were out on our 7 to 10 hour tours each day!

Also, I packed my make up, hair straightener, 2 combs, brush,tooth brushes, soap, shower poofs, and medical stuff in my carry on. DH, ShaSha and I also each carried a ziplock for our 3 ounce liquids in our carry on. DH even carried my SLR camera in a small case with just one lense in his bag.

I wasn't sure that we could do it... but it was easy! And may I just say that airport, Venice, Taxi and train travel was a cinch because we only had the backpacks! There are lots of videos on Rick Steve's and You tube showing different tips and techniques!I never thought I was missing anything and I never felt under dressed!

Thank you, thank you!

 

This is all such valuable info, much appreciated :)

You are welcome! I took extensive notes and brought home all my Freestyle Dailys so I could help others!

The Palazzo Priuli was a very nice hotel in the heart of Venice and very close to The Bridge of Sighs and St. Mark's Square. It was a short walk to the Rialto Bridge as well. We were in room 101 which is a standard room so no canal view but that was not a problem for us. The hotel is very old and has much character! We loved it. Our room was on the first floor and the breakfast area was just outside our door. In the morning there would be some dish rattling and such going on but not enough to disturb us. The hotel also offered snacks and drinks in the afternoon and oh how convenient that was to have them just outside your hotel room door!

After about an hour of unpacking (just a bit) and resting (not too much) we went out into Venice to explore. We quickly came across the Bridge of Sighs. The crowd was huge and we felt lucky to get up up to the rail for some photos. St. Mark's Square was next. We are Disney fans and visit the World at least twice a year. It is funny how seeing the real St. Mark's Square made me think of the Italy Pavilion in Disney World! To be standing in this square seemed like I was living in a dream... fantasy like! I just took lots of pictures and gazed out across the square drinking in all its beauty! I couldn't believe we were actually standing here among hundreds and hundreds of othe tourists! Yup... it was THAT crowded. (Tip for St. Mark's Square... if you can see it later in the day or night after the day trippers have left... DO IT!)

Being the Disney fans that we are we set out in search of the Disney Store which I knew was somewhere in the Rialto shopping district. Venice is easy to find your way through. Of course, we had a map but there are signs everywhere with arrows pointing in the direction you need to go. We just followed the arrows pointing to Rialto. We made some small t shirt purchases (remember we are carry on only...so we can't buy too many souvenirs!) in the Venice Disney Store and went back out to stand on he famous Rialto Bridge. I could have stood here all day! It was just like I imagined... only better! Of course, we were standing among hoards of other tourists but it was so picturesque I just didn't want to take my eyes off of the view!

On the way back to the hotel we did some window shopping and found a restaurant along the way for dinner. I would have preferred to go off the beaten path to find some food but we haven't eaten since the airplane this morning and the kids were starving. For 14 Euros DH ad I had a pre-fix menu that included pasta with seafood (delicious!), a salad and a fried fish plate. It was very good! The kids shared a pizza. It was 6:30 pm now and we headed back to the hotel for another rest before we headed back out to get lost in the city! I really wanted to be sure that I experienced St. Mark's Square at night so I wanted to be sure to get at least a cat nap so I could stay awake tonight! It was so worth it!

The night was filled trying to get lost but ending up on the water front of the Grand canal, our Daily Gelato... more on that later... watching the Queen Elizabeth Cruise ship exit the city and a stroll through St. Marks' Square with the violins playing and puddles of water forming in its center as the tide came in! It was actually just how I pictured it...except for those guys with the roses and the flying glow disks that bugged us about every 5 seconds! Grrr...

Then it was back to the hotel via a short cut we found and a good night's sleep!

We decided to go carry on only via a backpack because we were walking to our hotel in Venice as well as taking the train from Venice to Rome. It was fabulous and so easy to get from one place to another! Norwegian's Freestyle cruising just made it easier... we never ate in any of the dining rooms so mostly casual clothes filled those bags. I researched many kinds of backpack carry on pieces and DH and I decided on the Osprey Porter 46. It is a great pack and well worth the investment! We bought three of them on Amazon @ $99 each. (we actually got the money for Christmas from my parents since that is what I asked for as a gift)We flew Delta and the bags were the largest carry on size allowable. They have a harder shell so it keeps the shape of the case nicely, straps to cinch it tight, a carry handle on one side and of course backpack straps that ware very padded and comfy. Personally, I packed 3 pairs of shorts (one pair was a dressy black pair of bermuda shorts) and 3 pairs of capris (one pair was a longer and dressier black pair). I also wore a pair of black capris (Yoga style) on the plane. I packed silky and dressy tanks to pair with a short sleeve black knit sweater and a camel colored sweater for churches and to dress up a bit for shows on the ship. (see picture below while we were at the Vatican in Rome)I packed 15 shirts in all and just rolled everything tightly to pack in my packing cubes. Oh... and a pashmina and a scarf added some variation with my tanks and t's along the way. I wore Birkenstock sandals and packed an additional pair plus a pair of flip flops for the pool deck. And yes, I was able to pack my swimsuit and a thin cover up, too. I did take a small packet of Tide and the day before we left Rome I washed a "load" of undergarments. Just take light materials and they dry in no time. I do wish that I had taken one of those travel wash lines but I I just hung the stuff on our balcony at the hotel. The neighbors probably thought we were whacked!

 

I am a packing cube fan... my husband is not (he did not use the cubes, but I used them for myself and two kids). I just like to keep my things separated. I took 2 large cubes. One had my dressier items and accessories in it. The other my more casual clothing. We planned on never eating in a dining room ahead of time or else I could have easily taken my black travel skirt and black travel pants (the ones that roll up and don't ever wrinkle!) That is exactly what I am going to do for our DCL Magic Cruise next summer!

Honestly, it is easy. It just takes a bit of planning. Keep your bottoms color neutral like black, khaki, navy and gray and then add color with the shirts and accessories! I read somewhere that if you didn't intend to wear something at least twice... it wasn't worth packing! I followed that rule with my accessories, shoes and bottoms... but packed a shirt for each day plus one! DH took a pair of khaki travel pants that zip off into shorts. They were great! He wore them to the churches and to the Cirque Dreams show on board. For next year's cruise I will get him an additional pair in gray or black to wear in the dining rooms.

 

Myself, DH and my 8 year old all carried the Porter 46. My son who is 5 carried a regular school sized backpack ( i just put his clothes in packing cubes so they were easy to get to. He wears a size 4 so I had 2 outfits a day for him... he just wore shorts twice. We also carried the Osprey Porter Daylight as a personal item. On the plane we carried all of our travel documents and electronics chargers in it. We used the daylight to carry around when touring on the trip. We also had the water bladder (empty on the plane of course) in it so the kids could easily get a drink when we were out on our 7 to 10 hour tours each day!

 

Also, I packed my make up, hair straightener, 2 combs, brush,tooth brushes, soap, shower poofs, and medical stuff in my carry on. DH, ShaSha and I also each carried a ziplock for our 3 ounce liquids in our carry on. DH even carried my SLR camera in a small case with just one lense in his bag.

 

I wasn't sure that we could do it... but it was easy! And may I just say that airport, Venice, Taxi and train travel was a cinch because we only had the backpacks! There are lots of videos on Rick Steve's and You tube showing different tips and techniques!I never thought I was missing anything and I never felt under dressed!

WOW you are amazing!! thank you for all the great info on packing!! I was also going to ask you what shoes you wore for walking so much. I've been looking at Clarks but are Birkenstock's really comfy?? Also is the backpack considered your personal item? Can you carry both a backpack and a purse or a backpack and a carry on suitcase with Delta?

WOW you are amazing!! thank you for all the great info on packing!! I was also going to ask you what shoes you wore for walking so much. I've been looking at Clarks but are Birkenstock's really comfy?? Also is the backpack considered your personal item? Can you carry both a backpack and a purse or a backpack and a carry on suitcase with Delta?

I wear Birkenstock's all the time. They are my summer shoe of choice. I have many pairs in many styles and many colors. I even wear them to WDW and have no problems. They were great in Europe... just be sure they aren't brand new. DH wore a pair as well, but switched them off and on with a pair of sport sandals.

The Backpack was considered our carry on item. The Porter 46 is the largest size allowed for a carry on. I carried a crossover Vera Bradley bag as my purse. A backpack the size of the Daylighter is considered as a personal item but not the large 46 liter size.

We woke to the alarm at 7 am, quickly readied ourselves and enjoyed a very nice breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast had some nice cereal, pastry, fruit and meat selections. It was perfect. At 9 am we met our guide, David, from Walks Inside Venice for our Grand Tour of Venice. It was a 4 hour tour and was a great value at 380 Euros! We saw and learned so much about the city of Venice. The tour included the Bridge of Sighs, St. Mark's Square with priority entry to the Cathedral, a private boat tour of the Venice canals which lead us to the Island of Murano, a glass blowing demonstration (which was beautiful and not in the least bit pushy to make a purchase), back to Venice and a walk through the back streets of Venice to the Rialto Bridge. David kept our kids involved and was extremely attentive to them and playful in his explanations of the city attractions. This tour was ShaSha's favorite part of our entire trip! ShaSha asked David to see a school in Venice and without hesitation off we went and were soon standing in front of an elementary school. It was a great tour and we would highly recommend Walks in Venice!

We grabbed some sandwiches that we saw yesterday and went back to the breakfast area at the Hotel Palazzo Priuli to enjoy our lunch. The afternoon snacks and drinks were out which made our lunch perfect!

After a short rest we went back out into Venice... over the Rialto Bridge to discover the other side of the Grand Canal! We just walked around seeking out bell towers, churches, small squares and gelato shops. At sunset we were standing on a bridge while a man was playing his violin( ShaSha plays the violin so this was a very special moment)... it was without a doubt my favorite moment in Venice! After sunset we headed towards the Accadamia Bridge, back over the Grand Canal, and strolled slowly back through St. Mark's Square taking in all the sights and sounds. We enjoyed a pizza and wine dinner at the Crazy Bar just outside our hotel. An accordion played, the gondolas glided by and sat in the moonlight on the side of a canal. It was the perfect romantic evening... despite the fact that the kids were sitting right next to us! LOL