GreenFamily

The custom tour looks fantastic. How much did your tour cost?

When my children were young, I had no problem with adults telling them to behave. It’s our jobs as adults to guide the young. It’s not unreasonable in these examples.

Taxis are very expensive.

First, Villefranche is very pretty and only 10k away from Nice in one direction and Monaco in the other by train. Look at the coastal train maps and you can easily get to Nice by train, walk a block to another train station and catch another short train ride to the beach and old town market. Cannes is not that pretty or interesting in my opinion and far to travel. But Antibes, also accessible by train, has it all. It’s a charming old town for exploring, with coastal walks, and beaches. See Rick Steves Mediterranean Ports guidebook.

That’s so cool!

If the ceiling is two stories high, then this is a decent size pool. It looks really small on the video.

To be clear for people who do not know what Starlink is, it uses satellites, not fiber broadband, so it does not improve connectivity on land. The purpose is to provide better internet service to areas that don’t have access, like Ukraine for example.

Ibiza, Spain, unless you like to hang out at loud and crowded beaches. Don’t skip Seville.

What do you think of Prima’s thermal spa? It looks to me like it’s mostly dry saunas. It doesn’t appear to have a thalassotherapy pool.

These slides look dangerous. What if a child panics and tries to brake with his/her legs? Snap! Didn’t a woman get trapped in one of these things? The nonstop screaming would drive me bananas if I had to hear it from a balcony cabin every day.

My heart is set on this cruise and I know I’ll love the Mediterranean even if the carpet is worn and my eggs are cold. Thank you all for your positive reviews and great tips.

Thank you both for your replies.

I found a Mediterranean cruise that starts and ends in Rome (a huge plus) and includes all the ports I want to visit, especially Malta. The reviews of this cruise and the Epic are horrible, and I don’t just mean the weird bathrooms and bland food. It’s so bad, I don’t want to book. Are there any positives or should we consider a different itinerary or cruise line?

What about a port like Istanbul where the currency is the Turkish lira? I assume you need to use their currency for transportation and food. Do you bring some with you before you cruise?

Don’t forget, current cruisers are using up their credits from cancelled cruises due to covid. Also, cruises are not sailing at capacity right now. Hopefully, things will get better for the cruise industry, if the economy doesn’t tank.

I’m looking at Western/Eastern Mediterranean cruises in May 2024 and Celebrity seems like the best personality fit and has 5-star reviews. I found one cruise, using 2023 search, that includes Villefranche and Malta, two places I really want to experience from a cruise. However, I just can’t get excited about Marseilles or La Spezia because those ports are too inconvenient from quintessential Provence and Florence. Cinque Terre with 3000-4000 people sounds awful. What am I missing? Is this a fabulous cruise? Should I book with Norwegian (Epic) which has great itineraries and suffer on the boat (drunken crowds, noise, uncomfortable beds, few public viewing areas)?

These are great tips! Do you have a link to the early morning Vatican tour? That sounds fabulous! Thank you!