Jump to content

advice needed- eastern or western mediterranean-which ports which cruiseline?


LadyGrady
 Share

Recommended Posts

we are very new to cruising and need a lot of advice on taking the plunge on a Mediterranean cuise. We plan to attend the AAA travel expo next weekend which we here has deals that you can't find anywhere else. SO we have only a few days to make some really big decisions LOL!

thanks in advance

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Goodness!

Well first look at the ports and which ones you want to see the most, then break it down to WHEN you want to sail. Summers are extremely hot in the Med so you might want to look at spring/fall.

Then look at the ships that are sailing during the time you want to go.

Then, do you want a more casual line or something that is more formal with dressing up for dinner and assigned dining times.

Do you want an included beverage package.

The Med cruises are very port intensive so realize you can't do it all, so pace yourself.

These will help you get started. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got to http://www.cruisetimetables.com and choose some places you would like to see from the Ports of Call list. It will tell you who is calling there and the rest of the itinerary. (Ignore the prices). The eastern Med. is quite hot in July/Aug., and much of Europe is on vacation in August so ports will be quite crowded and prices higher. Get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports and read about places you would like to go. Augment it with a Lonely Planet guide to cover places Rick doesn't in the cruise guide. As mentioned above, Med cruises are very port intensive, so spending most of every day ashore, you probably wouldn't get your moneys worth from a drink package. EM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

we are very new to cruising and need a lot of advice on taking the plunge on a Mediterranean cuise. We plan to attend the AAA travel expo next weekend which we here has deals that you can't find anywhere else. SO we have only a few days to make some really big decisions LOL!

 

thanks in advance

 

 

 

Firstly, welcome.

Secondly, there are far better deals than those at a AAA expo (but your need to invest the time and energy to find the right TA that can add the most to the cruise deal.

For the Med, one important suggestion:

Start and end in different ports with one of those start/end ports being Rome. Arrive pre-cruise at least 3 days early and leave at least 2-3 days after. Thus you have 3 vacations for one airfare (included if you pick some of the premium/luxury lines like Oceania.

Also, know that the quality of everything from food to accommodations to service and included amenities differ significantly among the industry segments AND sometimes the "higher" priced cruise ships are actually a better deal because of what is included.

IMO, for a first Med cruise, I'd want to include Rome, Lisbon and anything in Sicily.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ladygrady, you need to figure out what Med ports you want to see before you choose a cruise. Typically a med cruise will have 1 day at sea for a 7 day cruise a 2 days at sea for a 13 -14 day cruise - not many days at sea at all. When in port people typically get up early in the morning and are off the ship by 8:30am and go on tours all day long only to rejoin the ship around 5 or 6pm. Some Med cruises on higher end lines have port times overnight in some ports or late into the evening to allow passengers to dine on land or take evening tours as well. In other words, in a Med cruise your ship is essentially a floating hotel. Another thing to keep in mind is how expensive tours in the Med can be. It is not unusual to pay well over $100 per person per day if not more due to the fact that you need ground transportation to get to many different places. For example the port for Rome, Civitavecchia is an hour+ away from Rome by train. Look here for information about each of the ports. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

 

Once you have some idea about which ports are important to you, it will be much easier to find a good deal on a cruise you will love. Keep in mind, the premium lines include tours, whereas the less expensive lines don't, so the cost of the cruise for Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, NCL, RCCL and the like is only the beginning of your travel expenses as you will have daily expenses for touring plus the cost of flights.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We would echo one of the other comments that the "great deals" you might find at the travel expo are likely not nearly as good as the deals you can find on the same cruises...if you shop online among high volume reputable cruise agencies. Like buying a car...shopping around for a cruise can result in substantial savings when counting amenities like on board credits, pre paid gratuities, etc.

 

As to Med cruises (which we have been doing for nearly forty years) there are just so many options that transcend the cruise lines. It is helpful to first think about the places that you really want to see, and then start looking for cruises that can take you to many places on your list. Also consider another interesting facet. While many Med cruises begin and end in the same port, there are also plenty of Med cruises that begin and end at different ports (usually in different countries). Beginning and ending in two different places means you can consider spending some time (preferably a few days) at both ends of your cruise exploring in more depth. As an example, a cruise that starts in Barcelona and ends in Civitavecchia means you can fly into Barcelona a day or two early, spend some time exploring that interesting city, and then end your trip in Italy..perhaps spending a few days in Rome. Airfares for this kind of trip are called "open jaw" and are often not much more expensive then a round trip fare to one airport.

 

Hank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello! We are in our mid-late 50’s, first time cruisers going on an 11 night western med cruise in mid April this year. I can give you some background as to how we made decisions since we are new as well. We choose our cruise because Italy was on my bucket list but having never been to Europe (from the USA), I was a litttle intimidated by trying to plan a land vacation. We chose the Crown Princess for a couple of reasons: 1.) it seems like an adult cruise line for people who enjoy good food, good company, fewer kids (no ice skating rinks or rock climbing walls), great ports and seems to be geared toward couples wanting to spend quality time together, fun but not too wild and crazy. 2.) 9 great ports on a 12 day cruise with 3 stops in Italy. We are starting in Spain (in Barcelona - 2 extra days here before we board), France, 3 stops in Italy, 3 stops in Greece including the mainland/Greek Isles, a stop in the Adriatic Sea to visit a small country near Croatia and we end in Rome where we will stay for an extra 2.5 days. The airfare through the cruise had great fares (~$2000 total round trip with more or less direct fights). Although Italy was my bucket list place, I am THRILLED to get to visit these other countries as they just weren’t originally on my radar so it feels like such a gift to get to visit there.

 

I knew that a port intensive cruise could be exhausting and this 11 night itinerary has 3 sea days interspersed throughout the cruise. 2-3 port days to go exploring and then a day to relax etc... That really made a lot of sense to me and seemed really desirable so that played heavily in my decision to go with this cruise. We wanted more port tme and less cruise time but people can differ there so figure out kinda how you feel about that. We were looking for more of a “centralized home base” to come back to after our sightseeing land excursions but we definitely want to feel a little pampered when we got “home” and to be able to enjoy the ship’s offerings as well.. I really didn’t do a lot of internet exploring after I booked the trip (we booked in September for an April cruise). I loved the itinerary and the pace and the ship sounded lovely so we just went for it without tons of research first. Now that I have had time to do all kinds of research, e chose well and got a good deal. We booked straight through Princess and got a great deal. We are the kind of people that would buy a fast pass at an amusement park to skip the lines or will pay a little extra to guarantee great service so we went with a Club Class Mini-Suite. Husband is 6’4” so he needs to not feel like he is in a closet for 2 weeks. I am afraid I have spoiled us doing a mini suite out of the gate but oh well, lol.

 

I would figure out your budget, how long you can be away (remember to start/stop the cruise in different cities so you can visit each one for a couple of days, feel where your heart is telling you to go (what are you longing to see), what ports take your breath away a little when you open their website then think about your fellow cruisers...do you want them to be fun party people who will dance into the night with you, great conversationalists you can become lifelong (or at least “cruiselong!) friends with or do you and your honey want to cocoon yourselves and reconnect? Knowing all of that will help you pick your cruiseline, your ship and your itinerary. After that, it’s just fun picking out your cabin and choosing shore excursions (we booked all private small group excursions and booked none through the cruise....they were less expensive and more personalized with just 2- 3 other couples so you could make new friends for sure!) I could go on and on but this is the criteria for how we picked which med cruise to try first! Hope this helps!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have sailed on the Crown a few years ago and loved the ship. We are on her again in about 18 months.

 

You don't name the 'small country near Croatia". Could it be a stop in Kotor Montenegro? We were there on the Royal Princess last spring and it is a charming little town. The sailaway is spectacular. We spent an hour or so sailing out this beautiful fjord. Be sure to be in a good place to see it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have sailed on the Crown a few years ago and loved the ship. We are on her again in about 18 months.

 

You don't name the 'small country near Croatia". Could it be a stop in Kotor Montenegro? We were there on the Royal Princess last spring and it is a charming little town. The sailaway is spectacular. We spent an hour or so sailing out this beautiful fjord. Be sure to be in a good place to see it.

 

Yes...it’s the lovely Kotor!! I had read that the arrival/departure through the fjord was gorgeous so I have planned for us to get up early and go to the very front of the ship to see the sunrise as we come in for our 7:00 am arrival :) I’m sure we’ll be at the back at the ship waving to Kotor as we sail away that evening! So glad you loved the Crown! I’m glad we picked her for our first cruise. She is in drydock for 10-12 days at the end of this month and then the sails 4/3 from FLL and we get on 4/17. So she’ll be “refreshed” although not sure exactly what they’ll be doing in a short dry dock but we sure are excited!! :hearteyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Hello! We are in our mid-late 50’s, first time cruisers going on an 11 night western med cruise in mid April this year. I can give you some background as to how we made decisions since we are new as well. We choose our cruise because Italy was on my bucket list but having never been to Europe (from the USA), I was a litttle intimidated by trying to plan a land vacation. We chose the Crown Princess for a couple of reasons: 1.) it seems like an adult cruise line for people who enjoy good food, good company, fewer kids (no ice skating rinks or rock climbing walls), great ports and seems to be geared toward couples wanting to spend quality time together, fun but not too wild and crazy. 2.) 9 great ports on a 12 day cruise with 3 stops in Italy. We are starting in Spain (in Barcelona - 2 extra days here before we board), France, 3 stops in Italy, 3 stops in Greece including the mainland/Greek Isles, a stop in the Adriatic Sea to visit a small country near Croatia and we end in Rome where we will stay for an extra 2.5 days. The airfare through the cruise had great fares (~$2000 total round trip with more or less direct fights). Although Italy was my bucket list place, I am THRILLED to get to visit these other countries as they just weren’t originally on my radar so it feels like such a gift to get to visit there.

 

I knew that a port intensive cruise could be exhausting and this 11 night itinerary has 3 sea days interspersed throughout the cruise. 2-3 port days to go exploring and then a day to relax etc... That really made a lot of sense to me and seemed really desirable so that played heavily in my decision to go with this cruise. We wanted more port tme and less cruise time but people can differ there so figure out kinda how you feel about that. We were looking for more of a “centralized home base” to come back to after our sightseeing land excursions but we definitely want to feel a little pampered when we got “home” and to be able to enjoy the ship’s offerings as well.. I really didn’t do a lot of internet exploring after I booked the trip (we booked in September for an April cruise). I loved the itinerary and the pace and the ship sounded lovely so we just went for it without tons of research first. Now that I have had time to do all kinds of research, e chose well and got a good deal. We booked straight through Princess and got a great deal. We are the kind of people that would buy a fast pass at an amusement park to skip the lines or will pay a little extra to guarantee great service so we went with a Club Class Mini-Suite. Husband is 6’4” so he needs to not feel like he is in a closet for 2 weeks. I am afraid I have spoiled us doing a mini suite out of the gate but oh well, lol.

 

I would figure out your budget, how long you can be away (remember to start/stop the cruise in different cities so you can visit each one for a couple of days, feel where your heart is telling you to go (what are you longing to see), what ports take your breath away a little when you open their website then think about your fellow cruisers...do you want them to be fun party people who will dance into the night with you, great conversationalists you can become lifelong (or at least “cruiselong!) friends with or do you and your honey want to cocoon yourselves and reconnect? Knowing all of that will help you pick your cruiseline, your ship and your itinerary. After that, it’s just fun picking out your cabin and choosing shore excursions (we booked all private small group excursions and booked none through the cruise....they were less expensive and more personalized with just 2- 3 other couples so you could make new friends for sure!) I could go on and on but this is the criteria for how we picked which med cruise to try first! Hope this helps!

 

 

 

 

GREAT POST.... Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Hi, Hank,

This is my first time on Cruise Critic. My husband and I are taking an 11 day cruise from Barcelona to Rome on the Crown Princess in October to celebrate our 50th anniversary. It sounds as if you have had a similar trip. We are planning 3 days extra at each end and could use some help with lodgings away from the maddening crowds but close enough to get to the center of things by public transportation. Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Peggy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, Koliver 63,

My husband and I will be taking an 11 day cruise on the Crown Princess in October to celebrate our 50th anniversary. We leave from Barcelona and end in Rome. It sounds as if this may have been the cruise you took in April.

We’d love to hear about your experience and would be particularly interested in any shore excursions you may recommend.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

poppet2

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, Koliver 63,

My husband and I will be taking an 11 day cruise on the Crown Princess in October to celebrate our 50th anniversary. We leave from Barcelona and end in Rome. It sounds as if this may have been the cruise you took in April.

We’d love to hear about your experience and would be particularly interested in any shore excursions you may recommend.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

poppet2

 

I also put a nice review on ShipMate and also here on CC (I think under Crown Princess!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also put a nice review on ShipMate and also here on CC (I think under Crown Princess!)
The Shipmate app is not working for the last few weeks.

The error " Aww, we hit choppy waters" keeps popping up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Shipmate app is not working for the last few weeks.

The error " Aww, we hit choppy waters" keeps popping up.

 

Here you go! This is the ShipMate review :)

 

Here you go!

Princess Cruise

Crown Princess Review

April 17-28th 2018

Barcelona to Rome

Cabin D-417 (Club Class Mini Suite)

If was our first cruise so we had no real point of reference but we got out of the taxi at the pier in Barcelona at 1:00pm and by 2:00pm, we were in our room with all of our luggage drinking complimentary champagne and chatting with our cabin steward! Very efficient!

MDR:Club Class dining: We had Club Class dining which we would certainly do again. Beautiful little section of the Da Vinci MDR with its own entrance and most of the tables were near windows so you could watch the sea go by as you were dining which was quite special. We never had to wait for an intimate table for 2 no matter what time we went for dinner. The food was good...not 5 star but good and we enjoyed everything we tried. Some dishes were really, really good! The Fettuccini Alfredo was tasty and was a go to favorite for me with a salad. I love good food but I also understand they are trying to feed 3000 people during dinner time so I think they did quite well. Club Class dining includes a table side preparation every evening which was always yummy and fun to watch...either a special dessert (Banana's Foster) or a special entree (Spicy Garlic Shrimp in Tomato Remoulade). They served an Orange Soufflé with orange creme/side of vanilla ice cream that I will be craving as long as I live, lol. The service was excellent and from the first night, it was like the knew you already. Very friendly and attentive staff! Crown Grille: really good steaks and sides. 5 star service for sure and worth the upcharge in my opinion. Would definitely do again. Sabatini's: we ate there twice...it was very good! the fresh mozzarella appetizer was to die for (it was why we went back a second time!). I had the strip steak both times...hubby had the chicken and both were excellent. The pasta dishes amazing and the staff lets you know right up front that you can have one entree and as much or as little of everything else on t he menu as you wish. We would definitely book here again on a cruise. Buffet: I am not a huge buffet person so hard for me to judge. The flow of guests was very good...only got a little congested once in the times we were there. Had dinner there twice on an 11 night cruise...just wanted a quick bite so we could snuggle up and watch MUTS on deck 15. The chicken enchiladas on Mexican night were quite good! Bar service on the decks was very good...they get to know you snd what you drink (soda for me) quickly! Salty Dog: The Chicken Street Tacos in soft corn tortillas were fun and delicious...nice little snack. The Ernesto Burger is SO worth the $5...just get one! International Cafe: My husband's favorite place on the ship. He loves a nice cappuccino and some dessert treats at the end of the night. We visited every night and it was a little bit of heaven for him right there on the ship. The staff there are so very nice.

The Movies Under the Stars (MUTS) pool deck was so fun...being able to watch concerts on the giant screen while you sit in a hot tub on a beautiful ship in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea watching the coast of Italy go by....what more can I say?? Loved it! They had great first run movies at night (with popcorn, blankets and hot chocolate!) and the concert films were awesome (Elton John, Sting, Tony Bennett/Lady Gaga....so cool!)

We didn't really avail ourselves of the entertainment but what we saw was ok. We appreciated the effort they put into the performances.

Everyone spoiled us rotten! We felt like pampered and valued guests of the Crown Princess.

We loved the Crown Princess. I have seen other posts where folks were complaining about issues coming out of dry dock...we just didn't experience that at all. If the elevator was a little slow, we took the stairs. No big deal...I lost 8 lbs on a 16 day European vacation from all of the walking on the ship and walking in all of the ports. :) The is an adult ship that feels a little luxurious...no rock climbing walls or indoor skating rinks. We have stayed at hotels that are $1000 per night...and I loved this ship. I would definitely sail on the Crown Princess again.

Don't listen to the naysayers....it's a very pretty ship full of people who want to make sure you are having a great time! Definitely splurge and do a Club Class Mini Suite. You will be glad you did! My husband is 6'4" and he loved the extra space. D417 is an awesome room. Real bathroom with a tub and we barely knew we were sailing unless we opened the balcony and saw he water going by. Very stable and quiet part of the ship. We were midship right at the lifts and never heard any traffic or noise. It was a great room!

We spent 2 days here pre cruise and it seemed like we could have enjoyed another day. But we were so excited for the cruise to start so 2 days was probably ok for us. Gorgeous and neat city! We stayed near the Gothic area which was just perfect. Close to Sagrada Familia and La Rambla was amazing and we even saw a live, authentic Flamenco Show! Enjoyed a magnificent anniversary dinner at an Argentina restaurant. :)

We did a private tour with a guide I highly recommend to cities about 45 mins from Marseilles so we didn't stay in the port itself. Avignon, Arles and Provence were gorgeous!

We did a private tour with a guide I HIGHLY recommend. I wish I could give Florence more than 5 stars! I was in awe...we are going back just to spend more time there. Everyone should go to Florence once...everyone.

We stayed on the ship on this day to take a break from all of the ports and enjoyed a ship almost all to ourselves! I think all 3000 passengers must have gotten off! At one point, I was on swimming in the pool on a nice hot day on deck 15 and I looked around....there was no one else in sight! :)

We did not book an excursion for this port...we just got off of the ship and explored the town on our own. Greece stole my heart in Mykonos. I am just saying. It was breathtakingly beautiful. We really enjoyed our Greek lunch of Gyros and Tzatziki sauce with fresher baked pita bread! What a beautiful island...it is on my bucket list to go back!

We did a private all day excursion with a wonderful guide who I would HIGHLY recommend! He took us to a wine tasting at a local winery and lunch at a taverna on the black sand beaches of the Agean Sea. Incredible. I don't have words to describe the beauty of Santorini. It almost hurt to look at everything...it was all so brilliant and in technicolor almost. I will go back one day. :)

We did a private shore excursion with a guide who I would highly recommend! ..what a wonderful surprise this country was! I had no idea all of the rich history. We spent a full day exploring the entire coastline with a great guide. We visited Budva, Perast (have lunch on the shore and take the boat ride out to Our Lady of the Rocks!!) and Kotor. You could just go it alone and explore the walled city of Kotor if you choose but it was really nice having a guide who could explain all of the history of these ancient cities.

We did a private shore excursion to Capri, Positano and Pompeii. What a great day!!! If you go to Capri, definitely do the Blue Grotto experience. It was one of our favorites. I didn't love Positano as much as I thought I would but Pompeii was crazy good! Could spend a whole day there with a good guide!

Rome. My goodness...you just have to go. We booked a tour of the Coliseum and Palantine Hill with a good guide. Larger group (around 25 folks). I will say visiting Rome on foot is a lot but we loved it and kept up. There were people from our group who bailed on the tour because it was physically trying so you need to be in pretty good shape to climb around the ruins! We spent 2 days here after the cruise and we should have planned for a week. It was gorgeous and we barely scratched the surface. I would definitely plan for at least 3 full days in Rome pre or post cruise. It was so amazing.

I would book this cruise again in a heartbeat. Princess does it well and the Crown Princess is beautiful. 9 ports of call on an 11 night cruise is a lot but if you can physically do it, it's so awesome. This cruise was all about the ports for us....the ship and the entire ship experience was such a pleasant surprise and everything either met or exceeded our expectations all the way around. We did private shore excursions with 2-3 other couples at every port and it worked out perfectly. It took me 7 months to plan this trip...I am a planner/researcher and it kinda felt like I was planning a wedding with 9 different honeymoons but everything went off without a hitch! Go on this cruise...you won't be sorry!! Memories (and over 1000 photos!) to last a lifetime :)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More info on cruise tips from first timers as well as our excursion info in case anyone is interested!

 

 

Since it was our first cruise, I learned that trips like this are what you make of them. We felt very blessed just to be there so we found joy and pleasure in every aspect of the trip and rolled with the few light punches we experienced. There were people that complained about absolutely everything and we felt sorry for them. We decided before we even left Atlanta that this was going to be an amazing time and it was. :)

Just as an FYI: We tipped all of our guides 20 euro for the 2 of us on top of the excursions fee. With tours in 8 ports, I brought 1200 euro in cash with us and we never had to go to the foreign ATM to get more cash. I had envelopes for each port with the euros to pay for the excursion (if I hadn't prepaid through PayPal...some/most prefer cash the day of the tour) and I had a tip included. On the front of the envelope, I wrote down the names/cabin numbers of any couples who were on the tour with us. We made arrangements to meet at the International Cafe an hour before we had to meet the guide on the pier...just so we could have a cup of coffee together, get to know each other a little and walk off the ship together so no one would get lost or left behind. It was a great system with the envelopes because I didn't have to really think about it. I just put the envelopes in the cabin safe in the order of the ports and we just grabbed the envelope on top before we headed out the door that day. So easy! If you have a Citibank credit card, they do not charge foreign transaction fees so we used our Citibank card for meals/shopping in ports and used cash euro for trinkets, gelato and such. Might be stuff you already know but sharing just in case.

We also had $200 onboard credit and we walked off of the ship owing them $66 which was so great. We prepaid for Sabatini's and Crown Grill, booked another night at Sabatini's (it was so good!), had 5 cocktails on board and I had a pedicure (I don't recommend the spa...you can get better at home!) and soda package for $88. We had an incredible luxury vacation and managed not to have a huge bill from Princess at the end! I did laundry twice as they have 2 washers and 2 dryers on the decks and that saved us some packing and was just nice to have clean clothes instead of a big pile of dirty ones! We bought a pop up hamper that was very cool! Helped a lot!

OK...enough rambling! Here is your tour info:

Santorini – There were 3 couples total and we used Dimitri with Ocean Wave Tours. He was our favorite guide. It was a 5-6 hour tour and he took us all over the island. We went to a local winery for a wine tasting and a fabulous place for lunch right on the Aegean Sea called Taverna Galini. The food/view was amazing! I was told by the person who referred us to him that he did the tour for Rick Steves when he was writing his book on Mediterranean cruise ports. We had a wonderful day with him. https://oceanwavetours.com/

Kotor – There were 4 couples total and we booked through Liset at Kotor Private Tours and our guide was Shira. We loved her. She was so knowledgeable and shared so much detail with us. It was a full 8 hour day and we did the Best of our Coastline Tour. We stopped for lunch by the sea in Perast…it was all so gorgeous! We loved Shira!

https://www.kotorprivatetours.com/

https://www.kotorprivatetours.com/best-of-our-coastline-by-car.html

Naples – this is the only one I would personally do differently. It was very pricey (170 euro per person) so at least double what we paid on other excursions. We went to Capri, Positano and Pompeii. When we got to Capri, we had the option to not see the city of Capri but to see the Blue Grotto instead. It was an extra 30 euro per person but was one of our favorite parts of the entire trip. I would do Blue Grotto part again in a heartbeat. The tour only included 2 hours in Pompeii (an additional 15 euro per person to enter Pompeii) and we could have spent a whole day there. We really felt rushed through Pompeii. We did not arrange the tour but were invited by fellow cruisers. There were 8 of us total. Our guide was Fredrica – she was just ok…not great, not awful. So with everything we did, it was 430 euro for both of us for the tour. You can probably do much better on price!

http://www.tourguidenaples.com/

Barcelona -we flew in early and had 2 full days in Barcelona and then we boarded ship on 3rd day and sailed that night. We did Sagrada Familia (must see!) a live flamenco show at Tablao Cordoba (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187430-d2069946-Reviews-Tablao_El_Cardenal-Cordoba_Province_of_Cordoba_Andalucia.html) and had a wonderful dinner at 9Reinas (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d2023368-Reviews-9_Reinas-Barcelona_Catalonia.html)

We stayed at H10 Urquinaona hotel (https://www.h10hotels.com/en/barcelona-hotels/h10-urquinaona-plaza?utm_source=Google%20My%20Business&utm_medium=Boton%20sitio%20web&utm_campaign=HUP) – great location near La Rambla which is a beautiful market street with shops and restaurants and trees. Definitely visit La Rambla if you get a chance! Hotel was 15-20 mins from cruise port. It was all very easy!

 

Marseille – we went with the same cruise mates that we toured Naples with so we didn’t book that one but it was wonderful! We booked our tickets through Cristina at https://italytours.eu/ (“Italy” is not a typo…they did arrange our tour of southern France!) We did a full 8 hours visiting Arles, Lex Baux, St. Remy and Avignon. Our tour guide was Simon and he was awesome! So fun and he was very passionate about his country and the rich history. Cristina’s email is info@italytours.com They are a family business and very committed to people enjoying their tours. I would consider using them for other ports if they were available. They were very professional and pleasant to deal with and gave a great tour.

 

Florence /Pisa – we skipped Pisa to spend more time in Florence. We went with other cruise mates and they booked 8 of us with Marco at Tuscany Tours. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187895-d7697237-r373517445-Tuscany_Top_Drivers-Florence_Tuscany.html Our driver was Ivan and he just drove us to Florence. He turned us over to a guide named Saundra who lives in Florence and she was AMAZING! I give her super high marks. We loved her!!

 

Rome – we stayed an extra 2 nights in Rome after the cruise at a Bed and Breakfast called The Inn at Roman Forum http://www.theinnattheromanforum.com/en/ . I give it 10 stars! 0.4 miles from the Coliseum and Palantine Hill on a beautiful, quiet street. We walked to the ancient ruins and were within walking distance to excellent restaurants! We personally loved Chicco di Grano for dinner…the food was very reasonably priced and excellent!!! We did a tour of Coliseum/Palantine Hill and had Lia as a guide. She was ok-good. Heavy Italian accent and a bit difficult to understand but you have headphones so that helps. There were 25 of us so we didn’t love the bigger group but that is just us. We still loved it. It was a lot of walking on cobblestones streets/paths up and down stairs…great exercise. :) We booked through City Wonders/Viator on TripAdvisor. If I did it again, I would do a small group tour. We needed a week in Rome…we only saw Coliseum and Palantine Hill. So much we didn’t get to see :/ But we loved it!

Just a note: we are ages 54 and 59 and are in reasonable good shape…we were simply exhausted by the time we got to Rome. I feel like we need to start in Rome on the next one just to have some good energy and spend at least 4 days there before a cruise. The pick pockets and scammers are all over the place…my husband wore a PacSafe cross body bag and carried our stuff (cruise cards, passports, credit cards, euros) and he was never worried for even a single second. He said if he had been carrying just his wallet in his pocket, he would not have even enjoyed the ports for worrying about having our stuff stolen. I purchased Rick Steve’s guide to the Mediterranean ports and it was very helpful. I would recommend that book. The scammers are very aggressive in Florence and Rome…if anyone approaches you, pretend like you don't hear them, don't make eye contact and just keep walking. Rick Steves said “treat any type of commotion as a pickpocket situation” and we followed that advice and it worked. We avoided commotion! Lol. Don’t let it freak you out…just be aware and get a PacSafe bag…you won’t regret it. We heard lots of stories on the ship of people getting pick pocketed in ports. We were happy we didn’t have to deal with all of that!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here you go! This is the ShipMate review :)

 

Here you go!

Princess Cruise

Crown Princess Review

April 17-28th 2018

Barcelona to Rome

Cabin D-417 (Club Class Mini Suite)

If was our first cruise so we had no real point of reference but we got out of the taxi at the pier in Barcelona at 1:00pm and by 2:00pm, we were in our room with all of our luggage drinking complimentary champagne and chatting with our cabin steward! Very efficient!

MDR:Club Class dining: We had Club Class dining which we would certainly do again. Beautiful little section of the Da Vinci MDR with its own entrance and most of the tables were near windows so you could watch the sea go by as you were dining which was quite special. We never had to wait for an intimate table for 2 no matter what time we went for dinner. The food was good...not 5 star but good and we enjoyed everything we tried. Some dishes were really, really good! The Fettuccini Alfredo was tasty and was a go to favorite for me with a salad. I love good food but I also understand they are trying to feed 3000 people during dinner time so I think they did quite well. Club Class dining includes a table side preparation every evening which was always yummy and fun to watch...either a special dessert (Banana's Foster) or a special entree (Spicy Garlic Shrimp in Tomato Remoulade). They served an Orange Soufflé with orange creme/side of vanilla ice cream that I will be craving as long as I live, lol. The service was excellent and from the first night, it was like the knew you already. Very friendly and attentive staff! Crown Grille: really good steaks and sides. 5 star service for sure and worth the upcharge in my opinion. Would definitely do again. Sabatini's: we ate there twice...it was very good! the fresh mozzarella appetizer was to die for (it was why we went back a second time!). I had the strip steak both times...hubby had the chicken and both were excellent. The pasta dishes amazing and the staff lets you know right up front that you can have one entree and as much or as little of everything else on t he menu as you wish. We would definitely book here again on a cruise. Buffet: I am not a huge buffet person so hard for me to judge. The flow of guests was very good...only got a little congested once in the times we were there. Had dinner there twice on an 11 night cruise...just wanted a quick bite so we could snuggle up and watch MUTS on deck 15. The chicken enchiladas on Mexican night were quite good! Bar service on the decks was very good...they get to know you snd what you drink (soda for me) quickly! Salty Dog: The Chicken Street Tacos in soft corn tortillas were fun and delicious...nice little snack. The Ernesto Burger is SO worth the $5...just get one! International Cafe: My husband's favorite place on the ship. He loves a nice cappuccino and some dessert treats at the end of the night. We visited every night and it was a little bit of heaven for him right there on the ship. The staff there are so very nice.

The Movies Under the Stars (MUTS) pool deck was so fun...being able to watch concerts on the giant screen while you sit in a hot tub on a beautiful ship in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea watching the coast of Italy go by....what more can I say?? Loved it! They had great first run movies at night (with popcorn, blankets and hot chocolate!) and the concert films were awesome (Elton John, Sting, Tony Bennett/Lady Gaga....so cool!)

We didn't really avail ourselves of the entertainment but what we saw was ok. We appreciated the effort they put into the performances.

Everyone spoiled us rotten! We felt like pampered and valued guests of the Crown Princess.

 

We loved the Crown Princess. I have seen other posts where folks were complaining about issues coming out of dry dock...we just didn't experience that at all. If the elevator was a little slow, we took the stairs. No big deal...I lost 8 lbs on a 16 day European vacation from all of the walking on the ship and walking in all of the ports. :) The is an adult ship that feels a little luxurious...no rock climbing walls or indoor skating rinks. We have stayed at hotels that are $1000 per night...and I loved this ship. I would definitely sail on the Crown Princess again.

Tip:

Don't listen to the naysayers....it's a very pretty ship full of people who want to make sure you are having a great time! Definitely splurge and do a Club Class Mini Suite. You will be glad you did! My husband is 6'4" and he loved the extra space. D417 is an awesome room. Real bathroom with a tub and we barely knew we were sailing unless we opened the balcony and saw he water going by. Very stable and quiet part of the ship. We were midship right at the lifts and never heard any traffic or noise. It was a great room!

Barcelona:

We spent 2 days here pre cruise and it seemed like we could have enjoyed another day. But we were so excited for the cruise to start so 2 days was probably ok for us. Gorgeous and neat city! We stayed near the Gothic area which was just perfect. Close to Sagrada Familia and La Rambla was amazing and we even saw a live, authentic Flamenco Show! Enjoyed a magnificent anniversary dinner at an Argentina restaurant. :)

Marseilles:

We did a private tour with a guide I highly recommend to cities about 45 mins from Marseilles so we didn't stay in the port itself. Avignon, Arles and Provence were gorgeous!

Florence:

We did a private tour with a guide I HIGHLY recommend. I wish I could give Florence more than 5 stars! I was in awe...we are going back just to spend more time there. Everyone should go to Florence once...everyone.

Katakolon:

We stayed on the ship on this day to take a break from all of the ports and enjoyed a ship almost all to ourselves! I think all 3000 passengers must have gotten off! At one point, I was on swimming in the pool on a nice hot day on deck 15 and I looked around....there was no one else in sight! :)

Mykonos:

We did not book an excursion for this port...we just got off of the ship and explored the town on our own. Greece stole my heart in Mykonos. I am just saying. It was breathtakingly beautiful. We really enjoyed our Greek lunch of Gyros and Tzatziki sauce with fresher baked pita bread! What a beautiful island...it is on my bucket list to go back!

Santorini:

We did a private all day excursion with a wonderful guide who I would HIGHLY recommend! He took us to a wine tasting at a local winery and lunch at a taverna on the black sand beaches of the Agean Sea. Incredible. I don't have words to describe the beauty of Santorini. It almost hurt to look at everything...it was all so brilliant and in technicolor almost. I will go back one day. :)

Kotor::

We did a private shore excursion with a guide who I would highly recommend! ..what a wonderful surprise this country was! I had no idea all of the rich history. We spent a full day exploring the entire coastline with a great guide. We visited Budva, Perast (have lunch on the shore and take the boat ride out to Our Lady of the Rocks!!) and Kotor. You could just go it alone and explore the walled city of Kotor if you choose but it was really nice having a guide who could explain all of the history of these ancient cities.

Naples:

We did a private shore excursion to Capri, Positano and Pompeii. What a great day!!! If you go to Capri, definitely do the Blue Grotto experience. It was one of our favorites. I didn't love Positano as much as I thought I would but Pompeii was crazy good! Could spend a whole day there with a good guide!

Rome. My goodness...you just have to go. We booked a tour of the Coliseum and Palantine Hill with a good guide. Larger group (around 25 folks). I will say visiting Rome on foot is a lot but we loved it and kept up. There were people from our group who bailed on the tour because it was physically trying so you need to be in pretty good shape to climb around the ruins! We spent 2 days here after the cruise and we should have planned for a week. It was gorgeous and we barely scratched the surface. I would definitely plan for at least 3 full days in Rome pre or post cruise. It was so amazing.

 

I would book this cruise again in a heartbeat. Princess does it well and the Crown Princess is beautiful. 9 ports of call on an 11 night cruise is a lot but if you can physically do it, it's so awesome. This cruise was all about the ports for us....the ship and the entire ship experience was such a pleasant surprise and everything either met or exceeded our expectations all the way around. We did private shore excursions with 2-3 other couples at every port and it worked out perfectly. It took me 7 months to plan this trip...I am a planner/researcher and it kinda felt like I was planning a wedding with 9 different honeymoons but everything went off without a hitch! Go on this cruise...you won't be sorry!! Memories (and over 1000 photos!) to last a lifetime :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WOW, what a wonderful review :). Our complements to your planning and terrific attitude. I think your mix of on your own and private tours was near perfect and you obviously did a lot of pre-cruise homework to determine the best options in each port. Taking a day off in Katakolon was a stroke of genius that we seldom see with first time cruisers. Knowing all of your ports this would have been the port we would have suggested for such a rest...unless one really had their heart set on seeing Olympia.

 

I suspect your trip will prove to have been habit forming and you are hooked on this kind of travel. Hope we meet you on a future cruise.

 

Hank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WOW, what a wonderful review :). Our complements to your planning and terrific attitude. I think your mix of on your own and private tours was near perfect and you obviously did a lot of pre-cruise homework to determine the best options in each port. Taking a day off in Katakolon was a stroke of genius that we seldom see with first time cruisers. Knowing all of your ports this would have been the port we would have suggested for such a rest...unless one really had their heart set on seeing Olympia.

 

I suspect your trip will prove to have been habit forming and you are hooked on this kind of travel. Hope we meet you on a future cruise.

 

Hank

 

Hank,

What a nice thing to say! That made me smile first thing this morning :). I am afraid we are very hooked, lol. I am already trying to research a British Isles cruise although I think it will be a couple of years before we can go. But when we do, I am thinking there will be another positive cruise review posted on CC!

 

Kayte :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...