NCL Spirit Med Cruise Q&A

[budgetfairytale]

Hot Dog! That's the side our balcony is on! :cool:

 

Be sure to plan to be out there early. We were scheduled to dock at 2pm, but we got in early and the islands started coming into view between noon and 1pm. Luckily we were having a lazy morning in the room or else we may have missed it, and that was the entire reason we took a room on the Starboard side! I think I took 1000 pictures while coming into Venice - it's just breathtaking.

[luv-2-travel]

It was so nice to hang out with you, JoAnn! Love the idea of a Castaway Canal Cruise!

 

 

Keep me posted as to what month and year would be in your budget for this cruise - we are open to any time

[joyfulone]

budgetfairytale, Realitoes, Da-Painter, Joannel1958, kapitman, and Seaing the World, thank you all for posting your experiences and thoughts about your cruise. Very interesting and helpful information by each of you!

 

I agree, thanks to all of you :)

[budgetfairytale]

Keep me posted as to what month and year would be in your budget for this cruise - we are open to any time

 

Don't hold your breath ... it will take us many years to recover from this Med cruise.

[Azure Moon]

Be sure to plan to be out there early. We were scheduled to dock at 2pm, but we got in early and the islands started coming into view between noon and 1pm. Luckily we were having a lazy morning in the room or else we may have missed it, and that was the entire reason we took a room on the Starboard side! I think I took 1000 pictures while coming into Venice - it's just breathtaking.

 

Thank you for the head's up! :) The sailing into Venice is the largest reason for our taking this cruise.

 

I'm so happy you were in your cabin at that time in order to experience sailing through there. 1,000 pictures :eek:. My hubby and friends think I'm a photo-taking-fiend, but I think you will hold the record picture taking crown for a l-o-n-g time :D, especially when combined with total pictures taken during trip - 4,000! Wow :eek::cool:. I, for one, bow to you and your hubby's good eyes at seeing a good subject and fast photo-snapping fingers!!!!!

 

Thanks again for the tips and terrific thread.

 

Jan

[LochoBanks]

We go on the Spirit next week - I am impressed but a bit overwhelmed by all the research people are doing prior to the cruise. I appreciate all the info you have provided so far!

[romeo204]

Fantastic information! Thank you, contributors.

We are planning a July 5th, 2014 NCL Spirit cruise from Barcelona to Venice and even though its more than a year away, I do have some questions and observations.

Since this is really our first trip to Europe, we plan on booking ship excursions for the more intimidating ports/cities such as Rome and Athens but we are also considering them for Izmir, Pompeii and Pisa because its seems that the sights are a fair distances from the ship. We also get the impression that Mykonos is a DIY no-brainer and that one can navigate Istanbul and Toulon easily. Is this a fair assessment of the ports?

We plan on arriving in Barcelona a few days in advance and and since we have the time to get lost, lol, are considering the HOHO bus as our method of sight-seeing. As well, we expect to stay and extra day or two in Venice so we'll just DIY and hope not to get our feet wet! Hahaha

Good plan?? All comments and suggestions are appreciated!

[sweetpea222]

Since this is really our first trip to Europe, we plan on booking ship excursions for the more intimidating ports/cities such as Rome and Athens but we are also considering them for Izmir, Pompeii and Pisa because its seems that the sights are a fair distances from the ship. We also get the impression that Mykonos is a DIY no-brainer and that one can navigate Istanbul and Toulon easily. Is this a fair assessment of the ports?

We plan on arriving in Barcelona a few days in advance and and since we have the time to get lost, lol, are considering the HOHO bus as our method of sight-seeing. As well, we expect to stay and extra day or two in Venice so we'll just DIY and hope not to get our feet wet! Hahaha

Good plan?? All comments and suggestions are appreciated!

 

I think that sounds fair. We've been to Athens before, and from what I've read it is fairly straightforward to take transit to the Acropolis area. All of the sights you will want to see are quite close together in Athens, so we'll DIY there. If we get tired, we'll take a cab back to the port.

 

I've also read that if you want to just see Pompeii, it also is easily reached via train or bus. We are planning that port as a DIY too. Just have to make sure to be reasonable with our time.

 

Izmir, if you are going to Ephesus, is a no-brainer ship tour or private tour, IMO. Much shorter port time and quite far away.

 

Sounds to me like you have a nice balance of tours and DIY. We also consider Mykonos an easy DIY. :D

[romeo204]

Thanks Sweatpea222.

From what I understand, Ephesus is a must see but as you indicated, quite a distance away so we will likely take a ship excursion to insure that when we return, the ship hasn't sailed! The extra $$ is worth that piece of mind. My take on Rome and Athens is - take a ship excursion for the same reason AND enjoy an informative tour guide as well.

If we are able to manage a DIY visit to Pompeii and still grab a slice of pizza in Naples, that would be outstanding!

Honestly, I am clueless about what to do with Toulon on a Sunday or what the best method is to see Florence & Pisa. Luckily, I have a year to figure it out! LOL

[budgetfairytale]

Fantastic information! Thank you, contributors.

We are planning a July 5th, 2014 NCL Spirit cruise from Barcelona to Venice and even though its more than a year away, I do have some questions and observations.

Since this is really our first trip to Europe, we plan on booking ship excursions for the more intimidating ports/cities such as Rome and Athens but we are also considering them for Izmir, Pompeii and Pisa because its seems that the sights are a fair distances from the ship. We also get the impression that Mykonos is a DIY no-brainer and that one can navigate Istanbul and Toulon easily. Is this a fair assessment of the ports?

We plan on arriving in Barcelona a few days in advance and and since we have the time to get lost, lol, are considering the HOHO bus as our method of sight-seeing. As well, we expect to stay and extra day or two in Venice so we'll just DIY and hope not to get our feet wet! Hahaha

Good plan?? All comments and suggestions are appreciated!

 

Good plan.

 

Thanks Sweatpea222.

From what I understand, Ephesus is a must see but as you indicated, quite a distance away so we will likely take a ship excursion to insure that when we return, the ship hasn't sailed! The extra $$ is worth that piece of mind. My take on Rome and Athens is - take a ship excursion for the same reason AND enjoy an informative tour guide as well.

If we are able to manage a DIY visit to Pompeii and still grab a slice of pizza in Naples, that would be outstanding!

Honestly, I am clueless about what to do with Toulon on a Sunday or what the best method is to see Florence & Pisa. Luckily, I have a year to figure it out! LOL

 

Toulon, there's not much to do and you can easily navigate the little port town. For Florence we took the ship "on your own" excursion which was well worth it for us because the train system seemed a little complicated. Florence itself is easy to navigate, but getting there is what's tricky.

[duckfan80]

Fantastic information! Thank you, contributors.

We are planning a July 5th, 2014 NCL Spirit cruise from Barcelona to Venice and even though its more than a year away, I do have some questions and observations.

Since this is really our first trip to Europe, we plan on booking ship excursions for the more intimidating ports/cities such as Rome and Athens but we are also considering them for Izmir, Pompeii and Pisa because its seems that the sights are a fair distances from the ship. We also get the impression that Mykonos is a DIY no-brainer and that one can navigate Istanbul and Toulon easily. Is this a fair assessment of the ports?

We plan on arriving in Barcelona a few days in advance and and since we have the time to get lost, lol, are considering the HOHO bus as our method of sight-seeing. As well, we expect to stay and extra day or two in Venice so we'll just DIY and hope not to get our feet wet! Hahaha

Good plan?? All comments and suggestions are appreciated!

 

Two summers ago we did the Med (and we're going back this summer!). It was our first trip to Europe. In regards to Athens, do it yourself. You do not need a guide, just a guide book (or audio). The metro is super cheap and very easy to use. People are always talking about pickpockets, but there was no problem. (Common sense is always useful, of course.) Then, finding the acropolis was easy and the line for tickets short. We were able to move around the thousands of tours up there and set our own pace as well as gravitate away from where a tour was at a certain moment and get great pictures. I was a little nervous going in since it was our first time in Europe, but I took the advice of all the people on CC and was happy I did!

[Excited2Cruz]

Thanks to all the contributors for your various tips.

 

If any of you had taken your own phone or bought an international one for the trip, or just got a SIM card over there, did it work for you?

For anyone who got a SIM card in Barcelona, did you have any issues in other countries like Greece and Turkey?

 

Would love to hear how each one managed. Thanks!

[luv-2-travel]

Thanks to all the contributors for your various tips.

 

If any of you had taken your own phone or bought an international one for the trip, or just got a SIM card over there, did it work for you?

For anyone who got a SIM card in Barcelona, did you have any issues in other countries like Greece and Turkey?

 

Would love to hear how each one managed. Thanks!

 

I took my cell phone and the only call I made was in Barcelona and I did not have any issues - it was not my intention for calls but for text messages

 

I purchased an unlimited package from my cell provider which did all the zones we were travelling except Turkey for that I had to purchase another zone package - it worked great - only a few times during sailing did we lose satellite service but not enough for any inconvenience

 

The internet on the ship was very good

 

Hope this helps - I did not buy any additional sim cards

[budgetfairytale]

Thanks to all the contributors for your various tips.

 

If any of you had taken your own phone or bought an international one for the trip, or just got a SIM card over there, did it work for you?

For anyone who got a SIM card in Barcelona, did you have any issues in other countries like Greece and Turkey?

 

Would love to hear how each one managed. Thanks!

 

We did not use our phones for calls or data, only for wifi, so I cannot help you out with this one. Good luck!

[jenjens1023]

Could you please tell me how many "dress up or not" nights they have on a 12 day cruise? Do many of the ladies get really dressed up on that/those nights?

 

Just got back yesterday. Two dressy nights, both on sea days.

[steph7021]

Were there any theme nights on this cruise? I keep hearing about these "white" parties....wondering for my 18 year old

[jenjens1023]

Fantastic information! Thank you, contributors.

We are planning a July 5th, 2014 NCL Spirit cruise from Barcelona to Venice and even though its more than a year away, I do have some questions and observations.

Since this is really our first trip to Europe, we plan on booking ship excursions for the more intimidating ports/cities such as Rome and Athens but we are also considering them for Izmir, Pompeii and Pisa because its seems that the sights are a fair distances from the ship. We also get the impression that Mykonos is a DIY no-brainer and that one can navigate Istanbul and Toulon easily. Is this a fair assessment of the ports?

We plan on arriving in Barcelona a few days in advance and and since we have the time to get lost, lol, are considering the HOHO bus as our method of sight-seeing. As well, we expect to stay and extra day or two in Venice so we'll just DIY and hope not to get our feet wet! Hahaha

Good plan?? All comments and suggestions are appreciated!

 

We used Rome In Limo for Rome and Naples (Pompeii, Sorrento, Amalfi coast). Highly recommend. For Istanbul and Ephesus we used Ephesus Tours. I'm sure you can request specific drivers and guides. Nick (driver) and Nichole (Vatican guide) in Rome and Layla (Epheus guide) were all great.

 

I think a guide for Pompeii is invaluable. They know where the interesting things are and they know how to get you through the sights efficiently. The same for Ephesus.

 

Toulon is a DIY. Ask a local for directions to the ancient Greek ship that is part of an apartment building, and the 11th century church near the market square.

 

Mykonos is DIY.

 

HOHO in Barcelona was our transportation too, and it worked well. Book tickets on line for Segunda Familia to avoid the line. You can se it Saturday morning before heading to the ship.

 

Download Rick Steves tours (free app at the app store, then you download free tours though the app). The tours are identical to the ones in his books. We used it for Florence (took the ship "Florence on you own" tour because the trains concerned me), Grand Canal, Collisseum, and the Accorpolis. It was helpful additional info while on tours too.

 

Istanbul is VERY busy. All the sights are close to each other, but a tour helped us get around more quickly and get to the front of some lines.

 

Tours are expensive. But we felt it was worth the expense on a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Ship tours are almost twice as much as booking privately. A good private company will get you to the ship on time. After all, they have a reputation to protect.

[jenjens1023]

Were there any theme nights on this cruise? I keep hearing about these "white" parties....wondering for my 18 year old

 

Toga party one night; they provided sheets.

 

White hot party toward the end of the cruise. Wear white.

 

Parties only lasted about an hour. Ship was pretty dead by midnight. But so were the passengers! Very busy, tiring itinerary.

[romeo204]

Thanks JenJens1023 for all that great information. Tell me, how does one book the private tours for a family of 3 for the cruise dates? Whats the process?

Also...how was the embarking and disembarking experience and was the ship in ship-shape? (pardon the pun). We are actually looking forward to the freestyle dining because, quite frankly, I prefer casual dining over black-tie.

[budgetfairytale]

Toga party one night; they provided sheets.

 

White hot party toward the end of the cruise. Wear white.

 

Parties only lasted about an hour. Ship was pretty dead by midnight. But so were the passengers! Very busy, tiring itinerary.

 

Just a note that they let me into the white party and I was not wearing all white. Or any white, actually. As long as you're there to buy booze I don't think they really care!

 

Thanks JenJens1023 for all that great information. Tell me, how does one book the private tours for a family of 3 for the cruise dates? Whats the process?

Also...how was the embarking and disembarking experience and was the ship in ship-shape? (pardon the pun). We are actually looking forward to the freestyle dining because, quite frankly, I prefer casual dining over black-tie.

 

Check with your Roll Call on this forum to see if anyone else wants to share a private tour with your family. Joe Banana and Rome in Limo are two highly recommended companies for Italy. Just get their email off their websites and email them to ask about availability and pricing for your day in port.

[jenjens1023]

Thanks JenJens1023 for all that great information. Tell me, how does one book the private tours for a family of 3 for the cruise dates? Whats the process?

Also...how was the embarking and disembarking experience and was the ship in ship-shape? (pardon the pun). We are actually looking forward to the freestyle dining because, quite frankly, I prefer casual dining over black-tie.

 

Rome in Limo will help you link up with others to share tour costs. We were on a couple tous with a people from another ship. Your roll call will also start hopping with posts looking for people to share tours.

[jenjens1023]

Just a note that they let me into the white party and I was not wearing all white. Or any white, actually. As long as you're there to buy booze I don't think they really care!

 

You don't need to be "let" into the white hot party. It's on the aft deck and anyone can go, whether you drink or not. That's true with all the parties.

[budgetfairytale]

You don't need to be "let" into the white hot party. It's on the aft deck and anyone can go, whether you drink or not. That's true with all the parties.

 

Ours was in the Galaxy of the Stars and there were cruise staff at the entrances greeting anyone who came in.

[milolii]

I took my cell phone and the only call I made was in Barcelona and I did not have any issues - it was not my intention for calls but for text messages

 

I purchased an unlimited package from my cell provider which did all the zones we were travelling except Turkey for that I had to purchase another zone package - it worked great - only a few times during sailing did we lose satellite service but not enough for any inconvenience

 

The internet on the ship was very good

 

Hope this helps - I did not buy any additional sim cards

 

Did you text while at sea?

If so, did the ship charge you for that?

Thanks

[milolii]

We did not use our phones for calls or data, only for wifi, so I cannot help you out with this one. Good luck!

 

 

Did you get WIFI on the ship?

if so, where?

What was the cost?

thanks