Seven Day Med cruise - EPIC

[lbt43]

Has anyone done this cruise? What would you say you spent on the cruise itself? Port heavy and sights to be seen in every port. What do you think the cost would be?

[KeithJenner]

Has anyone done this cruise? What would you say you spent on the cruise itself? Port heavy and sights to be seen in every port. What do you think the cost would be?

 

Nobody can answer that.

 

If depends on how many of you there are, and what you plan to do.

 

Excursions will cost somewhere between zero and a couple of thousand dollars per person, depending on what you do.

 

On board expenses will be between the cost of the Service charge and however much you are prepared to lose in the Casino.

 

If you say what you are planning then maybe people will be able to give you an idea.

[lbt43]

Well, on board I can keep my spending to around $1000. I will be going solo, but I am more interested in how much people spent doing excursions and exploring the sights along this cruise.

[welove2cruise*]

We did the cruise out of Barcelona on the Epic in 2011. We had a fabulous time and loved going on the Epic (was my second time on that ship). We had two other couples that went with us. We did NCL excursions for Naples & Livorno. We went to the Isle of Capri - Isle of Romance (I think was $149 pp) and the Cinque Terre (I think around $129 pp).

 

In Civitavecchia we did a tour with Rome in Limo. I think it was around $200 US for each couple. You do have to factor in excursions as part of this trip to budget expenses. We also stopped in Palma Majorca where we just walked to town and back (was a VERY long walk).

 

This was our (DH and mine) second trip from Barcelona. We did the first time on the Gem. I know that it all depends on what is most important to you, but the first trip we did the Amalfi Coast tour and while it was a lot of riding in the bus it was a fabulous trip. That said we also loved Capri. The hardest part of this trip is deciding what to do which is why we went back to do it again.

 

The Cinque Terre was one of my favorite places of all time but again it is all up to you and what you want to do. I think you can look online at excursions and get some idea of pricing.

 

Here is a link to the site for NCL where you can price the excursions they offer. http://www.ncl.com/excursions/print Just cancel the print and you can view the page.

 

In Barcelona the public transportation is wonderful. Also, you can get transfers from the airport to the hotel and back through viator dot com and it is well worth it in my opinion as the cab drivers there like to take you on a wild goose chase to rack up the rates. Barcelona is worth an extra few days pre/post cruise as it a great place to visit with lots of interesting architecture and things to do.

 

My guess is that if you can work it out to go - it will definitely be a great trip to remember.

[KeithJenner]

Well, on board I can keep my spending to around $1000. I will be going solo, but I am more interested in how much people spent doing excursions and exploring the sights along this cruise.

 

 

Again, it depends what you want to do. Will you stick to NCL excursions, or independent tours or do it yourself.

 

We have pretty well paid for Rome at just under 100 euros for three of us, which includes transport and the underground tour of the Colosseum, but we are doing it ourselves. Others pay two or three times that for a couple before entrance fees.

 

Are you going to Florence? That makes a big difference.

 

Two years ago we spent about £400 ($600) off the ship. Last year we spent the cost of three ice creams. Others will spend the $600 on one day.

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

Well, on board I can keep my spending to around $1000. I will be going solo, but I am more interested in how much people spent doing excursions and exploring the sights along this cruise.

 

Truth be told, LBT, you do not have to spend a penny on board if you choose not to. We generally do not, aside from a drink here and there.

 

For shore excursions, budget $200 per port for a day trip to see the majority of sites in each city. Another $50 for food and/or souvenirs in each port.

We did that and had money left at the end of our cruise!

 

It's a GREAT cruise! We liked it so much 3 years ago, that we immediately began planning to do it again this year!

 

HAVE FUN!

:)

Edited February 9, 2014 by NEW 2 CRUISIN

[Sparkles87]

I haven't been on Epic yet but I have done a solo med cruise last year and this is what I budgeted for on port days. (I will break it down in Euros since that is what you will be using on port days.

I budgeted for 90 Euros a day (5 port days so I took 450 Euros)

 

I bought a bottle of water in the airport when I arrived. 2 Euros

 

My first Port day (Trapani) I got a bus tour (12 Euros) and gelato (5 Euros) - i went back onto the ship for lunch. Call it 20 Euros

 

Day 3 (Sorrento) I pre-purchased an excursion so that didn't count. I had lunch (20 Euros) and gelato (7 Euros) - it was a big one :D - and some souvineers (50 Euros) though i did buy myself some jewellery! Call it 80 Euros.

 

Day 4 (Civitavecchia aka Rome port)again I pre-purchased an excursion to Rome. Lunch 4 Euros (Pizza place next to Trevi Fountain - you pay what it weights 3.84 to be exact!), Gelato 8 Euros, Souvineers (40 Euros), a bottle of water (1 Euro). Call it 60 Euros.

 

Day 5 (Calvi) - Some souvineers was all i bought so call it 30 Euros.

 

Day 6 (Palamos) - Ice cream - 4 Euros (it was huge!! Mmmm) and some souvineers (20 Euros) and i bought myself some clothes (70 Euros). Call it 130 Euros.

 

So the total for my shore spend was about 320 Euros. minus about 15 Euros for food at the airport going home I spent a Grand total of 335 Euros Forgot to add, at the current exchange rate that's about $457, 450 Euros would be about $614.

 

So that over 100 Euros I came back with

 

I guess it depends what you want to do in port. Do your research work it out but unless you really like spending tonnes of money on yourself or buying presents for others I wouldn't budget for more that 100 Euros a day ($137) if you are solo.

Edited February 9, 2014 by Sparkles87

[sunbird21]

OP- I did this cruise,solo last May. My studio fare was $999, but fare dropped to $749 about a month prior to sail( managed to get a small amt of OBC).

 

For excursions, I went onto my roll call and started researchingn tour companies and recruiting people to share a shore excursion in Florence and Naples. In Florence, I managed to get 15 others to go in on a custom designed excursion through SmartCruise Tours,and it ended up being about 60E each(about $90) and went to Florence,Pisa and a winery in Tuscany. In Naples, I went through Rome in Limo, which is the biggest company in Italy,and it was 75E each(about $110). That tour went to Pompeii,Sorrento and a winery.

 

In France, I did go with NCLs tour of Avignon and Aix for $90, and that was one of NCLs cheaper excursions. I could have found other companies and done another shared excursion,but I was pretty set that that worked for me. In Palma,I just took e $12 shuttle, and Barcelona I did my own thing.

 

You can pretty much search the companies and find a tour that works for you,as far as activities. For the most part,the more people you can find to go in on it,the cheaper it will be, but I would factor at least $75 for each city if you do an excursion,which is pretty much the way to go in Italy. You can certainly go cheaper if you DIY,ESP in the Spanish cities.

 

Definitely look to your roll call if you do the private excursion thing,as you will find a

It of ppl willing to do these,and don't be alarmed by NCL waving their "guarantee" in front of your face. I know many of the companies I contacted also had a guarantee,or had records stating they have never missed a ship. It's basically how NCL justifies their inflated costs for shore excursions.

 

On board, you may find that you don't spend as much as on a typical cruise,as you only have one sea day,and your days in port are LONG...you will be tired at the end of each day! Even with that,budgeting in 2-3 specialty restaurants, the ice bar, and a couple of drinks a night only ran me $500 by the end of the week(which actually included my excursion and shuttle in Palma). Don't spend for Posh or the weeklong spa pass on this cruise...you will not have a lot of ship time!

 

And of course,budget for at least one night in a hotel prior to your cruise in either Rome or Barcelona. Don't try to play chicken with an international flight!

 

Stacey

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[em-sk]

I did not spend much on the ship. A few drinks and that was about it. It is a very port intensive cruise so you don't spend much time on the ship. I did the EPIC out of Rome.

 

Train from Rome to the port.

 

Florence - I did the "The Cinque Terre" ship excursion. If I remember correctly the ship docs at an industrial port. Loved this one.

 

Cannes - This is a tender port. The tender docks in the town centre. There is a public beach near the tender and some private beaches in the opposite direction. Many people ended up taking the train out to Monaco.

 

Naples - The dock is just downtown and there is plenty to see within in walking distance. I did that in the morning and then a ship excursion to pompeii.

 

Barcelona - Port shuttle from the dock to the centre of town only cost a few euro.

 

That said you could close to spend more or less.

[ausrobbo]

Keith

 

who did you use in rome for that price?

[KeithJenner]

Keith

 

who did you use in rome for that price?

 

 

Myself.

 

BIRG tickets including train to Rome and Metro - about €27 (to be purchased)

Colosseum, Forum and Palatine entrance - €26

Underground tour - €27

First class train back with reserved seats (not required, but makes the journey nicer) - €28

 

Total €108. That's just over €100 but I hadn't gone for the first class return when I posted earlier. Still to pay is food and any entrance to anything else we decide to do. Also, one of our party is a child and he gets quite heavy discounts, so you couldn't do three adults for that price.

 

I'm not necessarily recommending people do it this way, especially if this is your one and only chance to go to Rome, but it's a demonstration of how the costs can fluctuate depending on what you do and how you do it.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[dritan]

Agree with some others here - it really depends on how you do it. My brother and I did this cruise a few year ago and were on a budget so ended up DIY all the way. I post this below as an idea of some of the alternatives to excursions or private tours.

 

Naples - cost of bus to and from the port to Pompeii, entrance to Pompeii and audio guide. Lunch at a very kitsch restaurant near the Villa of the Mysteries.( probably about 40 euros in total each)

 

Rome - BIRG ticket, triple ticket( Colosseum, Palatine and Forum) with the help of my Kindle Rick Steves med port we self guided and spent most of the day here. Can't remember where we had lunch. ( around 40-50 euros each)

 

Livorno - NCL shuttle to the train station and train return to Florence. Had lunch at the Fratellini Brothers hole in the wall which was great( sandwich and wine for 5euros - a real Florentine institution.) Some gelato at a stunning looking cafe, wandering around outside and buying a few leather based souvenirs for family. ( around 60-70 euros including shopping)

 

Cannes - nothing - just wandered around for a few hours and had lunch on the ship ( this was our chill out day and Cannes didn't exactly thrill us)

 

Marseilles - shuttle to old port area, train return to Aix, lunch at the farmers market. ( 40 euros each)

 

Barcelona - we just got the 1.50 euro shuttle to the bottom of La Rambla and walked up to Placa de Catalunya for our bus to the airport. But if we had started in Rome and had Barcelona as a port day, we would have done the Runner Bean free tour ( giving a tip obviously), and perhaps the HOHO bus which is very good.

 

 

I had been to Florence before but that first time I did do a ship excursion as I was concerned about using the train - but much preferred DIY second time around.

 

As I say we were on a budget but perfectly doable for 200-250 euros including lunches, public transport and entrance fees.

[dritan]

I would temper all of that by stating my view, that being based in London and suspecting that we would be able to return to most of the sites on future trips meant we weren't aiming to "see everything" in one go. So the ability to take it easy and DIY is a bit easier.

[bobbarker005]

can you tell me details of how to get to rome and do the coliseum that cheap ,thanks.

[KeithJenner]

can you tell me details of how to get to rome and do the coliseum that cheap ,thanks.

 

 

Getting into Rome cheaply is easy. Get the shuttle bus from the ship to the dock gates and then walk to the train station. It's about half a mile. Just walk along the front keeping the sea on your right.

 

When you get to the train station, you buy a BIRG ticket. You don't get then from the ticket office, but from the newspaper stall at the station (you can get them from other places as well). They cost about €9 each and includes the train into Rome and back plus use of the Metro.

 

If you want to check train times then go to trenitalia.com to see the timetable. Select English by clicking on the British flag in the corner and do a search of the date you are there.

 

If you want to go to the Colosseum then I'd recommend getting off the train at Ostiense. You can then follow the signs through the station to Piramide, from which it is two stops to Colosseo.

 

Buy your entry tickets to the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine from http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

 

They cost €12 each and can be ordered online. If you want tickets for the underground tour they are an extra €9 each (you can get an ordinary tour for €5. They need to be booked over the phone and you can't book too far in advance (just to the end of April at the moment).

 

You can book the tour tickets and entrance together, but it's best to get the entrance separately so you can print the tickets at home and go to the Forum first. Just make sure you don't get charged for the entrance if you phone as well.

 

Use the metro to go to any other places you want, and then catch the train back. I'd recommend getting the train from Termini as it may be very busy by the time it gets to Ostiense or St Peters. Just be aware that the platform which you catch the train from at Termini is quite a long walk from the entrance, so give yourself some time.

 

As mentioned earlier, it is an option to buy a ticket for the return on the express, which is an extra cost but may be worth it. We've got first class tickets with reserved seats for a fairly modest amount and makes the return when you may be tired a lot nicer.

 

If you don't get the reserved seats for the return or the underground tour then the total cost per person for transport and colosseum/forum entrance is about €21 each.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[bobbarker005]

thanks a lot we are travelling with some first time cruisers that are on a very tight budget, and this will help a lot.