Live from the 05/25 Liberty of the Seas Western Mediterannean

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks Smiley9713 for all the information.

[Smiley4]

Mj,

 

The self assists were allowed to leave at 6 15 am. I had tag number 12 and was able to leave by 7 but I was in no hurry so I had the dining room breakfast and left about 8 15. I walked down, got my luggage and was in a cab within 10 minutes to head to my hotel, the Renaissance Barcelona. Easiest debarkation I've ever had.

[tokyo1949]

I was on the same cruise. We were a family group of 7 and booked private shore excursions at each port. If you feel uncomfortable exploring on your own then I highly recommend doing private shore excursions. You can see so much more than you can on the ship's shore excursions because tour buses aren't allowed in certain areas and you have to do significantly more walking. Private guides have special licenses so they can get you up close. Plus it is less expensive. Some tour companies offers share a tour ( such as RomeInLimo & TourGuideNaples) where you can sign up to share a tour with others ( usual maximum is 8 people). We were always back to port on time . These tour companies reputations depend on getting you back by boarding time and they are diligent in controlling your time in each area visited during your particular tour. ALSO.....get to the ENCORE show at least 30 minutes prior to showtime even if you have reservations. I made reservations the first day they made them available online and still had to standup in the back of Studio B. There were a lot of angry people that night. They weren't even checking to see if people had reservations and let anyone in.

 

 

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Just a quick question seeing you are on Liberty now.

Do you have to prebook shows? have heard one or two mentioning about shows etc. Booking this cruise for July this weekend

[mar915]

For Diamond members I know they have the lounge with drinks I the early evening, but are they also giving out the three vouchers as an alternative to use each night during that time at other bars?

 

 

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[mj]

Mj,

 

The self assists were allowed to leave at 6 15 am. I had tag number 12 and was able to leave by 7 but I was in no hurry so I had the dining room breakfast and left about 8 15. I walked down, got my luggage and was in a cab within 10 minutes to head to my hotel, the Renaissance Barcelona. Easiest debarkation I've ever had.

 

Thanks.

[Smiley4]

Tokyo1949 and Mar915,

 

No, it was regular drinks in the diamond lounge during happy hour. No vouchers were being used. The only show that could be pre booked was the ice show. The others you just showed up when you wanted. Usually got to them abut 20 minutes early and had no problems with seating.

[Cheggs]

Hi again Smiley! Thank you for your info. Will take girls off in Monaco. Just wanted to check if you know whether they add the 21% VAT to the shore excursions if those are booked on board instead of online prior to cruise? Thanks. ( RCCL don't seem to bother to answer their emails!)

[amandac]

Everyone, thank you for your helpful information!! We are leaving for Rome in about 2 hours and getting on the ship Thu! Can't wait!

[chuklehead07]

Thanks again for all the info. How quickly do they let everyone off the boat? I know you said you took the 7:35am train from La Spezia to Pisa - how far is the train station from the port? I'm worried that we won't make the earlier train. The next one would be fine, but it is more expensive than the 7:35a one.

[toptoff]

Its a good twenty minute walk and then the fun begins at the station. we were there last week and I would definitely get the tickets prior to traveling as its chaos in the station. Personally I think the 7.35 train is a bit ambitious?

Best of luck though whatever you decide.

[toptoff]

Just a quick question seeing you are on Liberty now.

Do you have to prebook shows? have heard one or two mentioning about shows etc. Booking this cruise for July this weekend

 

You can only book the ice show but it is well worth it. Saturday night fever wasn't full the night we went (9.30pm).

[Smiley4]

Chuklehead07,

 

Don't worry or stress about it. Just do this, buy 2nd class tickets for the cheapest you can find them on whatever date you want to travel and return and then you can ride any train you want that day. They're not time specific only date specific and class of service specific. Once you get to the train station and just prior to boarding, validate the tickets by having them stamped in the machine.

 

Cheggs,

 

Not sure about the VAT for booking onboard shore excursions. I didn't book any onboard. They definitely don't charge it booking ahead of time. The lines were miserable onboard to book excursions many times so I wouldn't wait if you can help it. This is a port driven cruise so the excursion line was longer than the guest relations line many times.

[Cruiser Nonna]

You can only book the ice show but it is well worth it. Saturday night fever wasn't full the night we went (9.30pm).

 

When is Saturday Night Fever performed - nights and times? Thank you for the help

[tidygirl]

I'm looking at Rail Europe and am having a hard time figuring out how to buy second class tickets like you used in Rome I'm finding round trip where you put in the times (I'd like to catch the earliest train but if you miss that one can you get on the next?) also do you have to put the exact drop off location you recommended Roma St Pietro station any advice? I'm coming up with 14 E one way not 9 so not sure what I'm doing wrong to get the open ticket times? Also did you use Rail Europe for your other train tickets or did you purchase those when you got there? Did you print your tickets at home or have them mailed to you? Alsodo you think it would be reasonable to book 9:30 at the Vatican and 1:00 at the Colisseum and hit the Trevi, Steps and Pantheon in between?This is all new to me and a little scary but think the more I can have planned and paid for the less money we have to carry! Also trying to have an awesome vacation on a budget as I'm paying for 6! Thanks for your review and help!

Edited June 20, 2014 by tidygirl

[Smiley4]

I just went to rail Europe and used a random date, Thursday July, 10th from Cvitavecchia to Rome and it was 8 dollars for 2nd class service. That's economy service versus comfort. You can get off and on at any stop you wish and for any train that day. Just book Cvitavecchia to Rome. I used Rail Europe for all my train travel and had the tickets in hand at my house in the U.S. prior to flying to Europe. You have to book at least 3 business days in advance to do that. The times you listed are doable. You control when you leave. It just depends how long you stay at the Vatican and Sistine Chapel and whether or not you're going inside. If so, you need to prebook so you skip lines day of in Rome at both places like I did.

 

Have a safe trip and think of all the money you're saving doing it this way.

[tidygirl]

Sorry but when I go on rail Europe and click on tickets and passes I punch in Sept 25 it's giving me a 9:45 for 14 E so how do you get the economy passes and do you have to punch in the times or am I missing the open ticket somewhere? Do you buy 1 way tickets each way or roundtrip? Sorry I'm not good at this! I may need your help on the other ports too hope you don't mind all the questions! :)

Edited June 20, 2014 by tidygirl

[mar915]

On the med cruise. Anything different with immigration then in the IS since we are leaving from europe?

 

 

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[kyan]

Hi again Smiley! Thank you for your info. Will take girls off in Monaco. Just wanted to check if you know whether they add the 21% VAT to the shore excursions if those are booked on board instead of online prior to cruise? Thanks. ( RCCL don't seem to bother to answer their emails!)

 

I only booked one RCI shore excursion on board. They didn't charge any VAT for that.

[Badger-Badger]

We were on the Liberty last week .... there was no immigration to deal with at all since we only sailed to other EU ports. No papers or customs! Made debarking a breeze .... just walked off with our luggage and were in our cab in 5 minutes. You do customs at the airport upon returning to the US.

 

I also wanted to add .... the dress code in the dining room for our sailing was VERY casual. Even on formal night no one blinked at jeans .... or even khaki shorts. Yet people were not out of place dressed up either. Very laid back on this.

 

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[Ulkin13]

Would you be so kind to share cruise Сompass?

[toptoff]

When is Saturday Night Fever performed - nights and times? Thank you for the help

 

If my memory serves me correct then they have two shows only. One early show the day we were in La Spezia (florence) at 7.30pm and one late being 9.00pm on the day of Rome. We went to the late show and there was plenty of seats spare.

[kyan]

This thread was very helpful and provided a lot of useful information before our cruise on June 15. So I want to provide some useful information from my cruise for others who will be sailing on this cruise in the future.

 

Check-in and Embarkation

We had pre-purchased the airport to ship transfer so we were able to check in at the airport in Barcelona and get our Seapass cards before getting on the shuttle bus to the pier. The trip from the airport to the pier is about 15 minutes. There isn’t much to see on the way to the pier, but when the bus approaches the harbor, you can see the Christopher Columbus monument in Barcelona. Sit on the left side of the bus by a window if you want to take a photo of the Christopher Columbus monument from the bus. With our Seapass cards, we just got off the bus and walked onto the ship. After you board the ship, you can go to the Windjammer Café on Deck 11 Aft for lunch until 4:00 PM.

 

Your Stateroom Attendant cleans your cabin twice a day, once in the morning and once at dinner time. He/she puts a copy of the next day’s Cruise Compass in your cabin when he/she cleans your cabin at dinner time. The Cruise Compass is 4 pages and contains information such as:

1. The weather forecast

2. The time when the gangway opens at the next port for departing the ship

3. The time when you must be back onboard the ship at the end of the day

4. Activity and entertainment highlights

5. Open hours for breakfast, lunch, dinner, the Casino, shops, Shore Excursion desk, etc.

6. Detailed schedule of activities

 

There is also a 1-page sheet with detailed information on the next day’s port, but that 1-page sheet isn’t put in your cabin. You can pick up a copy of that 1-page sheet at the Shore Excursion desk on Deck 5. Remember to take your Seapass card with you when you leave the ship because they scan it when you leave the ship and scan it again when you board the ship again.

 

Marseille

The ship didn’t have a shuttle bus to the port gate or the city center, but the ship did offer a ferry from the cruise terminal to the city center. The ferry runs about every half hour and costs $23 per person (no VAT) round-trip. You have to purchase the ferry tickets at the Shore Excursions desk on Deck 5. The ferry drops you off at Fort St. Jean near the Vieux Port. If you want to go directly from Fort St. Jean to Marseille’s most famous site, the Notre Dame de la Garde basilica on a hill overlooking Marseille, you can take bus #60 directly there. There’s a bus stop for bus #60 just outside Fort St. Jean. At Notre Dame de la Garde, go up about 30 steps and then go into the building on your left. There’s an elevator on the right just inside the entrance that will take you up to the 6th floor, where you can enter the church.

 

Villefranche

Villefranche is the only tender port. The tender boats from the ship to the pier are free. RCI has shore excursions to several places in the French Riviera, but we decided to DIY because all of the sights we wanted to see were close by and easily accessible by public transportation and we wanted the freedom to explore on our own instead of being restricted by the set schedule of a tour.

 

Our plan was to walk 1500 feet along the harbor to the train station and take a train to Monaco. The fastest way to travel around the French Riviera is by train, except when there’s a train strike. Unfortunately, there was a train strike the day we were in port. I asked at the tourist information booth at the pier and they said due to the train strike there would only be 1 train to Monaco that morning. I was concerned that if I took the train there, there might not be a train coming back.

 

They said another option was to take the bus. But getting to the bus stop for the bus to Monaco was a 15-minute walk uphill. So we took a taxi to Monaco. I asked the driver before we got into the taxi how much to Monaco and he said 80 Euros. The 10-mile trip to Monaco is supposed to take about 20 to 25 minutes. But the main corniche along the coast of the French Riviera is a 2-lane road with 1 lane in each direction. Coming from Monaco wasn’t a problem, but going to Monaco that morning had so much traffic, it turned into a 90-minute trip.

 

We went to the Monaco Cathedral first because that opened at 8:30 AM. Monaco Cathedral is where Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly were married in 1956. A plaque with a photo commemorating the royal wedding is across the street from the Cathedral. The Cathedral is also where the tomb of Princess Grace is, on the floor behind the alter, 2nd-to-last tomb (going counter-clockwise). It’s the tomb with the most flowers on it so you can’t miss it.

 

 

 

 

The Prince’s Palace is less than 5 minutes walk from the Cathedral. Tours begin at 10:30 AM. The Palace tour costs 8 Euros per person and is a self-guided tour with an audioguide (available in several languages) provided by the Palace. You have to go up one flight of stairs. I don’t think there’s an elevator. After you go upstairs, you follow the signs and see about a dozen rooms, most containing antique furniture and paintings of former royals.

 

 

The highlight of the Palace tour is the Throne Room, which obviously contains the throne and which is also where the private civil ceremony was held when Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly were married one day before the religious ceremony in the Cathedral. A plaque with a photo commemorating the civil wedding is in the square outside the Palace near the telescopes for viewing Port Hercule. The Throne Room also had 7 or 8 paintings. Most notable was a 1981 painting of the royal family, with Princess Grace standing in the center of the painting wearing an all-white dress with the clouds in the background. Photos aren’t allowed inside the Prince’s Palace.

 

 

The Changing of the Guard is at exactly 11:55 AM every day. A dozen guards marched in 2 lines out of a building across from the Palace. The guards in front of each line were carrying drums. The guards marched through the Palace square to the entrance of the Palace. Then the old guards marched from the entrance of the Palace through the Palace square to the building across from the Palace. The entire ceremony took about 5 to 10 minutes.

 

 

 

 

After the Changing of the Guard, we took bus #1 to the Monte Carlo Casino. Unlike Vegas casinos, the Monte Carlo Casino has a strict dress code. No shorts, no tank tops, socks and shoes required. Also, entrance to the slot machines area is free, but entrance to the card tables areas costs 10 Euros even if you’re not going to play any games. Photos aren’t allowed inside the casino.

 

 

 

La Spezia

RCI has shore excursions to Florence (2-hour drive each way), Pisa (1-hour drive each way), and the villages of Cinque Terre. If you want to DIY, there’s a shuttle bus from the pier to the port gate, where there’s a taxi stand across from the port gate. You can also walk to the train station and ride a train to Florence or Pisa, but I’m not sure how far the train station is from the port gate.

 

I was only interested in seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Getting to Pisa on our own would’ve involved either taking a 1-hour taxi ride each way (which would’ve been very expensive) or getting to the train station in La Spezia, taking a 1-hour train ride to Pisa, and taking a bus from the Pisa train station to the Field of Miracles (where the Leaning Tower is) and then doing the same thing in reverse to get back to the ship. That was too much hassle so we booked one of RCI’s Pisa shore excursions.

 

RCI has two similar half-day shore excursions to Pisa. The “Panoramic Pisa” shore excursion is $72 per person and the “Pisa on Your Own” shore excursion is $42 per person. Both have a morning tour and an afternoon tour.

 

The “Panoramic Pisa” tour is a boat ride along the Arno River and a bus ride to the parking lot of the Field of Miracles and then a 1/2-mile trolley ride to the entrance of the Field of Miracles. The “Pisa on Your Own” tour is a bus ride directly to the parking lot of the Field of Miracles and then a 1/2-mile walk to the entrance of the Field of Miracles. We wanted to book the “Panoramic Pisa” tour because it was less walking, but it was sold out so we had to go with the “Pisa on Your Own” tour.

 

The Leaning Tower is 1 of 4 buildings in the Field of Miracles in Pisa. The other 3 buildings in the Field of Miracles are the Baptistery, the Duomo (church), and the Camposanto (cemetery). The cost to climb to the top of the Leaning Tower is 15 Euros per person, but they give you a specific time when you buy the ticket so the time might not fit into your tour schedule. There are 294 steps to the top of the tower so we didn’t climb the tower.

 

Civitavecchia

RCI has shore excursions to Rome (1-hour drive each way), but we joined a private tour with a nice family from South Carolina and a nice couple from Ireland because the private tour uses a Mercedes Sprinter minivan so it could drive through narrow streets that the big tour buses can’t and thus drop us off closer to many of the sites. Our tour company was Rome in Limo and the tour was “Rome Highlights”. Our driver Enrico picked us up at the pier just outside the ship.

 

We stopped for photos at:

1. Circus Maximus opposite Palatine Hill

2. Capitoline Hill above the Forum, then walked up to Piazza del Campidoglio, then walked down Michaelangelo’s grand staircase

3. Pantheon

4. Trevi Fountain

5. Colosseum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also drove by Piazza Venezia (where the Victor Emmanuele II monument is), Largo di Torre Argentina (where Julius Caesar was killed on the Ides of March in 44 B.C.), and the Spanish steps. Maintenance was being done on Trevi Fountain so there was a fence around the entire fountain. There were scaffolds and maintenance workers, but not a single drop of water. There was also scaffolding around most of the Arch of Constantine outside the Colosseum.

 

If you want to go inside the Colosseum, pre-purchase skip-the-line Colosseum entrance tickets before the cruise. The regular line to purchase tickets looked to be at least 2 hours long, but it took us only 5 to 10 minutes to get in with our pre-purchased skip-the-line tickets. When printing the tickets, be sure you print the page with the barcode because the turnstile scanner scans the barcode. The barcode is unique for each ticket so you need to print a separate ticket for each person in your group. The tickets do not have any specific date or time so I think you can use them anytime.

 

After lunch at a small pizzeria, Enrico dropped us off in front of the entrance to the Vatican Museums. Enrico had arranged a tour guide ($175 Euros for our entire group) to lead us through the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. As with the Colosseum, we had pre-purchased skip-the-line Vatican Museums tickets online before the cruise. The ticket voucher is for a specific date and time so check with your tour company on what time you should pre-purchase your Vatican Museum tickets for.

 

Naples

RCI has shore excursions to Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Mt Vesuvius, Capri island, Sorrento, Positano, and the Almalfi Coast. But we were too exhausted from the walking tour through the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica the day before to do any shore excursions in Naples. So we just stayed on the ship the whole day.

 

Disembarkation

Disembarkation was really simple. Your Stateroom Attendant puts an instruction sheet and luggage tags in your cabin the night before disembarkation. Fill out the luggage tags, attach them to your luggage, and put your luggage outside your cabin before 11:00 PM. The luggage tags are numbered, depending on your group. The next morning, go to the location indicated on the instruction sheet for your luggage tag and wait for them to give the OK to disembark. Then you walk off the ship. Remember to bring your Seapass card with you when you disembark because they scan it. One woman packed her Seapass card in her luggage so they had to look up her name in the computer when she disembarked and that held up the line of people behind her waiting to disembark.

 

Check the instruction sheet and make sure you have the appropriate luggage tags. For example, we were originally given tag #26, which is for people who had the pier to airport transfer with flights departing after 12:30 PM. But our flight was departing at 12:05 PM so we needed tag #4. So I told our Stateroom Attendant and he gave us tag #4. The tags are important because if we had tag #26 instead of tag #4, then the ship wouldn’t put our luggage out on the baggage claim carousel until later in the morning and we wouldn’t have been able to get on the early-morning shuttle bus to the airport.

 

You walk off the ship, claim your luggage at the carousel, and then exit the cruise terminal. Then you can get on the shuttle bus if you have the pier to airport transfer or take a taxi or go wherever else you were planning to. If you have the pier to airport transfer and you didn’t get a photo of the Christopher Columbus monument before the cruise, then sit on the right side of the shuttle bus by a window if you want to take a photo of the Christopher Columbus monument from the bus. My post has been really long, but I hope I provided a lot of useful information.

[kyan]

I should also point out that outside the Colosseum are people who are dressed as Roman gladiators and who will ask if you want to take a photo with them. But beware that they'll charge you for taking a photo with them. I don't know what the charge is.

[mar915]

How else can you get to marseille it seems like a lot of money for the ferry? I am surprised they had the shuttle in May and not in june

 

 

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[Costafox]

The information in this thread is great.

 

I've also been doing a great deal of homework on excursions, including 2 different couples that did variations on this same itinerary last year and the year before.

 

The one work of caution both of them shared - separately - was to avoid private tours. They only took RCI-sanctioned tours...as they had been told firsthand by people who were duped by local "tour-guides" who were scam artists and also the risk of being led into bad areas of some of these cities. They also indicated that at least one of the trains into Rome has a record of more than 50 muggings a year onboard.

 

Bottom line...they both said most of the time things will be fine no matter where you go and with whom...but there are plenty of stories of people being led into problem areas and even extorted for money to lead them back into good areas.

 

Unless someone can verify with solid references that an independent guide person or company is legit...buyer beware. That's the advice we are passing on after reading plenty of horror stories online and getting the 2 couples to share their own experiences.

 

With regard to private tours - just do your research and homework diligently and you will be fine.

Check out the ports of call threads on here and look for personal recommendations and you won´t go far wrong