Grand Princess/Mediterranean - 8/18-30 Review

[kare8ear]

Thanks to everyone on CC for answering all of my questions and sharing your vast knowledge of information; this cruise would not have been possible without you all. And to all the great people we met on board and were fortunate enough to share private excursions with!

 

Reposting after CC ate my original and even more detailed post.

 

Preface: Everything below is my own opinion

 

 

Venice

www.limosineandriver.com - Highly Recommend

Our driver was waiting front and center when we walked out of the airport. He spoke excellent English (unfortunately I forgot his name) and drove a large van to pick the four of us and all of our luggage up for 55E.

 

24 hour Varparetto pass – Highly Recommend

It cost 10.5E and we took it from Piazza Roma to St. Mark’s and elsewhere. Roma is kind of a walk (~15min) from the pier, but this was a very inexpensive way to get a ride down the Grand Canal. We got our money’s worth and took it to Lido and Murano. I thought it was a bit slow because it made frequent stops along the Grand Canal.

 

 

Athens

Highly Recommend

Mt. Levitalikos (spelling?) – great views of Athens

Acropolis – wish we had spent more time there and walked over to the Agora to see the other ruins

 

Recommend

National Academy, Library, Museum – did not enter because it was closed, just took pictures and admired the architecture

Parliament Building/Changing of the Guard – it was messy because the Police did a poor job of trying to move the crowd

Plaka – we were in Athens on a Sunday so it was pretty quiet. The bazaars in Turkey are much better for shopping.

 

Kusadasi

Highly Recommend

A GUIDE!!! We thought we might save money by not getting a guide here, but it is probably one of the only places where doing it on your own is more expensive! Either go on the ship’s tour or get a private guide.

Ephesus

St. John’s Basilica – it’s nice because it is the least crowded of the three major sites. Admission is inexpensive. It’s not a must-see, but we enjoyed it.

 

 

Do not Recommend

House of the Virgin Mary – I don’t believe that Mary actually spent the last years of her life there; the place is too well preserved and the architecture did not seem to match that of other buildings in that time period. There was not much to see, it was just a small home with two rooms. We spent maybe 20min there. I found it to be expensive at ~$8/person.

 

Istanbul

Highly Recommend

Blue Mosque

St. Sofia

Spice Bazaar

 

Recommend

Sultan Mosque

Grand Bazaar – easy to get lost inside, little air circulation, a lot of vendors

 

Do not Recommend

Hippodrome – three monuments, nothing to interesting to me; but it is free and near the mosques

Underground Cistern – the cost was ~$7 and we only spent about 30min there. It is dark, there are lots of columns, and some water. It was a nice respite from the heat. If I had known, I do not think I would have gone there again.

 

Mykonos

There is not much to do here. We walked to get a view of the windmills, but did not actually walk up to them. The only beach we found was rather small and the sand was filled with small rocks. I did not see any taxis, so I am not sure how to reach the other nicer beaches. My mother really enjoyed the shopping here though.

 

 

Naples

Francesco Marrapese, http://www.francescomarrapese.com - Highly Recommend!!!!!!!!!

Francesco was absolutely wonderful; I am so glad I hired him. He was early to pick us up and was a wonderful driver…he did not go too fast and he took the turns on the Amalfi Coast very smoothly. He first took us to Pompeii where we spent a couple hours (way too short, but there was just so much to see in Naples). Then we drove near Sorrento, crossed over to the Amalfi Coast, and went by Positano. He also let us stop a couple times for pictures and shopping. We stopped at a delicious fruit stand; we bought yummy and large peaches, grapes, and figs and some pasta sauce spices. He made lunch reservations for us at a wonderful restaurant in Ravello which offered fabulous views of the water. After lunch, he took us the back way back to the pier through the mountains; we were very high up. We arrived back in plenty of time. Francesco was very professional, friendly, and very entertaining with his jokes. Our only regret was that we did not give him a bigger tip (we miscalculated). You cannot beat his price either.

 

 

Rome/Civitavecchia

Stefano Constantini, allagrande@hotmail.it - Highly Recommend!!!!!!!!

We LOVE Stefano!!! He was early to pick us up in Civitavecchia and drove us immediately to see St. Paul’s Outside of Rome, where the Apostle Paul is buried. There was hardly anyone there and it was beautiful; a fabulous way to start off our trip. Next we went to a small church that offered views of Rome and stopped by Circus Maximus. Then it was off to the Vatican for our Vatican Guided Tour that Stefano had reserved for us. We all really enjoyed the Tour! After 2.5hours at the Vatican, we met up for lunch. My parents got separated from our group at the Sistine Chapel and could not find our meeting point. Stefano drove around and thankfully found them at the entrance; I don’t know what we would have done if we could not find them. After lunch, he took us to St. Peter in Chains to see Moses and Peter’s chains. Then it was onto the Forum and the Colosseum where Stefano had also reserved tickets for us. He then drove us to see Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps before our day with him ended. He had a smile throughout the day and was just wonderful. We saw so much more than others on the ship’s tour did and sights that we did not even think we would have time to see! His price too is unbeatable.

 

 

Florence

Paola Migliorni, http://www.florencetour.com/about.htm - Recommend

Paola was early to meet us off of the ship. It was nice that her van had a microphone so that we could all hear her speak. She took us to Pisa first, which we all really enjoyed and felt was a worthwhile visit. Then it was onto Florence where our first stop was at a hill with great views of Florence. After that we drove into Florence and went to the Accademia, where Paola had reserved tickets to see David for us. She did a great job explaining the history behind the sculptures and Michaelangelo. Then it was time for lunch and Paola brought us to a delicious Osteria, everything there was delicious. After lunch, we went to Santa Croce to see the tombs of Galileo, Michaelangelo, Macchiavelli, amongst others. Then Paola drove us around to see the Duomo and Town Hall.

 

The reason I did not highly recommend her is because she was constantly on her cell phone, which was kind of distracting. I felt she also hurried us along frequently, especially at the Accademia. After she would explain about a sculpture, she would move right along to the next one, so that we did not even have time to absorb everything and look at the sculptures more. Then there was some miscommunication and she thought we wanted to shop for 2 hours. I think we would have preferred 1 hour of free time and another hour of sightseeing because she did not take us into the Duomo (as stated in our original email). My husband says he would not recommend her.

 

It was great that she made reservations for the Accademia for us so that we did not spend precious time waiting. She was able to reserve my father a ticket to the Uffizi. She was able to drive in areas of Florence where others are not allowed.

 

 

Marseilles

Catherine D’Antuono, www.provence-travel.com - Highly Recommend

Catherine was a sweetheart! She met us early off of the ship and took us first to Aix en Provence where she gave us an extensive walking tour of the city (almost too long!). Then we went to a wine tasting, followed by lunch at an excellent French restaurant; the lamb was delicious! Next we walked around the beautiful town of Loumarin and then stopped at Bonnieux and Lacoste before returning back to the ship. We cut it close on our arrival time, but that was only because Catherine wanted to show us everything and was so thorough in explaining everything too. My Mom absolutely loved her and it was a really relaxing day filled with gorgeous scenery.

 

 

Barcelona

Highly Recommend

I would suggest arranging a car service to pick you up from the pier. There are so many people getting off of the ship and there are lines for the taxi. A car service is also more helpful if you have a lot of luggage, because there are fewer minivan taxis and the line is disorderly, you basically claim a taxi and run out to it. Our taxi ride (~5-10 minutes) cost us 27E since the cabbie’s meter was already set at 18.5E when he picked us up. A car service would be quicker and about the same price.

 

Hotel Barcelona Universal http://www.hotelbarcelonauniversal.com/ - I booked this hotel on Hotwire (it is 3.5 stars in the Downtown/Marina/Las Ramblas area). It is nicely located on Avenida del Parallel and a 10min away from Las Ramblas, although the walk is not through the nicest street (but I think that is typical for the Las Ramblas area). The Metro stop is literally right outside the hotel. The hotel was very clean with a very spacious bathroom (it even had this metal bar thing on the wall that you could hang your clothes/towels on to dry quickly; I had never seen that before).

Bus Turistico – We had not planned on using this, but noticed it the first day we were there. It is 21E for a 2 day pass or 17E for a 1 day pass; it also included a discount book (which we used for lunch and to purchase tickets to La Sagrada Familia and the Picasso Museum). We figured that this would be a very convenient way to get around (no need to ask directions) and that it would be nicer to see your surroundings versus being underground on the metro. The bus also makes an unbelievable number of stops so it is very convenient. The first day we rode the Red loop once all the day around to get a sense of where we wanted to stop; it took ~1.5hours. On the bus especially on the second level, you can great shots of Casa Mila and Casa Batllo too. In the late afternoon, we rode the Blue Line (~1.5 hours) all the way around and really enjoyed the scenery near the water and it offers great views of the famous sites along the water; we were tired and never got off. On the second day, we took the Picasso Walking Tour offered for 7E (including admission). Our guide told us a lot about Picasso’s early history and took us to the 4Gats, his old flat, etc. The museum has Picasso’s early works. In the afternoon we rode the Green Line (~35 min) all the way around. We were able to see the beautiful beaches of Barcelona, but that is really all the line had; again, we were tired and never got off.

La Sagrada Familia – we paid 10E for the guided tour there and found it very informative about Gaudi’s architectural philosophy and interpretation of the sculptures. We were amazed at how little of it is completed inside. My husband and Mom climbed the stairs of the spires. My husband says that once you start, you cannot turn around.

Parc Guell – nice and free works of Gaudi. I thought there was lots to see in this park, so we started off wandering on the paths, but just wandered through countless tunnel-like structures. We finally figured out that the main attractions were located at the entrance to the park, like the famous lizard fountain. My advice is to just walk straight up the stairs and don’t spend too much time wandering around the surrounding areas. It does offer great views of Barcelona though.

Lladro – my Mom really wanted a Lladro figuerine from Spain. The prices on Princess were probably the best, but they would not arrange for shipping and my parents originally wanted a large piece. We wandered around Las Ramblas looking for the Lladro and finally went to the official store. They offered the lowest price there, so we ended up purchasing there. Shipping for these items is incredible (upwards to $300) though.

La Boqueria – produce market in the middle of Las Ramblas. The produce, seafood, and meats there look delicious. We purchased some fruit which was delicious. It is just interesting to just browse around there.

Restaurants:

Ciudad Ciatet (just north of Las Ramblas) and Cervesería Catalana – Tapas! The tapas at both places were incredibly similar, I thought we were at a chain restaurant. We really enjoyed our time at both places and though the food was very good and reasonable.

 

Grand Princess

Food - the first few days were awful, but they kept improving that after that. They even delivered some chocolate covered strawberries to our room after my husband's comments on their review card. The buffet was not spectacular at all and service in the buffet was not attentive at all. Like someone mentioned, it was like being in an American buffet. Some of the food was also not prepared as we would have expected it in the States...my husband ordered meatloaf and it came with an egg in the middle. It was often hit or miss with what we ordered. Definitely eat the tomatoes...they are so delicious in the Mediterranean.

Entertainment - we really enjoyed all of the entertainment onboard. My husband loved the shows and even wanted to go back and watch them again. Movies Under the Stars was very nice and relaxing. The cruise staff did a great job in trying to keep us all entertained.

Staff - the dining room and room service staff were wonderful. Our waiters were fun to talk to and took such good care of us. Our steward made and remade our bed so many times a day that we finally asked him to stop (to decrease his workload), but he said that they have to maintain certain standards.

Ship - the ship was average. I really wish they had a lounge area with lots of windows and bow facing where you just sit, relax, and watch the beautiful scenery passing you by. The elevators were a huge pain! Some only went to some parts of the ship and people would push all the buttons and then leave deciding the wait time was too long. We wound up just taking stairs everywhere (better for the waistline too). We never lounged near the pool; it was way too crowded and people were always saving chairs.

[mik]

Kare8ear, thanks for the review. We are doing the Barcelona to Venice on the Grand in October. Do you remember the name of the Restaurant in Ravello? It sounds like the kind of place we would enjoy.

[ronp101]

Great review! We did the Grand Mediterranean cruise last May and enjoyed it very much!

 

There were so many wonderful things - I enjoyed Barcelona immensely. City is beautiful and the architecture is just amazing. I would love to go back for a week and just be there.

 

I would also have to agree about Kusadasi - we weren't sure because we kept hearing mixed reviews - but we were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it!

 

Great info about Florence and Naples - we are going on another Med cruise next May and it will include Naples - Florence (Livorno) is not on the itinerary but we are planning to do Tuscany on our own, so that might be an option for us.

[kare8ear]

mik: Sorry it's taken me so long to get back you. I could remember the name of the restaurant, but luckily my parents took a picture in front of it. I believe it is called Albrego - Ristorante Garden. If it is not that restaurant, then it is right next to it and down the stairs. It is located in Ravello. My apologies if that is not much help.

 

ronp101: That is wonderful that you are going back so soon. Have a great time!

[muse_clio]

mik: Sorry it's taken me so long to get back you. I could remember the name of the restaurant, but luckily my parents took a picture in front of it. I believe it is called Albrego - Ristorante Garden. If it is not that restaurant, then it is right next to it and down the stairs. It is located in Ravello. My apologies if that is not much help.

 

Kare8ear.

Bravisima!! Grazie. (or however you spell it). Thank you on a wonderful travel report. We're booked for 5.16.06 Grand Princess beginning in Venice, and your notes are top notch useful, especially the names of tour guides. Our small touring group already has all our guides, and it's good to know we've booked Francesco whom you recommend so highly. Of course, we also have booked Paola, but forewarned is forearmed, right? Interestingly enough, she has been the only guide to pressure us for credit card numbers. Your tour guide recommendations will get passed to our other group members, so thank you so much for the help. tracey

[kare8ear]

muse_clio: You will have such a wonderful time there! So glad you booked Francesco and you will still have a great time with Paola. She asked for a cc card too, but I think it is just for a deposit and her standard booking procedure. Just take your time seeing everything with Paola and ask her to show you something if it was promised in your itinerary. Glad you found my review helpful