My first trip to Europe on Freedom of the Seas 9/3/17 with many pictures and video!

[aubreyc1988]

Thanks for posting, makes me want to book a Europe trip!

 

You definitely should! I hope that Sept 2018 I can go back to Europe, we shall see!

[aubreyc1988]

Cassis

 

After eating, we went walking around, looking at the small shops around and got some gelato. My husband found a candy store, which had some pretty cool looking candies.

 

 

And then we walked back to the bus stop to head back to the train station. We headed to the bus stop at around 1:30pm, the bus came at 2:20PM, which was perfect timing to make the 3PM train back to Marseille (we had 3pm return tickets)

Here are pictures of what the train station at Cassis looks like. I forgot to take a photo of the ticket kiosk there, but there is one there.

[aubreyc1988]

the train station at Cassis is nicely shaded and there are benches to sit on, which was nice as we waited.

 

 

 

 

The train was running behind, about 10 minutes. Just something to consider when taking the train to and from places, always plan on the train being behind. Whenever we took the public train to places, I always made sure we had a good 2-2.5hrs to be back around the port before all aboard. I didn't get to walk around Marseille and planned to do that with the rest of our time in port.

 

And we made it back to Marseille

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

We quickly walked to Old Port Marseille. When I mean quick, I mean VERY QUICK. Doing the tourist weave, maybe took us 10 minutes.

 

 

 

 

After walking around Old Port Marseille, we took an Uber back to the port from there, which was 23.79. It was a lot cheaper than I was expecting, considering it was a farther distance than the cab I took in the morning to the train station from the cruise ship(30 euros) So remember, TRY to take taxis outside of the port if you can. The ones waiting outside the port and in the port are very expensive.

 

At the end of all the ports of call, I will review the ship. I honestly don't remember what shows we saw on what day, etc. If you have done this itinerary, you know what I mean. You are so tired after each day, it all just becomes a blur haha.

 

Up next, Villefranche (Nice) and our trip to Monaco on our own (Via the train)

[butterfly529]

Those were my notes from research. Basically, some churches and museums, etc have strict dress codes. Some do not enforce it while others do. I wrote that to remind me what the clothing options I had for that day were based on where we were going. The no flip flops rule is for Monaco I believe, to go into the casino, they don't allow flip flops.

 

That is very important information for us American Girls that love our flip flops!! :)

[aubreyc1988]

That is very important information for us American Girls that love our flip flops!! :)

 

 

 

I know I wear flip flops for most of the year haha

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[aubreyc1988]

Villefranche (Nice) / Monaco

 

So my notes for this port were pretty simple. Everyone says doing Monaco on your own is easy and they are right, it is very easy.

=================

 

(my notes prior to visiting)

 

Sept 5th – Nice, France (Docking inVillefranche Sur Mer) 7am-7pm TENDERING PORT

 

https://www.trainline.eu

 

An easy walk from theship-just go to the right when you get off the ship past the buildings on theleft.

(justkeep the water on your right and walk until you see the steps on your left thatgo up to the station)

 

 

Train departs every 15 minor so.

==================================

This is the only tendering port on this itinerary and our experience was smooth. We overslept and didn't get off on the first tender :( It kind of started the day off bad, since we skipped breakfast. Oversleeping in this port ended up not being so bad, in terms of time factor. My notes were pretty spot on and there are lots of signs to guide you to the train station. Train was cheap, 3 euros per person each way. Make sure you validate your tickets if need be in the yellow validation box (some tickets need validation before entering, others do not: we learned this the hard way, by being confronted by the fare enforcers on board)

 

 

Here is my visitacity itinerary for the day (the times we actually hit these sites are a little off, because we overslept and some of them we just didn't do)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The famous Monte Carlo casino wasn't open, they open at 10am, but ONLY for paid tours, which were 17 Euros per person. The casino doesn't open until 2pm, and we were not going to stay in Monaco for that long so we just snapped pictures outside. Because it was so early, there were no fancy cars and such outside, which was a little disappointing.

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

Monaco

 

 

It actually took us a while to get to the entrance of Monte Carlo Casino, because there was a lot of construction and a lot of roads closed off.

 

 

 

 

[SheSaidYes2012]

Great review!

 

What'd you think of the ship itself? Cruising on the Freedom in November through the Caribbean.

 

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[MCazer]

Although we have other things planned, we are booked on the train to Rome, and also doing the Vatican Museum Sistine Chapel (Skip the line) and also want to see Trevi fountain and Pantheon (walk, taxi, subway?)

 

Can you give me more info on the train and how you got to Trevi from or to Vatican City?

 

 

"Sept 7th – Rome(Docking in Civitavecchia 7am-7pm

 

- Train Transfer by Roma Express CVT3

 

08:00 AM - 08:20 AM Disembarkation and transfer by shuttle-bus to private train Roma Express.

08:20 AM - 09:10 AM Transfer by train to Rome - St Peter's Station.

09:10 AM - 03:40 PM Free time to explore Rome on your own and walk back to train.

03:40 PM - 04:30 PM Drive back to Civitavecchia by private train Roma Express.

04:30 PM - 05:00 PM Boarding on shuttle bus and transfer to ship.

 

 

Vatican/Sistine Chapel Tickets at noon (€40)

Pantheon=Free

Trevi=Free"

[aubreyc1988]

Although we have other things planned, we are booked on the train to Rome, and also doing the Vatican Museum Sistine Chapel (Skip the line) and also want to see Trevi fountain and Pantheon (walk, taxi, subway?)

 

Can you give me more info on the train and how you got to Trevi from or to Vatican City?

 

 

"Sept 7th – Rome(Docking in Civitavecchia 7am-7pm

 

- Train Transfer by Roma Express CVT3

 

08:00 AM - 08:20 AM Disembarkation and transfer by shuttle-bus to private train Roma Express.

08:20 AM - 09:10 AM Transfer by train to Rome - St Peter's Station.

09:10 AM - 03:40 PM Free time to explore Rome on your own and walk back to train.

03:40 PM - 04:30 PM Drive back to Civitavecchia by private train Roma Express.

04:30 PM - 05:00 PM Boarding on shuttle bus and transfer to ship.

 

 

Vatican/Sistine Chapel Tickets at noon (€40)

Pantheon=Free

Trevi=Free"

 

So the train is private and OLD. I think it was considered a "luxury" train back in the day and even has a bathroom OF SORTS on board. Seats are comfy and lots of room. It's my understanding that only cruiselines use this train now. The day we went, our tour was the only one on the train. The express train takes about 40 minutes IF they don't get stopped by rail traffic, which we did for about 5-10 minutes. Our train was also a bit late in picking us up, so we arrived at St Peters Station at around 10am, instead of 9am.

 

As for getting around, just use the MyTaxi. I didn't have a the Coliseum planned originally, but we actually were ahead of my original schedule, so we taxied to the Coliseum from St Peters Station (buy tickets for the Coliseum at Palatin Hill across the street to avoid ANY ticket lines) After the Coliseum, we taxied to St Peters Square and had timed entry to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. After that we took MyTaxi to Trevi Fountain, because its like a 20 min walk from the Vatican and we were pretty over walking by this point. And then from Trevi Fountain, you can walk to the Pantheon, as it is very close. And then we taxied beck to St Peters Station about 45 minutes before we needed to. Using the MyTaxi app was really easy and helpful and taking the taxis saved a lot of time and enabled us to do a lot more than planned. For ALL of those taxi trips I mentioned, the TOTAL cost with the MyTaxi app was about 50.00 USD, around 6-10 euros per trip. SO worth it. I originally had us on a RCI motorcoach On Your Own transfer to Rome but I am glad I switched to the train.

[Suzieanna]

I have been in that casino...... I won €7.50. Kept the voucher as a souvenir. I bet they make a fortune out of idiots like me doing that

[aubreyc1988]

Since we couldn't go intothe famous Monte Carlo Casino, we went next door to the Cafe de Paris

The security before youget is somewhat strict, especially for a casino. Appropriate attire (niceclothes, no flip flips, no hats for men) is required, as well as yourpassport. They will make you pour out any waterbottles you may have, aswell as search for bags before entering the casino.

We didn't do too bad inthis Casino, found one of our favorite slots and played there for about anhour, ended up breaking even and then we left. Casino itself was verysmall and underwhelming. No table games until 2pm so I couldn't get apoker chip to take home with me.

 

After the Casino, we were headed to the Princes Palace, which was a substantial walk from the Casino. Here are some pictures I snapped while walking there.

So I am a literal tree hugger, I love trees and I love this one! How cool is this!!!

 

 

The main mode of transportations for locals

 

 

We stopped at a small grocery store to grab a croissant for breakfast, as we skipped breakfast in our rush to get a tender ship off the Freedom. It was fabulous. Another example how it's pretty much impossible to find bad food in Europe...or maybe I have just been lucky but I wish it was like this in the United States!

[aubreyc1988]

 

 

a consulate I believe

 

 

When you get to the Prince's Palace, there is a huge ramp/staircase you have to climb. This will suck any energy or good humor you had about going here, especially if it's hot. YOU WILL FEEL THE BURN.

 

You DO get some good photos out of your work though!

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

 

I can't tell you enough that Monaco is a LOT of walking around, and the walking is not easy. Hills upon hills, stairs upon stairs, be ready for it! Once we got up to the top of the hill, we went into the ticketing building, which is also the gift shop, and bought a bottle of water (since we had to throw our water out at the casino) and our tickets. There is a minimum puchase amount to use your credit card by the way!

 

We watched the changing of the guard. Sorry this is my only photo of it, my husband recorded it and it will be in the video that I will share at the end of the review

 

 

After the changing of the guard, we went got in line to get into the Prince's Palace. There is an audio guide included in your tour. Tickets were 8 Euros per person to get into the Prince's Palace, although they had bundle deals where you could bundle the aquarium and the Palace for 20 Euros or so. Next time in Monaco, I want to do the aquarium. I think we made an error in skipping it on this trip, but oh well, just an excuse to come back! :D

 

They do not allow photos or video inside the Prince's Palace, which is kind of a bummer. The audio tour was bland and boring. They really only let you see about 5 rooms of the Prince's Palace, and they aren't anything spectacular. Really, I think it was a waste of time and a waste of money. If I am paying to see the Prince's Palace, I expect to see a bit more of it. The rooms shown were like rooms that haven't been used for ages, such as sitting rooms and a couple bedrooms. All in all, not impressed with it. Which brings me back to the aquarium...wish we would have done that instead.

 

 

After the Palace, we walked back to the train station to go back to Nice. This was at 1pm (ish). Originally I had planned to eat in Monaco, but decided to save some money and eat in Nice. I was also wanting to walk around in Nice before heading back to the ship. We both were pretty disappointed in Monaco and the Prince's Palace (I mean, for that trek we did to get the Prince's Palace, I was expecting more of the tour"

 

 

Day pass metro prices

 

 

 

Train station in Monaco

 

 

 

 

For those of you on a budget, I know you understand how you pick and choose what you are going to do for excursions and if you are wondering what to do in Monaco, I would choose doing the Aquarium with the Jardin Exotique. I felt like Monaco, especially for the casinos, when the ship is in port they just are not exciting or a viable option. All the casinos and restaurants over by the casino are very fancy and people do expect you to be pretty dressy, which is hard when touring. I can't TOUR while in a dress, with high heels, etc. Maybe other girls cant, but I cannot...I need to be comfortable. So my recommendation is to skip all of that and go to the aquarium and any other nature exibits and walk around, eat some good food!

 

Up next, photos from walking around in Nice/Villefranche and the restaurant we ate at.

[October17]

Thanks again - love reading your posts!

[aubreyc1988]

Walked around in Villefranche when we got back, took some photos, ate some good food! Villefranche is quaint. I can see how if you come visit this port numerous times, it's a great place to chill and people watch.

 

 

 

This is the place we ate, by the water. There are lots of restaurants on the water, and up a street away from the water. Prices to eat on the water were about the same as a street away, maybe a little more but nothing substantial. Prices were very affordable, I think we maybe spent 40.00 USD for both of us and we each got beers/cider. Something you will notice is that most often when eating out in Europe, beers/alcoholic drinks are cheaper than water most of the time...so drink up!

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

I decided to try this cider, because I've never had it before and it was good

 

 

and here is my husbands drink of choice

 

 

And finally, we see some fancy cars while sitting here....

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

 

My husband had mussels, and I had fish and chips. Both were excellent, as par for the course so far.

 

And then we headed back to the ship a bit earlier than planned, but this ended up being our last "chill" day so it was OK!

 

 

Up next, La Spezia - Pisa, Camposanto, Pisa Cathedral, Views of the Leaning Tower (we didn't have admission to go inside), The city of Florence, Uffizi Gallery, and more food! :hearteyes:

[dancernl]

Hi Aubrey, I am so thankful to you for posting all these marvelous details about your trip. My husband and I are also headed to Europe for the first time and starting our trip in Paris before cruising on the Rhapsody out of Venice in late October. THANK YOU! We aren't well traveled outside the US and don't speak French (I can understand Italian pretty well but can't speak it) so the resources you've shared are very helpful. We also have port stops in Civitavecchia and Naples. Our Florence port is Livorno. Looking forward to your info on Italy!

[Dennis#1]

Aubreyc1988: I so enjoy reading your posts. The pictures are excellent. Thanks again.

[aubreyc1988]

La Spezia/Florence/Pisa

 

We were docked in La Spezia from 7am-7pm, so we were up early to have breakfast in the windjammer and to make it to our meeting time for our Royal Caribbean tour

Was nice to see the sunrise, even over such an industrial area

 

 

Our tour for La Spezia was

Florence and Pisa Independent Exploration with Smart Device LL11

At first when I was planning what to do in this port, I was just going to go to Pisa and do the leaning tower. A lot of people told me prior to the cruise how far away Florence is from La Spezia and how there's just not enough time to spend in Florence. So I wanted to do something closer to the port and something that wouldn't feel like we were TOO rushed. However, figuring out how to do Pisa on your own was difficult and I couldn't find a Royal Caribbean tour that went to Pisa that was over 3 hrs long...all the RCI tours were like 2.5-3 hrs if you were going to Pisa. So I picked this RCI tour because it was over 8 hrs of touring time, a "guaranteed" return to the ship in time, and it was just less hassle and headache for me. I believe it was 79.00pp for this tour.

 

I contacted Shore Excursions about a month before our sail date, asking them if they had a time breakdown of this "On your own" tour, because I wanted to purchase timed entry for the Accademia and the Uffizi. This is what they sent me in return

 

Start time: 08:10 AM

End time: 06:10 PM

 

0:00 (Start of tour) Depart by A/Cmotorcoach from LaSpezia to Pisa.

0:45 Arrive in Pisa parking area.

0:15 Walk with the escort to Largo CoccoGriffi, outside the Leaning Tower square.

1:00 Free time at disposal for pictures andsouvenirs .

0:15 Meet again your escort and walk back fromLargo Cocco Griffi to the parking area.

1:00 Re-board the motorcoach and drive toFlorence.

0:15 Arrive in Florence and walk with theescort to Piazza Santa Croce.

4:30 Free time for individual exploration.(approx 11:30AM)

12:30pm Accademia (€37.50)

2:00pm Santa Maria del Fiore (€FREE)

2:30pm Uffizi Gallery

Record store on way back (Data Records 93)

0:15 Meet the escort in Piazza Santa Croce andwalk back to Lungarno della Zecca.

 

1:45 Reboard the motorcoach and drive back toLaSpezia and the ship.

We met tour excursions in the theatre at 7:30. There is a lot of waiting around for your excursion to start. It had been a while since we took a RCI tour, since we mostly sail the Caribbean and rarely book through the ship.

Here is part of the ticket, they ripped off the other part.

After our tour number was finally called, we went to the motorcoach, ready to go to PISA!

 

[aubreyc1988]

Throughout this whole tour, I was taking snapshots of my phone for reference to the time schedule. I wanted to see how close we were to being on schedule/how accurate Shore Excursions was

 

So this was the time our motorcoach officially left in the morning - so we were leaving a little ahead schedule

 

 

 

 

The white stuff on these mountains is not snow, it's Carrara marble!

 

 

Getting closer to Pisa...once you start getting closer, it gets quite rural, as the tower is not in the city center of Pisa.

 

 

So I want to talk a bit about the "smart device" portion of this trip. There was another Florence and Pisa tour that was on your own, but no smart device, that was around the same price. But I figured, hey why not take the smart device one!?! RCI says on their cruiseplanner summary of the tour that the smart device is supposed to last you 4-5 hrs. When our tour guide handed them out (which was about 30 minutes into the tour while we were driving to Pisa) everyone couple/family received one smart device to share, but the battery was already down to 30% or lower for EVERYONE on the bus. My husband used it on the bus for about 10 minutes and the battery went down to 20%. Soon, everyone were bringing up their smartphones that were given (Samsung phones) and asking for another one or for a recharge. Our tour guide said if they werent charged up, that they wouldnt charge back up in time and she had no replacements. To me, this is a HUGE rip off. It's obvious that these phones have dead batteries and our tour guides attitude was take it or leave it. To me, if you pay for a tour that says SMART DEVICE INCLUDED FOR 5 HRS, I expect to get that to a reasonable degree. I would say at least 90% of the bus (including us) turned in their phones before exiting Pisa because it simply wasn't even usable. This wasn't a huge deal for us, since we have T-Mobile limited 3G and 2G speeds while in these ports, but I could see it being a big deal for some people who were depending on the smart device

Edited October 4, 2017 by aubreyc1988

[aubreyc1988]

This is the timestamp of when we arrived in the Pisa parking lot

 

 

So based on my screenshot above, we were running a little late (Was "Scheduled" to be at the parking lot by 8:55-9am) Also, for those wondering, we have T-mobile, which has free international data in most major countries, which was nice to have since the smart devices they give you are a joke

 

it was quite a rainy day, as you can tell from the photos. Luckily, we had some VERY touristy ponchos we brought back from home to keep us dry! Mine was bright orange haha! Rick Steve's recommends not wasting space to bring ponchos, because whenever there is rain, he said that there will LOADS of people ready to sell you a 3-5 Euro umbrella...but we had extra space so we did bring our ponchos. But he was SO right about the umbrella people, they were everywhere!

 

 

The walking time of 15 minutes from the parking lot to the leaning tower is accurate.

 

 

And here we are, we made it!

 

 

I had a little bit of a *gasp in awe* moment, because it really is so surreal. All of sudden you turn a corner and THERE the leaning tower of Pisa is:eek:

 

[aubreyc1988]

 

 

After we established with our tour guide the meeting point, we had around 45 min to walk around. I had prebooked tickets to go to the Camposanto for 7euros each, because I knew that there wouldn't be enough time to climb the leaning tower on this tour. The tickets are emailed to you and there was no line when we went, just walked right in. Unfortunately, this didn't come with an audio guide and we didn't have time for a Rick Steves audio tour on our phone, so we just walked around and looked at the statues and graves. I knew a bit of history about the Camposanto before hand so that helped me a little bit to appreciate what was there. It is said that it was built around land that came from Golgotha