Europe cruise October 2023

[travelfool123]

On 9/27/2023 at 9:08 PM, Mike45LC said:

Coming back from Europe, we missed our connecting flight, and had to wait for many hours for the next flight!  It was brutal.  I hope you have a better flights!

 

Enjoy the cruise.  It should be fabulous.

Thank you!  So excited, a little nervous, etc!!

 

[travelfool123]

Just now, travelfool123 said:

Thank you!  So excited, a little nervous, etc!!

 

Also, I'm a little worried about the flight over.  I don't have much time connecting in Philly.  I'll be running!

 

[jsglow]

So we did the exact same cruise on the exact same ship last year at the same time. Not knowing exactly when you are flying over but I have to assume you'll be doing Rome for a few days either before or afterward. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

 

My only piece of advice is be careful to pace yourself, when possible. It was probably our favorite cruise ever. But it's vastly different than spending a relaxing day at Half Moon Cay. I'm sure you totally understand. First time ever we had alarm clocks set each morning. Rinse, repeat; every day in a new spectacular place. Enjoy.

[travelfool123]

8 minutes ago, jsglow said:

So we did the exact same cruise on the exact same ship last year at the same time. Not knowing exactly when you are flying over but I have to assume you'll be doing Rome for a few days either before or afterward. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

 

My only piece of advice is be careful to pace yourself, when possible. It was probably our favorite cruise ever. But it's vastly different than spending a relaxing day at Half Moon Cay. I'm sure you totally understand. First time ever we had alarm clocks set each morning. Rinse, repeat; every day in a new spectacular place. Enjoy.

Yes, I'm flying over and spending 2 days in Rome before.    I did a Mediterranean cruise 17 years ago! I was in Rome for 2 days then but the iteniary was different.  No Greek isles as this is.  I know it's not like the Caribbean and I am older!  LOL  The first day I'm in Rome is on my own schedule and I have 2 excursions the next day.  The cruise is 10 days and  I have excursions for all ports so I know I'll have to rest and pace myself.  Thanks for the input!

[ninjacat123]

On 6/19/2023 at 2:50 AM, cruisinqt said:

In America there’s lots of free bathrooms everywhere and they don’t care if you’re a customer or not. It’s a bit different here so we’re trying to be prepared for the change because while we’re out sightseeing we will likely need bathroom breaks. I don’t mind paying a small fee for the bathroom though. I’ve heard that London tips 10% but I haven’t researched Spain or our other ports. I like the idea of not tipping. Here in America even if they’re paid well they still want a tip. The tipping situation is out of hand. Thanks for the info on the card I'll look into it. 

I just got my oil changed in my car and when they handed over the pay device there was a selection of what tip to leave.  I left 5%.  Wha....!!!?!

[ninjacat123]

14 hours ago, travelfool123 said:

Yes!  So excited .  Can't believe it's almost here!

 

DH and I will be seeing you on the pride Oct 18!!  Flying in Oct 14.  Hoping all goes well with our connection at JFK🤞

[ninjacat123]

14 hours ago, travelfool123 said:

Also, I'm a little worried about the flight over.  I don't have much time connecting in Philly.  I'll be running!

 

How much time between flights?  We have 2 hours which makes me nervous.

[Joanne G.]

Have a fabulous time!  I was on the Pride B2B for 21 days in July for a Baltic cruise followed by the British Isles (shortened due to a mechanical issue 😥).   I also was onboard last month for the repositioning cruise from Dover to Rome. 

 

I did Carnival excursions in every port. I will repeat the advice to pace yourself!  I found that I had to pass on evening activities if I had a morning excursion the next day.  On my cruises, ship time changed to match port times, which was great when we gained an hour but a drag when we had to set clocks ahead.  Greece is in a different time zone from Rome, so you'll probably have the time changes, too. 

 

Here's my take on currency and tipping in Europe, but I was not in Greece or Turkey, so I can't speak for those countries.   Many people on my Carnival excursions tipped the guides.    Of course, it is not required.   But if you choose to tip, it's convenient to have smaller bills.   Before my cruises, I got euros and British pounds from my local bank - not a huge amount, just enough for tipping and incidental purchases.   I was able to request smaller bills, 5's and 10's.   My own bank gave me a decent exchange rate and didn't charge fees.  I found doing so was much more convenient than looking for an ATM during my trip.   There is not always the opportunity to do so on a Carnival excursion, and when you do find one, I expect you will get only larger bills.  

 

I chose to tip because I figured anyone in the travel industry experienced losses during covid.  The guides were all very good, and I was particularly impressed with those who were not speaking their native language.   I wanted to reward the drivers also, who were safely maneuvering big buses on often narrow European roads.  

 

I could use a credit card for purchases everywhere, though I don't know if your ports are as cashless as the ones I visited.   On a land vacation in Paris last spring, I was even able to use a card to pay the fee at a public toilet LOL.   Those pay toilets are a pain.  Try to have €.50, €1, €2 coins on hand.

 

People have strong opinions on when and how to get currency and if and when to tip, and there is no right way to travel.  Do what you are comfortable with, and have fun!

[Joanne G.]

17 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

I just got my oil changed in my car and when they handed over the pay device there was a selection of what tip to leave.  I left 5%.  Wha....!!!?!

OMG That's outrageous!  

[travelfool123]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

DH and I will be seeing you on the pride Oct 18!!  Flying in Oct 14.  Hoping all goes well with our connection at JFK🤞

 

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

DH and I will be seeing you on the pride Oct 18!!  Flying in Oct 14.  Hoping all goes well with our connection at JFK🤞

Great!  See you!

[travelfool123]

1 hour ago, Joanne G. said:

Have a fabulous time!  I was on the Pride B2B for 21 days in July for a Baltic cruise followed by the British Isles (shortened due to a mechanical issue 😥).   I also was onboard last month for the repositioning cruise from Dover to Rome. 

 

I did Carnival excursions in every port. I will repeat the advice to pace yourself!  I found that I had to pass on evening activities if I had a morning excursion the next day.  On my cruises, ship time changed to match port times, which was great when we gained an hour but a drag when we had to set clocks ahead.  Greece is in a different time zone from Rome, so you'll probably have the time changes, too. 

 

Here's my take on currency and tipping in Europe, but I was not in Greece or Turkey, so I can't speak for those countries.   Many people on my Carnival excursions tipped the guides.    Of course, it is not required.   But if you choose to tip, it's convenient to have smaller bills.   Before my cruises, I got euros and British pounds from my local bank - not a huge amount, just enough for tipping and incidental purchases.   I was able to request smaller bills, 5's and 10's.   My own bank gave me a decent exchange rate and didn't charge fees.  I found doing so was much more convenient than looking for an ATM during my trip.   There is not always the opportunity to do so on a Carnival excursion, and when you do find one, I expect you will get only larger bills.  

 

I chose to tip because I figured anyone in the travel industry experienced losses during covid.  The guides were all very good, and I was particularly impressed with those who were not speaking their native language.   I wanted to reward the drivers also, who were safely maneuvering big buses on often narrow European roads.  

 

I could use a credit card for purchases everywhere, though I don't know if your ports are as cashless as the ones I visited.   On a land vacation in Paris last spring, I was even able to use a card to pay the fee at a public toilet LOL.   Those pay toilets are a pain.  Try to have €.50, €1, €2 coins on hand.

 

People have strong opinions on when and how to get currency and if and when to tip, and there is no right way to travel.  Do what you are comfortable with, and have fun!

Thanks for the info!  I like to do night activities- just can’t stay out long.  Not as young as I used to be!

[cruisinqt]

14 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

I just got my oil changed in my car and when they handed over the pay device there was a selection of what tip to leave.  I left 5%.  Wha....!!!?!

Yeah they expect a tip everywhere its really frustrating 

[grandmacani]

On 10/6/2023 at 10:00 AM, ninjacat123 said:

How much time between flights?  We have 2 hours which makes me nervous.

We did Detroit to Philly one year and they have some mini transports if you can flag them down to get you to your gate.

 

[ninjacat123]

Just now, grandmacani said:

We did Detroit to Philly one year and they have some mini transports if you can flag them down to get you to your gate.

 

I'll be in JFK for this layover.  I hope 2 hours is enough.  Hopefully the gates are not too far apart.  When we landed in Philadelphia, my flight to Amsterdam was boarding.  I ran for 15 minutes straight to get to the gate.  It was awful.  I hope this is a better outcome.  Thanks for your info!

[travelfool123]

On 10/9/2023 at 7:47 PM, grandmacani said:

We did Detroit to Philly one year and they have some mini transports if you can flag them down to get you to your gate.

 

I'll have to do that because I don't have much time.    Shew, I'm tired from packing, working, trying to get stuff done... LOL  

 

[travelfool123]

On 10/9/2023 at 7:47 PM, grandmacani said:

We did Detroit to Philly one year and they have some mini transports if you can flag them down to get you to your gate.

 

I am now on a flight that has a longer connection to Rome.  The first flight was only about an hour if that, now it's 2 1/2 hours.  So glad!