First time cruising in Europe

[SailorMan98]

Hi all, we are very excited to be going on the Oasis this summer out of Barcelona! We have never done a European cruise before (we have literally only done cruises to the Caribbean on RCCL). Does anyone have any first timer tips, tricks, and things that will be different both onboard and on land on a European cruise with RCCL?

Edited April 30 by SailorMan98

[George C]

Make sure you arrive at least two days early, I would prefer 3 . Barcelona is a beautiful city with lots to do and fairly inexpensive, perfect city to start a cruise. What ports will you be visiting? Join your roll call , we did most of our tours with other people from our ship which is cheaper , less crowded and more enjoyable that rccl tours. Watch Rick Steves videos of your ports on YouTube.

[Biker19]

40 minutes ago, SailorMan98 said:

Does anyone have any first timer tips, tricks, and things that will be different both onboard and on land on a European cruise with RCCL?

Read some Oasis class reviews of sailings there (drop down menu on the main page of RCI here at CC lists the ships).

[Crazy planning mom]

George C gave you some great advice- arrive to Barcelona a couple days early, join your roll call.

What is different on a Med cruise rather than a Caribbean cruise is that its more port focused with less sea days.  Try to enjoy some local cuisine.  There are some evenings that you will be tired-just hit the buffet and relax.

[Kellie in Texas]

Make sure everyone's passports are up to date. If you are visiting any churches, research ahead of time whether there are any restrictions on clothing -- such as, do you need a head covering, are shorts okay or not, do women need to have their shoulders covered, etc. 

[erby2283]

1 hour ago, SailorMan98 said:

Hi all, we are very excited to be going on the Oasis this summer out of Barcelona! We have never done a European cruise before (we have literally only done cruises to the Caribbean on RCCL). Does anyone have any first timer tips, tricks, and things that will be different both onboard and on land on a European cruise with RCCL?

Head over to the Spain Ports of call section here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/465-spain-and-portugal-ports/

 

Tons of information and I'm sure you'll have fun for hours reading and researching the many posts there. 

[luvbrady]

Be prepared to be exhausted.  We were also first timers this fall so it was go-go-go.  Be very aware of mobility restrictions.  I think the day we walked the least was about 12,000 steps.  And typically over uneven surfaces.  YES YES YES to the local cuisine.  We had lemon risotto just outside of Positano and it was the best thing ever- and I don't normally go for risotto.  And the paella in Spain was also WOW.  We started in Madrid before hitting Barcelona and the food was amazing.

 

ENJOY

[Cooper30]

We are newbie travelers in our mid-50s and our first visit to Europe was last October on Explorer.  We went from Ravenna to Civitavecchia via Croatia and Greece, as well as a couple stops in Italy.

 

Definitely arrive at least a few days early and definitely get good travel insurance. 

 

Our flight from the US connected in Lisbon and the connecting flight was canceled. We ended up with a night in Lisbon courtesy of the airline.  Knowing we had travel insurance coverage for the missed night in Venice allowed us to not stress and enjoy Lisbon.  Flying in 4 days early meant we were not the least bit worried about missing the ship due to a canceled flight.

 

Another tip: Pace yourselves and be realistic in your expectations (as far as what you do in the ports).  We were on a 7-night cruise with a port every single day.  By the last port (Naples), we were exhausted and decided to find a hop on/hop off bus rather than drag ourselves to Herculaneum.  It turned out to be a good decision, and we already have another trip planned to go back to Naples so we can go to Herculaneum (and Pompeii). 

 

Bottom line is there is just too much to see and do in one day at any port, so don't even try....just go back and visit again 🙂 

 

We did not use any ship excursions.  Since we are both healthy and can walk, we did a ton of pre-cruise research (You Tube is a great resource) and explored all of the ports on our own.  We have no regrets about going out on our own, and we are doing the same thing on our cruise to northern Europe this coming October.

 

 

[Tin can]

I think you will find that your fellow passengers on a European cruise will be a really varied mix of nationalities which can be great fun. I would expect it to be a bit more formal dress wise, and as others have mentioned, as it will be port intensive the vibe around the ship will be different to the Caribbean. Not better or worse just different.

 

Depending on when you are going the Euro 2024 football tournament is being held in Germany, if your dates coincide expect any bar with a television to be packed and if it interests you at all the mix of Europeans on board will create a fantastic atmosphere.

 

[willing292]

Beware of the many pickpockets!  Leave your good jewellery at home.  Do not put nothing in your back pockets.  

[Airbear232]

Congratulations, I’m sure you’ll have an absolutely wonderful trip.  We’ve done this trip several times. Here’s my 2 cents:

1- Fly in early, Barcelona is a beautiful city.  If you can, I’d suggest getting a hotel on La Ramblas.  You can walk to many locations from there.  Barcelona is a very walkable city and has great public transportation.  

2- There are picket pockets.  I always use a packsafe pouch that goes over my head and under my shirt.  It has a wire cable that can’t be easily cut. 

3- consider booking flights and transfers with Royal’s Air2Sea.  This protects you in the case of any unforeseen circumstances (once on a cruise out of Rome, my luggage didn’t reach the ship in time, Air2Sea made sure it was sent on to Athens and to the ship.  I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t booked with them).

4- Most ports you can do on your own either by arranging something at port with a tour guide or getting ride into port. Or, as others have mentioned you may find an online group with your cruise and make arrangements with others for port excursions. 

5- Some suggestions: Palma - a day walking about the town or taking a Taxi to the Mountain town if Valdemossa, great place to walk about, shop and have lunch.  Marseille - taking a taxi to the old port and walking about is a good day, otherwise, a drive in the country is beautiful.  Naples - a day trip to the Amalfi Coast or Capri is unforgettable.  If you stay in port, da Michele Pizzeria is reputedly the home of pizza.  It’s quite good but be prepared to wait a while to get your pizza.  Naples also has great shopping, the E.Marinella tie shop is a short walk from the ship.  Rome - if you’re mobile, it’s very easy to take a train from port to Rome Termini station.  You can easily walk from the station to most of the major sights in the city.  Alternatively, at Rome Termini you can make arrangements with a taxi driver for a tour around the city.  La Spezia - you can arrange great day trips to either Cinque Terre or Florence.  If going to Florence, I’d suggest skipping Pisa.  It will take too much time and, IMHO, you can never have enough time in Florence.  

6- These cruises are go, go, go.  Pace yourself and enjoy yourself. 

7- booking with Air2Sea with a transfer at the end of the cruise removed all stress at the end of the cruise. 

8- lastly, if you like shopping, consider bringing an extra bag to hold you finds. 

 

Have a great trip!

[TheHawk1]

Decide what is most important to you to see in each port and focus on that.  Do not attempt to see everything on one cruise, as it is not possible and you will leave disappointed.

 

I actually did this itinerary two years in a row, first on Wonder in 2022 and then last year on Symphony.  This allowed me to split up my check list and capture most of the port highlights between the two cruises... although it was a rather expensive way to accomplish that 😄

[Tin can]

13 hours ago, willing292 said:

Beware of the many pickpockets!  Leave your good jewellery at home.  Do not put nothing in your back pockets.  

 

Excellent point, Barcelona and Rome especially.

 

I wouldn't be so concerned about wearing jewellery as any risk will be from opportunist pickpockets. We have been to both many times with no issues and with very simple precautions you will be fine.  

 

[sgmn]

A lot of ports are great for DIY but beware some ports are far from the top tour destinations. For instance Rome from Civitavecchia and Florence from Livorno.  Personally for these ports we take the ships transport that allows us to DIY once in Rome etc.  

Book Vatican museum entry or other Gallery or Museum entry in advance and skip the line

[lovesthebeach2]

I haven’t read the responses which I’m sure will all be good advice, but I’ll add we always fly in 3 days ahead to acclimate to the time. 
And pickpockets are everywhere, I have a small belted pouch I keep tucked inside my pants to keep anything valuable from being seen.

[Poplin]

We did a 15 day Mediterranean cruise with a group but went with another couple ( good friends) that we cruised together with all the time. All of us were seasoned travelers but had not done a European cruise in several years. Going with a group was good for us as they took care of details and gave us several good tips. We and the other couple decided, for the first time, not to eat in the dining room except for the two nights our entire group was eating together ( sea days). This allowed us to pack less and not stress to get back for dinner. We did book all our tours through the cruise line and I have to say all were excellent.  But we did go from early morning to late afternoon. We would return to the ship, eat in the cafeteria, grab a glass of wine, and go to our balconies and watch us sail away (loved doing this). We go to bed early as we were up very early for our tours. We did enjoy the ship on our sea days and did a specialty restaurant on those days if not eating in the dining room with our group. I hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did. 

[gavvy]

Bring Euro notes with you.  Cards are Widley accepted but not everywhere - Taxi's for example.  USD is not accepted off the boat and will result in confusion in europe if you try to pay with $ 

[little britain]

Do not tip more than 10% 

You have to ask for the bill. It is not bought to your table before you have finished eating. 
The currency is € euro 💶.
Be prepared to pay for public bathrooms. 

[Fa-Li]

I don't think I saw this one yet:  check what kind of plugs are used in your pre-cruise country (and post cruise if you stay there as well)  Should be all the same kind in mainland Europe.  You will need an adaptor for these plugs.  NOT a converter, which will throttle down power and render some of your items not useful.  Also, make sure the electronics you take are dual voltage.  Apple products all are, so no problem there.  It's mainly things like hair flat irons/curling irons you will need to check.  

 

As someone said above, Rick Steves is a great resource.  His books, website, and app all have tips and do-it-yourself walking tours.  

[hazeleyez3]

Another vote for flying in a few days before, not to see Barcelona (that’s a bonus), but to allow for possible flight cancellations or delays, and to have at least one day to get used to the time difference.

 

if you book private tours (which is what we do), be sure to pay close attention to the distance from the port to the actually city.  Many are not walk off the boat and you are there.  Civitavecchia, for example, is an hour from Rome.