Postage Stamps

[bravescots53]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am new to these boards and will be taking my first Mediterranean cruise this October. I have been getting lots of great tips on the different ports from reading these boards!

 

I was wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to get postage stamps of the countries we will be visiting (Spain, France, and Italy) from the ship or if I need to get them in port and if so are they easy to find? I would like to send postcards back home(USA) with the foreign stamps. Also can the ship mail the postcards?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Cory

[cometgirl63]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am new to these boards and will be taking my first Mediterranean cruise this October. I have been getting lots of great tips on the different ports from reading these boards!

 

I was wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to get postage stamps of the countries we will be visiting (Spain, France, and Italy) from the ship or if I need to get them in port and if so are they easy to find? I would like to send postcards back home(USA) with the foreign stamps. Also can the ship mail the postcards?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Cory

 

what a great idea! I think I would like to do that too...

[LHT28]

Usually you get them ashore

When ever we mailed things from the ship it took longer to get home than we did so mail your postcard ashore as well.

I write them up ahead of time then mail at the dock.

[painfree]

The ship (Celebrity Century) charged $1.25/each to mail my postcards...compared to .75/cents off the ship..I found stamps available at tabacco shops..My cards arrived before I got home..

 

Another use for postcards...Rather then keeping a journal...buy a postcard of the sight you want to remember and write a note about the experience..This is not an original idea but one I saw someplace..certainly thought it was a great idea and I plan to try it with my upcoming Med cruise..

 

Happy Cruising..

 

Carol

[piper28]

Whether you can mail it on the ship definitely will vary, and I've found that sometimes they don't send mail out in every port (I know on Princess they had a sign saying where the mail would be going out.) We've tended to mail postcards while on shore, although it will vary from country to country on where you can buy stamps (many seem to be at tobacco stores or newspaper stands, Malta generally had it available in the same stores you bought postcards, but many of them only had postage for mailing to Europe).

[Amaranthine33]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am new to these boards and will be taking my first Mediterranean cruise this October. I have been getting lots of great tips on the different ports from reading these boards!

 

I was wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to get postage stamps of the countries we will be visiting (Spain, France, and Italy) from the ship or if I need to get them in port and if so are they easy to find? I would like to send postcards back home(USA) with the foreign stamps. Also can the ship mail the postcards?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Cory

 

Some of the shops will sell stamps. When you buy postcards they will ask you if you need stamps. In Spain there are kiosks and shops (I forget what they're called but they have a brown storefront with yellow letters. They are EVERYWHERE) that sells stamps, along with newspapers and magazines and beverages etc. I forget how it is in France and Italy, but 90% of the time, I buy stamps directly from whoever sold me the postcards.

[bravescots53]

Thanks very much for all the information on where to get stamps. Sounds like it is best to mail them in port, rather then the ship. I'm really looking forward to visiting Europe.

I like the idea of sending postcards to myself. Would be great in my scrapbook.

 

Thanks again everyone.

 

Cory

[tomko2]

If you are going to Rome you might want to buy stamps at the Vatican Post Office but you must mail the postcard/letter there as the stamps are not usable elsewhere. We mailed a postcard to ourselves from both the Vatican and Egypt.

 

The Vatican Post Office is located to the left of St. Peter's Basilica (when you are facing the Basilica).

[Kindlychap]

I always send postcards from the ship. I can't be bothered to worry about finding a post box on shore.

 

$0.75 against the cost of a cruise is nothing.

 

And it's only by posting them on board that I get the stamp "Posted on board RMS Queen Elizabeth 2" - definitely worth that $0.75!

 

Matthew

[MAKEM]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am new to these boards and will be taking my first Mediterranean cruise this October. I have been getting lots of great tips on the different ports from reading these boards!

 

I was wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to get postage stamps of the countries we will be visiting (Spain, France, and Italy) from the ship or if I need to get them in port and if so are they easy to find? I would like to send postcards back home(USA) with the foreign stamps. Also can the ship mail the postcards?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Cory

 

take with you some envelopes that a postcard will fit in then mail the card inside envelope as if it were a letter.

A little more expensve but it gets there much much quicker.

Only problem....more room to write!

[piper28]

If you are going to Rome you might want to buy stamps at the Vatican Post Office but you must mail the postcard/letter there as the stamps are not usable elsewhere. We mailed a postcard to ourselves from both the Vatican and Egypt.

 

The Vatican Post Office is located to the left of St. Peter's Basilica (when you are facing the Basilica).

 

There's actually one on both sides. I've also seen recommendations that if you're going to mail something in Italy, it's far more likely to make it to the destination if you mail it from the Vatican. The Vatican apparently has a pretty efficient postal system, while Italy's may not be quite as efficient.

[RetiredFL]

IMPORTANT: If you buy stamps on shore, remember they are only valid in the country purchased. You cannot go back to the ship, write your cards and mail them at the next port in a different country. Many ships have a place to leave postcards, etc with a cut off time when they will be taken ashore and mailed.

Think about pre-addressed labels made on your computer to save time when writing cards on shore. We print them out before we go with multiple labels for people we send multiple cards to. It also helps to make sure you send cards to everyone on your list. (All labels used, everyone sent a card!)

[photographia]

I've also seen recommendations that if you're going to mail something in Italy, it's far more likely to make it to the destination if you mail it from the Vatican. The Vatican apparently has a pretty efficient postal system, while Italy's may not be quite as efficient.

 

This poster is right--in general, if you're in Rome, try to mail from the Vatican PO rather than the Italian one. The Italian postal system is notorious. One of our (US) diplomats stationed in Rome actually told me that if there's still some mail laying around when the Italian postal workers finish their shift, they will actually throw it away! :eek:

 

There are several Vatican mailboxes scattered throughout the city--the Italian ones are red, and the Vatican ones are identically shaped but are either yellow or blue (they changed colors a while back and I forget which color they are now!). In the Lateran Basilica, for example, there is a mailbox right near one of the gift-shops, which makes sense since the Lateran is technically Vatican territory.