? NEED to learn Italian?? Traveling USA visiting Eastern Med. on Legend of the Seas

[curly1963]

:confused: We are going on 12 day cruise and never learned a 2nd language, not even when in school.

 

Friends going with us INSIST we learn Italian to get around better. What has your experience been regarding language barriers???

 

We are spending 2 pre cruise and 3 post cruise days in Italy. One of our friends speaks pretty good Italian. It really 'sticks' for her. I am trying and it just doesn't stick:eek:

[luv2cruz64]

Congratulations on your 20th!!! You will not learn more than a few phrases of any foriegn language by the end of next month. Buy a English/Italian phrasebook at your local book store if youre worried. Have a great cruise!!!

[lisiamc]

Just learning the basics, like Please, Thank you ,Hello, Goodbye, and that essential phrase, Where is the toilet? :D will get you a long way. Take a phrase book, and you should be fine. In the touristy areas, most shopkeepers, waiters, etc. will speak at least a little English. If you make the effort to say your few words of Italian, it's usually appreciated.

 

Lisa

[Dee1161]

Curly - I just did this cruise in May and let me tell you it was FABULOUS!!!!

Learn how to say good morning, good night, please, thank you, where is the bathroom and how much.

You will be fine.

We spent a week pre cruise in Italy and had no problems at all. The only time I had any language issue was in Venice when I had to buy some cold medicine for my daughter's boyfriend - the pharmacist didn't speak English and I didn't speak Italian so we did pantomime ! :p It was great and all worked out well.

 

Dee

[bay guy]

Don't worry about learning anything other than the basic phrases mentioned here. The fact that you at least try to speak a little Italian goes a long way towards people being helpful. What we found is that, in most cases, unless you're out in a small town some place, most people will speak enough English for you to get by.

We'd walk into stores and restaurants and say "Buon giorno" and most of the time they'd answer "hello, how are you today?" in English.

Have a great time. Lots of hand gesturing, pointing and smiling goes a long way in communicating.

[jamscckmc]

The phrases mentioned are helpful. Alot of the young people speak English but everyone likes to be greeted and thanked in their language. We got a Frommers tour book from the library and there was a page of phrases. We did all day tours through the ship with a biligual guide. In the carribean we often wing it, grap a cab or take the bus to the beach, but I wouldn't do that in Europe. If you are docked close in like we were in Malta it's fun to walk around but sometimes you are docked far from the main drag. When we were in Athens we were 1/2 hour late. We were on a ships tour and they waited for us. That wouldn't be the case if we were on our own. Plus the tour guide can tell you where it is safe to walk and shop.

[cruisinalong001]

I would highly recommend Rick Steve's pocket book of Italian phrases. Phrases like "how much does it cost ?"(essential phrase!), "too much" (another essential phrase), "where is"?, "excuse me" (too try to get off the vaporetto before it leaves your stop), "sorry" when you bump into someone (happens alot in the crowds) and numbers, at least 1-20 are really helpful. Looking up the individual phrases and learning some numbers before your trip seemed easy to me rather than trying to learn the language. Between phrases and pantomime (like how in the h. do you read your Italian train ticket to find your car) we managed just fine. I think without the phrases we would have felt quite lost. Just scan the book and see what phrases you might want to learn if you get separated from your Italian friend.

[bbombaci]

If you're interested in learning some phases via podcasts (download to your computer and/or ipod), checkout http://www.mydailyphrase.com/italian. There are 100 10-min. lessons there; they were a lot of fun to listen to. But I do agree with the others who have posted their comments. Just got back from a 3 week trip to Italy, and most people understand at least a little bit of English.

 

Barb

[cruisinalong001]

If you're interested in learning some phases via podcasts (download to your computer and/or ipod), checkout www.mydailyphrase.com/italian. There are 100 10-min. lessons there; they were a lot of fun to listen to. But I do agree with the others who have posted their comments. Just got back from a 3 week trip to Italy, and most people understand at least a little bit of English.

 

Barb

 

After 10 days of Italy post cruise, it is my opinion that almost no cab drivers speak English. That's why you want to know how much it costs to get anywhere before you get in. Actually, I'd carry a business card or a printout of your hotel or even the ship if you are staying over night so you can at least get back to your hotel or port.

[abridalmaven]

After 10 days of Italy post cruise, it is my opinion that almost no cab drivers speak English. That's why you want to know how much it costs to get anywhere before you get in. Actually, I'd carry a business card or a printout of your hotel or even the ship if you are staying over night so you can at least get back to your hotel or port.

Babelfish is a translator you can type in and get it translated into/from any language. If you have a smartphone, you can go to it when you need it.

[micruiser2002]

I have been to Italy about 10 times since 2004 on business. I have never learned any Italian, maybe picked up a few greetings. I am too busy with work to even try to learn Italian. I had no problems at all and took a taxi to and from work each day by myself. Of all the trips and multiple cab rides I only had a problem once. I do think it is always a good idea in any foreign country to have in writing the name and address you want to get to.

[_jessica]

I take an Italian class.. although I have never been to Italy, I'd love to go. Many Italians do speak English, especially in major cities.

 

As stated before, it would be a good idea to write the address of the place you want to go and if you are that lost, ask for directions. :)

[ms8654]

THANK YOU!!!!!!! So far that podcast is great.

 

I was trying to use one of those cd's but disk one started off really advanced. This podcast seems to be perfect for what I want. I can speak a little Spanish and more French. The Italian is kicking my butt because the pronunciation to me is so different than either the Spanish or French.

[beachnative]

I agree with all that have replied...a few key phrases are helpful...but not in the way you might imagine. If you can speak (or even stumble through) a few keys phrases it shows that you CARE about their language. That combined with a pleasant smile and a quiet demeanor goes a long way.

 

My wife enjoys learning the phrases and is pretty good at it. She was actually mistaken for a native in Salzburg, Austria until a "real" conversation began.

 

We just returned from Venice and the cruise to Greece. She learned a lot of words (especially food) and carried her phrase book. While eating at Taverna Nikos on Mykonos we had fantastic food and she whipped out her phrase book and said that the food was good. The owner smiled and gave her a pleasant lesson on the use of the correct word and why the "good" she used didn't apply to food.

Effort and attitude are the keys.......especially if you are trying to break the "ugly, pushy American" perception.

[CharmedOne]

You're so lucky---I'm trying to convince my DH to go on a Med cruise for our 15th in 2010. Wish me luck!;)

 

Anyway, I went to Italy with my SIL last September. For six months I listened to the CD's, did the free podcasts (which were most helpful - "learnitalianpod dot com" I think was the name), bought a phrasebook, etc. I had studied German in high school, and French in college. It's interesting the way that some people are visual learners and some auditory learners. I am better at reading instructions than listening. My SIL is just the opposite.

 

I found what helped the most - was making a cheat sheet and carrying it with me for emergencies. Otherwise, I stuck to learning the numbers, common greetings, asking for directions, bathroom, food, etc. Just the basics.

 

Everyone we ran into except one person in 13 days spoke English, too. Don't sweat it though - the Italians appreciate ANY effort (as we would if the situation were reversed).

 

I remember I was in San Gimignano in a cafe trying to get a panini. I asked for it (amazingly) in perfect Italian - she asked me if I wanted it to go (I only caught two words of her Italian sentence and somehow got the gist) - I answered in perfect Italian that I wanted it to go (I was so proud of not using my cheat sheet). She then went nuts gesturing, smiling, exclaiming something about finally someone knowing Italian hooray. She lost me after that and kept going on...and on...and on at lightning speed...while I tried to interrupt her to tell her I only knew a few small phrases and had a cheat sheet. I finally just nodded, took my panini and escaped as quick as I could. My SIL (who never even mastered much of the basic phrases) giggled the rest of the trip about it!:o

 

So, if all else fails - just smile, nod, say thank you and exit as fast as you can!

[EtoilePB]

In my experiences in Europe, it's very, very helpful but absolutely not mandatory to be able to make sense of the local language(s).

 

I found that knowing French and English, I was able to read most of the signs where I was (they were printed in German & Italian) and able to handle most, though certainly not all, things for myself.

 

It is true that many people you encounter, particularly in tourism-heavy areas, will speak at least passable English. Do yourself a favor and learn a few key words, though: "bathroom," "how much," and most especially, "please" and "thank you." It's much easier to work through a language barrier when both parties are good-natured and making an effort rather than when one starts shouting.

 

Have fun! :)

[JohnnyCruiser]

:confused: We are going on 12 day cruise and never learned a 2nd language, not even when in school.

 

Friends going with us INSIST we learn Italian to get around better. What has your experience been regarding language barriers???

 

We are spending 2 pre cruise and 3 post cruise days in Italy. One of our friends speaks pretty good Italian. It really 'sticks' for her. I am trying and it just doesn't stick:eek:

 

As others have said, many Italians speak English, especially in any of the big cities. I studied Latin for 4 years in high school and spent 6 months reinforcing that learning some Italian before my first trip to Italy and every conversation I started in Italian was responded to in English (I didn't think my accent was THAT bad:p). In 9 days I think there was only one person who we met who truly did not speak English. The one time I forgot and began ordering train tickets in English in Milan, I got the "no speak English" from an older gentleman. I realized my mistake and switched to Italian and did my best to finish the conversation. As I was leaving the ticket counter I heard him speaking much less broken English to someone else. So I do believe they reward the effort and will use English. In Paris a restaurant owner pretty much confirmed that by thanking us for going out of our way to use French. They let us continue on a little longer before switching to English than the Italians did.:D

[Ladyvdr]

We just got back from our second trip to Rome. As others have stated, most tourist areas will have many English speaking shopkeepers, waiters, etc. We did not have any trouble at all.

 

One time we had a supermarket checkout person pretend not to understand us when we asked for directions to the Vatican. I then said Vaticano and used some of my limited Italian phrases supplimented by my spanish (italian and spanish are similar in a lot of words). She still pretended not to understand and just said "No speak English", so I believe she was just being nasty since I was no longer speaking English. Mostly, you will find it easy to communicate. In fact, as others have stated, whenever I would try to start out in Italian, I would be answered in English. This also held true for our stops in Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, and Turkey.

[curly1963]

Thanks everyone for your wisdom and experience. I appreicate it all!!!! :p

[tinbox3]

We done the Grand Med. cruise last September and speak no Italian. Everyone we ask, said not to worry!!!!!. Most all of our Port would speak English.......WRONG!!!! We had nothing but problems, starting in Naples at the bus station ( including the driver), NO english at all. Cannes & Eze, very little english, even missed Eze because of language barrier. Venice, follow the signs, don't ask for help they didn't speak english. Went to Piza and had a blast, but had lots of problems with directions because we couldn't speak Italian. Croatia was a dream, even the street vendors could speak enough English to get by. And Taromina was simply comical :D , again we took a taxi, no English but could make out a time to meet using my watch and cost of fare by using a ink pen and paper!!! Don't mean to bring you down or cause you to worry, but I want to be totally honest and you need to be prepared. Most of our ports we did do on our own, that probably wasn't the best, but we are dare-devils and like to experience it all..... And we did!!!!

[Schplinky]

You will not need to learn Italian but it's a good idea to learn a little. Imagine the reaction to an Italian tourist visiting here and not knowing any English.

[aussiecruzer]

A funny story. I spent months before our Voyager of the Seas Western Med cruise last year trying to learn some Spanish and Italian. My kids got tired of listening to language CD's in the car. Anyway, my origin is Indian and I speak fluent Bengali - one of the Indian languages. The funny thing was that all over Italy and Barcelona we found Indian/Bangladeshi vendors and I ended up speaking in Bengali in Pisa, Rome, and Palermo, and in Hindi in Barcelona! I only used my Italian once - with a taxi driver in Rome- though it was very useful to have the basics - thank you, hello, how much etc. However the Indian vendors all spoke very decent English too. Don't stress - just a few basic phrases and you'll do fine.:) :)

[photographia]

...every conversation I started in Italian was responded to in English (I didn't think my accent was THAT bad:p).

 

The one time I forgot and began ordering train tickets in English in Milan, I got the "no speak English" from an older gentleman. I realized my mistake and switched to Italian and did my best to finish the conversation. As I was leaving the ticket counter I heard him speaking much less broken English to someone else. So I do believe they reward the effort and will use English. In Paris a restaurant owner pretty much confirmed that by thanking us for going out of our way to use French. They let us continue on a little longer before switching to English than the Italians did.:D

 

I'm sure your accent was just fine, JohnnyCruiser, it wasn't you :) --that's just what people do in Europe nowadays, they automatically default to English (assuming they know some, which they usually do) when they hear a foreigner! I'm an American who speaks Italian and the Italian natives often do the same thing to me too, because I'm asking them tourist-sorts-of-questions and they conclude rightly that I'm from somewhere else.

 

Keep in mind also that many of them switch to English because they are eager for an opportunity to practice their English on a native speaker!

 

One thing I'd like to add to this conversation, though: if you just walk up to someone in a foreign country and start speaking English right off the bat, it MAY come off as very boorish. I've found that in general, you get farther when you first ask the person politely, "English?" Often they'll answer, "a little," which is a warning to you to speak SLOWLY. And even if they say no, they speak none, you usually can then just gesture, write down the train ticket times you want, whatever you need to do to get by, and they will often be more willing to help you out than if you had just walked up to them and assumed (wrongly) that they spoke English as well as you do.

[threeofus]

All throughout the Med. I kept thinking how arrogant it must seem for me to just assume that everyone knows English. But the truth is - EVERYONE DOES and shame on us!

 

I agree...a few phrases especially greetings and please, thank you will make both of you feel great. It goes a long way. I agree it is gracious to attempt to speak the language of the country you are visiting.

 

One interesting note: we were in Rome while Pres. Bush was visiting and everywhere we went people would remind us that "Your President" is here... and then right away they would talk about the 2008 election. I was amazed at how much everyone knew about our government. Could I reciprocate with the same knowledge? Not sure I coudl

[Yvie]

We just got back from a 14 day mediterranean cruise and brought Rick Steve's small phrasebooks in french, italian, spanish, and portuguese. They were extremely helpful to us. We learned some basics like hello, goodbye, please, thank-you, you're welcome, bottle of water, how much does this cost, where is the toilet, etc. I also wrote out some phrases on index cards along with their pronunciations for quick reference, when we didn't want to thumb through the book. We definitely ran into situations where having the guidebook was helpful, such as talking to taxi drivers in Lisbon and negotiating a fare, a cafe in Italy to order espressos and use the restroom, shopkeepers in France, ordering lunch in Cadiz, etc. Another good phrase to learn is, Do you speak english?. If you ask that after saying hello, you might be able to converse a little easier. It is true that sometimes when we said good day in another language, the person would reply in english, letting us know they spoke english. The phrasebooks were also helpful in deciphering menus.