I am looking for any tips for the Mediterranean Cruise I will betaking.

Hello! I am scheduled to go on a 12 day Mediterranean Cruise this
summer. I was wondering if anyone has any advice for me as this will
be my first time on this cruise. I will be sailing with Princess. I
will be stopping in the following ports: Barcelona, Marseille,
Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Athens,
and Venice. Thank you in advance for in tips you can share with me!

Check out the article I just wrote on Med cruising:
http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/...ing-022708.cfm

Paul Motter: editor, CruiseMates.com

On Mar 9, 10:17*pm, Happy Lady Traveler wrote:
Hello! *I am scheduled to go on a 12 day Mediterranean Cruise this
summer. *I was wondering if anyone has any advice for me as this will
be my first time on this cruise. *I will be sailing with Princess. *I
will be stopping in the following ports: *Barcelona, Marseille,
Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Athens,
and Venice. *Thank you in advance for in tips you can share with me!

Hi, Happy Lady,

You made a great choice, sailing the Med is a wonderful trip. We've
been to the region by land and by sea--cruising to the ports is fun
for getting a taste of many cultures and seeing a lot of fabulous
sites.

It is difficult to share tips without knowing your travel experience
and preferences, e.g., Have you been to any of the ports before? Have
you been abroad before? Do you feel comfortable doing things on your
own, or would you prefer going with fellow passengers on a ship's
excursion or on a private tour? Is your budget limited? Are you
traveling alone, as two or with a group? Are you a history nut, love
art museums, can't wait to shop til you drop, prefer finding active
pursuits in every port, etc.? Do you have any physical challenges? If
you're going with the idea you want to see and do it all, your days
will be long and potentially hot, with lots of walking. The Med isn't
the most restful trip! But it's exhilirating and satisfying.

Assuming Barcelona is your embarkation port, hopefully, you are
arriving a couple of days in advance so that you can adjust your body
clock to local time and also see a bit of Barcelona. The "hop on, hop
off" bus is popular there for getting around to the various
attractions. Their subway and bus system is easy to navigate, as well.
You can also get a great taste of Barcelona by simply walking Las
Ramblas--the strolling boulevard of shops, eateries, market (Mercat de
la Boqueria), etc. If you don't have much time in Barcelona, the one
site you'll want to try to see is Gaudi's Sagrada Familia--you can
take a taxi or public transportation from your hotel--or any other
example of Gaudi architecture that grabs your attention.

Assuming Venice is your disembarkation port, again, hopefully you will
have a day or two to explore here. Venice is very compact, you will be
able to cover as much ground as you want on foot (that looks silly now
that I see it in print, because, of course, there are no vehicles--you
have to walk everywhere with the support of a handy water bus). It
would be more enjoyable/educational, IMO, if you arranged at least one
walking tour.

In Livorno (Florence), Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples (Pompeii, Amalfi
Coast), Istanbul and Athens, assuming this is your first visit to
each, you'd be best off with a planned tour, either a ship's excursion
or a private tour. I say this because of the number of sights you will
probably want to see over the course of one full, long day--if you
leave the logistics to someone else, you will maximize your time, be
sure of guides who speak English or your language of choice, have a
chance to select a tour based on the itinerary that appeals to you the
most, etc.

In Marseille, Mykonos and Kusadasi, you can easily explore
independently, depending on your objectives. In Marseille, you can
just enjoy the day enjoying that seaside town, shopping and beach
time. But it's not too hard to get from there to some inland Provencal
places that may hold a special attraction for you, e.g., Arles, Aix-en-
Provence and Avignon--you could rent a car, go by train or, easiest,
arrange a tour. Mykonos for most is a day of shopping and beach fun.
And Kusadasi is more great shopping with the "must do" trip to the
ruins at Ephesus, and depending on your interest, you can also see
Mary's House and a few other sites on the same side-trip. A pre-booked
half-day tour to see those sites will put your mind at ease, but you
can also easily pick up a tour at the port--in every port, there are
folks waiting to take cruise pax to see the sights, just realize that
it's always a Catch-22 when you pick up drivers on the fly in port,
they are generally just that--drivers--with minimal guiding and
sometimes not as conversant in your language as you'd like. On the
other hand, sometimes, all we've wanted for a situation was a ride to
a destination for a self-guided visit at our own pace. The driver
waits and whisks you back when you're done. We've always been able to
negotiate a fair price for that arrangement and stumbled into some
unexpectedly authentic experiences that way, with friendly guides who
were eager to show us their hometown, sit down for a local tea or
meal, make a grocery store stop, etc.

I recommend going to your library and checking out guide books, or
reading Frommer's, Fodor's, etc. online, to learn what your priorities
are for each port. Download the shore excursions book from the
Princess website to get an idea of what Princess offers. And then go
to http://www.cruisecritic.com and start first in their Ports section,
which has a helpful overview page for each port. Then...once you are
"educated" and have some working ideas about what you want to do...go
hit the Cruise Critic discussion boards in the Ports of Call section.
There you will read up-to-the-minute reports from fellow travelers
about Princess excursions, private tours, DIY (do it yourself) days in
port, etc.

And, of course, everyone here on rec.travel.cruises who's made that
trip will be happy to offer info and tips. As indicated, we'd just do
a better job of giving you useful ideas if you shared a bit more about
yourself and trip goals.

Enjoy your research and planning,

Diana Ball
Austin, TX

(Happy*Lady*Traveler) wrote:

Hello! I am scheduled to go on a 12 day
Mediterranean Cruise this summer. I was
wondering if anyone has any advice for me as
this will be my first time on this cruise. I will be
sailing with Princess. I will be stopping in the
following ports: Barcelona, Marseille, Livorno,
Civitavecchia, Naples, Mykonos, Istanbul,
Kusadasi, Athens, and Venice. Thank you in
advance for in tips you can share with me!

First, you have received wonderful advice so far. Paul's article is very
informative. Diana is one of the most helpful people to post in this
group.

Let me try to add something. Our first cruise was a Mediterranean
cruise in 2002. Some ports such as Livorno and Civitavecchia are really
ports for you to see other cities that are not close. You are better off
with ship's tours, or possibly privately arranged tours, for those ports
rather than trying to go on your own. In other ports, do the research
that Diana Ball suggested. You may find things you can do on your own
that interest you more than ship tours. For example, in NIce we went to
the Chagall Museum and Matisse Museum. The comment that evening at our
table was that that sounded more interesting than the ship's tour taken.

Speaking of dinner, we were on Princess last summer for a Baltic cruise.
I found the anytime dining a great option with the varying port times. I
also enjoyed meeting other people. OTOH, my wife said she would have
liked having the same table mates, though she did agree that the
flexible dining time was an advantage.

I would like to add one thing to Diana's post. She wrote:

And then go to http://www.cruisecritic.com and
start first in their Ports section, which has a
helpful overview page for each port.
Then...once you are "educated" and have
some working ideas about what you want to
do...go hit the Cruise Critic discussion boards in the Ports of Call
section. There you will read
up-to-the-minute reports from fellow travelers
about Princess excursions, private tours, DIY
(do it yourself) days in port, etc.

I would add also find the roll call for your ship, and join in. On our
last cruise, I was able to put together a group of 10 from the roll call
for a private tour in St. Petersburg. We also were able to meet a couple
from the roll call before sailing. And someone on our roll call put
together with Princess a breakfast meeting for the first full day of the
cruise.

One last comment from our experience of cruising the Mediterranean as
your first cruise, this is not your typical relaxing vacation. You will
have lasting memories, but it will not be a relaxing vacation as you try
in each port to see as much as you can. Be prepared to be tired out, but
it's worth it.

You might also find some useful information he

http://www.europeportreviews.com/

You could not have picked a better cruise line to sail on,we have been
to ALL these places with princess,and they are great ports,you cannot go
wrong on any of the tours offered. Be sure to
go to pompeii,what a wonderful tour.,all the other ports are just as
nice.There are so many things to see and do you cannot cover everything
in one 10 day cruise.


cruise lover

Hi there -

My husband and I did a similar trip in 2001. When we visited Greece I
wanted to indulge in one of my favorites, a Greek salad, soooooo
badly, but wasn't sure if I could do this. I thought I would be fine,
but in the end, my fear won out and I skipped this.

It turned out my fear was smarter than I was. A table mate did exactly
what I wanted to, and Paul did indeed get rather sick !

Please don't misunderstand --- I found the people in smaller towns in
Greece VERY nice, and I'm sure their standards for serving food were
not unlike ours here in the states. I think it all goes back to what's
in the water, and what our bodies are accustomed to.

If you have any specific questions, and you'd like to email me
directly, I'm happy to help !

On Mar 9, 10:17�pm, Happy Lady Traveler wrote:
Hello! �I am scheduled to go on a 12 day Mediterranean Cruise this
summer. �I was wondering if anyone has any advice for me as this will
be my first time on this cruise. �I will be sailing with Princess. �I
will be stopping in the following ports: �Barcelona, Marseille,
Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Athens,
and Venice. �Thank you in advance for in tips you can share with me!

I am new to this group, and I see you have some answers that are
really excellent. I would like to add a little if I may.

Naples... be careful in the city. please. Cannot emphasize this
enough. Just use your head, and do not wear good jewelry, keep your
money and passports next to your body. Do not get the wrong idea, I
LOVE Naples, I lived there for years, but it is a city full of
thieves-- and common sense will save you a LOT of trouble later.

Also, Pompeii is great, you must see it, but my favorite place is
Erculano, it is also a town that was covered in mud from the eruption
of Vesuvio. For my money, i8t is my favorite place to visit. They
( Pompeii and Erculano) are near each other.

Rosie

I will also be cruising the Med in Aug, going to Greek islands,
Venice, Kusadasi, andCroatia. Looking forward to it.

On Mar 10, 2:51*pm, (Surfer E2468) wrote:
You could not have picked a better cruise line to sail on,we have been
to ALL these places with princess,and they are great ports,you cannot go
wrong on any of the tours offered. * * * * * * * * * * * * * Be sure to
go to pompeii,what a wonderful *tour.,all the other ports are just as
nice.There are so many things to see and do you cannot cover everything
in one 10 day cruise.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
cruise lover

Thanks!

[Default] Thus spake Happy Lady Traveler :

Hello! I am scheduled to go on a 12 day Mediterranean Cruise this
summer. I was wondering if anyone has any advice for me as this will
be my first time on this cruise. I will be sailing with Princess. I
will be stopping in the following ports: Barcelona, Marseille,
Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Athens,
and Venice. Thank you in advance for in tips you can share with me!

If you, like I, believe that the dollar will continue to suck worse
and worse against the euro, start buying them now. Try to figure out
your expenses ashore. Yeah, hard to impossible, but there are some
sites you can go to to find things like how much a medium priced lunch
will cost in Rome near the Coliseum. A year and a half ago, the euro
was $1.04 or so. Now it's about $1.53 (didn't price it today).

Be prepared for a long ride from Cititavecchia to Rome. It really
shouldn't be, but usually is.

Definitely, as suggested, get to Barcelona a few days early. In fact,
get to Madrid a few days early. Spend one day time changing and a day
touring. Go to Barcelona (I like the train) and spend a day or so
there, then take a taxi to the port. If you spend a couple of days in
Spain, you'll be adjusted to the time difference by boarding.

When we were docked in Civitavecchia, we found the best way to get to Rome
was to take the train.
The station is only a 10 minute scenic walk from the ship. It will drop you
off in Rome downtown about a 10 minute walk to St. Peter's or you could
catch a cab elsewhere.
You'll love the cruise.So much to do, so little time.
Larry.


"Dillon Pyron" wrote in message
...
[Default] Thus spake Happy Lady Traveler :

Hello! I am scheduled to go on a 12 day Mediterranean Cruise this
summer. I was wondering if anyone has any advice for me as this will
be my first time on this cruise. I will be sailing with Princess. I
will be stopping in the following ports: Barcelona, Marseille,
Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Athens,
and Venice. Thank you in advance for in tips you can share with me!

If you, like I, believe that the dollar will continue to suck worse
and worse against the euro, start buying them now. Try to figure out
your expenses ashore. Yeah, hard to impossible, but there are some
sites you can go to to find things like how much a medium priced lunch
will cost in Rome near the Coliseum. A year and a half ago, the euro
was $1.04 or so. Now it's about $1.53 (didn't price it today).

Be prepared for a long ride from Cititavecchia to Rome. It really
shouldn't be, but usually is.

Definitely, as suggested, get to Barcelona a few days early. In fact,
get to Madrid a few days early. Spend one day time changing and a day
touring. Go to Barcelona (I like the train) and spend a day or so
there, then take a taxi to the port. If you spend a couple of days in
Spain, you'll be adjusted to the time difference by boarding.