Mediterranean Cruise - Anyone Been?

harz99

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

Thanks.

Yes I do not like the idea of lots of people so I would prefer something relatively small.I also do not like the idea of having to dress up a lot, I don't mind for the odd occasion but don't want to have to do it if I don't feel like it.

I will definately have a look at Cruise Critic.

I like the idea of one to New York.Anyone done that?

Not a cruise to NYC, but if you looking for a smaller ship try either of Azamara cruises two vessels - Quest and Journey - which are the top end of the Royal Caribean/Celebrity family. HTH

poet123

The thing with the transatlantic crossings is that you are onboard 24/7 for 6 days, no ports, no getting off. Some people love it, some hate it. Many people go for the itinerary, ports of call, culture, many others go for the ship, and relaxation, pampering etc. You need to decide which camp you fall into before committing to a transatlantic voyage.

getmore4less

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

Thanks.

Yes I do not like the idea of lots of people so I would prefer something relatively small.I also do not like the idea of having to dress up a lot, I don't mind for the odd occasion but don't want to have to do it if I don't feel like it.

I will definately have a look at Cruise Critic.

I like the idea of one to New York.Anyone done that?

Most ships smart casual will be fine, there are a few that still like jacket tie every night but not many.

Big ships can have a lot of people but don't always feel crowded.

We did the sail into new york July 1st on NCL Epic great but a TA is a bit of a risk for a new cruiser and the only regular service is Cunard with a 6n or 7n sailing no stops and is more dressy.

First thing to do is get an idea of which cruise lines fit your profile, look a t brochures and read a few reviews.

There are few short cruises from the UK which are quite a good way to try cruising.

7n med fly cruise are usualy fairly cheap.

A TA will be 13/14night for the similar money but a lot more ship time.

gabyjane

poppy you do need to decide on the ship first i think then the places. You do not have to dress up at all if you dont want to as can eat in a variety of different places. The ship even though huge suprisingly seem preety quiet most of the time, i am the same and dh dont like loads of people everywhere so was great. This was ll with P&O.

poet123 transatlantic being dumb do you mean america etc?..we went to the Caribbean and it was fab, nice even stops and only a couple of days on boat at a time before we got off again.

harz99

gabyjane wrote: »

poppy you do need to decide on the ship first i think then the places. You do not have to dress up at all if you dont want to as can eat in a variety of different places. The ship even though huge suprisingly seem preety quiet most of the time, i am the same and dh dont like loads of people everywhere so was great. This was ll with P&O.

poet123 transatlantic being dumb do you mean america etc?..we went to the Caribbean and it was fab, nice even stops and only a couple of days on boat at a time before we got off again.

Transatlantic or TA generally refers to either a Repositioning cruise, say to get a ship that has been doing summer Med cruises out of Southampton to its next "season" doing (our) winter cruises in the Caribbean; or to the traditional Southampton to New York crossing ala Cunard.

Either way your looking at 5/6/7 sea days in a row. HTH

FloFlo

We did a week on the ventura with P&O around the med, we came back Sat and I have had the cruise blues since, lol. The Ventura is a beautiful ship and if you have children is superb for them. My daughter is 9 and would have lived in the kids club had we let her. It was the first time I have let her go to a kids club on holiday and she had a blast. I had reservations about such a big ship in the school hols but had no problems, even hubby is converted to P&O (we have sailed with carnival before and although we loved it the food was very American).

We have a cruise onboard the Oceana booked for next April and got a good bargain £1944 for 3 of us right in the Easter school hols (teacher here and never usually get a good price on hols).

Just hoping we get good weather in late April, lol.

Any advice for Rome excursion with a 10 year old in tow?

Thanks Flo xxx

poet123

FloFlo wrote: »

We did a week on the ventura with P&O around the med, we came back Sat and I have had the cruise blues since, lol. The Ventura is a beautiful ship and if you have children is superb for them. My daughter is 9 and would have lived in the kids club had we let her. It was the first time I have let her go to a kids club on holiday and she had a blast. I had reservations about such a big ship in the school hols but had no problems, even hubby is converted to P&O (we have sailed with carnival before and although we loved it the food was very American).

We have a cruise onboard the Oceana booked for next April and got a good bargain £1944 for 3 of us right in the Easter school hols (teacher here and never usually get a good price on hols).

Just hoping we get good weather in late April, lol.

Any advice for Rome excursion with a 10 year old in tow?

Thanks Flo xxx

Rome is an hour from the port by train, and the train costs 9 euro (much cheaper then the ships tour)the train station is not far from the port ( 5mins walk) and you get your tickets for Rome from the shop, not the ticket counter (for some strange reason)

Once in Rome I would get the open top bus and hop on and off as you wish. The buses start fronm the station, so it is very convenient. We booked a tour in advance of the Vatican with Angel Tours (irish girls, and great fun) you by pass all the lines and get to see everything. Get a good map, and decide in advance what you would like to see, cruise stops are very short, so you will need to prioritise.:D

If you need any more info just ask, DH works for an
Italian company so I often tag along in the school hols, and we have cruised the med several times too.

luci

Rome is very easy to DIY even though it is approx an hour from the port. Just make sure you check the return train times on the www.trenitalia.com site. We planned for the second last one that would get us back to the ship in time. Therefore, if we missed it, there was a later one we could catch.

Even if it all went horribly wrong, you could get a taxi back to the ship and still be quids in.

You can either get off the train at San Pietro station for the Vatican or stay on another 15-30 mins till Rome Termini.

gabyjane

FloFlo wrote: »

We did a week on the ventura with P&O around the med, we came back Sat and I have had the cruise blues since, lol. The Ventura is a beautiful ship and if you have children is superb for them. My daughter is 9 and would have lived in the kids club had we let her. It was the first time I have let her go to a kids club on holiday and she had a blast. I had reservations about such a big ship in the school hols but had no problems, even hubby is converted to P&O (we have sailed with carnival before and although we loved it the food was very American).

We have a cruise onboard the Oceana booked for next April and got a good bargain £1944 for 3 of us right in the Easter school hols (teacher here and never usually get a good price on hols).

Just hoping we get good weather in late April, lol.

Any advice for Rome excursion with a 10 year old in tow?

Thanks Flo xxx

We did a 2 week one on Ventura and i was the same..really fed up and didnt want to be home at all..took me ages to settle back to normal! Also thinks for that Q as our dd will be 12 when we go on our next one of which includes Rome! The deal you got is really good..we got married on Oceana it's a lovely ship.