smilegirl07

Will do! Thank you!

Thank you for the info! Besides the pick pocket-ers in big cities, I have to watch out for the apes in Gibraltar....and make sure they don't take my stuff...😅

😱 $500 is absurd amount. Pre booking things is the key I guess! and yes my YOLO state of mind pops up when I start planning and looking into details and the budget and relaxing vacation is now out the window... 🤣 Thank you, we are so excited!

Yes, I've got this....!🙌😆. Like you mentioned I think my biggest nemesis will be the August heat but we are from TX 🤣 where it reaches 110 easy during summer, there was a period time last summer where we reached 110 in over 10 consecutive days, so hopefully we are trained for the heat! Thank you! Have a great weekend!

Thank you so much for sharing the experience! So helpful! We are staying total of about 25 days as well, about 10 days prior (we are doing a farm stay in Tuscany and then heading off to Lake Como for some relaxing lake stay. Then catch the flight to Lisbon from Milan and have about 1.5 days in Lisbon before we hop on Viva, after the cruise we have a few days to spare in Rome before heading back home!). I booked a few fun boating excursions with paddle boarding, snorkeling, water biking stuff at Ibiza and Mallorca and I am planning for just on our own easy stroll around the city stuff at some other ports. Do you think it will be too much to go see Cinque Terre and Pisa in one day during our stop in Livorno? I booked an excursion that guarantees to be back to the ship on time while we stop in Livorno, I am doing much of Florence while we stay in Tuscany before the cruise so I want to go check out Cinque Terre while the ship stops in Livorno but am not sure if that would be too much..... Once again thank you for all the tips and info very helpful, I will watch out for the pick pocket-ers 😆 wtih a hawk's eyes... Last Q! Are there taxis readily available at ports in Ibiza and Mallorca? I got 3rd party excursions and we have to make it to the meeting points on our own. We are a family of 5 and I heard taxis are small in Europe so we may have to split in two groups.... Also one more.... how was Gibraltar? I am thinking to just buy thickets to go up the rock on our own and explore... but wasn't sure if it is far to make it to the cable car area (didn't I just say last Q? 🤣).. Anywayz... it is so awesome to hear all this from someone who stopped at all those ports not too long ago! Have a great weekend!

All figured out at this time! And yes, I made sure to get AirBNB that has lots of room for us to spread and washer and dryer is yes a must for family of 5! 🙂. thank you for the tips and info!

Thank you for such a detailed info! Love it! Would love to hear about your Cadiz experience once you visit in a few weeks! I agree, with kids and August heat in the Med, I am not going to do a FULL DAY tours.... that will exhaust all of us and may test my patience and sanity with the kiddoes.... We may mix up some more extensive tours along with take it easy in our own, head back to the ship in a few hours kinda stuff. Once again, thank you and have fun in Cadiz!

Ours was around those dates in 2024, but for 2025 it starts from the March 14th through the 23rd 2025(school calendar for next year just got published). it really depends on the state and school district as well. Oh, I am sorry, when we say "we(ours)" I mean TX 😆 and most southern states have spring break off around the same time(AK, AL, KS, GA, FL, MS, LA, etc). We also call it the ski week. When I was living in CA, we got our ski week around the 3rd week of Feb(or around president's day weekend) and then got actual spring break around first week~2nd week of April. Since you are leaving toward the end of Feb and get back after the first week of March, I think you will be OK, missing all those "days off for kids" before and after but who knows.... hope I helped a little! Hope you have an awesome time cruising!

@Turtles06 I was thinking the same thing! Just split into two groups! @European_CruiseGirl Yes, I'll look into Uber as well! Thank y'all for the info!

OMG, that would be awesome, besides the taxi-situation, I just want to know how it is generally, how it feels-the vibe on the ship, etc, etc. I think you and I may have the same itinerary, Lisbon to Rome, stopping everyday including Motril, cadiz, ibiza, Majorca and such....like literally 10 stops. I have done quite a few cruises in the US, leaving from the east, the west and the south(Galveston), on Celebrity, Carnival, Disney and BUNCH of Royal, but this is my first cruise in Europe and on NCL, so I am very excited/worried/anxious/etc. You are lucky to do it during the shoulder months... as it will be less crowded both at ports and on the ship, I unfortunately have school age kids so am doing the same itinerary staring 8/2. Anywayz, I would love to hear from you how everything is generally, that would be AWESOME! Thank you again and I hope you have an AMAZING cruise! 🙌

@pete_coach @Bulk-head thank you for the info, very helpful!

that is a great idea. haven't thought about that. Thank you

Y'all. Once again, I need help from you guys. Y'all are so awesome and I honestly get so much info from here. So we are cruising through the med (i've been to Europe BUT first time cruising in the Med) in early August this year on the Viva as a family of 5 and we are booking quite a bit of excursions from a 3rd party vendor. I know it is riskier but I am making sure that there are plenty of time before and after the excursion to leave from the port and get back to. I opted for 3rd party because of the variety. I was surprised how limited the choices are given by NCL. (Also they are all reserve now but cancelable if needed up to 2 days prior) My only concern is there are excursions that I am being picked up from the port and being dropped off back at the port vs there are ones I have to make it to the meeting point and I am not sure how readily available the taxis are especially for an odd number of 5 people. The ones that I am concerned are Gibraltar, Cadiz(Seville), Motril(Granada) and Marseille. Please help and thank you in advance!! 🙌

Thanks for the review! Quick Q! Did you have free at sea package or free at sea plus package? The plus package includes premium beverages package and supposed to include all top shelf drinks as well, I will be annoyed if we have to pay extra even after getting the premium plus! We are sailing the Viva in summer in the Haven and your review was very helpful, setting the expectations! Thanks again!

It is just so sad how some people are lacking such common sense. It is like... "Hey, I wanted THAT sandwich until your fingers touched them". what a waste....😩