Christmas in the Mediterranean?

"We found the time of the year to be quite busy especially in Barcelona and Rome. Some of the private tours we wanted to do especially in Rome weren’t available at that time of year. And we missed going up into the towers at La Sagrada Familia on our first day in Barcelona (which was a day without Viking excursions) as it was completely sold out...we had foolishly waited till the week before to book it.

Are you doing a Viking extension, or are you adding on a few days in Rome at the end of your cruise? Unless Viking has changed how they operate their excursions, they will likely not offer any excursions to you in Rome on disembarkation day, those will solely be your responsibility. "

Hi Trinicruisegyal,

We are only in Rome one night post cruise, not with a Viking extension so I will get on the sites for private tours soon. We do have a hotel and transfer booked at Le Meridian Visconti. I'm not sure what time to plan on being settled in the hotel so we can get tour tickets, Do you know what time we could realistically expect to get to a hotel in Rome? We also got Viking Air and have not confirmed any flight times yet, so not sure of departure time from Rome. I need that before I buy tour tickets too.

Thanks for the info.

Yoshi, you will find everything you want in La Boqueria, on Las Ramblas. Traditional Christmas candies and sweets are usually almond-based--turron (I prefer the hard Alicante variety but there is a soft fudge-like Jijona/Xixona turron as well), candy-coated almonds, polverones (I prefer the the ones wrapped in white paper with blue and red printing), etc. Also, I buy saffron when I'm in Spain and you can find it here or in the Carrefours supermarket just up the street.

Hi Peregrina651,

WOW!!!:D

Love your market picture! Talk about the treats, can't wait to go there, will also try the supermarket.:D:D:D

Just jumping on here to follow the thread because we're booking a January (over New Year's) southern Med cruise. If anyone has info on Trapani, Algiers, or Cagliari, please see my post regarding Southern Med Discovery cruise.

Hi Roothy123,

Those ports sound interesting, hope you have a wonderful cruise too, Happy New Year!

"We found the time of the year to be quite busy especially in Barcelona and Rome. Some of the private tours we wanted to do especially in Rome weren’t available at that time of year. And we missed going up into the towers at La Sagrada Familia on our first day in Barcelona (which was a day without Viking excursions) as it was completely sold out...we had foolishly waited till the week before to book it.

 

 

 

Are you doing a Viking extension, or are you adding on a few days in Rome at the end of your cruise? Unless Viking has changed how they operate their excursions, they will likely not offer any excursions to you in Rome on disembarkation day, those will solely be your responsibility. "

 

 

 

Hi Trinicruisegyal,

 

We are only in Rome one night post cruise, not with a Viking extension so I will get on the sites for private tours soon. We do have a hotel and transfer booked at Le Meridian Visconti. I'm not sure what time to plan on being settled in the hotel so we can get tour tickets, Do you know what time we could realistically expect to get to a hotel in Rome? We also got Viking Air and have not confirmed any flight times yet, so not sure of departure time from Rome. I need that before I buy tour tickets too.

 

Thanks for the info.

Yoshi, as our cruise started and ended in Rome we added on a couple of days before the cruise and headed straight from the ship to the airport via a Viking transfer upon our return to Rome. Our disembarkation group was the first one, we assembled for 5:15am and were off the ship just before 5:30am and were at the airport just about 45mins later. I believe the drive from the port to Rome is just a little longer.

The disembarkation times for persons without a Viking transfer were listed as “at your leisure from 7:00AM and 9:30AM” I assume the “and” should have been a “to”. I would think that if you leave the ship during that time range and you allow 1.5hours for the drive into Rome you could be at your hotel anywhere from 9 to 11:30.

I have all the Viking Dailies from my cruise if you are interested.

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I am doing this itinerary the end of November through beginning of December and hadn't even thought about the Christmas Markets! When do they normally begin?

I was thinking of going into Florence and taking some private tours out of Florence. I hadn't considered staying the night in Florence which sounds like fun. What would be the best way to get from the port and back to Florence.

I would be interested in hearing others opinions on the excursions offered by Viking.

I am doing this itinerary the end of November through beginning of December and hadn't even thought about the Christmas Markets! When do they normally begin?

 

I was thinking of going into Florence and taking some private tours out of Florence. I hadn't considered staying the night in Florence which sounds like fun. What would be the best way to get from the port and back to Florence.

 

I would be interested in hearing others opinions on the excursions offered by Viking.

Train is the best way from Livorno to Florence. I didn't even see bus service when I was researching this. When you get your train ticket make sure to choose a train that is direct to Florence with no changing of trains necessary. Internet is great. You can figure out which trains you want to take, etc. When I went to buy the ticket, I had exactly what I wanted written down and just handed it to the ticket agent.

You might learn about the Christmas markets on this itinerary by going to the 2017 roll call for similar dates to yours and asking there. Viking Star was doing this route in 2017.

Train is the best way from Livorno to Florence. I didn't even see bus service when I was researching this. When you get your train ticket make sure to choose a train that is direct to Florence with no changing of trains necessary. Internet is great. You can figure out which trains you want to take, etc. When I went to buy the ticket, I had exactly what I wanted written down and just handed it to the ticket agent.

 

You might learn about the Christmas markets on this itinerary by going to the 2017 roll call for similar dates to yours and asking there. Viking Star was doing this route in 2017.

Excellent advice! Thank you!

We have just booked our first Viking cruise over Christmas in 2019. Very excited!

I have seen Christmas meals discussed and it seems there may be some special items on offer for the 24th?

What about entertainment? Any special shows or entertainment? Christmas carols? Local entertainers brought onboard?

Thanks for any info anyone may have.

We have just booked our first Viking cruise over Christmas in 2019. Very excited!

I have seen Christmas meals discussed and it seems there may be some special items on offer for the 24th?

 

What about entertainment? Any special shows or entertainment? Christmas carols? Local entertainers brought onboard?

 

Thanks for any info anyone may have.

Local entertainers will depend on where you are; and even if we say, "well they didn't bring any local entertainers on our cruise," it doesn't mean it won't happen in the future.

I am hoping to hear what the general ambiance of a cruise on Viking during the Christmas season and actual holiday might be like, if anyone who has experienced this can comment.

Thanks!

We have just booked our first Viking cruise over Christmas in 2019. Very excited!

 

I have seen Christmas meals discussed and it seems there may be some special items on offer for the 24th?

 

 

 

What about entertainment? Any special shows or entertainment? Christmas carols? Local entertainers brought onboard?

 

 

 

Thanks for any info anyone may have.

Take me with you, there were no special ‘Christmas’ meals listed in the Viking Daily (there was a special lunch listed in the Daily on New Years Day on the second leg of our cruise).

Entertainment/Events...Christmas Eve

“The Night Before Christmas. Join us for an intimate Christmas evening as your Entertainment team share some of the favorite holiday stories and music.” Star Theater. This show ran twice for the night.

“Christmas Eve Service. Join your fellow guests and crew for a special late night Christmas interdenominational service.” Star Theater

Christmas Day...

“Christmas Carols. Join your fellow guests and crew for Christmas carols in the Atrium.” Atrium

There were no local entertainers brought onboard on Christmas day; it would have been logistically impossible given that we left port around 1pm. We did have local entertainers onboard on the first night of each of our 3 overnight stays in port. “Academia Vocale” (Opera) in Rome, “La Rumbeta” (Rumba Catalana) in Barcelona, the “Orchestra of the Istituto Superiore Pietro Mascagni of Livorno”, in Livorno.

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Thank you so much for the report of your cruise. This all sounds wonderful, just what we would love to experience on our cruise! This will be our first cruise over Christmas and our first on Viking.

We are certainly looking forward to the Christmas Markets in Europe as well. We had a brief taste of them on a previous cruise in early Dec. and loved what we saw. We were on a shore excursion in Avignon and Marseilles and could only make a quick stop!