Ventura N009 April 2010

[tightwad]

We are first time cruisers going on the western med ( N009 ) cruise in April , Has anyone been on this cruise before ? or is anyone else on here booked to be on it ? Do you think it is a good choice for us first timers ?

Thanks in advance for all replies

[Johnthed0g]

Hi, & welcome....what would you like to know? don't worry about daft questions.

[LibraLass41]

Which ship, what ports?

 

Have you researched your ports and decided what to do while there? If you have Rome for example, have you booked a tour or researched train times etc? Rome is 1 1/2hrs from the port, so unless you are very confident about using public transport in a foreign country book a coach tour. If you are late back to the ship when on your own, the ship will sail without you and you expected to make your way to the next port of call at your own expense.

 

Have you booked your car in at Southampton if travelling by car and sailing from Southampton.

 

Have you decided on what to wear on the 4 formal nights? Most men wear a black dinner suit (tux).

 

Any questions, ask away.

[tightwad]

Thanks for the info Sue , i probably should have stated that it is Ventura we are sailing on and we will be visiting Lisbon, Palma , Barcelona , Cannes , Livorno, Rome and Gibralter, i have done a bit of research and have already decided on the P&O excursion while in Rome but what about the other ports of call, are they best to go it alone or maybe not to bother with at all, any advice would be dreatly appreciated.

[Johnthed0g]

Lisbon, Palma, Gib. & Barcelona can be done quite easily on your own. Thr Rome trip we did was the big one, 11 hours "essence of Rome'' I think, very good for a 1st time.

[Beckyfaye-2008]

We are first time cruisers going on the western med ( N009 ) cruise in April , Has anyone been on this cruise before ? or is anyone else on here booked to be on it ? Do you think it is a good choice for us first timers ?

Thanks in advance for all replies

 

Great choice for first cruise, we did our first cruise on Ventura to the West Med in Oct 2008, thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, photo's can be found on my Flik'r site at the end of my signature, of both the ship and the ports of call.

Click on a set, then thumbnail to view larger size, or on slideshow.

Livorno for Florence, also Rome I would do a P&O excursion.

[tom_uk]

As other have said, Lisbon, Palma, Barcelona, Cannes & Gibraltar can all be done without bothering with excursions. That leaves Livorno & Rome. If you know Rome a bit then you can do that on you own as well: get a train from Civitavecchia station up to Roma Termini. As for Livorno, it's actually a bit more fiddly to get to Florence (or Pisa) from Livorno than it is to get up to Rome, so unless you're familiar with the area, Livorno is a port where the arguments in favour of the excursion are reasonably strong.

 

We're doing a cruise on Ventura in May with the same itinerary, and we've pretty much decided that the only excursion we'll do is to Florence, from Livorno.

[cclarke12]

We'll be on board too! Not long to go now:D

[DAN 60]

Yes were on the ventura then, can anyone tell me if the smoking ban is

in operation yet.