First Cruise - Grand Med?

[lcstraveler]

My family of five is planning our first cruise (we're going big!) with the 12 day Grand Med. on July 27, 2011. The roll call board seems to have been pretty quiet so far, but I have a few questions.

 

1. Can you fit three people in an Oceanview room comfortably or would a suite be better? I've read bad things concerning the family suite, and there are only two onboard so chance of getting one are slim anyways haha.

 

2. Are all balconies the same size or do they vary by deck?

 

3. Is it worth getting the Sanctuary for the whole cruise? And what is the age restriction?

 

4. Is it better to embark earlier or later? Once you embark are you free to explore the port more or are you stuck on the ship?

 

5. Is it practical to wear just below the knee or so skirts on shore excursions like to Pompei, Ephesus & such if we aren't visiting churches or something? Are tennis shoes the best walking shoes?

 

6. Any other advice?

[Sea Day Cruiser]

My family of five is planning our first cruise (we're going big!) with the 12 day Grand Med. on July 27, 2011. The roll call board seems to have been pretty quiet so far, but I have a few questions.

 

1. Can you fit three people in an Oceanview room comfortably or would a suite be better? I've read bad things concerning the family suite, and there are only two onboard so chance of getting one are slim anyways haha. I've never been in a room with three people so I don't really know how crowded it would be. I do know Princess has rooms designated for 3 or 4 people. I think 2 of the beds come out of the wall and are above the other two beds. It would seem crowded to me but may not to every one.

 

2. Are all balconies the same size or do they vary by deck? The balconies on Caribe deck are about twice as big as those on the other decks. I think there are also some larger aft balconies on several decks. Other than that they are all the same size.

 

3. Is it worth getting the Sanctuary for the whole cruise? And what is the age restriction? Whether it's worth it or not is up to the individual. I've never thought so, but others spend every day there. It is adults only, but I'm not sure is the cut off age is 18 or something else.

 

4. Is it better to embark earlier or later? Once you embark are you free to explore the port more or are you stuck on the ship? The earlier you embark the more you can see of the ship on that first day. If you want to leave and explore the port you can. Just be sure you're back in plenty of time.

 

5. Is it practical to wear just below the knee or so skirts on shore excursions like to Pompei, Ephesus & such if we aren't visiting churches or something? Are tennis shoes the best walking shoes? I think tennis shoes are best. I've been to Pompei and Ephesus and work slacks to both. At Ephesus, especially, I remember climbing and walking through rough areas.

 

6. Any other advice? Have a great time.

...

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

Have done this cruise twice and would do this cruise again,

 

Most churchs require head scarf, shoulders covered for the women and long knee or blow shorts for the men.

 

Pompei has very uneven walkways, last time a lady got bably hurt not

 

watching were she was going a dropped of a pavement with a twp foot drop.

 

This is a great cruise. but its not a chill out beech cruise, this cruise is hard work, there is so much to see and do, so long days it what can he a very hot sun we had a number of days over 100 degrees.

 

A lot of sites have little shade so take loads of water with you.

 

Have a great time.

 

yours Shogun

[hubofhockey]

We just did this cruise earlier in the month (4th of July cruise). Our roll call has 1,100 posts and we did a good deal of sharing private excursions. But it didn't get rolling until January and February. See my answers in bold below.

 

My family of five is planning our first cruise (we're going big!) with the 12 day Grand Med. on July 27, 2011. The roll call board seems to have been pretty quiet so far, but I have a few questions.

 

1. Can you fit three people in an Oceanview room comfortably or would a suite be better? I've read bad things concerning the family suite, and there are only two onboard so chance of getting one are slim anyways haha. Princess standard rooms are small and have no sofas. If you don't mind congestion and want to save money, it's an option. 12 days is a long time. If you can swing it, a mini-suite would provide for a more relaxing vacation.

 

2. Are all balconies the same size or do they vary by deck? Caribe balconies are bigger.

 

3. Is it worth getting the Sanctuary for the whole cruise? And what is the age restriction? No to your first question because this cruise is port intensive. With two to three sea days, do you really want to pay for twelve days of the Sanctuary? It's for adults only. Not sure if that is 18 or 21.

 

4. Is it better to embark earlier or later? Once you embark are you free to explore the port more or are you stuck on the ship? We embarced at 1 pm and there wasn't much of a line. You are free to go back and forth. The first trip I made was to the supermarket (Coop) to pick up some beverages.. ;)

 

5. Is it practical to wear just below the knee or so skirts on shore excursions like to Pompei, Ephesus & such if we aren't visiting churches or something? Are tennis shoes the best walking shoes? I'll let women give out advice on this one. But tennis shoes make a lot of sense.

 

6. Any other advice? Don't buy euros in the US. Well, get enough to cover you for a couple of days. But get a debit card that doesn't charge outrageous fees or give bad foreign translation. We used the PayPal Mastercard debit card and got the real conversion rate and fees were minimal - only $1 ATM charge. Also, bring wate with you on excursions. I would encourage tour sharing on your roll call. Best ones are 6-8 people. Visit ports of call boards on cruise critic for suggestions on what to do.

[spongerob]

My family of five is planning our first cruise (we're going big!) with the 12 day Grand Med. on July 27, 2011. The roll call board seems to have been pretty quiet so far, but I have a few questions.

 

1. Can you fit three people in an Oceanview room comfortably or would a suite be better? I've read bad things concerning the family suite, and there are only two onboard so chance of getting one are slim anyways haha. A minisuite will give you more room for three. Balcony cabins for three (or four) people are limited in number. A minisuite also gives you more storage and a larger bathroom plus a decent-sized balcony.

 

2. Are all balconies the same size or do they vary by deck? They vary by deck and cabin type. But it's not something to stress about.

 

3. Is it worth getting the Sanctuary for the whole cruise? And what is the age restriction? On a cruise with lots of ports? No. Adults only.

 

4. Is it better to embark earlier or later? Once you embark are you free to explore the port more or are you stuck on the ship? Fly in at least a day early to see the port.

 

5. Is it practical to wear just below the knee or so skirts on shore excursions like to Pompei, Ephesus & such if we aren't visiting churches or something? Are tennis shoes the best walking shoes? A good pair of hiking shoes or sandles might be better.

 

6. Any other advice?

Make your own air and hotel arrangements. The investment of your own time pays off. Check the ports of call pages for tour ideas and advice on specific ports. Do your own research in addition to what others post in response to your questions.

[chipmaster]

As to can you fit versus is it comfortable is two seperate questions. We did this 2 years ago and had 3 tripler partial views and did very fine. To be honest you'll be very busy and find little time to be in the cabin or use the balcony, but that is us.

 

If you are on a budget I'd recommend you save the money from the balcony / suite and do the best private tours you can afford for Rome, Florence/Pisa, and Naples. Other ports to think about private car would be Athens and Kusadasi. Depending on your adventure and interest I think Istanbul can be DIY as can Venice and Barcelona.

 

Finding people from roll-calls to share tours will bring down the price and make the long drives more interesting if you are dozing off.

 

I would HIGHLY recommend you fly in a day early and plan to stay another day with late flight out of whichever embarkation/dismbarkation you have to get extra time to explore in Venice and Barcelona. You can get on and off as many times as you want but really Venice is the only place it makes sense. Also do be aware the ship dock is a ways from the best parts of venice, but Princess does offer a for pay shuttle.

 

Enjoy its a great cruise!

 

My family of five is planning our first cruise (we're going big!) with the 12 day Grand Med. on July 27, 2011. The roll call board seems to have been pretty quiet so far, but I have a few questions.

 

1. Can you fit three people in an Oceanview room comfortably or would a suite be better? I've read bad things concerning the family suite, and there are only two onboard so chance of getting one are slim anyways haha.

 

2. Are all balconies the same size or do they vary by deck?

 

3. Is it worth getting the Sanctuary for the whole cruise? And what is the age restriction?

 

4. Is it better to embark earlier or later? Once you embark are you free to explore the port more or are you stuck on the ship?

 

5. Is it practical to wear just below the knee or so skirts on shore excursions like to Pompei, Ephesus & such if we aren't visiting churches or something? Are tennis shoes the best walking shoes?

 

6. Any other advice?

[lcstraveler]

Thanks for all your help & insight! Four of the five of us have been to Rome & Venice, so we're probably going to explore those on our own. I've been emailing back and forth with Fabrizio (AllAroundItaly) and Guido (Guido's Tours) for Naples and Livorno. Will people be willing to join in on tours with us, despite the fact that we're a pretty large group? It seems like most want a tour of 6ish.

 

Also, are the Princess excursions ever worth it? It seems like every tour guide in Nice/Monte Carlo is already fully booked!

[cruisemom42]

Most churchs require head scarf, shoulders covered for the women and long knee or blow shorts for the men.

 

 

It has been a while since churches required a head covering. However, women visiting mosques may be asked to cover their heads. Also, you must remove your shoes, so it's a good idea to bring a pair of clean socks to put on (if you aren't planning to be wearing some).

 

As for shoes, wear what is most comfortable. Europeans wear athletic shoes too, they just tend to avoid the bright white ones. ;)

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

Princess do a could Rome on your own tour its like a hop on hop off bus tour worth doing.

 

As Rome is quite a distance with very bad traffic.

 

Monte on your own is also very good as bus has around 4 stops.

 

yours Shogun

[hubofhockey]

Thanks for all your help & insight! Four of the five of us have been to Rome & Venice, so we're probably going to explore those on our own. I've been emailing back and forth with Fabrizio (AllAroundItaly) and Guido (Guido's Tours) for Naples and Livorno. Will people be willing to join in on tours with us, despite the fact that we're a pretty large group? It seems like most want a tour of 6ish.

 

Also, are the Princess excursions ever worth it? It seems like every tour guide in Nice/Monte Carlo is already fully booked!

 

For Kusadasi and Istanbul, I would recommend private excursion just for your group. They are inexpensive and great. We used Kusadasi Tours (kusadasitours.com) and many on CC also use EKOL. For Athens, we used Paul of Athens Taxi. Many do Athens on their own. But you will want a licensed guide for the Acropolis.

 

As for joining with others on your roll call, I think 6-8 is a good sized group for any private excursion. Adding a family of three makes sense. A couple may want to join you. But they might feel a bit overwhelmed by your group..

[lcstraveler]

We're trying to save some money on the cruise itself so we have more room in our budget for quality shore excursions, etc. In the Oceanview room there would be my two brothers (22 and 25) and myself (18). I feel like it would be pretty cramped unless we put one of us in the balcony cabin with our parents. I also can't imagine spending twelve nights in a small room with them haha. The price difference is about $300 for more comfort, which I think is pretty reasonable.

 

I know that this question gets asked a lot probably, but is it worth it to work with a travel agent? Or just go right through Princess? I know some cruiselines don't allow travel agents to discount prices; is Princess one of them?

[rdsqrl]

We're trying to save some money on the cruise itself so we have more room in our budget for quality shore excursions, etc. In the Oceanview room there would be my two brothers (22 and 25) and myself (18). I feel like it would be pretty cramped unless we put one of us in the balcony cabin with our parents. I also can't imagine spending twelve nights in a small room with them haha. The price difference is about $300 for more comfort, which I think is pretty reasonable.

 

I know that this question gets asked a lot probably, but is it worth it to work with a travel agent? Or just go right through Princess? I know some cruiselines don't allow travel agents to discount prices; is Princess one of them?

The balcony cabin won't have any more interior room for that third person than an oceanview cabin will -- in both cases, the extra bunk will come down from the ceiling (or wall), so either way, you'll be cramped. It's not until you go up to a minisuite that there's extra room.

Yes, Princess does permit agents to discount and you should definitely try to find one who will give you a good deal.