NA Mediterranean Tapestry Cruise in June 2011

[Tonklily]

We are booked on the Nieuw Amsterdam in June for the Mediterranean 12-day Tapestry cruise from Barcelona to Venice. Does anyone have any comments or suggestions regarding the ports, as well as any specific excursions? Thank you!:)

[kazu]

You might want to try asking this on the 'ports' board - Spain & Italy.

 

You will also find some great info on your ports there and good discussions and tips.

 

However - this is a fabulous itinerary - one thing I would recommend - fly into Barcelona early to get over jet lag and see some of the city before you board the ship. Same thing for Venice - stay an extra day or two. There is so much to see. Have a great cruise :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

great itinerary

 

when we used to cruise europe -- we did the same thing -- flew iover 2 - 3 days early and stayed over a couple of days at the end og the cruise

[KirkNC]

To echo what KK posted, I would definitely fly over a few days early. Barcelona is a great city with lots to see. We stayed at the Hotel Inglaterra and really enjoyed the museums, parks, old city, architecture and of course the food.

 

Kirk

[azrose]

Dubrovnik: I didn't expect much when I saw it on my itinerary in 2005....it was an "extra" as far as I was concerned....turned out to be one of my most favorite ports!! What to do: Walk the Wall!!! :D:D:D

[Harley57]

Just realize that you will not be able to see or do everything in each port. What worked for us was picking 1-2 major sites to see In each port and making sure we sat down for lunch each day to relax and people watch We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and look forward to returning some day.

 

I just returned from Venice on Friday (not a cruise - it was a business trip), but managed to spend one day sightseeing. If possible, allow yourself time to really soak up the sights - take the vaporetto on the Grand Canal, enjoy an outdoor meal along the Lagoon, wander the city and see where you end up. If you enjoy shopping for jewelry, make sure you take a boat to Murano.

 

Enjoy!!!

[mwillis3]

By chance have you ever been to the Ferrari museum?

[Tonklily]

Unfortunately, we do not have any extra time to add on to the beginning or the end of the cruise. However, we do spend the night in both Barcelona and Venice on board the ship. Have never been to Europe, so this is all new to me. Appreciate all of the comments and suggestions so far. Hope to hear some more great ideas! Thanks in advance.:)

[catl331]

Don't miss Gaudi's Sagrada Familia in Barcelona - inside as well as outside.

[kazu]

Gaudi's buildings in Barcelona are tremendous as is the old Gothic quarter.

A stroll down las Ramblas is an experience in itself!

[DGE]

June 15th Nieuw Amsterdam Barcelona to Venice

We are 4 looking for others that would like to hire drivers in several of the ports. We hired drivers last year in Rome and Naples the experience was fantastic, the cost was much less then the ships. We intend to hire the same drivers this year if possible. Anyone interested in joining us please respond.

 

DGE

[CruiserBruce]

June 15th Nieuw Amsterdam Barcelona to Venice

We are 4 looking for others that would like to hire drivers in several of the ports. We hired drivers last year in Rome and Naples the experience was fantastic, the cost was much less then the ships. We intend to hire the same drivers this year if possible. Anyone interested in joining us please respond.

 

DGE

 

This should be done on your roll call. Roll Calls are where you meet people on your cruise.

 

Here is your very active Roll Call:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227709

[DGE]

I have trouble with the boards can't seem to find the correct place to post -

Thank you for your help

DGE

[aircowboy]

We are interested in joining you when you hire a driver. Please contact me on the roll call

 

thanks

aircowboy

 

 

This should be done on your roll call. Roll Calls are where you meet people on your cruise.

 

Here is your very active Roll Call:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227709

[aircowboy]

We are interested in joining you with a driver. Please contact me on the roll call

 

aircowboy

[CruiserBruce]

CruiserBruce isn't on the N.A. until December in Caribbean. However, we did do 20 days on Noordam in the Med in Aug/Sept 2010.

[Softball20]

Unfortunately, we do not have any extra time to add on to the beginning or the end of the cruise. However, we do spend the night in both Barcelona and Venice on board the ship. Have never been to Europe, so this is all new to me. Appreciate all of the comments and suggestions so far. Hope to hear some more great ideas! Thanks in advance.:)

 

 

We did this itinerary a couple years ago on the Zuiderdam - it was fabulous. We lined up our own guides/drivers, etc., before we left home. I still have a lot of the information about the companies that we used, if you're interested. As someone else has mentioned, Dubrovink was a wonderful city - didn't expect it. On the other hand, we weren't impressed with Corfu - our least favorite out of all of them. In Messina, a trip to Taormina is not to be missed; it is amazing.

 

Feel free to let me know if you want any more info on any of the vendors we used, etc.

[jerimira]

June 15th Nieuw Amsterdam Barcelona to Venice

We are 4 looking for others that would like to hire drivers in several of the ports. We hired drivers last year in Rome and Naples the experience was fantastic, the cost was much less then the ships. We intend to hire the same drivers this year if possible. Anyone interested in joining us please respond.

 

DGE

Greetings,

We are excited to be on MS. Nieuw Amsterdam embarking June 15. We are looking to share excursion costs outside of HAL. Having problems with this system too. Please email me at palanfirehouze@yahoo.com