EPIC departure ports: Rome v. Barcelona v. Marseille

[calazula]

I'm looking at trying my first NCL cruise next year onboard the Epic.

 

It seems their med cruises leave from 3 possible ports: Rome, Barcelona, and Marseille.

 

Can someone give me a run-down of what the pro/cons of having each of these as a departure port are?

 

For example, it seems in Rome, the port is a far distance from the airport and city... and the taxi isn't cheap...

 

I'm also flying from Canada, it that makes a difference for flights, etc.

 

TIA!

[dexddd]

Not sure if it matters for you, but when I was doing some cursory review of those trips, it seemed some room categories were only bookable from one of the ports (like Barcelona).

[Single Cruiser]

Barcelona you have the city, the port and the airport all within 20mins of each other. The city is the port.

 

Rome is inland and it's about 1.5hr from the city to the port by road. There is a train service but if you've got luggage...

 

Marseille is the new port.. It's airport is more a regional one compared with Rome and Barcelona..

[computerworks]

Barcelona...hands down.

[Victress2007]

We're doing this cruise at the end of May. We're going the Rome route because I'd rather spend pre and post cruise days in Italy. We'll spend a couple pre cruise in Rome and post in Venice. It's all so individual - timing might be as important as ports as Barcelona starts on Sunday and Rome on Wednesday.

 

Vic

[fabnfortysomething]

this year Epic did a round trip from Barcelona and called at only European ports so Spanish VAT of 8% was payable on all on board purchases during the whole cruise not just when in Spanish waters.

 

apparantly if the itinery includes at least 1 non european port this does not apply

 

Dont know what this would mean if they have 3 possible european departure points next year-which country VAT would be applicable?

 

8% may not sound a lot but when there's already 15% added to bar and 18% to spa services those all add up if you were unaware they would be added in the first place.

 

might be an idea to ask this question before booking your preferred port

[dalgirl]

Barcelona you have the city, the port and the airport all within 20mins of each other. The city is the port.

 

Rome is inland and it's about 1.5hr from the city to the port by road. There is a train service but if you've got luggage...

 

Marseille is the new port.. It's airport is more a regional one compared with Rome and Barcelona..

 

Also Barcelona is a wonderful city to visit pre and post cruise - a great walking city, eating, entertainment, etc. It is a large city with a "hometown" feel that I don't feel in Rome.

 

But having several days in Rome also has its good points, but again, you will have the added expense/hassle of getting out to the port.

 

If you aren't set on one particular city, I would choose Barcelona for your first time - it will be less hassle.

[quercus alba]

+1 for Barcelona.

 

I booked the cruise for Italy, and in the end was totally unprepared to fall in love with Barcelona. Give yourself a nice amount of time before and/or after the cruise to enjoy this city!

[phrogpilot73]

I can honestly say that I've never boarded a cruise ship at any of the ports, but I have disembarked and embarked at both Civitivecchia (port of Rome) and Marseilles. My experiences are probably slightly different because I was riding on a big grey warship. However, I really enjoyed the city of Marseilles, and it was fairly close to the port. The town of Civitivecchia has some things to do, and you can walk from the town to the port. Restaurants in Marseilles were 100 times better than the ones in Civitivecchia.