Brilliance Med. LOTS of questions!!

[egdr22]

Hello! My husband and I will be cruising on the Brilliance on May 29 from Rome to Barcelona. This will be our first cruise together. I have only done a short NCL cruise to the Bahamas. We are super excited!! I have some questions and I hope you all can help me out. :)

 

*Does anyone happen to have a copy or know of a website with a Brilliance Mediterranean Compass??

 

* I know lots prefer private excursions, and I have quite a bit of info on this. For those of you who have done ship shore excursions, which ones did you do? What was the best/worst part about it? On the full-day excursions how were the the restaurants where lunch was served? What all did lunch include? How many people were on you tour?

We are particularly interested in excursions from Livorno, Naples, and Villefranche.

 

*We just received our cruise documents and our dining seating says "Main 7:30 p.m." I am a bit confused because I assumed from reading other posts that dinner would be either around 6-6:30 or around 8:30-9. Is this a usual time??

 

Thanks in advance for any info that you can provide! I am now addicted to reading Cruise Critic. It has been a GREAT source for information!!

Looking forward to hearing from you all! Emilie

[Smithford]

Emilie

We have been on several med cruises and were recently down also in south of france on holiday.

 

Livorno - share taxi with other guests to main station it was about 10-12 euros two years ago - you can take train from here to Florence / Pisa - Italian railways have excellant web site in english with all of the train times on etc.

 

Naples - we took hydrofoil over to Capri - then local bus up to main town - lovely but very expensive.

Be sure to check out return times and buy your ticket for return upon arrival.

 

 

Villefrance - Take the train along the coast to Monaco - about 2-3 stops - trains run about every 30 minutes - check on timetable that trains stop at Villefrance on way back as not all services do.

[ricko1]

It's been a couple of years since our Med cruise on the Brilliance so I hope I can answer a couple of questions. You will love the Brilliance, she is a beautiful ship. Sorry but I don't have a daily compass.

 

As people in Europe eat dinner later the dining times are adjusted.

 

Since we lived in Europe then and were used to traveling there we only went on one ship excursion. We took the one to Pisa to visit the Leaning Tower. It was only a half day so no lunch included. However, we did did eat there as we love Italian food. The transportation was on a tour bus that had an English speaking guide and was very comfortable. Once there you are free to do as you wish at your own pace.

 

A word of advice for Naples. Do not carry a purse. Take only what you think you will need in your pockets, and keep your hand in your pocket as well. I don't mean to scare you off of Naples as it is a great place to visit. We have been there several times and personally have not had a problem.

 

Don't worry about the language problem, most everyone will speak some English in all of the ports.

 

I'm sure that you will have a trip of a lifetime. Maybe next year we can get back over there.

Bon Voyage

[egdr22]

Thanks so much for the replies so far. It's so hard to decide what to do in ports since there are so many options. I have had ALL of my stuff stolen while in Barcelona once (I was a crazy college student studying abroad), so I am extremely cautious of this now. I am not too worried about the language barrier...except maybe French. My husband and I both speak Spanish (he's Peruvian), although that will only come in handy at the end of the trip. He also can communicate in basic Italian. If we decide to take the train to Florence and Pisa, will we be able to navigate on our own with a good map and lots of research done ahead of time?? Thanks again for everyone's help!! :)

[Smithford]

We had no trouble in Florence.

 

Got a basic city map off the Internet and did some background reading. It is a long journey each way abut 90 minutes - so you have to be up and off the ship early.

 

We called at Pisa on the way back. (Not much to see apart from the leaning tower - short bus ride from station.)

 

Barcelona, is getting a bad name - lots of people visit from our city as we have low cost airline link- it is a 2 hour flight - increasing number of people coming back with tails of muggings and pick pockets. We were there last year however on a cruise and felt very safe - keeping to the main areas.

 

When we cruised into Naples we were warned that crossing the main road into the city from the port, you were advised to not wear anything expensive and only carry low amounts of cash. Hence why we went to Capri.

[Host Karen]

There are four dining times on Brilliance Med cruises: main is 6:30 or 7:30, late is 9 or 10.

 

If you haven't already, you should check out the Europe Port of Call board. There is a lot of information on private tours, ship shore excursions, and self-guided tours.

[egdr22]

Thanks so much for everyone's help so far. I'm still looking for a Mediterranean Compass. Anyone? I have posted on the Europe boards as well. Most posts there seem to refer to private guides, which I'm interested in, but want to find more ship excursion advice. Thanks and keep those tips/info coming!

[navel1ring]

Try cruiseclues.com for a compass. We did Splendour last October. I did a review of all the ports and ships excursions. Try this link

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=100423

 

Will be happy to answer any questions.

 

Wendy

[egdr22]

Wendy,

 

Thanks so much for your great review. We are thinking about doing the Pompeii/Amalfi Drive excursion. About how many people were on this tour? I know that that won't necessarily tell me how many will be on mine, but I'm just trying to get an idea. Did you only have time to stop and walk around in Amalfi or did you get to walk through Sorrento or Positano also?? How much time was actually spent just riding on the bus? Would you mind giving me a timeline for the day (as best you can remember of course)?? Such as 7:30-tour departs, 9:00-first stop, etc. I know that's asking a lot, I'm just trying to gather as much info to make the best possible decision. I think I'm starting to go crazy because there are SO many choices out there. :eek:

 

We are actaully considering doing Villefranche on our own if I can figure out how to get to Eze or St. Paul-de-Vence by public transportation. I'd like to see one of these towns after reading so many good reviews about them. Do you think it's possible to squeeze in one of these in addition to Nice and Monte Carlo if we are doing it on our own??

 

I really wish that Florence/Pisa on you own was an option for us. For some reason, it's only offered on the Splendour...no one seems to know why. Besides that, all of the options are identical. I really want to do Florence and Pisa, but not the guided all day $159 ship tour. :confused: I'm still undecided about this one!

 

Thanks again for all your help!

 

Any more advice from others??

[navel1ring]

If I remember correctly, the tour left no later than 7:30 am & you are on the bus for about an hour or so & then there is a short (maybe 1/2 hour) so called restroom stop, but it is actually at a little woodworking place & they give you coffee & a cookie & try to sell their work. Back on the bus for another good hour plus, but this is the start of the Amalfi Coast & the views are breathtaking. The only town we stopped in was Amalfi & we got about one hour & 15 minutes to look around which was adequate. Then you had another maybe hour drive & then a stop for lunch, again beautiful. The time on the bus isn't really that bad since there is so much to see. After lunch you drive to Pompeii, visit a cameo factory for about 1/2 hour - this is a good time to use nice restrooms. If I recall you have a good 1- 1 1/2 hours at Pompeii, our guide was very good. I think we got back to the ship around 6:30 pm. Villefranche on your own is easy, i'm not sure if you could fit in a third side trip after Nice & Monte Carlo, although we did have time to explore Villefranche which is a cute little village.

 

Wendy

[egdr22]

Wendy,

 

Thanks so much for all of your help. We are booked for the Hotel Continental for 3 nights post cruise. Did this hotel have the same all day buffet that their sister hotel Continental Placete had? What all was served for breakfast?? How was the room? We did not book a balcony room because I was a bit concerned about street noise, but now I'm wondering if I made a bad choice. Thanks again!!!!

Emilie

[navel1ring]

The buffet is about 1/4 as big as the Palacete. I just was on the website for the Palecete & they were showing 90 euro which is really good for there. http://www.hotelcontinental.com/home_palacete.htm We were happy at the Continental, no street noise but inside the hotel noise so it probably doesn't matter. You may want to look at the sister hotel site & if you can get in there for around the same price make the move. It is definelty better, but if I had to I would stay at the Continental again. We just got lucky and had to move to the Palacete.

 

Wendy

[egdr22]

Wendy,

 

I checked on the Palacete, but the 90 euros is for a single room. Doubles start at 130, so I suppose we'll stick with the Continental for now. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky???

 

I'm still searching for a Mediterranean Compass. Cruise Clues doesn't have one :( ! Anyone???

[navel1ring]

The Continental is fine, we only got moved to the Palacete because they had problems with our room. Location is fabulous - make sure you go to the market which is a few blocks down towards the water & across the street. It is awesome..grab a bite to eat there..I even bought some wine to bring home. Also the restaurant "The Attic" not too far down from the Hotel same side of the street is excellent!!! We ate there twice because it was so good. Also L'Olive is vey good, but off the beaten path. Barcelona is a great city & you will love it!

 

Wendy