Thinking of doing Europe/Med

[titicaa8396]

Hi Guys,

 

I need help here!! :( I want to do the Millenium on 5/26/06 12 nights, Venice to Barcelona.

 

I'm trying to put it all together (Pre-hotel stay? fights? post-hotel stay? tours when in ports? ship tours or on my own?) in trying to do all of this Europe seems very complicated!!!!!

 

Can someone set me staight here. I usually like to do things with plenty of time and alot of planning, but for some reason Europe has got me very confused.

 

If anyone can give me any ideas please do so.

 

What time should I pick my fight to depart NY? Should I fiy in a day before or can I arrive the same day that I have to board the ship? The ship will be docked for a 1 1/2 days so I'll take that time to do my touring.

 

Where will I be boarding the ship in Venice?

 

When traveling to the Caribean I always do my own tours on the islands. What should I do in Europe? I like doing things on my time table. I have noticed that alot of the tours are expensive, so maybe for this one time I might have to do ship tours.

 

Titicaa8396

[tak2]

There is sooo much info on the Europe port of call board that you can have most of your questions answered within a week of following the posts.

 

Alternatively, if you have lots of time, you can visit our Roll Call " Celebrity " Millie Oct 13, 2005, to follow our journey of asking each other questions/ideas and gradually forming our travel plans. We touched on pre and post hotels, private group tours, satellite map on where the Venice pier is , and many more.

 

Do not feel time pressured.... you are very early on in the game. But it helps to pre book private tours first since there's just one, or a few of them ( guides ) but 2000 potential clients.

 

Have fun planning, I am still enjoying mine.:)

[kitty9]

If you've never been to Europe before, it might be a good idea to take at least a couple of ship's tours. With the dollar being so incredibly weak against the Euro, it might actually be cheaper in the long run doing a tour with the ship. Also, doing things on your own means you have to be very careful not to miss the ship---you would have to get to the next port of call on your own and at your expense.

 

To be on the safe side, it's always a better idea to arrive a day early. That way you won't miss the ship due to travel delays, and you have a full day to recover from jet lag.

 

There are a couple of places that ships dock in Venice, one is near the Piazza San Marco and the other is near to the airport.

[Susan-M]

We are doing this cruise in Sept., but from Barcelona to Venice. (The difference between the two, is that the Venice to Barcelona doesn't include a stop in Mykonos.)

We booked in January which allowed 8 months to prepare....and we need it. I would suggest reading some of the many posts on the Europe board, along with the ones in Roll-Call. There are some lengthy threads going in both and lots of info discussed that will help answer your questions. We are going to do all of the ports on our own - either a private driver (shared with others we have met through Cruise Critic), or by rented car, train, etc. There is so much helpful info on these boards, which has made planning a lot easier.

[Host Anne]

We did Barcelona to Istanbul back in 2001 (Venice was an overnight stop). I love planning and booked all our excursions on my own. It was fabulous. I spent time researching here on Cruise Critic and on my own. While it does seem overwhelming at the outset, it really isn't. Concentrate on one port at a time (you have plenty of time to do that). I'd be happy to share info. Here's a link to my review. Check it out and ask questions...I saved all my info. http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=447

 

My biggest piece of advice is to fly in several days early (we had four days in Barcelona before boarding the ship). It was the best thing we did. Those who arrived the day before or the day of departure needed several days to recover from the time change. By the time we boarded the ship, we had completely adjusted to the time change. ;)

 

This is a fabulous cruise. Enjoy planning and let me know if you have questions as you go along.

[arkcruiser]

I am doing the twelve-day Venice to Barcelona this year -- May 27! Being a compulsive planner, I have spent a great deal of time putting the details together. Let me suggest this schedule. The best prices seem to be the early booking ones, so I would reserve now. There is no need to do the air reservations unless you are trying to use frequent flyer miles. I booked my air in late January, although prices seemed to have stayed fairly consistent into early April. To be safe, I would start watching prices ca. January 1 to get a sense of the range and then buy when you think price/schedule mesh. I am going to Venice two days before embarkation and for hotel followed the advice of the Michelin Green Guide to Venice. I am staying in Barcelona for a day afterwards, but I would recommend that you plan on two or three nights since Barcelona is really a neat city. You can book hotels, like air, from January to March. Barcelona rates actually went down some during this interval.

 

I think the Michelin Green guides are very useful. You can get them fairly cheap at websites such as buy.com. I would recommend that you buy the guides for Venice, Greece, Italy, Spain. I have not seen the one for the French Riviera.

 

 

 

As for port activities, I would monitor cruise critic all summer as people about to go ask questions and as those who return file reports. There is an immense amount of information available here. I clipped what seemed useful and saved it to a file for each port.

 

My wife and I have traveled to most of these ports before and so our plans are more targeted. If you see this as a once in a lifetime opportunity, I would take the ship's tours or else put together private group tours. If you want to do it on your own, everything from port maps, bus and train schedules, museum hours, etc., can be found on the net.

 

I find planning a trip ALMOST as enjoyable as taking the trip itself. I hope you enjoy both aspects of this.

[operafan]

Hi,

 

We're booked on this cruise and planning never starts too early. We did med cruise on Constellation in 2002 and it couldn't have been more fabulous! In 2002 we booked our own air and flew into Barcelona a couple of days early. This cruise, we're taking Celebrity's air program since we have 2 people coming from Chicago and 2 from Dallas and didn't want to deal with the hassle of arranging flights to one city and back from another.

 

The shore excursions are another matter. We're looking into taking a limo again in Rome and Florence. Four of us toured Rome last time for 600 euros (about $525). Wow! It was an amazing tour, very comprehensive, and cost-wise, was only slightly more than one of the ships tours. Currently, the exchange rate is so lousy that we may be on a ship's tour. Many of the port's are very "doable" on your own. Naples- You can go to Pompeii or Capri easily. The hydrofoil leaves from a dock about 3 blocks from the ship's dock.

Villefranche-The train station is very close as is the bus-stop. Walk to either and buy a cheap ticket to Nice, Monaco etc...We did both places and transportation for 4 people ran us ran about $32. Currently, the only places we're thinking of taking a ship's tour are Rome and Florence. There's a terrific website with comprehensive ship and port reports at cruisereviews.com. (And of course cruise critic :) )

 

This whole thing may seem daunting now, but with so much information available, it's really not that difficult. Once you're actually there, it's so easy you'll be wondering what you were fretting about! If you need any more info, give me a shout......Hope to see you on board. Vicki

[Tatka]

If you've never been to Europe before, it might be a good idea to take at least a couple of ship's tours. With the dollar being so incredibly weak against the Euro, it might actually be cheaper in the long run doing a tour with the ship. Also, doing things on your own means you have to be very careful not to miss the ship---you would have to get to the next port of call on your own and at your expense.

 

We did combination of ship/private tours and I noticed one thing about ship tours in Europe. European tours usually attract higher ratio of older PAX (no disrespect!!!) and when you have 35-40+ older people in one bus it makes tour very complicated.

 

We did Marseilles, Monaco/Monte Carlo and Barcelona with ship tours. In Monaco/Monte Carlo and Marseilles tours involved some walking up the hills. (And brochure states this very clearly!!!) Well... we had one woman with her mother in her 80-ies with walker, some other older women couln't walk ether. Tour guide seriously didn't know what to do as we had to wait for them at every point of interest!

 

I was very glad we had private tours in Rome and Florence/Pisa as it pains me to even imagine these sightseeing intensive tours with these women.:(

 

Please... don't think I am disrespectful, I won't mind sitting with them at the same table at the dining room or interacting on the ship, but when you pay big $$ for tours and have such a limited time to explore European cities it can be really annoying situation.

[kitty9]

Well tatka, I'm disabled and I do take exception to comments about people being slow and taking up valuable time. Everyone is going to get old and slow in walking at some time in their lives, and there's absolutely no way around it. I just hope that people remember this and take that into consideration when you're faced with slow people. Hey, I'm only 52, and in no way a senior citizen, but I do walk slower than able-bodied individuals, and even though I try to be conscientious to my fellow tour group members, there will be times when my slow walking might delay the group by no more than two or three minutes. Might I also remind you that the slow walkers also paid their big $$$ for the tour and deserve consideration. If that is an issue for anyone, then find a private guide so you won't be inconvienced by the seniors and disabled. I would also like to point out that in all my 40 cruises and probably a couple hundred tours all over the world, I've had far too many tours delayed by young, healthy individuals who just daudle and feel that return times to the bus don't include them. I cannot count the number of times when young couples have had to be hunted down because they were taking their time in the shops or tour sites. I hope you don't judge all seniors or disabled because you had one isolated tour with an 80 year old with a walker. Like I said, I've had more than a few tours delayed by very young people who cannot tell time.

[Tatka]

Kitty9,

I wrote my message not to criticize disabled/old people , but to give OP a hint what he should be avoiding on his trip unless he wants to experience the same problems as we had. While there are probably young people who can't tell the time, problems will be inevitable if you make older people walk for 5-6 hours (even if they paid for this tour!!!).

 

As I said specifically in Rome and Florence I would avoid bus tours and find a group of people who wants to hire a driver (we used www.driverinrome.com ).I (32 yo) was exhausted from these excursions, and we were in a mini van for 6 people that had ability to drive thru small streets right to the points of interests. From what I know ship excursions included A LOT of walking and people where dead tired!!!

 

Natasha

[JoePDX]

Go to your local library and rent Rick Steves' Europe videos for the cities you will visit. There are a couple of other companies that put out touring videos too, just can't think of them at the moment. My favorite tour books are put out by Insight (Discovery Channel) and Dorling Kindersley both full of beautiful photos and detailed area maps. I used to buy them, now I get them from the library too.

 

We took the train from Livorno to Florence and from Civitavecchia to Rome and had full days of sightseeing for the cost of the train ticket. A great number of the top sights are within walking distance of the central train stations in both cities. My advice: Always buy a round trip ticket in the outbound city - this will save you time and potential panic if lines are long - and the station agent won't do that unless you ask. Remember to validate your ticket on the train platform (yellow machine) before you board in each city otherwise you'll be fined on board by the conductor. Lastly, always take the train that is one before the last train that would get you back on time!

 

We have also hired taxi's on the pier with fellow travelers. Make sure you get firm commitment on price first! Did this in Livorno for a tour of Pisa and Lucca. Pisa is so much more than the leaning tower with one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Italy (IMHO). Lucca is just charming with a capital C! We have also arranged for guides in advance and had wonderful times too. It really is so very much nicer to tour in a small group. Just consider how long it takes 40 people to get on and off a bus or stand in line for the bathroom! Consider how much extra time your small group would have to see the sights! Also in some cities, buses aren't allowed into some areas that a mini-van can go.

 

I agree with other posters - go over as early as you can. You are lucky being on the east coast. It's can be murder for us west coasters! :eek:

 

Europe was overwhelming for me the first time we went.

 

You'll have a grand time!

 

Joe

[LJJQ]

The below web site shows the cruise terminal at Venice. The Millenium normally docks here. They have shuttle boats that take you Plaza San Marco.

 

 

http://www.vtp.it/pages/navi/crociere.jsp?m=2

[tak2]

Hi Guys,

I need help here!! :( I want to do the Millenium on 5/26/06 12 nights, Venice to Barcelona.

Titicaa8396

Just noticed TWO roll call threads posted for the date you're interested in, encourage you to check it out.

[neurogirl]

Hi, I just wanted to send out a heads up about a point one of the other posters made. I also thought going Barcelona to Venice got you a stop in Mykonos. Actually the itinerary in 2005 included Mykonos, but it was dropped from the itinerary (either direction) in 2006. I have tried asking different customer reps at Celebrity but can't get any answers. According to people on the itineraries board, Celebrity has done this before and never gives a reason. I am going from Barcelona to Venice on May 14th and am a little bummed about Mykonos, but still very excited.