Restrooms On Tour Buses?

[sandyoftheseas]

Hello all. My DH and I will be on the Grand Princess sailing the Med this October. We have pre-booked several tours through Princess but I'm somewhat concerned about the facilities available on the coaches used for these tours. I tend to drink a lot of coffee in the morning (more than I should). I know that the transportation time to and from some of the tour destinations is long. Would it be wise to curtail my java intake so as not to run into problems? Or, do most of the Princess tours use buses with restrooms on board or make frequent restroom stops. Here are the tours we have booked in case anyone has specific experience with the transportation on any of them.

 

Livorno - Florence & Pisa Tour

Civitavecchia - Elite Collection, Rome & Vatican Museums Tour

Naples - Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri Tour

Mykonos - Delos, Birthplace of Apollo Tour

Istanbul - Imperial Istanbul Tour

Kusadasi - Ephesus, St. John's Basilica, Virgin Mary Shrine Tour

Athens - Plaka Sampler Tour

Venice - Hidden Venice Walking Tour

 

Any help would be appreciated. I considered calling Princess direct but I tend to trust my fellow CC'rs that have actually been on the tours more than some headset phone jockey trying to look it up in some out-of-date book of answers.

[PrincessAddict]

Yes most buses do have washrooms onboard and depending on the distanced travelled they also will make a reststop on longer journeys.

[sultan_sfo]

These are really for use only in emergencies because cleaners are not normally part of the staff. But most coach tours will have a restroom break every hour. My suggestion: Cut down on the coffee! /Sultan

[Guest caribcruzin]

We did the Med cruise with Princess last year and did several of their excursions. Not one single coach that we were on had a restroom although they did make restroom stops. I would not say the stops were frequent. I was told that European buses do not routinely have a restroom in them. My advice is too cut the coffee intake. You will throughly enjoy this cruise. The excursions you have picked are fabulous. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

[cafeamericaine]

During June 7 Grand Princess cruise, we only took 3 tours total, but 2 are the same as yours.

 

Mykonos - Delos, is about a 20 or 30 minute boat ride to the island, and then you walk around it there. There's a snack bar there with restroom facilities.

 

Kusadasi - Virgin Mary Shrine, Ephesus, St Johns Basilica - I honestly don't remember seeing any restroom facilities on the bus, but ride Kusadasi to Virgin Mary Shrine maybe about 30 minutes (there was a restroom there), about 10-15 minutes to Ephesus (restrooms at top by entrance and near bottom, probably some within the site, too), and 10 minutes to St John's Basilica (don't remember looking for restrooms there). Very short bus rides on this tour, shouldn't be a problem.

[Linda CruiseDiva]

Cut back on the coffee... I can't recall ever seeing a tour bus equipped with bathrooms in Europe.

[travelgirl913]

From my experience the tour bus drivers stop at many places they will say are for a bathroom break but are actual stores with restrooms becuase they get commission on everything you buy there. At least you will get to go to the bathroom a lot!!

[sailinglisa]

Cut back on the caffeine on the morning of your excursions.

[captainron]

Good Morning,

Having lived in Europe for 4 yrs might I suggest that you take the recommendation of previous posters and drain your system before boarding.

While most coaches are washroom equipped, on European trips, drivers will generally stop for 10 mins every 2 hrs for this reason. enen tho' so equipped, washrooms are generally used for emergencies not just a convenience. Over an extended distance if everyone used the facilities, the holding tank would rapidly fill causing an unpleasant odour and discomfort for the travelling passengers. Until buses reach their home yard or destination there are usually no means to discharge the tanks.

I don't know where my fellow posters get the no WC info but I have travelled all over Europe by coach and never had a problem. Hope this helps.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[KAJOKG]

On all my tours in European tour buses (both land tours and the large buses used for excursions) there has always been a rest room. But they are only for emergencies. It's too difficult to find a place to empty the tanks and sometimes it is unpleasant for passengers. Drivers do make frequent rest stops. Best advice.....sacrifice the coffee.

[LisaH]

I was wondering this same thing for future reference. I had also posted the question about Alaska as well given that transfer to and from the ship depending on your itinerary can be 3 hours or so.

 

I normally skip coffee on the excursion day as I have the same problem. Even with water too.

[sandyoftheseas]

Hi all. Thanks for the responses. Looks like it's unanimous on the question about cutting back on the coffee. It won't be easy but I guess I will have to. Unfortunately, there seems to be less consensus on the actual question regarding restrooms. I guess what I've learned is that I can expect restroom stops on long trips and it's a 50/50 shot that there will be facilities on the coach in case I run into one of those "emergencies" that people keep referring to. Again, thanks for taking the time to respond.

 

Sandy

[smudge's mom]

Found some of the restroom breaks were inconvenient - long lines of pax from ours and other cruise ships on tour.

 

Found some of the rest rooms on the buses locked - the ones that were unlocked were very dirty.

 

On our Baltic cruise, time spent in the restroom line, sometimes meant missing some of the guide's narrative - while other times - when they were actually scheduled breaks, the guide waited until all used the restroom.

 

I would really watch my consumption of liquids both before and on tours.

 

I serverely curtail my liquid consumption prior to the tours. We carry water on tour, but I usually only use it to wet my mouth - swishing the liquid around before swallowing.

 

And the funniest thing? My need for restroom facilities is in direct proportion to the lack of them. LOL I truly wonder why - at home - I can go for hours without the thought of a restroom? :confused: