Epic 7 night med - how to 'unintensify' ports

[Xcitdcruiser]

Currently booking some family of older age on the epic departing Barcelona for 7 nights. Whilst I don't want them to miss out on anything, they won't be able to handle 5 straight days of 8 hour tours.

 

Can anyone give some insight into the ports where we don't 'require' an 8 hour tour?

 

Naples - Pompeii? There must be a return tour lasting a few hours

 

Rome - well...1.5hrs to get INTO rome

 

Livrono -Pisa /Florence

 

Cannes - Monaco - big fans of the F1 - min 6hrs

 

Palma - sounds like an easy walk around port

 

Any suggestions / advice would be grateful. Thanks!

[flarad]

I'm interested in this too, mostly because I'm not certain I want to do five straight eight hour days on our June booking.

 

 

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[KeithJenner]

All I can suggest is that you will need to prioritise a bit.

 

It's difficult to do, especially if this could be the only opportunity to visit these places, but I would much rather enjoy three places than have a miserable time in six places.

 

Make the most of the sea day to relax.

 

You aren't going to be able to do everything in Naples anyway, as there is so much there. Perhaps just do a tour of Pompeii, which is just half a day. If you arrange a private tour then they will probably be able top add on a drive around the coast, which isn't too strenuous.

 

The journey into Rome is the least of your worries. There is far too much to do there than is possible in a day. I would recommend deciding which is more important to you out of the Vatacan or the Forum area and just sticking to that. Depending on your transport, you will probably be able to see the other bit, but trying to cover both areas properly in one day is extremely hard.

 

If you want to go to Florence then you've got another long journey. Do you really need to see the leaning tower? If so then make it a very fleeting visit. Again, a tour guide will just take you through Pisa to see the tower.

 

I can't advise on Monaco, but if you don't need to go there then Cannes is a very relaxing stop, Remember that you need to tender though.

 

Palma is another easy stop. Just take some transport into the town and have a wander, or stay on the ship if you are all tired.

 

Remember to spend some time in Barcelona too. I'd suggest before the cruise so you have the sea day to rest.

[B6ConMe]

Hi, I went in search of some info on our British Isles ports of call and noticed there might be some info here for you as well. Not sure if you've looked here but it might give you some ideas:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=603

 

It's listed under Europe in the Ports of Call section of CC.

 

Mediterranean - Eastern & Western

Mediterranean Shore Excursions

[Froggitt]

We prioritised by dumping the Pisa/Florence day and chilled out on board all day instead.

 

Pompeii you can do in a half day private tour.

 

Palma not much there to see......late breakfast, couple of hours ashore, back for lunch and a pool afternoon.

[.manu.]

Napels

Naples is a ugly city. We walked around and did not like it. Better do an excursion. Pompeii, Sorrento or the beautiful Amalfi coast. For all ports I would suggest a private tour, depending on your budget. I you can fill-up a complete car, you may also customize the tour.

 

Rome

I would suggest like KeithJenner to focus on something. And consider the weather. It can be quite hot there.

 

Livorno

We had booked a tour with romeinlimos with some follow CC-members. We went to Pisa first, had time to see the leaning tower and drink a Cappuccino. Than we drove to Florence. The city is nice, but I expected it to be bigger. It's very touristic. I was a bit disappointed, but I had some childhood memory which were hard to beat.

 

Cannes

I can't say anything to Cannes, last year Epic went to Marseilles. But if there is a F1-race, you won't be able to see anything of the city. The complete city is blocked and without tickets you won't see anything of the race.

If there is no race, Monaco is a beautiful city.

 

Palma

We took a taxi to one of the beaches, but you can also walk right from the port.

 

 

I spoke to a fellow passenger and she was exhausted. She told me, that she saw many beautiful churches, but she could not remember in which city they were. There was always another church and another church and one more church.

So I would make sure that there is some variety in the schedule. Maybe go on a food tour and taste some wine and local food.

[Sparkles87]

I will be on this itinerary on Epic this July. I have some experience with the ports and the rest I have researched. Here are my thoughts on the different ports. Hope it helps.

 

Naples

It’s a 30 minute drive to Pompeii. Its amazing to see but there is a lot of uneven terrain though its an excellent choice if you want to do something for just a half day.

Herculaneum is a 20 minute drive. I haven’t been there (thinking about it for this year) but I hear that its amazing also and a bit more preserved than Pompeii. The NCL excursion is only 3 ½ hours long.

Sorrento is also amazing and NCL offer a 5 hour excursion there but its a 1hr 30minute drive – great for lack of walking and the views on the drive are amazing but i’m not sure its worth it if you want to do Sorrento itself.

 

Civitavecchia (Rome)

Its closer to 1 hour that 1 hour 30min to get into Rome, but I agree with what others have said – pick an area and focus on it. I am sacrificing Rome this year to do Florence and Pisa. I have spent a week in Rome so doing it in one day is tough on the feet not to mention it will be very hot and not many places to rest up. The collosseum is amazing but i would say that the collosseum and the forum area is much more walking intensive. The Vatican side might be less of a strain on tired legs. Dont try to do it all!

On another note if you don’t fancy trying to cram Rome in try a half day excursion like Tarquinia and the Etruscans or chill on the ship – it’s bound to be very quiet onboard that day!

 

Livorno

I have decided to do Florence and Pisa – only because i’ve never seen either and i don’t want to miss an opportunity. If your not fussed on seeing both why not try a less intensive excursion like Pisa and a trolley ride (4 hrs) or Pisa and wine tasting. Its 30 mins to Pisa and about 1hr and 20 mins to Florence.

 

Cannes

I am going to go ashore and have a wander for a bit then return to the ship and relax. Here is the Cannes tourist website

http://www.cannes-destination.com/

As for the excursions – I don’t really know much about them i’m afraid.

 

Palma

Its a beautiful place but the best things to see are at the opposite side of the city from the port. However there are Hop On Hop Off buses that you can use to get around. The old part of the town next to the cathedral is where you want to head. Here is the link to the city sightseeing bus.

http://www.city-sightseeing.com/en/tours/spain/palma-de-mallorca.htm

(There is also one in Naples)

 

I will add that if you are going to do a full day excursion - just do one because it will exhaust you especially if you do Rome and Florence 2 days in a row.

Edited March 21, 2014 by Sparkles87

[1lovehols]

Done most of these ports on RCCL ships... Doing epic in sept & only doing 2 trips. My plans are in brackets.

 

Cannes- Monaco you can do by public transport. Decide what you all would like to see then do a DIY trip. We went a couple year back & pottered round month Carlo, got bus to nice walked on sea front back to Cannes for a short mooch. Was a quick visit but saw all we wanted to see. ( just DIY around Cannes)

 

Rome has a great hop on/off bus which takes in all the sights. Train from cittivechia is fast & reliable. (I'm spending day on ship & in cittivechia as it has a lovely market/shopping street & beach area)

 

The only one I would do as an exclusion is Pisa/florance as you get to see 2 places in one day. ( looking to do a wine trip thus year I think)

 

Naples as said is not a nice place so get out of the city. I stayed in sore to a few years back & did Capri, Pompeii both nice. Pompeii was busy & hot in late Sept. (I'm hoping to do Herculaneum this year)

 

Palma never been. Mum has & she plans on us doing the hop on/ off busy & a mooch around.

[mcmomny]

We were concerned about missing out on something and did do 3 jam packed tours in 3 days in Italy, were we exhausted yes but happy we did it.

 

Really Naples was easy as you are in a van for most of it, we had time to shop in Sorrento, drove up the coast and did more shopping and than had a lovely lunch overlooking the Amalfi Coast. But we ended up being rushed in Pompeii.

 

Rome was crazy and it's not the ride to and from it is a very crowded city and tons of tourists so we did the "Highlights" with not enough time at each but we atleast got to see them.

 

Livorno, relaxing again because of van ride but a long day. Got to Pisa before the crowds and had plenty of time here than drove to Florence by way of a few olive and wine grape fields. Had plenty of time here also but we opted to see the real David and the line was very long.

 

All three tours included lunch and were in 8 passenger vans

 

We joined all three of these tours thru our "Roll Call" for our sailing and it was much cheaper than using the ship and they had all kids of options to ick from.

 

share a shore excursion in italy.com

 

Canne, we opted to just take our time getting off the ship and walked around on our own, stopped and had cafe and lunch and and watched all the beautiful people of Canne stroll by! Did play on the public beach some, very clean and pretty

 

We had Marseille as our other port, here we had to take aship bus into town and then we walked and explored, went to the market, got a little lost, found the way back and returned to the ship early to relax in the hot tub with the lovely coast views as our backdrop.

 

We also started in Barcelona and spent 3 days there prior to the cruise so we were exhausted before boarding the ship so it was nice that the first day was a sea day for us.

[auntierobin]

If you have the funds you could book them on a b2b, and do half the ports one trip, the other half on the second leg.

[millineumwoman]

Just so you know in Pompeii the trek up is very steep but once you are in it is fine . Can't be missed tour was great

 

In Florence /Pisa we took the L12 tour with share a shore and enjoyed it immensely the female driver was very accomaditing.

 

Also just an FYI bring your own face cloths as they don't have them in Europe ,

Have a great trip we all really enjoyed it last year

Edited March 21, 2014 by millineumwoman

[kmurph22]

This topic is of great interest to me too, so thanks to all who replied. We are sailing the Epic in July.

 

I'm looking to "deintensify" for a different reason... 13 year old boy who I know will get bored and complain if we drag him around too much. Here's the plan so far:

 

We are boarding in Rome, spending 3 days there after the trip, so Civitavecchia will be a "sea day" for us. We'll get on the ship as early as possible and just enjoy.

 

In Livorno, we selected a half day trip which includes Lucca (pretty little medieval town, not as far as Florence) and a quick stop at Pisa for photos. Kids gotta update the instagram you know!

 

Cannes - still debating whether we want to do the big day out to Monaco or just putter around Cannes. We honestly may make this decision on the fly when we get there and either do the train or find someone to take us around at the port.

 

Palma - probably a beach day.

 

Barcelona - either a DIY "hop on hop off" or wander Las Ramblas and shop/eat/people watch. No more than a half day.

 

Naples - all day tour of Pompeii (of great interest to the boy and his instagram) and then an Amalfi coast drive/visit. This will be a long day but it comes on the heels of a sea day.

 

Any advice or thoughts from others are greatly appreciated!

[flarad]

Love these suggestions. Kmurph22 have you thought of doing segways in one of your ports? Teens usually love these. I think we are going to take

the ship's bus to Rome and do the segways tour on our own while we are there. There are several companies online that do this. There are also segways in Barcelona and in Florence. Where did you find the lucca trip? It sounds interesting. We are still deciding about the rest.

 

 

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[djmess]

This past October I did the Western Med itinerary.

 

May I suggest you go to the port of call boards, they were so helpful to me.

 

In Italy, I didn't want to miss anything. Who knows when I would be able to go back. Some people told me, stay away from the tourist trap stuff, like leaning tower. Well, I'm glad I ignored that advice. We arrived there 1st thing, were the 1st up the tower before any crowds, then off we went. I worked with RomeinLimo tours. They are absolutely fantastic! You can email with them and customize what you want. They are incredible to work with. They receive wonderful reviews here on cruise critic. Also remember there is some down time. Yes you are off the ship for 8-9 hours, but there is built in lunch times and as all my drivers said, everyone tend to fall asleep on the ride back to the ship. Nice nap before boarding for evening activities

 

In Palma, we did the hop on hop off bus

[WouterC]

We are going on this cruise in July, so I did a lot of research.

 

Here's some advice:

 

depending on the budget, it might be good to hire a taxi (you could share it) or private tour or a shared tour with a small group. We booked with can't be missed tours, Pompeii + Amalfi coast, since we want to see as much as possible.

 

Pompeii will take about half a day. It's best to go in the morning, since these historic sites tend to get very hot once near noon. Also, with some tours you can enter before the cruise buses arrive, so it's not that crowded yet. Take something to protect your head and some small bottles of water.

 

Rome: you can go by taxi, train or bus (excursion). The fastest is to take an 'express' train, get off at San Pietro station, takes about 1 hour including walking to the train station. But a tour is also an option. Smartcruisetours has some interesting options. For taxi, we have good experiences with Romecabs but there are many others as well.

 

If you've already seen Rome, you can also stay in Civitavecchia, or visit a nearby sight, like lake Bracciano or Ceri.

 

Livrono -Pisa /Florence: pick one, don't try to do them both. I'd recommend visiting Firenze if you haven't yet, e g. by cruise tour and spending as much time there as possible. If you want to go to one of the museums, book your skip the line tickets ASAP.

 

Cannes and Palma: these ports are ideal to relax. Stroll around for a while then go back to the ship.

[OurDogCisco]

We almost did the EPIC last summer but I had to cancel because of a conflict. We were actually planning on do back to back but different cruise lines. One was on RCCL going to the Greece Islands while EPIC was of the Med. stops. Our plan was to sail from Rome so that we could spend a few days in Rome before boarding the ship. I was going to alternate long tour days with short tour days. However, we have been to many of the EPIC ports before so, if we skipped a day it wouldn't be a huge loss.

 

My suggestions would be to book a longer cruise with more sea days. Or do a back to back cruise so you can have built in sea days. Finally, I would use a private guide so you can go at your own pace. Many of these were mentioned in the previous posts.

[HokiePoq]

We prioritised by dumping the Pisa/Florence day and chilled out on board all day instead.

 

Pompeii you can do in a half day private tour.

 

Palma not much there to see......late breakfast, couple of hours ashore, back for lunch and a pool afternoon.

 

We loved the train to Soller...beautiful scenery and quaint town....also took an excursion that had beautiful sea views another trip off the Epic.

Will do the walk around thing this time, probably.

OP, if I were prioritizing for older family members, I'd skip the Rome long drive. We went on the train and it is a walk from the port. That might be a day for them to spend onboard unless their hearts are set on seeing Rome. If so, one of the level 1 excursions would be a safe choice.

Agree with those advising the half day tour of Pompei....or Herculaneum, not so crowded and better preserved.

Others have told me you can walk around in Monaco although we've chosen one that goes to Cannes as well.

There are short tours that just go to Pisa. We enjoyed Pisa. It is a longer drive to Florence and we chose not to do that the first time at Naples.

Have a great trip!

[WouterC]

There are short tours that just go to Pisa. We enjoyed Pisa. It is a longer drive to Florence and we chose not to do that the first time at Naples.

Have a great trip!

 

I'm guessing you meant Livorno here?

[Sauer-kraut]

Let me suggest going to Herculaneum instead, the city is a lot flatter and more shady than Pomeii. The frescoes are beautiful and there are more ruins 'standing'. The villas there were for the more affluent citizens and hence the more beautiful places than the working town of Pompeii.

 

My parents are 80 and managed to do this on their own! They took the train quite easily from the port and got off at the right place. My Mom just loved it AND there are far fewer tourists there so it was a good day for them. They walked around and probably got back to the ship in time for lunch. Also a very cheap tour, a few Euros for the train fare and no admission fee to walk around Herculaneum.

Edited March 22, 2014 by Sauer-kraut

[cruiseblues2013]

Last year we took a port intensive cruise, Venice to Barcelona (9 days). Exhausting, but incredible trip. Pompeii we walked a short walk to public transit and took the bus to the site (2 Euros) hardly anyone on the bus, easy ride, very close drop off to the entrance, spent three to four hours and caught the bus back and walked back to the ship, what a find! Did not have to get up early or rush. Naples we did the hop on hop off when we got back to town, if you are going to skip a city, this would be the one, it is dirty and graffiti on all buildings, church's and fountains, interesting, but would skip it as hind site, good place to get off, go to Pompeii for a easy half day and enjoy the ship the rest of the day.

[kmurph22]

yes aprilrad I am looking at segway tours, especially for Barcelona or Cannes, two ports where we don't think we're going to make a big day trip. They look like fun! I've done one before but kids have not. I did notice at least one company had an age 14 minimum though.

 

does anyone have experience going to the beach in Palma? I'm curious about the availability of taxis for the return, and how difficult it is to get a lounger/umbrella since we wouldn't be arriving until the afternoon (1pm - 8pm port time).

[WouterC]

Can anyone give some insight into the ports where we don't 'require' an 8 hour tour?

 

I read your question again and would like to add:

* Naples - Pompeii?

Suggestion: half a day tour to Pompeii or Herculaneum (like someone mentioned, great suggestion).

 

* Rome:

I still think taking the train might be a good option. They'll be in Rome faster than by taxi or bus and they will be able to return whenever they want. Train station isn't far from Civitavecchia and they could also take a taxi from the ship to the train station.

 

After getting off at San Pietro (Saint Peters) station, they could get on the Hop-on-hop-off bus.

 

Train tickets only cost €6 pp single trip, with a BIRG ticket they'll also get access to public transport. So if they're done visiting Rome, they can take the train back (another €6 pp) or take a taxi if they want to. A taxi should cost 120/€130 pp and most companies can drop them off near the ship.

 

Another option is to take a tour or taxi to Ceri (about 30 minutes), perhaps combined with the Etruscan Necropolis of Cerveteri. Or some other sights near Civitavecchia. Most cruise companies have half day tours visiting sights relatively close to Civitavecchia.

 

* Livorno -Pisa /Florence

I'd definitely recommend visiting Florence. Florence and Barcelona would be my top 2 ports on this cruise.

 

For a shorter tour: tour or taxi to Pisa and/or Lucca.

Edited March 24, 2014 by WouterC

[travlon]

We traveled to these ports for the first time 2 yrs ago and booked tours in Pisa/Florence, Rome and Amalfi Coast, Sorrento and Ravello with Rome In A Limo and had a FANTASTIC time! We are returning again in July and will book with the same complany. The advantage is you have personalized service and they will customize your tour to what you want to see.

Here are my suggestions:

 

Rome: Definately narrow down priority to see either the Colosseum/ Forum or Vatican. Both are very time consuming. Worth doing a tour though as you get all the history and can pre book to avoid long lines in the heat. We stopped at St. Peters Square but did not tour the Vatican.

 

Pisa/Florence- Highly recommend. You can do a quick photo shoot of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and then travel through Tuscany for a nice lunch and wine tastin at a winery. Stopped at several museums on the way back to the ship. (We are booking a group this year 6/12 if you are in port on the same day..would love for you to join us)

 

Naples: Pompeii is rough terrain and hot in the summer. I would plan at least a couple of hours for this if it is a must see. We did a scenic drive up to Ravello and around the Amalfi coast..GORGEOUS! We were so happy to be in our own private vehicle after watching the big tour buses loaded with so many people trying to make there way around this very narrow stretch of road. Wonderful lunch in Sorrento and time to stroll around this quaint town. ( We are planning to do this tour again 6/ 17 if you are interested)

 

Enjoy and I hope this helped!

[realtrip]

This topic is of great interest to me too, so thanks to all who replied. We are sailing the Epic in July.

 

I'm looking to "deintensify" for a different reason... 13 year old boy who I know will get bored and complain if we drag him around too much. Here's the plan so far:

 

We are boarding in Rome, spending 3 days there after the trip, so Civitavecchia will be a "sea day" for us. We'll get on the ship as early as possible and just enjoy.

 

In Livorno, we selected a half day trip which includes Lucca (pretty little medieval town, not as far as Florence) and a quick stop at Pisa for photos. Kids gotta update the instagram you know!

 

Cannes - still debating whether we want to do the big day out to Monaco or just putter around Cannes. We honestly may make this decision on the fly when we get there and either do the train or find someone to take us around at the port.

 

Palma - probably a beach day.

 

Barcelona - either a DIY "hop on hop off" or wander Las Ramblas and shop/eat/people watch. No more than a half day.

 

Naples - all day tour of Pompeii (of great interest to the boy and his instagram) and then an Amalfi coast drive/visit. This will be a long day but it comes on the heels of a sea day.

 

Any advice or thoughts from others are greatly appreciated!

 

We did Lucca and Pisa 2 years ago. It was great. Lucca is really beautiful and quiet. We did both on our own using the train. It was really easy and very cheap.

In Barcelona try go cars ( www dot gocartours dot com). This was a highlight of our visit. They are cute little yellow cars that serve as a tour guide. You drive, you follow the GPS instructions and the ''yellow car'' gives you tour information as you go. Really neat. We got lot of attention. Your 13 y.o. will be very happy with this tour.

 

 

 

Have fun!

[heatherbelle]

If you can afford it, book tours with Romeinlimo or similar. They will match the tours to your age group and mobility capabilities. We do all of our own tours, but we also have the dreaded teen in tow:rolleyes:

 

Easy favourites.

 

Mallorca - walk to the end if the pier over the road and catch the bus to Magaluf/Palma Nova or waterpark.

 

If you want to visit the Cathderal area of Palma there will be a shuttle to take you there, or the local bus will be available at the end of the pier. Sollar as another poster has mentioned is also nice too. On beaches in Mallorca you will find lots of topless sunbathers, as on most European beaches. I tend to find many Americans can find this to be something of a shock if unprepared.

 

Rome - I would book a tour and do Rome. Luck out maybe two or three must sees. Collosuem, Vatican, Trevi Fountain. Saying that we caught the train, got of at St.Pedros I think it is took the pic of the Vatican, caught the HOHO bus and then did most of the other landmarks. Your train ticket can also be used on public buses and the underground, if you buy a Brig ticket. There is a tobacconist and ticket outlet where the free shuttles drop you off. The train station is then a 10 mins walk.

 

Naples - Forget Pompeii, far too hot and a lot of walking. Instead take a hydrofoil to either Sorrento, Capri or Inshia (nit sure of spelling). Just wander around eat Gellato and find somewhere nice for lunch. My teen loves going on the hydrofoil. If you can afford a private tour do one of these and do Sorrento, Positino and the Amalfi coast, you may have time for Capri too. Long day but soooooo worth it.

 

I also recommend Lucca and Pisa, again we did this on public transport, having done it once, I wouldn't recommend it. You should be able to find a taxi in the port to take you there, or consider another private tour. In Lucca you can hire bikes for around €5 per hour to ride the walls. This was my favourite day last year. Either call at Pisa on the way there or back. If travelling by train check the train times carefully.

 

 

If you love the Grand Prix, then Monaco is a must. Search the net for Disneyfalcon med trip report as this has excellent instructions on how to tour Monaco when you get off the train.

 

I will go through my fav trip reports and post some on here for you.

Edited March 24, 2014 by heatherbelle