Epic 7 night med - how to 'unintensify' ports

[heatherbelle]

Middle aged Drama queen mainly used tours http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1668619

 

 

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1683745

 

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1597451

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1850814&highlight=legend+med

 

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/our-19-day-mediterranean-adventure-–-greece-turkey-and-the-search-for-free-wifi.869680/page-5 this is disney falcons report. Cruise critic might block it, if it does sorry.

[ShannonSC2]

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 are on the EPIC in June. First time in Europe so of course my first thought was do it all. Well after much research I decided we would kill ourselves if we did that. So I have scaled back a lot. :)

 

Arriving in Barcelona the morning of the cruise. Thank goodness it is a direct flight and very early in the morning (and travel insurance)

 

Naples-Taking train to Sorreto or do Pompeii. Can't decide yet.

 

Rome-Walking tour (DIY) to the Coliseum and other sites. Skipping the Vatican this time around.

 

Liverno-Pisa for the Leaning tower

 

Cannes-Still deciding

 

Palma-May just walk around the town this day

 

Barcelona-staying one night after our cruise. Hoping to do the HOHO bus and take in several sights.

 

I am still researching and trying to decide. My girls want to spend some time on the ship and enjoy the ship also.

[em-sk]

Naples- In the morning I just walked off the ship. You dock right in the hart of Naples. As you leave the terminal if you walk along the river to your left it leads to park and then to a waterfront area full of restaurants and hotels. Quite pleasant. If you walk to your right as you leave the ship it is industrial land and not particularly interesting. If you head streight ahead it takes you into the center of Naples.

 

Had lunch on the ship and did the half day Pompeii tour. I booked the NCL tour since i timed it to be the last tour to Pompeii that arrived back at ship just before departure. Half-day is more than sufficient time to apreciate the nature of Pompeii.

 

Rome- I did the trip round-trip from Rome.

 

Liverno- I was not interested in the Leaning tower. I did the Cinque Terre tour. This gets you out of the big cities into five small communities that are quite unique in culture. Some of the communities are only accessible by water.

 

Cannes- This is a tender port. You book tenders on the ship (via the TV or the box-office). After the morning rush you can catch a tender at any time. Since it is a tender it docks at a marina in the centre of Cannes. Public beaches are on one side of the maria and the shops, restaurants etc to the other side. If you are looking to have a leisure stroll, have a cappuccino or ice cream somewhere and do some shopping this is a good choice. No need to book anything just walk off the ship and catch a tender back when you are ready to return to the ship. If you want to go to Monaco you need to walk down to the train station and take a train to Monaco.

 

Palma- This was not a stop on my trip.

 

Barcelona-This was a stop for me since we were doing it doing it round-trip from Rome. There is a public shuttle buss operated by the port that for a few Euros takes you from the pier into the centre of town.

Edited March 25, 2014 by em-sk

[kmurph22]

thank you for the good advice all! realtrip I will definitely look into the yellow cars, sounds fun!

 

and I think we will just wander around Cannes.

 

I did book a private half day tour for Pisa and Lucca. I like the idea of a)air conditioned travel; and b)the ability to change direction if one of us is grumpy.

 

Palma definitely looks like a beach day in Palma Nova... seems easy with a taxi.