Live from the 05/25 Liberty of the Seas Western Mediterannean

[ScoobaDoo]

Hi,

 

@ Smiley9713 - thanks so much for starting this thread! The information is very detailed and extremely helpful.

@kyan - your lengthy update and photos are also greatly appreciated.

 

And, to everyone who posted questions and answers along the way, I've learned a lot from those as well, and now I'm really getting excited about our upcoming cruise at the end of August 2014.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

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[lyrech]

Hello,

I was recommended to take a look at this thread mainly for some of the great information and help provided in Smiley9713 posts. They are amazing! Thanks for all of the tips!

 

Our Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Sea cruise is September 4th 2014 from Rome to September 11th back to Rome. It seems that there are passengers finishing and ending on varying dates in varying ports so has been difficult to find a thread which particularly relates to those on our cruise.

We would love to hear from others on these dates and in particular if anyone has any spots for or is interested in sharing excursions in Marseille (Sept 8 2014), Nice (Sept 9) or La Spezia(Day excursion to Cinque Terre-Sept 10th).

Any advise on those which anyone has already taken would be appreciated too.

 

Is there anybody out there doing the same date cruise as us????

We are a couple in our early fifties and this is our first cruise and also first trip to Europe. We work hard and are well and truly ready to enjoy this trip of a lifetime!!Europe here we come!:cool:

[Smiley4]

Mar915,

 

The cheapest way to get to Marseille would be to walk from the port to the exit of the port where there's a bus stop. The walk is about a mile and marked with a green painted line on the ground all the way to the exit. We referred to this as the green mile. Several other cruise lines are ported along the walk and several offer free shuttle buses to the port exit and city center if you're so inclined hint hint. The bus stop is right there outside the exit gate and the buses are every few minutes. I think it was about 2 Euros into the city center. There were also plenty of cabs at the port that you could take right from the ship to Marseilles but not sure how much it would cost.

 

I'd avoid the ferry the ship chartered. It was taking forever to load, they don't leave before it's full and the cost is outrageous.

[mar915]

Thanks we leave tomorrow and cruise starts July 6

 

 

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[kyan]

Hello,

I was recommended to take a look at this thread mainly for some of the great information and help provided in Smiley9713 posts. They are amazing! Thanks for all of the tips!

 

Our Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Sea cruise is September 4th 2014 from Rome to September 11th back to Rome. It seems that there are passengers finishing and ending on varying dates in varying ports so has been difficult to find a thread which particularly relates to those on our cruise.

We would love to hear from others on these dates and in particular if anyone has any spots for or is interested in sharing excursions in Marseille (Sept 8 2014), Nice (Sept 9) or La Spezia(Day excursion to Cinque Terre-Sept 10th).

Any advise on those which anyone has already taken would be appreciated too.

 

Is there anybody out there doing the same date cruise as us????

We are a couple in our early fifties and this is our first cruise and also first trip to Europe. We work hard and are well and truly ready to enjoy this trip of a lifetime!!Europe here we come!:cool:

 

You can start a Roll Call for September 4, 2014 on the Royal Caribbean Roll Calls forum: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=398

 

What if there isn't a Roll Call for my sailing?

 

You can start one! As mentioned above, click http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=34 for ROLL CALLS - Members Only. Locate the Roll Call forum for your line & ship and click the forum name. The forum will open and you click the New Thread button. The Post New Thread screen will open. In the Title text box, type the full name of your ship, your sail date and year. Since we are blessed with an international membership, it is best to show the date in the following format:

 

Full Month, Date, Full Year

July 12, 2013

 

Type your post message in the Message text box with the gray frame. Once you have completed the first post message for your Roll Call, click the Submit New Thread button.

 

Some Roll Calls get started very early, others start closer to sailing dates; some are very active; some tend to be a bit more quiet. Regardless of how active a Roll Call is, this is a great opportunity to meet your fellow Cruise Critic members sailing with you.

 

Once you have located your ROLL CALL you should either bookmark the url, or subscribe to the discussion so that you will receive new posts! To subscribe to a ROLL CALL:

 

- Click on THREAD TOOLS

- Choose Subscribe to this Thread

- Select the frequency of notifications (immediate, daily or weekly digest)

- Don't forget to save your choices!

 

Shore Excursion/Tour Shares in ROLL CALLS

 

This is an excellent benefit of participating on your ROLL CALL. If you are sailing on a specific ship and departure date, you may post your share request on the specific Roll Call thread for your cruise. You are targeting the specific group of people who would be most inclined to share since they are already sailing with you. Please remember, do not start a new Roll Call thread with your share request. Use your existing Roll Call thread to post your share request. Please note, our Guidelines do not allow personal ads looking to share shore excursions/tours, transportation, etc. anywhere else on Cruise Critic.

[marti0127]

Mar915,

 

The cheapest way to get to Marseille would be to walk from the port to the exit of the port where there's a bus stop. The walk is about a mile and marked with a green painted line on the ground all the way to the exit. We referred to this as the green mile. Several other cruise lines are ported along the walk and several offer free shuttle buses to the port exit and city center if you're so inclined hint hint. The bus stop is right there outside the exit gate and the buses are every few minutes. I think it was about 2 Euros into the city center. There were also plenty of cabs at the port that you could take right from the ship to Marseilles but not sure how much it would cost.

 

I'd avoid the ferry the ship chartered. It was taking forever to load, they don't leave before it's full and the cost is outrageous.

 

 

Hello Smiley:

Thank you for the information you provided me before I went. Unfortunately, we missed our connection going to Barcelona due to weather condition in Florida and I missed my ghost tour in Barcelona I guess it will take placed when I go back in the future. I was able to follow your direction to go to Rome by train and I actually team with another family, but we cut it to short going back we almost missed the cruise since we took the train at 4:42 and we didn't get to Civitachea until 6:04 and we have to be in the boat at 6:30 it was very stressful but thanks God we made it. I really enjoyed my time over there even though we ended up taking some of the excursions from RCL and only took one on our own Rome. For Naples we teamed with another family and did a private excursion which it was pretty convenient and nice. Next cruise the Greek Islands possible next year. Thanks again.

Aida:)

[Smiley4]

Aida,

 

You're welcome. I'm glad that I could be of assistance and glad that you had a good time. I'm a planner and would have had a heart attack if I took the train back that late from Rome lol. The good thing in Europe though is if you miss the ship in 1 port just train it to the next port and catch it the next day in an emergency. That's much easier than in the Caribbean.

[poodog]

Great info thanks

[runaway27]

QUOTE=Smiley9713;42917324]In Rome, we took the train from the Civitavecchia port to the Roma St Pietro station. Then it's a short walk to the Vatican and Sistine chapel, Trevi fountain and Spanish steps. We then took a cab to the Colisseum. Everything is real close and the train cost 9 euros each way. MUCH cheaper than the cruise option. We pre booked everything through Rail Europe prior to departure. We bought 2nd class tickets so they weren't train specific. You could take any train that day so if you decided to leave later, start earlier etc it wasn't a problem.

 

In Rome, train time each way about 45 minutes, I'd see what I discussed before, in La Spezia I'd go to the tower in Pisa and visit the various onsite museums then train back to cinque terra. Easily doable in a day. Pre book your climbing tickets if you wish to climb the tower, 18 floors, 188 steps. Train tickets each way were 7 euros and the train took an hour and 20 minutes. In Villefrance, I'd recommend taking the train to Monaco, train time 15 minutes, and seeing the palace, the changing of the guard and the famous Monte Carlo Casino and all the high dollar cars parked in the area. Train each way was 7 euros. We got off in Marseilles but didn't do anything specific so no recommendation there. In Naples, we're scheduled to train to Pompeii then hike the volcano, train time 30 minutes and 7 euros.

 

This cruise is in port 5 consecutive days. Marseilles is 9 am to 6 30 pm and the other 4 are 7 am to 7 pm. Be back by 6 30. Show times are adjusted for the later dining times. We ordered the room service breakfast each morning and checked the 6 30 am to 7 am block, the first option available, and that was our wake up call and we were off the ship by 7 30 each morning.

 

Thanks so much!!! We are going on the October 5th 2014 Cruise and trying to soak up all this info. We have been to Europe before and love the Trains, your suggestion just brought this trip up a notch. Any further do's and Don'ts are Highly appreciated. I also see that No Shorts are allowed at the Vatican? Oh well, I hope its not hot!

[MeinNF]

Hi Smiley,

We'll be doing this cruise in early October and found your comments so far terrific. Keep them coming.

The excursions really add up quickly for 2 people so I'm happy to hear there are more affordable alternatives. So far I've liked the description of these two:

 

• Monaco & Monte Carlo at the Nice stop
  
• Capri w/out lunch at the Naples stop
  

Did you do (or plan to do) either? Comments? Not sure what to do in other ports. Hence my questions:

 

 

• Does the ship dock close enough to the port or do we need to take a tender to go on land?
  
• In some ports is there enough to interest us if we just want to walk around & lunch on our own where the ship docks rather than take an excursion?
  

It's been a long time since we've cruised and both were in the Caribbean. Our European travels have all been land-based so far. This will be our first European cruise and we're very excited.

 

Hi rockyrigatony,

 

Just wondering what week you are on this cruise in October? I'm on the october 5th sailing and have book private excursions for Rome and Naples and I'm looking for more people to join us.

 

thanks