Cash on Board on a Mediterranean Cruise

[Therobielyn's]

Hello All,

We are taking a big family cruise aboard Allure of the Seas in October of 2015 in the Mediterranean and we have a few questions.

1) Obviously, we will need Euro's to spend ashore, but what about on the ship? Do we pay in Euro's at the Casino and at Guest Services to set up our account or do we use US Dollars?

2) How easy is it to take a train from Civitavecchia to Rome? What about a shuttle bus? Any other advice for ports in Palma De Mallorca, Mersailles, Florence and Naples?

3) Is there a decent and inexpensive hotel in Barcelona that is fairly close to the main sights that will sleep 4 people?

 

This is our first trip to Europe and we are so excited. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Clarea]

The casino uses USD. Your onboard account will also be denominated in USD, however Guest Services will accept other currencies as payment, though their exchange rate might not be the best.

[CyberTag]

Hello All' date='

We are taking a big family cruise aboard Allure of the Seas in October of 2015 in the Mediterranean and we have a few questions.

1) Obviously, we will need Euro's to spend ashore, but what about on the ship? Do we pay in Euro's at the Casino and at Guest Services to set up our account or do we use US Dollars?

2) How easy is it to take a train from Civitavecchia to Rome? What about a shuttle bus? Any other advice for ports in Palma De Mallorca, Mersailles, Florence and Naples?

3) Is there a decent and inexpensive hotel in Barcelona that is fairly close to the main sights that will sleep 4 people?

 

This is our first trip to Europe and we are so excited. Any help is greatly appreciated.[/quote']

 

Everything on board will be in USD. You can use the ATMs while in port to get euros. We booked a tour through Rome in Limo and they took us around Rome. Best money spent!

 

We stayed 3 days pre cruise in Barcelona. We are a family of 5 so rented an apartment for our pre cruise. It was wonderful and I highly recommend it.

[alcpa1]

An apartment in Barcelona is your best bet. You can find references on the Ports of Call boards or Trip Advisor or any of the larger travel sites that we cannot mention since they also sell cruises. Most of the older hotels in Barcelona have rooms that are hardly spacious for two, much less 4. If you are two adults and two small children you might look at more modern hotels that have larger rooms and a sofa bed. There are plenty of rental apartments on Las Ramblas within walking distance of the Plaza Cataluña. This is the center of the tourist area.

I can only speak to Florence, Naples and Rome. You will dock in Naples and there is a train to Pompeii and beyond. You will have to take a provided shuttle to the port entrance and from there you can walk or cab to the train station. This is the easy one.

There is a train to Florence and there is a train to Rome. Both trips are about an hour or more depending on express or local service. As far as I know there is no bus/shuttle service to either city. The one caveat to taking a train in Italy would be a transportation strike. Strikes are announced but do occur and in order to avoid a disappointing interruption to your plans I would instead recommend you join the Roll Call for your sailing if you have not already done so, and plan an excursion with fellow passengers. European excursions are expensive for many reasons BUT you will get the most out of every day by visiting the Italian cities in this manner. Private tours with guides will get you into the sites you want to see without endless lines and great wastes of time thus seeing more with an escort than you could ever see on your own.

Have a wonderful cruise and if you have additional questions please do not hesitate to ask both here and on the Roll Call.

[Therobielyn's]

Everything on board will be in USD. You can use the ATMs while in port to get euros. We booked a tour through Rome in Limo and they took us around Rome. Best money spent!

 

We stayed 3 days pre cruise in Barcelona. We are a family of 5 so rented an apartment for our pre cruise. It was wonderful and I highly recommend it.

 

Do you remember the name of the apartment in Barcelona? Do you remember the cost? Any contact information?

Also the name of the limo company in Rome?

 

Cheers

[CyberTag]

Do you remember the name of the apartment in Barcelona? Do you remember the cost? Any contact information?

Also the name of the limo company in Rome?

 

Cheers

 

This is actually the apartment we rented: http://www.vrbo.com/296425

 

I was very skeptical' date=' but would not hesitate to stay here again. There are 3 bedrooms, which was perfect for our family. Lots of room, a washer and dryer, free wi fi, close to metro and walking distance to lots of restaurants, ATM, markets, bus stops, a full kitchen, and a wonderful roof top with seating. I know they have smaller units, which may be cheaper for you since you don't need so much space. One thing we liked about the location is that it was centrally located and quiet. A lot of people like the hustle and bustle of Las a Ramblas, which is great for visiting, but we weren't interested in staying there.

 

We hooked up with another family on our cruise and used Rome in Limo for a private excursion instead of the cruise excursions. Here is their site: http://www.romeinlimo.com. You can hire them for a party of 4, but it would be cheaper to add additional people to your group. You can message me at [email']ktaggard@surewest.net[/email] if you have any other questions.

Edited June 5, 2014 by CyberTag

[shay869]

Do you remember the name of the apartment in Barcelona? Do you remember the cost? Any contact information?

Also the name of the limo company in Rome?

 

Cheers

 

We have just back from Barcelona (Liberty of the seas cruise).

we stayed at Erik Vokel apartments on Gran via.

They have very nice apartments.And the location was excellent!

You can check their prices in this website:

http://www.ericvokel.com/hotel?id=barcelona-gran-via-suites

 

And you can find a lot of reviews about the apartments here:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187497-d2062882-Reviews-Eric_Vokel_Boutique_Apartments_Gran_Via_Suites-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

 

We will stay their on our next cruise from Barcelona, for sure.

[capthr]

Was on May 9-17 RCCL SPLENDOUR OF THE SEAS cruise in Med. In Barcelona we stayed at Torre Catalunya a beautiful hotel not far from the main sites and across the street from large train station and also the tourist hop on hop off bus. The room was large, we had 3 adults with 1 1/2 baths 1 bedroom and they set up another bed in living room. As far as excursions we used Share a Shore Excursion in Florence, Rome and Naples. They were great and I will use them again. All the drivers spoke English had great senses of humor and were very knowledgeable. They were always waiting for us and were always in contact with the tour guides at the various sites. Everything went off w/o a hitch. From what I've heard Rome Limo is also great so either would be a great choice. A few days before we left NY I contacted them to make a change in the itinary on the tour in Florence, "Share" Worked it out with the others in the group and coordinated everything with the driver and it went off perfectly.

[denisey]

The best purchase I made before my Med cruise was Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise port book. It had clear instructions on how to get to the main attractions for each port. We did most of the ports using public transportation and had a great time.

 

With a family, I can see using a tour guide in some of the ports. I agree with the above poster on gathering information from your roll call. The ports of call boards are usefull there also.

 

Have a fabulous trip!

[capthr]

The best purchase I made before my Med cruise was Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise port book. It had clear instructions on how to get to the main attractions for each port. We did most of the ports using public transportation and had a great time.

 

With a family, I can see using a tour guide in some of the ports. I agree with the above poster on gathering information from your roll call. The ports of call boards are usefull there also.

 

Have a fabulous trip!

 

Actually just returned from trip and it was great one of the best thing s t about taking excursions is The skipper the line tickets to the sites, w/o them You Will online for hours.