Miscellaneous Med Cruise notes

[Cardinal22]

Just returned from the Brilliance's 12-day med cruise and used taxiinternacional for the 3 transfers (airport-hotel, hotel-dock, dock-airport) and I was very pleased with their service and HIGHLY recommend them. They were great - on time, professional, and drivers were courteous and helpful.

 

Stayed at the Regencia Colon, a 3-star hotel located in the gothic area, within steps to the Cathedral and less than 15 minutes walk to La Ramblas. Although the hotel is nothing special and rooms are a bit sparse, it was clean (I'm picky about this), fully air conditioned, and the staff was very helpful and friendly. Made my reservations 6 months prior to the trip and got a good rate through Expedia - 85 euros/night for a double room.

 

Things I was thankful I brought:

 

1. Clear 12 pouch shoe bag to hang on closet door to hold small items.

2. Small batterey-operated fan and small mister. They are a MUST if you ever go to the Med this time of the year. Took them on all tours and it helped TREMENDOUSLY. Both were highly coveted by those who didn't have them.

3. Small bottle of Downey wrinkle-release. Worked well on most items and it left a nice scent on the clothes.

4. A pair of pillowcases. Used them on the plane, hotel, and ship's pillows and had the ship laundry wash them a few times during the trip.

5. A can of air freshner. No fan in the ship's bathrooms, enough said.

6. Ziploc bags in all sizes.

7. Purse size hand sanitizers and wipes.

8. Small digital kitchen timer. I always travel with one. It's a great back-up to hotel alarm clocks (which I sometimes have trouble setting properly).

 

Brought but didn't need:

 

1. Extension Cord. I stayed in a Junior Suite and had enough outlets to charge camera and iPOD batteries. Don't know the situation in other cabins.

2. My huge supply of toilet paper. I took private and cruise tours and the guides were most helpful in taking us to well-supplied bathrooms.

 

Wish I brought:

 

Small gifts from home for my cabin attendant, waiter, and assistant waiter.

 

I'd be glad to answer any questions you have.

[LouCru1033]

Tried to contact taxiinternacional on their website and got no response. Any tips???Thanks:)

[Cardinal22]

www.taxiinternacion@terra.es. Angie has been very good at returning emails promptly.

[Goodfriend]

Was your ship scheduled to stop in Kusadasi? If so, did you go or was it skipped?

[Northern Bear]

I was wondering if you think that reservations are a must for this? We are a group of 4 and were just planning on grabbing a taxi at the airport. As we are getting in 3 days early, we are in no rush.

 

Should we be looking at booking something in advance?

 

NB

 

(We have ships transfers booked for the ship to the airport)

[mitaxi]

"Wish I brought:

 

Small gifts from home for my cabin attendant, waiter, and assistant waiter. "

 

 

I have read conflicting reports on "to gift or not" - so having gone recently - what WOULD you have taken for small gifts.

Appreciate the input

[Cardinal22]

Our ship was scheduled to stop in Kusadasi but at check-in there were flyers given out noting that it was decided that because of recent events, Kusadasi would be dropped from the itinerary and we would spend an extra day in Athens instead. We also missed Mykonos because of 90 knot winds on our way there and they closed the port so we got in extra early in Athens.

 

I don't think there would be any problem getting a taxi from the barcelona airport into town. The line for taxis, at least when we arrived, looked to be about 30 people. I was traveling with my daughter and had never been to Barcelona so I wanted to have someone waiting for us. It was a few euros more per trip but in my opinion, well worth it.

 

As for what small gifts to bring, I live near San Francisco so I had thought of buying something with a San Francisco motif like a small wooden cable car filled with candy. I could kick myself for not following through with that thought.

[TexasDH]

Thank you for the tips... I appreciate it, as I know I would forget a few of those items! :)

[BrianandSue]

Thank you so much for sharing so soon after you got back. The information is great! I leave in 3 weeks and am getting excited but anxious about what to bring or not to bring. That is the question. ;)

[sebritish]

Thank you for posting so soon after your return.... Has RCC dropped Kusadashi permanently?

 

As far as formal nights I keep getting different reports, so is it 2 or 3... would appreciate any information you can give....we don't go until June next year but love to plan ahead

[muse_clio]

Wonderful notes. Very helpful.

Could you tell us your tour guides/driver in the various ports and how you found their services?

[Cardinal22]

There were 2 formal nights on our 12-day cruise and women wore everything from prom dress-type gowns to nice pantsuits.

 

Our group did both RCI and private tours. My cousin contracted "My Roma" tour operators for Rome and Florence/Pisa and all 3 guides were great. Carlo was our guide in Rome and he was very passionate about his work and had a great sense of humor. I liked him the best. Alexandra was our guide in Florence and we changed guides in Pisa. Can't remember his name but he was wonderful as well.

 

I do not remember the tour company we had for Athens but the tour wasn't memorable.

[sebritish]

Did you go on the ships tour in Naples or a private guide...? we have a private guide booked for there and Villafranche but are concerned about getting back to the ship on time, especially the Naples one...

[mitaxi]

Upon returning to Barcelona - is a 11:30 flight reasonable amount of time to make?

How far ahead did you make the the arrangments for the taxi transfers?

Thank you

[Cardinal22]

My daughter and I booked the Exclusive Amalfi tour through RCI because I didn't want to deal with researching a private tour even though I thought RCI was overpriced at $345/pp. We did, however, have a great tour with a wonderful guide and we were in 16 passenger mini-vans rather than a large bus and had a memorable 4 course lunch (included) at the exclusive Grand Hotel in Sorrento.

 

Other people I know who booked private tours didn't have any problems making it back to the ship. Just make sure at the beginning of the tour the guide/driver has a clear understanding of when you have to be back at the ship and pad the time a bit.

 

Note: If you are prone to motion-sickness and plan to drive/tour the amalfi coast you might be wise to take precautions as it is curvey in places. A woman sitting in back of our van was feeling a bit sick during the tour.

 

I made my taxi reservations about 2 months prior to my trip. I think the earlier you do it the better as I read on this board that someome wanted to book Barcelona Taxi company 2 weeks before this particular cruise but they were already booked up.

[Cardinal22]

You should not have any problems making an 11:30 flight. A couple of days into the cruise I went to Guest Relations and told them I would like to leave the ship early when we got back into Barcelona. She asked what time my flight was scheduled for and I told her noon (it was really 1:00). She said no problem and that I would have an 8:00am departure noted.

 

The morning of departure we headed to our designated meeting place at 7:30 and at 7:50 they called our "color" over the PA system and we were at the airport by 8:45. Retrieving luggage was easy and Manuel from Taxiinternacional was waiting for us and whisked us off to the airport.

[txtravelgal]

Wonderful information! Can you tell me where you bought your battery-powered fan and mister?

[Cardinal22]

I bought a fan from Brookstone and it worked beautifully. It is shaped like a small hand mirror, is quiet, and has variable speed. You can also get a good, less expensive fan from Magellan's catalog.

 

The mister I brought is actually a tiny aerosol can filled with water. It's by Evian and you can find it at a good department store or cosmetic store like Sephora. My aunt had a less expensive and resuseable version that worked beautifully. She bought a small, purse-size plastic spray bottle at a drug store and filled it with water before our tours.

[watercruise]

took brilliance of the seas 7/23 12 night cruise

 

had 4 fabulous private drivers and cars

Villefranche: Hans Weber- superb tour of cote d'azur

RCL tours Hans www.***** <http://www.*****/> . info@*****

 

011+33 6 23 02 49 79

livorno: Giovanni Sirabella - excellent

giovannisirabella@interfree.it www.tttuscany.com <http://www.tttuscany.com/> cell phone 011+39.347.6949496

great tour of tuscany vineyards

Civitavecchia, Stefano Costantini fabulous tour visit the etruscan tombs, although he does everything in rome as well

 

Mobile: ***39 339-3525028 Stefano Costantini allagrande@hotmail.it

Amalfi coast tour Francesco Marrapese - superb

 

cell.: 011+39 3383387393

 

web site: www.francescomarrapese.com <http://www.francescomarrapese.com/>

great trip all around except for missing kusadasi

[muse_clio]

took brilliance of the seas 7/23 12 night cruise

had 4 fabulous private drivers and cars

watercruise, thanks for the great info. Will put it to use! :)

[Goodfriend]

Thanks Watercruise. WE have booked Francesco Marapese for the Amalfi Coast and are glad to hear you consider him superb. This will be our 3rd time to the Naples Port and really wanted the opportunity to see the Amafi Coast without having to do Pompeii again.