HI New to your board with a few ?'s

[jwlnroe]

Hello everyone!! So I am normally over on the Carnival Boards but this time around looks like Norwegian will be my next cruise line :-) I am looking at a Med Cruise next fall on the Epic from Rome to Barcelona! My questions are how do I go about finding the best pre/post cruise hotels that either have airport or cruise port transfers or the closest/cheapest options that are near the ports. Thank you!! I've never been to Europe this will be our first time. . 15 year anniversary trip so very excited!! Anyways any help or suggestions I'll take whatever I can get. :)

[ColinIllinois]

I'm sure you will get some answers here but you should check out the Ports of Call Europe section of Cruise Critic. Lots of great information there and a good place to start.

[jwlnroe]

I'm sure you will get some answers here but you should check out the Ports of Call Europe section of Cruise Critic. Lots of great information there and a good place to start.

 

oh duh LOL. . can tell I haven't been to the boards in a while totally forgot about that section. Thanks :)

[All-ready2cruise]

Hi Jwlnroe and welcome to NCL board. Here's a forum where you might find/ask for specific information re: hotels, transportation and such.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=596

 

Also, consider checking tripadvisor for the best hotels.

 

Feel free to ask any specific questions re the Epic. I know that sdmike has a wonderful review in his signature for the epic as well. Check out this thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1522322&highlight=epic

 

Hope this helps.

[jwlnroe]

Thanks yes that info helped.. I found 2 hotels but somethings keeping me from booking the cruise. . the deposit isn't refundable am I correct? I will be getting travel insurance as well for sure just hate putting something down I can't get back if I had to cancel. And its Europe which i've never been to before so that scares me but this is one of the top things on my bucket list and I want to experience it for sure! All those who have cruised the Med tell me some great stories/experiences that will help me hit the book button!! :)

 

also do those cruises go on sale what is the likely hood of the price dropping between now and early next year? cruise isn't until september 16th - its the 4 day Rome to Barcelona. Thanks!

Edited October 15, 2014 by jwlnroe

[emcelh]

Thanks yes that info helped.. I found 2 hotels but somethings keeping me from booking the cruise. . the deposit isn't refundable am I correct? I will be getting travel insurance as well for sure just hate putting something down I can't get back if I had to cancel. And its Europe which i've never been to before so that scares me but this is one of the top things on my bucket list and I want to experience it for sure! All those who have cruised the Med tell me some great stories/experiences that will help me hit the book button!! :)

 

also do those cruises go on sale what is the likely hood of the price dropping between now and early next year? cruise isn't until september 16th - its the 4 day Rome to Barcelona. Thanks!

 

Your cruise deposit should be refundable up until final payment is due. If you buy insurance from a 3rd party and not the cruise line you can probably transfer the coverage to another trip. We've had to do that when we changed dates.

[All-ready2cruise]

Thanks yes that info helped.. I found 2 hotels but somethings keeping me from booking the cruise. . the deposit isn't refundable am I correct? I will be getting travel insurance as well for sure just hate putting something down I can't get back if I had to cancel. And its Europe which i've never been to before so that scares me but this is one of the top things on my bucket list and I want to experience it for sure! All those who have cruised the Med tell me some great stories/experiences that will help me hit the book button!! :)

 

also do those cruises go on sale what is the likely hood of the price dropping between now and early next year? cruise isn't until september 16th - its the 4 day Rome to Barcelona. Thanks!

 

Deposits are refundable if you're outside the final payment date. Travel insurance is always something we purchase too so as long as you're outside of the, I think it's 90 days for a suite and 75 days for reg. cabins... balcony and lower you should be able to get your deposit back.

 

Congrats on your 15 year anniversary too. We're booked on the British Isles cruise next year so I'm afraid I don't have any experience with Med cruises but totally understand about "bucket lists", LOL. Try searching for med cruises or even just Jade med cruises b/c although Epic will be home ported in Europe going forward, other ships have done many Europe cruises as well.

 

Some cruises will go on sale closer to the sail date so watch for price changes and contact your TA or PCC to attempt to take advantage of them.

 

Good luck.

[garycarla]

In Barcelona, I would not book near the airport. Book on or near Ramblas. Enjoy the city. Lots to see and do. We do extra nights on both end of a cruise out of Barcelona.

[jwlnroe]

I booked the Hotel Oasis for Barcelona and Relais Roma Centro in Rome so we can try and see as much as we can while we are in those two locations before and after the cruise. I have a tight budget so hoping those are decent places.

[mugtech]

Our first trip to Europe included the 12 day Grand Med, loved every day.

I am surprised you are traveling from Wisconsin to Europe and only taking a 4 day cruise.

I am sure it is a budget thing, just seems a shame to spend as much time and way more money on the travel and hotels than on the actual cruise. ENJOY!!!

[jwlnroe]

I'm an airline employee so flights r minimal and my husband wants to go to Italy and I want a cruise so sorta splitting it up but I haven't decided 100% yet what we should do. We will be spending nights prior in each port but yes it's a budget thing at the moment.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[OceanDreaming2]

I am surprised you are traveling from Wisconsin to Europe and only taking a 4 day cruise.

I am sure it is a budget thing, just seems a shame to spend as much time and way more money on the travel and hotels than on the actual cruise. ENJOY!!!

 

My thoughts too. Traveling from Wisconsin to Europe is not going to easy and not cheap (unless you're traveling with miles). Perhaps you meant 14 days and not 4?

 

Our first European cruise was out of Venice but we transferred in Madrid. It was so confusing! Be prepared for that, too.

 

For Venice, I was able to find a hotel for 2 nights pre-cruise using eBay. It ended up being the same hotel NCL was selling for their pre-cruise package.

 

Also, do your homework about the Epic. Some people do not like the bathroom layout, for example.

 

I'm sure this 15th anniversary cruise will be a very memorable experience!

[jwlnroe]

My thoughts too. Traveling from Wisconsin to Europe is not going to easy and not cheap (unless you're traveling with miles). Perhaps you meant 14 days and not 4?

 

I work for an airline so flights aren't an issue - its mostly trying to pull a trip off like this in less than a year when we have a new home we are trying to remodel, and we both work, homeschool our kids, etc. . so we need a nice trip this time around and my hubs isn't a huge beach fan even though I love it!!! I've been to so many places except Europe and my hubby wants to go there so thinking of the best way to see the most in just a short time.

 

Also, do your homework about the Epic. Some people do not like the bathroom layout, for example.

 

I saw how they are laid out not a huge deal for hubby and I we can pull the curtain but weve been married for almost 15 years lol so no biggy on the layout :-)

 

I'm sure this 15th anniversary cruise will be a very memorable experience!

 

Thanks I will keep looking into longer cruises too but my husband also has to work :( so the internet is a big issue on cruise ships.. we took one back in January and it was very stressful for him because he got swamped with work that others couldn't' handle but thankfully his work paid for the internet packages because he bought alot of them. so that is another reason why its a shorter cruise to accommodate him if he had to work he isn't without decent internet for more than a few days.