Island Princess- Grand Med May 2015 Appreciate suggestions

[dramirez]

Thank you for posting this thread. I am looking at this cruise for my 25th wedding anniversary. I have been to all the ports except for Barcelona and Turkey. My husband has never been to Europe but loves history. I chose this cruise because of the excellent itinerary. I agree - I have never done private excursions but I think that it is the best way to go on this cruise (if you can afford it.) For this occasion, we would splurge.

[pppatpc2]

This was our favorite itinerary, but boy were we tired. We took the Amalfi bus trip out of Naples and it was spectacular! If you go, try to sit on the right side of the bus as all the scenery is on that side. We also took the Ephesus tour and loved it (both from Princess). Also the Blue Mosque, St. Sophia, Bosphorus cruise trip from Princess. Venice is a terrific place to wander on your own, we bought tickets for St. Mark's online before we left which allowed us to skip the line. We did Athens on our own, but were sorry we did. Public transportation is not close to the port and hard to find, then you have to climb the streets to the Acropolis (ugh!). We took the Princess transportation to Florence and did the sights on our own, once again purchasing museum passes online in advance lets you skip the lines. Very walkable. Mykonos, like someone else said, is right there for the exploring. You can't go wrong no matter what you choose. We met people on this cruise that did the same itinerary two years later because they couldn't choose between the excursions. Congratulations on your 30 years!

[hoist sails]

We are sailing June 3 from Barcelona, and I'm looking at the excursions. Several of them are labeled strenuous. We are active but that label scares me. For example, we could not climb the hill to the Acropolis. I'm now wondering about getting a private car tour. Does anyone have suggestions on that or want to share with us?

[Colo Cruiser]

We are sailing June 3 from Barcelona, and I'm looking at the excursions. Several of them are labeled strenuous. We are active but that label scares me. For example, we could not climb the hill to the Acropolis. I'm now wondering about getting a private car tour. Does anyone have suggestions on that or want to share with us?

 

Have you joined the roll call for your cruise?

[daydreamer62]

We are sailing June 3 from Barcelona, and I'm looking at the excursions. Several of them are labeled strenuous. We are active but that label scares me. For example, we could not climb the hill to the Acropolis. I'm now wondering about getting a private car tour. Does anyone have suggestions on that or want to share with us?

 

We are also on the June 3 sailing . Ive booked a few ship tours and am going to book a rome in limo tour for Rome that i hope we can share with others. I was contemplating the ship tour for Athens that has free time in the Plaka after the acropolis but could also do a private tour .. Join the roll call. There area few of us there already

[hoist sails]

I've not joined the roll call yet. I just found it. I did find a limo tour in Rome by Roberto Brunitti of limousinrome.com that will take us from the dock and around Rome and back to the dock for $512 (at today's exchange rate) He said that was per car or minivan up to 8 people. We would have to book our own tickets to things we wanted to see and he made some suggestions. The math on that looks really good compared to the ship's excursions. I'm still looking for Athens.

[The country girl]

Thank you for posting this thread. I am looking at this cruise for my 25th wedding anniversary. I have been to all the ports except for Barcelona and Turkey. My husband has never been to Europe but loves history. I chose this cruise because of the excellent itinerary. I agree - I have never done private excursions but I think that it is the best way to go on this cruise (if you can afford it.) For this occasion, we would splurge.

 

 

 

would you be interested in sharing full day Rome, private

[Colo Cruiser]

would you be interested in sharing full day Rome, private

 

 

Have you tried posting this on the roll call for your cruise? :)

[The country girl]

Have you tried posting this on the roll call for your cruise? :)

 

 

 

 

as you can guess, i am new to this and no i have not posted it on roll call, will try thanks

[Colo Cruiser]

as you can guess, i am new to this and no i have not posted it on roll call, will try thanks

 

 

 

Scroll down to the bottom of the page on the right side "forum jump" and click for the drop down box and go to Princess roll calls. ;)

[drbryanj]

My wife and I will be sailing on the Island Princess for its May 22, 2015 Grand Mediterranean Venice to Barcelona 12 day itinerary. We will be celebrating our 30th anniversary during the voyage. We're booked into Baja 229 mini-suite (can't afford a suite, but hoping for an upsell). We've only cruised on a couple of 3-5 day trips before, and its been at least 10 years since we sailed with Princess. I"m asking for any insights, suggestions, warnings, recommendations, etc.

 

I know this will be the first sailing coming off its drydock; should I have any concerns, anything to watch out for. Our actual anniversary date is during an at sea day. I was thinking of doing spa day with massages and then the Ultimate Balcony dining for that evening. I saw their Anniversary and their Vow renewal packages. Does anyone have any experience with these, ie are they worth it, or are they too corny?

 

We have first seating for dinner, the idea being that if we're running late in port, it would probably be easier to switch to a later time than an earlier time. Are the specialty restaurants, Sabatini's and Bayou Cafe worthwhile, and if so, worthwhile for a second go round, or a second go round for the UBD.

 

Is the Sanctuary on this type of trip with only 3 at sea days worthwhile?

 

We will be In Venice for a few days prior and Barcelona for a few days after, so I'm not too concerned about timing regarding embarkation or disembarkation times. However, what is the likelihood that all the specialty restaurant reservations or Sanctuary reservations are gone by the time we board if it is later in the day?

 

We are not the privileged platinum or elite cruisers, but may want to take advantage of the ship laundry as compared to DIY in the laundry rooms. For the common folk, what kind of turn around can be expected?

 

I know, we''ll have other questions, but the last for now is any thoughts on the Princess Port Excursions offered, or are some ports better for DIY.

 

Thanks to the community

 

Ed and Julie

Hi there. My wife and I have our 31st wedding anniversary coming right after we get home. We are on this cruise and we are also in Barcelona a couple days after. We live in Pasadena, CA. Maybe we will bump into each other on this trip.