14 day Italian Med - what to expect?

[sapphireblue]

What a great idea! I may have to steal this from you!:D

 

Please do! A lot of what I did to prepare for my trip came from someone else here on Cruise Critic.

 

I also followed and re-read the following thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1668619

 

This is an amazing resource filled with great advice and humorous stories for anyone considering and planning a Med cruise. Sherri does amazing reports of her cruises.

[Redrobo]

Wow! Thank you for all the great replies! This is exactly what I was hoping to hear.

 

So it sounds like I will need to get some Euros for tipping on tours. Would the ships crew also prefer tips in Euros? Or is the pound preferred? I would guess pounds if the ship is based in the UK. Oh, and that raises another question for me- will our on-board account be charged in dollars, Euros, or pounds? What will the ships currency be?

 

I am glad to hear that people tend to dress a little more for dinner. Call me old fashioned, but I like to dress for dinner. And on that subject, does anyone know how many formal/semi-formal nights we can expect on a 14 night cruise?

 

Also, my DD asked me to find out if anyone knew anything about the teen club - she will be 13.5 years old and is hoping that the youth activities will be interesting. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

I am so excited to take this cruise. I keep looking at the itinerary an gasping at the thought of what we will have the opportunity to see! As a high school history teacher, I talk about so many of these places all the time and it thrills me to know that I will finally get to see, hear, smell, touch, taste some of them!

 

Again, thank you CC'rs for your wealth of knowledge and advice! You are the best!!

 

Lorie

 

Are you going to start a meet and mingle for your cruise, generally good for information.

[Merly]

We generally do 14 nights, 7 isn't enough for us. We have sailed from Southempton twice and both times was a good experience. We generally fly to port so have to stick to the baggage allowance. I must be a good packer because neither of us wear the same thing twice, always dress formal for formal nights and smart for dinner other nights ( DH takes his tux) and other than using a wash and fold for undies etc I have never done any laundry.

 

As others have said it will be tiring but a fantastic experience. If in Rome I would recommend the HOHO bus to see all the sites.

 

People are generally polite, friendly and helpful. Some of the tourist sites will be very busy though at that time of year. Had a wonderful time, I am sure you will.

[zxc]

I was on a 14 night Italian Med out of Southampton last summer 2014.

 

I am from Australia. As others have mention, majority of the passengers were British. Food, entertainment and activities were slightly adapted to suit their tastes and interests. I went with an open mind, and thoroughly enjoyed my 2 weeks immersion into British culture!

 

Embarkation in Southampton was quick and efficient.

 

Formal nights were taken very seriously. Even little kids were dressed up in tuxs and gowns.

 

Evening headliner shows were heavily targeted towards the British. All the guest performers (comedians, hypnotist, pianist, singer, juggler) were from the UK. They were fantastic and of high quality, even if I didn't get all of their jokes :p

 

If you plan to visit any cathedrals in the ports, shoulders and legs need to be covered. No shorts or bare shoulders.

 

Lightweight clothes (socks, underwear, t-shirts) can be washed in bathroom sink, and line-dried on the retractable clothesline above the shower.

 

There was a different menu every night in the MDR. No repeat menus for 14 dinners.

Edited April 10, 2015 by zxc