Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

First ever Cruise on Norwegian Epic Western Mediterranean 7 nights

Melbourne Angel

By Melbourne Angel,
in First Time Cruisers

 Share

Recommended Posts

Melbourne Angel

Melbourne Angel

Posted
Posted

Hi there,

My husband and I are going on our very first cruise ever and we are very excited. We will be on the Norwegian Epic and will be at sea from May 8 2016 to May 15 2016. We will be leaving from and arriving back to Barcelona. The ports we will be stopping at are:

 

Tuesday 10 May (7am-7pm) - Naples/Pompeii

Wednesday 11 May (6am-7pm) - Civitavecchia (Rome)

Thursday 12 May (7am-7pm) - Livorno (Florence/Pisa)

Friday 13 May (8am-6pm) - Cannes

Saturday 14 May (7am-4pm) - Provence (Marseille)

 

We are trying to work out land tours/activities at each port and will really appreciate any advice on how to book, who to book with, etc.

 

Thanks heaps :):)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Essiesmom "Live from...." Rare

Essiesmom

Posted
Posted

You have left it very late to arrange independent excursions. Your best hope now is to join the ROLL CALL for your cruise and hope that some members have openings on the excursions they have arranged. To find your ROLL CALL, go back to the main boards page here, scroll down to ROLL CALLS, click on NCL, then EPIC, and look for a thread with the dates for your cruise. A guidebook such as Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports will help you work out what you can do on your own, but you don't have much time left to obtain and read it. Some reading on the Ports of Call boards here will help, but you may find you have to book ships tours. EM

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Captain Canuck

Captain Canuck

Posted
Posted
Hi there,

My husband and I are going on our very first cruise ever and we are very excited. We will be on the Norwegian Epic and will be at sea from May 8 2016 to May 15 2016. We will be leaving from and arriving back to Barcelona. The ports we will be stopping at are:

 

Tuesday 10 May (7am-7pm) - Naples/Pompeii

Wednesday 11 May (6am-7pm) - Civitavecchia (Rome)

Thursday 12 May (7am-7pm) - Livorno (Florence/Pisa)

Friday 13 May (8am-6pm) - Cannes

Saturday 14 May (7am-4pm) - Provence (Marseille)

 

We are trying to work out land tours/activities at each port and will really appreciate any advice on how to book, who to book with, etc.

 

Thanks heaps :):)

 

 

in Naples we planned to use local train to go from Port to Pompeii...lots of info online to plan this...ship then put on a bus to and from the ship to Pompeii for reasonable price..drops you off at site then picks up in a few hours..ample time to explore Pompeii

I would have on your own planned but be able to switch gears if easier option is open

 

other option in Napes is to go to Capri. There are ferries and hydrofoils from port to Capri. You can also go take a ferry from there to Sorrento and take a train back.

 

Amalfi coast is also doable. but traffic there is a nightmare. We do not normally take ships excursions as they are expensive but did so on one of our earlier cruises that stopped in Naples as the ship will wait for their tours if late. Our tour was late and the ship waited. If you are on your own it would likely leave.

 

 

ROME

 

easy day trip on train. search on Cruise Critic. people have put full details up with maps and photos of trip. get a return train ticket (use machine to stamp it in the station ) as this also acts as metro ticket in Rome. Plan on a few sites in Rome as you will not have time to do everything. Also, if you go into the collosseum or the Vatican or Vatican museum these take lots of time. for that reason if you can afford it a tour may be worth it as it will cut the lines.

 

Livorno

 

We did the train to Florence and stopped in Pisa on the way back. If you want to see David get tickets online. Time spent there means Pisa a gamble. If taking the train try and plan on not taking the last possible train back to give you a second chance should you miss a train.

 

Cannes

 

We just walked into port here. There are great views up the hill to the left of the port.

 

Hope you have a great trip. Its been awhile since we have done these ports so I suggest using search function in cruise critic to get up to date advice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rjdcruises4fun

rjdcruises4fun

Posted
Posted

I would go under the Roll Call Tool and look for your cruise to see if there is a roll call. Usually you will find other people in the group that have booked excursions. There are also shared excursion that you can look for based on your cruise dates. For example, one that we know of is:

http://www.shareashoreexcursioninitaly.com/

Hope that helps.

Rachel

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Melbourne Angel

Melbourne Angel

Posted
  • Author
Posted
in Naples we planned to use local train to go from Port to Pompeii...lots of info online to plan this...ship then put on a bus to and from the ship to Pompeii for reasonable price..drops you off at site then picks up in a few hours..ample time to explore Pompeii

I would have on your own planned but be able to switch gears if easier option is open

 

other option in Napes is to go to Capri. There are ferries and hydrofoils from port to Capri. You can also go take a ferry from there to Sorrento and take a train back.

 

Amalfi coast is also doable. but traffic there is a nightmare. We do not normally take ships excursions as they are expensive but did so on one of our earlier cruises that stopped in Naples as the ship will wait for their tours if late. Our tour was late and the ship waited. If you are on your own it would likely leave.

 

 

ROME

 

easy day trip on train. search on Cruise Critic. people have put full details up with maps and photos of trip. get a return train ticket (use machine to stamp it in the station ) as this also acts as metro ticket in Rome. Plan on a few sites in Rome as you will not have time to do everything. Also, if you go into the collosseum or the Vatican or Vatican museum these take lots of time. for that reason if you can afford it a tour may be worth it as it will cut the lines.

 

Livorno

 

We did the train to Florence and stopped in Pisa on the way back. If you want to see David get tickets online. Time spent there means Pisa a gamble. If taking the train try and plan on not taking the last possible train back to give you a second chance should you miss a train.

 

Cannes

 

We just walked into port here. There are great views up the hill to the left of the port.

 

Hope you have a great trip. Its been awhile since we have done these ports so I suggest using search function in cruise critic to get up to date advice.

 

Thank you so much for the info :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
fabnfortysomething Great Review Rare

fabnfortysomething

Posted
Posted

just a note

because the ship doesn't call at a non EU port there will be Spanish VAT payable at about 12% on all onboard purchases

including bar drinks

 

If you don't know about this beforehand it's a nasty surprise when you get the letter in your cabin informing you

 

[nothing to do with NCL by the way-applies to all sailings that don't call at a port outside EU]

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TruckerDave

TruckerDave

Posted
Posted (edited)
Not a thing! You're totally set. You may want to put a clean pair of underwear in your back pocket. Just a thought. ;)

 

I'm just going to wear two pair on the way over. Front/back, inside out front back again times 2 and I have 8 days covered. :p

Edited by TruckerDave
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Melbourne Angel

Melbourne Angel

Posted
  • Author
Posted
just a note

because the ship doesn't call at a non EU port there will be Spanish VAT payable at about 12% on all onboard purchases

including bar drinks

 

If you don't know about this beforehand it's a nasty surprise when you get the letter in your cabin informing you

 

[nothing to do with NCL by the way-applies to all sailings that don't call at a port outside EU]

 

Ooooo that's good to know. Thank you

Link to comment
Share on other sites
2specialkidsforme

2specialkidsforme

Posted
Posted

My first time on the Epic I sailed round trip from Rome (Civi). I was solo and first time in Europe so I took NCL excursions and really enjoyed them.

 

Here are the NCL excursions I took:

Naples: Pompeii/Sorrento and Capri - very long day but I really enjoyed each stop. Loved Sorrento so much my husband and I went there for a week this past October and did lots of side trips.

 

Livorno: I took the excursion to the Cinque Terre - loved it! We visited three of the villages - took a bus to first and boat and train between other two then bus again back to ship.

 

Provence: I took a shorter excursion and visited Aix in Provence. Had a very enjoyable day.

 

 

If you arrive in Barcelona a day or two prior to sailing, I highly recommend going to Park Guell. Absolutely beautiful!!!

 

 

I have since done more traveling in Europe and additional cruises and have done private tours, etc.

 

In case you can't arrange any private tours - I would recommend the tours I did take. Each was well organized and I felt they were worth the money I paid.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Melbourne Angel

Melbourne Angel

Posted
  • Author
Posted
My first time on the Epic I sailed round trip from Rome (Civi). I was solo and first time in Europe so I took NCL excursions and really enjoyed them.

 

Here are the NCL excursions I took:

Naples: Pompeii/Sorrento and Capri - very long day but I really enjoyed each stop. Loved Sorrento so much my husband and I went there for a week this past October and did lots of side trips.

 

Livorno: I took the excursion to the Cinque Terre - loved it! We visited three of the villages - took a bus to first and boat and train between other two then bus again back to ship.

 

Provence: I took a shorter excursion and visited Aix in Provence. Had a very enjoyable day.

 

 

If you arrive in Barcelona a day or two prior to sailing, I highly recommend going to Park Guell. Absolutely beautiful!!!

 

 

I have since done more traveling in Europe and additional cruises and have done private tours, etc.

 

In case you can't arrange any private tours - I would recommend the tours I did take. Each was well organized and I felt they were worth the money I paid.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!!!

 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I am getting excited now :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Quilting_Cruiser

Quilting_Cruiser

Posted
Posted
I loved the Epic! If the Blue Man Group is still performing' date=' make sure to go. They are fabulous and indescribable.[/quote']

 

They haven't been on the Epic for I think more than a year. I sailed on the Epic last month and Priscilla Queen of the Dessert was the "big" show. SO good!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...