Solo Transatlantic - Jewel or Epic?

[Newbcruiser1]

Opinions/Advice/Experience-sharing Needed!

 

First off - I am posting this on both the RCI board and the NCL board to hopefully get opinions from what might be "both sides".

 

I am looking to take my 12th cruise overall, and 2nd Transatlantic cruise this fall. The 2 options that are within reach price-wise and timing wise are as follows:

 

1. NCL Epic - 13 night TA from Barcelona to Port Canaveral with stops in Tenerife and San Juan. Room would likely be a studio (closet, albeit funky colored), unless the price drops on other categories. Bonus - would include 1 "free" perk, of which I would select either the ultimate drink package or ultimate dining package. The con there is that the service fees on the drink package are about $200 - which is likely less than or equal to would spend on drinks if I didn't have the package.

 

2. RCI Jewel of the Seas - 12 night from Rome to San Juan with stops in Valencia, Lisbon, and the Azores. No bonus perks or OBC offer BUT I would have Diamond Lounge access for evening happy hour (among other perks - this would be my first cruise as diamond).

 

So the reasons I am torn:

 

- I am a 30ish female who will be traveling solo. I would like to spend a bit of time (1-3 days) in the embarkation port pre-cruise and am thinking about safety and ease and cost of transportation. Also, I have been to Italy on a land trip many years ago and spent 4 days in Rome so I'm not totally dying to go back.

 

- Getting from Rome to Civitavecchia sounds like a hassle as a young solo female who admittedly is NOT a light packer. I may be able to get my luggage onto the train WITH assistance, but that's about it! I will have a 30" rolling suitcase and a small arsenal of carry-on items (crossbody purse, tote bag, and small wheeled carry on). Yes I can manage lugging all of the bags quite easily for short smooth distances (from curbside through the airport and vice versa) primarily because they all nest on top of one another or on my arm. Contrary - Getting around Barcelona looks to be much easier with taxi rides being the only necessary transportation between airport, hotel, and port. Also looks potentially "slightly" safer, but I could be wrong there.

 

- I have not been to Tenerife (Epic) or to Valencia, Lisbon, or the Azores (Jewel). I'd prefer to visit 3 new ports than just 1.

So I suppose I prefer the embarkation port of the Epic (which would be a 2nd new place to me) but the cruising ports of the Jewel.

 

- Ships - I have sailed on the Epic before and loved the ship. The waterslides, entertainment, shows, food, etc - liked it all better than RCI as I found it more age-appropriate. I also loved the studio lounge and met some wonderful people there - it was like cruising with friends. Great for a solo. In terms of the Jewel - I sailed on the Radiance way back when (and on 2 similar Celebrity cruises) and it's a great "little" ship. There are less activities and less locations to enjoy on the ship. Entertainment on RCI has been "meh" for me lately. And I'm NOT a nightlife person but I found I actually enjoyed it on the Epic. Having said that though, I connected with tons of solos on the roll call for my last cruise on RCI, we arranged a solo group table in the MDR, and we had a blast as well! Same effect as NCL's Studio lounge, but limited to those participating in the roll call.

 

Some caveats:

1. I would book either in a studio room and watch closely for price drops, price changes on other categories in which I could upgrade to, added perks, etc. Neither studio looks particularly appealing to me - very cramped and dark.

 

2. I have found some wonderful airfare deals to Rome and home from SJU that will be ending this weekend - these deals are specific for the Jewel! Getting to BCN would be a bit more of a hassle in terms of airfare with a connecting flight, but should cost about the same.

 

3. I already have a deposit on the studio inside on the Jewel so I wouldn't lose the (last) studio room.

 

4. Both have very active roll calls - yes, I already posted on them! :)

 

Lots of info! Thanks in advance for any advice!!!

[impatientlywaiting]

You could easily handle your luggage in Rome. DH wouldn't help me with all mine and I did just fine! It's easy getting around the train station. You definitely DON'T WANT TO MISS THE AZORES! I would rate The Azores the 2nd best port of call in all the places we've stopped in our cruises! We loved it!

 

And we also loved Jewel of the Seas! We did Vancouver, B.C. to Los Angeles last fall on her and she was fabulous. I would definitely not hesitate to do a TA on her! The Diamond Lounge was fabulous as well and it was our first time in there as well!

 

So, you can tell what my vote would be! LOL Have fun whatever you decide to do!

[Newbcruiser1]

Thanks Impatientlywaiting! Can I ask about the luggage on the train - did you have to carry it up steps onto the train? Was anyone around to help if needed (I have enough trouble on the 3 steps outside my house!). Where did you put it on the train? Was it in direct sight to make sure nobody walked off with it? I understand you have to transfer trains to get to civitavecchia... Was that a hassle? Did the train stations have elevators for any and all steps? Lastly, did you feel safe? And would you as a young woman traveling alone?

 

And off topic - can I ask what your 1st best port is?! :)

[NancyIL]

Regardless of the cruise you choose - my advice would be to learn to pack less! In my opinion, anyone going anywhere should be able to get by with one checked bag plus a carry-on and a personal item. Even less is better. You are limiting your travel options because of what you are bringing with you. https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/packing-light

[dagunny]

We just got off the Jewel after 34 days and a TA from Florida. One thing that you will experience on TAs is the DL and CL will be packed. We had 141 DP and Pinnacle. CL was a zoo the first leg to Civitavecchia. We each had one roller bag for the 36 days we spent there and in roam. We have learned to pack light. Cost for a taxi from Rome to Civi is about 60 Euros. We had a private car waiting at the end for 109 Euros which was worth it. Be aware that you have to load your junk on a bus to get into the port area and out. We did not have that problem with a private car. Had a sign and picked us up at the ship. Civi is a decent place except DO NOT CHANGE MONEY in an Italian bank! Read my trip report. Get your Euros before you leave home. At BofA you can order online and pickup at your local bank in 2 days. You can find things to do in Civi and there are a few travel agencies there in case you feel ambitious in the preceding days. At the shuttle bus drop off there are lots of people waiting on ship guests for excursions when the ship comes in. We stayed at the Park Marriott halfway between Rome and the airport. They had inexpensive shuttles running to the airport and Rome. Next time we would probably stay in Civi and explore that area. The Jewel is a nice small refurbished ship and we thoroughly enjoyed the ship. Rip some movies to your PC and bring a PC HDMI cable to TV HDMI and you can watch movies on your TV. While at sea the TV reception is very shaky. For a 12 night you should be able to get into one carry on roller bag. My wife does it with several snazzy dresses and several pairs of shoes and I do it with a tux for 14 days or under. Bring a small bottle of Tide and you can wash lingerie and use the shower line to dry. We have not used NCL so no comment on that.

[Miryam1234]

Thanks Impatientlywaiting! Can I ask about the luggage on the train - did you have to carry it up steps onto the train? Was anyone around to help if needed (I have enough trouble on the 3 steps outside my house!). Where did you put it on the train? Was it in direct sight to make sure nobody walked off with it? I understand you have to transfer trains to get to civitavecchia... Was that a hassle? Did the train stations have elevators for any and all steps? Lastly, did you feel safe? And would you as a young woman traveling alone?

 

And off topic - can I ask what your 1st best port is?! :)

 

We took the train in Oct 2013 after Navigator Eastern Med cruise with my husband. The problem was not the way from the ship to the station. But luggage was really problem at the station and on the train: first we went on the wrong track with another couple. My husband carried our 2 larger pieces and I had the carryon. We went down and up the stairs, only to find out that we were on wrong track and had to do the same again to get to the right train.

The train was already almost full, so there was nowhere to put the luggage other than just next to the seats on the middle way where people were supposed to walk through or stand when seats were filled. We had a seat each and I had the carryon under my feet the whole one hour journey. Italians were obviously angry to us tourists for blocking the way with our luggage.

 

We went to Rome city after the cruise and then took the express train to the airport. That was a piece of cake, as it is designed for airport transfer and you can just roll your luggage in and out of that train.

 

My husband made me promise we would newer be doing this again, and therefore I booked shared shuttle this coming July Jewel cruise from Rome.

 

Whichever cruise your pick, I hope you'll have a blast and enjoy!

[Single Cruiser]

Epic! 128 solo cabins and lots of sea days, no formalwear required so you can pack lighter 😄.

 

I was on Harmony last week and even though 5300 passengers onboard I felt quite lonely as very few solo passengers onboard. But to me the ents on Royal are better than Norwegian.

 

It's 50/50. I've met more people on Epic TAs. By the way I'm on that TA this Oct so maybe see you in the studio lounge.. Oh and check out balcony rates. I'm in a mini-suite this year as on TAs Norwegian rarely charge 100% supplement mine was more like 20% supplement.

[Newbcruiser1]

Thanks for all of the thoughts so far!

 

First re: packing... I would be taking 1 carry-on and 1 personal item and 1 checked bag. And not interested in cutting out my stuff as I feel I have already minimized my packing as much as possible for a trip that length. I would be more miserable for 14-days than I would be for the hour or so of figuring out how to get from airport to port! Lol! :)

 

Still torn on the ships! The balcony rates on NCL looked okay until I realized they are for guarantees and don't include any perks as a result! And the NCL rep told me you can't change the guarantee room even within the same category as you can on RCI! So totally not appealing anymore! The non-guarantee rate is outrageous at this point. Any thoughts on whether those normally drop on the NCL TA's?

 

SingleCruiser, perhaps we will get to meet! I sailed on the allure solo years ago so I hear you on not meeting anyone on the Harmony! On the contrary, I met tons of fabulous people, mostly solos, on the Independence TA last month thanks to our pre-cruise Facebook group and my arranging of solo dinner tables!

 

Anyone have experience cruising out of Barcelona? I assume easiest would be taxi to hotel and to port? I know it depends on location but approximate cost of that?

[Miryam1234]

Thanks for all of the thoughts so far!

 

First re: packing... I would be taking 1 carry-on and 1 personal item and 1 checked bag. And not interested in cutting out my stuff as I feel I have already minimized my packing as much as possible for a trip that length.

 

Anyone have experience cruising out of Barcelona? I assume easiest would be taxi to hotel and to port? I know it depends on location but approximate cost of that?

 

Packing is very personal thing. I always think I pack as little as possible and still end up with unused clothes. But as long as you can carry your own stuff, that's fine. I'm happy I have my husband tomdomthe carrying.

 

We disembarked from Allure TA in Barcelona last year. Taxi to hotel Lloret at plaza Catalonia by la Ramblas was 20eur. From hotel to the airport we paid 60eur which I thought was steep. There is an airport bus going from plaza Catalonia for abt 9eur.

[Newbcruiser1]

Thanks once again for the thoughts and opinions!

 

I finalized my decision after finding some too-good-to-pass-up airfare deals using my credit card points! Booked the Epic with 2 nights in Barcelona pre, and 2 nights in Orlando post!

 

I plan on booking a hotel near Placa Catalunya where I can hopefully use the aerobus in Barcelona. If anyone has any hotel recommendations that are super close to the bus, I'd love to hear them!!!

[Clarea]

Thanks once again for the thoughts and opinions!

 

I finalized my decision after finding some too-good-to-pass-up airfare deals using my credit card points! Booked the Epic with 2 nights in Barcelona pre, and 2 nights in Orlando post!

 

I plan on booking a hotel near Placa Catalunya where I can hopefully use the aerobus in Barcelona. If anyone has any hotel recommendations that are super close to the bus, I'd love to hear them!!!

 

Check out the Spain Ports forum for hotel ideas:

 

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

[Baseball fan]

Thanks once again for the thoughts and opinions!

 

I finalized my decision after finding some too-good-to-pass-up airfare deals using my credit card points! Booked the Epic with 2 nights in Barcelona pre, and 2 nights in Orlando post!

 

I plan on booking a hotel near Placa Catalunya where I can hopefully use the aerobus in Barcelona. If anyone has any hotel recommendations that are super close to the bus, I'd love to hear them!!!

 

 

I've done that! I took the aerobus to Placa Catalunya and walked 1/2 block to my hotel. I stayed at Hotel Lloret. Taxi picked me up to the right of the hotel to take me to the port. It might have been about 15 euros. I too, was traveling solo. There is so much to see in Barcelona....enjoy!

[Clarea]

I've done that! I took the aerobus to Placa Catalunya and walked 1/2 block to my hotel. I stayed at Hotel Lloret. Taxi picked me up to the right of the hotel to take me to the port. It might have been about 15 euros. I too, was traveling solo. There is so much to see in Barcelona....enjoy!

How did you like the Hotel Lloret - would you stay there again?

[Baseball fan]

I liked it. Small rooms but clean. I had a room on the Ramblas. I had previously stayed at the Hotel Continental across the street and liked the location. I would stay there again. It was easy to catch a taxi as it was headed in the right direction to the port.