Public Restroom Facilities in the Mediterranean

[srlafleur]

At a restaurant in Morocco that we went to, there were 2 lines, one for the men's restroom and one for the women's.

Or so we thought. There were 2 doors, but they both entered into the same room, which had 2 or 3 stalls.

It was quite funny. I'm in one line, hubby's in another and we met in the middle!

Otherwise, while looking a bit older, like a restroom at a state park or some such, the amenities were just fine.

I do recommend tossing a nearly empty TP roll, flattened, in your bag, just in case. Heck, even in the US, restrooms run out of paper.

Edited August 4, 2016 by srlafleur

[kazu]

Lots of good advice here - TP, easy to remove, buy a drink, etc.

 

If a washroom is not in a restaurant,tourist spot,it an be a pay toilet and it's always a good idea to have 1/2 euro coins to be safe. (I learned the hard way).

 

Also good for tipping the lady taking care of the washroom.

 

In regards to a post I saw regarding MacDonald's having the cleanest washrooms, I don't know how long it has been since the poster has been to the Med, but, the dirtiest washroom I ever saw was a Micky D's in Athens. Horrible. I couldn't stomach it -it was filthy. Same thing in another spot in Greece. So, don't count 100% on MacDonald's ;):p:D

 

Your guide will usually refer you to "nice" ones or warn you if it is not as nice but the only one until the next stop.

 

Just go prepared with all the advice and remember, when in Rome.......:D

Edited August 4, 2016 by kazu

[HarpHarp]

It really depends on where, exactly, you use the rest room. In Dubrovnik there was a lovely one in the film center & I used a nice one in a very old resturaunt in Ravenna, and I don't remember any difficulty in Barcelona.

 

I do remember paying to use the facilities at Versailles on a land trip. The attendent handed me a receipt, that found its way into my scrapbook :D

[2ptu/000]

I carry a plastic sandwich bag with me when I cruise. I take one of the thin washcloths in the public bathrooms on the ship, wet it and put it in the plastic bag. I take this with me as I find not all rest rooms in other countries have running water. Of course, I return the wash cloth when I'm done with it. I find it a bit icky to just use hand sanitizer after I have used a public rest room.

[Lady Arwen]

You people are killing me! I won't drink coffee prior to our excursion, for sure. I'll take my own t.p. I'll take change for the attendant. I'll take sanitary wipes. I'll take baby wipes, too. I'll ask our tour guide where to find the bathroom that does not require "the squat". I'll wear bottoms that can be removed if necessary. I'll take a bath towel and body wash, too, just in case! Oh, my goodness, this is complicated!!

 

Thanks again everyone for all your advice and hilarious stories!

[Lady Chew]

Yup, the most horrible bathroom I have ever seen was also in a McDonalds, in Rome near the Pantheon ... ugh ... I turned around & walked right back out, I would rather have wet my pants (and I almost did!) ...

 

The cleanest ones I've ever seen were in Japan, although most of them were squatty potties. There were some stops with maybe 20 or 30 stalls, but only 1 or 2 "western style" ... the lines for those two would be 30 people deep (at least, depending on how many tourist buses were stopped) but if you used one of the squatty potties, you could get your business taken care of very quickly and have time to shop while everyone else waited in line.

 

Always carry klx or tp, and wipes ... and be prepared for all kinds of toilets!

 

And, as someone mentioned earlier, any time you have a chance to stop & go, make sure you do!

[Sherry H]

I find most Department Stores have decent.....free........clean restrooms!

[fatcat04]

I bet there's an app for this *ahem* issue.. :p:D

Edited August 4, 2016 by fatcat04

[OlsSalt]

You people are killing me! I won't drink coffee prior to our excursion, for sure. I'll take my own t.p. I'll take change for the attendant. I'll take sanitary wipes. I'll take baby wipes, too. I'll ask our tour guide where to find the bathroom that does not require "the squat". I'll wear bottoms that can be removed if necessary. I'll take a bath towel and body wash, too, just in case! Oh, my goodness, this is complicated!!

 

Thanks again everyone for all your advice and hilarious stories!

 

I think there are compost toilets for camping you could also lug along, just add water. ;)

[scm1848]

We have relatives that live in Florence. They have told us that in Italy, a person can use any bathroom for free in a restaurant or bar that is open to the public. It is the law, and do not feel obligated to buy anything or be pushed into paying for anything.

[cruisemom42]

We have relatives that live in Florence. They have told us that in Italy, a person can use any bathroom for free in a restaurant or bar that is open to the public. It is the law, and do not feel obligated to buy anything or be pushed into paying for anything.

 

No one is saying that you HAVE to buy something; however, it's generally regarded everywhere as the polite thing to do, i.e., to purchase something if you plan to use facilities that are intended for patrons.

[sail7seas]

Amond worst restrooms I've used in Eureope, the pay toilets at St. Peter's were treeuly awful. It'ss veen a while bugt I remember them clearly W

 

aAMOND THE BEST WERE mc Donald's in MARBELLA sPAIN, TWO STORY MARBLE RESTROOM. aLSO fORTNUM AND mASON IN LONDON HAD GREAT REST ROOM. :)

[kazu]

Amond worst restrooms I've used in Eureope, the pay toilets at St. Peter's were treeuly awful. It'ss veen a while bugt I remember them clearly W

 

aAMOND THE BEST WERE mc Donald's in MARBELLA sPAIN, TWO STORY MARBLE RESTROOM. aLSO fORTNUM AND mASON IN LONDON HAD GREAT REST ROOM. :)

 

Our guide referred to us a really decent one at St. Peter's. Perhaps things have changed?

 

Marbella is a very high end spot in Costa del Sol. Beautiful place and of course, the washrooms go with the location ;). But it is not typical of most Med ports and rarely on the itinerary on a Med cruise (unless one takes the train from Malaga).

Edited August 4, 2016 by kazu

[IllinoisGirl1978]

Why not a Starbucks? They should be fairly clean and tidy, plus you can get a 'You Are Here' mug to use at home.

[kazu]

Why not a Starbucks? They should be fairly clean and tidy, plus you can get a 'You Are Here' mug to use at home.

 

Nothing wrong with Starbucks but there are not as many nor in every Med port ;). Have only seen a few of their washrooms so far. The one in Greece was a hole in the floor ;) Starbucks, like MacDonalds and Kentucky Fried have evolved in Europe to meet the needs and expectations of THOSE customers. They don't offer the same menu in a lot of locations - you will find some similarities and some favourites in some locations,but in others,the menu is different.

 

Otherwise these fast food places would not succeed in Europe ;)

[cruisemom42]

Why not a Starbucks? They should be fairly clean and tidy, plus you can get a 'You Are Here' mug to use at home.

 

You'd look a long time for a Starbucks in Italy. It was just announced in February of this year that they were going to open their first store there.

 

Italian coffee is some of the best in the world and (ironically) supposedly was one of the inspirations for the Starbucks founders.

[cruisemom42]

Amond worst restrooms I've used in Eureope, the pay toilets at St. Peter's were treeuly awful. It'ss veen a while bugt I remember them clearly W

 

aAMOND THE BEST WERE mc Donald's in MARBELLA sPAIN, TWO STORY MARBLE RESTROOM. aLSO fORTNUM AND mASON IN LONDON HAD GREAT REST ROOM. :)

 

Ah yes -- didn't Fortnum & Mason used to have a sort of strange bright pink (fuchsia really) toilet paper in their bathrooms? (Strange, the things one remembers...)

 

Speaking of London, I had the pleasure of visiting the public bathroom in one of the Tube Stations and was surprised to see a big plaque on the wall that proudly announced it had been voted the "Best Public Loo in London". (And it actually was very nice, too...!)

[sapper1]

One positive about HAL shore excursions is they always make sure there are sufficient and well-timed bathroom breaks.

 

Not always. In Funchal, on a HAL tour they took us to a scheduled stop and told us as we pulled up that due to renovations to the site, the restrooms would be unavailable. There was a construction portapotty on the side of the road which was rejected the minute people opened the door. Nobody was very happy toward the end of that tour.

[sapper1]

Ah yes -- didn't Fortnum & Mason used to have a sort of strange bright pink (fuchsia really) toilet paper in their bathrooms? (Strange, the things one remembers...)

 

Speaking of London, I had the pleasure of visiting the public bathroom in one of the Tube Stations and was surprised to see a big plaque on the wall that proudly announced it had been voted the "Best Public Loo in London". (And it actually was very nice, too...!)

 

I remember being quite amazed a number of years ago when I visited a public washroom in one of the under street tunnels near the Houses of Parliament in London. It was a "wow" moment. Very large, modern and spotless.

[IllinoisGirl1978]

Nothing wrong with Starbucks but there are not as many nor in every Med port ;). Have only seen a few of their washrooms so far. The one in Greece was a hole in the floor ;) Starbucks, like MacDonalds and Kentucky Fried have evolved in Europe to meet the needs and expectations of THOSE customers. They don't offer the same menu in a lot of locations - you will find some similarities and some favourites in some locations,but in others,the menu is different.

 

Otherwise these fast food places would not succeed in Europe ;)

 

Agreed, this would be a good chance to try something new. Did you know that the Flat White originated in Australia?

For me it would be about meeting other 'partners'.My goal is to meet Starbucks partners in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Vancouver. :p ;) :cool:

[kazu]

Agreed, this would be a good chance to try something new. Did you know that the Flat White originated in Australia?

For me it would be about meeting other 'partners'.My goal is to meet Starbucks partners in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Vancouver. :p ;) :cool:

You should be successful there :)

 

I have no such goal in for our cruise in Euripe nor our time in Paris next year, I have to confess ;). DH and I prefer the local cafes - especially in the lovely square in Malaga among others :)

[sail7seas]

I don't remember seeing any Tim mies. Were theere some and I just didn't see them?

Edited August 4, 2016 by sail7seas

[serendipity1499]

You people are killing me! I won't drink coffee prior to our excursion, for sure. I'll take my own t.p. I'll take change for the attendant. I'll take sanitary wipes. I'll take baby wipes, too. I'll ask our tour guide where to find the bathroom that does not require "the squat". I'll wear bottoms that can be removed if necessary. I'll take a bath towel and body wash, too, just in case! Oh, my goodness, this is complicated!!

 

Thanks again everyone for all your advice and hilarious stories!

 

This is the funniest Thread I've ever read! I've also had some very close calls which were hilarious..I'll never forget one such occasion in the early 70's..

 

I was with a small group of Travel Agents who were invited by my company to go on Safari in Africa..We all knew each other & had a lot of fun on this Fam. trip..

 

One morning I made a very foolish mistake & had coffee before going out on Safari.. In those days it was very difficult to find restrooms.. I was becoming uncomfortable in our 12 Psgr. bus, so our driver who had been with us for 3 or 4 days stopped the bus near a couple of trees for me.. I was forced to relieve myself behind the bus.. In the meantime all those TA's were hooting & hollering about watching out for monkeys or lions etc...

 

When I got back in the bus, my face was beet red.. To make matters worse the driver was also having a good laugh, because not 10 minutes later he drove us up to a lovely rest stop with modern bathrooms..:eek::eek:

 

Since then I've avoided coffee when going out on tour & still put a flat roll of TP with wet wipes in my bag when I'm off the ship..

Edited August 4, 2016 by serendipity1499

[muffin]

Hope you are all ready for this! Google Female urinary device and see the several options. I have not availed myself of these yet, but may still do so for those few very difficult toilet options. It is apparent they work well for those who have tried them. Especially for the horrendously dirty stalls, or the squat holes in the floor which are way beyond most of our balance and mobility abilities. Sometimes you just HAVE to go.....these devices look like a literal life saver in those rare times. We do have options ladies!

[jhsocal]

Slidergirl covers it well, even if you do not have to "squat", many public toilets are far from clean. At one McDonalds, after our purchase, they gave us a token which would unlock the restroom. Even in private ones, you sometimes need a coin or have to pay an attendant. An experienced guide should be able to brief you ahead of time.