Going on ncl med cruise need advice !!

[naturalbeauty2011]

Good afternoon everybody, Me and my fiancé is going on ncl epic in may . It leaves from Rome . It goes to Naples, Florence, Cannes and Two places in Spain. I’ve been on many cruises but only to the Caribbean. I have no idea how to dress when it comes to Europe. I’m from the United States so as you know we dress freely hear, but over there I hear it’s more conservative. Any advice would be extremely helpful. Thank you so much

 

Also what should I expect from the locals . I’m friendly and do not want to do anything to disrespect the locals so all the do nots would also be appreciated. Actually any type of advice would mean a lot

[ColinIllinois]

For first timers the Europe ports of call forum is a must read. Tons of info divided up by country/ports. You'll find a lot of useful information.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

[titangas]

Definitely spend a lot of time looking at the Europe Port forums. Tons of valuable information there.

We did a Med cruise on the Spirit a few years ago, and doing the same itinerary on Epic in June.

 

As far as dress is concerned - in most tourist areas neat casual attire would be fine, shorts and a polo (nice T shirt are acceptable) during the day.

 

If you are planning on visiting Churches then pants are required and shoulders need to be covered. My wife wore a sundress and carried a light scarf (shawl) to cover. I wore pants that I could zip off at the knees when hot (we were there in hot July)

[old nutter]

I am sure you will find that Europe is not really that different to home for you. We have spent a great deal of time across in the US and I have to say that like over there, during the day, there is more emphasis on dressing to suit the weather and the terrain than any cultural thing. The main difference is probably when we go out to eat. It is not necessary to dress formally to eat, but you would probably notice many men dressing in "proper" clothes, long trousers (pants to you) and buttoned shirts and ladies not in what I would probably term extreme non-casual clothes like skinny shorts and swimwear type tops. Many eating places will not look kindly on scruffy jeans and non-tailored shorts, but you will not be anywhere out at night on the cruise anyway.

 

In terms of behavior there are really very few differences. We tend to look down on the sort of "game show" over the top stuff that some Americans think of as more normal, but on an individual level, politeness rules and I doubt very much if you would notice much difference over here. Clearly there are language issues, because we do not just have dialects, we have different languages and dialects! I always try to learn a few words of a language when I go anywhere, so things like hello, goodbye and some of the numbers so you can handle cash always go down well. Stuff like that goes down really well in most European places as a away of breaking the ice. Having said that the places you are going to will be able to use English that is probably better then most of us Brits use, let alone Americans!

 

The biggest difference is probably how we handle tipping. It is very unusual for anyone in Europe (particularly around the med) not to earn a proper wage and there are fairly stringent rules in most countries here around paying a minimum wage, so tipping is not a major source of cash for employees. Having said that, one major source of cash for some (particularly in places like Barcelona) is to take it directly out of your pockets or handbags, so learn to be street savvy. If you have particularly good service somewhere, you may choose to tip as a reward, but you will not find waiters chasing you down the street because you haven't left a tip, but 10-15% is probably tops if you want to tip after a particularly good meal.

 

I suggest that you will find very few differences these days and it should not worry you at all.

[BirdTravels]

Good afternoon everybody, Me and my fiancé is going on ncl epic in may . It leaves from Rome . It goes to Naples, Florence, Cannes and Two places in Spain. I’ve been on many cruises but only to the Caribbean. I have no idea how to dress when it comes to Europe. I’m from the United States so as you know we dress freely hear, but over there I hear it’s more conservative. Any advice would be extremely helpful. Thank you so much

 

Also what should I expect from the locals . I’m friendly and do not want to do anything to disrespect the locals so all the do nots would also be appreciated. Actually any type of advice would mean a lot

Dress in Europe as you would dress at home. No different. Shorts and a polo shirt would suffice for most places. The exception is some churches will want both men and women to cover your legs and shoulders (lots of street vendors anxious to sell large scarfs to cover tank top shoulders and act as a makeshift long dress).

 

The locals all rely on tourist to make a living. The cater to thousands of tourists a day. They have seen it all.

Edited January 21, 2018 by BirdTravels

[jaxw17]

Hi, Old Nutter gave you some good advice.

Tipping in Europe is for good or over the top service not just every time.

if you are travelling in the summer you will need to be cool and have something comfy on your feet.

I have done this cruise Is it epic? if you have not been to Europe before it is fairly port intensive.

if you go in churches etc you will need to cover up a little but this can be done with a light wrap or scarf.

Good advice about the pick pockets i always wear a bag that I carry across my shoulders and in the front of me. That is wherever I go not just Europe.

I am sure you will have a wonderful time and the fact that you were concerned enough to ask means that you will have no problem at all.

Enjoy

[kochleffel]

People in European cities dress a little less casually than the average North American on vacation, but not a lot less, and clothing overall is a bit less colorful. You may see more people wearing black than you would expect anywhere but Manhattan, or white. Neither is flattering to me, but I tend to avoid vivid shades of red, for example. However, any color or style of clothing that someone tells you not to wear, you will see being worn by someone who lives there.

 

As already noted, if churches are in your plans for the day, either wear modest clothing or have a plan for covering up when necessary.

[soggy1975]

All the places you are going are v tourist orientated and thus you're unlikely to wear or do anything that would offend

Dress for comfort..it could be warm bordering on hot

We did exactly same cruise last year (but in August) and it's fantastic

 

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[naturalbeauty2011]

Hi, Old Nutter gave you some good advice.

 

Tipping in Europe is for good or over the top service not just every time.

 

if you are travelling in the summer you will need to be cool and have something comfy on your feet.

 

I have done this cruise Is it epic? if you have not been to Europe before it is fairly port intensive.

 

if you go in churches etc you will need to cover up a little but this can be done with a light wrap or scarf.

 

Good advice about the pick pockets i always wear a bag that I carry across my shoulders and in the front of me. That is wherever I go not just Europe.

 

I am sure you will have a wonderful time and the fact that you were concerned enough to ask means that you will have no problem at all.

 

Enjoy

 

 

 

This is my first cruise to Europe. I know it’s a port everyday, only one sea day, and it is on the epic.

 

 

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[naturalbeauty2011]

Thank you for everybody for the advice . It’s greatly appreciated:)

 

 

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