Anyone back from this year's Rome to Athens cruise?

[jajsmom]

I keep hoping someone will report back on this cruise, but it only runs every third week, and I haven't seen any feedback.  And the roll calls are practically inactive.

So if you've done this cruise this year, can you let us know:

--what nights are formal nights?

--what excursions did you do?  Did you do Princess excursions or on your own?

--what is not to be missed in these ports?  What did you do that you wish you hadn't done?

--anything particularly memorable on the ship?  Was there an escape room or the other new game that was mentioned on the boards?

--do you remember what menus were which nights?  Trying to plan alternative dining arrangements, and don't want to miss out on certain things.

--how were the ports of Civitavecchia and Athens?  Easy  embarkation/debarkation? Did you take taxis or public transportation or car services to/from these ports?  And do many people stay on for multiple weeks, as each week has a different itinerary?

 

I'm sure I'll have more questions.  But looking for some feedback on this cruise.  Please feel free to give any information and your experiences on this cruise.  Thanks!

[BarbinMich]

If you would post which ship (I assume the Emerald P) and which itinerary (ports you'll stop at), folks on here would be able to be more helpful.

Edited July 23, 2019 by BarbinMich

[NavyVeteran]

40 minutes ago, jajsmom said:

I keep hoping someone will report back on this cruise, but it only runs every third week, and I haven't seen any feedback.  And the roll calls are practically inactive.

So if you've done this cruise this year, can you let us know:

DW and I were on the Emerald Princess from Barcelona to Piraeus from 18 May 2019 through 1 June 2019, so we were on the Civitavecchia to Piraeus cruise from 25 May 2019 through 1 June 2019. We also stayed in Athens for six nights after the cruise.

40 minutes ago, jajsmom said:

--what nights are formal nights?

I don't remember. We had two formal nights between Barcelona and Civitavecchia and two more between Civitavecchia and Piraeus, but I don't remember which ones. They were either sea days or early port departure days.

40 minutes ago, jajsmom said:

--what excursions did you do?  Did you do Princess excursions or on your own?

We did a combination of Princess excursions, third-party excursions, and staying on the ship. We had been to many of these ports before. DW has some mobility issues, so we have to be careful of excursions with a lot of walking.

 

We stayed on the ship in Salerno. We have been to both Pompeii and Herculaneum before on private tours, and I would recommend both. We both through Herculaneum was more interesting - it is easier to see because it is smaller and more walls remain. DW could not have done these on a ship's tour because of her walking restrictions, but you should be fine on any tour to these locations.

 

We did third-party small group excursions in Kotor and Corfu. These were mostly driving with some walking. We went to the same places as the ship tours but had a smaller group and paid less.

 

We did the ship tour CHQ100 - Knossos Palace & Heraklion Town - in Chania (Crete). The visit to Knossos Palace was fantastic. DW kept up with the tour most of the way, since the guide stopped to talk after short walks. The tour used headsets, so we could hear even when we got behind. We did not consider a third-party tour here because of the distance from the port and the length of the tour - returning to the ship right before departure.

 

We stayed on the ship in Mykonos. We would have loved to do something, but we needed to rest after the long day in Crete and before disembarking for six nights in Athens.

40 minutes ago, jajsmom said:

--what is not to be missed in these ports?  What did you do that you wish you hadn't done?

Knossos Palace was fantastic in Crete, if you are interested in classical history.

40 minutes ago, jajsmom said:

--anything particularly memorable on the ship?  Was there an escape room or the other new game that was mentioned on the boards?

I didn't find anything out of the ordinary on the ship. We've sailed Princess several times, and the ship was exactly what I expected.

40 minutes ago, jajsmom said:

--do you remember what menus were which nights?  Trying to plan alternative dining arrangements, and don't want to miss out on certain things.

I don't remember which one was which. They all sort of run together.

40 minutes ago, jajsmom said:

--how were the ports of Civitavecchia and Athens?  Easy  embarkation/debarkation? Did you take taxis or public transportation or car services to/from these ports? 

We did not embark in Civitavecchia, since we were on the ship from Barcelona. We didn't even go ashore there for the long drive to Rome, since we had been to Rome several times for a week at a time.

 

Disembarkation in Piraeus was smooth. We had booked a taxi with our hotel, but the driver never showed up. We had no problem finding a taxi to our hotel in town from the port. We paid about five euros more for the taxi than we would have paid for the pre-booked one.

40 minutes ago, jajsmom said:

And do many people stay on for multiple weeks, as each week has a different itinerary?

Many people are on the ship for two or three weeks. I estimate that about half of the passengers change every week. This also makes embarkation and disembarkation easier, since they're only dealing with about half of the passengers - and the room stewards only have to change about half of the rooms.

40 minutes ago, jajsmom said:

 

I'm sure I'll have more questions.  But looking for some feedback on this cruise.  Please feel free to give any information and your experiences on this cruise.  Thanks!

 

[jajsmom]

Thank you NavyVeteran!  Yes, we will be on the Emerald Princess too.

It is interesting that so many people do the extended two or three week cruises.  We did the Baltic cruise last summer, and it was strange having people embarking and disembarking at several points throughout "our" cruise.  Like you, we've been to many of the ports on the "other" two weeks of the cruise, and DH wanted to go back to Rome, as we were last there 25 years ago, pre-renovation of the Sistine Chapel.  And I wanted to go to Greece!

 

Thank you for mentioning the Knossos Palace/ Heraklion Tour.  It's one of the few ship tours that we would consider, as I'm not getting much information on Chania itself.  In Mykonos, we're considering the ship tour to Delos vs. doing it on our own, and then wandering on our own.  Salerno, we'd like to take the ferry to see the Amalfi coast, as we have not done that before, but have been to Pompeii.  We'd like to hike the town walls in Kotor.  How early were you able to get off the ship in Kotor, as it's the only tender port?

 

And thanks for letting us know disembarking in Athens was ok.  We're planning on spending a few days there as well after our cruise.

 

Anyone else?  Would love to hear everything!!!

[NavyVeteran]

I did find it interesting also to have so many people leave but so many people stay at Civitavecchia. There were also some staff changes there. One of the bartenders at Crooner's (where I spent most of my time on the cruise😊) moved to the Wheelhouse.

 

We considered the tour to Delos also. The only reason we didn't take it was that it was the day after the long and strenuous tour to Knossos Palace and the day before disembarkation (which would be followed by a lot of strenuous activities in Athens.

 

I don't remember how early we got off the ship in Kotor. We're Elite, so we did not have to wait for a tender.

 

[happythoughts]

Do you remember how early that jet passengers disembark in Athens?

[williegirlcat]

On 7/23/2019 at 1:19 PM, jajsmom said:

I keep hoping someone will report back on this cruise, but it only runs every third week, and I haven't seen any feedback.  And the roll calls are practically inactive.

So if you've done this cruise this year, can you let us know:

--what nights are formal nights?

--what excursions did you do?  Did you do Princess excursions or on your own?

--what is not to be missed in these ports?  What did you do that you wish you hadn't done?

--anything particularly memorable on the ship?  Was there an escape room or the other new game that was mentioned on the boards?

--do you remember what menus were which nights?  Trying to plan alternative dining arrangements, and don't want to miss out on certain things.

--how were the ports of Civitavecchia and Athens?  Easy  embarkation/debarkation? Did you take taxis or public transportation or car services to/from these ports?  And do many people stay on for multiple weeks, as each week has a different itinerary?

 

I'm sure I'll have more questions.  But looking for some feedback on this cruise.  Please feel free to give any information and your experiences on this cruise.  Thanks!

We died the Barcelona to Athens starting June 29. As a family group of seven we did all the ports with private driver/guides in vans. There were two formal nights for each week. Since this was our teen grandchildren ‘s first Mediterranean cruise we did all the regular sights again. But it was fun seeing it with them. In Chania we went to a beautiful beach club, explored Corfu, Kotor and Mykonos. We had a private car to the Athens airport. 

We ate in Anytime and had the same table and wait people every night. The menus were basically the same both weeks with slight changes

[yamanid]

On 7/23/2019 at 6:19 PM, jajsmom said:

I keep hoping someone will report back on this cruise, but it only runs every third week, and I haven't seen any feedback.  And the roll calls are practically inactive.

So if you've done this cruise this year, can you let us know:

--what nights are formal nights?

--what excursions did you do?  Did you do Princess excursions or on your own?

--what is not to be missed in these ports?  What did you do that you wish you hadn't done?

--anything particularly memorable on the ship?  Was there an escape room or the other new game that was mentioned on the boards?

--do you remember what menus were which nights?  Trying to plan alternative dining arrangements, and don't want to miss out on certain things.

--how were the ports of Civitavecchia and Athens?  Easy  embarkation/debarkation? Did you take taxis or public transportation or car services to/from these ports?  And do many people stay on for multiple weeks, as each week has a different itinerary?

 

I'm sure I'll have more questions.  But looking for some feedback on this cruise.  Please feel free to give any information and your experiences on this cruise.  Thanks!

 

We were onboard 29 June - 20 July Barcelona to Barcelona.

On the Rome to Athens part of the voyage the Formal nights were Monday at Sea and Wednesday in Corfu.

In Salerno, took the shuttle bus to town square then got Ferry to AMALFI and POSITANO  - amazing scenery and best way to do it!!!!

 

Kotor we took a 45 minute boat trip to Perast visited the little Island and Church then crossed the water and had a beautiful lunch.  Later we strolled around behind the old Fort walls (amazing, has to be seen, its like a story book).  The sail in and out of Kotor is Spectacular)

 

The next week when we went we climbed to the top of the mountain, past the little Church  -  amazing views and lots of steps!!!

 

Civitavecchia we took the train to San Pietro and you can either walk to the Vatican or take the bus which is outside the station(2 stops) to the Vatican  -  we have done this before and is very easy to do .  REMEMBER to get off at San Pietro rather than TERMINI as that adds on easily another 30 minutes.

 

Athens, there is a HOP ON HOP OFF Bus right at the Port  -  you can take this right to the Acropolis and Parthenon , great value 

 

More to follow

 

 

Edited July 27, 2019 by yamanid
spelling error

[jajsmom]

13 hours ago, williegirlcat said:

We died the Barcelona to Athens starting June 29. As a family group of seven we did all the ports with private driver/guides in vans. There were two formal nights for each week. Since this was our teen grandchildren ‘s first Mediterranean cruise we did all the regular sights again. But it was fun seeing it with them. In Chania we went to a beautiful beach club, explored Corfu, Kotor and Mykonos. We had a private car to the Athens airport. 

We ate in Anytime and had the same table and wait people every night. The menus were basically the same both weeks with slight changes

Thank you, williegirlcat!  Can you tell me about the beach club you went to in Chania?  That's one port I'm really having trouble with.  A beach day may be just what we need.  Did you use a private driver for that, or did you just take a taxi?  Unfortunately, we don't get to that port till the afternoon, but I'd love to hear about your day there.

[jajsmom]

6 hours ago, yamanid said:

 

We were onboard 29 June - 20 July Barcelona to Barcelona.

On the Rome to Athens part of the voyage the Formal nights were Monday at Sea and Wednesday in Corfu.

In Salerno, took the shuttle bus to town square then got Ferry to AMALFI and POSITANO  - amazing scenery and best way to do it!!!!

 

Kotor we took a 45 minute boat trip to Perast visited the little Island and Church then crossed the water and had a beautiful lunch.  Later we strolled around behind the old Fort walls (amazing, has to be seen, its like a story book).  The sail in and out of Kotor is Spectacular)

 

The next week when we went we climbed to the top of the mountain, past the little Church  -  amazing views and lots of steps!!!

 

Civitavecchia we took the train to San Pietro and you can either walk to the Vatican or take the bus which is outside the station(2 stops) to the Vatican  -  we have done this before and is very easy to do .  REMEMBER to get off at San Pietro rather than TERMINI as that adds on easily another 30 minutes.

 

Athens, there is a HOP ON HOP OFF Bus right at the Port  -  you can take this right to the Acropolis and Parthenon , great value 

 

More to follow

 

 

Thank you, yamanid!  I can plan a little better knowing what nights the formal nights will be, although they are rather close together.  How wonderful that you got to spend three weeks in all these ports!

 

I'm interested in more about your day in Salerno.  We're planning on taking the ferry to visit the Amlfi coast.  My original plan was to visit Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, but when I asked about that on the Trip Advisor boards, it was recommended that we would spend too much time traveling and not enough time seeing anything.  How did that work out for you?  Did you spend the entire port time  on the Amalfi coast?  How early did you need to return to make it back to the ship?  I don't want to miss the boat, so right now, we're considering just going to Amalfi and Ravello.  Were you able to take the ferry from Manfredi (right at the port), or did you have to travel to Concordia?

 

And how was the walk to the church in Kotor?  We're considering the walk to both the church and the fortress.

[williegirlcat]

1 hour ago, jajsmom said:

Thank you, williegirlcat!  Can you tell me about the beach club you went to in Chania?  That's one port I'm really having trouble with.  A beach day may be just what we need.  Did you use a private driver for that, or did you just take a taxi?  Unfortunately, we don't get to that port till the afternoon, but I'd love to hear about your day there.

My son called a car service that he saw on the internet. We were7 so needed a larger vehicle. Driver took us to Cabana Mare, about 20 minutes away. We walked in, had umbrellas and lounge chairs. The only fee was for what we ordered off the menu - pizza and fruit. Lovely beach. Car company said to call them when we wanted to leave. Take towels from the ship. Driver told us that beach bar was mostly for locals. 

[yamanid]

2 hours ago, jajsmom said:

Thank you, yamanid!  I can plan a little better knowing what nights the formal nights will be, although they are rather close together.  How wonderful that you got to spend three weeks in all these ports!

 

I'm interested in more about your day in Salerno.  We're planning on taking the ferry to visit the Amlfi coast.  My original plan was to visit Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, but when I asked about that on the Trip Advisor boards, it was recommended that we would spend too much time traveling and not enough time seeing anything.  How did that work out for you?  Did you spend the entire port time  on the Amalfi coast?  How early did you need to return to make it back to the ship?  I don't want to miss the boat, so right now, we're considering just going to Amalfi and Ravello.  Were you able to take the ferry from Manfredi (right at the port), or did you have to travel to Concordia?

 

And how was the walk to the church in Kotor?  We're considering the walk to both the church and the fortress.

 

 

In Chania, when you get off the ship you can buy a return ticket for 3 euros which takes you to the old town ( takes about 15 minutes)  everyone is different but in my opinion I would rather explore the beautiful Venetian harbour and the old town, prowl the streets behind the harbour for interesting shops, a souvenir-hunter's Mecca, visit one or two of its excellent museums, and have lunch in one of its many good restaurants.  The ship docks in Souda.

 

For us the walk was really easy in Kotor seeing the Church and fortress.  The view from the top is amazing  -  we saw goats and cattle at the top!!

 

I will look at my timetable for ferry but I am sure we left the ship about 8ish and got the shuttle in to town and went to Concordia to pick up ferry  -  took about 45minutes,  we got off a t amalfi for a while then took ferry to Positano later.  We had more than enough time to see lots.  Think ship left at 7pm  A good tip is to buy your return ferry ticket when you get off Ferry then you do not need to wait in a long line later on.

 

Not sure if Princess Tour left from Manfredi or not, but something tells me it did.  Much more expensive way to do it though.

 

In Amalfi cathedral is a major attraction and the Piazza del Duomo is one of the main places to visit in Amalfi.

[jajsmom]

Thanks again!  My plans are slowly coming in to more focus.  There was not a lot of information out there, especially on some of the "lesser" ports.  All of the information I have gotten here will be well used.