Experiences of cruises with multiple embarkations?

[ScratchTheRat]

Hey all!

 

I'm on the Epic on Sept 15th from Rome but recently discovered that this cruise actually STARTS in Barcelona and when I get on in Rome, some will be halfway through their cruise.

 

I've never heard of this or been on a cruise that does this before, do you guys have any experiences of this? 🙂

[Yinster]

There's not much difference between starting in Barcelona or starting in Rome. The only thing to watch out for is when the ship is in Barcelona. The majority of people tend to start there so you find that for the muster brief in the afternoon, all the communal areas will be used for that as well as the bars and restaurants closed during that time. However you won't need to line up through check in if you board after a day in Barcelona. Simply use the other entrance. It may the same one as the staff. 

 

Remember to do your muster brief in Rome. It will be a smaller affair. Some people have mentioned they feel a bit like catch up cos you are a few days behind but then you will be the opposite when you reach Barcelona.. 

[ScratchTheRat]

1 minute ago, Yinster said:

There's not much difference between starting in Barcelona or starting in Rome. The only thing to watch out for is when the ship is in Barcelona. The majority of people tend to start there so you find that for the muster brief in the afternoon, all the communal areas will be used for that as well as the bars and restaurants closed during that time. However you won't need to line up through check in if you board after a day in Barcelona. Simply use the other entrance. It may the same one as the staff. 

 

Remember to do your muster brief in Rome. It will be a smaller affair. Some people have mentioned they feel a bit like catch up cos you are a few days behind but then you will be the opposite when you reach Barcelona.. 

I imagine it can be quite fun watching everyone leave in Barcelona, knowing you still have more days haha

[Trimone]

Yes, joined the Breakaway at walmunde a day after most passengers embarked at Copenhagen, missed out on the full introduction at haven, and also when passengers disembarked at Copenhagen we had to go through all the rigmarole like new passengers to get back on.

But brilliant for upgrade advantage, less passengers bidding? 

[ScratchTheRat]

1 minute ago, Trimone said:

Yes, joined the Breakaway at walmunde a day after most passengers embarked at Copenhagen, missed out on the full introduction at haven, and also when passengers disembarked at Copenhagen we had to go through all the rigmarole like new passengers to get back on.

But brilliant for upgrade advantage, less passengers bidding? 

Oh I hadn't thought about that, with the getting back on.

 

Is there a seperate line for getting on for those who are in-transit?

[Yinster]

13 minutes ago, ScratchTheRat said:

I imagine it can be quite fun watching everyone leave in Barcelona, knowing you still have more days haha

I think it be more fun watching people line up waiting to check in especially the peak times and knowing you can use the other entrance

[Yinster]

12 minutes ago, ScratchTheRat said:

Oh I hadn't thought about that, with the getting back on.

 

Is there a seperate line for getting on for those who are in-transit?

As far as I remember yes there was one. You kinda bypass check in. Unfortunately I start from Barcelona so haven't had the pleasure.

 

Regarding bidding and upgrades, I think there be less opportunities as cabins will be filled on a 7 days basis whether that's Barcelona or Rome

 

 

[ScratchTheRat]

1 minute ago, Yinster said:

As far as I remember yes there was one. You kinda bypass check in. Unfortunately I start from Barcelona so haven't had the pleasure.

 

Regarding bidding and upgrades, I think there be less opportunities as cabins will be filled on a 7 days basis whether that's Barcelona or Rome

 

 

Im happy with my interior anyways. I'll save the money for souvenirs and excursions!

[Sailing12Away]

We had the same experience for our Mediterranean trip on the Epic. We got on in Rome and I had no idea that it was a split embarkation until after I got home and did more research. Barcelona is definitely the bigger of the embarking ports, which is both good/bad if you're getting on in Rome..

 

The good

• Less people in line when you're getting on board, because more than half the boat is running off to excursions while you're just getting settled in.
• On the crazy day at Barcelona when you're coming back on board your line is much shorter since you've got your key card - so you walk past all those folks with luggage in a line 1000+ people deep.
• Big influx of people coming and going, so you technically get to meet twice as many new friends if you're into that sort of thing.
• You get to pick which port is better for you with regards to pre/post cruise extensions. We wanted to visit many parts of Italy, so we flew into Rome 2 days early then stayed behind for another week in Venice & Florence. If we did roundtrip out of Barcelona it would have been tougher because then flights would be involved.

The less good

• We never had a muster drill. We got on the ship somewhat late in the day and saw no notices about it, heard no announcements. So we ended up going to the one in Barcelona 3 days later. If there was an actual emergency we would of went down with the ship (probably not, but it was just odd).
• All of the dailies are geared towards the Barcelona folks. So your Rome daily will say "Welcome to day 4!" but it's your first day. 
• For us, we had a much harder time getting room upgrades as the cabins we wanted were only available for half the cruise since we would have to wait for the Barcelona folks to leave them first mid-ship. We ended up with a mini suite (now called club level balcony) for 3 people, and it was fine, but there were a lot more cabin options open on the Barcelona routes to pick from.
• Folks that you met on excursions and became friends with were leaving after just 3 days and you had to go make new friends.
• As your bumbling and stumbling around the first day to find your way, more than half the ship already knows the secrets and shortcuts and fastest buffet line to get those hash browns. 
• On Barcelona day - more than half the ship is leaving. So suitcases everywhere the night before, and long lines to everything the morning of as folks are trying to leave. Just a bit of disembarking chaos twice instead of just once. Same with later in the afternoon with folks just getting on board - good luck catching an elevator with all those folks just getting on board and learning their way around.

It was Ok, but if given the choice I would avoid such a cruise in the future. It's one of the reasons we've avoided trying MSC as a LOT of their sailings in Europe do that but to the extreme (with nearly ever port being a potential embarkation point).

[Trimone]

I’m booked on the Epic from Barcelona on the 5th September, the opening cruise! Good tip from the U.K. BA flights business flights are cheaper than easyJet cattle class... All in £520 return for two, that’s lounges, 2 large cases each and plenty of room..

[dexddd]

Main thing I noticed over years is in the non main ports is not able to book Haven.  Would have to check if still the case.

[Yinster]

5 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Main thing I noticed over years is in the non main ports is not able to book Haven.  Would have to check if still the case.

Supply and demand. However it's not good business sense not to sell a Haven cabin at full price even if you do start at somewhere else. People bidding pay considerably less otherwise they would pay it at the start. 

 

I reckon if you were looking for Haven you need to buy one at least 100 days or when bidding starts. 

[tony s]

MSC  does it all the time. It is great and less stress...

[DCGuy64]

MSC does this on a regular basis, as I think someone else commented. When my wife and I did our honeymoon cruise, which was on Costa, they did the same thing.

[sparkygirlfamily]

We did the Barcelona Med cruise on Epic.  For us we looked at starting in Rome (actually an hour or so outside of Rome on the coast) or from Barcelona.  The airfare was our deciding factor as it was less expensive to fly into Barcelona for us.  

[MichiganBound]

I was on NCL's final cruise out of the port of Houston.  It was a TA cruise on Jade and I recall during planning the trip, one had the option to start in Houston or join two days later in Miami.  My recollection is that the price difference was less than US$100 for a balcony cabin so it was a no brainer to start in Houston and get two extra cruise days almost for free.  I don't recall what percentage of the cruisers started in Houston versus joining in Miami. It seemed like more originated in Houston.  

 

As an aside, the first night of the cruise was rocky as a Tropical Storm was moving into Houston out of the Gulf of Mexico.  The Princess cruise that was scheduled to depart Houston the following day was delayed by 24 hours due to the storm conditions.

[ScratchTheRat]

5 hours ago, Trimone said:

I’m booked on the Epic from Barcelona on the 5th September, the opening cruise! Good tip from the U.K. BA flights business flights are cheaper than easyJet cattle class... All in £520 return for two, that’s lounges, 2 large cases each and plenty of room..

I paid £195 for 3 adult returns with luggage.

[Trimone]

[ScratchTheRat]

1 hour ago, Trimone said:

I booked early (Jan) and going to Rome, not BCN so maybe thats why? I got 3 returns with 2 hold bags for under £200

[K2G]

We did the same cruise with split embarkation ports in 2019 - we embarked in Rome as well.  We had no lines, we got on the ship early and our cabin was ready earlier which was a bonus. 

 

Getting back on in Barcelona was breeze, we bypassed the main line and no issues.  I would do it again and embark in Rome as we wanted to spend more time in Rome that an excursion would have allowed.

It was a fun cruise!

[BirdTravels]

18 hours ago, ScratchTheRat said:

Hey all!

 

I'm on the Epic on Sept 15th from Rome but recently discovered that this cruise actually STARTS in Barcelona and when I get on in Rome, some will be halfway through their cruise.

 

I've never heard of this or been on a cruise that does this before, do you guys have any experiences of this? 🙂

For the Epic, the primary embarkation port is Barcelona (as you point out). While you are on the ship for 7 days (just like those who embarked in Barcelona), there will be subtle differences joining the cruise "underway". Since you already have your booking, it really doesn't matter... if you were looking at a future cruise, there would be a lot more/better cabin selection if  you looked at cruises starting in Barcelona versus the block of rooms they hold for Rome.