Western Med Itinerary - Hope this helps you

[BlueCattleDog]

Hi All,

I am an experienced cruiser, but until now my cruises were all Caribbean, Mexico and Panama Canal itineraries.  This year I decided to try a Mediterranean cruise for the first time.  I have done a lot cruise planning, but this trip was really a challenge to plan!  I (43F) took my Mother-in-law (76F) and her two friends (74F & 75F) and so spent a lot of time trying to plan a trip that wouldn't be too much for them to handle physically. We spent two nights in Rome first and then boarded Symphony of the Seas in Civitavecchia for a seven day western Mediterranean cruise. We just got off the ship 9/28, and everything went great!  Maybe someone will find this helpful, so I've attached my detailed itinerary (I deleted a few details such as confirmation numbers).  Happy to answer any questions you may have.  Hope this helps you in your planning!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 30, 2023 by BlueCattleDog

[DarSee]

1 hour ago, BlueCattleDog said:

Hi All,

I am an experienced cruiser, but until now my cruises were all Caribbean, Mexico and Panama Canal itineraries.  This year I decided to try a Mediterranean cruise for the first time.  I have done a lot cruise planning, but this trip was really a challenge to plan!  I (43F) took my Mother-in-law (76F) and her two friends (74F & 75F) and so spent a lot of time trying to plan a trip that wouldn't be too much for them to handle physically. We spent two nights in Rome first and then boarded Symphony of the Seas in Civitavecchia for a seven day western Mediterranean cruise. We just got off the ship 9/28, and everything went great!  Maybe someone will find this helpful, so I've attached my detailed itinerary (I deleted a few details such as confirmation numbers).  Happy to answer any questions you may have.  Hope this helps you in your planning!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What app are you using ? 

[BlueCattleDog]

20 minutes ago, DarSee said:

What app are you using ? 

Google Sheets. I created the layout and made these.

[cruisemom42]

I'm just impressed you found a restaurant in Rome that was open at 5pm. 🤣

[BlueCattleDog]

Just now, cruisemom42 said:

I'm just impressed you found a restaurant in Rome that was open at 5pm. 🤣

Right? I specifically looked for one that night because I knew we weren't going to make it late after that flight and the time change.

[dancingfish]

Question about your hotel-  Did you like it? Did you choose it for location? 

 

Trying to decide if I want a hotel closer to city center? or Vatican or airport or......

 

And as a planner- I can appreciate your google sheets! 

[kris-west]

apologies if the answer is obvious i just booked my first cruise and have alot to learn and your itinerary and organization is incredible. Did you use different companies for your tours in each port? For example, the hop on hop off in cinque terre?  Is there a way to message you direct? understand if that is not permitted.

[mapleleaves]

27 minutes ago, kris-west said:

apologies if the answer is obvious i just booked my first cruise and have alot to learn and your itinerary and organization is incredible. Did you use different companies for your tours in each port? For example, the hop on hop off in cinque terre?  Is there a way to message you direct? understand if that is not permitted.

There are several books specific to Med cruises that will be very helpful in your planning .... Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, Ann Vipond are a few.  These books provide info on history, culture, popular sights, how to get around, tours, vendors, DIY, etc.   Borrow from your library or buy.  

 

YouTube is a great resource too. You can search by port or by cruiseline.  ie search "Mykonos cruise port",  or " NCL Gem Mediterranean".   

 

LIVE cruise reports can be helpful but often they're bogged down with a lot of nonsense. If you bypaass the first 20 pages of them packing and skip to the day when they actually board the ship,  you can find some good tips on vendors and DIY . 

 

There are some good port guides online, such as this one,  All Cruise Port Guides and Reviews by IQCruising (2023),  but they're not always current with the info.

 

Have fun with your planning and research !

 

[BlueCattleDog]

7 hours ago, dancingfish said:

Question about your hotel-  Did you like it? Did you choose it for location? 

 

Trying to decide if I want a hotel closer to city center? or Vatican or airport or......

 

And as a planner- I can appreciate your google sheets! 

Hotel Damaso was great! Great location, easy to walk to several sights. We especially loved going to Piazza Navona in the evenings for drinks or dinner. Hotel staff was very friendly and helpful. They also have a breakfast included, simple.but was convenient not having to figure out breakfast plans every day.

[BlueCattleDog]

48 minutes ago, kris-west said:

apologies if the answer is obvious i just booked my first cruise and have alot to learn and your itinerary and organization is incredible. Did you use different companies for your tours in each port? For example, the hop on hop off in cinque terre?  Is there a way to message you direct? understand if that is not permitted.

We did use several different companies for tours and in some cases were doing it DIY (for example Cinque Terre, we just walked to the feery terminal and bought tickets) I did a lot of research online, read reviews on Cruise Critic and other places, and used many of the resources that mapleleaves suggested. You're welcome to email me michelle.x.drake@gmail.com if you have specific questions and I can try to help!

[mgel728]

Your Google sheet is amazing!! 

[udamom]

Wow love your google sheet. Any chance you could post a blank copy of it? I am doing the same itinerary 9/24. Looks like you did all your excursions through private excursion companies. This is what I prefer. Did you like all of these companies?

I am an experienced cruiser and detailed planner also almost always use private companies. Haven't done Europe and am feeling overwhelmed. Thank you for giving this great starting point in doing research! 

[BlueCattleDog]

Hi! Let me see what I can do to share a blank version you can use, may take me a little bit after work.

 

Would 100% recommend Rome cabs for transfers in Rome, they were great.

 

Id also recommend doing the golf cart tour with My Best Tour, was an awesome way to see a lot in Rome. Was such a great start to the trip.

 

Driver in Rome was OK. Id do it again because it was a super convenient option to have a pickup with all our luggage and still be able to tour before we went to the ship (and not worry about luggage after hotel checkout or a separate transfer to the ship).  The driver wasn't the nicest, but wasn't a big deal. We had a separate tour guide for the Vatican.

 

Italy Tours was good for Pompeii and the Amalfi coast. I was worried about how long and far sone of these were, but they were super knowledgeable and planned things to esnure we had no issues being back on time.

 

I see theres a typo - we used Barcelona Day Tours in Barcelona. They were good, the only issue I had was that I didnt realize we weren't going inside Sagarada Familia. I would have skipped other stuff on the tour to do that. Montserrat was an absolute highlight of the trip for me, so I was glad we did it. So if I were to do this again I'd make sure it was included 

 

We did a lot of the longer scheduled tours early in the trip and towards the end did more on our own, like the train in Palma and the ferry in Cinque Terre.  This was a great strategy, as the cruise went on we started to get pretty tired. This gave us a lot of flexibility. Doing both those on our own was easy and fun. We ended up taking the ferry out and train back in Cinque Terre because the train was faster. I'd recommend that.

 

 

 

 

[erby2283]

I agree - love your google sheets! I usually use trip it but I love your google sheets! I searched through their templates but didn't see any I liked as much as yours...but couldn't find the one you used either...

Edited November 6, 2023 by erby2283

[mgel728]

10 hours ago, BlueCattleDog said:

Hi! Let me see what I can do to share a blank version you can use, may take me a little bit after work.

 

Would 100% recommend Rome cabs for transfers in Rome, they were great.

 

Id also recommend doing the golf cart tour with My Best Tour, was an awesome way to see a lot in Rome. Was such a great start to the trip.

 

Driver in Rome was OK. Id do it again because it was a super convenient option to have a pickup with all our luggage and still be able to tour before we went to the ship (and not worry about luggage after hotel checkout or a separate transfer to the ship).  The driver wasn't the nicest, but wasn't a big deal. We had a separate tour guide for the Vatican.

 

Italy Tours was good for Pompeii and the Amalfi coast. I was worried about how long and far sone of these were, but they were super knowledgeable and planned things to esnure we had no issues being back on time.

 

I see theres a typo - we used Barcelona Day Tours in Barcelona. They were good, the only issue I had was that I didnt realize we weren't going inside Sagarada Familia. I would have skipped other stuff on the tour to do that. Montserrat was an absolute highlight of the trip for me, so I was glad we did it. So if I were to do this again I'd make sure it was included 

 

We did a lot of the longer scheduled tours early in the trip and towards the end did more on our own, like the train in Palma and the ferry in Cinque Terre.  This was a great strategy, as the cruise went on we started to get pretty tired. This gave us a lot of flexibility. Doing both those on our own was easy and fun. We ended up taking the ferry out and train back in Cinque Terre because the train was faster. I'd recommend that.

 

 

 

 

I would love this as well! If you happen to have it! 

[dancingfish]

On 11/6/2023 at 7:23 AM, BlueCattleDog said:

Hi! Let me see what I can do to share a blank version you can use, may take me a little bit after work.

 

Would 100% recommend Rome cabs for transfers in Rome, they were great.

 

Id also recommend doing the golf cart tour with My Best Tour, was an awesome way to see a lot in Rome. Was such a great start to the trip.

 

Driver in Rome was OK. Id do it again because it was a super convenient option to have a pickup with all our luggage and still be able to tour before we went to the ship (and not worry about luggage after hotel checkout or a separate transfer to the ship).  The driver wasn't the nicest, but wasn't a big deal. We had a separate tour guide for the Vatican.

 

Italy Tours was good for Pompeii and the Amalfi coast. I was worried about how long and far sone of these were, but they were super knowledgeable and planned things to esnure we had no issues being back on time.

 

I see theres a typo - we used Barcelona Day Tours in Barcelona. They were good, the only issue I had was that I didnt realize we weren't going inside Sagarada Familia. I would have skipped other stuff on the tour to do that. Montserrat was an absolute highlight of the trip for me, so I was glad we did it. So if I were to do this again I'd make sure it was included 

 

We did a lot of the longer scheduled tours early in the trip and towards the end did more on our own, like the train in Palma and the ferry in Cinque Terre.  This was a great strategy, as the cruise went on we started to get pretty tired. This gave us a lot of flexibility. Doing both those on our own was easy and fun. We ended up taking the ferry out and train back in Cinque Terre because the train was faster. I'd recommend that.

On 11/6/2023 at 7:23 AM, BlueCattleDog said:

 

Yes if you have the blank I would love it too. Also more info on the driver in Rome!

 

 

 

[BlueCattleDog]

OK! I made a couple template sheets in Google Slides you can save and create your own itinerary from: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nzREXbDpCK7ePgEZEHf197UCIOErdA0KIOO9ZJ2xGJ4/edit?usp=sharing

 

You can't find this template on Google because I made it from a blank sheet.  You can look back at my original post in this thread for examples of what you can put on each page.

 

For Driver in Rome, the website is https://www.driverinrome.com/

We did a pre-cruse tour of the Vatican with transport to the cruise port: https://www.driverinrome.com/tours/pre-or-post-cruise-tour-vatican-museum-st-peter-s-basilica

[mgel728]

This is amazing! Thank you so much!!!