12 days on the Grand - Rome to Venice

[LILynn]

I have been on a number of cruises - all of the to the Carribean or Bermuda. I have just booked on the 9/1 sailing of the Grand. This is also my first 12 day cruise - the longest I have gone in the past is 7 days. Also my first time on Princess - have done Celebrity, RCL, CCL but this cruise had all the ports I wanted to go to and then some.

 

I am so excited, I can't wait. My husband cannot leave so I am going with my mom.

 

Any suggestions about packing for 12 days, shipboard acrtivities, tours from the ship or any other comments would be great.

 

Thanks in advance

[seattlekckckc]

Hi! You will love this cruise! We just did it in October, and it was so interesting. One thing to keep in mind, this is a VERY port intensive cruise. I have been on 20 cruises, and I have never needed a vacation as much as when I returned from this particular trip! I am normally "Miss Shipboard Activity", but on this cruise I did NOTHING when I was onboard, except rest. We did a Princess shore excursion at every post, except for Mykonos when I needed to plan a beach day. I also ended up cancelling the Corfu excursion, as I was "ruined out". My DH still went and loved that trip, but I was toast.

 

We spent 3 days in Rome ahead of time, and 3 days in Venice afterward. We were glad we went to Rome to see the sights, but wouldnt nessecarily have to retrun there. DO NOT rent a car there, they are crazy. PLan on lots of money for food and cabs in both ROme and Venice, those 3 days nearly broke the bank. If you can, book a Rome hotel on the Metro lines, they are handy for getting around town. We LOVED Venice, and would go back there in a second. We stayed on a hotel on the island of Lido, to save on money. We had a great hotel, but being off the beaten path was a little hard to manage with the water buses. Next time I would consider springing for a higher cost hotel to be near St. Marks Square, which we loved.

 

Greece was amazing. We loved every minute of it. Here is a link to our travel log we kept. There are several pictures in a slide show on the upper right hand corner, and you can see our different entires through out the trip. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

http://spaces.msn.com/caseyandbrooks/

 

Casey

[longislandfamily]

I just started arranging our shore excursions a couple of weeks ago, by reading through the Princess Roll Call for our sailing and other comparable earlier sailings. They are a wealth of information about private shore excursions, etc. Maybe this is information you already know, but I didn't until this cruise. We aren't on your sailing, but you should look for a Roll Call under the Community "tab" for your sailing, and you will probably find others on your ship, making arrangements and sharing information. People have been very generous sharing knowledge, and you may find compatible people to share shore excursions with.

[chasetf]

I have been on a number of cruises - all of the to the Carribean or Bermuda. I have just booked on the 9/1 sailing of the Grand. This is also my first 12 day cruise - the longest I have gone in the past is 7 days. Also my first time on Princess - have done Celebrity, RCL, CCL but this cruise had all the ports I wanted to go to and then some. I am so excited, I can't wait. My husband cannot leave so I am going with my mom. Any suggestions about packing for 12 days, shipboard acrtivities, tours from the ship or any other comments would be great. Thanks in advance

It will be a real adventure. We did this same trip last Sep/Oct. As mentioned above you will want to be on the go with so many things to do. Each of the ports you will visit are worth exploring and there will be many options so check the port boards for suggestions and alternatives.

 

I would advise, if you have not considered it, to spend time before in Rome and after in Venice. They will be the highlight of the trip. We did and it added so much more being able to explore those cities.

 

As far as the 12 days vs 7 days... they will go fast. You will get a couple of sea days to catch your breath. Take lots of film or memory (if you have a digital camera). I took over 4500 pictures (digital)

 

One thing to know is the "dress codes" in Europe are more upstyle than the Caribbean or Bermuda. Especially if you will be visiting cathedrals, the expectations are higher and in some cases they may not allow entry if not properly "dressed"

[Pam in CA]

When I take a cruise longer than 7 days, I pack as though for 8 days and plan to do laundry or send shirts, etc. out to the cleaners. There is usually a "$15 all you can stuff into the bag" special on ship's laundry that I take advantage of.

 

Also when packing, I bring things that can be double-duty such as a t-shirt and a shirt that I can wear together for cooler climes or separately for warmer. Pack things so that you can mix and match, i.e., a top that will go with either a skirt or slacks.

 

One thing to keep in mind is that airlines have a 50-lb maximum per bag, including the weight of the bag. It used to be 75-lb but it's now 50-lb, so unless you bring multiple suitcases, you need to pack efficiently.

 

As chasetf says, when you tour in Europe, particularly in Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey, you will need to be aware that you cannot wear shorts or have bare shoulders when you visit cathedrals and other religious venues. In the Pantheon, I saw women, and men, who entered in shorts or uncovered shoulders be given robes to wear over their clothes. The robes looked very hot and who knows who had worn them before. So, it's not something you can "get away with."

[FredS]

We found Rome to be an easy city to walk around it, as it seemed a lot of other people did as well. It was crowded at all the tourist venues. There are open top buses or tourist buses but we did not use any of them. It is not a cheap city. We found McDonalds had the cheapest "American " coffee. We paid upwards of $4 for a little cup. Also check about eating inside or eating outside, in some places there is a difference in price.

[LILynn]

Wow SeatleKCKCKC... I read your blog and looked at your pictures - a trip of a lifetime. We are not staying in ROme - we get in the morning the ship leaves and we are only staying one night in Venice. As I said, I am going with my mom - so I am sure that I will be pretty anxious to get home and see my husband after being gone so long.

 

It sounds like you took most of the ship excursions - were you happy with them?

 

Thanks for the great information - I wish I was leaving this week instead of in 4 monts now!

[Roses2]

We were on the Princess Med Cruise last Spring. It was fabulous.

 

Yes, it is port intensive. That is why we choose it. The port stops are delightful and the vistas unforgetable.

 

If you are interested in viewing photos of the sights go to:

If you woud like to view more photos of the Caribbean Cruise they are at: http://photos.yahoo.com/pandjrose

 

Click on Med Cruise. You can click on slide show and it will run through them automatically.

[Trevoli]

You're arriving in Rome on sailing day? That's pretty risky. Can you plan to arrive at least a day early?

 

It would be a shame to 'miss the boat' because of flight delays or other unforeseen circumstances.

 

T

[LILynn]

We are leaving the day before and flying all night we get into Rome at 8:15 in the morning - ships leaves at 7PM.

 

Do you still think we are cutting it to close??? It is just so hard taking this much time off work - I have never taken off more than 1 week before. I had to get special permssion to take off 2 weeks and 2 days already - so that it why we did it this way. But if the consensus it ask for another day....I guess I can try.

 

Thanks for all the great advice and information. And Roses2 - I loved your pics.

[Italy52]

Don't forget comfortable walking shoes. Make sure you break them in BEFORE you travel. A lot of the streets are cobblestone and dirt. We did your cruise on another line and had a fabulous time. Yes, it is very port intensive but worth every spectacular moment. We did two days in Rome pre-cruise and two post-cruise in Venice. Both extensions really helped make the trip more memorable. In Rome we walked everywhere. Only took a cab one time because I had a blister. Got a copy of Rick Steves guide book for Europe and it was a tremendous help, gave a lot of good tips. We laughed because we saw so many tourists sitting on benches reading his book every where we went. Also, we found "MapEasy's Guidemaps" for Venice, Rome and other places in our local bookstore. They gave details for hotels, sights, shopping areas, restaurants, etc. Excellent tool if you don't want to carry around a bulky guide book. Wishing you smooth sailings and a lifetime of beautiful memories.

[ssbeagle]

We are leaving the day before and flying all night we get into Rome at 8:15 in the morning - ships leaves at 7PM.

 

Do you still think we are cutting it to close??? It is just so hard taking this much time off work - I have never taken off more than 1 week before. I had to get special permssion to take off 2 weeks and 2 days already - so that it why we did it this way. But if the consensus it ask for another day....I guess I can try.

 

Thanks for all the great advice and information. And Roses2 - I loved your pics.

If you are using the air from Princess you won't have any problems if your flights are delayed. Many people make that trip and arrive the same day as departure. Many of us like to go a day or two early mainly to get used to the time change. Twelve days on a ship will be no problem. You will wonder where the time went. We did a 16-day and it was wonderful. Our average cruise is 7 or 10 or 12 days. Seven days just goes by too quickly when you are having fun.

[kerrydee]

we took your trip last may. loved it. we also arrived at 8:15 am. we took the princess transfers. since it was so early they took us on a tour of rome on the way to the port. no stops but we saw a lot. DH and i had already been there a few years before. the ports were amazing. i studied the shore excursions extensivly. we took all princess excursion except mykonos, rhodes, and corfu where we just did it on foot. oh, dubrovnik too. i was not taking a chance on a non licensed guide who was only licensed for taxi. or not getting back to the ship on time. we enjoyed our late seating dinner but were too tired for any shows and went to bed right after dinner to be rested for the next day.

this was our 20th cruise and we usually do all the shows. princess has laundromats on every floor so running out of clothes didn't happen.

[woodofpine]

Too bad you're not giving the embark/debark cities more time (especially magical Venice, DO get lost...) but it should be a terrific trip anyway. Like I said, I'll be happy to carry your luggage.

 

As a Naples excursion, I HIGHLY recommend the (soft) climbing trip to the top of Vesuveus offered in conjunction with a tour of Pompei. You're bused about 3/4 of the way up the mountain, past lava flows, during which a guide discusses the mountain past and present, and its doggedly loyal residents, to where a very well maintained volcanic gravel trail leads up to the caldera. It doesn't require much more fitness than normal mobility. The views of Naples bay are terrific and the tour of Pompei that follows even more interesting. Pompei is famous for being a tourist broiler so the cool mountain air is a nice start.

 

In Livorno we did a ship excursion to Pisa then the beach. It was so-so, I would pass on this one. The beach is merely fair. Pisa is a bute but it deserves more time than most excursions give it. Alternatively, if you chose to go to Florence you will be in for a very long day.

 

After Naples, ask officers about when Stromboli will be passed (about 1 AM?). You can see the lava pulsing from the mountain. It's likely a once in a lifetime deal so I'd get up for it; shooting the straights of Missina later that night (4-5 AM?) is worth being up for to... Next day is a sea day to sleep in...

 

Enjoy!

[Trevoli]

If you are doing your own air and can swing it at all, I'd try to get in a day early. Not only does it help in getting over the jet lag, more importantly (to me anyway) it offers HUGE piece of mind in not worrying about flight delays and lost/misdirected luggage. Plus, it gives you a little extra time in Rome, which is a neat city.

 

I understand what you mean about getting time off of work, though.

 

I'm dreaming of doing this itinerary in Fall of 2007, with 3 days of Rome pre-cruise, and I'm already anxious about asking for that much time off.

 

Of course, as another poster said, if you're doing your air through Princess, they will make every effort to get you where you need to be, when you need to be there!

 

Whatever you decide, I hope you and your mom have the trip of a lifetime! So far..... ; D

 

T

[chasetf]

You're arriving in Rome on sailing day? That's pretty risky. Can you plan to arrive at least a day early? It would be a shame to 'miss the boat' because of flight delays or other unforeseen circumstances. T

We always like to fly in a day early. We fly CA to FLL. We arrived in time but our bags didn"t. :eek: It was fortunate to have the next day to retrieve them. ;)

[Cruisegal18]

Hi LILynn,

 

We are going on the Grand for our honeymoon July 15th.:) We have the same itinerary as you do. I wanted to ask you if you are going to do the ship shore excursions or private tours? I don't even know where to begin to look for private tours.

[chrysalis]

Hi LILynn,

 

We are going on the Grand for our honeymoon July 15th.:) We have the same itinerary as you do. I wanted to ask you if you are going to do the ship shore excursions or private tours? I don't even know where to begin to look for private tours.

 

this is a good place to start.........

 

click here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

[Esprit2011]

No worries if you are booked on a Princess charter flight.

 

We fly from Heathrow 8.00am (15 July) and get to the Grand sometime in the early afternoon.

 

We are not staying on at Venice either as it's relatively easy for us to return to Venice at other times.

 

The number of ports does looking daunting but as we've done Naples before we'll treat it as a sea day. Being an Formula 1 fan I'm really looking forward to driving along the streets that form the race track each May.

 

For us a 12 day cruise is shorter than the usual 14. We've never had a problem with the baggage on our Caribbean cruises so long as you don't exceed 30kgs.

 

Only 63 days to go

 

Cheers

Peter

[VaBeachcruiser897]

It depends on where you are coming from. No one will REALLY help you if you are about to miss the ship. Don't think a helicopter will come by and take care of you.

 

If anyone thinks different they have either been extreemly fortunate over the years or have their head stuck up their a.........

[moonbeem1961]

hello everyone myself and family are on the grand in august doing barcelona to venice, my question is i did my own transfers in barcelona but doing princess transfers in venice i want to know how early they get you off the ship,i read somewhere they woke people up at 4.30 am we have a 12.30 flight do you think we have to be up so early too?. Please let me know also any ideas for touring on our own .

[Ashlea13vb]

Hi Moonbeem - which Grand sailing are you on in August? I'm on the Aug 8 sailing from Barcelona to Venice - and was wondering the same thing about disembarkation in Venice on our last day.

[slgjhg]

Hi All,

 

Thanks to the above poster who suggested you go to the "Ports of Call" threads. May I also suggest that you use the search function as it will provide you with so much information. That's how I found tour operators in India for a group of 20 of us during a cruise from Rome to Bangkok (30 days) in the fall of 2004. The available information on this board is Amazing. I hope you have a spectaular trip helped by all who have gone before and shared their experiences here.

 

Have a wonderful trip. Also, check out your "Roll Call" , go to Roll Call, click on Princess, click on Grand, and look for your sailing date. The will in all likelyhood be fellow passengers who are putting together independent tours. These are typically much less costly than the ship and without the bus "overhead".

 

Goodluck & Regards,

 

Shannon

[meselibibob]

Moonbeam - We were on the Star Princess in 2002 disembarking in Venice. The pax who disembark in the very early a.m. are those who have early morning flights. For our early afternoon flight, we disembarked the ship around 8-9 a.m. Enjoy your cruise. We will be on the August 20 Grand, Venice to Rome.