Grand Mediterranean cruise on the Grand 2005

[queeng]

My DH and I are booked on the Grand for the Venice to Barcelona tour Oct. 2005. I was hoping to get feedback from some of you who have already done this cruise. What tour did you do through the cruise line (if any), which on own? Where did you use private tours or drivers? What worked for you what didn’t? Any and all advice will be welcome. I know it is a bit early to get so excited but ….oh well what can you do!

 

I got so much great info from the Europe thread on this board before making our cruise choice and since Princess is the line we have chosen I thought it logical to come here for the next bit of help. I have been reading up on the ports and the more I read the more confused I get.

 

Mahalo,

 

Ginger

[kool kruiser]

Hi Ginger

 

We were fortunate to do the same cruise on the Golden in 2003 and had a fantastic time, as I am sure you will also.

We don't like ship's tours and much prefer the smaller independent tour companies. I would strongly recommend that you look thoroughly at the Europe Ports of Call board as there is so much information there which will greatly assist you in your planning. As you are going at the end of the season you can also reap the advice of those who cruise earlier.

If you have not visited these countries before, for me the ''must see'' is Pompeii and the Amalfi coast from Naples. However, there is so much to do at each stop that your only real problem may be exhaustion.

Sailing out of Venice is unforgettable, make sure you are on the port side of the ship for the wonderful views. If the situation stabilises and you go to Istanbul, this is also a great place to savour arrival and departure from the deck.

Princess handle this itinerary really well and are superbly organised.

 

Please let me know if i can help with any other specific queries etc

[LouinMA]

We made this cruise in 2002 on the Golden. It was one of our most memorable cruise ever. As mentioned earlier, private tours are much more beneficial. Typically it would take 6 participants to be cheaper than the Ships tours but much more personalized. European Ports of Call can give you loads of information on private tours.

 

I suggest you fly over 2 days early and spend the time in Rome, then take the train to Venice.

 

You'll have a wonderful time !!

 

Lou

[queeng]

Thank you for your reply. We are going to fly in a few days early and take advantage of Venice! I have been using the Europe boards a lot and gotten all kinds of useful information from people there. I have been looking into private tours, as this seems to be the suggestion of everyone. I have gotten lots of tips on which drivers to use for which place. The consensus is book with them early as they are in much demand. There is only my husband and I and it makes me nervous to book for a group when we don’t have one yet but if we don’t share costs then the cost is prohibitive.

 

Who did you use and how did you go about this?

[BJS]

My DH and I are booked on the Grand for the Venice to Barcelona tour Oct. 2005. I was hoping to get feedback from some of you who have already done this cruise. What tour did you do through the cruise line (if any),]Ginger

 

We did this on the Star Princess in September. I posted some comments about the ship's tours we took and here are the links:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=85330

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=85331

[queeng]

Thanks for the tour info. Very helpful.

[katisdale]

Go ahead and book the driver/guides you want so you can "save" the space. Find out their cancellation policies. Then start a roll call and ask for others who want to join you. This worked out well for us on our Royal Princess cruise. We used private guides in Florence/Pisa and LeHavre. The ships tours that offer transfers from the ship to a central area can be a good purchase if you know what you want to see or if the city has a good "hop-on, hop-off" tour. Rome's hop-on is very good.

[rnjoel]

Hi queeng!

 

We were on the Golden in 2003 for this cruise, and thought it was marvelous! We were lucky, and were able to visit Istanbul....things were less unstable there during that time.

 

We used a private tour company during our pre-stay in Rome (since our cruise didn't port in Civitavecchia) and then again in Florence. Both times, this company was outstanding! Their website is http://www.driverinrome.com. Daniele, the manager, is very helpful and knowledgable. He lived in the USA for a long time, and is very fluent in English. I recommend them highly. Please tell them we said hello, if you use them!

 

PS I don't work for them, or get anything for referring. They just made our visit so enjoyable, I wanted to pass the info along! You can probably find more info on them on the Europe board.

 

I did a lot of research before our visit, and have several tips, so if you want, email me at rnjoel_nospam_@comcast.net. (Take out the _nospam_ before emailing.)

 

Have lot of fun planning!

[woodofpine]

Don't give either Venice OR Barcelona short shrift, they both deserve extra days. We went Barcelona to Venice. While Venice may be the most "magical" city almost anywhere, Barcelona was so MUCH more than I anticipated (three days just scratched the surface) clean, sophisticated, cultural from the depths of its Gothic Quarter to the heights of Familia Segrada and the bizarro human statues on Las Ramblas.

 

Of the shore excursions from Princess - the must do Ephesus tours are probably more convenient via ship (but maybe better done self arranged; Turkey's tour guides are very well regulated qualitatively and affordable).

 

The Princess ship excursion from Naples - Climb Mt. Vesuvius then Visit Pompei was the best ship excursion we did (we did both self arranged and ship). The road up the mountain goes about 3/4 of the way and the guide does a nice job discussing the contemporary socio-political aspects of people living on a volcano. The hike to the top of the caldera is not excessive for the able-bodied; its very interesting geologically and affords great views. The tour of Pompei that follows is made more interesting for it.

[queeng]

We plan to do a few days post cruise in Barcelona too. After coming all that way we want to take full advantage of all of it!

I have been trying to arrange some private tours in advance and hope to check out the ships tours too.