Western Mediterranean Cruise Review

[pappy3393]

5 of us just got back from a Mediterranean cruise on the Oceania Nautica. Ports were: Sorrento, Amalfi, Palma De Mallorca, St Tropez, Olbia Porto Cervo, Marseille, Monte Carlo, Portofino & Livorno (Florence). I submitted my comments about Oceania on that Cruise Critic board.

 

I would highly recommend that you hire private guides to get the most out of the experience.

 

We had very good guides including Paola Migliorni from Tuscany Tours (Florence & Pisa), Salvatore Lucibello from Drive Amalfi, Catherine D'Antuono from Provence Travel and Sylvie DiCristo from Azur Guides (Monaco & surrounding area). I would recommend each of them.

 

Salvatore is a driver and not a guide, although he does offer commentory about the region. He is an excellent driver (important on these narrow, windy roads), he is a gentleman, and speaks good English. We also had a guide in Pompeii and it significanlty added to the experience and knowledge of that incredible site.

 

There are mixed reviews about Paola on Cruise Critic but we found her to be wonderful, knowledgeable, and able to get around Florence through back roads and back doors. That translates into more things to do and see in a limited time. Her English is very good, she knows Florence (she lives there), and she provided a wonderful tour.

 

Catherine was very good as well but she didn't seem to have the spark that the other guides had, especially Paola & Sylvie. We didn't connect with her like we did with Paola and Sylvie, although we did enjoy the tour of the Provence area. She didn't provide the in depth knowledge of the villages we visited, at least not to the extent of the other 2.

 

Sylvie is special. The best way to describe our experience with her is that we felt as if we touring with a friend and not a stranger that we met that day. She is personable, knowledgeable, and just a lot of fun to be around. She is great at sensing what we were most interested in and she remained flexible the entire day. My favorite although the family was torn between Sylvie and Paola. They were both great.

 

Some other random thoughts: Oceania arranged our flights and they did a good job with getting reasonable arrangements. Lufthansa was excellent. Continental was not good (the flight attendants).

 

We did not have any sea days so we planned some beach days at St Tropez and in Porto Cervo. I would highly recommend some "lazy days" between "busy days" of touring especially if your cruise is port intensive as ours was.

 

I thank everyone on Cruise Critic for helping me plan my cruise. I hope I can return the favor by answering any questions that anyone may have.

[seapenarth]

5 of us just got back from a Mediterranean cruise on the Oceania Nautica. Ports were: Sorrento, Amalfi, Palma De Mallorca, St Tropez, Olbia Porto Cervo, Marseille, Monte Carlo, Portofino & Livorno (Florence). I submitted my comments about Oceania on that Cruise Critic board.

 

I would highly recommend that you hire private guides to get the most out of the experience.

 

We had very good guides including Paola Migliorni from Tuscany Tours (Florence & Pisa), Salvatore Lucibello from Drive Amalfi, Catherine D'Antuono from Provence Travel and Sylvie DiCristo from Azur Guides (Monaco & surrounding area). I would recommend each of them.

 

Salvatore is a driver and not a guide, although he does offer commentory about the region. He is an excellent driver (important on these narrow, windy roads), he is a gentleman, and speaks good English. We also had a guide in Pompeii and it significanlty added to the experience and knowledge of that incredible site.

 

There are mixed reviews about Paola on Cruise Critic but we found her to be wonderful, knowledgeable, and able to get around Florence through back roads and back doors. That translates into more things to do and see in a limited time. Her English is very good, she knows Florence (she lives there), and she provided a wonderful tour.

 

Catherine was very good as well but she didn't seem to have the spark that the other guides had, especially Paola & Sylvie. We didn't connect with her like we did with Paola and Sylvie, although we did enjoy the tour of the Provence area. She didn't provide the in depth knowledge of the villages we visited, at least not to the extent of the other 2.

 

Sylvie is special. The best way to describe our experience with her is that we felt as if we touring with a friend and not a stranger that we met that day. She is personable, knowledgeable, and just a lot of fun to be around. She is great at sensing what we were most interested in and she remained flexible the entire day. My favorite although the family was torn between Sylvie and Paola. They were both great.

 

Some other random thoughts: Oceania arranged our flights and they did a good job with getting reasonable arrangements. Lufthansa was excellent. Continental was not good (the flight attendants).

 

We did not have any sea days so we planned some beach days at St Tropez and in Porto Cervo. I would highly recommend some "lazy days" between "busy days" of touring especially if your cruise is port intensive as ours was.

 

I thank everyone on Cruise Critic for helping me plan my cruise. I hope I can return the favor by answering any questions that anyone may have.

 

Bit of a shock Continental not having good flight attendants. You are being very kind :(

[pappy3393]

The flight attendants on Continental seemed to be annoyed that we (everyone) was on board and that they had to work. This was especially true on the international flight from Barcelona to Newark. The US leg between Newark and Dallas was a little better but not much. It was really sad.

 

Having said that, I must give huge kudos to a Continental employee at the counter in Newark. Because of her extra effort, we were able to make it home to Dallas instead of having to spend a night in Newark because of flight delays. She was wonderful and went out of her way to help. It makes you feel good when something like that happens.

 

A good attitude is free and it makes a world of difference in business and in life. I don't know what the culture is at Continental but I saw the extremes of customer service (and the lack thereof) all in one day.

[TERRIER1]

Welcome home. Could you tell me if you hired a guide for Sardinia. I can't find much info. Is there a beach near the port of Porto Cervo that you can get to readily? Thanks.

[pappy3393]

We did Sardinia on our own and did in fact go to the beach. Oceania offered free shuttle service into town but there was much to do there. You can get a bus to the beach from in town but we chose to get a cab at the port transportation center right near the dock. It was $20 euros each way (5 people). The beach was OK and it actually had sand. Many of the beaches are stones/rocks. I don't remember the name of the beach but it was about a 15 minute drive. The cab driver will know since it is the closet beach to the port. You can arrange for a return cab service from the same company because there weren't any cabs at the beach that were just hanging around.

[winncruiser]

We just returned yesterday from our cruise to the med and I justed wanted to add how absolutely wonderful Sylvie is! She made our day on the French Riveira! Sylvie is a beautiful woman and a treat to be with! She was the one guide that we all continued to remark about and we were with her the first day of our holiday. She is not easy to forget..she should be an actress herself!

[threeofus]

I have to agree with your comment on Lufthansa. Professional, friendly and very efficient. I had heard otherwise - but found that not to be true.

I would absolutely fly with them again.

[rhb]

Which port was Sylvie at? And did you use anyone in Palma and Portofino? Thanks.