Experiences of staying on the ship on a Mediterranean cruise (is it quiet)?

[European_CruiseGirl]

Hi everyone,

 

Sorry for double posting (I posted this also on the NCL board) but I thought that perhaps you cruising parents can answer my question even better. :)

 

DH, DD (1 yrs), DM and I are doing our first family cruise (and first NCL cruise + first European cruise) next September on the NCL Gem (Barcelona 7-day Mediterranean). We have an Penthouse Suite booked (which is not the best category as some other ship's Penthouses are) and have now a possibility to upgrade to a Courtyard Villa (which again is not the best category the ship has...). The main reason we would take (and pay for) the upgrade and the Villa would be a Courtyard area which is a special private pool/sun deck area for Villa guests (there are a total of 15-20 Villas on the NCL Gem). Having cruised on different cruiselines (mainly Caribbean/Mexican Riviera cruises) I know the pain of finding a free lounger by the pool lets say on midday/afternoon. Seems like they are all taken by 9AM so this could be a really nice addition to our cruise.

 

As we are cruising with a small child our idea is to pretty much just hang around the ship. Do some 2-3 hour excursions in Malta/Cannes but skip Naples, Rome and Livorno altogether. We live in Europe so we have been to Rome already and Naples and Livorno we can experience at some later time if we wish.

 

So my question is: What is your experience? Is the ship quite empty on a Mediterranean port intensive cruise on port days? I don't mean that there would not be anyone (or just a couple of people) on the sun/pool deck but is it possible that the ship is significantly quieter than on Caribbean cruises? Do people tend to go on full day excursions on this type of a cruise (Mediterranean). If so the issue of chair hoggers etc would be smaller. :p

 

Thanks for your help! We should be in contact with our TA today so any and all opinions are needed. :)

[cb at sea]

I would imagine that the great majority of people WILL get off the ship in ports...after all, on most Med. cruises, that's the whole POINT of the cruise---to see the sights!

Shoot--even in the Caribbean, most folks get off the ship!

We love port days on the ship---it will feel like your own private yacht!!!

[rebeccalouise]

Yes- the ship will be near empty in the AM but not in the afternoon. Many people get back on around lunch time. By 3 PM there will be plenty of people onboard. But in the AM it is VERY quiet.

 

As for the child... I found that Pompeii was fantastic for my then 6 year old. Lots of great places to play hide and seek and run around. I would recommend Pompeii because, while the ship is fun... you can't really let kids run wild onboard. So this was a great opportunity to let them run and explore. You can do it on your own-taxis are at each end.

[CeleBrat]

OK--I'm glad you clarified that you live in Europe because I initially thought you were CRAZY for traveling all the way to Europe then opting to stay on the ship. Lucky you--you live there!

 

Looks like your question has been answered above, but if you want more specifics about the ship, visit my Gem review (in my signature) for details on our MED cruise last summer.

 

CeleBrat

[European_CruiseGirl]

CeleBrat: Thank you so much for posting such a wonderful review! I have just read the first page and have to stop for a while as DD just woke up from her nap. But I'll continue later... :)

 

And yes I thought I'd better mention that we live in Europe or otherwise everyone would think we are insane. :D This is as close to homeport cruising as it gets for as (well at least nearly, we live in the Scandinavian region).