1st Time Cruiser - NCL Gem - Europe Western Mediterranean 10/25/09

[Vampzzzgirl]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am crusing for the 1st time. My mom and I are catching the Norwegian Gem off of Barcelona on 10/25 for 7 days and will be visitng Barcelona; Valletta; Naples; Rome (Civitavecchia); Florence / Pisa (Livorno); Cannes!

Super Excited! I've traveled before but this is the 1st cruise!!

 

I have some questions and any help would be greatly appreciated:

 

1. Do we have to get the Shore Excursions offered by NCL or are there other options when you arrive on port, more economical.

 

2. Has anyone cruised the Western Mediterranean in late October? Is it cold, what kind of wardrobe is suggested...

 

3. Has anyone gotten sea sick?

 

4. We are arriving Barcelona one day prior, any suggestions on hotel near port and Las Ramblas?

 

* Love to see anyone's pix if you don't mind sharing!!

 

Thanks again everyone!!!:D

[garycarla]

This is a great cruise. Congrats to you for going a day early. Too many people not only take chances, but they miss out on BCN. There are tons of good hotels on or within a block of Ramblas, which is our first choice.

 

Check the PORTS OF CALL message boards for the latest.

 

Also, visit your ROLL CALL where you will find folks talking about various excursions. We did most, some with advance planning separate from the ship.

 

People get sea sick often. You will find all kinds of "sure fire" suggestions posted here. Most do fine with over the counter stuff at Walgreens.

[UKANGEL]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am crusing for the 1st time. My mom and I are catching the Norwegian Gem off of Barcelona on 10/25 for 7 days and will be visitng Barcelona; Valletta; Naples; Rome (Civitavecchia); Florence / Pisa (Livorno); Cannes!

Super Excited! I've traveled before but this is the 1st cruise!!

 

I have some questions and any help would be greatly appreciated:

 

1. Do we have to get the Shore Excursions offered by NCL or are there other options when you arrive on port, more economical.

 

2. Has anyone cruised the Western Mediterranean in late October? Is it cold, what kind of wardrobe is suggested...

 

3. Has anyone gotten sea sick?

 

4. We are arriving Barcelona one day prior, any suggestions on hotel near port and Las Ramblas?

 

* Love to see anyone's pix if you don't mind sharing!!

 

Thanks again everyone!!!:D

 

 

Hi there!

We're off on the Jade western med next Sunday :D so will try and post pix when we get back. You certainly don't have to take NCL excursions, you can arrange your own tour guides or take the train to places like Florence and Rome.

Not much help, but hope you get lots of info on the roll calls, or on the separate port forums :D

[auducky2]

Hi!

 

This will be our first European cruise.

 

We booked some shore excursions through private companies and are splitting them with members of our roll calls. Tons cheaper!

 

I get seasick. Dramamine doesn't work but Bonine does for me. I pop one every morning and I'm good to go.

 

Hope you have a fabulous cruise! :)

[Vampzzzgirl]

Thanks everyone for your comments/ suggestions. I can't wait!! Ahhhhhhhhh I'm counting down the days!!

[hrfs]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am crusing for the 1st time. My mom and I are catching the Norwegian Gem off of Barcelona on 10/25 for 7 days and will be visitng Barcelona; Valletta; Naples; Rome (Civitavecchia); Florence / Pisa (Livorno); Cannes!

Super Excited! I've traveled before but this is the 1st cruise!!

 

I have some questions and any help would be greatly appreciated:

 

1. Do we have to get the Shore Excursions offered by NCL or are there other options when you arrive on port, more economical. You can arrange your own excursions. We just got off the ship and walked around Valletta and Villefranche. In Italy we used RomeinLimo, not more economical unless you can arrange to share, but they were absolutely fantastic. Go to the Ports of Call thread for Europe. There are lots of recommendations for tour companies.

 

2. Has anyone cruised the Western Mediterranean in late October? Is it cold, what kind of wardrobe is suggested... Went in early September. I've been in other parts of Europe in late Oct. and early Nov. and have had rain, chilly but also sunny and warm. Bring a sweater and an umbrella just to be safe.

 

3. Has anyone gotten sea sick? Nope

 

4. We are arriving Barcelona one day prior, any suggestions on hotel near port and Las Ramblas? We stayed at the Hotel Catedral Barcelona. It is, obviously, near the Cathedral and a short walk to Las Ramblas. I thought it was a very nice hotel and enjoyed staying there. They have a yummy breakfast sunday morning that was included as well as a free walking tour (also Sunday morning) of the Bari Gothic. We arrived on Saturday, so on Sunday morning we had breakfast, took the walking tour, came back to the hotel, checked out, took a cab to the pier and got right on board. It was such a nice day!!

 

 

* Love to see anyone's pix if you don't mind sharing!!

 

Thanks again everyone!!!:D

Have a great time, it's a wonderful cruise!!

[jend**]

I just got off the Gem cruise, and I can answer 3 of your questions: First, you can arrange your own tours, but I would recommend NCL's Rome on Your Own and Florence on Your Own, because they provide air conditioned transfers to Rome and Florence, with a guarentee that the ship will not leave without you due to unforseen traffic or vehicle trouble. Second, this was my first cruise and I got seasick. I had brought Dramamine, and that was useless, but if you go to the Reception desk on the 7th floor of the ship, they will give you free Meclazine, which works great (but makes you sleepy). Third, we stayed in Barcelona at the Royal Ramblas Hotel on La Rambla, and it was a perfect location for a very reasonable price: http://www.royalramblashotel.com/en/rooms/

 

Hope this helps!

[lhall85917]

As others have said, you can definitely do ports on your own but don't wait until you get off the ship. Check out the ports of call boards and your roll call to get ideas for tours that others are doing - you may be able to join them.

 

I have some pics from Rome, Cannes and Cinque Terre (Livorno) in my signature if you want a preview!

[amy417]

Hi!

 

This will be our first European cruise.

 

We booked some shore excursions through private companies and are splitting them with members of our roll calls. Tons cheaper!

 

I get seasick. Dramamine doesn't work but Bonine does for me. I pop one every morning and I'm good to go.

 

Hope you have a fabulous cruise! :)

 

 

Hi Wendy! So you have got crusing in your blood now too:) Say hello to Bev and Jay for me. We are on the Gem this November out of Barcelona. So make sure to tell me how you liked it. It wil be our first time in Europe also. My daughter is coming with us. Hopefully you two will meet one day.

[euro cruiser]

We did this itinerary on the Gem a few weeks ago. We only participated in one NCL shore excursion, scuba diving in Malta, and only did that because we couldn't set it up on our own ahead of time. All other ports we did ourselves; some are easier than others.

 

Malta is easy on your own (not everyone in our group went diving). You can walk into Valletta, take a city bus or a cab - very easy. Some in our group made a deal with a cab driver who took them to a beach and returned three hours later to bring them back.

 

Naples is easy on your own, just walk off the ship and you're in town. Civitavecchia and Livorno are a tad more challenging, because the port isn't right where you want to be.

 

Cannes is easy as well. The tender drops you right at the edge of town. Most of our group went to the beach, the others wandered around town.

 

We stayed in Barcelona for five days after the cruise at the Hotel Duquesa de Cardona (http://www.hduquesadecardona.com/home.php), a lovely small hotel facing the harbor. Small but welcome pool on the roof terrace along with a bar and large seating/sunning area.

 

We also cruised the Med in October several years ago. During the day it was wonderful, still warm but not the beastly heat we encountered in July. Evenings were cool and you'll need a sweater/light jacket out on deck.

[Herb44]

We did a WestMed/Atlantic on Jade last year around Thanksgiving. Mornings were rather cool, thus breakfast was very unpleasant experience. It's worth the effort to eat in the dining rooms to avoid the exceptionally bad experiences of the buffet which is designed to accomodate cruisers in warm weather. We did a B2B in June on the Jade, and the buffet experiences were horrendous; we got used to eating breakfast in the MDR (Main Dining Room).

 

NCL shore excursions are very expensive, and alternatives are generally available. Examine all options first. We did no shorex in Norway, and few in the circum-Britain cruises.

 

We've never had seasickness problems, even with storms at sea. The stabilizers work very well. If you have no problems with airsickness when traveling by air, it's very unlikely that you'll have problems on a ship.

 

Also recomend a water-resistant & wind resistant jacket for evenings.

 

We enjoyed the concept of freestyle cruising much more than the reality: no formal nights, no set dinner schedule. The problems of the buffet and the new nickel & dime philosophy of NCL does get to you after a while. Remember that the cruise ticket price excludes the gratuities automatically added to your shipboard account. In June, it was $12 per person per day. It adds up quickly.

 

BTW, we're not shipboard gamblers, smokers, or drinkers. All that adds substantial $$ to your cost. If you're in the same group as us, be prepared to have lots of unpleasant experiences in the outdoor eating areas from the smokers.

[Vampzzzgirl]

Great advice!! You guys rock!!

[CeleBrat]

Hello-! We too were on the GEM last summer, and had a GREAT time! Would go back in a heartbeat. Spent 3 days in Barcelona pre-cruise, and 1 post-cruise. Took 3 private excursions (arranged beforehand) and 1 NCL excursion (Malta). Review with TONS of pics in my signature.

 

CeleBrat

[lupe lu]

Hi,

I`m a first time cruiser also so I have no advice to give! I`m also on the Gem the same date as you are with my husband, son and his wife. Looking very much forward to it. My husband and I have been to Rome several times and once to Florence, so we plan to take a Rome-on-your-own tour and also a Florence-on-your-own tour. That way we have the security of being back on the ship in time and the freedom to do what we want to do in the city. Others here have mentioned the same. The rest of the places/ports we are not sure about, we all need to relax on this trip so we have not made any plans to follow strictly.

We`ll fly into Barcelona the day before the cruise and stay there 3 days after the cruise. Have not booked hotel yet, I´m reading advices here and on TripAdvisor very carefully.

I´m sure we will have a wonderful time.

[Vampzzzgirl]

I've booked only one tour on NCL shore excusions so far...and that is Pompeii. I heard its really difficult to do on your own...I think I'm planning on doing on our own tour in Valleta, then doing the NCL tour in the morning for Pompeii, doing Naplaes that afternoon on our own, then taking the train to Rome, getting ahead of the line tixs to Vatican and doing the Colesseum and the rest on our own too. I'm still not sure about Florenca and Pisa...:( any advice welcome...and Cannes on our own.

 

My mom has a hard time walking fast pace and for long distances...and I feel maybe the tours might force her too much on keeping up...I'm a bit worried about Pompeii but its a must...

[DMH15]

Vampzzzgirl- I also travel with my mom who has difficulty walking, in both keeping up an unsteadyness. She also booked Pompeii, as she did not want to miss it. As things turned out, she got sick with bronchitis and stayed on the ship. In retrospect, she could have done it, slowly with rests, we could not have kept up with our guide. Even if your mom only saw part of it and then rested while you explored, I believe she would be happy with her decision to go. That being said, while in Naples we did a NCL excursion called "Amalfi Coast Drive and Pompeii" or something like that. It was wonderful. Pompeii was nice, and very historically significant.. but I adored Amalfi. I remember telling my friends I had decided to not reboard, they should just send my things. Amalfi had a beautiful church with a charming little town. We found a quaint outdoor cafe where we ate pizza, drank limoncello and was served by a young hunk of a waiter. No complaints!

[Vampzzzgirl]

Oh Almafi sounds great...I'm going to check out that tour. :)

[euro cruiser]

My mom has a hard time walking fast pace and for long distances...and I feel maybe the tours might force her too much on keeping up...I'm a bit worried about Pompeii but its a must...

I also travel with my mom who, at 86, also has a hard time walking a lot and keeping up. For our cruise on the Gem this summer I bought a folding travel wheelchair for $150 - best investment I ever made. Mom was comfortable and the chair was easy to push; because she was comfortable she was able to handle longer days than she otherwise would have.

 

The chair folds easily and using it came with unexpected benefits, like being able to board the plane first, before all the overheads were filled. The airline personnel were great - I wheeled her down to the plane and they gate checked the chair. When we arrived in Barcelona, we were among the last to get off, but it was easy. The chair was waiting for us in the gangway and off we went.

 

It was a little difficult to push on cobblestones, but we dealt with it. I don't know about the dirt paths at Pompei, but if it isn't working for you and your mom is mobile, she can walk where it's difficult and use the chair to rest when she's tired.

[DMH15]

common thread: one day we will no longer have our mom's but we will have our memories. We have travelled the world and lived our dreams.

[Vampzzzgirl]

I'm arriving Barcelona one day prior to our cruise departing...just booked our hotel. We will be staying at Hotel Granvia....has anybody stayed there? http://www.barcelonahotels.es/en/hotel-granvia-44.htm

The recommendations on trip advisor were pretty positive and it's also very affordable...

 

Also, any recommendations on what key places to visit in our one day in Barcelona?

 

Will I need a couple of hours of sleep to recover from the long flight? I'm flying in from LA so our flight will be like 16 hours.