Mediterranean cruise…what do I do first? Help!!

[bwmjam]

We did the Med this past summer and absolutely loved it! Ditto on arriving a few days before, the problems the airlines are having are not going to get better anytime soon, unfortunately. Be prepared for delays and possible cancellations. You will need a back-up plan, you will need noise-cancelling headphones, and travel insurance is a must. About half of the people on our cruise had their luggage lost by the airline. Yes, it's a shocking number but the reality of traveling nowadays. Pack as many outfits as you can in your carry-on, it may be all you get. Sadly, many people had to cancel their excursions so they could buy underwear and clothes instead. Know that travel insurance will reimburse you for clothing you have to buy due to lost luggage.

Be prepared for heat, it was 100+ degrees every day we were there and you spend most of your time outside, on black cobblestone streets making it even hotter. Wear light, moisture wicking clothing and drink lots of water. A real lifesaver is the packets of gatorade mix (you can get at Costco) and pour it into a bottle of water. You will need the electrolytes to survive the heat.

Book excursions through the Cruise Line! Yes, they are expensive but most of our excursions ran over by 1-2 hours, so the ship always waited for us. We realized, we would have been screwed if we had gone a private route, which is probably better and much cheaper. Yes, we saw people standing on the pier in disbelief as the ship pulled away. I guess they had to find a way to the next port. That is just stress I wouldn't want to deal with.

We bought a package through Costco pre-cruise and post-cruise and one of the best decisions we made. We got a 3-night hotel, breakfast everyday and private transfers to/from the airport or port for around $900. The hotels were really nice and in great locations, close to city center. Most cities in Europe, the airport is a good hour away from the city center so the private car was great.

We used the Viator app for all of our tours pre/post cruise. They have every kind of tour in every kind of price range. We especially loved the food and wine tours - we did one in Rome and one in Athens. You walk around the city and sample local wines and food, the best way to see the city.

 

[Louise97]

It's our first Med cruise this summer too! We're flying into Barcelona the day before, but we're coming from the UK so we only have one hour time difference. We've booked one night in a hotel before the cruise and one night after so we don't need to worry about rushing to the airport.

My jet lag is always worst flying east (i.e. from the US to Europe) so the earlier you can arrive the better! Google Flights is a great tool for looking at your options, I use it to price up flights then book direct with the airline. Hotel prices don't vary as much so I'd book flights then hotels.

 

[crauen]

I have not done a med cruise but I have flown from California to Europe a number of times. Especially if you are not an experienced international traveler the flights from California to Europe are very long. I would intentionally consider doing a connection on the way on the East Coast and take the time to get off a plane, stretch your legs and walk around etc. The times for most eastbound transatlantic flights work in such a way that it is fairly easy to have a daytime flight from California and have a reasonable layover on the East Coast and then an overnight flight to Europe. $1000 per person or less would be a perfectly reasonable round trip economy class fare from California to Europe. Though if it is at possible for your budget or points balances I would strongly recommend trying to upgrade at least the overnight portion of your outbound flight to Premium Economy (equivalent to US first class not just extra legroom) or Business Class (almost always a lie flat bed between the US and Europe these days). It makes a world of difference if you can get some decent sleep on that flight. It's less important for a return flight from Europe as those flights typically run in the daytime. Just my two cents on getting from California to Europe. Have a great cruise!

 

[crauen]

One other thing to note is that Barcelona in particular has very few direct flights from California. I think just on LEVEL (owned by the same company as Iberia) from LAX and SFO and maybe not even every day. For the big three US carriers (Delta, American and United) you are going to have to connect out East regardless. You can fly California direct to one of the big European hubs like London and then connect there but as discussed in my message above I think there connecting on the East Coast is a better option.

 

[kiford]

Following along.. also going in the Med cruise this summer

Do you have recommended agencies/operators to book private excursions?

Thanks

We always used ship excursions because the traffic can be significant so I didn’t want to chance it. But we spent a few extra days before and after in Barcelona on both Med cruises and before our Baltic cruise in London and used Viator for tours. I‘d definitely recommend them. Between the three cruises we probably did 6 different tours and really enjoyed them all. I can’t speak for the ability to get you back on time but if you don’t want to use the ship-booked excursions you’ll find a big selection of options on Viator.

 

[Jason Martin]

Definitely give yourself one to two days in the hotel at your port of embarkation. Also if you cannot get a non stop flight from your home airport and if you have to connect try to get a flight straight to a European airport or at least try to avoid a JFK/EWR connection as those short haul east coast flights get cancelled first if storms become an issue We did the Med a few years ago and drove from DC to PHL to secure a non stop. Found the extra drive worth it to avoid an airport.

 

[crauen]

One other thing that I did not see mentioned in the thread is that now is the time to check and confirm that you have passports that are valid at least 6 months from date of your return flight. With current processing times if you need to renew before this summer now is the time to get it done.

 

[ldo]

8am arrival for 11:50 flight would likely be self-disembark. Call DCL and ask what earliest flight time is. the airport is not far. There's a 2nd immigration line well after check in and secure screening (upstairs escalator). We didn't know this and were surprised to find that (longish) line-we thought we were just going upstairs to our gate.
I'd also add that you do not have to fly in/out of cruise port city. You can easily (and cheaply) get to/from BCN to many places in Europe in under 2 hours for $100. For some, flying into another city can be cheaper and you'd get to explore another area. I'd also recommend this if you don't plan to get to Europe again soon. We've done London/Paris/Rome/CPH to/from cruise port. We have used EasyJet, BA, SAS, Air France. Vueling is also one we'd use.

 

[JayhawkCruiser]

I'm glad someone started this thread. First time going on a Mediterranean cruise too. I'm hoping to find some answers as well. Is booking a flight home after our cruise at 11:50am too rush if our Disney cruise arrival at Barcelona port is 8am on debarkation day? Is it easy to find a taxi at the Barcelona cruise terminal? How long is the trip from cruise port to airport? Do you need a lot of time going through customs in Barcelona? Thanks!

You’re probably okay in all honesty if you express walkoff. Taxis were a non issue for us, but this was 5 years ago. I had a pretty long write up on here from then which you may find useful in my profile. Basically we just used Rick Steve’s Med Cruise guidebook to help plan our entire trip and it was nothing short of amazing.

 

[ldo]

Also use Rick Steve’s books and website (esp travelers forum) for all Europe trips. also very helpful. Cruisecritic.com forums.

 

[Mommb]

I agree with most of the previous recommendations (arrive a few days before the cruise if possible, allow for jet lag, get books by Rick Steves that cover ports you will visit) but I wouldn’t rule out private tours from large companies. Experienced private tour companies will make sure you get back to the ship well before all-aboard time. If they don’t get you back, they know you will discuss that negative experience on forums such as this one and they will lose business.

We have use both Rome in Limo and Joe Banana tours in Italy during port visits with no problems. Our guides stayed in touch with their home offices so they were aware of traffic issues and anything else that would affect our arrival back to the ship. By taking private tours we were able to see much more in Rome and the Amalfi coast (near Naples) than we would have on a ship-run bus tour. For a family of 4, the cost was comparable to the cost of ship-run tours. On our Joe Banana tour from Salerno, we visited a limoncello factory and an olive oil mill (with a private tasting of several different oils and breads). We stopped for lunch at a restaurant where we made our own pizzas, just the four of us. We then had a brief stop to walk around Sorrento and then a private guided tour of Pompeii.

I worked directly with tour company sites rather than Viator, and looked up reviews online. If you find a private tour too expensive, you can get semi-private tours from some companies, with 15 or 20 people. These are less personalized, but still allow you to see more than you would in larger groups.

My other major recommendation is to get trip insurance that covers your entire trip, from the time you leave your house to the time you return. Insurance purchased through Disney Cruise Line will cover only your cruise (unless you also book airfare and hotels through Disney Cruise) but trip insurance through many other companies will also cover flight delays/cancellations, illness or injury before or after your cruise, lost luggage, etc.

Happy planning!

 

[rsjj]

Thank you everyone for your replies! Your suggestions and recommendations are greatly appreciated. Flight prices are somewhat all over the place…

Anyone flown with LEVEL? The thought of a direct flight is very appealing…but in all honesty, I have never heard of that airline. Then again, I have never looked at flights to Europe before either.

I am trying to finalize our flights. And then, it’s off to hotels/accommodations next.

Thank you again! And keep those suggestions & recommendations coming! I’d love to read more!

 

[K8T]

We are only in the U.K. but still fly in a day or so beforehand. I would think from the USA it’s even more essential with jet lag!

I start looking at flights and then hotels in the area I feel is best. Lots of threads on here about hotels. If you go on sites like booking. Com you can reserve hotels and cancel them up to a week before sometimes less. It always makes me feel better if I have at least something sorted. I have even booked two hotels and then cancelled one. Prices do only go up in Europe too, so you are better booking early.

Taxis from airport to hotel are easy, as are to the ship, so don’t worry about that.

We never book excursions through the ship, we either do it ourselves or through Viator, which is so much cheaper. Trans are really reliable in Europe and run on time, the worst comes to the worst, you can get a cab back to the ship!

All ports have taxis waiting, they do the round robin trips every day / cruise ships are constantly visiting - so don’t be frightened to go with them, they know the things to see. Just agree a price beforehand - get them to write it down. They’re all pretty much the same price though. We’ve had some great drivers who’ve skipped queues, past the coaches and taken us to places we wouldn’t have seen. I always calculate what it would cost via the ship and if I can get it cheaper, I’m happy!

We’ve done all the Med ports several times, so if you have any questions do ask.

Which cruise are you on?

 

[crauen]

Sorry for the delayed response. LEVEL is a tourist focused airline that is owned by the same parent company as British Airways and Iberia. Barcelona is an interesting city to fly to, particularly from the West Coast as there is not a lot of business traffic. It is mostly tourists so there are fewer business class travelers. I have not flown LEVEL but have friends who have and it is a pretty basic service but will get you there fine for a good price. I would not worry about the airlines staying around or in business, etc. If they decide to cancel the flight for any reason they will likely re-book on Iberia or British Airways with a connection. As I mentioned in my previous comment I would consider a connection on the East Coast when flying to Europe from California as I think it helps with the jet lag and avoids a very long flight, especially if you are, like most travelers, flying in economy class. Good luck on your trip!

 

[CruiseGoon]

As a word of caution, I would recommend travelling several days before your embarkation date. I went on the Greek Isles cruise last summer and our bags were misconnected for 3 days. It was going to be 4 days, but I took a cab out to the airport when we found out the delivery service was working a backlog. We were already staying in Rome for about a week before embarkation day, so we could tour around on our own. That really saved us, because we met several families at the cruise port with no luggage and were going to have to rely on it being delivered at one of the later ports. And please make sure you have a day or 2 worth of clothing changes packed in your carry-on bags.