ChefSpencer

My wife and I are taking out first non Caribbean cruise at the end of April. I know one major difference from the Caribbean cruises is that your ports aren't always at the destination. For example the stop in "Rome' is really a port about a 40 min train ride away. I am wondering if a lot of cruisers get their train tickets ahead of time, just do excursions, or what experienced cruisers preferred method is to get from the port to these inland cities. Thanks in advance for any advice!

@mom2mybugs Our favorite post dessert dessert while cruising with the deluxe beverage package is a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, a shot of espresso, and a shot of baileys. Our table in the main dinning room had them every night.... Man I miss being on a cruise   The trip looks awesome so far! 

My wife and I are going to be cruising on the Jewel of the Sea next April in the Mediterranean! On the cruise planner it looks like the deluxe beverage package is 61$ per person per day! I know the last cruise I booked that cruised November of last year That same package was closer to $45 per person per day, with a sale of course. Does Royal still do the sales on drink and food packages? I loved the deluxe before, and not having to worry about if I "needed" a drink or if it was " worth it", but 61$ is a lot!

1 hour ago, mom2mybugs said:

Today we spent several hours at segrada familia and now are trying to great you the energy for a couple hours at the Picasso museum!  More later!  Jane

How was the museum? My wife lives his work and its on the top of our list of things to do when we are there next year!

10 minutes ago, MDIAZ72 said:

Hi everybody! About pickpockets we have seen them in Rome and Naples but the only try to take advantage of the misattention of the tourist without violence. In Barcelona you have two types: pickpockets like comentes and robbers that use violence to stole your valuables. There are some "professionals" specialized in watches. Be careful with the city areas but enjoy a beautiful city like Barcelona. One of the most beautiful cites of Spain. Enjoy your nice cruise. 

Marco

My wife and I have lived in big cities our whole lives so I assumed it wouldn't be much different. You always have to be paying attention to where you are. Thanks for the tip!

Thanks for all the input so far! We will look in to securing our personal effects and trying to minimizing our risk of pickpockets. I was just thinking about the stops and I am wondering if the customs or process of getting out of the ports are longer than we may be accustomed to at the ports in the Caribbean and Mexico? 

5 minutes ago, Morganno said:

I haven't researched it so much but yes you will get great value on eating off the boat but it will only be lunch.

What are your return times to the boat, we have done the med twice and the return times have been really early so no chance for dinner. You have picked a great time as in the summer the restaurants will open much later and might not do lunch.

To be honest we did the med twice and I wouldn't have bought the drinks package as you can get great drinks for $5-6 in southern Europe and a bottle of wine will set you back maybe 25$

 

Have a great time look forward to hearing about it.

It looks like the boat leaves at around 7-8pm in most places which to me means dinner off the boat should we want it. I am also very willing to believe there are big cultural differences on what time of day a meal is traditionally served. My thought on the drinks is similar to yours so we will hold off on a drink package for now. 

Thanks so much for the help!

That is so awesome! I am sure you will have an amazing time. I look forward to virtually tagging along for the adventure lol

10 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Don't miss Herculaneum (the Italians will tell you they have no idea what you're talking about if you say the word "Herculaneum" to them (THAT'S A GREEK WORD !) so you may have to ask for Ercolano) if you get the chance

Thanks so much for the tip! We were already looking at excursions or tours of pompeii

Hello everyone!

My wife and I just booked our first European cruise and we are very, very excited! As the booking excitement wears off I am finding myself wondering about things that I had not worried or thought about on past Caribbean cruises we have been on. I am looking for some guidance or tips for this new experience for us! I used some of the tips I have seen on here when it came to booking flights and I have already taken a look at the trains and other transportation to the cities where the ports are not as close to the city in question.

As my name may imply I love food and my wife and I love to eat, and experience different foods and culinary cultures. One of my big questions I guess is have any Royal Caribbean Blog foodies here been on a trip similar to mine? How did you help control the costs of food? One of the things I have loved about cruising is, aside from a little spending and tipping money, the costs are up front making it very easy to plan for. That has held true over the cruises we have been on so far, but now we are going to be in Nice, Rome, Barcelona, Naples, and Portifino. I would by lying to myself if I pretend that we would be back to the boat to eat in the windjammer or even the dinning room when we are in this gastronome's paradise. I am also wondering about if past cruisers have felt the beverage packages are still "worth the money" when, in theory, we would be on the ship less than a Caribbean cruise. We did the deluxe beverage package on our last cruise and loved it, but we were also on the boat a lot more than we are planning to be for this adventure. 

As an additional note I would love to hear about favorite experiences or adventures in these stops or things you don't think we should miss out on! My apologies for rambling a bit, and I appreciate any help or input!

Edit. I forgot to mention that when we get back we have an extra day in Barcelona before leaving so any ideas on possible day trips or places to see that are possibly outside the city would be awesome!