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Port recommendations - Vision of the Seas 14 night Med Greek Isles


dAnleighw

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Hi all, I've just booked to go on my first cruise with Royal Caribbean and I'm just looking for any general tips/advice and recommendations for all of the ports we are visiting.
 
I also want to know if it is worth booking on to the excursions Royal Caribbean offer or are we able to make our own way to places and make it a lot cheaper?
 
We are sailing from Barcelona and our itinerary is as follows plus sailing days in between :
Cannes, France
La Spezia (Florence/Pisa), Italy
Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy
Piraeus (Athens), Greece
Mykonos, Greece
Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey
Santorini, Greece
 
Thank you very much in advance.
 
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@dAnleighw

You will want to arrive in Barcelona a couple days before your cruise to get used to the time zone.  I found that was very good, and Barcelona is such a great city.

Cannes you can do on your own no problem.

Rome I did excursions with Royal, just because if logistics.  The port is actually very far from Rome approx 1 1/2 hours drive.

La Spezia was also with Royal for logistics.

I did the 12 night med cruise last year so some of the ports were the same.

Have a great trip!

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7 minutes ago, dAnleighw said:
Hi all, I've just booked to go on my first cruise with Royal Caribbean and I'm just looking for any general tips/advice and recommendations for all of the ports we are visiting.
 
I also want to know if it is worth booking on to the excursions Royal Caribbean offer or are we able to make our own way to places and make it a lot cheaper?
 
We are sailing from Barcelona and our itinerary is as follows plus sailing days in between :
Cannes, France
La Spezia (Florence/Pisa), Italy
Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy
Piraeus (Athens), Greece
Mykonos, Greece
Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey
Santorini, Greece
 
Thank you very much in advance.
 

Generally, you can get cheaper excursions from 3rd parties, but you need to consider what might happen if you are late getting back to the ship.  There are benefits to using Royal's excursions, but Matt states you should consider all options -- maybe a mix of providers is just fine.

We visited Pisa, which is a tad commercial and over-rated, so next trip we'll do Florence.  Still, I can claim I saw the Leaning Tower....

In Rome, there is lots you can walk to once you arrange transportation downtown.  Royal has an "at your leisure" tour in most cities, which does just that.

We found the Acropolis very crowded, so if you take that tour (from anyone), you need to get there early during tourist season.  (Piraeus)

We loved the Ephesus excursion Royal provided us at Kusadasi, but you can also walk to some local sites and shops at the port.

In Santorini, remember to plan your return to allow for the line to take the tram back to the port (from the mountain top) as well as tenders to the ship.

We found vendors in Turkey very aggressive, and you must bargain for best price.  You also need to bargain in most gift shops in Italy (the small stands), many don't tag their gifts or quote a high price.

Last tip is not to overdo it.  Especially in summer, which is hot, you will want to pace yourself and drink lots of water.

Have a great trip!

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