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Wonder of the Seas Mediterranean Cruise


JustJoe

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We are excited to be going on the Wonder of the Seas in 2 weeks out of Barcelona.  I’m looking for excursion ideas for our family.  We have twin 6 year old daughters and trying to balance having fun with culture.  Ports are Mallorca, Marseille, Pisa, Rome, and Naples.

thanks in advance for all suggestions.

 

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I would recommend a Royal Caribbean excursion in Civitavecchia (Rome) due to how far away the city is from the cruise port. I love visiting the Colosseum anytime I'm in Rome, so I would say that is a must-do! If possible, be sure to plan some time for a delicious Italian lunch while in Rome (just stray a few streets away from the tourist areas for the better, cheaper food). Cacio e pepe and spaghetti alla carbonara are from Rome and are extremely good!

If it's your first time in Naples, I would venture to the Amalfi Coast or Capri. If there is an "On your own" style tour where the excursion provides solely transportation and you are free to explore however you wish while there, I would probably choose that. That way you can wander around the streets, eat a nice Italian lunch, and explore at your own pace. The Amalfi Coast is beautiful!

Pompeii is another great option for Naples.

I have not been to Pisa, Mallorca or Marseille. If you have the option to visit Florence instead of Pisa though I would definitely do that.

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Good on you for being brave enough to take young kids. I think I’m on your sailing (June 5th). I’m leaving my three kids at home because the places which my wife and I want to see will not hold our kids attention. One thing to consider is leaving your kids in adventure ocean if there is a stop in which something you want to do is not suitable for kids and then plan a kid type thing for a different port.

Example: beach day in Palma with kids, museum in Florence without kids.

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  • 2 months later...
On 5/25/2022 at 1:30 AM, JustJoe said:

We are excited to be going on the Wonder of the Seas in 2 weeks out of Barcelona.  I’m looking for excursion ideas for our family.  We have twin 6 year old daughters and trying to balance having fun with culture.  Ports are Mallorca, Marseille, Pisa, Rome, and Naples.

thanks in advance for all suggestions.

 

@JustJoe I'd love to hear how your experiences ended up with your daughters in the various ports.  Planning the same with my 6 year old and not quite 2 year old. 

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  • 1 month later...

I will be flying to Rome Italy in 5 weeks and will arrive 5 days before my cruise leaves with ports of call in Naples, Barcelona, Mallorca, Marseilles, La Spezia, then back to Rome. Currently I have a shore excursion (Amalfi Coast by Land and Sea) booked with R/C during our stop in Naples which says we will visit the towns of Amalfi and Pompeii which is supposed to take 9.5 hours. The R/C excursion website doesn't provide much info. Does anyone know if I will have enough time to look around on my own in Amalfi on this excursion? Has anyone taken this excursion in the past? Because the Amalfi Coast is so close to Rome, I am thinking about taking a train from Rome to Naples before my cruise and finding my own tour to go to Positano and Sorrento in addition to my shore excursion I currently have booked. Any thoughts?

Another excursion I currently have booked is from La Spezia (Best of Florence and Pisa) - 11 hours. Again, the website does not provide much info. From what hear it is a 1  hour trip from the cruise ship port to Pisa, then another 2 hours to Florence. I am afraid this will not allow me much time to explore on my own in Florence and it is a lot of riding on the bus. I am thinking about cancelling this excursion and instead take a train from La Spezia to Pisa and explore on my own and not go to Florence. I would buy tickets to the Leaning Tower in advance which would allow me to go inside then leisurely walk around Pisa then go back to the ship. Any thoughts?

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Not sure what you consider "close" but the Amalfi coast area is not really close to Rome at all.  @CruizeMan, since you have so much time prior to your cruise, I think it would be a great idea to explore all of the Amalfi coast on your own....just know that it isn't particularly close to Rome.  I go to Naples fairly regularly on business and I find that renting a car and driving the coast is absolutely amazing.  If it were me, I would take 2 days to do this....as you mentioned, take the train to Naples, rent a car (I always go to the airport so I'm not sure where else renting a car would be convenient) and then plan on taking an entire LONG day to do the Amalfi coast and stay over in Naples.  While you're in Naples, if you are interested in seeing Vesuvius-era ruins, I recommend going to Herculaneum (Ercolano) vs Pompeii, especially if you are short on time.  Herculaneum is much smaller than Pompeii and its ruins are very well preserved since the entire place was fully engulfed by ash at the time of the eruption (in fairness, so was Pompeii).  Herculaneum is also much closer to Naples proper than is Pompeii.  Pompeii is a must-see as well, but I find that Pompeii is just as well viewed in an organized tour (unless you have LOTS of time and LOTS of mobility and energy. Don't go in the summer.  It is H.O.T.) while Herculaneum is a great at-your-own-speed type of visit.

Be sure and plan on eating lunch (or whatever is timely) in Positano.  It's breathtaking and the fresh seafood (if that's your thing) is unmatched.  All of the food is amazing but there's something just a little special about Positano.  Be sure and allocate plenty of photo time (for the entire trip).  You will find something beautiful and amazing at every turn.  The place is simply uniquely beautiful.

A word about Herculaneum.  If you plan on asking any of the locals about the ruins, do NOT refer to the place as Herculaneum.  Just ask about Ercolano.  Herculaneum is a Greek word and the locals resent it being called Herculaneum.  Ercolano is the name of the town in which the ruins are located.

Also, while you are in Naples, be SURE and get some local mozarela d'bufalo.  It is so awesome !  The real stuff is stored in a salty brine...hmmmm...my mouth is watering just thinking about it.  Enjoy !  Such a beautiful place....all of the west coast of Italy...except for downtown Naples, unfortunately.  Not the greatest but the coast....yes !

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17 hours ago, CruizeMan said:

I will be flying to Rome Italy in 5 weeks and will arrive 5 days before my cruise leaves with ports of call in Naples, Barcelona, Mallorca, Marseilles, La Spezia, then back to Rome. Currently I have a shore excursion (Amalfi Coast by Land and Sea) booked with R/C during our stop in Naples which says we will visit the towns of Amalfi and Pompeii which is supposed to take 9.5 hours. The R/C excursion website doesn't provide much info. Does anyone know if I will have enough time to look around on my own in Amalfi on this excursion? Has anyone taken this excursion in the past? Because the Amalfi Coast is so close to Rome, I am thinking about taking a train from Rome to Naples before my cruise and finding my own tour to go to Positano and Sorrento in addition to my shore excursion I currently have booked. Any thoughts?

Another excursion I currently have booked is from La Spezia (Best of Florence and Pisa) - 11 hours. Again, the website does not provide much info. From what hear it is a 1  hour trip from the cruise ship port to Pisa, then another 2 hours to Florence. I am afraid this will not allow me much time to explore on my own in Florence and it is a lot of riding on the bus. I am thinking about cancelling this excursion and instead take a train from La Spezia to Pisa and explore on my own and not go to Florence. I would buy tickets to the Leaning Tower in advance which would allow me to go inside then leisurely walk around Pisa then go back to the ship. Any thoughts?

You probably won't have much time on your own in Amalfi on that excursion - but it is enough to see the area.

Think about skipping Amalfi and doing Cinque Terre instead.  It is very close to La Spezia and as you have already seen, the trip to Florence is very long, with little time in the city.  I did this earlier this summer on Wonder.  If you do this, take an AM excursion to Pompeii (It gets hot in the afternoon) and just walk around Naples after.  The ship docks downtown so it is easy on foot.

 

Alternately, you could take the train down from Rome to see Pompeii and then do a Almafi only excursion that would allow for more time.

Another thought is to take the train from Rome to Florence.  It is really a magnificent city that deserves full day.

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@CruizeManI would also not consider Rome and Positano/Sorrento/Amalfi to be close at all. Geographically yes maybe, but logistically not at all.

La Spezia: Pisa if you want more of a historical/learning day, or Cinque Terre for coastal sightseeing. Too much travel to get to Florence and spend any quality time there. If opting for Pisa, see if you have enough time to add Lucca.

Naples: Pick either Amalfi or Pompeii (or Ercolano). If doing both on the excursion, you'll spend the majority of your time in transit and not actually at the sights.

Pre-cruise in Rome: seconding the day trip to Florence (though I would try to make it an overnight if possible). If you can get a freccia train it's a quick 1.5hr non-stop ride (would recommend buying in advance to guarantee getting the departure times you want, and save a bit on ticket price). You could also do a 2nd day trip to Pompeii as @wordell1mentioned to free up your Naples stop for Amalfi. It would be a long day but potentially worth it to make it to all the places you want to visit.

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  • 8 months later...
On 9/8/2022 at 8:08 PM, CruizeMan said:

I will be flying to Rome Italy in 5 weeks and will arrive 5 days before my cruise leaves with ports of call in Naples, Barcelona, Mallorca, Marseilles, La Spezia, then back to Rome. Currently I have a shore excursion (Amalfi Coast by Land and Sea) booked with R/C during our stop in Naples which says we will visit the towns of Amalfi and Pompeii which is supposed to take 9.5 hours. The R/C excursion website doesn't provide much info. Does anyone know if I will have enough time to look around on my own in Amalfi on this excursion? Has anyone taken this excursion in the past? Because the Amalfi Coast is so close to Rome, I am thinking about taking a train from Rome to Naples before my cruise and finding my own tour to go to Positano and Sorrento in addition to my shore excursion I currently have booked. Any thoughts?

Another excursion I currently have booked is from La Spezia (Best of Florence and Pisa) - 11 hours. Again, the website does not provide much info. From what hear it is a 1  hour trip from the cruise ship port to Pisa, then another 2 hours to Florence. I am afraid this will not allow me much time to explore on my own in Florence and it is a lot of riding on the bus. I am thinking about cancelling this excursion and instead take a train from La Spezia to Pisa and explore on my own and not go to Florence. I would buy tickets to the Leaning Tower in advance which would allow me to go inside then leisurely walk around Pisa then go back to the ship. Any thoughts?

 

 

How was the excursion? I am looking at booking the Gulf of Naples & Amalfi Coast: Capri & Positano RC excursion for my wife and daughter. RC does not really provide much info. So I am debating on spending the $$$ for this excursion. 

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On 5/23/2023 at 2:38 AM, Dutch Frost said:

 

 

How was the excursion? I am looking at booking the Gulf of Naples & Amalfi Coast: Capri & Positano RC excursion for my wife and daughter. RC does not really provide much info. So I am debating on spending the $$$ for this excursion. 

The cruise arrives directly in the port of Naples. It is very easy to take a ferry and go to Capri for example to visit alone. No difficulty and it’s much cheaper than a RC excursion

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