7/14/2014 - 12-Night Mediterranean Cruise (with Greece) Venice to Barcelona

[LovesToRun]

Welcome to the new people!! Can't wait until July!

Keenercam, I like your idea of doing something (even if it's small) each day to prepare or plan for the cruise. We went on the 12-Day Med Cruise on the Magic last year, so I feel more prepared now, I think just because I know more of what to expect and what I need or don't need. But, there is still a lot of planning to do since most of our ports on this cruise are new ports!

We do have Kusadasi and Athens booked already for private excursions, so I have those ports checked off and planned out.... I just have to figure out the other ports now.

I am anxious for Disney to come out with their port adventures for Rhodes, Santorini and Crete... Those are the only ports they don't have port adventures listed yet. It will be nice to see what Disney offers to get some more ideas of what to do.

In the mean time, I'm researching the Greek Islands to see what we might want to do.

Getting excited!!

 

[denise]

Good plan for them to have left NY for the cold, wish we had done the same. Also hope you have a great time in Hawaii

We did stop in MN on the drive to Calif when I was little! My Mom wanted to stay in Maynard on the family farm where my Dad was born but Dad said California is the place I want to be!! So off we went....not to Beverly Hills but to San Francisco!!!....lol

Welcome to all the new cruisers....

SMILIS....I was on the Med cruise in July 2007...it was 7-7-07...then the Baltic on 7-6-10...both were great cruises!!!

getting excited...

 

[sistersville]

Is there a post on this thread with a roll call or a FE list with people who have joined so far? Would like to start thinking about FE ideas...

 

[keenercam]

Is there a post on this thread with a roll call or a FE list with people who have joined so far? Would like to start thinking about FE ideas...

Sadly, the person who posted first on this thread is no longer planning to be on this cruise.

Esther is compiling the Fish Extender list, but I have only seen the most recent version of it on the Facebook page; click on "Files" at the top of our Facebook cruise.

So, I've decided to do something each day for the cruise, no matter how small the task may be, just to accomplish some items on my to-do list and to fight off the winter blues.

So far, I've booked and paid for our tour in Ephasus, researched trips to Murano for one of our days in Venice, ordered a Venice guidebook, and started compiling a budget for this trip, keeping track of what is paid for, what has to be paid for when, and what the deadlines are for refunds. I have to have an idea of these items and amounts in connection with buying trip insurance. And since my plan is to buy trip insurance by March 1, time is running out to start figuring this out.

Is anyone else buying trip insurance?

 

[slg]

I am buying trip insurance! I have just decided to go on THIS cruise rather than the 9 day one. I have both cruises booked, but my nephew was going to get married on the day this cruise ended, but I had my suspicions it might not work out, so I kept both. Well, his fiancee got pregnant and so the wedding is postponed!

Plus I had my bi-annual medical check-up and wanted the all-clear before I bought the airfare.

So, on Friday I bought the airfare, confirmed our Venice hotel (cancelled the dates we don't need), booked our hotel in Halifax for our return, purchased insurance for my flights, added my son's girlfriend to our cruise (she is thinking about joining us), booked the same hotel we stayed in last year in Barcelona for 2 days.

I feel I need to do soooo much though:

1. Have no idea how to get to our hotel in Venice from the airport. Need some advice on that.

2. How to get to the cruise from our hotel!

3. Although our Barcelona hotel is booked, we are wanting a more central one. The one we had last year was fine for one night and cheap! 107 euros a night for a 2 bedroom condo..and easy to take the metro. But I would like something more central to the action so we can just walk down to Las Ramblas in the evening for a meal and for all the museums and things during the day. If anyone can suggest a place for 5/6 people that would be great!

4. Book my Barcelona transfers. I know who I want...same guy I used last year. I just haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

5. Once we leave Barcelona we are heading to Nova Scotia to visit my in-laws, so I need to book my car rentals (NS and NFLD) and also my flight to NFLD (to visit a fellow diser I met on our Med cruise last year)and car rental and flight home. I have enough airmiles to do it, so hoping to do it today.

6. As to excursions, we did all DCL except in Athens. Loved our private tour in Athens and would book with them again, but depends on if the girlfriend is coming. She's never been to Europe so we may do different stuff, or split up as a family if she comes. I have looked at all the excursions that I can right now, and know what I want to do, except Athens. Looking forward to the new ports's excursions to be posted.

7. My mother has terminal cancer and they are worried her ovarian cancer has spread to her intestines. I am stressed about this and even doubting my decision to plan such a big trip in light of all this illness, but if I had cancelled all my trips since she started this cancer journey I wouldn't have gone anywhere for the last 3.5 years. I am going on faith that nothing will happen, and if it does, that is what insurance is for.

8. Looking forward to getting to meet you all, and remeet those of you who were on our cruise last year. I have so many questions about Venice that I need to go back and reread this entire thread, but if anyone has any suggestions about transfers right now, I'd appreciate it.

 

[LovesToRun]

I am buying trip insurance! I have just decided to go on THIS cruise rather than the 9 day one. I have both cruises booked, but my nephew was going to get married on the day this cruise ended, but I had my suspicions it might not work out, so I kept both. Well, his fiancee got pregnant and so the wedding is postponed!

Plus I had my bi-annual medical check-up and wanted the all-clear before I bought the airfare.

So, on Friday I bought the airfare, confirmed our Venice hotel (cancelled the dates we don't need), booked our hotel in Halifax for our return, purchased insurance for my flights, added my son's girlfriend to our cruise (she is thinking about joining us), booked the same hotel we stayed in last year in Barcelona for 2 days.

I feel I need to do soooo much though:

1. Have no idea how to get to our hotel in Venice from the airport. Need some advice on that.

2. How to get to the cruise from our hotel!

3. Although our Barcelona hotel is booked, we are wanting a more central one. The one we had last year was fine for one night and cheap! 107 euros a night for a 2 bedroom condo..and easy to take the metro. But I would like something more central to the action so we can just walk down to Las Ramblas in the evening for a meal and for all the museums and things during the day. If anyone can suggest a place for 5/6 people that would be great!

4. Book my Barcelona transfers. I know who I want...same guy I used last year. I just haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

5. Once we leave Barcelona we are heading to Nova Scotia to visit my in-laws, so I need to book my car rentals (NS and NFLD) and also my flight to NFLD (to visit a fellow diser I met on our Med cruise last year)and car rental and flight home. I have enough airmiles to do it, so hoping to do it today.

6. As to excursions, we did all DCL except in Athens. Loved our private tour in Athens and would book with them again, but depends on if the girlfriend is coming. She's never been to Europe so we may do different stuff, or split up as a family if she comes. I have looked at all the excursions that I can right now, and know what I want to do, except Athens. Looking forward to the new ports's excursions to be posted.

7. My mother has terminal cancer and they are worried her ovarian cancer has spread to her intestines. I am stressed about this and even doubting my decision to plan such a big trip in light of all this illness, but if I had cancelled all my trips since she started this cancer journey I wouldn't have gone anywhere for the last 3.5 years. I am going on faith that nothing will happen, and if it does, that is what insurance is for.

8. Looking forward to getting to meet you all, and remeet those of you who were on our cruise last year. I have so many questions about Venice that I need to go back and reread this entire thread, but if anyone has any suggestions about transfers right now, I'd appreciate it.

Hi there,

I was on your same cruise last year! I remember you. So fun you'll be on this cruise!

Where are you staying in Venice (which hotel, or which area of Venice)? This will be our 3rd time in Venice, so we are pretty familiar with the area. And, are you flying into the Marco Polo airport, or the Treviso airport (Treviso is on the outskirts of Venice, and Marco Polo is right in Venice)? My guess is Marco Polo if you are flying a non-budget airline. All the budget airlines fly into Treviso, which is cheaper to fly into, but a bit of a hassle to get into Venice (but very doable and straight forward... we did is last year).

You likely will need to take a Vaporetto (water bus) or a water taxi from the airport (Marco Polo) to your hotel, but it depends on the location of your hotel, and which airport you are flying into (Treviso, you'll take a taxi (with wheels or a bus (with wheels) to the train station/bus station area in Venice, and then depending on where your hotel is from there, you can either walk to your hotel, or you'll need to take a water bus or water taxi. Just note a water taxi is very expensive (but they will negotiate, but even with negotiating, a water taxi is more expensive than a water bus).

Find out how close your hotel is to a water bus station, and if it's really close to a water bus station, then I'd just take a water bus, as then you don't have to walk far at all with all your luggage. There are water bus stations all over the place, and they are really easy to figure out. But, be prepared to have to walk some with your luggage, and possibly over a bridge or two, depending on where your hotel is.

As for getting from your hotel to port, find out if anyone else here in this group is staying at your same hotel, and if that is the case, you can all split the cost of a water taxi from the hotel to the ship on departure day, and that would be the easiest way to get to port. But, if it's just your family, your cheapest option to port will likely be a water bus, unless you are staying at a hotel near the airport, and in that case, you can take a regular taxi (with wheels) to port.

As for the hotel in Barcelona, we are a family of 4, so I can't give suggestions for places to stay for a family of 5.

And, smart idea to buy trip insurance!! Especially for a trip as big as this one... even beyond your mom's health (which I'm sorry to hear about), anything else can happen that could impact your trip, so it's just a good idea to have the trip insurance for sure.

 

[peterappleyard]

Hi there, I was on your same cruise last year! I remember you. So fun you'll be on this cruise! Where are you staying in Venice (which hotel, or which area of Venice)? This will be our 3rd time in Venice, so we are pretty familiar with the area. And, are you flying into the Marco Polo airport, or the Treviso airport (Treviso is on the outskirts of Venice, and Marco Polo is right in Venice)? My guess is Marco Polo if you are flying a non-budget airline. All the budget airlines fly into Treviso, which is cheaper to fly into, but a bit of a hassle to get into Venice (but very doable and straight forward... we did is last year). You likely will need to take a Vaporetto (water bus) or a water taxi from the airport (Marco Polo) to your hotel, but it depends on the location of your hotel, and which airport you are flying into (Treviso, you'll take a taxi (with wheels or a bus (with wheels) to the train station/bus station area in Venice, and then depending on where your hotel is from there, you can either walk to your hotel, or you'll need to take a water bus or water taxi. Just note a water taxi is very expensive (but they will negotiate, but even with negotiating, a water taxi is more expensive than a water bus). Find out how close your hotel is to a water bus station, and if it's really close to a water bus station, then I'd just take a water bus, as then you don't have to walk far at all with all your luggage. There are water bus stations all over the place, and they are really easy to figure out. But, be prepared to have to walk some with your luggage, and possibly over a bridge or two, depending on where your hotel is. As for getting from your hotel to port, find out if anyone else here in this group is staying at your same hotel, and if that is the case, you can all split the cost of a water taxi from the hotel to the ship on departure day, and that would be the easiest way to get to port. But, if it's just your family, your cheapest option to port will likely be a water bus, unless you are staying at a hotel near the airport, and in that case, you can take a regular taxi (with wheels) to port. As for the hotel in Barcelona, we are a family of 4, so I can't give suggestions for places to stay for a family of 5. And, smart idea to buy trip insurance!! Especially for a trip as big as this one... even beyond your mom's health (which I'm sorry to hear about), anything else can happen that could impact your trip, so it's just a good idea to have the trip insurance for sure.

Hi does anyone know of an Hotel near to the port in Venice? For a overnight stay before the cruise?
thank you

 

[Brava Centauri]

I was just curious how many people have already booked their airfare and how pricing has looked.

We need to fly out of a small airport, so we are used to higher fares, but it looks like costs are substantially higher this year for us. We have been watching fares for a while and they have been pretty consistent. We are hoping for a decent drop in price before too long. Has anyone seen recent price drops?

Thanks.

 

[denise]

don't know if I am doing this wrong...you would think I would know how to do it by now...lol

How do I find the port excursions for our cruise to start planning? The ones I have found seem to be from last summer....only Athens is really listed....

Am I too early?

 

[slg]

We booked our flights, and I happy with the price.
$5960 for 5 of us from Victoria bc Canada to Venice and
Returning Barcelona to Halifax nova scotia. My flight home is on airmiles.

 

[LovesToRun]

I was just curious how many people have already booked their airfare and how pricing has looked.

We need to fly out of a small airport, so we are used to higher fares, but it looks like costs are substantially higher this year for us. We have been watching fares for a while and they have been pretty consistent. We are hoping for a decent drop in price before too long. Has anyone seen recent price drops?

Thanks.

We used miles to book our tickets, but I'm guessing if you are paying full price for tickets (and not using miles), the airfare will not get cheaper from here. There are some budget airlines you could possibly look into. I also know Icelandic Air is a fairly reasonably priced airline (depending on if it flies out of the airport you will be flying out from). It makes a stop in Iceland along the way to Europe... But, my guess is the prices you see now are about as good as they are going to get from here on out... it's hard, though... airfare really is a gamble in knowing if you are really getting the best price.

There are airfare tracking programs you can sign up for online, like kayak.com where they will send you message alerts when a low fare comes available. You could try something like that. Also, the dates you travel can make a difference. If you are flexible in your dates you arrive to Europe and fly home, you could try to see if arriving to Europe on like a Tuesday or Wednesday might be cheaper, and same for leaving... sometimes the day of the week you fly can make a significant difference in price.

Also, maybe try looking up prices for different airports in Europe you will fly into for your first stop (not many direct flights (if any) from USA to Venice, so you will have to make a stop at some major airport in Europe before flying to Venice. Some airports are more expensive to fly into than others (for example, London Heathrow Airport is more expensive to fly into because they have a very high tax they add to all airline tickets that fly in and out of Heathrow).

Wish I could give you better advice. Maybe others here can give better advice.

 

[SailingSeas]

hey Denise, the port excursions are not quite finalized yet, so they are still up in the air. I have links to the following:

Piraeus - Athens

Kusadasi (Ephesus) You will have to explore the links on the right hand side of the page as their Ephesus page does not appear to be built yet

Rhodes - not done yet

Heraklion - not done yet

Mykonos

Santorini - not done yet

Malta

The list is subject to change as the vendors sign on, too, so the offerings will change frequently.

Peter - are you looking to stay on the island in Venice or on the mainland (a little more cheaply in Mestre)? How many nights are you going for before the cruise? there are hundreds of options to stay at, and I suggest exploring the options on TripAdvisor to get an idea as to quality and location when making a decision. Be aware of a couple of things:

- Best pricing is often not refundable. Cancellation options come at a premium.
- The island is navigable by boat. Be aware of that if your chosen hotel is not right along a waterway and a taxi stop. You will be dragging whatever you bring with you to the hotel, and may cross bridges or have to take a water taxi to get there.

 

[SailingSeas]

I have not yet booked airfare. We will fly out of boston or NYC, and will buy tickets sometime early summer (Yes, I know, cutting it ridiculously close.) I also wanted to give a thumbs up for Aer Lingus. They fly in and out of both Venice and Barcelona and run neck and neck with Turkish and Icelandic for pricing. The sometimes allow for extended layovers at no additional charge so you can spend a day exploring Dublin too.

 

[LovesToRun]

I have not yet booked airfare. We will fly out of boston or NYC, and will buy tickets sometime early summer (Yes, I know, cutting it ridiculously close.) I also wanted to give a thumbs up for Aer Lingus. They fly in and out of both Venice and Barcelona and run neck and neck with Turkish and Icelandic for pricing. The sometimes allow for extended layovers at no additional charge so you can spend a day exploring Dublin too.

We will be in Ireland for a week before the cruise, and we are flying Aer Lingus from Dublin to Venice... got a great price on tickets... cheapest ticket price I found by far from Dublin to Venice. And, that is a great point... they fly from the USA, too, so that is a great airline to look into for cheaper pricing for those who have not yet booked their airfare.

 

[keenercam]

We booked airfare in late October when it dipped. It was $3,073.60 for 2 adults ($1536.80pp), Philadelphia to Venice and Barcelona to Philadelphia (booked as multi-city rather than two one-way fares). It's up a bit today - $3,080.00 . It hasn't been lower than what we booked at since we booked it.

We were very specific about what we wanted. Non-stop with flights on 7/11 and 7/27, so we were pretty restricted in our options. Ultimately, we are fine with what we have.

By the way, our flights for our 2011 Mediterranean Cruise - PHL-BCN-PHL - were $1,608/adult round trip. So this year's flights are a bit less than 2011.

 

[keenercam]

In trying to keep to my plan of doing something for the trip each day, yesterday I unpacked the Pimsleur Conversational Italian program I bought about 6 months ago and listened to the introduction. The program requires 30 uninterrupted minutes of listening and speaking each day. If I had a longer commute in my car alone, that would be perfect. Since I am fortunate enough to have a very short drive to work (often accompanied by my DS20), I will have to find some other time to do this.

I also started looking through my Venice guidebook to familiarize myself with the areas of Venice.

 

[corbett744]

I have the same program. I also have a short commute. I just stick it in and do it 10 min at a time. Sometimes I get more. And I listen to each lesson about 3-4 times. They say you want to get about 80 % correct. I figure I have time. Why move on till I have it all right. I did the Greek one last year and I still remember some of it even though I havent used it. My only problem with intro with Pinsler, is they don't really tell you what you need for basic travel. I don't care about choosing wine or beer. But I want to ask for water, and where the bathroom is.
THat said... I'm on lesson 3 of Italian.

 

[corbett744]

I have the same program. I also have a short commute. I just stick it in and do it 10 min at a time. Sometimes I get more. And I listen to each lesson about 3-4 times. They say you want to get about 80 % correct. I figure I have time. Why move on till I have it all right. I did the Greek one last year and I still remember some of it even though I havent used it. My only problem with intro with Pinsler, is they don't really tell you what you need for basic travel. I don't care about choosing wine or beer. But I want to ask for water, and where the bathroom is.
THat said... I'm on lesson 3 of Italian.

 

[corbett744]

oops!

 

[keenercam]

Cindi - That's great to know. I think I'll put it in my car and give it a try that way.


We are getting many requests to join the Facebook page but I don't recognize any of the names. If you are here and have sent a request on Facebook, please let me know - either by posting here or sending a PM here or sending me a message on Facebook. I don't want to exclude anyone from the page, but I know there have been very significant issues with people joining groups when they are not on the sailing and the concomitant security/safety concerns of those who are sailing.