August 7th, 2010 Mediterranean Cruise

[abayaflowers]

Are there any families from California coming along?

 

[nic_x]

I lived in Germany for quite awhile, and still travel to Europe frequently, so I can help on most of these questions.

More and more, there are Europeans who wear jeans. They tend to be younger--twenty-somethings or thirty-somethings, as opposed to those in their 50s and up. Often, they'll wear them with neutral-colored tops. If you want to wear jeans, you'll be fine.

There are a number of ways to keep from sticking out as an obvious tourist. European women tend not to have big hair, so don't feel like you need to fluff too much. Keep your camera tucked away whenever you're not shooting a photo. (Cameras are the Big Giveaway.) Don't wear bright white tennis shoes (Most Europeans who wear tennis shoes will wear a more lightweight brand, like Puma, and often in a neutral color like beige or black, instead of a heavy white Nike or New Balance type of shoe.) Lightweight loafers/walking shoes in a neutral color are most common. My mom always wears neutral pants and a pair of black New Balances--she has to wear very comfortable shoes, especially given all the walking we do when we're traveling--and she always blends in. Remember that it will be hot in August, so go for lightweight fabrics. You won't be able to wear shorts or tank tops in cathedrals (for instance, in Rome and Malta), and probably won't find them appropriate in Tunis, so plan ahead for that. Cottons, linens, etc. It could get chilly after dark, so take a lightweight jacket. Again, neutral colors work best.

A tip: if you want to get a sense of everyday dress for Europeans, watch an episode of HGTV's House Hunters International when they're in Europe. Look at the people on the streets, or the real estate agent/offices, or at the people dining in restaurants in the background. Or watch Travel Channel shows that focus on Europe, and look at the people in the background in the streets, going about their daily business (instead of the obvious tourists.)

On suitcase size: smaller is definitely better. If you take a taxi anywhere in Europe with your luggage, you'll want to be compact. If you're a family group, you can get a minivan, but it may still be a little tight. Also, many hotels in Europe have TINY elevators--they may fit one person and one suitcase if you have a large suitcase, so you'd need to make multiple trips up and down to get to your room. I mix and match pieces so multiple tops go with multiple bottoms, and I can pack fewer pieces overall and still have several "outfits." (For instance, one top might go with three different bottoms, and vice versa.) I travel to Europe frequently, and try to take a couple lightweight tops that I can wash out in the sink and hang in the bathroom to dry, just to save space. Then I'll re-wear with a different bottom. You'll be able to do that easily on the Magic. (I had one suitcase for myself and my two kids on our Western Caribbean, and we had plenty of clothes.)

If you're aware of your surroundings, you'll be safe from pickpockets. Some places to be hyperaware: Lines for tickets at attractions, or lines going into museums (the crowd entering the Uffizi in Florence is a hotspot of pickpockets! Keep a hand over any zippers for handbags and move wallets to front pockets WITH your hand near there!), on buses and metros (watch the guy bumping into you or standing close), and on Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Basically, anywhere that there is a very high percentage of tourists and where it's natural for people to be crowded together, you can be a target. Don't fall for gimmicks like someone picking up a ring or other jewelry on the street and asking if it's yours, or accidentally spilling on you and apologizing. A partner may be close at hand picking your pocket while you're distracted. Ditto the crying child and nearby mom. They may even dress and like an act like they're just another tourist, so don't be fooled.

It sounds ominous, like Europe is full of pickpockets, but it's truly not that big a problem. If you're aware of how pickpockets operate and stay aware of your surroundings, you'll be safe. And you'll have a TON of fun!

 

[nic_x]

Forgot to say that I'll be on this cruise, too, which is why I was reading through this thread. I'm coming with DH, DD9, and DS who turns 12 on the first At Sea day (he's very excited about having a birthday onboard the Magic!) This will be our third time on the Magic. Our other two cruises were the Eastern and the Western.

BTW...I realize abayaflowers wasn't asking questions (suitcases/pickpockets/how to dress, etc) but sharing some good info...I just figured those are questions a lot of people here will have, so I wanted to expand on it a bit.

 

[abayaflowers]

Forgot to say that I'll be on this cruise, too, which is why I was reading through this thread. I'm coming with DH, DD9, and DS who turns 12 on the first At Sea day (he's very excited about having a birthday onboard the Magic!) This will be our third time on the Magic. Our other two cruises were the Eastern and the Western.

BTW...I realize abayaflowers wasn't asking questions (suitcases/pickpockets/how to dress, etc) but sharing some good info...I just figured those are questions a lot of people here will have, so I wanted to expand on it a bit.

nic_x had better advice than I did. Thank you!

By any chance, do you know if we can purchase a case of water somewhere nearby the port? Also, what type of hotel would you recommend for a family of 4? Atera Mar?

By the way, my DD10 will also be celebrating her birthday on board, too. She will be excited to turn 11.

Thank you again!

 

[nic_x]

I don't know about water near the port, unfortunately. I admit, I'm not familiar with Barcelona/the port area.

On hotels, we ended up booking a "Family Design" room for four at the Royal Ramblas. I don't know if they have any more of them, but we got a good discount by going through the hotel's website, clicking on the "packages" and paying in advance for our two-night stay. (We're getting in late Thursday night.)

There were two other places we seriously considered that still had availability as of last week. We looked at two connecting rooms at the Hotel Pulitzer (on Placa Catalunya) and the Casp 74 apartments (a few blocks away.) Both had discounts by booking directly on their websites. Both looked pretty nice and had good reviews on TripAdvisor. If you look on TripAdvisor, put Barcelona Hotels in the search box. There aren't a lot of hotels that hold four in a room, but by clicking on the tabs for "B&Bs" and "Apartments" we found quite a few, including a lot of helpful reviews. Many people I know who've been to Barcelona say apartments are the way to go--more space to spread out, and often a better rate. I'd love to hear what others here have found! The Disney hotel rates were astronomical.

 

[nic_x]

Here's a link to the Barcelona B&B page on TripAdvisor. You can read reviews of a lot of B&B-style accomodations here. If you click on the tabs above the #1 listing, you can see reviews for Hotels and "Specialty Lodging" (which is mostly apartment rentals), too. We had better luck finding rooms for more than 2 people under B&Bs and Specialty Lodging than under hotels.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g187497-c2-Barcelona_Catalonia-Hotels.html

This is how we found our hotel. We perused these, then checked the actual websites for the places that looked most interesting.

When you're reading a review, you might find it helpful to click on the "families" link on the right side of the review--then you can read the reviews specifically from families who stayed at a given hotel/B&B/apartment and get their take on the rooms.

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

Welcome Aboard! I love to see more and more people joining this thread.

I am home watching a special on tv about Naples now...this trip can't come soon enough!

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

Hi all.
We are finally into real planning mode now. Travel agent telling me it's time to get our air, hotels, etc as we are heading to greece for a week before this cruise. Wondering where folks are staying in Barcelona. We are looking at the Hotel Arts Barcelona (the Ritz). Anyone else with any suggestions?
jeff

Hi Jeff -

Was going through some old posts and noticed you were thinking about the Ritz, did you ever book a hotel? We actually changed over reservation from Hotel 1898 to the Ritz. It was the same price but we get to stay in one room. I actually have friends living in Barcelona right now and they went and took a bunch of pictures of the area for me. Looks like a good choice!

Lisa

 

[abayaflowers]

Hi Jeff -

Was going through some old posts and noticed you were thinking about the Ritz, did you ever book a hotel? We actually changed over reservation from Hotel 1898 to the Ritz. It was the same price but we get to stay in one room. I actually have friends living in Barcelona right now and they went and took a bunch of pictures of the area for me. Looks like a good choice!

Lisa

Hi, Jeff! Hi, Lisa!

I went to check Hotel Arts Barcelona and I found their prices to be 3000.00 EUR . Am I looking on the wrong site? Or the wrong hotel?

I need to book a hotel soon.

Thanks,
Geri

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

Hi, Jeff! Hi, Lisa!

I went to check Hotel Arts Barcelona and I found their prices to be 3000.00 EUR . Am I looking on the wrong site? Or the wrong hotel?

I need to book a hotel soon.

Thanks,
Geri

Hi Geri -

I went to their website and emailed them directly for rates and to book the room. I worked back and forth with Romilda online to obtain our rate. We are going for two nights before the cruise and reserved 1 room with two double beds. At hotel 1898 we would have had to reserve two rooms and I really wanted us all to stay in the same room. Hotel Arts quoted me $637 Euro total for the two nights. This hotel is on the high side than most of the recommended hotels on a couple of the cruise boards, but it fits our needs for what we are looking for. The HOHO bus is located across the street too.

This is the website: http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Barcelona/Default.htm and here is the email of the person I worked with rc.bcnrz.reservations@ritzcarlton.com. Her name is Romilda.

Let me know if you get a better rate! Good luck!

 

[jd99]

Hi Geri -

I went to their website and emailed them directly for rates and to book the room. I worked back and forth with Romilda online to obtain our rate. We are going for two nights before the cruise and reserved 1 room with two double beds. At hotel 1898 we would have had to reserve two rooms and I really wanted us all to stay in the same room. Hotel Arts quoted me $637 Euro total for the two nights. This hotel is on the high side than most of the recommended hotels on a couple of the cruise boards, but it fits our needs for what we are looking for. The HOHO bus is located across the street too.

This is the website: http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Barcelona/Default.htm and here is the email of the person I worked with rc.bcnrz.reservations@ritzcarlton.com. Her name is Romilda.

Let me know if you get a better rate! Good luck!

Hmmm we booked it too. But TA said we had to get 2 rooms. how'd you get 2 double beds? going to have to check with her about that...

 

[abayaflowers]

Hmmm we booked it too. But TA said we had to get 2 rooms. how'd you get 2 double beds? going to have to check with her about that...

I finally called my TA and will email Hotel Arts Barcelona tomorrow. In the meantime, I need to find a great place to stay on the night of the 5th in Philadelphia near the airport?

I am starting to go over the hotels in TripAdvisor.

Thanks!

Geri

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

Hmmm we booked it too. But TA said we had to get 2 rooms. how'd you get 2 double beds? going to have to check with her about that...

I must have had the reservation person at Hotel Arts reiterate several times in her emails that it was okay to have 4 in a room and had her indicate on the reservation that we were requesting 2 double beds vs. a king bed. I was fully aware that most of the hotels in the area required two rooms for 4 people especially since we had to book the two rooms at Hotel 1898...so we better not have any problems at check in!

Let me know how you make out. I will be curious to hear what you find out. We are really looking forward to staying at this hotel before the cruise.

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

I finally called my TA and will email Hotel Arts Barcelona tomorrow. In the meantime, I need to find a great place to stay on the night of the 5th in Philadelphia near the airport?

I am starting to go over the hotels in TripAdvisor.

Thanks!

Geri

Good luck with your hotel research. I can't believe the trip is finally less than 6 months away!

 

[jd99]

I finally called my TA and will email Hotel Arts Barcelona tomorrow. In the meantime, I need to find a great place to stay on the night of the 5th in Philadelphia near the airport?

I am starting to go over the hotels in TripAdvisor.

Thanks!

Geri

There is a great Marriott right inside the airport. Makes it easy.

 

[jd99]

I must have had the reservation person at Hotel Arts reiterate several times in her emails that it was okay to have 4 in a room and had her indicate on the reservation that we were requesting 2 double beds vs. a king bed. I was fully aware that most of the hotels in the area required two rooms for 4 people especially since we had to book the two rooms at Hotel 1898...so we better not have any problems at check in!

Let me know how you make out. I will be curious to hear what you find out. We are really looking forward to staying at this hotel before the cruise.

Talked to my TA today and she checked in with the hotel and they again said "nope" can't have four in the room.

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

Talked to my TA today and she checked in with the hotel and they again said "nope" can't have four in the room.

That is very odd. I will contact them again as well.

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

That is very odd. I will contact them again as well.

I just went through all of my emails with the hotel and they were very aware that we are a family of 4 traveling with two children ages 7 and 9 - since I always repeated that phrase over and over when corresponding with them. They are the ones that recommended the room types based on our situation. So, now I am a bit paranoid and emailed them again, so I will be curious how they respond. I really hope there are no problems since I canceled my other hotel reservation. We shall see...

 

[jd99]

I just went through all of my emails with the hotel and they were very aware that we are a family of 4 traveling with two children ages 7 and 9 - since I always repeated that phrase over and over when corresponding with them. They are the ones that recommended the room types based on our situation. So, now I am a bit paranoid and emailed them again, so I will be curious how they respond. I really hope there are no problems since I canceled my other hotel reservation. We shall see...

Sorry didn't mean to make you paranoid. Maybe you just got lucky!

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

Sorry didn't mean to make you paranoid. Maybe you just got lucky!

It doesn't take much to make me paranoid But it appears I may have gotten lucky. I got a response from the hotel this morning and they have updated my confirmation to state two adults, two children. So, I am not sure why you are unable to reserve 1 room with 2 double beds. Are your children older than mine? That is the only thing I can think of. My boys are 7 and 9. Did you try to contact the hotel directly even though your TA was unable to reserve 1 room...I went thru email NOT the online reservation form. I have received outstanding service from them, very prompt and detailed responses from everyone I have delt with.