frequent bathrooms on shore excusions?

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

I really want to take the Aug 8 Med cruise with my daughter, but I have ulcerative colitis and need to use the bathoom, often with little notice and urgently. Those of you who have been on this cruise, can you please tell me how you find bathrooms on shore excursions. Were they hard to find? Did anyone have a sudden or urgent need? What did you do? Where were they? What were they like?

 

[mrosen]

I think it will depend on what you opt to do. There are bathrooms but not always readily available and in some of the spots, we had to wait to go as a group. They also charged in some places in Europe so you will also want to be sure you have some euro change in case. In some places you just need to buy a coffee or drink and then you can use their facilities.

I do think what your shore excursion is may also dictate how easy or hard it will be. Here are a few examples, when we did our Rome shore excursion, we had a long bus ride. They did stop once at about 45 minutes into the ride for a short break for bathrooms and something to drink. While at the colosseum, I had to go take my daughter and it was a small challenge but not too bad. We got separated from the group and I had to figure out how to catch up with them. When we stopped in Corsica, we had a bit of an issue that Sunday with the whole group finding a restroom to use. We had a 1/2 day tour planned in town - it was a Sunday and they don't really have public restrooms. We ended up stopping for ice cream treat early and then everyone stood in line to share the only stall they had at this little cafe. I found on some port excursions to have a less of a challenge here than others.

 

[TDC Nala]

In Nice and Monaco in 2007, there was a charge to use the bathrooms at the tourist areas. They were not hard to find but you needed to have change to pay for admittance. (Not pay toilets - there were persons outside collecting the change)

In most other areas we were in places that had restrooms, but they had only one or two stalls and people lined up waiting.

 

[mindy327]

I am first sorry to hear about your battle with UC. I also battled with UC for a few years before having my colon removed. I did one cruise before my surgery and more after. Finding a bathroom on excurtions is a worry but finding bathrooms quick is an everyday lifestyle. You will be fine. I do not seem to have any more problems on the excurtions as I do enywhere else. I never been to the Med. but I have been many other places and if it is halfway tourist friendly Bathrooms have been all over. good luck. I hope you have a great cruise.

Brandon (Mindys DH)

 

[sayhello]

I am first sorry to hear about your battle with UC. I also battled with UC for a few years before having my colon removed. I did one cruise before my surgery and more after. Finding a bathroom on excurtions is a worry but finding bathrooms quick is an everyday lifestyle. You will be fine. I do not seem to have any more problems on the excurtions as I do enywhere else. I never been to the Med. but I have been many other places and if it is halfway tourist friendly Bathrooms have been all over. good luck. I hope you have a great cruise.

Brandon (Mindys DH)

Unfortunately, this is not true. Public bathrooms are extremely hard to come by in the Med (I just came back from the Med). Our tour guides made it a priority to eat at & stop at places that had bathrooms because they are really hard to come by. I've traveled extensively in the Western Hemisphere, and "tourist friendly" in the Med is *NOT* the same as "tourist friendly" elsewhere. Sorry, but it was a huge concern for me (I've been struggling with OAB, but fortunately managed to get it under control with medication just prior to leaving).

OP, honestly, if you have sudden/urgent urges, I would be concerned about going to the Med. Our bathroom breaks had to be carefully orchestrated. And a lot of the bathrooms you find aren't what you're used to. In Italy, a lot of the bathrooms, the toilets had no seats on them, just the bowl. A lot of squatting was involved. And I've seen where some places have NO BOWL at all, just an area to squat over. Fortunately, we didn't need to use any of *those*! It was one of my big concerns, and one reason I went with the ABD add-on, because I knew they'd take good care of us when it came to things like bathroom breaks. I've read reports from folks who spent all their free time on an excursion searching fruitlessly for a bathroom.

Sayhello

 

[Vicky29]

We've also just done the med. The only places we found easily available public toilets signposted were Malta. That said almost all cafes etc. have toilets and these are everywhere - practically every 3rd/ 4th building - so if you don't mind buying a drink at the same time then toilets are easy. The toilets in Tunis - were horrid - and the most difficult (so that might be a place to stay on the boat) everywhere else they were fairly ok - and I'm very picky about public toilets.

 

[liberty6201]

I also have uc andhave had a bit of a rough ride the last 6 months. I am booked on the 28th august med cruise and it is something I am really worried about . Here I know all the places I can go to the toilet and we usually holiday in the states so I don't worry there either. I am only considering 2 excursions - partly for that reason but at the same time I try not to let uc rule my life any more than it has to - and of course there are times when it does rule your life more than others. I am happy to buy a drink if it means I ca use the toilet I'd just like to know that's a possibilty. Good luck with it x I really hope it all works out. Let me know how you get on x

 

[Dizzyworld]

I'm sorry for what you are having to deal with, but I'm excited that you get to go on such a great trip. I don't know anything about your medical condition and what works or doesn't work. Just in case this is an option that you don't know about. My DD was an extremely sound sleeper until she was about 13. She just didn't wake up to go to the bathroom. Of course this would make sleepovers impossible. Our pediatrician gave her a prescription that dries up urine. No more night time problems. No side effects. It was one small pill a night. If you want the name of it, just PM me. Of course your doctor would know if it is a problem with your medical condition. Best wishes.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

Thank you everyone for your replies, and thank you Brandon for your kind words.
The last time I was in Europe was 1985, and my Ulcerative Colitis was dormant then. But bathrooms were still hard to find then, and I don't mind at all buying a drink or something to use one, I just really need to use one!
I doubt my daughter would be comfortable to go on the shore excursions alone---she is 20, and hasn't been out of the States yet.
It is such a major problem though for me---it is very real.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

I also have uc andhave had a bit of a rough ride the last 6 months. I am booked on the 28th august med cruise and it is something I am really worried about . Here I know all the places I can go to the toilet and we usually holiday in the states so I don't worry there either. I am only considering 2 excursions - partly for that reason but at the same time I try not to let uc rule my life any more than it has to - and of course there are times when it does rule your life more than others. I am happy to buy a drink if it means I ca use the toilet I'd just like to know that's a possibilty. Good luck with it x I really hope it all works out. Let me know how you get on x

Which 2 excursions did you pick? Waht will you do at the other ports?

 

[Kiss-im-mee2]

Is there any way you could use something like Depends while on the excurisions. We did the Carthage and Sidi bou Said tour with Disney and there was a WC at the Baths and one at the Carthage Museum. I didn't use the one at the Baths but at the museum it was a modern clean toilet. I didn't see a WC in Sidi Bou Said but it is a resort town so there were plenty of stores and eateries.

 

[misseulalie]

I have never seen a hole in the ground for a toilet in Western Europe. Where did you see this??? (I have in Morocco, quite a bit)
Italy was the probably the biggest hassle with no toilet seats and no paper. But never just a hole in the ground...

I have IBS and fortunately medication and really watching my diet worked for me.

I would suggest doing your own touring and not doing an actual excursion. That way you are not at the mercy of the tour group. Yes, bring lots of change for the bathrooms. Mcdonalds, Starbucks, etc don't make you purchase but the local places will.

Barcelona is VERY easy to do on your own. Especially with the hop on-hop off red tour bus.

 

[Kiss-im-mee2]

All the public WC I have been to in Cinque Terre were the porceline hole in the floor. I went to one in a gelato resturant in Monterosa that was a regular toilet so in CT stick with resturants.

 

[morgan98]

I have been regularly visiting Italy, France and sometimes Spain for 34 of my 40 years, and I would have to say that over the past 8-10 years, there have been vast improvements in the quality of the public restrooms.

As a matter of fact, over the past 3 years (six 10 day trips), I would say the public restrooms in France and Italy have been suprisingly good for the most part. Although not all toilets have seats, they are generally clean and toilet paper has become more popular. That said, I always carry a travel roll of Charmin with me.

However, on my most recent trip (in April), I found two public town restrooms in central italy that were a hole in the ground. (Granted these are porcelain "squat pots" so to speak) There is basically a place on each side indicated to put your foot and you squat over the hole. They were both spotless and even had toilet paper. That being said, I still have problems using these.

I guess what I am trying to say is that in general, I would think you should be okay (or at least your chances have improved greatly in the last several years). However, there are no guarantees.

 

[CarolAnnC]

We did the DCL Med cruise in 2007, one year after I had surgery to remove 1/3 of my colon. I was fine. We took an excursion in every port, too.

We did the Cinque Terre and we had a bathroom break at the public restrooms there by the train station. It was non gender specific bathrooms, with no toilet paper, but other than that it was fine.

I brought my own travel rolls of Charmin and also the Charmin seat covers. Even if there is no toilet seat, at least you can put the cover on the bowl and make do..

Many bathrooms were pay facilities like mentioned above, so do have change. I found a public restroom in Pompeii and left the group at the end to rest and use it.

Monaco had public facilities, no toilet paper there. The beach excursions we did in Sicily and Sardinia were fine with bathroom facilities. Rome was a long train ride in, but I was fine on that too. I did not need it, but there was a bathroom on the train.

I would not miss a fantastic trip because of this issue. Just be prepared ahead of time and pickup the coins, toilet paper and seat covers.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

OMG I'm glad I read this thread.
I had no idea it would be hard to find a bathroom and I also had no idea we'd have to pay for entrance to the bathroom. Like how much we talking here? And is it per person?
ouch this stuff is gonna add up to be one expensive vacation- for necessities like eating and relieving ourselves. LOL

 

[slg]

Question:

Even if you are on a DCL excursion, bathroom breaks are not included in the price of the excursion? I find that unbelievable! I can understand if there is some free time and you need to go then, but surely there is an included bathroom break in every excursion? I have taken 4 bus tours all over Europe, from 1991-1994 on Cosmos, which is a cheap bus company and we NEVER had to pay for our bathrooms if we were on the tour, just on our own time. And bathroom breaks were always scheduled every couple of hours.

We did have one incident after we got off the ferry from Dover heading into Brussels where my poor husband got food poisening during a rush hour traffic jam. The bus just pulled over to the side of the highway (illegal, but hey, what could he do?) and poor DH had to go off into the ditch and do his business. Luckily there was a ditch! Other than that, bathrooms were never an issue.

We're going to the Baltics in a couple of weeks on a cruise and I'm certainly hoping that bathroom breaks will be included. I'll bring some TP(or kleenex) just in case, but I'm hoping I don't have to have a lot of change in multiple currencies just to use the loo! This is part of the reason I took a DCL excursion!

 

[Adsmama]

OMG I'm glad I read this thread.
I had no idea it would be hard to find a bathroom and I also had no idea we'd have to pay for entrance to the bathroom. Like how much we talking here? And is it per person?
ouch this stuff is gonna add up to be one expensive vacation- for necessities like eating and relieving ourselves. LOL

It is very common in Europe to pay for a toilet. I think the most expensive I have heard about is 1 euro in Venice and Rome but normally it is about 50 cents Euro. Just carry some Euro change with you and look for the sign WC. Germany has the cleanest public bathrooms and Italy has the worst so also bring some TP/tissue if you are in Italy and Greece. Otherwise you can always go into a cafe or coffee shop and get something and use the bathroom

 

[orlandothebeagle]

If it is in the city you are going to Macdonalds are your best bet. When Ive went to european cities in the past thats where I always head for.

 

[CarolAnnC]

The cost of bathrooms (as well as other incidentals) are not included in excursions. Some include meals or snacks, but those are clearly marked on the DCL website.

Definitely do not be surprised if a fee is collected to use the potty in Europe. It is quite common - I may be dating myself, but I can recall many shopping trips into the city of Boston, as a small child with my mother. She would often have to rummage around for a nickel to let me use the toilet..yikes.

Back to Europe - Now some were no charge, such as the Cinque Terre public restroom, but most did have a charge. The restaurant we were taken to in Rome for our included lunch did have a bathroom, but there were no toilet seats on the ceramic bowls. So, things are quite different at times!