June 18, 2011 - 11 Night Mediterranean Sailing from Barcelona

[jmatias]

Researching the hotels is a lot of work!

Yesterday while playing around on the dcl site I noticed SPH connecting cabins were available for our cruise. So rushed to call out TA and happy to say that we are now in cabins 5522 and 5524. We were booked in 11C with the intentions of upgrading but when I saw the SPH cabins I had to get them.

If anyone has good info on hotels, etc. please share.

Aloha,
Jen

 

[jmatias]

Booked Casp 74 apartments for our stay on a tip from kaseyC in the barcelona hotel thread. Looks great for our family of 5.

I'll keep looking around but at least I know we have something and many of the places that can fit larger families don't have that many rooms.

Getting so excited that plans are coming together.

 

[JulieWent]

I saw that thread, too. I'm thinking about booking Casp 74 as well.

Julie

 

[2PrincesseInTow]

I think I may have a dis-ease.... I just booked the 5 night New Year cruise on the Magic so the Med will now be my family's 2nd cruise!

I've also been researching hotels in Barcelona (along with where to find the best Churros and Hot Chocolate). I think I'll try to stay near the heart of the city instead of the Hilton. Since it will be just me and my DD's for the first three nights I'd rather stay closer to the sights we'll want to see. My DH and MIL are coming in on Friday so we'll only need two rooms for one night.

Have a good week,

Sara

 

[2PrincesseInTow]

Someone asked a general question to see if Med cruises were a good idea. Several trip reports and blogs from this year's cruise are referenced. I haven't checked them out yet but all of the comments are mostly positive ( actually all very positive except for one ). It's great to read the raves...

Okay, apparently I haven't posted enough to provide you with a link to the thread...... Sorry

Sara

 

[lornak]

Big day for us....!! We booked our private tours in Rome and Naples! I did quite a bit of research on Trip Advisor and I am very happy and excited with what we have set up! It seems strange to be booking so far in advance but from what I read it is the best way to make sure you get the company and guides that you want! Plus, they don't require any deposit or pre-payment so I figured why not?!? This makes me even more excited!!

 

[hygienist999]

We are back from our trip to Orlando. Stayed at the AKL, but really like staying at SS more. And WWoHP was AWESOME. Now, back to our cruise.

A patient of mine is a tour guide and has taken many groups to Spain, Rome and etc. She gave me great tips. She advised that if I have never been to these countries to use the ships excursions. She said there were countless stories she could tell me of people either getting robbed, stranded, or just flat out left by the boat due to doing their own thing. She also advised me to leave my wedding ring at home. She said their are a lot of gypsy's in Spain and they work in groups. They actually use their kids to do the stealing as they bump into you. The other tip she gave was if you buy something that cost more than 5 euros then charge it. Also to let the credit card company's know you will be out of the country because they will freeze your acct. thinking fraud. I know this to be true because my husband forgot to do this and was in Brazil a couple months ago and they froze the acct until they could get confirmation from me that the charges were correct.
She also advised to have at least 2 major credit cards. She didn't want to scare me, but wanted me to be very aware of my surroundings.

Hoping to book flights soon. Waiting to use FFM for round trip. We already booked two rooms at the Marriott at the Airport.

 

[Kaleigh]

Hi everyone! Congrats on your trip; it will be wonderful! We did the 10 day med cruise this May, and I did the website for our board. If you are interested, it is in my signature. I am also currently working on my trip report, also in my signature. If you have any questions about any of the ports or the navigators, let me know. We actually loved it so much, we plan on booking the same cruise next summer. Hopefully, some of my research will be of use to you guys.

 

[JulieWent]

Big day for us....!! We booked our private tours in Rome and Naples! I did quite a bit of research on Trip Advisor and I am very happy and excited with what we have set up! It seems strange to be booking so far in advance but from what I read it is the best way to make sure you get the company and guides that you want! Plus, they don't require any deposit or pre-payment so I figured why not?!? This makes me even more excited!!

Lorna,
So tell us, what tour company did you decide on? I've just started thinking about booking our private tour for Rome. I'm interested in what everyone else is doing. (I'm thinking LimoinRome, but I've heard good things about some other companies as well.)

Quote:
She also advised to have at least 2 major credit cards. She didn't want to scare me, but wanted me to be very aware of my surroundings.

I can second that. When we were in Europe a few years ago, someone stole one of our card numbers (not the card, just the number) and charged a MOTORCYCLE to it! Can you imagine? Anyway, our credit card company immediately froze the account, and if we had not had our second card, we would have been in big trouble. (I called the company to ask why the card had been frozen, and the advisor said, "Well, there's this charge for $10,000 to a motorcycle company in Michigan. Do you want that to go through?" I just about fell over.) Anyway, definitely two credit cards or sources of money.

Can't wait to hear what everyone is planning. I made my reservations for our pre-trip trip to London last week. Still waiting on airline schedules, though, and I'm a little hesitant about Barcelona. There are two hotels -- Casp 74 and Hispanos Siete Suiza (both suite hotels). When I think of it, I'll add it to my ramblings.

Julie

 

[lornak]

We booked with Romelimostours. I have also read great things about LimoinRome, Julie. But what really sold me on Romelimostours was how quickly they responded to me and to all of my questions. And as I mentioned before, they have GREAT reviews of Trip Advisor.... I am very excited about this.

Here's a description of what we booked in Rome (we will do some tweaking as to the exact specifics but these are the broad strokes):

The Driver-guide will explain to you the history of Rome and its monuments
discovering legends and secrets of the Eternal City, he will let you visit
every place without any pressure for time. A tour always includes all the most important sites of the city. This is a standard itinerary:

Piazza Venezia with the monument dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II, the unknown soldier and the balcony from which Mussolini used to harangue the crowds Capitol Hill, the square on the hill was designed by Michelangelo who was able to create an optical illusion by which it appears larger than it really is, Roman Forums, Coliseum, Aventino and Palatino Hills, Circus Maximum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza del Popolo and city view by Pincio's terrace, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo de' Fiori, Castel Sant'Angelo .......... more or less sites, depending on time available.

A licensed English speaking guide will guide you through the Vatican Museums for the tour of the Museums with Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica.


And in Naples, here is the description:
A driver will pick you up at the port. A standard itinerary includes: tour of Pompeii excavations (with a licensed English speaking guide for a tour) as well as a tour of the Amalfi cost: Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi, the most spectacular Coasts of the world!!!


Right now we have booked these tours for 4 people. But the price for 6 is almost identical so we might consider adding another couple to the tours if there is interest.

We're sooooo excited!!

Would love to hear what everyone else decides to do so keep it coming!!!!

 

[2PrincesseInTow]

Lorna, I was just wondering when I should book our tours.... So you've answered my question. .

I am looking at Romeinlimo for Rome, their website talks about "family" (we'll have ages 5-78) tours. I've read good things about them on Dis & Cruise Critic. For Naples I haven't narrowed it down.

For La Spezia I want to do a family cooking class in Lucca. I've found a cooking school but I need to contact them about the date. I think it would be fun for my DDs (5&9) and I'm worried about over touring the kids. The class would be in the morning with lunch and then on to Pisa for a look and photos. My MIL is not excited about Pisa (been there, done that...) I've told her she's welcome to go on a Disney option but when you're 9 years old Pisa is a huge thing to see.

Julie, I'd love to hear your London plans. We're doing two days in Paris and 3 days in London on the way home.

321 days until we cruise.... Okay so there's a whole school year to get through between now and then

 

[jmatias]

Haven't started the touring plans but like reading what others are doing to get some ideas.

Ordered the Rick Steves book Spotlight Barcelona to plan our 3 days pre cruise.

Will probably work on cruise itinerary in about 1 week after I work on our flights home. Right now we are thinking of flying BCN to NYC so the kids can do a quick couple of days in NYC before we head back home to Hawaii.

But depending on flights, maybe we will head to London first after the cruise, then back home.

So many options!

Jen

 

[aroundtheriverbend]

Hi all! I've tentatively booked the Grand Hotel Central for our before and after cruise stays. I think we'd like to do the before cruise part at another hotel, the Duquesa de Cardona which is on the water, but it doesn't have the calendar out yet for our dates. Not the cheapest places in the world, but both have "family suites" to fit 2 adults and two kids.

Starting to look at airfare.. what does everyone think on timing for prices (for those of you not using FFM)? RT Charlotte to Barcelona seems to be around $1222 right now. This past April and May were more in the $800-$900 range, but then again June is prime vacation season... not sure if this is as good as it's gonna get.

I can't believe it's almost another school year! My kids go back 8/25. The good news is if time keeps flying we'll be cruising the Med before we know it!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Allison

 

[JulieWent]

Julie, I'd love to hear your London plans. We're doing two days in Paris and 3 days in London on the way home.

321 days until we cruise.... Okay so there's a whole school year to get through between now and then

We're going to spend four nights in London -- getting over jet lag and playing around. The only things we definitely have planned are taking in a play at the Globe (I'm an English teacher. Gotta do nerdy English teacher stuff. ) and going to the Tower of London. Last time we were in London we didn't have a lot of time at the British Museum and my husband and son want to go back and spend a loonnngg time there, so I think that will be in the works, too. We're staying at the Marriott County Park (or something like that). It's right next to the London Eye and on the Jubilee Walkway, so we can walk across to Westminster do a lot of exploring on foot.

I did just book Casp74 for our Barcelona night(s) (one before the cruise, one after). We decided it looked better (and less expensive) than the other hotel I had been looking at.

I think that airfare is going to even out at around $1200 per from the East Coast. That's about what it was last time we traveled. I was hoping that the summertime fares would stay low like the springtime fares were, but I don't think they're going to. That said, though, I think I'll wait another month to book. I'm "paying with miles" through Delta, and if I have another round of miles, my fare will go down a little more. No hurry.

So, it looks like things are coming together. I know what you mean about school starting. Since I'm a teacher, I have to start back NEXT WEEK! Boooooo! Oh, well, cruisin' at the end of this year. Let the countdown begin!

Julie

 

[lornak]

Just logged in to my reservation to double check some payment dates. We booked a GTY and we have our stateroom assignment. I couldn't believe it. Right now we still have an inside stateroom---but that is what we booked so I am just fine with that. As a bonus, we are right next to my sister and her husband! They booked GTY as well so we weren't planning on being next to each other. That will be really great if we stay in those cabins!!

Anyone have any experience with GTY? This is the first time we have booked it. Do you think these room assignments will stay the same....of course, wouldn't mind an upgrade to a window or verandah! From what I have read, this is REALLY early for stateroom assignments. Thought others with GTY might want to check????

No matter where we are sleeping and showering we will be HAPPY!!!

 

[MadHatterMom2]

We booked the Casp 74 Apartments the night before the cruise departs. I also liked the look of the place on the website. We'll be using Tour of Italy for the Naples tour and will probably try to do Rome and Florence/Pisa on our own. We just finished the Northern European (Baltic) cruise in July and had great luck with doing ports on our own (although I've heard Tunis is not one to attempt on your own).

Like everyone else, we are keeping an eye on the airfares and trying to guess the best time to purchase.

 

[jmatias]

Ended up booking with Romeinlimo for our Rome tour. Lots of good remarks about them at Cruise Critic. Tons of other good info on Barcelona, etc. at cruise critic too.

So far we got done:

- Flight to BCN using our miles
- Casp 74 for pre cruise in Barcelona
- Rome tour

Some other things:

Looks like will need Euros to pay for tours, etc. We have the Schwab Invest First ATM card and credit card. No fees for the ATM card and this card was one of the most recommended on flyertalk as the one to get for travels to Europe. Believe Schwab stopped taking applications for a while but good idea to look around for a no fee ATM card.

Will book our return flights home any day now. Then can work out the rest of the plans.

Jen

 

[astallings]

We booked with Romelimostours. I have also read great things about LimoinRome, Julie. But what really sold me on Romelimostours was how quickly they responded to me and to all of my questions. And as I mentioned before, they have GREAT reviews of Trip Advisor.... I am very excited about this.

Here's a description of what we booked in Rome (we will do some tweaking as to the exact specifics but these are the broad strokes):

The Driver-guide will explain to you the history of Rome and its monuments
discovering legends and secrets of the Eternal City, he will let you visit
every place without any pressure for time. A tour always includes all the most important sites of the city. This is a standard itinerary:

Piazza Venezia with the monument dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II, the unknown soldier and the balcony from which Mussolini used to harangue the crowds Capitol Hill, the square on the hill was designed by Michelangelo who was able to create an optical illusion by which it appears larger than it really is, Roman Forums, Coliseum, Aventino and Palatino Hills, Circus Maximum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza del Popolo and city view by Pincio's terrace, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo de' Fiori, Castel Sant'Angelo .......... more or less sites, depending on time available.

A licensed English speaking guide will guide you through the Vatican Museums for the tour of the Museums with Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica.


And in Naples, here is the description:
A driver will pick you up at the port. A standard itinerary includes: tour of Pompeii excavations (with a licensed English speaking guide for a tour) as well as a tour of the Amalfi cost: Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi, the most spectacular Coasts of the world!!!


Right now we have booked these tours for 4 people. But the price for 6 is almost identical so we might consider adding another couple to the tours if there is interest.

We're sooooo excited!!

Would love to hear what everyone else decides to do so keep it coming!!!!

My family is also scheduled to travel on this cruise and I just started doing some research. How did you make your decision on romelimostours?

I saw your post yesterday and sent an email to them. As you indicated they responded very quickly and their tours and prices sound great. Also their reviews on TripAdvisor are great. Everything is almost too great. Were you able to get any reviews or advice on this board?

I could not find anything but wanted to see if you found something. There are sooooo many tour companies to choose from that it gets confusing. Anything you can pass on is appreciated.

 

[lornak]

I haven't found any reviews on the Dis for this company so I pretty much based everything on the reviews on Trip Advisor. I have found them to be quite relaible in the past so I went with it! As I said before I contacted three of the highest rated tour companies on Trip Advisor for quotes. Then, I was just the most pleased with Romelimostours....hopefully it was a good choice!!

Let me know if you decide to book them! How many are in your traveling party??

 

[GeorgeY]

Hey everyone,

Just checking in, I see lots of new names. We just went ahead and booked the CASP 74 apartments as well. After reading all of the reviews, and seeing a few of you on this group book, we decided to do it. We are going to arrive on June 16. I really wanted the Novotel Barcelona City, but they only allow pre-payment with no change/cancel, and I want to be sure what we are doing.

I am a little bummed that ABD isn't doing the cruise next year. Or at least they haven't announce it yet.

George