redsonja76
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2011
- Messages
- 416
OK, I've never done a trip report, so here goes:
Flew into Barcelona a day early, took a cab to our hotel "Hotel Via Agusta". Was about 25E for the 4 of us and our bags. The Hotel was very nice, especially since it was only a 2 star (I expected it to be bad really), we got two rooms, one with a large balcony. I think we only paid like 150E for both rooms. B-fast was included, the b-fast was very good. Continental b-fast in Europe is much better than in America, a lot more food is included. The hotel's location wasn't the best, meaning it wasn't close to any of the touristy sights, but it was right next to the subway which we used to get to La Sagrada Familia. The windows in the hotel were very good at blocking out the noise. I would stay in this hotel again.
The next day we took a taxi from our hotel to the port. It was again about 25E for all of us and our bags. The taxi driver was wonderful and telling us about everything along the way. When we arrived at the port we were about 10 minutes before our scheduled arrival time, but they didn't seem to care, they let us on through no problem. There are loads of porters there, but you really didn't need to use them, saving yourself some money. After we made it through the line we were waiting in the big waiting area for atleast an hour to actually board the ship. That part sucked, it was so hot with no breeze. After we got on the ship we went to Parrot Cay to eat, the buffet was definately tops! We had some time to kill so we meandered around the boat checking out everything she had to offer before going to our room. We spent the rest of the day swimming, playing, and then eating!
First port was Villefranche. We did the Nice and The Little Train Tour. Hated it. The kids were bored out of their minds, we were bored, it just wasn't very fun. That was our least favorite stop of all of them. We all had wished that we would have gone to Eze instead.
Next day was La Spezia. DH and my 4 year old did Lerichi's Castle and Dinosaur excursion. My 4 year old loved it, they got to make their own fossil and search for fossils. Plus it was a quick 15 minute bus ride, and they gave them ice cream. It's a good excursion for little kids. My 15 year old dd and I did the "climb the tower" in Pisa. This was an AWESOME excursion. Our guide was fantastic, then our Miracle Square guide was also fantastic, we did not have to wait in line to climb the tower, we got the typical touristy phots, DCL photographers were there to take pictures, and we had time for lunch (pizza and the worlds greatest ice cream). Fantastic tour, highly recommend it.
Next day was Rome. We decided to do a private tour with romeinlimo.com and we could not be happier. Alex our guide was amazing, he knew everything there was to know about Rome and it's history. He took us to a local's favorite coffee place, nothing touristy, and was so personable and nice with our children. We got to see so many things on this tour that we wouldn't have been able to see on a big bus full of people. We are so glad that we went this way with Rome.
Next was Naples. We did the hidden treasures of Herculaneum. It was SO GOOD!!! Our tour guide was so great, you could really tell that this place was her passion. After Herculaneum, we stopped at a cameo factory and my ODD got a beautiful cameo necklace. The stuff in that place was amazing.
The next day was a sea day so we spent it swimming, water slide, shows, movies, and character meeting. We did the tea with Alice, and would not do it again, our dd was very bored with it. Unfortunately the stop in Palma was cancelled due to strikes they feared would turn violent. DCL decided that we would just to back to Barcelona a day early instead and basically park at the port. That really ruined the feel of the trip for everyone. You could just tell the mood of the whole ship changed after that. It would have been nice if they'd have given us a sea day or something. We decided to stay on the ship since we were planning on spending another day in Barcelona after the trip anyway.
After debarking the ship we took a taxi to the Hotel Pere IV. Was about 25E. This hotel was absolutely perfect. It wasn't in the best location again (in terms of proximity to sights and such) but it was w/in reasonable walking distance of the beach. We had a suite on the top floor that was two bedrooms, an amazing bathroom, a HUGE balcony with city views, b-fast included, and they have a spa and indoor pool included. I think we paid only 150E for this room as well. From here we took a taxi to the airport and for some reason it cost us 43E. No idea why it was so expensive, I think we just got unlucky that time.
Given what I know about it, in the future, if you were flying in the day of the cruise, there is no way I'd pay for disney transfers. The port and the airport are very near each other along the beach, I'd take a taxi and save yourself the money.
The food: Not my favorite part. I actually preferred the buffets to the sit down dining. I just didn't think the food was all that good. DH liked it, but I did not. On my next cruise I'm not going to bother with the dinners, I'm going to stick to the buffets and the hotdog/pizza places.
OK, that's all I can remember. If you have any specific questions please ask!
Flew into Barcelona a day early, took a cab to our hotel "Hotel Via Agusta". Was about 25E for the 4 of us and our bags. The Hotel was very nice, especially since it was only a 2 star (I expected it to be bad really), we got two rooms, one with a large balcony. I think we only paid like 150E for both rooms. B-fast was included, the b-fast was very good. Continental b-fast in Europe is much better than in America, a lot more food is included. The hotel's location wasn't the best, meaning it wasn't close to any of the touristy sights, but it was right next to the subway which we used to get to La Sagrada Familia. The windows in the hotel were very good at blocking out the noise. I would stay in this hotel again.
The next day we took a taxi from our hotel to the port. It was again about 25E for all of us and our bags. The taxi driver was wonderful and telling us about everything along the way. When we arrived at the port we were about 10 minutes before our scheduled arrival time, but they didn't seem to care, they let us on through no problem. There are loads of porters there, but you really didn't need to use them, saving yourself some money. After we made it through the line we were waiting in the big waiting area for atleast an hour to actually board the ship. That part sucked, it was so hot with no breeze. After we got on the ship we went to Parrot Cay to eat, the buffet was definately tops! We had some time to kill so we meandered around the boat checking out everything she had to offer before going to our room. We spent the rest of the day swimming, playing, and then eating!
First port was Villefranche. We did the Nice and The Little Train Tour. Hated it. The kids were bored out of their minds, we were bored, it just wasn't very fun. That was our least favorite stop of all of them. We all had wished that we would have gone to Eze instead.
Next day was La Spezia. DH and my 4 year old did Lerichi's Castle and Dinosaur excursion. My 4 year old loved it, they got to make their own fossil and search for fossils. Plus it was a quick 15 minute bus ride, and they gave them ice cream. It's a good excursion for little kids. My 15 year old dd and I did the "climb the tower" in Pisa. This was an AWESOME excursion. Our guide was fantastic, then our Miracle Square guide was also fantastic, we did not have to wait in line to climb the tower, we got the typical touristy phots, DCL photographers were there to take pictures, and we had time for lunch (pizza and the worlds greatest ice cream). Fantastic tour, highly recommend it.
Next day was Rome. We decided to do a private tour with romeinlimo.com and we could not be happier. Alex our guide was amazing, he knew everything there was to know about Rome and it's history. He took us to a local's favorite coffee place, nothing touristy, and was so personable and nice with our children. We got to see so many things on this tour that we wouldn't have been able to see on a big bus full of people. We are so glad that we went this way with Rome.
Next was Naples. We did the hidden treasures of Herculaneum. It was SO GOOD!!! Our tour guide was so great, you could really tell that this place was her passion. After Herculaneum, we stopped at a cameo factory and my ODD got a beautiful cameo necklace. The stuff in that place was amazing.
The next day was a sea day so we spent it swimming, water slide, shows, movies, and character meeting. We did the tea with Alice, and would not do it again, our dd was very bored with it. Unfortunately the stop in Palma was cancelled due to strikes they feared would turn violent. DCL decided that we would just to back to Barcelona a day early instead and basically park at the port. That really ruined the feel of the trip for everyone. You could just tell the mood of the whole ship changed after that. It would have been nice if they'd have given us a sea day or something. We decided to stay on the ship since we were planning on spending another day in Barcelona after the trip anyway.
After debarking the ship we took a taxi to the Hotel Pere IV. Was about 25E. This hotel was absolutely perfect. It wasn't in the best location again (in terms of proximity to sights and such) but it was w/in reasonable walking distance of the beach. We had a suite on the top floor that was two bedrooms, an amazing bathroom, a HUGE balcony with city views, b-fast included, and they have a spa and indoor pool included. I think we paid only 150E for this room as well. From here we took a taxi to the airport and for some reason it cost us 43E. No idea why it was so expensive, I think we just got unlucky that time.
Given what I know about it, in the future, if you were flying in the day of the cruise, there is no way I'd pay for disney transfers. The port and the airport are very near each other along the beach, I'd take a taxi and save yourself the money.
The food: Not my favorite part. I actually preferred the buffets to the sit down dining. I just didn't think the food was all that good. DH liked it, but I did not. On my next cruise I'm not going to bother with the dinners, I'm going to stick to the buffets and the hotdog/pizza places.
OK, that's all I can remember. If you have any specific questions please ask!
