Which Mediterranean port would you skip?

[lilsonicfan]

We have a pretty jam packed itinerary in the Med this year and my plan isn't really to "skip" any ports per se.... however, my plan is to do excursions only a couple of times, and then DIY walking tours or something specific at other ports. For example Cannes is the port day for us right after Rome, and we have a long day in Rome planned, so for Cannes I have nothing on my list except to perhaps wander off the ship to find a patisserie and get my kidlets to practice speaking French.

We will be in Genoa and while I had thought about Portofino, the cost is a bit prohibitive, so we are likely going to wander around Genoa's old port and see some of the city itself, which honestly looks quite beautiful.

 

[anjuan]

My cruise didn't include all of the stops yours does, but recommendation that I do have for Villefrache is to go see Eze. I really loved the old stone buildings and it was one of my favorite stops.

I would recommend if you want to take things a little easier to try to do some half day tours. For example, my daughter really wanted to go to Pisa more than any other place so we ended up just doing a half day tour of that and skipping Nice. Although it would have been nice to see Nice, we had 2 full day tours the day before that and we were both glad for some down time on the ship.

 

[bbel]

I know you said you want to get off there, but personally, villefranche!
Its tender and it's just a small village, I didnt find monte carlo worth the effort either (unless you book it through an excursion), tender, walk, train, walk and then back again.

Also, being tender theres also a chance you might not get in anyway, it's not common but it does happen...if that happens, and you already skipped a port before that, you risk missing 2 ports and missing half your cruise...

 

[cheermom2four]

.my husband really wants to go to Monte Carlo so he'd be devastated

That was literally the ONLY port my 18 year old son cared about because he wanted to see the race circuit there. I know it happens once a year as I've read trip reports and guaranteed each year I read that someone didnt tender in Villefranche

 

[Figment_Fan]

Anna Chassereau have your husband wear a tux and carry a Vesper to drink. That should give him the full effect. Oh, and don't forget to stand next to him in a long gown.

 

[Figment_Fan]

My vote is Villefranche with Genoa next. I was looking forward to Genoa as Milan is where Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" is located. Unfortunately, they do not allow visitors on Mondays and that is when we are in port.

 

[kiford]

Probably Villefranche. We've been there twice and enjoyed excursions in Nice and Eze but I wouldn't cry if I missed them. I'd very much like to see Genoa, just for the architecture and history. However, I probably wouldn't skip any of the ports if I could avoid it.

And don't bother with Pisa, go straight to Florence. Pisa has nothing except for an unimpressive tower

We climbed that tower and the views are far more impressive from the top than from below. Totally enjoyed it but if I had to choose between the two, I'd go for Florence, hands down, no question. We did Florence on our first Med cruise and Pisa on our second. We spent 3 days in Florence last year and it just wasn't enough. I want to spend months in Florence. Pisa I'm done with. But it's also possible to do Pisa on a half-day tour.

 

[anricat]

I just know my husband and if I don't schedule a break day in the middle of all of that I know he will be miserable.

My husband is the same way. We alternated longer days and shorter days and made sure we had breaks.

@anricat reading through your trip report now...so you flew into London for a couple nights and then flew again to Barcelona? Did you fly to Barcelona the day before your cruise and spend the night? What airline did you use for London to Barcelona?

Yes, we flew to London, leaving on Tuesday, arrived there on Wednesday morning. We spent Wednesday all day in London, then Thursday most of the day and took an EasyJet flight from London to Barcelona, arcing on Thursday afternoon. We were in Barcelona all of Friday to sightsee, then on Saturday morning we did some additional sightseeing before heading to port in the afternoon to embark.

We'll probably do the same next year (2020). We're booked on one of the 9-night Greece cruises so currently the plan (unless Norwegian goes belly-up between now and then, which is apparently a possibility) is to take the same flight from Austin to London and spend more time there again before heading to Rome for the cruise. We probably won't spend time in Rome again (just arrive the night before the cruise) since we've now been there twice for a total of about 6 days so I kind of feel like I'd like to spend my time elsewhere.

 

[Anna Chassereau]

My husband is the same way. We alternated longer days and shorter days and made sure we had breaks.



Yes, we flew to London, leaving on Tuesday, arrived there on Wednesday morning. We spent Wednesday all day in London, then Thursday most of the day and took an EasyJet flight from London to Barcelona, arcing on Thursday afternoon. We were in Barcelona all of Friday to sightsee, then on Saturday morning we did some additional sightseeing before heading to port in the afternoon to embark.

We'll probably do the same next year (2020). We're booked on one of the 9-night Greece cruises so currently the plan (unless Norwegian goes belly-up between now and then, which is apparently a possibility) is to take the same flight from Austin to London and spend more time there again before heading to Rome for the cruise. We probably won't spend time in Rome again (just arrive the night before the cruise) since we've now been there twice for a total of about 6 days so I kind of feel like I'd like to spend my time elsewhere.

Omg I hadn't heard this about Norwegian!! Are they in financial trouble or something? Are you booked with them for the 9 night Greek Isles or with DCL?

 

[lilsonicfan]

Omg I hadn't heard this about Norwegian!! Are they in financial trouble or something? Are you booked with them for the 9 night Greek Isles or with DCL?

It’s Norwegian Air that was having some financial issues not NCL but I think they have sorted it now.

 

[anricat]

Omg I hadn't heard this about Norwegian!! Are they in financial trouble or something? Are you booked with them for the 9 night Greek Isles or with DCL?

Oh, yes, sorry for the confusion. I just re-read what I wrote and it sounds like we're booked on NCL. I meant that we will make the same flight arrangements next year on Norwegian Air for when we sail the 9-night Greece with DCL.

Norwegian Air is potentially getting a cash infusion, from what I understand, but unless they make some changes to the way they are doing business, they could continue to be in hot water.

 

[tlprice]

We're on the Barcelona to Rome sailing next June...there's only one sea day. I'm planning on us skipping one of the ports to sleep in/relax and give us an extra day to enjoy the ship...we will have our 8 year old son with us so just trying to take it easy as much as we can. Also planning on doing half day port adventures.

Our ports are:

Toulon, France
Villefranche, France
Genoa, Italy
Florence/Pisa, Italy
Naples, Italy

Which port would you skip? I'm thinking of skipping Genoa...nothing is really sticking out excursion wise to me there. Has anyone been to Genoa?

I did this trip with my 11 year old daughter last summer. We did half day excursions every day and she was fine. We mixed them up with some being in the morning and some in the afternoon. If we had done full day excursions every day, she would have hated it. We did have table mates that were a mom and her 8 year old daughter and they did full day excursions every day and the daughter was just fine. You definitely have to know what your kid can and can't handle.

We went to Marseille instead of Toulon and that was our only long excursion and my daughter chose it.
Villefranche, we took the train to Monaco on our own and went to the Oceanographic Museum. I would NOT go to Monaco again. Instead I would just stay in Villefranche and swim in the Mediterranean at the little beach there. My daughter really enjoyed doing
this even though we weren't prepared and she had to swim in her clothes.
Genoa we went to the Galata Museo del Mare, which was in easy walking distance of the port. It is a great maritime museum with a
lot of interactive exhibits for kids.
Florence/Pisa we went to the tower of Pisa and climbed it. My daughter really wanted to climb it. We bought our tickets about a
month before going and took Tuscany bus there. It was hundreds of dollars less than the DCL excursion.
Naples we went to Pompeii on our own, used Rick Steves' audio guide to tell us where to go and what to see while there, then had some pizza in Naples.
I don't think we were ever gone more than about 4ish hours for any of our excursions except Marseille.

 

[Anna Chassereau]

I did this trip with my 11 year old daughter last summer. We did half day excursions every day and she was fine. We mixed them up with some being in the morning and some in the afternoon. If we had done full day excursions every day, she would have hated it. We did have table mates that were a mom and her 8 year old daughter and they did full day excursions every day and the daughter was just fine. You definitely have to know what your kid can and can't handle.

We went to Marseille instead of Toulon and that was our only long excursion and my daughter chose it.
Villefranche, we took the train to Monaco on our own and went to the Oceanographic Museum. I would NOT go to Monaco again. Instead I would just stay in Villefranche and swim in the Mediterranean at the little beach there. My daughter really enjoyed doing
this even though we weren't prepared and she had to swim in her clothes.
Genoa we went to the Galata Museo del Mare, which was in easy walking distance of the port. It is a great maritime museum with a
lot of interactive exhibits for kids.
Florence/Pisa we went to the tower of Pisa and climbed it. My daughter really wanted to climb it. We bought our tickets about a
month before going and took Tuscany bus there. It was hundreds of dollars less than the DCL excursion.
Naples we went to Pompeii on our own, used Rick Steves' audio guide to tell us where to go and what to see while there, then had some pizza in Naples.
I don't think we were ever gone more than about 4ish hours for any of our excursions except Marseille.

Thank you for all this!! So glad you had a great time and your daughter loved it...sounds like you had some awesome half day excursions!!

 

[laevson4712]

We skipped Villefranche ourselves and don’t regret it at all. The ship has to tender so you’re just sitting in the middle of this beautiful water with hills surrounding you. The weather was great to so we just lounged by the pool all day. So peaceful.

 

[braysmommy]

In Villafranche we took the train to Jacque Cousteau aquarium and after to Monaco to see castle. My son still thinks this was one of the best aquariums he has visited.
https://www.oceano.mc/

 

[leannak]

We went on the 11-night Baltic cruise last year with 3 ship days and did full-day excursions for all ports. I can vividly remember how EXHAUSTED I was and I was so looking forward to going home at the end. We were literally falling asleep on the tour buses and feeling so guilty for nodding off while the guide at the front of the bus was talking. We are in our early 40s, reasonably fit and parents with elementary aged kids. If I had to do it again I’d relax more and do some half-day excursions or just wander from the port on our own in a port or two. We missed a lot of the joy of the trip by pushing ourselves because we didn’t want to miss a single thing! Make sure you’re taking time to soak it all in.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I understand wanting more sea days because that’s what we tend to do. But we have been fortunate enough to go to much of Europe, especially the coastal cities. So when we have done Disney cruises in the Med we use it as a floating hotel much of the time and enjoy the ship on port days,

Toulon is interesting if your family are history buffs. There are a couple great museums and a nice ride up the mountain in a cable car.

Villafranche is good if you want to drive up into the hills for the views on the corniche roads. We have driven it ourselves. And Eze is an incredible stop. Nice is pretty but it’s a big city which we try to avoid.

Genoa is easy to walk around, there are some gorgeous palaces.

Naples is not worthwhile in my opinion. You will probably like Pompeii because that’s where most tourists go but for me it’s hot, overcrowded and your enjoyment depends a lot on the guide. But I’ve been there so that’s easy for me to say. If you’re comfortable driving, you could rent a car and drive up the Amalfi coast...fantastic. Or take a hydrofoil trip over to Capri. It is incredibly beautiful. Or hire a taxi and drive to sorrento.

As for Florence, if you have not been there you will probably want to see it although it’s a long drive. I would prefer to go to the Cinque Terra to hike from one town to another. Again beautiful views and charming places.