We're thinking of a cruise in the Mediterranean next Autumn on RC ship 'Brilliance of the seas'.....

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TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only

We did that exact cruise in October 2 years ago. It was a fabulous cruise. The ship is outstanding, my favorite of all of the Royal Caribbean ships.

The crowd of people on the ship was mixed, mostly folks 30's to 60's and not many kids. The time of year pretty much keeps families with kids from going.

In the first port stop of Villefranche we did the tour that went to the Medieval city of Eze and then to Monaco and the Monte Carlo casino. The Eze part was OK and so was the Monaco part, but don't pay the $10 per person to go inside the casino. Its not worth it, plus you cannot take pictures inside.

In Florence we did the walking tour of the city and also a stop at Pisa. That was a good tour. In Rome we toured the Vatican City and Sistean Chapel and the went to the Colliseium. All of that was good but the tours take all day because the port is an hour from Rome. I do not recommend trying to do Rome on your own, you may get caught in traffic and miss the ship's departure.

In Naples we toured Pompeii and that as good. In Athens we took a tour to the Acropolis and then through the city of Athens. The Acropolis part I liked best. In Kusudasi we went to the Biblical city of Ephesus and that was aweing and outstanding. In Santorini we went on a tour of the island and then to a winery. On Mykonos we did not do a tour , just walked around the town.

First, because of all of the historical sites to see the cruise can be very tiring. Many tours last all day and depending on the arrangement of ports stops you can be off the ship all day on consecutive days. But, if you go that far you do not want to miss the historical sights. If you decide to skips ships tours and go on your own its best to do that in Mykonos and Santorini. The other places involve a bus ride to the attractions, or a tour or taxi.

In Barcelona and the cities in Italy you have to watch out for pickpockets and Gypsies. Keep your money and valuables inside your clothes, not just in your pocket. If you give money to one Gypsie, others will show up with their hands out. So even though they look so sad, its an act and just ignore them.
Sometimes the pickpockets will disguise themselves (with a camera hanging around their neck) as tourists. So don't let people who are not in your tour group get close to you.

All of the port stops that this cruise makes, except Turkey right now, use the Euro. So it would be a good idea to buy some Euros before you leave for the trip. You will need some as soon as you get to Barcelona to pay a taxi to the ship. Unless you plan to make some big purchases in Turkey, no need to buy that currency. If you decide you want some you can get it on the ship at the purser's desk. The owners of the markets in Kusudasi will come out of their shops to invite you in; very pushy. If you do not plan on spending but a few dollars there you can probably use US dollars or Euros.

The Mediterranian cruise is tops on my list of over 15 cruises we have been on. You will enjoy it and the ship.

proud walker

I would ask your question on www.holidaytruths.co.uk for more information. We've visited those ports, except Rome, and they're great, although you can find advice about getting to Rome on HT as it's quite a long way from the port. As for RCI ships, we've been on the Navigator of the Seas and there was a real mixed bunch, all ages. I'm certain you'll have a fantastic time.

RIGGS

been round the med a few times and going again at the end of sept. cant speak of R.C...cos weve always gone with p&o,and there fantastic. im not going too much into detail,because im a one fingered typist ...so if youre really interested e-mail me...and as for dave p...getting a injection for sea-sickness, the doctor charges at least Â£60.00 a shot,he didnt mention that did he.

chicago3200000

We took that cruise two years ago and wrote a full review of it on viewpoints.com. We really enjoyed it but it really doesn't give you much time to really explore each individual city.

Tivogal

go to cruisecritic.com
and cruiseclues.com
you will find more information about the ship, the ports, packing information. have a good cruise.

BcAquatics.com

first week in july i went on a similar RC.

I went on voyager of the seas, and we went on a 7 day medcruise, villefranche, florence, rome, naples, and sicily.

if this is your first med cruise, as it was for us(we have always cruised the caribbean) it was alot different. The tours were long so it was wierd getting back right for dinner, and having a few hours then going to sleep, and waking up early for the tour the next day.

It was weird as we docked everyday with no days off until the last day, we woke up very early as the tours start early, and then getting back late.

so it was alot different from caribbean style cruising. If you went on a med cruise before then you know what im talking about.

On my cruise, there was a good mix. Not alot of young kids like in the caribbean but there was a good mix of adults and teens.

The best thing i can tell you is watch out for your stuff in italy. On my tours, at least 5 people got picked pocketed. Bring a god digi camera. Theres alot of nice picture spots and plenty of history. Also go to bed early as it is physically draining, but dont forget that one late night of fun, try and put that off until the last day.

And finally, enjoy yourself. UNfort we had an intersiting experience. As we left port late as when we went, one large group of people were late due to the london bombing. So we waited at port for a long time.

Also comming back, our air france flight was late getting into paris, and the paris airport is MASSIVE, so we couldnt make our connector to new york. But it was ok, as there were alot of people with us. They put us up in the worest hotel in the world. But it did give us a chance to go to paris and look at the sites and meet people. (trying to find someone who spoke english was alittle hard)

So traveling was alittle difficult. But the cruise itself was nice, you only really need to do a med cruise once, as you will see alot, but it was a good one. Remember the first and most important thing to do is enjoy yourself.

Edit: i dont want to scare u but the week b4 my cruise went brilliance of the seas had a illness problem, stomach virus was passed around. Im sure it is fine now, but they really made sure voyager was clean, with cleaning stations verywere.

Again i dont want to scare you but wash your hands often.

dave kp61

went on similar cruise around med
wont go again just not my idea of holiday
make sure you take travel sickness pills you may need them or get injection from ship doctor straight away

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