Mediterranean cruise…what do I do first? Help!!

[rsjj]

First time flying internationally. Just have the cruise booked. And I’ve got so many questions!

What should I look into booking next? Flight? Accommodation? When should I fly there? A day before? Maybe 2 days before?

I’d appreciate all the help I can get! TIA!

 

[Girl of the South]

Look at Google Flights for help with flight options. Most international flights are overnight. To be safe I would fly 3 days ahead. So leave on Wednesday, arrive on Thursday, cruise on Saturday. At the very least.

 

[rsjj]

Look at Google Flights for help with flight options. Most international flights are overnight. To be safe I would fly 3 days ahead. So leave on Wednesday, arrive on Thursday, cruise on Saturday. At the very least.

Thank you! Flying out 3 days ahead sounds like a good plan. Really appreciate it!

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

I would start tracking flights and figuring out if you are going to fly direct or have stops. When we went in 2018, we flew direct, even though we could have saved over 30% on the cost of the airline tickets if went with 1 or more stops. We didn't because it would have made our travel time close to 30 hours. I didn't want to fly out at 8am on one morning, have a close to a 12 hour layover at one stop and then arrive in Barcelona around 11am to noon the next day. I don't do well being stuck in an airport, so it was worth it for me to spend the extra money on the direct flights.

Once you get a rough idea on the flights go ahead and start looking at where you want to stay before or after the cruise. I would suggest at a minimum arrive 1 day early. I some ways I wished we would have arrived 2 days before our cruise, since it would have let us explore more of Barcelona, but I was already pushing it for time off as it was and couldn't swing it.

Psy

 

[msmama]

You can always book hotels (and maybe flights) via disney/your travel agent if it makes you less nervous, though you may not get the best deal (probably won't). Just throwing it out there that it's an option.

Also, I generally fly 3 - 4 days in advance to get over jet lag and explore the city I'm leaving from.

 

[brentm77]

First time flying internationally. Just have the cruise booked. And I’ve got so many questions!

What should I look into booking next? Flight? Accommodation? When should I fly there? A day before? Maybe 2 days before?

I’d appreciate all the help I can get! TIA!

Which med cruise? Where are you coming from (time zone stuff below may not be applicable to you)?

We found Rick Steve's books and videos very helpful in planning our Italy/Greece cruises. He even has an episode and book specifically for cruising the Mediterranean. But we also bought the full books for each country we visited and cutout and rebound the cities we would be visiting.

I recommend flying in several days early to avoid any issues with your flights causing any issues with making your cruise on time. Plus, the departure country is usually worth spending some time in and it is nice to adjust to the time zone before starting the cruise. The best way to adjust to the time zone is to do whatever it takes to stay awake until bedtime on the day your arrive. If you nap, do not let it be more than an hour. If you give in and sleep all day (when it is night back home), it can set you back for days. Pay the price of adjusting that first day and the whole experience will be better.

I recommend considering private excursions for most ports. It takes more planning, and does create additional risk regarding the ship leaving without you, but the reputable companies build in several hours of extra cushion in case there is issues getting back to the ship. We found the private excursions to be similar in price to Disney, but much more enjoyable, flexible, and informative. One of our Disney excursions was pretty terrible. The other average.

Back to Rick Steve's. He has an app that has audio tours of most major tourist attractions in Europe. I hate to say it, but the audio tours were much better than some of our guided tours. Even local guides can be very hit or miss. So consider those for self-guided excursions where you only arrange transportation. Or, use them to supplement your visit by listening to them before taking the actual tour of the destination, giving you a head start on understanding what you will be seeing.

Take your time and start gathering information and research now. It can be overwhelming, but really isn't as crazy as it sounds once you arrive. Our med cruise was the best vacation experience of my life. It was the perfect mix of seeing new places, history, and art, with a little relaxation and familiar comforts on the ship. It is a very stress-free way to see lots of new places in the region. Enjoy!

 

[pjacobi]

For the first trip to Europe, please know that jetlag is a very serious issue! Do some research on best ways to handle jetlag. If you fail to reset body clock, you will miss most of the daytime activities because you will be sleeping during the day a wide awake at night.


-Paul

 

[Flossbolna]

One thing to note when flying Internationally between the US and Europe:

On your flight back, if you connect in the US, you will have to clear immigration and customs at your first port of entry into the US. This includes having to get your luggage, take it through customs and re-check it afterwards. There are special counters and the bags are already tagged, so that is not the biggest issue. But it is an additional step.

On the other hand, if you connect in Europe you will always have your luggage checked through. So, if you fly to Rome via Paris, you will not see your luggage until Rome. You would go through immigration (show your passport) in Paris, but then proceed to your flight and collect luggage in Rome and go through customs there. Customs in Europe involves nothing much: you just pick the green exit if you have nothing to declare and in 99.9999% of all cases no one will ask you anything. They can do random checks, but they are very very rare.

 

[o&smom]

Congratulations! Our addiction started with a ONCE in a lifetime Med cruise. We always fly in at least a couple days ahead. On our first cruise, we felt the vacation was so extravagant that we flew the day before and arrived the morning of the cruise and went straight to the port. We also went directly to the airport right after debarkation. We really missed out on the amazingness of Barcelona. Luckily, we learned from our mistakes and have been able to enjoy Barcelona multiple times. We always book our flight next because there can be such differences in price by one day. We leave some flexibility in flight dates because of this. After we book flights, we work on where we are going to stay. We often stay in a rental apartment vs. a hotel. For our family of four, this has been less expensive than a hotel in many areas. You will have the best time!

 

[Luvmypetz]

YouTube has many videos. If you have Discovery +, Samantha Brown has several 30 min shows with many of the countries you might visit.

 

[kiford]

Thank you! Flying out 3 days ahead sounds like a good plan. Really appreciate it!

Yeah, definitely arrive 2 days in advance. Not Europe but my father had planned a South American cruise out of Santiago and booked a hotel for two nights before the cruise. Of course there was a snow storm and his flight was cancelled and had to reschedule for the next day out of a different airport - ironically closer to his home - several hours away which he had to get to with bad roads and everyone else doing the same thing. He made it, lost one night at the hotel (insurance paid out for that plus the drive to another airport) but still then had a night and day to chill before the cruise.

We’ve been delayed for several hours going to Europe more than once so having the buffer of two days so that you hopefully get at least one to relax and start adapting to he time change provides peace of mind. We’ve also always booked the hotel through Disney. Am I probably paying a lot for a hotel? Yes, but then I can book their transportation and ensure they know where I am to pick me up, know where I’m going, when I need to leave, handle my luggage, etc. I’ve no idea what it’s like now but it also got us priority boarding. Plus we‘ve found hotels we’d like to go back to later (actually did go back for lunch twice on a later trip to a hotel we’d stayed at) and they usually pick good locations.

When we went in 2018, we flew direct, even though we could have saved over 30% on the cost of the airline tickets if went with 1 or more stops.

Oh yeah totally. We flew back home once through two stops. All flights were late so between layovers, flight time and time change it was over 24 hours (Barcelona to Lisbon to Newark to Toronto). Never again if we can avoid it. One stop max with one leg being a short domestic flight is now our criteria and direct if possible.

 

[CanadianCruiser]

I'm glad someone started this thread. First time going on a Mediterranean cruise too. I'm hoping to find some answers as well. Is booking a flight home after our cruise at 11:50am too rush if our Disney cruise arrival at Barcelona port is 8am on debarkation day? Is it easy to find a taxi at the Barcelona cruise terminal? How long is the trip from cruise port to airport? Do you need a lot of time going through customs in Barcelona? Thanks!

 

[DCLMP]

The way flying is these days I would fly in at least a couple days before. International flights are usually more reliable than domestic, but look what happened this morning. You just never know.

 

[brentm77]

The way flying is these days I would fly in at least a couple days before. International flights are usually more reliable than domestic, but look what happened this morning. You just never know.

Another tip related to this is that you can use the flight number to check your flights on FlightAware's website or app to get a good feel for how often the flight you are interested in flies on time, is delayed, or canceled. I find it particularly useful the days leading up to my flight, as you can often see patterns and it results in less surprises when flying.

 

[mousefan73]

If your cruise is this summer I will definitely look into getting your flights ASAP. Capacity is still low and there’s high demand. Prices will be high.

 

[DCLMP]

I've been looking for reward flights for over a month now. The flights are empty, but no good deals. I finally found a good miles redemption for business class in August. I think you'll see some sales coming up to sell seats. Last year I found the best redemptions in May for an August trip.

End of May through mid July is by far the highest prices.... Good luck. I thought about switching from Royal to DCL with the new GT rates, but I'm not willing to pay more, give up business class, and fly coach.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

In addition to all that was mentioned, consider signing up for a credit card that doesn't charge any fees for international use. Many add 3% to the amount being charged so that can really add to the cost of the trip.

 

[rsjj]

Thank you all for your tips!! I really appreciate it. My weekend job is to look for flights! What is a good price generally speaking? $1000 pp? California to Barcelona. Maybe more?

No doubt there will be more questions, as the planning gets underway.

YouTube has many videos. If you have Discovery +, Samantha Brown has several 30 min shows with many of the countries you might visit.

I love Samantha Brown!! Used to watch her all the time.

 

[DianaMB333]

Following along.. also going in the Med cruise this summer

Do you have recommended agencies/operators to book private excursions?

Thanks

 

[bwmjam]

We did the Med this past summer and absolutely loved it! Ditto on arriving a few days before, the problems the airlines are having are not going to get better anytime soon, unfortunately. Be prepared for delays and possible cancellations. You will need a back-up plan, you will need noise-cancelling headphones, and travel insurance is a must. About half of the people on our cruise had their luggage lost by the airline. Yes, it's a shocking number but the reality of traveling nowadays. Pack as many outfits as you can in your carry-on, it may be all you get. Sadly, many people had to cancel their excursions so they could buy underwear and clothes instead. Know that travel insurance will reimburse you for clothing you have to buy due to lost luggage.

Be prepared for heat, it was 100+ degrees every day we were there and you spend most of your time outside, on black cobblestone streets making it even hotter. Wear light, moisture wicking clothing and drink lots of water. A real lifesaver is the packets of gatorade mix (you can get at Costco) and pour it into a bottle of water. You will need the electrolytes to survive the heat.

Book excursions through the Cruise Line! Yes, they are expensive but most of our excursions ran over by 1-2 hours, so the ship always waited for us. We realized, we would have been screwed if we had gone a private route, which is probably better and much cheaper. Yes, we saw people standing on the pier in disbelief as the ship pulled away. I guess they had to find a way to the next port. That is just stress I wouldn't want to deal with.

We bought a package through Costco pre-cruise and post-cruise and one of the best decisions we made. We got a 3-night hotel, breakfast everyday and private transfers to/from the airport or port for around $900. The hotels were really nice and in great locations, close to city center. Most cities in Europe, the airport is a good hour away from the city center so the private car was great.

We used the Viator app for all of our tours. They have every kind of tour in every kind of price range. We especially loved the food and wine tours - we did one in Rome and one in Athens. You walk around the city and sample local wines and food, the best way to see the city.