voyager of the seas - 31Oct sailing ex-Barcelona

[enigma075]

Hello all,

Am travelling on the following itinerary on a cruise for the 1st time with family - 6 adults
Sun 31 Oct 2010 Barcelona, Spain 07:00 PM
Boarding
Mon 01 Nov 2010 Cruising Cruising
Tue 02 Nov 2010 Naples, Capri, Italy 07:00 AM 07:00
PM Docked
Wed 03 Nov 2010 Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy 07:00 AM
07:00 PM Docked
Thu 04 Nov 2010 Livorno (Florence /Pisa), Italy 07:00 AM
07:00 PM Docked
Fri 05 Nov 2010 Villefranche (Nice), France 07:00 AM
07:00 PM Tendered
Sat 06 Nov 2010 Provence (Toulon), France 07:00 AM
05:00 PM Docked
Sun 07 Nov 2010 Barcelona, Spain 06:00 AM
Departure

A few questions for all the experts around here...
- I am booked in a balcony cabin. Is smoking permitted inside the stateroom or only in the balcony ?
- the 2nd day is only cruising... hope there is enough to do on-board as am travelling with fairly senior adults with me - my parents/uncle/aunt etc...
- Will i be allowed to carry alcohol that i would buy from dutyfree at barcelona airport on arrival ? I can probably put it in my checked baggage to avoid any detection.
- Since we are from India and my co-travellers are vegetarian, will i be allowed to carry any food items in the checked baggage to consume in the room?
- Will they have bathrobes in the shower ?
- I have already pre-paid the gratiuties with the balcony fare. Is it still required to pay 1USD for room service or baggage porterage ?
- I found all the shore excursions very highly priced thru the cruise. Any tips for the above shore excursions. I am fairly well travelled in europe before so just trying to save costs at every possible attempt.

 

[Funnel]

Welcome to Cruise @ddicts!

I just did the same cruise (October 10) and have some answers to your questions.

- Smoking is not permitted in the stateroom but on your balcony, see more here:
What is the Smoking Policy onboard? - Royal Caribbean International

- There is plenty to do onboard. If you have not been on a Voyager class ship before, this day is perfect for getting to know the ship. This afternoon you also have the opportunity to see the ice show (at 3:30PM and 5:30PM if I remember correctly) which is a “must seeâ€, according to my opinion (and I do not usually go to see ice shows).

- It is not permitted to bring alcohol onboard RCI ships. If it is possible to get it in through your checked luggage is another story. I have never tried as alcohol is not the reason for me to go on a cruise. There are plenty of bars onboard – might be a bit expensive though…
You can read more here about RCI’s alcohol policy:
Can I bring liquor or non-alcoholic beverages (from home or from a port) onboard? - Royal Caribbean International

- At every port they said that it is not allowed to bring food on or off the ship. I think there were vegetarian dishes in all restaurants. This is what RCI says:
What type of special meals does Royal Caribbean offer? - Royal Caribbean International

- Bathrobes can only be found in suites or in your stateroom if you are a regular RCI cruiser (at least platinum level in the Crown & Anchor society).

- The pre-paid gratuities are only for your stateroom attendant and for the waiters in the main dining room. For room service I think you are expected to pay some at every occasion you use it.

Finally some short comments about the ports of call.

Naples:
The ship docks almost in the city center, so it is easy to take a walk. There is also a “hop-on-hop-off†tour that I think stops pretty close to the ship (don’t know if that still operates in November though).
The boats to the island of Capri are just a 5 minutes walk from your ship.

Civitavecchia:
Not much to see there, according to some of my table mates. I recommend taking the train or bus to Rome (“Shuttle and private train to Rome†or “Rome on your own†if you go by RCI) which gives you almost 6 hours on your own in Rome. Of course you can go by train yourself, but then you have to go to the station by shuttle bus (and maybe bus or taxi, don’t know where the shuttle bus stops) and then the train. This will reduce your time in Rome but will probably be cheaper.

Livorno:
I think Livorno is a bit nicer than Civitavecchia, if you would like to stay there. I would recommend a trip to Pisa or Florence. It is possible to take the train but, as from Civitavecchia, you have to go to the train station first which will mean you loose some time. A lot easier, but more expensive to go by RCI.
Another alternative is to rent a car. Avis, Hertz and Europcar had portable offices directly on the pier. I don’t know about parking in the cities, but the traffic was not that hard. There were mini buses or van’s for rent so it should not be any problem to fit all 6 of you. I guess it is good to book a rental car in advance.

Villefranche:
In this port you have to use tenders to get ashore, but the waiting time was very short.
The village of Villefranche is very cosy and well worth a visit, but maybe a full day is a bit too much. The train station is only a 5 minute walk from the tender port. There are trains to Nice, Monaco and Cannes for example. It will not take many minutes to Nice or Monaco and the cost is low (only a couple of Euros). There are also buses going to Nice or Monaco. To get to the bus you have to “climb†a bit up in the village, but it’s not too far. I also think that there is a car rental service close to the port, but I would not recommend this if you would like to go to Monaco or Nice as parking can be very difficult. On the other hand just driving around on the roads with that spectacular views might be nice.

Toulon:
There is a shuttle bus from the ship to the city centre (at $10). I think it is too far to walk. Toulon can be nice if you are in the city centre or along the boardwalk, but as in Villefranche, I don’t know if it is nice to spend a full day there (I was only there for 2-3 hours, but that was OK).
I think you will have to walk a bit to reach the train station. Marseille is not to far away, and I think that is a very nice city, especielly if you go to the small church on the hill (Notre Dame de la Garde) with spectacular views over Marseille and the sea.

I don’t know about how long the strikes will go on in France. This can be a problem as there may be a shortage of gas. When I was in Villefranche the train was cancelled due to the strike, and the result of that was that there were very long lines to the bus instead.

Sorry for the long answer, but I hope you find some of this useful.

If you are interested I have posted some photos from my rip under “Cruise & Travel Chatâ€.

/Erik

 

[Mbandy]

Great info Erik :doubleup:

The Voyager Class ships are my favorite so far, I have been on Voyager, Navigator and the Explorer two times. Don't miss the ice skating show, it is very good.

Enjoy your trip. :spyglass: