Norwegian Escape Cruise October 2024

I'm so glad the cruise has been good, especially after your disappointment with the day tour in Barcelona. I'm looking forward to reading more!

If on a cruise, you are going to need euros for tips.

I thought NCL charged a daily rate for tips and puts it on your bill?

Alan, they do. Not sure why the OP needed a lot of Euros on her cruise. Most people who tip their crew over and above the daily gratuities do so on the last night of the cruise. But perhaps the OP is someone who tips their bartender after every drink? Or used public toilets when ashore that didn't have card readers.

Am going to clarify about tips. I am talking about tipping tour guides after excursions.

Usually I give the tour guide X amount of money and ask to share with the driver.

But some days have been so long and the bus driver has done so much driving, that I tipped the tour guide and the bus driver equal amounts of euros plus one day, there were two tour guides. Along with the bus driver

Some guests have run out of euros and are tipping with dollars. No one seems to mind getting dollars.

Continuing on

Palma

We have been notified that all shore excursions in Palma De Mallorca have been cancelled because of a strike. W e will port in. palma and allowed off ship however.

A friend tells me to be careful that I do not cross a picket line.

The Virus

I will have to write about the Nova Virus after I get home. Norwegian tried to keep it from us but later had to confess that there had been an outbreak on voyage before mine.

Crew. Members with red buckets which have a strong solution walk all around the ship day and night touching up.

The elevator opens and a crew member is the only one in the elevator sanitizing the railings.

There was an announcement earlier reminding us that if we feel sick, call some number s o I do not know.

To be continued

I ‘m glad that your cruise is going well. I believe you are talking about norovirus. As ever, washing hands before you serve yourself from the buffet and then once again after you serve yourself before eating will go a long way towards prevention.

Even though you had to scramble a bit to reschedule, it sounds like your excursions have worked out for you. How are your knees holding up?

There is an island wide bus strike on Mallorca on Monday. So that is why all excursions are cancelled.

It is said to be a 40 minute walk into town from Palma Cruise Terminal- longer for you. The HoHo bus (City Sightseeing) calls at the Terminal but is reported to have insufficient capacity for the ships even on a 'normal' day. So a taxi is probably going to be in order- assuming they too are not under too much pressure.

Hello carol

We have no choice about washing our hands. Norwegian takes care of that for us. We are not allowed in any dining area until we wash out hands. We can not come back to ship without allowing them. To spray us. Do you know where to buy new skin for the hands.

I am really enjoying this cruise more than others. I know how to travel better. The injection worked this time and I w m using my. Voltaren. As well.

I hand never heard about some of these places until researching the ports. They are so interesting and beautiful n

Tonight I am going to see Choir of Man.

Hello Isn31c

Yes it is. A planned one day strike. Which happens to be the day my ship is in.

I am going to leave. Ship and walk around port

Hoho is cancelled. Norwegian does not know if taxis will run but I am taking no chances It is a short stay. And if push comes to shove. I will stay on the ship.

The next day is a n early leaving ship heading to Barcelona Airport.

It has been a good time

Today I visited Caliagri. And loved it just like every other port

I do not believe that I ever heard about Caliagri until I booked this cruise. I have so much to learn.

As it has turned out, I was wrong.

Palma is a full day in port. It is a shame that most of us cruise guests can not do much if at all due to the strike. We can leave the ship but many of us can not walk long distances

I am very disappointed.

This has been the best cruise that I have been on despite. Whatever. glitches and disappointments.

Not ready to book another one yet but thinking of Northern Europe, Japan or Australia / New Zealand.

Time to renew passport and driver s license

I'm a bit slow (very slow) on thoughts so this will be too late for you now. But if taxis were available from the port then one option would have been to take a taxi to Palma Intermodal Station.

Then the main line train to Soller, for the famous Soller Tram.

Or indeed one of the other Palma main line railway routes with a little bit of time at whichever terminus you chose.

As far as I can see the Tram, the main line railways and the Palma metro are working today. Everything is run by TIB- but it appears to be a bus strike, not an all modes strike.

The metro is a famous white elephant in terms of it's overall usefulness in terms of destination but it exists.

It might have been worth taking the chance. At worst I'm wrong and there are no trains or metro. So you just potter round the centre of town, and get a taxi back.
You would have 'ticked the box' as having seen Palma City.
The TIB journey planner actually shows a half hourly bus to Soller today. Not clear if there is some bus service running, or if the planner is not up to date.
That of course would be an option any day- train/tram out to a destination and bus back.

I'm very pleased that this cruise has gone so much better than the last one for you.

Phil, I'm pleased as well to hear that this cruise - even with a few hiccups - has gone so much better than your last one! Especially, I'm delighted that your injection + medication worked on those knees of yours this time. Uffizi? Oh my gosh, what a marvelous collection, eh?

VERY good that you didn't catch Norovirus and, hooray for you, that you rolled with those hiccups like a trooper! :O)

I’m glad you had such a good experience despite the glitches.

Ship is on way back to Barcelona. I have an afternoon flight to Philadelphia and then a long wait until I fly back to Austin.

In Palma, I walked to the port, looked around and walked back. A lot of cruise guests took taxis while others stayed on the ship. Taxis were available..

The HoHo bus only came every hour and a half because of the strike.

Very disappointed about the strike in Palma but used the time to sleep and pack. I discovered that I was very tired and enjoyed a day on the ship despite my disappointment.

Some guests have run out of euros and are tipping with dollars. No one seems to mind getting dollars.

I'm sure that they do mind getting dollars, but are probably too polite to say so. It's difficult for residents of Europe to use dollars, just like it would be difficult for you to use a foreign currency here in the states.

Dollars or euros doesn’t really matter because the vast majority of the crew is Asian and the money goes home to families. Crew members disembark from time to time, will buy gifts , but not too often. The cruise lines have their own training schools in these Asian countries to staff their ships.

The OP isn’t talking about tipping the ship’s crew in dollars, she meant that fellow passengers were tipping European tour guides and drivers in dollars. I agree with Mardee that these guides and drivers were probably too polite to show that they did in fact mind getting tipped in dollars. Tipping in dollars may be welcomed when one is on a cruise in the Caribbean, but in general not when you’re cruising in Europe.
I also don’t understand how one can run out of Euros, there are ATM’s pretty much everywhere.

I have written some about this cruise while still on cruise, but now I am home and consider this to be an official trip report.

I am going to do it my way. There are some things that I prefer to write about first rather than in order of cruise.

So let us begin

NOROVIRUS

My ship was struck with the Norovirus the journey ahead of ours. Norwegian tried to keep it from us but finally had to confess.

I noticed that some things seemed strange right from the get go, as we were boarding the ship. Walking up the gangplank, a crew member wanted to spray my hands and I said "no, that is ok". He said in a. very serious manner, "you have to" so I said 'ok"

Everyone looked very serious.

Once on the ship, I headed to the buffet like always. But we were not allowed near the food. Poles and tape had been set up to separate passengers from even getting close to the the food. And there were crew members serving us everything, .

There was a crew member at plates and silver. We had to ask.

At drinks, we had to tell the crew member what we wanted while still standing outside of the tape and poles. even water. And so it went

There was the food on the buffet line. Then there was a crew member outside of the food, on the floor. Then there was tape and poles and then there was us passengers telling the crew member what we wanted. We were not even allowed to get close to the food or accessories. Often I could not read the signs of what the food was and the crew member had to tell me.

Everyone looked very serious. I can not remember if crew were wearing masks but during the cruise many if not all of crew did wear masks.

I remember being very aware that this was different than it was originally done and I wondered if it was Norwegian cutting back. I thought that we were being served every little thing because passengers often take too much food and then leave it to be thrown away.

So I ate and then walked to the atrium to hang out until the cabins were ready as I always do. I still had my luggage with me as I do not check it with the ship.

And we kept sitting and sitting. We got messages that the cabins would soon be open but the cabins never opened. And we. continued to get messages that the cabins would soon be open.

Passengers were tired and antsy. By now, we had been sailing over an hour and still no cabins. Passengers were going to their cabins and leaving their luggage. Some were reporting to others that the beds were not yet made up but the cabin was open and they were allowed to leave the luggage in their cabin.

I found my cabin and my bed was made. I just walked in which you never do until it is announced that the cabins are open. My cabin person was running around trying to get me toilet paper and tissues.

It must have been about 6 pm. Other passengers were still not allowed in their cabins at all.

It was obvious that there was some kind of problem.

Between 6 and 7 pm, the captain came over the intercom and told us that because of a gastrointestinal outbreak on the previous cruise, the crew had to do a deep cleaning for our safety and that is why it was taking so long for us to get in our cabins,

Norovirus was never used.

I got in my cabin maybe about 6 pm but some passengers would have to wait until about 9 pm to get in their cabins. And we would be in Cannes early morning with most of us having excursions booked beginning. early.

And so it went. Staff and crew were required to do double duty. They looked tired and almost certainly were.

Continuing

I can not remember if all the crew were wearing masks at the beginning but many did. This would relax as the cruise got midpoint although some crew members wore masks all the time. The crew members who were at the desks checking us out and in when we left the ship and later returned always worse masks.

Throughout the cruise, crew members carried around red buck

I'm sorry your report was cut off just as we were getting to the red buckets - it must have been the character limit per post....

please post the next bit, I am very interested, Sorry you had the sanitary precautions to deal with.

Hi Nigel

It was not the character limit. I had done two separate posts and was merging them. I also had become very tired. Jet :Lag plus. Stay tuned because more is coming.

Thank you for your always interest

Edit: I see what you are talking about Nigel. I made the correction but now I have to stop and see where I am going.

I am continuing

Throughout the cruise, crew members carried around red buckets with. a very strong solution. They were forever touching up and sanitizing.

All that we needed on the buckets was a skeleton's head. . I began to think of the buckets as "the buckets of death"

One time, the elevator opened and the only person in the elevator was a crew member sanitizing the rails.

Now I have to stop and reread all that I wrote and think about what next. There is more coming.

Continuing

Many of us cruisers had problems in our cabins and it was difficult to get the problems corrected because the crew was focused on dealing with Norovirus

One couple who I met had a toilet that did not work at all. They had to leave their cabin and use another one on the ship or go up several floors to where family was to use the toilet.

There was a sign at guest services that said the ship was sailing at full capacity telling us that we could not change cabins. The husband asked for a rebate of some kind mid. cruise and miraculously guest services ound a cabin with a working toilet.

EXCURSIONS

So let's talk about excursions.

Usually when you enter your cabin, there is.an envelope on your bed with tickets for your shore excursions. Given the chaos, there was no envelope on my bed. In fact, no one had gotten their shore excursions

I went downstairs to Shore Excursions and they reprinted my excursions. I go back to my cabin and when I look at my tickets, i realized that I was missing three. I had five when I should have had eight. Rome, Florence and one other was missing.

I go back to Shore Excursions and I was told that three excursions had been canceled. That is why I had no tickets for them.

Norwegian had nevever informed me that three of my shore excursions had been cancelled.,

Even when I very recently had. come down to have my tickets reprinted, the man who reprinted them never told me that I had had three cancelled

The three cancelled were for persons who used a cane or walker or wheelchair.

Shore Excursions did not want to put me on any others because I identified as a person who used a cane. Thus I must be disabled and not able to do a.Level II excursion.

Usually I purchase Level II excursions but Norwegian offered excursions for those who used a cane, walker or wheelchair. I jumped on them. Now Norwegian cancels them but does not tell me and they did not want me substituting.

Well after some arguing, I was able to substitute but I really did not know what I got. I was read one line of the excursions and I said ok. Had no idea what I bought but in the end it sort of worked out.

I did not get the excursions that I wanted but I was sort of satisfied with what I did get. Better than sitting on the ship.

And to be continued

Continuing

Excursions

I would eventually get three separate notifications regarding the three shore excursions that had been cancelled. It was said that these excursions had been cancelled due to lack of participation.

All; three were the excursions that were for those persons who used a cane, walker or wheelchair. They were for the same third party.

Norwegian had offered these excursions weeks before we sailed. We were cautioned to book fast because they would sell out.

I booked immediately and eventually all three excursions were pulled so it appeared they had sold out.

And as said, this was weeks before the sailing.

So I do not believe that lack of participation was the true problem.

The excursions were very expensive. Rome was over $500 while the substitute that I signed up for was only $190.00.

CANNES

Our first port was Cannes and with a lot of research, I chose the Monte Carlo and Monaco excursion . I was glad that I did. I liked Monte Carlo and I loved Monaco.

One of the downsides of a cruise is that while you may see a lot, you do not have much time anywhere.

Monte Carlo

We had the option of paying 14 euros to enter the elegant casino but the tour was only one hour long and I chose not to. It would have been different if we had several hours.

I visited the casino that had no entrance fee. I walked around the square and found a very pretty park to sit and relax.

Monaco

I loved Monaco and wish we had more time for Monaco.

I do not know the name of the very pretty park that runs from the palace along the Mediterranean Sea but it as lovely. There were beautiful art and sculptures.

We went up and down side streets. They began to all look alike. The tour guide was pointing out places where we could buy a sandwich. Because she gave me extra time and care due to my age, I bought her a sandwich as well.

I had heard so much about the sandwiches but I did not care for them. The guide had taken me / us to this sandwich shop so I knew it was considered to be a good place but I did not find the sandwiches very interesting or tasty.

We met at the yellow submarine in front of The Oceanography Institute. identified with Jaques Cousteau. Of course, this is a place that I would have loved to spend hours inside and of course I could not. Again this is the down side of cruises and cruise excursions.

Monte Carlo and Monaco are places that I would love to go back to so that I could spend more time.

FLORENCE

Because my shore excursion had been cancelled. I substituted but really had no idea what I had picked. I had to ask other participants what we were paying for this excursion.

I slept on the bus going to Florence since our meeting time on the ship was 7 am.

From the bus stop, we walked a very long way and for me, there was some difficulty but there was difficulty for others as well. I may have been the oldest but others were older and others had some mobility issues.

I do not remember all that we saw but I have pictures. I was in a. large group of maybe 40 participants. Although the tour guide spoke decent English, there was still a strong accent and we had those gadgets that you wear around your neck and put something in your ear. I do need to go back and look at my pictures and do research on Florence.

We were taken to a square where there were many shops specializing in gold jewelry and leather. Our tour guide took us to a lovely shop named Gold Market. We had to watch a short demonstration on Florentine Jewelry and then over to the other side where we had to watch a short demonstration about leather goods. Beautiful shop but I was hungry and wanted to sit down. I was feeling cranky.

Continuing

Some members on my excursion thought that we had been brought to the Gold Market because the tour guide had a relationship with the shop and would get a kickback if we bought anything.

However I remember from previous cruises that Norwegian is REQUIRED to give us shopping time in order to be able to port. We do not have to be given a lot of shopping time but shopping time is required.

After visiting the Gold Market, we did get free time to get some food, buy a souvenir and explore. I bought a sandwich which I did not really care for . I did not like the sandwiches. I can not remember what else I bought but I sat in the square, relaxed and people watched.

My excursion that had been cancelled had included The David and I was very disappointed that I did not see The David but we did go to the Ufizzi Gallery and how I loved the Ufizzi. No regrets. We spent maybe about an hour in the Ufizzi and our tour guide took us to several rooms pointing out one or two of the pictures and giving us some background and history. The Ufizzi was a place where you wished you could spend several hours.

Our tour guide had walked us excessively around Florence. The description on our ticket said that there would be approximately 2 miles of walking total but participants counted steps and w walked about 6 miles around Florence. The tour guide backtracked a lot. It sometimes seems art time that the tour guides takes us to places that they want to show you but maybe you really do not need to or want to see.

One man had bad knees and was concerned that his knee was locking up. He and wife chose not to tip the tour guide because of the excessive walking. They were also going to let Norwegian know they were not happy with the tour guide. They felt that she took us to Gild Market shop because she was friends with the people and would get. kickback if we bought anything.

I chose to tip the tour guide and said nothing to Norwegian.

Florence was very crowded and very hot. I better understand "the crowds" since going.

ROME

The next day was Rome and I overslept for my meeting time. The meeting time was 7:15 am and I did not wake up until 7 am. Yet I made the excursion. They held the bus for me.

I slept on the bus going to Rome. waking up as we were entering Rome

And as I said some time way back, I was "shocked" by how beautiful Rome was. I was not expecting it to be so beautiful.

Rome was very crowded, uncomfortably so. I do not remember how hot it was but we did ge poured on.

My original excursion where I was supposed to go inside the Vatican, Sistine Chapel had been cancelled and I had to substitute. The substitution was just ok. We did not go inside anywhere but went and saw the outside of the Colosseum. We walked around the outside of The Colosseum, had lunch and then We walked to St Peter's and had some free time at St Peter's Square.

This excursion came with lunch and it was a nice restaurant. Lunch was ok. I can not remember what all we had but it was just ok, not great but acceptable.

We had two tour guides on this excursion. W had the one who met us at the ship and in Rome, we had one who walked us around Rome. The one who met us at the ship stayed behind the group so that no one could get lost.

Like the one in Monaco, she took extra caution with me so that I could not get lost .

And here is where I equally tipped three times. I tipped the bus driver because he drove so much and did such a good job. I tipped the tour guide who met us in Rome and the one who came with us from the ship. This is among the reasons that I needed more euros.

Dear Boston Phil,

You mentioned up thread that this was your best cruise ever and that you felt you had grown a lot as a traveler. When I read your posts I can really see your growth over the years. It makes me happy! I’m happy for your sake because you know more and it helps you enjoy more. I am happy you were able to do all that with your knee. I’m also happy for the forum’s sake because that is why most of us are here. We want to be a mutually supportive community where we help each other enjoy our travels. You received that help and now you post as an encouragement for others as well. Well done!

what Carol now retired said. Every word.

Thank you Carol and Nigel

I see you both as friends and as persons who have helped me become a better traveler, in fact much better. I continue to learn but also I now continue to more aptly contribute.

Although I write and will continue to write about disappointments on this cruise, it was still a good cruise. Disappointments are part of life and part of travel. I learn from my disappointments and I am more accepting of disappointments .

But this is probably a good time to add that I got some bad news about my health just days before leaving on my cruise.

In May, I was hospitalized with pneumonia. I was very sick and could have died. Since recovering, I have a new outlook on life. I am grateful for everything. I am more accepting of life. I am more thankful for every moment.

But my kidneys are not working as they should and I may be experiencing kidney failure. I will be seeing a kidney specialist once an appointment is set up.

Of course this was on my mind during this cruise. Although diabetic, I cheat on my diet but I am now stricter because of my kidneys.

For instance, I saw the donuts, the wonderful donuts. I love donuts. I heard others speaking about the donuts but I did resist and did not have one donut. Truthfully, I wish that I had, kidney problems or no kidney problems.

And I continued a stricter diet along with drinking a lot of water.

But it was on my mind that I might be running out of time and this could be among my last cruise so I tried to love it more than any other cruise although I am thinking of the next cruise.

ROME

Rome was not a disappointment but the excursion that I had to take because Norwegian let me down was a disappointment. I had been aware of this excursion even before my trip and it was one that I did not want but now I was on it.

It is only as I look at my pictures that I remembered we went to Pisa. Pisa was ok but it was not anywhere I really wanted to go or see. Still it was pretty.

I have to look at my pictures to remember what I saw and did on my excursion.

I wanted to go inside the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, etc when in Rome. these excursions were no longer open. I had to take one that only stayed outside. Very disappointed that I did not go inside any museums or churches.

We went to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi fountains. I saw some beautiful monuments and architecture. Apparently I did go into. a church from my pictures but do not remember what church. It was beautiful while not necessarily famous.

I walked outside of the colosseum and it was ok but not what I wanted. Lunch was included on this excursion. We ate at a nice restaurant at or around the colosseum and the meal was ok but just ok. It was either chicken or pork. I would have preferred spaghetti and meatballs or something that I consider to be more Italian.

We had about 30 minutes or so free time in St Peter's Square. I bought a few souvenirs. it was possible to buy something to eat. St Peter's Square was not very crowded probably due to the rain so I enjoyed the quiet and the prettiness.

EDIT. I made a mistake and am very glad that it was brought to my attention.

I did not go to Pisa on the Rome Excursion. I went to Pisa on the Florence excursion

The Gold Market, FLORENCE

A few posts ago, I mentioned Florence and being brought to a retail store called The Gold Market. I have since done some research on The Gold Market and it has outstanding reviews. Real quality. Very good reputation.

I probably should have bought something since we were offered discounts.

Just thought that I would add this.

It is a beautiful place.

TOUR GUIDES

We had very good tour guides but sometimes I could not understand them very well. Even though they spoke decent English, there often was still a strong accent and language barrier.

Often we had the gadget around our neck and had earplugs but they could be annoying and they fell out.

So while we were given a lot of very good and useful information, I very often missed more than I received. Still I can go back and do research but did not always fully appreciate what I was seeing.

FOOD

We had three meals included on three different excursions. During free time , I often bought a sandwich. We always ate at what appeared to be a nice restaurant. I always got my sandwiches from nice street shops.

The food was only so so. It was disappointing

The included meals were chicken twice and pork once. There were vegetables and maybe a pasta. One time, we had manicotti or large raviolis before the entree and that item was delicious. There was always a good bread. there was always wine and water. When there was dessert, it was always good. I would have preferred spaghetti and meatballs over chicken. The chicken and pork were ok but nothing special. Pasta that came with them was just ok. There was a little sauce dribbled over them but nothing great.

In Sorrento, we went to a very nice pizzeria / restaurant. Thus was a large pizza restaurant with a large pizza oven and I was hoping that we were going to have pizza but, no, we had chicken. However I think this was the restaurant where we had very good manicotti or raviolis before the entree

I had several sandwiches from Barcelona onward. I am sorry to say that I did not like any of them. I did not enjoy them. I ate some of the sandwiches but never could finish any of them. I heard so much about the sandwiches but they did not work for me.

The donuts looked so very wonderful but because of diabetes and kidney problems, I was forced to pass. I regret. not cheating at least one time.

I never had pizza. it never fit into my ports or my excursions. In Naples, I took a shore excursion to Sorrento and Amalfi but we had chicken.

SiIDE NOTE

My age Is showing. I am old and I look it. Mobility issues are obvious.

Persons were very loving to me and caring of me. I got well taken care of.

It is a blessing to help but it is equally a blessing to let other help you.

Another Side Note

I had seen pictures of the crowds. I had been told many times over about the crowding but until you experience the crowds and the crowding, you do not fully understand the problem.

Although the temperatures were often not very high, it was still very hot often pounding hot.

Just notes.

First of all, I am so sad to hear about your latest health issues and hope that you can get some satisfactory options. Many of us can relate to the “clock-ticking” and good for you that you persevered through the cruise and the independent part. I followed your posts on your previous cruise and was cheered to see this one went so much better.

Additionally, thanks for the trip report. You included details that will help others in terms of expectations and areas where there may be disappointments. Our idea of food in other countries can be very different than what is actually served. When we went to Greece I thought we’d have lots of lamb options when actually it skewed more pork than lamb. Could you elaborate on why you didn’t care for the sandwiches?

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

“ It is only as I look at my pictures that I remembered we went to Pisa.”

Are you sure? You have written this under the heading Rome, but it’s at least a 4 hour drive from Rome to Pisa. So it would be highly unlikely that you visited Pisa on the same excursion as Rome. Or did you go to Pisa from another port in Italy?

Thank you so much for writing up your Trip Report. I recommend bookmarking it so you can return to read it later on and reminisce about your cruise!

"I had been told many times over about the crowding but until you experience the crowds and the crowding, you do not fully understand the problem."

I so agree with your statement. I am not a big city person and folks sometimes just can't fathom the crowds. I'll add that I know you are disappointed you didn't visit the Vatican but take any crowding you experienced, multiply it by 10 and that is what you get in the corridors of the Vatican Museum being jostled and shoulder to shoulder with waves of humanity while trying to keep up with your tour guide!

You definitely embody the "Keep On Travelin'" spirit, Phil. I'm glad that comparatively speaking this trip was overall a better experience. Best of luck with your health, and here's hoping you set sail again next year.

Hey there, I'm so glad to hear that you continue to cruise to new places, regardless of what you might miss by such short shore excursions, it works for you! Hmmm I'm less impressed with things that went wrong with Norwegian, enough said, you 'worked the problems'.

I was "shocked" by how beautiful Rome was. I was not expecting it to be so beautiful. Yep, that’s Rome it really is glorious & even more so if you go when it’s a bit less jammed! Did you say you walked from the Colosseum via the Spanish Steps or vice versa to the Vatican? That's a schlep over some rough cobblestones, well done!

I am grateful for everything. I am more accepting of life. I am more thankful for every moment. THANK YOU. You embraced that cruise and it sounds like you had a great time, whatever the problems. I’ve had a few ah ha’s over the years about getting to the places I want to see while I still have the stamina, thanks for the reminder.

And I LOVED this - Persons were very loving to me and caring of me. I got well taken care of. It is a blessing to help but it is equally a blessing to let other help you.

Wow, thank you all for your interest in my Trip Report.

Dutch_Traveler

you are right. I believe that we went to Pisa before Florence.

Looking at my pictures helps me sort out my experiences but I am finding myself confused.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention

Hello Patty

I had several different sandwiches at several different places in several different cities. These were popular places

I did not like that the sandwiches had two or three items and were on flat bread and then they were heated. For whatever reason, that did not work for me. Sometimes I did not like the ingredients. I did not know one sandwich from another and would just point at a sandwich. There was often a line of people behind me and I felt pressure to pick fast.

I did not like how the sandwiches tasted.

I would have preferred a Subway style sandwich.

I grew up in Boston which had. very large Italian population. For us an Italian Sub was a long roll. Italian meats and cheeses, with sweet peppers on top went inside the roll. . A little oil and vinegar. and maybe some spices. And it was really delicious.

Hello Pam,

I think that I would have been truly miserable in the Vatican. It is probably best that that excursion did not work out.

However I wish that we had visited another museum and or church. Rome has plenty and all that we saw was from the outside.

Hello Mary

I think that you are the one who got me interested in Japan.

Currently I am watching a college course about Japan on Amazon Prime. Japan is high on my list for the next cruise.

I am thinking the next one will be Japan or Norway or Australia, New Zealand.

EDIT. I am going to try and attach a link to the college course that I am currently watching. Let's see if it works

https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B08TG9QMGH/ref=atv_hm_hom_c_lZOsi7_2_1?jic=8%7CEgNhbGw%3D

Lovely trip report, much information for future cruisers.
Just an FYI, if you do get to take another cruise, skip Norway. We went on a Holland America cruise up the coast for 14 days so we stopped in many ports. Except for Oslo and Bergen the other ports would be boring for you because the excursions and things to do are for active people - hiking, biking, rafting, kayaking etc, not much else to see.

Hello Sandancisco

I have gone back to look at my pictures.

I have pictures of The Spanish Steps, then many as we walked to the Colosseum. and after The Colosseum and lunch, we walked to St Peter's.

I have no idea what all I saw and I will have to do some research. I know that I saw the Spanish Steps, The Colosseum and St Peter's Square.

And we walked and we walked and we walked.

Election Results on A Cruise Ship

I am wondering how Norwegian and the other cruise lines are going to handle election results. Is there going to be a room for Republicans and one for Democrats? Or are the cruise lines going to play down the election results?

We have TV's in our rooms so we can watch results in our rooms.

A very few passengers made some noise about their preferences on the ship but the great majority were quiet and respectful when it came to politics and the upcoming election.

NAPLES, Sorrento and Amalfi

I was in different chat rooms before the cruise which includes this one.

There had been some negative remarks about Naples in my chat rooms. Even Rick had described it as somewhat gritty although he liked it. I do not know if Rick used the word gritty.

Some other persons said "not to bother" when it came to Naples.

When Norwegian offered an excirsion to Sorrento and Amalfi, I jumped on that one.

But I was very curious about Naples given what had been said.

So the bus picked us up at the port and we drove up a main street of Naples heading towards Sorrento Later we would drive back along this same street.

I was expecting a really run down city. I realize that i saw very little of Naples but I saw some beautiful buildings, architecture, and nice retail shops. I believe there were museums and of course churches.

From what I saw, it looked liked there was. a lot to see, do, eat and buy. I know that Naples is known for pizza.

I believe that I did see grafitti and maybe some dirtyness and some run down places but for those passengers who were choosing to stay in Naples, it looked like they would have plenty to do.

Sorrento was first. And yes, it was very pretty and quaint. The bus parked and we walked.

I am looking at my pictures and we ended at a really beautiful and very large retail store. It had many rooms.

I found a business card. And here is the website

http://gaja1852.com/gallery/

It is much more than a retail store . it is also a gallery and a bed and breakfast.

We had a demonstration of how some of the furniture is made. I believe tht it is called lacquered

furniture. One amazing game table cost something like $14,000 dollars.

The street was very nice. The square was very nice. We had some generous free time. I walked around and took a few pictures. And than I sat and relaxed watching people and enjoying the atmosphere.

There was a church close by and maybe a museum or two but there was just so much free time.

If you are going to Sorrento, I would highly recommend this retail shop but I would also look into the bed and breakfast.

From this square we walked uo another street, several blocks to a very nice pizzeria / restaurant. And while hoping, once again it was chicken. This was the place where I think we got delicious manicotti or maybe raviolis.

For desert, we had very good gellato. It was at a gellato shop within the restaurant but on the street and we could choose two flavors.

And then on to Amalfi.

It's a good thing that I have pictures because I would forget where I went.

On the way to Amalfi, we stopped somewhere to have a liquor and chocolate. it was beautiful. it seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. It was mountainous or there were were very large rocks. Maybe I have a business card. I will have to look.

At Amalfi, we took a boat from one end to another and back again. Then we had some free time to shop and maybe eat and to walk around and see.

Amalfi was beautiful. It was interesting and unique.

It was crowded and I think still hot but worth it. This excursion was a good choice.

To answer your question about election results on a cruise ship:
We were on the Norwegian Jade out in the middle of the Atlantic traveling from Bacelona to the US in 2016 during the US Presidential election. There was nothing. TVs were on in a few rooms, but people were discreet, courteous, and didn't discuss how they had voted. We were part of a Cruse Critic roll call, so we had gotten to know quite a few people, who we continued seeing, but discretion was important. By the way, many Brits on the ship had recently had their Brexit vote.

On the other hand, I was again sailing across the Atlantic on a Norwegian ship last December during the 2023 World Cup where Argentina and France were competing. The South Americans, not just Argentinians, took up the giant screen TV in the Atrium, while the French were just upstairs in O'Sheehan's watching on the two screens. One of our French guys abandoned us and joined the Argentinians, but his wife stayed with us. No discretion needed. All good cheers.

BostonPhil,

I have had a member message today from Emma- of Emma Cruises (who I know some other people on this forum also watch) that she has embarked the Norwegian Spirit today on a cruise around Japan.

This is the itinerary- 04 Nov 19:00 Departing from Tokyo, Japan hotels
05 Nov 07:00 - 18:00 Shimizu, Japan Shizuoka
06 Nov 08:00 - 17:00 Nagoya, Japan Aichi
07 Nov 08:00 - 08 Nov 16:00 Kobe-Osaka, Kyoto, Japan
09 Nov 12:00 - 22:00 Hiroshima City, Japan Hiroshima
11 Nov 07:00 - 17:30 Naha, Okinawa Island Japan
12 Nov 07:00 - 17:00 Amami Oshima Island Japan, Naze, Kagoshima
13 Nov 09:00 - 17:00 Nagasaki City, Japan Nagasaki
14 Nov 06:00 - 14:00 Jeju Island, Seogwipo-Cheju City, Korea
15 Nov 07:00 Arriving in Incheon, Seoul, Korea

Her video (maybe more than one, we may even have a 'live' for all I know, when released- probably towards the end of the month/start of December) may well be of interest to you. Will try to keep this in mind to remind you when the time comes.

And we walked and we walked and we walked. (in Rome) You certainly did! By my calculations, Spanish Steps via Colosseum and likely walked by the Pantheon too onward to St Peters is about 4 miles, 1.5 hours walking!!

About Naples - No, it’s not everyone’s preference but it is gorgeous with many fine museums, food & churches. Rick once said something like, ‘If you don’t like Rome, try Copenhagen, but if you loved Rome try Naples”.

Thank you isn31c

I would like to know when Emma releases videos of Japan.

I have to get my passport and driver's license renewed

Then I have to start researching both Japan cruises and Australia / New Zealand cruises

Hello Elizabeth from France

Today is election day and a lot of us are offering prayers and holding our breath Probably best that election results on cruise ships are kept to a minimum.

I am not a sports fan but I have discovered that O'Sheehans makes the best cup of coffee on Norwegian. The complimentary coffee is so mediocre that I turned to tea.

MESSINA / Taormina

My memory is that there was some negative opinions about Messina and what to see and do not just on this site but other sites as well. Furthermore Taormina was chatted up so I decided to choose Highlights of Taormina for my excursion.

Amazingly enough I remember meeting for the Taormina excursion but my next clear memory is waking up in Taormina. I must have fallen asleep on the bus and woke up at the bus station in Taormina. I remember the bus was on the first floor and we were taking an elevator up to the 5th r 7th floor and voila we were in Taormina.

Perhaps when I look at my pictures or stop overthinking, I will remember something about Messina and the ride to Taormina.

Taormina was beautiful and interesting but it was very hot and very crowded. I look at the faces of the people in the crowds and in some of my pictures, they look so.miserable.

We had a guided tour but Taormina was a place where even I could not get lost.

There is one long street that goes from the meeting point to the third square. It was allowed to break away and I did that between the second square and the third square.

I enjoyed breaking away knowing that I could find my way back to the meeting point without any drama.

I used the time to shop and buy some souvenirs. I used the time to sit in a beautiful and comfortable place looking out at the sea and people watching. it was very relaxing.

People forget that they are on vacation and you do not need to go in every. church or museum. You do not need to shop at every retail space. It is ok to just sit and relax and look and see.

There were some very nice magnets for sale at Taormina. They were very creative magnets, large magnets. For you serious shoppers out there, there is a block or two of only upscale shops, some well known brands.

Besides being beautiful Taormina is rich in history. It is old. Your tour guide will be giving you a lot of the history of Taormina and you can also branch out your own. The architecture is interesting and the art beautiful. Now that I have seen Taormina. I can continue research on my own.

There are side street off the main street but often you are only allowed to go a short distance on the side streets before meeting a fence.

I bought some magnets in a shop and this shop's gadget was broken so that you could only pay in euros, no credit cards. So this is one reason for having some euros on you. I believe that some ATMs might also not have been working.

And we had a plumbing issue also at Taormina. Something happened and water was not available towards the end of our visit. This included toilets. They become unusable in the same area where you pick up the bus.

Keep that in mind.

Taormina was a half day excursion. it was a good excursion and a good choice.

"I bought some magnets in a shop and this shop's gadget was broken so that you could only pay in euros, no credit cards."

Sometimes this is a ploy by a shopkeeper or taxi driver or restaurant to take in money and not declare it to the tax authorities. There are also instances when a business will not want to take a CC for a small purchase. In come countries this is illegal but not sure about Italy. I used ApplePay successfully for everything on my last trip to Italy including 3E gelato, though.

Best thing to do is put your purchase down and walk out of the shop if they tell you their machine is broken (unless they have posted something like no credit cards under 10E or something).

Pam, thank you for the information. I did wonder ... but I also only spent about 10 euros buying some very nice magnets.

MALTA. Valletta

Valletta was one of the ports where Norwegian cancelled the excursion on me. Originally I had signed up for an excursion which would take me to Mdina as well as a visit to and inside St John's Co-Cathedral. This excursion was for those guests who used a cane, a walker or a wheelchair.

I substituted with Malta's Scenic Beauty. I did not even know if anything else was available. Malta's Scenic Beauty was an awesome and beautiful excursion.

I loved Valletta and Malta. I think that I would like to spend more time there. The place grabs you. It is unique and different: a walled city. I loved the rocks, stones and boulders. The architecture was awesome. There is a lot to see including a small stone chapel to Mary Magdalene.

All of Valletta is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Valletta was mellow and peaceful. The excursion was relaxing. I liked it so much that I forgot about Mdina but I did miss visiting St John's Co-Cathedral. We drove by it and I remembered that I was supposed to have had an inside visit with my original excursion

I felt that I could see some Northern Africa or Middle East influences.

Although my excursion was mostly a panoramic bus ride, we did stop to take pictures and we spent a few minutes at some of the stops. It was pleasant and relaxing but would not be my first choice for a shore excursion.

We were only in Valletta for several hours total and my excursion lasted about four hours There is a hop on hop off bus and that might be a good way to see both Valletta and Malta.

I would really like to go back.

EDIT: Until the cruise, I had heard the name Malta but knew nothing about Malta and had never heard of Valletta. Even while trying to pick an excursion, I had trouble with remembering which was the island and which was the port.

Valletta is wonderful, and I hope you will be able to return someday, But if you do, first do some serious research about the steep streets and lots of stairs. It could be very difficult with your health challenges.

You are right about the North African influences- those date from around the years 800 to 1000AD. The history of Malta is incredibly complex and worth reading up on, but there are very many different parts of the island history where it has been either ruled or come under the influences of very many different countries.

The Brits of more mature age often spend very extended winter breaks (of anywhere from 1 to 3 months) at the resorts on the Island, because of it's wonderful climate and how cheap the resorts are out of season. But also for the ease of getting around Malta and it's secondary island of Gozo- but also for it's layer upon layer of history, and what that brings to the holiday experience.

yes, Wnderlust58

I was in a. tour bus and we had stops so I did not have to deal with much walking.

But I think that I can recall we walked downhill to public restrooms and then back uphill

i do have mobility issues and need to be careful

Thank you isn31c

Malta was fascinating. So different and unusual and unique

Regarding weather on my cruise.

We really had only one day that I would describe as pleasant. I do not remember where it was but it was after Florence.

In Rome, we got poured on. Florence was hot and humid, very much so, Same for Monte Carlo and Monaco.

And it was the same for every other port but one. And I can not remember the one port where the weather was pleasant snd we had. a lovely breeze,

The temperatures were not always that high but for whatever reason, we seem to have been pounded by heat and humidity. Maybe it was because we were walking fast and it was crowded.

Weather matters.

CAGLIARI SARDINIA

the excursion that I signed up for was a small group titled Highlights of Cagliari.

There were 16 of us in this group. We had a very nice vehicle, a small van / bus that was plush. It was very comfortable. The tour was not sold out and so there was plenty of room on the bus.

We began with a bus tour around Cagliari that was very pleasant. We stopped for pictures and to walk around a bit.

Cagliari is home to a very large Flamingo colony. Flamingos nest in Cagliari and we were taken by the bodies of water where they nest but we could only see some from a distance and while driving in the van. The van did stop but we did not get out. There may be other excursions where you could get closer to the flamingos but they are protected as they should be.

But then we stopped and we got off the bus. And the tour guide informed us that we would now have one hour of walking.

We were unhappily stunned. We had no idea that this excursion included one hour of walking. however as I look on my tour ticket, at the very bottom in fine print it does say tht we would be walking about 1 1/4 mile of walking over cobblestones, paved and steep terrain. The problem is that many guests do not always read the fine print at the bottom of the ticket which includes myself.

You should always read the fine print, right?

And we began walking to the old city or the medieval city. I could not always hear what the tour guide was saying. This tour guide kept referring to the fascists but i was never certain which fascists . Who were the fascists? I asked her but she did not seem to understand what i was asking and her response dd not answer my question. But I looked and saw and I can do later research another time.

The old city of Cagliari was very interesting and rich in history going back to the Romans and maybe before. During our tour, I sometimes find a place to sit and missed some of what the the guide was saying.

There was a veyr beautiful old church and we had tme to explore.

We continued walking and there were a few difficult areas for me to maneuver. I had to hold on to the arm of my tour guide. There were sloping surfaces as we walked for one area to another. There were no stairs or anything to hold on to. I would have fallen but for the arm of my tour guide. We were walking through old streets.

During our walk together, the tour guide asked me what was going on in the United States and told me how all of Europe was watching our elections. She told me that Europe was very concerned about our elections

And we kept walking. It was all fascinating but for whatever reason, we were not expecting so much walking.

Along with that, many in the group needed to go to the bathroom and she would not allow it. Persons would ask about toilet facilities and she would say. "no not now". Another time, she told someone else "it's too soon."

This did not sit well with the group.

And we came to a very old square. The tour guide told us that we had now had an hour of free time and w would meet back at this spot and then she began to walk away. I said "wait. where are the toilets' and she told us that we could go into any restaurant to use the toilet. Just leave some coins.

There were lots of shops and restaurants in this square. She pointed out one restaurant in particular. .

I thought that we were going to be taken to public toilets where would not need any coins when she kept telling us that we could not use the toilet.

We had no problem using the toilets in the restaurant and i was hungry so I ordered a sandwich and coffee.

The coffee was the best I had had on my cruise. I ordered Americano and it was just right but i am sorry to say that I did not enjoy the sandwich. I ate some of it because i was hungry. it was edible but I just did not enjoy the taste. Maybe it was the bread. Maybe it was whatever was inside the sandwich but I did not care for them. For me, it was something that I had to get used to.

and so now I could enjoy my free time in the square. I walked around a bit and took some pictures.

At the top of one of my pictures, it says Castello - Marin. I have done a little research and believe this is the Old Town.

There was a monument of Carlos Felice and while I have done some research, I have more to do, I have learned to take some notes.

I sat down and looked around I walked around but mostly sat during the free time. It was pleasant but I did not understand all that I was seeing. It is going to require some research.

Cagliari, Sardinia was one of the places that I had never heard of until my cruise..

The tour guide showed up before the expected time and it turned out that the the van was right across the street.

We got in the van and drove back to the ship.

it wa interesting. It was beautiful.

I know that some persons on this excursion were very unhappy with the tour guides attitude about toilet facilities.

I do not know if it affected her tips. I gave her a tip and asked her to share with the bus driver.

Even though a lot of walking was required and there was this problem around the toilets, it. was a good excursion and I am glad that i went on it. I learned a lot and have more to learn.

PALMA DE MALLORCA

And this is the last port. This turned out to be a disappointment because of a strike. This was a one day transportation strike.

I had bought the hop on hop off bus. All excursions including mine were cancelled due to the strike.

We were able to leave the ship., Taxis were readily available and a lot of passengers took taxis. Later I did hear that some passengers felt they were fleeced and or surge pricing was in effect. I am not surprised by this.

There was one hop on hop off bus that came evry hour and a half which passengers were discouraged from taking.

And of course there was walking. The walk to the Cathedral was about 45 minutes each way and I believe that it was a nice walk. I could not do it but probably many others could.

I walked from the ship to the terminal and then outside. I walked around and sat for a short while. It was a hot day and I was experiencing how tired I was. I could have walked around some more but I decided to go back to the ship and make it a sea day. We were in Palma several hours.

I relaxed on the ship, packing and napping.I went to the dance party at night . It turned out to be a lot of fun I loved seeing persons now in their middle ages really get down and dance and have a really good time.

And the next morning, we were heading to home.

When it was all said and done, it was a good cruise. i think that it was one of my best.

It seemed to me that Norwegian had cut back or maybe it had to do with the Norovirus and that crew members had been pulling double duty.

I may write about Norwegian Cruise Lines cutting back on a separate post. Other guests have talked about this.

I spent four days in Barcelona before taking this cruise and I will write about this separately as a Trip Report with a link to this Trip Report

And now I am thinking about the next cruise. Looking at Japan, Australia and New Zealand. or maybe another one in Europe. Needing to renew my passport before the next cruise.

bostonphil17, thank you for writing this report, sharing your trip with all of us. One thing you mentioned frequently was eating sandwiches which I don’t recall ever having or seeing any in my four trips to Italy. Perhaps this is something new!
We have not been on cruises and we travel independently.
We have traveled all over Europe and Rome remains my favorite large city. We always enjoy being there and agree with you that it is very beautiful. Good for you to keep on traveling! I encourage you, however, to travel with with a different cruise company than Norwegian. I didn’t like the way they treated you, not being honest about excursions, etc. The guide who rushed you. Posters on Fodors can help you find another company to cruise with.
My favorite trip was to Japan! Please consider traveling there.
I send you best wishes for improved health!
bostonphil7, you are an inspiration to other travelers!

Hi Suki

I am already researching Tokyo and Japan info. I hope that you will respond when I ask questions and believe me I will.

I think that you might be the person who recommended the Hop On Hop Off Bus in Barcelona. I was going to do it but let Spain Day Tours talk me into a whole day tour that included Montserrat and a half day tour of Barcelona. it was a mistake. I can not recommend Spain Day Tours based on personal experience.

Thank you for your guidance.

You couldn’t hear the guide and she said “no” to bathroom breaks? For me, that would be a tip dealbreaker. If you want to tip the bus driver, you can always do so separately.

Hi Wanderlust58

I guess that I personally lean towards being understanding and forgiving when it is all said and done.

Even with weaknesses, the guide worked hard.