We had an amazing Mediterranean cruise – but as prepared as we were, there were still some things I didn’t know! If you’re planning a European cruise, this video is for you!
We recently went on a Mediterranean cruise, and yes, I made some cruise mistakes! In this video I share our cruise experiences in cruise ports of call, on excursions, cruise packing mistakes & more. I’ve included Mediterranean cruise tips so that you can be ready & prepared for your cruise in Europe.
Our cruise onboard Princess Cruises Enchanted Princess began in Barcelona & ended in Rome. Whether you’re a first time cruiser or this is your first Mediterranean cruise, this video is full of helpful cruise tips, tricks & advice.
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ABOUT ME
Hi! I’m Ilana! I live in Montreal, Canada with my husband Frank. We can often be found dreaming about and planning future cruises, ideally to hot and sunny destinations! I believe in having fun, being kind and that you are never too old, or too young, to live the life of your dreams!
Please note that I do not sell cruises on Life Well Cruised. This and all other videos are for entertainment purposes only. I share my own opinions, personal experiences and information with other cruise travellers, which I hope can be helpful. Please contact your travel agent or the cruise line directly for advice and any information specific to your booking.
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33 Comments
Love the video! Doing a med cruise next fall. Any advice when it comes to airfare.?
Hi Ilana, thank you for this informative video. I absolutely love the ruffled shoulder bag you were carrying…it is gorgeous! Can you please share the name and where it can be purchased? Thank you so much! 🌻
My husband and I are seasoned travelers, but have never been on a cruise. So, in 3 weeks we're going on the Mediterranean cruise with Oceania. Our strategy is to treat it as a tester, so no Rome, Barcelona, or Venice for us (been there), but smaller places like Corfu, Dubrovnik, Trieste to see if we would like to come back and stay awhile there.
We stayed 5 nights in Rome before our cruise. We had been to several other European cities on other trips, so we really did Rome as a “walkabout”. Only thing we scheduled was The Vatican and the Coliseum. Everything else was “look what we came across”.
On your Mediterranean cruise, you mentioned taking some euros for restroom etc. Do you recommend using a credit card or using currency to pay for restaurants and anything else that is purchased at the cruise ports? I enjoy your channel and thank you for sharing your video adventures, travel suggestions, and tips!
Great tips Thank you , we are leaving on OCT 1st, for 11 day med cruise from the Marseille port. flying in for 2 night pre cruise. What was the name of the Barcelona restaurant that was very good? we are overnight in Barcelona port and may check out that place.
Thank you
My biggest mistake was taking for granted that pick pockets are way more skillful than I gave them credit for. I wore a backpack in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, and someone was skillful enough to unzip it and steal my phone. This was in the last port of my cruise and I ended up losing all of my photos. Wear a front pack, or crossbody bag that you can keep in front of you.
Water in Europe.
If eating out in the UK, it is fine to ask the waiting staff for tap water.
This is acceptable and safe to drink. (Not to mention usually free of charge)
However, if in Spain, I wouldn't dream of drinking their tap water… unless I wanted to ruin my holiday with an upset stomach
We leave Barcelona on the 21 for a Med cruise on Celebrity Reflection. So excited and am breaking in my new travel runners now ❤!
Would love for you to do an in depth video of the VAT refund process, including pics of forms and airport locations. (I do realize each location is different, but showing one would give us the idea.) When you can get a VAT refund for and when you cannot. How to find out what the VAT amount is when included in the price and how and if it can be refunded. The going through customs process. (items cannot be bought and then used before leaving country, so buying an expensive outfit and wearing it for dinner that night actually disqualifies it for the refund). I really need a refresher course and I'm sure others as a first time course. I love watching your videos, even when we don't have a cruise planned. Thank you for always being a big help.
We use inside wallets for sightseeing – my sister fought off a pickpocket inside the Vatican lol😂!!! She yelled at the person to go to confession 😂also use sneaker gel inserts for long walking days or wear Vionic sneakers
I agree with you on arriving a couple of days before and leaving a couple days after. We toured Barcelona for a day and a half before we left and and the same for Venice before returning home. We used Viator to get tickets for excursions in Barcelona and Venice and that worked great. We toured La Sagrada Familia and it was awesome.
I would love to see a day by day account of what you did in Barcelona, Rome and each port. You may already have done that, but want to find it if you have.
Further to your tips as I am going on my 13 Mediterranean cruise soon…1. Consider your embarkation and disembarkation (if they differ) point your first cruise stop. You are in some of the most beautiful place in the world with rich heritage. Spend time sight-seeing, eating and wandering. 2. Always stay in the heart of the touristic district. This will allow you to make the most of your pre and post stays. And if you are traveling in peak hot season, you can go back to your hotel for an afternoon nap. 3. Agree 4. Cover charges are usual in touristic restaurants. Not local ones. You have to ask for tap water but you will get funny looks, just like ice. Always use the toilet before leaving a restaurant. Reduces the need to use public toilets. 5. Pickpockets are not as bad as everyone says. You need to be aware of your surrounds. You and your travel companions should watch each other. No security bag is not to stop a skilled pick pocket. I have taken taken my passport in port or out of my hotel passport. 6. Some tips to avoid tourist restaurants…avoid places with pics on menus, places right on the tourist beat. Lots of tourists eating there but no locals. Ask hotel staff. 7. Most large attractions require you to buy tickets ahead of time. 9. No matter how comfortable you think your shoes are, your feet will hurt at the end of the day! Others: Eat what is in season when in Europe. You will eat better that way. Try new foods that you may not like at home. The soil and weather changes the taste of it. Tomatoes are an example. And be flexible.
Nice review of very helpful hints for first time cruisers as well as seasoned travelers. Thanks.
Love your tipa. Going to cruise the Meditterean Oct 21 for a 9night cruise. Rome to Spain. So excited! Love all your tips. Will be booking shore excursions soon. Thanks again!
I'm booked for one year from now, and I booked the same hotel in Barcelona!
Thank you so much for the info! We are doing a 10 day Mediterranean cruise in October!
I came back from cruise yesterday and was trying to do tax refund in Barcelona Airport. Cruise reps prepared all papers on the cruise and it supposed to be easy process but they asked in Barcelona to show all items that I am claiming a refund for. If I knew that, I would have packed all in one suitcase but since my new stuff was all over different suitcases I decided not to waste time for opening all suitcases and search for my purchases.
Hi! Love the video! We are going to on our first European cruise next April. Starting and ending in Barcelona. I was wondering what church is in your video? The clip is shown twice in the first part of the video, it just looks amazing. Also, would you be willing to share the name of the really good restaurant you went to in Barcelona? I would appreciate it!
I would NEVER wear running shoes or sneakers anywhere- except at the gym! I know = I am very ‘old fashioned’ with this attitude……Instead = ‘wear in’ a pair of leather Ballet flats before you leave home – as they become ultra comfortable – & look quite elegant with almost anything. (I have them in a variety of colours – to then ‘colour coordinate’ = & it lets you get into almost any place, even if they have a ‘dress code’.)😎😎😎
Do you have s video regarding Santorini? What to do where to go? I am going on cruise to Rome and Greece Sept 13 2023. Thank you
We are going next summer. Cruise line booking our flights because its part of the deal. But our travel agent said we can request to fly up to 2 days before and after so that's what we will do.
Hi Ilana. Love your cruise videos! We will be going on a Mediterranean cruise in September and will spend a few days in Barcelona. I would love to know the name of the great restaurant you at that was referred to you in Barcelona. We would love to try it. Thanks.
We did a Mediterranean cruise in October of 2019. We left out of Venice. We flew in the day before and we had an overnight on the cruise ship in Venice. It worked out well because it gave us 2 full days to tour around Venice. The cruise ended in Rome and we stayed 3 extra nights. I'm so glad we did. There is so much to see. I wish we would have stayed 4 or 5 nights extra. Next time!
We also did a Barcelona to Rome cruise last month, and booked our skip the line tour tickets in advance with The Tour Guy/The Roman Guy. Fantastic tour guides, highly recommended!
Thank you so much for your ideas! we are planning a Mediterranean cruise in October going thru Kusadasi down to Israel so excited! We are arriving in Athens 2 days before.
Hello Ilana, We're fromLAval, QC and we're planning to go on a Med Cruise next year for our wedding anniversary. Among others, we'll visit Rome (start and end of our cruise) Barcelona and Pisa/Flrorence among others. I found your channel about 2 months ago and I like it. very intersteing. Let me know you and can give me ame good restaurants in Barcelona and ROme, 2 cities I think you alos visited. THanks in for good work and regards!
While in Barcelona we saw a pick-pocket occur. Luckily the man was caught. The next day I found a backpack designed (and made in Barcelona)especially to discourage pick-pockets. It has zero zippers, pockets or flaps on the outside. The inside zipper is against your back. It really calms the mind when you don't waste energy worrying about pick-pockets. Fantastic hotels and restaurants are on the NW corner of Catalunya square.
Taxi tip: we discovered that some taxis were not above board. When you enter a taxi, you should confirm that they take credit cards and if they don’t it might mean that it’s not a legit taxi. We were so exhausted after coming out of the Vatican, so instead of going to the taxi stand we got in the first one we could, and not only did he not take credit cards but his price was well above what the trip should’ve cost. we should have known because there was no meter in his taxi, but my 93 year old mother couldn’t walk another step.
We leave for our Mediterranean cruise in 21 days. Already I am sad about whe. We arrive and depart via Plane. We dis airfare through the cruiseline, and they asked how early and late we wanted to arrive and depart, and then they ignored our request and booked us arriving the morning of and leaving at 1250 the day we return to port. I am super nervous about getting to the port for embarkation! Sad we had to cancel our day in Rome. I dont know if we will be able to do this again. Also concerned about pick pockets and getting stuck in a port without our passports. I thought we were supposed to keep them with us but you are saying not to do that. #nervous
OMG taking a Virgin flight from Atlanta to Heathrow for our British Isle Cruise. They are treating us like totality and we haven’t even taken off. They partner with delta. ❤
I am going on a Mediterranean cruise in the summer. in 2024. I can't wait and I definitely will arrive 2 days before and leave 2 days after. I wonder about excursions. I just feel like, you are in Italy and Greece, etc, do you need an excursion? Can it actually distract you from actually having a real experience in that country?