So I may be going on a Mediterranean cruise this summer. I'll be going with a group of people--my parents, my brother, various aunts and uncles and cousins and their kids, and friends and relatives of the above.

I've never been on a cruise before. Does anyone have any advice/tips?

The cruise we are going on is with Princess. My parents have been on two previous Princess cruises in the Caribbean/Panama Canal, and quite enjoyed them. The particular cruise we are going on has a very good-sounding itinerary, with stops in places like Venice, Athens, Istanbul, Naples/Pompei, Rome, Florence/Pisa, and Barcelona. I've never been to any of these places, so am quite looking forward to it.

Has anyone been on something similar? From what I've read it can be quite hectic, as these ports are major cities with lots of historical attractions. The bus tours run you from place to place in the short hours that the ship is in port. It will be the summer, so it will be busy and hot. I'm thinking I may need to bring quite a lot of clothes, too, as the tours will often be visiting historic churches and the like (they say you need to wear long pants) and one is supposed to dress decently for dinner on the boat (there are two 'formal' nights when a suit and tie is required). Does one need to bring a lot of cash? And should one bring Euros, US dollars, or try to use credit card whenever possible?

Good timing:
I leave on Saturday on the NCL Epic, which will be my 23rd cruise....LOVE CRUISES!!!


We usually choose to not partake in the dress nights since I have to wear a suit and tie every day for work, but if you bring a pair of nice slax and a navy blazer, you will be fine.
Been to Europe twice, and yes, many stops involve long bus rides, but it does give you a chance to catch up on your jet lag....
Fly in a couple of days early, and if you are ending in Barcelona, leave a couple of days later, because that is one amazing town! Stay in the Gallery Hotel, which is right in the heart of everything, close to the gayborhood (if you are into that kind of thing), and near the bus lines to take you to all the attractions.

Princess has two premiums restaurants on board (an extra $20 or so per person). Well worth the extra money. One is Italian, and one is a steak place. Take advantage of the ship while you are on board. See the shows. Get a spa treatment when you are at sea. Most have quieter pools towards the back of the ship, which we like. Bring workout gear, as the ship gyms are getting really good now. Bring books if you like to read. Bring a camera with battery charger!!! (left my charger home once...!)
Start planning which excursions you will want to do prior to getting on the ship as the better ones will book up quickly.
All ships have Friends of Dorothy get togethers each night if you want to meet other "family".
Since you are travelling with a large group, we have discovered it works out well to set up guidelines ahead of time for everyone to do what they want to do, and then maybe have a meet up point later in the day to get together to talk about your day, as not everyone will want to do the same thing, and control issues can ruin a vacation for everyone.
And do pack light weight long pants as they will not let you into the churches in shorts. Short sleeve shirts are fine, just no muscle-tees....
Use credit cards where possible as they will get the latest exchange rate for you. Call you cell phone provider prior to leaving as they can set up a temporary international plan for you.....
You will probably have a day at sea or two. Use those days for R&R...sleep in, use the spa, chillax by the pool, etc.....
Have fun, and let me know if you have any other questions!

One more thing:
Check out Cruisecritic.com ahead of time.
The forums there are great for first time cruisers, and there is place you can go to find other people who are going to be on your ship (including a gay section as well).....

Thanks for the tips, MiamiSpartan.

I think we will be flying in to Venice one day early and then staying two nights in Barcelona at the end. I'll check out that hotel you recommend. Princess offers packages with a few hotels, so we're considering those as well. With different people in the group (some from Toronto, some from Alberta, B.C., and the US; some relatives and some friends of relatives; some of the people I know, some will be strangers; ages range from teenagers to seniors) it can complicate things--although I'm hoping they don't expect that we'll all do the same thing or stay in the same hotels and eat in the same restaurants and whatnot.

Right now we have a deposit on an inside berth (the cabins with balconies cost over $1000 more, which is too much for me), with the payment due in March. My parents said on their last Caribbean cruise they got upgraded from an inside cabin to a balcony cabin, although I don't expect that will happen this time.

Re: battery chargers. On the ship you can use a regular North American plug, right? But in Barcelona and Venice one would need an adapter?

I'll likely have to pack the extra dress wear (suit, tie, dress shoes), as I'll be going with a group and they will likely want to do a group picture on that day. I'm told the ship has photographers that try to sell you photos, so we may get suckered into that for the sake of a family group portrait. I'm taking a DSLR and a point-and-shoot camera, so I'll be taking my own photos, too.

Yes, I've been told about the many food options on the boat, and I know my mother likes to take in all the stage shows and such, so looking forward to that.

Re: "friends of Dorothy." It's funny, I did a search on Flickr for "Ruby Princess" (the ship we will be taking) and I came across somebody's photos. I was looking at them and thinking, my, these people look gay. They're chubby. And hairy. And there's a whole lot of them. But, it's a whole group of bears on the Ruby Princess! (Perhaps the name "Ruby" reminded them of Dorothy's ruby slippers. )

What nationality of people does one usually find on Mediterranean cruises? Are there a lot of Americans/Canadians, or is it mostly Europeans?

There's supposed to be a computer/Internet area where one can check one's emails. Is that as outrageously expensive as one might imagine?

Hey Mark:
You will love it. You will not need cash on the ship as anything that costs you anything you bill to your room and at the end of the cruise your credit card is charged. I would use my credit card where possible but have Euros as there may be places on shore where you can barter and get a better deal if you pay them in cash (Euros).

And whatever you do - DO NOT book the pre or post cruise hotel options with Princess. They are way overpriced compared to what a good travel agent should find for you. For example if two people were to book two nights in Barcelona at the AC Diplomatic for example Princess would charge you $298.00 PER PERSON based on double occupancy for two nights' accommodation and ship to hotel transfers. That is a total of almost $600.00 for the two of you. Checking just one of the many sources we can access through some hotel wholesalers we have access to and I can book you two nights at that hotel for about $375.00 with breakfast included and a private car transfer is about $70.00 for a total of $445.00. So you would save over $150.00 right there. Those add-ons are big profit centres for the cruiselines.

Plus I wouldn't stop there. There are a number of good choices for accommodation in the Eixample area and the Gallery is one of them, but in this case I have found an amazing deal at the very well reviewed 4 Star rated U232 Hotel which is in the same area. You can get two nights at a great early booking rate of just $190.00 total for the two of you for two nights. Add the $70.00 cost of a private car transfer from the port to hotel and the total price for the two of you would be $260.00 - less than half of the lowest priced option with Princess.

Thanks for the tip, Pat. Will avoid booking hotel directly with the cruise line (and will tell others).

Although all/most of the group has booked the cruise with the same travel agent (in Vancouver), people are booking their airfare and hotels separately as they are travelling from different destinations and staying pre/post cruise for different number of days (and on different budgets and with different requirements, ie. some are seniors and some are travelling with children).

I know some people have booked flights already--flying out of Calgary on British Airways (via London) or KLM (via Amsterdam). My cousin in Toronto is flying with her kids on Air Canada/Lufthansa (via Frankfurt)--which, I suspect, we will be doing as well.

I myself have not even asked for the two weeks off work yet, and am delaying paying for anything until I'm sure I am going. Also, I'll be travelling with my parents, brother and two aunts. As my parents and aunts are all seniors, we're looking more for convenience. And as I'll be sharing a room with my brother, my requirements are different than if I was travelling myself.

Hard to say on the nationalities since both of our Europe cruises were gay....
If you are with Princess, it'd probably mostly North Americans....
Other cruise lines such as MSC market more to Europeans....
The FOD meetins were very well attended on our trip, which just ended this am....
Met lots of great people on board, and hung out with 10 guys from Minnesota....
There were a TON of Canadians on board, hence all the laughter with the Tim Horton jokes.....
Got to watch the Bears' big win on a 3 story outdoor screen with 100 other Bear die hards....

Pretty funny watching a game with snow when it is 75 degrees...!
Attended two martini tastings....!
Gym on board was great, too....over 60 cardio machines....I usually go in the mid afternoon when most people are by the pool or in port...Europe would make it more difficult, since the ports are the main attraction there vs the ship in the Caribbean.....

So, I was just reading on the Internet that the LGBT get-togethers on cruise ships are literally called "Friends of Dorothy." (I thought you were being metaphoric--I didn't realize that that was literally part of the cruise lingo and supposedly "Friends of Bill W or Friends of Dr Bob" is a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous). So is this so that they can publicize these events in the daily cruise newsletter and not let straight people know what they're all about? Do straight people think these are events for people who are friends of some woman named Dorothy? But do young gay people even understand? I'm over 40 and even I think "Friends of Dorothy" is a phrase used only by older gay men.

But anyways... I've now paid for my cruise and airfare (Air Canada; although my parents and brother are on Air France). Our group (over 25 people) are staying in the same hotel in Venice (some middle-of-the-road place my aunt arranged near Piazza San Marco), but different hotels in Barcelona. Parts of the Toronto group (me, my parents, brother, two aunts, and a couple who are friends of my aunt) are staying at the Hotel Granados 83 in the Eixample. Others are staying somewhere else.

Usually the newsletter (or front desk activities board on RCCL ships) will say Friends of Dorothy-LGBT.....

I've been doing some research on Venice (the embarkation point for my cruise) and noticed that one can book online a card that will give you access to public toilets. A daily card allows you 2 uses per day and costs 1 Euro vs. 1.5 Euros cash if you don't have the card.

My question is: is it so difficult to find a free washroom in Venice that one needs to pay? Do museums offer free restrooms for visitors to use? Restaurants? And are these pay restrooms conveniently located worth paying for?

Reuters: Venice goes online to ease toilet pay pain

Just found a rather long thread on the CruiseCritic.com message board (they have a Gay and Lesbian section) where someone has suggested Moving beyond "Friend of Dorothy"? It does seem a rather dated term, and it's suggested that Europeans (and younger people) don't even know what it means--and hence are unaware that there are LGBT meet-and-greets happening on the ship.

My cruise is 3 weeks away. Very excited. Still have lots of preparation to do...

I haven't been to Venice since the mid-1990s, so I don't have any current info about the city, which is my favorite place on Planet Earth. Obviously your embarkation date is set and not changing, but hopefully you will be in Venice Monday through Thursday, and not Fri-Sat-Sun. When I was there, about 50,000 tourists were in Venice during the week and over 100,000 on weekends. Believe me, 50K already makes the city feel quite crowded. 100+K makes you feel like the whole place is about to sink into the Adriatic.

If you enjoy Venice even one-tenth as much as I do (only been there twice, most unfortunately), then you will absolutely love the place. Walking in, around, and about the tiny off-the-beaten-path canals was endlessly fascinating for me. I spent an entire afternoon on a cafe terrace (almost empty, odd in a city jammed with tourists) at a table not five feet from the Grand Canal, sipping espressos and looking across the water to Santa Maria della Salute ... ah, bliss.

I hope you have a great time in all the destination ports on your cruise, not just La Serenissima. Give us many detailed reports when you return!

My parents toured Italy last year...mom fell so much in love with Venice, I was sure she was going to buy a house there...they both LOVED Venice. If you go to Italy, mom said to be sure to order the local wine...they both could not get over how great the local wine was...everything was good, but the wine was great. Have a great trip!

Had a terrific time on my European (cruise) Vacation!

Venice was quite a site. We took a water taxi from the airport and cruised down the Grand Canal, which was quite amazing to see. Our (average) hotel was well-located, mid-way between the Rialto bridge and the Piazza San Marco. What we didn't realize is that a Venetian street may look more like an alleyway. But anyways, it's fun to get lost in Venice, as the buildings are all remarkable. Really, quite a unique and charming place. Got to see some of the Venice Biennale art exhibits and tour some of the sights, but there is much more to see and would like to return some day.

Our ship, Ruby Princess, was very nice. Although it carries 3,000 passengers, it never felt overly crowded. There are many venues for dining, for entertainment, for relaxing, and really offers something for everyone. The seas were calm and there were only two occasions when motion was noticable--but certainly nothing to make one seasick. Our inside cabin was small, but well-designed. I was perfectly happy with it.

The ports of call were all fantastic. My only wish is that I could have spent more time. I was most surprised with Greece and Turkey, which were much nicer than I imagined. One hears of Greece's economic difficulties, but Athens seemed thriving and Mykonos was gorgeous. Istanbul also seemed very prosperous, a fascinating combination of historic city and modern metropolis. Rome would be the first place I'd want to return to, as I only had about 5 1/2 hours in that great city.

We ended the cruise with two nights in Barcelona, and stayed in a nice boutique hotel not far from the Passeig de Gracia. Barcelona is remarkable for its stunning architecture and cosmopolitan flair, and in two days we only touched some of the main sights--there are plenty more things to do on a return visit some day.

I've finally posted photos (over 1,000) from the entire trip and you can see them here.

OMG Canmark...I am taking this exact cruise next September on the Ruby Princess and I can't wait. Your pictures are absolutely gorgeous and I'm glad you had a good time. Let me ask you something though. I kept changing the dates for this cruise. Originally we were going Sept 27-Oct 9 but then some of the people thought it would be too cool. We were going to go in August but my aunt went on a Mediterranean cruise last year in September and said that Greece was hot as hell. So I'm going Sept 15-27 on the Venice to Barcelona. Originally it would've been Barcelona to Venice. So how was the weather for you? Was it hot? Mykonos is going to be my beach day because there's nothing there I can really think of that I want to see and we're only there a short time. So, I still wanted it to be beach weather but I don't want to be sweating to death while touring the Greek ruins and all that.

Great pics Can! Glad you had a great time!
We're trying to plan our next one for Halloween....just a short 4 nighter out of Miami, but it'll be nice to get back on the sea again...

Well, I went June 21 to July 3 and it wasn't as hot as I expected. I was worried because in some places you are required to wear long pants (to visit certain churches or mosques in Rome or Istanbul, say) and I was thought it would be too hot--but it was bearable. So, while it was certainly warm and sunny (we only had one little shower during the two weeks we were in Europe) it was not uncomfortably hot in a polo shirt and chinos/shorts. Daily highs were around 78-88 F most days.

That said, you are quite exposed to the sun and you should bring a good hat, sunglasses and sunscreen. When you are in places like Athens or Mykonos or Ephesus or Pompeii there is very little shade. I took a couple of hats and I carried around a small water bottle and a facecloth to cool off with. I would think September would be fine weather-wise.

Pretty much every day there was a "GLBT Get-Together" at the Wheelhouse bar at 5:15 pm. I wasn't able to go, as usually at that time one would be getting back from a tour and getting ready to go for dinner. I don't know why they didn't have the get-togethers at different times (later in the evening, perhaps). I didn't see many gay people on my cruise, but yours may be different as you are going while school is in session. There was a surprising number of families with teens on my cruise, and more under-40 people than I expected. (I'm over 40 myself, so I consider under-40 people to be "young 'uns.")

The ship is very nice and the itinerary is very good--hitting all the highlights of the Mediterranean. The food is good, although the entertainment was so-so. Staff was quite pleasant, and fellow passengers were nice (after a while you start recognizing people from the tour buses). Enjoy your trip!

Chug that dramamine like it's the last thing you'll ever consume in your life.

24 cruises, and I've never been affected with sea-sickness....even with 18-28 foot waves for two days....

Just reading about the Costa Concordia, a 3,000+ passenger ship (Costa is an Italian line that is owned by Carnival, which also owns Cunard, Princess, Holland America and Seabourn) that ran aground off the coast of Italy. Seems it had its hull pierced by underwater rocks, was steered towards a small island port, listed and eventually tipped over on its side in shallow waters. Three people have died, and some are missing.

Make sure you pay attention to those evacuation drills because you never know. Even modern ships can can have accidents.



Edit to add: Another news report with more pics.

As I understand it from repots last night the passengers had not yet received their evacuation instructions. The Captain was amongst the first people off the boat. Passengers reported receiving little to no help from crew in getting off, and pretty much assisted each other to get to safety. One expects major investigations will be happening. The Captain has been arrested.

I heard that the passengers weren't going to get the obligatory evacuation instructions until the next day.

I've been on two cruises one of which sailed out of Rome (Civitavecchia). In each case we had the drill before we even set sail. The crew was adamant that everyone participate, and searched the ship for stragglers.

Exactly, doesn't seem as if things were done they way they are supposed to be done.
Hope no one owns stock in Carnival because I expect share value to nose dive.....and lawsuits to go through the roof.

The rule regarding evacuation drills is that they are supposed to be done within 24 hours of departure. From what I read, the ship was going to take on additional passengers the following morning at the next port of call, and thus scheduled the muster drill then. When I was on Ruby Princess last summer, the cruise departed Venice in the morning and the muster drill was held that afternoon. But as with airplanes, many people don't pay attention to the emergency instructions: maybe this will remind people of their importance.

The captain of the ship is turning out to be a real piece of work. Shameful, a disgrace to sailors everywhere. The death toll is now at 11.

Some good photo galleries of the disaster from The Atlantic, the National Post and the Daily Mail.