Photo of the Week: Vermont

Incase you're sick of the heat, this one's from Okemo in Vermont.  Hope it cools you down.

NCL Epic Mediterranean 2012

For those of you who have not heard, the Norwegian Epic will be sailing the Mediterranean in 2012 again, but with a different itinerary and with a choice of booking out of either Barcelona or Rome. 

New Itinerary:
Barcelona, Naples, Rome / Civitavecchia, Livorno, Nice, Marseille, Barcelona

I hadn't given much thought to the Barcelona vs Rome embarkation port since I just did the Western Med this summer.  But thenl my friend was talking about taking a Mediterranean cruise next fall, and I decided I would choose Rome.  One of the problems I had with the Mediterranean cruise is that Livorno is far from Florence and Civitavecchia is far from Rome.  You end up spending a MINIMUM of 2 hours going to and from the city, which kinda stinks since you only spend 12 hours in port. 

With this new itinerary you could board the ship in Rome/Civitavecchia, fly in early (or stay after the cruise) and spend as much time as you want in Rome.  Of course now you can't do that in Barcelona, which is a great city (more to come on that in the coming weeks).  But, Barcelona's port is right in the city, you can get off the ship and take a 10 minute taxi ride and you're in the heart of the city. 

I think the Rome embarkation just makes more sense if you're taking this cruise to see as much as possible.  Of course if you've already been to Rome, then boarding in Barcelona might make more sense, then you can have a "sea" day in Rome and relax.

Reminder:  I can be found on Twitter @Travelingiraffe

Photo of the Week: Scotland

Sunrise in Northern Scotland

Epic Studio Cabins, the good, the bad and the shower...

Studio cabins, did NCL accidentally get it right?

Yes and No!

I've heard that when NCL originally designed the studio cabins on the EPIC they were supposed to be small double occupancy rooms, but they didn't sell well so they made them solo passenger cabins, though you can still put 2 people in them if you choose. They have a private lounge area for only the studio passengers, it has a bar (open 1 hour a day), coffee, snacks and continental breakfast. There is even a member of the staff that helps to get the passengers to know each other.

It sounds perfect, and NCL absolutely got this right.  But it felt like now that they have this product they don't quite know what to do with them now, I think the concept needs a little nurturing to make it truely fantastic.
 
I'll start with the cabins...
The cabins, although small, are nice.  The bathroom is broken up - the toilet, shower and sink are separate.  The shower has a glass wall with frosting on it, but the frosting needs to be darker and cover more of the wall, luckily I was the only one in the room.  There are two closets in the room,with doors that slide (when open they cover the sink and the TV), each with a hanger bar and 2 shelves.  There are additional shelves in the room, but no drawers.  If you look hard enough, there are baskets under the bed for additional storage.  I thought there was plenty of storage for 1 person, but I think it would be tight if there was a second person in the room.  Actually, everything about this cabin was just fine for 1 person, but I couldn't imagine a second person in one of these cabins, except maybe a mother and small child. 

Vanity

Toilet

The room comes with "mood" lighting.  This was neat for about 2 minutes, then it was annoying.  Even more annoying was the panel to change the settings was next to the bed, not near the door.  Although there is no thermostat there is a panel that allows you to adjust the temperature to cooler or warmer, I think this is the first ship I've had this feature on and I like it!  My cabin had at least 3 sets of outlets, several of which were for european and american plugs.  There was a table and a bench in the room, but both were so small that I only used them to put stuff on. 

Mood Lighting

The Studio Lounge:

The studio lounge was a private area that offered a bar, drinks, food, sitting area and TV.  It was a nice sized space for the number of passengers in the studios, it was busiest in the mornings (continental breakfast was offered) and evening, but never crowded.  The space was used for the solo passenger meet ups, which was the only time the bar was open.  We had a member of the social staff assigned to us for the solo meet ups, Sol, she helped get everyone introduced and arranged for 1 group dinner. 
I think this is the area where the studio cabins fell short.  I met many wonderful people who were staying in the studio cabins, some were very outgoing and others were very very shy.  I think that the staff member who is assigned to the studio lounge should be organizing more activities.  I don't think this is the fault of Sol, from what I have heard everyone has had the same experience since the ship launched, so I think this is how NCL has designed the position.  I would have liked to have seen a few more dinners planned, particularly in the specialty restaurants, a session in the Ice Bar or bowling.  I think that would open up more opportunities for solo cruisers and it would generate more money for the cruise line - a win for all. 

The other thing that I thought was missing was a window or a balcony or anything involving fresh air and sunlight.  Since the studio cabins were inside I felt an extra need to go outside in my free time, I know other people expressed a concern about possibly feeling clausterphobic in these cabins.  I had no issue with clausterphobia.  There were a few occasions where I would have liked to have spent time in the lounge, but with no window or baloncy, I chose to go up on deck instead.  I think the interior nature of the lounge kept it from being a more popular place to congregate.  Not that it needed a big section of window or a large balcony, but anything would have been better.  The best example of this was on the last day of the cruise I ate breakfast in the lounge, got my things and debarked the ship.  To my surprise it was cold and raining and ended up not being dressed properly. 

Hallway for the Studios

I have written NCL a letter about all of my thoughts on improving the Studio cabin experience, so I don't mind saying it here.  They did write back and thank me for my input.  But since this post seems to be a bit negative, I do want to add that I absolutely LOVED this cruise and the studio cabins.  I made many wonderful friends and would definatley consider sailing on the EPIC again if I was traveling by myself.  I would also recommend this ship to anyone else traveling by themselves.  I just think there are a few things that can be done to make it an even better experience.

Reminder: I can be found on Twitter @Travelingiraffe

Photo of the Week: New York

New York - Times Square at night

Edinburgh with and without friends

When planning my trip to England and Scotland I wasn't sure one day was enough time in Edinburgh so I added 2 extra days in Edinburgh at the end of the trip.  I had a chance to see the city with friends I had made and then a chance to return and see it as a lonely sad person.  Should I even continue with this post?

Ok, I'll continue.  Before the trip I had 2 days alone in London, and while it was a little lonely with no one to talk to, I was fine.  But the difference of being alone after your tour, after spending 2 weeks with a group of great people, it was a world of difference.

I left Glasgow after saying goodbye to all my friends, so I was sad as it was.  Then my hotel wasn't ready, but I was ready, I wanted to get myself going and seeing things before I got depressed being by myself.  I had to keep busy.  I eventually got into my room and was out and about to Hollyrood Palace.  I ended up keeping myself pretty busy for my 2 days.  The nights were a little hard though.  I did take a tour one night and stayed in the other night - I packed and watched some movies.

The worst part though might be that there is not one picture of me in Edinburgh from after my trip!  Glad I got some during the tour.

The good things I experienced were that I had freedom, I could eat at any restaurant I wanted, picking my own hotel (the Contiki hotel was a bus ride out of the city but I was staying a block off the Royal Mile).  Seeing whatever site I wanted and lingering over the little weird things that caught my eye. Having already been to the city I already knew my way around.  Free free time.  The time where you've seen all the big sites and you don't mind spending time in a little wacky site or at the internet cafe, or wandering into random shops because you could.

I've always found traveling by myself a little lonely, but after doing a tour that feeling is heightened.  The contrast of being around people 24/7 to being around only strangers is dramatic.  The moral of the story - plan for the solo days at the beginning of a trip.  I should take my own advice.  I planned to spend a day alone pre-cruise, but 2 days post-cruise in Barcelona.  But this did work out better as I did meet some people on my cruise who were also staying longer.

Photo of the Week: Italy

Rome, Italy - The Colosseum

Barcelona Hotels

Trying to pick a hotel for my pre and post cruise stay in Barcelona was an exercise in torturing myself.  As much as I love to plan travel, I also obsess about every little detail.  I ended up staying at different hotels before and after my cruise, mostly because I couldn't made a decision.

How I chose the hotels was I started with a search on internet for where other cruise passengers were staying in Barcelona, this brought me mostly to Cruisecritic.com, I also got some leads from friends and on Twitter.  I made a list of all the hotels, checked their prices (I didn't want to spend more then $200 a night) and locations.  I eliminated anything too far from Las Ramblas (tourist center) and over $200 a night.  Then I went to Trip Advisor.  Most places had good ratings, but I was able to elimiate a few with Trip Advisor.  I do not go by one or two reviews, but try to get an overall view, I specifically looked at comments from people who were traveling by themselves as these travelers would have similar concerns as I did - safety.

Taxi to and from these hotels and the port was 10-12 euro.

I eventually decided on Hotel Continental (3 Stars) and Hotel Colon (4 Stars).  Both hotels were nice, and suited my needs just fine.  The Colon was the nicer of the two, but it was also the better rated and more expensive hotel.  I would happily stay at either hotel again if I was visiting Barcelona.

Hotel Colon

The Hotel Colon is located in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, a 5 minute walk from La Rambla.  It's across the square from the Cathedral, it's a very nice location, quieter then Las Ramblas, but still lively.  On Sundays there is a flea market in the square. 

The service at the hotel was wonderful.  When my taxi pulled up the doorman helped me out of the taxi and with getting my luggage up the steps to the front desk.  The doormen did not speak much English, but enough and were always friendly and polite.  At the front desk everyone spoke English and were very helpful.  They took my luggage to a storage room since my room was not ready, and it magically appeared in my room when I returned that afternoon. 

The room itself was decorated with flowery wallpaper and a matching chair.  The bathroom had a full supply of toiletries, and included a hairdryer.  The bed was comfortable and there was a flat screen TV, perfect for watching the end of the soccer match - Barcelona vs Manchester United - Barcelona won.  My only complaint about the hotel is that even though they had wireless internet I couldn't get it to work reliably on my Ipad, fortunately I wasn't there enough to bother figureing out what the problem was..  Breakfast at the hotel was expensive, but there was a bakery and a Starbucks across the street. 

Hotel Colon Bathroom

The Hotel Continenetal was located at the Plaza Catalunya end of La Ramblas (the nicer end of La Ramblas), about a block from Plaza Catalunya.  This hotel was convenient if you want to take the Aerobus from the airport.  I taxi will cost 30-40 euro.  The hotel shares a building with a hostel, though I never saw anyone go to the hostel, nor did it seem to bring down the hotel.  I would describe this as a Rick Steves special (it is a Rick Steves recommendation).  A 3 star tourist hotel - basic, clean hotel in a touristy location at a good price, but nothing fancy.

Hotel Continental

The staff was very friendly and helpful, they all spoke English.  The hotel offered complimentary internet which worked, and had a couple computers for guests to use.  There was a 24 hour buffet and a seating area with TV.  The only food I ate was bread and cereal, the rest of the food didn't look very appealling.  They also had free beer, wine and soda and I hear the beer was good.  The hotel overlooks Las Ramblas and has a balcony in the public area for those who do not have a balcony in their own room.

The room was small - by hotel standards, not by cruise ship standards, but it was a single room with a full size bed.  It had ugly wallpaper, a pink bedspread, and the furniture was Rubbermaid plastic drawer units with nice tops.  The bathroom was old and could use some sprucing up but it was clean.  All the towels were pink, matching the hotel's pink theme.  The bath tub was very high (typical in European hotels in my experience) and my friend with bad knees did struggle getting in and out of the tub.  I couldn't get the air conditioning to work, it was warm there, but not hot so I didn't even bother asking the front desk about it.

Rubbermaid Dresser

Bathroom at Hotel Continenetal

Overall both hotels were very good and I would happily stay at either one.  Hotel Colon was a nicer hotel, it had a great price for the services offered so I would say that was a better value (depending on what you value).  The Hotel Continental attracts a lot of cruisers, so if you're taking a cruise it might be a nice place to stay as you may run into other cruisers during your stay.  If you're looking for a more relaxing beach type stay in Barcelona then I would consider staying in the Barcelonetta area by the beach, it's a lovely area.

Photo of the Week: Spain

Barcelona, Spain - Cathedral in the gothic quarter