I had a great time on my 7-night Royal Caribbean cruise to France and Spain, but I can't help but reflect on the 5 mistakes I made.
Despite the highlights of my trip, I regretted a few things I would have done differently (and absolutely will do when I return to Europe next year).
I think there's always room for improvement, and some mistakes stood out immediately while others I realized later on probably could have been differently.
It's easy to overthink any vacation, but I would recommend planning your European cruise with these tips in mind.
Taking public transportation from the airport
I love how easy the U.K. has made it to get around London efficiently, but when you have large luggage with you, it's not ideal.
I did my homework and researched a lot of what to do and not to do in London, and one big tip was how to save a lot of money by taking the Underground between Heathrow airport and your hotel in London.
What the tips don't take into account are your luggage, and how cumbersome it is to take with you. Neither the London Underground nor the trains between London and Southampton have any dedicated space for large luggage. Moreover, there are Underground stations with stairs and no elevators, so you're lugging the bags up and down stairs.
I was actually quite surprised how little space there was for luggage on the train to Southampton.
I managed to make do because I was traveling alone and with just one piece of suitcase. It would have been a nightmare with my kids and their luggage.
On the way back to London after the cruise concluded, I made the same mistake until I realized the night before I was about to commit the same mistake. I ended up taking a taxi to the airport instead of the train again, just to avoid the luggage issue.
My advice is to arrange car service between the airport and London, or find a bus service that you can pre-book. Royal Caribbean offers transfers as well, which I would reserve for the ride back to the airport.
Not prioritizing outdoor activities when weather is good
While I had good weather most of my trip, rain ruined my plans in both Paris and London and it could have been avoided.
When I arrived in Paris for my few hours of touring, instead of going directly to the Eiffel Tower to see it, I went on a food hunt for a great Parisian lunch.
While the croissant was fantastic, I then wasted time waiting for the rain to subside in order to see the Eiffel Tower later.
I had a similar experience in London when I used perfectly sunny weather to sit in a pub when I could have been visiting Covent Garden. Subsequently, I had to cut my visit to Covent Garden short when I got rained out.
No matter which city or port you are visiting, always take advantage of sunny weather when it's out and save meals, museums, and bars for the end.
Not having a few Euros
It seems like you can charge everything to a credit card in Europe, but having a few Euros on you helps.
While in Bilbao, Spain, I realized I forgot my credit card back on the ship. I had tap to pay with my American Express card, but no one in Spain seemed to take that card.
I had U.S. Dollars on me, so I went to a nearby currency exchange store and having 100 Euros made a big difference at bars or cafes where I could use paper currency.
This is especially true with street vendors, and mostly in case of an emergency when having paper currency is a good backup.
Long bus ride shore excursions
In two ports, I took bus rides over 2 hours each way and while I really liked my time in the port, I think it was a mistake.
I'm conflicted in calling these mistakes because I really enjoyed my time in Bordeaux and Paris, but it severely limited my time I could spend there.
Compared to days I spent in Spain when I didn't have to take a bus, the days in France felt so short and I really didn't get to spend as much time there.
This mistake dovetails into my next mistake, but I'd be quite leery of shore excursions with bus rides over an hour because of how limited your time is in port as a result.
Not having an extra day after the cruise to go to Paris
After I reviewed my Paris shore excursion, a lot of readers recommended just seeing Paris after the cruise and I think they're right.
A city of significance like Paris is not something you can quickly tour, and to do it right, you need a couple of days.
It's so easy to get to Paris from London thanks to the Eurostar train, that I should have tacked on a couple of extra days to properly experience it.
Just like London, plan on a couple of days before and after your cruise to have time to see both.
