MeHeartCruising

The price you were watching for 3 months was the result of a different promotion that had different math, but the same end result. It’s been this way for years with NCL. And to be fair, most cruise lines do this. That’s not to say the price will never change. They may reduce the base price if the cabins are selling slowly. Or they may raise base prices if demand is high. But the promos layered on top of base price will fundamentally not change their terms.

When I was in Livorno years ago, the ship-supplied shuttle into town dropped off (and picked up) at Piazza Grande. That looks to be about 4 blocks from the start of the street that Google Maps labels as Piazza dell’ Arsenale. I consider that to be walking distance. But Arsenale appears to have some distance to it, so it could be further, depending on where your tour operator wants you.

I am from the US. Over the years, I have printed many, many European tickets that said to use A4-size paper. I always have used our standard 8 1/2” X 11” paper to print them. I have never had a single issue using my tickets.

For Free: The buffet provides coffee, water, flavored water (usually strawberry or mango), milk, and lemonade out of dispensers all day long. There is also hot water for tea. In the mornings, orange juice and maybe another juice is available. If you go to a bar, I think the only free drink you can get is water out of their dispenser. I don't believe they even have lemonade. I don't know what restaurants can get you for free other than water and coffee. Probably milk. Probably tea.

@ThomAndRach I did the Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri excursion on my very first cruise. I would recommend you not do it. It was just to rushed to enjoy. It was drive-by sightseeing. Not enough time at any of the locations to really get much out of them. And definitely not enough time to do anything significant on your own. We had like 30 minutes free time in Sorrento. That was it. I would suggest you go with an excursion that gives you more time in Pompeii. Then maybe explore some things in central Naples upon return from the excursion. There are a lot of things within walking (or a short metro ride) from the ship.

I just spent over 2 weeks in Norway (Oslo, Bergen, and then a multitude of smaller towns that were stops for the Havila Coastal Express up to Kirkenes and back down to Bergen). I used my iPhone's ApplePay contactless for every single purchase -- from a bag of chips up to my hotel bills in size. I never took my credit card out of my pocket. My ApplePay is linked to a Well's Fargo credit card with no foreign transaction fees. It worked flawlessly every time. No ID was ever asked for by a merchant. I did get asked for my Passport at 2 hotels when checking in, I think. I honestly can't recall. I'm confident that since contactless with the phone worked so well, that using the physical card in the same manner probably would have been fine too. When I arrived in Oslo, I pulled 500 Kroner (about $45) from an ATM just in case I needed it. I never used it for anything. I ended up converting it back to US dollars at the airport when I was leaving Oslo.

Your ship will be ready to disembark you shortly after 8:00. You need to reserve a later flight.

I also would vote to explore Naples. I’ve done 3 of the 4 things on euro cruiser’s list above and will add that I found them all enjoyable too. I have not been to the theatre. Perhaps next time. If you want more archeology, a visit to Herculaneum is also very well worth it.

I was in Portland in late 2022 (I think). For us, the shuttle bus was free and available shortly after we docked. As mentioned above, it stops at Portland Castle and then in Weymouth. These stops are offered in both directions. So I went into Weymouth first, just as it was waking up and then stopped at the Castle later in the day on the way back to the ship. Walking around Weymouth was quite nice. I enjoyed the waterfront and marina area and the nearby Fort. This makes a lovely day for people who just wish to relax and saunter about at a leisurely pace.

Last summer on Royal Caribbean, I took their Delos excursion. We were docked in the new port. We left our ship and walked a short distance to a ferry boat that took us to Delos. The ferry left after dropping us off. While we did our guided tour on Delos, the ferry returned to Mykonos and picked up the regular passengers. We were the only one touring Delos at that time. The ferry returned to Delos with a full load of passengers and they got off and our excursion group hopped on. We were then taken to Mykonos Old Port and dropped off to explore the town on our own. We were also given a free ticket for the shuttle boat that runs between Old and New Port. We could go back to the ship in the New port at any time we wanted. Our ship was docked just a few feet from the shuttle boat dock.

There are lots of shops selling various good within walking distance of the ships. You can probably find such bags in the same stores that have signs out for their "Genuine Fake Watches".

I couldn't find any now, but I have seen online pictures of the donkey path/steps lit with lights at night in the past. I would call it "dimly lit" in the pictures. Like one light on a pole at each switchback turn. But as for current conditions, I'm afraid I don't have personal experience. Maybe bring along a little LED flashlight to help out too. Edited to add: I found the pic I had seen. These lights look awfully bright. Perhaps they've updated them or it's just good photography. You can read the entire thread on the topic using the link. https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2951301-santorini-donkey-trail/?do=findComment&comment=65809584

I went to hertz.com and started a reservation for car pickup in Messina, Italy. It looks like their location is at Via G. Garibaldi 128, Messina,98122, which would appear to be very close to the port. I would try other international car rental company websites directly rather than using Google.

I would agree with cruisemom42 on this. I've never heard of a cruise ship needing to tender in Piraeus. I have to believe that listing is an error by NCL.

I would not recommend paying anyone to walk you around the town of Mykonos. It's very small. Just walk around, you'll find everything you've read about. Or Follow other people and see where they are going.