melia

Thanks for the advice, maybe I'll give Princess a call tomorrow to see what it is they're exactly offering. I still find it weird they only gave a 1/2 person charge but if the 3rd person's free like you think it might be, then we might jump on this!

@FLCruise7 - sounds like you got a great deal on the suite, congrats!

First time receiving an upsell offer from Princess, but now I have a question! The offer e-mailed to us only lists the upgrade price per person, based on double occupancy (and that single occupancy pays 200%). We're currently booked into a triple occupancy room so I'm surprised there was no "third person" upgrade price given. If we take the upgrade, is Princess looking to split us into 2 staterooms with the 3rd person pay double the upgrade price to be a solo occupant? Thanks in advance!

Thanks for all the information, it's very much appreciated! :)

I do have one more question - how many people and luggage can a regular taxi fit? We are 3 adults with possibly 4-5 large luggage cases and 3 carry-on cases. If we can't all fit, I assume we need to ask for a van but are these easy to find or would we need to call for one in advance? We'll be needing a taxi from Osanbashi and possibly from YCAT (I assume there's a taxi stand there?)

And is there an extra fee for a taxi van? Thanks in advance!

Japanese taxis will drop you anywhere you like.

If you have it printed in Japanese it will be much easier.

They do not charge for suitcases.

Thank you! :)

I'm planning on heading from Osanbashi to Narita via taxi and Airport Limobus and although the YCAT website gives walking directions from Yokohama station, can I safely assume that taxis are able to drop off at YCAT/Yokohama Sky Building and not just at Yokohama station? And do Japanese taxis charge a fee for each piece of luggage over a certain amount per person? Thanks for your advice!

I recently got off the Royal Princess in Athens and although I don't remember the exact time people started being allowed off the ship, I believe groups were being let off at least by 7:00 am, with walk offs being allowed off at the same time or earlier. A disembarkation questionnaire was given to each stateroom about 2 days into the cruise about time preferences, but I'm sure you could go to passenger services earlier to inquire about disembarkation times. You could also try calling Princess - they might be able to provide some info.

If you decide to leave your large luggage with Princess the night before you shouldn't have any trouble collecting it quickly the next morning - it was all really well organized and porters available if needed. It probably took less than 2 minutes to find my luggage at 7:30 am and might take you even less time if you get off earlier.

There were no customs to clear.

Another option to consider is taking the disembarkation tour in Athens. It's probably only a bit more expensive than doing your own thing with Uber/taxi, but you won't have to worry about rushing from the ship-hotel-Acropolis. The Acropolis will be busy even in the morning as there's usually more than 1 cruise ship docking + other tours, but the tour bus will drop you off at the end at either the Old Olympic Stadium or at the airport, whichever is closer to your hotel.

Princess charges $15 per adult and kids $10 if they are under 12. This is the round trip price. Free bus is not dependent on which ships are in port, but rather day of arrival. It's not available on Wednesday when the Royal Princess docks

@happythoughts - I think I was on Royal Princess the same time as you where it docked at Marseille on a Wednesday about 2 weeks ago :)

I think with this port shuttle, it's whether you're willing to take your chances on it being there or not on a Wednesday. There were 2 ships docked that day (including Royal Princess) but I ended up springing for the $15 ship shuttle just to be safe. Then started kicking myself when we drove by the bus stop and I actually saw the free port shuttle waiting there!! Yes, it was just sitting there waiting for passengers!! Granted, it didn't look full but there were a few groups of people making the walk there from the ship.

I guess it comes down to what you feel comfortable with. Either take a chance that the port shuttle will be there *off schedule* if there are more that 1 ship in port, or spring for the ship shuttle to save time and get into town quicker! :)

I'll also be in Marseille on a Wednesday from a Princess ship and wonder if you've already gone on your cruise and found out how much they charged for the shuttle?

Including Princess, there's one other ship in port that day but not sure if I should take a chance that the free shuttle *might* be running!

I have a question about tipping guides for free walking tours. Some companies say to tip what you think it's worth / how happy you were with it, and people seem to vary from paying nothing to 20-30+ Euro.

What would be an appropriate tip from which we can add more to if the tour was exceptionally good? I don't know if the guides are paid by the company they're with or mainly relying on tips for their wage?

I'm a little confused by this. If you decide to go to Trevi from the Colosseum it's faster and easier to walk there rather than go to Termini and backtrack. From Trevi you could get on the metro at the Barberini stop and go directly to Ottaviano (for the Vatican) without going to Termini at all.

 

Metro and regional rail map here: http://atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=4

With Trevi, I thought about doing the walk but am hesitant with how hot it might get during the 20 min walk, though it might not be too bad if it's around mid-late morning (definitely didn't pick the best time to go to Rome :eek: ) Otherwise, I'll just make sure to do lots of research about Termini and brave the transfer between lines :) Thanks for all your help!!

And it seems like I'll have to brave the shuttle bus after all as the ship's docking at pier 12 BIS!

Here's the tranportation ministry web site with the calendar of upcoming strikes: http://scioperi.mit.gov.it/mit2/public/scioperi

Thanks for sharing the site; looks like I'm in the clear so taking the train it is! :)

Depending on where you are berthed you might be able to walk right to the train station from the ship, avoiding the whole shuttle bus mess. If you do need to use the shuttle bus I would assume an hour between ship departure and train departure. You probably won't need that much time but I like to pad, just to be safe.

 

If you are going to the Colosseum you can save yourself a half hour by NOT going to Termini. Get off at Roma Ostiense and use the underground passageway to the connected Piramide metro station. Take the metro two stops to Colosseo.

I'm definitely going to give myself extra time getting around because it's inevitable that I'll get lost somehow! And thanks for the time-saving tip on getting to the Colosseum! My plan is now to go from the Colosseum to Termini (since it's on the way to the Vatican), maybe walk around a bit or head to Trevi, then to the Vatican Museum in the afternoon and back to port. The route seems pretty straight forward, although I'm a bit worried about hugeness of Termini, so hopefully it works out as planned! :cool:

A couple comments. I haven't specifically taken the Princess excursion, but I took Royal Caribbean's version of it quite a few years ago. The bus parked in underground parking near St. Peters (probably the Parking Gianicolo you mention based on what I see on Google Maps). There was a "guide" on the bus with us and she took us up to ground level via elevators and we all walked over to the outer edges of St. Peters Square. She then gave us the specific instructions when to meet back at that exact spot. Later in the day, we all met there and she then guided us back into the parking garage.

 

You certainly have time to do the Colosseum/Palatine/Forum. I think you will need to play it by ear if you have time to return to the Vatican for the museums. With an arrival back at the ship at 4:30, that probably means you will leave have to be back at your meeting place around 2:00. So that might not leave enough time for the Vatican Museums. They are huge and really need more than an hour or two. If you're trying to get to the Sistine Chapel, the walk alone will take 20 minutes to get there once inside the museum.

 

Finally, I would suggest you consider using taxi to get from the Vatican area to the Colosseum and back. There is a taxi stand at the front entry to St. Peters Square where you can hop in a waiting taxi. They are relatively cheap in Rome and that will be your quickest option instead of trying to work the public transit system.

Thanks for all the info and yes, the Parking Gianicolo is the underground parkade :) It seems like I might have to cut back on some things I wanted to see, but as it's my first time going to Rome, it gives me an excuse to come back!

It seems I was mistaken about the transportation strikes ~ I've been gathering information from different sites and boards and it seemed to be discussed quite a bit, with people suggesting taking the cruise's transport just to be safe in case there was a strike. So thank you for clarifying my mistake! Is there a good site to check to see if there's any threat of a transportation strike or is it simply just Googling and checking transportation or new sites?

To be honest, I was initially planning of getting into Rome by train so maybe this is an option again, seeing as it's quite a bit cheaper than the cruise bus transport. How much extra time over the cruise transport would I have to factor in with the train option, maybe 30 min? From what I understand, I can shuttle to North gate, walk 7 minutes or city bus to train station, and train into Rome with a transfer at Termini to get to the Colosseum. Am I somewhat on the right track? :confused:

I'll be stopping in Rome in a few weeks and after reading on this board about the frequent transportation strikes, I've decided skip the train and take the ship's transportation into Rome as previous cruisers have suggested. I have a few questions about Princess' Rome on Your Own excursion (bus transport) and am hoping some savvy cruisers who've taken this before can answer a few questions :) Any help/suggestion is welcome and will help me plan out my day better!

1. The tour lists the drop-off/pick-up point as Parking Gianicolo - is this where we go our separate ways or do we walk as a group over to St. Peter's Square (the only thing listed on the itinerary that we'll "see"?)

2. Start time is 7:30 am so I'm assuming we leave port around this time followed by a 1.5 hr drive to the Vatican. And a possible walk over to St. Peter's Square from Parking Gianicolo. Allowing time for delays, stragglers, etc, can I safely assume that the earliest I'd be set free on Rome would be 9:15-ish?

In the morning, I'd like to see the Colosseum (inside visit) and a quick view of Palantine Hill and the Forum, then check out the Vatican Museum in the afternoon before leaving Rome (arrival back at ship is 4:30 pm). Is this doable? I'm planning on taking the bus/metro rather than walking (as it's sure to be pretty hot outside :cool:), but would love to fit in Trevi or some shopping (and lunch!) if there's time.