6 minutes ago, Tina80 said:

Thanks much for the info, I have booked mine with Rome in a Limo, the price I will be paying is 500 Euros, hopefully I can find more people to join me so the price gets cheaper! I wish you guys a great trip and hopefully you get to visit Positano on this trip. Funny story, I have a similar experience, we visited Naples back in 2019 and I wanted to take a private tour to visit Positano. Did not have enough cash on me, so they pointed me to the ATM there and turned out I never had a PIN set up for my credit card. An hour or so on the phone with my bank and I finally got a PIN setup and got the cash. By that time, the driver refused to take us saying it was too late and there would be a bad rush hour... 

Good luck in getting people to join.  When is your trip? My previous trip was back in 2019 too....but they told me ahead of time it's usually just a view of Positano from above bc the traffic is usually too bad so I kind of had a feeling going in it wasn't going to happen. But it will happen in a little over two weeks!

This time....make sure you're pin is set up. 🙂 What did you end up doing that day?  I heard there's a good pizza place nearby the port - but I am sure it's touristy and can find something better that's not too crowded when we get back. 

55 minutes ago, Tina80 said:

Oh no, so sorry you were not able to visit Positano, I would be so upset too. Gladly you get to visit that beautiful place this time. Is this the tour you booked? Can you please let me know how much it was? https://simplyamalfi.com/amalfi-coast-destination-of-your-dreams/

Yes, that's the tour I booked.  I emailed them and Salvatore responded right away. I told him i REALLLLLYYYY needed to get to Positano lol.   I was able to get a total of 7 people (including myself) for this tour from our sailing and it was 600 euros total. For an all-day tour.  Food, entrance fees and tips not included.  I had to pay a 100 euro deposit via paypal and the balance is due at the end of the tour.  I was a bit nervous to pay up front for the deposit but there seemed to be plenty of reviews for him and I felt comfortable doing so.  

Last time I was there we docked in Salerno and I booked a tour that included the Amalfi coast but we never made it to Positano...which I wanted to see so badly.

We sail next week and dock in Naples and have booked a tour with Simply Amalfi to go to Positano and Ravello.  I can report back upon my return. 🙂

Thanks for this - will be there Sept 4-6 and even though we may not be on the metro too much, it's nice to have this info!

1 hour ago, coo359a2 said:

Could you post who you booked for your shared shuttle.  Thanks

The company is called Shared Shuttle. If you remind me in a few weeks, i’ll post a review about then when I get (9/16). 
 

https://sharedshuttle.it

We did it in May.  We were one of the first few off the ship (self disembark) and the 4th people in like at the taxi stand.  At the airport by 7 and through TSA precheck very quickly.  The one who wasn't TSA precheck took almost an hour to get through.  Our flight was a little after 10 but we still had plenty of time.  It did kind of stress me out. I would definitely plan to get up early and get in line to self-disembark and have TSA pre-check. 

36 minutes ago, marazul said:

@erby2283

Thanks for coming back and posting.

I admire your endurance! Good job getting those (multiple) tickets! 

Well we'll see if it was a smart idea with 8 ships in port when I come back home.  lol

On 5/24/2024 at 8:49 AM, marazul said:

And I have no idea what is happening with the release times. It used to be midnight Rome time, but it seems to be a bit random now.

Wanted to give you an update!

So, we got our tickets to the Colosseum for 9/5 yesterday.  Me, and my two friends had an all-night plan to get tickets since I really wanted Underground or Attic tickets.  One of us was still up at 2 am est (8 am Rome time) and tickets for 9/5 all showed sold out. She stayed up for a bit and kept trying until she got a "Forbidden" notice and was then unable to try to get tickets - even in incognito mode so she went to bed. 😄

A second friend woke up at 4 am est (10 am Rome time) and it wasn't even showing tickets available yet.  When she tried again at 4:30 there were only 1 or 2 tickets left for the attic at a few morning time slots.

I woke up shortly before 5 and I wasn't even showing tickets available yet (which was weird since both my other friends and I are in the same time zone and they were already seeing 9/5 not only available but sold out).  I tried again when I saw my friend's text at 5:30 am saying she was seeing sporadic ticket availability again. But never three tickets available for the attic.  

Knowing there were going to be 8 ships in port that day 9/5, (we don't embark until the following day), I was getting nervous about having to deal with crowds later in the day and my friends being too hot so I just went in and snatched regular timed tickets for 8:40 am and gave up hope on underground or attic.

Then, at 7 am, I saw attic tickets available again for 12:30 pm and called my  friends and explained we already had regular tickets but attic was now available. We decided it wasn't that much money and just went ahead and bought them.  So now we have two tickets each - one for just a timed entry at 8:40 and attic entry tickets at 12:30.  We NEVER saw any opportunity over the 4-5 hours we were looking to buy Underground tickets. They were sold out from the start.  

We figured this isn't necessarily a bad thing.  Our VRBO is a short 10 minute walk from the Colosseum on Via Labicana.  We will see what the weather will be that day and if it's hot, and we got our fill of the other main sites the previous day(s), we'll go in the morning and then just go back for the attic portion at 12:30.  If the weather is not too hot, we'll just hold off and do Colosseum Attic and Forum and Palatine Hill all in the afternoon - although with 8 ships it will be very crowded by then!

HOWEVER, this is what someone said on the Rome social media page that in hindsight made sense from what I saw.  They release the tickets in batches - and you should go online to buy tickets at the time you want to go (Rome time).  For example, if I am looking for 8:30 am tickets, and I am 6 hours behind Rome time, I need to get online at 2:30 am.   At 3:30 am, they release the tickets for 9:30 am, and so on and so on.  Which like I said in hindsight, made sense because I kept seeing tickets pop up for later times in the day as the morning went on.  So at least for now, this is how they are releasing tickets.   Phew...glad that stress is over with. 

Thanks for all your help in previous posts....

On my one and only time to Italy, it was a dream of mine to make it to Positano...which our tour didn't have time for due to traffic.  We did stop in Sorrento after Pompeii on our way down the Amalfi Coast and all we did was eat lunch there.  While it was an amazing view, I would choose to spend more time in Positano and Ravello.... but that's just bc it's on my bucketlist.

I am going in Sept 2024 and have a tour booked with Simply Amalfi from Naples to Positano and Ravello (8 hour tour starting at 7:30).  That may leave us with a little time in Naples as we leave at 5 pm (maybe a good slice of pizza before heading back to the port).  I was able to get others to join (for a total of 7 people) and a price of 650 euros for the day - minus food, entrance fees and tips.  If you want to check back with me when I get back mid-September, I can tell you how the tour was. 🙂

We are heading to Rome in September. I'm a little bit of a planner (🤣) so I actually have a spreadsheet for each day which includes tours that have already been paid - which tours I can pay in cash - and in which currency they want to be paid. Add in estimated tips, lunches, etc. - and then I can get a feel for how many euros I want to bring. I can also charge the meals and souvenirs as needed. 

We had a flight at 10:25 flight on TAP airlines to Lisbon from Barcelona.  We self disembarked and were one of the first off the ship - made it without issue - we were there by 7:30. Not sure if that's helpful or not - but it was my experience. 

On 7/17/2024 at 1:37 PM, euro cruiser said:

Last November (2023) we paid 80 euro for two people, pick up at hotel in Rome and drop off at the ship in Civitavecchia with Shared Shuttle.it

 

Homepage – Shared Shuttle

1 hour ago, megr1125 said:

I used the same company previously and will use again in November. 

Did either of you have issues with not having enough space for luggage in the shared van?  I have them booked to take us to the airport from the port - now considering using them to take us TO the port versus the train as it's about the same price (for three people).  My only issue was that I read a few people complain that there wasn't enough room for bags and some people had to hold their luggage on their laps.

On 7/14/2024 at 1:58 PM, ninjacat123 said:

We experienced issues with Sandra’s Cruise Tours on our Carnival cruise that ported in Santorini and fortunately we made it back to the ship. I emailed her about the issues and she responded that she would address these issues. After reading this post, I would never book with her again. Thanks for posting!👍

Was just about to tag you to make sure you had seen this. 🙂 

After our Barcelona cruise, we flew to Lisbon to spend 3 days there post cruise.  My family is Italian and my ex's family was Portuguese so it was only fair we got to see both countries after our Mediterranean cruise. 🙂  We had a great time. Spent one full day touring with Lisbon Riders to Cascais and Sintra (which included a self-guided tour of the castle). Also went to Cabo Da Roca (the western most tip). Our guide was great and I think the whole day tour was 270 eu plus tip for 5 people.    Then we spent the next day going to Belem Tower and just winging the rest of day on our own - we took the ferry over to Almada and spent the day walking around.  We walked up to Santuario de Cristo Rei - which is the sister statue to the Christ the Redeemer in Brazil.  You can take the elevator to the top for amazing views.  It was great!  After I post this, I'll see if I can go back and add some pictures for reference from my cell phone. Oh, and the flight from Barcelona from Lisbon was cheap - but it's cheaper to get around in Europe once you're already there. 

Lisbon

View from our VRBO in Lisbon

A stop on the way to Cabo da Roca

Belem Tower

Santuario de Cristo Rei

View from the top.

17 hours ago, nimiq said:

We are also going in September leaving Greece September 19th would happen to be on our cruise  ? 
 

Thanks 

 

Eric 

Unfortunately, no.  We leave Rome on September 6th.

On 6/15/2024 at 8:44 PM, roaming_kiwi58 said:

Apparently there is now a shuttle bus service to the cable car, specifically designed for cruise ship passengers:

https://kotorcablecarshuttlebus.com/

I found this when I was researching how to get to the cable car, as we will be in Kotor on a cruise this coming September. I do not know anything about it, and cannot find any reviews for it. It is on my list of possible activities for our trip. I have been on the lookout for comments from people who have used this service.   

Wow is this a recent addition.  I was there in 2019 and don't remember seeing this.  We took a private tour which was amazing but definitely would have added this in.  Kotor was the most amazing port to sail into - can't wait to try and do it again one day. 

FYI - Curio Travel is also run by the same guy who runs Ephesus Shuttle I believe.  A bunch of us on our roll call him booked in September and the signature is his email has both Ephesus Shuttle and Curio Travel.  Have had nothing but great response from Sadettin so far - with both questions and a confirmation when someone else joins the tour. Looking forward to the tour!

35 minutes ago, Bat girl said:

Thanks. How many were in your vehicle and did it feel crowded?

4! I was afraid they were going to cancel the tour but they didn't.  Not sure where you are porting but we were in Villefranche.  We went into the city of Nice, Monaco, Monte Carlo and Eze. His van was a large BMW or Mercedes (can't remember) van. I think it will be fine. 

36 minutes ago, Bat girl said:

We are using Italy Tours in November for French Rivera tour. We are a party of 6 and they added two additional people to our mini van for a total of 8 people. I am concerned that the mini van will be uncomfortable for 8 people. Can anyone comment on the vehicles and if you had 8 people was it OK. We are all in our 70's and being squished in a vehicle doesn't sound fun for an 8 hour tour.

Thanks.

If you end up having Guy (pronounced Gee) - you are in for a great day! It was my favorite tour of the whole trip!

3 hours ago, scg888 said:

We used Italy Tours on our recent cruise through Italy (NCL Escape  6/23/24) The trip to Mt. Etna and Taormina was wonderful! We appreciated the bus size, the driver and guide, and all of the wonderful advice that was given. We enjoyed the stops for snacks, and product tastings/purchases. It was a wonderful day. Italy Tours' communications are very detailed so you know exactly what to expect.

That’s who I am using in Sept for Messina. Used them for 4 tours in 2019 as well. 

8 hours ago, Aquaticdreams said:

Thanks! This story is priceless! You made my day. Glad you’re going to get to see Messina too!

Report back and let me know how it goes. Would love to see your pictures. Looks like a beautifuk hilltop village. 

@euro cruiser Thank you.  Do I book the Frecce using the Trenitalia website? I search Rome Termini to Civitavecchia Porto and all I get are options with one stop? I clearly am not smart enough to do this.... SMH. (For Sept 6, 2024).

Ah...think I figured it out.  I think the "one change" refers to the bus you board to take you to the port. 

I don't know why but I am just so confused with the Trenitalia website. 🫣

Still debating on how to get to the port from our VRBO - which is located near the Colosseum on Via Labicana.  Seems it is close enough to get a taxi - or our hosts may even offer a ride to Termini for us. But then do I select tickets to Civitavecchia Port or a different stop? When I did Termini to Civittavecchia port it said there was one transfer - was I misreading that? I'd rather pay for seats so we can keep an eye on our luggage. Also, I thought I read somewhere that you could pick up a shuttle from the train to the port for an additional fee - but it may have been from a particular train stop.  

We are three middle-aged women - do you personally feel we'd be ok with this option knowing pickpockets are a plenty in Rome or would you fork out more money for a private transfer?  

TYIA.

@Aquaticdreams I hope  you get to achieve this feat!  My grandfather emigrated to the US from Sicily when he was 7, in 1927.  We always have a good laugh bc he arrived to New York at Ellis Island the day Lindbergh arrived back in NY and he thought all the parades were welcoming him to the US - he thought what an amazing country to welcome him with a big parade. 🤣 He was from Licatta which is way too far from when we stop in Messina in Sept but at least I'll be on the same island. ❤️ 

4 hours ago, sushraya said:

Has anyone here used this company for a tour from Salerno (and not Naples or Sorrento)?  Which tour and how was your experience?

3 hours ago, erby2283 said:

I did - back in 2019.  Did the Pompeii/Amalfi Coast tour.  It was wonderful.  Spent the morning at Pompeii with a guide, drove to Salerno and had lunch/free time to walk around for a short bit, then drove down the Amalfi Coast towards Positano - although we never made it TO Positano (I was so sad - but they tell you ahead of time that due to traffic it's usually just a stop from an overlook and that you rarely make it to Positano itself).  Then we stopped at a Limoncello factory and then back to the ship.  It was a long day but had a blast! 

Sorry - Meant to say drove to "Sorrento" for lunch...not Salerno.   Duh, we ported in Salerno.