edinburgher

All of the above are options, although you could forego the rental from Nice and take a train instead. The Nice/Marseille route has frequent and fast train connections and it would save a lot of hassle with a rental. (remember you will be jetlagged and automatics are not as easily available) You would also have some difficulty finding parking in Marseille. The train stations are central to both cities, unlike the airports so flying could be longer door to door. i would go with whichever flights work best for you in terms of cost, flying time, whether direct or indirect and take it from there. Much online about sightseeing options in Marseille. Check past posts and sites such as Tripadvisor the Marseille Tourist Info website, Marvellous Provence and others. (Marseille isn't actually in Provence (Bouche du Rhone) but is on that website.

What other not to miss things should we see in Porto. The Reibera area down by the riverside in Vila Nova de Gaia, which is also where there are several port houses to visit (visit at least one)and river cruises as mentioned above. Wander the older historic area and definitely include the train station Sao Bento, famous for the wonderfully tiled entrance. it is very close to the Dom Luis Bridge, really unmissable for the stunning views. This very recent thread might be interesting for you to read, https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2890453-porto-bridge-walk-need-specifics/#comment-64240891 And a possible side trip to Coimbra, around an hour by train. We have not visited there but my sister stayed a few days earlier this year and really enjoyed it. Coimbra was at one time the capital of Portugal and has much to offer. Tripadvisor and many other sites for Porto and Coimbra reviews, images and recommendations. Once you read what there is, you can decide which appeal most to you, but this is a trip sandwiched between cruises sotake things more slowly and try not to fill every day.

IGNORE #19 AS I WAS PART WAY THROUGH EDITING WHEN I WAS "TIMED OUT". back in the day our first visit to Naples also required caution, especially so for cameras., although I think its reputation has improved a bit since then. We left our very good cameras in our hotel room in Sorrento, and instead used the cheap disposable ones our kids were carrying and which we commandered for our own use from the moment we stepped off the train in Naples. steamboats . Lots of good suggestions there so thank you. There are many websites which detail some of the many pickpocketing scams in Europe, simply internet search something along the lines of "how to avoid being pickpocketed in Europe" or "pickpocketing scams in Europe". As pickpockets will never stop dreaming up new ways to relieve tourists of their valuables, it is worth checking before travel for updates on the most recent ones. And not only in Europe as we have had to be even more vigilant in countries such as Brazil and Peru. Especially in Rio and Lima. Carrying no valuables whatsoever, and nobody wears any jewellery at all, not even watches unless they are cheap plastic "kiddy" type watches. Having lunch in the upmarket area of Miraflores in Lima, we worried bout meeting our driver and guide at the designated time. The waiter pointed to a large wall clock which he told us was there so that diners (and staff) without watches would know the time. And in Rio our driver guide kept the doors locked at all times over both days and would not take his cash fee from us at the start of the day, waiting until the end of the day when he waited at the front of the hotel while we collected his cash from the safe and handed it over. He told us he would be driving directly home with it. Earlier this year we had some work carried out and one of the tradesmen was originally from Uruguay. He was thrilled to discover we had visited Montevideo and mentioned that Punta del Este is beloved by S. American tourists as it is a holiday resort with a much lower crime rate than Montevideo eg, and such a feeling of safety, he told us, that men and women from neighbouring countries even dare to wear real jewellery. He told us that residents keep the resort safe as almost all income there comes from tourism. Safe travels everyone!

back in the day our first visit to Naples also required caution, especially so for cameras., although I think its reputation has improved a bit since then. We left our very good cameras in our hotel room in Sorrento, and instead used the cheap disposable ones our kids were carrying and which we commandered for our own use from the moment we stepped off the train in Naples. steamboats . Lots of good suggestions there so thank you. There are many websites which detail some of the many pickpocketing scams in Europe, simply internet search something along the lines of "how to avoid being pickpocketed in Europe" or "pickpocketing scams in Europe". As pickpockets will never stop dreaming up new ways to relieve tourists of their valuables, it is worth checking before travel for updates on the most recent ones. And not only in Europe as we have had to be even more vigilant in countries such as Brazil and Peru. Especially in Rio and Lima. Carrying no valuables whatsoever, and nobody wears any jewellery at all, not even watches unless they are cheap plastic "kiddy" type watches. Having lunch in the upmarket area of Miraflores in Lima, we worried bout meeting our driver and guide at the designated time. The waiter pointed to a large wall clock which he told us was there so that diners (and staff) without watches would know the time. And in Rio our driver guide kept the doors locked at all times over both days and would not take his cash fee from us at the start of the day, waiting until the end of the day when he waited at the front of the hotel while we collected his cash from the safe and handed it over. He told us he would be driving directly home with it. Safe travels everyone!

Having been pickpocketed in Barcelona (I did not have my passport on me, but it was a hassle) Cruisemom42 You will smile when I tell you that our one time carrying everything around with us was in Barcelona. Many years ago when on our first visit there and with our( then) late teens, we were there for a week with two hotel rooms needed, (costly)so had booked a slightly lower class of hostel/hotel than we would usually have booked. We had absolutely zero confidence in the safes, including the "hotel safe" and decided that it was too risky to leave passports, flight tickets, credit cards, cash etc anywhere in the building and that it would be safer to carry them around the city with us. At that time, Barcelona had an even worse reputation than it has now, so my solution was to buy 2 long baguette shaped bread sticks which were placed in a supermarket carrier bag. All of our documents, passports, cash etc went into that same bag and as the bread sticks were poking out of the top of the bag, it looked as if I was carrying a bag of groceries. By the end of the week the bread sticks were looking anything but fresh, but the idea worked and we lost nothing at all despite being in busy areas, using crowded public transport etc.Each time we return to Barcelona, the memory of those bread stcks still makes us smile.

It's not hard to secure a passport to avoid pickpocketing We use neck wallets which hang unseen under a shirt or blouse, so anyone trying to steal from one of these would need to rummage around under our clothing and that would surely be notoced!!! in our many years of visiting numerous countries worldwide, we have never once been pickpocketed or suffered any other loss as we have always taken sensible precautions, more so in places where we know pickpocketing is especially high risk.. And only one time have we not used a hotel safe, although we usually ask at reception to use the more secure "hotel safe". Your UK passport card is similar to our German ID card Steamboats, there is no UK passport card at the present time. VMX1700 is referring to an IRISH passport card. EIRE is not in the UK and continues to be a member of the EU so quite different.

Point taken so thanks.So in future would need to risk carrying actual passport, which we really dislike , preferring to leave them in hotel or cabin safe. Can only hope neither is lost/stolen/pickpocketed which would leave one or both of us with no valid ID at all and no hope of getting one either. In that circumstance we would probably wish we had stuck with the photocopies. Would having no ID at all be better worse than having a delay while the actual original document is fetched from a hotel or ship?

Apologies. A minor disagreement between us as to the definition of a "kiosk". To me, a "kiosk" is a stand alone very small building, often round in shape, but not always, usually selling ice creams, or coffees, or newspapers, magazines, lottery tickets, cigarettes etc.. The "kiosks" at the Bus station are in fact one long building divided into various ticket offices, money exchange, toilets, bagge storage etc.

Happy to be corrected on that. I was thinking of ID cards not other forms of ID. As Brits do not have ID cards we always carried passport photocopies, not that we have ever been required to show them at any point over the years in France, or in any other Schengen country either.

As an aside… pre COVID Not sure which "kiosks" (plural) you are referring to as we only ever saw the one described above in post #9 Either enter bus station from the port gate and walk all the way through and out the other end to find yourself almost at the entrance to Konzum, or exit port gate onto the psvement/sidewalk alongside the main road, turn right and walk along until you see the Konzum building to your right, at which point cut across the road and car park to the entrance. Not 100% sure but there may or may not be a little roundabout there. We usually find the bus station route easier and a little faster You can usually see the supermarket from your ship unless docked further along near the bridge, and some ships are so close they are docked more or less alongside, although to access it passengers are still required to backtrack to the official port gate as there is no unofficial "cut through".,. If in doubt, ask any of the crew as it is so close it is a favourite place for them to shop.

We have bought our tickets several times from the little kiosk. Enter the bus station, take a few steps, and look to your left for the little kiosk which sits between the bus station boundary and the pavement/sidewalk alongside the main road. it sells the usual mix of newspapers, magazines, and other assorted bits and pieces and also sells bus tickets. If not buying a day ticket, buy tickets for your return journey at the same time, as that way you only need stamp them when you board the return bus and won't need to look for somewhere selling them. They used to be slightly cheaper if bought before boarding, but importantly, also used to allow you to make a transfer to a different line as part of the same journey.-for example, handy if going to or from the beach areas at Lapad as it gives more flexibility of routes than the one bus route which ran from/to there and the port at Gruz. But things may have changed post pandemic so worth checking before you go.

France is slightly different in that you are required to carry photo ID issued by a government department, so not necessarily a passport.

Thank you edinburgher and marazul for the helpful replies. Thanks for acknowledging as not everyone does. By the way, if you are on a land stay in Porto, you might want to consider a side trip to Coimbra which my sister recommends. I think she said it was around an hour by train. They split their week between Oporto and Coimbra and thoroughly enjoyed both.

If anyone has walked across the top level of the bridge, especially from the Porto side, not Gaia, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks & obrigada. Spoke with my sister this evening. She could not remember if it was the main train station or a different one,, but it was definitely " the one with the famous tiles". Apologies for two lots of repetition in post #2. i don't understand how it happened, nor do I understand how i did not notice them within the maximum time for editing and correcting them. Not one, but TWO senior moments in one day!!🥲🥲

Not sure if this is helpful or not as my memory not as exact as your question. We got onto it by taking the metro from the port into Porto. We were heading for Vila Nova de Gaia , the port houses and the pretty waterfront of Rebeira.. We giot onto it by taking the metro from the port into Porto. We were heading for Vila Nova de Gaia , the port houses and the pretty waterfront. We had to switch metro lines somewhere along the way, but we exited at Jardim do( or di Morro), on the upper level. walked down from there and when time to leave, took the little funicular up to the older historic part of town. We had to switch metro lines at an interchange somewhere along the way, but we exited at Jardim do (or di) Morro, on the upper level, walked down from there and when time to leave Ribeira, took the little funicular up to the older historic part of town The bridge upper level is for both pedestrians and the metro. You could try searching Jardim do (or di) Morro for further info which may be more detailed than my hazy memory. Or, mMy sister visited earlier this year and said it was only a few minutes walk from rthe main train station if that is helpful. They were at that station to see the amazing tiles which really are unmissable.

For next spring I'm thinking of staying in Alfama, although there is less great transportation, plus many more steps to climb, so I may regret it Not only many staircases and steps, but really steep hills too. Lisbon uphill streets can be challenging for even the fittest as you probably already know. Should you be staying in the Alfama area, you might want to read this thread which has info on the two elevators in that area as one or both could be useful if you are staying in the vicinity of either. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2875458-lisbon-self-guided-tour-best-route-to-castelo-sao-jorge/#comment-64160805

Nap time as well as when I would occupy a deck chair on the Lower Promenade Deck of a HAL ship. 😁 In that case, a bit like what the libraries on HAL ships used to be like. More folks napping than awake! And disappearing "proper" libraries are another amenity being missed by us now too. Again, probably because they don't generate passenger revenue.

don't know if shelter is a requirement - the QM2 has a splendid full promenade deck [deck 7]. Shelter is preferred as it gives the option of sitting on either the "sunny" side or the "shady" side if there is a choice., also if it is raining, sitting/walking out there can till be achieved. Is that QM2 promenade covered? We never sailed any of the Queens as these "big girls" are too big for us, our preference being for smaller ships.

I had forgotten about the walk so thanks for the reminder. Even on poorer weather days the fully or mostly covered deck could be walked all the way around.

Does anyone have any information about the hotel, and transportation from the port to the airport? As nobody has yet replied, could I suggest you check reviews on Tripadvisor and any other hotel booking website which offers this hotel. You should be able to get directions either on their website or by requesting the info by e-mail.

What I'm looking for, however, is what I should do as a backup plan should the day be rainy weather, rough waters in the Bay, etc. the nativity scene shops along Via San Gregorio Armeno, the cloisters at Santa Chiara These were a couple of the sights we enjoyed on our most recent visit to Naples. Our name for San Gregorio is Christmas Street which we revisited. Every Christmas we still put out the small nativity scene we bought there on our first Naples visit almost 25 years ago. It is a souvenir which always reminds us of our first visit. The cloisters really are beautiful, and peaceful too. We also explored the "centro historico" on foot in more detail for the first time and enjoyed it more than we had expected to. We googled something like "self guided walk around centro historico Naples". and followed a route we found.. And had pizza for lunch! if you have never been up there before and the rain is not too heavy nor the cloud too low, do take the funicular up to the famous viewpoint in front of Castel Sant'Elmo for an outstanding view. Have been up there twice over the years although never having been in to the actual castle cannot comment on it. And around 4 or 5 years ago on another Naples port day we revisited Herculaneum as we had seen on a tv programme that more areas had been excavated and opened to the public since our first visit. We didn't mind the revisit at all. Many many suggestions on Tripadvisor.

Not so much a tradition, but one thing we loved and which nowadays is sadly often not to be found is an actual PROMENADE DECK. With steamer chairs perfect for lounging. Located low enough down that sitting there one could hear the sea, very sleep inducing. On sea days (especially part way through a port intensive itinerary), we used to love sitting on the peaceful Promenade Deck, reading, listening to our own music , watching and listening to the sea, watching for bird and sealife,- - and snoozing! . II also used to be more sheltered from wind than an open upper deck so equally good for scenery watching and photo taking. Nowadays I think most new ships are built without them, most likely as they do not generate passenger revenue.

Agree. As a general rule, tenders will often use a spot which is very central, often more centrally located than some docks/piers. Some smaller ships used to dock very close to the Sea Organ almost in the heart of the town. Ours was larger, as is yours, and we docked outside of town in a more industrial area, a 15 or so minutes shuttle bus ride from town. The shuttle bus drop of/pick up point was only a few metres walk from the Sea Organ, as marazul said, where the smaller ships dock (or used to).

Thank you as I missed the"late April" reference. Should not affect the OP in 2023 but might have impacted others reading past threads for info for future years.

Are you quite certain you will tender as i think that might be a little unusual? Is Zadar indicated in any way (either with a little anchor or with the words tender or tender port) on your itinerary or on any other documentation you might already have from when you booked?