edinburgher

Thanks for responding as many don't.

And maybe try googling for supermarket locations and sources for your shopping list?

Consider cross posting on the RCL forum as it is an RCL specific question and there will be more chances of Royal pax who called there seeing it and responding. And should there be none and you are looking for an alternative, probably best to ignore any shorex to Paris as the city will be in chaos as preparations for the Summer Olympic Games will be well underway. Maybe mention this to others in your RC in case they have either forgotten or didn't know that Paris will be the host city.

Praca Marques do Pombal is the big roundabout which sort of marks the boundary between Avenida da Liberdade and the Eduardo V11 Park. Avenida DL is really quite a long avenue to walk (and uphill in that direction) and I think the timing could be a little tight and you may need to consider a taxi, but you could research the distance from your docking position, whichever it is, (try Rome2Rio?) then decide if you can comfortably get from A to B in time.

Did you read this recent thread about the same, or a very similar tour? the OP did this and reviewed it on return in post #7 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2896693-tours-from-lisbon/#comment-64377296

there is also the option of Santa Margherita and Portofino. Did you read this link given on another very recent thread about la Spezia? Ignore the subject line reference to driving as the posts are much more than that. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2911139-la-spezia-anything-to-do-within-a-short-drive/#comment-64723978

Thanks for your feedback. I think you will find it very useful for current and future trips and no more back paging needed. N Now you have it. It worked for two of us and we won't be the only ones. cruzluver can I suggest again that it may be a compatibilty issue with whichever device you are using, and that you maybe try again on a different device, because it is such a useful tool have.

To use the SEARCH tool, for la Spezia threads, go to the Italy Boards forum, but stay on the general page, not an individual thread. Insert la Spezia into the empty search box under your user name then hit the little spy glass and all previous threads containing that name will appear ready for you to choose which to read. Works across other forums too, you only need be in the correct (according to CC) geographical forum. Also works on cruiseline forums too. As an example, if you go to the Princess Forum and want to ask about eg "laundry" go to the general Princess forum and insert the word "laundry" in the search box and hit the little spy glass. All previous threads with that word in them should appear. SandyR5. Please kindly respond if you successfully use the search tool with the method I described in this post, so that cruzelover knows whether it is his/her device which is making searching "awful" or whether I am not the only lucky member who finds it a brilliant tool to use. You don't say why it is "awful" but you must be doing something wrong or else could it possibly be that the device you are using is somehow not compatible, because others have used the search tool for years and it works every time. Check back to see if SandyR5 responds with feedback.

Lots of past threads which you could find using the SEARCH tool under your username, but this recent thread could be an interesting read for you and has several suggestions. Ignore the subject line reference to driving. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2911139-la-spezia-anything-to-do-within-a-short-drive/#comment-64723978 Or this one, but there are many more to be found. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2951417-florence-la-spezia-need-options-and-help/#comment-66008117

As rfs7306/OP has not yet clarified if it is tours of the Normandy beaches which are of interest,or some other excursion, it is still a guessing game.

Sounds as if Sarande wasn't great. We were in the other port, Durres, but thankfully and unlike us,had decided to book a shorex which took us to Kruje and Tirana, both of which were worth visiting and we also saw some of the countryside along the way. The little we saw of Durres from the coach when leaving and arriving back into the town/city wasn't greatly inspiring and the descriptions of Sarande above could also apply to Durres.

Is this a ship excursion or a private tour as it seems odd that you are being dropped off so far from the Cathedral and old town? If, on the other hand you are looking at doing this "excursion" as a DIY from Vigo, you could look at travelling by train from the station in Vigo to the station at SDC. Not only might it be a shorter walk at SDC, it means you could decide for yourself how much or how little time you want to spend there. And yes, IMHO SDC is worth a visit. We didn't have much time to explore but what we saw made us wish we had been given longer. Try looking at online info and images to tempt you.

Maybe try cross posting this on the Carnival Forum as it is Carnival specific, and more pax who have tendered in the Med are likely to see it and respond.

ISP is one of the best locations for whale watching trips and we did one and saw a number of them. If super lucky you may see a bear or two on the shoreline from your whale boat tour although we did not. Sometimes whales can be seen from your ship or from the shore so keep an eye on the water surface when walking slong the road between the cannery/museum and "town" or from an open deck once back onboard.

Reading your post jogged my memory and I had posted in #4 above that we visited Leiden on the way back to Amsterdam from Keukenhof, but it was in fact Haarlem we visited as it was on the trainline we were to use. It is quite an attractice university town/city to wander for a time and we were lucky to catch a free organ recital in the Cathedral. Between that and dinner before the return to Amsterdam, we had only a short time to explore, but there should be much info to be found online, including on Tripadvisor.

I also think that is too short a day for both and July will be one of the busiest summer months. And new traffic control and parking restrictions were introduced this summer on that route. And a stop at Positano can be one of two things. You may find you are only stopping on the upper road with a view down to Positano and this would be a faster option than trying to actually visit and stroll around Positano, an option which brings its own challenges. There have been several recent posts about the logistics of an in-person visit and I suggest you read them. Use the SEARCH tool under your user name to find them and when searching, stay on the GENERAL Italy Ports forum, not an individual thread. This is one thread you may find interesting to read but there will be others: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2938398-positano-parking-fee/#comment-65396582

I had not noticed you were going from Malaga, a longer journey than from Motril. Should you cancel the shorex, you have the advantage of being in Malaga with many options for DIY sightseeing from Malaga, in addition to staying in Malaga itself. You could look at past threads about Malaga for ideas.Use the SEARCH tool under your user name and insert the word Malaga before hitting the little spy glass, but do that on the GENERAL Spain Ports forum, not an individual thread.

Have you searched past threads for ideas? if not, this one could be a good starting point (ignore the ref to driving as the thread is much more than the subject line suggests) https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2911139-la-spezia-anything-to-do-within-a-short-drive/#comment-64723978 Porto Venere could be an easy option and mentioned more than once on that thread.

😀

I too would be concerned about that as the Albaicin is the oldest quarter of Grenada, (the Moorish quarter) which we explored on foot on our land trip, and from there, there are indeed views across to the Alhambra Palace from some viewpoints from where some visitors gather to watch the sunset over the Alhambra. Unless the tour specifies that you will visit the Palace itself, you may not be going there. Is it one of these "take you to Grenada, free time to explore, return you to ship" tours? You would need to read the exact wording of the tour description very carefully, and if in doubt, contact the shorex dept to ask, and/or maybe even ask on the Celebrity Board if any others have done this tour.

We visited Marken and Volendam and had a not-quite-full-day out. We used public transport which wasn't difficult to use but there will also be tours. It was a very enjoyable day. Both are very touristy but you will be tourists will you not, as were we. Another time we stopped off for dinner and to explore Leiden on our way back to Amsterdam from Keukenhof Gardens. And one half day excursion for us was to Zaanse Schans, again touristy but interesting, and again by using public transport. You could begin your research by internet searching something like "side trips from Amsterdam" or similar, or research some of the suggestions already give on this thread to learn what you could see and do in each.And during the course of your research, do look at sites such as Tripadvisor for images and info to help you decide. Even simply googling the individual names will bring up much info for them all and probably images too.

Sorry, but we have not used the newer terminal building, but there are previous threads which mention it, and maybe googling might bring up some info too. Use the SEARCH facilty to find previous threads, but this recent one might help, especially if you read thhe first line of post #2 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2941460-istanbul-help-please/#comment-65905116

Visiting the official Alhambra Palace website will explain the different ways of visiting the site, so reading about these options will help you decide. We only visited twice, once on a shorex, once when on a land trip when we spent 3 days in Granada. On our shorex, which I think is typical but others will advise, is that, once the coaches arrive, pax are put into smaller groups for the guided visit. There is also usually a short amount of free time to explore the outside areas, gardens etc then back on the coaches for the return to ship. The fixed entry time on the tickets is strictly adhered to. Arrive late and you need to wait for the next timed entry and will only be admitted if there are spaces in that group.

We have twice taken taxis to central Athens and once used the metro from Piraeus after walking to it from the terminal., so there is also a metro option and I have read about an express bus which runs from near the terminals. but I know nothing about that. Unless it is essential to use a HOHO, you might want to look at other Piraeus to central Athens options as a potential Plan B should the HOHO not be a good option on the day. And do look at HOHO reviews as increasingly in more and more cities which have become "over touristed" there are complaints about not being able to get onto already full buses, long waits for others, traffic slowing down movement around the city, HOHOS not able to drive into increasingly enlarged pedestrianised areas etc etc. And once you have researched what you want to do in Athens, you may find that you have only short walking distances between your sights and would be quicker to walk, so would only need A to B transport anyway. As an example, from the Acropolis to Plaka is only a few minutes walk, probably much faster and easier than a HOhO would be. Google is your friend.

Have you tried Googling something along the likes of "Canjon del Maipo tours from Santiago" The reason for asking is that possibly not to many cruise pax spend time touring outside of Santiago, so googling tours would be an option should you get few replies here. I think most transfer to Valparaiso or a resort town like Vina del Mar where they have a few options for sightseeing including touring vineyards etc.