cruisemom42

My two cents: Ideally, for an island nation like Great Britain, it would be best to see it by land AND by sea. Why? Because neither one alone will give you as clear a picture as doing both. I fully agree that a land tour really is necessary to see so many places that cruise passengers cannot get to on a daytrip. You need to spend a few days each in London, Edinburgh, Dublin. And also a few days in areas like the Cotswalds, the Yorkshire Dales, the Scottish Highlands, Lake District, etc. See at least one venerable university (I recommend Oxford). Visit Stonehenge, Hadrian's Wall, Loch Lomond. Spend a day each in York and Bath. Don't skip Cornwall and Wales. But then a cruise gives you a better sense of the "seafaring nation" that is also Great Britain. From storied ports of the past (Belfast, Cobh) to unique islands with their own character and heritage, like Guernsey or the Hebrides. Kirkwall gives you the chance to visit the outstanding site at Skara Brae, the best-preserved Neolithic settlement in all of Western Europe. I could go on and on. Like Japan, GB is an island nation that very much punches above its class in terms of things worth seeing. I've probably spent about 2 1/2 months exploring it in the past, on several different trips, and this June, for the first time, I am taking a cruise around the northern portion (mainly Scotland) where I'll visit some of the same ports you mention. I'm really looking forward to it.

Yep, but a refund of their deposit wouldn't have happened, which is what you mentioned.

This site is one of the best sites for train info around the world, I agree. But still would recommend buying directly from the individual vendors "in country".

Sounds like a great tour.

The OP has said twice that they asked the TA to cancel the cruise and to use the deposit as a partial payment on the remaining cruise. I have done this in the past at least several times and never had a problem with it. But there would have been no refund to look for.

I usually don't recommend staying near Termini (nothing unsafe, it's just not the most scenic area). But in your case I think it makes sense. I assume you plan to see something of Rome in the partial day you have, so I'd advise this rather than staying at the airport. UNAhotels is, I think, an Italian chain of hotels. They have a good property just steps from the train station that is very convenient and a good value for the area when you want a hotel, as you said, rather than a B&B or inn. Their rooms are large and modern. Also they have a great American-style breakfast buffet, which is unusual for Rome (some rates include it, with other rates it may cost extra). https://www.gruppouna.it/en/unahotels/unahotels-deco-roma

Someone above mentioned Celebrity Millennium as another option. We sailed on this ship, which compares very closely with Neiuw Amsterdam in terms of passenger numbers, to Alaska. The food was outstanding (better than HAL or Princess IMHO). However -- and there is always a however -- the itinerary did not include Glacier Bay. This was not a major deal for DS and I as we'd done Glacier Bay previously. However, it was striking to us both how much "more" GB offers than the area where we did our scenic cruising. I will also say (having done Alaska on Princess) that Princess's naturalist was hands-down one of the best I've encountered. They do a really good job of this on Alaska cruises. Sapphire Princess should be a fine ship for AK, I am not a big fan of their newer classes though.

Oh my -- were we on the same cruise?? LOL. We were on a Princess cruise out of NY to Caribbean sometime around 2005 or 06. There was a very popular comedian, "Sarge", performing onboard. He did 3 shows and each was progressively more packed. By the third show people were saving large swaths of seats. In the row right in front of us two men started brawling -- one was saving seats that the other wanted. I would say it was funny but it scared my then 13 y.o. son.

I anwered this on your other post asking the same questions:

Look at their ratings. They only gave 2 stars for Entertainment, Value for Money, Fitness & Recreation. And 1 star for Family (which I think most O cruisers would agree with). For many people, "Value for Money" is probably one of the most overriding factors. Thy didn't see it. So...back to Celebrity they go. Not everyone is O's target audience.

Why not, if it was not what the passenger expected?? People board cruises sometimes with very little knowledge or prior research. Take it as one person's opinion. Given the individual component ratings they gave, one star does seem a little low, but if that was their "overall" takeaway opinion, so be it. And as answer to @Vallesan's question about age: the person you quoted didn't say older passengers should stop cruising. Just that this tends to be O's core group of cruisers.

I think most of the options have already been mentioned. I have a simple question: what day of the week will you be in Civitavecchia. Because, unfortunately the Ostia Antica site, as well as the Etruscan Museum and Tombs in Tarquinia are all closed on Mondays (as are many other museums and some historic sites in Italy). If it's not Monday, then the above-mentioned two would be my first choice suggestions. You can get to Ostia using the train system (have to backtrack slightly to Rome, but it's not difficult). There is a bus from Civitavecchia to Tarquinia. I haven't done it in quite a while, but I believe it doesn't run on Sundays, could be that it doesn't run on Saturdays or Sundays.... So as you can see, knowing the day is very helpful! Tivoli is a delightful place, but as Hank says, it is on the far side of Rome and I'm not sure I'd attempt it on a port day from Civi unless it is a very long day.... You'd spend an awful lot of time just getting there and back. It's better done from Rome (if you have any slots in your 5-day visit.) Hadrian's villa, located in Tivoli, IS open every day.

That's true -- but it would be the same with any private tour. The system for getting tickets for the Colosseum is a mess right now. I have heard that they are trying to come up with a better one, but not sure what the timetable for that might be. So, having said that, I don't think any private tour would be a lower "risk" than any other. Getting individual tickets is also difficult. My only thought would be that if you book the tour early, the agency knows they have to get the tickets and they have a longer timeframe to maneuvre in, in order to be successful.

Also a little word about English... In the larger cities, you will usually find some English signage. Not necessarily everywhere, but enough to figure things out. The subway system in Tokyo, which is enormous and includes many lines, can be daunting, BUT there are English signs and once you figure out it, it is actually surprisingly easy to get around by subway. I spent two weeks with DS in 2012 doing the "main" sites on our own in and around Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima. These included many daytrips to surrounding sites, shrines, and castles. We used the subway extensively in Tokyo, used trains (including the shinkansen or "bullet train"), subway and buses in Kyoto, even a ferry to Miyajima Island (off Hiroshima, a must do). In 14 days, we only took, I think, two "tours" -- the rest we did on our own. In all of those two weeks, I think there was only one time when we were at a loss as to how to figure out where we were vs. where we needed to go. And that one time, we easily found someone to help us. And this was in the days before Google translate, which worked quite well on my 2023 trip!

This is a very typical move that corporations make. They find ways to disincentivize consumers from using a good or service, then they can "point" to the fact that the good or service is not being utilized and should be eliminated. It doesn't impact me personally. I prefer to eat lunch ashore and board afterwards. But if I did eat onboard, I'd prefer the MDR to the Lido, no question.

I've been to Kourion (Curium) but not to Paphos. It's on my list. 😉

It sounds like a very comprehensive tour and LivTours has a good reputation. Why are you worried about it being canceled?

We will never come to a consensus on these issues because the actual $$ are only a part of the equation. Personal preference does play a huge role in the choices we make and what seems "comparable" to us as highly individual consumers. For example, all the comparisons people make about luxury lines being comparable to O in cost often include the comment "as long as you're booking a suite on O" or something like that. So...for those NOT booking suites, it's not exactly comparable. Or this: I really have zero interest in "all inclusive" resorts as I understand them, which is that you are on a property and you rarely leave the property to do anything else. That is not why I travel, either by land or by sea. I want to see places of interest to me, not vegetate on a ship or ashore. (I will confess that maybe 1 cruise in 20 is undertaken just for relaxation though.) On the other hand, I would consider Cyprus a very interesting destination and one I wouldn't mind spending time at, so long as I wasn't "only" staying at an AI -- in which case I think the AI would probably be wasted on me. Not interested in beaches, pools, fancy drinks, etc. I would be spending all my time doing things like visiting the Greek and Roman ruins on the island, the little villages, the two different sides, etc. So...how does that square? It doesn't. Every vacation is evaluated on slightly different criteria and we all have different criteria. IMO, it's really silly to waste time arguing that one thing is more expensive than another. As long as I can "afford" it, the expense doesn't really matter, and a $3,000 vacation in an average hotel outside Naples (near Pompeii) may hold a greater attraction for me than a $13,000 cruise on Oceania.

I'm not sure I can fully answer your question. My cruise stopped at Kochi twice. First time it was pouring rain all day so I stayed on board knowing I'd be back. Second day was better. I paid $25 for Holland America's port shuttle (they give you a wrist band, you can ride as much as you like). The shuttle drops off in town. From there you can either take a a local tram or walk to the castle. I just opted to walk, as I knew that climbing around the castle was probably going to be more than my knee was up to (it is a steep climb up a hill with lots of steps even once you're up there). I got some information from HAL's port talk on what else to see and visited a picturesque arched red bridge in town, then went to a local market. If you have a Suica card, I seem to remember you could use it on the tram -- that's originally what I was planning to do before I heard from others (on the first visit) how difficult it was to get to the castle. If you're planning to DIY, getting the Welcome Suica card at the airport is really the way to go as surprisingly Japan is not great about using a credit card for things like bus/tram fares.

I've been distracted with other projects this week, so I'm just learning of Les's surgery now -- so sorry! Glad to hear all went well but just one more thing to deal with. {{{{{hugs}}}}}

I just did 28-days in Japan last April that basically circumnavigated the main islands. Just a word of advice: when we were there last year, Japan had more or less just reopened to tourists. I like to book private tours but the choices were few for both private guides and for ship tours. One major reason for this is that Japan in general does not have as many English-speaking guides as a lot of other countries. During the long Covid shut-down (for Japan), many of these guides found other employment, and it didn't seem like they were rushing back to the tourism sector. I know people who booked private guides/tours in advance and who had their booked tours canceled because the company could not find an English-speaking guide for them. I also heard that this was the reason that the ship offered fewer tours than I've been on other cruises. Of course, it's a year later now, so maybe the situation is improved, but I would certainly NOT count on finding guides outside of the port terminals offering tours. Japan is also different in that in a lot of these ports, people who were able to make arrangements with a private guide found that the guides planned to use public transportation to get around (e.g., guide + passengers would use the metro system and buses to get around for the day). If you wanted a private vehicle, it becomes MUCH more expensive. On the flip side, the excellent and safe public transportation in Japan does make it easy to do your own thing if you do the research. For example, it's easy to get to Kyoto from Osaka (and get around Kyoto) using public transport. A lot of smaller ports have great bus systems.

I agree with JB above. Don't try to do the Colosseum and the Vatican on the same day. There are several good reasons: -- Both take a fair amount of time to do if you want inside visits -- They are not in close proximity to each other (although not THAT far apart) -- The Vatican has several components (St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museums, Sistine chapel, Dome visit) which could take most of a day and there are other things nearby if you need more to do (Castel Sant' Angelo for example). -- The Colosseum also has several other associated sites that are worth visiting: the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and also other nearby ancient sites: Baths of Caracalla, Trajan's Column and Market, Capitoline Museum, etc. Really best to do each one of these on one day. On your arrival day, depending on where your BnB is located, I'd recommend a self-guided walk that takes you by Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon (go inside) and Piazza Navona at a minimum.

If your arrival time is 7:00 am and you want to maximize the amount of time you have in Rome, your best option is to be ready and waiting at 7:00 am to get off the ship. When it is just a regular port stop, most ships begin letting passengers off just a few minutes after the scheduled arrival. And as Rome isn't tendered, IF you are ready and waiting you can usually get off very quickly. Many people will be doing tours and will not be getting off with you but rather waiting in some central place. However, if you wait TOO long, you'll get stuck in larger crowds... Once you disembark, you'll have to get to the train station. I highly suggest that you familiarize yourself with the shuttle and bus options (see the Port of Civitavecchia's very good website here) so you know what your options are. Keep in mind that you may have to wait for a particular bus and/or you may have to wait for a shuttle to fill. I usually allow 45 minutes to get from the ship to the train station, although sometimes it may only be 30 minutes... Again, if you are first off the ship and can get to the station expeditiously, I don't think you will have a problem getting a BIRG pass. But as a savvy traveler it's always good to be flexible and weigh decisions based on the actual situation. I wouldn't miss the next train due to a long line if I could possibly avoid it. You could possibly make the 7:58 am train to Rome. That would be ideal as the next one isn't until 8:42 am. However, I don't think you can count on it reliably. I wouldn't make a reservation for the Colosseum until perhaps 11:00 am. How are you planning to get to the Colosseum? If you ride the train to Termini then take the metro to the Colosseum, it will take longer than if you exit the train at Ostiense and then take the adjacent metro (Pyramide station) to Colosseum. However, it will only save you about 10-15 minutes.

Yes (with the caveats listed) the tour SHOULD take you to both the Colosseum and St. Peter's Basilica for inside visits. Do note that shorts and sleeveless tops are not allowed in the Basilica and dress accordingly. Also one other note -- tourists often don't realize that entrance to the Basilica will not allow you to visit the Sistine chapel. The only way to visit that is by going through the Vatican museums.

I haven't done this for Genoa, but when I am trying to put together a self-guided tour, I usually just Google "(City) self-guided tour and see if anything pops up that could work. Maybe something like this would be helpful? https://www.nomads-travel-guide.com/walking-tour-of-genoa/