Ollie121

We're thinking of getting a DIY train to florence on our day excursion... Does anyone know whether or not the shuttle bus from the ship goes direct to the train station?

We cruised on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas last year and through the Cruise Critic Roll Call, found that there were lots of people asking about private excursions and one of them organised several excursions through reputable companies and other members signed up to join the tours. These were all smallish groups and tended to be the same people on each tour. I can thoroughly recommend using "Rome in Limo" as a tour company. They offer tours to suit all types of people and a wide range of itineraries. In fact, you can make your own itinerary to suit you and your group. We did 3 tours with them; Rome, Florence/Pisa and Amalfi Coast/Pompeii and they were great! A very professional company with comfortable, airconditioned Mercedes minivans (with WiFi) and private tour guides with local knowledge. We went to places in Florence that you would never have found on your own - and had lunch in a tiny restaurant that was filled with local workers (the food was a bit unusual but it was good and very inexpensive). This company does this daily for hundreds of cruise passengers and there are some very good reviews about them. We also booked Ephesus with a private company and that was good too. We saved a lot of money doing these private tours and felt that we had had a more personal experience then we would have, had we joined a large bus load of people from the ship. This year we cruised to the Baltics with P & O and one of the ladies from the Roll Call arranged a private tour for the 2 days in St. Petersburg. There were 11 of us and we had a great time at a much cheaper price than the ship's tour. In fact the only tour that we did with P & O was Bruges and it wasn't very well organised at all and cost a lot of money for what it was. I would thoroughly recommend getting together with others from the Roll Call and organising your own tours. If there is no Roll Call up for your cruise, then set it up. It's easy to do and other people might be waiting to join you.

Thank you LanzaLady Sounds good will investigate

LJd48

Thank you that's really helpful - especially on the packing, I always overpack and end up with a trunkful of superfluous stuff I never wear! ;) How much does the P & Oshore excursion cost, we are thinking of finding an online local share tour to. For Naples, we thought about getting a train to Sorrento and Dubrovnik will probably go DIY? Any advice gratefully received!

Ollie121 we are not exactly old timers, but having just come back from the same cruise, I feel that I can offer a bit of useful advice for you.

Florence on your own could be tricky and expensive but you do have a lot of time, as the ship doesn't sail until 11pm. I would pay for the Florence on Your own trip offered by the ship and decide what you want to do there and book things online in advance.

In Dubrovnik, you could easily do the walls on your own, taking the ship's shuttle. You just pay for the walls when you get there. There would probably also be time to do Cavtat or the cable car... Again you can book them when you arrive in Dubrovnik town centre.

Day to day, there are lots of different options and variety of things to do. Make sure you try them all at least once! Afternoon tea is good fun, as are the late night snacks... Not because you are hungry, but because you CAN!

A tip that I picked up from here was to take some magnets to put the daily newspaper on the wall and keep the dressing table area tidy. I also took clothes pegs to hang up our wet swimwear - another useful tip from here!

Just relax and enjoy it! We can't wait to book our next trip! ;)

Ollie121 we are not exactly old timers, but having just come back from the same cruise, I feel that I can offer a bit of useful advice for you.

Florence on your own could be tricky and expensive but you do have a lot of time, as the ship doesn't sail until 11pm. I would pay for the Florence on Your own trip offered by the ship and decide what you want to do there and book things online in advance.

In Dubrovnik, you could easily do the walls on your own, taking the ship's shuttle. You just pay for the walls when you get there. There would probably also be time to do Cavtat or the cable car... Again you can book them when you arrive in Dubrovnik town centre.

Day to day, there are lots of different options and variety of things to do. Make sure you try them all at least once! Afternoon tea is good fun, as are the late night snacks... Not because you are hungry, but because you CAN!

A tip that I picked up from here was to take some magnets to put the daily newspaper on the wall and keep the dressing table area tidy. I also took clothes pegs to hang up our wet swimwear - another useful tip from here!

Just relax and enjoy it! We can't wait to book our next trip! ;)

SmithieNix Thank you, that is really helpful. Will go and get some magnets now! Florence on Your own sounds like a good option, how much was it to book, and is it possible to bookj ahead of time on line? we were also looking to maybe share a tour pool and will keep our eye on the cruise sharetool here, as our week has not appeared yet...

We were on this cruise in May. We did the ship's "Florence on your Own" as we been on the Piza/Florence trip on a previous cruise and felt it was too rushed.

Dubrovnik is easy and in Naples we hired a private minibus (AldoLimos) with 2 other couples to Sorrento and the Amalfi coast.

We had breakfast in the Cafe Jardin most mornings and occasional lunches but much preferred the Horizon Grill in the evening. Went twice just for the fishcake starters!

SmithieNix Thank you, that is really helpful. Will go and get some magnets now! Florence on Your own sounds like a good option, how much was it to book, and is it possible to bookj ahead of time on line? we were also looking to maybe share a tour pool and will keep our eye on the cruise sharetool here, as our week has not appeared yet...:)

1st time cruisers. Researching poss. sharing DIY shore excursion in florence, is this feasible, so far our dates do not seem to be on roll call. Also any tips of wardrobe space and formal wear Weather may be variable so unsure on packing :confused: Grateful to hear from Experienced ociania-cruisers, recommendations on which restaurants and any other tips....:o

Hi We're 1st time cruisers too going genoa to venice 7 dasy. thinking of DIY florence shareing. plus any tips on day to day from 'old-timers? :confused:

P & O forum is at

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=38

 

If you have not cruised before I would look for a cabin on a lower deck & in the meddle of the ship just in case you may suffer with the motion of the ocean

Hi LHT28

UnfortunatelY I didn't go for the choice of coosing my cabin. We're on deck 8 aft, so that sounds a bit lower than middle.....

Are you sailing on Oceanea the ship owned by P&O or one of the ships in the Oceania fleet?

 

This makes a big difference

Hi helpthejuggler

It is with P & O hope that's the one you hoped it was!

We are 1st time cruisers. Looking for any tips especially on cabins locations, and shore trips

:confused: