Terpnut

21 hours ago, flyingron said:

Then you'd be better off on most ship's wifi plans and forgo cellular data.

 

Since I have free unlimited international mobile data with my current Google Fi mobile service, I was hoping to use my mobile service as much as possible on the cruise, and hence my original post!

10 hours ago, flyingron said:

Again, AT&T has a separate CRUISE plan from the INTERNATIONAL plan.   They have an arrangement with Cruise-At-Sea.

It looks like from the cellular-at-sea site that AT&T may be the only one offering this sort of deal.

Since mobile data makes the world go round, the AT&T cruise plan doesn't offer much utility. For $50, you get 50 minutes of talk and unlimited texting but no data. For $100, you get unlimited talk and text but just 200MB of data. And the data overage rate of $2/MB would result in a bill of THOUSANDS of dollars for a typical data user if they don't pay attention to their "normal" usage!

 

I guess I didn't emphasize that my needs are almost all mobile data. There is no utility in talk or text. These days, most iMessage and other messaging apps don't use SMS-based texting and require mobile data. 

21 hours ago, flyingron said:

There's no "portable" way to do this on iOS though some carriers support it in their custom stuff.   

 

One thing you can also do is contact your carrier.  AT&T for example has an unlimited talk and text plan for $100, or 50 minutes for $50.

I don't know if AT&T will allow you to backdate the plan like they do their international calling plan (you don't have to commit to it until after you make a few calls and then AT&T texts you and offers you the plan if and to put the previously made calls under it).

 

The last I checked, these US carriers' international calling plans do NOT include the cruise-ship based cellular services! 

27 minutes ago, Adventures ahead said:

Thanks for this info. How do you 2) exclude the ship's cellular? 

Not wanting to leave anything to chance, not sure where to find that in Settings/Cellular on iPhone 11.

With a foreign SIM card, what should the settings be when on the ship and when on land?

I'm an Android user so I can't help with iOS but you should be able to go to Settings, Cellular or something like that and disable the auto-selection and choose specific carriers or networks. That not being available, turn off international roaming when you see Cellular at Sea or similar. 

10 hours ago, Adventures ahead said:

We'll be cruising NZ and Australia in Jan/Feb on the Majestic and Golden Princess and have complimentary internet minutes. We plan to get an Australian SIM card because we'll also be staying on land.

 

Is there a concern that your cellular device may connect to the ship's internet instead, triggering a potentially large bill from your cellular provider? That's why we've been advised to be clear of the ship before turning airplane mode off and accessing cellular data. I must be missing something.

 

As per my earlier post, I use my mobile phone while onboard cruise ships all the time. The key to avoid the ship-based cellular service is to: 1) know the name of the service (I believe it was Cellular At Sea for Celebrity and it's probably the same service for Princess and others), and 2) either turn off roaming when you see it OR specifically exclude it from your mobile carrier options in your phone's settings. I do this regularly in the Mediterranean (i.e. port-intensive itineraries) as shore-side cellular-based mobile data (either via a local SIM, or even while roaming) is much cheaper and faster than ship-based satellite-based internet/wifi service.  

I started polling people on various roll calls but thought maybe I should start a new thread.

 

I'm interested in seeing how much mobile/cellular voice and data access I would have while at sea on New Zealand-intensive itineraries. To be clear, I'm not asking about ship-based cellular service or ship satellite-based wifi internet access. I'm specifically asking about voice and data access via shore-based cellular/mobile service while at sea. 

 

The reason for this post is that, if you have ever cruised the Mediterranean, you probably know that passengers can pick up shore-based mobile voice/data service pretty easily during a good portion of each sailing (and especially Western Med itineraries). From my experience, for example, when sailing from Barcelona to Nice/Monaco to Livorno to Civitavecchia to Naples to Messina, one can probably have shore-based voice or internet access over half the time! 

 

The preliminary feedback however (from the various roll calls) is that I can probably expect mobile service only during sail-in and sail-away from most ports but should not expect much, if any, service while at sea between port stops. 

I'll be back in Europe in May and can't wait to use Romeinlimo again! 😀

I have used Romeinlimo 5-6 times myself, but also do a lot of pre-trip research and do many self-guided tours independently -- so I think I have a unique perspective to see both sides of the issue. In fact, I may be one of the few people who has used Romeinlimo for multiple tours and transfers in Civitavecchia/Roma, Livorno/Firenze and Napoli/Salerno/Amalfi, AND has done these same ports totally-independently, i.e. train/walk/self-guided trips!

 

Romeinlimo provides a great service for the cost-is-not-a-priority customer who values their time over money. Their transfers are consistently on-time and reliable. Customer service has been consistently excellent. Their tours and guides from my experience have all been very good to excellent. I always use them when travelling with my elderly parents or with small children, when mobility or carrying things like strollers is an issue, and I appreciate the luxury and flexibility of having a private driver and vehicle. When travelling overseas, there is a certain peace of mind that comes from knowing that a driver or guide will be there when they are supposed to be there, and to do what you expect them to do!

 

With all that said, even though I can afford the tours, I am an independent, do-it-yourself traveller who prefers to save $$$ by taking trains, taxis, buses or walking to get around, and using mobile apps, guide books and internet-based information for my own self-guided tours. I tend to do this when I'm travelling alone or with my kids. The primary advantages to doing things independently are the freedom to do what I want, being more connected to the way locals move about and interact, and the cost savings.

 

In summary, using Romeinlimo or similar service allows a visitor to do far less advance preparation and planning, is probably less stressful or work for the newbie traveller (or perhaps someone with any worries about visiting to a new country or area), or if a group has one or more persons with mobility issues, but it does all come at a not-insignificant cost! :)

Our most recent sailing nearly missed Punta Arenas but the weather forecast was apparently overly pessimistic! I did see a few people disembarking so I assume many people do the redirect to Antarctica!

 

I wonder if the cruise line, in the event she cannot anchor near Punta Arenas and must cancel the port stop, has an alternate, less windy location in the Beagle Channel just to disembark certain passengers? This would allow the captain to safely skip the port stop and disembark the handful of passengers. I think it's one thing to commit to safe, full-day tendering services for 4,000+ passengers and crew, and a whole other thing to disembark just 6 people. Of course, only the cruise line would be able to confirm this.

These cities, including Rio, are all similar:

 

1. Taxis mostly take local currency but you can pay via credit card by pre-booking at airport or hotel.

2. Many local restaurants and vendors take credit cards and those that don't often take hard currencies such as the US dollar. Credit card acceptance varies by city and country of course but it was widely accepted all over South America. As for paying using US dollars, just make sure your math skills are good as you will need to convert using the exchange rate while negotiating or paying!

3. Local markets, street stands, more obscure off-the-beaten-path places are more likely to accept only local currency.

 

So the key for any day is:

 

1. Anticipate your local currency cash needs in advance. For example, if arriving by airplane, decide in advance how you want to pay (i.e. cash or credit card)

2. Use ATMs to withdraw local currency as needed.

3. Avoid buying foreign currency at home or using currency exchange services due to their poor exchange rates and high fees.

 

Hope this helps.

Hi

 

We are a family of 5 arriving Sunday 14th August, having read many posts on this thread i understand there will be plenty of taxi's available at the harbour to take us into the city rather than paying for ship transfers.

 

However how abundant are the larger family sized cars (6/7 seater) or would be more likely to have to get 2 separate ones, if this is the case the ship transfer may be a better option for us.

 

Thanks :)

What we did in your situation is just grab 2-3 others from your ship and split two taxis. Unless you are off the ship at a most unusual hour, there will almost always be another couple willing to share a taxi! Either find someone from your roll call or do it spontaneously in the gangway or even outside! Much faster and cheaper! :)

There are TWO free port shuttles - the red route services Dock 25, and the green route services the other piers. I'm aware that the RED free port shuttle will not stop between Dock 25 and Largo della Pace. I am talking about taking the RED shuttle to Largo della Pace, and then hopping on the GREEN free port shuttle to get closer to the port exit by Fort Michelangelo.

According to what what it says here:

 

there is supposed to be a FREE shuttle between Largo della Pace and the other cruise docks (10-13) with an intermediate stop either at Molo del Bicchiere or Bramante. From either of those locations it would be about a 12 minute walk out of the port to the train station.

What I am try to say is that, having docked both at 12 and 25 in the past 13 months, neither shuttle route will stop at or near Forte Michelangelo. So I was answering based on my experience on both the red and green routes--everything went to Largo della Pace. But my experience was sole from cruise terminal toward Largo della Pace so I cannot answer whether transferring to the green route from Largo della Pace toward 12/13 will have that intermediate stop. I will add that, the routes you are talking about will only run if there is a ship along that route so even if there is an intermediate green stop near the fort, make sure there are ships in port at 12/13 or that shuttle won't even be running! This happened when we were in Civitavecchia in July--Brilliance OTS docked at 25 and there was no green route service since nobody was out there!

Is it possible on disembarkation day to take a FREE shuttle from Via Turco (Largo della Pace) to the area between Fort Michelangelo and the Bramante parking lot, and then walk to the train station? It's the route marked in green on the port map:

No, the free port shuttle will not stop anywhere before Largo della Pace. So if getting to the train station is your goal, then you must either (1) walk the entire way from whereever your ship docks, or (2) take the free port shuttle to Largo della Pace and then the €2 shuttle to the train station. Either for safety or profit reasons, the port authority will not drop passengers at or near Forte Michelangelo.

Yes, that would work but there's an additional tradeoff, which is time. The first Frecce of the day departs Civitavecchia at 11:18 AM, a couple of hours after most lines shove everyone off the ship, so they'd have to kill an hour or two in Civitavecchia and accept arriving at their destination a couple of hours later.

 

As with everything else in life, it comes down to your priorities. If time or ease/convenience is a priority, the car service is the best solution. If economy is more important, the train is the way to go.

We have been able to stay aboard most cruise ships until 10 am or even as late as 10:30 am. And if you coordinate with your stateroom attendant (hint: extra tip!), you can even arrange to "sleep in" and stay in your room until 8 pm or later! And some lines now even offer a paid option to stay aboard until mid afternoon e.g. 3 pm (useful if you should you want to take a mid or late afternoon train). So don't let the published debarkation schedule that shows the "last people off the ship" at 8:30 am fool you! Most lines are focused on getting the majority of the people off as quickly as possible--primarily to allow stateroom attendants sufficient time to turn around the cabins. Their goal is to board the next sailing around 11 am at the earliest. Otherwise, as long as you have a place to hang out with your luggage and aren't causing the crew any trouble, you can generally hang around onboard longer than you think.

 

So there's no need to kill alot of time in Civitavecchia--just stay onboard until you are kicked off. Worst case you are forced off at 9:30 am to 10 am (although it's generally later in my experience) and you get to the train station an hour early. Again, that is the worst case.

 

The main drawback to my suggestion is killing time--not in Civitavecchia but onboard. As most things on the ship will be closed on turnaround day, you won't have alot of things to do beyond enjoying your coffee, reading and hanging out in a lounge that morning. But it's more relaxing to do this onboard than at the train station! :)

Funny, I'm the nearly-compulsive-about-it public transit fan, but I agree with the OP that if you can afford it, a car service would be much more comfortable in this situation. Thousands of cruisers, plus luggage, all disembarking at the same time plus a few thousand others getting off other ships for a port day will stress the shuttle system. That, plus getting on an already packed commuter train with luggage and standing for an hour or more just does not sound acceptable to me if there's an alternative.

With all that considered, this is why I suggested the late debarkation and the all-Freccia solution. Much cheaper, faster debarkation, less crowded at station, and reserved seating on trains. Only drawbacks are that the OP would still have to schlep luggage from port shuttle-shuttle-train station, and the later arrival into Venezia, but possibly worth it to save €85+?

I too was wondering why you would book an expensive car-based transfer from Civi to Roma Termini, when the train would give you more options, save money and probably get you there nearly as fast. And there appear to be multiple options from Civi that would get you Roma Termini in time. I'm confused: why spend a king's ransom on a private car transfer from Civi to Termini, and go cheap on super economy on the Termini-Venezia train? Do you have to be in Venezia at a certain time? If not, you can do Freccia (so guaranteed, reserved seats and faster train) both legs, departing Civitavecchia at 11:24 am, leave Roma Termini at 12:50pm and arrive Venezia SL at 4:35 pm for just €46/person. All that this requires is that you be willing to debark the ship last (I love to do this!). Alternatively, if you are either not willing to debark late, or must get to Venezia earlier, you can take any of the three Regionales that depart Civi earlier (as per the original posts in this thread).

I'm a little late to this conversation but as someone who was married in Rome, has been there numerous times, and am a father of two kids who tire easily of my love for churches, museums and ruins, here are a few suggestions that worked for us over the years:

 

1. Run, walk or bike riding in Villa Borghese. Maybe sneak into Gallerie Borghese before or after for your one dose of culture? :-)

 

2. Cappucin Crypts (on Via Veneto near Piazza Barberini) - very macabre and super cool! Sadly they are charging €8 for admission now due to the new museum but still worth it!

 

3. The Time Elevator Rome Experience - short but fun. And get out of the heat with a nice air-conditioned visit on a super hot day!

 

4. Near Piazza della Rotonda, visit Chiesa di Sant'Ignaazio di Loyola. While sneaking in the obligatory church visit, check out the painted ceiling that is an 3-d optical illusion!

 

5. If you all are active types, climb the cupola of Basilica di San Pietro!

 

6. Check out the market at Campo dei Fiore (morning or early afternoon).

 

7. Food and wine tour- Trastavere?

Thank you for your reply! I love to walk, but we do want to see 2 of the islands and I'd also like to take pictures of the buildings from the canal. That's the only reason we would do the boats. And my thought with the 24 hour ticket is - if we add individual tickets for three things it's probably cheaper to go ahead and buy the pass. Then I thought if we got a one way bus ticket thrown in - how great is that? :)

When are you travelling to Venice? If peak summer time, then one more word of caution regarding the Vaporettos: Having been there six times now, including July of both this year and last, many Vaporettos are so jam packed, you are not guaranteed a seat or even a view. The views and pics are probably just as good or better walking along the waterfronts and canals than from the Vaporetto!

Yes, the answer to your question depends 100% on where you are coming from and WHERE in Roma you will be going to or the hotel where you will be staying.

I agree with Hank that it is overpriced but you have to do it at least once. :-) And as others have said, don't prebook--when you are ready, just find a station and gondolier that suits you and go!

 

I also agree that the best time is early evening--preferably just before sunset. Do not go around noon or early afternoon on a hot day or you will roast! If you go later, the worst of the afternoon heat is gone and the crowds are much less. The usual cost is €80 but it goes up to €100 I think after 8 pm. For summer time, the best time will be after 8 pm so I think it's worth the extra €20 for the early evening trip.

 

As for the ride and location, the gondoliers are stationed all along the Grand Canal and other locations, but I recommend avoiding either Piazzale Roma or near San Marco, and trying one of the stations nearer Ponte Rialto.

I've been reading and reading and planning and planning - and am now thinking about starting my plans over (!)

 

I had planned on taking the ATVO bus from the airport to PR where our hotel is, walking and exploring that whole day, and getting a 24 hour Vaparetto bus the next day, riding down the No. 1 to take pictures, then going to 2 islands and after dinner later, riding the No. 1 back to PR for night views.

 

Now we might do a walking tour the second morning - so I'm wondering (and hope someone can tell me if this is right/and will work) -

 

Can we buy the 24 hour Vaparetto pass at the airport when we land - and take THAT bus to PR (we will each only have a med. size rolling suitcase) - drop the suitcase at the hotel and then using that same pass take the No. 1 to take pictures, then going to 2 islands and after dinner later, riding the No. 1 back to PR for night views. AND if that IS possible - do we validate the ticket every time we get on a different boat? Or just as we are starting out?

 

Then we would do all our walking/exploring on the second day.

 

Thanks for any help!!

I don't think the 24 hour pass/Travel Card is valid for any transport (bus or Alilaguna) to/from the airport. So you'll need to take the ATVO bus to PR and hotel, and then later buy your Vaporetto tickets once you're in the city. As for validation, I think you will only validate the Travel Card prior to your first embarkation and then you're done.

 

Please keep in mind that Venice is very compact and walkable. It's about the size of my neighborhood subdivision and I don't need public transportation to get around here. I have been to Venice a half a dozen times and I've used the Vaporetto once (and that was during our first visit and with a tour). If one wants to visit to an outlying island, use the Alilaguna (but that is also not included with the 24 hour Travel Card/Vap pass), so I personally don't see alot of value in the 24 hour ACTV Travel Card. Everything depends on one's ability to walk but for me, the cost of the Travel Card is just not worth €20 just to spare me 1 or 2 km of walking in a day. And this does not factor in the lost time--waiting for, boarding and riding the slow Vaporettos rarely beats walking!

We had two more great experiences with Romeinlimo--one in Livorno with Simona, and one in Salerno with Diego. And having been to Italy 6 other times, we not inexperienced with all of the ports and sites.

 

When alone or just with my immediate family, I tend to like to do most ports independently (i.e. train, taxi, walk with tour book). However we use driver/tours when we touring with my parents since my dad cannot walk much, and having a driver and van give us the flexibility to visit many attractions while the driver can take my dad to a cafe to rest, for example.

 

I won't go into all the details of our itineraries since we tend to do things a bit different than most first or second-timers, but as just a few examples, in Firenze, we enjoyed visiting Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte instead of Piazzale Michelangelo, and visiting the Galileo instead of the Uffizi or Accademia museums.

 

In Salerno, Diego was wonderful and flexible with our dynamically changing whims. After visiting Villa Rufulo again in Ravello, and strolling and lunch in Amalfi, we decided against taking the longer drive to Positano, and opted to spend a couple hours in Minori. While enjoying desserts at Sal del Riso and checking out some local Roman ruins, there were never more than 5-15 people within our sight-lines in Minori. Contrast this with the summer crush of many thousands of tourists in Positano! While certainly not as scenic as Positano, we enjoyed a more relaxing Amalfi experience! Also, with Diego, I learned the use of the Italian word, Allora -- it's kind of like our "Well! ..."! Funny!

 

Anyhow, another year in Italy, another couple of great tours with Romeinlimo! Grazie Jany! :)

We have cruised annually with no kids, then with our kids as infants, then as toddlers, then as small children, bigger kids and now, they are teens! As someone else mentioned, you know your child the best and how well they will travel and behave around others. In general, you will enjoy your cruise more as your kids get older and become "lower maintenance". We definitely enjoyed the cruise less when the kids were infants because of their limitations with sleep, eating and going on excursions, however that's not to say you won't or can't have fun--but just like things at home now, things are just so much harder with a baby! Good luck! :)

I know this thread is about getting TO St Mark's Square, but I’d like to throw in my 2 cents that (unless you are meeting a tour there) maybe that is NOT where you want to go when you first arrive in Venice.

 

We returned 2 weeks ago from a cruise that included an overnight in Venice. When we sailed through the Lagoon into Venice and saw the MOB of people at St Mark's Square, we immediately changed our plan for the day. We originally planned to take the People Mover to Piazza Roma, buy the 24 hr ACTV pass for 20 Euros, and take the #1 Vaporetto, using it as a 'tour bus' to view all of the Grand Canal from the water, then disembarking at one of the San Marco stops.

 

Once we saw the mob, we decided to get off at the Rialto Bridge, tour around there a bit, get some pizza that I was craving, take our Gondola ride, and then head to San Marco as the sun went down and the tour buses had left with much of the throng. We also returned early the next morning to take the elevator up to the top of the Campanile for pictures.

 

In hindsight, if I could do it over again as my first trip, I’d still continue on all the way to San Marco on the Vaporetto for that first full effect of sailing the length of the canal, and THEN backtrack away from the Square until the crowds thinned out.

 

We were never planning on getting the Ship's Shuttle from the Pier to San Marco for $25. The ship's excursion desk will have you thinking this is the ONLY way to get there. First of all, even taking into account the additional cost of the People Mover, doing it ourselves was more cost effective. Second, as said, you have so much more versatility built into using the ACTV with all the different routes. And third, isn’t part of touring to have the experience of local life?

 

That said, for those with mobility issues or just not comfortable with DIY, the shuttle is certainly easiest.

 

We were going to get the 2-day ACTV pass (30 Euros), but figured out by the time we first activated the 24 hour pass (we docked at 3pm, boarded our first Vaporetto at 4pm on day one), since we were departing at 6:30 the next day, even if we used the Vaporetto past the 24 hr mark, we’d only be using it to return to the ship and that would be 7.5 Euros, so we'd only be 27.50 Euro into Vaporetto costs rather than 30. We ended up wandering and walked back to P. Roma on our last afternoon, so we were perfectly fine with the single day pass. Of course, you need to take into account what hours you’ll be docked to make your decision.

 

I don't even think there was any one thing or place in Venice that stands out to me, it's the overall experience. Being somewhat OCD, it was hard for me to 'let go' and wander, but on our last afternoon we put the GPS and maps away, walked away from the crowds, and that was our best time!

While I whole-heartedly agree that avoiding San Marco during the afternoon peak hours is best if you want to avoid crowding, and the evening hours can be gloriously serene by comparison, first-timers don't have too many options if they want to visit the Basilica, Campanile or Doge's Palace. If you must hit the major tourist spots at San Marco, definitely do the early timed entries and try to get it done in the mornings. Then, if you just want to stroll the piazza or enjoy a drink or some food, come back in the evening once all the day tour visitors have gone! :)

...

If you buy in advance on the Frecce, do you need to exchange vouchers for real tickets at the station?

No, you can board directly with the tickets you printed at home or even go paper-less. And unlike the locals and regionals, you don't need to validate your tickets at the station prior to boarding because the inter-city (the Frecce express trains) assigns you a car and seats. To go all electronic/ticket-less, Trenitalia just needs your PNR (a six-digit alpha/numeric ticket number), so the most important thing is to know/have your PNR number and then you won't even need any paper! Or print and bring your paper ticket, and in the worst case if you lose it, have the PNR in your email or somewhere on your phone as a backup! p:)