Chocolate Teapot

I had a tour in Palermo, which covered Monreale, Cefalu, and ended with a short drive through Palermo before returning to the ship. It was an excellent, personalised tour and I thought I saw far more than on a ship's tour. Silvano, the driver was very good and ensured we (there were only 3 of us) returned to the ship on time. I would always use Italy Tours if they could offer a tour in a particular port.

I usually buy a fan, but then I normally cruise during the summer and it's necessary!

Leather goods (bags, shoes, wallets and purses)

If you are in Barcelona, there are a lot of Gaudi inspired souvenirs. Things like mugs or placemats with Sagrada Familia or the Parc Guell mosaic pattern on them. 

Not sure if this applies to all cruise lines, but on NCL Epic this year there were 2 shuttle buses. One went into the town centre, the other straight to the train station.

There was a fleet of black and yellow taxis straight outside the arrivals when I flew into Barcelona in July. You may need to wait if you need a larger people carrier vehicle. The prices are fixed and attached to a small poster on the window. 

Bruges is always worth a visit. Ghent is more of a working city, but has similar architecture, and Brussels has the lovely Grand Place. There are regular train services connecting the 3. 

As I have mentioned on here before, public transport in Paris is very extensive, and www.ratp.fr provides advice, maps and itineraries. From Charles de Gaulle, the RER line B goes direct to the Gare du Nord. This area is full of hotels, restaurants and underground and bus lines. 

This website (with which I have no affiliation) has a helpful section on hotels in Barcelona, although the whole site is worth reading, especially the section on safety.

https://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/

I was also on the Epic on 4th July, and would recommend if anyone is taking the EUR 5 shuttle bus just into town, make sure you have the correct money. It was chaotic as people tried to buy their tickets from the salespeople (who didn't have enough change).

Also I noticed that when the shuttle bus dropped us off, there were some people advertising tour buses to Pisa and Lucca. I don't know what these tours were like, but it seemed to be possible just to get on without booking. 

46 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Eze is nice to look at, but basically it's a bunch of shops.  So you go for a very long drive, which is mostly fairly scenic, get to Eze, and it's a tiny area with little other than some shops and a restaurant or two.

Not sure if it still stops there, but they also took us to a perfume factory that seemed more like a revenue opportunity than an interesting stop.  I thought it was a waste of time.

And Eze is horribly steep, which in hot weather is not fun. The perfume factory will be Fragonnard, who happen to make all the perfumes I wear, but unless they have some new products, you don't need more than 20 minutes there*. There are free public toilets there though!

*If you happen to be in Paris, the Fragonnard Museum by the Opera is much more interesting with a history of perfume and displays of unusual bottles. 

Not sure if this helps, but I did a similar excursion on NCL Epic and the itinerary was:

Tender boat from ship to quayside

Bus journey to Monaco (it is further than you might think)

Tour of the casino in Monte Carlo and free time to admire the row of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Aston Martins parked in front

Walk from casino, past tyre marks in the road from the Formula 1 race, to the Palace and Old Town area

Short walking tour of the Old Town, pointing out the landmarks

Some free time (I think it was about 1-2 hours) before returning to the bus

Bus back to Cannes and return tender boat to ship

I think the excursions team will organise 1 tour group on the same tender boat, so they can be "herded" from the ship straight to the bus on the quayside.

I used Italy Tours for a day trip from Naples to Pompeii, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. It was an excellent day, and Luca, the driver was terrific. We also had free time in Sorrento for lunch and stopped for photos (and fresh lemon slushies) overlooking Positano. I would certainly use them again.

I used Barcelona Day Tours for a half-day tour with transfer to my ship. As usual, it was an excellent tour, full of interesting information, and I am happy to recommend them.

Well, I spent my day in Leghorn and I had a very nice relaxing day. It was good to see an ordinary working town, as opposed to a tourist destination.

The covered market hall was amazing, and the shopping streets are all covered arcades, so you are protected from the sun. There is a nice church in the centre and some original arcades from the 19th Century, as well as plenty of places to eat and drink.

As the excursion I wanted to do from Livorno doesn't look like it will be going ahead, I have decided to spend the day in Leghorn, as British aristocrats during the Grand Tour used to call it. 

Has anyone else stayed in Livorno instead of going on excursions further afield? I know it doesn't have the sights of Florence, but there appear to be enough things to do for a relaxing day. 

This is quite an interesting article.

https://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/shopping/barcelona-clothes.html

I visited the casino as part of a ship's tour some years ago, but apparently it is open for visitors in the morning before the tables open. There were leaflets with information about each of the rooms and the artwork. 

I picked up this week's (French) Elle magazine and there is an exhibition at the Musee d'Orsay of Berthe Morisot, who was Impressionist artist, and married to Edouard Manet's younger brother Eugene. It is running from 18th June to 22nd September 2019.

On 5/18/2019 at 10:09 PM, Chocolate Teapot said:

For getting from the airport to my hotel, I have considered taking the airport train to the main station and then the underground, but apparently the airport train is supposed to be one of the worst places for pickpockets, so budgeting for a taxi is well worth it. The set-up at El Prat is very good and normally I have not had to wait. I normally pay cash, but I think some (if not all) taxis take cards. If so, there would be a sticker on the window next to the price list.  

This is an article from The Guardian, which mentions the pickpocketing issue. Not that I am trying to scare anybody, but it is worth reading.

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/jul/14/mugging-travel-holiday-barcelona

And this was the follow up article, with tips and advice, and the interesting fact that pickpockets are only charged a small fine and can go straight back out to continue pickpocketing. There are references to thefts on the airport train too. 

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jul/21/why-barcelona-is-a-street-hotspot-and-how-to-beat-the-thieves

EUR 20 was approximately what I paid from my (fairly central) hotel to the cruise port 2 years ago. 

For getting from the airport to my hotel, I have considered taking the airport train to the main station and then the underground, but apparently the airport train is supposed to be one of the worst places for pickpockets, so budgeting for a taxi is well worth it. The set-up at El Prat is very good and normally I have not had to wait. I normally pay cash, but I think some (if not all) taxis take cards. If so, there would be a sticker on the window next to the price list.  

I once took the National Express coach from Gatwick to Southampton and seem to recall there was the possibility to pay a small supplement on the ticket, which meant that if you missed your coach, you could take the next one. 

I remember Godiva used to offer extra packaging for posting, which I think was bubble wrap and a polystyrene outside box, but I don't know if they still do.

Ballotins, or standard Belgian chocolate boxes, are a specific oblong or slightly trapezoid shape, and tend not to have extra packaging inside. I find that if the layers are separated by card rather than paper, then that seems to help with transport. Alternatively, some chocolatiers offer limited editions in tins. Leonidas has Asterix and Neuhaus has Smurfs at the moment.

To confirm what George and Michelle have posted above, Barcelona Day Tours can propose a half-day tour of Barcelona, with collection from your hotel and drop-off at the cruise port, but I think they can propose other options if you ask. I like the half-day tour, as otherwise there can be a bit of hanging around on embarkation day, so you may as well make the best use of (limited) time.

Please note I am not affiliated with Barcelona Day Tours in any way, simply a happy previous customer!

I like the Musee de Cluny, which is where the set of Lady and the Unicorn tapestries are on display. However it is partly closed for renovation, so you pay a reduced entrance fee for fewer exhibits, which seems fair enough. 

The main Tourist Information Centre is in the Hotel de Ville, and I recommend paying a visit for a good supply of maps (particularly the RATP one showing bus and underground stops) and the City Guide booklet, which has a list of attractions, opening times and details for public transport. 

I had a tour with The Travelling Viking in Akureyri and was very happy with the service provided. We saw Godafoss, a turf roofed museum, the Christmas House and a very hi-tech dairy with computerised milking for the cows.

Peterhof is my favourite of the Russian palaces, but it is true that if you visit both it and the Catherine Palace in a day, then they will blur into one. (Basically, if it has an Amber Room, it isn't on the Gulf of Finland!)

I visited the Yusupov Palace the last time I was in St Petersburg. The Church on Spilled Blood was ok, but not worth more than a few minutes, and the Peter and Paul Fortress seems to take longer to get to than you will spend inside the church.

During my very first visit to St Petersburg I stayed in a hotel near the Alexander Nevsky monastery. The cemeteries (there is one on each side of the entrance road) are full of famous Russians, so it is like Highgate or Pere Lachaise, and the grave monuments are very grand.