decafnights

4 minutes ago, Skmar said:

Great ! Interested inn Taormina and Athens and Capri - we are already sorted for Isreal - do u have my email from the roll call list ?

Great! On my way out the door. Will check this afternoon.

I am planning an independent tour of Taormina (Messina).  If you are interested, please contact Michela directly, and I would appreciate your letting me know too. Thanks. Here are the details:

Today you are greeted at Messina port and driven to Taormina, where you will have time at leisure to enjoy the town. The Driver will drop off you right outside the pedestrian center of Taormina. You will have around 4 to 5 hours to walk around and visit the main highlights: the pedestrian Corso Umberto, Corvaja palace, the Dome and the the famed Greek-Roman Theatre (Admission Fee: not included). Taormina is a charming village ideal for strolling and window-shopping and with a huge range of bars, cafes and restaurants where you can while away pleasant hours while admiring the views. At the end of your independent tour, meet again your Driver at the agreed location and get back to Messina port.

1-2 people euro 85 each

3-4 people euro 75 each

5-8 people euro 50 each

-  collective round trip transfer from/to Taormina will be provided:

– only transfers at pre-fixed times with air conditioned vehicle & Italian speaking Driver;

– the Driver will not be at your disposal during your visit to Taormina;

– guaranteed with minimum 2 People on the tour.

Michela Nucera, 

ITALY: Chat and Tour S.r.l. | Tour Operator - Palermo - Via Stefano Turr, 38

USA:  Discovery Italy LLC - New York (NY) - 137W 25th Street  @Voyager HQ

Ph.: (+39) 091 6269 685 (Italy – Head Office) 

Ph.: (+1) 718-473-0803 (calling from USA & CANADA)

Ph.: (+44) 02081336934 (calling from UK)

Ph.: (+61) 0280113849 (calling from AUSTRALIA)

www.tourofsicily.com | E-mail: info@tourofsicily.com

On 1/25/2019 at 9:59 PM, decafnights said:

Hi Gail and Alan - we are also board for Dubai to Rome - we have some tours already done but  wld love to hear what else u are looking at and maybe join in

Hi Kaye and Shane,

I am going to separately post about an independent tour of Taormina (Messina) as we have been before and a Jewish tour of northern Israel.  I'm still working on options for Athens and Capri.

8 minutes ago, Go-Bucks! said:

World cruises, on the other hand, embark new passengers at the beginning of each segment.  The world cruise roll call fulfilled the purpose for pre-cruise conversation, but can also continue to be available for those who have yet to embark (setting up tours, etc).  The "Live From" was started for passengers to report on what they're experiencing during the cruise...also for those not on the cruise to share their thoughts and feelings with passengers.  Both threads serve a current purpose although I would imagine that the roll call will eventually get less activity as the cruise continues.

  

Feel free to post to whichever suits you.  😉

Thanks so much. This makes perfect sense. I'll continue to follow both thread. I'm really enjoying following the trip.

11 minutes ago, Skmar said:

Hi Gail and Alan - we are also board for Dubai to Rome - we have some tours already done but  wld love to hear what else u are looking at and maybe join in

Hi,

Great! I will try to post tomorrow.

What's your name?

Gail

Thanks for all the great pictures. 

If the roll call is still being updated, please add Gail and Alan Horlick from Atlanta, Georgia. We are on the Dubai to Rome leg.

I am planning a few tours and would like to reach anyone who is interest, but especially the people who may not have made all their plans yet. There appear to be two threads for this cruise- the original one with 68 pages and the "Live from" thread with 18 pages. I see people posting within the last few hours on both threads. Which thread should I post on?

Thanks,

Gail

Bob and Ilsun, thank you so much for all the great pictures and information.  Ilsun, we were on Insignia in Cuba and they brought back great memories. Bob, we have something in common. I lived in Flushing many years ago. I feel like I am getting to know some of you way before we get on in Dubai.

Since those of you who are already sailing have probably made most or all of your excursion plans, I would like to plan some small group tours. Would it be better to post about them here or on the original thread? If I checked for the first time, I'm not sure I would know to look for this thread.  I want to reach the people who haven't made plans yet. Thanks for any advice you can provide.

I am really enjoying following your journey and I wish you all bon voyage.

Gail

Who did you use for the Jewish tour tour in Havana ?

We used turismojudaico.com. I think it is the same as traveljewish.com but I am not sure. Our guide, Patricia, was excellent.

I was on the Insignia that sailed on November 14 and posted earlier about our embarkation. I just read through these posts and wanted to add a few things about the ports that may be helpful. In Cienfuegos, we took a tour that included a 45 minute ride to a fort. It was interesting if you like forts and gives you an idea how they defended themselves. It gave us an opportunity to see the very poor countryside with horse drawn plows etc. On each of our ship tours, there was some type of "people to people" interaction. Usually, it was listening to musicians, and then the dancers engage a few people to join them. Here we heard the Cienfuegos Symphony Orchestra. Then lunch ran late and we missed our walking tour. We did get to see the main square and I'm not sure how much else there is to see. We took one private Jewish tour tour in Havana (in addition to the vintage car tour and the show). After it was over, our driver was able to take us to Fusterland, which I wanted to see. A ceramic artist decorated his home and surrounding areas with funky designs. We enjoyed seeing it but it is small and a distance away. I later heard that people on the art tour went and it was closed! Heard a similar story about the people on the cigar and rum tour where they only got to do one thing. This may all be corrected as they become more familiar with Cuba. In Santiago de Cuba, we had a very good tour of the city center, local music, fortress, and San Juan Hill. We felt completely safe and frequently heard "we love Americans", "come back, bring friends". Port Antonio, Jamaica was our only rainy day. We walked into town but there is nothing there. The beaches are quite a distance away.

We have cruised a lot but this was our first time on Insignia. We liked it and had only minor complaints, but we expected to be "wowed" and we were not. We heard from several people that the larger Insignia ships are better. On both nights that we went to shows, the staff at the buffet line and grill were overwhelmed as everyone was eating at the same time.

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Thank you for taking the time to post. I was glad to hear your experience. We booked earlier than the change date so hopefully the procedures will improve as they become more familiar. We're stopping in Havana next October. I'm looking forward to hearing more about your journey. Happy sailing.

I am new to Cruise Critic so I hope I am doing this right. Happy to share more info. You can email me at ghorlick at gmail dot com. Gail

Thanks for posting. We were on the Insignia cruise to Cuba that left on November 14, just days after the new regulations went into effect of November 9. We stood on line for a full hour to check in. I understand from several people that that was very unusual. We had all the proper visas etc. but I heard that some people did not. There was no explanation.

We normally try to avoid the ship excursions but since it was Cuba, we only booked one private tour ahead of time. Considering that it was the first time that the insignia docked in Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba, the excursions went well. In one port, lunch took longer than expected and we missed the walking tour and free time. I'm sure that will be corrected. We took a the ship's tour in the vintage cars and it was great. It was fortunate that I speak some Spanish as the driver's English was "muy bad". You can get a car right outside the terminal for much less money, but I'm not sure you will get the same amount of explanations. The ship's tour had guides arranged for Revolution Square and the cemetery.

I hope this information is helpful to future cruisers.

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