General Max

If we would go to an opera in Europe, I would recommend to do it in Vienna.

We are traveling Costa Pacifica 3-29 to 4-5

 

We are leaving from Savona

 

Next Marsielles We were thinking of taking a tour thru Costa here

 

Barcelona getting off and using the hop on hop off bus

 

Mallorca ??? Suggestions welcome

 

Rome

We were thinking of doing a tour thru romeinlimo. We have 4 If anyone is interested in joining us happy to have them

 

Florence/Pisa

We are still debating this port. I have been told the only thing to do in Pisa is the leaning tower.

 

We are open to suggestions

I commend you for booking with Costa after their recent publicity.

You can also pick up your passes at the train station.

Does anybody have any information on the penthouse B&B Attic 12 in Palermo. Or better yet, has anybody had the pleasure of staying there?

Does anyone from Palermo, Sicily know anything about this B & B?

It is almost like a riddle. What is better, to be young and remember every detail of every trip, or be old and have taken so many trips that it is difficult to remember anything. About the only thing that has not faded with age is our passion to travel. But sometimes I do think we need to keep returning to some of the same places to reinforce lost memories :).:o:o

This is true. That is why we are returning to Italy. Been there before but there are lots of places we have not visited.

A salesperson is not the same thing as a licensed guide.

 

Personally, I don't care if my guide has the personality of a rock. They are there to provide me with accurate information and assist me in seeing what I want to see. As far as I'm concerned, their job is not to entertain me -- I don't want a guide to sing cheesy Italian songs to me (as I've heard some drivers do) or gift me with a bottle of limoncello or tell me entertaining but largely untrue stories about ancient Romans.

I like limoncello. I acquired a taste for it in Sorrento in 2005.

I'm not sure who you are addressing this question to?

 

Most people on this thread are discussing Herculaneum and most have done it on their own.

 

Perhaps starting a separate post for Pompeii would yield better results.

I agree

It doesn't matter if you don't care - - - but why pay someone to BS you? Lots of folks are willing to do that for free.

I have bought cars from car dealers and houses from real estate agents and I never believe everything they say.

I have also hired private guides with the personality of a rock.

We want to visit the WWII museum in Cantania. Has anyone gone there recently? How do we get there from the ship?

The easiest way would be to take a taxi. This will save you some time.

So you'd pay a guy to pretend he knows something he doesn't? Knowledge of a site like Ostia Antiqa isn't exactly common ... but you'll get what you deserve.

How would I know that the guy is pretending and in the scheme of things what does it really matter?

Thank you both! We have decided to go with Mt.Etna and Taormina. :)

You might just want to consider doing just one of these based on the time element.

Why would the information not be useful? Sounds like you will be lucky and doch in Venice, whereas we will dock in Mestre when we depart in April

Mestre is right on the train line two stops from Venice or about 7 minutes. The cost is 1 euro each way.

We took the tram from the port through Naples to the train station, which we thought gave us a taste of Naples. In general, we were not too impressed with Naples though. We liked the town where Hercaluneum is better and if we had to do it again would have had lunch there. The walk from the train station down to the ruins was quite nice.

 

When we got back to Naples, we walked towards the main shopping area and had pizza somewhere along the way. We only brought enough cash for the day and copies of our passports, but left our credit cards and passports on the ship.

Smart move, Alex71 with the passports and credit cards. Based on your comments we will visit the Amalfi Coast with a private driver and avoid Naples for the day.

Please be sure you understand what you contract for, to ensure you get what you want. Drivers and guides are different licenses in Italy and a driver cannot legally accompany you into a site. If you want a guide in addition to transportation services you must specify this and pay extra for the additional personnel.

We have done it both ways and would prefer the driver only. Just "tip" the driver to be your guide and chances are he will be.

Why would the information not be useful? Sounds like you will be lucky and doch in Venice, whereas we will dock in Mestre when we depart in April

Mestre is right on the train line two stops from Venice or about 7 minutes. The cost is 1 euro each way.

I agree with the comment on the scruffy area.

We just returned from a Med Cruise and used RomeInLimo three days. For the 5 hour tour and port transfer, we were given the option of paying by wire transfer and it was free and easy (and done in US dollars so no exchange fee). If I had done the wire transfer at my bank branch, there would have been a charge. Instead, I did it through my bank's internet banking site. It was easy and secure. It was not immediate though; it took three business days. Jany confirmed with me and had set everything up with the driver. I saved money on fees, got a better exchange rate, and saved the risk and hassle of traveling with wads of Euros (or hitting an ATM). I agree with General Max that we should be careful to whom we wire transfer but I got the routing number, name and account directly from Jany, used my bank's secure internet site and it worked out perfectly. I did this in two other ports as well, both with well-reviewed tour operators, and had no issues.

I would certainly like to hear from someone that had issues in dealing with foreign wire transfers. Asia is known for these type of issues.

The OP was speaking of a 7-7 port day...so luggage is not an issue. But if somebody wanted to go to Ostia on a debarkation day, a one-way rental car works quite well. You pick up your car near the port (Sixt and Hertz are the closest) store your luggage in the trunk (boot for you Brits) and then drop the car at the airport later in the day (if that fits your schedule). We must add a caution that leaving valuables in a car always involves some risk (especially where the luggage is visable) so this is a good time to get a car with a trunk (boot) large enough to properly store and hide all luggage.

 

Storing luggage at train stations can be a bit of a hassle. The last time we did this the luggage folks opened and thoroughly searched every single bag (dumping stuff all over the counter) and did a great job messing up all DWs nice packing. And then you must pay for this wonderful service and allow sufficient time for the process (and possible queues). And to be candid, we have never felt confident about leaving our "valuables" at a train station luggage room....but I guess that is our own personal hang-up.

 

Hank

Not at all, Hank. We would have a problem with storing luggage at a train station. Just the hassle.

I found this info on TripAdvisor. The City Sightseeing only runs to Monreale April - October.

 

AST runs bus service between Palermo and Monreale every day but Sunday.

http://www.aziendasicilianatrasporti.it/

 

And City Sightseeing Palermo’s Palermo-Monreale runs every day of the week, including Sundays until 30 September.

http://www.palermo.city-sightseeing.it/eng/

…city-sightseeing.it/orari_monreale.pdf

The City Sightseeing only runs to Monreale April - October.

 

 

I decided to stay in Palermo and see the cappella Palatina in the Palazzo dei Normanni instead.

http://www.fondazionefedericosecondo.it/en/palatine-chapel.html

 

Susan

Thank you, Susan for the tip on the hop on - hop off bus. We have used them in Singapore and Hong Kong

We were there just a two weeks ago. Herculaneum most definitely has maps AND an audio guide for rent. Not very crowded. And very well preserved. Smaller and Easier to walk for older or less mobile folks!!!! You can hire a private guide at entrance if you want. VERY easy and cheap to reach via public transport from Naples ( as are Pompeii and Sorrento).

Is Naples worth spending any time in or are there too many pickpockets to watch out for?

Gretz...

 

We used Domenico from "private tour in Italy" Exceptional service. We used him in 3 ports on our last cruise.

 

http://www.privatetourinitaly.com/

 

Frank

No information on rates at their website which is common with Italy private tour companies. You have to e-mail them or call them.

You can also take the train to Termini and transfer to the metro and do the tour on your own.

And what about your luggage?

We keep trying to warn folks that "this is Italy" which means that everyone will have to be a bit patient and go with the flow. The way things work in Italy, I doubt if they have much more of a clue how things will work in a few months then the cruisers. One will just have to take a deep breath and adopt the Italian attitude of what will happen is what will happen :). Folks can obsess about this from now until their cruise and it will not do any good since worrying is not going to change the final result. So, relax, enjoy, and deal with the situation as it arises.

 

Hank

We also followed this advice when we first visited Italy in 2005. And it paid off. Allow twice the time it usually takes in your travels. If by chance you would arrive early, enjoy the time at the new location.

We are spending 7 days in Giardini Naxos and will do both. September 15, 2014 until September 22, 2014. Local bus to Taormina and private tour with hotel janitor to Mount Etna.

There have been a lot of reports of review manipulation on Trip Advisor. Here at least you can question a poster and get additional information.

I use Trip Advisor for the pictures. If I want a review, I check here and Flyertalk.

The pictures all look good on trip advisor. You can tell that it is a condominium penthouse bedroom and has some beautiful views of Palermo and the mountains. There are pictures of the rooftop deck above the bedroom. There are even pictures there from reviewers.