marazul

@TravMagic1 I get your answer and your preference for docking in scenic ports as an added attraction for the cruise. Just a word about docking and European river cruises. You will get great scenery while cruising, however, docking is another matter. Quite often the ships will "stack" at the dock. That means that the ships are adjacent to each other and the passengers walk through the other ships to reach the dock. Your view is likely to be a cabin in the next ship which is practically within arm's reach of yours. This is specially true of Viking river cruises that operates several ships on the same itineraries at the exact same time. (The reason is that Viking operates some ships for English speaking passengers, others for German, etc, etc. They run identical itineraries and they stack at the dock. Other companies may have to stack according to dock availability.)

@Ellaleah Frankly, not a chance. You could find connecting rooms, but a room for 5 is extremely unlikely. Check out aspasios.com. They have a variery of well maintained and well located apartments in Barcelona. From studios to 3 or 4 bedrooms.

The credit card is usually secondary coverage. They will pay what other insurance doesn't cover. You might want to notify them that there may be a possible claim.

That is a reasonable price. It comes to 25 euros/pp. The tour can last over 2 hours and you would not expect a guide to work for less. There may be tours available at the gate, but you may have to wait around until the guide gets enough people to make it worth it for them. Or you may have to agree on a price for your group.

Via Giudecca Canal. 😁

@ktbmhb1 Trip Advisor owns Viator. That's why. We haven't used any company for excursions in the Riviera because we used to live there. Every time we go we rent a car or go places with friends. However, we have used Friend in France for airport and port transfers and I know they also offer tours. They have been excellent and responsive in the past and I trust that they maintain the quality in their tours. https://www.friend-in-france.com/private-tours Their website shows a "make your own tour" option for 100 euros/hour for 4-7 pax with a minimum of three hours. A six hour tour would be 600 euros for the tour, not per person. Why don't you get in touch with them and tell them what you would like to do and get a quote. You would start whenever you choose and go wherever you want to go. Good luck and bon voyage.

You can make the 10:50. Get off the ship by 7:30. The check in for European flights is a lot shorter that for US flights.

Look into a shared shuttle. The price is in between a train and a private transfer. And a lot easier with all the luggage.

Trattoria Cammillo is a classic. Cross the Ponte Vecchio and turn right on Borgo San Jacopo. It is a couple of blocks down on the left.

@DRedmond A few comments on @GreenFamily post. Good advice on parking in Monaco. You will not be there before 9 and you will be out of there before 4. La Turbie refers to the squiggly road down the cliffs that you see in movies. (It is also a small town with an ancient Roman monument.) It connects the Upper Corniche and Autoroute's La Turbie exit to Monaco. If you go over by the Middle Corniche, you do not get on it. For the return, there is a new autoroute connector (A500) that you can take from (or to) Monaco and bypasses that road. Antibes is one of my favorite towns (we used to live just outside). However, whether you visit it before or after Monaco, you are likely to miss lunch. Here is a route map from cannes to Monaco staying on the shore road past Antibes. You can choose to go to Vieil Antibes and park in Port Vauban to see the mega yachts and the old town. From there follow the "Bord de Mer" signs to keep you on the shore road through Nice. At the end of the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, follow the signs for the Moyenne Corniche. Eze is on the road: https://shorturl.at/lADHY For your return trip, you have three options. The Basse (Lower) Corniche along the shore to Beaulieu, Villefranche and Nice, the Haute Corniche (Upper Corniche) or the A8 Autoroute.

For DIY take the bus in the morning and return in the 12:40 train.

Thanks. I love Zaragoza and hope more people visit it.

I think there might have been a fast food place. I don't recall. After security, yes there are many. But the terminal is only a few steps from the hotel so it won't take you any time at all to check it out. The hotel does have reasonably priced items in their menus and the food is good. You can take a look at the hotel menus before going across the street to check out the terminal. IIRC, the hotel also has a bar menu at the lounge.

The description is about Taormina. A bit hyperbolic, but all about Taormina.

It is plenty of time unless you want to have lunch at a restaurant.

You are welcome. You can accomplish all my suggestions including the Montecarlo drive-by in 6 or 6.5 hours. If you end up spending more time in Nice or Eze, simply skip Monaco. That can be a last minute decision.

Interesting. That means the offerings from private companies could also change since they mirrored the Vatican tours, such as early admission and food at the Vatican. It would be interesting to see how they change the description of their tours on their websites. Right now the new Vatican tours are for up to 20 persons and for 11 to 40. No mention of early or private tours. I agree. Last time we took the VIP Prime Experience and the museums were blissfully uncrowded. After breakfast I went by myself to the Octagonal Courtyard to say hello to Apollo. It was a claustrophobic mass of humanity going down the corridor. After a quick look, I tried to get back to the Cortile della Pigna and it was like swimming upstream in the crowd. It took me about 15 minutes to walk back that short distance.

I assume you are looking for a private tour for your group. The perfume factory is located next to the parking lot by the entrance to Eze. If you are on a private tour, you simply say that you do not want to go there. Period. I would suggest going to Nice first because the Flower Market is open only until noon-1 pm. Then all the stalls are taken down. From there go on to Eze and, if interested, go on to Monaco only a short distance away before returning to Villefranche. You might be able to do just a drive around Montecarlo even if you are on a short port day. Especially if you skip the perfume factory. I can't recommend a guide because we always stay there and rent a car. There are a number of recommendations on this forum and on Trip Advisor. I would advice contacting the companies directly rather than dealing through a consolidator like Viator. In that way you can express your preferences directly to them on where to go and what to see.

Same happened to me last year. I started looking in january and they weren't there. A few weeks later the tours came back. I should also have replied to @Vacay Addict

@Silent Penguin- You must have booked it in December. This seems to be their "Extra Time" tour that includes a happy hour afterwards. However, at this moment the Vatican website is not showing their "Prime Experience," "Breakfast at the Museum" and "Extra Time" tours which start before or after closing hours and are limited to 20 persons. The VIP version of these tours would be private just for you and your group of up to 10 persons. The ones offered by the private companies are a version of those three tours. The Vatican tours had also disappeared around this time last year and were shown again around March. Maybe they are revamping their offerings again. I would not be surprised if I the same thing happens this year.

I am really excited to hear about it. It's on my program for a trip later this year.

https://apnews.com/article/rome-archaeology-ancient-map-ab0fd4d62cbf5742f053fd1d8d375184

https://apnews.com/article/rome-archaeology-ancient-map-ab0fd4d62cbf5742f053fd1d8d375184

It has always been available on regular cruises when at the right beach ports. I can't speak about the expedition cruises since we haven't been yet, but I would be surprised if it weren't available.

You might want to put a small grommet in the fabric and put the safety pin through that. Sticking it directly in the fabric could shred it.