marazul

@Moon Orchid Good luck with planning Rome. Take control if you can. Here is a suggestion for ship excursions. As you know, when you are planning to book a ship's excursion or a shared independent excursion, each party has to make their own reservations. You should pick the excursion you want at each place. Then give "her" a printed list of the options at each place and tell her that they are welcome to book the same excursion that you have or to choose any other they like. In either case, you will meet afterwards at the ship for drinks and dinner. Leave it up to her and her clients to choose.

Agree. Versailles is practically a suburb of Paris. You may save a little time getting there since you would avoid the traffic in central Paris. Still, close to three hours each way. I am not sure there are direct trains from Le Havre to Versailles. You may have to transfer in Paris.

@martyap- Have you been the the Hospital de Sant Pau? It is an art Nouveau masterpiece by a contemporary of Gaudí. It is well worth a visit. https://santpaubarcelona.org/en/visites/ Another place would be the Palau Güell near the bottom of the Ramblas: https://inici.palauguell.cat/en/ If you don't have BDT take you to Montserrat, they could give you a tour of both those places if you don't want to do them on your own.

Hi @Hlitner, the OP only asked about taxis, so that is all I answered. The OP wants to be free to decide on the spot how long they stay. That doesn't work well with prearranged transportation or a tour, but it does work with renting a car as you said. (And Happy New Year!) @Karysa - We have stayed in Taormina and driven to Taormina. We have also taken taxis there, but our ship tenders to Giardini Naxos, just down the cliff from Taormina. There are plenty of taxis available at Taormina. The issue is the distance to Messina, not finding a taxi. As I said, the main pitfall using taxis is finding a willing driver and negotiating the price. Another pitfall is that once you are up in Taormina hiring a taxi to get back to the port, the drivers might really overcharge taking advantage of your situation. You have no other choice to get back and they know it. It may not happen, but it certainly could. You could rent a car which you don't seem to be interested in. If money is no object, you could have an open booking with a transfer or taxi company where you pay them by the hour to wait for you until you feel like getting back. So this is a situation where it may not pay to be spontaneous. It would be more practical to prebook private transportation or take the ship's bus, both with a set time to leave. I really doubt you will find anyone who has done the taxi thing you want on a cruise stop. Good luck.

Rome is expensive, especially after covid. Yes, that is about par for the location. And I do hope "she" doesn't read CC! 🤣🤣🤣

@Karysa There are plenty of taxis available at both places. However, it is a 40 mile drive and it could cost you about 70-80 euros each way. The driver has to return, so they might charge you extra. You have to find a willing driver and negotiate the price. Most ships offer a transportation only transfer to Taormina, or a walking tour with free time.

This is one of the booking platforms that small, independent hotels use to process their bookings. They are safe and reliable.

"Some" means enough to pay for your transportation to the hotel in case of emergency. The idea is to obtain euros at a bank ATM so you can get the best possible exchange rate. There are ATMs at the airport, terminal and all over the place. However, for your peace of mind, have enough to get to the hotel where they can direct you to the closest ATM if you need more. And use your credit card as often as you can, even for small purchases. Frankly, 100 euros is probably more than enough to have with you when you arrive. With 200 you could have enough left over to bring back on your next trip. Check the many threads here on exchange rates and ATMs, and on tipping. For example: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2917954-euros-to-bring-along-on-a-cruise/#comment-64887196 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2909119-tipping-in-italy/#comment-64685924

Add if you can, but threedays at both ends is reasonable. A little more time in each will let you see much more and avoid time lost because of jetlag, flight times, etc.

I think Hoya meant renting a car at the falls to look around, not to drive there from BA. If Cataratas is not available, check on the Gran Melia. You won't be sorry you did. Instead of renting a car we hired a taxi driver to take us around.

We always try to use ATMs that are either in the lobby or outside the bank office. And preferably during office hours. If there are any problems the bank can help you out immediately. Also, these ATMs are the least likely to be compromised with a "skimmer." If using them at the airport, we try to find an ATM within the secure area, not out in the public concourse. Always have one person watching the other's back. And immediately stick the cash in a front pants pocket or a secure bag. Don't stand around in public arranging it in your wallet.

I don't use name brands either. They are a dead giveaway for a nervous tourist. I also attach my wallet with a strap inside an inside zipper pocket. That lets me use the wallet while it is still attached to the bag. The strap came from a Baggalini bag i once had.

It was a while back but yes, we went post-cruise. By all means, don't miss the Falls. We stayed at the Sheraton (now the Gran Melia Iguazu) at the park and walked the trails, took the boat under the falls (got soaked), saw wonderful scenery and animals.

Be aware that some of the pickpockets are children or young teens. We were outside the Uffizi when we saw two young girls carrying a baby approach two women ahead of us. The girl with the baby approached the women begging for money while the other girl opened the zipper of one of the women's handbag. We screamed at them and they ran away, but the woman's wallet was half way out of the purse. One more second and it would have been gone. Later that day we saw the girls and baby again walking around in the crowded San Marco market. They were still at "work." One small hint. Carry a purse with many inside zippers and carry your wallet inside one of the inside zippers. No need to make it easy for nimble-fingered pickpockets.

@VacayAddict Book the Vatican tour directly from the Vatican museum. They have the best guides and offer a wide variety of tours and admission times. No need to pay extra for a private operator. Search this board for lots of details. St. Peter's is more complicated. It depends on whether the Vatican is allowing access to StP from the Sistine Chapel. If so, they will offer a combination tour. If not, it is an entirely different visit. Again, do some research on this board.

@bzeus1924 It will not be canceled or switched. Cruises tender to Cannes all the time during the Festival. And to boot, the Festival often coincides with the Montecarlo Grand Prix. You have to realize that the whole stretch of the Riviera from Cannes to Monaco will be really crowded. You need to make your sightseeing plans well ahead of time.

Or you can request your own special for dinner. It doesn't have to be for the entire party.

The price was exactly the same for either AA or BA. No upcharge for booking the seat when picking AA. The seat selection screens came right up after I picked the flights. If Swiss Air is an option for you, it is a good choice.

The new seatguru? aeroLOPA.com https://onemileatatime.com/guides/aerolopa/

Yes.

I just booked flights to Europe on Flight Ease going through LHR. Flight Ease lists several flights leaving at the same time. If you look at "Details," you will see that they are co-branded flights - one entry for AA and the other for BA. If you book the AA flight you can choose your seats. If you book the exact same BA flight you can't.

You can go to the "Booked Guests" section, login and go to Flight Ease.

Here is the timetable starting in March 2024. https://www.travelmar.it/en/timetable-from-march-2024

There are no trains between Naples and Positano.

8:45 pm. In the MDR having a goat cheese soufflé.