marazul

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.

Which tour did you book? Some of the Vatican tours are for small groups.

You really have very little time for Barcelona. Flying gives you an extra half day there. You can do a lot in that afternoon. For example, take a "free" Runner Bean tour of the Gothic Quarter. If you take the train, you miss it. You would then have too many other things to cram into your full day there.

@DRedmond Monaco is divided in three pats. Old town Monaco, Montecarlo and La Condamine where the port is, in between. The Oceanographic museum is in old town Monaco. There is much to see there: the Prince's Palace, the Cathedral are within a short walking distance from the museum. Montecarlo where the Casino and famous hotels are is a little distance away. It is hard to get around Monaco. I would suggest parking in one of the garages accessible at the port and go to the Museum. There is a Petit-Train stop nearby. monacotours.mc/en This is a tourist train that will take around to all the sites. You might want to look at youtube videos of the town to give you an idea. The fast route between Cannes and Monaco is by the Autoroute (motorway) and it takes less than one hour. The scenic route is driving along the shore to Nice and then taking the Moyenne Corniche road on to Monaco. This takes about 1.5 hours. The Moyenne Corniche is one of the most famous and scenic drives in the world. As an added attraction, the village of Eze is half way along that road. This is a beautiful medieval "perched" village with spectacular views and quite a few restaurants from 3-stars to cafes. It is a great place to stop. My choice would be driving to Monaco along the scenic route and returning by the autoroute. The best views from the car are driving the Corniche in that direction. Again, youtube can be your friend to give you an idea of what you will see. Also, search this forum. Several of us have posted extensively about driving in the Riviera.

@4J's- Good advice. Our favorite fado places are: Tasca do Chico - in Alfama Bela petiscos e vinhos Tasquinha Canto do Fado - in Mouraria (good food, show stars at 8). Be mindful that some of these places do not accept credit cards. They all have websites.

Tell hubby that he must keep his wallet and phone in a front pocket. This is a minimum safety measure. Any valuables in a back pocket will be gone in a nanosecond and he will never know it. There are many posts here with safety tips for guys. Please, tell him to pay attention to them. As for your backpack you can think of getting one a little safer (or using a cross body bag instead.) Plus always spread the valuables to other places - front pockets, under the shirt pouches, etc. And never, ever, hang the backpack or any bag from the back of a chair. Keep it in front of you or under the table in front of your legs. Large backpacks are easy targets.

Take the 9:15 flight. It lands by 10:45. Take a shuttle into town. You can be at your hotel by noon. The 8:30 direct train would get you to the Barcelona station by 3 pm.

Great! Don't forget to post about it afterwards. Other travelers with kids would like to hear about it.

@4js The tuk tuks take you up to a mirador. If you time it right you will be there at sunset. The driver can drop you off in the Via Augusta-Av, da Liberdade area where you can go to a restaurant if you choose. The restaurant can call you a taxi to the ship.

@FlaMariner Take a taxi. They will be at the port. It is a short ride up to Taormina. Plenty of taxis there to gey back. About 25 euros each way (as of two years ago).

Port Vendres and pick Carcassonne. Perpignan is not as interesting. Fron Sète go to Nîmes and stop in Montpellier on the way back if you have enough time. From Marseille, Provence is the entire region. Good combinations are Les Baux and Avignon or Aix and Avignon. On a long day you could possibly stop at Aix after the other two. Whatever you do make sure you visit the inside of the Pope's Palace in Avignon, don't look at it just from the outside.

Possible because the boats have a deal with the buses. Everybody shares the tourist $.

You are so right. Carabiners, safety pins or built-in locks only work if you use them. Your misadventure is a great reminder. Thanks again for sharing.

It's worth asking them. I understand they have a good safety record. There are other posts about it on this forum.

http://www.guidedtoursmalta.com/

Many independent european hotels have affiliated with Best Western for the benefits of its website and reservations system. We have stayed at a number of them including in Carcassonne and Olympia. They still preserve their "independent" character rather than a "chain" look.

@Silent Penguin - you are now officially in charge of emergency management! (Please, run for office.) Thank you for posting a detailed description of the process for obtaining a replacement passport. Just an additional comment on the handbags. A "theft-proof" handbag with steel mesh panels and straps would have been of no use in this situation, or in most situations. Pickpockets specialize in opening zippers quickly and grabbing readily accessible valuables inside. There are two things that can slow them down. The first is to place valuables like passport and wallets in an inner zipper of the bag. A bag with many zippers and inside compartments is best. They will not have time to rummage through and open the various inside zippers after opening the main one. The second is to lock the outside zipper with a safety pin or small carabiner. That would deter the theft because it requires two hands to remove them and open the zipper. Of course, other security measures are great - under the shirt bag, spreading things around, etc.

Try Tours by Locals and also search this forum. We haven't used one recently.

This thread answers a similar question: In your case, Mt Etna is past Taormina, close to 1.5 hours from Messina. You would have to negotiate with at taxi in Messina to take you there and wait for you. You are not likely to find taxis waiting there for a ride. Like in the Taormina thread, you are much better off arranging for a private tour. It would end up costing you about the same as a taxi and you would know the price ahead of time.

It doesn't matter. If you do end up in Athens, try to stay overnight so you can visit the city. It would be a shame to be there and not go up to the Parthenon, visit the Parthenon museum, walk around Plaka and have dinner there. Stay in the center city so you can accomplish all of this easily on foot the day you arrive.

@llarsen I second @euro cruiser. Go to Caserta and spend more time in Naples. Go to the museum and have pizza. Always try something new unless you have no other options. This area has an abundance of riches. Have you been to Pompeii and Herculaneum? You could also look for a tour that combines Caserta and Pompeii which could be hard to do by public transportation.

We have driven there so I can't answer your first two questions. However, five hours is way too much. I would say 2-3 hours is ample. Go get some pizza in Naples.

@SquishTheWhale Would a golf car tour interest you? They can get in just about anywhere and it could be fun for your child. You would get to go around the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, etc and see a lot more than possible with a ho-ho. Contact the companies. They could pick you up at the train station. On a long day you could still go to the Borghese gardens after the tour.

Lorenky - Cruising is not the way to explore Santorini. Don't give up on a cruise to Greece because of Santorini. Santorini is the bottleneck created by megaships. All other ports are fine even if crowded. Your original plan of a week in Rome first and several days in Athens at the end is very good. You named Santorini as a priority. To avoid disappointment do consider my suggestion of flying there for two nights. If you do that and take a cruise that does not include Santorini, you would have another port you would not have visited in the original itinerary. On the other hand 10 days on a land tour of Greece including some island hopping is great. Although we do take cruises in Greece, we also do a lot of land and island travel on our own. If you choose this option you can also go to places like Delphi, Meteora and the Pelopponesus. Do consider flying to some of the islands because some ferry trips are very long. We have sometimes made arrangements for local travel with Fantasy Travel, an excellent local company. They offer hotels at all price categories, transport arrangements within Greece, etc. Look at their offerings and email them for suggestions and prices. www.fantasytravelofgreece.com You can also do short cruises with them using Greek cruise companies that dock in Santorini - no donkeys!