marazul

You can get them at the door. I would have the ticket info with me and book a couple of days ahead when you know your plans. But there is no harm booking now. It's close enough.

Go to the Grill on embarkation day and ask about openings. We always get additional options. Ask if any of those are on formal night because you might prefer the Restaurant instead. If you are traveling with others, each suite can reserve a table for up to 6 persons, so just coordinate the evenings you want to reserve.

Yay! BTW - there are many hotels within walking distance of the train station - at all price points. It is not "the perfect" location for sightseeing, but all that means is that you may have to walk an extra 5-10 minutes to get to the most popular places. You are obviously in good shape and don't mind walking (carry-ons through Heathrow!) so that is not a problem for you. Have a wonderful trip.

No, it isn't. Look at it this way. From the airport to the port you have to take a train to Rome and then change to a train to Civitavecchia. It is best to get out in Rome and get a hotel there. The next day you will have plenty of time to take a train late morning or early afternoon to the ship. This lets you spend the day and a morning in Rome where there is plenty to do and see. There is little of interest in Civitavecchia itself and you have to take pubic transport to go anywhere else, or even to return to Rome for sightseeing. That question is asked very frequently on this board. Do a little search in the hotel threads. I would only recommend staying in Civi if you had been many, many times to Rome and if you were willing to rent a car to go sightseeing in the area around Civi.

Well, look at the bright side. Thanksgiving is not celebrated outside the US except by expats, so international flights will not be any more crowded than any other day. Also, the planes fly back and forth between the two destinations so any delays will not be due to domestic US traffic. You are leaving Wednesday night when most of the bulk of Thanksgiving travelers would have already gone through the airport. If your Wednesday flight to Heathrow is canceled, you can go on Thursday. On your original trip, if the Thursday fight is canceled you could miss the cruise. If the Heathrow-Rome flight on Thursday night is canceled or if you miss it, you can get one of many flights on Friday. On your original trip, a Friday night cancelation could get you to Rome on Saturday either too late for the cruise or with not enough time so you have to take a taxi to the port. Flying on Thursday and arriving late on Friday forces you to get an expensive room at the airport Hilton and any delays could force you to pay for a taxi transfer on Saturday. Flying on Wednesday and arriving on Thursday means that you can stay at a Rome hotel for two nights for less than you would pay at the Hilton. It also lets you take trains and buses instead of a private transfer. That's a savings right there. And best of all, you get to spend all day Friday and Saturday morning in Rome. And that is a good Plan B.

The flight contingency is what if you miss that flight? Or the first flight is delayed and you miss the connection and can't get anther one until the next morning? It happens. That is why it is prudent to give yourself an extra day if at all possible. Or to have a transfer company info with you so you can try to book a transfer to the port for a late arrival. Or to plan on taking a taxi directly to the port if you arrive late on embarkation day and were not able to book a transfer before you landed. Or to think about how to board the ship on the next port. To go to the train station it is best to take a train, not a bus. Trains also avoid any unexpected road traffic delays. Trains are frequent, but look for the timetables to give you an idea on the best connection times. Calculate the time that the "two trains and a bus" journey would take and how much it would cost. Then compare to the one-hour, no-hassle transfer from the airport to the port.

Do it!

Fletcher, You have a new fan. You are a gifted writer. Looking forward to many more posts. Thanks.

You have answered your own question. Think about your flight. You will be flying in from SFO - that is at least 18 hours on airplanes! You will be changing planes in LHR Hades - rolling your 50 lb carry-ons from one terminal to another! You will be dead on your feet when you arrive in Rome. That's certain. You might not clear customs until well after 11 provided your fight is on time. Public transport might not be available. Taxis cost more at night. By the time you add taxi costs to a hotel price, you would be better off staying at the airport Hilton. Not to mention that if you go to Rome, you would be checking in close to 1 a.m. or later if your flight is delayed. As others have mentioned, the airport hotel is the only logical choice at that time of night and after that flight. You will be able to get to it by simply walking no matter at what time you actually arrive. And you will get into bed a lot sooner also. Give yourself a chance to recover from the trip by booking a late morning transfer. Rome Cabs also offers the possibility of a sightseeing stop on the way to the port. That would help you with jetlag. romecabs.com

There are no road taxis from the tender port to Oia, only water ferries. The only road to the tender port is the donkey path. Once you get to Fira, the town on the cliff above the tender port, you can take a taxi to Oia. You get from the tender port to Fira by cable car or donkey path. There is no other way.

I don't recall seeing that company mentioned here before. I have no reason to doubt that it is a fine company, but rather than jump on it, do a little more research among all the other well-regarded companies mentioned here and elsewhere. This is how they all operate. They all have a set of "standard" tours they offer which differ from company to company. They also offer "custom" tours to suit your specific interests and requests. Within a company, tours are priced by the amount of time they take plus admission tickets, so a 6-hour "standard" tour to Florence will cost about the same as a 6-hour "custom" tour. Why don't you send an email to other companies detailing exactly what you want and ask for a quote. In fact, send them the exact description of the tour you found and ask for a quote. There is no obligation at all. You can choose at the end by known reputation of the company and price. Also, find out if they include some guiding inside the Accademia and the Uffizi or if they just take you there and hand you the ticket to go in on your own.

The Tivoli is a wonderful hotel. It has a really good restaurant too.

Yes. Some taxis are minivans. You might want to book a transfer service for about the same price as the taxi, that would guarantee you a minivan. For example, taxigreece.com

I second Irish's suggestion. Go to SF first, maybe 9 or 9:30. Then go to Las Ramblas. The Born area is an easy 15 minute walk away from Las Ramblas across the Gothic Quarter. This is a beautiful, pedestrian only area that is well worth visiting and much more interesting than Las Ramblas. You might want to consider taking a taxi to Las Ramblas and then cutting across to El Born to find a tapas place for a nice leisurely lunch. Don't forget that lunch in Spain starts around 1:30 or 2. Here is a picture. https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/people-walking-under-the-pont-del-bisbe-or-bishops-royalty-free-image/1215644604 Scroll down that page or search for more to give you an idea.

You can get any of them. Just ask your room attendant to swap whatever is in the room for your choice of VSOP. That has been our experience in the past 15 years including our last cruise in July. Armagnac and Calvados VSOP could be a little harder to get since they might run out on occasion

The Gaudi House is in Park Guell. There is a school house for the kids of construction workers right on the SF grounds. If you have an extra 10 minutes, it is a nice visit. You might want to consider booking the church and the park on your own. You can get a combined ticket that includes a guided tour of the church and admission to the towers. The church's own guides are the best. Take a taxi from the church to the park. Taxis are plentiful and reasonable. Book SF first in the morning. Park next.

Not at all necessary, but you might want to download it and listen to it some for general background before you go.

Buy the tickets from their website. https://sagradafamilia.org/en/tickets-individuals

I am surprised. The Albergo del Senato made our reservation with no problem. Enjoy your lunch. BTW - the time to make the reservation is midnight (12 am) Italy time.

It was excellent two months ago. I expect it still is. 😉

Is this a port day or are you staying in Rome for a couple of days? If you want to get to the Vatican early, book your tickets online. Don’t even think of standing at the ticket line. museivaticani.va

Plan on Oia and Akrotiri first. They are at opposite ends of the island. Go to Emporio if you have a good amount of time left. If you only have less time, stop at Pyrgos instead. And skip the fish spa.

No independent operators at the port (either one). This is very uncommon in Greece. Book ahead of time. If you are talking about the boat to Oia mentioned in this board, it is not a speed boat. It is a larger boat that collects passengers at the pier and takes them to a little port below Oia. It is a short distance. Since you only have a week to go, look at https://www.santorini.gr and decide what you would like to do. https://www.planetware.com/greece/santorini-gr-aeg-santo.htm If you only want to see Oia, follow advice on this board. If you want to do/see more, you need to plan ahead and book something.

If you want to go to Le Castellet, you can be sure you will be led around at a leisurely place. It probably is a half day excursion so you will have plenty of time to walk around the Old Port in Marseille if you want.

The volcano is huge. You can see it from a lot of places along the shore. That includes your ship. A good combined excursion is Taormina and Mt Etna.