bernardshakey

My experience with last minute booking 8 people on holiday Canal cruise: Found 4 connecting balconies online showing available...called NCL direct on a Sunday night...rep was very helpful and surprised that these cabins were available...booked parents, 5 kids, and grandpa in under 30 minutes. Got the available promotions for everyone. Easiest cruise we have ever booked.

We just returned from 12 night Disney Med cruise and the RIL tours we used were our favorite ports. We are usually a DIY family for tours but used RIL twice on our trip. This was our second time with RIL and I cannot recommend them more highly. We had 7 of us from ages 15 to 78 use RIL on tours of Florence/Lucca and Rome.

We had a lovely day in Florence and Lucca with Sabrina who was timely, fun and informative. We headed to Florence first and hit the highlights of the Duomo, the David, and the church of Santa Croce. I cannot stress how important it is that the RIL cars and vans can go into pedestrian areas where others cannot. We were dropped off right where we wanted and maximized our time at the sites. Sabrina arranged a magical lunch down a quiet street on the 'other' side of the river. Best pasta we had in all of our travels this year. After a quick walk across the Ponte Vechio, she took us to the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte with a postcard picture view over Florence. It was practically deserted and the church was being prepared for a wedding. After Florence, Lucca was a time for gelato and shopping. A fantastic day.

As good as Florence was, Rome was better. We had Maurizio again for our guide and he is outstanding. His love of Rome comes through and makes you want to come back and stay. He arranged a pickup of my mother and friend who were doing a Disney ships' tour half day Rome on your own and half day Vatican . We met them where the ships tour dropped them off and Maurizio whisked us around town. It was very hot so we skipped getting out for the ancient sites but he gave us an informative driving tour around the Forum and Palentine hill, a stop at the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain. We had a nice lunch at a 'local' place with a link a couple posts up. After lunch, we dropped the 2 off for their Disney Vatican tour. This was 'free Vatican' Sunday and the morning crowds were unbelievable. Disney had the tour after the museum closed and Maurizio timed the drop off perfectly. The rest of us spent the afternoon in the catacombs--a nice spot to spend a hot afternoon (underground). He again timed our visit perfectly as it was practically empty when we arrived but packed with tour buses on our way out. We asked him to stop for wine on our way back to the ship and he took us to a grocery so we didn't have to pay tourist prices for local wine. Maurizio is the man!

You will not regret spending money on a RIL tour. The value they offer is worth any savings you may get on other tours or trying to do these ports on your own.