AEGBRG

you cannot be serious. you are you to tell me anything? Knock,KNOCK

What a joke. If you have a problem with my opinion too bad. Get over it;

I will defend honesty over B.S. supporters 24/7 .Thievery cost us billions.Only a fool would truly believe that it's none of our business

:cj

Do you work for RCI, CJ? LOL -- you are getting way too sensitive over this. We are not talking about robbing banks. Relax.

LOL -- this thread is starting to become reminiscent of a political thread. Just my opinion, but I can care less whether people share packages or do not. It will not impact my vacation one bit. I will say this though, if I do purchase a drink package and want to give my child a bottle of water, then I will do it. So sue me. Question my parenting skills, etc. I don't care. For those of you who claim to take the moral high ground on everything, has your child ever consumed an alcoholic beverage underage? That is also illegal, just as stealing is. Does that mean you poorly raised your kid? Heck no. It just bothers me if people have shared a beverage package that suddenly makes them a terrible parent. Really people?

I will not lie, my family has shared drink packages numerous times and never had an issue. People do share. As to how prevalent sharing is, I have no idea. Unless you really abuse it, it is near impossible to police. Not advocating it by any means but just giving you an honest answer.

Just got off the Serenade June 28th, 2014. 3 formal nights! Enjoy!

Thanks for the info everyone. How was the Serenade, BTW? Did you enjoy it? Hope you had a good trip.

Hi everyone,

It says on Royal's site that some 12-night European cruises may have 3 formal nights as opposed to the usual 2 for 12-night cruises. Can anyone tell me who has recently done a 12-night European cruise how many they had? We will be sailing on Serenade Of The Seas this month and finding out would give me a little bit better idea what type of clothing to pack.

Thanks in advance.

I have said it before and will say it again…… why pay more for the same experience ????

 

Admittedly there are a few really good tour companies in this area…..I am not saying you won't get a great experience with any one of them BUT - the prices can vary ALOT ! Like 100 euros !!!!!! Thats about $130-140.00 ALOT !!!!! I can't figure out why there is so much difference but I for one would rather spend that money on souvenirs or something else if I can get the same great tour for less ;)

 

So after you narrow down your choices, check the reviews and check the prices……

 

We have used APTours every time we have docked in Naples and have had a PERFECT day every time…… for less money……

 

Just sayin'

Thanks for advice everyone. After reading all the reviews, I narrowed my choices down to APTours and RIL. Both get excellent reviews on TripAdvisor. The difference in deciding between the two after visiting both their sites was price. I completely agree with texancruzer on this one. There are 5 of us and RIL wanted 150 euros more for practically the same tour (550 vs. 400). It would be one thing if APTours received lousy reviews, but their reviews are just as good as RIL. Like texancruzer says, "why pay more for the same experience." I completely agree.

That time table is confusing but I did the ferry out of La Spezia- so I know it exists. This is the one from 2013 and I'm sure this is the same timetable for 2014 http://cinqueterre-travel.com/getting_around/boat/

Thanks for the info. Since you did the ferry, do you know if they accept credit cards or not?

Also, do you have to have a CT card to access the walking trails or can you pay for each track individually? We plan on using Lovers walk from Manarola to Riomaggiore. If so, what is cost pp to use only this track?

Hi everyone,

Has anyone successfully been able to purchase their Colosseum, underground and third ring tour online? I went to coupculture's website (http://www.coopculture.it/en/) and was unable to find a way to purchase them online. It appears the only option is to call. Has anyone else had the same issue?

Also, for those of you who have done the tour, is it worth it?

Thanks in advance.

Also, is the entrance to the Basilica on Sardenya (Passion Facade side) or Marina (Nativity Facade side)?

By all means, pre-order your tickets. The line to purchase tickets is very long. We did not wait at all to enter with the tickets we purchased online.

 

We purchased tickets to the Nativity tower. This is the taller of the two towers--but, you must be able to walk the stairs down. [no elevator down] There are many elements of architecture that you can not see from the ground--or not very well.

 

I did a mini review of our trip to Barcelona. If you can the first page you will see some of our pictures from the tower. Then you can decide. you can see it was a rainy day while we were there. But, the views were still excellent.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1943583

Thank you for the info -- great pictures BTW. I forgot to also ask if the audio guide is worth including?

Thanks for posting the ferry schedules everyone -- much appreciated. Does the ferry accept credit cards?

Hi everyone,

Has anyone visited the Picasso museum after 3 on Sunday since it is free? If so, what are the crowds like then? Any different than usual?

I ask this because ironically this will be are only opportune time to visit since we arrive Sunday morning and the museum is closed Monday (we plan on visiting the La Sagrada Familia anyway) and we embark on our cruise Tuesday. The only thing that could hold us back is jet lag, but we will try and see it anyway.

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone,

For those of you who visited one of the two towers, is it worth the extra 5 euros? If so, which tower did you go up? The tower atop the Passion Façade or the one atop the Nativity Façade? For the rare few who have been up both, which one would you choose?

Also, would you recommend pre-purchasing tickets online? If so, is there a separate window for people with e-tickets and where is it located in proximity to main ticket office?

We plan on visiting sometime in the afternoon in July so I am expecting big lines and since we are in Barcelona only one full day, I am leaning towards buying tickets online to avoid the crowds (unless I hear from you guys the lines move quickly and it is not necessary).

Thanks in advance.

You buy the ferry ticket at the departure point, which is a short straight road walk following the coast. You can't miss it. The ferry stops at everywhere except Corniglia, which is high up on the cliffs. You can't really use it to go from village to village as a method of seeing the 4 sea-level villages as it runs relatively infrequently (compared to trains). The trains are very cheap (and much quicker) if you want to do that, once you have got to say Vernazza by ferry. (The video shows us getting off at Manorola, where we spent 30 minutes. By chance the next ferry came by and we took that to Vernazza, and came home by train).

On the the Cinque Terre website I pulled up the boat timetable and there does not appear to be any boats that leave out of La Spezia. They all leave out of Portovenere at 10, 11, 12 etc., unless I am not reading something correctly.

http://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/images/stories/Cinque-Terre-timetable-boats-2014.pdf

Hi everyone,

Can anyone recommend a great tour company for the Amalfi Coast and Positano? We did the Amalfi Coast drive and Pompeii tour through the cruise boat, but that was 7 years ago. That was the best ship tour we ever had, but we are thinking about doing private this time so we can have more control on what to do because there are so many options in that area. We are also looking to combine it with possibly Pompeii again since we do not really remember it that well or possibly going to Sorrento, where we have not been yet. Is Sorrento worth the visit as opposed to going back to Pompeii? Some say there is not much to see there.

Thanks in advance. Any recommendations would be much appreciated.

We were there last week. We took at taxi for 7 euro from the port to the train station where we bought the CT cards (the office to buy them is out on the platform to your far right .... a lot of people were searching for it the day we were there).

 

Using the trains was easy. Just be sure to watch the timetable because not every train stops at each village.

 

I had trofie all pesto in Vernazza at a sea side cafe and it was wonderful ... sorry I do not recall the name. But do try this dish :)

 

Vernazza and Manarola were easily my favorites. Just lovely.

 

Oh ... the Lovers Walk was still closed as of last Tuesday, just FYI.

 

Have fun! Wonderful port day.

 

Sent from my LT28at using Forums mobile app

Does the CT card still cost 10e and still cover walking trails along with unlimited travel between La Spezia and all 5 villages?

When we docked at LS last October I walked down to the ferry (about 7 minutes) but caught the train back and the walk from the station to the ship took 25 minutes, as it is just under 2 miles. It is very easy to find and it's all level ground. This was our day out - the rain forced us back earlier than I would have liked but it was still a very good day out. All the best, Tony

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The ferry sounds like a great option as well. How much does it cost per person and how do you get to it from the dock? Also, does the ferry stop at all 5 villages? In other words, can you use it to get from one village to the next by buying a HOHO ticket (if there is such a thing)? Great video BTW. Makes me want to consider taking the ferry now.

Thanks for the info so far everyone.

Hi everyone,

We will be docking (not tendering) for the first time at La Spezia (as opposed to Livorno the last few times) and are thinking about visiting Cinque Terre since we have been to Florence, Pisa and Tuscany already.

For those who docked at La Spezia recently, where exactly do you dock and how far is the walk from the dock to the train station? Also, is the train station easy to find? If anyone has any good maps on where you dock and where the train station is, that would be greatly appreciated!

I heard there is a CT pass for 10 euros that covers the walking tracks along with rail travel between La Spezia and all 5 villages. If we choose not use the walking tracks, is it cheaper to buy tickets from the separate rail stations in each town? For 5 people which would be most cost efficient?

Lastly, since there are 5 towns, it will be near impossible to see them all in one visit. Which towns would you prioritize seeing over others? Any good restaurant recommendations in any of the towns would be welcomed as well. :)

Any info you can provide would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone,

For those who have recently sailed this ship, what were yours thoughts on the food? From the small sample size I have heard from, the food in the MDR was disappointing and there is an upcharge for lobster and filet on formal nights. They said it is worth it to spend more and eat at the specialty restaurants.

Also, what were you thoughts about the ship in general? Did you enjoy it and did it meet your expectations?

Thanks in advance.

This will be are first time sailing Royal on the Serenade of the Seas. We usually sail Celebrity and there are three. Also, how is the food on the ship? For those who have sailed both, is it a big step down from Celebrity?

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone,

Every cruise we have taken has been with Celebrity -- one exception being Oceania one year -- and are thinking about taking Royal this summer for the first time because Celebrity just does not have an itinerary we are interested in. (Celebrity really needs to change their itineraries up because they offer the exact same ones on the exact same boats every single summer for Europe but that is for another thread.)

The general consensus is the food is a step down from Celebrity but just how big? Since we have cruised with Celebrity a lot (we have cruised with them five times) we are used to top quality food for the most part. When deciding on a cruise, the itinerary is most important, but right behind it is the food. Will we find Royal very disappointing? The specific Royal boat is the Serenade of the Seas if it matters.

Thanks in advance.

Can we expect plenty of cabs waiting when we disembark in Amsterdam? (This will be on a Monday morning in June).

That is what I am wondering too. Does anyone know once we exit the cruise terminal if there are cabs readily available? We also will be disembarking on a Monday Morning.

I do not think the train is a viable option for my family because there are 5 of us with a lot of luggage. A taxi will be a lot more convenient, even though it will be more expensive.

You can order a taxi or limo direct on the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport website. The car will be waiting for you at the arranged time. You can choose between a private taxi, a private limo ("business taxi") or a shared minibus that will pick up other people on the way, depending on what you want to spend. With 5 people, the cost of a private vehicle is not that much more than shared. There is even an english language explanatory film on the site.

You can get a quote online by typing in the address, date and number of passengers. The address of the Passenger Terminal is "Piet Heinkade 29"

Thanks for the info. By looking at the Passenger Terminal website, I think the address is "Piet Heinkade 27"

http://www.ptamsterdam.nl/index.php?site=cruises&hc=cruisekalender

Don't know if that slight change makes a difference or not.

Thanks for the rec. Is there any other companies that someone has used?

Hi everyone,

Question for those of you who have disembarked in Amsterdam and headed straight to the airport: can anyone recommend any private transfer companies they have used? Also, how far is the port to AMS and roughly how much does it cost?

There are 5 of us with a lot of luggage so I doubt there will be a taxi at the port big enough to hold all of us.

Thanks in advance.