realtrip

We have two options: livornonow offers a shuttle for 30 euro. It leaves Livorno at 9:30 ( arrive in Florence at 11:15 and leave at 3:45). It is just transport, no guide.

option2 ; the train but there are not many trains on Sunday. We are docked from 8 am to 7 pm sailing on NCL Jade. The train I found was at 9:10 ( not sure we would make it though as we have to shuttle out of port and then take a bus to train station). next train gets us to Florence after 12. ( 18 euro return)

advice? Does NCL usually dock/let folks off earlier than 8?

Thanks!

:) You'll love it.

Thanks anyways . I appreciate it.:)

Let me know if you ever need help with a visit to Montreal!

Thank you Globaliser. That was a really clear explanation! I appreciate it; it is reassuring.

Perfect!

Look at it this way: You thought you were only 5 minutes over the MCT. Instead, you actually have three times that much margin.

Your math is so optimistic! I love it! Thanks

well, 10 minutes are a world of difference when dealing with airlines.

As for those passes, i will ask a a former colleague who is now a station supervisor for ac here at bru. I will send her a message and i'll get back to you asap :-)

thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Thanks everyone!

Our Air Canada flight arrives at 8:35 am on a Thursday ( July 9) and our Brussels airlines flight leaves at 9:40 am. So it's 65 minutes, not 55.I miss counted. Won't make much difference, I suppose.

Hopefully, it being summer will help ( no snow delay, lol)

I'm glad to know there are other flights, just in case. I checked train and bus options and can't find anything. Our cruise leaves on Saturday.

I guess I will have to cross fingers and toes that immigration isn't too long. Or that Air Canada gives out priority passes for immigration ( where would I find out about this?)

I booked my flight with airmiles.ca.

They didn't leave me much of a choice.

Here is what I got: Montreal to Brussels ( 55 minutes to get to other gate) Brussels to Venice.

Return: Venice to Toronto ( 3 hour connection) to Montreal. I'm not worried about this one, will even try to get on an earlier flight to Montreal (hourly schedule).

I am freaked out about the 55 minutes in Brussels though. BIG time. To change would cost 300$ per person , so that is out of the question. Besides the only alternative is flying through Toronto on Rouge.

We pack light so will only have carry-on. Air Canada says 50 minutes is the ''legal'' connection time.

I desperately need advice. We plan on running ( will be wearing running shoes). I've checked out the map ( hard to figure out though) for Brussels airport.

What else can we do?

TIA!

our flight is in July.

wow! That's interesting to know!

Next NCL ships name: The Takeaway...

Too Funny. Wait, no! I mean so sad....

My exchange was either $1.10 or $1.11, I can't remember which now. Amazing deal considering what my bank is charging! We will have the OBC, but I am toying with the idea of adding extra in order to avoid any charges on my credit card.

 

Just for clarity:

 

1. I can use my OBC to pay for anything except DSC, correct? So once on the ship, I will be required to pay the DSC with my credit card at the exchange my bank has set? that's right Or can I prepay the third person DSC prior to the cruise?that seems a good idea, cheaper The first two are already taken care of.
   
2. If my on board purchases exceed my OBC, at the end of the cruise I assume those will be charged to my credit card also at the current exchange rate of my bank? yes
   
3. If I should have extra pre-purchased OBC at the end of the cruise (not the complimentary OBC that came from booking, but one I have added myself), how does NCL go about refunding that? cash out or back on your cc
   
4. Right now my booking displays my balance in Canadian dollars. When I make a payment, it is taken off my credit card in Canadian as well so no need to worry about an exchange. However, what if I am booking a shore excursion or wanting to reserve a cabana on GSC? The displayed price in in USD, and I would have to pay that with my credit card (and pay the awful exchange rate that is currently charged by my bank). How can you pay for ship excursions, etc, and still use NCL's lower exchange rate? Go a little further, pretend you actually want to book something, the price will then show up in Canadian, at least it does on my end.
   
5. Any other tips to take advantage of NCL's lower exchange rate?
    
   

My comments are in red. I, too, would love some more ideas. We are quite lucky NCL offers this. I wish all companies did this!:D

Ships visiting Sicily usually dock at either Messina or Palermo. I have been to both ports, but only visited Taormina from Messina. There are loads of cabs at the port, and negotiating a fee for the day is easy.

Do you have any idea of the cost for this? That sounds like it would be super easy.

oops double post

That would be really nice. We are going in July ( the 23rd).

thank you!!

Thanks Hank. Very helpful.

One issue with these buses are their Florence schedule. While we can be in Florence by 9:30 by using the train from Livorno, with that bus one would not get to Florence until 11:15! Not sure why anyone would want to give up nearly 2 hours of an already too short port day to take that bus.

 

And one still needs to get from the port to the bus. There is usually a shuttle bus that runs from the ships to central Livorno, but they run on an irregular schedule and the bus actually ends up costing about the same as a shared taxi from the port to the train station.

 

Hank

Help! Advice needed.

our ship is scheduled to dock at 8:00. If , realistically we can only make a 9:30 train then isn't it easier to take the bus company? Or will the ship really get there a lot earlier and lets us off by 7 ish so we can get that 8:10 train to Florence. We will be on the Jade if that makes a difference.

They have good reviews on tripadvisor. But I'm nervous as this is the first time I'm booking an independent tour on my own (on my own for four people, lol). Usually great people from my roll call arrange things and I join them. But this time around I'm in charge. Yikes. I don't want to get it wrong.

Any advice would be appreciated. We are looking at doing the Godfather tour with Sicily Taxi service in Messina for 280 euro for 4 people, that seems good, right? Or is too good? see I told you I was nervous but not nervous enough to do the ship tour.

Hi

I remember reading somewhere about a travel card that covers both the bus (ATVO) from the airport to Piazzale Roma and return and also a vaporetta pass ( we'd like a 48 hour pass).

My questions:

Is it a good idea to get this from home?

Will it be easy to figure out where to exchange a print out for an actual ticket if we do pre-purchase?

Is it cost effective?

And most important, lol, can you remind me of the web site to get this?

Thanks bunches. So excited for Venice!

This is what you see on bearing right from the tender dock. All the best, Tony

[YOUTUBE]gO4Luc3h41k[/YOUTUBE]

Thank you so much for your wonderful youtube videos!

Thanks everyone! AF1 suggestion duly noted.

Thanks! I definitely would not have known a COOP is like a grocery store.

Are there any grocery stores in Venice to get soft drinks, wine and maybe snacks . We will be in Venice for 2 days before the cruise.

We will have my 4 yr old grandson with us on our upcoming cruise. Were there a lot of children there( if any) or is it more of an adult only beach day?

There were no children there when we went. Nothing special for kids to do. They'll have to do what we did as kids = play in the sand.lol