helpthejuggler

Water taxis are at the port, although it is can still be a fair distance depending upon which berth your ship has.

If you take a look at this page

http://www.vtp.it/en/operators/cruises/

The water taxis pickup/drop off at the green area marked 'P2'.

Most ships embark/disembark while at 107/108, but recently we were at 117 which is a 10 minute walk from the taxis

On QV last week at dinner, there was a guest in jeans without a jacket on a couple of nights.

Was this under this regime ?

 

The Informal (Jacket Optional) dress code amendment applies to Queen Victoria's summer fly Mediterranean season on embarkation days only, in Athens, Barcelona, Rome and Venice. Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth will continue to have the standard Formal and Informal (Jacket Required) dress codes. The ship's newspaper will confirm the dress code of the day.

 

Guests who have Athens, Barcelona, Rome and Venice as a port during their voyage and are already settled in on board are encouraged to wear a jacket.

Yes, we boarded in Venice. The rationale is not clear to me. The online information did show this for the last night too.

The odd thing is that our last night was not everyone's last night as many passengers were on board for a mix of 2 or 7 further nights.

Many passengers just ignored Jacket Optional.

We returned from 7nt on Queen Victoria which relaxed the need for a jacket on informal nights on the 1st and last nights only.

We have been to Flaam on Britannia, yet were able to book the train direct.

We had tickets for around 11am which was not full.

Salgrada Familia is 1st on the list as a must see. Are you comfortable finding your way around on a metro?

If not there are Hop on Hop Off that can be used to orient yourself.

From the port there is a bus service for a few euro to take you to very near the start of Las Ramblas. You can walk up there and there are a few places/districts to see.

On Las Ramblas there are 3 metro stops Drassanes, Liceu and Pl. Catalunya.

Pl. Catalunya is a major hub for bus and metro and Hoho.

If you use the metro you can get a T10 ticket approx 10€/10 journeys and can be shared with others.

Salgrada Familia has a metro stop, you need to change lines but you can get there and back easily for 2€ per person.

Google TomsPortGuides where you can read/download a pdf document to plan.

Yes - depending on what you want to see, the level of planning will vary. Any things you are looking to visit?

The Pantheon and Piazza Navona are great to see in the day or night.

I like the buzz around Camp di Fiori and the calm of the Trastevere. A stroll to see Santa Maria in Trastevere and then a lunch nearby is idyllic.

At the other end of the scale, the terrace cafe at the Vittoriano Emmanuel is a great stop close to Trevi and overlooks the Forum and Coliseum.

2 days will be another layer of enjoyment.

We return in a few weeks for our 7th or 8th visit.

Yes I have been in Rome before. This time the cruise is the main reason for flying to Rome. Do not have the flight booked yet, but I think the one that we will be on is going be landing in late afternoon ...... mot much time left for a tour.

As you have been there before, you could skip tours, but still enjoy a great evening and morning walking around the sights.

One of my favourite memories is DW & I enjoying a bottle of wine late one night on Piazza Navona before our cruise the next day.

We have made the journey there from Civi to spend 6 or so hours in Rome. At night the historic centre is quite different from the daytime.

A well located hotel where you can walk to everywhere with ease will not be cheap but I could understand the alternative view that it is expensive due to lack of time there.

Have a great stay whichever you choose

Rome for me. Have you been there before?

Not sure about a HoHo....

There was something similar called Vaporetto dell'Arte which we liked but did not get enough custom, and it was not very frequent.

The public waterbus/Vaporetto service run by ACTV offer 24/48/72hr tickets which can be used like a Hoho to do your own thing. They are busy, frequent and routes are everywhere and include Murano and Burano if you wish to go there too.

Alilaguna offer a more limited network but may be an alternative from airport to city to port etc.

Gondolas are easy to find. The price is high, the tour duration is variable so agree in advance. They can seat 2 - 4 in comfort, 6 in discomfort. But it is memorable.

I don't think that was quite the gist of the OPs original question ( a QG chef to prepare something/their version from the Verandah menu)

 

The OP asked "if something from the Verandah menu takes my fancy, would it be unreasonable to ask for it".

 

On the vista class ships the Verandah galley and preparation are in a completely separate area to the Britannia preparation areas.

I was originally thinking of the Verandah version, but the QG version would be good too.

My thought as a QG 1st timer was,....they say if it is onboard it can be ordered with notice.

My question was following this to its logical conclusion to test the claim.

Take a look at the roll calls section. If you cannot find it post the sail date and we can point you to it

We have pre-booked from airport to hotel at 100e during the afternoon in a few weeks time.

There is a 5-10 minute walk from the dock to depatures.

Alilaguna is slower but much cheaper. We are not staying close to San Marco so it is not a good option for us with luggage.

There are porter services that can help with luggage if you take that option.

The transfer is around 40 minutes. You will need some time at the airport as it can be quite busy.

Try one of the travel agent sites..enter the criteria you have given and you will have a list to select from.

I am wondering what others have asked for . Do you ask for a repeat of something you enjoyed another time?

If something takes my fancy from the Verandah menu would that be unreasonable to ask for?

Our first experience of QG is in a couple of weeks on Victoria, our only food request is that we don't eat seafood.

Will we find an over emphasis on seafood and need to order off menu?

When paying your bill non US passengers have the option when converting the charges to their home currency.

The conversion can be done by the cruise line at a poor rate, or by your card company at their rate.

The card issuer may apply a conversion fee. Having a good card that does not chargr can save a few % so is worth making the right choice.

Often the guides will leave the bus at the train station and escort you to a meeting point to which you will return later, then go back to meet your bus.

For us, it was either at S. Croce or next to the baptistry to walk back to the train station where the bus met us.

Pay your bill in Dollars. Also use the right type of credit card with no charges for overseas use.

Halifax Clarity is the one I use. Others are available....

Rome without a doubt. I would also consider arranging your own transfer too. It is a little over 1hr to the port by car. For a 1st visit and with luggage I would not suggest the train even though that is great value.

You will be OK without knowing Italian. Just a few words can go very far though...5 minutes online is all you need.

Alilaguna runs a water shuttle via Hilton Molino Stucky between the port and San Marco.

Inside the port is free.

Port to station to Port is €2 each way.

Buy a return ticket inside the train station for your return.

The bus is operated by Argo, and saves about a 20 minute walk.

The taxi we had was large with wooden roof with windows along the side with a sliding roof over the rear seated area. Sadly not the smaller speedboat type but that could be luck of the draw.

It was just two plus luggage too

We did not go along the grand canal but went towards Guidecca then came along a narrow canal near the hospital.

I realised that you were not going to the port after I posted... but you may find others going to the airport too.

Water taxi is your best bet..

100€ right to the hotel jetty.

We used one pre-booked in Nov 15. ... google "motoscafi"

We will return there in a few weeks and are using the a water taxi again and the same hotel.

Excellent choice of hotel.

Ask at the front desk for a taxi to the ship and if other guests are willing to share.

The taxis are large enough to share, this makes it good value to transfer to the ship.