pjfarkel

I wasn't able to find any roll calls for the Carnival Horizon. We are on the April 29th sailing and would like to join this if a roll call has opened. Please advise. Thanks.

I will let you know if we find a sensation pin.

We were in Messina two weeks ago and also wanted to do Taormina on our own. When we got off the ship taxis were plentiful. If you can hook up with other people also wanting to go, it can be less expensive. Just tell the taxi driver how long you want to stay and he will be waiting for you for the return to the ship. You pay when you return, so don't worry about them leaving you behind. As far as pricing, when we started asking, we were quoted about $100E round trip for the two of us. We met up with 3 other couples who also wanted to go, found a taxi that could accomodate our group, renegotiated the rate, and ended up paying about $30E per person. We did not know the people that we shared with but they were all from our ship and turned out to be very nice company. We stayed in Taormina about 4 hours, saw the Greek theatre with great views of the coastline and Mt. Etna, then did some shopping. Though our taxi driver did not speak much English, he made himself understood. In addition to the ride to Taormina, he also took us to two scenic overlooks for picture taking, one in Taormina, the other in Messina.

Did you wait in a special taxi line or just walk up to a taxi driver and negotiate the rate? Is the taxi able to go up the hill and drop you at the gates or did you have to climb the hill? Would you recommend this "on your own" rather than one of the ship's tours? Thanks so much for your help.

We visited Taormina a couple of years ago and used the ship's "on your own"

transportation. Just the bus ride to and back. Worked great as we could walk around on our own but still with the security of a "ship's" excursion. So I would suggest this option if your cruiseline offers it.

 

A couple at our dining table bussed and trained it on their own to Taormina and said that it was kind of a hassle to get to the train station and then get up the hill to Taormina. And then they were limited by the train schedule back. They said they wouldn't do that again as it wasn't as convenient as they thought it would be. But they did enjoy the train ride.

Hi. Does the ship's transportation get one any closer up the hill? I am concerned about the walk up for my 77 year old mother with COPD. Is it a gradual hill or steep walk up? Thanks for your help.

We were the first off the ship this last Saturday in Acapulco...unusual weather - rain! Fortunately, Rudy and our guide Marco were at the gate waiting for us. What a relief - they grabbed our luggage, got us out of the rain and into the van. Rudy reviewed our itinerary with us and told us to pay after the tour. How great is that. We were on a short tour schedule, our flight leaving that day so off we went and everything worked picture perfect. We saw everything...the old famous Flamingo Hotel, once owned by our very own John Wayne and Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller), the crumbling Casa Blanca Hotel with spectacular views, toured the Fort, saw old Acapulco, downtown Acapulco, visited the Chapel of Peace and so on. The van ran great, Marco knew his history and gave us a wonderful experience. I would recommend Rudy to anyone who wants an intimate tour of Acapulco. We loved our day - what a excellent way to end a fabulous cruise.

We were the first off the ship this last Saturday in Acapulco...unusual weather - rain! Fortunately, Rudy and our guide Marco were at the gate waiting for us. What a relief - they grabbed our luggage, got us out of the rain and into the van. Rudy reviewed our itinerary with us and told us to pay after the tour. How great is that. We were on a short tour schedule, our flight leaving that day so off we went and everything worked picture perfect. We saw everything...the old famous Flamingo Hotel, once owned by our very own John Wayne and Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller), the crumbling Casa Blanca Hotel with spectacular views, toured the Fort, saw old Acapulco, downtown Acapulco, visited the Chapel of Peace and so on. The van ran great, Marco knew his history and gave us a wonderful experience. I would recommend Rudy to anyone who wants an intimate tour of Acapulco. We loved our day - what a excellent way to end a fabulous cruise.