mousemom11

How do you buy a day pass to Melia? I don't see an option to do that online.

Thanks very much. I'm going to go ahead and book the excursion.

My daughters and I will be cruising on Harmony this December. We are thinking about doing a private excursion in San Juan, but are somewhat pressed for time because of a 2 pm ship departure time. Will we be able to depart the ship right after it's cleared, or will we have to wait until all the people going on ship-sponsored excursions disembark? If the latter is the case, about how long will we have to wait until we can disembark?

Just to update - we got out of the terminal around 11:30 and took a cab to Hollywood Beach Resort. (Uber would have been less $$). Left our bags at the bell desk and had a great lunch at Landshark Bar and Grill overlooking the beautiful beach. Walked down to the beach quickly and then ubered back to the airport - at airport by 2:30. It was a great way to grab lunch and spend some time - and loved seeing the beautiful beach and palm trees. It was a nice end to vacation before sitting in the airport :-)

Our flight this December isn't until 6:30 pm. My kids like the idea of going to Margaritaville Beach Resort for the day. Based on what CruisingMom has said, it sounds like the hotel is fine with you leaving your bags with the Bell Captain even though you won't be staying there overnight. Have other people done this same thing?

Thanks for the info on the discounts. All of the tours and transfers are for just 2 people, so perhaps that could explain the limited discount. I did ask for it the first time, so I don't know that I should ask again. I am always hesitant to do stuff like that. We will use them even without a discount, I just hate to pay any more than necessary. What do you think?

I was the one who mentioned E50 discount per excursion. This was for 8 people and is 10% of the excursion price. I'm sorry if I caused any confusion by not mentioning the size of the party or the %.

I got an email from Jany today saying that they have decided not to raise 2010 rates. She says to email your 2010 confirmation to her and they will discount those rates. She didn't say how much, but once I hear back from her, I'll post it here.

I heard back from Jany today. They are giving us E50 discount for Florence/Pisa, E100 for Rome, and E50 for Naples. This is for an 8-person van.

 

 

Well since we are on the same cruise, I now feel better. :) I had heard of great discounts everyone else got but I was not overwhelmed.

 

I got an email from Jany today saying that they have decided not to raise 2010 rates. She says to email your 2010 confirmation to her and they will discount those rates. She didn't say how much, but once I hear back from her, I'll post it here.

We arranged 3 tours with RIL(you get a nice discount when you do multiple tours) with others from our roll call. The communications were always answered quickly and professionally. We had 3 different people making the arrangements for different cities and there was no problem cross referencing us to get the discount.]

 

May I ask what kind of discount you got? I booked all 3 locations for 16 of us and the only discount we got was to pay 2009 prices and not whatever 2010 would be. I did not feel this was that great a discount and not what I heard others on CC had received.

Will anyone else share their discount as well?

 

Red Raider Girl - We recently booked 3 excursions for 2010. I also asked for a discount and was told that they would lock in 2009 prices for us in lieu of a discount. Maybe they're getting so much business from this message board that they're increasing rates? :o I'd love to hear what others have to say about discounts..

 

This is exactly what they did for me when I booked our 3 2010 excursions with them - 2009 prices for 2010 excursions. It will be interesting to see what the 2010 prices are when they come out.

We had an 8-person van for our Rome in Limo tour of Rome. Although our service was as promised (comfortable van, door-to-door service, pre-booked Vatican guide, Julia, who was spunky and knowledgeable, and a chance to visit all the major Rome/Vatican City sites in one day) I was extremely disappointed in our driver/guide Rolando. Instead of using the time in the van to tell us about the history of Rome, the culture of Rome, the sites we would be visiting, basically anything useful... he instead chose to talk about the following topics: 1) how rich he was (not a very good strategy for someone wishing to receive a tip at the end of the day), 2) how much of a playboy he was (how he selected American women for their loose morals), and 3) how intelligent he was (especially compared to women, who he obviously disdained). As a strong, independent, American woman with morals, I was extremely offended by many of his comments. Ask for a different driver/guide if these topics or extreme arrogance also offend you and if you actually want to learn something about Rome/Italy on your trip.

Good heavens. I'm impressed with your self-restraint. I would have whacked him over the head with my Baggalini by his 4th or 5th statement of this type. ;) Uh huh, real intelligent to anger the customer who will be tipping you (or not) at the end of the day.

Have you emailed Jany about him? He certainly does not sound like he is up to their standards as a driver. As a business owner, I would want to know if one of my employees was putting off my customers like this.

Glad to hear that your other excusions went well.

Could someone please post the website for Romeinlimo?

Thank you.

http://www.romeinlimo.com

I wouldn't recommend skipping the Vatican entirely, but would visit St. Peter's Basilica, and if you have the money to burn, pay the admissions for a quick walk through the Vatican Museum to see the Sistine Chapel.

You're right, I would rather not miss the Sistine Chapel. But that's what is nice about having a private tour, you can set your own agenda.

We have two kids almost the exact ages as yours. Most drivers and guides will work with you, but it really helps to first know what you want to see and do, and set an itinerary with RIL that is kid-friendly in the first place. They can't read your mind and interests.

 

As just an example, most people want to see the same old tourist sights in Roma: Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, St. Peters Basilica, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Piazza Venetia, Colisseum, and Forum.

 

However, to make this itinerary more kid-friendly (and unless they have a unique interest in ancient history or Renaissance/Baroque art), I suggest shortening or eliminating guided tours of the Forum and/or Vatican Museum, and adding the Santa Maria della Concezione (kids will find the Capuccin Crypts and all the body parts fascinating!), the Gallerie/Villa Borghese (a top museum set in a park where they can ride bikes, run around and otherwise blow off steam), Sant' Ignaz_io di Loyola (a church with optical illusions) and/or the Time Elevator (4-D movies of Roma in air conditioning!). Also, if your kids are energetic, consider climbing the cupola of St. Peter's Basilica.

 

Let me know if you need more suggestions. :)

Thanks very much for those suggestions. Those are the kinds of things that we're looking for. In fact, we were thinking of skipping the Vatican altogether in favor of catacombs. I know the girls would find that much more interesting. Still lots of research to do.

I would definitely use Sorrento Silver Star from Naples. They have a web site...Google it. They will work with your interests to plan your day. Ask for their suggestions for children and select what the girls would enjoy. Wonderful to work with. They aim to please, are reliable....nice fleet of vehicles with safe drivers.

I will definitely look them up. Thanks!

I am leaning towards using RIL for Florence, Rome, and Naples on our cruise next summer. Our DD's will be 11 and 9. For those of you with kids around that age, what has your experience been with the drivers and guides keeping them engaged throughout the tour?