Dancer Bob

Six first-timers with luggage- train is not an option, even Metro would be problematic. Taxi is by far best option.

Last time I flew out of BCN it took more than an hour just through Immigration, and that was without 100's of other cruise passengers trying to do the same thing. I can't recall how much in total, something like two hours (but including a stop for coffee). My flight to PHL yesterday had 100 empty seats but that was from TLS, not BCN. First flight in over a year that wasn't full. Flying out same day is risky.

Not cruise related, but arrived YYZ T3 yesterday. I went through the NEXUS line but even with my NEXUS receipt, the CBSA officer wanted to see my passport.

Venezia and Firenze were designed for the Chinese market and are not really Costa ships to begin with. It's my understanding that they will be operated by Carnival as a Carnival product for the US market.

Carry passport and one credit card on your person- possibly also car/house keys. A travel wallet is a good idea. Know where they are at all times, if you lose them it's bad news. Pickpockets can be found everywhere. Second credit card from a DIFFERENT provider. It happened to me. I lost one card, even though I was absolutly clear which card was lost, the alleged "Customer Service" cancelled both (I did have a third, different card). Your medical insurance MUST fit your specific situation and third party providers are almost always better. You must call the insurance provider before a claim, make sure the information is readily available.

I'm with FlyerTalker. "Scenery" at 37,000 ft? As ridiculous as worrying about one hour more or less on a port stop.

I was very disappointed in my Firenze trip this spring, but the ship was only 1/4 full, there were simply not enough people to justify hiring a full set of entertainers. It was indeed a same-as-everybody-else experience. I'll be on Diadema next spring, I've been on that ship before. If it's not back to normal, then my Costa days are done.

Costa and Carnival are not directly comparable because the internal layout is different. Carnival is just a bunch of drink-til-you-drop bars whereas Costa is much more sociable. While I like Deliziosa, of the large ships I prefer Diadema.

Also, you need to know your European size. Size ranges are stocked for the local market,

Depends partly how much time you have prior to your cruise. "Farmacia" are everywhere. Commercial centres with big chains like Carrefour can be found near some Metro stops. Prices are comparable to US (VAT is included in the advertised price).

I deposit enough cash for HSC, I get premium cabins with a drink package so that's not a factor. I only use my OBC for laundry, trinkets ans chocolate bars. The HSC/cash is posted daily, OBC not til the end of the cruise, but unless I get a laundry/chocolate frenzy, I usually get away without registering a card, sometimes I have to put an extra 10 or 20 Euros on my account but I get it refunded at the end.

I agree completely with ballroom-cruisers, except I'm less kind to those who refuse to share the floor, even when there's only 2 or 3 couples. Over the years, I've come to appreciate good floorcraft as the mark of a good dancer. Unable to share indicates a beginner who needs help, unwilling to share, I have no sympathy. Around here we have line dancing, pretty much the same thing, except you learn really bad habits, especially bad posture and weird wiggling. As for hosts, Cunard has ordered two hosts for the QM2 World cruise from one of their suppliers, I'm not aware of anything else.

Last week took just under 90 minutes T3 to T5 (90 minutes is MCT). I didn't have checked bags. Security was the biggest delay, my inbound flight was early and I think I beat the crowd. There were dire warnings about 100 ml fluid limit. The area seemed to be setup to handle at least 500 people in the queue. I wouldn't plan anything less than 3 hours. Most of the signage was fine but there were a couple of places you had to watch carefully, the turn was easy to miss.

I seem to recall some people having problems with Euros. My guess would be you tip the driver, he pays your fare, then makes a profit later on exchange, but he can only exchange bills, not coins. I'm not a person who likes seeing old churches, I'd much rather research how to get to the airport, so I took the bus to the airport. The airport was quite modern and from what I saw the town looked clean and safe enough, I'd already gotten anything I wanted in Muscat.

To expand on what other posters have said, you should know your Schengen visa/ETIAS status before booking the cruise. After you have your luggage, you make your Customs declaration by picking the green or red door, so you need to know if you're carrying any prohibited/dutiable items for the destination country by then. Of coure, you should know prohibited/dutiable items before packing your bags, to travel anywhere. With the standard caveat, that flights are on time.

The public transit bus into town needed OMR (0.3 each way if I remember correctly). I don't recall any currency exchange (I already had OMR). The taxi drivers were really obnoxious. Nothing I found interesting compared to other ports like Muscat or even Fujairah. Izzywiz's photos pretty much sum up how barren and desolate the area is.

I don't speak Italian, never had a problem in Italy. I do speak French, but France shouldn't be a problem in tourist areas. Many Northern Europeans speak excellent (British) English. Download language dictionaries for your tablet. For a first time, it might be convenient to select detinations which offer HOHO buses. The Tourist Information office is your friend. Travel off-season. Summer is hot, crowded and expensive. The biggest problem is probably fine dining at a reasonable price. Lots of tourist traps around.

Basic questions are how much time do you have, how much do you want to spend, and what are your interests? If you're serious about seeing Europe, cruise ship port stops are not a particularly efficient way. A few hours in a port are not nearly enough.

The town is not accessible from the ship, it's a working industrial port. Some of the most dangerous-looking taxi drivers I've ever seen. There is nothing to do.

Three ways to get to CDG: 1. TGV bypassing Paris, direct to CDG. The most convenient alternative, but I've found the flight connections to be a bit tight unless you travel the day before.. 2. Most TGV from southern France go to Gare de Lyon, you then have to connect through Paris to CDG. Convenient only if you're staying in Paris. 3. Regional TER trains. The internal connection in Avignon is a TER. Only if desperate. If that was the cheaper site, you're right, it's for locals, not user friendly. I think you've made the best, albeit not cheapest, choice.

Note that if you take the Leonardo Express to Termini station, Civitavecchia departures are in the far opposite corner. Regional trains change at Trastavere or Ostiense. Watch for pickpockets.

Pickpockets are everywhere in Europe but Barcelona has an especially bad reputation. Are you looking for transit (TMB) options or more HOHO bus?

From FCO, you want rail (Trenitalia). My last trip, the airplane was on the gate at 13.00, I arrived at the train station at 16.00. From there, there is a port bus, but since you don't know the area, you should allow another hour. For 17.00 sailing, I would plan on checking in around 14.00. Remember schedules in Europe are shown in 24-hr format. You need to have a contingency plan based on the next flight LHR-FCO (and hope space is available).

The demographics of an 18-day cruise are going to be vastly different, pretty much only people like you. And it will almost certainly not be full, it may even be hard to find the critical mass for the activities you like. I did a HAL Transatlantic once. Even though I was with a group with some group activities, I was utterly bored. Even at age 67, I was much more of a partier than those people (note I am not using partier as a euphemism for "drunken"). I would say two different kinds of apples, one more tart than the other.

Being on a ship you don't like is a waste of money- no value at all. "Cheapest" and "value" are not at all the same thing.