BaseballMomof4

You really don't need a tour for Athens. With a decent map is extremely easy to DIY. Just get to the city from the port and head for the Plaka District.

I am debating whether to purchase the ship's "Oia on your own" tour or go with a local. We generally prefer local tours since they are usually smaller and you can either avoid or beat the ship crowds, but since Santorini is a tender port I am unsure which way to go.

Does anyone have any first hand experience with this?

Thanks!

Can anyone offer advice regarding getting from the cruise port to the airport? Specifically, would you use a taxi, or would you arrange a private car? Am I correct that the airport is about an hour from the cruise port?

 

Thanks!!

We used Welcome Pick Ups to get from the airport to our hotel and they did a great job. You pre-pay online and they even send you a photo of your driver via text message. Great service.

We are 6 of us and are considering RIL tour from Naples that includes Sorrento, Pompeii and Capri. Has anyone done that tour? I know 10 hours is a long day, but since we'll be with our children, we really want them to have the full experience. What do people think? Good tour? Too crazy? We'll be in Naples 7 am to 8 pm.

 

TIA

Do one or the other. Either go to Capri or go to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. Both are very full days, trying to do it all will ensure you do not get the full experience as you will spend most of your time trying to get to the next stop. My sons and I did Pompeii, Sorrento and Positano in 2013 and we did Capri in 2016. Both were very full days.

For others who may be looking for recommendations, we spent 2 nights at The Plaka Hotel and it was absolutely perfect. Wonderful rooftop terrace, had a room with a view of the Acropolis, and their breakfast was delicious. Great location for walking to other attractions as well. Highly recommend it.

I just booked our next cruise yesterday and we fly out in <50 days, which for me trying to plan a trip to Europe is very tight (Usually I give myself at least a year). Anyway we fly in to Athens on 16 Sept, arriving at 10:30 AM. I booked a hotel in the Plaka (Electra Palace). I could use some suggestions on the following:

 

At the airport is it easy to get an English speaking taxi driver to take us to the hotel, or would I be better off trying to pre-hire a driver?

 

From the Plaka area approx. how much time should I allow to get to the pier the next day? (Our ship sails at 8pm, but I am not sure by what time we must be on board. I know if booking air through the cruise line ones flight had to arrive by 4:30 pm)

 

I would of course consider the Acropolis the one "must see", but taking into account our limited time and jet lag (Some sleep will be necessary) what would you consider a must see?

 

As to food, what should we try?

 

Any other suggestions to get the most of our brief time appreciated.

We booked a service called Welcome Pick Ups. They were amazing. Waiting for us when we got off the plane, no more expensive than a cab ride (ours actually turned out cheaper) and they tell you about their city as you go to the hotel. It's all prepaid so no worries about having currency and the drivers speak your language. Ours was phenomenal.

The Acropolis museum is fabulous, and you can just walk around the Plaka area very easily after that. We went to a restaurant called the Athenaikon that was excellent. It is also in the Plaka district. Prices were very reasonable, food was fabulous and the service was great.

Trying to avoid a ship's tour but want to go to Oia, any recommendations for locals?

Our friends used Rome in a Limo for their excursions as this company is all over Europe. They said it was excellent and while everyone from the cruise was being herded around, they had a small private group and could go places in their van that the tour buses could not get to

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We have used Rome in Limo on numerous occasions. We used them in Rome, Florence, Naples and Messina. Each time was fantastic. The guides were great, the price was very reasonable and they really give you a great understanding of the area and know all the out of the way gems to show you. I can't say enough good things about them.

I will be on the May 30, 2018 9 day Jewel of the Seas cruise and I guarantee I will be using Rome in Limo again. :D

I have often organized group tours in Europe and have never exceeded 8 people. With 8 you can still get the most out of the tour while at the same time economizing. You have to know who you are working with. We also had a woman who organized a tour of 8, had her son decide not to go at the last minute and expected everyone else to absorb the cost of her son's absence. Not right.

Athens is very walkable once you get to the Plaka area. It is inexpensive to get into the Acropolis and the Acropolis museum is well worth the time and cost of the ticket. If you have school aged children, make sure they carry their school ID with them as most of these sites offer discounts to students.

Have been to Naples twice - first time we used Rome in Limo to go to Pompeii, Positano and Sorrento - it was fabulous. I highly recommend Rome in Limo anywhere you can get them. Second time we took the ferry to Capri - spectacular and so very easy, you simply exit the dock area and cross the street and the ferry ticket office is right there. We pre-booked online but that was not necessary, although we knew we had a guaranteed seat at the times we wanted by doing so in case there were large crowds trying to get on the ferry.

We had an outstanding tour in Kusadasi called the "Relax Tour" in which essentially we got to call the shots of where we went and for how long. It was $50 pp for the entire day and we had 7 in our group. We went to Ephesus, the Virgin Mary House and to a leather factory then back to Kusadasi for lunch. Outstanding.

Not sure what itinerary everyone is doing, but we have also been to Rome, Barcelona, Florence, Marseille, Rhodes, Malta, Messina and Palma de Mallorca.

I have sailed on both NCL and CCL. Just booked my first Royal cruise on the Jewel. We will be sailing out of Rome on the May 30, 2018 Med cruise. What is different/better/worse? Excited and curious!

Just booked our 3rd Med cruise on the Jewel May 30, 2018. We have visited Rome, Athens, Messina, and Naples previously so if you have any questions, I will be happy to help in any way I can.

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate it.

As to the Carnival experience, yes, in the Caribbean we do enjoy it. When we sailed the Vista this May, we really didn't have much chance to experience it as our days in port were long and many and by the time we got back on the ship and ate dinner, most nights we were exhausted. We did a small bit of gambling and went to a club here and there, but mostly we went to comedy shows (which we understand we will not have on MSC) or visited the hot tub to relax after a long day of walking. I think on a Med cruise we would be fine with just a nice dinner and maybe a trip to a hot tub before crashing for the night.

Currently looking at 2 different Med cruises and was wondering if anyone had sailed both lines and what their thoughts were.

I have primarily sailed Carnival, but did sail NCL on the Epic so I have some idea of NCL, but have never sailed MSC and am looking for info especially from folks who have experience on both.

Thanks in advance!

I have been cruising for about 10 years, primarily on Carnival with one cruise on NCL. I am currently looking at an MSC cruise on the Symphonia and am wondering if anyone who has cruised a couple of these lines could give me some information about how they compare to one another.

Thanks in advance for any information!!

$79 (daily price of UBP) x 11 (days) x 18 percent = $156.42 each person.

 

The UBP is free ($79 per day) but the 18% is not (it used to be included without charge but now is only included for suites/Haven).

Got it, thanks!

I tried to copy and paste, but it won't let me. It reads:

Total 2 Guests $2498.00

Choice Promo

Svc Charge $312.84

Taxes Fees &

Port Expenses $277.86

Total $3088.70

This is for an 11 day Med.

So, I just tried selecting the "free" beverage packages and it tacked another $312 on the price as a "service charge"??? When I selected the free specialty dining it only added another $30. So much for "free" at sea!

We sailed the Vista and May and she was fabulous! I have not sailed the Escape, but I have sailed the Epic and will say the Vista was far better than the Epic IMO.

Good morning!

 

Cards are available on verizon's website this morning! Just purchased 2! Good luck! :)

Got one!! I am going to start saving them up for when I book the Horizon!

We used Rome in Limo in Messina and did the Mt. Etna Taormina tour - it was fabulous!! Really, really enjoyed it.

In Rhodes we winged it, went to the top of the clock tower and got great photos of the ship! Lots of shopping right off the ship as well. If you want to go to Lindos though, book a tour. The taxis were very, very pricey and the HoHo's don't go there.

Where do people recommend to get tickets from online that are not just vouchers to join another queue to collect tickets from!

I got our tickets directly from the Vatican website. While there was still a stop at a line to exchange the voucher for a ticket, it was quick.

Did you buy your return ticket in advance too? How was Capri? We are thinking of doing this as well. Once you get to Capri, did you do any tours or just DIY? thank you

I booked our tickets online and yes, I booked both ways. I just had to go get in the internet line and get the actual tickets, it was very simple.

We waited until we got to Capri and then booked the boat tour around the island. It was gorgeous, we saw the blue, green, coral and white grottos and the views were breathtaking, but it took up a lot of our time and we did not make it up to Anacapri. We did take the tram up to Capri, had lunch and shopped around a bit.

We had hoped to go into the Blue Grotto on our boat tour but were unable to due to high winds/choppy seas. In addition, I can't image how long it would have taken to get everyone on our boat tour into smaller 2-3 person boats to do the blue grotto, so I guess we got more time on Capri that way.

We did a mix of tours and DIY on our trip as follows:

We did Athens on our own since we had 2 days there. Kusadasi we used Ephesus Shuttle and Emre was our guide - he was FANTASTIC! Rhodes we DIY'ed but if there is something in particular you want to see I recommend booking a tour, we thought we could get to Lindos on our own but were mistaken. The cabs were OUTRAGEOUS so we missed out on Lindos and just stayed in town. In Malta we opted for the Hoho, which was good - just be aware that while you think you will have time to do both routes, you won't. It's pretty much either Mdina or the ruins. In Sicily we booked Rome in Limo and went to Mt. Etna and Taormina - it was really wonderful!!! Rome in Limo does a great job!! In Naples we opted to DIY and took the ferry to Capri since we had been to Pompeii, Positano and Sorrento in 2013. You can't go wrong either way, both are breathtaking. For Rome we did the Rome in Limo transport from the ship and back and went to the Vatican on our own, and in Florence we used Rome in Limo for Pisa and Florence - HIGHLY recommend our guide, Maria Clara. In Marseille we just took a cab to the old port. You can got to Notre Dame de la Garde from there on the Petit Train or take a ferry to Chateau d'If (weather permitting). There is also some great shopping and many sidewalk cafes in that area, however, the cafe are extremely expensive. Barcelona is very walkable and very DIY friendly. If you want to go to Sagrada Familia, definitely book tickets online as the lines are always ridiculous.

It is very simple, we did it in May. You just get off the ship, go through the cruise terminal and keep walking through the parking lot to the street. Make a left and the ferry cruise terminal is right beyond the restaurant you will see on the corner.

Even if you book your ferry tickets online, you have to go to the ticket area to get your actual tickets, they don't take your printouts at the ship. There is a special line for internet purchases and it goes very quickly.

Hi

 

So is the ship still rocking at Kusadasi or no?

We docked there in May and had a fabulous time! We booked a guide through Ephesus Shuttle, Emre, and he was wonderful! There is a tour called the Relax tour and you call the shots. It was very reasonably priced. So if you do get to stop in Kusadasi, I highly recommend them and Emre in particular.