mapleleaves

I would suggest reading up on the various ports to learn as much as possible about each destination. There are books specific to Med cruises, ie Rick Steves has Med Cruise Ports and Ann Vipond has Med by Cruiseship. Both provide info for each port; the history, attractions, sites, tours, how to get around, and DIY options. Personally I find that Med cruises are port intensive and quite exhausting. I can't imagine doing it with stroller and/or carrying a toddler. Especially in the big cities like Rome or Florence where not only are you dealing with crowds but an hour commute getting there from the port. Maybe board in a large city but find an itinerary with more smaller ports like Mykonos, Kotor, Dubrovnik where you dock in town or 10 minutes away. This is where the guide books will help you. There was an interesting family cruise report on the RCI board recently. She hasn't finished it and hopefully will return for the rest. But she had an interesting idea ..... bring a nanny. Good luck with your research. I'm sure you'll find a great itinerary to meet your family's needs. Enchantment of the Seas: Western Med Cruise. June 2nd-June 12th-Pre/Post Cruise trip report - Page 2 - Royal Caribbean International - Cruise Critic Community

I would have gladly paid 6E for a bus to Civi station! well worth it for the time and convenience of ship to Civi station. It's a new option this yr so it wasn't available for us. But if you don't want to pay the 6E, you can do what we did; take the free shuttle to the port entrance then catch a city bus to Civi station for a euro or 2. We ended our day at the Colosseum. Took a cab to the Ostiense station. $10-$15, maybe 10 minutes.. I'm sure we could have found a bus or subway, but again, the time and convenience were important. Plus the comfort! We took 2 or 3 cabs that day, well worthwhile.

We were on the Civi Express. I bought RT Ostiense tickets at the convenience store by the Civi RR station. Ostiense being the furthest stop, I figured we were covered for anything in between. We got off at S Pietro; boarded at Ostiense for the return. The 4 of us sat together both directions. I don't recall it being crowded TO Rome, but I remember there less than a dozen people in our carriage on the return to Civi. (the Regional trains can be packed as they just keep selling tickets, so if you travel during 'commuting times, there may be no seats available. The Civi Express tickets are monitored )

Looks like a water taxi would be close to 100E. Select 'On Line Ticket' for estimate, and add 20E. Booking Water Taxi in Venice is Now Easy - Consorzio Motoscafi Venezia There is an Alilaguna stop at Tronchetto. The blue line goes there from St Marks hourly. Looks to be 8Epp. . Blue Line Timetable | Alilaguna

Hope you see more activity there ! BTW, we did Rome DIY by train. Took the train to SPietro (the Vatican stop), then did a combo of walking and taxis to get around to everything we wanted to see. No time to go inside the sites tho. For the return trip we left from Ostiense. We were a group of 4 who had never travelled together so were unsure how fast we'd move in the morning, therefore we didn't buy the train tickets in advance. We bought them at the little convenience store next to the Civi train station.

Sorry to hear about the condition of your knee. Ouch. That's a lot of surgeries. I'd be very tempted to go for the Oia and Fira combo, but, I understand that you'll have to deal with the steps to the cable car on the return trip, and you're worried about your knee. That's a tough one. Is it refundable if you book now but cancel a few weeks beforehand if your knee isn't up to it? The benefit of going in Feb is that you won't be dealing with the crush of people on the stairs; you can easily take your time and hold onto the railing for support.

Have you tried F book? There will be a group called 'Royal caribbean symphony of the seas', which is public and a few more that are private. It's easy to join these groups. You'll find an equivalent to the cruisecritic roll call which is also easy to join. On our cruise last Sept, the Fbook group was way more active and informative than CC RollCall. Plus pax who had just returned were still posting with their recent experiences which was very helpful.

Well, the good news is.... you're the only ship in port ! (at this point anyway) I'd suggest looking at tripadvisor to see if any locals are on the Santorini forum. (not too many cruisecritic people will have visited during the winter so tripadvisor might have more info) I looked at it briefly; not too much activity when I did a search for "february". The indication is that 95% of shops and restaurants are closed, and the bus schedule is very poor. But this video is quite informative re: winter in Santorini. Santorini in the WINTER (November to March) : worth going ? - YouTube Not to be nosey, but are you having knee replacement surgery? I had mine done 2 months before a Med cruise; walked around Rome and Florence with the best of them! Hopefully your surgery will go as smoothly as mine.

How long is this tour? Just wondering if you could squeeze in a visit to Oia. I was so disappointed that we didn't get to Oia during our stop in Santorini. The photo opps in Fira were good, but it seemed that there were many more opportunities in Oia. Other than at the cable cars, I don't recall many steps as we walked around Fira. Perhaps a location or 2 that required 3-4 steps, but nothing major.

Rest up before your cruise! Med cruises are port intensive and exhausting, but wonderful. Check your ship's roll call to see if there's any activity with your fellow pax. Often you'll find pax who've visited one or all the ports before and can offer advice. Check on fBook as well; sometimes those cruiseline groups are more active.

no. It would be a frightening job to monitor elevator access, given how long people stand in those lines and how short their tempers become !

The $25 charge is for a RT transfer. I don't recall a long wait for a bus on the return. Seemed pretty seamless. Our port time was 7-7 (Epic). We first stopped in Pisa for a quick photo opp. (to maximize our time, we took a cab from the train station to the Leaning Tower, and again when we ret'd to the station). Then we went to Florence. I don't recall the exact time of the train, but probably somewhere around 4ish as the onboard time was 6:30p. (we used the CIVI Express train in Rome, and were pleasantly surprised at how few pax were on board)

Yes, there are stairs to access the cable cars, whether you're going up or down .

IIRC Celebrity is the only cruiseline with an excursion that doesn't return via the cable car. It's not just the number of ships in port with you, but also their arrival/departure times and number of pax that will impact your return. ie if your ship leaves at 21:00 and another leaves at 22:00, the cable car line will probably be long because 5-6000 pax are all leaving around the same time.

Our ship's scheduled arrival time was 1:30pm. We were off the ship shortly after that. The tender ride was longer than I expected, maybe 15-20 minutes b so 2pm-ish when we disembarked. Immediately got in the cable car line. Got to Fira at 4pm. I assume so. We noticed 2 tender boats in the distance that were going in a different direction to us. IIRC, Santorini is a port where NCL can't use it's own tenders. They must use Santorini staff and boats. All part of the game I suppose. The same game that requires 99% of cruise pax to return via the cable car.

I remembered this beach guide from Santorini Dave's web site. 19 Best Mykonos Beaches & Beach Map (Clubs, Parties, Swimming) (santorinidave.com) Perhaps compare descriptions with the other web site. Both describe party atmosphere or family, nudist, gay, facilities available, etc. 30 BEST BEACHES in MYKONOS (and the MOST BEAUTIFUL) - 2023 (mykonosbeachesguide.com)

You may PLAN to be off the ship ASAP, but you have no control over it unless you have a ship's excursion or priority status. I was on NCL late Sept. Tender tickets were distributed the previous day, starting at 8am. We got in line for a tender ticket at 7am, with maybe 75 people ahead of us, and got tender #3. Keep in mind that we arrived in Santorini at 1:30pm and the only other ship had arrived at 7am. So you'd think we'd be ok. NOPE, we stood in line for 2 hrs. Reached Fira at 4pm. Not saying that will happen to you, but it happened to us. Good luck !

I'm sure someone will be along with specific info for FCO, but I'll provide my solution to a similar situation last yr. My SIL arrived at 7am to London Heathrow, I arrived at 11am. Same terminal thankfully. She wasn't sure where she'd be when I arrived, and no guarantee my flight would be on time. We both had whatsapp on our phones, so after I arrived I texted her via whatsapp and asked where she was. She was having a b'fast at Fortnum & Mason so I joined her for a cup of tea ! Easy solution !

yes, it's an easy flat walk to the Trieste station. And safe. I should have said NCL transfer not shuttle. Probably $50-$60 pp. Of course it will be crowded, but everyone will have a seat. Your luggage would be stowed beneath. The train will be crowded too as many people will prefer to pay $15 for their ride to Venice. And you won't necessarily get a seat on the train. Last yr there were complaints that people stood all the way from Venice to Trieste, or only single seats were available, or the luggage storage was full. I avoided that by taking a Frecci train with reserved seating in Business Class. The Canal Grande is very easy to find. You'll see it as you exit the train station; it's right across the canal. You won't need your hotel to remind you that you're in Venice. It's a rather an overwhelming experience to see Venice the first time.

Have you determined HOW and WHERE you will be arriving to Venice ? My suggestion would be to look at hotels near Piazzale Roma in case you decide to take an NCL shuttle, AND, hotels near the train station in case you arrive by train. Have your options reserved so that you can cancel one or the other depending on how you arrive. Keep in mind that Trieste is a good 2 hrs away by bus or train. And you need time to get to and board your transportation mode and time afterwards to get to your hotel. So figure on 3 hrs If you take the train, the Trieste station is a 15-20 minute walk from the ship. OR you can wait for a taxi with a few hundred others There's also Flixbus. Their depot is on the same block as the train station and their Venice schedule is either to the airport or to Tronchetto near Piazzale Roma. The NCL shuttle will most likely drop you at Tronchetto. From there it's a 5 minute ride on the People Mover monorail to Piazzale Roma. You have so little time in Venice. Even if you're off the ship by 8, it will be 11-12 before you're ready to start exploring. Makes more sense to find the closest hotel, leave your luggage with the Desk, then head off immediately to start exploring. Otherwise you're struggling thru crowds with your luggage to find a vaporetto, waiting in line, not enjoying the scenery along the canal because you're busy holding onto your multiple luggage, then fighting the crowds again as you look for your hotel. Dump the luggage as soon as you can so you can enjoy Venice ! A link for Venice Train Station hotels 'How Many Bridges?' hotel listings for Venezia Santa Lucia train station | Venice for Visitors (europeforvisitors.com) A link for Piazzale Roma hotels: 'How Many Bridges?' hotel listings for Piazzale Roma | Venice for Visitors (europeforvisitors.com) ( When it says 1 small bridge, it is very small, easily manageable. And I believe you can click on the hotel names to get detailed descriptions.)

Regarding luggage limits on vaporetto. From Venice for Visitors Venice ACTV Vaporetto and Bus Fares for 2023 | Venice for Visitors (europeforvisitors.com) On water buses, you're allowed to carry one piece of luggage with a combined length, width, and height of 150 cm (60 inches) or less, plus a smaller backpack, purse, or other personal item. For more luggage, or for a bigger bag, you may need to pay a supplement. Ask the agent in the ticket booth or the boat conductor as you board. Can't say that I've ever seen anyone checking the size of luggage, only checking that tickets were validated. OTOH I've never seen pax with more than 1 suitcase plus a personal item. Look closely at the crowded vaporetto in the next photo. 1 large suitcase is manageable in that crowd but more than that would be difficult. Venice Vaporetto Line 1 (Grand Canal to Lido) | Venice for Visitors (europeforvisitors.com)

yes there is. This map shows your hotel AND the stop. Venice ACTV and Alilaguna Stop: Rialto | Venice for Visitors (europeforvisitors.com)

No one watches the line or manages it. If there are a few ships in port, cruiseline employees MAY be there and will be communicating with the ship about the length of the line.

it would be 25-30 minutes to walk, assuming you have a great sense of direction ! And you'd have some bridges to cross. With a large suitcase it might be best to take the vaporetto. A vaporetto (water bus) is a form of public transportation. One ride is 9.5E. (if you're buying a 24hr pass for other sightseeing purposes, time it so that your ride to Piazzale Roma is within the 24 hrs, but otherwise 9.50 is your fare)

If you can easily manage your luggage, you could walk from your hotel to Piazzale Roma. At P Roma you get on the People Mover (a monorail) for a 3 minute ride to Tronchetto. If you can't manage your luggage, take a vaporetto to Piazzale Roma, then catch the People Mover. Venice People Mover | Venice for Visitors (europeforvisitors.com) How are you getting to your hotel ? I would guess via Piazzale Roma so you will be somewhat familiar with the area.