mapleleaves

which airport .... bologna ? venice?

Why not go with the HAL transfer ? It's only a 2hr drive. I remembered this post. See reply #15 for a private car/driver recommendation,

which cruiseline? what time is your flight ? I was on NCL last Sept docking in Trieste. The disembark schedule showed that pax who bought an NCL transfer to VCE could leave starting at 7am. This would have you to VCE 9 - 9:30am.

Great answer from hlitner. I'll just add my experience. We were on NCL Gem last Sept, 1:30pm - 10pm. Costa arrived at 8am. Tender tickets were issued the day before; we arrived 1 hr prior but there were still 40 pax ahead of us. Got tender #3. We stood in the cable car line for 2 hrs! Got to the top at 4pm. I have no idea how there were so many people ahead of us. Perhaps the Costa ship arrived late? or their pax didn't disembark until after lunch? Who knows, but it was a 2 hr wait. I would have walked up the donkey path but my companion wasn't able to, so we waited. I had tried to get the NCL excursion, Charming OIA, but it was sold out except for the Spanish version. Wish I had taken it anyway, just as a way to see Oia. Hopfully our situation was not the norm. You'll probably make the 10am tour, but I'd suggest getting in line for the tender ticket more than 1 hr early. Good luck.

I was in Florence last month. I used booking.com and drilled down to a specific area and budget to get the hotel info I wanted. There are similar sites that will allow you to restrict a search to your specifications. But beyond that it just takes time to research and read reviews.

Go to the Ports of Call Greece forum and read the long thread there. The biggest factor to consider is ....how many ships are in port with you, how many pax, and their arrival/departure times. Google Santorinin port schedule to get this info. I was there last Sept and on Tender 3. It was a 2hr wait for the cable car !! I had tried to get the NCL excursion but it was sold out. Should have taken the Spanish version just to get to Oia quickly. Is the tour company meeting you in Fira ? If so, you can always walk up the donkey path. Give yourself 45 minutes for the walk and bring water; there's no shade and it's very hot. Dont wear sandals due to donkey crap. I avoid cruiseline excursions, but this location is advisable, unless you're ok walking the donkey path.

I used to wonder about a TA. Then on my Med cruise last Sept we had horrible weather; our port on Day 1 was cancelled so it became a sea day. Day 2 was already a scheduled sea day. Stuck on the ship 2 days in a row. I couldn't stand it. So I wonder no more.

Most people prefer the convenience of a cruiseline transfer, with airport to pier service. Around $60pp. If you're willing to put in some effort, the more affordable options are train or FlixBus. But the train and bus depots are a ways from the pier and require a 15-20 minute walk ( or you can wait for a cab). And the train requires a change. This topic is discussed frequently on the Ports of Call, Italy board. You'll find a couple of private transfer companies there if you do a search.

YES. That's what we did. We had RT Ostiense tickets, but we hopped off a SPietro, then returned from Ostiense after visiting the Colosseum. We bought our tickets from a little store at the Civi station. No one checked our tickets, in either direction.

How early is your flight? It's an easy 5-6 minute walk from the Carlton to Piazzale Roma; only 2 small bridges to cross. Assuming you can easily manage your luggage. How are you getting to your hotel? Once you reach P Roma, you can either take the ATVO Airport Bus or a cab to VCE. Both take 20 minutes. A cab is about 45E. For an early morning trip, make a reservation to ensure a cab will be waiting. Taxi Venice and Mestre: Cooperativa Radiotaxi in Venice, the main authorized taxis (radiotaxivenezia.com) ATVO starts at 4:20am and costs 10E pp Linea n. 35 (atvo.it) During the film festival you might not be able to get a water taxi. Check for availability: Booking Water Taxi in Venice is Now Easy - Consorzio Motoscafi Venezia

Which hotel ? Piazzale Roma is the last point of land travel in Venice, so it's where the airport buses, taxis, cars, drop off their pax to explore Venice, AND, it's where you depart in order to return to the airport. I typically stay around the Rialto area, so I take a waterbus up the Canal to PRoma, then the ATVO airport express bus to VCE (20 minutes, 10E). A cab from PRoma to VCE is around 45E. The Aliliguna is an option if you want to travel by water from Venice to VCE. And of course, a private water taxi from your hotel to VCE, which will be around 140E. Depends on where you're staying and your budget.

I cruised from Trieste last Sept. Took the train TO Trieste but post cruise took Flixbus from Trieste to VCE since we had an early flight out the next morning. Non stop, maybe 2 hrs. No complaints ! (they also go to Tronchetto in Venice.) Just be aware that the bus depot is about a 15-20 minute walk from the cruise pier. It's on the same block as the train station.

agree with marazul ...be very mindful of those port times. If you look at LIVE CRUISES in the banner above, there's a current MSC Europa in the works. They boarded in Barcelona so perhaps you can board at multiple ports ??

Which cruiseline? I was on NCL. The first pax off the ship left at 7am; these were pax who bought the NCL transfer and had flights out of VCE before 1pm. It's a 2 hr drive to VCE, so a 12:15pm flight is do-able. Not much wiggle room though. It wouldn't be in my comfort zone. I've always found VCE to be challenging, especially with flights after12 noon since that's when the cruise pax descend. I didn't want to end my trip with stress so I took the easy way out and flew home the following day instead! My flight to London left at 6:20am; got to the airport at 4:50am and was at my gate within 45 minutes.

This listing shows a few hotels that are right on the PRoma and a dozen more if you can manage your luggage over a small bridge. If you need an elevator be sure to inquire. Most people will use a water bus/vaporetto to get to St Marks. There is a water bus station near PRoma as it's on the Grand Canal 'How Many Bridges?' hotel listings for Piazzale Roma | Venice for Visitors (europeforvisitors.com) Otherwise use the map feature on booking.com to limit your search to a specific area.

It's not really a 'speedboat', as you'll see in the attached video. If you have mobility issues, be aware that there is a hill to climb to reach the bus. And be aware that the boat doesn't leave until it's full. It sat there for an hour when I visited Santorini. But having said that .... I'm sorry that I waited for the cablecar instead of taking the boat , as we missed Oia entirely!! Transfer to Oia - Fast Line to Oia (transfer-to-oia.gr)

On your earlier NAPLES post you were given lots of great info on how to cobble together your own tour via ferry. I have to say .... viewing the villages from the sea is fabulous!! Highly recommend it! But are you only interested in a land tour? Our cruise stopped in Naples in 2019, 7am-7pm. And we wanted a private tour for the 4 of us. ItalyTours wasnt willing to work with my itinerary, so I used the SEARCH tool above to find previous posts about other vendors. I ended up going with AldoLimo. They, like most vendors are worried about returning to the ship on time, so they suggested we meet at 7:30 instead of 8. A head start! You have a long port day so if you're worried about timing, ask for an early start. This will have you back to the ship by 3:30pm. To find more vendors do a SEARCH using the word AMALFI and you'll find lots of old posts The only names I still have are: ItalyTourSharing, RomeinLimo, JoBanana, AldoLimo, and a fun guy on FaceBook TaxiMisterCabDriver.

I disembarked the GEM in Trieste last Sept. Yes, it's by zones. My paperwork for that day says: 7am - NCL transfer to VCE for pax with flights before 1pm 7:30am - 8am self assist My flight from VCE was at 6:20am the following morning, so I stayed at a hotel near the airport. I took a bus from Trieste to VCE, then called the hotel shuttle to pick me up. I'm a solo traveler, retired female, and felt very comfortable staying on my own. Some cities, no, but Venice, definitely yes. VCE is usually chaos. Even the airport web site says to arrive 3 hrs prior. I don't see how you can make an 11am flight. How much will it cost if you miss it and have to re-book? I was flying to London, no luggage to check so I was able to go right upstairs to Security. Where is the first stop of your flight? luggage to check?

Personally I'd prefer the timing of the regular train to Seward; gives you the afternoon to explore ! And you won't have your luggage to drag around; it's delivered to your cabin regardless of which train you take. It's about a 10 minute walk to the cruise pier or you may be lucky to catch the free town shuttle bus as it comes by.

some video of the NCL train as it travelled from Anchorage airport to Seward

Some transportation options include: rental car, cruiseline transfer, Alaska Railroad, bus transfer such as ACT shown below, or Park Connection Bus also show below. Alaska Cruise Transportation, Bus Transfer Tour to Seward, Whittier Cruise (alaskacruisetransfer.com) Alaska Bus Schedules | Park Connection Motorcoach (alaskacoach.com) As for the Wildlife Center, I thoroughly enjoyed it ! A great opportunity to see wildlife close up, moose, bison, bear, wolves, musk ox. Animals - Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

If someone else on your ship was able to book the cruise contracted train, I'd call NCL again to verify. Perhaps the agent you spoke with was mistaken. Definitely worth another call, or 2.

3 ships arriving at the same time doesn't sound right. But even if it's just one, that means a few thousand people waiting for a cable car that only moves 600 people per hr up the cliff. I'd definitely go with the ships excursion in order to get off the ship quicker. I waited in line for 2 hrs and the only other ship was scheduled to arrive hrs before us. We had to skip Oia, and rather than face lines on the return trip, we decided to watch the sunset from the ship. Great decision since we could also watch all the lights coming on along the cliffs.

Port Valet - Enjoy Seattle Luggage Free! | Port of Seattle (portseattle.org)

The most economical option would be train which would be about a 30 minute journey. The train station is about a 15-20 minute walk from the pier. The easiest option would be a cab or driver. Email for the cost. But given the large crowds coming off the ship looking for a cab, you'd need to have a ride reserved. We waited quite awhile for cab when we ARRIVED to Trieste by train. It was pouring down rain which added to the problem, but we waited an hour !