Voelfgar

My wife and I go to Napa every year and have tasted at Caymus a few times. Yes, they make excellent wine; however, imo, you are paying too much just for the name. 

On 3/6/2021 at 3:30 PM, Seville2Cabo said:

Maybe 55 for a white - but reds are mid 60’s.  We store Reds at 57, but open and let breath for a while and serve closer to room temp.  

We only have a single zone wine fridge so we keep both our reds and whites in it. So the reds are chilled closer to whites, but like you, I'll pull the bottle out about an hour or so to let it warm up a bit.

On 3/2/2021 at 8:41 AM, Debde said:

Obviously, i have time to think about this and learn about this Uber stuff. Still want to hear from those also, that have used private car service. It's my comfort level. Although my kids say jump to the times!! LOL

Flying in the day of makes me want to have a definite, pre arranged pick up time. In my research-it's more of a call when you get there with Uber-yes??.

 

I got my cruise picked out, flights narrowed down, just ready to pounce whenever cruising opens up again. Fingers crossed by November as that's my target date but will wait until I feel all is good. I've always been an early planner. First time in years I have nothing booked.😭

 

I have used private car services several times in the past just not out of Orlando. I have never had a problem. And the comfort level is there. As soon as we meet our driver, he takes our bags for us and escorts us to the car/suv most of the time there bottled water or other drinks. You just sit back and relax. 

With a ride share, the vehicle size differs alot. Also with you wanting to fly in the day of the cruise, that will increase the rate as there will be higher demand, same with the return ride back to the airport.

My dilemma is finding a good private care service at a reasonable rate. 

On 2/26/2021 at 1:31 PM, Debde said:

Thank you but I'll have to admit-i would not know how to use Uber or Lyft to give me a ride anywhere. 🥺😕. I'm from the old school, call car service era and set up an appointment!!! LOL

Also, I suspect the return trip from the cruise terminal to MCO is going to be much higher as there is higher demand when 1 or more cruise ships dock.

Misquote

I on the other hand like to do things on my own like if you lived there. So when my wife and I went to Rome last year, we used the trains extensively. Took the leo Express to the train station, got a cab to the hotel, although there are a few good hotels within walking distance to the train station. Then took the train to Civitavecchia. The only thing to remember for that part is you will have to carry your luggage down and up a flight of stairs, and getting off and on(on the return trip). The platforms are much lower than the doors to the train cars. But we made due.  You can even prepay your trip to Civitavecchia and back before you even start your vacation. I had the tickets right on my phone. Total cost for 2 from rome to the port entrance was 35 Euros. And the train ride was only 48 minutes. We departed at 10am and got there by 11am.

Have you considered taking the train to Rome and then get a taxi to the convent. Rail transportation is pretty good in Rome and not overly expensive. Also the train ride from Rome to Civitavecchia is also a very nice relaxing trip. If you can carry your bag down and up a flight of steps is the only restriction there is. From there, there are shuttles that take you right to where you need to go to get on the shuttle to the ship.

Its what my wife and I did last year when we were in Rome for 3 days before doing a cruise out of Civitavecchia. The cost from Rome to the Port was only 35 Euro for the 2 of us.

18 hours ago, Capt_BJ said:

do not assume free shuttle to the port ......

 

$70 is close but probably a lil low .....

agree, was looking at PC lodgings last night, and the one's that had a cruise terminal shuttle, charged an additional fee.

Does using the ATM in the destination country still apply if it is say Mexico?

Just want to say, looking to book air travel 11 months out is not realistic. Most airlines don't post more than 10 months out. Then on top of that, when they first come out, they are at full price with any discounts not getting applied for a week or so. Even with international travel, I wouldn't book more that 6-8 months out.

I literally just renewed my DL last week and got the RealID version. All I needed was my passport and SS card.

there's no mile walk. There are port shuttles that will go from your ship to the port entrance area. You then switch to the portolink bus that will take you from the port entrance to the train station.

If you are going by train, then you know when you will arrive in florence. its only a 20 minute walk from train station to the galleria. So pick a time about 30 minutes from when your train will arrive in Florence. At most you will be waiting for about 5-10 minutes.

Only American Airlines can answer your question.

My wife and I did Florence on our own this past July. It is a flat fee of 25 Euros one way from ship to the train station. We caught the 8:12am train arriving in Florence at 9:32am and returned on the 4:28pm train arriving in Livorno at 5:48pm. We got back to the ship by 6pm with plenty of time. We arrived at the same time a lot of the tours were as well. 

I would if you purchase the train tickets ahead of time on trenitalia.com, to book the train just before the one I listed. That way if you finish up early and are ready to go you can, and it you don't want to go until 4:28pm you are still good as the ticket is valid for 4 hours from the departure time of the train you had selected. I've attached the pdf ticket that I just stored on my phone.

Florence2Livorno.pdf

There are a variety of ways to get from Rome to the cruise port. From Private driver to taking the train. Each has its own Pros and Cons.

13 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Taking a taxi from the station is what I'd recommend. Both times I've come back via train there have been taxis at the station but there are not an unlimited number of them. I'd try to be fast off the train and to the station entrance. If no taxis, ask someone to call one for you (probably would have the best luck trying at the small store in the station that sells tickets and a few sundries).

 

It is not a long trip, maybe 10-15 minutes, so even if you had to wait a few minutes for a taxi you should still be on time. However, there is SOME risk... Generally it's always best to aim for the next-to-last train that could conceivably get you back in time. That way there is still a back-up.

 

Any way you look at it, a cruise day is generally a short day if you're headed to Florence. But being there in low season will be to your benefit. Just pray to the weather gods that it's not bucketing rain...

 

But it is a flat fee of 25 Euros from the train station to the port in Livorno. So there will probably be others at that train station, group up and split the cost of the taxi.

Also if you pre book your return train from florence, I would recommend selecting the earlier time. The ticket will be good for 4 hours from the time of the train you selected. So if you are done early and want to return early you can but can always catch that later train without any hassles.

This doesn't really affect me at all. United is my 3rd choice for airline, with Delta and American ahead of them.

39 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

 

It very well may become so, and quickly. It wouldn't surprise me for at least Delta and American to change their policy as well, as a marketing ploy.

Delta's miles have had no expiration for several years now.

United Airlines announced today that points in their loyalty/frequent flyer program, MileagePlus will never expire effective immediately.

On our trip just 2 months ago, we brought some Euros with us, but we also withdrew Euros while we were there. It was better to withdraw funds from Europe than pre ordering Euros from our bank in the US. ATMs in Italy that belong to a bank, do not charge service fees. So the only additional cost is your bank's fee for the foreign currency. The caveat is to minimize the number times you go to the ATM for more cash.

I would want to have some Euros, no more than 100, with me before arriving at the airport but not a lot. Depends on whether transportation to your hotel has already been paid for or not.

The cost of the Leonardo (nonstop) train from airport to Rome is 14 euros each.  We came in on a 9:30am flight and we didn't get to our hotel until about noonish.

I personally think you won't have enough time to do both the Vatican and the Colosseum in basically a half day. Our tour of the Colosseum was a half day. They only allow so many people into the Colosseum at one time, so if you do not have a tour, you could be waiting for awhile to get in. From what I understand, the same is true for the Vatican as well.

As cruisemom42 said there are many different ways to get to the seaport from Rome. Wife and I did the train. The only thing to consider is that in Civitavecchia, you will have to carry your bags down a flight of stairs and then back up a flight of stairs. Other than that, it was pretty stress free. There are several different types of trains that go to Civitavecchia from Rome and back. Some will make many stops and some will be nonstop. We did an Intercity type train to Civitavecchia (one stop) plus the shuttle to the port drop off. Cost per person is like 14 euros.

I would recommend finding a hotel close to the train station that way you can walk to the train station. We stayed at the Hotel Diocleziano, which is a block from the station, so it is at most a 5 min walk.

Yes advance purchase tickets is a must. Otherwise, you could be standing in line for an hour at the Gallery.

It can be hit or miss with the weather in Chicago. A couple of years ago, the weekend before Christmas there was a blizzard in Chicago. Other years, it was sunny with temps in the 60s.

5 minutes by care, 20 minute walk

11 hours ago, JandC_Cruising said:

Ummmm....if that’s the wine you drink while cruising, I don’t expect ANY drink package is going to work for you.  Just raid your cellar, pay the corkage, and enjoy.   I’ve not seen a current full wine list for NCL, but I’m hazarding a guess that there are no wines of that caliber (or price)  on the ship.

 

we are on the escape this coming Sunday and we’re upgrading so we can enjoy the vueve, some cognacs, cappuccino, waters, and bottles at dinner. 

Yeah. Looked at what the wine list had but also WI does not have a corkage law. So about the only time we enjoy the really good stuff is when we are on vacation.