cleobella

It seems that Day/Week passes to the Thermal spa can not be purchased online for the Carnival Pride. I wonder if the Spa passes have been discontinued, or maybe just available onboard? I always purchase access to the thermal spa for the duration of the cruise, but maybe that’s not possible now?

Thanks for starting this forum, CruiseMom. Once again you are an awesome source of info! Love hearing the talk about Sermonetta. When we first went to Venice my husband splurged on a beautiful dark brown pair for me, of course beautifully fitted to my hand. A few years later, I lost one glove and just cried! Later we went to Chicago and there was actually a shop there! I was able to replace my gloves in a slightly different style, but have kept the one original glove. Just can not bring myself to pitch it, and hold out hope that someday it's partner will show up! Anyway, does anyone have a good spot for deli or casual "street food" near the Albergo del Senato (Pantheon area), near Piazza Navona (not too near, maybe a hidden side street nearby), and near Campo Dei Fiore? We don't like fussy or fancy restaurants but love good, casual, authentic or rustic foods, at good prices!

Great points Fran and CPT! Thank you!

The Christmas Sweater chatter is making me laugh out loud! Hate to say it, but I am well known for my festive Christmas attire here in Ontario during the holidays, and now my kids mock me by coming to Christmas Dinner, and Parties in Christmas Sweaters too, and dressing the kids up as well! Now of course we call these sweaters "Ugly Christmas Sweaters". Some of them cost big bucks back in the day! I'll stick with a black thermal coat, waterproof hikers, red mitts, scarf and hat, and will plan to layer. Sehr Schick! Love the hand warmers idea! Shout out to Whitby!

We are taking a Christmas Market Cruise in mid December, will visit Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Strasbourg, Black Forest area, and Zurich. I wonder how we should plan to dress for outside activities? Would a light thermal coat be OK with gloves,scarves, layered with a sweater or thermal tee shirt underneath? Or do we need a heavy winter coat? Also, do we need to bring boots, or can we get away with waterproof hiker type shoes or even running shoes? We live in Ontario Canada, and it can be variable in December here but not usually super cold, there can be snow. Is Germany/Alsace/ Switzerland the same?

Excellent TBird, thanks for the info!

Thanks for the effort Eurocruiser! You are one of the most helpful people on this Forum. Steamboats, this is exactly what I was looking for, thanks very much. I'm sure the prices have gone up, but it gives me a ballpark guess.

Does anyone know if there is a flat rate to go from Messina Port to Taormina by cab? This will be on a Sunday and we would probably want to go 9am-2pm. Would it be difficult finding a taxi at port or to return back to Port at 2pm?

We are interested in going on a Winery Tour when we dock at Portimao in October. I understand Alvor is close by and accessible by bus, Silves too? Someone from the boards mentioned that Alvor is quite nice to walk around as well. There are Wineries in both places but it's hard to see any detailed info about the experiences they provide. Has anybody done a Winery Tour in this area and are there any recommendations? As well, does anyone know of a Winery Tour by a company that will pick up a couple or small group from Portimao and take us to a few places in the Algarve for tours? Any info is appreciated

We will be docked in Messina on a Sunday in October and will probably plan an excursion to Taormina. Does anyone know if the town closes up on Sundays; the stores, cannoli bakery, amphitheatre? Also, are taxi's reliable on Sundays for getting there and back or would it be a surer bet to use a shore excursion offered buy the cruise ship. Thanks for any info!

We did Odyssey too, a few years ago, and had a great time. Our guide was great, quite funny and knowedgable, and the scenery is beautiful. Worked out well for us!

I'm wondering if I can get some feedback on our idea for a DIY day in Malta on a Monday in October, and I have some questions too. We are thinking of taking a taxi to Mdina early in the morning. Then returning to Valetta, having a coffee somewhere nice, strolling around the town, seeing the Cathedral, Gardens and the Harbour Front (Vittoriosa). We have 9 hours in port, but would probably choose an 8am -2/3pm day. Does this plan seem feasible? My questions are: 1) Is easy to get a taxi from Mdnina back to Valetta, or should we count on taking the bus? How do you pay for the bus and where do you pick it up? What time does Mdina open up? 2) If we take the bus back where should we get off to be central in town for seeing St John's and other stuff? 3) Can we easily walk back to the ship from the town? 4) Is there anything else we should be adding to our day ( an additional trip out of town in the morning, or something else in town, something that would give us some history on the Knights of Malta?) Thanks for any info!

So true that airfare is currently inflated. We bought return tickets for a Med cruise in October many months ago, during one of the last lockdowns, and got a great deal on Premium Economy seats. Just bought return Premium Economy tickets to Germany/going home from Switzerland in early December and got absolutely soaked. Paid $1000 more then what we were expecting to pay. We grabbed the tickets feeling that it could get worse and because we were able to get the seats we wanted. The cost of travel in these crazy time I guess. Just crossing our fingers that our trips go off without too much trouble!

I am looking at fares for taxis from Fiumicino Airpport in Rome to our Rome Centre Hotel and also from the Hotel to Civitavecchia Port. It seems like grabbing a taxi at the airport, and calling a taxi from the hotel to go to port, would be cheaper then a booked transfer with a tour company or transfer service. Does anyone know if there's any reason why using local taxi's would be a bad idea?

We have a stop in Portimao in October, arriving early and leaving at 4pm. I gather we will tender into port and get a shuttle or taxi into town. In Oct is it going to be interesting to just walk about the town, anybody know what would be good to see there or is it mostly shopping? I imaging the beach may be a bit cool. Would it make more sense to travel out more into the Algave region, maybe there are sights and towns that would be interesting? Not sure if we should use this as a chill day, or plan to get out of the immediate port area to see more scenery or sights ?

In October we disembark at the end of our cruise in Lisbon, and I am considering hiring a driver to take our bags with us on a tour of Sintas and Lisbon, depositing us at our hotel after. Of course it is very expensive. Our hotel is on Avendia, and is close to the train. I am wondering if we are better to take our bags over to the hotel after disembarking and then take the train to Sintas and Belem? Then the next day just strolling around Lisbon on our own. This would be cheaper but maybe not as convienient. As well the dates are a Sun, Monday and the Monday is a holiday so maybe we are best just to shell out the bucks to ensure that we have no snags? Any opinions? Also, any recommendations for drivers or companies to use if we go that route?