MeHeartCruising

Currently on Explorer of the Seas expected to return to Ravenna on Sunday. The Captain just announced we will be diverting to Trieste because of the flooding in the Ravenna area. They will be delivering a letter with more details this evening.

Currently On Explorer of the Seas and supposed to return to Ravenna this Sunday. The Captain just notified us that this would not be happening. We are diverting to Trieste. Details to be delivered to our cabins later this evening.

Mick, I know it will still leave you uncertain, but I can tell you that I am currently on the second leg of a B2B on Explorer of the Seas. At the end of leg 1, in Ravenna, the ship was selling bus transfers TO the Ravenna train station. The charge was $10 per person. There was also a bus TO the ship from the Ravenna Bus Station, which apparently is beside the train station. There was apparently a ship person at the train station directing people to the shuttle. Apparently you gave your room number on the bus and they added the $10 fee to your account. The info about the Station to ship service came from people getting on the ship and it was posted on another social media site. Due to heavy rains, the bus TO the station from the ship was running slow. They kept announcing to remain on the ship rather than to proceed to the terminal because there was no place dry to wait. Communication about this transfer is very poor. But it apparently exists. Here is a screen shot from the Royal app about transfers after the cruise. The Ravenna bus does a loop back and forth. They have never posted details on how often or how lat in the day it operates.

About a 10 minutes walk to get from ship to palace entry.

No. I’m on Explorer of the Seas right now. Royal Caribbean is only offering transfers to Venice Airport, Venice City (Tronchetto), Bologna Airport, Bologna train station, and Ravenna train station.

I’m not sure the bus color means anything. On May 8th, I took a white “Port Mobility” bus from the train station directly to my ship. The price was 6 euros per person. Pay the driver. There was a sign in the windshield saying this. He likely doesn’t have change for large bills. And, yes, be certain to ask the driver if he goes to your ship. There were multiple buses, each going to different ships. Our driver was doing a very good job of asking everyone which ship they needed and he directed some people to another bus for their ship. Our bus did not have a sign saying which ship it went to, so you had to ask the driver. In my opinion, this is a good service and worth 6 euros.

I did not leave the ship, so I don’t know.

There was indeed a bus shuttle to/from the ship/Ravenna train station. Apparently, it was actually the bus station, but was a short walk to the train station. It was supposed to start running at 7:30 from the ship. The ship could not tell me how often it would run. Probably when full. The ship also could not tell me when it stopped running. If you’re on the ship you can buy the shuttle ticket from guest services for $10 per person. If you get on at the bus station, they apparently take your cabin number and bill your account. I did not ask if you could purchase round trip tickets from the ship. The way our B2B was processed, we had an option to stay on the ship that morning and have everything done in a lounge at 8:30. If you did that, you left with your new keycard. Then, you could stay on the ship or go off. If you want to go off, you need to get an “in transit” card to show the staff when you return to the terminal. This will let you bypass the checkin process. The other way you could choose was more unclear from the instruction letter. With this manner, you got your “in transit” card the day before the end of the cruise. You could then skip the B2B meeting and just get off the ship. So you could get off at 7:30 if you wanted to. The letter said that your checkin for the second cruise would happen in the terminal when you returned to the ship later in the day. So, presumably, you would need to have your passport with you. However, when I asked Guest Services about this process, I was told that my checkin would happen automatically. I did not feel comfortable with the agent’s knowledge on this. As it turned out, the day was very bad weather with cold pouring rain. So I just decided to stay on the ship. I was processed in the lounge at 8:30 and was free to roam the ship after that. From the announcements they were making, it sounded like the weather was delaying the shuttle buses into Ravenna. There was not enough room in the terminal to wait in the dry space. So they asked people to stay on the ship for a while. Info about these shuttles was confusing and needs to be tightened up by Royal. Hopefully as the season gets more underway, that will happen.

I Am currently on the Explorer doing a B2B. The attached file show the transfer timing from our turnaround day in Ravenna yesterday, May 14. I would expect similar with future sailings. I agree with the previous poster who suggested you research a flight that departs Venice at 12:20 pm and gather all the facts about it. Then tell Royal Caribbean that is your flight. They will link that info on your account, but I’m pretty certain they do not validate this with the airline. As you can see, the will be starting very early for Venice departures. They warn, however, that it can take 3 hours for the trip. So even the 6:30 group might not get there much before 10am. I doubt that bus will leave at 6:30. That’s when people would start off the ship, get their luggage, find the bus, get loaded on the bus, and wait for everyone else to do the same. I would expect a 7am bus depart, at best.

I’m on a B2B right now. Go ahead and do the checkin for the second cruise. They will close out your account after the first cruise, so you need payment info entered for the second cruise. And they use the photo you upload too. The only thing that is unimportant is the arrival time. It will be irrelevant. Pick anything.

Sorry for the delay, but I’m in the middle of my Adriatic cruise. It looks like others have already answered the Tube questions for you. I took the Elizabeth line and then switched once or twice at Tube stations. I’m handy with my own luggage on the Tube, but it’s not for everyone. As for early check in at Premier Inns, I don’t think it can be requested in advance. And it may not be available upon arrival either. It all depends on whether they have clean room(s) to accommodate your reservation upon your arrival. If they do, they will let you in early for 10 pounds per room.

For the 2023 summer cruise season, I can confirm that there is still a bus running directly from the Civitavecchia train station to the ships at the port, at least on embarkation day for the ships. I arrived this morning on a train from Rome. Upon exiting the front of the Civitavecchia station, cross the parking lot and look to the right. The buses say “Port Mobility” on the side. In the front window is a sign indicating that the bus goes from station to ships and ships to station. The price is 6 euro per person (cash only). If your train ticket was for “Civitavecchia”, you must pay the driver. IF your train ticket was to “Civitavecchia Porto”, you have already paid, but must show your ticket. The driver was able to make reasonable change. But he was not willing/able to give change for a 50 euro bill. So bring small bills or coins and exact amounts if you have it. At the bus stop, There is also a sign with the bus info in case there are none there when you arrive. The buses come and go as they fill up. Just wait for the next one to arrive. It worked smoothly. By the time my bus filled up, another was already there to take its place. NOTE: Confirm with the driver that he is going to your ship. They have different buses for different ships. But there was no sign indicating this on the buses.

Never mind. Sorry.

Looks like I could save $3 each for my 2 Chops dinners on upcoming cruises. But it's not worth the hassle of possibly losing my preferred dining time.

Then can't you just buy it online now and get the original one canceled/refunded? That seems like what most people do on here.

Unless you're buying a guided tour, I'm pretty certain the tickets are not timed. You are given one entrance to the Colosseum and one entrance to the Forum. I believe it can be over a 2-day period. It used to be, at least. With advance tickets, you do not need to stand in the line to purchase tickets. HOWEVER, everyone stands in a different line to pass thru security, which can slow you down a bit. But it's unavoidable.

It's really not a big deal. Discuss the specifics with your cabin steward on the first cruise. If you're in the same area on the second cruise, all the better. He/she will tell you how they prefer it to be done. Generally, you pack your suitcase and leave it inside the room. They may or may not tell you that you can leave clothes on the hangers in the closet. They move them that way for you. I prefer to put everything back in suit cases just so it won't get lost going down the hall. I put the luggage tags for the second cruise on the bags, just in case there is a mixup somewhere. Generally, the steward will get your bags to the second cabin for you. You should get instructions near the end of the first cruise as to how they will handle B2B passengers for that cruise. They may or may not require you to leave the ship. They likely will have all B2B passengers gather together in a lounge at a certain time, that morning for processing. You will get your new key cards the morning of your second cruise or delivered in the B2B letter. It varies from ship to ship. I always like to stop by guest services after a couple days on the first cruise to make sure they have me on the list of B2B passengers. They usually call them "continuing passengers", I think. That's pretty much it. You will be informed what to do. But definitely discuss it with the room steward. Also, you generally are given the choice of returning to the ship quickly or going out into the port for a bit. You'd be instructed how to bypass the lines to get back on the ship. Sometimes, they may make you get off the ship and then wait until the next cruise boards. But you're usually in a special area and taken back on the ship first, ahead of the new passengers. Again, it varies.

The OP has given no indication of the source of the problem. If the Gibraltar passport control raised issues or was understaffed or not prepared to deal with the buses, then that is not NCL's fault. As for the delays, of course there are going to be delays when going that distance and the end result is an unexpected turn of events. I can't fault NCL for that either. What actually happened at the border that caused this issue?

I don't believe the tickets you buy to visit on your own include any map or headset. Perhaps a map, but I didn't bother picking one up. You could bring your own guide book to read if desired. I would allow at least 45 minutes (excluding any wait in line) to visit the Colosseum and 60 minutes to leisurely walk thru the Forum.

Exactly as Globaliser says above. The train only had about 10 people in my car. I didn’t notice a luggage rack but there may have been one. But with so few people on the train, I just kept it on the floor beside me. This effectively stopped anyone from sitting there, but I was traveling solo so it didn’t matter to me.

For what it's worth. I'm a man. And I am a very picky eater. I do not like fancy, foody, ethnic, stuff. I also like very few vegetables. No seafood, shell food, or fish. And I generally don't like to try many new things. So when I travel, I tend to eat much like I do at home. Meat. Potatoes. Sandwiches. Dessert. Pasta. Cheese. I ate at a TGIFriday's in Prague. A Chipotle in both Paris and London. And McDonalds in many countries. He can easily survive with no problems. 😀

I believe these are all new ports for NCL, so that's why they don't have up-to-date info. I'll be curious to read what NCL does in each port.

You did make me chuckle. The first thing that came to me, was to make him watch the 2-part "Everybody Loves Raymond" episodes where Ray does not want to go to Italy, but his wife makes him go. He ends up glad he went. It's an hysterical story. A British Isles cruise would indeed lessen the impact of any potential language barrier. And it's a great cruise too. So you won't be cheating yourself on going. However, I have never found a language barrier to be a problem on any European cruise (including the port stops with independent travel). In the tourist areas, the people almost always speak good English. Often times better than you or I (especially in the Northern European countries). They are very familiar with Americans and our knowledge of only one language and deal with it well. Finally, if he doesn't want to go. I wouldn't force him if it's going to make your trip miserable. Leave him behind and go with someone who wants to go. Or go by yourself. I travel solo 50% of the time.

For those of us that don't know what happened last week... I can't really decipher what you are saying has happened to you and why.

Perhaps others will correct me, but I don't think Santorini is known for its beaches. It's largely a rocky outcrop in the sea -- it's the remnants of the rim of a volcano (the caldera) that blew up many years ago. The only beaches that I recall are located on a smaller island in the middle of the caldera. This would require special boat transport to that island and back to the main part of Santorini. I don't have anything specific to offer you. There are a few wineries. Perhaps one of them has a meeting place large enough to accommodate you. At least one of them is perched atop the caldera with amazing views of the water below. There are also hotels/spas that might have event space for you to use. I found this winery which hosts weddings and events: https://venetsanoswinery.com/wedding-events/ I'm sure there are others too.