MeHeartCruising

Have you considered forgoing the included transfer and booking a ship excursion that tours something and then drops you at the airport later in the day? Most cruises offer this. Or maybe looking for a place to store your luggage (most train stations have a place for a few euros) and then doing a bit of independent sightseeing before going to the airport? Sitting at the airport for 10 hours doesn’t sound like a nice end to a vacation to me.

While I haven’t cruised out of Lisbon, Every cruise that I have been on has had a luggage drop off location that was off to the side and separate from the check in and security process. You should be able to drop your bags (you will need to wait until they are ready to accept them from you) and then do anything you wish. Most people walk into the building and start checking in. But I’ve never seen a setup where that was required. It’s usually a crowded zoo with people going every which way.

I wonder how that works. Do you know? What type of proof of missed port is required? I'm not sure how you'd go about proving it after it happens.

It’s probably better in the Africa and Middle East forum. I see other Israel posts there. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/19-africa-amp-middle-east/

I always leave behind a wet shower scruffy. If I have any underwear that are close to expiring, I also leave those to make more room in the suitcase. I hope no one decides to keep either of these after I leave. 😂 Actually, I dispose of these in the garbage in a plastic bag. They'd have to work at it to get them for their own collection. But if they really want them, they can have them!

What time do you arrive?

Gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever had to wait in a line to get a table at breakfast on any cruise line or ship. I’ve had to look around some a few times, but even that is pretty uncommon. Maybe I just eat when most people don’t. And the buffet is indeed the best place to get in, get fed, and get going.

NCL will make flight arrangements for you any time, with or without a BOGO promotion. See the attached link. However, this does not mean you will get a BOGO special rate, given that you booked with a travel agency. Let us know if you get a BOGO deal. If not part of a BOGO deal, I believe you have full control over what they book for you, just as if you had used the travel agency. But you pay for it. https://www.ncl.com/air-service-standards

I don't think I've ever seen ballroom dancing on an NCL ship.

I have no personal experience, but based on what I found using Internet searches, I don't see why you couldn't do this. It looks like ferries only take 40 to 80 minutes to get there depending on the type of ferry you take. So obviously, I'd target the fast ferry which takes 40 minutes. I see a fast ferry at 6:30, but I doubt you'd make that one. The next one is a slow ferry at 8:20, but there is another fast ferry at 8:30 which gets to Aegina faster -- at 9:10. There are several afternoon return ferries you could pick from based on your comfort level for getting back to the ship. I believe the ferries depart from an area of the port that would be about a 20-30 (or a little more) minute steady pace walk from Cruise Terminal A. Depending on where your ship docks, you may need to take a shuttle bus from Terminal B or C to get to Terminal A. You may be able to persuade a taxi to take you, but they generally want to go further distances. There's probably a bus route as well, but I'm not up to speed on those. The many ferries to the various islands leave from different dock areas in a section of the port. I can't really tell where the Aegina ones depart from. Hence the uncertainty on the timing. But even if you walked from the cruise terminal, I think you'd have plenty of time to get to the most distant ferry dock by 8:30.

$$$$$

OK. Well, 3 posts above this one is an example of someone with the 2 day deviation where you can see they had arrival day plus another full day to explore Rome. If you search the NCL forum for "deviation" you can find other examples of people who requested the 2 day deviation and how it worked for them. I wish you well on your trip.

If you're landing in Rome 2 days prior, you will have the rest of that arrival day, that night, the next full day, and that 2nd night to enjoy Rome. Then on to Civitavecchia the next morning. How are you getting less than 24 hours?

There are plenty of reliable options for getting from Rome to Civitavecchia on the day of your cruise. I would not stay in Civitavecchia if it were me when you can enjoy another night in Rome. I think most people spend the night in Rome before the cruise. For my May cruise, I'm staying at a hotel beside the Pantheon and then have a train reservation to get to Civitavecchia by 10:30am on the day of embarkation.

If cruise departs on, say, Saturday… Your 2-day deviation will land you in Rome on Thursday (likely in the morning, Rome time) You will leave Dallas some time on Wednesday. Since you live in American Airlines big hub, you might luck out and get a direct flight. If so, you will likely leave later in the day and arrive in Rome early in the morning. However, they may also make you do a connecting flight on the US east coast Wednesday evening or somewhere in Europe on Thursday morning.

Well, hopefully you can figure a way into the Terrace Houses. I will say that, even if not visiting them, the rest of Ephesus is still well worth the visit. I was fortunate to be on back-to-back cruises which both visited Kusadasi. I went on two different ship excursions that visited Ephesus. One spent more time there and included the Terrace Houses. The other was a quicker stop at Ephesus and then going on to Magnesia, Miletus, and Didyma. They were both great days. I wish you well and I’m sure you will have a great time.

We went to Mdina as our first stop and it was quite early in the morning. No commercial establishments were open even if I recall. And there were very few people on the streets. So it was quite nice to just walk around and get our photos and enjoy the views. The Cathedral was open and we were able to go inside to see that. When we came out our taxi driver was waiting right where he told us he would be and I seem to recall he was talking to another taxi driver in the same location. But I don't recall there being a line of them or anything like that. But maybe. That other driver could have been waiting for his group too. This was how it was at each of our stops. But, admittedly, I wan't looking for taxis. So I really don't know if they were at each location or not. We did not have nearly as long as you do in port. I estimate we were back on the ship by 4pm or so. If we had more time, I would definitely have liked to have visited the Hypogeum (advance tickets required). We spent about 60 minutes in Mdina, I think. To be honest, that seemed about right for my group. We are not shoppers. It wasn't meal time. We don't just sit and drink a glass of wine and watch the world go by. So we moved on. Since you have so much time, I would definitely try to hit more places outside Valleta. But do save enough time for Valleta itself. I think we spent about 3 hours in Valletta before starting the walk to the ship. We did not take the time to explore the Baraka Gardens and its views. I would probably like to do that next time. Maybe post on TripAdvisor about taxi availability on Malta.

I visited Malta in 2009, so a long time ago. But I bet this is still true.... Many taxis were waiting in a line at the port. There was a tent set up as you walk off the ship with a person answering questions about taxi usage. You could tell that person what you wanted to see and they suggested a timeframe to accomplish it. You can, of course, agree with that or adjust as desired. I paid the person in that tent and they filled out a slip of paper indicating how much I had paid and where I wanted to go. I was told to present that paper to the first taxi in the line. My 2 parents and I did just that and got in a nice taxi with a driver and off we went. He took us to all of our stops and just waited until we finished the visit. Then on to the next stop. He suggested we add in a stop to the Presidential Gardens, since we had time. So we did. I would skip that if visiting again, however. Our driver was a nice gentleman who spoke good English and was talkative. We mostly talked about life in Malta and not so much about the sites themselves. He was not presented as a tour guide... just a driver. But we were very pleased with the experience. At that time, I think we purchased 3 or 4 hours for 65 euros or so. I'm sure prices have risen over the last decade. At the end of our time, he dropped us at the top of town near the bus terminal and we then walked into town and explored that portion on our own on foot. That part was very easy to do. We gradually walked down a bunch of steps back to the ship. There is now an elevator to go down more quickly if you want. I suppose the taxi driver could have taken us back to the ship if we asked. He did not drive us around central Valletta. That, you can do on your own. We did not have to pay anything else to the driver. However, we tipped him an additional amount, which he appreciated, I think. We visited Mdina, Rabat Catacombs (which turned out to be closed that day), Mosta Dome, Presidential Gardens and perhaps one more place that I no longer recall. According to the port's website... "A booking office is available on the Valletta Waterfront promenade providing taxi services and tours at established rates." https://www.vallettacruiseport.com/transportation-and-parking Something to look into. Good luck to you. We enjoyed our day in Malta very much.

I really wouldn't count on that happening unless they specifically mention free time to explore on your own. I have been there twice on ship excursions, and the guide kept us quite contained. We were let free for maybe 10-15 minutes at the Library of Celsus to get pictures and a few minutes at the amphitheater for the same. Other than that, they were walking thru the site at a pretty good pace, stopping now and then to narrate things. You'd really want 45-60 minutes in the Terrace Houses, I would think. Maybe a little more. You'd likely have to see if your guide will cut you free on your own to meet up back at the bus at a certain time, which means you'd miss their narration of parts of the site while gone. They probably aren't going to like that, but maybe they will let you do it. And, of course, you'll need to buy Terrace House tickets on your own.

I was thrown off by the mention of the Symphony as well. On May 14th, the Symphony is starting a cruise in Barcelona, so I think that poster must have mistyped. Boy, I'd hate to think how confusing/awful shuttles would be if a ship the size of the Symphony was in the mix.

Wow, I would not have expected bids to be accepted at the 49 days out point. Great news for your parents.

Nothing is provided by the ship. You'll need to improvise if this is a concern.

In Civitavecchia, you may or may not arrive at the track closest to the station. If you do, there is no need for an elevator or escalator. If you arrive on a different track, if it works there is an elevator that you can use to go down one level, then walk toward the station, and then another elevator to take you back up to station level. You may need to wait in line to use the elevators due to crowds getting off the train. It has also been reported that the elevators do sometimes break down. There are steps that you can walk down and back up if you want to or need to. They may be faster than waiting for the elevator if you can manage the luggage. If the elevator is not working, you will need to use the stairs if you arrive at an outer track.

There is no 30 day rule. I’ve had the ability to bid for weeks and I’m just now 34 days away from sailing.

If the ship tenders — it stays away from land and passengers get in smaller boats and ride those to shore — then yes, you will need to pay attention to the ship’s instructions for tendering. Generally, passengers in suites and those at the higher ranks of the loyalty program get to go first. You may be told to get a tender ticket in advance and then they call those tickets by number when they are ready for you to get in a tender boat to go to shore. Sometimes you may find a lengthy or very lengthy line during the tender process. Tender times vary with the weather and the size of the tender boats. Your cruise confirmation should tell you which ports are tender ports. If the ship docks at the pier, you can pretty much get off as soon as the set up the ramp to the dock and they get clearance from the shore personnel. This usually takes less than 20-30 minutes. You can usually watch them setting up from a deck where there is an overlook. I watch and then start down when they seem done setting up. Most of the time, by the time I get there, they are letting people off. Or just wait a few minutes and they will announce that you can now proceed to the lower deck and disembark. When docked, there is usually no wait or a minimal wait to get off the ship.